Crispy Capsicum(Bell pepper) Rings

A big thanks to all my friends who have’nt forgotten me  though I disappeared for 2 years! A lot has changed in wordpress. I was shocked to see my blogroll had disappeared. Thankgod I could find with my limited knowledge of computers!

Though I was’nt blogging I did take pictures whenever I prepared something interesting. This is just one of them.

This  spicy snack is great on a rainy day.

Ingredients

• Bell pepper (Capsicum)- 2 nos
• Gram flour (besan)- 1 cup
• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Chilli powder – 1tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1/4 tsp
• Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Cut the capsicum into 1/2cm thick rings.
2. In a bowl mix gramflour, riceflour,hing,salt and chilli powder.
3. Add around3/4th cup water and mix to a smooth batter.
4. Heat oil in a kadai. Dip one bell pepper ring into the batter and drop in hot oil.
5. Fry both sides till the rings are golden brown.
6. Repeat with all the bellpepper rings.
7. Serve hot with sauce.

Note

Always keep the flame medium while deep frying.

Gram flour is same as chickpea flour.

For some time I will be posting jst one or 2 recipes a week, till I finish updating the recipe index.

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Peanut Coriander Pasta

One of the things that has always intrigued me is how people from very hot places around this country crib about how Chennai is hot. Perhaps I am being too civil by using the word intrigued – honestly speaking, I get irritated. I bump into touristy ramblings about how hot Chennai is by people who blog from places like Bombay, Delhi and Jaipur (yes, Jaipur!!). I have friends who live in perhaps as hot if not hotter conditions across the country who are very apprehensive about a visit because they don’t want to encounter “the Chennai heat”! Really, how about “the Delhi scorch” or “the Mumbai roast”. Bangalore reaches 35 C by March and yet the city is bestowed, rather gifted, with a warm blessed summer weather. I am really wondering if the sun shines so differently on Chennai that people feel a lot more roasted here.

I agree that Chennai doesn’t have a real winter but it rains during winter and it is pleasant. The roads do get flooded, but I have seen worse in Bangalore and Bombay. We also get decent summer showers. And yes it does sometimes get humid but unless someone is going to come here expecting snow, I don’t think there’s a real reason for being disappointed with the weather. I really wish people looked beyond the “oh, Chennai is hot” and looked at the city.

I love Chennai, with all its grime and dust and heat and flooded roads. I love this city. And unless you’re from a all year round snowing place, please don’t ever tell me Chennai is hot!!!

Talking of other things beyond my rant, the recipe of the day for Recipe Marathon is Peanut Coriander Pasta. Its my favourite pasta dressing and quit simple though a bit time consuming to make.

Makes: 2 portions

Ingredients

• Pasta – 200 gms
• Coriander – 1/2 cup (coarsely chopped)
• Garlic – 4 cloves (finely chopped)
• Red Chilly – 1 (broken into smaller pieces)
• Onion – 1/4 cup (cut into thin rings)
• Tomato – 1/2 cup (cut into thin rings)
• Peanuts – 1/4 cup (roasted, skinned and halved)
• Sea Salt – 1 tsp
• Olive Oil – 4 tbsp + plus more for greasing baking tray
• Water – 4 cups

Method

1. Heat 4 tbsp of Olive Oil in a pan, add garlic and red chilly and saute until garlic turns golden over medium heat. Lower the flame, add finely chopped coriander and saute over medium heat until the sound of the crackling coriander subsides. Set this dressing aside for 30 minutes.
2. Spread the Onion rings on an oven proof baking tray greased with Olive Oil. Bake at 250 C for 10 minutes. Take Onion rings out of the oven. Spread tomato rings on the baking tray. Bake at 250 C for 15 minutes. Take Tomatoes out of the oven.
3. Combine 4 cups of water and sea salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain water from the pasta, retaining some of the water.
4. Toss pasta with the coriander garlic dressing, onion and tomato rings and roasted, skinned and halved peanuts. Serve immediately or chill in fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.

Check my fellow recipe marathoners:

DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii
Anu, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya M, Raaga, Lakshmi Venkatesh, Sripriya, Viji, , Kamalika,Pavani

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Festival Calendar For the year 2012 – 2013

Srirama navami – 30th April

Tamizh Varuda Pirappu -14th April

Chithra pournami – 6th May

Aadi Pandigai - 16th July

Aadi Velli Kizhamai – 20th,27th  July,3rd and 10th August

Andal Thiruaadipuram- 23rd July

Pathinettam Perukku-2nd August

Avani Avittam/ Upakarma-1st August

Janmashtami/Gokulashtami-9th August

Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi-19th September

Varalakshmi Viratham-27th July

Kovil Kannapiran Srijayanthi-8th September (For Iyengars)

Puratasi Sanikizhamai – 22nd, 29th September and 6th and 13th October

Navarathri Pujai Arambam-16th October

Saraswathi Puja ( Mahanavami)-October 23rd

Vijaya Dasami (Aayuda Puja) -October 24th

Deepavali (Naraka Chaturdasi) -November 13th

Thiru Karthigai-13thDecember

Boghi Pandigai -13th January 2013

Pongal/Sankaranthi-14th January 2013

Mattu Pongal-15th January 2013

Karadaiyan Nonbu-13th March 2013

Tamizh Puthandu-14th April 2013

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Kerala Style Stew

This is one of the first recipes I learnt. When we stayed in the Telephones quarters at Hyderabad, a Nair family moved in to our opposite flat. Mrs Nair was a great cook and we loved her aapam with a simple stew. I prepared this stew as a side dish for dosa as my hubby is not particularly interested in aapam. Stew tasted exactly the way aunty prepares and tasted great with dosa.

Posting a recipe for Srivalli’s MW event is not a big deal for me as I cook almost everything in the MW. Still  I have not sent entries to her events in the past few months! Stew is my first entry for this months MEC!

Ingredients

• Potato – 2 no
• Carrot – 1 no
• Onion – 1 small
• Tomato – 1 small
• Curry leaves – 1 twig
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Green chillies- 2 nos
• Coconut grated – 1/2 cup
• Cloves – 2 nos
• Cinnamon – 2 sticks
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Oil – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste

Method

1. Wash peel and cut the carrots into 1 inch sticks. Add turmeric powder and MW high for 3 minutes in a microwave safe container.
2. Add 1 cup water to the coconut and grind in a mixer. Pass through a strainer and squeeze out the milk.Keep this thick coconut milk separately.
3. Add 2 more cups of water to the coconut and grind again. Pass through a strainer and squeeze out the milk. This is slightly thinner than the milk extracted first.
4. In an MW safe bowl, add oil, cloves and cinnamon sticks. MW high for 10 seconds.
5. Add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves  and MW high for 1 minute.
6. Add the parboiled potato, carrots, salt and the thin coconut milk and MW high for 2 minutes.
7. Add the thick coconut milk and MW for 1/2 minute. Serve hot with Aapam or Dosa.

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More ‘More’ Recipes for the Yogurt Event

I have heard of people changing their religion, but never their nationality! Some of our food bloggers have now become Japanese! What with names like Omoshiroi, Etsuko and Sakura!! I was terrified to see these names in my contact list! These are our new Ninja Warriors. Best way to protect yourself from these warriors is to just post recipes for the events organized by the Ninjas in your blog! Look at me, preparing Yogurt dishes for the event in Etsuko’s blog, though I had planned for some other post! I also have to say “yes boss” to my own Omoshiroi!

Does all this sound like Greek and Latin instead of Japanese!? Just relax and get ready for some nice Yogurt recipes!

More ( Yogurt) Kali

More Kali and More Milagai

Ingredients

• Sour Curd – 1/2 cup
• Water – 1 cup
• Rice flour – 1/2 cup
• Curry leaves – 1 twig
• More milagai* – 4 nos
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 teaspoons
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Hing – 1 pinch

Method

1. Beat the curd well and mix with water and transfer to a MW safe container.
2. Add the rice flour, Hing and salt and mix well with out lumps.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds. When it crackles add the more milagai and fry on a low flame till dark.
4. Add curry leaves to the roasted Milagai and add this to the curd mixture.
5. MW high for 5 minutes, stirring in between after every minute.
6. Serve hot with Milagai podi!

*More Milagai is prepared small variety bell pepper or green chillies. It is readily available in some grocery stores. It can also be easily prepared at home if you a small space to sun dry.

Preparing more milagai at home

Ingredients

• Mini Bell peppers or green chillies – 100 grams
• Curd – 1 cup
• Salt – 1 teaspoon

Method

1. Wash the chillies or bell peppers and wipe well. Slit length wise into two.
2. Beat the curds, add salt and the chillies and allow to soak for 1 day.
3. Spread this mixture into a plate and sun dry for 2 to 3 days till the chillies are completely dry.
4. These dry more milagai can be used for seasoning in some dishes and tastes great when fried, as a side dish for curd rice.

Bhoondi pachadi

This dip or pachadi tastes good with Pulav and bisibelebath.

Method

1. Prepare Bhoondi following this recipe.
2. Beat 1 cup curd well and add 1/4 teaspoon salt, a pinch of black salt and 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder.
3. Mix well and keep aside. Mix the curd and bhoondi just before serving.
4. You can add chopped coriander leaves if you like to add more flavour.

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Update: Shameless Self Promotion (Note Lakshmi here not Latha aka Lathamma)

1. If you liked my No Knead Bread then vote for me at this link for Open Sesame. You need to sign up/ log in to vote.
2. As if I am deadly at maintaining one blog, I have gone ahead and coaxed a dear friend into food blogging with me. Check out our blog at Baking Buddies.

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Roasted Sepakizhangu – Recipe Marathon – Day 8

Perfectly roasted Sepakizhangu (Taro/ Colacasia/ Arbi) – crisp on the outside, well steamed and soft inside – is a dead simple recipe that contrary to popular perception doesn’t require any deep frying or a bottle of oil.

Let me get this straight. Taro is NOT inherently gooey, mashy and ichy. Taro is more often than not badly cooked and made into a gooey mess. Roasting doesn’t require oodles of oil. Roasting require good regulation of temperature and patience. There’s isn’t much to the art of roasting, besides cooking on a slow flame and knowing when and how to turn the vegetable. It’s a one of a kind experience in slow cooking.

I turn my nose up at people who don’t like Taro (even if they are friends). How can someone not like something that tastes as good as this? I can write an ode to Taro. A bowlful of roasted Taro with a newspaper or book to read is my idea of a perfectly lazy late morning snack.

Ingredients

• Sepakizhangu (Colacasia/ Taro/ Arbi) – 1/2 kg
• Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Channa Dal – 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal (split) – 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp (or more if you like)
• Hing – 1/4 tsp
• Salt to Taste
• Oil – 1 tbsp

Method

1. Wash the Taro well. Pressure Cook the Taro with the skin till its well steamed but not mushy. (Wait for the first whistle, turn the heat to low till the cooker is on its way to the second whistle. Throw a towel over the whistle to stop steam from escaping and switch the cooker off.)
2. Remove the Taro from the cooker when the pressure drops. Allow to cool for sometime. You can sink Taro in some cool water if you like.
3. When mildly warm but not hot, skin the Taro and cut into discs. Add Turmeric , Salt and Hing, mix and keep aside.
4. In a large skillet , heat the Oil, crackle the mustard seeds and toast the urad dal and the channa dal.
5. On a low to medium flame, add the Sepakizhangu. Spread evenly on the skillet with a flat ladle. Allow one side to cook for a while. When it starts to turn the lightest of golden yellow, overturn and roast the other side. Repeat this process till all sides start turning a deep golden more or less evenly. Keep the flame on low to medium all the time. Do not try to roast on high.
6. Add chilli powder and mix well. Roast for one more minute.
7. Remove from flame when the Taro is crisp on all sides.

Sepakizhangu roast is a great side dish for sambhar rice vethal kuzhambu rice and all variety rices.

Other Recipe Marathoners:

• Srivalli – Rava Upma
• Siri – Sunshine Punch
• Raaga – Tomato Red Pepper Saar
• Dhivya – Rajma Chawal
• Divya Vikram – Milagai Bhajji
• Ranji – Mango Kulfi
• Swati – Beer cocktail
• Bhags – Mustard Sauce
• Arundathi – Channa Masala

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