Susheeyam

As you wonder, Its one of the traditional indian sweet and also our favourite mom's receipe.. Make sure not to say 'No' whenever it is offered to you as it tastes great. We promised to prepare these sweets for a friend and missed for a couple of times because of non sleep daughter and non stop toddler ...and finally , made it on the third trial and here it goes

Ingredients

No of laddus - 7-8

1. Fresh Idly/Dosa batter - No fermented. Instead of leaving the flour in the warmer place for ferementation, keep it inside the fridge - 2 cups
2. Jaggery - 1 cup
3. channa dal - 1 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 2 tbsp
5. Sesame seeds - t tsp
6. Coconut - 1/4 cup
7. All purpose flour - 2 tbsp
8. Baking soda - a pinch

Method

1. Boil channa dal in a cooker open for 12 mts(remove it before the dal breaks down or become so soft
2. Scrape jaggery and set it aside
3. Grind the channa dal for a minute(not too soft or hard)
4. Grind the scraped jagger seperately in a mixer
5. Roast the sesame seeds for a minute in pan (till it changes color)
6. Mix the grinded dal, jaggery, coconut, roasted sesame seeds and cardamom powder
7. Add all purpose flour and baking soda to the dosa flour and mix it well.
8. Make small balls of the mixture and soak it in non fermented dosa batter
9. Heat oil in a pan and fry the soaked balls in a simmer until the outer layer turns brown

Yummy susheeyam is ready for a good evening snack...its also called a festival sweet as we make these sweets during festival season like diwali, pongal etc...

Tomato Rasam

Finally getting back to normal routine after the new addtion to the family....got to learn mom's best recipes before she returns back...here the list starts

No of servings - 4
Ingredients

1. Onion - 1(small)
2. Tomatoes - 4(big)
3. Green chillies - 2
4. Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
5. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
7. Salt - as needed
8. Asafoetida - a pinch
9. Water with which the rice was cleaned(important)
10. Seasoning items
1. Oil - 3 tsp
2. Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
3. Red chilli - 1
4. Curry leaves - 4-5

Method

1. Clean the rice with water and set aside the water in a cup. 
2. Fry Oil in a cooker pan and add the seasoning items
3. Add onions and fry till it glaze at you
4. Add turmeric powder, salt and saute for few minutes
5. Add tomatoes and wait till it fully smashes and tomatoes puree( it will take about10 mts)
6. Add pepper, cumin powder, asafoetida and fry for a minute
7. Add the rice cleaned water and close the lid. Wait for 2 whistles. 

Tomato rasam can be served with rice. Its a different type of rasam without any powder or daal water. it gives a nice flavor on adding rice cleaned water..

Mushroom Briyani #2

Its a retry version with some tweaks and one of the attempt to add vegetables into Adharsh diet. Though he is not a fan of rice, he likes vegetable rice to some extent. so, thought of trying this briyani but didnt have much expectation and time also(since it was a weekend trial). But it tasted very good and it really made the day with a satisfaction of effort not being wasted.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 4 cups
Onion(Small) - 1.5(chopped)
Tomatoes(Big) - 1.5 (chopped)
Mushroom - 1 small pk(chopped)
Green Chillies - 4
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Masala items
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 4
Bay leaf - 2
Seasoning items
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5

To garnish - Mint leaves

To Grind
Ginger (chopped) - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 4-5
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5

Method

1. Clean chopped mushroom in lime water
2. Grind the 'to grind' ingredients with 1/2 cup of water
3. Fry oil in a cooker and add seasoning items
4. When it flutters, add masala ingredients and green chillies
5. Add onions, turmeric powder and salt
   
6. Saute till the onion shines at you
7. Add tomatoes and wait till it gets smashed completely
8. Now add the cleaned mushrooms and mix it well
9. Add the grinded ingredients and let it boil
10. Add basmati rice:water in 1:1.25 ratio
11. Close the cooker lid and cook for 12-14 mts
12. Keep the flame high till the first whistle and sim it later
13. Once its cooked, remove the cooker from burner and let it cool
14. Open the cooker lid and garnish with coriander leaves
    

Vada Curry

Ingredients

Vada :

1. Channa Dal - 200 gms
2. Onion - 3 tsp
3. Garlic - 1
4. Ginger - 1/4 tsp(chopped)
5. Green chilli - 1
6. Cinnamon - a piece
7. Clove - 1
8. asafoetida - a pinch
9. Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
10. Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
11. Curry leaves - as needed (chopped)
12. Salt - 1/4 tsp

Curry

1. Clove - 2
2. Bay leaf - 1
3. Cinnamon - 1 stick(small)
4. Onion - 1(chopped)
5. Tomato - 2(chopped)
6. Green chillies - 3
7. Ginger - 1/4 tsp
8. Garlic - 2
9. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
11. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Salt - as needed
13. Curry leaves - as needed
14. Seasoning items
15. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
16. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Grind the vada mixture coarsely
2. Make small balls of the grinded mixture and spread it in idli pan
3. Heat the mixture in idli pan for 10 mts
4. Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning items
5. Add clove, cinnamon, bay leaf and saute for 2-3 mts
6. Add onions and saute the mixture in medium flame till the onion glazes at you
7. Add turmeric and salt to the mixture and boil for 2-3 mts
8. Add the chopped tomatoes and wait till the tomato gets pureed.
9. Scramble the vada mixture in idli pan
10. Remove the heated mixture from idli pan and scramble the vada balls on the boiling mixtuer..
11. Boil till the mixture becomes thick

Vada curry goes very well with south Indian dishes like Idli, Dosa, Aapam, Pongal etc...one curry fits for all

Masala vada

As festival time is approaching, rolling up the sleeves to try on new recipes. Masala vada is the first snack which made us to say 'Wowww!!!, can we make these ones at home too" when one of our good friends prepared this snack for us...As we are from temple city, masala vada is one among the common snack in roadside stalls and people buy these snacks from stores in a minute. So nobody would think of spending time in preparing these snacks there...But US life gives us an opportunity to explore new ideas in all areas including culinary....Way to go...:)


Ingredients

1. Channa Dal - 1 cup(200g)
2. Red chilli - 2
3. Green chilli - 2
4. Onion(chopped) - 1
5. Ginger - optional
6. Curry/Coriander leaves - To garnish
7. Salt - as needed

Method

1. Soak channa dal in water for atleast 2 hrs
2. Except 2 tbsp of dal, grind the soaked dal with no water(grinded mixture should be coarse)
3. Mix onions, chillies, curry/coriander leaves, salt and the remaining channa dal
4. Fry oil in a pan and when its ready, make small balls of the channa dal mixture(pat it gently to get round shape) and fry it in oil for 3-4 mts...(in simmer for the inner mixture to fry properly)
5. Hot and spicy vadas are ready for a perfect evening snack ...Coconut chutney goes well with this one...

Tomato Rice Sevai

This is one of the 'easy-to-prepare' but yet 'good-to-taste' dinner. You can think of this dish when you are tired of making dinner but looking for something tasty.

Ingredients
No of people - 4

Rice Sevai - 4 cups
Green chilli - 1
Onion(big) - 3/4
Tomato(medium) - 3
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Seasoning items
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - some
Salt - to taste
Lemon - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Boil water and immerse rice sevai when the water bubbles up
2. Cover the lid and set it aside for 5 mts
3. Spread the rice sevai in a big plate to cool.
4. Heat oil in a big pan and add seasoning items
5. Saute green chillies and onion.
6. Add salt to taste, turmeric powder and wait for onions to become transparent
6. Add tomatoes to the mixture and saute till it gets smashed and mixed well.
7. Mix cumin, coriander, pepper powder and finally add lemon juice
8. Add the mixture to the cooling sevai and mix thoroughly

sevai is ready to serve. Note : In spite of spending hours of preparation on other dishes to satisfy elders, this is the only dish for which we got a 'good' certificate from parents.....and its very easy to make ...good going...catch you soon.

Soya Curry

It has been very long since we pen down. Life has become so busy in tackling kids and balancing work with family (especially when the kids are picky eaters). We would like to prepare and offer him different dishes to increase his appetite..But somehow our boy is a sweet boy who eats only sweety sweety items and nothing else..Amidst of running behind/begging/praying to feed him, somehow we found little time to prepare this dish. Soya is protein rich and it would contain the daily protein content in one serving. Thanks to Maheswari(publishtoday.blogspot) who is the owner of this recipe. It has been in mind since she posted the recipe, but was hesitant since she had mentioned it tastes like mutton/beef. Finally, its here.

Ingredients

Soya - 50 g( 1-2 cups)
Shredded Coconut - 4-5 tbsp
Coconut slices - 10
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder - 0.25 tsp
vinegar - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - as needed
Coriander leaves - as needed
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 tsp (chopped)
Garlic - 1 (chopped)
Salt - as needed
Onion - 1(small, chopped)
Seasoning items
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Soak soya in water for 15-20 mts
2. Squeeze the water in soya and cut into halves
3. Marinate soya with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 3/4 garam masala powder, 1 1/2 coriander powder, vinegar and salt and leave it aside for 30 mts
4. Boil soya with 1 cup of water in cooker for a whistle
5. Grind shredded coconut, curry leaves, coriander leaves, 3/4 garam masala powder, 1 1/2 coriander powder, black pepper
6. Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning items, ginger and garlic
7. Saute the onions for 5 mts and add the grinded mixture.
8. Add the boiled soya and boil it till the water drains out and the mixture comes together.

Enjoy the healthy/tasty recipe with rice/roti