Ginger Chutney

Ingredients:

Ginger: 2 cups (sliced)

Tamarind: 2 3/4 cups

Water: 4 cups (or) untill tamarind dissolves.

Garlic: 1 cup (sliced)

Jaggery: 4 cups

Menthulu: 2tbsps

Red chilli pwd: 2 big spatulas (or) untill color comes

Salt: 1/2 cup approximately (or) to taste

Oil

Method: 

Boil water.

Soak the tamarind in the boiling water and let it boil for 2 minutes.

Deep fry ginger in oil. 

First grind gringer and then add garlic.

Then add tarmaind and salt. 

Mean while fry menthulu without oil and powder them. 

Now to the nivelly grinded paste add jaggery, red chilli pwd, menthulu pwd and salt. 

Grind nicely to paste.

Add talimpu if you like.

Enjoy with idli or dosa.

Curry Powder

Ingredients:

Chann dhal : 1 cup

Urad dhal : 1 cup

Curry leaves : 1 - 2 cups (depending on the taste)

Method: 

Fry the above ingredients without oil seperately.

Let them cool.

Grind to make fine powder.

This curry powder goes well with any curry, mostly fries.

Just add a spoon ful to the curry at the end, and you can see the difference in the taste.

Enjoy.

Winter In Maine

These pictures were taken by my friend Vyshnani. 

Thank you vyshnani for sharing these beautiful pictures withus. 

Sweet potato gulabjamun

Ingredients:

Sweet potato : 1 Medium size

Milk powder : 3 cups (I used rice cup)

Maida : 1/2 cup

For syrup:

Sugar : 2 cups

Water : 2 cups

Elachi powder : 1/2 tbsp

Vanilla Essence : 1/2 tbsp

Oil : To deep fry

Method:

For Jamuns:

Cook the sweet potato untill soft. Peel of the skin and mash it

Add milk powder to the sweet potato paste along with maida.

Make it into dough and knead well untill soft.

Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Make small balls and deep fry in oil on low heat untill golden brown.

Add them to the sugar syrup immediately after removing them from oil.

For syrup:

In a heavy bottomed vessel take sugar and water and put it on a medium flame.

Stir untill the sugar gets dissolved in water.

Add the elachi powder and vanilla essence.

Let the water come to boil, and put the syrup on low flame untill all the jamuns are added to the syrup.

Drop the fried jamuns into the sugar syrup.

Remove from heat and let it cool.

These gulabjamuns taste very good the next day.

Enjoy the delicious sweetpotato jamuns.

This goes to Srivalli who is hosting a wonderful event of Mithai Mela.

Apple and or Strawberry Jam

Ingredients: 

Apple paste : 2 cups

Sugar : 2 cups

Lemon Juice : 1 tbsp
Method:

Peel and unseed the apples and grind the apples into paste.

Take a heavy bottomed vessel and add the apple paste, sugar and lemon juice.

Keep stiring the mixture until you get the desire consistency. 

Dont make the mixture too thick because it gets thickened when it gets cold. 

Store in an air tight container.

Keep refrigerated.

Use straberries instead of apples to make strawberry jam, or combine both of them to make mixed fruit jam.

Sorakaya payasam with Dates

Ingredients:

Milk : 4 cups or 1 litre (I used skim milk)

Sago or Saggubiyyam : 1/2 cup (I used rice cup)

Sugar : 4 tbsp

Rice : 1/2 cup cooked

Dates : 20 -30 

Sorakaya : 1/2 grated (Use fresh sorakaya for this one otherwise you will not like the taste)

Elachi powder : 1/2 tbsp

Oil : 2 tbsp

Raisins: To decorate optional (I used chopped dates for decoration)

Method:

Soak sago for about an atleast an hour.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel on medium heat and add grated sorakaya to it. Let it fry for about 10 minutes. 

Then add milk to the vessel and let the milk come to boil. 

Meanwhile take the dates and add little bit of milk to them and grind them to a smooth paste.

Now add sago, sugar and the dates paste to the milk and keep stirring untill you see that the sago is cooked. 

Now add the cooked rice, stir and let it cook for about 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and decorate with raisins or whatever you want.

Enjoy the yummy payasam.

 

Aresalu

Ingredients:

Rice : 4 cups

Jaggery : 2 1/4 cups

Water : 1 cup

poppy seeds : 1/2 cups (I used rice cup)(Fry untill golden brown)

Oil : To deep fry.

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for about 2 days.

Keep changing the water in the rice for every 1/2 day.

After soaking for 2 days drain the water and spread the rice on a clean cloth and let them dry in shade for about 20 minutes. (Don't let the rice dry completely)

Grind the rice into fine flour and sift flour twice. Cover the rice flour with the cloth used to dry the rice.

In a heavy bottomed vessel take jaggery and add water.

Put the vessel on the stove on medium heat and let the syrup get the consistency of a ball which when hit to the plate must make a stone sound.

To check the consistency take about 2 tbsp of water in a plate and add a few drops of the syrup to the water.

At first the syrup gets dissolves in the water, but after boiling for some time you can see the syrup in the water and when you take it into hand can make it into a ball.

Make sure you have the right consistency.

Now add the roasted poppy seeds to the syrup and remove from heat.

Now slowly add the rice flour to the syrup and stir to avoid lumps.

Add untill to see the the syrup has thickened and you see that the batter slowly falls from the spoon.

Take a small amout of batter and press it on a plastic cover applying little oil to the cover like a chapathi and deep fry it in the oil.

After removing it from the oil press it hard so that the extra oil comes out from them. Spread them on the plate untill cooled.

This goes to Srivalli who is hosting a wonderful event of Mithai Mela.

Chilli Chicken (Low fat version)

Ingredients:

For Marination:

Chicken boneless and skin less : 3 pounds ( cubed into 1 inch pieces)

Ginger garlic paste : 1 tbsp

Oil : 1/2 cup (I used rice cup)

Chilli powder: 1 - 2 tbsp

Salt : To taste

Seasoned salt or Ajinomoto : 1/2 tsp
Corn flour : 1 cup or 250 ml (Corn flour must be added untill the chicken becomes very thick like chapati dough. After marination the chicken should not be watery)

Tomato sauce : 1/2 small tin

For Gravy:

Oil : 2 tbsp

Garlic : 4 cloves finely chopped

Onion : 1/2 of small onion chopped length wise.

Seasoned salt or Ajinomoto : 1/4th tsp

Tomato sauce : 1/2 tin

Chillies : About 1/2 to 1 pound ( slice them and fry them in oil)

Method:

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for minimum 1 hour. Chicken marinated a day before tastes good than 1 hour marinated chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (you can also deep fry the chicken).

Take a oven safe dish (i used oven liners) and spread the marinated chicken pieces seperately.

Put it in the oven untill done.

Usually takes for about 15 to 30 minutes.

For even cooking move the chicken pieces after 10 minutes.

Do not let the chicken get to hard.Remove from oven.

Gravy preparation:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the finely chopped garlic and let it fry for about 2 minutes.

Now add the onions and let them fry till golden brown.

Add seasoned salt and tomato sauce to it and cook for about 3 minutes.

Remove for heat.

Add the chicken pieces to the gravy and finally add the the fried chillies to the chicken.

Mix well and serve hot with onions and lemon.

Enjoy

Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 envelope active dry yeast
5ml (1teaspoon) sugar
250ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
50ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt

750ml (3 cups) all purpose flour                                                                                           

Salt to sprinkle on top

Method: 

Making dough:

Sprinkle yeast on water in a large bowl. Add sugar, let stand for 10 min. add oil, salt and about half the flour, beating until smooth. Add remaining flour gradually until the dough is soft, but not sticky.

Knead 200 times on a lightly floured board for 10 min.
Place in a greased bowl. Turn dough so the greased side is uppermost.
Cover, let rise until doubled in bulk.
Punch down, divide dough into two. Cover; let dough relax for 10 min.  

Making Pretzel:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C(400 Degree F).  

Take a small ball of dough and make it into a long rope.

Grese the oven safe tray with oil and put the rope in the tray like a shape of a heart (or like pretzel). Spray oil on the top and sprinkle with salt. 

Put it in the oven and bake for about 10-20 minutes.

Do not let it brown. Take it out and let it cool for 2 minutes. 

Enjoy when it is still warm or hot.

Vepudu Karam

Ingredients:

Pachi karam: 250 gms

Jeera: 2 tbsp

Garlic: 1 whole

Method:

Fry jeera without oil until nice aroma and let it cool.

Grind jeera into fine powder and garlic to the mixer and grind them both.

Mix with karam.

Can be used in any fry curries.

Kurralo Karam

Ingredients: 

Pachi Karam: 250 gms ( I used priya 3 mango karam)

Corriander: 1 fist full

Methi seeds: 4 tbsps

Jeera: 2 tbsp

Garlic: 1 whole

Method:

Roast the corriander, methi seeds, and jeera seperately without oil. 

Grind all the ingredients and mix with karam.

Store in a air tight container.

Can be used in any curries except fries.

Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Basmathi rice : 2 cups cooked completely cooled

Oil : 4 tbsp

Eggs : 3 beaten

Garlic : 6 cloves finely chopped

Pepper powder : 1 tbsp

Green chillies : 4 sliced

Carrot grated: 1 cup

Green peas : 1 cup

Green onion or Spring onion : 1/2 cup

Soy sauce : 2 tbsp

Salt : To taste.

Method:

Take a heavy bottomed pan. 

Add oil to the pan and let it heat. 

Add the chopped garlic and fry for about 3 minutes.

Now add the beaten egg and stir it untill you get small pieces of egg. 

Now add chillies, carrot, peas and onion ,and fry for about 5 minutes. 

Add pepper powder, salt and soy sauce, mix and cook for about 2 minutes. 

Add cooked rice and remove from heat. 

Adjust salt to taste. 

Enjoy when it is still hot.

Sago (Saggubiyyam) Pakodi

Ingredients:

Sago: 1/2 cup

Rice flour: 1 1/2 cup

Green Chillies: 2-4 finely chopped or blended

Yogurt: 1/2 cup

Ginger: Small piece finely chopped or blended with chillies

Onion: One small finely chopped

Salt: To taste

Cilantro: 1/2 bunch finely chopped

Dry coconut pwd: 4 tbsp(optional)

Oil: For deep frying

Water

Method:

Mix all the about ingredients except oil. Make it into a thin batter.

Allow it to soak for whole night. To avoid soaking whole night add sour yogurt and let it soak for about an hour.

Now the batter will become very thick. Add little bit of water or yogurt and make it into a batter for pakodi or punugulu. 

Heat enough oil for deep frying in a thick bottomed pan and add small amounts of batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown. 

Enjoy when hot.

Idli Karam

Ingredients:

Channa dhal(Fried channa dhal) : 1 cup

Red chillies: 4

Cumin: 1 tbsp

Garlic: 3 cloves

Salt: According to taste.

Method: 

Fry red chillies and cumin seeds seperately in a pan without oil. Let them cool.

Now add all the above ingredients to a blender, and make into  fine powder.

Adjust salt and red chillies according to taste.

Enjoy with idlies.

Garam Masala

Ingredients:

Cinnamon: 3/4 cup

Poppy seeds: 1/2 cup

Coriander seeds: 1 cup

Cloves(Lavangam): 40 number

Cardamom(Elachi): 10 number

Marati mogga: 10 number

Method: 

Add all the ingredients to the blender and make into fine powder.

Enjoy with various recipes.

Crispy Rice Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:

Oil: 2 tbsp

Miniature Marshmallows: 16 oz 

Crisp rice cereal: 16 oz

Vanilla essence: 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan on a low heat.

Add marshmallows and cook, stir constantly, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat immediately.

stir in vanilla essence, and add crisp rice and stir to coat evenly.

Take a pan  and evenly coat it with oil. 

Add the mixture to the pan and spread evenly with a spatula.

Let it cool and cut into bars.

Makes 20 - 25 bars.