Pineapple kesari

Ingredients :
Rava - 1.5 cup
Pineapple - 1 cup chopped ( leave the center ring as it is very hard )
Sugar - 1 and 3/4 cup
Cashews - 1/2 cup
Raisins -  few
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Yellow food color -  a pinch ( optional )
Water - 4.5 cup

Method :

1. Dry fry rava. I feel coarse or anything other than fine rava is easy to handle.
2. Fry cashews and raisins in ghee.
3. Add 4.5 cup of water in a pan and add chopped pineapple and let it boil for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes add rava slowly into the boiling water and keep mixing so that no lumps are formed.
5. Let the rava cook and all the water is dried. This won't take long time.
6. Add sugar and mix well. Lumps might form here too, so keep mixing it.
7. When everything is again dry add fried cashews and raisins and leftover ghee.
8. Keep mixing.

I have tasted pineapple kesari in marriages, but never thot it would come out so well without pineapple essence. I was very happy with the outcome.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Milagu vada / Pepper Fritters

Milagu Vadai :

Hanuman jayanthi is in few days, I thot this milagu vadai is apt post to publish. Famous for Hanuman, this vada is made into mallai/garland  and  offered to god Hanuman.

I love this vadai. When I was a kid my mom used to pray to God and offer this and I will be madly expecting for this vadai.

It is very crispy and can be stored for few days.

Ingredients :

(Makes 20 )

Urad dhal - 1 cup

Pepper - 3/4 tsp crushed

salt to taste 

Oil - 1 tbsp and for deep frying

Rice flour - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Soak Urad dhal for 1 hour.
2. Grind it with no water to a coarse paste. You can add few tsp of water if you really can't grind. I like few whole urad dhal here and there.
3. Add crushed pepper, salt, oil, and rice flour. Mix well.
4. Take a plastic bag or banana leaf or zip lock bag.
5. Grease it with oil. Take a small ball and place on the greased ziplock. Press it to form a flat disk.
6. Make a hole in between.
7. Deep  fry it in hot oil until golden brown.

Crispy milagu vada is ready.

I too made it for god. It feels great when something that I make is offered to God. (Goose bumps...)

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Lemon rasam

Ingredients :
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch chopped finely
Pepper - 1.5 tsp
Cumin seeds  - 1 tsp
Lemon - 1
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few crushed
Green chili - 2 slit length wise
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Tomato - 1 medium size
Water 2 cup

Method :

1. Soak tomato in water . Cook toor dhal with turmeric and mash it.
2. Crush tomato with hand. Crush pepper and cumin seeds . Add this to the tomato water.
3. In a pan add oil and when it is hot, add mustard seeds, green chilli, crushed ginger and curry leaves.
4. Sauté it. Add tomato water and mashed toor dhal.
5. Add salt, coriander leaves.
6. When it starts boiling switch off.
7. Add lemon juice.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

Note :
Instead of pepper and cumin, u can also add rasam powder, but the taste of freshly crushed spices is always great.

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Rasam powder

Ingredients :
Red long chili - 4
Pepper  - 12 tsp
Cumin seeds -8 tsp
Corainder seeds - 4 tsp
Toor dal - 4 tsp

Method :

1. Dry roast each ingredients sepearetly in a pan.
2. Let them cool.
3. Grind the red chilli first and grind everything else with it into a fine powder.
4. Rasam powder is ready. This can be stored and used for upto 3 months.

Note :
I made thrice the quantity of the measurement given as I make it everyday

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Rava kitchadi

Ingredients :
Rava - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
Green chilli - 3
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Onion - 1/2 big onion
Peas - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1/4 cup
Beans - 1/4 cup
Cashews - few
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few chopped
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Bay leaves - 1
Ghee - 1 Tbsp ( optional )
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method :

1. Dry fry rava until light brown.
2. Fry cashews and keep them aside.
3. In a pan add oil and ghee. When it is hot, add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, ginger, green chili, curry leaves.
4. Add onion and fry nicely.
5. Add vegetables and fry them. Add 3 cups of water . Add turmeric salt and close the lid and let the vegetables cook.
6. When the vegetables are cooked, put the flame to medium flame. Add rava little by little while mixing it.
7. Once rava is added, close the lid and let the rava cook.
8. Once rava is cooked, add coriander leaves.

Healthy kitchadi is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Chicken curry

Ingredients :
Chicken - 1 lb
Pearl onion - 25
Tomato - 1
Red chilli - 7 or to taste
Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 Tbsp
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Curry leaves - few
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Grated cocunut - 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves  - few

Method :

1. In a pan dry fry red chilli, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon.
2. Let it cool. Grind it. In the same pan add little oil, and fry curry leaves, onion, tomato and grated cocunut. Grind it to a fine paste.
3. In the same pan or pressure pan, add rest of the oil and add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste.
4. Sauté it. Add chicken, turmeric and salt.
5. Add ground paste and powder and fry it.
6. Add some water and close the lid. If it is a pressure pan, cook it for 3 whistle or until chicken is cooked.
7. Add curry and corainder leaves.

Simple chicken curry is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Veg Schezwan noodle

Ingredients :
Capsicum - 1/2 cup
Cabbage - 1 cup
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Garlic  - 2 pods
Ginger - 1 inch
Schezwan sauce - 3 Tbsp or to taste.
Noodles - 1 pack - 150 gm
Green onion - 2 stalk
Egg - 1 ( optional )
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Vegetable oil - 2 Tbsp

Method :

1. Cook the noodles in boiling water as per instruction in the pack.
2. Drain the water and run cold water so that they don't become sticky.
3. Toss it with little sesame oil.
4. In a wok or a large pan, add oil.
5. When it is hot, add chopped ginger, garlic and sauté it.
6. Add capsicum  and carrot and sauté it.
7. Add cabbage and sauté it.
8. If you are adding egg, move the vegetables to one side and add egg and scramble it.
9. When the egg is cooked mix everything well.
10. Add cooked noodles, Schezwan sauce, salt and mix everything well.
11. Garnish it with chopped spring onion.


Spicy Schezwan noodles is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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