Kara Appam - Kuzhi Paniyaram

You can belt out this recipe quickly with some leftover idli batter and rava. Turns out perfect in a non-stick Kuzhi Paniyaram vessel.




Ingredients:

2 cups Idli batter
1 cup semolina / rava
1/2 cup maida or atta
1/2 cup rice flour
1 finely chopped onion
2 - finely chopped green chillies
Curry leaves - chopped
Cut ginger - 1 tsp
Salt
1/2 cup water (to be added as necessary)


For seasoing the batter : 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard, 1 red chilli, asafoetida

Method:

1. Mix all the items with the seasoned idli batter. Add little water to this batter.

2. You should be able to take out the batter with a spoon and put in the "Kuzhi Paniyaram" kal.

3. Add little oil to each crevice in the kal and fill the batter in. Cook in medium flame and turn it around with a fork.



4. Serve with chutney / sambar

Apple Kheer

Instant and yummy Kheer at a moment's notice! Preparation Time : 5 minutes - No Cooking required
Serves / Makes : 4





Ingredients:

2 apples
Condensed Milk -1 tin
Chilled Milk - 2 cups
Slivered Almonds/ pista, saffron for garnishing

Method:

1. Make a kheer base out of condensed milk and chilled milk. You can adjust the sweetness / thickness of the kheer according to your taste.

2. Peel and grate the apples. Add to this mixture.

3. Garnish with almonds/pistas and saffron and whip it up with a ladle - Lo! here's your kheer to serve your guests! Serve it cold.

Variation - Add finely chopped litchi (fresh / tinned), or strawberries. Yumm! Just make sure that the milk is always Chill..

Tender Coconut Jelly

Got hooked to this dish which used to be served at office lunch (RSA).
A nice and light dessert, watch it disappear when you serve to your guests!
Once you perfect this dessert, you can also try out with watermelon juice..

Ingredients

1 Tender coconut water ( scoop out the tender flesh, if any)
2 tsp sugar ( Adjust according to the sweetness of tender coconut)
1 small packet of Agar – Agar / China grass (Agar-agar/China grass is a setting agent made from seaweed. It sets quickly without refrigeration)
½ cup - Water

Method :

1. In a saucepan, heat the water. Add the china grass in medium heat.
2. When it fully dissolves, add the tender coconut water with sugar and mix it well.
3. All this should be done on medium heat only, switch off the flame and let it cool.
4. Take an ice cube tray (or you can use small cups to set the jelly individually), pour this tender coconut mixture and freeze it for an hour.
5. Small strips of tender coconut flesh can be used as topping (optional)
6. The jelly would be set after an hour, and you can transfer it from the freezer to chiller in the fridge. Serve it chilled.
7. Variation : You can also mix it 1 tablespoon of milkmaid after adding the tender coconut water.

Butter Sevai

A twist to the usual rice sevai, with melting butter as flavouring.. Yummy sevai in 10 minutes flat.. Yeah!



Ingredients :

1 packet dried rice noodles – (Concorde brand sevai)

For seasoning :

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp split white urad dal
1 tbsp channa dal (kadalai paruppu)
Broken cashew nuts, (if your prefer)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
4-5 finely chopped green chillies
a sprig of curry leaves
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 tbsps of unsalted butter (yes, generous portions..)


Cooking tips:

Boil the dried sevai in boiling water with a pinch of salt. The instant sevai cooks very quickly, so you have to take off the flame at the right time.

When the water is boiling, add the sevai and leave it for 2 minutes on high. No need to cover the vessel.

Immediately drain the water and keep the sevai vessel closed with a plate. Leave for 5 minutes. With this heat itself it will continue to cook and after 5 minutes it would be cooked just right.

Method :

Heat oil in a saucepan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cashew nuts, cut chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves.

Add the shredded coconut, fry for a few seconds and simmer the gas.

Now add the cooked rice sevai, salt, mix well and at last add the butter. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with coconut chutney, tomato chutney or with Mor Kozhambu.

Variations :

Lemon Sevai : All ingredients except butter, but add little turmeric while seasoning and lemon juice ( 2 tsp) after switching off the flame.

Mango Sevai : Add shredded mango along with coconut. No need for butter / lemon juice.

Watermelon Cups

This is an amazing dessert to finish off with a good meal! I learnt it from an Italin chef. The crunchy water melons in sugar syrup is a light, yet tasty dessert..

Ingredients :

1. Scooped balls of water melon
2. Equal parts of water melon juice and sugar syrup
3. Orange Juice
4. Rum ( as per taste)
5. Mint sprig for decoration

Method :

1. Cut the water melon in to half. With a small fruit scoop, make water melon balls as shown in the picture (removing seeds, if any). You can prepare this & refrigerate earlier also.
2. Make Water melon juice from the left over parts and add equal amount of sugar syrup.
3. While serving in a glass, first add 3/4 of juice + syrup, then add orange juice and rum (according to your taste) and top it with 10-11 Water melon scoops.
4. Top up with a spring of mint and enjoy your dessert...

Mor Kuzhambu

Mor Kuzhmabu is a simple and yet a tasty dish which could be done in a jiffy! The veggies used could be Ladies finger, potato or white pumpkin (Pushanikai)..

Ingredients :

Thick sour curds (whipped with salt and turmeric)
Grated fresh coconut - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 6
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Toor dal - 1 tsp; Rice - 1/2 tsp (to be soaked in water for 10 mins)
Asafoetida
Small piece of Ginger/ 1 small Garlic (if needed)

For Tempering : 2 tsp Coconut Oil, Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Cumin seeds - 1 tsp, Fresh curry leaves, a pinch of turmeric powder and asafoetida.

Preparation :

1. Grind all the ingredients with grated fresh coconut and add this mixture to the whisked sour curds.

2. Heat a Kadai, make the tempering, and add the boiled vegetables. (Tip : Use boiled & Cubed potatoes, if using Ladies finger, it can be deep fried and added while serving, if using white pumpkin, it can be pre-cooked in a microwave).

3. Lower the flame, then add the curd mixture. Keep it on just for 2-3 minutes, till the froth appears. Switch off the gas immediately and transfer it to a serving dish. (If you leave it on high flame, the curds will break and the mor kuzhambu will be in a thinner consistency)

4. Can be served with hot rice and pappadam / appalam.

Paruppu Usili

Paruppu Usili, a popular Tam brahm veggie preparation is a deadly combo with Mor Kuzhambu … It is a lentil crumble that is added to vegetables like cluster beans (Kothavarangai) or French beans. (Variations: Capsicum, cabbage, carrot, kovakkai.Usili adds flavour and volume to the vegetables.

Paruppu or the lentils are soaked and ground with spices, steamed and then mixed with the cooked veggies. It is a delight to make as much as it is to eat. (Especially with a microwave around!).. My mom was an expert in making this, and over the years, I have perfected and found short cuts to make this dish, and yes, she says that I prepare it better than her!

Ingredients

3/4 cup toor dal
1 tsp chana dal
5-6 dried red chillies, 1 green chilli (for extra pep)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp rock salt
1 sprig curry leaves
1 small piece ginger
1/4 kg vegetables – finely chopped

For tempering :

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp white split urad dal for tempering
2 tbsps coconut oil ( this makes all the difference..)
A sprig of curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of asafoetida


Step 1 - Preparation of the lentil mixture




1. Soak dal (toor + chana) for one hour along with red chillies.
2. Drain the water, grind this mixture to a coarse paste, along with the rest of ingredients, without adding any water.
3. In a microwaveable dish, steam this paste (cook it covered), for 4 mins. Turn it around after 2 minutes. Allow this mixture crumble to cool. (If you do not want to use the microwave, you can steam this in an idli thattu or steamer for 10 minutes). This steamed lentil mixture can be freezed and stored for sometime to cut down the time during your next preparation…
4. The last part is the secret for the fluffy usili (years of experience in perfecting the usili, ha ha) is to put the cool mixture in a mixi and whip it anti-clock wise ( Just one round), so that air gets in a makes the usili mixture fluffy. This way the mixture will be granular and also light and so it can mix well with the vegetables.


Step 2 - For making the Paruppu Usili with vegetables

1. In a microwave safe bowl, place the finely chopped vegetables, sprinkle some water and cook for 4-5 mintues. (Except for capsicum, which can be added to the usili directly last)
2. In a kadai, heat 2 tbslps of coconut oil, add the tempering. Add the cooked vegetables, toss over for 3 minutes and finally added the lentil mixture. Mix it well along with the cooked vegetables.
3.Over low heat, stir it around for 5-7 minutes. Finally when it is done, add 1-2 tsp of coconut oil before switching of the flame.

The delicious aroma of Usili will make your mouth water! Best served with hot rice, Mor Kuzhambu and Appalam or papadam.




I hope the picture makes you to drool over..