No-Bake Biscuit Brownie

This is a fabulous recipe with no cooking involved and with only very simple ingredients. This recipe adapted from edible garden makes around 15 small brownies.

Ingredients

• 22 Marie biscuits
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup roasted nut of choice (I used chopped Almonds)
• 1 tsp sugar (Adjust to taste)
• 7oz/ 200gm condensed milk

Method

1. Break the biscuits and crush them by hand or with a pestle. Alternately you may coarsely grind it in a blender.
2. Add the cocoa powder and sugar to it and mix well.
3. Add the nuts and the condensed milk and mix well to form into a dough.
4. Grease a baking tray with butter or line it with parchment paper and transfer the mixture to it.
5. It will be sticky, so press firmly and level it with clean wet fingers and refrigerate it for around 4 - 5 hours or overnight.
6. Slice the brownie into cubes with a knife and serve!

Methi Malai Mutter

Methi Malai Mutter is my all time favourite. I wanted to try it at home and it came out great. No one could believe it was without Onion and Garlic. The taste was just awesome and from now on I wouldn't order this from a restaurant again! Methi Malai Mutter goes very well as side dish to Roti/ Naan/ Parata/ Pulav. This recipe serves 2-3.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Green peas
• 1 tbsp Kasoori methi
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk / Half&Half
• 1 Tomato finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 
• A pinch of Sugar
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)

To Grind

• 1 tsp Poppy seeds (Khus khus)
• 15 Cashews
• 1" piece Ginger
• 2 Green chillies
• 2 Cardamom
• 2 Cloves
• 2" Cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp Coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
• 1/4 cup Whole milk

Method

1. Soak the poppy seeds and cashews in 1/4 cup warm milk for 10 min.
2. Grind it with the other ingredients to grind and keep aside. Add more milk for grinding if required.
3. Heat oil in a big saucepan and add the butter to it. When the butter sizzles, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds turn a little brown add the ground masala and fry it for a few minutes.
4. Then add the green peas and whole milk/Half&Half and simmer till it becomes thick or reaches your desired consistency. (Mine took almost 30 min)
5. Add the sugar, salt, tomatoes and kasuri methi and mix well. Simmer for a few more minutes and garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot!

Suggestions/ Notes

1. If you use Half&Half instead of Whole Milk, it takes relatively lesser time for the gravy to become thick and creamy.

Dill Poori

This is a very flavourful dish. It can be eaten as it is or with pickle or chutney. You may sneak in more veggies like grated carrots or beetroot to make it more colourful and healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Whole Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Dill Leaves finely chopped (Adjust to taste)
• 1 green chilli finely chopped.
• 1/4 tsp salt (Adjust to taste)
• Water (As needed)
• Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil with enough water to form a pliable dough.
2. Make small balls from the dough and place them in a deep bowl. Add 1 tsp oil and close the bowl with a lid and shake it well so that the oil gets coated on all the poori dough balls. (This is a very useful tip given by my aunt Chandra. This way it will be easy to roll the Pooris without it sticking and also the oil to be fried will not get messy, which it would if you add flour while rolling the Pooris.)
3. Heat Oil in a wok and start rollng the pooris into 3-4" circles.
4. Check the oil if it is hot by dropping a small bit of the poori dough into it. If it is ready, it should sizzle up immediately.
5. Drop the rolled out pooris one by one. Once they puff up or brown on the down side, flip it and take it out with a slotted spoon and place them on Paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed. Serve Hot!

Vanilla Sponge Cake

I made this cake for my friend's birthday and everyone loved it. The recipe for this cake is from Sharmis Passions. I followed the recipe to the word, except increased the sugar and it came out awesome. So I made this again and again and my husband could just not have enough of it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup thick plain Yogurt
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 cup Cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp Milk (just for brushing the top)

Method

1) Preheat oven to 350F.

2) Cream sugar and curd until sugar completely dissolves. Add baking powder and baking soda to the creamed mixture and mix well. 

3) Now add vanilla essence,cooking oil and mix well. Add the All purpose Flour and blend it with the wet ingredients. Beat well with a whisk until creamy and thick.

4) Grease the cake tin or loaf pan and pour the batter to it and bake in the preheated oven at 350F and bake it for 25-30 min or till a fork inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Just brush the top of the cake with 1 tbsp milk, 10 min before the ending time to get a nice polishing glaze.

5) Allow the cake to cool down for 10 min before taking it out of the pan and allow it to cool completely for around 30 min before frosting the cake.
6) In the meantime, I made the Vanilla frosting doubling the quantity given in the recipe to frost the entire cake.
7) Using a basting brush or the back of a spatula, apply the vanilla frosting to cover the entire cake. Make it a smooth finish.
8) Refrigerate the cake for 10 min so that the initial layer of the icing is a little solidified. Out of my experience I found that it is easier to decorate the cake this way.
9) Take it out from the refrigerator and decorate the cake in the way you would like it. I had some chocolate frosting left with me, so I used that to draw the borders and write on the cake. Then I added the sprinkles to make it colourful.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. Don't doubt on using Yogurt as the taste of yogurt will not at all be noticed in the cake. (Actually my family still doesn't know this secret ingredient but they all love the cake.) 

Vishu

Vishu Ashamsakal (Happy Vishu!) & my 50th Post

Vishu is an important festival for Malayalis. The most important event in Vishu is the Vishukkani, which literally means " the first thing seen on the day of Vishu after waking up". The Vishukkani consists of a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles like raw rice, golden cucumber, betel leaves, arecanut, metal mirror, yellow flowers (konna poo), a holy text and coins in the puja room of the house. This is arranged the night before. On Vishu, the custom is to wake up at dawn and go to the puja room with eyes closed so that the Vishukkani is the first sight of the new season.
On this day it is also a custom for the elders to give money to the younger ones to wish them prosperity. It is called Vishu Kaineetam!
Then the grand finale is the feast for the day which will have so many dishes that you've got to hit the bed right after the meal. Also be warned not to have any or only a light breakfast if you want to enjoy your Vishu Sadhya.

This is our Vishukkani...

Now for the recipes for Vishu Sadhya. Click on the links to go to the recipe....

Pumpkin Erriserry	Varuthu Araicha Sambar
Rasam	Kootu Curry
Avial	Cabbage Thoran
Unniappam	Pal Payasam
Ada Pradaman	Puli Inji
Cucumber Pachadi	Sambharam

Cabbage Stir fry

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cabbage shredded
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
• 1 spring curry leaves
• 1 green chilli (slit lengthwise)
• 1/4 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)

Method

1. Cook the Cabbage with little water in a microwave for around 4-5 min.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard begins to crackle add the green chillies and curry leaves. Add the Cabbage and salt and mix everything well.
3. Simmer and cook for a few minutes and switch off and add grated coconut.

Suggestions/ Notes

• I found that this method has a lot of advantages - The nutrition of the vegetable is retained, the cabbage doesn't get burnt and it is less time consuming.
• You may also add green peas and carrots to make it colourful and appealing to children.

Unniappam

Unniappam or Nei Appam is a sweet made on most of the festivals and important functions at home. In Tamil or Malayali feasts this is a must have dish.

Ingredients  

• 2 cups Raw rice flour or soak idli rice for 4-5 hrs and grind it in a mixer to form a batter
• 2 small ripe bananas
• 1 cup Jaggery
• A pinch of Cardamon powder
• Oil or ghee- For deep frying  

Method

1. Melt the jaggery in little water(around 1/2 - 3/4 cup) and strain to remove any impurities.
2. Mix the rice flour, mashed banana, cardamom powder, fried coconut bits, melted jaggery and salt together to form a thick batter. (Its best to use a blender for mixing.)
3. If the batter is too thick add little water or milk. Consistency should be similar to that of an idli batter.
4. Heat the unniyappam pan (Paniyaram pan) and fill it with oil.
5. When the oil gets hot, fill  3/4th of each depression with the batter and fry them at medium heat, uncovered. When one side is cooked, flip over using a fork and fry until golden brown on both sides.
6. Remove and drain onto a tissue paper. Serve warm.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. If you dont have a Unniappam pan, you may heat the oil in a wok and drop the batter with a spoon. The taste is the same but the colour and shape is good if you use the pan.

 

Ada Pradaman

This is a Kerala delicacy served in most of the Sadhyas. This is a payasam or pudding made of rice Ada and jaggery.

Ingredients

• 1 packet Rice ada / rice flakes (200gm)
• 500gm Jaggery (Adjust to taste)
• 2 Cans Coconut milk (Alternately extract the coconut milk from 3 coconuts)
• 1/4 cup Cashews, raisins, fried coconut slices
• A pinch of Cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Ghee

Method

1. Wash the ada and cook it in boiling water for around 15 - 20 min or until it becomes soft but firm. Strain and rinse with cold water to prevent further cooking.
2. Melt the jaggery in 2 cups of water and strain it.
3. Heat the ghee in a deep pan. Fry the raisins, cashews and coconut slices and keep aside.
4. Now add the ada and saute in ghee for 3-4 min adding more ghee if required at medium heat.
5. Add the melted jaggery and simmer stirring occasionally.
6. Add 1 can of coconut milk and allow it to simmer till it thickens.
7. Now add the other can of coconut milk and add the cardamom powder. Mix well, cook for a few min at low heat and switch off.
8. Garnish with the fried cashews, coconut slices and raisins and Serve hot or cold.

Buttermilk

Spicy buttermilk is a cool drink for the summer season. It is a popular drink in India and known as Mor in Tamil Nadu, Sambaram in Kerala, Majjige in Karnataka and Chaas in the North. There are many variations to this drink and the following recipe is one which I like.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Yogurt/ Curd
• 1 cup Water (Add more or less to your liking)
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• 1 green chilly
• 1" ginger piece
• 2 strands Coriander leaves

Method

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender and refrigerate for an hour before serving.

Kootu Curry

Koottu curry is a combination of vegetables and chick peas, and is usually a semi-dry preparation. This is also served as part of any Kerala Sadhya.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw banana cut into 1" cubes
• 1 cup Chena / yam cut into 1" cubes
• 1 spring Curry leaves
• 1 1/2 cup Cooked Channa - 3/4 cup (Soak dried chana overnight and pressure cook adding enough water and salt for around 5 whistles)
• 1/2 cup cooked Vanpayar / red chori (Pressure cook dried vanpayar in enough water and salt for 4 -5 whistles)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Chilly powder
• 1 cup Grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 4 Dry red chillies
• Curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Coconut oil 

Method

1. Cook the raw banana and yam cubes with a little salt in microwave for 4-5 min or till they are just cooked but firm. Alternately you may also cook them in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
2. Heat oil in a big pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the red chillies and curry leaves.
3. Add the cooked channa, cooked vanpayar, cooked vegetables, turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.
4. Mix everything well and cook till the water is evaporated or till it reaches your desired consistency.
5. Roast the coconut in a small pan until it turns brown and add it to the Kootu curry and mix well.
6. Simmer and cook for a few minutes so that the taste blends. Serve hot with rice.

Avial

Avial is very popular in the whole of South India. It is a nutritious blend of all vegetables cooked in coconut gravy. It can be eaten with Rice / Chappati.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Vegetables ( I used plantain, elephant yam(chena), carrot, beans and chembu/colocasia. )
• 3 Green Chillies
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 cup Grated coconut
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 - 3/4  tsp
• 1 spring Curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Coconut oil

Method

1. Cook the Vegetables in the microwave for around 8 min or till the veggies are just cooked but firm. Alternately you may cook the Veggies in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
2. Grind the coconut, turmeric, green chillies and cumin seeds in a mixer and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a big pan and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard starts crackling add the curry leaves, then the cooked vegetables, the ground coconut paste and salt. Mix everything well and simmer for a few min till the veggies soak in the flavour.
4. Serve hot with Rice.

Cucumber Pachadi

This Pachadi is similar to a raita but is cooked in a coconut-yogurt gravy. On Vishu, we keep the Vellarikai (the bigger variety also known as Dosakkai) in the Vishu Kani and we also use it to make pachadi for the Sadhya.

Ingredients

• 1 Cucumber
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1 red chilly
• 3 green chilies
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 cup curd or yogurt.

Method

1. Peel the skin of the cucumber and cut it finely into small pieces.
2. Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies in a mixer.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start crackling, add the red chilly and the curry leaves.
4. Then add the ground paste, cucumber and salt. mix well and simmer for a few min.
5. Switch off and when the mixture cools down a little, add the beaten curd/ yogurt and mix well and serve.

Tamil New Year

Iniya Tamil Puthaandu Nal Vazhthukal (Happy Tamil New Year!)


Today is the start of a new year as per the tamil panchangam. We celebrate this day with colourful Rangolis, New dresses and Tasty dishes.

The previous day, we keep a mirror in the puja room and decorate it along with the God's photos with jewels and flowers. We then keep the new dresses, fruits and flowers as offering for God. The next day, that is the new year day we wake up and first look at the God and the mirror that symbolises prosperity. This is similar to the Vishu kani followed by Malayalis.


Let us now check out the recipes for the dishes made on the New year... Click on the link to go to the recipe.

Mango Pachadi	Varuthu Araicha Sambar
Rasam	Vazhaikaai podimas
Pal Payasam	Ullundu Vadai

Pal Payasam

This is the most loved payasam and very easy to make but it just takes a long time. It is also one of the must have dish in a Kerala Sadhya.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Raw Rice
• 2- 3 litres Milk
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar (Adjust to taste)
• A pinch of Cardamom
• A pinch of Saffron strands
• 1 tsp Ghee (Optional)
• 4 tbsp Raisins and Broken Nuts (Cashews, Almonds) - (Optional)

Method

1. Wash the rice and add it to a pressure cooker along with around 1 1/2 ltr milk, cardamom powder and saffron and allow it to cook for 6 whistles.
2. When the steam subsides, open the cooker and add the remaining milk and simmer it stirring occasionally. Let it cook till the milk has reduced and the desired consistency achieved.
3. Add the sugar and simmer for 10 more min.
4. You may serve it as it is, or optionally heat a small pan with the ghee and roast the nuts and raisins in it and add it to the payasam and serve.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. Generally the nuts and raisins are not added to the pal payasam but I like to add it and give a crunchy taste to it.
2. This Payasam can be served hot as well as cold. It is nice in any way!

Ullundu Vada

This is a must have item in all feasts. It is made with a hole in the centre but I am not very good at that so I just drop the batter with a spoon. But whatever the shape, it tastes great and we all love it!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Urad dal
• 2 tsp Raw Rice
• 1 green chilly
• 1/2" piece ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt (Adjust to taste)
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• Oil to Fry

Method

1. Soak the Urad dal and Rice together for 1 hr.
2. Grind the soaked Urad dal and rice along with salt, green chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves to a smooth batter adding very less water. The batter should be thick.
3. Heat oil in a Wok and when the oil is heated (test the oil by adding a drop of the batter and the drop should sizzle up immediately) drop the batter with the help of a spoon into the oil.
4. Let it turn a golden brown and then flip the vadas and cook till they turn golden brown on all sides.
5. Take the Vadas with a slotted spoon and keep them on a paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed by the paper.

Coconut Sambar

This is another variety of making sambar and is popularly known as Varuthu Araicha Sambar (meaning roast and ground sambar). It is also popular among Malayalis and is a must for any Sadhya.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Parippu/Toor Dal
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 cups Mixed vegetables (I have used drumsticks, carrot, potato, brinjal, okra, ash guard, tomatoes)
• 2 tsp Tamarind
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 2 stalks coriander leaves (chopped)
• 2 tsp Coconut oil
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 spring Curry leaves

For Masala (to roast and ground)

• 2 tsp Channa dal
• 4 tsp Coriander
• 1/2 tsp Methi
• 8 Red chillies
• 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
• 1/2 cup Grated coconut

Method

1. Cook the dal along with turmeric with enough water in a Pressure Cooker for 3 whistles and keep aside.
2. Dry roast the ingredients given for the masala till golden brown and grind to a smooth paste.
3. Cook the vegetables(excluding okra, ash guard or any other veggies that get cooked easily) in a microwave or Pressure cooker for 1 whistle or till they are just cooked but not over cooked.
4. Heat a deep pan and add oil. Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the curry leaves. Add the other veggies (okra, ash guard) and stir for a few minutes.
5. Now add the ground masala, dal, cooked vegetables, salt, tamarind paste and enough water and bring it to a boil. Then simmer for a few minutes till all the tastes get blended and switch off.
6. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Mango Pachadi

This is the most important dish for the Tamil New Year. This pachadi has all the tastes - sweetness from jaggery, sourness from mangoes, saltiness, bitterness from neem flowers and hotness from chillies which indicates that life is also a mixture of all emotions, has ups and downs but on the whole it is wonderful and sweet just like this pachadi.

Ingredients

• 1 Raw Mango
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• A pinch of Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 Red Chilly
• 1/2 tsp Neem Flowers

Method

1. Peel the skin of the mango and discard them. Then slice the mango thinly or you may even peel it.
2. Add the water in a saucepan and cook the mango slices.
3. When the mango is cooked, add the jaggery and stir well till it dissolves and the mixture thickens.
4. Turn off the heat and add the salt
5. Heat oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. When it crackles add the red chilly and the Neem flowers and stir them for a minute.
6. Add this to the pachadi and the Mango Pachadi is ready to serve.

Sending this to Mango Mania event 2012

Vazhaikai Podimas

This is a very different recipe with Raw Banana and it can be used as a side dish for Sambar/ Rasam rice. This is generally done done festival days.

Ingredients

• 1 Big Raw Banana (Vazhaikai)
• 1 Green chilly finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to Taste)
• 1 tsp Chopped Ginger
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• 2 tsp Grated Coconut
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp Urad dal
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Cook the Raw Banana with its skin in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
2. Peel the skin and grate the raw banana. (You should be able to peel it off with your hands only)
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard. When it splutters add the urad dal and fry it till it becomes a golden brown.
4. Add the green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, grated raw banana, salt and coconut and mix everything well without mashing. (Use a fork to mix so that it doesn't get mushy)
5. Cook for 2 min and switch off and add the lemon juice.
6. Mix well and serve.

Homemade Curd / Yogurt

Homemade Yogurt / Curd is so simple to make and has a delicious flavor too, that is very different from the store bought ones. Also it is economical compared to buying.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Milk
• 2 Tbsp Yogurt

Method

1. Bring Milk to a boil on the stove top or microwave.
2. Allow Milk to cool to slightly hotter than lukewarm (approx 115 degrees F on a candy thermometer).
3. Add the Yogurt to the Milk and mix well.
4. Transfer Milk to a container with a tight fitting lid and place it in a warm place undisturbed for 6-7 hrs or overnight. 
5. Once the yogurt is set, store it in the refrigerator.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. The yogurt used as a starter can be from your previous batch or from store bought plain Greek yogurt. 
2. I preheat the oven to 200F and switch off and then place the container inside so that it is warm enough for the thick curds to get formed. 
3. If you don't have an oven, cover the container with a small blanket or folded sheet and keep it in a warm place. Alternately you could make the curd in a Hot Pack Casserole.
4. If you want a creamier yogurt, add 1 cup of Half&Half with 3 cups of whole milk and follow the above procedure or boil the full milk for about 5 minutes longer (in low flame) to reduce the milk in volume to give more creamy texture to the yogurt.
5. I prefer making the curd with whole milk but it can also be made with low fat or 1% or 2% milk.

Homemade Ghee

Ghee, (also know as clarified butter) is extensively used in India. It is not only very tasty but also very healthy compared to butter. Ghee contains beta-carotene and vitamins A, D, E, and K. Beta carotene and vitamin E are both valuable antioxidants that help fight off disease and injury. Ghee also contains linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), which helps the body grow and develop. That's why small kids are given a lot of ghee in their foods in India.
Now lets take a look at how we can make this delicious aromatic ghee at home....

Cooking Time: Approximately 20 - 30 min
Yield: 1 quart Ghee

Ingredients

• 2 pounds unsalted Butter

Method

1. Add the butter to a heavy bottom sauce pan (Make sure the pan is dry and clean) and place it on medium heat till all the butter melts.
2. When the butter starts to foam and boil, simmer the stove.
3. Continue on low heat and you will see the foam breaking up into small milk solids that tend to settle down.
4. When you get a nice aromatic smell and when the ghee and the milk solids begin to turn a light golden brown, remove the pan from the stove and allow it to cool.
5. If required, filter the ghee using a mesh strainer.
6. Store the ghee in an airtight container.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. The Ghee can be kept on the kitchen shelf, covered. It does not need refrigeration.
2. Always use a dry spoon. Don't ladle out the ghee with a wet spoon or allow any water to get into the container, as this will create conditions for bacteria to grow and spoil the ghee.
3. Be careful to stay away when the butter begins to boil and splutter, to avoid any burns.
4. After making ghee, I use that pan (with the remaining ghee sticking to it) to make delicious Rasam and it tastes awesome with the nice aroma of ghee.

Ragi and Bread Cutlet

This is a true leftover recipe. I made Ragi dosa in the morning and a lot of batter was left. Also there was a lot of bread that had to be used up by today. I didn't want to waste them both, so I came up with these awesome cutlets that are healthy too.

Ingredients

Ragi Dosa Batter

• 1 cup Sprouted Ragi Flour
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 2 Green chillies finely chopped
• 1" Ginger piece finely chopped
• 1 spring Curry Leaves
• 2 cups water / or as required
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

For the Cutlet

• 4 -5 slices Bread
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
• Oil to cook the cutlets

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients of the Ragi Dosa batter to a watery consistency.
2. Soak the bread slices one by one in the batter and mix and mash them till it forms a dough like consistency.
3. Make small balls of the dough and roll them on bread crumbs so that they are fully covered all over and then slightly flatten each to form a disc.
4. Heat a skillet and place the cutlets on it and add oil around each cutlets. Add more oil if you would like it crisp.
5. When the bottom side turns brown, flip the cutlets and add some more oil around the cutlets and cook them till they turn brown and crisp.
6. Serve hot with ketchup!

Wheat Flour Halwa

This is my friend Deepa Parul's recipe. She taught me and my mom this easy recipe and we make it very often. I made this today and I thought I ll post it right away.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Whole Wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cup Ghee
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar (Adjust to taste)
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 cup chopped Nuts( Almonds and Cashews)

Method

1. Heat 1 cup ghee in a deep saucepan and add the nuts and fry them till they turn a golden brown.
2. Add the Wheat flour and stir well. Then add the milk and stir continuously. It will become thick now.
3. Add the sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup ghee and keep stirring till the halwa comes off nicely without sticking to the pan. Wheat Halwa is ready to serve.

Ragi Dosa

This is a very healthy, tasty and instant dosa. Even those who dont like ragi will love this dosa. Don't get intimidated by the colour of the dosa as ragi is always that colour but it is very tasty and nutritious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sprouted Ragi Flour
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 2 Green chillies finely chopped
• 1" Ginger piece finely chopped
• 1 spring Curry Leaves
• 2 cups water / or as required
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Method

1. Mix all the ingrdients in a big bowl to a running consistency.
2. Heat a skillet on high and pour a ladle of the ragi dosa batter on it and reduce the heat to medium. You cannot spread the batter like the normal dosa, so you have to pour it in a circular motion.
3. Add a little oil around the dosa so that it doesn't stick to the skillet.
4. When it gets cooked and becomes crisp, set the heat on high again and turn it over for a few seconds and serve.
5. Repeat the process for all the remaining dosas and serve them hot with chutney.

Vegetable Fried Rice

The Veg fried rice is an Indo-Chinese dish. This recipe tastes just like the ones you get in the restaurants. Try it to believe it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked Basmati Rice
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 cup Vegetables( Beans and Carrots - diced)
• 1/4 cup Green Peas
• 1/2 cup Cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup green Capsicum thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper powder freshly ground
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Method

1. Heat a large pan and add olive oil.
2. When oil is hot add the vegetables, cabbage, peas and capsicum and stir fry till the vegetables are just cooked but still crisp and not over cooked.
3. Add the cooked rice, pepper powder, salt and soy sauce and mix everything well.
4. Cook the fried rice for 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

Suggestions/ Notes

• Olive oil is used here to get the restaurant style taste. However it could be replaced with any other oil too.
• Mix the rice with a fork so that it doesn't get broken or mushy.
• You may add or subtract the veggies according to your taste to make it more nutritious and tasty.