Kobbari/ Coconut Laddu

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut - 3 cups

Grated Jaggery - 1 ½ cups

Ground elaichi powder -  ½  tsp

Ghee – 5-6 tbsp

Cashew nuts: ¼ cup

Preparation:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the remaining ghee, grated jaggery and grated coconut and cook on a medium heat stirring continuously.

As it gets heated up, jiggery starts melting. Stir continuously and make sure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the vessel.

After sometime, the mixure becomes thick and comes together. At this point, stir in the elaichi powder and fried cashewnuts. Mix well  and remove the mixture from heat and let it cool.

When it is still warm, grease hands with ghee and make into small balls. Cool the laddus to room temperature and store in a dry, closed container. The shelf life of these laddus is about two weeks at room temperature.

Neer Dosa

It has been long time since I’ve posted a breakfast recipe here. Here we go with the white and lacy thin pancake recipe, Neer Dosa. Neer Dosa is a traditional dosa variety from Karnataka, prepared with rice. The name comes from the very thin consistency the batter has, very similar to water. It’s a very simple recipe and does not demand the time-consuming fermentation of the batter.

Ingredients:

2 Cups rice

Salt to taste

Oil

Preparation:

Wash and soak the rice for 4-5 hours.

Grind soaked rice to a smooth paste in a mixer/blender or food processor.
Add salt &, enough water to make a very thin batter.
Keep aside for an hour or two.
Heat the dosa griddle, pour 1 ladle full of mixture in centre and tilt the griddle in all directions to allow batter to spread thinly to make a pancake.
Drizzle a little oil, cook on one side till done. Cook the dosa on only one side and take care to see that it does not turn brown
Fold into half and then into quarter.
Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Aloo Matar/ Potato-Green Peas Curry

Here is one more delicious dish, which is easy to prepare.This can be prepared easily for any number of people and it goes well with Chapathi/Roti, Parathas, and also as a side dish for plain rice .

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 4 medium
Onions -1 large (Chopped finely)
Tomatoes - 2 medium( Chopped finely)

Green chillies – 4

Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Oil -  2-3 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Green peas – ½ cup

Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into one inch cubes and boil them till the y are cooked but still crunchy (not too soft) .

Remove  them from hot water and let them cool.

If you are using Fresh Green peas, then soak them for 2 hrs and cook them for atleast 1 or 2 whistles in a pressure cooker till done. If  you are using forzen or cooked peas, you can use them directly.

In a pan, add oil, then add the cumin seeds,  chopped green chillies, onions and fry till golden brown.

Add the ginger-garlic paste & turmeric powder and fry till the  raw flavor  is gone.

Then add the tomatoes and fry till they are cooked and mushy.

Add in the  chilly powder, coriander powder and salt and fry well

Then add the cooked potatoes to the pan and mix well together

Sprinkle or add very little water and mix carefully so that the potatoes are not mashed.

Cook for few mins and add the green peas. Mix well and cook for about 5 min. on low heat.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or rice. Bon Appetite!!!

Sunnundalu/ Urid dal Laddoo

Sunnundalu is a traditional Andhra sweet made from Urid dal, sugar and ghee. It is a simple recipe with simple ingredients and tastes heavenly. This is my brother’s favorite sweet and my mom prepares every other week for him. Even, Siva loves these too and now I have a reason to prepare them for him. Here we go with the recipe....

Ingredients:

Urid dal – 2 cups

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee – ¾ cup

Method:

In a pan, roast the urid dal till golden brown on a low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and keep aside and let it cool to room temperature.

In a food processor/mixer, grind the roasted urid dal and sugar separately  to a smooth powder  and keep aside.

Melt the ghee and cool to room temperature.

Mix in the urid dal and sugar powder thoroughly and slowly add in the melted ghee, mix and make into round laddoos..

Spinach/ Palak Sambar

Hmmmmm….I love summer, when we get all fresh vegetables and greens. I had been to the local farmer’s market today and filled my shopping bag with lot of fresh fruit and veggies. I am very glad that I could manage to buy fresh spinach as it is sold very fast. I love to cook spinach a lot as it has many nutritional and health benefits. Intake of spinach helps to fight against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis, and other diseases.  I tried to make spinach sambar for the first time and it came out really well. It makes a rich, filling, and nutritious soup too.

Ingredients:

Spinach – ½ medium bunch

Toor dal - ¾ cup

Tamarind pulp – extracted from a lemon size

Onion – 1 large sliced

Green chillies – 5

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Red chillies – 2 to 3

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Garlic – 3 to 4 pods (Optional) crushed

Sambar powder - 1 tbsp 

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Asafoetida powder a pinch

Salt to taste

Method:

Cook toor dal with 2 cups water. Mash the dal and keep it aside.

Chop the spinach leaves and wash it well and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard & cumin seeds, when they start crackling, Add garlic, red chilies and fry for about 30 secs and add curry leaves, green chilies and onions.

When the onions turn transparent, add the chopped spinach leaves and fry for about 3 min.

Add turmeric powder, asafetida, sambar powder, mix well and cook for a minute.

Add about 2 cups of water and salt and cook the spinach closed for 5 minutes on a medium heat.

Now add the tamarind paste and cook until the spinach is completely done.

Now add the dal to the cooked spinach. Mix well and reduce the heat. Adjust the salt if needed. Turn off the heat in one boil.

Serve hot with cooked white rice with a dab of ghee. Hmmmm….tastes heavenly!!!

Pistachio Custard

I am here with the very  first desert recipe in my blog. As I am really not a sweet-loving person, I rarely prepare them. But this particular recipe changed my inclination towards deserts.  I tasted it for the first time at my friend, Lakshmi’s place and became a fan of it from that very moment.  Immediately, I took the recipe from her and made very few modifications to it. It’s really a wonderful, tasty, yet simple recipe. I am very happy to share it with you.

Ingredients:               

Pistachios - 1 cup shelled

Evaporated milk - ½ litre

Sugar - ¾ cup

Custard powder – 2 Tbsp

Method:

Crush the pistachios in a mortar or a food processor to a coarse powder.

Mix the milk, sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring it to boil. Now add the pistachios and bring to a light boil

Mix the custard powder with about 4 to 5 tbsp of cold milk to make it a smooth paste.

Now add this to the boiling milk and stir continuously. After adding the custard to the boiling milk, it starts to become thick and creamy.

Allow it to simmer for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the heat and chill in a refrigerator for about 2 hours and serve.

Coriander Mushroom

Coriander Mushroom

After a long break, I am back with yet another simple & tasty recipe which goes well with rice and roti.  

Ingredients:

Fresh Mushrooms- 250g

Onions- 1 medium sliced

Green chillies- 8 slit

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Mustard seeds- ½ tsp

Coriander powder- 1 ½ tbsp

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – ¼ bunch

Curry leaves- 2 springs

Method:

Clean the mushrooms wiping with a paper towel and cut them into quarters.

Heat oil in a wide skillet and add the cumin and mustard seeds to the hot oil.

Once the mustard seeds start to crackle, add green chillies, curry leaves and onion slices and fry till onions turn transparent. Add turmeric powder and mix and cook for 30 secs.

Now add the mushroom pieces, stir and close the lid and cook for about 4-5 min stirring it occasionally.

Add the coriander powder & salt to taste, mix well and cook it closed for another 5 min. As the mushrooms give out water, no need to add extra water to the dish.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, add finely chopped coriander leaves, mix well and remove the curry from heat. Serve hot with rice or roti.