Green Peas Kurma

Here posted one of my favorite gravies - green peas kuruma.I wanted to post this a long back,but only now i did fine time.This is a very very simple and tasty gravy without garlic and other masalas.U can replace peas with mixed veggies too..Tastes great with roti,naan and even dosas.


Ingredients:


1.Green peas......150 gms

2.Finely chopped onions....1 cup

3.Tomato.......1(finely chopped)

4.Red chilly powder........1 full spoon

5.Green chilli............ 2 diced

6.Salt to taste

7.Oil...........3 -5 spoons

8.Turmeric powder.........1/2 spoon

9.Cumin...........1/2 tsp

To grind:

1.Grated coconut...........3/4 cup

2.Kasa kasa ........1/2 tsp

3.Cashew nuts........5  to 8 nos

Procedure:


1.Soak peas over night.Allow this to sprout,so that it becomes rich in protein.Steam cook peas with little water.

2.Grind coconut,soaked cashew nuts and kas-kas to a fine paste with little water.

3.Place a kadai on flame,add oil,cumin,onion,turmeric powder and green chilli.Once the onion turns transparent,add tomato and fry till it cooks.

4.Now add red chilli powder,salt and peas.Mix it well.

5.At last add the grounded paste and 100 - 200 ml of water.Close this with a lid.Let this cook for 10  - 15 minutes.Stir it once in a while.

6.Prepare this in gravy style.This is a simple dish without garlic and other spices.

Note:Sprouted peas help us to avoid gastric problem,rich in protein as well,so whenever u use peas/any grain,try this tip.
        Use fresh peas if u like,this add more taste to the recipe.

Cluster Beans Sweet Fry

I guess cluster beans is mainly used for making kootu and usili.This sweet poriyal has got a unique and great taste and adding this to my side dish counter.Try this out once!

Ingredients :

1.Chopped Cluster Beans..............2 cups

2.Red chillies....2

3.Scrapped coconut........1/4 cup

4.Salt to taste

5.Powdered Jaggery......2 tbsp

6.Mustard seeds........1/2 tsp

7.Channa Dhal.........2 tbsp

8.Curry leaves.........few

9.Oil..........1 tbsp


Procedure:

1.Pressure cook the chopped cluster beans.

2.Heat kadai,add oil and mustard and wait till it splutters.

3.Then add channa dhal,fry till golden.

4.Next comes in the curry leaves and boiled cluster beans.Fry it for 2 to 3  minutes.

5.Then add needed salt,scrapped coconut and jaggery.

6.Stir fry it for 5 more minutes.And now the cluster beans fry is now ready to serve.

Jaggery helps to suppress the bitter taste of cluster beans.Always buy fresh young cluster beans,that adds good taste and also dont disturb while eating.This simple fry can be made in  few minutes,except the pressure cooking part!!Njoy cooking!!

Wheat Flour Dosa

This is a simple yet tasty tiffin,perfect for a hurry burry morning.Has got good source of  fiber,spice and nutrients.Hope u all like this!!

Ingredients:(Makes 6 to 8 medium sized dosas)

1.Wheat flour..........1 cup

2.Rice flour..............1/2 cup

3.Maida(all purpose flour).........2 spoons(optional)

4.Finely chopped Green chillies......2 tsp

5.Jeera(cumin)......1/2 tbsp

6.Broken Black pepper........1/2 tsp

7.Curry leaves....few

8.Salt to taste

9.Water as u need.

Preparation:

1.Mix all the ingredients in a deep-wide bowl together with needed water.

2.The batter should be little more watery than the usual dosa batter.

3.Allow this to set for 10 to 15 minutes.

4.Pour the batter round the tawa(batter should be thin enough to form holes in between them).Pour a spoon of oil and wait until it turns golden crisp brown.

Note:U should not spread batter like u do for usual dosa.Here u should simply pour the batter around the tawa.Can use(shake) the tawa's handle to spread it evenly.

5.Turn it over,oil is not necessary now.This  gives roti look on one side and dosa on the other side.

6.Serve this yummy dosa with simple coconut chutney/onion-tomato chutney/sambar.


Preparation time -For batter-10 minutes.


Preparation time - for dosa-15 minutes.


Prepare this batter and refrigerate it the previous nite,the next day it will be all ready like a instant mix :-).A nice choice for diabetic patients.I always do this in non-stick tawa,it gives me the best result compared to the one made of iron.Njoy eating!!!

Masala Puffed Rice

Masala puffed rice was my favorite n stomach filling snack during my college(hostel) days :-).I often do this crunchy snack for my li'l one as it is very easy and simple,and also can be made in minutes.

Ingredients:

1.Puffed Rice...........3 cups

2.Split channa(Pottu kadlai).......1/2 cup

3.Roasted groundnut..........1/2 cup

4.Cashew nuts.........10-15 nos

5.Red chilli(dry)..........3

6.Salt to taste.

7.Hing/Asafoetida....a pinch

8.Curry leaves......... few

9.Turmeric powder.....1/4 spoon

10.Oil...........2 spoon

11.Garlic cloves......10 to 15 nos

12.Mustard Seeds...........1/2 spoon

Procedure:

1.Dry fry the puffed rice,split channa and cashew one by one.Keep them aside.

2.Heat a kadai,add oil,mustard and allow this to splutter.Then add dry red chilli,turmeric powder,hing,curry leaves,garlic and salt one after the other.

Note: Slit garlic cloves to get it fried quickly.

3.Later add fried split channa,groundnuts,cashews and puffed rice.
.
4.Fry this for 5 to 10 minutes.

5.Store it in a air tight container once cooled down.

A perfect snack for a movie time,for an evening with tea,for a lunch snack etc.Consume within 2 to 3 weeks.

Tip:

If u like u can add raisins and any other nuts.Avoid oil fried nuts and sev,that will change the original taste to usual savoury.

Stuffed Kulcha

I felt a lil bored of usual chapathi and roti and wanted to try a new version of  it.Got this one from my aunty,and gave it a try last week.It came out well,but i felt something was missing with the taste.So here i've added a few more ingredients to match my taste.Hope u guys love it and do post ur comments n queries.Well,this time i've tried step wise snaps,guess it wud help U :-)

Ingredients For Making Kulcha dough :

1.Plain flour / Maida..........2 cups

2.Salt.........1/2 tbsp

3.Sugar.........1/2 tbsp

4.Baking powder...........1/2 tbsp

5.Dry Yeast.............1 tsp

6.Yogurt..........1 tbsp

7.Butter.........1 tbsp

8.Milk..............1/4 cup(optional)

9.Water needed for making smooth dough

10.Oil..........3 spoon full



A.Ingredients for Potato stuffing:

1.Boiled n mashed potato........1 cup

2.Red chilli powder......1/4 tbsp

3.Salt to  taste

4.Chopped Coriander leaves a few

5.Oil...1 tbsp

Procedure:

Heat a spoon of oil in a kadai.Add red chilli powder,mashed potato,salt and coriander one after the other.Saute it for 5 to 10 minutes.Ur stuffing is ready.

B.Paneer-Onion stuffing:

1.Shredded paneer.........1/2 cup

2.Very finely chopped onion......1/4 cup

3.Very finely chopped Green chillies......1/2 tbsp

4.Salt to taste

5.Chopped Coriander leaves a few

6.Oil.......1 tbsp

Procedure:

1.Heat oil in a pan,add chopped onion and green chillies.Saute it well until onion turns pink.Then add shredded paneer,salt and corainder.Keep stirring for 5 to 10 minutes,then ur stuffing is ready.

Procedure to make Kulcha:

1.Take a wide-deep bowl,add all dry ingredients-maida,baking powder,salt n sugar.Give a good mix,until all blend well.

2.In the mean time soak yeast in warm water for 8-10 mins.Usually a froth is formed on top of the water.

3.To the flour mixture add butter and oil,mix well with ur palm till the oil and butter spread evenly over the flour.

4.Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mix,milk,yougurt and needed water.Knead well to get a smooth dough.

5.Close this with a wet muslin cloth and allow this to set for 4 to 5 hours(Dough raises and become very soft like a sponge).

Note:Muslin cloth is the best choice here,bcoz it has got more airy holes helps the dough to breath easily."Use wet muslin cloth" always.

6.After 5 hours,knead it again.Take a ball of dough,shape it like a cup and stuff it.Close the stuffing without any gap.

7.Roll it like a roti,dust it with dry flour if needed.

8.Toast both the sides in hot pan.Need no oil.


Stuffed kulcha is a traditional punjabi dish goes well with all types of gravies.That day i made bendhi with coconut milk,it was a very good combination to have with.This is a tasty-filling dish,suits well for a special dinner.

Beans Paruppu Usili

I'm happy to share one of my most favourite recipe here,my hubby and my 1 1/2 yr old son just love it too.The traditional way of cooking Usili takes a lot of time to complete,but here,followed my mom's way of easy cooking :-).As she is a working woman,she wont get much time to spend in kitchen,i guess only this have forced her to find more "short cut ways" :-)!!Though this is an easy way,the authentic taste is never changed.And here comes the recipe..

Ingredients:

1.Finely cut  beans ........ 2 cups

2.Coriander leaves.....few

3.Salt to taste

4.Mustard seeds........1/2 spoon

5.Oil...........2 tbsps

To Grind:

1.Soaked channa dhal(kadalai paruppu).........3/4 cup

2.Dry Red Chillies................4 or 5



Procedure:

1.Grind soaked channa dhal and dry chillies to a coarse paste with little water.

2.Pressure cook beans and dhal paste seperately (leave 4 whistle  if u do it in a pressure cooker).

3.Once cooled down,grind the cooked dhal paste in a mixer(it will turn to a powder state in a very few seconds).

4.Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds and wait till it splutter.

5.Add curry leaves and grounded powder( boiled paste).

6.Add needed  salt and roast it for 5 mins,finally add the cooked beans and stir for 2 or 3 more mins.

7.Now the usili is done and ready to have with sambar-rasam sadham.



In Usual method,people dont pressure cook the dhal paste,instead they directly add the paste to the kadai.This way takes more time to cook and consumes more oil as well.Have to be more careful and keep on stirring too,to avoid browning.


I like to eat this separately like sundal(snack).This wont taste like any other usual poriyal,so prepare this for a change and njoy ur lunch :-)

Mullu Murukku

Murukku always remind me of  Diwali.Those sweet days will stay in my heart forever!!!I'm very much interested in cooking right from my school days,Amma and me used to prepare murukku for every diwali,we usually have a nice chat that time.Since i've seen her way of doing(tips n tricks) for years,i got good results in my very first attempt.

Yesterday,i did this mullu murukku with my mother-in-law who is an expert in doing all savories and sweets,i really admire her cooking skills!!She used to give more tips on cooking,especially the way she explains the recipe is always interesting.Here below i've posted the mullu murukku recipe and some snaps.

Ingredients :

1.Raw rice(Pachcharisi)......3 Cups

2.Moong dhal(Paasi paruppu)........1 cup

3.Channa Dhal(Kadalai paruppu)......1/2 cup

4.Split channa Dhal(pottu kadalai).......1/2 cup

5.Butter.........6 tsp

6.Sesame seeds(white preferred).......1 spoon

7.Hing........1 tsp

8.Salt to taste

9.Oil needed to deep fry.

Procedure:

1.Dry fry rice and dhals seperately.

2.Once cooled down,mix rice and dhal together.Grind it to fine powder.

3.Take the grounded flour in a big bowl,now bring in the salt,sesame seed,butter and hing(water solved).

Note: Follow the same order of mixing ingredients to get a right mixture.

4.Mix well,add needed water and make it to a chapathi dough consistency.Don add too much water,else it will take more time to boil.

5.Now take a hand full of dough,make a ball  shape and put it in the murukku press.

7.In the mean time heat oil in a kadai.

6.Press it directly on hot oil.Or u can press it on the reverse side of jalladai karandi(previously oil greased) and then fry it in oil.

7.Always do it in low/medium flame.Flip(turn) it often,so that murukku get boiled and crispy on both sides.

8.Once the bubble settles down,filter out the extra oil and take out the muruku.

9.Now the mullu murukku is done.Store this in an air tight container.Can be stored for a month.

Tips:

1.Always wet ur hands before placing the dough in press.


2.Also wipe inner and outer sides of the press with wet hands and take out the extra dough,after each press.This helps for the smooth flow and prevents the left over flour from drying.


3.Don wait until murukku turns brown.Once the bubble(in the oil)settles down,u can take that out .That is the right time and consistency.


4.If u r making in a large quantity,then split the flour into small portions and add butter,salt etc according to the measure.If u keep the wet dough mixture for a long time,it will turn sour and muruku would look reddish,tastes slightly bitter and also consumes more oil.

Butter.....gives crispness.
Salt and sesame seeds.....for the taste
Hing.......for the aroma,taste and digestion

Some will add jeera(cumin) seeds instead of sesame seeds.This is usually made during diwalis,weddings and some carnivals.Though it is time consuming,the outcome will be great and appreciating.Kids love a lot and healthier when compared to LAYS or  KURKURE :-).My son is very fond of this and he will never stop with one.Gud day!!