Pazha Pradhaman

Adding my mother's Pazha Pradhaman recipe that I shared in our mails here.

Ingredients : (serves 2-3)

1 large banana
powdered jaggery - 1/2 to 3/4th of a cup (depends on whether u have a sweet tooth)
coconut milk : thick milk - 1/2 cup, slightly thinner milk - 1 to 1.5 cups
cashews & shredded coconut for garnishing
ghee - 2 to 3 tsp

Method:

1. Mash the banana into a nice paste using a mixer.
2. Fry the cashews and about a handful of shredded coconut in 1 or 2 tsp of ghee until golden brown and keep aside.
3. Add more ghee to the pan and add the banana paste to it. Keep stirring it for a minute or 2 and then add the jaggery. You may add a small bit of water to it if the jaggery doesn't dissolve easily. Keep stirring the mix now and then on a medium flame until the two mix in very well and the mix itself changes colour from the raw light brown to a nice glossy darker brown.
4. Add the thinned coconut milk, mix and let cook for abt 10 mins or so... until it thickens sufficiently.
5. Add the thick coconut milk in the end. Allow the mix to boil for 4-5 mins. Mix 1 or 2 pinches of elaichi powder.Top with the fried cashews & coconut.

You may add any of the ingredients like ghee, coconut milk, jaggery or banana in greater proportion for richer taste. Since there are no solids like rice or semiya in this recipe make sure the payasam is thick enough and not watery though.

Eggplant Parmesan

This is KD's recipe shared over email. I am just adding it to the blog.

Ingredients:
One big eggplant
some veggies like zuchini sliced, yellow squash, mushroom (definitely!), spinach even some frozen veggies would be fine
tomato puree or normal Ragu tomato pasta sauce
parsley flakes
little basil flakes
chopped cilantro

if you want spicey, then red pepper flakes
olive oil
salt and pepper
little parmesan cheese (if desired)

So first slice the eggplant, round slices, use as many as u need ,remember u will be adding veggies

take some wheat flour and add little salt to it

coat the eggplant slices with the flour and roast it over the pan (dont need to add much oil)..roast till slightly brown on both sides, or almost cooked

keep the eggplant aside

Preheat oven to 350 deg F

Now for the veggies, add little olive oil in pan and then all the veggies
add the tomato puree or Ragu sauce
if you are adding Ragu sauce no need to add the italian spices like Basil and parsley,
if using the normal tin Heinz puree, then add some basil, oregano, rosemary , salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes

Stir mixture till veggies look cooked

Now coat the baking dish with little olive oil or vegetable oil
put one layer of the eggplant slices first
then over the eggplant, add the layer of the tomato veggie sauce, and then some parsley/cilantro

then add another layer of eggplant and over that again the tomato veggie sauce
repeat ending with the sauce as the last layer and all the eggplant is used
top with a little parmesan cheese and some more parsley if desired, and red chilli flakes

Put in oven for around half an hour or 40 min till eggplant is really tender

cut and serve over ur favorite pasta or rice!

Eggplant parmesan without all the cheese!!

-KD

Thai Yellow Curry

This is KD's recipe shared over email. I am just adding it to the blog.

YELLOW CURRY SAUCE:
    * 1 cans good-quality coconut milk
    * 1/2 tsp. fenugreek
    * 1 tsp. ground coriander
    * 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
    * 1-2 yellow chilies, OR green or red chilies, de-seeded (or leave seeds in for a spicer curry)
    * 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
    * 3/4 tsp. turmeric
    * 3 cloves garlic
    * 1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and sliced
    * 1 stalk lemongrass, sliced thinly
    * 1/2 onion
    * 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
    * 1/2 cup fresh coriander, including the stems
    * 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
    * juice of 1/2 lime
    * 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or frozen (find these at Asian food stores), and cut into strips

VEGETABLES (choose from the following, or add your own combination):
    * 1 can fava beans, broad beans, OR chick peas
    * approximately 2 cups bok choy, baby bok choy, or Chinese cabbage, chopped
    * 4-6 shiitake mushroom, sliced
    * 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
    * 1 large carrot, sliced
    * 1 cup broccoli
    * 1 cup cauliflower
    * 1/2 to 1 cup fresh basil to finish the dish, roughly chopped if the leaves are large

Preparation:
   1. Place 1/2 can of the coconut milk plus all other sauce ingredients in a food processor. Process well. You now have a homemade yellow curry paste.
   2. Place 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the curry paste and gently stir-fry for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
   3. Add the other 1/2 can of coconut milk and stir. Now add those vegetables that require the longest cooking time, such as the carrots, mushrooms and cauliflower. Stir well and bring to a simmering boil. Turn down heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5-10 minutes.
   4. Add the rest of the vegetables. Stir well and cover, allowing to cook for another 5 minutes (Note: add the bok choy/Chinese cabbage last, as these only take a minute or two, and you want them still slightly crunchy).
   5. Remove from heat and do a taste test. Add more salt or soy sauce if not salty enough. If the sauce is too bitter, add 1-2 Tbsp. more brown sugar. If it's too sweet, add more lime juice.
   6. Sprinkle the curry with fresh basil and serve with plenty of rice or flat noodles.

-KD

Interesting Kofta / Manchurian recipes

I'm always on the look-out for recipes that don't involve deep frying in oil. To reduce the consumption of fattening oil is one concern, but the other intriguing concern I have is the leftover used oil that sits in the kitchen for a while. Sure it can be used for tempering / tadka in everyday meals and it'll be all used up in a few good weeks. But it still bothers me to use leftover oil especially when the ingredients involve vegetables and other aromatic spices. A lot of the flavor still lingers in the oil and gives me an unhealthy feeling when I use it beyond 1 or 2 weeks. So, I don't indulge in cooking deep-fried foods unless absolutely necessary as in the case of Vadas. This means that certain interesting dishes like Malai Kofta or Gobi Manchurian would be out of reach for us most of the time which is not so cool.

Without further delay, I wish to jot down some interesting alternatives that I've tried in the kitchen to overcome this hurdle. Koftas seem to be easily do-able in several other fashions, all discovered by the creative cooks at work. Thanks to google for showing me to them :) Here are links to a few good ones that gave me reasonable results :

RedChillies - Malai Kofta Curry

Tried this unique technique last week and the koftas came out quite well! I tweaked the ingredients of the kofta to my family's liking & made a different gravy for the malai but pretty much followed the kofta-making procedure intact.

Low-fat Gobi Manchurian

This is another one I've tried. I must add again, I used a completely different procedure for the gravy to suit my family's taste buds. The baked gobi came out decently well and worked fine in my gravy.

Vegetable Kofta - Bake version

This is something I've been eyeing for a while. Yet to try this method. But sounds pretty fool-proof since the author doesn't mention any serious precautions or pitfalls.

Home-made Granola

A few months ago I was searching for a good granola recipe that I can use on a regular basis and found this one from allrecipes the most appealing. Reason being, it has zero oil, low sugar and a lot of fruit & nut to make up the nutritional bounty that granola is all about. It derives its sweetness mainly from the bananas & dates used for moistening the oats. Not to mention, it is the yummiest we've tasted. I have used this one several times so far and it is a hit at the breakfast table always.

I did make changes to the ingredients & cooking method based on the comments the recipe received, the kind of ingredients available in my kitchen regularly & my experience with certain other recipes. I especially followed the instructions given by the last user. With all due credit to those two great cooks, I'm jotting down the list I use & my little set of notes to aid the preparation next time.

Ingredients

• 2 bananas, peeled and diced
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2-3 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon elaichi powder
•  6-7cups quick cooking oats (that's all my bake-ware will hold in one shot)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup mixed nuts (I use almonds, walnuts, pistachios & cashews)
• 1/2 cup coconut powder

Procedure

1. Blend together the banana slices, chopped dates and honey. Dissolve the sugar in hot water & add it to the mix. Blend it all into a smooth puree.
2. Chop the nuts roughly either by hand or by pulsing on a mixer and put them in a large bowl.
3. Add the oats, raisins, coconut powder, elaichi and vanilla to the bowl and give a good mix.
4. Add in the banana-date puree and mix thoroughly so little lumps are formed here and there. 
5. Spread the granola on a large cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 275 F oven for 1 hour. Take the sheet out once in every 15-20 mins and give the granola a good toss to prevent burnt edges.
7. Leave it in slightly longer if crunchier granola is desired.

The recommended serving size is 1/2 a cup of granola with 1 glass of milk at breakfast.The recipe makes about 20 servings. Or if you want to snack on it instead, feel free to do so :)

Simply delicious cream of carrot soup

Here is a simple, delicious cream of carrot soup recipe. I read a lot of recipes on the net, but finally settled down to this version, a mix and match of many recipes I read.

Here goes the recipe. This serves 4 if had as a starter, serves 2 if a meal. It was a filling meal for me!

Ingredients:
Fresh Carrots - 2 nos. (big ones, cut into medium sized chunks)
Potato - 1 (medium sized,cut into medium sized chunks)
Onion - 1 chopped coarsely
Butter - 2 Tbsp
Cream - 4 Tbsp (Totally optional)
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Tsp (optional)
Cinnamon - 1 1" stalk
Water - 4 Cups
Salt and Pepper - To taste

Procedure:
1. Microwave the cut carrots and potato for 6 minutes in high setting. (This is a time saver step, if this is not done, be sure to increase step 6's time to about 10-12 minutes)
2. Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add the cinnamon stalks to the melted butter.
3. Add cut onions and fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the microwaved carrots and potato into the pan, add 4 cups of water.
5. Add coriander powder (really optional).
6. Boil for 3-4 minutes.
7. Switch off the stove and allow the pan to cool for about 20 minutes.
8. Discard the cinnamon stalks and blend the mixture until a smooth textured soup is got.
9. Pour the soup back into the pan under a simmer flame, and add cream (Less fatty option would be to add milk)
10. Add salt and pepper to taste. After 2 minutes, switch off the stove. the soup is ready to serve.

It was delicious!

Upma Kozhakkattai

This one's from mom's kitchen - Tirunelveli style. Makes a great evening snack or light dinner. Breakfast isn't a bad option either, but the slight labour demanded may not make it your best choice for a busy morning. It goes really well with Tomato thokku / chutney. Coconut chutney makes a good combo with it as well. The kozhakkattais by themselves are quite self-sufficient with all spices. So, they can be consumed without any dish to go on the side too.

Ingredients (for about 12 pieces):

Rice, Channa dal (Kadalai paruppu) and Water required in the following ratio:

Rice : Channa dal : Water = 1 cup: 1/4th of a cup : 1 and a 1/2 cups.
(Increase / decrease these ingredients in the same ratio for more/ less no. of pieces)
Coconut (shredded) - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 2 no.s (you can add more according to preferred spice levels)
Green chillies - 1 no.
Curry leaves - a few
Salt - to taste

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp.
Asafoetida (Perungayam) - 2 to 3 pinches
Oil - 1 to 2 tsp.

Procedure (takes 30-40 mins approx.):

1. Soak the channa dal in water for about an hour.
2. Grind the plain rice into a coarse powder (around rava consistency).
3. Grind the soaked dal with the red chillies, green chillies and half the quantity of coconut taken into a coarse paste (Use as little water as possible).
4. Heat the oil on a wide vessel and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add the curry leaves.
5. Add the water, salt, asafoetida and the ground dal paste and stir on medium heat for about 2 mins.
6. Add the rice powder while constantly stirring.
7. Add the remaining half of the shredded coconut.
8. Mix well on medium heat until the mixture hardens well (around Upma consistency). This step takes 5-7 mins.
9. Remove from flame and allow to cool until the heat is bearable to touch (about 5 mins).
10. Make egg-shaped balls (kozhakkattais :-)) using a few drops of water on the hand to help if the mix is sticky. The kozhakkattais are do-able with a single hand. Make sure they are firm and without cracks.
11. Steam them on high for about 10 mins on Idli racks.
12. Once cooled a little, they are ready to serve!

Pal Payasam

Time for really simple Pal Payasam, courtesy : mom-in-law. It is one of those recipes that you can make with the default ingredients found in a refrigerator / kitchen :-) You can always fall back on this if you're having surprise guests at home. It is amazing how simple everyday ingredients when mixed in a particular fashion can produce such a delightful bout of heaven in those little servings.

Ingredients (for about 4 servings):

• Milk - 500 ml (make sure it is not skimmed or non-fat)
  
• Rice / Semiya - 1 handful (you may doubt the minimality of this quantity, but believe me this is the exact proportion to make semi-solid payasam :) Not even a grain more!)
• Sugar - 80 - 100 gms (80 if you're not so keen on sweet, 100 if you have a sweet tooth)
  
• Ghee - 4 tea spoons
  
• Cashews - a few (optional)
  
• Raisins - a few (optional)
  
• Elaichi powder - 2 to 3 pinches (optional)
  
• Saffron - 1 or 2 pinches (optional)

Method (takes 30-40 minutes approx.):

The entire recipe can be made on simmered or medium flame as milk boils quickly & could cause charring easily.

1. Pour 2 tea spoons of ghee on a thick-bottomed vessel & fry the cashews until golden brown. Add the raisins as well towards the end and keep the mixture aside.
   
2. Pour rest of the ghee and add the rice/ semiya. Let it fry well until golden brown.
   
3. When the rice/ semiya is ready, add the milk.
   
4. Cook for about 10 - 15 mins, until the rice/ semiya is done (rice takes longer - about 25 mins. You may do a bit of closed-pan cooking as well to get the rice cooked). Keep stirring through the process. The mix thickens and the milk quantity reduces. If you're using whole milk or condensed milk, you will see the mix thickening sooner than it would take for the rice/semiya to get cooked. So in that case, add just half the milk quantity with little water initially to allow the rice/ semiya to get sufficiently cooked. You may add the rest of the milk & let boil once the rice/ semiya is done.
   
5. Add the sugar and mix well. The mix loosens a bit now. Cook for another 10 minutes until it thickens.
   
6. The payasam is close to completion now. Remove from stove. Add the elaichi powder and mix.
7. Garnish with saffron and the fried cashews and raisins.

Both the rice & semiya versions are tested & proven hits among guests/ husband alike :-)

Gulab Jamun or is it Vanilla Jamun?

What would be a sweeter post to start the new year with, than the Gulab Jamun recipe?!

I have seen my mom prepare Gulab Jamun using the ready-made mix. Of course, like with any ready-made stuff, you can do without it too.

My cooking is usually simplistic with only a little bit of experimentation to it, as I am someone who follows tested recipes quite firmly. Of course, there are times when all I want is to experiment, no rules apply then:-)

Now to the recipe. It takes about 25 minutes to prepare and makes around 20 Jamuns.

Vanilla(?) Jamun (You'll know soon!)

There are two parts to this recipe:
1. Jeera
2. Jamuns

To make Jamuns:

Ingredients:

1. Milk Powder - 2 Cups
   
2. Maida Flour(general purpose flour) - 2 Tbsp
   
3. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
   
4. Curd - 1/2 Cup
   
5. Baking Soda(Sodium Bicarbonate) - A pinch
   
6. Cooking Oil - To deep fry
   

Method:

1.  Add milk powder, Maida flour and Baking Soda in a conveniently large mixing bowl and make a dry mixture.
   
2. Add ghee and mix more.
   
3. Add curd and make a crumbly dough by kneading with hand. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
   
4. Make small balls of the dough. Since baking soda has been added, it expands while frying, so make the balls small.
   
5. Heat the oil in a deep pan. Maintain the temperature between simmer to medium. DO NOT KEEP THE STOVE ON HIGH FLAME. 
   
6. Deep fry the Jamun balls in batches till they turn golden brown. This may take 2 minutes per batch. If the flame is high, the outer surface may become brown sooner and the insides wouldn't have been cooked.
   
7. Keep the fried Jamuns separately on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
   

To make Jeera:

Ingredients:

1. Sugar - 2 Cups
   
2. Water - 1 Cup
   
3. Cardamom Powder - 1 Tsp
   
4. Vanilla seeds - A pinch
   

1. Heat the water in a wide mouthed vessel.
   
2. Add sugar, cardamom powder and Vanilla seeds
   
3. Bring it to boil. Then turn down the heat to simmer.
   
4. Now, add the fried Jamuns to the jeera.
   
5. Keep the heat low for a couple of minutes before switching off the stove. 
   
6. The Jamuns are ready to be served after soaking in Jeera for half an hour.
   
7. In the actual Gulab Jamun, rose essence is added. For a change, I have added Vanilla seeds, and it was as good. Vanilla essence could be substituted too.
   

Tips: 

Grease your palm with ghee/oil before making the Jamuns so that they form nice ridge-less balls.

So, happy Jamuning:-)

Recipes for beginners

Here's begining with a simple starter

Cream of Mushroom soup

Ingredients: (serves 6 people)

Button Mushrooms – 400 gms
Potatoes – 2 (Medium sized)
Onions – 2 (Medium sized)
Milk, water – according to consistency required

Method:
1. Cut Mushrooms, onions and peel and cut potatoes.
2. Set aside a little of the cut mushrooms to add at the end.
3. Pressure cook the rest of the mushrooms, onions and potatoes along with very little water (add only a little water as the mushrooms themselves will give out water).
4. After it cooks, blend in a mixer till almost smooth.
5. Boil the mixture with milk. Add the remaining cut mushrooms.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make way, our blog is born!!

Engineering done, all of us are embarking on a whole new journey, some of us to work, the rest of us to continue with our formal education. Whatever it is we are doing professionally, one thing will be the same with all of us - We need to cook!!! No more of mom’s delicious cuisines prepared with that touch of love. Nothing can substitute mom’s cooking but we can do our best by borrowing our favorite and easy recipes of hers.

We decided to start this blog to list simple and delicious recipes that can be done quickly with no fuss. They’ve all been tried and tested :-) Please feel free to add your favorite recipes that you have tried and tested. Try to add the number of people that the quantity you have specified will serve. Send it in to one of us. And feel free to post your comments on each recipe and on ways we can improve this blog.

Waiting to hear from you,
Rama & Divya

Here’s a small legend that will help…

Tsp – teaspoon
Tbsp – table spoon
C – cup

Here’s a translation of some of the Indian masalas from English to Tamil

Ainseed – perumjeerakam
Asofoetida – perunkayam
Bay leaf – Biriyani or Birinj ilai
Bengal gram – pacchai kadalai
Black gram – Ulunthu
Cardamom – Elakkai
Cinnamon – Pattai
Cloves – Kirambu
Corriander seeds – Kothamalli seeds
Cumin seeds – Jeeragam
Fenugreek – Venthayam (methi)
Mustard – Kadugu
Nutmeg – Jadhikkai
Pepper – Milagu
Poppy seeds – Khasa Khasa
Semolina – Pattana ravai
Sesame seeds – Ellu
Saffron – Kumkuma poo
Tamarind – Puli
Turmeric – Manjal