Uncategorized – Page 9

Almond Vanilla cake :

November 29, 2020

Hey, Anushree here! This is my second guest post on my mom’s blog ( My first one was a red velvet cake, if you haven’t checked that out, click right here).

So, it is my parents as well as my mom’s Blog anniversary today, and since my sister and I are home, and the world has come to a pause (pretty much), I thought it would be a good idea to make something for their special day. My mom doesn’t like chocolate much and loves milder flavours. My dad pretty much loves all desserts, so I decided to make a healthy, and yummy almond and vanilla cake, with a glaze instead of frosting as we aren’t too fond of the cream icing. So, while frosting, instead of new age cream cheese, I have opted for an original Ermine icing, which is also known as boiled milk frosting. Here, instead of All-purpose flour, I have used a mixture of Almond flour, oats flour, and whole wheat flour.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

Almond flour/ meal – ½ cup

Whole wheat flour – ½ cup

Oats flour – ½ cup

Sugar -¾ cup

Baking powder -1/2 tsp

Baking soda- ½ tsp

Salt – ¼ tsp

Butter – 2 tablespoons

Curd – ½ cup

Egg – 1

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

For the Glaze:

Milk – 1 cup

Almond flour – 5 tablespoons

Arrowroot powder – 1 tablespoon

Butter – 50 grams

Sugar – ½ cup

Vanilla – 1 tsp

Slivered Almonds – As needed

Method:

To Bake the cake:

-Preheat oven for 180° C . Line the baking tray and keep it ready.

-Measure every ingredient and keep it ready. Melt butter and keep aside.

-Take one glass bowl, beat egg, then sugar, melted butter, curd, vanilla beat everything until it is well mixed and keep aside.

-Now take one more bowl, put all the dry ingredients, all the three flours, salt and baking soda, baking powder. Sieve a couple of times or dry whisk and keep it ready.

–Pour the previously prepared wet mixture to dry ingredients and fold the batter by using any spatula.

-Pour the batter in the lined baking tray and keep this for baking for 40 -50 minutes or until done.

-Before removing, check with a knife by inserting, in the baked cake. It should come out clean.

-Cool the cake completely before doing the frosting part.

Method for Frosting:

-Take milk, Almond flour, and Arrowroot powder in a saucepan. Boil the mixture until it is cooks and becomes creamy.

-Switch off the flame, add in butter, sugar, and vanilla, mix well. Cool the mixture and keep it in the fridge to cool further making it thicker. ( I have not kept it in the fridge)

-Now, slice the cake, make a 2-equal slice, Apply the frosting on the first layer and cover it with the second slice.

-Now pour the frosting on the top, we like the sauce texture and left it like that.

-Decorate the cake with slivered almonds and serve and enjoy with the family <3

Cheenikayi thirulina dosey/ Pumpkin Core dosa:

November 26, 2020

Delicious dosa by using nutritionally rich , pulpy pumpkin cores which we usually tend to throw away. Whenever we use pumpkin in larger quantities such as pumpkin puree , Sambar , kalasu etc, the inner core would be more in quantity and it is an awesome way to utilise in dosa batter. In this way, it can be utilised and turned into a healthy breakfast option.

Let us see how I make this super soft, porous dosa.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 2 cups

Urad dal – ¼ cup

Methi seeds – 1 tablespoon

Inner soft core – ¼ cup to ½ cup ( quantity may vary according to the availability)

Salt

Method:

-Wash , soak dosa rice, urad dal, methi in water for 2 to 3 hours.

-Clean the pumpkin core, remove seeds, and keep it ready.

-Grind soaked rice and pumpkin core by adding sufficient salt into smooth paste.

-Ferment overnight or 8 – 10 hours. Next day prepare soft Dosas .

-If you like crisp roasted one, spread as thin as possible on heated iron griddle.

-Serve with coconut chutney or any other curry.

Instant Masala Rolled Oats in Kettle :

November 22, 2020

If you are living in a hostel, PG or with limited access to the main kitchen, it is an awesome idea to keep some ready mixes with one small kettle, as an alternate choice to mess food.

Here, I have used Rolled oats with south Indian masala to give homely Sambar taste, as well as Rolled oats to give chewy texture, alternate to rice. Rice needs little longer time to cook, when compared to Rolled oats. when you have an instant mix ready, it is really quick, easy, filling, fibre rich and delicious choice of meal.

Ready mix can be stored at room temperature up to a month.

Cooking time – 5 minutes and standing time :5 minutes.

How I made:

Rolled oats – 1 cup

Ghee/ oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Chana dal -1 tsp

Cashew pieces – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring (chopped)

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Sambar powder – 1 tsp (as needed)

Tamarind powder – ½ tsp (as needed)

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tsp (as needed)

Method:

-Take one tawa, heat ghee or oil, splutter mustard, fry urad dal, chana dal, fry until it starts to change colour.

-Add cashew pieces, fry for a while. Next, add chopped curry leaves toss until crispy.

-Now add Rolled oats fry for 2 to 3 minutes in low fire. Add turmeric, sambar powder, tamarind powder, salt, jaggery and mix everything until oats absorbs all the masalas.

-Switch off the gas, cool the mixture and keep it in an airtight container. Stays good for more than one month.

How to Cook:

-Take required amount of oats.

If Masala oats – 1 cup

Water – 1 ¼ cup

Boil water in a kettle, add oats, cook without the lid, until water absorbs, now close the lid, and leave it for 5 minutes. It is such a simple and delicious choice.

Overripe Banana Dosa/ Bale hannina dosey :

November 18, 2020

After the festivals or any poojas, over ripe Bananas are everyone’s headache. When skin of the banana turns black, no one prefers to eat. If you have abundant supply of homegrown bananas, it is a constant headache and we normally make Banana Halwa or Banana preserve if it is in large quantities. If it is very less, I normally prefer Dosas ,Mangalore Buns or plantain upside down cake.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 3cups

Methi seeds – 2 tablespoons

Overripe Ripe bananas – 6 – 7

Salt

Eno fruit salt – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

-Wash Rice along with methi seeds. Soak for 3 to 4 hours and grind into smooth batter by adding chopped banana, salt.

-Keep the consistency as well as ferment like normal dosa batter. It takes anywhere between 8 to 12 hours according to the outside temperature.

-Next day, if you want extra soft dosas, add Eno fruit salt, mix nicely and proceed.

Otherwise, mix the fermented batter and make dosas in hot iron griddle by spreading a tsp of ghee or coconut oil before flipping upside down.

-Serve with your choice of chutney.

Rice Nippattu:

November 11, 2020

In our Native, Nippattu is nothing but savoury Rice crackers. We normally buy our favourite Rice Nippat from “Popular sweet mart”, from my native town, Putter.

Maybe around 5 -6 years ago, while conversing, my husband asked me to replicate this particular item at home. I was thrilled to hear this and sat down with a couple of Nippattu, pen and paper. I noted down the ingredients one by one after tasting it bit by bit.

Then comes the trial session. At first, I used roasted urad dal powder and rice flour and used a roti presser for pressing. It turned out a little thick and hard.

After a couple of trials with different proportions, addition, and deletion of a couple of ingredients. I succeeded in replicating our favourite snack and it was published long ago in Readoo at that time. Finally, during this Deepavali, I did manage to publish in my own space 😀

Now we will see how it is made –

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 2 cups

Urad dal – ¼ cup

Chana dal – 2 tbl sp

Butter – 1tbl sp.

Green chillies – 4

Red chillies – 2

Cumin – 1 ½ tbl sp

Black sesame seed – 1 tbl sp.

Curry leaves – 6 strings

Asafoetida /hing – ½ tsp

Salt

Oil- for frying

Method:

-Soak chana dal in water for 2 hours.

-Cook urad dal with one cup of water for two to three whistles in cooker. Mash it by hand or whisker.

-Now add butter, soaked-drained chana dal, jeera, sesame seeds, hing, salt, chopped green chillies, red chillies, and curry leaves.

-Mix nicely and add rice flour. If needed, sprinkle some water while mixing.

-Make firm dough and keep aside for 5 minutes.

-Take small amount of dough and make roundels.

-Pat these into flat thin discs on greased wax paper or butter paper or any thick plastic sheet.

-Now keep Coconut or any preferred oil for deep frying. When oil is hot, add patted flat discs and deep fry until it is golden brown.

-Enjoy with evening tea!

Menthe Idli /Fenugreek sweet idli:

November 8, 2020

We Indians do not need any introduction for methi. Methi seeds are an integral part of our day to day cooking and has an important role in our cooking, even though it is used in a minuscule portion.

Fenugreek or Methi is a power packed, nutritionally rich and produces heat in our body. Hence, the usage of methi is recommended in winter months to keep our body warm and disease free. Traditionally methi has been used as a seed as well as greens. It plays a main part in post-partum/ after delivery diet of Indian ladies. It is believed that it helps in breast milk production.

Today, I am going to share our age old, traditional recipe, which I used to relish during my childhood.

It is a semi sweet idli and tastes really good with methi flavour and is usually served with coconut – ginger chutney, to give it a bit of a kick.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 2 cups

Methi – 1 fistful ( approx. 2 tablespoons)

Jaggery – 2 / 2 block ( according to the taste)

Poha – ½ cup

turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

-Soak methi and rice separately for 4 hrs , after washing it properly.

-Grind methi into a fine paste, by adding sufficient water.

-Add soaked rice into it, add salt, jaggery and grind, until rice turns into small grainy texture. Like a small rava consistency.

-After grinding, remove the batter, it should be a little watery. Now add turmeric, poha into the batter, mix properly, leave overnight or until it ferments. It takes a little longer in cold regions.

-Next day, mix nicely, make idlies in an idli mould, like a regular idli.

-Serve with coconut – ginger chutney.

Chutney in brief: Fresh coconut, roasted red chillies, fresh ginger, little tamarind, and salt.

Rajamudi rice Pundi:

October 30, 2020

Pundi/Unde/mudde is nothing but steamed rice dumpling from south canara/Mangalore region. It is our traditional Breakfast recipe. After steaming, we have two to three options to have this super healthy dish. One is with liquid jaggery combined with ghee, or pundi can be drizzled with coconut oil and dipped in an onion flavoured coconut chutney. Last but not the least, by soaking in a masala gravy, known as Unde bendi.

Traditionally we use Red boiled rice to prepare. Here I have used fragrant Rajamudi variety of red rice, that was earlier grown exclusively for the “Maharajas of Mysore” . It is high in fibre, antioxidants, and Iron. It is unpolished and grains are beautiful with the mix and match of pinkish red lines, which has a nice aroma and it surely enhances the flavour of the Pundi.

I did this particular trial for Rice Calendar 2019. Unique effort by Save Our Rice Campaign and Sahaja Samrudha to Popularize traditional Rice and Recipes.

Save Our rice campaign is proud to proclaim that it has successfully mainstreamed around 100 different varieties of traditional rice across the country. Each rice variety is unique and differs in its taste, colour, texture, and cooking quality and contains some special properties like being medicinal, scented, sticky and so on.

It is one of the four recipes ,which I have shared with and got to be a part of this project in a very small way.

Ingredients:

Rajamudi rice – 2 cups

Salt

Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

Coconut – ½ cup (grated)

Method:

-Wash, soak rice for 3 to 4 hours

-Grind rice into little grainy texture by adding salt.

-Put ground batter, oil, coconut in thick kadai, cook this into ball like mass.

-Cool a bit, take little cooked dough at a time, and make roundels.

– Place this in an idli steamer and cook for 20-30 minutes and enjoy with chutney or liquid jaggery mixed with little ghee.

Unde/Pundi Bendi/ dumpling in masala gravy:

Here, we ned to break pundi into big chunks and keep it ready.

For Masala: Take one bowl of grated coconut, roasted red chillies – 2 to 4 , 1 tsp of coriander, ¼ tsp of cumin, 2 cloves of garlic, little tamarind, and grind into smooth paste.

In a wok, heat 2 tsp of coconut oil, splutter mustard,1 broken red chilli and add curry leaves. Add half finely chopped onion and fry until it turns brown.

Now, add ground masala paste into the seasoning and adjust the consistency, add salt, pinch of jaggery and boil.

When it starts to boil, add broken chunks, and further boil for 5 more minutes or until it reaches the thick consistency.

Serve hot and enjoy.

Mangalore style Traditional Chakkuli/Chakli:

October 23, 2020

Today, I am going to post my mom’s chakli recipe – which used to be made on the same day of the festival/ pooja to offer as an offering to the god. This recipe does not need much planning. In our tradition, offerings to the deity should be done on the same day. It cannot be made beforehand nor readymade from the shop.

Here, you can take any tumbler as a measuring device.

Dosa rice – 1 cup

Urad dal – ½ cup

Poha or Sabudana – 1 tablespoon

Salt

Butter – small lemon size

Sesame seeds – 1 to 2 tsp

Method:

-Wash, soak dosa rice for an at least 2 hours.

-Dry roast urad dal until light brown and poha or Sabudana until crisp. Cool and make a fine powder.

-Sieve and collect those rough powder, repeat the grinding process to get fine powder. Keep it aside.

-Now, take soaked rice, grind into smooth paste with very minimal water and required salt.

-Now mix rice batter, sieved powder, butter, sesame seeds and make a smooth dough by adding required water, if needed.

-Heat coconut oil or any vegetable oil, prepare chakli’s by using chakli press. Drain excess oil, cool and store in a sir tight container.

Hasaru Unde/Green gram Laddu/ Whole moong flour Laddu:

October 17, 2020

Wishing all my readers a happy Navarathri!

Green gram / whole moong is very nutritious and loved by everyone at our home. When I found the whole moong flour at my regular organic stores, I was excited to try my hand at using it in my regular cooking. While thinking of utilising it, idea of preparing laddu came to my mind and I immediately tried my best by using my Besan laddu recipe as a base and it did turn out super delicious with its earthy flavour. Everyone gave a thumbs up at home and liked it .

So, I am sharing the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

Green gram flour/ whole Moong flour – 3 cups

Sugar – 2 ¼ cups

Ghee – 1 ¼ cup

Dry fruits – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 teaspoon

Method:

-Chop dry fruits. I normally use half cup of cashew bits and half cup of slivered Almond bits.

-Dry roast almond and cashew bits and keep aside.

-Powder sugar and keep aside.

-Take one thick bottomed wok, roast green gram flour in very low temperature.

-When it is a little hot, start adding ghee little by little during the roasting process.

-Do not add or pour all the ghee at one go. It will not help to roast evenly, and it will form a muddy consistency, and will affect it in even roasting.

– I took exactly 20 minutes over a small flame.

-After it roasts and you’ve added all the ghee, mixture becomes very runny and colour will turn greenish brown.

-At this time, your house will filled with roasted flour’s aroma. This is the time you should switch off the gas and leave this mixture to cool completely.

-It will take anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes.

-Now add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and roasted dry fruits and mix everything properly.

-Now start using your hand and mix it once and start making small roundels by taking little mixture at a time.

-At this time, you will feel that the laddus are a little wet and glossy and shining.

-Arrange these over a clean, dry platter. After some time (one hour) laddu’s will be dry and glossy texture will vanish.

-Store it in a dry container and enjoy with your family.

Knol khol leaves and sweetcorn Steamed dumpling/patties:

October 9, 2020

Desi sweet corn is in season now and we get plenty from local vendors. Indian maize corn isn’t sweet, but when it is cooked and mashed or ground into paste it has the binding ability due to its starchy texture.

We all enjoy our seasonal roadside bhutta treat, which is nothing but charcoal roasted corn on the cob, makki Ki atta to make roti or as a popcorn. This cereal is healthy, nutritious and can be utilised in a day to day diet, at least in winter months, when it is in the season. Corn kernels have less fat as well as low in calories.

Here, I have used ground corn on knol khol leaves and steam cooked until done. Basic method of making/steaming is like Pathrode or pathra, but ingredients are different. After steaming those folded parcels, it can be devoured as it is like a pathra or steamed dumpling, drizzled with coconut oil or it can be rolled in dry rava mixture and pan fried and served with ketchup.

So, when corn is mixed with Knol khol leaves not only does its nutrition increase but also, we get added benefit of all the goodness of knol khol leaves as well. It is rich in fibre and leaves are big enough to play around and fold however we want.

Recipe goes like this –

Ingredients:

Fresh Sweet corn – 2 cups

Onion – 2 (medium) chopped

Green chillies – 2 to 4

Fresh coriander – 1 fist full (chopped)

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp (dry roasted)

Salt – as needed

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Fresh coconut – 1 cup ( grated)

Fresh Knol khol leaves – as needed (even cabbage leaves would do)

For Tawa roast:

Small size rava – ½ cup ( chiroti rava)

Hing – ¼ tsp

Red chilli – 1 tsp

Coconut Oil – for frying

Method:

-Wash knol khol greens or cabbage greens, drain and keep it ready.

-Make a fine paste of Sweet corn, onion, green chillies, coriander greens, dry roasted cumin, salt, chilli powder, turmeric with coconut.

-Spread the batter evenly on knol khol leaves, fold the leaves at the two sides, then roll like a mat.

-Finish all the batter, by following this same method, place all those rolls in an idli steamer, cook for 20 minutes.

-After steaming if you want to enjoy hot steamed rolls, smear some coconut oil, and enjoy.

-make a tawa roast by rolling in a rava mix. ( dry mix rava, hing, salt, red chilli powder) :

-Heat iron tawa, place all those steamed dumplings by rolling in rava and pour coconut oil and roast both the sides and serve with tomato ketchup.