Restaurant style kulambu ( pavakkai/karela/egg/eggplant/okra)

 

After a long time, got a new recipe for kulambu kind of gravy. Thanks to my walking buddy! I wish I had learnt it early in my cooking career :-)

• Add oil to tava, season with mustard, urad, methi, pepper, jeera/cumin
• Add diced onions, garlic and one tomato, saute well
• Add kulambu veggie...eggplant or karela or bindhi
• In a mixie jar - add little onion, one small tomato, jeera/cumin, pepper, big jeera (saunf), few curry leaves, little cilantro, 4 cashews - Raw grind all of them together
• Add the paste to the saute pan above, along with sambar powder and dhania powder
• Add water, salt for the gravy and let all the masalas boil well
• Add tamarind water and cook few more minutes
• Add tiny jaggery and cook for a min and turn off
• Goes well with Rice, dosas, idlis, adai.
• Tempted to try making egg kulambu this style!!!!

Dahi vada / Dahi bread (French/Sour Baguette)

 

Recently in summer I learnt a quick recipe from my Austin friend and I never thought it would taste this yummy :-) Here we go

• Buy a sour baguette or french baguette, slice it at the store itself
• In a tava, add oil, mustard, asafoetida, curry leaves - seasoning is ready
• In a bowl mix the seasoning, with lots of curd and salt as per taste
• In a mixie jar, grind tiny coconut, ginger, one or 2 green chillies
• Add to the curd, mix well, add water and make it like running consistency
• Pour half of the liquid to the bread and in an hour pour the rest half
• Top it with cilantro and serve...super yummy dahi vada taste with less efforts!

Bindhi Masala - Restaurant Style!

 

This summer one of the most super hit recipe I learnt from my cousin was this restaurant style Bindhi masala...yummy yummy it was! Give it a try and U wont go wrong!

• Saute in oil - cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cashews few, onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, kashmiri chilli and red chillies
• Let it cool and grind into a paste
• Add oil to tava and cook the paste well with the same ground water
• Add little turmeric and salt to the gravy
• Close the lid and keep cooking for atleast 15mins
• In another tava add oil and cook clean and dry okra/bindhi for few mins
• Then add okra to the gravy and little kitchen king everest masala
• Cook few mins, turn off by adding few kasthuri methi crushed leaves.
• Goes well with rotis, rice, dosas!

Milk Peda

 On my second try I was able to successfully make this peda! Here we go..

• Add less than quarter cup ghee to tava, warm it
• Turn it to low flame, then start adding..
• half cup milk, 2 cups milk powder (Deep - Milk Mawa Powder)
• Quarter cup sugar and mix all well without lumps
• Keep cooking in low flame until it starts to thicken
• It wont become like a dough, turn off the gas when it is almost a dough
• Add cardamom powder mix well, Let it cool
• Make shapes and place on a plate lined with parchment paper
• Cool it in fridge or serve as is

Note: the more you cook, it will start to turn color even on a low flame, so turn off as soon as you see the color changing a bit

Eggless Banana Bread

 Recently I have been trying out few eggless recipes and this one turned out well...

• Over ripe bananas (US size 😆) - 3 - mashed well
• Seive together 2 cups maida (all purpose flour) or 1 cup maida, one cup wheat flour, one teaspoon baking soda, one teaspoon baking powder
• In a mixing bowl, add 2/3rd cup oil, half cup turbinado raw sugar, one spoon vanilla extract, 1/4 cup curd/yoghurt
• Stir well with whisk and then add banana and mix well
• Add the flour little by little in cut and fold method, do not over stir
• Add chopped walnuts and give a gentle mix and move to baking tray
• Turn on oven at 325 to 350'F and bake for 45 to 55 mins depending on your pan
• Yummy eggless banana bread is ready

Thenkuzhal / Murrukku (Raagi too)

 Atlast decided to save this recipe in my blog, loved making and eating them..very tasty and crispy!

• Soak one cup white whole urad for an hour
• Pressure cook, let it cool for atleast 2 hours
• Grind in mixie with water to fine paste, quick it grinds 
• Add 5 cups rice flour, one tablespoon or little more salt
• Add hot oil one Karandi , make the dough 
• And make these shapes...tastes yum yum 
• Alternatively - you can do 2 raagi flour : 3 rice flour, sesame seeds, etc

Enjoy making them!!!

Zucchini Bread

Similar to my dates bread, banana bread...I did this one, here we go for the simple recipe

• 3 large eggs, 1/3rd cup oil and one cup turbinado raw sugar - beat well
• Add 2.25 cups of buttermilk pancake mix or any baking mix you have
• Add 2 cups of grated Zucchini and mix all of the above well
• Preheat oven at 350f and bake for 45 to 55mins, check if it is done
• Cool well and then cut into slices