Pour 41/2cups of boiling water to the rice and veggie mix. Now bring the contents to a roll boil.Reduce heat now and close the pan with a tight lid. If you are using a pressure pan/cooker dont put the weight on. Cook for about 12 -15 mins on a reduced heat, without stirring. Now slowly open the cooker and pick out a grain of rice to see if it's done. If the rice is still underdone, keep covered for a few mins more till all the moisture is gone and the rice is tender. Garnish with fresh corriander leaves and a tsp of ghee for flavour. Fluff up the rice with a fork so that the grains dont stick to each other or break.

Mixed Vegetables and tomato pulao is now ready to serve.Tastes good with crunchy poppadoms and a raita.

Carrot Halwa/Gaajar ka halwa.

INGREDIENTS-[to serve 3-]

Carrots-peeled and grated-1/4 kilo
condensed milk-1whole tin
skimmed milk-1/2 cup
2tbsp sugar powdered with 3pods cardamom.
a pinch of saffron
ghee-11/2tbsp
optional garnish-few raisins,cashewnuts and pistacheo.

METHOD-Take a pan that has a thick base or a pressure pan.
Pour 1/2 cup milk and add the grated carrots.
cover the pan and cook on a low flame for about
15 mins.Now add the condensed milk and cook
till all the milk is completely evaporated and
the carrots are very tender . Now add 1/2 the ghee,
and keep stirring till the mixture turns dry. Now add
the sugar/cardamom mixture and saffron.
Now add the remaining ghee and garnish with nuts
and raisins that have been toasted in 1/4tsp ghee
separately in a pan till golden brown.
Serve Carrot Halwa hot/cold or with a dollop of vanilla
icecream.

Sweet Nei appam/Unni appam

sweet nei appams are usually made as an offering for Ganesh Chaturthi or Saraswathy Pooja.
They are so tasty that you can enjoy these yummy treats anytime!

STEP 4.

Gently flip the appams over after a while to ensure they cook on the other side too.You can use a spoon to turn them without breaking the appams.Cook till done.If you pierce a hole through the appams using a sharp skewer, it will come out clean without any batter sticking on it.This shows that the appam is fully cooked.Serve hot or cold.

STEP 3

Now pour a small ladle of the batter into the oil in every hole of the pan.

Reduce heat to prevent it from getting burnt.

STEP 2

Heat an appakarai [nonstick] Kuzhi paniyaram pan, thats available.Heat the pan on a medium flame and then pour a tsp oil/ghee, or a mixture of oil and ghee in all the holes of the pan.

Method-Step 1

Ingredients for the batter- Ground rice-1cup

Semolina-1tbsp

Whole wheat flour-1/4 cup

Chopped bits of fresh coconut

1/2 a mound Jaggery [dissolved in 1small cup of water, and strained to remove dirt]

cardamom-3pods crushed

1banana mashed

soda bicarb-a pinch.



Method-Put all these ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well,removing lumps and make a smooth batter.

Keep aside for 3hrs.

Today's special-

Lunch menu-

Undhio[Gujarati dish made using winter vegetables].

Alu methi gobi[potato,fenugreek and cauliflower].

Rice and yoghurt.

Tender mango in brine.

Diwali special treats

The special items this year were nool pakoda,karachev,thenguzhal,besan burfi and khova poori.

Watch this space for recipes,coming soon!!

Kachori

Ingredients for the pastry-Makes about 14 medium kachoris. Method -

Take a large mixing

Plain flour[maida]-11/2 cups bowl and put in the flours,semolina

semolina[sooji]-2tbsp and salt.Mix the salt in and add water, little

whole wheat flour-1/4 cup at a time and knead the mixture to a firm

oil/ghee-1tbsp dough, and smear the ghee/oil over the dough.

salt to taste Wrap it in cling film and keep aside.

water to knead the dough.

Ingredients for the filling-

Mung dhal-1cup[soaked in hot water for 2hrs and drained completely.

crushed mixture of spices- 1tsp jeera [whole cumin] ,2tsp whole dhaniya [corriander seeds],1tsp of saunf [fennel seeds], crushed red chilli-2tsp,a pinch of hing [asafoetida].

1tbsp- grated dessicated coconut

2-finely chopped green chillies

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4tsp aamchur powder [dry mango powder]

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste.

1tbsp oil

and oil to deep fry the kachoris.

Method to make the filling--Heat oil in a pan and when warm, add the mustard seeds. After they splutter, add the chopped green chillies and then add the completely drained mung dhal.

Keep sauteing it until the mixture is dry.

Add the spice mix, salt to taste,garam masala,aamchur, sugar and dessicated coconut.

Mix well and keep aside to cool.

Procedure-Heat oil in a large pan to deep fry the kachoris when they are ready.

Now take the dough out of the cling film, roll it into a long tail and using a knife,cut it into equal sized bits approximately the size of a small lemon.

Take one bit and roll it into a nice round ball using both your hands.

Now, flatten the dough on your palm and put in a spoonful of the filling.

Bind the ends of the pastry by folding one corner to another and making sure that the filling gets entirely covered by the dough.

Now gently flatten the ball like a poori using your fingers , still making sure that the filling does not come out.Keep aside on a foil.

Repeat the procedure for all the bits, fill in the mixture, flatten and now deep fry the kachoris till they turn golden brown in hot oil.

Dont turn the kachoris immediately after you put them in oil, or they make break, so let them get firm and then turn over.

Serve them hot with imli and green chutney, or a sweet mango pickle.

channa dum alu

ingredients-
baby potatoes-6[parboiled and peeled]
1 tin of chickpeas
onions chopped-2
1tsp jeera[whole cumin]
tomatoes-3 chopped
2 slit green chillies
yoghurt-1/2 cup
ginger-garlic paste-1/4tsp
kasoori methi-2tsp
red chilli powder
whole corriander and cumin freshly crushed-2tsp
1/2 tsp beasan[gram flour]
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
oil-to fry
salt to taste

Method-Heat some oil in a frying pan, smear salt and turmeric on the baby potatoes and deep fry them till golden brown,.[you can shallow fry till crunchy on a nonstick pan if you wish to reduce fat intake] Keep aside.

Take 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and chopped onions, slit chillies and turmeric.
Saute for a while and then add chopped tomatoes ,ginger-garlic paste and kasoori methi.
Now add the fresh ground corriander/cumin powder.
Saute till the tomatoes are very tender and add the chickpeas.

In a bowl, add chilli powder and besan to the yoghurt and whisk it free of lumps and keep aside.
When the tomato gravy is ready, add the yoghurt mix to the pan and stir well.
Adjust spices and salt as per taste.
Bring it to a boil and turn off from heat.
Just before serving add the crunchy potatoes and corriander to garnish.
You can also serve it with a spoon of cream on top.
Its a good side dish for rotis/nan or a plain jeera pulao.

Easy Veggie pulao

Ingredients-

1cup basmati rice

2tbsp oil

1cup mixed chopped vegetables[carrots,peas,beans]

1 red onion sliced

2green chillies slit

fresh corriander to sprinkle

ginger-garlic paste-1/4tsp

garam masala or pulao masala-1/2tsp

salt to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp jeera[whole cumin]

1 bay leaf

2 cups boiling water

Method-wash,rinse and drain the rice and keep aside for 15 mins.

Heat oil in a thick pan/cooker, and add the cumin and bay leaf.Now add the sliced onion and slit chillies,ginger-garlic paste,chopped veggies and give it a good stir.

Now add the sugar, salt, garam masala and the drained rice.

Pour the hot water and bring all the ingredients to a rolling boil and reduce heat immediately, cover and allow to cook on a very medium heat for abt 12-15mins without stirring, till all the water is absorbed.

Use a fork and pick out a grain of rice and see if its tender, or else reduce heat further and cover for a few mins longer till done.

Sprinkle corriander leaves and fluff up rice before you serve with a raita of your choice and crunchy pappadoms.

Diwali Dhamaka 08'

Diwali is a festival of lights.It's celebrated in a very grand manner, all over India.


It's believed that Lord Ram, returned to his kingdom after a long exile of 14years.


People light up their homes to welcome and celebrate the arrival of Lord Ram.

In some communities, it is the advent of a new year and a time to renew businesses/ finances, so they have a Lakshmi pooja ie;worship of Goddess Lakshmi, who is the deity of wealth.

our simple onam meal

We too had an onam spread comprising of-

morukootaan[buttermilk curry]

vazhidininga roast[roasted brinjal]

karuvadams[rice crispies]

puli inji[tamarind & ginger mix]

nei payasam[sweet rice]

chamanthi podi[chutney powder]