Paruppu pradhaman/ Paruppu payasam

I just recovered from an ankle injury and fever. That's my reasonable excuse for not being able to post any news recipes or check out your posts. I'm sure all of you understand and I don't have to apologize. It's good to be back :)

Onam is coming up, on September 2nd this year, which is on wednesday. For those of you who want to know the significance of Onam, click here. Onam too, like Vishu, is celebrated with pomp and splendour in Kerala. Onam is the time of harvest and prosperity. Onam sadhya is similar to what we have for Vishu . I have mentioned about Vishu in one of my previous posts. To read about it, click here .

So here is a very traditional recipe of a very rich payasam called paruppu pradhaman. This is a thunderbolt recipe. Will definitely create an everlasting impression. Extremely scrumptious. The wonderful warm taste of jaggery and the bite from the dal is what makes for it's unbeatable flavor. The creaminess that the coconut milk renders to the payasam ................Unbelievable.

Actually, words cannot do justice to the taste of this payasam. You have to try it to believe me.

Usually, my mother adds ghee-roasted coconut pieces as well, to garnish the pradhaman. I forgot to set aside some coconut for garnish, so, I have not used any.

• Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)
  
  Moong dal - 1/2 cup
  Water- 1-1/2 cups + 1 cup
  Coconut milk - 400 ml
  Jaggery - 9 small peices ( Abt 3/4 cup)
  Cardamom powder - 1/4 tspn
  Ghee - 1 tbspn
  Cashews and raisins - 3 tspns each.

Directions:

• Dry roast the moong dal in a pan, on medium heat, till a nice aroma arises and the yellow dal turns golden color. (Takes about 6-8 mins)
• Take a pressure cooker and add the dal and 1-1/2 cups of water. Cook for 2 whistles.( or till just done. The dal should not be mushy)
• In another pan, melt the jaggery with 1 cup of water and strain the jaggery to remove the dust at the bottom.
• Add the cooked dal to this melted jaggery and let it simmer on low heat for about 20 mins.
• Add the coconut milk to the above mixture, cook on medium heat for 10-15 more minutes. Stir constantly. ( Add more water to the payasam if it is too thick)
• Add cardamom powder.
• Heat ghee and roast the cashews and raisins separately add to payasam.( If u have small, sliced coconut pieces, you can fry that and add it too)
• Serve warm or at room temperature. ( I like it at room temperature)

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Honey wheat bread

I have always been intimidated when it comes to baking breads. This is my first try and I'm pleased with myself. Gave myself a pat on my back and sat down to share the recipe. It tasted great and loved the idea of home baked :)

I browsed, quite a while, for bread recipes and I came cross this recipe. It was pretty easy to follow. So, I boldly went ahead and decided to try it. I did alter the recipe a bit by adding more milk and water and using wheat gluten as well. I made one loaf and a bunch of buns. The result was some wonderful, warm, hearty bread.
And to think that something so simple intimidated me all this while................a shame :)


Ingredients: (Makes 1 loaf)

1-1/8 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
Milk - 1/4 cup + 2 tbspns
2 tablespoons oil ( I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tspns of wheat gluten ( optional)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Instructions:

• Take 1/8 cup of water and add yeast and sugar to it.Let rest for 5 mins till creamy and bubbly.
• Combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat gluten and salt.Mix well and set aside.
• Combine milk, oil, honey and the remaining sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir.
• Add flour and the yeast mixture. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 mins. Place dough in a greased bowl, and rub some oil all over the dough. Cover with a clean towel or a plastic wrap like I have done. Let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
• Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth.

For a loaf:

• Form the dough into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover with lastic wrap.
• Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

For Buns:

• Divide the dough into 9 equal parts and place them close to each other in a greased tray.( see pic)
• Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening

When baked, remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen for a month.
Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Golden And Delicious Sarkkarai Pongal.

I was invited by a friend, Lakshmi, for a pooja at her home on Aadi Velli last friday. There were mango leaves tied at her door. As I stepped into her home, the fragrance of incense sticks was in the air. The ambience was calming.

After a little prayer and a while of chit chat, she handed me a cute, red, star-shaped bowl which contained beetel leaves, arecanut, fruits, flowers and a cup of prasad. The prasad was a golden, aromatic Sarkkarai Pongal.

As soon as I got back home, I restlessly opened the cup and scooped out a heaped spoonful of pongal and as it touched my taste buds.................. pure pleasure. It nearly put me in a daze.
I have never, ever tasted such wonderful Pongal, very sweet though.
I quickly pick up my cordless and call Lakshmi to ask her for her recipe and she, graciously, agrees to give it to me.
Personally for me, it was extremely sweet, but it was apt for serving as a prasad . Prasad at it's sweetest and tastiest best . It was like eating gold :)
You can see for yourselves the golden color and specks of cardamom in the pongal (pic. 1). And in pic 2 is a heaped spoonful of the pongal with cashews, raisins and saffron. All visible. I wish I could impart some of its aroma too via this blog :)
Trust me.......it tasted heavenly.

Below, is the recipe that Lakshmi gave me. Don't be apalled at the amount of jaggery and ghee used here. It is made like that, purposely, for serving Deity Devi.
This recipe makes for a very very sweet pongal. If you are not using it for a pooja and making it for a simple dessert, you can reduce the level of sweetness and ghee according to taste.

Thanks Lakshmi for the recipe.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 2 cups milk.
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups jaggery
• 1/2 cup ghee
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• Cashew and raisins
• Few strands of saffron.

Directions:

• Boil rice in milk.
• Once rice cooked, reduce heat and add jaggery till all the liquid eveporates.( the rice will be a little mushy at this point)
• Stir well and regularly to avoid burning.
• Fry cashew and raisins in a little ghee and add it to the rice mixture along with the rest of the ghee. At this point add saffron and cardamom powder as well. Serve warm or cold.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Oven-dried tomatoes

As, I always say-

Homemade is always better than store-bought because when it's homemade, we can know and control the ingredients that go into our food.

I'm not saying that I always make everything homemade, but I try, as much as possible, to do it that way. But, I do have lazy days when I just don't want to enter my kitchen and anything from outside my kitchen sounds great :)

But, I'm not fond of buying sun-dried tomatoes from stores, because I've read that many use sulphur dioxide when drying tomatoes to retain their color. It's not only in dried tomatoes that this chemical is used. It's used even in dried fruits.

Hmmm! We don't want sulphur dioxide in our food right???

So, go homemade on this one. I use my dearest oven to dry my tomatoes.They taste equally good.

In spring and summer, when we get very good tomatoes, I always dry them and store them. To preserve them, you need to add a lot of Olive oil to jar. This is not a waste of olive oil. You can use this olive oil for making pizza's pastas or anything else you wish. The olive oil get's infused with tomato, garlic, oregano and Italian herbs and tastes all the more flavorful.

The flavors in these dry tomatoes are very intense. Great for topping pizzas and crostinis. Great to toss in with some pasta and great in some sandwiches. Go well with some salads too. With 10 tomatoes, I got just half this jar of dried tomato. So, if you want more, use more tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes- atleast 10
• Garlic cloves (chopped finely) - 2
• Oregano - 1 tspn
• Sugar - 1 tspn
• Salt - 1/2 tspn
• Olive oil - 1 tbspn.( plus more for storing the tomatoes)
• Italian grill seasoning- 1/2 tspn( optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 C)
• Cut tomatoes into halves vertically and scoop out all the seeds and the mushy centre.( I don't discard this tomato liquid. I keep it and use it in some curry or soup)
• Dry the inside of the tomatoes with paper towels and brush some olive oil on the interior.
• Line a baking tray with some parchment paper and lay the tomatoes skin-side down on it.
• Now sprinkle a pinch of salt and sugar on each.
• Put a little garlic on each tomato( as seen in the pic)
• Sprinkle oregano and Italian grill seasoning on the tomatoes and put the tray into the oven for 15 mins.
• Then reduce the oven temperature to 220 degrees F (105 C) and let the tomatoes dry in it for 1-1/2 hours.
• When the tomatoes are dry, let them cool.
• To store dried tomatoes, put them in a clean, dry glass jar and fill it to the brim with olive oil. This helps preserve them.
• This is not a waste of olive oil. You can use this olive oil for making pizza's pastas or anything else you wish. The olive oil get's infused with tomato, garlic, oregano and Italian herbs and tastes wonderful.
• When using the dried tomatoes out of the jar, use a fork to remove the desired amount of tomatoes from the oil and close the lid of the jar immediately. Chop and serve the tomatoes as you please.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Coconut Chammandi and an Award.

Coconut chammandi is nothing but a very thick coconut chutney. I love this simple recipe and hope you do too. Chammandi is very popular is Kerala and is mostly served with Rice dosas. It is also had as a side-dish with rice.

Before I head to the recipe, I would like to share the great news that I have been nominated for an award by 2 fellow bloggers. The most lovable Ria and lovable Dolon, are the people behind this. Thankz a bundle Ria and Dolon. Much appreciated.

The Kreativ Blogger award comes with some rules:-

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

So, here I go with the 7 things people find interesting about me:

1) I'm not a morning person. I hate waking up early. I don't nap at noon, but I sleep so soundly at night that even if someone carries me away at night I won't know it:)
2) I'm a chatterbox and I had an apt job as a Radio Jockey and program producer :)
3) I'm a hardcore romantic at heart and love romantic films and books which make my tummy tingle and my heart sing. Ask me my favorite read and movie. I'll, definitely, be lying if I say it's not "Gone with the wind".
4) I love the soft breeze running through my hair during a slow dusk walk.
5) I love to travel( well, who doesn't?). I Wish I could travel around the whole world and experience different cultures. My dream destination before I got married was Switzerland, and my wonderful hubby surprised me with a trip there on our first anniversary. I've done quite a lot of country hopping- Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Holland, France and UAE. Looking forward to many more. I don't have A dream destination anymore. Why? Because, now, it's become dream destinationS (plural). I want to visit Greece, Egypt, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Mauritius/ Maldives.
6)I'm crazy about perfumes, handbags, footwear and jewellery.
7) I'm a chocoholic and would kill for some good Biryani. I'm also a coconut addict.


My 7 nominees are:
Yasmeen
Shabs
Mahimaa
Suparna
Rush
Poornima
Aruna

Now, to the recipe:
Ingredients:

• Grated coconut- 1-1/2 cups
• Peanuts- 2 tbspn
• Chana dal- 2 tbspns
• Urad dal - 2 tspns
• Curry leaves - 12-15 leaves
• Dry red chillies -3
• Tamarind - gooseberry sized piece.
• Shallots- 4-5
• Salt - to taste
• Hing - a pinch
• Oil- 2 tspns

Directions:

• Heat 1 tspn of oil in a pan and add hing.
• Then add the peanuts, chana dal and urad dal and saute till light brown. Transfer this to another bowl and set aside.
• In the same pan, add the second tspn of oil and add red chillies, curry leaves, shallots and salt and saute till the onions are soft and the curry leaves let out a good fragrance( takes about 4-5 mins.
• Let all the fried ingredients cool
• In the mean time, put the tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water and extract the juice. Save this tamarind juice.Remove the left over pulp and discard.
• Grind all the ingredients to a very a coarse paste. Do not add extra water. (as you can see in the pic.)

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Oven-baked Tandoori Chicken

I'm going straight to the recipe today.

Ingredients:( serves 3-4)

• Skinless chicken legs - 10
• Tandoori chicken masala - 3 tspns ( click here for recipe)
• Chilli powder - 1 tspn
• Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tspn
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
• Salt- to taste
• Ginger-garlic paste - 3 tspns
• Lemon juice - 2 tspns
• Yoghurt - 2 tbspns(or greek yogurt- 1 tbspn)
• Beetroot( beets) juice - 3 tbspns ( optional )
• Oil - 2 tspns

Directions:

• Place 2 tbspns of yoghurt in a tea-strainer and let it stand for 20 mins. This helps the whey water to drip away from the curd and leaves you with a thick yoghurt. Throw the water away and use the strained curs in the marinade. For those of you who have greek yoghurt, you can omit this first step.
• Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for about 2-3 hours or best overnight.( the beetroot juice is a natural source of color and is used to add more color to the chicken. I use it to avoid using artificial color )
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F( 177 C).
• Then place a pan on medium heat. Roast the chicken in the dry pan for about 3 minutes.This is called searing. Turn the chicken over to the next side and roast for 3 mins.( we do this for the masala not to taste raw ).
• Transfer the drumsticks to a baking tray lined with alumium foil .
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes in the centre rack of the oven.
• Then turn the chicken legs over to the next side and bake again for 15 mins.
• Remove chicken from oven and cover chicken with additional foil( this is done to avoid it from drying out)
• Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees F( 260 C)
• When the oven reaches 500 F, remove the covering foil of the chicken and bake it on the top most rack of the oven for 5-6 mins. (till the chicken gets a nice char on it) .
• Serve with onions and lemon.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Spiced Buttermilk/ Sambaaram

There is no better way to beat the heat than with some cool buttermilk. Why would anyone want coke and pepsi with all the artificial stuff in it when there is simething all natural which can reduce your body tempreature as well as good for you. I like my buttermilk spiced with just ginger,salt and some bruised curry leaves. My husband likes it with some chopped green chillies as well. Do it any way you like. Stay healthy and happy.

Ingredients:

ButterMilk - 2 cups

Water - 2 cups

Salt - to taste

Curry leaves - scant 20-25 leaves (bruised with your hand)

Coursely mashed ginger - 1 inch piece

Chopped green chilli - 1 (optional)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and let it rest for 30-45 mins in the refrigerator.

Serve cold.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Luscious Cherries

This is my entry for the Click event conducted by Jai and Bee. Theme : Bi-colour.

It's a simple one. But, I loved it and just wanted to join the fun :)

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Finger Chips

Hey everyone, Hope all of you had a great weekend. First of all, my apologies for not making new posts and not catching up on many of your blog posts. I was caught up in something of high priority which kept me busy for a while. So...... Really sorry. Anyways, I'm back now.

Poor hubby dear started to feel a tingle in his throat as the july 4th weekend started. We women have a sixth sense right? So, I suspected it would become something worse than a tingle and cancelled all plans for the weekend.The photography crazy person that he is, he was adament on going to view the fireworks and he took these awesome clicks on saturday.
And Sunday, as I suspected, he came down with a throat infection, cough and fever. He is on the road to recovery now and all is well.

As he recovered , last Saturday , went to the movies. Saw Ice Age- Dawn of the Dinosaur. And in 3D. I've always been a fanatic of animated pics and I absolutely adore the Ice Age series. I mean who wouldn't? It's so much fun and shooo shweeet. Remember Monsters Inc., Ants, Lion King, Toys, Robots ..........and I can go on and on. It was so good to see Manny-the Mammoth have a family. Diego never failed to charm and Sid never failed to make me laugh. If you have not seen it as yet......you are missing something really nice.

Today's recipe is a very simple one. Sweet potato finger fries.
This is an inspiration from the recipe by Ellie krieger from foodnetwork. I have added my own touch to it by adding olive oil and cutting the sweet potatoes into very thin fingers.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled (2 medium potatoes)
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 4oo degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick fingers, and toss with the oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake until the "fries" are tender and crisp, about 18 minutes.
• Now reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F and bake for another 15-20 mins.You will get nice crisp chips.
• Season with additional salt, to taste. Serve immediately.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

GONE NUTS ABOUT COCONUT - CHICKEN CURRY MALABAR

Here we go, back to coconut.
Did you know that the early Spanish explorers called it coco, which means "monkey face" because the three indentations (eyes) on the hairy nut resembles the head and face of a monkey.Now, don't tell me that this post should have been titled differently :). Coconut is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fiber and oh! .........fat and calories too.With that said, I am not going to harp on health benefits and disasters but I have to add that coconut has myriad medicinal properties as well. So, because I'm a coconut addict, I convince myself that the pros outweigh the cons and thus, anytime is coconaka time :)

This chicken curry goes well with rice or rotis.What's even better is, it takes hardly 20 minutes to fix.

INGREDIENTS(makes 3-4 servings)

• Chicken -1-1/2 lbs(cut into peices)
• Oil - 2 tbspns
• Onions- 1 large (sliced)
• Green chillies-2 nos.(slit)
• Tomatoes - 2 nos.
• Ginger- garlic paste - 1 tspn
• Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
• Chicken curry masala- 2 tbspns(available in Indian grocery stores)
• Coriander powder - 3 tspns
• Turmeic powder- 1/2 tspn
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander leaves- to garnish

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oil in a pan and saute slit green chillies in it.(be cautious of splutters).
• Add onions and saute till transparent.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and keep stirring it for about 4-5 mins.
• Now, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, chicken-curry masala and salt and saute.
• When the masala is well-fried, add chopped tomatoes and stir well.Add chicken and 5-6 tbspns of water . Cover and cook on low heat till chicken is done.
• Add coconut milk and stir well. Cover and cook for another 2-3 mins.
• Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Luv 'n' luc'

Smitha