PistaCerelacVada

Vada is South Indian Snack or breakfast. It can be had with idli or dosa.

Vada is mainly made up of dhal but I tried a different version.

I had brought cerelac to my second son, Aadya who is seven months old, did not like the flavor plain wheat. I had pista at home, which my first son Aditya did not like to eat. Hence these two were the main ingredient for me to make this vada.

Ingredients:

• Cerelac – 200 gms
• Coriander Leaves – ¼ bunch
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying
• Green Chillies  - 4
• Pista – few
• Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
• Baking Soda – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Grind pista and green chillies into a paste
2. Take cerelac, put chopped coriander leaves, salt, pista and green chillies paste, baking soda, chilli powder, mix well.
3. Heat little oil and pour into this mixture.
4. Pour water make the mixture as a dough.
5. Heat the oil in a kadai.
6. Make small vadas from the dough and leave them till they become crispy.
7. Serve them with tomato ketchup or with chutney.

I gave this to my mom-in-law, Aditya and my maid-servant. They all told it was good in taste before they knew what all went inside the vada. Pat on my back.

This post is being sent to

• Kids Delight of Pavani which was started by Valli.
• Snacks Mela announced by Srivalli. 

Kids Delight

Thanks to Events-n-Roundup which gives information about many events like this.

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Paddu

Paddu

Paddu or Khara Panniyaram can be had as a breakfast or as a snack. This is made up of dosa batter. This can be served with any kind of chutney. Children would love to eat them with tomato ketchup. This is also a South Indian recipe. Paddu with coffee serves as a winter recipe for your sweet evening.

Ingredients:

• Dosa Batter – 1 cup
• Groundnut seeds – ½ cup
• Onion – 2 nos
• Coriander leaves – ½ cup
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast and remove the skin of groundnut seeds
2. Grind the groundnut seeds just one small round in mixer
3. Add chopped onion, groundnut seeds, chopped coriander leaves, salt to dosa batter and mix them well
4. Put 1 tsp oil in each hole in panniyaram acchu
5. Now fill each hole of panniyaram acchu with the mixture
6. Leave them to roast
7. Add oil on the other side and allow them to roast again (watch out so that it doesn’t get burnt)
8. Remove them from the acchu and serve them with chutney

This post is sent to Winter Carnival launched by Radhika on Tickling Palatea.

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Sabbakivada

I was wondering what to prepare for snacks on Saturday afternoon for my children who would come home after their school with a holiday mood. I checked out and found Sabudan or Sabbaki and thought of doing Vada out of it.

I took them out, washed and rinsed for 4 hours in water. After 4 hours I was ready to prepare Sabbakivada or Sabudan vada.

Ingredients:

• Sabbaki - 500gms
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
• Onion - 4
• Green Chillies -8 nos. (it can be changed according to the spicy-ness u want)
• Salt to taste
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cut onion and green chillies into small pieces
2. Take the sabbaki mixture and add chopped onion and chillies, add salt and mix them.
3. Add baking soda and mix the mixture
4. Heat oil in kadai
5. Make small balls and add them into the oil
6. Leave the balls in the oil till they turn golden brown and turn it to the other side
7. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup

Uses: In Ayurvedic medicine, it is believed that sago porridge can be an effective and simple food to "cool and balance one's body heat" when taking strong medicine or antibiotics. - From Wikipedia.

This post is going to "Back to Roots!" contest going on in Archana's blog.

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Diwali_Sweet_Savory

Diwali is a festival of lights. I remember the small story about this festival.

Story is as follows:

Once the SUN asked all the other sources of light, when I set, who would give the light to the world. Everyone was in immense silence, then a small diva light said in his low voice, i would be happy to give the light after you set. That's the reason, today we all lit small diva(s) in the night and early in the morning during Diwali and Karthika masam.

• As I was browsing thro' Saras food and events page I came across Anu's Contest for Diwali. Hence, I thought let me post my sweet and Savory and send.

Logo1:

 

• Through Google search page I came across Kirthi's Kitchen, which is also hosting Diwali contest, hence sending my recipe. Thanks to Della's Page also to host this event.

Logo2:


Besan Laddoo & Khara Boondi is my sweet and savory for this time Diwali.

Besan Laddoo:

Ingredients:

• Fried Gram - 250 g
• Sugar - 300 g
• Cashewnuts - 50 g
• Ghee for frying - 100 g
• Cardmom Powder - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Powder fried gram, sugar in food processor / mixer
2. Fry cashewnuts till golden brown and keep them aside
3. Heat ghee and add powdered mixture and cardmom powder, fry them till you get a nice aroma
4. Add cashewnuts also to the above mixture
5. If required add milk and make small balls

 25 to 30 balls can be made. Serves: 4 to 5.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Khara Boondi:

Ingredients:

• Corn Flour (Kadala maav / flour made from fried dhal) - 250 gms
• Salt - 4 tsp
• Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
• Oil for frying - 100 gms

Method:

1. Heat oil in kadai
2. Mix corn flour, salt and chilli powder in a vessel using water. (The mixture should be medium neither thick nor thin)
3. Use the same vessel where you filter the extra oil when you do sweets or pooris and pour the mixture. Spread the mixture throughout, such that they fall from the small holes.
4. Remove the boondis once they are golden brown
5. Repeat step 3 and step 4 till you complete all the mixture (Salt and chilli powder will vary according to one's taste)
6. Once done, remove the oil
7. Add little oil and put curry leaves and mix it with boondis

Serves:  4 to 5

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15 to 20 mins

Submitting to:  
Celebrations 2011 event on Tastebuds, which made me happy because I am revisiting my post, surprised by her event because it such a great event which made me to revisit my post. Yep, posting new things is only not important, revisiting them is a great thing. Thanks to Smitha.

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CopraPak

I was delighted to cook Coprapak on this Sunday evening. Thanks to my mother-in-law to teach me how it should be made.

This post is sent to My Diwali My Way Event announced by Kushi.

Ingredients:

• Coconuts - 2 Nos
• Sugar - 750g
• Poppy Seeds - 2 tbsp
• Cashewnuts - 100 gms
• Ghee for frying - 2 tbsp
• Ghee for grease - 2 tsp (depending on the plate size)
• Cardamom powder (optional) - for taste - 2 tbsp
• Baking Soda (optional) - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Grate the coconut
2. Prepare the Sugar Syrup
3. Fry poppy seeds and keep it aside
4. Fry Cashewnuts and keep it aside
5. Once the sugar syrup is ready, add coconut, poppy seeds and cashewnuts and stir continuously till all of them mix well into sugar syrup and it becomes thicker
6. Grease a plate with ghee
7. Pour the mixture and leave it to cool for sometime
8. When the mixture is warm cut into desired shapes

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Tribute-to-jayasreeaval-BananaChips

Thanks to Jayashree aunt of Kailas Kitchen, her blog has got easy recipes too for an amateur like me. A tribute to her by this post.

I selected to make Banana Chips as it was easy and fast.

Banana Chips:

Ingredients:

Banana Chips

• 2 Bananas (used yelakka banana so it was sweet and hot)
• Oil for deep frying - 100 gms
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Chilli Powder - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadai
2. Cut the bananas and keep it ready
3. Once the oil is ready, put the bananas and fry them till they turn golden brown
4. Take them into a bowl which has holes to drain the oil
5. Sprinkle salt and chilli powder and mix them well

Serves: 2 for snacks

Raw Banana should be used to get only hot taste.

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Khara Pova - An instant snack

Hot Pova – An instant snack

Ingredients:

• Pova (Beaten Rice) - 100 g
• Ghee - 4 tsps
• Groundnuts - fried - 25 g
• Fried Gram – 25 g
• Copra - 25 g
• Salt & Chilli Powder to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsps ghee in a kadai
2. Put the thick Pova to ghee and fry for sometime
3. Thick Pova would turn crispy
4. Add fried groundnuts, fried gram, copra (cut into small pieces) and fry for sometime
5. Take out the mixture
6. Heat remaining ghee in the same kadai
7. Add salt and chilli powder and add the above mixture and mix well

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Sweet Pova - A delight Snack

Sweet Pova - A delight snack

Ingredients:

• Pova (Beaten Rice) - 100 g
• Jaggery
• Ghee - 2 tsps
• Groundnuts - fried - 25 g (Optional)
• Cashewnuts - fried - 25 g (Optional)
• Copra - 25 g (Optional)
• Dry Grapes - 25 g (Optional)
• Dry Fruits (Optional)

Method:

1. Heat the ghee in a kadai
2. Put the thick Pova to ghee and fry for sometime
3. Thick Pova would turn crispy
4. Add copra (cut into small pieces) and fry for sometime
5. After turning off the stove add groudnuts, cashewnuts, dry grapes and jaggery.
6. Mix the mixture well
7. Serve as a snack

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GunPowder (Sweet) Unde

GunPowder (Sweet) Unde:

GunPowder Unde

Instant Sweet which can be consumed as snack also.Its very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

• Fried Gram Dhal - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 cup
• Copra / Dry Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Milk (as required)

Method:

1. Grind fried gram dhal, jaggery and copra into powder
2. Add little milk and make small balls
3. Serve, relax and eat them

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Gollbhai

For the first time I am paired with Sara's corner and created a recipe from my partner's blog.

Saraswathi is my cousin and is a housewife. She comes up with one or the other recipe every two days once, i selected one of her dish hallbhai and tweaked a little and prepared it on this saturday, Oct 24th 2009.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 2 cups
• Cinnamon Powder (Elaichi) - 1/2 tspn
• Clove - 1
• Poppy Seeds - 2 tspn
• Fresh Grated Coconut - 1 1/2 cups
• Ghee - 1 tsp for greasing & 3 tsps for mixing
• Milk - 2 tbsp
• Cashew and Badam - 5 to 6 - (cut into small pieces)

Method:

• Soak the rice for 4 hours.
• Add cinnamon powder, clove, poppy seeds with rice and grind for 3 rounds.
• Add grated coconut to the grinded mixture and finely grind them.
• Add jaggery to the grinded mixture and grind again.
• Heat 1 tsp of ghee
• Fry the cashews and badam till golden brown separately in hot ghee. (Kindly note badam will take more time to get fried than cashews). Keep it aside.
• Pour the grinded mixture and keep stirring it continuously by adding the milk and ghee without allowing them to form loops in low flamed heat
• Put the fried cashews and badam
• Grease a plate with ghee
• Pour the mixture onto the plate and leave it for half an hour or till it gets cooled
• Cut the mixture into the desired shape.

I have cut into square and then rolled them into small balls so that it will be more in quantity and I can distribute to many.

Just for a change, I named this as gollbhai (sister of hallbhai). It is also called as "Amruth Palam" in Telugu.

Greatest thing of this dish is it could make my husband remember his childhood days and his grandmother. Infact, my mother-in-law could remember this sweet after 15 to 20 years.

Thanks to Saraswathi and her hallbhai which brought back the sweet memories.

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Rice Pancakes

Mix two cups cooked rice, some grated carrot, chopped spring onions, cabbage with half cup wheat flour and half cup bengal gram flour.
Add a pinch of asafoetida to this mixture.
Add two tablespoons curds and some coriander.
Add salt and press one portion onto a damp cloth to form a circle.
Turn onto a griddle and cook with some oil till golden brown.
Serve pancakes hot and crisp!

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Quick Quesidillas

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup baked beans (canned)
• 1/4 cup cooking cheese or mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp. chilli sauce
• 1 tbsp. chopped coriander
• butter or oil for cooking

Method:

1. To make the tortillas, mix all the ingredients to make a soft dough by adding enough water.
2. Knead and divide into 6 portions.
3. Roll out into thin rounds.
4. Cook lightly on a griddle and keep aside.
5. Now, divide the filling into 3 equal portions.
6. Spread one portion of the filling on a tortilla.
7. Cover with another tortilla.
8. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling to make 2 more quesidillas.
9. Heat griddle and using a little butter, cook the prepared quesidillas on both sides until golden brown in colour.
10. Serve hot with salsa or tomato ketchup.

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Pretzels

Pretzels:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbsp. salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325degree Fahrenheit (or 165 degree Celsius)
2. Put the yeast in a small bowl with water and honey.
3. Stir a little and leave for 5 minutes.
4. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl.
5. After the 5 minutes is up, check on the yeast mixture. It should be bigger than before and a little bubbly.
6. Add this mixture to the flour.
7. Stir everything together. Use a spoon to start.
8. Finish with your hands. The dough is ready when it is still a little crumbly and flaky.
9. Put the dough on the cutting board and knead it into one big bal.
10. Break off a piece of dough about the size of a big gumball.
11. Use your hands to roll it into a skinny snake.
12. Twist the snake into a medium-size-pretzel shape and put it on a baking sheet.
13. Do this with all the dough, making 12 pretzels.
14. Bake your pretzels for 10 minutes.
15. Let them cool and become ready to serve.

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Nut Cake

Ingredients:

• 350 gms. flour
• 200 gms. sugar
• 200 gms. butter
• 350 gms. chopped dates ad nuts (walnuts)
• 300 mL apple puree
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. soda bi-carbonate
• 200 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp. chopped dates, nuts
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder to top

Method:

1. Put flour into a bowl and rub in butter till it reaches the consistency of breadcrumbs.
2. Add sugar, dates, nuts and cinnamon
3. Make a well in the centre and add apple puree
4. Dissolve soda in milk and add to the mixture mix well.
5. Pour into a prepared cake tin.
6. Mix the topping ingredients and sprinkle.
7. Bake at 375 degree Fahrenheit till done (takes more than 1 hour)

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Nachos - Snacks

Nachos:

Ingredients:

• corn tortilla chips
• 1 can refried beans
• small jar mild salsa or taco sauce
• few olives 6 oz., cheese

Method:

1. Arange the chips in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. Top each chip with 1/2 tsp. of refried beans and then 1/2 tsp. of salsa
3. Add a small amount of cheese (grated or cut into small chunks) to top of each.
4. Put the baking sheet in an oven watching carefully, until cheese melts and bubbles.
5. Serve hot.

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Papa's Porridge

This post is written for Cooking for Kids Event.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

4 cups warm milk

2 tbsp sugar

2 bananas, sliced

8 small pieces of papaya

8 small pieces of watermelon

few pomegrante seeds

Method:

a. Put the oats, 2 cups of milk and sugar in a bowl and mix it well

b. Keep it in oven for 2 mins (alternatively u can also boil for 2 mins on a medium flame)

c. Add remaining milk

d. Put all the fruits and mix it well

e. Serve it to the children

Benefits:

i. Oats reduces cholestrol

ii. Fruits are rich in vitamins (as we all are aware of)

iii. Will be ready in maximum of 10 minutes

Top-Ups:

a. Instead of sugar use jaggery, as jaggery is highly nutritions

b. Add butter (which has a little salt) before serving.

c. Use raisins, almond flakes for more taste.

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Mushroom Magic

Mushroom Magic Recipe:

• 300 gms. mushrooms, cut into halves,
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1/2 tsp. cornflour
• 1 tsp. oil
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. dried fenugreek leaves

To be ground into a paste:

• 4 large cloves of garlic
• a piece of ginger
• 2 tsp. coriander-cumin seed powder

1. Wash the mushrooms, drain and keep aside
2. Dissolve the cornflour in the milk and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil, add the prepared chilli garlic paste, fenugreek and saute the mixture
4. Add the mushrooms, cornflour milk mixture and salt and saute till the mixture coats the mushrooms. Serve hot.

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Mango Nut Muffins

Mango Nut Muffins

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup bananas mashed
• 1 cup mango pulp
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Mix in oil, mango pulp and banana. Add nuts.
3. Grease muffin cups or put muffin paper cups in muffin pan.
4. Pour and bake for 18-20 mins till golden Cool and serve.

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Lemon Recipes

Lemon Lollipops:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. yellow food coloring
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tbsp. lemon extract
• 1/2 cup water

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in a pan.
Bake to 300 degree Fahrenheit or cook until mixture spins a thread.
Turn off head, add color and flavoring.
Pour the mixture in small aluminum moulds and insert popsickle sticks in them.
Allow them to set and become hard.
Your lick able lollipops are ready!

Lemon Cooler

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 bottle (200 ml) lemonade
• 2 tbsp. chopped cucumber
• 2 tbsp. chopped apple
• 1 tsp. chopped mint leaves
• 1 tsp. honey

Chill the juices. Mix all the ingredients, pour into 2 glasses and serve immediately.

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Coconut Roughs

Recipe for Coconut Roughs:

• 1/2 cup mashed potato
• 40 gms. butter
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 tbsp. cocoa
• 2 cups coconut desiccated
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence

1. Place butter and mashed potato in a large bowl and beat well.
2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar and cocoa.
3. Add coconut and vanilla essence.
4. Place small spoonfuls of mixture on over proof paper.
5. Refrigerate coconut roughts until set.
   

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