Cabbage Vada

One of my favorite evening snack is Vada.. We usually prepare urad vada or masala vada.. For a change, lets see how to prepare Cabbage vada..Cabbage is rich in nutrients, for those who don’t like or include cabbage in lunch can try this.. This will be a quick recipe which u can prepare in 30mins when ur kids return from school and serve them hot - hot.. 

Ingredients:

Urad dal (split black lentils) - 1/2 cup
Chopped Green Chilli            - 1
Asafoetida (hing)                   - 1/2 tsp
Finely chopped cabbage      - 3/4 cup
Finely chopped onions        - 1/2 cup
Boiled green peas                - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped coriander  - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for deep-frying

Preparation: 

First soak the urad dal in enough water for at least an hour and then clean and drain it. Then add the chillies, asafoetida and ¼ cup of water and blend in a mixer to a smooth paste.Add the cabbage, onions, peas, coriander and salt and mix well.

Wet your fingers, take some batter press it and make a hole in the centre using your thumb.

Slide the vada gently into the hot oil and deep-fry on a medium flame till it turns golden brown in colour from all the sides.Drain on absorbent paper.

NOTE: You can add grated carrots also along with cabbage. They taste great with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

Sarkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal

This is one recipe my mom makes on auspicious days. It is especially prepared on Thai Thirunaal / Pongal and Chitra PournamiChitra Pournami(Auspicious Day for Chitra Gupta, Keeper of all our deeds). Let’s see two methods of preparing Sarkarai Pongal. 

First method consumes little time and ingredients than the second one.. When u want to try on relaxed day you can try this method..

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups

Moong Dal - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 1 1/2 cups

Milk - 4 cups

Cardamom - 2 pieces (grind it to fine powder)

Cashew nuts - 10 to 12 pieces

Ghee - 1/2 cup

Raisins - 12 pieces

Preparation:

In a dry pan fry the rice and moong dal separately till a nice aroma is emitted. Pressure cook the rice and dal together with 2 cups of milk and 5 cups of water. Cook for almost 5 whistles. Mash it thoroughly when the rice is warm. Heat the remaining 2 cups of milk in a solid bottom vessel or pan and add the mashed rice to it and mix thoroughly. Slice the jaggery and add it to the rice and milk and mix thoroughly. Add cardamom powder and mix again.

Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add it to the cooked Sarkarai Pongal.

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Simple and Instant Method:

Whenever u feel like having Sarkarai Pongal, you actually go for this method. Quick and yummy recipe is here..

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 Cup

Jaggery – ½ Cup

Cashews & Raisins – 6

Cardamom – 2 or 3(Grind it into fine powder)

Ghee – To fry

Grated Coconut – 2 Tbsp

Preparation:

Cook  1 cup of rice with 3 cups of water. Dissolve Jaggery in a cup of water. Once the rice is nicely cooked, Mash it well. In a solid vessel, add the mashed rice and dissolved jaggery and stir it well so that no lumps are formed. Continue stirring till the jaggery smell goes off and u get nice aroma. Mix the cardamom powder and mix well.

Fry cashew nuts ,raisins and grated coconut in ghee and add it to the cooked Sarkarai Pongal. Yummy Yummy Sarkarai Pongal is ready.

(NOTE: Its always good to dissolve jaggery in water, because wherever we buy or how muchever well packed, dirts will be there in jaggery. While dissolving in water, the dirt comes up and u can filter the dusty layer)

Instant Bonda

Ingredients :


Idli Batter – 1 Cup
Gram Flour(Besan / Kadalai Maavu) – 2 Tsp
Chilli Powder – ¼ Tsp
Ginger Pieces –1tsp
Green Chilli Pieces – 1Tsp
Coriander & Curry Leaves – To Taste
Grated Coconut & Carrot – 4 Tsp
Oil – 1Cup
Salt – to taste

Preparation :

Pour the idly batter in a vessel. Add Besan Flour, chilli powder, ginger & green chilli pieces, chopped coriander and curry leaves, grated coconut and carrot, salt and mix well with the idly batter. Heat the oil in a kadai. Make the mixture into small balls and drop in the kadai. Once it comes up, turn the balls and fry till it becomes golden brown. Leave the fried balls / bonda in a tissue paper to remove the oil. Yummy Crispy bonda is ready for evening snacks..

Best side dish for this Instant Bonda is Coconut Chutney / Tomato Sauce.

Lemon Paste / Lemon Thokku

Ingredients:

Lemon - 12
Salt Powder - 1 Cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Cup
Mustard Seeds - 2 Tbsp
Fenugreek - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Cup

Preparation:

Cut Lemon into small pieces and remove the seeds completely. Take 1/2 cup of Crystal Salt and grind it into powder. Mix the lemon, salt powder and turmeric and leave it for 15days. Grind this mixture without adding water after 15th day.

In a kadai, pour the oil and fry mustard and fenugreek. Then add the lemon mixture into it. Put the chilli powder and mix it well and leave it till the oil gets segregated.

You can use this paste on the same day of preparation, but the taste will increase with days. Its a best combination for curd rice, dosa and chappathi.

Idli / Dosa Batter

The most favorite South Indian breakfast is Idli - Sambar. But preparing a soft idli will be a headache for new cooks.. Even i had this problem initially, so here is the recipe for preparing idli batter which i learnt from my mom.

Ingredients:

Idli Rice - 1 cup
Whole Urad Dhal(uruttu ulundhu) - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Water
Fenugreek(Venthayam)- 1/2tsp(if u wish)

Method:

Soak Rice and Dhal(with fenugreek) separately for atleast 2 hours before u grind.

First wash the urad dhal and drain the water completely. Put drained urad dhal in the grinder. While grinding,sprinkle water(cool refrigerated water gives better result)then and there and grind it for 40mins. Keep sprinkling water in between at regular intervals. When the batter becomes fluffy it is ready to be collected from grinder. Collect it in a big container.

Now wash and drain the idli rice and add it to the grinder. Sprinkle little water and start grinding. It may take nearly 30mins to grind this rice. Add water in between to get a smooth batter. It has to be little thicker than dhal batter.

Collect this rice batter in the container in which u've stored dhal batter. Add required amount of salt and mix it well. Keep in out in a warm place for atleast 10hours to get fermented. After fermenting the level of batter would have raised and then u can store in a refrigerator and use it for preparing idli/dosa.

For Idli, the batter should be thick and the first batter will give soft and white idlis.

For Dosa, the batter has to be little liquid, so its better to take batter separately for dosa and add little water to bring it to a pouring consistency.

Hot Hot soft idlis right out from steam with ghee on it and tomato chutney as side dish.. OMG, thinking abt this brings water in my mouth.. Lemme post the recipe of tomato chutney next. So u can have soft idlis with a tasty chutney. This tomato chutney will go with dosa too.. :)

Pumpkin Kheer

Ingredients:

Pumpkin - 1(Medium Size)
Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1 Tsp
Raisins - 8 - 10
Cashew Nuts - 4 -5
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Wheat Powder - 1/2 Tsp

Method:

Peel the outer layer of pumpkin and grate it well.

Take a kadai, roast the wheat powder till its color change. Wheat powder is used to give the kheer a thick consistency. Keep it aside. Pour ghee and add the grated pumpkin and roast till the water in it drains. Add sugar to this and fry.

Put the milk in a pan and boil it until it gets thick and keep stirring it continuously.

Add the mixture(pumpkin+sugar) and wheat powder to the boiled milk and cook for few mins and when the pumpkin kheer is cooked well add cardamom powder, cashew nuts, and raisin.

If needed, food color and essence can be added for taste.

Keep it in refrigerator and serve it chill.

How to Cook Rice Perfectly

Rice - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 - 1.75 cup

I usually rinse rice in a few changes of cold water. The reason for rinsing is it removes dirt and loose starch, making the rice less sticky.

For most everyday meals, you can get good results without soaking your rice. If you are using older rice, its better to soak it for about 30 minutes, which makes the grains less brittle and prone to breakage. Soaking is also traditional for Basmati rice, as it helps the rice expand to maximum length. Either way, be sure to drain your rice thoroughly.

For every cup of rice, add 1.5 -1.75 cups water. This portion varies for different rice. For brown rice, the ratio will be about 2 cups of water for every cup of rice.
But you may need to experiment a little to find the correct amount of water till you get the best consistency.

In a medium, heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid, add measured rice and water and a bit of butter/oil/salt, if you wish. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cover.Cook at a gentle simmer until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is tender, about 12 minutes (it's okay to lift the lid to make sure the rice is fully cooked and the water is absorbed—just replace the lid quickly).

The rice is now ready to serve.

How to cook rice using a microwave

1. Use a deep microwavable container with lid.
2. For every 1 cup of rice, add 2 cups of cold water.
3. Microwave the rice on maximum heat for 10 minutes, uncovered.
4. Stir the content and put the lid to cover the container and place it into the microwave for another 3 minutes to completely cook the rice.
5. Remove from microwave and let stand a few minutes before fluffing with a fork.