Palaa Palzha Payasam or Chakka Pradaman

                                Palaa Palzha Payasam or Chakka Pradaman

           Payasam is a sweet dish, in North India its thickened version is called Kheer.  In Kerala it is called as pradaman. They use fruits Iike Nenthran Banana and Jack-fruit to make pradaman. They use only the fruit pulp, milk and jaggery.
           But in Tamilnadu, we use little moong dhal, milk, jaggery, a slightly different version. This payasam is very simple an easy to make.

Cuisine: South Indian
Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients: 
Jaggery: 100 gms
Milk: 250 ml
Cardamon: 2 to 3
Cashews: 5 to 6
Raisins: A few
Jack-fruit: 5 to 6 pieces
Water as needed
Moong dhal: 30 gms
Ghee or Coconut Oil: 3 tea spoons

Method:
1. Pound the jaggery well, add water and pour into a pan and heat it till the jaggery melts.
2. Put off the flame and filter the liquid and keep it aside.
3. Chop the jack fruit pieces finely and put in a pan and little water, till the pieces immerse, boil it for five minutes.
4. Pressure cook the moong dhal in a 3 litre pressure cooker for 3 to 4 whistles. Let it cool.
5. Add the boiled jack fruit to the cooker, then add the jaggery syrup, mix well and allow it to boil, add crushed cardamon.
6. In the meantime, take a small pan add ghee or coconut oil, heat it and add cashews, raisins and fry till golden brown, add this to the payasam and stir well.
7. Boil the payasam for 10 minutes and put off the flame and allow it to cool. When it is cooled completely, add boiled and cooked milk at room temperature and serve.

         

Macaroni (Indian Style)

                                                               Macaroni (Indian Style)

       Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta, originating in Italy and made with durum wheat, traditionally shaped into narrow tubes, some curved macaroni is commonly referred as elbow macaroni.
      I used this variant to make this tomato pasta, in South Indian Cuisine only few ingredients are needed to make this. Tomatoes, ginger garlic, green chili, some ketchup. You can make this in a jiffy.

Ingredients:                                                                    Serves: 2 to 3 persons
Elbow macaroni: 1 cup                                      Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Salt as per taste                                                    Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Oil as needed
Tomato: 2 nos (small) made into puree
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tea spoon
Slit green chili: 1 no
Finely Chopped Onion: 1 no (Optional)
Tomato Ketchup: 1 tea spoon
Water as needed
Curry leaves: A few

Method:
1. Take a sauce pan, add water, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tea spoon of water and boil.
2. When the water is boiling add the macrons and simmer the flame. Let it cook, till it becomes soft.
3. Take it out, drain the water completely ans rinse it in cold water (Room Temperature) Keep it aside.
4. Make sure it is not sticky, if it appears so, smear oil and toss the macaroni and keep it.
5. Now take a pan and place it on the stove over high flame, add oil, when it is hot add curry leaves,add thinly sliced onions, green chilies and fry it for a minute, add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.
6. Add in tomato puree and stir well until it is cooked, add the cooked macaroni and stir well till it is mixed with tomato puree, add the ketchup and stir well. Put off the flame.
7. Serve hot, it is spicy, tangy.

Note:
1. Do not add salt at any stage, as the ketchup may have salt, and may become too salty, only a pinch during boiling of macaroni will do.

Onion Rava Dosa

                                                    Onion Rava Dosa

          Onion rava dosa the name makes me mouth watering, my favorite. One of the very few dishes which I eat countless. Thankfully my son and my husband also love this dosa. Its easy to make with very few ingredients and quite filling too.
         I often make this dosa as it is very handy, even amateurs can make this dosa. As it needs no skill to make it. It need not be circular, no need to pour the batter in a circular way into this crepe, you should pour it ring like, so that the thin batter flows and fills in.
        Coming to the recipe

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Soaking Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 3 to 8 minutes per dosa

Ingredients:                                                                                        Ratio:
Rava or Sooji: 1 table spoon or ladle                                     Rice Flour: Maida: Rava
Maida: 2 table spoons                                                                            1: 2: 1
Rice Flour: 1 table spoon
Cumin seeds or Jeera: 1/2 tea spoon
Whole pepper: 1/4 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Finely chopped onions: 1 no
Finely chopped chili: 1 no (Optional)
Water as needed to make thin batter
Oil as needed

Method:
1. Take a bowl, add the rice flour, maida, rava, salt, jeera, pepper and mix well.
2. Add 3 to 4 cups of water and make it into thin watery batter, add in chopped onions and green chili and leave it. Soak for one hour.
3. Place a tawa on the stove over a medium flame, when it is hot, you should pour the batter like ring, in a circular way so that the thin batter flows to the centre and fills in.
4. When it is cooked gently flip to the other side and cook, sprinkle or drizzle oil over it.
5. Take it out when it becomes crispy. Serve hot with onion tomato or coconut chutney

Note:
1. Table spoon I mean is that, we use for serving sambar or dosa batter, the big one.
2. 1/2 cup is equal to heaped table spoon

Puri with Potato masala

                                                Puri with Potato Masala

       Poori masala as it popularly known is a staple breakfast in South India. Generally poori is made out of maida or refined flour. But I prefer wheat flour poori, over maida one.
      Wheat pooris are soft compared to maida ones. Maida poori tends to become stiff and hard over time. Poori along with potato masala is great combination.
      While making pooris take few tips to achieve fluffy ones. They are, you should add 1/2 tea spoon suji rava for 1 cup of wheat flour to make it fluffy. To make fluffy stay for a longer period, 1/4 tea spoon of sugar should be added for 2 cups of wheat flour.
      So these are the things to be noted while making pooris. Here is the recipe for Puri and potato masala.

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes for 10 puris

Ingredients:
For Puri:
Wheat flour: 2 cups
Suji rava: 1 tea spoon
Sugar: 1/4 tea spoon
Salt as per taste
Oil: 1 tea spoon
Water as needed
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Take wheat flour, suji rava, sugar in a wide bowl, add water little by little and knead it into tight dough. Smear oil on the dough and keep it aside for 20 minutes.
2. Take the dough and make lemon sized balls out of it and roll it out into puris of even thickness.
3. Heat oil in a pan enough for frying, when it is hot fry the puris one at a time. Press it gently till the puri rises and becomes fluffy.
4. Take it out of oil, drain excess oil and serve it with potato masala or vegetable kurma.

Ingredients:                                                                                        

For Potato Masala:                                                                              Serves: 3 to 4 persons
Pressure cooked potato: 1/4 kg
Onion finely chopped or thinly sliced: 1 no
Slit green chili: 2 nos
Curry leaves: A few numbers
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Refined Oil: 3 tea spoons
For tempering: Fennel seeds or sanuf: 1/2 tea spoon

Method:
1. Pressure cook the potatoes and de-skin them and mash it well and keep aside.
2. Thinly slice or finely chop the onions, slit green chilies and keep it aside.
3. Take a wide pan, place it over stove top and add 3 tea spoons of oil and add saunf, allow it to splutter.
4. Now add green chilies and onions and saute it till onions turn translucent.
5. Add turmeric powder, salt and stir well, then add mashed potatoes and 1/2 cups of water and mix it well.
6. Allow it to boil for 10 to 15 minutes till the gravy thickness.
7. Put off the flame and transfer the contents into serving bowl.
8. Enjoy the potato masala with puris.

Shahi Paneer Tikka Masala

                                            Shahi Paneer Tikka Masala

        Shahi gravy or white gravy is mildly spiced and has a pleasant flavor. When I was thinking about sabzi for chapatti, why not try the shahi gravy as a base for paneer tikka, as paneer tikka is spiced and hot too.
        The paneer tikka may be  marinated for 1 hour which makes it juicy and flavorful. The gravy may be subtle and light. So I felt this dish would be light for dinner without much spices.
        First I made the marination for paneer and left it for an hour and then took the paneer pieces and tossed them on a dosa tawa and kept it and made shahi gravy using onions, cashews,badams, ginger garlic and green chili.  Coming to the recipe

Cuisine: North Indian
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time:20 minutes

Ingredients:
Paneer or Cottage Cheese: 150 gms
Chili Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Garam masala: 1/ tea spoon
Beaten Curd: 2 table spoons
Salt to taste
Crushed Kasuri Methi: 1/4 tea spoon
Ginger garlic paste: 1/2 tea spoon (Optional)

For Shahi Masala:
Onion: 2 nos (Big)
garlic: 10 pods
Ginger: A small piece
Cashew: 10 nos
Badam: 8 nos
Water as needed
Green Chili: 2 nos
Cardamom: 3 nos
Oil as needed for tempering shahi jeera

Method:
For Tikka:
1. Cut the paneer into cubes, take it in a wide bowl, add the beaten curd, garam masala, chili powder, crushed kasuri methi and salt.
2. Mix it well and keep it aside for an hour.
3. After one hour, heat a tawa and place the paneer cubes and toss it till light brown spots appear on it.
4. Take it out and keep it aside.

Method:
 For Shahi masala gravy:
1. Take 1/2 litre water in a sauce pan and heat it.
2. Roughly chop onions, green chillies, peel the skin of the ginger and roughly chop it.
3. Peel the skin of the badam and put all the above ingredients into the sauce pan and boil it for 5 minutes.
4. Drain the water and rinse thoroughly with water in room temperature  and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
5. Take these contents in a mixie jar and grind it into a fine paste.
6. Take a pan and place it on the stove top over medium flame. Add oil to it when it is hot, add shahi jeera, when it crackles, add the masala paste and cook it till oil separates from it.
7. Now add paneer tikka to this gravy and mix well. Let it boil for few more minutes and put off the flame.
8. Transfer it to the serving bowl ans serve it hot with chapati es or pulkas.

Lemon Rasam

                                                           Lemon Rasam

          I have tasted lemon rasam only in udipi lunch menu. Even though I liked the taste, never dared to try it at home. My husband and my son are fond of this rasam.
          Once, while talking to my friend Vidhya, I mentioned about this rasam, she immediately gave me the recipe and also asked me to try it the very next day. So I tried the rasam recipe, it came out really very well. After having tried the recipe 2 to 3 times, I am confident to post it in my blog.  Coming to the recipe

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Soaking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Tamarind gooseberry size ball: 1 no
Tomato: 1/2
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Water as needed
Rasam powder: 1 heaped tea spoon
Cooked Toor dhal : 1 table spoon
Concentrated Lemon Juice: 3 tea spoons or half lemon
Chopped coriander leaves and Curry leaves: 1/2 tea spoon
Crushed garlic: 2 nos (Optional)
Salt to taste
Slit green Chilli: 1 no

Seasoning or Tempering
Refined oil: 2 tea spoons
Asafoetida: 1/2 tea spoon
Mustard Seeds: 1/4 tea spoon

Method:
1. Take the tamarind and soak in water for 20 minutes.
2. After 20 minutes, extract the pulp from the tamarind and keep it aside.
3. Finely chop the tomatoes, slit the green chilli, crush the garlic, chop the coriander and curry leaves and keep it aside.
4. Place a pan on the stove over high flame, add oil, when it becomes hot add mustard seeds, asafoetida and allow the mustard seeds to crackle, let it splutter for few seconds, now add chopped tomatoes and stir it well.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and allow the tomatoes to cook to a mashy consistency. Now add the tamarind pulp,and turmeric powder and salt as per taste. Cook till the raw flavor of tamarind goes off.
6. Now add the cooked mashed toor dhall to the above and add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir well.
7. Add in the green chili, rasam powder and chopped coriander curry leaves and mix well.
8. When it is about to boil, add the lemon juice and put off the  flame.
9. Now the lemon rasam is ready, transfer the rasam to the serving bowl and serve hot with plain rice and appalam.

Note:

1. You should never boil the rasam after adding lemon juice.
2. If you boil it tends to become bitter, so be careful while adding lemon juice.
3. This quantity is enough to serve 3 to 4 persons

Cauliflower Pakoda

                                                           Cauliflower Pakoda

      Cauliflower or Gobi as it is widely known is a favorite for many. Cauliflower is a seasonal vegetable, consuming this veggie has considerably increased in the resent years.
      It is widely used in north Indian cuisine as Gobi Paratha, Gobi Masala  etc. Whenever I tried cauliflower pakoda, it was crispy for an hour, after that it became soggy. So this time, I tried using besan, rice flour, corn flour in 1:2:2 proportion.
      It  came out really well and stayed crispy for many hours. Now coming to the recipe

Ingredients:                                                                                           Ratio
Besan flour : 1 table spoon                                                 Besan flour : Rice flour : Corn flour
Rice flour : 2 table spoons                                                                     1 : 2 : 2
Corn flour : 2 table spoons
Salt as needed
Cauliflower : Medium sized one
Chilli powder : 1 tea spoon
Garam Masala : 1/2 tea spoon
Food Color : A pinch (Optional)
Ginger garlic Paste : 1/2 tea spoon
Water as needed
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Cut cauliflower into flowerlets, wash it well
2. Rinse it well in hot water with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.
3. Add the three flours, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, mix it well. Set it aside for 5 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a wide pan over medium flame. When the oil is hot, drop in the flowerlets 7 to 8 at a time.
5. Fry it till it turns golden color  and crisp.
6. Take it out. Cool it and serve.

Note:
1. Make sure to rinse the flowerlets only for a few seconds, otherwise it becomes too soft and fully cooked and you will end up with soggy pakoda.