Fun all the way- a terrorist, more dosas and awards

It has been a little over 2 months since we started this blog. It has been enriching, entertaining, fulfilling and total fun!

I just love the way some of my fans and blogger friends call me akka, mami, lathaji and lathamma! I also love being called a “girl” by a very dear blogger friend – Asha. Some assume I have some super natural powers to know that they have given an award to me, with out communicating in any way with me!

After posting for Srijayanthi, I learnt about the terrorist among our Bakshanams, creating mini blasts in the kitchen! It is our very own Uppu seedai aka cheedai! After making seedais for so many years, I suddenly got scared! I stayed one feet away from the stove while frying the seedais, 😀 , thankfully no blasts in my kitchen. I have updated the Uppu Seedai post with following tips that are sure to help you conquer this terrorist.

• The scientific reason for bursting seedais will be water trapped in between or small rice grains.
• To avoid Knead the dough very well. Seive the flour before roasting.

Some had problem with paal cake. I have again updated recipe with following tips.

• For all burfis use the exact amount of sugar mentioned in the recipe.
• The sugar should reach the crystilisation level.To check this pour a small amount of the burfi on the greased tray, while cooking the rest on low flame.If it solidifies in a minute or two then your burfi is ready.

To learn any recipe some practice is required. So always keep trying.

On a another note, this food blogging seems to have virtually caused a rather sudden but sharp rise in property prices in my neighbourhood! Some real estate agents thanked me saying it was all because of my Bhakshanams – that are making people want to shift in the neighbourhood!!! Well, I invite all my blogger friends to my place to taste the bakshanams, but please see to it that you don’t contribute to the already exorbitant property prices in Bangalore!!:))

We’ve been given more awards by our dear blogger friends.

This best blogger award is from Sobila is very dear to me! A week back I just clicked on her name from Bharathy’s blog and was surprised to find an award lying there for me! I came to know that Sobila has been visiting my blog and never commented as she is a soft and shy girl. Thanks Sobila for this lovely award!

Lakshmi (my daughter who writes here occasionally) received a A rocking girl blogger award from Saju, who not just cooks up delicious dishes at Chachi’s kitchen but also fills us in with cute photos of her nephews!

Then there is one more rocking girl award from SeeC. Thanks SeeC!

Let me end this with a dosa treat for all my virtual friends.

Tricolour Pancakes which take less than 5 minutes to cook – recipe has been posted earlier here.

I have substituted coloured capsicums instead of Carrots.

Cone Dosa

The same old dosa folded differently as served in hotels – children and adults will love it when it is served this way. Make a regular circular dosa. Make a slit the middle from the edge to the center. Roll into a cone when still hot by folding in one end of the slit portion into the other.Place some masala on a serving plate and keep the cone over it.

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Radish Leaves are edible

Note: This post is not adorned with mouth watering photos that usually other food blogs contain (often unfairly). I say unfairly because these days I seem to be perpetually hungry because of browsing all of the colourful splash. May be we should make a food blog rule that all good food photos should follow after a warning – “Beware: Hunger inducing photos follow”. Getting back to the point, read on for a neat recipe.

Enlightment strikes in the most nonchalant ways. This time it struck me a couple of days back when my visiting mother in law causally gave me a recipe over a random chat. ‘Radish leaves are edible!!!”, I thought.

I usually leave the vegetable shopping to Satish – over the last one year he’s become an expert in picking vegetables from taro/arbi that does’nt turn ‘gooey’ to richly coloured eggplant with almost invisible seeds to radish that just has a mild taste. But this sudden enligtenment called for my rare appearance at Pazhamudir Nilayam yesterday, to scourge for radish leaves that are cut to be thrown away.

I had to convince the man near the radish stack that I was perfectly sane and definitely wanted only the leaves and not the radish. The girl at the sales counter was equally bewildered – “I cant bill for waste!!! What can you make out of this?!!”. I simply said, “I dont know, may be Masiyal” (which should make sense to any Tamilian). But she seemed even more confused. Perhaps, people who sell vegetables at Pazhamudir Nilayam need some cookery lessons.

Here’s the recipe for Radish Leaves.

Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 10 minutes, Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 Radish Leaves
• 1/4 cup groundnuts
• 1 tsp chilli pepper
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

Method

1. Remove the thick stem from behind the leaves.

2. Wash the leaves thoroughly – remove every ounce of dirt.

3. Fine chop the Radish Leaves.

4. Microwave the groundnuts for 45 seconds on high to roast them. You can also roast them with oil on a stove. Keep aside the groundnuts for cooling.

5. Microwave the leaves with turmeric, hing and a few drops of water on high for 4 minutes. Alternatively you can do this on a stove. Ensure that the leaves are well cooked and drain any excess water.

6. In a kadai, pour 1/2 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds. add the cooked radish leaves after the mustards crackle. Keep the flame low.

7. Coarsely grind the groundnuts in blender. Add this to the leaves in the kadai.

8. Add salt and chilli pepper. Cook on a medium flame for a thirty seconds to a minute. Transfer to a serving dish.

Serve hot with rotis, rice (or even pasta!!) and curd.

I made this for the morning breakfast to go with a modified version of a traditional pasta recipe that is cheeseless. Yes, there are lovely pasta recipes that are to be served without cheese and taste incredilbly good. But that calls for another post.

FootNote: The leaves are a wee bit bitter, so Satish who has baby like taste buds din’t quite enjoy. I recommend for those of you who dont like even a pinch of bitterness – the same recipe with paalak keerai. I loved the ‘kai’ although I admit that this is not something that can be consumed in large quantities.

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Tangy Tomato Chutney

This is an awesome chutney that I stumbled upon while trying to do something different with the usual chutney side dish. It’s super quick and quite yummy.

Ingredients

Tomatoes – 4 nos

Dry Red Chillies – 4 to 5 nos

Jaggery – 1 tablespoon

Grated Coconut 1 tablespoon

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds

Cumin Seeds

Curry Leaves 1 twig ( finely chopped)

Salt to taste

Sesame Oil 1 tablespoon.

Method

1. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the red chillies.Add the tomatoes, cook along with red chillies and turmeric on a medium flame. Remove from heat and add the grated coconut. Keep aside for cooling.

2. Blend the cooked tomatoes, red chillies, coconut along with jaggery and salt in a blender or mixie. Transfer to a serving bowl.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add to the chutney.

Serve with dosas, rotis or with curd rice.

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Drumstick Kootu (Drumstick in Coconut Flavoured Dal)

This is a recipe I learnt from my mom in law (who is an expert at cooking up yummy kootus).

Cooking time 15 minutes.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Drumsticks – two medium length

Moong Dal – 1/2 cup

Curry leaves 1 tablespoons, finely chopped

Mustard Seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder 1/4 teaspoon

For Paste

Hing a small piece.

Urad Dal 2 teaspoons.

Channa Dal 2 teaspoons.

Coriander Seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chillies 2 nos

Grated Coconut – 1 tablespoon

Salt to Taste

Sesame Oil – 1 teaspoon

Oil for cooking 1 teaspoon.

Method 1. Steam Moong Dal with turmeric powder , in a pressure cooker until it is soft and can be blended easily with a ladle. Use about 2 cups water.

2. Chop the Drumstick into 3 inch pieces, add turmeric powder and parboil in a microwave for 6 minutes on high or on a stove on a medium flame for 10 minutes with 1/2 cup water.

3. Heat sesame oil in a Kadai, add urad dal, channa dal, coriander seeds and red chillies and fry till the dals golden. Remove from flame and add coconut . Be sure not to over cook the dals, the right amount of roasting is crucial to the taste.

4. Keep aside to cool and grind to a paste – add two tablespoons of water if you need to. Remove the Moong Dal from the cooker, blend with a ladle and keep it ready.

5. Heat some oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds.

6. Add the drumstick and moong dal once the mustard seeds crackle. (you can also parboil the drumsticks at this stage if you dont use a microwave, though this is rather prolonged)

7. Add the ground paste, add salt and let the kootu simmer for a while till it reaches a boiling point and froth starts to appear on top.

8 . Add finely chopped curry leaves.
Serve with rotis or rice.

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Cauliflower Curry (Tomato and Fenugreek Flavoured)

I happen to hit upon a bunch of random recipes while doodling in the kitchen – perhaps some of these may be similar to existing dishes in some cuisine. Here’s one of them:

Ingredients

Cauliflower (medium sized, washed thoroughly and cut into florets)

Turmeric Powder1/4 teaspoon.

Red Chillies – 2 nos

Grated Coconut – 2 tablespoons

Fenugreek Seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Tomato – 1 medium sized

Salt to taste

Mustardseeds 1/2 teaspoon

Oil for cooking 1 table spoon.

Corriander leaves 2 twigs.

Method

1. Parboil the Cauliflower. You can microwave on high for 6 minutes or cover and cook with 1/2 cup water on a medium flame for 10 minutes.

2. Grind red chillies, coconut, fenugreek seeds and tomato into a fine paste.

3. Heat 2 teaspoon oil in a Kadai and add mustard seeds.
4. Add the cauliflower florets, turmeric powder after the mustard seeds crackle.

5. Roast on a medium flame for a few minutes. Remove from fire and keep aside.

6. Heat 1 teaspoon oil on a medium flame and add salt, tomoato-fenugreek paste and fry till it becomes thick stirring continously. Add the roasted cauliflower florets and coat evenly with the thick paste. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped corriander leaves.

Serve hot with Rotis or Rice.

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