Carrot Chutney

I love experimenting chutneys with vegetables to make it more healthy. Recently tried this carrot chutney and served with Idlis. Very simple n tasty with a different flavor.

Ingredients :

• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 4 Green chillies, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Coconut, grated
• 1 Tbsp Bengal gram / Kadalai parupu
• Salt to taste
• Small piece of Ginger
• 1 Tsp Oil

For Tempering :

• 1/2 Tbsp Oil ( Gingelly oil or vegetable oil )
• 1 Tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 Tsp Urad dal
• Few Curry leaves

Cooking Time : 10 Mins

Method :

Heat 1 Tsp oil in a pan and add Bengal gram.

Roast and remove from flame. Keep aside.

Add ginger and green chillies to the same pan, fry them and remove from flame.

Add everything together in a mixie and grind to a fine paste adding little water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan for tempering and add mustard seeds. Once they starts spluttering, add the urad dal and curry leaves.

Add tempering to the chutney and serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with hot Idli and Dosa.

Linking this recipe with Siri's " Celebrating First Anniversary - Giveaway "

 and

LemonKurry's " Innovative Recipes "

Rose Milk Flavored CornFlour Halwa

Easy and simple sweet for all occasions. I tried this with a twist by adding Rose milk powder for the flavor and shaped them using cookie cutter for kids.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Cornflour
2 Cups Sugar


• 3 Tsp Rose milk Powder
3 Cups Water
5 Almonds
5 Cashews
2 Tbsp Ghee

Method :

Add cornflour in a separate bowl.
 

 Add the rose milk powder to the cornflour and mix well.

Measure 3 cups of water and add it to the cornflour. Mix well to avoid lumps.

 

Heat a pan ( Non- stick ) and add the sugar.

Simmer the flame and Wait till the sugar melts.

Add the cornflour water to the melted sugar and stir. Stir continuous to avoid forming lumps.

Once it starts thickening, add the ghee and mix well.

Meanwhile, Chop the Almonds and Cashews finely.

Add the chopped nuts to the halwa and continue stirring till the mixture gets glossy.

Turn off the flame and transfer it to the greased plate.

Slice it with cookie cutter or knife after it completely cool down.

Serve this flavored Halwa and enjoy your day.

Serving Options :

Serve Warm Halwa with Ice - Cream

Linking this recipe with Siri's " Celebrating First Anniversary - Giveaway "

 Yashodha's Kitchen " My first event - Thanks Giving "

 and

Divya's " 60 Days to Christmas " and Priya's " 60 Days to Christmas "

 

Vegetable Kurma

Ingredients :

• 2 Onions, Finely chopped
• 1 Tomato, Finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, Finely chopped
• 1 Radish , Finely chopped
• 7-8 French Beans, Chopped
• 10 Baby potatoes, cut into half
• 1/2 Tbsp Ginger - Garlic Paste
• 2 Green chilli, chopped
• 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 Tsp Red Chilli powder
• 1/2 Cup Coconut paste
• Few Curry leaves for Garnishing
• 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 Star anise
• 1 Elachi
• 1/2 inch Cinnamon

Method :

• Heat oil in a pan and add the Masala items ( Bay leaf, Star anise, Cinnamon and Elachi ).
• Add the finely chopped onions and saute well.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste to the onion mixture and fry till the raw smell goes off.
• Now add the chopped tomato and cook until it turns mushy.
• Add all the vegetables ( Carrot, beans, radish and potatoes ).
• Mix well and add the Turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
• Add water, cover the lid and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the veggies gets cooked.
• Stir in coconut paste and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Garnish with curry leaves.

Serve with Poori or Roti.

Sweet Corn and Paneer Rice - Guest Post For Meena

This is my first guest post for Meena from " Random Ramblings :)  ". She is an awesome energetic blogger and personally I love her positive attitude. I feel very happy and  proud to do guest post for her....Thank you so much meena for this lovely opportunity...
Sweet corn and Paneer Rice, very simple, easy and perfect lunchbox recipe. This is my favorite combination, so used to try lots of recipes with them. Very healthy too...
Do check my Sweet corn and Paneer Rice in her blog and post your valuable comments !

http://chattersmusings.blogspot.com/2012/11/sweet-corn-and-paneer-rice-guest-post.html

My Participation Certificate :

Baked Pineapple Slices

Simple and easy snack, which has a beautiful flop story behind this.... ;) yeah tried making "Pineapple upside down cake" for the first time a few weeks back and messed up with my baking time... The Cake was not that good as I expected but my hubby enjoyed all the baked pineapples in that.... I am not a big fan of pineapple but loved the baked ones.. So next day I tried these baked pineapples with the leftover pineapples..... Really very tasty n delicious.. Now these baked pineapples have became part of our weekly menu!!!
Friends, If you have a fine recipe for a Pineapple upside down cake, pls text your url here....I am planning to try again :) Thanks in advance:)

Few googled things about Demerara Sugar :

Demerara is a light brown, partially refined sugar. Unlike brown sugar, which has the added molasses flavor, Demerara has a natural caramel-like flavor that hasn’t been refined out. This lends warm caramel notes to whatever you add the sugar. Also, Demerara sugar is also referred to as Turbinado sugar in many markets, which has more to do with how the sugar is processed in turbines, than where it originates.
To make demerara sugar, sugar producers press sugar cane and steam the juice of the first pressing to form thick cane syrup. The cane syrup is allowed to dehydrate, leaving behind large golden brown crystals of sugar. Demerara sugar is not refined, so it has a rich, creamy, molasses-like flavor which enhances baked goods. The large grains also remain crunchy through cooking, which makes demerara sugar a great choice of sprinkled topping on scones and similar dishes which might otherwise have a uniform texture.Although demerara makes an excellent textural addition to recipes, it should not substitute for certain sugars. Recipes which call for confectioner's or caster sugar should not be made with demerara, since the sugar will have a negative impact on the end texture.

Ingredients :

• 10 Pineapple slices
• 1/2 Cup Demerara light brown sugar

Method :

• Place an aluminium foil in a baking tray.
• Sprinkle the light brown sugar.
• Place the pineapple slices on the tray.
• Bake it for 6 mins in 170 degree celcius.
• Then turn the pineapple other side and bake it for another 6 minutes.
• Serve warm with Ice-cream...

Enjoy this baked pineapple slices with Ice - cream :)

Cook it up with love " Hubby's delight contest "

Mutton n Chayote Kurma / Mutton n Chow chow Kurma - Pressure cooker Method

 Ingredients :

• 1/2 Kg Mutton, chopped into pieces
• 1 Chayote / Chow Chow, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 2 Cups Onions, Finely chopped
• 1 Cup Tomatoes, Finely chopped
• 2 - 3 Green chillies, sliced
• 1 Tbsp Ginger - Garlic Paste
• 1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Chilli - Coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 Cup Coconut paste
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 2 Bay leaf
• 2 Star Anise
• 1 Elachi
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick, crushed
• Curry leaves for garnishing

Method :

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the masala items ( Bay leaf, Elachi, cinnamon and star anise ).
• Add the chopped onions, saute for a minute and add the ginger - garlic paste.
• Fry them for a minute or till the raw smell goes off.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies,saute well for couple of minutes.
• Add the turmeric powder, salt and chilli - coriander powder.
• Mix well, add the chopped chayote and mutton pieces.
• Add water, mix well and close the lid.
• Wait for a whistle, simmer the flame for 20 minutes and switch off.
• Once the pressure released completely, open and add the coconut paste to kurma.
• Cook for another couple of minutes.
• Switch off the flame and garnish with curry leaves.

Serve with hot rice..... And this goes well with Indian breads and with hot n soft Idlis / Dosas.....

Divya's " 60 Days to Christmas " and Priya's " 60 Days to Christmas "

Easy Fried Chicken and Avocado Dip

I used to prepare this very simple fried chicken for my kid as finger food without the addition of lemon juice... Very easy n simple to prepare and used to prepare this only for him as we have other  chicken curries n briyani to eat... My husband always complains that I prepare very little of these fried ones... So bought some chicken breasts few days back n prepared this fried chicken n Avocado dip for him as a surprise treat for his dinner..... We have lovely memories with the Avocado fruit too.... Avocado's reminds us of our trip to Kurumba Resort.... Tasted this for the first time there as creamy soup... since then we guys had fallen in love with this flavourful fruit...  My hubby is not a great risk taker in tasting foods.. so when I do some innovation in recipes...its like writing an exam for me :) (chemistry paper was equally difficult for me!!!!) and his reactions are like exam results...sometimes I do get distinction... sometimes I pass and sometimes arrears
 ( have to try that till I get pass mark ;) ) he he.... But his words, appreciation and support means a lot to me...He is so supportive and helps me alot in blogging....

And coming back to my recipe....Served this for our dinner and enjoyed alot... The best compliment is he loved the Avocado dip sooo much that he ended up used this as spread over crispy ghee dosas :)

Ingredients :

For fried chicken :

• 1 Chicken Breast, cut into long strips
• 1 Tsp Pepper powder
• 2 Tsp Lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 Cups Cornflakes, crushed
• Oil for frying

For Avocado dip :

• 1 Avocado
• 1/2 Cup Thick Curd / Yoghurt
• 1 Green chilli
• 2 Garlic pods
• 1/2 Tsp Jeera
• 1/4 Cup Mint leaves / Pudina
• Salt to taste

Method :

For Fried chicken :

• Clean, wash and cut the chicken breast into long strips.
• Add pepper powder, salt and lemon juice.
• Mix well and marinate it for 1 hour. ( at least half an hour ).
• Now take each strips and roll it with crushed cornflakes.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry them in a medium flame.
• Do not fry them in a high flame, cornflakes gets fried soon and becomes black.
• Once fried, remove from flame and drain them in a kitchen towel.
• Serve hot.

For Avocado Dip :

• Cut and scoop the flesh of avocado.
• Add everything in a blender and blend them to a fine paste.
• Serve it with the fried chicken.

Linking this with Yashodha's Kitchen " My first event - Thanks Giving "

Divya's " 60 Days to Christmas " and Priya's " 60 Days to Christmas "

Poha n Roasted gram Balls / Aval Potukadalai Urundai

My pantry is filled with lots of poha, beaten rice, roasted gram and jaggery now because of saraswathy pooja... First thought of trying My hubby's fav sweet with beaten rice " Pori Urundai " , then swapped my mind after entering into my kitchen ( happens most of the time ;) ) and tried those sweet balls with roasted gram and poha.... Whenever I try something new for my hubby, I used to get excited and tensed...its not about getting scared...its the compliment or reactions:)
I used to serve him and stare at his face for his reactions or sometimes used to serve him and sit n watch tv as if I am cool ( actually not...he he ).
But yesterday after coming from office he noticed these balls in a table and tasted it... Immediately he completed 3 balls in a jiffy...Glad and very happy that he loved it very much....
Planning to try his fav " Pori urundai " soon....

Ingredients :

• 1 Cup Jaggery, grated
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 Cup Poha / Aval
• 3/4 Cup Roasted gram / Potukadalai

Method :

• Boil water and add the grated jaggery.
• Boil it for 5 minutes in a medium flame or till the consistency of jaggery starts thickening.
• Meanwhile grease the plate with butter or oil.
• Now add the poha and roasted gram, mix well so that the jaggery gets coated well with them.
• Let it cook for 3 minutes in a medium flame.
• Remove and spread it in the plate.
• Let it cool for 4 - 5 minutes and make balls by greasing oil in hands.
• It should be warm while shaping them.
• Cool them completely and store in a airtight container.

Cooking Duration : 20 Mins
No. of servings :10 Balls

Linking this with Pari's " Give me some snacks "

Akila's " Dish name starts with P "

Sarasyummybite's " Dish in 30 minutes "

and 

Cook it up with love " Hubby's delight contest "