I had never thought of making chutneys with capsicum. This wonderful recipe was shared by my friend Shyams,when we had a talk over the phone sometime back. Initially I had a hesitation to try this as I thought that the taste might not sound so great, but I was wrong. This chutney has got a very tangy taste which goes well with idlies and dosas. I even liked it with chapathi.
1 Red Capsicum/Bell Pepper washed and sliced
2 Medium size Onions sliced
3 cloves of Garlic
2-3 Tomatoes sliced
5 Red chillies
1/4 tsp Hing
A pinch of tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil as reqd
For Seasoning:
Curry leaves and Mustard seeds
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and fry the capsicums separately till they turn soft. Keep them separate.
2. In the same pan add some more oil and fry red chillies and garlic, saute for 2 minutes or so.Then add the onions and fry till it turns translucent.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes,salt and hing. Fry it till the tomaotes are cooked well and turns soft. Allow them to cool.
4. In a Blender or Mixie grind together all the ingredients including capsicum with tamarind and transfer it to a bowl.
Season it with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Delicious Red capsicum chutney is ready!!!!!
I thought of trying something different with Mushroom like appetizer. I got this idea of stuffed mushroom when I was going through the weekly ad from a local store,they had made some stuffing in mushroom with bacon and cheese which gave me a good idea. Being a Vegetarian, I thought of substituting the filling with our own PANEER.I just tried it with few mushrooms as I wasn't sure about the taste.But how would it go wrong with paneer as stuffing? It turned out to be a perfect appetizer. It tastes too good except for one reason, its more caloric.
10 Mushrooms
1 Cup grated paneer
1 Medium size Onion finely chopped
3 Green chillies
1/4 Cup finely chopped Cilantro
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Chat Masala
1 tsp Amchur/ Dry Mango powder
Salt as required
Oil for frying
Method:
1. Wash the mushrooms and peel off the outer layer. Remove the stalk from the mushroom and clean the inner portion(It should look like a bowl).
2. In a plate or bowl add the grated paneer,onions,green chillies,cilantro,garam masala,chat masala,amchur powder and salt. Give them a gentle mix. Try not to give more pressure when you mix as the paneer will loose its texture.
3. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan, try to maintain the heat in medium till you fry the mushrooms completely.
4. Take a spoon of the paneer mixture and stuff them into the mushroom.Try to fill the stuffing as much as possible. Do this for all the mushrooms.
5. Place the stuffed mushroom gently in oil so as to avoid the stuffing from spilling into the oil.
6. Fry them till the mushroom turns crispy or golden brown color.
7. Drain the excess oil in a paper towel and enjoy your stuffed mushroom with sauce.
Today I thought of making poori and checked in the fridge to see the vegetables available to make curry. But there was absolutely no vegetables I could make curry with, except tomatoes. So I thought of making tomato Kurma which I had never tried making as side dish for Poori. It tasted so good with poori. So even if you don't have any vegetables, no worries just try doing this Kurma and it goes well with almost all dishes including rice. Especially curd rice.
Now coming back to the recipe, add the things given under "to grind" into a fine paste with little water.
2 Onions chopped
5 Small Tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 Bay leaf
1 Clove
A Pinch of Hing
Oil as reqd
Salt as reqd
1/2 tsp Sugar
Coriander leaves to garnish
To Grind into fine paste:
1/2 Cup grated Coconut
10-15 Almonds and Cashews(can use cashews alone)
2 tbsp Khas Khas (Poppy seeds)
2 Green chillies
4 Red chillies
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan, once it is hot add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. Now add the fennel seeds, bay leaves and cloves. Fry them till you get a nice aroma.
2. Once it is done, add the Onions and fry till it turns golden color.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes,hing and cook them until the tomaotes turn soft.
4. Finally add the ground masala. Add required amount of water,sugar,salt and boil it in low flame for 10 min.
5. Garnish with Coriander leaves.
Ready to go....
I was looking for this recipe and there were too many versions of Bhel puri, each one made in their own style. But I wanted to get the exact taste of the roadside shops made Bhel puri in my hometown. And thanks to my husband for this Wonderful recipe. He finally brought the taste I was longing for,in his own stlye.Believe it or not I was on the top of the wolrd when I tasted it.I wanted to post this recipe for my friends who are waiting for it.....We could make it easily as we had chalna ready in hand. Please look for Chalna recipe in my blog.
Chalna for Bhel Puri
2 Cups Puffed rice or Pori
10 - 15 Small pooris (look for recipe in my blog)
1 Cup Sev or Oma podi
1/4 Cup Roasted Peanuts
1 tsp Chat masala powder
1 tsp Amchur or Dry Mango powder
1 Onion Chopped
3 Green chilles finely chopped
Tamarind chutney to taste
Vegetable Chalna to taste ( a type of curry made in Tamilnadu, look for recipe in my blog)
Salt to taste
Cilantro to Garnish
Method:
1. In a bowl mix Puffed rice, crushed pooris, peanuts,finely chopped onions, green chilles, vegetable chalna, tamarind chutney, chat masala, amchur powder and salt. Give them a really good mix.
2. Garnish them with Sev and Cilantro.
Enjoy your Bhal puri friends......
P.S. I have made a small variation in the Chalna made for this Bhel Puri recipe. I added only Green peas and not the other vegetables. To get the colour I grinded few cooked peas and added it to the Chalna
I should say, this is one of my favourite recipes. Mainly because its very easy to make and tasty too. The flavor of the jeera and the spices when cooked with rice really gives a fantastic aroma and a yummy taste. Can be served with potato chips and Raita.
2 Cups Basmathi Rice
3 tbsp Jeera or Cumin seeds
2 Cardamom
2 Cloves
1 Bay leaf
1 Cinnamon stick
10 Cashews
1 Onion Sliced
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
3 Green chillies
1/4 Cup Peas
4 cups of water (approx)
Oil/Ghee as needed
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Soak Basmathi Rice in water for 15-20 mins.
2. Meanwhile heat oil/ghee in a pan, add Cashews,Cardamom,Cloves,Bay leaf, Cinnamon and Jeera and fry them until the cashews turn golden color.
3. Now add the chopped Onions and Green chilles.Cook the Onions until they become soft.
4. Finally add in the Ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes off.
5. Drain the soaked rice and mix it with the masala in the pan and saute for a min until the masala coats fully with the rice.
6. Now transfer them into a rice cooker and add the peas and salt. Give it a nice mix.Add water and cook it.
Your yummy Jeera rice will be ready in 20 min. Enjoy it with Raita.
Parotta is my all time favourite dish. I tried making it a lot of times to get the perfect taste of it. It requires a lot of oil, but worth doing once in a while.
4 Cups Maida or All Purpose Flour
1 cup of water (approx)
Oil as needed
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Mix Maida, salt and water in a bowl and knead it as you do for chapathis.
2. Then add oil to the dough and continue kneading until it becomes really soft.
3. Cover it with a damp cloth and set it aside for 2-3 hrs.
4. Make the dough into medium sized balls by applying oil to each one .
5. Press the dough with applying a spoon of oil in your counter tops or chapathi rolling board. It will have elasticity and as you start rolling it rolls back. So keep applying oil so that it doesn't stick to the rolling pin or board and does not roll back.
6. Now try to make pleats as you do for saree and make it to a ball shape(it should look like a ball with layers)
7. Apply some more oil to the circled dough and press it from the centre with your hands first and then with the rolling pin. Do not press it so hard as the layers will disappear.
8. Meanwhile heat the tawa with little oil for frying the parottas. Cook them until both the sides turn golden brown and crispy( It should be crispy because it tastes yummy when it is little crisp)
9. Once it is cooked,take it out and try to beat the parottas with your hands on both the ends for the layers to separate.
10. Serve hot with Kurma or Chalna.
Hey Friends!!!! Finally I have posted the recipe of the Puri for Bhel and Pani puri. I have mentioned about adding baking powder in this dish which is totally optional.Baking powder makes your pooris to puff, though I did not use it, I guess you could make it out with the picture of my poori.If you really want a puffed poori you can try using the Baking powder and tell me how it turned out. And its better to use the fine sooji for this recipe.
1 Cup of Fine Sooji
2 tbsp of Maida or All Purpose Flour
A Pinch of Baking powder ( optional)
1/2 cup of luke warm water (approx)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Mix Sooji,Maida, salt and water in a bowl and knead it for atleast 4-5 mins. It should not be sticky.Generally sooji absorbs more water and it does not stick.
2. Add little oil to the dough and knead for few more minutes..
3. Cover it with a paper towel or damp cloth and leave it aside for 15-20 mins.
4. Now roll them into big chapathis and cut them with a small circular lid. This saves your time. Else you will get tired rolling them into very small pooris.
5. Heat oil in a pan and fry the pooris until they turn crispy.
The above measurement makes approximately 40 pooris, so you can store them in a ziplock . Stays fresh and good for a week. You can use these pooris for making Bhel Puri or Pani puri .
Chalna is the name given for curry generally made with chicken in Tamil Nadu. I have no idea how to make chalna, be it chicken or vegetables.I always had a feel that its a curry made only with chicken. Thanks to my husband for this wonderful version of Chalna. This recipe is by my hubby. We were discussing about making something different and he came out with this idea of Vegetable Chalna. My part in this recipe was just assisting him. The taste was really awesome, so was the smell because of the freshly ground masalas.
1 Onion chopped
4-5 Garlic pods chopped
1/2 Ginger Chopped
1 Tomato chopped
4 tbsp Grated Coconut
2 Green Chilles
2 Potatoes cubed
2 Carrots cubed
1 Cup sliced beans
1/4 Cup Green Peas
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Peppercorns
2 Cloves
1 stick Cinnamom
6 Red chilles
Hing to taste
Lemon juice to taste.
Oil as needed
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Dry roast Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds,Peppercorns,Cinnamaom,Cloves and Red chilles until you get a nice smell and allow them to cool.
2. Then add oil to the same pan and fry the onions,garlic,ginger and tomatoes till it becomes soft.
3. Fry coconut with little oil until the raw smell goes off.
4. Now grind the roasted spices separatley and the onion mixture with coconut.
4. In a Pressure cooker heat little oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Now add in the ground Onion masala, hing,green chilles and spices masala and saute them for few minutes.
5. Add in all the vegetables to this mixture and saute them for the vegetables to absorb masala. Add Salt and water( as per the thickness you prefer) and pressure cook for one Whistle.
6. Wait for the pressure to release and add a few drops of lemon juice to the Chalna.
Yummy Vegetable Chalna is READYYY...Goes well with Pooris,Parotta and Chapathis.
Kara boondhi as its known in tamil is one of the famous snack. Its prepared in almost every home during festival days like diwali. I would like to do it as its one of the snack that can be made easy with less effort. You need a boondhi laddle to make this or the easy as it is can be made using a laddle which has small holes in it (I guess this should be available in almost every kitchen)
Ingredients:
2 Cups Besan flour (Kadalai maavu in Tamil)
4 tbsp Rice flour
1 tbsp Chilli powder
2 tsp Hing
Few fried Cashewnuts
Oil for frying
Salt as reqd
Curry leaves (fried) for garnishing
Method:
1. Mix besan flour, rice flour,chilli powder, salt and hing in a bowl.
2. Make them to a paste consistency adding some water. It should not become too liquid.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan.
4. Once the oil is hot enough to fry take the mixture and spread it on the laddle. This should directly fall on the oil.
5. Just be sure that the mixture falls as droplets in the oil.
6. Fry them till it turns golden brown in colour.
7. Take the boondhi out and drain the excess oil by spreading in a paper towel.
8. Now add the fried cashews and curry leaves to the boondhi. Mix well.
Your yummy Kara boondhi is ready to taste.
This Mango rice is one of my favourite dishes. My mother use to make this often(just because I like it) and this recipe is from her.
Ingredients:
5 Red chillies
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Channa dhal
1 tbsp Urad dhal
1 string Curry leaves
1 tsp Turmeric powder
A pinch of Hing
1 big Mango grated
Cooked rice
Oil/ghee
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves and Fried Cahews for garnishing
Method:
1. In a pan add oil, once the oil is hot add mustard and cumin seeds.
2. Once they begin to crackle add the channa dhal, urad dhal, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry them till the dhals turn golden brown.
3. Now add the salt,hing and turmeric powder. Saute them for few seconds.
4. Add the grated mango and fry it till the oil seperates from the mixture.
5. Allow the mixture to cool and add the cooked rice to this mixture. Mix well.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and Cashews.
Ohh!!! Making paalkova or milk burfi needs really more patience. I generally love making more sweets, though my husband is not a person who likes sweets. And coming to this recipe if you plan to make it plzzzzzzzzzz be sure that you need half of your day. Though the ingredients seem to be simpler, the process of bringing it to a sweet takes nearly 3-4 hrs.For me the final result turned out to be YUMMY. My friends loved it and my husband too.As the saying "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work".
2 litres Milk
2 cups Sugar
Few fried Cashews or Almonds to decorate (Optional)
Increase or decrease the quantity as required.
Method:
1. In a heavy bottomed pan add milk and bring it to boil. Reduce the flame to medium.
2. Keep stirring the milk till the volume reduces. In my experience it takes 2-3 hrs for the volume to reduce and becomes thick.
3. The milk changes color and becomes brown.
4. Add 2 cups of sugar(or according to the sweetness you like) to the thickened milk and continue stirring for another 30 minutes.
5. The milk & sugar mixture thickens further and should not stick to the pan.
6. Swith off the stove and pour the mixture into a plate or baking sheet greased with ghee.
7. Allow them to cool completely and make balls out of it and flatten the balls into disc shapes.(You can also cut them into square shape or your desired shapes after its cooled completely)
8. if you want decorate them with fried cashews or almonds.
Lets see a very simple but very nutritious recipe today. I know bitter gourd is such a vegetable that most of us would not like. But it has great nutritive values.
Ingredients:
10 Bittergourd
1 tbsp Chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Pinch of hing
Salt as reqd
Oil as reqd for shallow fry
Method:
1. Wash the bittergourd and make them into thin round shaped slices.
2. Add the sliced Bittergourd,Chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt in a bowl and mix them.
3.Set them aside around 15 minutes for the bittergoud to absorb the masala.
4.In a pan add oil. Once the oil is hot add Mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
5.Now add the masala coated bittergourd and fry them in medim for a minimum of 20 min with stirring them often.
6. Be careful not to burn them. Once the bittergourd becomes crispy turn off the stove and transfer it to a bowl.
Goes well as a side dish with most of the rice dishes.
