Enjoy Combo Offer-Hot Steaming Tapioca with Bird’s Eye Chilli Chutney

Today I’m sharing a recipe of Kappa Puzhungiyathu along with Kanthari  Mulaku Chammanthi. It is a great combination especially when you are having a great appetite. It boosts energy levels. I’m sure any keralite staying away from home will long to have a bite of this delicious feast. The images are so tempting that I would like to grab a piece or two from the banana leaf spread.

The back ground was that I reached home tired after work and was in no mood to cook dinner. I was relaxing after a cup of tea and my hubby comes in with a big bag of kerala store items. As we are away from Kerala, he longs for Friday -basic reason to collect the fresh stock of ethakka (kerala banana) ,kappa (tapioca), Chena (elephant foot), Kaachil (Purple Yam), Kochu ulli (Shallots), Kanthari Mulakka (bird’s eye chilies),Coconuts, masala powders , etc..

The visual image of Kappa Puzhungiyathu with green chilli chutney combination was so tempting that I finalized on the menu for dinner. This is a quick dish and relished too bringing in nostalgic memories back home. Though my younger son was fussy over the change in menu (pulka regularly), he was willing to adjust with fish curry.

Therefore started to prepare the menu finalized for dinner: Kappa Puzhungiyathu along with Kanthari  Mulaku Chammanthi.

Ingredients for Kappa Puzhungiyathu – Boiled Tapioca- Yuca- Cassava

• Kappa-Tapioca- Yuca- Cassava : 2 large roots
• Water: as required to cook
• Salt: as per taste

Procedure for preparing Kappa Puzhungiyathu – Boiled Tapioca:

Method:

• Cut the kappa-tapioca into 4 cm length slices.Peel the skin , it will come off as a thick layer.
• Slice these round pieces lengthwise into 2 or 4 pieces to allow easy cooking.
• Transfer the cut pieces into a large shallow pan containing water. Wash the immersed kappa thoroughly to remove any impurities and sand particles.
• Pour water till the level of chopped kappa-tapioca and cover the vessel with a lid. Allow this to boil. After 4 to 5 minutes of boiling, drain the water completely. This step is essential to remove the katta or starch.
• Now pour the same amount of fresh water and allow the kappa-tapioca to boil. Add salt as required and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until it turns soft and tender.
• Put off the flame. Drain the water completely and keep aside.
• Serve it steaming hot with kanthari Mulaku Chammanthi/ Chicken curry with lots of gravy, Fish curry-Kerala style.

Ingredients for Kanthari Mulaku Chammanthi-Bird’s Eye Chiili Chutney

• Kanthari Mulaku / Bird’s eye chilli: 20 nos (optional green chilli-4 nos)
• Shallots/Pearl Onion/Kochulli: 12 nos
• Tamarind extract: soak lime sized tamarind and extract thick pulp
• Salt: as per taste
• Coconut oil: 3 tspn
• Curry leaves-shred 4 to 5 leaves

Procedure for preparing Kanthari Mulaku Chammanthi- Green chilli dip:

Method:

• In a mixer ,pulse kanthari Mulaka/ green chilli, shallots, curry leaves 2 or 3 times. You can also use the arakalla- motor and pestle – ideal for taste.
• Green chilli is an option for kanthari Mulaka, like wise use onion for shallots.
• Transfer the mixture into a serving bowl. Add salt ,tamarind extract and coconut oil and mix well.
• Ready to serve with steaming kappa puzhingiyatha.

This is a quick fix menu and can be prepared with ease. You can prepare the green chilli dip when the kappa is boiling. Maximum time will be 25 to 30 minutes for preparing this menu.

Chicken curry with gravy, Fish curry are great combinations. An ideal recipe for breakfast, evening snacks and dinner too.
We enjoyed this sumptuous dinner. Go ahead and give it a try…

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Prepare Ladies finger-Okra pachadi in the authentic Kerala style

Ladies finger pachadi is a popular dish during a sadhya or special occasions in Kerala. Pachadi is a mandatory dish during sadhya on occasions like Onam and Vishu. Pachadi / Kichadi is made with ash gourd, beetroot, cucumber etc. Lichadi / pachadi looks like a raitha mixed with mustard seeds.

The milky white color of pachadi / kichadi is very attractive and is healthy too. Ladies finger pachadi / Okra pachadi is easy to cook and can be included on your menu especially on days planned for vegetarian meals.

My son likes the blend of colors that kichadi / pachadi generates especially when made with beetroot and cucumber.

Ingredients for Ladies finger pachadi: 

Ladies finger / Okra/ Vendakka : 15 nos

Green chillies : 2 nos

Coconut: ½ cup grated

Yoghurt / Thick curd: 1 cup

Cooking Oil : 4 tbpn

Mustard seeds: 2 tsp

Jeera: ½ tsp

Garlic-3 slices

Curry leaves: few

Dry red chilly: 2 nos

Salt: to taste

Procedure for preparing Ladies finger/ Vendakka pachadi:

Method:

·        Wash the ladies finger / vendakka and pat dry. Cut okra into round slices, cut them as thin as possible.

·        Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry them until crisp. Ensure they do not get burnt.

·        Grind grated coconut along with a pinch of jeera and 3 slices of garlic.

·        Powder mustard coarsely.

·        In a bowl mix coconut paste, thick curd, fried ladies finger, mustard coarse powder, salt as required and mix well. Heat the base for a minute.

·        Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Do seasoning with mustard, jeera, dry red chilli, curry leaves and add into the bowl.

·        Vendakka pachadi/Okra kichadi is ready to serve with hot rice or rotis too.

This is the authentic way of cooking vendakka pachadi. Your family will appreciate your original cooking bringing nostalgic memories of grandma’s cooking. The family will is gonna relish your cooking.

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Sukhiyan-Popular 4pm snack with High protein

Sukhiyan is a favorite snack at our home along with evening tea. Sukhiyan is prepared mostly during Onam, Christian festivals and it is available at tea stalls across India. Because of its popularity and demand you will notice Sukhiyan being sold by Malayali vendors outside Kerala. Wherever there is a kerala fest / cultural programs being conducted by keralites, you can see Sukhiyan being sold in the outlets.

Sukhiyan is a sweet and tasty snack containing high protein. You can relish it when served hot or can be eaten at room temp. Sukhiyan balls have to be kept in the refrigerator if you want to serve the next day.

As the base is fresh coconut and cooked moong gram it has to be consumed the same day, accordingly plan for the batch of suvians. This is not a typo error, we used to call this sweet Suvian until recently when an elderly aunt of mine corrected me.

Ingredients for Sukhiyan-Popular 4pm snack:

• Whole green Moong gram : ¼ kg
• Jaggery: ¼ kg
• Coconut: 2 cups grated
• Cardamom/ Elaichi: 8 nos (seeds to be powdered)
• Rice flour/ Maida/Wheat flour: 2 cups
• Salt: as per taste
• Cooking oil: for frying the sukhiyan balls
• Haldi powder/ Turmeric powder: 2 pinches
• Jeera: 1 pinch

Procedure for preparing Sukhiyan-Popular 4pm snack of South India:

Method:

• Soak the whole green moong gram for an hour. Wash and drain the water. Ensure no stones.
• Pressure cook the moong gram adding water as the measurement of moong gram prior to soaking.i.e 1 glass of moong gram:1 glass of water.Add ¼ tsp of salt and a pinch of haldi powder.
• After the cooker cools you will observe that the water is totally absorbed by the moong gram and they are nicely swollen, cooked with a crack here and there. When the whistle blows you will also get the aroma of typical cooked moong gram.
• Crush / grate the jaggery and boil in a vessel with ¼ glass of water. When all the jaggery melts filter to remove any dust particles that are embedded in the jaggery blocks.
• In a flat bottomed wide pan add the jaggery solution. Keep stirring the liquid to avoid catching at the base. After 4 to 5 mins add grated fresh coconut. You will observe that after 3 to 4 mins the coconut has absorbed the jaggery and it is turning dry.
• This is the time to add powdered elaichi. Mix well, reduce flame and add the cooked whole green moong gram.
• Mix well to avoid catching at the base. Put off the flame. Allow this base to cool down. Make small balls –the size of rava laddoo.
• The covering for sukhiyan balls can be made with rice flour/ maida flour/wheat flour or a combination of rice flour and maida i.e 1:1 ratio.
• Add a pinch of jeera, pinch of haldi powder, salt to the dry flour. Add water and make a thick batter. When you dip the balls it should get covered and the coating should remain as in mirchi bajji.
• Heat oil and start frying the sukhiyan balls immersed in the batter. Deep fry until texture is crisp and has turned color. Drain onto paper towels. Serve hot or at normal temperature.

Try this recipe and surprise your family and friends with an authentic recipe. Sukhiyan is considered to be a part of kerala cuisine and the smell and look are bringing fond memories making my eyes damp with tears.

Variations in the batter for covering can be by immersing in dosa batter. You can make sukhiyan on the day you have left over dosa batter.

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Bake a Sponge cake with Caramelized sugar

Cakes are universally popular during birthdays and special occasions at home. We have a practice of baking cake additionally from the home made butter. The butter is fresh and ideal for making soft and spongy cakes.

Cake baking is no great skill. The secret of baking cake successfully lies with the proportions of the ingredients. Any mismatch will make the cake become a disaster. Therefore recommend you to go by weight and not measures for basic ingredients.

Cake baking process is no rocket science but basic awareness of the role for each of the ingredients during the basic process needs understanding for the users.

You can bake cakes in various different ways by experimenting with different fruits and flavors. Today we shall go thru the recipe of baking a sponge cake with caramelized sugar.

Ingredients for Sponge cake with Caramelized Sugar:

• All-purpose flour /Maida: 200 gm
• Butter (home made or saltless variety): 200 gm
• Sugar:175 gm+ 25 gm for caramelization
• Eggs: 200 gm
• Cardamom / Elaichi: 6 nos
• Patta : 1 inch piece
• Vanilla essence: 1.5 tsp
• Cashewnut / Kaaju: 10 nos
• Raisins / Kismis: 10 nos
• Baking powder: 1+1/2 tsp

Procedure for preparing Sponge cake with Caramelized Sugar :

Method:

• Sieve maida and baking powder together for 2 times, this will ensure uniform mixing. Powder sugar in a mixer. Transfer in a mixing bowl.
• Eggs also needs to be weighed, you can only use the white of the egg to balance the weight. Beat eggs in the same mixer.
• Add butter ( kept at room temperature) to the powdered sugar in the mixing bowl. Mix well with a plastic ladle or with your hand. After 3 to 4 mins of constant mixing add beaten eggs. Mix all the ingredients again for 3 to 4 mins.
• To this base add maida and mix vigorously to remove any lumps of unmixed flour. Add the caramelized sugar and thoroughly mix the batter.
• After 5 mins add cashew,raisins and vanilla essence. It is ready to transfer into the baking oven.Retain a few for decorating the cake.
• Meanwhile grease the baking pan with butter. Sprinkle some dry maida onto the baking pan to form a thin layer of maida. Now pour the cake batter into the pan.Decorate with cashew and raisin on top.
• If you are using the micro oven, preheat oven to 200 deg C for 10mins. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree C for 10 mins, then reduce temperature to 180 deg C and bake it for 30-35 mins.
• Take a tooth pick and prick the cake till the base to check whether it comes out clean or not. If the mixture is still sticky, then bake it for another 10 minutes. Check it again and turn off the oven.
• Remove pan from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before flipping it over onto a platter. Use a butter knife to lightly run along the edges of the cake; make sure that the edges are all loose before you flip it.
• I use the cake oven with a sand tray accessory at the bottom. I heat the sand tray for 4 to 5 mins and then decrease the flame of the gas stove. I place the cake pan above the sand tray. The oven has to be kept at low flame for 25 mins.
• Sponge Cake with caramelized sugar is ready. Let it cool down for a while and then separate it from the pan with the help of a knife. Cut the cake in the shapes you desire and serve it.
• Pre-work: You need to caramelize sugar on the pan. Heat sugar on a thick bottomed pan. When it melts and become liquid keep stirring. It will start changing color and when it becomes dark brown you can add a few spoons of water and put off the flame. The other option will be to cool caramelized sugar on a tray of ice.

You will receive a lot of appreciation for the baked cake. The aroma of fresh cake baking will be all over your house and out in the open air too.

My kids will visit the kitchen often mainly because of the aroma and the curiosity to know what other varieties I’m actually attempting that day.

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Atukulu Laddoo-Special sweet for Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtami is the annual celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna, the eight avatar of Lord Vishnu. Krishna Janmashtami is also called Gokulashtami , Krishna Jayanthi and is celebrated in various ways in different parts of India. Plenty of games are associated with Janmashtami- Dahi handi is a popular game in which the pot filled with butter, milk and water is hung at a height of 20 to 30 metres. The young children will form a pyramid and break the pot. Water will be sprayed constantly on the climbers to prevent them reach the height.

During Janmashtami children dress like Baal Krishna, they hold a flute and a peacock in the head band, wear a dhoti only as a lookalike of Bal Krishna. Special puja is performed in the evening when the childs legs are dipped in color and the colored impression is made on the floor when the child visits your home. This is believed to be symbolic of Nand Gopal i.e Bal Krishna coming to your home.

In some parts of India the image or statue of Lord Krishna is placed in swings and cradles and are kept swinging by devotees. All the Krishna temples are decorated and this also happens to attract pilgrims to places associated with Krishna’s childhood like Mathura, Gokul and Vrindavan. The Guruvayoor temple at kerala is also popular on Krishna Janmashtami.

Fasting is followed by most devotees and they break the fast with vegetarian dishes. Sweets are also distributed on this special occasion. Today I’m sharing a sweet recipe that is new and will certainly be liked.

Ingredients for Atukulu laddoo:

• Atukulu / Poha /Pressed rice : 1 cup
• Vermicelli: 1/3 cup
• Moong gram: ½ cup
• Sugar: ½ cup ( powdered)
• Cardamom/ Elaichi: 8 nos ( powdered)
• Kaaju / Cashewnut: 6 nos ( chop into small pieces)
• Kismis / Raisins: 6 nos ( slice into halves)
• Ghee: 1/3 cup

Procedure for preparing Atukulu laddoo/ Poha laddoo- Janmashtami special sweet:

Method:

• In a kadai fry Atukulu/ Poha, Vermicelli and Moong gram separately. Ensure they do not change color or burn.
• Transfer into separate plates. Allow it to cool.
• In a mixer powder Atukulu/ Poha, Vermicelli,Moong gram and Sugar separately.
• Heat 2 tsp of ghee in the same kadai, add chopped Kaaju and Kismis.Remove Kadai from flame.
• Mix all the powders together. Add elaichi powder and fried Kaaju, Kismis.
• Heat the remaining ghee and add spoon by spoon to the mixed powders. Mix all the ingredients and try to make small balls .
• Atukulu laddoo / Poha laddoo is ready to serve.

Variations in this laddoo will include addition of Dessicated coconut:1/3 cup. You can alternate vermicelli with oats as it is commonly available in most homes.

It is important that you fry and powder the ingredients separately as each ingredient has its own time to get heated and powdery too.

The flavors of cardamom and ghee will be so good that you will look forward to have more sweets.This delicious and grainy texture of laddoos will be a big surprise and a huge hit among your family and friends.

Go ahead and try this variety of laddoo or rava laddoo, til laddoo this Janmashtami. Enjoy the celebrations!!

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Special Falahari recipe: Chatpati Sago Chaat

Chatpati Sago Chaat is a special recipe prepared during fasting days. In India fasting is followed for many festivals and during this duration women break the fast with light meals and healthy diet too.

Falahari dishes are made mostly on days fast is observed. Falahari is derived from phal  or fal which means fruits and ahaar which means food or diet. Basically phalahari means a diet which consists of fresh fruits. along with fruits even vegetables, herbs, dry fruits, some cereals and yogurt is a part of phalahari diet.

Sago chaat is an oil free dish. You will require boiled sabudhana / sago to prepare this dish. People of all ages love chaat and you can prepare chatpati sago chaat that is simple to prepare yet delicious and mouthwatering too.

Chatpati sago chaat is a combination of cooked sabudhana ,fruits and vegetables. Let’s go through the ingredients required and the procedure to prepare.

Ingredients for Chatpati Sago Chaat:

• Sago or Sabudhana: ¾ cup
• Tomato: 1
• Guava: ½
• Apple: ½
• Green Chilli (used for mirchi bajji) -2 tsp (finely chopped)
• Groundnuts / Peanuts: handful (roasted and remove peel)
• Pomegranate: a handful
• Grapes: a handful
• Coriander leaves: 3 tbsp ( chopped)
• Mint leaves: 1 tbsp ( chopped)
• Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder: ¼ tsp ( optional)
• Chaat masala: ½ tsp
• Salt: 2 pinches
• Crushed Pepper:1/4 tsp

Procedure for preparing Chatpati Sago Chaat:

Method:

• Wash and soak the sago in water for 2 hrs.
• Boil the soaked sago and strain through a colander. Add fresh water on this and you will get clear sabudhana. Transfer into a large serving bowl.
• Peel Apple, cut all the fruits and add to the serving bowl. Add roasted peanuts, coriander and mint leaves, Sugar, red chilli powder, chaat masala, crushed pepper, salt. Mix well with the help of two forks.
• Sprinkle with lime juice. Mix again and serve.

Chatpati sago chaat is nutritious and filling too after a long fast. A good way to break the fast.

Pineapple, pear are also a good combination for this falahari chaat. You can add sweet and sour tamarind chutney in place of sugar.

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Also read:

Dalia Salad- Healthy Recipe for Weight loss

My experiences in the kitchen-Part 1, Part-2

Dalia Salad- Healthy Recipe for Weight loss

Dalia salad is a healthy recipe ideal for weight loss. Dalia is basically broken wheat and is called bulgar. Dalia is popular in India and is introduced for a child in the form of porridge. Dalia is high in fibre, low in fat, diabetic friendly and ideal to lose weight. You can make interesting recipes to make the cooked dalia tastier and healthier.

Today I’m sharing a delicious salad made from dalia and raw veggies. This salad will provide good amount of vitamins and minerals to the body.

Ingredients for Dalia Salad:

• Dalia or Bulgar: ½ cup
• Onion: 1 small (finely chopped)
• Tomato: 1 small (chopped)
• Carrot: 3 tbsp (grated)
• Lemon juice: 2 spoons
• Olive oil: 1 tsp
• Crushed pepper: ¼ tsp
• Fresh coriander leaves: 1 tbsp(finely chopped)
• Fresh mint leaves: 1 tbsp(finely chopped)
• Pomegranate (Anar): a handful- optional
• Salt: as per taste
• Cooking oil / Ghee: 4 tbsp

Procedure for preparing Dalia Salad:

Method:

• Pressure cook dalia in 2 cups of water.
• In a large wide bowl add chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, grated carrot, chopped coriander and mint leaves, pomegranate, lemon juice, olive oil, crushed pepper, salt and mix well.
• After dalia has cooled down, add cooked dalia to the above mixture . Mix well.
• Dalia Salad is ready and can be served immediately. Yo will love the flavors of olive oil, lime and crushed peppers .

Broken wheat has high fiber content and the dish is filling. You can have Dalia Salad for breakfast or prepare when you plan for a light dinner too. Popular dishes made with dalia are payasam, upma, puttu, etc.

Try this recipe and enjoy healthy cooking. For more healthy and tasty recipes visit our Facebook page and Google+ page.

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My experiences in the kitchen-Part 2

For a beginner in the kitchen all the activities will feel like a huge task. As you experience with cooking several dishes you start gaining confidence and the tasks start looking simpler and less complicated. Here are a few tips from my experiences in the kitchen in continuation to the previous posts that was shared.

Watch out for the tips and tricks that has to be managed while working in the kitchen.

Cutting or chopping vegetables

• Sharpen your knife with a stone. Soak the stone in water and then rub the knife in an angle to get a better finish. Avoid the electric sharpener as much metal will be rubbed off in the process.
• To avoid crying while cutting onions refrigerate  and then cut. If you have not refrigerated then  place an onion on the tip of the knife you use to cut the onion. No shedding of tears.
• To avoid itching after cutting elephant foot take a small piece and place it on flame using a pincer. Your itching will minimize and gradually stop.
• Vara pindi / Banana stem dish is tasty. While chopping banana stem you need to remove the fibers that is present between the stem. Ideal method cut the inner white stem in ½ inch circular pieces. While segregating you will observe long hairy threads along with the circular piece. Roll this hairy threads on your finger and proceed to cut another circular slice. This way unwanted threads can be removed and finally hold 4 to 5 circular slices and chop them fine.
• Do not throw away the water in which rice is washed prior to cooking. Raw banana , banana stem , banana flower chopped for torran i.e a dry vegetable dish: can be soaked in this water. This will avoid becoming black. Drain water and squeeze the ingredients well prior to cooking.
• Add chopped Potato, brinjal (egg plant) ,elephant foot in water to avoid blackening. The actual color of the vegetable is retained.
• To keep the green chillies fresh for a longer time, remove the stems before storing.
• Wash and dry ladies finger prior to chopping. This will relieve you of stickiness.
• Reduce bitterness of Karela. Slit karelas ( bitter gourd) length wise and apply a mixture of salt. Keep aside for ½ hour and then cook.

Cooking tips:

• While boiling pasta and noodles, use some oil in the water to avoid sticking. When the noodles  are boiled, drain all the hot water and then add cold water. This way all the noodles will get separated.
• To prevent the growth of fungus in pickles, burn a small grain of asafoetida over a burning coal and invert the empty pickle jar for some time before putting pickles in the jar.
• Before cooking cauliflower florets soak them in warm salted water for a while to get rid of any tiny insects that may be present deep inside the florets and not visible to the eye.
• A little rice flour added to bhajia batter will not only make the bhajias crisper but also less oily.
• Always warm dry spices like cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, etc. on a griddle before powdering. They will grind faster and the powder will be finer.
• If you want the onion to change color during sautéing on a low flame, add ½ tsp of sugar and you will see a coloration appear .

Safety tips:

• If you are not using a chopping board, then it is advised to use finger gloves while cutting vegetables.
• Fry the fat of chicken in a kadai on a low flame. The oil that is collected can be stored in a clean and dry bottle. This oil is ideal to apply on minor burns in the kitchen. It gives cooling effect and heals faster too. Shelf life: 3 years

General tips:

• If the lemon or lime is hard, put it in warm water for 5-10 minutes to make it easier for squeeze. Also lemon can be used while washing chicken, fish, meat to remove that raw blood smell, cleansing properties too.
• To remove fish and meat odor from your hands rub with lemon rind.
• Always keep dough (atta/ maida flour) covered with a moist cloth to avoid a dry crust from forming on it.
• Crust removed from bread for making sandwiches etc., can be sun dried or oven dried and powdered in a mixer to form fine breadcrumbs. Refrigerate and use as required. You can make tikkis or use in cutlets.
• Commonly observed that jam bottle cap does not open as it is seal locked. Make a small dent on the cap with a knife to remove the vacuum and you will be able to open the cap.
• Soak and cook dhals ,you can save cooking gas.  For more tips on gas saving methods check out- Great tips to save LPG in your kitchen.
• Keep a scissor, bottle opener, stone for sharpening knives handy in the kitchen to avoid delays.

An organized kitchen is the key to work efficiently. Once a week organize the racks to ensure you get your containers and spoons on time.

Related reading:

My experiences in the kitchen-Part 1

How to Prepare Basic Garam Masala at Home

How to make Ginger Garlic paste at home

How to make thick curd

How to extract fresh Coconut milk at home

My experiences in the kitchen-Part 1

Working in the kitchen is fun. If the day is hot and not going good you will end up with more mess. Here are few special tricks that I have learnt along with the art of cooking . I started off with great experiences and at times disastrous ones too during experimentation in the kitchen. I wish to share these tricks and kitchen tips to the beginners and newbies experimenting in the kitchen.

Indian cooking involves lots of masalas, powdering and grinding in the cooking process You can save time and effort, also learn from experiences rather than inventing the wheel again.

Frying papad at home:

• Prick at least two holes to avoid papad bulging. Store in tight containers to avoid fried papad becoming soft.
• Place unfried papad in the refrigerator.  To prevent stiffening and breakage of the papads once the cover is opened, place the unfried papads in a polythene cover this will prevent stiffening and breakage.

Boiling milk:

• Dispense packet milk into container and only then place on the stove. If not the milk catches at the base leaving a burnt smell. Low or Medium flame should be maintained while boiling milk.
• While boiling milk at medium heat stir the milk with a spoon. It will avoid milk sticking at the bottom of the vessel.

Handling hot oil:

• While frying puris in oil, immerse in oil and then press with a flat spoon such that the puri will puff like a ball. Do not leave the dough for a long time, it’ll absorb oil. Instant frying is the key to avoid oil absorption for puri.
• To check oil is hot, put a small piece of the dough / batter. If it comes up boiling,  the oil is hot enough to fry. If the batter is lying at the base, oil needs more heating.
• To cool the oil and avoid fumes after frying activity, switch off flame and put 8-10 cooked rice into the oil. It will absorb the heat.
• Fry papad in medium flame. To retain color of fryums while frying, heat the oil sufficiently, lower the flame completely and then add fryums to avoid the deep brown color

Cake baking tips:

• Weigh and add quantities while you plan to make a cake. Measuring can be tricky and the cake baking will not be accurate.
• If you plan to add soaked nuts and raisins while baking. Coat them with All purpose flour (maida) and then add when the baking is half way through. This will avoid the nuts and raisins reaching the bottom.
• After applying butter on the cake tin, sprinkle maida and then pour the batter. The baked cake will come off easily.

Making soft idli and crispy dosa

• If you add half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to the lentil and rice mixture while soaking, dosas will be more crisp, idlis will be soft.
• Apply ghee in the idli tray prior to dispensing the batter. The idlis will come away freely without sticking at the base.
• To check tawa has become hot , sprinkle few drops of water. If it sizzles with steam coming out it  indicates tawa is hot.
• Rub slices of onion on dosa tawa (griddle) before spreading dosas. This will avoid the dosa from stubbornly sticking to the griddle or tawa.

Preparing cutlet with a crispy covering

• To prevent oil foaming while frying cutlets- use only egg white. Make a small hole on one end of the egg. Let the egg white flow freely into a bowl. Whisk the egg white thoroughly and the process will not be messy.
• To get a crispy covering for your cutlets, powder fresh bread. Dip the cutlet balls in egg white (pepper and salt included) and finally coat with powdered fresh bread.
• If you have to make cutlets in a hurry and have no breadcrumbs use semolina for coating them.

There is a popular saying, “ The best way to win a man’s heart is thru’ his stomach”. You can also win the hearts of your family members by cooking good and healthy food.

Remember to cook as per the need. Avoid wastage as there are thousands of people going without a meal every day.

Related reading:

How to Prepare Garam Masala at Home

How to make Ginger Garlic paste at home

How to make thick curd

Simple way to prepare fresh Moong gram sprouts at home

Healthy and Delicious Sweet Corn Paratha

Sweet corns are available during winter days. In monsoon people usually have corn roasted by at road side vendors. Sweet corn is mostly steamed and eaten with a garnish of lime juice and salt. Sweet corn is full of vitamins and fiber. Sweet corn can be included in your wheat dough to make delicious sweet corn paratha.

Here’s the recipe for sweet corn paratha also referred to as Makai ki roti.

Ingredients for Sweet Corn Paratha:

• Wheat flour: 2cups
• Sweet corn: 1 cup
• Green chilly: 2 nos ( chopped finely)
• Coriander leaves: 3 tsp (finely chopped)
• Ajwain ( Carom seeds or Bishop’s weed): ¼ tsp
• Ginger-garlic paste: ¼ tsp
• Cooking oil / Ghee: 4 tbsp
• Salt: as per taste
• Water: as required

Procedure for preparing Sweet Corn Paratha:

Method:

• Remove the corn from the cob and grind in the mixer to form a smooth paste.You can even grate the cob and remove the pulp.
• Add the sweet corn pulp into the dough along with 1 tbsp of oil.Knead the flour to form a hard flour.
• Cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it remain for 20 to 30 mins. The dough will become fluffy and will set.
• Smoothen the dough by kneading for a few minutes.
• Make small rolls (size of a lemon} and roll the dough with a rolling pin. Dip the balls into wheat flour to avoid sticking to the base.
• Put 2 drops of oil a little wheat flour and fold the paratha at 1/3 length. Place the other 1/3^rd length over the first fold. Fold both the open end one over the other like a handkerchief.
• Dip the dough into wheat flour and with a rolling pin to make a thick paratha. Make sure the spread is even i.e not too thick nor thin.
• Heat a tawa / pan and apply little oil on the pan. Place the paratha on the pan. When one side is heated flip the paratha.
• Apply oil / ghee on the top side. Flip the paratha and apply oil on the second side too.
• Maintain low heat to avoid burning of paratha. You will observe the paratha is golden brown color indicating it has cooked.
• Prepare the sweet corn parathas with the remaining dough and place it in a hot pack-casserole or serve them hot.

A good combination with green peas curry, kaju curry,mixed vegetable curry. You can also Makai ki roti serve with raitha, pickle or chutney.

Delicious and healthy Sweet Corn Paratha is ready to serve. You will enjoy the taste and also benefit with the vitamins and fibers that are within the Sweet corn. The aroma of carom seeds and the flavors while making the parathas will increase your appetite.

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