Ven pongal

Ingredients :
Raw rice - 1.5 cup
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1.5 tsp finely chopped
Pepper - 1.5 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp
Cashews - few
Green chilli - 2 finely chopped ( optional, I didn't had, so didn't use it here)
Ghee - 5 Tbsp ( you can also subtitue half with oil if you are diet conscious )

Method :

1. Cook rice and moong dal and salt together with 6 cups of water in pressure cooker.
2. Fry cashews with ghee in a pan. Also fry ginger, curry leaves, pepper and cumin seeds.
3. Once the rice is cooked, mash it with masher.
4. Add fried cashews and other things into the pongal. Add ghee.

Yummy pongal is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

Note :
1. I prefer cooking the rice and moong dhal in a bowl, covering it with foil and putting it in the pressure cooker. This will prevent the water from spilling and to get soft, smooth pongal.
2. In case if you feel that your pongal is dry, or you are preparing pongal for later use, then
    as soon as the pressure is gone, open the lid and add hot water as required while mashing.
    This will make your pongal to be semi solid and even when it is cold it will be soft and not dry.

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Chocolate cupcake

Ingredients :
Butter - 1/2 cup unsalted at room temperature
Sugar -  1 cup
All purpose flour - 1 and 1/3 cup
Unsweetened coco powder - 1/2 cup
Egg - 2 at room temperature
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Boiling water - 1 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Method :

1. Add coco powder in hot water and mix well and let it cool.
2. In a bowl add butter and beat until fluffy.
3. Add sugar and beat well until fluffy and creamy.
4. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
5. Add vanilla extract. Add flour and mix well.
6. Add baking powder, salt and mix well.
7. Add coco powder and mix well.
8. Preheat the oven to 375degree F.
9. Pour the cupcake mixture in the cupcake pan.
10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes clean.
11. Cool the cupcake in the wire rack.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Cauliflower - Minced mutton thokku

Ingredients :
Mutton - 1 lb minced
Cauliflower - small whole flower chopped
Onion - 1 big
Tomatoes - 1.5 big
Curry leaves - few
Chili powder - 5 tsp
Coriander powder - 5 tsp

To grind :
Onion - 1 medium size
Tomatoes - 1 big
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 10 pods
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method :

1. Add 1 onion, 1.5 tomato, mutton, turmeric powder, 3 tsp chili powder, 3 tsp coriander powder,
    3 tsp ginger garlic paste, salt and let it cook in pressure cooker for 3 whistle.
2. In a pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and when it is hot, add ginger, garlic, 1 onion, 1 tomato and fry nicely.
3. Grind it to a fine paste.
4. In a pan, add 2 Tbsp oil, add curry leaves and chopped cauliflower and saute it.
5. Add cooked mutton mixture to it.
6. Add paste from step 3.
7. Add 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, salt and let it cook until it is thick.

This is my moms recipe and I love it so much.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Carrot Cupcake

Ingredients : ( makes 24 cup cake )

All purpose flour - 2 and 2/3 cup

Sugar - 1 and 1/3 cup

Canola oil - 1 and 1/3 cup

Egg - 4

Carrot - 3 and 1/3 cup grated finely

Apple -  2/3 cup grated finely

Walnuts - 1 cup

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Baking soda -  2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Method :

1. Slice walnuts and place it cookie tray.

2. Grate carrots and apple.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add sugar and beat them well so that it is creamy.

4. Add vanilla extract, carrots and apple sauce and beat so that they are well incorporated.

6. Add All purpose flour and beat well.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.

8. Place the nuts in oven so that they are roasted and crunchy.

9. Remove and let it cool.

10. To the batter, add baking powder and salt and mix well.

 11.Add nuts and mix well. 

12. Pour it in cup cake pan. You can add some nuts on the top.

13.Place the cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes or until tooth pick comes clean.

 Moist carrot cupcake is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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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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