Thursday, October 31, 2013

     Easy tasty ladoos can be prepared in 5 minutes using limited ingredients which are available in your kitchen. Can make this in an instant and surprise the visitors in minutes.

INGREDIENTS:
Rava-1 cup
Sugar, powdered-3/4 cup
Milk- 5 tablespoons
Ghee- 1tablespoon
Cardamom pods, crushed -2
Cashews- 10
Raisins-10 (optional)

PROCEDURE:
  • Roast the rava till slight golden colour and powder well in a blender.
  • Powder the sugar also in the blender.
  • In a pan, over heat add and melt ghee and roast cashew with raisins. Remove the cashews from the ghee and keep aside.
  • In the ghee add the powdered rava, sugar and cardamom powder and mix well. Then add milk over the a tablespoon at a time mix well with hand. Till it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
  • Leave the mixture a minute and then take a gooseberry sized mixture and form thick balls (if the crumbs are wet, the ball would be soggy). Garnish with the fried cashews by placing them on top of each ball.
  • Note: milk can be replaced with condensed milk or evaporated milk or ghee to get more richer taste.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

    A traditional evening snack.  But can be eaten at all times when you are hungry. Will be crisy even for a month so it could be prepared in batches and stored for use. Prepared for all important festivals. I am sure that, no one hate murukku.



INGREDIENTS
Rice flour- 2 cups
Urad dhal - ½ cup
Butter- 3-4 teaspoons
Asafetida- pinch
Sesame seeds- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
Salt- to taste
Oil- to fry




PROCEDURE
  • Dry roast urad dhal till golden colour, powder well and sieve to get fine powder
  • Mix all ingredients together and water and knead well to make dough. Knead well, otherwise  when you press the murukku dough, the threads tends to break.
  • Fill the dough inside the idiyappam press with the star die disc attachment and press and make murukku in circular motion on newspaper.
  • Heat some oil and deep fry murukku till golden brown and crispy.
  • Drain excess oil by keeping tissue paper lined plates.
  • Note: if your murukku is hard you have not added enough butter for your murukku.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

     Generally puttu and banana are consumed separately. This is a variation of normal puttu by using both of them together. 



INGREDIENTS
Roasted Rice flour-2cups
Salt-to taste
Nendran banana chopped-1
Sugar-1tsp
Coconut-5tbsp (optional)

PROCEDURE
  • Mix rice flour and salt, then add water and make it wet and mix well with hand without any lumps. Sprinkle some sugar on the banana pieces
  • In puttu maker/steamer add the banana pieces in one layer & then add coconut (if you like) add rice flour two hands full as the third layer. Likewise fill alternatively the whole stem of the puttu maker. Close and steam for 5 minutes. Viola! Ready to serve.

Monday, October 28, 2013

    This omelet is healthy as it contains proteins, vitamins, fats. I prepare this omelet for my kid when he normally does not eat anything. And If he eats this I feel like he had the nutrients essential for a day. For adults those who does not eat vegetables this is the  trick to hide vegetables in a tasty way.
     In this recipe I have used onion, carrot and beans. You can use veggies as you desire. Grated potatoes, spinach also can be added instead of this.


INGREDIENTS
Egg-1
Onion, chopped - 1 teaspoon
Carrot, finely grated- 3 teaspoons
Beans, finely chopped- 3
Pepper- pinch
Salt- to taste
Oil- 1 teaspoon

PROCEDURE
  • Slit the beans in to two lengthwise and chop it very finely
  • In a pan add a teaspoon of oil and sauté the beans with salt on medium flame for two minutes till the freshness of the beans slightly disappears.
  • In a bowl crack the egg and beat well then add grated carrots, chopped onions, sauteed beans and salt. Beat well with a spoon.
  • In a pan add a teaspoon of oil and add the egg mixture and spread and cook.
  • Flip the egg and cook on the other side.
  • If you are serving for a kid cut the omelet in to wedges using a knife and serve.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Halloween falls on the evening before the Christian holy days of 'All Hallows' Day (also known as 'All Saints', Hallowmas or Hallow tide) on November 1 and All Souls' Day on November 2, thus giving the holiday on October 31 the full name of All Hallows' Eve. These three days are collectively referred to as ‘Hallowmas’ and are a time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven.

Spooky witch finger cookies are easy to make and also looks scary. These cookies are perfect to celebrate Halloween…

Halloween Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
All-purpose flour - 1 ½  cup
Butter- ½ cup (100gms)
Sugar - ½ cup
Egg - ½
Vanilla essence - ½ teaspoon
Almond essence - ½ teaspoon
Baking Powder - ½ teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Almonds – 15 to 20 no’s

Halloween Recipes

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 12 nos

PROCEDURE:
  • Preheat oven to 180oC. Grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper.
  • In a bowl add, butter and powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, almond essence, vanilla essence and beat well. 
  • Add dry ingredients such as all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt to the butter mixture and mix well and combine to form soft round dough.
    Wrap in a cling film and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. If you are running out of time, keep inside the freezer for 10 minutes.
  • Take gooseberry sized dough and keep inside palm and roll into a long finger like dough.
  • Insert an almond at the tapering end of the finger for nails.
  • Press the dough after the nails and again near the center of each finger to give the impression of knuckles. Cut a few lines using backside of knife immediately after each knuckles to give finger-like appearance.
    Arrange the fingers on the baking tray and keep inside the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Check the cookies by pressing the cookies are hard to touch.
  • Allow to cool and transfer into an air tight container.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

     Spanish omlette (or) Spanish tortilla, is not to be confused with Mexican tortilla. It is a typical Spanish dish consisting of a thick egg omelette made with potatoes and fried in olive oil. Mexican tortillas is rather a type of thin flat bread.
     Eggs are one of those rare dishes that can be eaten at any meal, whenever you want something fuss-free. What I love is that they are so instant and light.

INGREDIENTS
Eggs-3
Olive oil- 3teaspoons
White onion-1
Potatoes, chopped-2
Chicken sausages, sliced-3 (optional)
Garlic-1clove
Dried chilli flakes- ½ teaspoon
Chilli powder-a large pinch
Pepper & salt- to season

PROCEDURE
  • Heat oil in a pan and in low heat cook the onions for about 10 mts or on medium flame 5minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 2mts. Add potatoes and cook till the potatoes are cooked through.
  • Cook the sausages in a frying pan until golden.
  • Beat the eggs in a large bowl until smooth, fold the potato onion mixture, sausages, chilli flakes, chilli powder and season with pepper and salt.
  • Heat the pan, add a drizzle of oil, once hot, carefully pour the mixture and spread evenly.
  • Reduce the heat and cover with foil. Cook until set. Allow to cool and turn the pan upside down then cut into wedges and serve.
  • Note: Transfer tortillas to preheated oven if you make big tortillas using more than 5 eggs. This allows cooking inside of the tortilla.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

    Hummus is an Arabic word meaning 'Chickpeas'. Hummus is a Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Classic hummus is both delicious and satisfying.
     I was buying tinned hummus and I didn’t like the taste. Once I started to prepare at home I began to love the freshness of the garlicky hummus. This recipe can be made in minutes using tinned chickpeas and ready made tahini.

Hummus


INGREDIENTS:
Chickpeas/ Channa, dried/ tinned- 1 cup
Garlic, chopped- 5 cloves
Lemon juice- 1tablespoon
Tahini- 2 tablespoons (or) sesame seeds-2tbsp toast and powder it and add little oil and make a paste
Extra virgin olive oil- 5 tablespoons
Salt- to taste


PROCEDURE:
  • Soak the channa overnight or 5-6hrs minimum.
  • Pressure cook the channa with little salt till soft. (Medium flame 3 whistles)
  • In a blender add the above ingredients and make a smooth paste.
  • While serving keep in a plate and add olive oil in the cente. Sprinkle little chilli powder/paprika if you like.
  • Note: Add little chick pea cooked water if you feel difficulty while grinding.
  •  if you use freshly squeezed lemon juice beware of seeds. These tiny seeds can make the whole lot bitter.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

      Corn is nutritious and highly appetizing, Prevents constipation, Reduces stomach acidity, Combats the symptoms of certain cancers, Reduce the risk of diabetes and heart diseases. Easy tasty idiyappam is a good alternative for normal rice idiyappam. If you dont find this whole grain corn flour in supermarkets, powder the dried corn in flour mill and use the flour.
  
INGREDIENTS
Corn  flour (whole grain) - 2cups
Salt- to taste
Hot water- as required
Coconut- 5 tablespoons 

PROCEDURE
  • Boil the water to a rolling hot stage. Mix maize flour with hot water, season with salt. Knead and combine flour into a dough when it is hot using a ladle first & then with hand when the dough slightly cools. 
  • Fill an idiyappam press and press the noodles onto banana leaves or directly onto an idli steamer. Add a little grated coconut if desired. Steam for 8-10 minutes. 
  • Can go well with sweet coconut milk, stew...etc

Monday, October 21, 2013

    Naturally sweet, delicious and crunchy, carrots are healthy additions you can make to the vegetable list in your diet. Indeed, these root vegetables come with wholesome health benefiting compounds such as beta-carotenes, vitamin A, minerals and anti-oxidants in ample amounts.
Tasty healthy chutney. Try this...


INGREDIENTS
Carrot, grated - ½  cup
Coconut, grated -¼  cup
Urad dhal -1 ½  tablespoons
Red chillies, long -3
Tamarind - 1 peanut sized
Salt – to taste

TO TEMPER:
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves -1 sprig

PROCEDURE
  • Dry roast urad dal and red chillies till golden brown.
  • Slightly roast the the  carrots till raw smell disappears (without colour change). Keep aside.
  • In a pan add oil and splutter the mustard seeds and ad curry leaves.
  • Grind all the items (except tempering)together along with tamarind and salt with required amount of water to a smooth chutney.
  • Mix in the tempered items and serve with Idli or Dosa.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Finger Millet/ Ragi (Tamil: Kelvargu; Malayalam: Koovarugu; Hindi: Mandua; Telugu: Ragulu; Kannada: Ragi)
     Health benefits include: 1) Good source of natural calcium for growing children and older adults and helps improve bone strengthening 2) Energy for weight watchers, as it contains the amino acid tryptophan that reduces the appetite. Besides, being high in fibre, it provides a feeling of fullness when consumed 3) Beats high sugar and cholesterol – Ragi is beneficial for diabetics as well as those with high cholesterol, as the high fibre content of Ragi makes it a food item with low glycaemic index. That is, it results in slow increase in blood sugar level.
You can prepare crispy, paper thin tasty as well as nutritious dosas with this batter.


INGREDIENTS
Ragi flour – 2 cups
Urad dhal- ½ cup
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi seeds- 1 teaspoon
Salt- to taste
Oil-to grease
PROCEDURE
  • Soak urad dhal and fenugreek seeds together for 1-2 hours. Grind as a fine paste in a blender.
  • Add the ragi flour with ground urad dhal, ¼ cup at a time and mix well with ladle without forming any lumps.
  • Add salt to taste. Mix well and allow to ferment for around 6-7hours or overnight
  • After fermentation mix the batter well with a ladle to make crispy dosas. If the batter is too thick add a bit of water and mix well.
  • Slightly grease the dosa pan with oil. Add a ladle full batter and spread paper thin and allow to cook.  Flip and cook the dosas if you like.
  • Serve hot with any chutneys/ sambar.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

         Carrot puttu is a healthy version of puttu. It doesn’t alter the taste of puttu but adds nutrients to this dish. This delicious root vegetables is the source not only of beta-carotene, but also of a wide variety of antioxidants and other health-supporting nutrients. 


INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Rice flour-2 cups
Salt-to taste
Carrot, grated -1
Coconut-5 tablespoons (optional)


PROCEDURE:
  • Mix rice flour and salt, then add water and make it wet and mix well with hand without any lumps.
  • In puttu maker/steamer add the grated carrot in one layer & then add coconut (if you like) add rice flour two hands full as the third layer. Likewise fill alternatively the whole stem of the puttu maker. Close and steam for 5 minutes.
  • Ready to serve.

Friday, October 18, 2013

The typical beansprout is made from the moong beans. The sprouted beans are more nutritious than the original beans and they require much less cooking time. Health benefits include,
1) Help Prevent Cancer since beans are high in isoflavones, which can help stunt the growth of breast cancer cells.
2) Antioxidants help eliminate free radicals from your body, which can slow the signs of aging.
3) Rate Low on the Glycemic Index
4) Are Good for Your Digestion
Easy healthy, tasty beansprouts screambled egg. Can be eaten as salad, kept inside bread and eaten as sandwich or eaten with rice as poriyal/ kootan.


INGREDIENTS
Beansprouts- 1cup
Oil-2teaspoons
Onion-1
Green chillies-2-3
Salt- to taste
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Eggs-3

PROCEDURE

  • In a broad pan add oil then add onions and sauté till slight brown. Add green chillies and curry leaves.
  • Then add the beansprouts, little salt and toss well.
  • When it is slightly cooked (don’t overcook as the nutrients will be lost) keep a little space empty at the center of the pan, add the beaten eggs, salt and a teaspoon of oil if needed mix well and scramble.
  • Then mix with the beansprouts and switch off the gas.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

     I devote this dish to all my native people, who love food. Easy to make in a short period of time and tasty fish curry.


INGREDIENTS
Fish (white meat) – 250 grams
Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
Chilli powder- 1 ½ teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1 ½ teaspoons
Tamarind- Small gooseberry size
Tomato-1 small
Green chillies-2
Salt- to taste

TO GRIND:
Coconut, grated- ½ cup
Pearl onion- 3-4
Garlic-1 big clove
Cumin/ jeera- ½ teaspoon
Pepper- ¼ teaspoon (optional)

TO TEMPER:
Oil-2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds- ½ teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds- 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs


PROCEDURE

  • Soak tamarind and extract the water. In that extract add turmeric, chilli and coriander powder, salt and mix well. Keep the cleaned fish and allow to soak in masala till the other procedures finish in about 5 minutes.
  • Grind coconut, onion, garlic, jeera, pepper together as fine paste. Add this with the fish masala and add some water to a desired consistency. Cut the tomato and slit the green chilli and add to this masala.
  • Keep this pot on stove and allow to cook till the fish masala thickens slightly.
  • In a pan add oil mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves and pour on the fish curry and allow to boil once and switch off the stove.


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

    Basbousa is the Mediterranean sweet for those who like extra juicy sugary cakes. This soft semolina cake is a favorite in many Middle Eastern countries, and most especially in Egypt. Called ‘Nammoura’ in Lebanon and some Mediterranean countries, this cake is called ‘Basbousa’ in Egypt where it enjoys the most popularity. Other sweets are also popular there too, but this sweet and very simple to make cake enjoys the highest demand. It’s very short list of ingredients and the simplicity of preparation make it the most popular cake to bake at home on a short notice.
     It is considered a cake, but it is really different that the regular cake you would encounter in birthday parties. It is cut into small squares and soaked in sugar syrup. Here I am sharing with you the original version of basbousa.

INGREDIENTS
Coarse semolina- 2 ½ cups
Desiccated coconut-1cup
Sugar-1cup
Self-rising flour- ½ cup
yoghurt- 200g
unsalted butter, melted-200g
vanilla extract-1tsp
almonds- 25

FOR SYRUP:
sugar-1 ½ cup
water-250ml
lime juice-1tsp
rose water-1tsp


PROCEDURE
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the semolina, coconut, sugar, flour, yoghurt, melted butter and vanilla in a bowl. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little milk – but it should still be fairly stiff. Spread the mixture with your hands in a buttered 30 × 25 × 5 cm baking tray. Cut it into diamond shapes, pressing hard.
  • Place an almond in the centre of each diamond. Bake for 35–40 minutes until golden brown.
  • Meanwhile to make the syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. Stir in the lemon juice and rosewater and remove from the heat. Leave to cool.
  • Pour the syrup over the cake while the cake is still hot. Cool to serve.
  • Makes approximately  25-30 pieces.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

      I have used lemon rice recipe to prepare this dish. Easy to make in a jiffy and also the peanuts gives crunch and texture to this dish. Can be prepared instantly and it’s best for a busy day's breakfast. Lemon is a rich source of Vitamin-C so it turned out healthy.


INGREDIENTS
Rice flakes -1 ½ cup
Oil-3 teaspoons
Mustard seeds- ½ teaspoon
Urad dhal- ½ teaspoon
Roasted peanuts-handful
Onion, chopped-1
Curry leaves-1sprig
Green chilli, chopped-1
Ginger, chopped-1teaspoon
Turmeric- ¼ teaspoon
Lemon (deseeded)-2
Salt- to taste 


PROCEDURE
  • Sprinkle some hot water on the flaked rice and soak for 2-5minutes and mix well with a spoon or fork.
  • In a pan add oil and splutter the mustard seeds, then add urad dhal and peanuts. When it turns golden colour add the onion and curry leaves.
  • Then add green chillies and ginger when the raw smell of ginger goes add turmeric and sprinkle little water then add the flaked rice and salt. Mix well and put off the gas the squeeze the lemon juice and mix well.
  • Don’t add lemon juice when heat is on. If you do so, the lemon gives bitter taste.

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