Podalangai Pakoda/Purple Bell Pepper Pakoda

Not a new recipe but new veggie for pakoda!!! Very simple and easy to make. One of my favorite snack.
Recipe:
* As always for pakodas, I use 3:1 => Besan:Rice flour
* Chop snake gourd (podalangai) removing the seeds and add few spoons of flour in the above ratio
* Add chilli powder and salt, sprinkle water and mix well. Deep fry and serve hot!!!
Yummy and crispy it was.

Purple Bell Pepper Pakoda:
* Fine chop 2 g.chillies, few curry leaves, 2 small onions and 2 purple bell peppers(Capsicums)
* Add few spoons of the mixed flour, little chilli powder and salt. Sprinkle water and make pakodas!

Black Rice Pudding (Kavini Arisi Payasam!)

Had crazy days, so couldnt catch up with my blog. Made this few weeks and posting atlast today!
Quick one with black rice, generally the whole rice takes a long time to cook.
Only key here is to keep stirring and adding lots and lots of milk. So start with less rice to try.
Recipe:

* Soak (black rice) kavuni arisi < half cup & 6 or 7 cashews overnight

* Grind arisi, cashew & 1/4th cup coconut together

* In a thick pan, heat 5 cups milk with 3/4th sugar

* Cool down the milk

* Add the ground paste to the milk and mix well

* cook all together for 10-15 mins.( medium heat)

Suppose to be a very good for health..the rice!

 

Quinoa Kichadi/Pongal

Recipe from my cousin...U may want to try this with split green moong. Since I dint have it, I opted for yellow moong. You could make it similar to the way U make pongal.
Recipe:
* 1 cup quinoa, half cup moong dhaal
* Add oil to pressure cooker, then add 2 slit green chillies, grated ginger
* Add quinoa, dhaal and add turmeric, 1 spoon salt
* Add 4.5 cups water, pressure cook the same way U do rice
* Then add ghee to a tava, few cashews and curry leaves
* Once the cooker is ready to open, add the above and half spoon pepper jeera powder.
FYI..Veggies I would skip if you would like to taste it like Pongal.
Serve hot with coconut chutney/saambaar!

Popovers

 

Was so excited to try this one for the fact that it has very less ingredients and all at home.  Very simple and quick baking...very soft and fluffy. Took this one from the Living magazine.

Recipe:

* 1.5 cups maida (all purpose flour), half teaspoon salt, 5 tablespoons sugar

* Room temperature = > 1.5 cups milk (I used whole milk raw milk)

* Room temperature => 2 eggs (sink it in warm water if it is too cold)

* Mix egg and milk in a bowl and whisk well for a minute.

* Add the dry ingredients and whisk for another minute

* Preheat oven in 450 degrees and place the empty muffin or popover pan, let it heat

* Take the pan out after 5mins - very careful!!!, add some oil coat and pour into each cups till half.

* Bake in 450 for 10mins and then lower to 350 degrees and bake for 8mins.

* Yummy yum popovers are ready...serve with any sides U like...or U can eat as such too.

FYI, mine is a mini pan, so adjust your baking time according to your pan size.

 

Manogalam (murrukku coated with jaggery!)

 

Happy and excited to share my 200th blogspot with one of the traditional snack items. More pictures...Manogalam

Recipe:

* 2cups yellow moong dhaal, half cup urad, half cup raw rice

* Dry roast all of the above in slow flame and let it cool, grind, sieve

* Generally I try to make the powder a day or 2 before, so it saves time on the day of making.

* Make a dough out of the above and use karasev sil in presser and deep fry.

* Half cup sliced coconut, roast in ghee.

* Two cups jaggery with quarter cup water, melt and cook for 5mins till it forms a gel kind

* Add little elachi, and dry roast roasted gram handful and add to the snack.

* Mix the coconut and jaggery water to the snack. Initially it will be wet

* Mix well every few mins when it is cooling down.

* Once dry, it will be split...store it in a tight container and enjoy as U need!!!!

Kalkandu Vadai

Surprised myself that I am attempting this one this late in life...lot of my friends and family have been doing it for ages!!! Simple recipe, but need to be careful not watering the batter and cooking it in slow flame.
Recipe:
* Soak whole urad for 2hrs and filter it well (strain water as much as U can)
* For 1 cup urad, you can do 1 cup or 3/4th cup sugar or kalkandu
* Grind the kalkandu into powder and then start grinding the urad.
* After few minutes, add the powder to the urad and grind well. DO NOT ADD WATER!!!!
* Once it is fine paste, take it out. Batter will be little sticky.
* Make vadas and deep fry. Cook in slow flame.
* Let it cool down and then serve.
Pros: U can make it well ahead of time, it stays soft for a long time
Cons: Very Oily and also splatters a lot as U make the vadas, so make it before cleaning the stove!!!

Nachos & Quesadillas

Most of us here in the US will enjoy this..for the fact that U feel fresh after the meal. This is similar to the burrito bowl that I posted few months back. More pictures...Nachos & Quesadillas
Recipe:
* Black beans soaked, pressure cooked with salt, little garlic and taco seasoning
* I mashed half of them and saved the rest in a bowl
* Shredded cheddar cheese, guacamole (avocado mashed with lemon, salt and little onion, g.chillies)
* Fajita - sauted onions & color peppers (capsicum) with black pepper, salt
* Store bought - medium salsa, sour cream and optional => cheese sauce/queso
* Chopped black olives, green onions, lettuce
* Home made salsa - little onion, tomato, cilantro, lemon juice, salt
Nachos: Spread some tortilla chips and layer all of the above. Optional, if using shredded cheese, layer cheese on chips and melt in microwave for few seconds and then add the other toppings.
Quesadillas: On a flour tortilla, spread the mashed beans and top it with lot of shredded cheese, toast it in a tava. Then rest of the toppings can be served as sides.