Pulipu kootu

Pressure cook the 1/4 cup channa dal and any vegetable of your choice (ash guard, chaiyote).

Boil tamrid in water. Add the pressure cooked vegetable and dal with 1 spoon of sambar powder (not the dosa sambar).

In little oil fry perungayam, red chillies, channa dal. Cool and grind with coconut. Add this mixture and boil it for 3 - 4 minutes.

Season the kootu with mustard and curry leaves.

Poricha kootu

Pressure cook any vegetable of your choice (cabbage, snake guard, …) with 1/4th cup of moong dal. For 1/3 size of medium cabbage I would use 1/4th cup of moong dal.

In 1 tsp oil fry

1 tsp moong dal

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 perungayam

Cool the fried stuff and grind it with coconut (1 tbsp).

Now in little oil fry mustard and curry leaves. Add the pressure cooked vegetable and dal to it. Now put some water and the ground mixture and boil it for 3 - 4 mins.

Thogayal (with coconut)

urad dal - 1/4 cup

red chili - 2

hing

fry in oil and then cool it before grinding.

Grind this fried mixture with little water, tamrid, coconut and salt.

Bisibella Bath

1 tbsp channa dal

2 tbsp dhania

3 red chilli

10 vendhiyam

Grind with coconut and tomato.

First boil tamrid and then add rice dal and vegetables. (Note it is easy to pressure cook the rice and dal first (1 cup rice - 1 cup toor dal) and then add it to the boiling tamrid water).

After some time add the ground mixture and boil it well

Spinach Vada

1 cup urad dal

2 tbsp rice

(soak for 2 hrs)

Grind the soaked mixture without water. Do not make the paste smooth. (Add little water if necessary). Add green chili, perungayam and salt while grinding for taste.

Cut the spinach and mix it with the batter.

Touch water, flatten the batter in hand, put hole in the middle and put it in oil for frying.

Sweet Jaggery pongal

2 cups rice

1 cup moong dal

Pressure Cook it with 5 cups water. May be even 6 cups if you want it very soft.

3 cups jaggery

Boil the Jaggery in water add rice and dal mix it well. Roast cardamon seeds, rasins and cashew in ghee and mix it the the jaggery rice dal mixture.

Mushroom Fry

Ingredients

1 pound Mushroom

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste

1 Onion chopped

1/2 tsp cumin powder

Few pepper corns or 1/2 tsp pepper powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tomato

1 tsp Red Chilli powder or to taste

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1 green chili

4 Garlic

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1/2 tbsp butter or ghee

Steps

• Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and once it splutters, add the chopped onions, salt, turmeric, chopped chillies and ginger garlic paste.
• Once cooked, add chopped tomato and garam masala cook until tomato turns softs. Mash it along with the other ingredients as it gets cooked.
• Now add cubed mushrooms, some water and cook it for 10 minutes.
• In a mortar and pestle mash garlic, pepper and cumin seeds. If you do not have mortar use mixy.
• In another pan melt butter or ghee add the mashed content mentioned above, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, coriander leaves and mix it for 1/2 minute and then add the mushroom and cooked until water dries.

Meringue without egg

I was looking for preparation of meringue without egg and I found a couple of options. I am actually confused on what to use, here they are

Option 1

3 cups coconut milk
2 cups soaked cashews
3/4 cup agave
salt, vanilla
Blend the above together

Add:
3 tbsp lecithin
Blend again

Add: 3/4 cup coconut butter (unscented and melted)
Blend again
Set in refrigerator or freezer.

Option 2

Commercial Egg replacer Ener-G

Option 3

Smash up or blend about a half a banana or 1/4 cup applesauce to use as an egg replacer in baked goods such as muffins, pancakes or yeast-free quick breads, such as pumpkin bread, and of course, banana bread! Bananas and applesauce add the perfect amount of thick moisture, like eggs, but they won't help your dishes rise or turn out light and fluffy, so be sure the recipe you are using includes a bit of baking powder or baking soda to help it rise if needed.

Option 4

Condensed Soy Milk

Option 5

Corn Starch mixed in water or soy milk

May be someone who has tried can write in comments in this blog post.

Queen of desserts

Serves eight

2 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

finely grated rind of 1 orange

4 eggs, separated

1 2/3 cups fresh bread crumbs

pinch of salt

6 tbsp orange marmalade

Cook's Tip

If you prefer a crisper meringue bake the dessert in the oven for an extra 5 mins

Variation

Substitute the same quantity of fine sponge cake crumbs for the bread crumbs and use raspberry, strawberry, or a apricot preserve instead of orange marmalade.

1 Grease a 6-cup/1.5-liter oven proof dish with a little butter.

2 To make the custard, heat the milk in a pan with butter, 1/4 cup of superfine sugar, and the grated orange rind, until just warm.

3 Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. Gradually pour the warm milk over the eggs, stirring constantly.

4 Stir the bread crumbs into the pan, then transfer the mixture to the prepared dish, and let stand for about 15 minutes.

5 Bake in a preheated oven, 350 F/180 C, for 20-25 minutes, until the custard has just set. Remove the dish from the oven, but do not turn the oven off.

6 To make the meringue, whisk the egg whites with the salt until they stand in soft peaks. Whisk in the remaining sugar, a little at a time.

7 Spread the orange marmalade over the cooked custard. Top with the meringue, spreading it right to the edges of the dish.

8 Return the the oven and bake for another 20 minutes, until the meringue is crisp and golden.

sun-dried tomato rolls

Makes eight

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for greasin

1 1/2 cups strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1/2 tsp salt

1 envelope active dry yeast

3 tbsp lukewarm milk

2 eggs, beaten lightly (I did not use eggs but added corn starch and it came out well)

1 3/4 oz/50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped.

milk for brushing

Variation

Add some finely chopped anchovies or olives to the dough in step 5 for extra flavor.

1 Lightly grease a cookie sheet with a little butter

2 Strain the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the dry yeast, the pour in the melted butter, milk, and eggs (or corn starch). Bring them to form dough.

3 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for about 5 mins, until smooth. Alternatively, use an electric mixer with a dough hook.

4 Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

5 Punch down the dough for 2-3 mins, knead the sun-dried tomatoes into the dough, sprinkling the counter with extra flour, because the tomatoes are quite oily.

6 Divide the dough into 8 even-size balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for about 30 mins, or until the rolls have doubled in size.

7 Brush the rolls with milk and bake in a preheated oven 450 F/230 C for 10-15 mins, or until they are golden brown.

8 Transfer the tomato rolls to a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving.

Pizza Dough

Makes 1 pound pizza dough

4 tsp active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

1 teaspoon sugar

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

11/3 cups (6 ounces) all purpose flour

3/4 cup (4 ounces) bread flour

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add the salt, sugar, and olive oil and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or hand.

Sift the flours together and mound them on a work surface. Form a well in the center and add the liquid. Mix to form a dough and knead well. Form a ball, coat in flour, and place in a large floured plastic bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for about 2 hours.

Knead the dough again briefly, then shape in single-portion balls. Let rise under a kitchen towel for 1 hour.

Variations

For a browner, crisp crust, add an egg yolk to the dough. The crust can also be varied by adding 1 cup (51/2 ounces) boiled and mashed potatoes to every 4 cups (1 pound, 2 ounces) of flour. Tis dough is particularly for pan fried pizzas and focaccias.

Too much salt can hinder the dough's fermentation. A tablespoon of malt extract or a pinch of sugar can pinch of sugar can help improve rising , and give the dough a distinctive flavor.

For whole-wheat pizza dough, mix 4 cups (1 pound, 2 ounces) whole-wheat flour, 4 tsp yeast, 2 tbsp olive oil, and salt. Add enough water to make a smooth dough and knead for about 10 mins, until the dough comes away clean from the work surface. Shape the dough into a ball and let rise in a warm place for about 11/2 hours.

This recipe is from my favorite book of food editore.

I usually follow similar procedure for breads too. Some might not need active yeast. The quantity above is good enough for 4 large thin crust pizzas.

I like it when made with pesto base spread, eggplant and Parmesan cheese.

Tomato Rasam

Ingredients

1 tsp tamrid paste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tomato

1/2 tsp mustard

1/2 Jeera

4 - 5 Curry Leaves

1/8 cup toor dal (pressure cooked)

2 tbsp rasam powder

Steps

• In a pot add 1/2 cup water and cook the tamrid paste. Instead of tamrid paste if you are using whole tamrid, soak it in hot water and then mash it to get the tamrid water. 1 small lemon size tamrid ball should be enough.
• Add the tomato and cooked toor dal to the tamrid water. Also turmeric powder (if your rasam powder does not have turmeric powder) and 2 -3 cups of water. Let it boil for 5 mins.
• Add rasam powder and let it boil for 10 - 15 mins. Include water if necessary.
• Finally in a wok pop mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves in oil/ghee and garnish it in rasam.

Chilli Potato

Ingredients

1. Potatos dipped in salt(pinch) water for atleast 15 min
2. Chopped Onions
3. Chopped Garlic
4. Corn flour ( dry)
5. Corn flour ( wet - add a teaspoon of cornflour in half cup of water)
6. Dry red chilli
7. Chilli sauce
8. Tomato sauce
9. Soya sauce
10. Vinegar
11. Salt to taste
12. Pinch of sugar

Procedure:

1. Chop potatoes slices (thick) and dip in dry corn flour and deep fry.
2. In a kadai , take some oil, add dry red chilli, chopped onions and chopped garlic. Saute till onions turn golden brown.
3. Add capsicum and saute.
4. Add chilli sauce, tomato ketchup ( you can use Maggi sweet and hot sauce also instead of chilli sauce and ketchup), soya sauce and a dash of vinegar.
5. Mix everything well and taste. At this point you can add some salt and a pinch of sugar.
6. Add the wet corn flour. Stir. The sance will start to thicken. You can vary the quantity based on if you would want the dish to be semi-gravy or fully gravy.
7. Add the fried potatos and flip the sauce/masala over the potato. Be careful not to break the potatoes.
8. One indication that you are on the right path is the aroma. You are sure to sense the "chinese" flavour.
9. Put off the flame and transfer to a plate.
10. You can use tooth picks in case its to be used as an appetizer or just serve as a side dish with fried rice or noodles.

Rasam Powder

Ingredients

2 cups Dhania

1/2 cup Whole black pepper

1/2 cup Jeeragam

2 tsp tumeric powder

1/2 cup (almost) toor dal

1 tbsp - channa dal (make the almost 1/2 of toor dal to 1/2 by adding channa dal)

6 - Dry Red chilli

Grind the above (need not be fine).

If you are not adding tumeric powder in the powder add it to the rasam while making it.

Sambar Powder

Ingredients

4 cups coriander seeds

1 cup toor dal

1 tbsp channa dal

10 red chilli

2 tamrid or 1 tsp

3/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup fenugeek seed

grind it fine. If you want to grind in mixy then dry fry the ingredients. This sambar powder is different from dosa sambar powder.

Dosa Sambar

Ingredients

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard

1/2 tsp Asafoetida/perungayam
1/2 Jeera

1 tsp Tamrid paste

1/4 tsp Tumeric powder

1/2 Sambar powder (refer to my other blog)

Other Ingredients

2 tbsp Dosa Sambar powder

1 1/2 tbsp coconut powder

1- 1 1/2 cups Toor Dal boiled

2 tomato sliced

Grind the other ingredients and keep it aside.

Tips - I usually boiled toor dal in pressure cooker, but we can also cook it in microwave as long as you can mash the toor dal finally. For 1 cup of toor dal use 2 cups of water for boiling.

Steps

• Heat oil in a wok and put mustard and let it pop. Add Jeera and asafoetida.
• Choose any vegetables of your choice and add it to the oil and cook for a while (it is easy if you precook the vegetable in microwave).
• It is enough if it is half cooked. Add 1 cup water.
• Add 1 tsp tamrid paste and let it get cooked (optional but I usually add).
• Once the tamrid is cooked, add the grinded ingredient.
• Add sambar powder, tumeric, salt. Some coriander leaves Let the content get boiled, add let it boil for 10 - 15 mins in medium heat and the sambar is done.

Variations for Arachu vita sambar

Same steps as above except, add tamrid and the sambar powder (little) (this is not the dosa sambar powder but the normal one). Note vegetables can be anything.

Dosa Sambar - Powder

Ingredients

2/3 cup Coriander seeds

1/3 cup Channa dal

6 - Dry red chilli

10 -15 Fenugeek seeds

Steps

1) Add all of the above ingredients in a wok and dry fry without oil.

2) Cool and then grind

I usually use this powder for making dosa sambar and for any poriyal (cooked vegetable) to taste like podimas.

Thogayal (without coconut)

Ingredients

toor dal - 1/4 cup

red chilli - 2

hing

1 tsp oil

Oil fry the above until light brown.

Other ingredients

1/4 tsp Tamrid paste

salt to taste

2 tbsp water

Grind the fried ingredients with tamrid, salt and water.

Potato Fry

Ingredients

6 Potato

1/2 tsp Red chilli/to taste

1/4 tsp perungayam

Salt to taste

Steps

• Finely Chop the potato (I like it steamed, skin pealed and cut into small cubes)
• In a pan add oil, perungayam and salt. Now add the potato and fry.
• Once the potato is roasted, add the chilli powder and mix for 1 - 2 mins.

Pongal

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice

1/4 moong dal

Cook the above in a pressure cooker with 2 1/4 cup of water.

Other ingredients

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ghee

1/4 perungayam/Asafoetida

4- 5 cashew

1 tbsp ginger

curry leaves

salt to taste

Steps

• In a wok, heat oil ghee. Fry cashew until light brown and keep it aside.
• Pop the curry leaves, jeera, black pepper in the left over ghee.
• Add perungayam and ginger and fry for a minute.
• Add the cooked rice and dal.
• Add salt to taste.

Moor Kulambu (Kadi)

Oil fry the follow

20 channa dal

10 vendhayam

1 kanjamulaga/dry red chilli

1 green chilli

Grind the above ingredients with coconut (1 tsp), curry leaves and Jeera (1/2 tsp)

Other Ingredients

1/2 tsp mustard

1/4 tsp perungayam/Asafoetida

1/4 tsp tumeric

4 - 5 curry leaves

Steps

• In a Wok, heat 1 tsp of oil pop - mustard.
• Add curry leaves, perungayam and tumeric.
• Then fry the vegetables (vendaikkai (bindi/okra), sepangkalangu (colocasia/taro), potato, dried vethal like sundaikai) in oil. Microwave the vegetables for 5 mins to make the frying process fast.
• Simmer the heat and then add curd, salt to taste and ground content.
• Stop heat in 5 mins.

Rice Muruku Vadam

Ingredients

1 cup rice flour

3 cups water

1 tsp javarisi (sabudhana)

6 green chilli

perungayam

salt to taste

2 lime/curd

Steps

• Soak the javarisi in water. Grind the javarisi, green chilli and perungayam. Folks down in India add perandai while grinding, but since it is difficult to get it here we can avoid. This adds an aroma to match the taste back home :(
• Make batter with water and rice flour
• Cook the batter and the ground paste until it is in consistency to make vethal. Usually the cooked rice batter will look translucent when hot.
• At this point switch off the heat and add lemon or curd to add the sour taste. Do not add lemon when it is in heat as it will make the batter bitter.
• Use Muruku machine or use zipper bag with a hole enough to make muruku.
• Of course dry it in sun until all the moisture is gone.