Falafal Sandwich

Ingredients

• Soaked chickpeas - 2 cups
• All purpose flour or maida - 2 tspn
• Small Onion - 1
• Garlic - 3
• Baking soda - 1/4 tspn
• Coriander powder - 1 tspn
• Cumin powder - 1 tspn
• Chilli flakes - 1/2 tspn
• Parsley - 2 tspn
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

health tip

Chickpeas or channa is rich in Folate, dietary fiber( with skin on), Protein, B Vitamins & Iron. Beans & legumes are a good substitute for meat protein. High fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal making these beans especially a good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

Falafal

method

I was hooked to falafals after having falafal sandwiches at Maoz. Since then I wanted to make them at home. At first, I tried with instant falafal mixes but they did not taste like the ones I had at the restaurant. Therefore, I searched for falafal recipes in the net & experimented with few of them. After couple of trials & adjustments I am finally satisfied with this one. Please go ahead and try this recipe & let me know your comments. This recipe will produce 10 medium sized falafals.

1. Soak the beans overnight. It doesn't have to be cooked. Cooked beans make the Falafal soft & fall apart while frying. This is also the reason why we should not go for tinned beans.
2. Chop the garlic, onion, coriander & parsley leaves coarsely. Add it to a food processor along with other ingredients & soaked chickpeas. Grind them all coarsely with out adding water.
3. Add approximately 1/2 tspn or more of salt & mix well. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
4. Take the dough out after 20 minutes of refrigeration & make equal sized balls & flatten them to 1 inch vadai. Fry them in hot oil. This recipe yields 11 falafals.
   

   You may freeze falafal for future use. To freeze them, arrange the vadai 1 inch apart in a freezer safe container & place the container in the freezer. To thaw & fry the falafal later, place the frozen falafal in a microwave safe plate & microwave them for a minute or two. Fry them as usual.

   
   
5. You may serve fried falafals as part of a sandwich. You can make yummy sandwiches with pita bread, falafal and hummus. You will need to first spread the hummus on the pita and then add falafal patties to it along with lettuce, tomato, onion and olives.

Banana Fritters

Ingredients

• Ripe Banana - 2
• All purpose flour or Maida - 1/2 cup
• Salt - a pinch
• Sugar - 2 1/2 tbspn
• Large egg white - 1
• Baking powder - a pinch
• Milk & water - 1/4 cup together

health tip

Banana is packed with lot of minerals especially potassium which lowers blood pressure.

Banana Fritters

method

Asian restaurants (Thai or Malaysian) serve this dessert with ice cream. Cold ice cream at the center with hot & crispy fritters on the sides drizzled with sweet syrup. Mouth watering, right? Come, join me, I will show how to make fritters at home at your own convenience.

1. Mix the dry ingredients together & make a batter with egg white, milk & water. The batter should be thick like Bajji batter.
2. Peel the banana & cut them into three pieces. Cut the pieces length wise into three.
3. Heat some oil in a pan. Dip the banana pieces into the batter & fry them till golden brown.
4. Serve them hot with ice cream and sprinkle some powdered sugar over it & serve hot.

Chicken or Mutton Uppu Kari

Ingredients

• Chicken or Mutton - 1 pound (1/2 Kg)
• Chopped  large onion - 1
• Chopped garlic - 5
• Chopped tomato - 1
• Red chillies - 3
• Chilli powder - 1/4 tspn
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Coconut milk - 3 tbspn tinned or milk from a cup of coconut
• Curry leaves, Fennel seeds, Cinnamon for seasoning.

health tip

Chicken and mutton are both high in protein. Mutton unlike chicken is red meat with more fat. However, mutton is a good source of Iron. It is recommended to go with chicken especially if you are watching your cholesterol.

Chicken or Mutton Uppu Kari

method

Uppu Kari is a Chettinad delicacy usually made with mutton(goat meat). You can use Chicken as an alternative if you are unable to find good goat meat. Where I live, goat meat is hard to find, hence the reason for Chicken in this recipe. Uppu kari is a dry curry cooked in coconut milk spiced with dried red chillies. Majority of the heat in the curry comes from dried red chillies than from chilli powder. Dried red chillies are fried in oil & cooked in coconut milk to make them little bit sweeter. Taste would be even better if you use goat meat or chicken with bone in.

1. Extract milk from coconut & set aside.
2. Wash & cut the meat into small pieces. Break the chillies into half. Dice the onion, garlic & tomato.
3. Heat some oil in a kadai or pressure pan. Since the cooking time varies, kadai may work for chicken but for mutton it is best to use pressure cooker.
4. Add the seasonings to the hot oil. Fry the broken red chillies. Saute the chopped onion, garlic & tomato one after another along with salt, turmeric powder & chilli powder till tomato gets mushy.
5. Add the meat pieces & saute them till raw meat smell goes off. Add the coconut milk & cook the meat with lid closed. When the meat is cooked, open the lid & cook it till the liquid condenses or evaporates. If the meat looks over cooked, separate the meat from the liquid & leave it in a bowl till the liquid reduces to 1/4th of its quantity. Finally, add the meat & let it dry out.

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

Ingredients

• For Batter
• Cauliflower - 1/2 of one large flower or approximately 3 cups cut into florets
• All-purpose flour or Maida - 2 tbspn
• Corn starch or corn flour - 2 tbspn
• Rice flour - 1 tbspn
• Chilli powder-1/2 tspn
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Salt to taste
• Water to make batter
• For Gravy
• Medium onion -1 finely chopped
• Green pepper - 1/4 finely chopped
• Green chilly - 1 small or 1/2 bigger
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Chilli sauce - 1/2 tspn
• Soy sauce - 1/2 tspn to 1 tspn
• Tomato Ketchup - 1 1/2 tbspn
• Sesame oil - 1 1/2 tbspn
• Brown sugar - 1/4 tspn
• Lemon juice - 1 tspn
• Coriander & green onion for garnishing
• Salt to taste

health tip

Cauliflower and other vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and kale contain compounds that may help prevent cancer. Sulfur-Containing Phytonutrients in cauliflower promote liver detoxification. It is rich in Vitamin C, K and folate. Spicing cauliflower with turmeric help promote men's health. Green Pepper is rich in Vitamin C & Vitamin A.

Gobi Manchurian

method

1. Mix all the ingredients given for batter with half a cup of water.
2. Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter & deep fry them till crispy. Keep them aside.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a pan & add ginger garlic paste & green chillies. Saute them for few minutes.
4. Add the onions & saute it. After 2 minutes, add the green peppers & saute it for 2 more minutes. The veggies should retain their crunchiness. Add the other ingredients given for sauce with 2 1/2 tbspn water. Cook them for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat.
5. Add the fried gobi to the sauce. Mix well & transfer to the serving dish & garnish it with chopped coriander leaves & green onions.
   

   Mix the cauliflower just before serving to retain the crispiness of the cauliflower. Onions can be substituted with 1/4 cup of green onions.

   
   

Cauliflower Masala

Ingredients

• Cauliflower - 1/2 of the flower
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Channa dal - 3 tspn
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Curry powder - 1 tspn
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Fennel seeds & curry leaves for seasoning

health tip

Cauliflower and other vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale contain compounds that may help prevent cancer. Sulfur-Containing Phytonutrients in cauliflower promote liver detoxification. It is rich in Vitamin C, K and folate. Spicing cauliflower with turmeric helps promote men's health. Channa dal adds protein to this dish.

Cauliflower Masala

method

1. Soak the channa dal in water for 30 minutes.
2. Dice the onions & tomatoes. Cut the cauliflower into florets & soak them in warm salted water.
3. Heat some oil in a pan & season it with fennel seeds & curry leaves.
4. Saute the ginger garlic paste, onion & tomato. Add turmeric powder, salt, curry powder, chilli powder & drained channa dal. Saute them till the oil separates.

Adding split gram dal(pottukadalai) powder at the final stage will absorb extra moisture & make the cauliflower nice & dry.

5. When the oil separates, drain & add the cauliflower. Cover the pan with a lid & cook till the florets are 3/4th done. Sprinkle water if needed. Open the lid & let the masala dry out. Garnish it with coriander leaves.
   

Mor Kuzhambu

Ingredients

• Sour Yogurt - 2 cups
• Green Chillies - 2
• Channa Dal - 1/2 tspn
• Toor Dal - 1/2 tspn
• Rice - 1/2 tspn
• Coconut - 3 tspn
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tspn
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tspn
• Hinge - a pinch
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Curry leaves - for seasoning
• Garlic - 1 pod (or) Ginger - 1/2 inch

health tip

Yogurt is rich in Calcium, Vitamin B2, B12 & protein. Yogurt has a friendly bacteria Lactobacillus which helps to regulate the digestive system & boost the immune system. Daily consumption of 3 oz of yogurt helps to lower LDL(bad cholesterol) & increase HDL(good Cholesterol). It helps to prevent stomach ulcers & reduce the risk of colorectal(colon) cancer.

Mor Kuzhambu

method

This dish is very famous in all the southern states of India. This dish goes very well with white rice & paruppu usili. You may make this recipe simple with all the ingredients as listed above or you may enhance it further by adding any available vegetables.

1. Soak the channa dal, toor dal and rice for 30 minutes.
2. You may add veggies to this dish but if you do so you need to cook them separately by adding some salt. Refer to the tips section below for more information.
3. Whip the yogurt for few minutes and set aside.
4. Grind coconut, cumin, coriander, ginger (or garlic), green chillies and all the soaked ingredients into a fine paste.
5. Heat some oil in a pan and season it with curry leaves and hinge.

   You may create many different variations of this dish by adding different vegetables. Some of the suggested vegetables are potatoes, white pumpkin, chow chow, okra, yam and Dal koftas(urundais). Remember to fry the Okra before adding to this dish. You may also add dried vathals like manathakkali, sundakkai, okra and eggplanths to this dish but they also require prior frying.

   
   
6. Add the ground paste & turmeric powder to the pan and saute it for two minutes or until the raw smell goes off.
7. Add the whipped yogurt to the mix & heat them all for couple more minutes. Do not let it boil as the yogurt will curdle with excessive heat.

10 Minutes Vegetable Biryani

Ingredients

• Basmati rice -2 cups
• Salt - 1 1/2 tspn
• Frozen mixed veggies - 2 cups cups
• Small Potato - 1
• Biryani masala - 2 tspn
• Onion - 1
• Water - 3 cup
• Mint & Coriander

health tip

Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, or cholesterol.)
Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C.

Veg Biriyani

method

This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. You can add as many vegetables as you like to this dish and are not restricted to just carrot, peas & potatoes as listed on this recipe. Frozen veggies can be substituted for fresh vegetables. Making it in pressure cooker makes the job easier. The recipe in the masala powder box may call for adding more masala than normally required. Please exercise caution since the masala powder consist of lot ground spices & may make the Biryani more stronger than usual.

1. Slice the onion length wise.
2. Dice the potato & other veggies if using fresh. Otherwise soak them in water to thaw them.
3. Heat some oil in a pan preferably pressure cooker.
4. Saute the onions & veggies along with biryani masala & salt for 3 minutes. Wash the rice & add it to the veggies. Mix in the measured water, chopped coriander & mint leaves.
5. Cover the pressure cooker & cook it for 1 whistle.

Coconut milk may be added to enhance the taste of the biryani. Reduce the amount of water if you are planning to add coconut milk. Liquid measurement is always 1 1/2 cups per cup of rice while cooking in pressure cooker.

Eggplant Avial

Ingredients

• Indian eggplant - 4-5 or 3 cups diced(if using other varieties)
• Medium Potato - 1 or 1 1/2 cups diced
• Medium onion - 1
• Medium tomato - 1
• Coconut - 3/4 cup
• Sombu(fennel seeds)- 1/2 tspn
• Cumin seeds -1/2 tspn
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Poppy seeds(optional) - 1 tspn
• Garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Roasted split gram dal(Pottukadalai) - 2 tspn

health tip

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins B1, B6 and potassium. It is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin and folic acid. The skin is rich in antioxidant called Nasunin which helps nourish the brain cells. Potatoes are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber. They are very high in carbohydrate.

Eggplant Avial

method

1. Dry roast the coconut, fennel, cumin, roasted split gram dal, poppy seeds & grind them with chilli powder into a fine paste.
2. Dice the eggplant, potato, onion & tomatoes.
3. Heat some oil in a pan & season it with 1/2 inch cinnamon stick, some fennel seeds & curry leaves.
4. Add the garlic paste & saute the diced onion & tomato. Add some turmeric powder & salt. When the tomato gets mushy, add the diced eggplant & potatoes. Saute them for 2 more minutes & mix in the ground paste. Dilute it with water to make a gravy &. Add chilli powder & salt if needed. Cover it & cook till the veggies are soft.

   You may accelerate the whole cooking process by pressure cooking for 1 whistle

5. Garnish it with coriander leaves & serve it with Idli or Dosai.
6. This recipe serves 4 people

Eggplant Fry

Ingredients

• Baby eggplant - 4
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Rice flour - 1 1/2 tspn
• Corn starch - 1/2 tspn
• Salt - 1/4 tspn or as per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn

health tip

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. It is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin and folic acid. The skin is rich in antioxidant called Nasunin which helps nourish the brain cells.

Eggplant Fry

method

1. Wash & cut the eggplants into thin slices.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together, toss the eggplant slices & sprinkle little water to the mix. Adding little water helps to hold the dry powder stick to the eggplant while frying.
3. Deep fry the slices till the outer layer is crisp.
4. Chinese eggplant may also be used for this recipe.

Beetroot Vadai

Ingredients

• Grated beetroot - 2-3 cups
• Channa dal & Toor dal -1 1/2cups combined
• Chopped Onion - 1 1/2 cup
• Chopped coriander & curry leaves - 1/4 cup
• Chilli powder - 3/4 tspn
• Sonuf(Sombu) - 1 tspn
• Hing - 1/4 tspn
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Salt - 1 tspn

health tip

Beet greens are a very good source of calcium, iron, Vitamins A and C. Beetroots are an excellent source of folic acid. Betacyanin is the pigment that gives beetroot its color and has powerful antioxidant properties. Beet fiber has been shown to have cholesterol lowering capabilities. Beetroot contains the bio-active agent betaine which supports healthy liver function.

Beetroot Vadai

method

1. Wash & soak the dal for 2 hours.
2. Grate the beetroot & squeeze the juice out. You may also grind the beetroot coarsely instead of grating. Either way you will have to take out the juice completely. You can see the pictures below for both grinding & grating. Beetroot juice that is left out may be used to make healthy soup.
3. Chop the onion, curry leaves & coriander finely.
4. Grind the sombu(sanuf) coarsely. Drain the dal & grind it coarsely along with ground sanuf without adding water. The dal should not be ground finely. Grinding them for 2-3 seconds yields a good texture.
   

   If the ground mix is watery, you may reduce the water by adding a teaspoon or two of besan flour. If the mix is still too thin, you may make usili instead of vadai by sauteing the ground mix in a nonstick pan with some oil till the mix becomes dry and powdery.

   
   
5. Mix the ground mixture, chopped onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves & other powders together. Make equal sized balls & flatten them & fry the vadais in hot oil. This recipe yields 20 vadais.
   

   Vadai can be frozen for future use. Make the vadai as per the procedure & freeze them before frying them. Place the vadai 1/2 inch apart in a flat freezer safe box. Place a plastic wrap between each layer if two or more layers have to be added(see the picture below for reference). Freeze them flat. You may thaw the frozen vadai by placing them separately in a microwave safe plate & by microwaving them for 1-2 minutes followed by frying.

   
   

Plain Yogurt

Things required

• Milk - 1 quart
• Live culture - 1 tbspn
• Non fat dry milk powder - 1/2 cup (optional)
• Thermometer -(optional)
• Thermos box or Insulated bag needed during cold weather.

health tip

Yogurt is rich in Calcium, Vitamin B2, B12 & protein. Yogurt has a friendly bacteria Lactobacillus which helps to regulate the digestive system & boost the immune system. Daily consumption of 3 oz of yogurt helps to lower LDL(bad cholesterol) & increase HDL(good Cholesterol). It helps to prevent stomach ulcers & reduce the risk of colorectal(colon) cancer.

Homemade yogurt

method

Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made by adding bacterial culture into milk, which converts sugar(lactose) in the milk into lactic acid. Bacterial culture is derived from existing yogurt. It is important to change culture whenever the yogurt gives off smell or texture. Store bought non-fat plain yogurt can be used as culture. While selecting the store bought yogurt for culture look for the labels with active live culture. Leave the store bought yogurt overnight at room temperature to ferment the culture little more. During summer you can leave it out for 5-6 hours. The end product resembles the culture in taste & flavor. Good quality culture results in flavorful yogurt.

1. Bring the milk to rolling boil (around 220 degrees)in a stove top. Microwaving is not preferred because of its uneven heating. Boiling the milk prevents contamination. Adding dry milk powder yields thicker yogurt & increase the calcium level.
2. Let it cool to lukewarm(110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 degree Celsius).
3. Pour the milk into a glass or a vessel & add the culture. Leave it overnight in a warm place(100 degree Fahrenheit or 38 degree Celsius). At winter time yogurt can be allowed to set in a thermos box or in an insulated bag. It can also be allowed to set in an oven by pre-heating the oven at 100 degrees. Do remember to turn the oven off after pre-heating. Leave the yogurt in warm oven for 7 -8 hours
4. At any time of the year it needs to be incubated at 100 degrees for not less than 7 hours. More than 7 hours of incubation yields thicker & sour yogurt. Taste the yogurt after 7 hours & refrigerate it if its done or leave it till it ferments to your desired taste.

Sour yogurt(fermented for 8 hours) is mixed with rice. Sweet yogurt(fermented for 7 hours) is mixed with fruits.

Adding the culture to milk when it is too hot(more than 110 degree) or too cold(below 100 degree) results in a slimy texture and will not allow the yogurt to set correctly. Extreme changes to temperature in the milk may also kill the bacteria in the culture.

Rice Uppma mix

Ingredients

• Parboiled rice - 4 cups
• Raw rice - 2 cups
• Toor dal - 1 cup
• Black pepper - 3 tspn
• Cumin seeds - 2 tspn

method

This mix comes in handy if you are in a hurry or if some unexpected guest arrives. Rice uppma is a fine dish but is always used as an emergency stop gap dish on most functions because of the ease of preparation of this dish. Making uppma with this mix doesn't require lot of skill or time. Although it takes 10 minutes to make the uppma, the mix takes 2-3 days to prepare because of the need to wash and dry the rice and dal (sun or air dried). This mix can be stored for months.

1. Wash the rice & dal separately & drain the water thoroughly.
2. Spread them in a towel separately & dry them out under sun if you live in a tropical region. Those who can not dry it out under sun can dry them inside the home by spreading it on a dining table & leave it till it gets completely dry. When you bite a grain or two of rice it should be hard just like the rice before washing. To achieve this level of dryness, you may need to use an even to dry the rice and dal further for few more minutes at the minimum temperature setting. Please use a cookie sheet to dry them in the oven. Keep an eye on the rice so that it does not puff up.
3. Grind them separately in a blender to a coarse powder (coarser than rava).
4. Grind the pepper & cumin together into a coarse powder. Mix them all together & store them in a dry place.

   You may mix the ground rice & dal powder together and run them through a sieve to eliminate any finely ground particles. The powder has to be coarse and not too fine for the uppma to come out good.

   
   

Stuffed Eggplant Curry

Ingredients

• Purple eggplant - 10
• Large onion - 1
• Garlic pods - 4
• Chilli powder - 3/4 tspn
• Coriander powder - 3/4 tspn
• Cumin powder - 1/4 tspn
• methi powder - 1/4 tspn
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Salt - 1 tspn
• Jaggery 1 tspn
• Tamarind paste - 1 tspn
• Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup

health tip

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It's a very good source of vitamins B1, B6 and potassium. It’s a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and folic acid. The skin is rich in antioxidant called Nasunin which helps to nourish the brain cells.

Stuffed Eggplant Curry

method

This is a tangy & spicy dish. The eggplants are quartered, stuffed & cooked in tamarind juice. The very look of it will make you drool. This recipe is in response to the Vegetable Marathon Eggplant event. For this recipe you will need fresh baby purple eggplant with no bruises. This dish goes well with rice & Paruppu masiyal (Dal).

1. Dry roast the peanuts & let it cool.
2. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai & saute the diced onion & garlic till they become tender or translucent. Let them cool. When cooled, grind into a fine paste adding roasted groundnuts, all the powders & salt.
3. Wash & cut the eggplants. Cut them from bottom halfway through top with the stem intact.
4. Stuff the eggplants with the ground paste. Keep the remaining paste aside.

Eggplant gets oxidized & turns brown when exposed to air. To prevent this soak the sliced eggplant in water till it is ready to cook.

5. In a kadai heat some oil & season it with cumin seeds & curry leaves. Add the stuffed eggplants & remaining paste with a cup of water. Cover the kadai & cook the eggplants turning from time to time not to let the bottom burn.
6. When the eggplants are 3/4th cooked add the tamarind paste & jaggery with another cup of water. Taste it & add salt if needed. Cover the pan & cook them till completely soft. Garnish it with coriander leaves & serve with rice.
   

Vathal Kuzhambu

Ingredients

• For grinding
• Coriander seeds - 1 tspns
• Toor dal - 1 tspn
• Channa dal - 1 tspn
• Urad dal - 1 tspn
• Rice - 1 tspn
• Dry red chilli - 4nos
• Methi - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper corn - 1/2 tspn
• Jeera - 1 tspn
• Onion - 5 nos small 0r 1/2 medium
• Garlic - 3 flakes
• Coconut - 3 pieces
• For Sauteing
• Small onion - 5 or 1/2 medium
• Tomato - 1
• mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• tamarind paste - 1/2 tspn
• curry leaves - 1 sprig
• salt to taste
• Sesame oil - 1/4 cup

Vathal Kuzhambu

method

1. Roast all the ingredients given for grinding.
2. Grind the roasted ingredients to a fine paste when cooled.
3. Soak Mango & Eggplant vadagams (if you have any) in water for 30 minutes. You will be adding them directly to the Kuzhambu in the last step of this recipe.
4. Fry the vathals (vadagams) like Sundakkai, Manathakkali, Vengya vadagam, Okra etc in some oil. Adding more than 5-6 sundakkai is not recommended since it gives the kuzhambu a bitter taste.
5. Heat some oil in a kadai & season it with mustard, urad dhal & curry leaves. Add the chopped onions & tomatoes & saute it with some salt.
6. When the tomato gets mushy, add the ground masala.
   

   Black eyed bean can also be used. Cook the bean & add it to the kuzhambu along with vathals.

7. Saute the masala with 1/4 tspn of turmeric powder for 3-4 mins & add some water. Add tamarind paste along with 1/4 tspn of jaggery. Mix in the soaked & fried vathals. Cover the kadai with lid & let it boil till the soaked vathals are cooked.
8. This recipe serves 4 - 6 people. This Kuzhambu recipe is little milder. You may add one more chilli or some chilli powder if you prefer it spicier.
   

Whipping Egg whites

1. Egg whites are easier to separate when the eggs are cold.
2.  Wipe down your mixing bowl & beater with white vinegar to ensure that they are free of any lingering traces of oil or grease that could prevent egg whites from whipping up properly. The acid in the vinegar also negates the need for cream of tarter, so if your recipe calls for it, you can leave it.
3. Avoid using aluminum bowls & tools because any acid you add to whites to increase the stability will react with aluminum & turns egg whites gray. Never use cold bowls, as chilled egg whites will take longer time to reach full volume.
4. Egg whites expand up to 8 time in volume, So a mixing bowl accordingly.
5. Egg whites can be beaten to 3 stages. First level is Soft peak. It barley holds the shape. The peak flop over immediately when the beaters are lifted. Second stage is Medium peak. At this stage the whites holds their shape well, but the tip of the peak curls over itself when the beaters are lifted. Third stage is stiff peak. As the name says the peak stands straight.

6. Over beating the whites beyond the third stage results in dry & stiff whipped eggs, which will certainly collapse when heat is applied.
7. When the recipe calls for folding other ingredients after whipping, it is better to fold them using a wire  whisk than using a plastic or metal spatula.  Spatula will put weight on the whipped whites, making them to loose their volume.

Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour - 1 cup
• Walnuts, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Banana, skin peeled, and ripe fruit mashed smoothly - 1
• Sugar - 1/4 cup
• Vegetable oil - 4 tablespoon
• Baking powder and orange extract - 1 tspn each
• Milk if needed-1/4 cup

health tip

Banana is packed with lot of minerals especially potassium which lowers blood pressure. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 which is good for heart.

banana walnut cake

method

This cake was due for a very long time. Every time I try to make this cake I will run out of one or more ingredients. Most of the time the missing ingredient would be banana without which I would not do any justice to this recipe. After a very long time, I got hold of all the necessary ingredients & successfully baked this low fat delicious banana cake.

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure the baking powder is well blended with other ingredients. In another bowl add the vegetable oil, orange extract & peeled banana & mash the banana finely using potato masher or by hand.
2. Mix the wet ingredients along with the dry ones. If the dough looks stiff add 1/4 cup of milk.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan.
4. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees & bake the cake mixture for about 30 - 45 minutes. Check if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick on it to see if it comes out clean. If the toothpick comes out clean the cake is done. If not, you will have to bake for few more minutes. Once the cake is done, take it out of the oven & let it cool in a cooling rack.
   

   This cake can also be made into muffins. You will need to fill 3/4th of the muffin cups & bake them. It is a wholesome breakfast filled with fruits & nuts.

   
   

Simple tips to get professional cleaning look

Chrome Faucets
Clean the faucet with home made all purpose cleaner & then wipe it with rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol removes the hard water deposits & make the chrome faucet gleaming like new at no time. For touch job, wipe it two or three times or till the deposit dislodges. You can get rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy section of any grocery store.
Mirror
Wipe it of with wet newspaper, then buff it with dry newspaper.Microfiber cloth does the job too.
For Glass doors & windows
Mix 1 part of white vinegar with 4 parts of water in a spray bottle. Spray it on the glass to be cleaned & wipe it off.
For greasy microwave
Heat a cup water & add a teaspoon of White vinegar & 1/4 tspn of soap. Wipe the microwave inside out while the mixture is still warm. Wipe them again with a towel rinsed in cold water.
For stove top
For greasy stove top you can use the above mixture & wipe them up while the mixture is still warm.
Base board
To remove the dust from baseboard wipe them with dry microfiber towel. It picks up all the dust.
Stain around the drain stopper 
Wet a old rag with 1 part vinegar &1 part water.  Layer the rag around the stained area. Leave it there overnight. Rub it vigorously using a nylon brush in the morning & wash it thoroughly. Always check the homemade cleaners in an inconspicuous area before trying it somewhere.

Cabbage kottu

When we were newly weds, my Hubby used to describe the recipes he made during his bachelor life. I thought he was a much better cook than me back then :-). One of the dishes that he makes is kootu & he completes the dish by mixing ground coconut & cumin seeds. However, when I make the same dish, I neither do the grinding nor add the coconut & this makes the dish taste very normal. But, when I want to make it really special, I would make it like him by adding ground coconut & cumin to the final dish. He really loves all kinds of dish as long as they have coconut on it. You can try this recipe to enhance your ordinary kootu dish into an extraordinary one.

Ingredients
Chopped Cabbage - 2 cup
Chopped Onion - 1 small
Green chillies - 2
Coconut - 3 piece
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tspn
Channa Dhal - Less than 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds,Urad dhal & curry leaves for seasoning.

Method
Slit one green chilli from bottom halfway to top. Add the chopped cabbage, onion, washed channa dhal & and the slit green chilli along with water ( around 1/4 - 1/2cup) in a cooking vessel. Let it cook with the lid closed. Mix them from time to time to make sure it doesn't get burned at the bottom. Add some more water if it is evaporated. Let it cook till the channa dhal & cabbage gets cooked. In the meantime when the veggies are cooking grind the coconut, 1/4 tspn cumin seeds & the remaining one green chilli into a fine paste. When the veggies are cooked, add the ground paste & salt. Let it cook for 5 more minutes & season it with the seasonings in some oil. Using little bit of ghee along with oil for seasoning also gives a nice flavor.

Eggplant Kuzhambu (Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu)

This Kuzhambu is a variation of regular puzhi kuzhambu. The gravy is thicker than regular kuzhambu. No other type of eggplant other than Indian one will go well with this. The eggplants are slit from bottom, halfway towards top letting them hold the pieces together. Choose the smallest eggplant you can get. This is a chettinad specialty. Back in India, whenever we attend a function like marriage or 60th birthday they will either serve this kuzhambu or Pakoda kuzhambu for lunch. I love both of them so I would skip other dishes & wait for this kuzhumbu to be served. Now I guess I wouldn't wait like that. I found the recipe almost closer to original one. Here goes the recipe.......

Ingredients

Small Brinjals (Eggplant) – 6-7

Tamarind paste– 1/2 tspn

Coriander leaves
Garlic - 4

onion - 1/2 medium

Tomato - 1

Mustard,Urad dhal, Cumin seeds, asafoteida(hing), Curry leaves for seasoning

Salt – To taste

Oil

To Grind:

Dry chilli – 3-4 count

Whole pepper – 1/2 tspn

Fenugeek seeds – 1/4 tspn

Cumins seeds – 1/2 tspn

Dhania(Coriander seeds) – 1 spoon

Kasa kasa(Poppy seeds) - 1 tspn

Coconut – 3 piece

Chopped onions – 1/2 medium

Method

Roast all the ingredients given under grinding with little oil. Blend them into a fine paste when it gets cooled. Chop the onion,garlic & tomato & slit the eggplants according to instruction given in introduction. Heat 1-2 tbspn of oil preferably sesame oil in a pan & add the seasonings. Saute the onion,garlic & tomato along with some salt till tomato gets mushy. Add turmeric powder & the ground paste & keep it stirring till the oil separates. Now add the eggplants, saute it  till the eggplant turns colour a little bit. Finally add tamarind paste & some jaggery  along with some water. Let it boil till eggplants are cooked & the gravy thickens. It tastes better when the oil floats on the top. If not, add a tspn of oil at the end. Serve it with rice & poriyal.

Aloo Paratta

Ingredients

• For chappathi
• Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Oil - 2 tspn
• Salt - 1/2 tspn
• for stuffing
• Potato - 2 medium
• Cumin powder - 1/4 tspn
• Coriander powder - 1/4 tspn
• Chilli powder - 1/4 - 1/2 tspn
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tspn
• Dry methi leaves - 1/4 tspn
• Oil - 3-4 tspn for sauteing

health tip

You may replace regular wheat flour with whole wheat flour in this recipe. Whole wheat flour is rich in fiber & is good for health. Diet conscious people may want to reduce the number of potatoes used in this recipe.

aloo paratta

method

1. Make chappathi dough using ingredients given under chappathi. Usually the flour consumes 50 - 55 percent of water. So approximately 1 1/2 cups of water is used. I learned this from VahrehVah.com.Thanks to chef Sanjai. Make the dough into equal sized balls. Keep them covered while making the stuffing.
2. Boil the potatoes & remove the skin. Mash it as fine as possible. Even a small chunk will interrupt the process. It will pop out & make it harder to roll the chappathi further more.
   In a pan heat some oil. Add ginger garlic paste & other masala powders. Add the mashed potatoes & methi leaves & mix them all together. Let it cool.
3. When cooled divide them into equal sized balls. Almost same size as the chappathi dough balls.
4. Take a chappathi ball & roll it into a small circle just the right size to hold the stuffing. No need to roll it bigger. Making bigger circle will hold some space between the dough & stuffing, which leads to unevenly stuffed chappathi. Roll the chappathi ball starting from center towards outside leaving the center thicker than perimeter.
   
5. Now place a stuffing ball in the center where it is thicker & gather the chappathi together around the stuffing towards top as shown in the picture. More like a dumpling.
   
6. Make a heap by pulling the ends together & twist it. Remove the heap. Roll them in some dry flour & roll it into chappathi.
7. Cook it in a tawa turning each side every 2 minutes. It will puff up beautifully if the stuffing is evenly spread. Repeat the steps from 5 - 8 for all the chappathi balls.
8. Enjoy it with green chutney & tamarind chutney, or with ketchup. This recipe yields 10 parattas.

Chettinad Fish Curry

Its been a long time since I made Fish Kuzhambu. I am not a big fan of fish kuzhambu. I could eat chicken gravy but not the fish(y) one. My hubby was browsing the net to find a good  recipe & finally found it. We made chicken salna & chettinad fish. Out of which Chettinad fish turned out really well. I got to try some other recipe for Salna.  He got this Fish recipe from Samai.in. Thanks to Komala at Samai.in.

Ingredients

• Cat fish - 1 pound (Cut into big pieces)
• Mustard seeds and Urad dal - 1/2 tspn
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
  
• Onion - 1 (small size) or 1/2 of a medium size onion
• Green Chili - 1
  
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
  
• Tomato - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
• Tamarind - small gooseberry size
• Sugar - less than 1/4 tspn 
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - as required (Sesame oil is preferred)

To make Paste

• Coriander seeds - 1 ½ tspn
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tspn
• Fennel seeds - 1/4 tspn
• Peppercorn - 1/4 tspn
• Toor dal - 1/4 tspn
• Fenugreek seeds (Methi) - a pinch
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Coconut - 1 tspn
• Dry red chillies - 2- 3 nos

Method

1. Roast all the ingredients given for paste in a teaspoon of oil till golden brown.Turn off the heat and let it cool. When completely cooled grind it into a very fine paste by adding little water.
2. Chop the onions, Tomatoes & green chillies. Wash & cut the fish to desired size.
3. Heat some oil in a pan & season it  with mustard & urad dhal. Add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste, onion, tomato & green chillies. Add some salt & saute till tomatoes get mushy.
4. Add turmeric powder & ground masala. Mix in a cup of water along with tamarind extract. Add sugar & let it boil for some time till the gravy thickens.
5. Finally add the fish & let it cook for another 10 minutes in medium heat.  

Kuzhi Paniyaram

 I am posting this recipe for APS Rice event hosted by Anitha. This is a Chettinad dish which is made in a special pan called Kuzhi paniyara chatti (pancake puff pan in U.S). It can either be made salt or sweet. It  goes through a process of fermentation, which gives the paniyaram it's spongy texture. This can be had as a breakfast or as a snack. The recipe I am going to post is salt paniyaram with a side dish of hot & tangy tomato chutney.

Ingredients for batter
Parboiled rice - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 cup
Urad dhal - 1/4 cup
Aval(Poha) - 1 cup
Methi seeds - 1 tspn
Salt - 1 1/2- 2 tspn

Method
Soak the ingredients together for 3-4 hours. Grind them together into a fine batter by adding water from time to time. The consistency of the batter should not be too thick or too thin but should resemble that of pancake batter.Transfer the batter to a container & add salt. Mix them together with hand. Close the container with a lid and leave it in a warm place for fermentation. During cold weather its hard to ferment the batter. The batter needs 70-80 degrees to initiate the fermentation. Heat the oven to 100 degrees for 4 minutes & then turn it off. Wrap the container with a throw & keep the container in the oven. Leave it overnight.

Making the seasonings
Chopped small or medium onion - 1/4 cup
Finely chopped green chillies - 2
Mustard, urad dhal & curry leaves for seasoning.

Method

Heat some oil in a pan & season it with mustard, urad & curry leaves. Add the green chillies & onions along with little salt. Saute till the onions turns transluscent. Mix the sauteed things to the batter. Now the batter is all set to make paniyarams.

Making paniyaram 

Heat the pancake puff pan & add very little oil in each cups. When the oil in the cups get heated pour the seasoned batter into each cups.

Cover it with a lid. Check it from time to time to see if the top of the paniyaram is cooked. When the top is cooked, flip the paniyarms upside down to let it brown. Since its a non stick pan try to flip it using wooden skewer.

Serve this paniyaram with hot and tangy tomato chutney. This dish can be enjoyed as a finger food.