Mint Rice

Recently heard this recipe thru my hiking buddy and decided to try sooner!
Thanks to Raji for the homegrown Mint 😍😍

Recipe
* Saute in oil - one spoon jeera, little ginger, garlic, 3 g.chillies
* Add a bowl full of cilantro and another bowl full of mint - all washed
* Add a tiny tamarind peice and saute for just 2 or 3 mins
* Let it cool and grind well with half cup water
* Cook basmati rice one cup with 2.75 cups water in rice cooker and let it cool
* Add oil to tava - season with mustard, channa dhaal, one red chilli
* Add cashews - roast well, then add roasted peanuts, ground green paste
* I added green onions as well and then in few mins, add cooked rice carefully
* Dont mash it, mix gently, so the texture of the rice is retained
* Serve with Onion Raita! Yummy yummy it was.

Mochai Masala - DVK Style!

U can try in 2 different styles! 

Version 1:
* Soak one cup mochai overnight and pressure cook with salt
* Grind raw - Cinnamon, cloves, pottu kadalai, coconut, one tomato, big jeera, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, channa masala powder
* Saute in oil - Onion, tomato, curry leaves
* Add the ground masala, cook for 10mins
* Then add the cooked mochai and stir well and cook for 10 or 15mins
* Tastes really YUMYUM! Goes well with idli, dosa, curd rice, rotis.

Version 2:
* Soak one cup mochai overnight and pressure cook with salt
* Add oil to tava, season with mustard, urad, big jeera, curry leaves
* Add chopped onion, tomatoes
* Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sambar powder and little channa masala powder
* Add salt for the suated stuff and then cook well for 10mins
* Then add the cooked mochai and stir in one or 2 spoon kadalai maavu mixed water.
* Cook well for another 10mins and top it with cilantro!

Salad Dressing (Yoghurt based)

Posting after a break!

Homemade dressing 
* Grind - a handful of mint, little chaat masala, lemon juice, one green chili, cummin, salt
* Then mix with Greek yoghurt or curd.

Salad
* Chopped into dices - Lettuce, orange, yellow Bell peppers, Cucumbers
* Add Cherry tomotoes

Optional - you can add parruppu vadai, goes well with this salad and dressing...similar to falafels!

Sabudana pakoda (Javvarsi / Tapioca)

One of my favorite snack this winter. Quick and easy.

Recipe:

- soak one cup sabudana for 4 hrs with little water floating on top

- add 3 spoons curd and one spoon salt and mix well to the above

- after 2 hrs, add all toppings - cilantro, ginger, curry leaves, onions, asafoetida 

- add 4:1 rice flour to urad flour to the above mixture, but only as much as you need to bind

- I use very little flour and bind tight with hands on!

- deep fry in hot oil by throwing irregular shapes of the dough

- yum yum hot hot pakodas are ready.

Happy 2019 to all of you. 😊

Muthia

Thanks to my WoW buddy, one of my most fav snack this year. Involves lot of ingredients, but easy cooking. Here we go...

• 3 cups - Fine chopped cabbage or grated doodhi (squash/sorrakkai) and squeeze water out
• In a large bowl add - 1 cup coarse sooji, half cup wheat flour, half cup besan
• Add 1 spoon jeera, 1 spoon salt, little sugar or jaggery, lemon juice, chopped cilanto
• Add  paste of 2 green chillie and ginger ground fresh
• 1/2 Onion ground into paste - squeeze excess juice - save it
• Mix all of the above, make a dough and make long tube shapes like below
• Steam for 20mins, let it cool down, then only slice them
• When ready to eat, season with mustard, asafoetida, cilantro and toss the muthia in for few mins.
• Yumm Yumm snack is ready!

White Pumpkin Raita (Poosanikkai)

Have been attempting to do snack items, rather than a meal item, so it is easier to consume fresh. Farmers market sells really fresh white pumpkins, which I decided to make raita.

• Chop without skin, just like above into tiny peices
• Add oil to tava, then add mustard, asafoetida, one slit green chilli
• Add the chopped pumpkin and little salt and sprinkle little water, close with a lid
• Cook for 5 mins and let it cool
• Then add thick yoghurt and eat like a snack
• Good for weight loss I hear!

Radish + Curry Leaves Rotis

Blogging after ages! Recently got to explore more recipes with curry leaves. I feel rotis/uthappams/chutneys/buttermilk are best ways to consume curry leaves, so we dont throw them away. Here is the recipe..

• Grate 2 long radishes or 3 cups of grated cauliflower 
• Chop 3 handful of curry leaves
• Add oil to tava, then radish, turmeric, curry leaves, salt, little garam masala
• Saute 5 mins, turn off, let it cool down
• Add equal amount of atta, just to coat the veggies and make the dough
• And make rotis as you normally would make
• As you cook, enjoy the aroma of curry leaves!!!