Ribbon Pakoda

INGREDIENTS

Rice Flour - 2 cups
Gram/Besan Flour- 1 cup (i take a mix of dalia powder (pottukadalai maavu) and gram flour)
Salt - to taste
Hing - a pinch
Butter - 3 tbsp

METHOD

1) Mix all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl add some water to make it into a dough.
2) Oil the murukku press with your ribbon pakoda disc and then add the dough in it
3) Heat Oil in the kadai then press your murukku in hot oil. Keep the heat in medium we have to take the ribbon pakoda's in golden brown colour.

Enjoy the ribbon pakoda's..............

Rasa Bonda/Vada

Rasa Bonda/Vada hails from Southern part of India. Vada is actually prepared both in toor dhal and Urad dhal. Today i am giving you the recipe of Bonda's made of Urad dhal. Ok you will wonder why i am mentioning Vada/Bonda. Vada's are supposed to be in donuts shape with a hole in the middle. Bonda are circular without any hole. I am trying to get the donut shape right. This time i dint get it so made bonda's. So its a Rasa Bonda recipe... Shape does'nt matter its the taste that matters a lot... he he... :)

Bonda's or vada's can be had as such but when we add it with curds and rasam it enhances the taste. Now i remember the Ratatouille movie where the rat explains how it tastes when we eat two things together.. Ok and one more reason why vada's are soaked is in early days old people who dont have teeth cant eat all these tasty food. so if it is soaked in rasam or curd it will be easy for the elders to chew. i remember my grandpa who used to eat murukku soaked in rasam.. Miss you thatha...

INGREDIENTS

For the Bonda/Vada
Urad Dal - 1cup
Rice - 2tbsp
Salt - 2tsp
Pepper- 1tsp
Oil- to fry

For the Rasam
Tomato - 1
Tamarind Juice- 1/2 cup (if paste take 1tbsp)
Rasam Powder - 2tbsp
Turmeric Powder-1tsp
Jeera and Pepper -2tsp(Freshly ground)
Hing - for flavor
Salt to taste
Coriander - 1tbsp (chopped Finely)
Ghee - 1tbsp for seasoning
Curry leaves - few
Mustard and Jeera- each 1tsp for seasoning


METHOD

1. Soak the Urad dal and Rice seperately for 3hrs. Grind it into a fine paste seperately without adding much water. The batter must be thick. Add some salt and crushed pepper and set the batter aside.
2. Heat Oil in the frying pan and make the Bondas. to get the round shape u have pinch the batter into the oil.
3. Put the Bondas in Hot Rasam and serve it hot.. Perfect snack on cold and windy evening

Now for the Rasam recipe.... Guess all South Indians make rasam almost everyday.. So it should be easy but still i will go ahead and give the recipe for those who dont know ....

1. In a vessel take the tamarind extract approx 1/2 cup then add chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder, salt and Rasam powder and let it boil.
2. The tamarind water must reduce in quantity then add some more water if you want you can add toor dhal also.
3. Add the powdered jeera and pepper adjust the salt according to taste. Add some hing as well.
4. Let it boil really well. then prepare the seasoning in ghee with mustard, jeera and curry leaves.
5. Now the rasam is ready. It goes well with rice and ofcourse now with Bondas i made.... he he...Eat your hot and spicy Rasa bonda
   

Brown Banana Cake

Bananas are rich in carbohydrates, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins A and C. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Ripe bananas usually go to garbage coz no one likes the mushy banana. But today am going to tell u how to make a delecious cake out of a mushy banana. Here goes the recipe

INGREDIENTS

Ripe Bananas-3

All Purpose flour-1 1/4cup

Sugar-3/4 cup

Brown Sugar-1/2cup

Baking Powder-1tsp

Baking Soda0-1tsp

Salt - a pinch

Egg - 1

Cinnamon powder-1tbsp(optional)

Butter- 1/2cup

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  
• In a mixing bowl mash the ripe bananas well. then add the egg and 1/2 cup melted butter and mix well.
• Now In another mixing bowl bring all the dry ingredients. All purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt
• Now stir in the dry ingredients to the banana mix and stir in everything well. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and mix well.
• In the baking tray brush some butter and dust some flour and pour in the cake mix.
• Bake for 30 mins or until your toothpick comes clean in the middle of the cake.
• Your banana cake is ready pour the same batter in muffin cups and u have banana muffins for your childrens evening snack.
  

Thayir /Dhahi Vada

Dahi vada (also known as thayir vada in Tamil, Mosurambadai in kannada and perugu gari in Telugu) is an Indian chaat, prepared by soaking vadas in thick yogurt (dahi). This recipe is an entry to Srilekha's "Me and my Kitchen EFM Theme-Savouries".

INGREDIENTS

Urad Dal - 1cup
Rice - 2tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Pepper- 1tsp
Coriander- chopped finely
Boondi- little
Carrot - Grated
Chaat Masala- a little
Oil- to fry


METHOD

1. Soak the Urad dal and Rice seperately for 3hrs. Grind it into a fine paste seperately without adding much water. The batter must be thick. Add some salt and crushed pepper and set the batter aside.
2. In a bowl mix yoghurt, salt, chopped corianders, chopped ginger and set aside.
3. Heat Oil in the frying pan and make the vadas. to get the round shape u have pinch the batter into the oil.
4. Put the fried vada into water. leave it for 2 or 3mns and then add it into the yoghurt.
5. The vada's should be soaked for atleast 2hrs before serving.
6. Before seving garnish it with grated carrots, chopped coriander and some chaat masala. Serve it chilled.

Puran Poli

Poli is a dessert served during auspicious occasions and during important festivals such as Ugadi, Sankranti. Although it resembles a roti, a Poli is actually very different. The making of the Poli begins with preparing the stuffing, which may be one of three traditional options:

1. Tenkai poornam/Kaayi Holige
   
2. Parappu poornam or Hoorna Holige
3. Variation of above: Sometimes, especially in Maharashtra, powdered white sugar is used instead of jaggery in making the puran. In this case,the suffing is made using boiled lentils instead of the coconut.

(Source:Wikipedia)

The recipe here is in maharashtrian style using boiled chana dal and white sugar.. I used a little coconut also in my poli.

INGREDIENTS

Chana dal - 1cup
Coconut-2tbsp(optional)
Sugar - 2cups
Maida /All Purpose Flour - 1cup
Salt - a pinch
Oil - 3tbsp
Ghee - 1/4cup
Cardamom- 5

METHOD

1. Knead the maida adding a pinch of salt, turmeric powder,1tbsp of oil and water as we do for our Roti's. Aplly some oil on top of the kneaded dough and set aside for an hour.
2. Pressure cook the chana dal. Once done drain the water and grind the chana dal in a mixer along with cardamom. (first grind the cardamom with some sugar then add the chana and grind for 3 to 4seconds)
3. In a heavy bottom pan add the sugar and the ground paste and mix it all. Once the puran is set take it off the fire. (the puran should also be in the dough consistency. u should be able to make balls out of it without sticking in your hand)
4. Make equal no of balls with the maida dough and the puran. both the balls should be of equal size.
5. Now roll the maida ball into a small roti place the puran inside and cover it with the maida dough completelly. now flatten it with your hand and dust with some maida and roll it slowly and evenly to make sure puran doesnt come out.
6. Toast it till golden colour on the tava on both sides with some ghee.
7. Serve hot brushing with some more ghee nothing can beat this taste.

Mullu Murukku

Murukku is a south indian snack. Golden crispy murukku is known as chakli in kannada and marathi. Though i dint get the perfect shape it still tasted delicious. This is a very easy method of making murukku's. Thanks to Priya who gave the measurements for this easy method. This recipe is an entry for Srilekha's "Me and My Kitchen-EFM Theme Savouries"

INGREDIENTS

Rice Flour-3cups
Gram Flour-1/2cup
Dalia (pottukadalai) flour-1/2cup
Butter-25gms
Salt - a pinch
Oil - to fry

METHOD

1. Seive all the Flour togeather along with a pinch of salt.
2. Melt the butter and mix it with the flour. Add water and make a pliable dough
3. Grease the murukku maker with some oil and make the murukku.
4. Heat Oil in a deep frying pan and fry the murukku into golden color and serve.

My First Cake

Hi all I always wanted to try baking a cake at home. This was my first cake. Its a plain Vanilla cake. It was not a bad attempt at all. Because i was scared how it will turn out to be. One of my friend by name sheeja said that i can tell that it is a pudding if its too soft and biscuit if its too hard. But it turned out right. Thanks Ramya akka (she was my senior in college) for the recipe.

My First Pizza

I am a pizza lover. My hubby doesnt like it much. But still i like it so wanted to make it at home. Long time wish came true yesterday. I made my own pizza. I dint have cheese though. But nothing can stop me. Mission started so noway i can think of stepping back. So i made a veggie pizza without cheese. Healthy one right he he....

INGREDIENTS

All Purpose Flour - 2cups

Dry Yeast -2grams

Sugar-1tsp

Salt-2tsp

Olive Oil-2tsp

Pizza Sauce

Veggies for topping

Mozzarella Cheese (preferably)-1cup or even more if u like 'em

METHOD

1)In a bowl take some "luke warm" water and add dry yeast, 1tsp sugar and salt and mix it well. i have highlighted luke warm bcoz dry yeast will die in hot water. Close it and set it aside for 10 mins.

2)Take the all purpose flour in a mixing bowl add 1tsp salt and 2tsp olive oil. Mix it well.

3)Add the frothy yeast mix to it and make a dough. You can add some water if desired.

4)The dough shud be in our roti dough consistency. apply some oil on top of it and set it aside for 1hr.

5)After 1hr the dough would have become double in volume now punch the dough nicely to take any air molecules from it and set it aside agian for another 30mns

6)Now the dough is ready for pizza making

7)On the baking tray set a aluminum foil paper.Spray some nonstick spray or u can even apply some oil. roll the pizza in the shape u want it to be. no hard and fast rule it shud round right.

8)Apply some pizza sauce over it. I made tomato/pepper/onion topping. You can try diffferent toppings with or without cheese

9)Preheat oven at 450 degree and bake ur favourite pizza.

10)When the colour of the cheese at the sides changes to brown its done. Usually it takes 10 to 15 mns. There you are done with your excellent pizza.

PS: I like to add chaat masala and corn peppers on top for that spicy taste.. YUM YUM..... cant resist.......... Foodie lovers try to make your own pizza and relish the taste...

Sweet Appam - Indian Banana Muffin

My daughter's favourite evening snack. When ever i find ripe bananas i easily finish it off by making sweet appam. My daughter calls it banana muffins. So this is how u make the yummy sweet appam. For which u might need kuzhi panayarakal which we get in india.

INGREDIENTS

Wheat flour - 1cup

Banana - 1/2

Elachi-1/2tsp

Coconut- 3tbsp

Jaggery- 1cup or to ur taste

METHOD

1)Mix all the above and prepare a batter as thick as the idli batter

2)Set it aside for 10 to 15 mns

3)Apply ghee in the paniyara kal before making ur appams

4)Pour it into the panaiyara kal and let it bake for 1min

5)Toss it the other side and pour a few drops of ghee

6)Once both sides are golden brown its done and ur ready to serve them

PS:U can add cashews in the batter which gives a richer taste.