Karuveppilai Podi Recipe (Curry Leaves Powder Recipe)

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Karuveppilai Podi / Curry Leaves Powder - The only way I can have curry leaves is this powder. I've rarely seen people eating curry leaves as such when used in gravies/poriyals and am one of the kind. I know its always been cornered....But knowing the goodness of it, I wanted to make this podi so that we can have it as a accompaniment for rice or even idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Curry leaves - 3cups
• Urad dal - 1/4 cup
• Channa dal - 1/8 cup
• Hing/Perungayam -1/4 tsp
• Red chillies- 5
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

1.Wash the curry leaves and allow them to dry in shade.Dry them until there is no moisture.Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add curry leaves and fry them on medium heat. Keep tossing them around taking care not to burn them. The curry leaves should turn crispy.At this stage transfer to a seperate bowl and keep aside.

2.Now heat the remaining oil, add chana dhal, urad dhal and hing, fry them on medium heat till they are browned. Remove from pan and keep aside.Fry red chillies till crisp.Switch off and allow them to cool.First grind red chillies along with the dals and salt to a coarse powder

3.Then add curry leaves and grind it along to a fine/coarse powder as per your preference. Cool down then store in airtight container.

I luv it with rice and oil.Occasionally I have it with idlies too :) Try this aromatic and flavourful curry leaves powder.

Uses of Curry leaves are recognised in all kinds of medical treatments and cooking methods as well. Here are only a few listed down: [Source : Google]

• A liberal consumption of curry leaves is believed to be beneficial in nourishing the roots of the hair thus preventing further hair loss. It is believed that by doing so, premature graying of hair can be stopped.
• The fresh juice of curry leaves are also used as an eye treatment for certain eye disorders, especially in arresting the development of cataract.
• Diabetes due to heredity factors can be cured by eating ten fresh fully grown Curry leaves every morning for three months. It also helps in curing Diabetes due to Obesity due to the weight reducing properties of the leaves.
• When Curry leaves are boiled in coconut oil till they are reduced to a blackened residue, the oil forms an excellent hair tonic to enhance hair growth and helps in retaining the natural pigmentation.
• The curry leaves finds its applications in various fields and areas of diverse effects. The aromatic use for culinary purposes to medical needs and for simple solution of day to day health problems, it caters to a wide area.

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Masala Vada / Paruppu Vadai - Step by Step Recipe

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Masala Vadai or Parrupu Vadai is my fav so wanted to give a try at home. As I've been used to the shop bought ones, was very skeptical whether I wud succeed in my try. But the recipe proved me wrong, it came out super crispy outside and crunchy inside...making it perfect. Ammas fav too so another reason to give a try :)

Masala Vada / Paruppu Vadai  - Ingredients:

• Channa Dal - 1 cup
• Rice flour or Rava - 1 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds(Sombu) - 1.5 tsp
• Red Chillies - 2
• Garlic - 5 cloves chopped finely
• Ginger - half inch piece
• Coriander Leaves - 3 to 4 tbsp finely chopped
• Small Onion - 10 or Big onion - 1 big sized (finely chopped)
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - for deep frying

Method: 

1.Wash and soak channa dal for 2 to 3 hrs. Then drain the water completely and keep aside. Grind together garlic, red chillies, ginger and fennel seeds to a coarse paste.Set aside.

2.Then grind channa dhal to a coarse mixture make sure it should not be thick...Few dhal as whle here and there is fine. Then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add onions, sooji, coriander leaves, salt, garlic fennel paste and mix well.

3.Do not add water, it will look crumbly but will get together easily. Make equal lemon sized small balls out of the mixture, and pat them on your palm to form a circle to medium thickness.

4.Arrange them in a plate ready to deep fry. Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry them till golden brown, turning over both sides. Drain it on a tissue paper. 

Hope you are all set for the festive mood. I am all set to prepare/try new sweets this time. So stay tuned to check the festive specials for this diwali.

Crispy Masala Vadas ready to be served!

My Notes :

• The method is very easy, the only thing to note down is the consistency and texture of the batter. It should very thick and in coarse form.Sprinkle little water while grinding ONLY if its too dry.
• I usually add small onions as it gives nice taste to the vadas, You can alternatively use big onions too.
• Rice flour is added to give nice crispness to the vadas. If your batter becomes runny also, this rice flour comes to our rescue, so add in more than the above mentioned quantity incase your batter is very runny. Rava/Sooji also gives a good amount of crispiness so use either rice flour or rava.

Tags: masala vada, masala vada recipe, masala vadai, how to maka masal vadai, masala vadai recipe, masal vadai, paruppu vadai, how to make masala vada, paruppu vada, how to make paruppu vadai

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Home Style Chana Masala Recipe

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Nothing can beat the combo of channa/chole masala with rotis. I luv it with pooris too :) I have already jotted down black channa gravy with coconut so here is my no coconut version which we make with white channa and its our family favourite too.

Channa Masala Recipe:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• White Chick peas /Channa - 1 cup
• Onion - 1/2 small chopped finely
• Tomato - 1/2 small chopped finely
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder / Channa Masala powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
• Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

To saute and grind:

• Tomato - 2 big sized
• Onion - 1 big sized
• Cloves - 1/4 inch piece
• Cinnamom - 1
• Fennel(Sombu) - 1 tsp
• Boiled channa - 2 tbsp [No need to saute]

Method:

1. Soak channa overnight and pressure cook until soft,with enough water just allowing channa to immerse. Drain water, transfer to a bowl and keep aside.
2. Heat a wide bottomed pan with 1/2 tsp of oil, Add the ingredients under 'to grind' except boiled channa and saute until tomatoes are slighty mushy. Then grind it to a thick paste with boiled and keep aside.
3. Now in the same kadai add remaining oil, add ginger garlic paste and fry till raw smell leaves. Now add the onion and fry till transparent.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes,onion and salt. Add red chilli, turmeric and garam masala/channa masala powders, mix well. Saute and mix well till the masala powders are nicely coated with tomato and onion.
5. Add the grinded tomato onion paste to the cooking gravy and fry in low flame for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and cooked channa to the gravy. Simmer and allow it to cook for 5-10 mins.
6. Keep stirring, when the gravy is thick enough or to ur desired consistency, switch off. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves, raw onion and lemon juice. Enjoy it with hot rotis or bhaturas!

You can pair with bread , add raw onions, garnish with coriander leaves and have your bread channa in chat style.

My Notes:

• While grinding onions and tomatoes we can even grind it raw but sauting and grinding it to a paste enhances the flavour.
• Garnish with finely chopped raw onions only while serving to retain the crunchiness.
• Adjust water according to the thickness of the gravy. As channa is also added while grinding the gravy will be creamy and thick.

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Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter

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The first time I tasted peanut butter was at my friends place and I totally disliked the taste. Then once during one chat session with my cousin sis, she mentioned about the taste and health benefits of peanut butter, so thought I should give a try once again and bought a small pack of peanut butter. It comes in 2 varieties crunchy(bits of peanuts here and there) and creamy(no bits very creamy). To my surprise my lil one luved it, whenever she sees the container even after it got finished she would identify and ask for it. So this urged me to try peanut butter at home. This can be done in a jiffy if roasted peanuts are ready. It was so creamy and tasty sure better than the store bought ones as it was minus added preservatives and loaded flavors.

The texture totally depends on your taste, as I made this specifically for my lil one I made it as a creamy version. The crunchy version tastes too gud too.So no more store bought peanut butter :)

Ingredients:

• Peanuts(unsalted) - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Honey - 2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Dry roast the peanuts in a tawa till the skin tends to be crispy and nice aroma comes.


2. Cool it and then peel of the skin. I usually take a handful of peanuts, rub it with both the hands and blow off the skin...repeat the process for the 1 cup, this way its easy to peel off the skin.


3. Now add the peanuts, honey, sugar, salt and oil in a mixie/food processor and grind them for few minutes till they turn into a paste like consistency.


4. Transfer to a clean container, use clean spoon everytime. Enjoy as a spread for bread or eat it as such :)

Facts and health benefits about Peanut Butter: [Source : Google]

• One of the health benefits of peanut butter is the amount of fiber found in each serving.


• In addition to being every kid's (and many grownup kid's) favorite sandwich filling, peanuts pack a serious nutritional punch and offer a variety of health benefits.


• Peanut butter contains fairly high quantities of dietary fiber, amounting to about 8%, which again helps in regulating both blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels.


• While the nutritional content of various brands will differ slightly, the bottom line is that there are a number of benefits of peanut butter. In order to get the most benefit, you may want to consider making your own peanut butter at home. This will provide a boost in the nutritional value you derive from the product.


• Many reasons some avoid peanut butter is due to it being high in calories with a fat content of many calories and several grams of fat per two tablespoon serving. You will be happy to know that the majority of the fat in peanut butter is monounsaturated a type of fat that lowers the risk of heart disease.


• One of the benefits of peanut butter that many people are unaware of is the presence of resveratrol; this agent has anti-microbial properties that help the body to effectively deal with bacteria and various types of fungi.

My Notes :

• The consistency and texture totally depends on our taste. You can make it even more thick by reducing oil to 1/2 tbsp.


• Once it is grinded to a paste just use the whip option if u are using mixie and whip it 2-3 times to bring everything together easily.


• Dont add more oil, once u start grinding the peanuts will leave oil too.


• For the crunchy version just grind it such that its a paste with bits of peanuts, ie in a coarse form.

Isnt it easy?! Even ur lil ones will be happy to help u in making this.....It is indeed a childs play so give them a chance!

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Puliyogare (Puliyodharai Recipe) - Tamarind Rice with Pulikaichal paste

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I was searching for a traditional puliyogare(puliyodharai) recipe and I found this one while browsing....I should say this is a keeper recipe, I have made pulikachal many times following this recipe and have got tasty puliyogares. You can also have a look at my kovil puliyodharai recipe.

Apart from a fellow food blogger Raji is one of my close friends this blogging world introduced to me. I dont know how exactly it all started apart from exchanging comments it extended to chatting.We have shared many things right from the daily menu to the next post in blogging.I should say she is the only person who has patiently heard about all my DSLR lectures/doubts. I know what irritates her the most but still dont stop doing it ;)  She carries herself best with all those difficult festive sweets and snacks. I wish I learn atleast some from her.

Now on to the recipe with my few adjustments : I tell u, the procedure seems to be a bit lengthy but worth every bit of it :)

Ingredients for Pulikachal:

Recipe Source :

Raks kitchen

• Tamarind - 1 big lemon sized
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Hing (Perungayam) - a pinch
• Jaggery/sugar - 2 tsp [Adjust it according to ur preference]
• Salt - to taste
• Peanuts - a fist full
• Raw Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups

To temper:

• Mustard - 1/2 tbsp
• Red chillies - 4 small
• Urad dal - 1.5 tbsp
• Channa dal - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
• Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
• Hing - 1/2 tsp
• Sesame oil - 3 tbsp

To Roast and Grind:

• Channa dal - 2 tbsp
• Red chillies - 3
• Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp

Method for Pulikaichal:
1.In a pan, add a tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients under 'To roast and grind' (in the same order one by one) to golden brown and grind it to a fine powder.

2.Soak tamarind in warm water for 30mins, then extract tamarind pulp/juice from it. Mash it well with ur hands to extract the juice completely, strain to get the pulp without impurities.Heat a wide bottomed pan with sesame oil and add the ingredients under 'to temper'.

3.Fry till dals turn golden brown then add curry leaves and red chillies fry for 2mins.Then add the tamarind pulp and required water say 1 and 1/4 cups(it should be very runny like rasam consistency at this stage).Allow it to boil for 15-30mins or till the volume gets reduced by half. 

4.At this stage add jaggery and 'roast & ground' powder little by little stirring continuously. After the powder is added the mixture starts thickening quickly. Stir continuously and allow it to boil for 2-3 mins.Roast peanuts until golden brown remove the skin andadd it to the pulikaichal.

To make puliyogare:

Stir well and when it becomes a thick paste like in the below pic, switch off. Lastly after removing from fire, add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Cool down and store in a clean container.The shelf period of this pulikachal is 15-20 days when refrigerated.See to it that the consistency should only be semi thick as it gets thickened more after switching off. Add a tsp of oil if needed while mixing it with rice.

Cook basmati rice with 1:2 ratio(rice:water) Allow the rice to cool down completely spread it and add 2 tsp of sesame oil and set aside for few mins. Then add the pulikachal . Mix well and enjoy ur puliyogare. Add salt only if required.

My Notes:

• Make the consistency very thin like rasam only then after adding the powder it will reach the desired consistency.

• For the above measure the pulikaichal made is apt for 1.5 cups of rice.But add it as per your preference.

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Eggless Choco Chips Yogurt Cookies

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Cookies are always very special to me, as my first baking experience started with them. Since the day I bought choco chips, I wanted to try a eggless cookie version with it and finally these cookies caught my eyes from Sunitas site. I've always admired her low fat yet delicious looking baking goodies. I didnt make any modifications just very small adjustments and they turned out good.

Ingredients:

• Oats - 1/4 cup
• Wheat flour (Chapathi flour) - 3/4 cup [You can substitute it with APF/Maida too]
• Baking soda - a pinch
• Coconut - 4 tsp
• Chocolate chips - 3 tbsp
• Yogurt(Thick Curd) - 3 tblsp
• Honey - 4 tblsp
• Cooking oil- 3 tblsp
• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Method:

1. In a wide bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, coconut and chocolate chips. In another bowl, mix yogurt, oil, honey and vanilla essence.


2. Now make a well in the centre of the oats flour mixture and add in the yogurt mixture. Just fold in no need to knead or overmix it.


3. Line a baking tray with silver foil. Now pre-heat the oven at 170 deg C. Make equal sized balls of the mixture and place them in rows, slightly apart from each other.Flatten the balls with the back of a fork which will give the lines for the cookies.


4. Place the tray in the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 15- 20 mins or till the tops are very slightly brown.


5. Remove from the oven and Let them cool on the tray for a minute and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

Note : I am sure this would taste great when made with APF(maida) also though I havent tried them myself.

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Carrot Poriyal | Carrot Stir Fry Recipe

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Carrot is my fav veggie, be it carrot poriyal or kootu or milkshake or juice or even raw I just cant resist. Carrot Kootu is my lil ones fav too, will post the recipe sometime soon. Now with no further delay lets get onto the simple easy carrot stir fry(we call it podimas) recipe. And this is my first click in our new home :) Here the sun shines very bright else its very dull, kind of changing climate often. Still am in process of setting up a table for clicking purpose atleast in our new home, cant wait to click it from the new setup :)

Ingredients:

• Carrots - 4 small sized
• Onion - 1 medium sized chopped finely
• Coconut - 1 tbsp

To temper:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Green Chillies - 1 slitted into half

Method:

1.Wash carrots, remove the outer skin, grate it and keep aside.Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds,urad dal and let it splutter. Add curry leaves and fry for a min. Now add green chillies and saute for 2mins.Now add onion and saute well till it is slightly browned. Then add grated carrots.

2.Saute for 2mins then sprinkle little water and cook covered till it turns soft and raw smell leaves.
3.Add required salt.Once it becomes dry add coconut, give a quick stir and switch off.

Switch off and serve with sambar rice or any variety rice. This tasty carrot stir fry is quick and easy to make. Goes well with any variety rice or sambar rice. And carrots we get here are very fresh as they are straight from ooty and the color is nice fresh orange and they are sweet and tasty too. Coming up next is Eggless choco chip yogurt cookies...Stay tuned!

Tags: carrot poriyal, carrot poriyal recipe, carrot stir fry, carrot stir fry recipe, carrot poriyal recipe indian, carrot poriyal south indian, how to make carrot stir fry, how to make carrot poriyal, carrot recipes

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No Bake Biscuit Custard Pudding Cake

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Once while bloghoping came to know about vegbowl and chanced to see this recipe. The picture looked so tempting that I wanted to try it out immediately. Since then I am regular to her blog to see her lovely clicks and posts.

When I heard that guests were turning home weekend, I made this for the first time and it turned out super tasty. The lil ones enjoyed every bite and I was happy seeing them :) Not to mention about the elders too they were happily digging in and this is ammas most favourite. I dont like custard, but still this cake is an exception.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla flavoured custard powder - 5 tbsp
• Milk - 3 cups
• Sugar - as required [I used 4 tsp]
• 50-50 or Krack Jack Biscuit - 1 packet [I used Krack Jack]
• Coffee decotion - 2 tbsp [optional but recommended]
• Chocolate / Choc Semiya / Choc Sauce - as required to cover the top layer

NOTE : If you are not familiar with making filter coffee decotion this is for you to make coffee decotion without filter :Take 1/4 cup hot water and add 1.5 tsp of instant coffee powder (Bru, Nescafe sunrise works best) and mix well.Use this as coffee decotion it to dip ur biscuits.It works almost like filter decotion.

Method:

1.In a small bowl add the custard powder to little milk and dissolve till the custard powder combines with milk into a smooth liquid without any lumps. Keep aside.[This step should be done with out keeping in stove] Keeping in low flame, heat the remaining milk , add sugar.

2.Now add the custard milk. Stir slowly, well and continuosly.The mixture gets thickened very fast so be very careful. Stir for 2-3 mins switch off and cool down. The consistency is little thicker, but still should be in flowing consistency as shown below. Now dip each biscuit for a second and arrange it in a square plate/tin and layer the base of the plate with krack jack biscuits dipped in coffee decotion for first layer.

3.Above the first layer spread a generous spoon of prepared custard then layer another set of biscuits dipped in coffee decotion.Repeat this with another layer then alternatively stack up with biscuits and custard. Build 3-4 layers repeating the same process.Then grate chocolate/ add chocolate sauce or readymade choc semiya(which is what I've done) over the top layer biscuits, covering up the whole cake.

4.Refrigerate it for few hours (about 2-3 hrs). Remove from the fridge about 5-10 minutes before serving.Cut into desired squares/pieces and serve immediately.

The crunch in the biscuits with the creamy custard...Yumm! Sure to be kids favourite too.

My Notes :

• The amount of custard in each layer purely depends on your choice. I liked mine just covered, if you like custard then add it more generously covering the biscuit layer completely.
• Build about 3-4 layers, not beyond that, as it will not hold shape making it hard to cut into desired square pieces.
• Tastes best when served immediately after taking it from the fridge.

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