Showing posts with label Blogging Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging Marathon. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2012

Belluli Saaru - Day 4 - Week 2 - BM#13

Belluli Saaru - Day 4 - Week 2 - BM#13:

Belluli means garlic in English, Velluli in Telugu, poondu in tamil. Some people in Hinduism and Jainism avoid this herb. Elders used to never cook this in their houses on auspicious day mainly in Brahmin families. But nowadays some have changed due to the medicinal value of garlic. It resembles like a white onion but smaller and it has got bulbs within it. It is rich in vitamin c. This rasam is a part of Blogging Marathon - BM#13, which I have made it for Day 4.

Garlic is also claimed to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer. Garlic was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II. More recently, it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis. (source: Wikipedia).



Ingredients:
  • Tomato – 1
  • Tamarind Water (medium consistency) – 3 tsp
  • Garlic – 8 to 10 bulbs
  • Crystal Salt – 1 tbsp
  • Rasam Powder – 2 tbsp
  • Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
  • Jaggery – a small piece
  • Water – as required
  • Curry leaves – few (optional)
  • Coriander leaves – few (optional) 
For seasoning:
  • Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
  • Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
  • Oil – 2 tsp
Method:
  • Roast garlic bulbs in ghee
  • Wash and blend tomato along with roasted garlic, curry leaves and coriander leaves
  • Heat oil in a kadai and once the oil is hot, add the above mixture.
  • Squeeze the tamarind and pour the tamarind water along with the above mixture and allow it to boil
  • If required add more water
  • Allow rasam to boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes off
  • Add rasam powder, turmeric, asafoetida (hing), jaggery and salt allow it to boil so that all these gets mixes well
  • Heat oil in a different kadai and once hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and put it on the rasam leave it for one more minute by adding coriander leaves along with it.
  • Healthy rasam is ready.

This rasam was of thinner consistency, if needed you can add water as per your requirement.

It’s great if you could drop here to check out what other Blogging Marathoners are up with in BM# 13

Friday, February 24, 2012

Jeera Rasam - BM#13 - Week 2 - Day 1


Jeera Rasam - BM#13 - Week 2 - Day 1:





I am herewith again in Blogging Marathon 13 for the second week. I have selected my theme as "7 days of delicious rasam".


Rasam is considered as a south Indian meal, which can be had along with rice or can be consumed as a soup. It’s very good for digestion. In my house, without Rasam my hubby or my son will not have their dinner.

I was going thro’ Wikipedia, Shanthi’sthaligai blog and iyercooks blog. I found this intereting Jeera Rasam. By the name, I thought it should be just adding cumin seeds powder along with rasam powder to make normal rasam. But there was a change in that, and it’s very instant one. Dhal Rasam is made out of cooked rasam and it can be thick or thin. Tomato Rasam is made out of tomato puree and it would be thick. Tamarind Rasam would be thin in consistency. As I never heard of it, thought it would be like tamarind rasam. I went through the post and found it was very interesting and handy also.

Ingredients:
  • Tomato – 1
  • Tamarind Water (medium consistency) – 5 tsp
  • Cumin Seeds – 2 tsp
  • Toor Dhal – half of our fist
  • Crystal Salt – 1 tbsp
  • Rasam Powder – 2 tbsp
  • Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
  • Jaggery – a small piece
  • Water – as required

 



 








For seasoning:
  • Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
  • Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Coriander leaves – few

Method:
  • Keep all the ingredients ready so that you wouldn’t miss out anything
  • Chop the tomato into small pieces
 
  • Roast cumin seeds and toor dhal till they turn in color and keep it aside









  • Heat oil in a kadai and add tomato pieces to that once the oil becomes hot. Beware of the sizzling sound


  • Squeeze the tamarind and pour the water into tomato and leave it to boil


  • Coarsely grind cumin seeds and toor dhal 









  •  Add it into tomato-tamarind mixture


  • Add water as required and leave it to boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes off
  • Add rasam powder, turmeric, asafoetida (hing), jaggery and salt allow it to boil so that all these gets mixes well

  • Heat oil in a different kadai and once hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and put it on the rasam leave it for one more minute by adding coriander leaves along with it.


  • Yummy rasam is ready.

 

My rasam was of medium consistency, if needed you can add water as per your requirement. I was happy because all tasted the rasam and told it was good, and the photos came out of little better quality.


Submitting this to my event - Murari - Anniversary - Giveaway - 2012


Dedicating a song "Pyarge agabitite" , new kannada urdu mix song from film Govindaya Namaha to my blog readers. 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tomato Chips - BM#13 - Day 6

Tomato Chips - BM#13 - Day 6
 
Dear All,

A heartily welcome to all my blog readers, with your support my blog is growing and growing. Thanks for all your valuable comments/suggestions.

Today is Day 6th in Blogging Marathon 13 and as you all know I have selected the theme "Seven Days of Chips". Chips is a very good friend of you when you want to pass time by seeing TV and munching something crispy or semi-crispy.  

As I am at office I opted to make chips using microwave oven method but without knowing how to work with it.

I have already posted 2 chips on fruits, so for the next two days you can see chips from vegetables. 

It's my own style of making things and as they taste good to me, I am posting it here, my cooking journal or my diary.

Medicinal Property of this fruit is: Tomato consumption has been associated with decreased risk of breast cancer, head and neck cancers and might be strongly protective against neurodegenerative diseases.Tomatoes and tomato sauces and puree are said to help lower urinary tract symptoms (BPH) and may have anticancer properties. Tomato consumption might be beneficial for reducing cardiovascular risk associated with type 2 diabetes. (Source: From wikipedia on tomato)

 
 


Ingredients:
Tomato - 1 riped one
Butter - 2 tsp
Pepper Powder - 3 tsp
Salt to taste




Method:
Cut the tomato into pieces and remove the water contents completely









Keep it in a oven for 3 minutes (in between I check them because even if a small fire comes out a fire alarm will ring and we all should run out of office)


Mix the tomato with butter, pepper powder and salt
 








Put the mixture back in the oven for another 3 minutes till the tomatoes turn to be crispy

 













Munch them while writing this post



Monday, February 20, 2012

Black grapes chips - BM#13 - Day 5

Black grapes chips - BM#13 - Day 5:

Black grape is a variety of grape and its widely used in making wine.


Black grapes contain three kinds of polyphenols, namely, flavanoid, phenolic acid, and resveratrol. Flavanoids are responsible for the dark hue of grapes. The darker the variety, the more the concentration of flavanoids you would find. This may be why black grapes are used more often for health reasons as compared to other varieties.  (Source: http://www.diethealthclub.com/health-food/black-grapes-health-benefits.html)

Knowing the uses of these black grapes I experimented making chips out of them today. I have given list of benefits after the preparation of chips.







Ingredients:
  • Black Grapes - 3 nos
  • Pepper Powder - 1 tsp




Equipment:
  • Microwave
  • Microwave Bowl

Method:
  • Chop the black grapes using your hand and remove the seed within it
  • Put in a microwave bowl for 4 minutes inside the oven
  • Grapes would have become crispy by that time
  • Sprinkle Pepper powder on them and munch it
 

Pineapple Pieces Chips - BM#13 - Day 4


Pineapple Pieces Chips - BM#13 - Day 4:

Pineapple is a fruit which is yellow in color. It is also called as ananas in native language.

Raw pineapple is an excellent source of manganese (45% DV in a 100 g serving) and vitamin C (80% DV per 100 g).


Mainly from its stem, pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme, bromelain, which breaks down protein. If having sufficient bromelain content, raw pineapple juice can thus be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. Pineapple enzymes can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin-based desserts, but would be destroyed during cooking and the canning process. The quantity of bromelain in the fruit is probably not significant, being mostly in the inedible stalk.

Furthermore, an ingested enzyme like bromelain is unlikely to survive intact the proteolytic processes of digestion.

Any chips made out of fruit would turn out to be sweeter but to give a sweet cum hot style just add pepper to it and enjoy. I would like to stick to my words might be it is at work place or personally. Nowadays due to comments from my readers I am glad to try out one or the other recipe and munch it.

Ingredients:
Pineapple: 2 pieces
Pepper Powder: 1 tsp

Equipment:
Microwave
Microwave bowl
Camera to click the snap

Method:


Chop the pineapple big pieces into smaller ones
Put it in a microwave bowl and allow it to get semi-crispy for 4 minutes
Sprinkle the pepper powder and munch it

As one of my blog reader, Vaishali says it wouldn't  be more crispy.