Pori Urundai

  Sometimes we carve for something sweet, not exactly a piece of sweet, even which is crispy and crunchy, that too home made delicacy, wow! usually i prefer to make sweets which are rolled by hand because of hygiene. Pori urundai is such a sweet made by hands.

  The recipe is simple yet tricky, so one should be very careful while preparing the jaggery syrup. Here is the recipe

                                      Pori Urundai 

Cuisine: Indian                                                                             Ratio
Preparation Time: 10 minutes                                        Puffed Rice : Jaggery             
Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes                                                4 1/2 : 1/2 Cup      

Ingredients: 
Puffed rice: 4 1/2 cups
Jaggery: 1/2 cup powdered
Cardamon: 3 nos crushed or well pounded
Water as needed
Ghee: 2 to 3 tea spoon to grease your hand  

Method:
1. Pound jaggery into fine powder and transfer it to a wide pan or pressure pan.
2. Add water till the jaggery immerses. Now switch on the the stove.
3. Melt the jaggery and filter it.
4. Wash the pan and in the same pan, add the jaggery syrup and boil it, add cardamon powder. 
5. Take a small bowl or a shallow plate with water it.
6. While the jaggery is boiling take few drops of the syrup and pour it into the bowl or plate.
7. The syrup should not dissolved, when you touch the syrup in water, you should be able to make soft ball. This is called as "urundai patham" like this

8. This is the right consistency, now add the puffed rice, put off the flame.
9. Smear ghee in your hands and take small portion of this mixture and make into balls of your desired size.
10. Similarly make the remaining. Cool it and store it in a air tight container. It stays well for a week.

Note:  
1. Smearing ghee on your palms gives you resistance to withstand the hot jaggery pori mixture. 
2. At the end, while you are making balls, it will harden, so keep again on the stove for a fraction of a minute to make it loose and roll again. 
3. Be sure that you syrup reaches rolling ball consistency or else you can not make balls. 

Panner Peas Paratha

 Usually i have tasted palak panner in restaurants, why not try it with matar  and panner with little potato. The result was amazing, it turned out very yummy. The recipe is

                                        Panner Peas Paratha

Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes

Ingredients: 
Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Grated panner: 1/2 cup or 100 gms
Peas or matar: 1/4 cup
Boiled potato: 1 number
Chilli powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Jeera powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Chat masala: 1/4 tea spoon (Optional)
Oil as needed
Salt to taste
Water as needed

Method: 
1. Take wheat flour in a bowl, add salt and knead into soft dough using lukewarm water.
2. Smear 1/2 tea spoon of oil over the dough and keep it aside.
3. Pressure cook potato and peas, take it out and mash it and keep it aside.
4. Place a pan on the stove over a medium flame, add 1 tea spoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add grated panner, mashed potato and peas, add in garam masala, chilli powder, jeera powder, salt and mix well. Let it cook for 3 minutes and put out the flame.
5. Cool the mixture to room temperature, you can add chat masala, if you wish, at this stage.
6. When it is completely cool make lemon size balls out of it and keep it aside.
7. Take the wheat flour dough, make slightly bigger balls out of it and keep it aside.
8. Roll out into  two puris of equal size and keep the stuffing in the centre of one puri and place the other puri over it and completely seal the edges, gently press and roll into chapatis.

or

1. Take the dough and roll out to 2.5 inch diameter and place the stuffing in it.
2. Lift from one end of the edge and start pleating, start folding and forming the pleats in the centre and slightly flatten it.
3. Now roll into chapati carefully.
4. Place a tawa on the stove over a high flame. Put the paratha and apply little oil over it, cook it till small brown spot began to appear, cook it on both sides.
5. Take it out, cut into wedges and serve hot with spiced onions and curd sprinkled with chat masala.

  

Rava Idli

The name reminds of MTR brand, their famous rava idli mix. Even without ready mix, we cam make those soft puffy rava idili's.  Making rava idlis needs no grinding and fermentation. Here is the recipe

                                                       Rava Idli

Cuisine: South Indian                                                                    Ratio
Preparation Time: 10 minutes                                                    Rava: Curd
Soaking Time: 30 minutes                                                             1 : 1/2 cup
Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Sooji or Rava: 1 cup
Thick Curd or Dahi: 1/2 cup
Water as needed
Salt as per taste
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tea spoon
Channa + Urad dhal: 1/2 tea spoon
Cashews: a few numbers
Curry leaves: a few numbers
Oil as needed
Baking Soda: a pinch (Optional) 

Method:
1. Place a pan on the stove over a medium flame, add 2 tea spoon of oil, when the oil is hot, add in mustard seeds, Dhal, Cashews, Curry leaves and fry it for 2 minutes, till dhals and cashews turn golden yellow.
2. Now add rava and roast it till nice aroma raise, do not brown it or burn the rava, roasting takes about 3 minutes, the rava will become light in weight.
3. Put off the flame, add salt mix well. Beat the thick curd and add to the rava, and mix well, add 2 to 3 tea spoons of water and mix thoroughly, in this stage you can add baking soda.
4. Leave it for 30 minutes
5. Take idli plates or idli moulds, smear oil in it. Pour this rava batter in to the moulds and steam it in idli cooker or any cooker for 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Carefully take it out of the mould and serve it hot.
7. Taste best with samber or mint chutney.

Note:
1. If the curd is sour, skip the baking soda.
2. Rava tends to absorb liquid so soaking it for at least 30 minutes is a must.
3. For 1 cup of rava, it may yield up to 6 to 8 idlis.
 



 
 

Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal, the word reminds me of Margzhali mornings.  In every perumal temple ven pongal is the naivedhyam and it is distributed as prasadam, early in the morning of margzhali month. Coming to the recipe

                                                        Ven Pongal

Cuisine: South Indian                                                                          Ratio
Preparation Time: 10 minutes                                                         Rice : Water
Soaking Time: 10 minutes                                                                  1 : 4 cups
Cooking Time: 8 to 15 minutes                                                      Rice  : Moong dhal
                                                                                                        1 : 1/4 cup

Ingredients: 
Rice: 1 cup
Moong Dhal: 1/4 cup 
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece well pounded
Salt as per taste  
Crushed Pepper: 1/4 tea spoon
Whole Jeera: 1/4 tea spoon
Curry Leaves: few
Asofoetida:  a  generous spoonful
Ghee: 1 tablespoon
Oil: 2 tea spoon
Cashew: 4 to 5 numbers
Water as needed

Method:
1. wash the rice and moong dhal together and soak it for 10 minutes.
2. Place a small cooker on the stove over medium flame, add oil and 1/2 tablespoon of ghee and heat it.
3. When it is hot, add jeera, crushed pepper, asofoetida, pounded ginger, curry leaves and cashews and fry it till cashews becomes golden yellow.
4. Now add the soaked rice and moong dhal and the required amount of water and salt as per taste.
5. Mix it well and close the pressure cooker lid and cook it for 5 to 8 whistles. When the pressure settles down, open it and add the remaining ghee and mix. Serve it hot with sambar or simple coconut chutney.

Coconut Chutney:

Ingredients:
Grated Coconut: 1/2 cup
Fried Gram: 1tea spoon
Green Chilli: 2 numbers 
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece (Optional)
Salt to taste 
water as needed
Seasoning: 1 tea spoon of oil, 1 tea spoon of mustard seed,a few curry leaves, channa turad dhal: 1/2 tea spoon

Method:
1. Grind coconut, fried gram, green chilli, to a fine smooth paste and add salt  as needed.
2. Transfer it into serving bowl.
3. Place a pan or kadai over the stove, add 1 tea spoon of oil, when the oil is hot add mustard seeds, allow it to splutter, add the dhals and curry leaves.
4. Pour it over the chutney and serve.


Note:
1. Cooking the pongal for 6 to 8 whistles gives it a mashy consistency.
2. Ven pongal taste best with sambar or coconut chutney.

 

Veg Momos

Momos is a type of dumpling native to Tibet. During our visit to Coorg (Karnataka), we went to see Tibetan settlement at Kushal Nagar. There in one of the restaurants my son wanted to taste momos (Tibetan delicacy), which he knew after browsing in the net. He liked the juicy momos with their tangy garlic sauce. He wanted me to make some one day. That day finally arrived. here is the recipe

                                                             Veg Momos

Cuisine: Tibetan
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: 
Refined flour or Maida: 1/2 cup
Finely chopped vegetables (Carrot, Capsicum & Cabbage): 1/4 cup
Paneer or Cottage Cheese: 1/4 tablespoon (Optional)  
Pepper powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Green chilli finely chopped: 1 number (Optional)
Salt to taste
Water as needed
Refined Oil: 1/2 tea spoon or more  

For Garlic Sauce:
Finely chopped garlic: 1/4 tablespoon
Tomato Ketchup: 1/4 tablespoon
Hot Red Chilli Sauce: 1/4 tablespoon  
Refined Oil: 2 tea spoons
Water: 1/2 cup

Method:  
1. Seive maida and take it in a bowl, add salt and water little by little to make it into soft dough. Smear oil and keep it aside.
2. Chopp all the vegetables and grate the panner, mix it well and add salt, pepper powder and mix it well.
3. Now take a marble or gooseberry size ball of the dough and roll into puris, it should be thick in the center, so that it would not break.
4. Place the vegetables stuffing and lift one side of the edge and start pleating, start folding and forming the pleats, one by one towards the end join the pleats in center.
5. Prepare all the momos in the same way.
6. Apply oil to the idli plates and place momos without touching each other, so that, it will not stick.
7. Place the idli plates in the idli steamer and steam it for 5 to 6 minutes.
8. Momos will look glossy. Now it is ready to serve hot with garlic sauce. 

For Garlic Sauce: 
1. Place a pan on the stove and add 2 tea spoon of oil and heat it. 
2. Add the chopped garlic and fry it for 2 minutes or till  it becomes golden brown.
3. Add the sauces , little water or 1/2 cup of water and allow it to boil for 3 to 5 minutes, till becomes thick.
4. Put off the flame and cool it. Transfer it to a airtight container.  

Note:
1. Place momos in the idli plate leaving considerable space, otherwise it may stick to one another.
2. Steam momos only for thee time specified, otherwise it will become rubbery and dry.  
 

Roti or Phulka Chapati

 Making soft chapatis is a challenge for many. I learnt how to make soft rotis which stays soft for long hours from my mom. The recipe is

                                                    Roti or Phulka Chapati

Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour: 1 up
Water as needed 
Salt to taste
Oil as needed

Method: 
1. Take the wheat flour in wide bowl.
2. Heat water in a sauce pan, the water should be lukewarm.
3. Add the lukewarm water little by little to the flour and make it to a soft dough.
4. Smear the dough with 1 tea spoon of oil, close it and keep it aside for 20 minutes.
5. Take a lemon size ball out of the dough and roll it smoothly with even thickness throughout, dusting dry flour occasionally.
6. Place a tawa on the stove and heat it, when it is hot, put the chapatis and cook it both sides, till light brown spots appear on it.
7. Take it out and serve hot with any subzi.
 or
1. After flipping chapatis on the tawa for a minutes, place it on the wire rack and flip till the chapati puffs up.
2. Take it and serve hot.

Note:        
1) Make sure to use lukewarm water to get soft chapatis.
2) You can use oil for cooking. It is optional.
3) You can serve the phulkas topped with ghee or butter and it is purely optional.             
 

Baby Corn Masala

It goes well with Chapati, Roti or even Ghee rice and Jeera rice. Coming to the recipe

                                                   Baby Corn Masala  

 
Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 
Baby Corn: 200 gms
Tomato: 2 numbers
Cashew: 4 or 5 numbers
Jeera Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Chilli Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Garam masala: 1/2 tea spoon
Cinnamon: 1/2 inch stick
Jeera: 1/4 tea spoon
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Coriander Leaves: 1/2 tea spoon finely chopped 
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Oil as needed

Method:
1. Cut tomatoes in to halves. In a sauce pan boil 2 cups of water, add the tomatoes and cashews and put off.
2. Strain it and cool it off completely. Transfer it to a mixie jar and grind it to a fine smooth paste and keep it aside.
3. In a sauce pan boil 1/2 litre of water, add the baby corn, 1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder and cook it for 5 minutes, put off the flame.
4. Strain the baby corn and cut in into 1 & 1/2 inch lengthwise pieces. Keep it aside.
5. Place a pan on the stove, add oil when it is hot, add jeera and cinnamon and wait for  it to splutter.
6. Now add green chilli, the tomato cashew paste and cook till the raw smell goes off, it may take 3 minutes. Keep it stirring as the cashew may stick to the pan.
7. Add chilli powder, gram masala and jeera powder, salt and boiled baby corn, stir well for 2 minutes and add 1 & 1/2 cups of water.
8. Bring it to boil, add 1/2 tea spoon fresh cream and mix it well.
9. Summer it for 5 minutes and put off the stove. Transfer it to a serving bowl, garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream.

Note: 
In this Baby Corn Masala, the baby corns will be very juicy.
 
  

Bhel Puri

My Son Kavin's favorite chat is Bhelpuri, he likes to eat it, in any time of the day. Sometimes he wants it for lunch as a whole meal.

                                                          Bhel Puri

Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: 
Finely chopped cucumber: 1 number 
Grated Carrot: 1 number
Boiled & Cubed Potato: 1 number
Finely chopped onions: 1/2 number
Finely chopped Tomato: 1 number
Lemon Juice: 1/2 tea spoon
Puffed rice: 1 cup
Pani puri or  Few crushed papdi's: 4 numbers
Green chutney: 1/2 tablespoon
Imili chutney: 1/2 tablespoon 
Dry garlic chutney: 1/2 tablespoon
Sev or Ompodi: 1 cup
Finely chopped coriander: 1/2 tea spoon
Chat masala: 1 & 1/2 tea spoon
Sugar: 1/2 tea spoon (Optional)

Method: 
1. Wash and peel cucumber and finely chop it. 
2. Grate the carrot and finely chop all other vegetables.
3. Take a wide bowl, add all the vegetables, puffed rice, lemon juice, crushed papdi's, all the chutneys and chat masala and mix it well.  

4. Plate it on a serving dish and lavishly sprinkle sev all over and garnish with coriander and serve. 

Note:
1. I have given a detailed procedure of all the three chutneys in my earlier vada pav post.
2. The puri's used for pani puri can also be used.

Papdi Recipe:

Ingredients:
Maida: 1 cup
Salt as needed
Ajwain or Omam: 1/4 tea spoon
Ghee: 2 tea spoons
Water as needed

Method:
1. Take maida in a bowl, add salt, ajwain and ghee.
2. Add water little by little and knead it into a soft dough. Keep aside it for 10 minutes.
3. Then a take a lemon sided ball out of the dough and role it into chapattis of even thickness.
4. Cut it into diamond shapes using knife or circles using a small tiffen box lid and fry it in hot oil over a medium flame. 
5. Drain oil and store in air tight container.
6. It stays well for 15 days.
 

Veg Noodles

 Noodles, yet a handy recipe comes to me while packing, my son's lunch box

                                                              Veg Noodles
   

 Cuisine: Indo Chinese
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients: 
Veg Noodles: 200 gms
Finely chopped Vegetables (Carrot, Capsicum, Cabbage & Beans) : 1/2 tablespoon each
Finely chopped garlic: 1/2 tea spoon
Finely chopped ginger: 1/2 tea spoon
Dark Soy Sauce: 1 table spoon
Green chilli sauce: 1 table spoon
Pepper Powder: 1 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Oil as needed
Sugar a pinch (Optional)

Method: 
1. Boil 1/2 litre of water in a sauce pan, add 2 tea spoon of oil and little salt.
2. When the water is boiling add the noodles to it and stir well. Allow it to cook for 10 minutes till it becomes soft.
3. Strain the noodles and cool it down in running water, to avoid the sticking of noodles.
4. Place a wide bottomed pan on the stove over a high flame.
5. Add 2 tea spoon of oil, when oil is hot add ginger, garlic and the vegetables.
6. Toss the vegetables for 2 minutes and add salt. 
7. Add the cooked noodles and toss it well, add in soy sauce, green chilli sauce and pepper powder and toss it well for 3 minutes.
8. Mix it thoroughly with out breaking the noodles, you can add sugar at this stage, it gives a glossy texture, however it is optional.
9. Put off the stove and transfer it to serving bowl and serve hot.

 Note:
1. It tastes best only when hot.
2. Adding oil while boiling noodles make it non-sticky, otherwise the noodles becomes whole-mass and very sticky.  

Cottage Cheese Manchurian Sauce or Panner Manchurian Sauce

This recipe is similar to veg manchurian, instead of vegetables, panner is used. My son's most favorite indo-chinese gravy or sauce is this. Let me go to the recipe.

                      Cottage Cheese Manchurian Sauce or 
                           Panner Manchurian Sauce

Cuisine: Indo Chinese
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients:
Panner or Cottage Cheese: 200 gms
Corn flour: 3 tea spoons ( 2 tea spoons for panner cubes and 1 tea spoon for sauce)
Maida: 1 tea spoon
Salt as needed
Onions diced: 1/2 number
Capsicum diced: 1/2 number
Chopped spring onion: 1 tea spoon
Finely chopped ginger: 1/4 tea spoon
Finely chopped garlic: 1/4 tea spoon
Finely chopped green chilies: 1/4 tea spoon or 2 numbers
Soy sauce: 1 table spoon

Method:
1. Cut panner into cubes, make a thin paste of cornflour and maida with salt.

2. Dip the panner cubes into this paste and deep fry it in hot oil till it turns golden brown. Drain oil and keep it aside.

3. Now take another pan, place it on the stove, add 2 tea spoons of oil, when the oil is hot add the diced onions and capsicum,the ginger, garlic and green chilies and fry it for a minute.
4. Add soy sauce and toss it well, add in the fried panner.
5. Make a paste of cornflour and maida of neither thick nor watery consistency.
6. Add the cornflour batter into the pan, add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste.
7. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes, transfer it to serving bowl, garnish with spring onions and serve.
 
 

Veg Manchurian Sauce

                                Veg Manchurian Sauce

Its yet an easy recipe can be done in a jiffy.

Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Finely chopped cabbage: 2 table spoons or 1/4 kg

Finely chopped carrot: 1 table spoon or 1 number

Finely chopped capsicum: 1 table spoon or 1 number

Finely grated ginger: 1/2 tea spoon

Finely chopped garlic: 1/2 tea spoon

Finely chopped green chilies: 1 tea spoon, 2 numbers

Say Sauce: 1 tea spoon

Corn flour: 3 tea spoons (1 tea spoon for paste & 2 tea spoons for Manchurian balls)

Cubed onion: Half a number

Cubed capsicum: Half a number

Maida: 1/2 tea spoon

Water as needed

Chopped spring onions: 1/2 tea spoon

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

1.      Roughly cut carrots, capsicum and cabbage, pulse once in a mixie jar to a coarse paste.

2.      Transfer it into a bowl, add 1/4 tea spoon ginger, 1/4 tea spoon garlic, and 1/2 tea spoon green chilies, reserve the other 1/2 of these quantities for the sauce.

3.      In the bowl add 2 tea spoons of corn flour and 1/2 tea spoon of maida, salt and mix it thoroughly and make balls out of the mixture.

4.      Fry these balls in hot oil till golden color and keep it aside.

5.      Now take another pan, place it on the stove over a high flame, and pour 2 tea spoons of oil.

6.      When oil is hot add cubed onions, capsicum, the remaining ginger, garlic and green chilies and saute it well for 2 minutes.

7.      Add the fried manchurian balls to the pan and add soy sauce and stir well.

8.      Make a semi watery paste of cornflour and pour it in the manchurian pan, add 1 ½ cups of water to it and boil till it thickens, add little salt for the sauce mix well, put off the flame.

9.      Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped spring onions.

10.   Serve it hot with fried rice or noodles.