Spicy Herbal Drink

When carrots are cooked, all the nutrients are lost. Start with a little fat and a little liquid, along with whatever seasonings you choose…Orange juice is an especially nice liquid to begin with, because the reducing process concentrates both its sweetness and its acidity. (A little lemon juice at the end adds the perfect balance.) .The secret is in the oranges. They're sweeter than other varieties and really balance out the earthiness of the carrots, while the ginger adds a hint of spice. So good.

Prep time          :20 mins           Cook time          :10 mins            Serves            :2

Cuisine : South Indian

Ingredients	Quantity
Carrots(washed and ends trimmed)	750 gms
Fresh Orange juice	2
Minced Ginger	1 tbsp
Pudina leaves & basil leaves	handful
Ground black pepper	1 tsp
lemon	1 no
Chopped fresh parsley,mint,basil leaves	For garnishing

Method        

1. Peel off the skin of orange and clean carrots and slice them roughly. Place them in blender with ginger and grind smoothly.Stir the juices to combine. Filter the juice in a tall jar.2. Mix with orange juice. Push all ingredients through a juicer.Pour into glasses and enjoy!Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 3. Serve within an hour or two, garnished with herbs, if you like.

Notes

You can skip ginger if you are not big fan of it, but it helps in digestion of the raw carrots and prevent heart burn.. You can blend it with few ice cubes if you want it cold.

Groundnut/Peanut chutney

Peanut chutney is the usual accompaniment to breakfast dishes like upma, pongal, separate, dose, and vada at my home so I prepare peanut chutney quite often. It is also a decent substitute to coconut chutney. I will have idlis only with peanut I suggest you to try it at least once, and I can bet that you will fall in love with this fantastic combination!  Even my mother wasn't keen on trying it at first, but later she enjoyed to the core.  For breakfast dishes like upma, dosas, idlies etc, I always make the chutney little bit watery if the chutney is for rice I’d make the chutney little bit tight with as little amount of water as possible.

Prep time        : 20 mins            Cook time   : 10 mins               Serves      : 2

Cuisine :Indian, Andhra recipes

Ingredients	Quantity
Roasted Groundnuts/peanuts	1 cup
Red chillies	4
Small onion	2 medium
Cumin seeds	½ tsp.
Garlic pods	5-6
Tamarind	Marble size
Water	½ cup
Salt	½ tsp.(to taste)

 

To temper

Oil	1 tsp.
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp.
Urad dal	1 tsp.
Curry leaves	Few

Method

1. Dry roast peanuts in a pan.  Let it cool down, and then remove the skin. Take roasted peanuts in a blender/food processor. Grind the mixture coarsely.Now add cumin seeds, garlic pods, small onions, red chillies to it.

2. Grind everything to a coarse powder with salt and tamarind Grind into fine paste. Add water while grinding as required.Take oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add tempering in the chutney.

3. The yummy chutney is ready to serve.

 Notes

You can add cilantro while grinding. You can cool it down the peanuts after frying and remove the skin, just by rubbing in hands. Even with skin its tastes good only.

While grinding, you can add 1 or 2 tsp. grated coconut to enhance the taste. Red chillies can be replaced by green chillies also.

Vazhakkai/Raw Plaintain Podimas

Vazhakkai podimas is a super-easy, tasty and healthy recipe that is a wonderful accompaniment to any spicy sambhar or kuzhambu.This is a staple at my house and I make this very often. My husband and daughter both love his curry for its simple taste and yummy flavor. With coconut, tanginess from lemon juice and a little spiciness from the red and green chilles, this is a non-oily and healthy side-dish. Next time you make any kuzhambu, sambar or even chapatti, try this recipe. This is my MIL recipe. I am not a big fan of Vazhakkai but when I tasted this podimas I started liking and enjoyed it. It tastes delicious with sambar sadam or you could try simply with hot rice & ghee which tastes excellent.

Prep time            :20 mins             Cook time           :15 mins                 Serves             :2
Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw(green) banana	1
Onion	1 medium
Red chilli	3 no’s
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp.
Coconut	2 tbsp.
Cilantro	¼ cup
Lemon juice	2 tsp.

 To temper

Oil	2 tsp.
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp.
Jeera seeds	¼ tsp.
Channa dal	¼ tsp.
Hing	pinch
Urad dal	¼  tsp.
Chopped ginger	1 tsp.
Salt	To taste
Curry leaves	1 sprig

 Method

1. Cut the raw banana into two halves (with the skin) and cook for 10 min in a small cup of water. When the banana is half-cooked, remove from stove and peel the skin of the bananas. The banana should still be thick and not soft and pasty. If it’s too soft to grate then it has cooked too much. Grate the bananas and keep aside. 2.Take a saucepan and add 2 tsp. of oil. Add mustard seeds when oil is hot and once it splutters, add channa dal, red chilles, green chilles.Now add the onions sauté until it turns transparent. Add the turmeric powder and the grated raw banana and cook covered on low flame for couple of minutes.  3.Add little asafodita and the grated coconut and cook again for just a few minutes.Finally add salt for taste and mix well and remove from flame. 4.Turn off the stove and squeeze some lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves’Yummy Vazhakkai podimas is ready to serve.

Notes

Do not over boil the raw banana.

If you feel the grated Plantain is too dry then you can sprinkle some water while cooking.

Finally, even can add few drops of lemon juice for tangy taste.

Linking this to the event "Eat Vegetables Stay Healthy" sponsored by Just Eat.

Idli Milagai Podi/Chutney Powder

Idly Milagai Podi, served with generous amounts of gingelly oil or ghee serves just right for Idly or Dosa. No Tamil homes, I would say, without this red spicy aromatic powder, preserved in small or big jars, glass bottles or plastic containers. This is one of the famous powders/podi recipes of Andhra. It was quite new to me when I had for the first time and liked it instantly with idli. It is a very versatile powder and can be eaten with idly, dosa, paniyaram or uthappam.I love to sprinkle this podi over dosa for a variation.

Prep time      :    5 mins                      Cook time       :        15 mins

Ingredients	Quantity
Dry red chili	12 no’s
Urad dal	½ cup
Channa dal	¼ cup
Hing	¾ tsp.
Jeera powder	½ tbsp
Curry leaves	10
Oil	½ tsp
Rock salt	To taste
Garlic pods skin	Handful
Sesame seeds	2 tsp

Method

1. Heat a wok and dry roast channa dal and the Urad dal separately until deep brown. Keep the flame 'medium', taking care not to over or under fry. The frying part is the most important slot as this decides the quality of the powder. 2. Clean and wash curry leaves and remove extra water and spread it on a dry cloth to let the leaves dry completely without any water. Leave it for 3-4hrs.Heat 1/4 tsp. oil and add red chilies and fry until crisp and remove it and keep it aside. Heat 1/4 tsp. oil and add curry leaves and fry until they are crisp and remove it and keep it aside. Switch off the flame.3. Once everything comes to room temperature grind fried chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, cumin powder to a coarse powder.Add fried curry leaves, salt and grind again to a coarse powder.Add whole garlic pods skin and run it in whipper mode now or run it just for 30 secs in the regular mode. The powder should be coarse not very fine.4. Once it cools remove it and keep it in an air tight container.Serve this powder with Idly/Dosa/Uthappam/Paniyaram.While serving it make a well in 1tbsp powder in the plate and pour 1/2 tsp. ghee in it and mix well.

Notes

Make sure you fry all the ingredients well and let the curry leaves be completely dry.

Always use a dry spoon when taking out the powder.Keep it in air tight container to seal the aroma of this podi.

If you prefer a less spicy version just reduce the red chilies to half.If you don’t like Hing flavor to dominate then add just 1/2 tsp.

Sesame oil is good for health so add it generously and enjoy your idlis.

 

 

 

Apple Coconut Kheer

Apple Kheer is mainly associated with the festival of 'Mahashivratri' Delicious and crunchy apple fruit is notable for its impressive nutrients, and anti-oxidants. Their components are essential for normal growth, development and well-being. Apples are low in calories; 100 g of fresh fruit slices provide only 50 calories. They, however, contain no saturated fats or cholesterol. Apple fruit contains good quantities of vitamin-C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body. These vitamins help as co-factors for enzymes in metabolism as well as in various synthetic functions inside the body. Apple also contains a small amount of minerals like potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.

A healthy and sweet dessert prepared with apple and milk

Prep time            : 10 mins                     Cook time: 15 mins               Serves: 4

Ingredients	Quantity
Milk(full cream)	750 ml
Sugar	1 cup
Apples(peeled and grated)	3
Grated coconut	1 cup
Saffron	Few strands
Rose essence	1-2 drops
Cardamom powder	¼ tsp.
Dry fruits(cashews, raisins, almonds) & saffron	For garnishing

Method

1. Put ghee, nuts and coconut in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 mins. Or in a pan, fry for few minutes.Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan and after one boil stir well. Stir and cook on a medium flame till the milk gets reduced to half and is creamy. Add sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 2. Grate the apples and add to the milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add grated apple, dissolved saffron and cook until apple is properly cooked, for about 5-7 minutes, stirring continuously.3. Add the rose essence and garnish with cashews and almonds4.Remove from the flame, sprinkle cardamom powder, cashews and almonds on top.Serve warm or chilled. Or Cool and kept in refrigerator for 2 hours or till chilled.

 Notes

Keep stirring the milk in between to prevent overflow. Use a big bowl to prevent the milk from overflowing .This kheer will be very liquidy.It tastes best when chilled.

Banana Flower(Vazhaipoo) and Potato poriyal

Let banana flower bloom away to appease your tummy and satisfy your cravings for a different meal. The cleaning process is a tad lengthy but once you tackle that, cooking is actually easy, and taste, simply awesome! Stir fried Banana Florets is a North Indian Recipe. The banana flower is the flower of the banana. If you open the inside, you can see small flowers that would turn into bananas. The flavor is a little starchy and bitter, and is normally eaten as a complement to a dish as a side vegetable. You can also fry or boil it. The process of making recipes with banana flower takes long time.

Prep time        :        15 mins              Cook time   :        20 mins            Serves            :2

Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients	Quantity
Banana flower	1
Baby Potatoes	5 nos
Turmeric powder	½ tsp.
Garam masala	¼ tsp.
Jeera powder	1 tsp.
Grated coconut	1.5 tbsp
Cilantro	1 tbsp.

 To temper

Oil	3 tbsp.
Dry red chilly	1
Mustard seeds	1 tsp.
Fennel seeds	¼ tsp.
Urad dal	1 tbsp.
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Onion	1 no
Hing	pinch

 Method

1. Get ready to clean banana flower by first rubbing your hands with oil, this is to avoid staining. Discard the first few layers of sepals, when you do that, it reveals small, elongated white flowers. Chop off the flowers from the base and from each of them, remove the stamen (a thick, black stem). Repeat the process for the remaining sepals and the flowers attached to them. Chop the flowers and boil with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt for 15 minutes. This will remove the bitterness. Squeeze and transfer the flowers in a plate. 2. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, urad dal and finely dry red chiiy..Then add onion and curry leaves. After onion becomes translucent add salt, jeera powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder. 3. Add the diced potatoes and banana flowers and stir well.Adjust salt.
Cook covered in low flame till the vegetable is cooked. 4. Now add grated coconut  in the curry. Mix it with all overt he curry. Turn off the gas.  5. Sprinkle coriander leaves before eating and what else but relish every bite!Serve with rice or roti or paratha.

Notes

*Cleaning of the banana flower. (Remove the outer maroonish layer, take the small flowerets, and remove the thick hard stick inside the flower)

Boiled Black channa can also be added to enhance the taste and flavor/..

Cut and soak the banana flower in water, mixed with buttermilk to avoid bitterness.

When you cut the flower open, rub it with lime or lemon juice and wrap with plastic to prevent oxidization.