Monday 30 May 2011

Palak Rice







Ingredients


 Basmati Rice 1 cup
Carrot, Cauliflower, Potatoes Cubed vegetables
Green peas ½ cup
 Chopped Palak - One bunch
 Salt
 Lemon juice1 tsp
 2 Elaichi,
1Bay leaf
1 inch Cinnamon
 3Cloves
 Garlic – 3-4 cloves
 Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
 Green Chillies - 2
 Onion - 2. Sliced length wise
 Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
 Oil 2 tablespoons
 Water – 2 cup


Method:

 Wash Rice, drain water and keep it aside for half an hour.
 Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a Pan, Garlic, Green Chillies and Fennel seeds, add chopped Palak & salt. Fry this for about 2-3 minutes, Cool it and make a paste by using a blender. Heat Oil in a cooker, Add the whole Masalas and Cumin seeds. Add Onions,Fry till golden brown. Now  add Chopped vegetables. Fry for about 3-4 minutes and then add the Palak Paste. Fry for 2-3 min and add the Basmati Rice, Salt and lemon Juice & add water  ( For every 1 cup of rice add 2 cup of water).stir well.cover the lid of the cooker.Give 2-3 whistles.remove from heat & serve the delicious yuumy palak rice with dahi raita.

sending this recipe to    from http://myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com/
sending this to the Rice event CWS - Rice hoasted by Kaarasaaram

Tomato khata:






 Ingredients:

½ kg tomatoes finely chopped
2 green chillies slit
1” grated Ginger peice
Curry leaves 
Dates 1cup
½ cup jaggery (as per your taste)
½ tsp haldi
½ tsp salt
Salt
2-3 Red chilly
Panch phutan ( mix of cumin, mustard, methi, nigella seeds)
Roasted jeera powder
oil
½ cup Grated coconut
Pinch of hing

Method:



Boil the tomatoes with dates,haldi & salt for 3-5 min. Till the tomatoes becomes soft. Keep aside.

Add oil in a pan. Add panch futan when it starts crackling add red chilly, curry leaves, hing & grated ginger. Fry for some time. Then add tomatoe mixture. Add jaggery. Boil again for 5-7 min till the jiggery melts. Then add grated coconuts. Add roasted cumin powder & stir well.remove from heat & serve with rice.

Sending this to Vardhini's Dish It Out event  -Tomato and Chilli hosted by Reva Kaarasaaram


Vegetable KHICHDI:






Ingredients:


1 cup rice
1 cup toor dal/ Rosated moong dal ( U can add any DAL from them)
2 Chopped onion
2-3 cloves of chopped garlic
1 cup of  carrot, cauliflower, potatoes, green peas (cut insmall cubes)
4-5 Red chillies
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Salt
Haldi
Water

Soak rice & dal for 15-20 min.Wash rice & toor dal. Drain all water from rice & dal.

Heat oil in a cooker. Add cumin seeds. Add chopped onions, curry leaves & chopped garlic.saute for 15 secs.  Add all vegetables. Sauté for 2-3 min. Then add rice & daal.add 3 cups of water ( For every 1 cup of rice add 2 cup of water).Put salt & haldi.stir well.cover the lid of the cooker.Give 2-3 whistles.remove from heat & serve hot with dahi raita.

Macha munda chencheda with buta dali & bandha kobi...(rohu fish head curry with channa dal & cabbage)









Ingredients:

1 cup boiled channa dal
1 cut grated cabbage
Head of Rohu fish
Chopped onion
2tsp ginger garlic  paste
½ tsp red chiily powder
½ tsp haldi
1 tsp garam masala
Chopped coriander leaves
2 Chopped tomatoes
Cumin seeds
Salt
Mustard oil
1 bay leaf

Method:

Wash the rohu head pieces & apply salt & haldi.keep it for 5-10 mins.Heat oil in a pan. Fry the rohu head pieces .remove from the flame & keep aside.





In a another pan heat 1tsp oil & fry the chopped cabbages till it becomes soft. Switch off the flame & keep aside.

Now again hea oil in apan. Add bay leaf. Cumin seeds.when they starts crackling add onions. Sauté for 1 min till it turns to golden brown in colour.Add ginger garlic paste, haldi, red chilly powder,garam masala & sauté. add  tomatoes. Stir for 1-2 min till oil separates from masala.Add salt & rohu fish head pieces. Crushed the pieces while stiring. Then add the boiled channa dal & kasi hui cabbage.add 1 cup of water. Mix properly.Boil the curry for 5-7 mins on low flame.Remove from gas & garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Rassi Ladu (Til ke laddu)






Ingredients:

1 cup Til
1 cup water
1 cup jiggery

Method:

Roast the tills till they turns to light brown in colour.Heat apan.add water & jiggery.stir continuously.when it boils add roasted till & mix properly.switch of the flame.Keep it in room temp. for cooling. Make  yummy till laddus from the jiggery & till mixure prepared before.

Pachila Amba pana





½ kg ripe Mangos
½ tsp of illaichi powder
Sugar according to your  taste
Water 1cup (instead of water u can put milk)
Pinch of salt

Method:

Take a big bowl . Extract the juice from mangoes and mix with a pinch of salt, sugar and water.Lastly add illaichi powder.Mix properly . Serve it cool with ice cubes.

Sunday 29 May 2011

Tips

·          Dry fruits cut faster if cut with scissors dipped in hot water.
·          Make your own almond masala milk/kulfi mix with 100 gm milk powder, 1/2 cup sugar, a few cardamoms and saffron to flavour. Powder the almonds and cardamoms to a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well (run it in the mixie). Store in a dry jar.
·          To keep bananas fresh for three to four days, wrap in polythene bags and keep inside the fridge. The fruit will remain fresh
·          Apples keep longer if they do not touch one another.
·          Sometimes you may need only a few drops of lemon juice for a dish and you do not wish to cut the whole lemon. Try this: Pierce the lemon with a knife. Squeeze out the required amount of juice and seal the hole with a cello tape. Keep it in the fridge
·          While frying onions for garnishing for any recipe, add a few crystals of sugar. It will keep the fried onions crisp throughout.
·          If your mixie bowls smells of onion or garlic, rub the inside of the bowl with a small piece of potato and wash.
·          In order to remove the smell of egg from crockery, rub them with used tealeaves or rinse with little vinegar.
·          Curry leaves can be dried thoroughly and powdered along with a few drops of oil and stored. The powder can be used in curries and chutneys.
·          When the ghee gets over, instead of washing the container with hot water pour a little hot curry in the bottle and shake it well. Then add it to the rest of the curry. The bottle is cleaned and the curry will have a pleasant flavour.
·          Mix some vinegar before frying the fish, it will make good taste
·          if u cut brinjal forcooking and keep, it turns black so to avoid this put some salt in water and keep the brinjal in it,this will not turn them black
·          To avoid the ants coming into the storage containers apply Castro oil at the edges of the container. They can't come into the container
·          After cutting any sour things such as Lime, Tomatoes or Pineapple etc., wash the knife immediately so that the knife does not become blunt.
·          If salt is more in dish, then add some tomato juice in it. It will make salt less..
·          to remove coconut from the shell easily, break the coconut and keep in the fridge overnight. coconut will come out easily
·          TO save from worms from rice,dal add neem leaves into it. To save sugar from ants add 2 pieces of clove. To clean kitchen mess add little baking soda in water and clean,u can clean ur gas, Add 5gm of dried powdered mint leaves to 1kg of rice. It will keep insects at bay.
·          AFTER MAKING CORRIANDER OR PUDINA CHUTNEY, SQUEEZE FEW DROP OF LIME JUICE AND STORE IT IN FRIDGE. BECAUSE OF LIME JUICE, THE COLOUR OF THE CHUTNEY REMAINS GREEEN
·          AFTER GETTING GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES,WASH AND CUT THEM INTO SMALL PIECES.THEN WRAP THEM IN A NEWSPAPER AND THEN PLACE IT IN A POLYTHENE BAG AND STORE IN FRIDGE. IT REMAINS FRESH FOR MORE THAN 15 DAYS/
·          To make crispier, golden brown dosas add a teaspoon of sugar to the dosa batter. It will turn into golden brown tasty too
·          save rava from worms! roast lightly, cool and store in air tight container
·          For nice and crisp puris heat some oil till it smokes add this to the maida while making the dough. while making the dough of puri add little milk to it,puri will be very soft.
·          To store green chillies longer,remove the stalk and keep in tight glass bottles in the fridge.
·          Eating caulilower makes the stomach bloated.so for this problem we should slightly boil the cauliflower and throw the water,before cooking it.
·          when u make roti or chpati or paratha , put 1 medium spoon yogurt in dough [ aata ],insted of oil, u will make soft roti
·          Add a pinch of soda-bicarbonate to spinach while blanching to retain its bright green colour.also never overcook greens as they will lose their colour,taste and vital nutrients.
·          Adding haldi will help pickles from getting spoilt.
·          Add a pinch of sugar while cooking palak, it will retain its green colour.
·          Soak almonds in warm water for a minute, if you need to peel them quickly.
·          Add a little powdered lemonrind to puddings or deserts to avoid the smell of egg.
·          Cut boiled eggs with a knife dipped in hot water to avoid breaking.
·          Keep boiled eggs in cold water for 5 minutes, this will make removal of the shell easier
·          While boiling eggs, put a hole with a pin on the rounded ,portion of the egg so that the shell won't break when boiling.
·          Apply some oil on the sides of the vessel in which you boil milk, in order to avoid it from overflowing.
·          Green peas will retain their original colour, if you add a pinch of sugar while boiling.
·          To peel garlic flakes easily, wash and soak them in cold water for about an hour.
·          For crispy dosas, add a teaspoon of tur dal gram) and some fenugreek seeds while soaking rice
·          When you cook dal add some refined oil or garlic. It will reduce gas trouble.
·          If the curd is too sour, add 4 cups of water to it. After half an hour, remove the water collected on top.
·          To adjust salt in curries add roasted rice powder.
·          Put some neem & haldi pieces or garlic flakes in the container where you store rice or grains, in order to keep away insects.
·          Avoid the use of butter. It it is essential to use, use a butter containing low saturated fat or with plant stanols (which avoid absorption of cholesterol by our body) or similar substitutes.
·           Apply some lemon juice on the cut surface of the apple to avoid browning. They will look freshforalongertime.
·           Apply mashed banana over a burn on your body for cooling effect.
·           Keeping a small piece of hing (asafoetida) in the same container will store chili powder for long time.
·          Use a wooden board to chop. It will not blunt the knife. Don`t use a plastic board, small plastic pieces may go with the vegetables.
·          Put some boric powder in kitchen in corners and other places. Cockroaches will leave your house.
·          Do not beat idli batter too much, the air of which has been incorporated during fermentation will escape.
·          To ripen fruits, wrap them in newspaper and put in a warm place for 2-3 days. The ethylene gas they emit will make them ripe.
·          . If the lemon or lime is hard, put it in warm water for 5-10 minutes to make it easier for squeeze.
·          Hang a peacock feather, lizards will leave your house.
·          Keep spoon in the vessel while boiling milk at medium heat. It will avoid sticking the milk at the bottom of the vessel.
·          Grind some common salt in your mixer/grinder for some time every month. This will keep your mixer blades sharp
·          Put a few camphor tablets in a cup of water and keep it in the bed room near your bed, or in any place with mosquitoes.
·          To prevent the growth of fungus in pickles, burn a small grain of asafoetida over a burning coal and invert the empty pickle jar for some time before putting pickles in the jar.
·          Don`tstore potatoes and onions together.Potatoes will rot quickly if stored with onions.
·          Place overripe tomatoes in cold water and add some salt. Overnight they will become firm and fresh.
·          A handful of salt added to the rinsing water for glass and crockery will not only make them cleaner but sparkling clear.
·          Crust removed from bread for making sandwiches etc. can be sundried or ovendried and powdered in a mixer to form fine breadcrumbs. Refrigerate and use as required.
·         
Cut the top of the carrot and store in air tight bag. This will keep it fresh for a longer period!Put the bananas in a black plastic bag before keeping it in the refrigerator - skin will not turn black and they will come out yellow even after a week! Lemon juice added to carrot cooking water will help keep the color bright!
·          While cooking okra (ladyfingers) add a few drops of lemon juice or a spoonful of yogurt to avoid becoming sticky.!