Sandesh

                

Avacado Mint chutney- Indian style

I bought the avacado to prepare smoothie.But was not in a mood to prepare that. Got the idea of preparing  chutney through the website but I modified the recipe to suit my taste

Avacado Chutney:

For grinding

Avacado-1
onion-half cup(fried golden brown)
Tamarind- small pinch
Green chillies-5(small sized)
Mint leaves- 5-6
Cocounut-1 1/2 tablespoon

curry leaves, mustard, urad dhal- for seasoning

Preparation:
Take the pulp of avacado , mix it with all the ingredients mentioned above for grinding . Make it a smooth paste and then season it.

Spread it over toasted bread and enjoy yummy avacado sandwiches..

Pasiparuppu Puttu/ Sweet steamed Split green gram

This is my mom' s recipe again which was published in a Tamil daily.Since I am preparing a dish to offer the goddess for Navrathri Pooja, made this after a long time.This can be prepared very quick and it is healthier for kids too.























Split green gram - 1 cup
Cashews-8
Sugar- 100gms
Coconut grated- 3tablespoons

Soak the split green gram for 15 minutes and boil it under steam.After it is boiled, grind it coarsely and very quickly.Add sugar as required and the grated coconut.Fry the cashews in ghee and drop them in this.
It is a yummy evening snack..

Broccoli- capsicum pulao

Broccoli- capsicum pulao

Much in love with the broccoli..The baked broccoli recipe (learnt from simple recipes) was a hit at home and among the friends..That drove me crazy & with the most forgiving hubby at home, I tried more with the broccoli  and ultimately this recipe of mine was the lunch for today..





Ingredients:
Ghee-1 Tablespoon
Anise, clove - a pinch
Fennel-1 tsp
Bay leaf-1
Ginger garlic paste-1 tablespoon
Pepper-1 tsp
Onion(medium sized)-1
Tomatoes(medium)-2
Green chilly(slit)- 3
Green and red capsicum(chopped)- 1/2 cup

Broccoli-1 cup

Peas-1/4 cup

Mint leaves-half cup
Basmati rice-2 cups(soak for 20mins)
Coconut milk-1/4 cup


Steps:

Fry chopped onions and slit green chillies in ghee and little oil. Add anise,clove,fennel and bay leaf, ginger garlic paste and fry till onion turns golden brown and oil seperates. Add the  chopped capsicum and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chopped broccoli, peas and a tablespoon of salt. Now add the soaked basmati rice(Add water 1:2), coconut milk and mint leaves. Cook it in a medium flame.Kept it for 3 whistles.

The pulao will be another addition in our lunch menu ..Yes! it tasted really good!

Scrambled egg chapathi

Last week I had some guests at home. I prepared too many chapathis at home.
So prepared this recipe with the left overs.

Take a table spoon of oil in a pan, add some ghee, fry some anise, cinnamon sticks, 1 clove, cumin seeds, add  1 chopped onion(small cubes) till it becomes golden brown, add half table spoon of ginger garlic paste, 2 chopped green chillies,  one tomato finely chopped, a pinch of turmeric powder, a tablespoon of salt and chillipowder.Now drop 2 eggs and scramble them. I dipped the chapathis in water and heated it before making the slices.This makes them soft. Cut the chapathis(I took 4) into small slices and add them to the scrambled egg mix. Spread some coriander leaves.You can serve it with Onion Raitha(chopped onion, green chilly,salt and curd). Tastes similar to kothu parotta, but this is healthier as we prepare chapathis with wheat and hence avoid the maida in Parotta.

Measuring cups- my modern "uzhakku"

Uzhakku is a measuring utensil used traditionally in many Tamil houses.

My mom used to cook without measuring tools except uzhakku and aazhakku for rice and lentils. They were always perfect. Hardly seen her measuring anything else .. Everything she used to add for cooking is by her experience. The taste had never gone less. But when I started cooking different things and baking, I had to really be precise to achieve the same taste and flavour. I realised that without measuring precisely, the exact taste and consistency can never be replicated. Exploring more recipes  demanded me more measuring tools. So felt the kal padi and arai kal padi/ aazhakku and uzhakku procured from mom was no more sufficient with my experience in cooking.

Measuring the ingredients can help to cut the calories in everyday cooking for which I am trying badly..




Believe me it took time for me to understand from the recipes: what a cup means? How big a cup should be? 😩As I have different sized cups at home. Recently bought these measuring cups from Ikea store.These are my recent additions in kitchen. Yay! I love shopping for my kitchen!
Am in love with this color.when the precise cooking can be achieved in a💲 dollar, which is cute and handy, won't you grab it?👍





For some reference,  this is how fluid is measured in Tamil Nadu
5 sevidu= 1 aazhaakku
2 mahani = 1 aazhakku (arai kal padi)
2 aazhaakku= 1 uzhakku (Kal padi)
2 uzhakku= 1 uri (Arai padi)
2 uri= 1 padi
8 padi= 1 marakkaal
2 marakkaal(kuRuNi)= 1 padhakku
2 padhakku= 1 thooNi
21 Marakkal = 1 Kottai

source: https://plus.google.com/+Subramanianelathuranmikacapaiin/posts/2Z6X7R6GJNK

Bro-cauli Potato

Bro-cauli Potato

Key Ingredients:
Potato- 2 (medium sized)
Cauliflower- 2 cups(chopped)
Broccoli florets-2 cups(chopped)
Onion-1/2 cup(sliced finely)
Jeera-1tsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 table spoon
Red chillies-2 tsp
Turmeric-1tsp
Garam masala-1tsp
salt


Procedure:

1. Boil the potato and cauliflower with a pinch of salt.
Meanwhile mince the broccoli florets finely. I used a mixer for this.
2.Take oil in a pan, add some jeera, after it pops add onion and ginger garlic paste, fry till the onion turns golden brown
3. Add the boiled vegetables, broccoli and chilly powder, turmeric and salt and fry in low flame for 10 mins. You can sprinkle some water and close the pan with the lid to cook faster.