Rasam

Rasam is known by the same name in Malayalam and Tamil, while it is called ‘Chaaru’ in Telugu and ‘Saaru’ in Kannada. Rasam is in the lime light these days. The medicinal values of rasam is more in discussion now. Rasam is a classic example of traditional functional food with all its ingredients medicinally claimed for various ailments.

There are many types and variations of Rasam prepared in several households, the recipe i am sharing here is the simple rasam my mother makes at home.

you can either drink it or you can mix it and have with rice. In our home we like to drink as a soup.

Ingredients

Small Onion- 3-4
Green Chilli -1
Garlic - 3
Tomatoes- 2 chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tspn
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn
Peppercorns -1/2 tspn
Chopped coriander leaves-1 handful
Tamarind - small lemon sized 
Water- 2 1/2 cups
Asafoetida- 1/4 tspn
Jaggery - 2tspn
Curry leaves
Salt

Directions

Soak tamarind in hot water for 20 mins and extract its juice and keep aside.
Crush garlic, small onions and  green chilli and keep aside.
Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilies, and peppercorns, Cool and grind to a fine powder.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, When they splutter, Add the crushed garlic mixture,  and curry leaves ,fry it for few second.
Add Tomatoes, Cover and cook for 15 minutes, till the tomatoes are mushy and blended with the rest of the ingredients. add asafoetida, turmeric powder and the spice mixture. add jaggery and Salt to taste. 
Add tamarind water and bring to boil. simmer for 5 min after it comes to boil and switch off the flame
garnish with coriander leaves.

Dalgona Coffee

#DalgonaCoffee

The new viral food trend  'Dalgona Coffee', the Instagram is flooded with hashtags on Dalgona Coffee, Tik tock and Youtube with recipe videos. The latest trendy drink, so I decided to give it a try.

In this lockdown period, people are getting very creative with food.

Dalgona Coffee!! sounds fancy right.
It is basically whipped coffee, the taste resembles toffee like candy 'Dalgona' from south Korea, hence the name. The trend started from south Korea and  its storming the internet now.

Ingredients

Instant Coffee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Hot water - 2 tbsp
Cold milk - 3/4 glass
Ice cubes as required
Chocolate powder - 1 tbsp

Directions

Instant coffee, hot water and sugar is combined and whisked together. 
whisk for sometime until u get a creamy frothy texture, the dark brown mixture slowly changes to caramel hue and fluffy peaks form. 
(Use an electric hand mixture that reduces the effort and time.)
The whipped mixture is then scooped on top of a glass of warm or cold milk with ice
Dalgona coffee is ready.
as simple as it is , equally delicious to taste.

Give it a good stir before you drink it and also if possible use the finest ground instant coffee you can find - ideally powdered. 

I made a variation by adding chocolate to the coffee mixture for the kids. they loved it.

Wheat Cookies with Chocolate chips

Another easy recipe for kids cooking. After yesterdays baking session, my young helper was very much active today also. This cookies are simple and easy to make with very less ingredients.

Unlike the traditional cookies there was no resting time for this. Kids never have that patience to wait, especially Boys!! so i avoided that part.

I used wheat flour here, the normal atta which you use for making rotis at home.

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 cup
Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Butter – 75gm(room temperature)
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Brown sugar -1/2 cup
granulated white sugar- 1/2 cup
egg-1 large
chocolate chips-1/2 cup

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In  another bowl  beat the butter until creamy with an electric hand mixer, slowly add granulated sugar and brown sugar beat until creamy, for about 2 minutes. 
Add the egg. Beat again for another 2 min.
add vanilla essence and  mix well.
Divide the flour mixture into two batches and gradually beat in to the above mixture one after the other. 
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Make small balls using a ice cream scoop , place it on a baking sheet 
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

 After 15 min of cooling time, half of the cookies is finished. :). These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. 

You can increase the quantity of chocolate chips. its lock down time and i am reserving the chocolate chips for later baking sessions. 

Easy Bread Pudding

After a really long break , back to blogging..:) the lock down activity for me.

Its lock down time for the kids also, they cannot go out to play. The snack frequency  has also increased. 
The hardest job is to keep them busy, to take away their attention from Gadgets and bring them to the real world, make them do something that they really enjoy. So I decided to bake with my 12 year old son today. He enjoyed every bit of it.  He actually Love food, you can say a real foodie, always ready to volunteer in tasting. Today he was acting like a junior masterchef following my instruction  and making this yummy Bread pudding. :) 
so this is kids version, simple with limited ingredients.

Ingredients

Egg-2
Salt- pinch of salt
milk – 2 cup
Sugar-1/3 cup
Bread slices -6
Grounded Cinnamon - ½ tsp
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
Nuts (crushed)- 50g
Raisins - 1/4 cup

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees 

In a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk the eggs and sugar. you can use a fork or a hand whisk will do. i did not use the electric mixer here 
once the sugar is mixed with the eggs, add the milk, make sure that the milk is not too hot, Hot milk curds the eggs.
Add Cinnamon powder and vanilla extract and mix well.
Cut your bread slices in small cubes, or you can tear them into any random shape.
In a glass bowl arrange the bread pieces and pour the egg milk mixture, the bread pieces has to soak completely in the mixture
Garnish with Raisins and nuts. 
Bake for 40-45 minutes in the preheated oven

cool completely and enjoy your pudding!

I actually wanted to take more pictures of the pudding , but they were so eager to taste, leaving me less option for better photos. Will update it when i make it next time.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Before the year  comes to an end I wanted to have at least one entry in my blog for 2017.  There is no special reason for not having any entry so far… This is going to change in the coming year …:) 

Christmas is almost here and it’s the season to bake. Fruit cakes are my all-time favorite. My kids love all my cakes. I bake for them customizing it to their taste buds.

This simple but yummy fruit cake is egg-less and I used the normal whole wheat flour. In that way this could be considered as a healthy option of Fruitcake.  Unlike other fruitcake there is no waiting time for consumption. you can serve this cake the day it's made, But If you store it for a day or two, the crust will soften and it allows time for the flavors to mingle. 

I did not soak the dried fruits in alcohol instead I boiled the raisins and cherries in sugar syrup to make it soft. The batter contain buttermilk which makes the cake tender and moist. 

Merry Christmas!! 

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 ½ cups
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Salt- ¼  tsp
Grounded Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves – 1  ½ tsp
Butter – 75gm
Buttermilk – 1 cup
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Brown sugar -3/4 cup
Red & green  candied cherries- 50g
Dried fruits- 50g
Raisins &Cherries- 50g

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees 
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and sugar.
In another bowl, stir together wheat flour, spices, baking powder, dried fruits, and salt .
Fold in the buttermilk mixture into the flour and mix well.
Pour into the baking pan and level the top
Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. And the cake turns golden brown

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely

Apple - Strawberry Tart

My first post of 2016.  A very Happy new year to all .

Let's start the year with something sweet ... A Tart.  This Tart fills the house with a delicious aroma. It has a short bread crust and a cream cheese filling and topped with the fruit mix. The garnishing is done with sliced almonds to give the tart a finished look.  

Every bite is filled with the flavor of apples and the special taste of strawberries.

This recipe is very simple. This is my first attempt with tart.  You can use almost any fruit and spice combo that you want. Here I used slices of cinnamon-sugared apples and strawberries, The combination is amazing.

Ingredients

Crust:
All-purpose flour -1 cup
Salt- ¼ teaspoon
Confectionery sugar 1/3 cup
Cold unsalted butter -1/2 cup

Filling:
Cream cheese – 200gms
Granulated white sugar- ¼ cup
Egg-1
vanilla extract-1/2 teaspoon

Topping:
Granulated white sugar- ¼ cups
Ground cinnamon- ½  teaspoon
Apples -3 ( peeled and cut into thin slices)
Strawberries- ½ cup sliced.
Sliced almonds- ½ cup

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C)
For the crust:-
Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and mix it until dough just begins to come together.
Spread the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Cover and place in refrigerator for around 15 minutes.

For the Filling:-
Using a hand mixer or a food processor, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth.
Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling.
Return to refrigerator again for another 10 mins.

For the topping:-
Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Mix it with the apple and strawberry slices. Spread evenly on top of the cheese filling.  Sprinkle the top with almond slices.

Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  Then Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is brown.
Remove from oven and keep in wire rack to cool completely.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

Crispy chicken fingers are an easy and perfect way to impress your kids. Chicken fingers are prepared by marinating the chicken first and then covering it with bread crumbs before being cooked. Deep frying produces a crispy coating on the chicken. 

Ingredients 

Boneless chicken – 400gm

Egg-1 beaten  

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tb spn

Black pepper powder- ½ tspn

Corn flour – 1 tbspn

Chilli powder- ¼  tspn 

Salt

Bread crumbs - 2 cups

Oil 

Method

In a bowl combine all purpose flour, Corn flour , Chilli powder, Black pepper, Ginger garlic paste and egg.  Marinate the chicken in the mixture for 15-30 mins.
Place the bread crumbs in a wide bowl or plate, Dip chicken strips in the bread crumbs individually.
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
Fry in the chicken fingers in  hot oil for 6 to 8 minutes, until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

Puli Inji

The Puli Inji is basically a kerala dish coming under the pickle category. No Sadya can be complete without Puli Inji. I always feel that Puli Inji is to balances the flavors in the sadya. It has a bit of tartness, spiciness and the sweetness also, a mixed flavor. The recipe differs from region to region.  Here is my mother’s version.

Ingredients: 

Ginger- 1 cup of finely chopped 

Green chillies - 3-4 chopped 

Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp 

Curry leaves

Turmeric powder- ¼  tsp 

Asafoetida 

Tamarind – lemon sized 

Jaggery- 1 inch cube

Coconut oil

Salt to taste

Method

Soak the tamarind in 1 ½ cup of water for 15 minutes.  Extract the juice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add the curry leaves,  add the chopped ginger, and green chillies, and fry it on medium flame. Keep frying till the ginger turns golden brown, add turmeric powder, asafoetida, and salt to taste.

In a separate kadai, add the tamarind juice and bring to boil. Add the jaggery, once its completely melted, add the fried ginger and mix well.  Allow to boil till it reaches a thick consistency, remove from heat. 

Puli Inji is  ready. 

Coconut Ladoo

Navratri wishes to all celebrating this festival. The festival is celebrated with different rituals and names all over India. In Kerala the last three days of the Navaratri festival is celebrated as Saraswati Puja. The celebrations start with the Puja Vypu. It consists of placing the books for puja. The books will be taken out for reading, after worship, only on the morning of the third day. Children are happy, since they are not expected to study on these days. :)..

The best part of any festivals is the sweets that comes along with it.  

This year I made a very simple, quick and easy sweet Coconut Ladoo. You don’t need any expertise to try this recipe. There are different methods to make this ladoos. Sharing the most simple version with condensed milk and desiccated coconut, flavored with some cardamom (elachi). 

Coconut Ladoo

Ingredients:-

Desiccated coconut - 2cups + 1/4cup for rolling 

Sweetened condensed milk-1cup

Cardamom powder-1tbsp

Mixed Nuts crushed – ¼ cup

Dates pieces – ¼ cup (finely chopped)

Directions

Dry roast the desiccated coconut to about 3-4 mins or till the color starts changing. 

Add condensed milk to the roasted coconut mix well. Add the mixed nuts and dates pieces also. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Allow to cool a bit. When the mixture is still warm, Start making small balls of the mixture.

In a plate or bowl take some desiccated coconut for coating. immediately roll the ladoos in desiccated coconut. 

Your coconut ladoo is ready. 

Chocolate and Coconut Ladoo

For my chocolate lovers at home, I prepared the chocolate version also, with some modifications to blend chocolate into it.

Ingredients

Desiccated coconut - 2cups +1/4cup desiccated coconut for rolling 

Sweetened condensed milk-1cup

chocolate pieces- grated ½ cup

Cardamom powder-1tbsp

Crushed cashews – 2 tbl spn

Directions

Dry roast the desiccated coconut in a pan for 2 mins, now add the melted chocolate, cardamom powder, cashews and sweetened condensed milk. Stir continuously until this mixture turns as a dough and get off from the bottom of the vessel. When the mixture is still warm, Start making small balls of mixture.

In a plate or bowl take some desiccated coconut for coating. immediately roll the ladoos in desiccated coconut. 

Oven Baked Fish

We are great fans of fish, especially my husband and daughter. They love the way I cook fish for them, whether its fry or curry or any kind of preparation, That is my inspiration to try varieties in cooking. 

Oven Baked fish is an excellent way to prepare fish in a healthy way. It's a simple dish with simple ingredients. This dish is prepared with a lot of vegetables. So you are getting the goodness of both fish and vegetables in a single dish.  I followed the recipe on the cookery show ‘Khana khazana’ by Sanjeev kapoor, with some variations according to our taste buds, but the basics is the same. It turns out perfect in taste, texture and flavor. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

The fish I used is pomfret pieces. You can use any fleshy fish of your choice.

Ingredients
Fish (pomfret fish) - 400 gms
Carrot-1
Capsicum- yellow/green/red – ½ each
Onion-1
Beans -10 Nos  
Lemon-1
Garlic -6 pods 
Red chilli - 4 (soaked in water)
Coriander seeds- 1 tbl spn. 
Cumin seeds -1 tspn
Salt
Water- ¼ cup
Olive oil- 2 tsp

Directions

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Combine soaked red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ½ chopped onion, 3 pods of Garlic and  salt, add little water and grind it to make a thick paste.
Marinate the fish for 10 min with the 3/4th of the masala paste.
Cut the vegetables into small cubes. Spread the vegetables on the baking tray.  Cut the lemon into thick slices and place above the vegetables. Add 2-3 pods of Garlic.
Spread the remaining masala on the vegetables. Sprinkle olive oil also on top of the vegetables.
Place the marinated fish on top of the vegetables. Squeeze lemon juice on top. Brush the fish pieces with olive oil. Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist and cook it evenly. Cover with Aluminum foil.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven.