AvarekaLu (flat bean/surti lilva) Saagu and Akki Rotti (Rice flour Chapati)

AvareKaLina Saagu (Surti lilva/ Flatbean Curry)
This simple tasty gravy is the hot favourite during winters. Saagu an usual accompaniment with regular chapatis, pooris this particular saagu goes very well with Rice flour rotis.

Ingredients:


Avarekalu  or Surti lilva/flat bean seeds  - about 1/4kg (Boiled with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
1 potato- Finely chopped (just to add to consistency, can be omitted)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Jeera /cumin seeds
salt to taste 
Curry leaves  -  a sprig
1tst fresh cream (variation)


For grinding:
Green chillies -  2 (according to your taste)
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1tsp
Pinch of asafoetida
Grated coconut-11/2  cup
Onions- 2 large onions
Garlic pods - 6
Coriander leaves - 2 spoonful (chopped)
Ginger -  1 inch piece
Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste and keep aside.


Method:
Take  a quarter of the boiled AvarekaLu (surti lilva papdi) and grind it to a coarse paste. 


Heat the oil in a  thick bottomed pan. Add the mustard when it splutters add the cumin seeds and curry leaves . Add the cut potatoes and let it rest for a minute. Then add the ground paste and let it cook till the raw smell of garlic , ginger and onions leave the paste. There is a delicous aroma just when the gravy starts to cook, then add a little water and salt to taste.Add the ground AvarekaLu paste and the rest of the AvarekaLu and let it boil. Add some fresh cream (variation only).


Serve with roti, rice, chapati anything.
This AvarekaLu gravy is excellent with rice flour rotis. 


Akki Roti /Rice Flour Rotis


Having had this rotis innumerable times at my good friends place I finally decided to start making it right at my kitchen. This morning I browsed for it and found the perfect recipe here. Mine turned out great. The pictures in that site are best teachers..I write the recipe here too.
Ingredients:


 Fine rice Atta – 1 cup

 Water or milk – 1 cup

 Cooking oil – 2 Teaspoons

Salt – to taste

METHOD

Sieve rice atta in the atta siever with salt.

Place a wide bottomed bowl or a non-stick Kadai on the flame with 1 glass of water and add 2 teaspoons fresh cooking oil to it. When it starts boiling simmer the flame and add Rice atta slowly to it and keep stirring till it turns to the consistency of chapathi atta.

 Switch off the flame and keep it closed for about 5 minutes so that the vapors fall into the cooked atta and turns easier to knead and roll.

After a while pinch out the required quantity of atta, dust it in rice atta itself and roll it on a thick plastic sheet to the required thickness

Place a flat roti tawa on the flame and when heated place the roti on it. 

Just when when heated it looks a bit cooked flip it and just dry roast the other side as well.

Flip it the other side and press it with the the edges of the spatuls and it starts puffing. 

Transfer it into a serving plate and enjoy with any chutney, specially Avarekalu saagu in the season.

Onion chutney  goes great with this roti. 


ciao for now. 


Have a great weekend.

Eggless Sponge Cake

Got a chance to try something new after a long long time. Painting has taken a lot of time and trying something new in the kitchen took a back seat. My sister is here and she made this egg less sponge cake (using thick yogurt/curd) . Amazing part is that there is no trace or smell of the yogurt in it and it is as spongy as any cake. Please see the  recipe here  too. This is where we got it from it was Nita Mehtas which the blogger used too.

I somehow cannot still take the smell of raw egg kindly so the search for eggless recipes. Not that the end product will be exactly as the same as its counterpart with eggs in it. But they are different in their own way and tasty too.

This simple cake is great in taste and simple in method and can be made with the ingredients available in the house.

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour – 1and half tea cup
Curd /thick plain yogurt – 1 cup
Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
Sugar          3/4 cup
Baking powder – 1 1/4 tsp
Cooking oil  – 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence  – 1 1/2 tsp

Method: 

Preheat the oven at 200 C for 10 minutes. Dissolve the Sugar in the curd completely. When it is completely done whisk it well with the baking powder and baking soda and let it froth a bit for a just about 5 minutes. Mix well till it gets frothy . Add cooking oil, vanilla essence and mix well again. Add the maida/all purpose flour slowly while whisking and blending it with the mixture to form a thick creamy batter. 

Grease a baking pan and dust the pan with a spoonful of dry flour, tap and turn the flour in the pan, so as to coat the pan with flour  and pour the batter evenly.

Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree C for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 180 deg C and bake it for another 20 minutes

Check by pricking the toothpick in the center.If it comes out clean the cake is done. Let it cool for about 20 to 25 minutes. Delicious Vanilla cake is ready. 

 Enjoy this simple yet delicious cake with your tea or as dessert or just as cake...
Ciao and thanks to prabha for this recipe.

Simple Guacamole..

I have been thinking of  doing a series with alphabetical order... I do keep seeing them in so many other cooking blogs... and decided to join the bandwagon .So here it begins with A


A for Avocados


I used to see them in the market, but didn't know it was so good and tasty .A friend of mine brought me lovely Avocados, I had heard of guacamole and loved the taste ,but I tried it for the first time .It turned out really yum and girls loved it with almost everything crackers, tortilla chips and toasted bread.

Here is the recipe I came up with after browsing lots of recipes , I did not have Jalapenos so used chilly flakes instead , got the review that this tasted much better.. 

Guacamole Recipe

This is a simple dip, which does not have any cooking process in it..

Ingredients:
1 ripe Avocado (test that it is soft in and the tip comes off easily)
2 white onions (spring onions or shallots also serve just fine)
one spoon of dry chilli flakes  or  Indian green chilli or a chopped jalapenos
One small firm tomato, chopped fine
Juice of half  a limeChopped fresh coriander leaves Salt and pepper to taste.


Method


Cut the lime and squeeze the juice into a bowl


Chop the onions/shallots and add them to the lemon juice , add some salt and let it rest.


Chop the tomato and add to the above mixture.

Cut the Avocados with a knife all around the seed... It will split into half  when you gently twist the knife (cut  length-wise).  Remove seed, scoop out the green/pale yellow flesh with a spoon and place in a bowl. Mash well with a spoon or a fork.


Mix with onion /tomato mixture and salt and pepper. Add lime juice if necessary

Serve with tortilla chips, toasted bread pieces or a chapati....


Isnt that easy way to make a dip so yummy.... Ciao.

Baby Corn N Aloo Tikkis/ baby corn and potato cutlets

This is a quick snack recipe. The ingredients and method are extremely simple and it is best served hot on a rainy day with a big cup of Elachi Chai (tea)

BABY CORN N ALOO TIKKIS:
This recipe is to make about 10 to 15 tikkis depending on the size of the tikkis.


Ingredients:
8 medium sized potatoes
10 baby corn cobs
salt to taste
red chilli powder to taste
jeera/cumin powder 1 tsp
garam masala - 1 or 2 tsps
dhaniya /corianer powder -  1tsp
butter/olive oil to shallow fry the tikkis.
Cheese slices , Boondi and Tomato sauce for garnishing.


Method:
Wash and boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker . They should be cooked really well. 
Chop the baby corn cobs . 
Peel the potatoes mash them to a paste.
Add the chopped corn cobs and all the above mentioned ingredients excep the butter.
Mix well and make round but flat tikkis. 

Tikkis ready to be served 

Cook them  well on both side on a flat girdle/or tawa with little butter or oil . Turn each  on the other side when one side turns golden brown.
Serve hot after garnishing with tomato sauce, cheese slice and Boondi. 
Green/Mint chutney acts as a great companion to this. 

English Trifle

Trifle is a dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top. This is exact copy from wikipedia . Well  cannot write any other ways either it is exactly so. Best part about this dessert is it have have anything as a layer and taste good always. I made this yesterday for my older one's birthday and most kids asked me if I could make it for their Birthdays as well. I take it that it was a big hit with kids.


Basically Trifle is all about layering all the tasty stuff together.


Sponge Cake : Bake simple vanilla sponge cake or buy about 250 gms.


Jelly : I used WEIKFIELD Jelly Mix. Banana and Strawberry flavours. This pack has two pouches. Mix them in dry bowl and add half litre of boiling water . Mix well till the crystals dissolve and then let it to set.


Custard : I used Brown and Polson. Dissolve about 4 heaps of custard powder in cold water make a paste without lumps. Boil a Litre of milk with three spoons of sugar and add this paste and cook for about five minutes. Let it set into a thick paste. 


Cream: The best way is to used whipped cream. Since i didn't have it I just replaced it with vanilla ice cream which i whipped with spoon. It just looked  (tasted as well) fine.


Fruits : Usual English trifle has Raspberries or Strawberries . I used some tutti frutti, cherries, apples and grapes for decoration. 
You can use the Can of preserved fruits instead. Pineapple is great with the sponge cake.


Method:
The layers begin with Sponge cake.


1.Cut the sponge cake into one inch thick slices.
arrange them as the base layer of the trifle. 


2.Prepare the jelly. Pour the hot jelly on the sponge cakes and let it set for some time.


3. Prepare the custard and let it set. Meanwhile cut the fruits to decorate ( or to add as a layer in between the cream and custard)


4. Once the Spongecake soaks up the jelly and it is set the next layer can be place. By now the custard also would be ready to be poured as a layer.


5. Now you can either add a fruit layer or a layer of crumbled biscuits according to your taste or a layer of jelly if you are very fond of jelly.


6. The final layer is the thick whipped cream


7. Decorate your Trifle with fruits of your choice and the set jelly. Add a dash of strawberry syrup if you like

8. Let it set well in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and serve chilled.

Aloo Parathas - Potato filling in Flat bread

Cooking new dishes and updating the blog has taken a backseat with painting coming in between .I will for s more time I think it will be quick recipe updates till I get into the mood of trying again.


Aloo Paratha is a family favourite and thanks to a friend of who gave me the perfect way to make it. Being the easiest to make without too much of prior preparation this is a great breakfast/lunch or dinner dish. Best part is it tastes as great with simple curd and pickle as it does with Palak Paneer. 

Here is the recipe of my method of Aloo paratha.
Ingredients  for the Dough:


3 cups of Whole wheat flour
2 spoons of oil
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
and enough water to mix the dough.
Mix all the above ingredients and make a tight dough and keep it aside for about 30 minutes . Meanwhile prepare the stuffing.Knead the dough well so that it is soft and spread easily.


Ingredients for the stuffing:


6-8 medium sized potatoes
salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp red chilli powder /garam masala powder
1 spoon butter


Boil the potaoes in a pressure cooker . Peel and mash to a fine paste mix all the above ingredients and keep aside covered.


Method:


Take the dough and divide into tiny  lemon sized balls of the. Take two of them and roll them out to the size of the palm. Smear some oil  on of these tiny rotis and spread the filling evenly with the help of spoon .Place the other on top and lock the edges with your fingers.(will post some pictures soon).
Now use some dry flour for dusting and roll this roti out to a bigger paratha. 
Heat the flat girdle (tava) and cook the paratha on both sides with butter/ghee to a golden colour
I am sure you will like the taste . Try and let me know.






Few pictures of my glass paintings:

 

Warli on Glass 

KATHA KALI

Acrylic paints on Glass

Reverse Glass painting.

Mysore Set Dosa

I havent been regular in updating the blog these days. I do not have any excuse but my love has been glass painting . Cooking to a back seat till my friend took me to this small  clean place where they made only Dosas.. The most amazing of all was the Mysore Set dosa... A set has 3 fluffy yummy dosas with kurma and chutney. I had to find a good recipe and after a lot of trial , My husband's Aunt had the perfect recipe. This was our breakfast today morning, incomplete without the kurma, but my Jhatphat Sambar was good enough.
MYSORE SET DOSE/DOSA
These dosas are not crisp like masala dosas, They are ideal for kids and people who enjoy soft dosas.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Rice
1/2 Cup Urad Dal/Black Gram split
1/2tbsp Methi/Fenugreek seeds
1/2tbsp Bengal Gram
1/2Cup Avalakki/Flattened Rice
1/2 Cup Cooked Rice
1tsp sugar
Oil for roasting
Salt to taste

Set dosa 

Method: 
 Soak one cup of  dosa rice, Urad Dal, Methi and Bengal Gram for 4 to 6 hours
Soak Avalakki just for about 5 to 10  before grinding.  Grind Rice, Urad Dal, Methi( fenugreek), Avalakki (poha/rice flakes), Cooked Rice and Bengal Gram to a fine batter.  Use little water.Let this batter overnight to ferment.  Add Sugar and Salt to the batter and mix well. Heat the tava and pour a ladleful of batter thickly in a circular shape . It is a bit fluffy so not really to worry about the thickness. pour little oil around the dosa and cover for a minute. Turn over and cook for another half a minute.


serve with coconut/coriander/mint chuntey and Kurma/Jhatphat sambar.




Coriander - Mint chutney..
This basic chutney is perfect as a sauce for samosas or spread of a sandwich. But it acts pretty good for dosas too with a little change.


Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh mint
2 small bunches  of coriander
1 clove of garlic (optional)
1" piece of ginger
2 green chillies
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 tsp of scraped coconut
1 tsp Jeera (cumin seeds)
salt to taste.


Method:
Wash the leaves of mint and coriander thoroughly and discard the thick stalks. chop finely
peel the garlic and cut ginger wash these too.
Grind them with all the above ingredients to a coarse or smooth paste as per taste.
Serve with set dosa.


Let me know when you try it out. 
Ciao.

Surialachi Wadi / Khandvi

It was a busy December and before I realised it was the new year. Wishing you all a very happy 2011.

A few of us had a breakfast together this morning and one lady had made what she called Surliachi wadi..It was delicious and I indulged with more than 3 pieces of it.  it was yummy and after some browsing on the net got the recipe and the Gujarati name Khandvi.

I was always under the impression ( by seeing) that khandvi was a very difficult dish to make, but I got it right the first  attempt. I do not claim it as the best tasting but I am sure I will master it with more tries. 

here is the recipe for you.(how I made) . Then I realised I had missed the buttermilk. But I don't think it made any change to the dish .Girls loved it, so it is going to be a regular affair at my place now.

                                 

Ingredients:

for the sheets:

One cup Besan /Chick pea flour

2 cups of water/buttermilk

a pinch of turmeric 

salt to taste.

for the filling:

grated coconut

chopped coriander

2tsp oil

a pinch of asafoetida/hing

one spoon finely chopped green chillies (optional)

1 tsp mustard seeds

few curry leaves

Method:

In a bowl sieve and mix the besan,salt and turmeric. Add half a glass of water and form a batter without lumps.

In a kadai, add the one and half cup of water some salt and turmeric for colour and let it come to a boil. then add the besan paste and keep stirring till the raw smell and taste are gone.

Take ladle ful of the cooked batter and spread thin layers on plates. Spread on as many as you can.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

 To make the tempering heat oil in a pan,when it is hot splutter the mustard seeds, add green chillies (optional),curry leaves and asafoetida.mix this with the grated coconut and coriander. Spread on the sheets which are cold now and then cut into thin strips. 

Slowly roll the strips and place them on the plate to be served.

The tempering is usually done later but I felt it gave a better taste to mix with the coconut.

Serve with Tomato Sauce or Mint Chutney. It is tasty even without the chutneys.

Points to note:

The layers can be very thin, they taste better when thin.

The filling can be avoided if you do not like coconut just add the tadka(tempering) of mustard and asafoetida.
Make this dish when you have time  , the besan needs constant stirring and can get burnt in the bottom. 


Caio till next time.