Beetroot Poriyal Recipe (Beetroot Stir Fry)

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Hope all are having a great weekend. With mild showers yesterday we are having a nice climate here. And as I type this am waiting for the downpour again :) Have a great weekend!

As a kid I had trouble eating most vegetables and even during that time beetroot was my fav. Mixing it with curd rice to see the pink color was so exciting - hmm...good old memories. We make either beets poriyal or pachadi I like beets in any form but hubby on the other side is not fond of this veggie. But now I've a company as mittu likes beets too :)

Beetroot Poriyal Recipe - Ingredients

Serves 2

• Beetroot - 1 big sized
• Big Onion -1 medium sized
• Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
• Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
• Salt - to taste

To Temper:

• Oil -  1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chillies - 2
• Curry leaves - few
• Hing(Perungayam) - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1.Wash beetroot, peel off skin and chop it finely. Immerse it in water and wash it once again to get rid of the mud smell if any. Pressure cook beetroot with water( just till immersing level) turmeric powder and salt for 3-4 whistles.

2.Heat oil in a kadai - Add the items listed under 'to temper'. Then add onion fry till slightly browned. Then add cooked beets.

3.Once the moisture is absorbed, add sambar powder and salt. Then add grated coconut, give a quick stir and switch off.

Serve hot with rice and sambar - my favourite combination for lunch.

My Notes:

• You can skip pressure cooking and cook beets while sauting itself. But I find this method easier as it makes cooking faster.
• Adding sambar powder is purely optional, you can skip it too but I like the mild flavour of it so we prefer adding it.

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Watermelon Juice | Summer Special Juice Recipe

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Watermelon juice is a bliss for hot summers! Summer has already set in and is at its peak....the frequent power cut offs has added on and I feel thirsty all the time. Juices and milkshakes are my rescue....Mittu had a week full of juice menu at her playschool...tried this watermelon juice and she absolutely loved it.

Watermelon Juice Recipe - Ingredients

• Watermelon - 1 cup chopped roughly and chilled
• Sugar / Honey - 1 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch

Method:

1.Cut the watermelon, dessed it. Take out the red pulpy layer and chop it roughly into pieces. Discard the outer white layer.

2.In a mixer add sugar and lemon juice and blend it along with watermelon. Refrigerate for a while and serve chilled. Do not add water as watermelon itself has water content in it.

Best when served chilled.Enjoy the easy yummy summer drink.

My Notes:

• You can add replace sugar with honey.If your watermelon variety is sweet then you can skip the sweetner itself.
• I refrigerated the watermelons so didnt add icecubes, you can also add 1-2 icecubes
• Adding salt gives a nice punch so I recommend adding it.
• Have the juice fresh, after blending do not let it sit for more time the freshness and taste will not be good.

Tags: watermelon juice, watermelon juice recipe, watermelon recipes, how to make waterjuice, prepare watermelon juice, watermelon, summer juice recipes, summer drinks recipes, easy juices, dharpoosani juice, summer juices, easy juices

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Broccoli Soup Recipe

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Whenever I see fresh broccoli at Pazhamudhir or Nilgiris I pick up a floret without fail.I havent tried anything other than the usual stir fry or rarely add it along with pastas.So this time when I got it, I wanted to try a soup with it.

I am happy that mittu started liking green cauliflower(broccoli in her language ;)) so another additional reason to buy this veggie often :) Tried jeyashris version which I felt was more indianised and that was the main reason I loved the recipe...It was flavourful, creamy and yummy - exactly how we want our soup to be.

Broccoli Soup Recipe - Ingredients

Recipe Source : Jeyashris Kitchen

• Broccoli - 1/2 from a medium sized floret
• Big Onion - 1 medium
• Potato - 1 small
• Garlic - 4 pods
• Cream - 1 tbsp(optional)
• Water - 1/8 cup
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Salt - as required
• Pepper - 1 tsp

Method:

1.Cut the broccoli into florets and immerse in warm water - this is remove worms if any. Then pressure cook it along with potato, onion and garlic for 3 whistles or till mushy.Reserve the stock, keep aside.

2.Cool down and then grind to a smooth paste. Heat a pan add the paste, milk and give a quick stir.

3.Then add the stock water (used for boiling) and allow it for 2mins. Then add pepper and salt. Add cream while serving.

You can add boiled stir fried broccoli florets while serving. Serve hot with bread or soup sticks.

My Notes:

• You can also stir fry broccoli and top it while serving the soup.
• For a more richer version use half and half of milk and cream.

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Homemade Garam Masala Powder Recipe

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I wanted to make homemade garam masala powder since the day I started to make homemade podis.All these days I bought garam masala from shops and last week when I was browsing ammas cookbook saw this recipe and instantly tried it. Each one have their own version of garam masala powder and here is mine :) Have already started using it in curries and gravies, it is so flavourful and said to myself no more store bought ones hereafter :)

We had an eventful and kind of hectic weekend...We attended a friends marriage and then had to back by yesterday noon to attend mittus annual day and graduation ceremony.Spent the most beautiful evening yesterday.... Seeing the tiny tot perform at her annual day and graduating from playschool...the moments were priceless!! :)

Garam Masala Powder Recipe - Ingredients

• Coriander seeds - 1/2 cup
• Fennel Seeds -1/4 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1/8 cup
• Cardamom - 4
• Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
• Cloves - 1 tsp
• Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chillies - 2
• Staranise - 1
• Nutmeg - 1 small

NOTE : I havent used salt here, but if you prefer add it at the final stage give a quick grind and then store.

Method:

1. Measure and make all the ingredients ready. Dry roast all the ingredients till golden brown or till nice aroma rises.You can also dry roast the ingredients separately, this way we can have control over burning.

2. Now separate the cardamom and remove the outer skin, combine with other ingrdients. Cool down completely then grind it to a fine powder, cool down and store in an airtight container.

Homemade podis are always flavourful and good as they are minus the preservatives and it gives a contentment of making it all by urself at home. :)

My Notes:

• Make sure you cool down completely after roasting else it will form lumps while grinding.
• You can grind it to a very fine powder or mild corase like what I'v done.
• Amma says slightly corase gives a nice flavour than the very fine one.
• I'v given the cup measures as I dont hve a proper gadget to measure in grams.
• For the above measurement, it yields 1 cup which is 250ml.

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Oats Roti Recipe

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Oats is my favourite and to me oats in any recipe cant go wrong...yeah kind of blind belief :) Attimes when I feel guilty of eating junk and food from outside the next day I will have oats and this gives me a kind of contentment though oats porridge is regular atleast 2 days per week. I tried this oats roti today and couldnt wait to share so here is the recipe.

Oats Roti Recipe - Ingredients
Makes 6 rotis

• Wheat Flour -1 cup
• Oats - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 2 tsp finely chopped
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Oil -1 tsp + as required for toasting
• Salt - to taste

Method:

1.Grind oats to a fine powder. Then mix oats powder with wheat flour then add oil.

2.Add red chilli powder, onions, coriander leaves, salt and mix well. Add water and start keading. Knead it to a smooth pilable dough just like chpathi dough. Make equal lemon sized balls and set aside for 15-30mins.

3.Using a chapathi roller roll out to a slightly thin circle, dust flour while rolling. Do it gently as it tends to tear easily. Heat dosa tawa and add the roti carefully, drizzle oil. Once bubbles starts appearing turn to other side,. Cook on both sides till brown spots starts appearing.

Serve hot with dhal or any curry of your choice.

Clicked for the alphabet series for Sharmi Clicks

My Notes:

• You can omit the other ingredients and make a plain oats roti with wheat flour, oats flour, salt and oil.
• You can roll it to a thick roti too.
• We can powder the oats in advance, store it and use it when needed.

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Yogurt Granola Parfait Recipe

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Last summer when I googled to make the mango custard verrines, I saw the name parfait which was totally new to me. So for those who are new to it Parfait is nothing but a french layered dessert mostly containing some of the breakfast major staples. It is totally versatile as you can just choose what you like add fruits nuts with granola top it with yogurt and your parfait is ready in minutes. Additionally its a healthy dessert too.

Yogurt Granola Parfait Recipe - Ingredients
Makes 2 cups, Serves 2

• Museli / Granola - 1 cup
• Yogurt (Thick Curd) - 1.5 cups ( I used strawberry flavoured yogurt)
• Powdered Sugar - 2 tsp
• Nuts - 2 tbsp chopped
• Honey - 1 tbsp

NOTE :I've used flavoured yogurt, you can use plain yogurt too.

Method:

1. Beat curd with a whisk - If you want to make it flavoured just puree fruit of your choice either strawberry or mango and mix it with the curd. Add powdered sugar, give a quick mix. I used a readymade strawberry flavoured yogurt which already had sweetness in it so didnt add sugar.

2.If your curd is not thick hang it in a muslin cloth for a while to drain excess water. Now your yogurt is ready for the first layer. Keep aside.

3.Make your serving glasses ready. Spoon the yogurt mixture and add it to form the first layer. Then add the granola, then chopped nuts, honey.

4. Again fill it up with yogurt fruit mixture. Do this alternatively till it reaches the rim of the glass.

5. Chill it for a while (optional) and your yogurt granola parfait is ready.

My Notes:

• To make it even more richer, you can mix cream with yogurt.
• You can also add chopped seasonal fruits of your choice.I just topped it with jujips just to make it look appealing for the pics :)
• Any fruit jam can also be added.
• I used homemade granola/museli , you can use the readymade one in Kellogs which comes in 2 varieties.

Enjoy making your easy dessert and impress your guests. Its easy, quick and sure will impress your guests in no time both lookwise and tastewise. So what are you waiting for, just try and dig in :O

The crunchy granola with the fruity yogurt - Yum!! As granola is family fav we enjoyed the dessert relishing every spoon :)

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Dahi Papdi Chaat | Easy Chaat Recipes

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Dahi puri and dahi papdi chaat are my fav chats and Pav Bhaji comes next. Anything with curd I so so love it and when it is along with crispy papdis, tangy chutneys, crunchy onions and sev its tough to say no to it. And it is the best chat for summer as its not spicy as the sweet curd compliments well.

Dahi Papdi Chat Recipe - Ingredients
Makes 2 plates

• Papdi - 12 to 14
• Green & Sweet Chutney - 1 tbsp each
• Thick Curd - 1 cup
• Boiled Potato - 1 roughly cubed
• Onion - 1 chopped finely
• Coriander leaves - 1tbsp chopped finely
• Sev - 3 tbsp
• Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chat Masala Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Sugar - 1 tsp

NOTE : Half the above ingredients for each plate as the above measures makes 2 plates of dahi papdi chaat.

I used the readymade dates chutney this time as I had some leftovers to be finished off soon :) You can make the chutneys and papdis in advance and make your dahi puri or dahi papdi chaat instantly and enjoy.

Method:

1. First get ready with all the ingredients. Line papdis on a plate, then add boiled cubed potato and top it with onion.

2.Mix curd with sugar and salt, beat it well. Then add curd , drizzle sweet and green chutney.

3.Now sprinkle chilli powder and chat masala powder. Top it with sev and finally with coriander leaves.If you want add more curd.

I have added 7 papdis for a plate, you can adjust according to your liking. Enjoy making your homemade dahi papdi chaat.

My Notes:

• You can even add sprouted green gram as we add in dahi puri
• The measures are purely our choice if you like sev more......Add and minus as per your liking :)
• You can make the papdis in advance and store it in an airtight container for other chats as well.
• If you like you can use chilled curd. Adding sugar is purely optional but I recommend adding it for the extra zing :)

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