Friday 28 February 2014

Dosakaya Pappu(Yellow Cucumber Dal)

Yellow cucumber/Dosakayya pappu is all time favourite dal. This dhal tastes very different and can be made quick with less ingredients.Dosakaya/Yellow cucumber is a tangy vegetable which belongs to cucumber family. It enhances the flavour the taste of the dish.Yellow Cucumber is very commonly cooked  in Andhra Pradesh as Dal, Pickle .  It is very commonly available in Karnataka.. Dosakai is small, round and yellow, pretty much look like a small melon. It belongs to the cucumber family. 


Prep time: 15 mins|
Cook time: 20 mins

 

Ingredients

Quantity

Dosakaya

1 medium

Toor dal

½ cup

Onion

1 no

Tomato

1 medium

Green chilies

3

Garlic pods

3 no’s

Red chili powder

½  tbsp.

Coriander powder

1 tbsp.

Turmeric powder

¼ tsp

Tamarind

amla size

Salt

to taste

Seasoning

Oil

1 tsp

Mustard seeds

1 tsp

Urad dal

1 tsp

Cumin seeds

1 tsp

Curry leaves

few

Hing

pinch

Dry red chilli

2 no’s

 Method

1. Wash and peel off the Dosakai. Cut and deseed them. Add little water and pressure cook it for 2 whistles or till it gets cooked.Soak the tamarind in water for 10 minutes and squeeze the water out of it and set aside. Put the washed toor dal, turmeric, slit green chilies and water in a pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles.

2. Take a pan, when hot add oil and mustard seeds .When the seeds start to splutter,do the ther sesonings followed by the sliced onion and cook until they turn translucent.Now, add the tomato, dhal, dosakaya chunk, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and tamarind juice. 

3. Adjust the salt level and tamarind level according to your taste buds. Yes, if you leave a long time, the veggie will disappear in dhal.Cook closed till cucumber becomes soft. 

4.Boil for 4-5 minutes, remove from heat and garnish with coriander. The dhal should be thick. Goes well with hot rice and ghee. A simple mango or lime pickle will be awesome.

Notes

Some of them don’t throw the seeds because it belongs to the cucumber family. The water content has lots in the seeds.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Spicy Mullangi Thogayal(Spicy Radish Chutney)

I wanted to try thogayal only with mullangi for a long time. We all usually make sambhar, poriyal & roti. I tried this way to make thogayal. It tasted yummy when mixed with plain rice & ghee.I did not  find the raw smell at all. Already there is radish spinach chutney which I had posted earlier. Potassium can help lower your risk of kidney stones and strokes. This is really easy and delicious which tastes good with rice, chapatti, poori or good even for sandwich.. It is an excellent source of Vitamin C.


Prep time: 20 mins
 |Cook time:15 mins
Cuisine:South Indian,Tamil Nadu recipes

Ingredients
quantity
Radish
2 cups  
Onion
1 small
Garlic
3 cloves
Red chilly
6 no’s
Tamarind
lemon sixe
Urad dal
2 tbsp.
Channa dal
2 tbsp.
Salt
to taste
Seasoning
Oil
2 tbsp.
Mustard seeds
1 tbsp.
Cumin seeds
1 tbsp.
Hing
pinch
curry leaves
1 stem
Method
1.Roast the red chillies, channa dal and urad dal without oil .First grind all the dry ingredients to a powder form. Heat a pan with oil ,add onions and garlic pods..Peel the skin & grate the radish .Sauté the grated radish till it gets cooked. Sauté in low flame .Then remove & set aside. 

2. Grind all the ingredients together in the blender adding salt and tamarind.Do the seasonings with the given items and pour it in the Spicy radish thogayal.

3. Mix with hot plain rice topped with ghee and enjoy.

Notes
Usage of green chillies will also tastes good, but for kids I avoid it.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Kokum Lemonade

It is a refreshing tangy chilled beverage extremely beneficial during the hot summer days. The first time I tasted Kokum lemonade in Goa and have fallen in love with this drink since then. It tastes so wonderful.Kokum fruit is one of the favorite beverages amongst all the Konkani’s, people living in and around the Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa. It is also popular in the Karwaar region of Karnataka. The Kokum fruit looks very similar to the small variety plum and is dark purple color when ripe. It has a fruity and tangy flavor. Hence do prepare this juice and enjoy the enriching and soothing taste of the juice.


Prep time: 5 mins|Serves :2 persons
Cuisine:Indian,Goan recipes

Ingredients
Quantity
Glass of water
250 ml
Kokum syrup(unsweetened)
2 tbsp.
Sugar
2 tsp
Ice cube
4-5 cubes
Cumin powder
¼ tsp
Black salt
¼ tsp
Ground cinnamom
for sprinkling
Lemon juice
1
Salt
pinch
Method
1. Fill the glass with the ice cubes.Pour over this the kokum syrup, squeezed lemon juice.
2.Pour water in the glass and add cumin powder and black salt.Stir well and sprinkle some cinnamom powder.Enjoy your kokum lemonade.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Sukku Malli Kappi(Dry Ginger Dhania Coffee)

I use fresh ginger a lot in my cooking and dry ginger occasionally in some of my dishes especially during the winter months. We all know the health benefits of ginger. It’s widely used in all forms of medicine.  Sukku is nothing but sun dried ginger. Anyone who has gulped it will never forget the sharp taste and the health benefits.
Chukku is dry ginger and Kashayam is a herbal combination decoction, a type of medicine in Ayurveda. Chukku/Dry ginger is a significant and vital ingredient in preparing Kashayam as well as a common ingredient in most of the Ayurvedic medicines.Chukku Kappi is a herbal medicinal decoction using pungent spices like dry ginger, peppercorns, cumin and an aromatic herb like Tulasi/Holy Basil with a touch of jaggery and flavored by coffee or tea. It’s quite strong and spicy and sweet which helps alleviate cough and cold, mild fever, throat infections and nasal congestions. This is the simplest of Kashayam which you can make at home.
IMG_20140219_172546-001

Prep time: 30 mins|Cook time: 15 mins`
Cuisine:South Indian,Tamil Nadu recipes

Ingredients
Quantity
Water
1 ½ cups
Freshly ground sukku coffee powder
1 tsp
Fresh basil leaves(small ones)
handful
Panaakal kandu(Crystallized Palm Sugar)
¼ cup
Sugar(if needed)
to taste
Freshly ground Sukku Malli powder
Dry ginger (sukku)      - ¼ cup
Coriander seeds            - ½ cup
Black peppercorns      - 1 tsp    
Jeera /cumin seeds    - 2 tsp
Elachi (Cardamom)    - 3 pods
Method
1. Dry roast and grind them together. This is called sukku coffee powder. kappi-0012. This can be stored in air tight container for months.
kappi 2-0013. In a saucepan, heat water and jaggery and palm sugar together; when it starts melting, add the Tulasi/Holy Basil leaves and close the pan with a lid. Now add the powdered dry –ginger/chukku, pepper powder and cumin powder.kappi 3-0014. Strain the coffee and pour it to a coffee mug and immediately inhale the steam coming from the coffee. Strain the water add boiled milk and sugar if necessary.IMG_20140219_172414-001 Notes
Consuming more dry ginger may cause constipation and hence please do not take more than 2 servings of Chukku Kappi per day, on sick days). I did not have karupatti, so I tried with panaakal kandu. 

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Kala Channa Rasam(Brown Chickpeas Rasam)

Kala channa is first soaked, cooked and then finally seasoned. The cooked water is used to make the rasam by flavoring with seasoning of garlic.Kala channa(kadle rasam) doesn't actually have any kala channa but is made from the water left over from boiling the kala channa(brown kadle). The kala channa/ kadle rasam then becomes the perfect side dish for the meal. The boiled brown chickpeas can be done in many ways.


Prep time: 20 mins|
Cook time:15 mins

Ingredients

quantity

Kala channa(Kadele water)

left over water after pressure cooking

Tomatoes

2 no’s chopped

Garlic

5 no’s (de-skinned)

Tamarind extract water

2 tbsp.

Rasam powder

3 tsp

Turmeric powder

1 tsp

Cilantro

finely chopped

Salt

to taste

To temper

Mustard seeds

1 tsp

Jeera seeds

1 tsp

Dry red chilies

2

Curry leaves

8-10

Hing

pinch

Oil

1 tsp

Method

1. Soak the kala Channa(Brown chickpeas) in water overnight.Pressure cook the channa dal and separate the water.I have boiled toor dal for mooli sambhar which I had planned for lunch today.So I took 1 cup of boiled toor dal.Heat the oil in a pan, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds.When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the hing, curry leaves and broken red chilies.

2. Pour the tamarind water with chopped tomatoes.Pour the kala channa water after few minutes.

3. Add the rasam powder,turmeric powder and salt.Let it boil, and then let it simmer for 5-6 minute.Crush garlic and pepper separetely.Now add this crushed mixture in this kala channa rasam.Lastly add the boiled toor dal and give a quick stir.

4. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve the kala channa/ kadle rasam with rice. 

 Notes

Tamarind Paste can also be used instead of extract water.Few drops of lemon juice can be added while serving the rasam.

Check out my other rasam links

Amla Cucumber Rasam

Carrot Apple Rasam

Raw Mango Rasam

Apricot Milkshake