Achamma's sambar - the ultimate homemade sambar

I would like to thank all my readers for wishing me well when I was ill. I've recovered now. Thank you so much.
Most of you may think that it's a good day for me today. But, no. It's quite the opposite. A very sad day for me. Why? Read on.

I love my grandma. She was a small statured, plump woman and the cutest, sweetest and the most warm-hearted little person I have ever known. I loved her cooking. She was a great cook and I don't know how she really did it. It was like as if she had some magic potion which she used in all her dishes to create those wonderful, aromatic and delightful dishes. Anything she cooked tasted like heaven.

She never had recipe books nor did she ever have to measure ingredients. Everything was in her little silver-haired head and the magic at her finger-tips.

Today, sadly, is her first death anniversary and the following recipe,I, fondly, share in memory of the sweetest and most lovable grandma in the world.

This sambar recipe is a bombshell and it comes from her and She didn't forget to hand it down. So, today my mom still makes it for all at home and when we (my siblings and me) got engaged to be married, my mom handed it down to us. It's always been compliments galore for me, when I make this sambar.

I wish my gramma were here today.I miss her ever-so-much.
"Achamma this post is in memory of you. Sure, you are looking down on me now."

I have made this sambar using Okra( Ladies finger). Some alternatives for okra are drumsticks, white pumpkin( winter melon), brinjal( aubergine) or shallots. My favorite is shallot sambar but could not find any this time.

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)

• Toor dal - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 2 (cut into quaters)
• Ladies finger (cut into 1 inch long pieces)
• Tamarind - size of a bing cherry
• Turmeric powder - 1/8 tspn
• Asafoetida( Hing) - 2 pinches
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tspn
• Grated coconut - 1/3 cup
• Curry leaves - 7-8 large leaves ( plus more for tempering)
• Chopped onions - 1/4 cup
• Coriander powder- 4 tbspns
• Chilli powder - 1 tspn( or to taste)
• Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
• Dried red chillies- 2
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbspns

Method:

• Wash the dal. Pressure cook it with tomatoes and 1-1/2 cups of water. ( 2 whistles will be sufficient)
• In the mean time, take 1/2 tbspn of oil in a pan and saute the okra till the slime disappears. Set aside (If using drumsticks or the other alternatives, avoid this step)
• Add 1/2 cup of water to the tamarind and extract tamarind juice from it and discard the pulp. Set aside.
• In another pan, add another 1/2 tbspn of oil and add Hing.
• Then add fenugreek seeds. When it turns light brown and splutters, add coconut, curry leaves and onions and fry.When the coconut turns a golden brown and a wonderful aroma arises, add coriander powder and chilli powder. Toast well. Stir constantly. ( abt 5-6 mins on medium-low flame) . Then grind this to a fine paste and set aside.
• When the dal is cooked, add the vegetable to the dal and cook along with salt, turmeric powder, tamarind extract and the ground coconut mixture. cook for about 5-6 mins.
• If the sambar is too thick, add as much water as required to make a consistency that satisfies you.
• Finally, temper mustard, curry leaves and red chillies in 1 tbspn of oil and add it to the sambar.
• Serve with rice, idly, dosa or methu vadas.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Not again.........

Hi all,

Just a small note to inform you all that I'm down with a horrible cold, throat infection and fever again. Just the weather taking its toll. See you soon.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal cookies.

When I receive an invitation from friends to enjoy a nice home cooked dinner or lunch at their home, I have the habit of carrying some goodies for them. It is not about giving them something in return for their invitation, but just a token of my appreciation. I usually like to pack something homemade, as opposed to store-bought, because I think it is worthwhile putting in a little time and effort for your friends, especially, when they slog away, making a good meal for you. But, I have to admit that I do have times when I have had, absolutely, no time on my hands and retreated to giving store bought stuff. (Guilty )

There was this one time when a friend invited me for dinner and I decided on baking these cookies for her. She is new to baking and so I had packed these cookies for along with the recipe as well. Such an easy recipe that I knew she will not have any trouble, what so ever, baking these anytime. I was sure she would love the cookies and the recipe. Sure as I was, she remarked that these cookies will never go out of style in her home and has showered me with praises.

How I came about this recipe .....when I was in India for a holiday, my sister, Preetha- who is a passionate foodie, made some of these delicious oatmeal cookies for us. She is a fantastic cook and there, you have the answer to where this recipe comes from . So, it is "SHE" actually deserves all those praises.

I love baking and especially when the results are so good, who wouldn't?

Ingredients:( makes about 45 cookies)

Butter - 1/2 pound(2 sticks/225 gms)
Light brown sugar (firmly packed) - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tspn
All purpose flour( maida) - 1-1/2 cups
Baking soda - 1 tspn
Salt - 1/2 tspn(optional)
Uncooked oats - 3 cups (quick or old fashioned oats)
Raisins and chopped walnuts - 1-1/2 cups

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F( 177 C)
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and sift twice.Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar till creamy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla and beat.
• Add the sift flour mixture and mix well.
• Stir in oats, raisins and nut. Mix well with a wooden spoon.(mixture will be thick and sticky)
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls( or easier with a small ice cream scoop) onto an ungreased cookie sheet .
• Don't press the dough down or try to shape them, as they will shape themselves while they bake.
• [ NOTE : make sure to drop the dough 2 inches apart from one another as they will spread out while baking. If each scoop of dough is dropped too close to one another, you will get one super sized oatmeal bar and not separate cookies.]
• Bake for 12-14 minutes.
• Cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer the cookies gentlt to a wire rack to cool off completely.
• Store in airtight containers.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

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