Monday, August 16, 2010

Independence Day

Wishing all my brothers and sisters a very Happy Independence Day belatedly on the occasion of Independence Day on 15th August...

Oh by the way I am sorry friends that I am not able to post at all in this blog and also not much on my other blog. The reason is that this year we are having very good rains, almost continuously. Sometimes for days together. When it rains heavily, there is also wind. There are power failures as well as shut downs to avoid any mishaps due to the forceful winds, uprooting of trees which affect the power lines. Also during that time there will be high fluctuation in the power supply which may damage our computers and other appliances.
So I dare not switch on my computer for long.

Any way now that the rains have eased a little bit, I will be posting regularly. Please do bear with me. 
Keep watching......

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Chutneys with Lentils-3

Please go through my previous posts on this topic if you are new to this cuisine.

Here are some more recipes for Chutneys With lentils...We have to use, de-husked (cleaned), split lentils for this and not the whole one. Split and de-husked Green Gram is known as Moong Daal in Hindi and Pesara Pappu in Telugu.


1. Green Gram Chutney-Roasted

Ingredients:
Lentil         150Gms
Ghee (clarified butter) or oil   1 Tbsp
Red Chillies(dried)        2-3
Cumin Seeds      1/2 Tbsp
Garlic Pods  2-3
Grated Jaggery -1tsp

Method:

  • Heat ghee or oil in a pan and roast the lentil until it gives of a nice roasted smell. Cool it.
  • Roast dried chillies just for a minute and keep aside.
  • Peel and slightly roast the garlic.
  • Take all the ingredients and grind to a paste by adding water little at a time. 
  • Adjust the quantity of the Red Chillies as this will be very spicy for those who are not used to eating spicy food.
  • The consistency of the chutney should be a very thick paste if used as an accompaniment to rice and thinner if used with Idly Upma or Dosa.
  • Garlic is optional and sugar can be used in place of jaggery.



2. Green Gram Chutney-Soaked.

Ingredients:
Lentil         150Gms
Red Chillies(dried)        1
Grren chillies  1
Cumin Seeds      1/2 Tbsp
Garlic Pods  2-3
Grated Jaggery-1 tsp

Method:
  • Wash and soak the lentil for 2-3 hours. Usually this lentil gets soaked easily. If not soak it till it is done. Remove the excess water.
  • Roast dried chillies just for a minute and keep aside.
  • Peel and slightly roast the garlic.
  • Take all the ingredients and grind to a paste. Add a little water if required. 
  • Adjust the quantity of the Red Chillies as this will be very spicy for those who are not used to eating spicy food.
  • The consistency of the chutney should be a very thick paste if used as an accompaniment to rice and thinner if used with Idly Upma or Dosa.
  • Garlic is optional and sugar can be used in place of jaggery.


Tempering or Seasoning:
For the above two recipes if tempering as follows is added it tastes good:
Ingredients:
Bengal gram split and de-husked  1 tsp
Black gram split and de-husked  1tsp
Fenugreek Seeds     1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds   1tsp
Cumin seeds   1tsp
Asafoetida   1/4 tsp
Curry leaves   2 sprigs
Coriander greens  finely chopped 2 tbsp

  • Heat 1-2 tsp of ghee or oil to a smoking point and lower the heat.
  • Add 1 tsp each of split and de-husked Bengal gram and black gram, fry for a minute
  • Add 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds. Fry for two minutes
  • Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds. Let them splutter.
  • Now add 1 tsp of cumin, one red chilli broken into pieces(avoid this if you don't like spicy food).
  • Add 1/4th tsp of Asafoetida, curry leaves (two sprigs).
  • Mix it with the chutney and serve garnished with finely chopped coriander greens.
These chutneys will have to be consumed within a day. But it is easy to make.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Spicy Powders from Indian Cuisine-5

My other posts on the topic are here...
Well here are some more....

1. Dry Coconut Powder  (ఎండు కొబ్బరి పొడి ): 

It is known as Khopra in Hindi and Endu Kobbari in Telugu. The coconut fruit  is left to mature completely on the tree. Once it is done, the water inside it disappears. It is then dried as a whole after removing the outer coir and hard shell or after breaking into halves. It is either sold as a whole or in halves. The whole ones are used in some ceremonies and also for carving designs and presented in marriages to grooms party by the Brides side in Karnataka. They are very beautifully made.

Any way in general the halved kernels are sold in the stores. We use that for cooking .


This powder is great with Dosas and Idlis. Of coarse you can eat it with steamed/boiled  rice. This can also be sprinkled on curries in addition to other spices. This is very easy to make.  While selecting dry coconut, take care to taste them a little bit. Sometimes they taste very stale or oily. It is better to make this powder in small quantities rather than making huge quantities and storing for a long time  to retain the fresh taste.

Ingredients:
Dry Coconut Kernels (halves) 2
Dry Red Chillies  2-3
Cumin seeds 2 tsps
sugar 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
  • Grate the coconut. Slightly roast it with out oil or fat for few minutes until it gives off nice smell.
  • Roast dry chillies too for it is easier to powder them. Adjust the quantity according to your taste. Grind it to a fine powder.
  • Coarsely grind the cumin.
  • Mix all well and store in air tight jar or bottle.

2. Coconut and Groundnut Powder:

Ingredients:
Dry Coconut Kernels (halves) 2
Ground nuts or peanuts    200gms
Dry Red Chillies  5-6
Cumin seeds 2 tsps
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
  • Grate the coconut. Slightly roast it with out oil or fat for few minutes until it gives off nice smell.
  • Roast peanuts well and cool them. You may remove the husk. But it is tastier and nutritious with the husk.
  • Roast dry chillies too. Adjust the quantity according to your taste. 
  • Grind peanuts and chillies to a powder.
  • Coarsely grind the cumin.
  • Mix all ingredients well and store in air tight jar or bottle.
  • This can be served with, Idly, Upma, Dosa and Rice.
NOTE: The easier way out with Coconut is to cut it into small pieces and put them in the food processor. It gets grated into a fine powder saving time and energy.

Still many more spicy powder recipes....Keep a watch......