Ridge gourd Tambli:

March 10, 2017

Here is a low calorie option with ridge gourd, which is healthy, refreshing as well as soothing in this summer season. This particular Tambli is prepared by grinding tossed ridge gourd with fresh grated coconut and mixing in buttermilk and it doesn’t need boiling. You can savour this like an appetiser or mixing with piping hot rice .It has healing properties and is very good for the digestive system. Recently I tasted this curry at my sister in laws place and just loved this.

ridge gourd tambli

How to prepare this:

Ingredients:

Ridge gourd – 6” with skin

Cumin – ½ tsp

Black pepper – 5

Bird eye chilli – 2

Ghee – 1 tsp

Coconut – ½ cup

Salt

Butter milk – ½ cup

Seasoning: ghee – ½ Tsp, cumin – ½ tsp, curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

-Chop ridge gourd with skin intact.

-take 1 tsp of ghee in a small kadai. When it is hot, add jeera, pepper and bird eye chilli. If you don’t have bird eye chillies, instead you can use half green chilli and roast. Then add chopped ridge gourd and fry until it wilts.

– Now take out all these fried items and cool.

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-Grind this into smooth paste by adding coconut, salt and little water.

-remove this into a vessel, add buttermilk, and adjust the consistency by adding little water if needed.

-Consistency should be like normal milk.

– Add seasoning by heating ghee, cumin and curry leaves.

– Enjoy this with hot rice.

Sattu ka Burfi:

March 8, 2017

Sattu is nothing but Roasted gram flour, we commonly call this as pappu, Putani kadle or Huri kadle, which is a power house of protein and used mainly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

In our coastal belt, it is used as a time pass snack and not for cooking. Last week when I came across this flour in our local store, I was curious to know about this new ingredient and asked about the flour in our Facebook Foodie group.

I was attracted to this recipe the most and I tried it, all thanks to Rajendra Shirol who hails from Gadag. According to him, this is also known locally as “Local Karadantu” which is sold in their temple car festivals.

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Ingredients:

Sattu powder – 1 ½ cup

Sugar – 1 ½ cup

Milk – ½ cup

Water- ½ cup

Dry fruits – 1 cup

Edible gum – 50 grams

Ghee – 2 table spoon

Cardamom powder- ½ tsp

Method:

  • Chop or crush dry fruits. Here I have taken cashew and almond bits.
  • Take one steel plate and apply some ghee and keep aside.
  • Take one thick bottomed tawa, put 1 tsp of ghee and fry edible gum until it puffs, cool and powder it in a small mixer jar.

gum collage

  • In that same kadai, add one tsp of ghee and fry dry fruits and keep aside.
  • Mix Sattu powder, dry fruits, cardamom and edible gum in one bowl and keep aside.
  • Now take sugar, water and milk. Cook until it attains one thread consistency. Add Sattu powder mix, which we have kept it aside by mixing all the other ingredients.

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  • Add remaining ghee and heat this mixture for 5 more minutes, until it leaves the sides of the tawa.
  • Pour these mixtures to ghee applied steel plate and leave this for half an hour.
  • When it is cool a little, mark and cut this as desired.

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  • After cooling, store this in an air tight container.
  • Local karadantu or Sattu ka Burfi is ready to enjoy and it is very healthy too.

 

 

Eggless Carrot cake:

March 5, 2017

This flavourful cake happened by chance. I usually make carrot milkshake paste with almonds in the summer. This year I tried this paste by adding pine nuts instead of almonds and it didn’t go very well with my family. To finish off this paste, I tried this by making cake and it was a super-duper hit and it tastes really moist and soft.

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Ingredient:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

All-purpose flour – ½ cup

Fine rawa- ½ cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Baking soda -1 tsp

Sugar – 1 ½ cup

Desiccated coconut – ½ cup

Carrot milkshake paste – 2 cups

Clarified butter/ghee – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Salt- ¼ tsp

Method:

-Sieve all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, fine rawa and baking powder for 2 to three times and keep aside. This is our dry ingredient mixture.

-Beat the wet ingredient like carrot milk shake paste, ghee, sugar.

-Mix in baking soda, salt and desiccated coconut, cardamom powder and beat.

-You will see a frothy texture. This is our ready wet ingredient mixture.

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-Pour wet ingredient to dry ingredient, lightly mix without over doing.

-Bake this in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 40 to 50 minutes.

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-After checking its doneness, remove from the oven, cool and serve.

Carrot and Almond Milkshake:

March 3, 2017

I usually store this puree in my fridge in summer season. Whenever my kids asks for a milkshake this is such a handy option. So this option acts as a win- win situation for both. Mummy will be happy that, kids are having healthy milkshake and kids will be happy to have a really creamy, fragrant milkshake 😉

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Ingredients:

Carrot – ½ kg (I have used Delhi Red carrots)

Almonds -15

Method:

  • Wash ,peel and chop the carrots
  • Put these pieces as well as almond in a pressure cooker with sufficient water.
  • Cook for 2 whistles, cool and make puree by using mixer grinder.

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  • This is your basic “Milk shake Puree” to prepare milkshake whenever you want.
  • You can store this “Puree” for 10 days under refrigeration.

For preparing Milkshake:

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  • Take one or two tablespoon of this “Puree”, required amount of sugar and chilled milk and Enjoy.

Methi Dal with Bitter gourd seasoning:

March 1, 2017

I have harvested fresh bitter gourd from my green patch and I wanted to use them as fresh as possible.

So, the result is this dal. If you like methi leaves and bitter gourd,  this is a must try dish. It surprisingly tasted really great and pairs really well with hot rice as well as Whole wheat roti.

In this recipe, I did two seasonings. At initial stage of cooking as well as at the end stage.

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Ingredients:

Toor dal – ½ cup

Chana dal /Bengal gram dal – ½ cup

Moong dal/green gram – ½ cup

Tomato – 1

Tamarind paste – ½  teaspoon

Salt

Coriander leaves – to garnish.

For first seasoning:

Oil – 1 table spoon ,Cumin – ½ teaspoon, Hing – ¼ tsp, Crushed garlic -7 to 8,Green chillies – 4 to 5, Curry leaves – 1 spring and Methi leaves – 1  fistful.

For Second seasoning:

Ghee – 1 table spoon, Bitter gourd – 1, red chilli powder – ½ tsp and curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

  • Wash all the three dals and cook. I usually fry Moong dal before washing. If you like to fry, u can do that or use as it is.
  • Cook this in cooker by adding sufficient water, little turmeric and drop of oil.
  • Wash bitter gourd, chop this into bite size pieces and mix in little salt and keep aside.
  • Chop tomatoes, methi leaves, green chillies and coriander leaves.
  • Now do the first seasoning, take one thick vessel (I usually use clay pot), pour oil, when it is hot, add cumin, hing, crushed garlic, green chillies and curry leaves and fry for a while.
  • Next add methi leaves and fry until it wilts.

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  • Add tomatoes, while frying add salt and cook till tomato becomes mushy.
  • Add cooked dal, tamarind paste, required amount of water and boil.
  • Once again, do the seasoning. Take all the materials under second seasoning.
  • Heat the ghee, add salted bitter gourd bits and fry until it becomes brown, and Switch off the gas. Add red chilli powder, curry leaves to this hot ghee and pour this seasoning over the dal.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves.
  • Enjoy this dal with Rice or Roti.

Tamarind Pickle:

February 25, 2017

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Tamarind has a very important place in the Indian kitchen and it has loads of health benefits as well as it is a treasure of anti-oxidants and dietary fibres.

Indians love its tangy and sweetish taste and enjoy this in chutney, relish, digestive candies, pickles and more.

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From childhood, I used to enjoy tamarind pickle and never knew about the recipe. Thanks to my brother-in-law who sourced the recipe and made it possible for me to enjoy this relish after so many years.

This is a family recipe of one of our friends from Mangalore and speciality of the local Jain community form coastal region.

Ingredients:

Tamarind- 100 grams

Dried red chillies – 200 grams (Byadagi variety)

Jaggery – 250 grams

Salt – 8 to 10 teaspoons

Water – 3 to 4 cups

Fenugreek /methi seeds – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – 2 tea spoon

Gingelly oil – 1 to 2 table spoon.

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves (crushed)

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

  • Soak tamarind and grated jaggery in water for some time.
  • When it becomes soft, nicely squeeze out and sieve the liquid.

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  • Discard all the roughage and fibres.
  • Dry roast methi and cumin.
  • Roast red chillies by putting very little oil.
  • Powder all the roasted items by using dry mixer jar.
  • Now keep one thick bottomed vessel on the gas stove, put oil and do seasoning.
  • When oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds, then add crushed garlic and curry leaves.

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  • Pour tamarind and jaggery concentrate, salt, ground masala powder and boil.
  • After boiling it for some time, upper layer of the mixture will look glossy and it is the sign for its doneness.
  • Switch off the gas, cool this mixture completely and store it in dry glass bottles and keep outside for two days to set and afterwards keep it in the fridge.

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  • It will stay up to one year if you store it in the fridge.

 

 

Cornmeal-Cranberry Scones:

February 21, 2017

These are very soft, crumbly and melt- in- the -mouth kind of delicacies. It has rich corn meal flavour and it is neither a cookie nor a cake and is very mildly sweet. It does not need any side dishes like butter or jam and one can enjoy it as it is with a cup of tea or coffee.

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Ingredients:

All-purpose flour- 1 cup

Cornmeal- ¾ cup

Butter- 100 grams

Dried cranberries- ½ cup

Baking powder – ¾ teaspoon

Baking soda- ¾ teaspoon

Salt – ¼ teaspoon

Sugar – ½ cup

Butter milk – ½ cup (chilled)

Topping – Sugar crystals

Method:

  • Pre heat oven at 170 C
  • Take one mixer jar or food processor. Put all the dry ingredients like flour, corn meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Dry grind all these for a couple of rounds.
  • Chop the butter into bite size pieces and add. Again dry grind until flour becomes crumbly and wet.
  • Add buttermilk and run the food processor. Dough will become a little sticky.
  • Line the cookie tray with butter paper.
  • Drop the dough into lined cookie tray either by using spoon or ice cream scoop.

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  • Sprinkle some sugar on top and bake this in a pre-heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

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  • It yielded 15 scones for me and I have used small ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough.

 

Kathal Ki Biryani / Raw Jackfruit Biryani:

February 19, 2017

Raw jackfruit is a less known, very healthy, fibre-rich and low glycemic index wholesome vegetable. In our coastal region, we start using jack from its very tender form. We have so many traditional recipes. Apart from that, we even enjoy this one-pot meal, and it is a very good option for tiffin boxes for lunch.

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Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 3 cups

Raw Jack pieces – 1 big bowl.

Ghee – 3 tablespoon

Bay leaf – 1

Shah jeera – ½ teaspoon

Cinnamon – 1” piece

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt

Onion- 2

Green chillies – 3

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon

Curd – 1 small cup

Shahi Biryani Masala – 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon

Pudina – 10 strings (chopped)

Coriander leaves – 10 strings (chopped)

Method:

-Wash Basmati rice and soak it while preparing other things.

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-Chop Young Jack into bite-size pieces by removing the outer skin (thorny part) and inner pith and soak this in a bowl of water.

-Chop onion, slice green chillies, chop Pudina and coriander leaves.

-Before keeping the cooker vessel, drain the soaked rice and chopped jack pieces and keep aside.

-Now, take one cooker vessel and heat the ghee. Put bay leaf, Shahjeera and cinnamon.

-Next, add chopped onion, green chillies, turmeric, salt and fry until it becomes light brown.

jack collage

-Add ginger garlic paste and fry when the onion becomes brown until its raw smell vanishes.

-Next, mix Biryani masala, Curd, and jack pieces until masala coats the Jack pieces.

-Now, add drained rice and fry it for a while. Then, add chopped pudina and coriander.

-Add sufficient water (6 cups) and check for the salt.

-When it starts boiling, close the lid and cook until one whistle; keep it in a simmer for 3 minutes and switch off the gas.

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-When pressure relieves, serve this with onion raita.

NOTE: I usually use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of Basmati rice.

Roasted Red pepper Pasta with Pine nut Sauce:

February 15, 2017

It is colourful, simple, yet bursting with flavour, very satisfying one pot nutritious meal.

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How I proceeded with the recipe-

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta – 1 pack

Pine nuts – ½ cup

Milk – 1 to 1 ½ cup

Onion -1 (sliced)

Red bell pepper-3

Yellow bell pepper – 2

Green bell pepper -1

Red chilli flakes

Oregano

Olive oil – 1 table spoon

Garlic salt – as required

Grated cheese – 3 table spoon

Garlic greens or spring onion greens – little

Method:

  • Wash Red peppers and apply some oil to the outer surface.

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  • Soak pine nuts in milk.
  • Slice onion, green pepper and yellow pepper.
  • Cook pasta in sufficient water by adding little salt and oil. When it is cooked, drain the water and reserve this water to further use.
  • Pre heat oven to 200 C and keep the setting to Grill Option.
  • Make 4 quarters of red bell pepper and remove seeds, arrange this in a butter paper lined cookie tray.

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  • When oven is pre heated and ready, keep this tray in an oven and grill this for 10 minutes and then bake this further for 10 minutes.
  • (if you grill at first, you can avoid oozing of the water content from the bell pepper and it will be firm and juicy)

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  • When bell pepper is ready, make a paste by adding the pine nut and milk which has been soaked, with the bell pepper, and grind it in a mixer jar.

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  • Keep one wide mouth tawa, add olive oil or butter, when it is hot add sliced onion and fry for 2 minutes.

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  • Add sliced green and yellow bell pepper, little garlic salt, red chilli flakes and oregano. Fry for a while and add ground bell pepper paste.
  • Adjust the consistency by adding drained water which you reserved.
  • Check the taste and adjust salt, seasoning, red chilli flakes.

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  • When it is cooked, add grated cheese and mix in drained pasta and mix nicely. Serve by garnishing with garlic or spring onion greens.

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Note:

-If you don’t have garlic salt, add chopped garlic to the hot oil while adding onion.

-You can use any nuts of your choice.

 

Mint- Coconut chutney:

February 12, 2017

In Mangalore, we have one very famous ice cream parlour called Pabba’s and they serve not only ice creams, but also really tasty snacks as well. Beauty of the Cutlet that they serve is mainly because of this coconut chutney which goes really well with their mixed vegetable cutlet, this recipe which I have posted earlier.

chutney3

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 cup

Green chillies – 3to 4

Pudina/mint leaves – little

Coriander leaves – little

Garlic – 4 to 5 cloves

Salt

Oil – 1 table spoon

Tamarind – peanut size

Seasoning: – oil – 1 teaspoon, mustard – ½ Tsp, curry leaves – 1spring.

Method:

-Wash; chop Pudina, coriander and chillies.

-Take one small kadai; fry these chopped items and garlic, by putting a little oil until it wilts, put grated coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then switch off the gas.

-When it cools down, add tamarind, salt and grind this into a smooth paste by putting required amount of water.

-If you want, add seasoning with mustard and curry leaves.

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-Serve this with mix vegetable cutlet and enjoy your snack.