Masala kadalai

How many masala kadalai lovers are there??

 You can prepare it very easily at home in less than fifteen minutes. It will be far better than store bought ones,  since we don't add any artificial colours or taste enhanceners.

Over to the recipe ..

Ingredients:

Raw peanuts        - 1 cup
Gram flour           - 1/4 cup
Rice flour              - 2 TBSP
Fennel seeds         - 1.5 TSP
Garlic                     - 4
Salt                         - as needed
Chili powder        - 2 TSP
Oil                           - for frying

Procedure:

You can check masala kadalai video recipe in Tamil here.

Grind Garlic and Fennel seeds together coarsely adding very little water.

Take a bowl. Add raw peanuts, gram flour, rice flour, garlic & fennel seeds paste, salt and chili powder to it.  Mix it well . If needed add little water. Each and every peanut should be coated with flour . If you add more water, flour won't stick well to peanuts .So add water  accordingly.

Now heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, add masala coated peanuts to it in small instances and fry it well on both sides in medium flame.

Drain excess oil and enjoy your  crispy and crunchy masala kadalai.

Notes:

 Adding garlic with skin increases masala kadalai flavour. You can also add more garlic according to your taste preference.

If you have added more water to peanuts try adding little more gram flour and rice flour. Gram flour should be more and rice flour should be less in quantity.      

Home made Dark chocolate

Valentine's day is here. Are you ready to surprise your dear ones?? Lemme help you.

Why don't you try this easy, preservatives free Home made Dark chocolate recipe??

I have also added video recipe in Tamil.. check this out and surprise your kids who will be coming home tomorrow with their handmade valentine's day gifts from school.

Happy cooking..🎉🎊

Ingredients:

Powdered sugar      - 1 cup
Butter                        - 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder          - 3/4 cup
Milk powder             - 1/3 cup

You can check for video recipe in Tamil here

Preparatory works:

Powder sugar using a mixer grinder. Measure and take 1 cup of it .

Sieve cocoa powder, powdered sugar and milk powder together .

See to that butter is in room temperature.

Grease chocolate mould or a deep plate for pouring the chocolate mix once it is done.

Procedure:

We are going to use double boiling method for preparing this chocolate.

 For this we have to take a pan and fill it 3/4th with water. We have to place a bowl above that pan. When we boil water in the pan, the heat transfers to the bowl and thus things in the bowl gets cooked.

 We are using this method, since chocolate requires only lower temperature for cooking.

Heat the pan which has water .when the bowl which is above the pan becomes hot, reduce the flame and add butter to the bowl.

After the butter has melted, add sieved dry ingredients in small instances and keep on stirring .

The mix will get thick in just seconds. Switch off the flame and transfer it to either greased moulds or plates.

If you are transferring to plates , cut it into required sizes using a greased knife before placing it in refrigerator.

Let it sit in fridge for 2 to 3 hours and your chocolates are ready  to enjoy.

Notes:

Taking exact measurement of ingredients is very essential in this recipe.

Since we are using butter, the chocolate mix will be thick only. If you want it to be free flowing ( so that  easy to pour in moulds ) then you have to replace butter with same amount of coconut oil. But coconut oil smell will be there in chocolates.  If you are using coconut oil, then see to that it is pure and hand pressed.

Since it's dark chocolate it will have slightly bitter taste. If you are looking for making milk chocolate  use cocoa powder - 1/3 cup and milk powder - 3/4 cup in the above recipe.

Beetroot Rice ( with video)

It is very difficult to make kids eat healthy foods, isn't it??🙄

Looking for a healthy food which kids will also love ?? Then you might wanna read this colourful, yummy and nutrients intact Beetroot rice recipe.

Video recipe in Tamil is also included. Over to the recipe..

Recipe for : 1

Ingredients:

Beetroot                     - 2 ( medium size)
Big onion                   - 1
Green chili                 - 1
Seeraga samba rice  - 1/2 cup
Ginger garlic paste   - 1 TSP
Coriander leaves       - few
Mint leaves                 - few
Salt                                - as required
Turmeric powder       - 1/4 TSP
Chili powder                - 1 TSP
Cumin powder            - 1 TSP
Garam masala powder    - 1/4 TSP
Mustard seeds                   - 1/2 TSP
Urad dal                              - 1/2 TSP
Channa dal                         - 1/2 TSP
Raw peanuts                       - 2 TSP
Oil                                          - 3 tbsp

You can check here for video recipe in Tamil.

Preparatory works:

Wash Seeraga samba rice well.  Cook 1/2 cup of Seeraga samba rice in 3/4 th cup water along with salt .

Grate Beetroots.

Chop finely Big onion, coriander and mint leaves.

Slit green chili.

Procedure:

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. You can also add little ghee to it .

When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, Channa dal and raw peanuts.

Add chopped onions and slit green chili after peanuts crackle.

Sautee till onions changes its colour and then add ginger garlic paste.

Sautee for a minute and then add grated beetroots, coriander and mint leaves. Cover with a lid and cook.

When beetroot is half cooked, add salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and cumin powder.

Add cooked rice and garam masala powder after beetroot is cooked completely. (This will take only 7 to 10 minutes ). Mix everything well together.

Your tasty beetroot rice is all ready. Enjoy it hot with  Pappas.

Tips:

You can also use basmati rice or even leftover cooked rice for this receipe.

You can also add lemon juice while mixing up with rice to increase dish's flavour.

Pancake

Kids these days  get to know  various varieties of foods easily.  Today's recipe is  one such globally popular breakfast dish .

Come let's see how to make kids favourite pan cakes easily at home.

Ingredients:

Maida                   - 1 cup 

Milk                      - 1 cup

Egg                        - 1

Sugar                    - 2 tbsp

Butter                   - 3 tbsp

Salt                        - a pinch

Baking powder   - 2 TSP

Procedure:

You can check for video recipe of pancake in Tamil here

Take Egg and sugar in a deep pan and beat them together using a blender till it both gets mixed well.

Now add boiled and cooled milk to the pan. Blend it together.

Then add butter which is in room temperature and mix it well .

Add maida , salt and baking powder to
The pan in small instances and mix it well without any lumps. Your pan cake batter is all ready .

Heat a dosai pan .Add a laddle of batter to the pan and cook on both sides .No need to spread the batter.

You can serve  pancake in many ways..you can serve it with maple syrup, honey or chocolate syrup with added Nuts and fruits.

Serve in the way your kid loves and surprise them..😍

Basic Sponge Cake

Looking for an easy cake recipe?? Here you go.. this is a failproof recipe which yields utterly butterly sponge cake. 

I have also added video recipe in Tamil too.. Happy cooking.. Try this cake and lemme know how this cake turned out .😁

Ingredients:

Maida                   -2 cups
Sugar                    - 1 cup
Butter                   - 1 cup
Egg                        - 5
Baking powder   - 1/2 TSP
Baking soda         - 1/4 TSP
Salt                        - a pinch
Milk                       - 1/3 cup
Vannila essence  - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

You can check here for video recipe in tamil 

Sieve Maida, Baking powder, Baking soda and salt together.

Powder sugar.

Butter should be at room temperature when are about to whisk it so take butter from fridge and keep it out for 2 hours before you are going to prepare cake.

There should be some chillness in eggs when you are whisking it. So take the eggs out from fridge just before 30 minutes

Take Butter and powdered sugar in a deep pan. Blend them together till both gets mixed well .

Now add eggs one by one and keep on whisking it .Whisk till the batter becomes creamy and fluffy.

After that add seived dry ingredients in small instances and blend everything together.

Now add milk and vanilla essence. Your cake batter is now ready.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.  Pour cake batter into greased cake pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Insert a toothpick in the baked cake. If it comes out clearly, (i.e no wet pieces of cake should come with it) you can take the cake from oven .

Cut into pieces after the cake cools down completely.

Very easy isn't it?? Enjoy your utterly butterly delicious sponge cake .🎉🎊 . Happy cooking..

Paal kozhukattai

Looking for an  afterschool snack which is healthy as well as filling for kids?? Here you go!! 

This is the way my ayamma prepares Paal kozhukattai . It had been my favourite snack then and now this is my kid's favourite too. You can prepare this easily.

By this way of preparing kozhukattai, it will stay soft for a longer time too 

The taste of milk with rice flour will be awesome. Try this and you will surely love it . The recipe follows.. 

Ingredients:

For kozhukattai dough:

Kozhukattai flour   - 1 cup
Water                        - 3/4 cup
Milk                           - 1/4 cup
Salt                             - 1/2 TSP
Gingely oil                - 1 TSP

For making Paal kozhukattai:

Sugar                          - 1/4 cup
Water                         - 2 cups
Milk                            - 1 cup
Grated coconut         - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

You can use either kozhukattai flour or Idiyappam flour which is available in shops for this recipe. If you want to make kozhukattai/Idiyappam flour at home, you can check  Here!!

You can check here for video recipe in Tamil.

Take a pan. Add 3/4 cup water , 1/4 cup milk, salt and gingely oil to it. Boil it for some time. When it starts boiling, lower the flame and gradually add  1 cup of flour with continuous stirring .

switch off the flame when all the flour gets mixed. Cover it with  a plate and let the dough cool.

When the dough has cooled down a Little, combine it together and knead  well. Make small balls out of it.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan.  Add 2 cups of water to it. When the water starts boiling, add kozhukattai balls to it

Cook the kozhukattai balls in lower flame .Keep on stirring in between to prevent it from getting burnt.

When the kozhukattai balls are half cooked add sugar to it. These kozhukattai balls will get cooked soon within ten to fifteen minutes . After it has been cooked completely, add 1 cup of boiled milk to it. Let everything boil together for two more minutes.

Switch off the flame and add grated coconut to it .Serve the Paal kozhukattai hot..

Happy Cooking..🎊🎉

Notes:

You can also use same amount of jaggery instead of sugar. If you are using Jaggery, boil jaggery  in 2 tbsp water, filter it and use accordingly.

You can also use cardamom powder along with geared coconut.

Adjust the milk you add at last according to the consistency you need.

Nei Appam

Karthigai deepam festival is my kid's one of his favourite festivals . He loves everything about this festival right from selecting the  diyas and candles from shops and thinking about where to place them. He keeps on roaming around them to check whether all diyas and candles are lightened perfectly. It just remembers our childhood days ..isn't it??😁

 Today's recipe is karthigai deepam special Nei Appam recipe. You can prepare this in two ways , either with Raw rice or with wheat flour.

The recipe which I have shared here is with Raw rice. Check this out and celebrate your karthigai deepam festival.

Preparation time: 20 minutes + soaking time

Yields : around 20 appams

Ingredients:

Raw rice                 - 1 cup ( pacharisi)
Jaggery                    - 1 cup ( vellam)
Chopped coconut  - 1/4 cup
Cardamom              - 2 ( elakkai)
Baking soda             - a pinch
Ghee + oil                 - for frying

Procedure:

Wash and soak raw rice for an hour.  Break jaggery into tiny pieces.

You can see here for video recipe in Tamil

Add chopped jaggery and 3 tbsp of water to a pan. Let it boil in Lower flame. Once all the jaggery has melted, switch off the flame and filter it. This is done to remove the impurities from Jaggery.

Grind together soaked raw rice and cardamom to a thick batter adding less water . You can replace cardamom with 1/4 TSP cardamom powder. If you are using cardamom powder, you can add directly to appam batter.

Add jaggery syrup and chopped coconut to the rice batter . Mix everything well .

At the time of frying add a pinch of baking soda to the batter. You should start preparing appam immediately after adding baking soda or else it won't work as expected .

Always dishes prepared with only raw rice will be hard. To make it soft , we are adding baking soda. You can also use cooking soda or appam soda.

If you don't want to use soda salt at all, you can replace it with robusta banana. I have tried with other bananas too, but it tastes good only with robusta banana. If you are using banana grind it at last while grinding raw rice .

Take a paniyaram pan. Grease it with oil + ghee .Add batter to it. Cook it on both sides in medium flame. Serve it hot.

If you don't have paniyaram pan, you can directly fry in oil but it will absorb lot of oil..

Happy cooking 🎉🎊

சுசியம்

என் சிறு வயது நினைவுகளில் மிக பசுமையான இடம் சுசியத்திற்கு உண்டு.  பள்ளி முடிந்து வீடு திரும்பும் வழியில் இருக்கும் ஒரு கடையில் இந்த வடையை சுட சுடப் போட்டுக் கொண்டு இருப்பார்கள். வாசனை சுண்டி இழுக்கும். தேர்வில் சிறப்பாக தேர்ச்சி பெற்றால் கண்டிப்பாக அப்பா இந்த வடையை வாங்கிக் கொடுப்பார்.

வெளியே மொறு மொறு வென்றும், உள்ளே  அதற்கு நேர்மாறாக  மென்மையாக இனிக்கும் இந்த வடை எப்போதும் என் மனதுக்கு நெருக்கமானது.

இந்த வடையை செய்வது மிக எளிமையானதே. உணவு பல நினைவுகளை தூண்டி விடும் என்பது எவ்வளவு உண்மை!  வாருங்கள், செய்முறையைப் பார்ப்போம்.

Click here for the Susiyam recipe in English

தேவையான பொருட்கள்:

மேல் மாவுக்கு:

பச்சரிசி                   - 3/4 கப்
உளுத்தம் பருப்பு  - 3/4 கப்
உப்பு                          - தேவையான அளவு

பூரணத்திற்கு:

கடலைப்பருப்பு      - 1 கப்
வெல்லம்                  - 1 கப்
ஏலக்காய்                  - 4 அல்லது 5
நெய்                           - 1 தேக்கரண்டி

எண்ணெய்               - தேவையான அளவு


செய்முறையை கீழ் காணும் லிங்கில் காணலாம்.

ஆயத்த வேலைகள்:

அரிசியையும், உளுத்தம் பருப்பையும் நன்றாக கழுவி ஒரு மணி நேரம் ஊற விடவும்.

ஏலக்காயை தட்டி வைத்துக் கொள்ளவும் அல்லது ஏலக்காய் பொடி 1/4 தேக்கரண்டி பயன்படுத்தலாம்.

வெல்லம் தட்டி வைக்கவும்.

செய்முறை:

ஊற வைத்த அரிசியையும், உளுத்தம் பருப்பையும் நன்றாக மைய , தண்ணீர் குறைவாக தெளித்து கெட்டியாக ஆட்டிக் கொள்ளவும். தண்ணீர் அதிகம் சேர்த்து விட்டால் பூரணத்தின் மீது மேல் மாவு நன்றாக ஒட்டாது. மாவில் உப்பு சேர்த்துக் கொள்ளவும்.

கடலைப்பருப்பை வேக வைத்து எடுக்கவும்.  தட்டி வைத்த வெல்லத்தில் 3 தேக்கரண்டி தண்ணீர் ஊற்றி கொதிக்க விடவும். வெல்லம் தண்ணீரில் கரைந்ததும் வடிகட்டி வைக்கவும். வெல்லத்தில் இருக்கும் கசடுகளை நீக்கவே இவ்வாறு செய்கிறோம்.

வேக வைத்த கடலைப்பருப்பையும், வடிகட்டிய வெல்லத்தையும் அடி கனமான பாத்திரத்தில், மிதமான தீயில் கொதிக்க விடவும். இடை இடையே மசித்து விடவும். பொடித்த ஏலக்காய் சேர்க்கவும். பாத்திரத்தில் ஒட்டாமல் இருக்க சிறிதளவு நெய் சேர்க்கலாம்.

நன்றாக தண்ணீர் வற்றியதும் அடுப்பை அணைத்து விட்டு ஆற விடவும். பூரணம் ஆறியதும் நன்றாக இறுகி விடும். சின்ன சின்ன உருண்டைகளாக பூரணத்தை பிடிக்கவும்.

பிடித்து வைத்த உருண்டைகளை மேல் மாவில் தோய்த்து சூடான எண்ணெயில் பொரித்து எடுக்கவும்.

சுசியம் தயார். இந்த அளவில் சுமார் 25 சிறிய சிசியம் கிடைக்கும்.


மேல் மாவு மீதம் இருந்தால் சிறுது கடலை மாவு, வெங்காயம், பச்சை மிளகாய், கருவேப்பிலை, இஞ்சி, உப்பு சேர்த்து கார வடையாக செய்யலாம்.






     

Susiyam

How many love this crispy outside, soft sweet stuffing inside vadais??

You can prepare this very easily at home. Over to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Raw rice              - 3/4 cup

Urad dal              - 3/4 cup
Channa dal         - 1 cup

Jaggery                - 1 cup
Cardamom          - 4 or 5
Ghee                     - 1 tbsp
Salt                        - As required
Oil                          - for frying

This recipe yields around 25 to 30 susiyam

You can click here for the video on how to make susiyam

Procedure:

Wash and soak rice and urad dal together for an hour. Crumble jaggery into pieces . Crush cardamom.

Grind rice and urad dal together adding little water. The batter should be thick so that it covers stuffing well. So be little careful while grinding batter. Add salt to the batter .

Boil chana dal. I used to cook for a whistle in high flame and then in low flame for ten minutes.

Take crumbled Jagger in a pan. Add  little water (around 1/4 cup) to it. Boil in medium flame. Once jaggery is all melted , switch off the flame and filter jaggery .This is done to remove impurities in jaggery.

Take boiled Channa dal and jaggery extract in a heavy bottomed pan .cook in medium flame till the stuffing thickens. Keep on smashing the stuffing in berween. When its half done, add crushed cardamom. You can also use 1/4 TSP cardamom powder instead.

Let the stuffing cool. The stuffing will become more thick once its cooled down completely. Make small balls out of stuffing.

Heat oil in a kadai. When it's hot, take stuffing, dip it in batter and deep fry on both sides .

Your susiyam is ready. Happy cooking..

Notes :

If you are left with batter alone, you can add chopped onion, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, salt to it and make kaara Vadai

No need to ferment the batter .

Chow Chow kootu ( chayote kootu)

More than chow chow kootu ,chow chow gravy  name suits this dish well.

This is the best way to make  kids eat chow chow. My kids don't like much the spiceless chow chow kootu which we prepare with Channa dal .😕. Instead they love this way of eating chow chow .

  Just have it with hot steaming rice and crispy pappad..  awesome it will be🙌.

You may also even try it with Idli, dosai or chapathi

Here is the healthy and tasty chow chow kootu / gravy

Recipe for : 2

Preparation time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients:

 Chow Chow               - one big size ( yielded 1 cup when chopped)

Salt                               - as required

Turmeric powder     - 1/2 tsp

Oil                                - 1 TSP

Mustard Seeds.         - 1/2 TSP

Coriander leaves      - for garnishing

To saute and grind:

Big onion          - 1 (medium size)

Tomato.             - 1. ( Medium size)

Garlic pods       - 2

Dry red chili.    - 4

Coriander seeds- 1 TSP ( Malli or dhaniya)

Cumin seeds.      - 1/2 tsp ( seeragam)

Procedure:

1. Chop big onion , tomato and chow chow.

2  Take oil in a heavy bottomed pan. 

3  .Add dry red chili , coriander seeds, and cumin seeds to it.

4. When they starts spluttering, add chopped onion and garlic to it.

5. Add chopped tomatoes after onion starts changing its colour .

6. Switch off the flame after everything is cooked well.. let it cool down for a while and ground it to a smooth masala.

7. Add chopped chow chow, salt, turmeric powder and enough water( chow chow should be immersed in water) to the same pan.

8. Cook on medium heat till chow chow becomes soft. Add ground masala now and give it a good stir . Cook for five more minutes.

9. Tamper it with mustard seeds and garnish with coriander leaves.

Your dish is all ready..you can enjoy it with plain rice , idli, dosai or with chapathi.

Easy Home remedies for cold

Due to this adverse weather condition kids are down with cold.

I used to follow some home made remedies from kitchen to help kids fight with cold.

Thought of sharing those here so that it ll be helpful for everyone 🙌

1. Pachai karpooram and coconut oil:

Remember this pachai karpooram is different from camphor which we use at temple for god. You can find this pachai karpooram in Herbal stores( Nattu marunthu kadai)  and in few super markets 

And the coconut oil which I have used is cold pressed one ( chekku oil). Use good quality oil

Take few karpooram pieces. Crumble them.

Take 2 to 3 tbsp of coconut oil in a deep ladle preferably kuli karandai like shown in picture and heat them. Stop heating when you can smell nice aroma and add it to crumbled karpooram. Be careful while heating oil, sometimes when it's heated much oil might get fired.

Wait for karpooram to completely dissolve in oil . Apply oil in chest, forehead, back, over nose and under feet for kids . Do this before they go to bed . They will have a good sleep. Since we are applying only externally you can even try this for babies.

2. Turmeric powder, pepper powder, palm sugar ( panangarkandu) milk : 

Its better to avoid milk during  Cold. Even if you want to give milk , try giving this way. It acts as a good antibiotic. You can give this milk two times a day for three days and then you can give milk with palm sugar ( panangarkandu) alone for next few days .

 Just mix these with hot milk . Cool it down a little and give the milk warm to kids .

Make sure you use original turmeric Powder and palm sugar. Many adulterated products are available in shops . So keep that in mind and get directly from a farmer if you could .

3. Ginger, mint, palm sugar ( panangarkandu) cough syrup:

It acts as best cough syrup.  It helps to relieve congestion.

Take 2 TSP of finely chopped ginger, two mint leaves and 1 tbsp of palm sugar in a pan

Add little water to it and boil in low heat till it reduces to a thick syrup. I used to get only five ml syrup . 

You can give this two times in a day.

4. Omam leaves ( karpoora valli leaves) and tulasi leaves:

You can give this one as such to kids.  Even my younger one used to eat this right from ten months. If your kid don't eat these leaves you can boil in little watee , filter and give the water to kids .

You can give these leaves to eat often to prevent cold too.

5. Lemon juice and honey:

I didn't prepare this one  , this time since I didn't have honey at home . Make sure you use original and good quality honey. Take equal amount of lemon juice and honey. Mix it well and give to kids .

You can try all these methods  for kids above one year. Make sure you use good quality ingredients.

If the cold doesn't seem to reduce or kids having difficulty in breathing rush to doctors immediately . 

Take care of little ones and enjoy the rainy days..

Lemon squash

The summer has started, and here comes the much needed post.

To quench our thirsts, i  used to prepare this lemon squash and store in refrigerator. Whenever we want to have some lemon juice , we will add 3/4th water to 1/4th squash and ta-da . Our refreshing lemon juice is ready.🍹

Though preparing fresh lemon juice is better. I prefer this method since its time saving and  i can also save money by buying lemons in bulk .😋

You can prepare this lemon squash within 20 minutes. I don't prefer to add preservative and hence I will be preparing fresh squash every two weeks.

While returning from native, my athai gave a bag full of lemons from our backyard. Next day afternoon those Lemons are converted to evercool lemon squash 😂

Here is the procedure

Ingredients:

Fresh lemon juice    - 1 cup
Sugar                          - 2 cups
Water                          - 1 cup

Procedure:

Take 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water in a heavy bottomed bowl.  

Boil it in a medium heat.

 You can stop heating after sugar completly dissolves in water. You can also stop heating after it reaches  one string or half string consistency.

If you stop as soon as sugar dissolves in water you will end up in larger quantity of water in squash . So while preparing juice you need to add less water to squash.

Sometimes heating upto one string consistency,may cause crystallization of sugars. So to be on better side I will cook till I get half string consistency just to prevent crystallization of sugar and to reduce storage space in refrigerator.

Now take a clean container . Wash it well and completely dry it. Filter both sugar syrup and lemon juice. Mix them both well. Add it to the container and keep it in refrigerator.

When you want to prepare a glass of lemon juice fill 1/4 th of tumbler with squash and remaining with water. By replacing water with Soda you can have it as lemon soda .

This recipe is a fail proof recipe.  This will turn good how ever you do .just give this a try..👐

Homemade instant wheat cerelac for babies

Homemade instant wheat cerelac for babies

Yes!! you read it correct., Why to buy cerelac from outside when you can prepare hygienically at home. That too we are using whole wheat flour and palm sugar (panangarkandu). Hence its healthy too. .😇

All you need is

Whole wheat flour. - 1 cup
Butter.                        - 1/4 cup
Palm sugar.               - 1/2 cup
Water.                         - little less than 1/4 cup

Instructions:

1.  Melt Butter .
2. Dissolve palm sugar in water and boil till it dissolves. Once it has dissolved strain the palm sugar water. This is done to remove impurities from palm sugar. You can powder palm sugar before adding it to water if its big.
3. Add both melted butter and palm sugar water  to whole wheat flour and start kneading it like chapathi dough. The dough will be sticky only ..
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
5. Place the dough in between two greased plastic sheets and roll it out just like chapathi.
6.  Cut the rolled out dough into smallspieces with a help of a knife.
7. Now bake it at 180 degree Celsius for about 15 minutes . Let it cool for sometime.
8. After it has cooled down completly, powder it in a mixier grinder. It will look like this after baking.

Your instant wheat cerelac is ready. Make sure you store it in a dry airtight container. I used to use this powder within two weeks.

 Take required amount of powder in a bowl. Mix water to it and you can feed it to baby..

 Real saviour during travel.. prepare this . Enjoy your travel without worrying about baby food.  Happy holidays..🎉🎊



     

Tandoori Aloo

A big Hi to everyone!!! . BusyAtIndianKitchen is back after a short break. It was a bit difficult for me to find time to post recipes with a busy toddler running around , though I had around 50 recipes ready.  Since his holidays are coming to an end, we are trying to bounce back to regular routine. Hope you too had a great and memorable vacation!! To start with, today's recipe is one of the best starters which is none other than Tandoori Aloo. The exciting kids friendly recipe follows..

Recipe For : 2

Preparation Time : 30 to 45 minutes + Marination Time + Parboiling Time

Ingredients:

Potato                          - 2 (Big Size)

Curd                            - 1/4 cup (Yogurt)

Ginger-Garlic paste     - 2 tbsp

Chili Powder               - 3 tsp 

Cumin Powder            - 2 tsp (Seeraga Thool)

Coriander Powder        - 2 tsp (Malli Thool)

Turmeric Powder         - a pinch

Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp

Pepper Powder             - 1 tsp

Kasuri Methi                - 2 tsp  (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)

Oil                                 - 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice                  - 1 tsp

Salt                                - As required

Procedure:

• First step is to parboil potatoes i.e it should only be partially cooked. I used to cook potatoes for 3  continuous whistles.  To cool it off,  don't immerse boiled potatoes in cold water. It prevents potatoes from getting crispier when they are grilled. So let potatoes cool on its own and then cut it into big chunks.
• You can either grill them using skewers or directly using a greased tray. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes to prevent it from catching fire when exposed to grill. 
• Mix all the ingredients along with chopped potato chunks and set it aside for 30 to 60 minutes. More the marination time, tastier is the potato. Adjust the spice according to your taste.
• After enough marination, arrange potato chunks in skewers or place them in a greased tray.
• Preheat the oven to 220 degree Celsius.
• Bake potatoes for 30 to 45 minutes or until its done. Keep on checking in between to prevent it from getting burnt.
• Serve it with curd mixed with Green Chutney.

Muslim Style Chicken Kuzhambu

I will say this is the best ever Chicken Kuzhambu, which tastes awesome with hot steaming rice. Its very easy to prepare too. One of the best chicken gravies to try on. The recipe follows..

Recipe For : 2

Preparation Time :45 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken                     - 1/2 kg
Big Onion                  - 2
Tomato                       - 2
Green Chili                 - 1
Chopped Coconut       - 1/4 cup
Yogurt                         - 1/4 cup (Curd)
Ginger- Garlic paste    - 2 tsp
Salt                              - As required
Turmeric Powder         - 1/4 tsp
Chili Powder                - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves         - few
Mint Leaves                  - few
Oil                                 - 2 tbsp

To Powder:

Cumin Seeds      - 1/4 tsp (Seeragam)
Fennel Seeds      - 1/4 tsp (Sombu)
Black Pepper      - 6 to 8 (Milagu)
Cinnamon Stick  - 1 (Pattai)
Cloves                 - 2 (Krambu)
Green Cardamom- 2 (Elakkai)

Procedure:

• Wash chicken well. Chop Big onion lengthwise. Slit Green Chili. Chop finely tomato. Grind coconut to a smooth paste adding little water. Dry roast cumin seeds, fennel seeds , black pepper and powder it along with cinnamon stick, cloves and green cardamom.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. When its hot, add chopped onions and slit green chili to it.
• Saute till onions turn translucent and then add chopped tomatoes.
• After both onions and tomatoes are cooked together well, add coriander and mint leaves.
• Add Ginger- Garlic paste and saute till the raw flavor goes off.
• Now add Chicken and also Salt, Turmeric powder and Chili powder. Adjust the spice according to your taste. Also add yogurt (curd).
• Give everything a good stir. Cover the pan with a lid and cook in medium flame. No need to add water. Chicken will start oozing out water and cook in its own water. Keep on stirring in between.
• After chicken is cooked, add ground coconut paste.  Switch off the flame in another 5 minutes. Your tempting chicken gravy is ready. It goes very well with hot steaming rice.

Saamai Arisi Dosai (Little Millet Rice Dosai)

Yes!! It's another Crispy ,Tasty and  healthy Millet dosai. Dosai with a millet which has very high Iron content. Its none other than Little Millet Dosai (Saamai Arisi Dosai). One of the best ways to include healthy Saamai Arisi. The recipe follows..

Yields : 25 Dosai

Preparation Time : 5 Minutes + Time for Grinding and Fermentation

Ingredients:

Little Millet      - 1 cup (Saamai Arisi)
Idli Rice            - 1 cup (Idli Arisi)
Urad Dal           - 1/2 cup
Toor Dal            - 1 tsp (Thuvaram Parupu)
Channa Dal       - 1 tsp (Kadalai Parupu)
Salt                    - As required
Gingely Oil       - As required

Procedure:

• Soak Saamai Arisi ( Little Millet), Idli Rice, Urad dal, Toor dal and Channa dal for 4 to 5 hours.
• After that grind it to a smooth batter along with little salt. Let the batter ferment overnight or for at-least 8 hours.
• After the batter has fermented, heat a dosai pan. Grease it with oil. I always prefer Gingely oil for dosai. Add batter to pan and expand it. Apply oil to it. Once both sides are done, remove from flame and serve it hot. 
• Serve it with hot sambar and Chutney of your choice. We had this dosai with Kadappa.

Chitra Pournami Special

How many of you celebrated Chitra Pournami like this?? Since our childhood,we usually used to have a range of variety rice as dinner and the most special part is that we will have dinner in open terrace enjoying the sight of Full Moon and natural breeze. I always see to that my kid don't miss this day. We celebrated like this yesterday also and he was super excited. Missed celebration yesterday?? Don't worry. You can celebrate today as well and this post also gives link to 34 Rice Varieties.Enjoy the day!!!

Yesterday we had 3 rices and potato curry as side dish.

• Kovil Puliyodharai (Temple Style Puliyodharai)   - This is the Puliyodharai which is being served at temples. Check here for How to prepare Kovil Puliyodharai ?
• Lemon Rice - Check here for knowing How to prepare Lemon rice?
• Curd Rice - Since we had this rice for dinner, i prepared with adding more milk and very little curd. Click here for knowing How to prepare Curd Rice?
• We had Nellai Urulai Varuval as side dish. Click here for knowing How to prepare Nellai Urulai Varuval (Spicy Potato Curry)?

Want some more variety rice recipes?? Click here for knowing  37 one pot easy rice varieties.

Spicy Kathirikkai Poriyal (Spicy Brinjal Poriyal)

Looking for a spicy Poriyal with Brinjal?? Then this might be helpful for you.. Presenting Spicy Kathirikkai poriyal which goes very well with Sambar sadham (Sambar rice) and Parupu Sadham (Dal rice). The recipe follows..

Recipe For : 2

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Brinjal                  - 5  or 6
Big Onion            - 1
Salt                       - As required
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves       - few
Mustard Seeds     - 1/4 tsp
Oil                        - 2 tbsp

Dry Roast And Powder:

Dry Red Chili     - 2
Channa Dal         - 1 tsp (Kadalai Parupu)
Cumin Seeds       - 1/2 tsp (Seeragam)
Fennel Seeds       - 1/2 tsp (Sombu)
Black Pepper       - 6 to 8

Procedure:

• Dry roast and powder everything under ' Dry Roast And Powder' without adding water. Chop Brinjal and Big onion lengthwise.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds to it. When they splutter add chopped onions to it.
• Saute till they translucent and then add chopped brinjal.
• Add salt, turmeric powder and enough water. Cover with a lid and cook in medium flame.
• When brinjal is half cooked, add dry roasted powder to it.
• Keep on stirring in between and cook till brinjal is cooked soft. Serve it with Kuzhambu of your choice. 

Tamil New Year Celebration

How is your Tamil New Year celebrations going on??  Here is the glimpse of celebration at BusyAtIndianKitchen..

1. Salt
2.  Pickle
3. Banana
4. Pappad
5. I thought to prepare Vazhai Poo vadai / Vazhai Poo Kozha Urundai (Banana Flower Fritters) since its my kid's favorite. You can click the following link for knowing  How to prepare Vazhai Poo Vadai (Banana Flower Fritters).
6. Next one is Keerai Kootu. I used Toor Dal for preparing this Kootu.  You can prepare this kootu with almost all types of Keerai (Green Leaves). Check this link for knowing How to prepare Keerai Kootu?
7. The poriyal which i prepared is Senai kizhangu Varuval ( Elephant Yam Shallow Fry). Check this link for knowing How to Prepare Senai kizhangu Varuval (Elephant Yam Shallow Fry)?
8. Plain Rice.
9. Sambar - which is very important for a South Indian Lunch. Click here for knowing 6 varieties of Sambar.
10. Click here for knowing Rasam Varieties.
11. Curd / Yogurt
12. Payasam. Click here for Payasam Varieties such as Arisi Payasam and Moong dal Payasam,

Eat well and celebrate the festival with your family. Happy Tamil New Year Friends!!

Kadappa

This is the recipe which i learnt from one of my dear friends. This is how she makes this awesome gravy which goes well with Dosai, Chapathi / Roti. One of the simplest and easiest side dish gravies that also stay light on stomach. The recipe follows.. 

Recipe For : 2

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Moong Dal                   - 1/2 cup (Pasi Parupu)
Big Onion                    - 1
Tomato                         - 1
Chopped Coconut        - 3 tbsp
Green Chili                   - 1
Chopped Ginger           - 1 tsp
Chopped Garlic            - 1 tsp
Whole Garam Masala  - Each 1
Salt                               - As required
Turmeric Powder          - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves                - few
Oil                                 - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Chop finely Big onion, tomato. Slit Green Chili. Grind coconut to a fine paste adding little water.
• Take a cooker. Add washed moong dal, slit green chili, chopped onion, tomato, ginger and garlic to it. Add enough water , turmeric powder and cook everything together. I used to cook in high flame for 5 continuous whistles. 
• Heat oil in a pan. Add Whole Garam Masala such as Cinnamon stick, Cloves , Star Aniseeds and also Curry leaves.
• Saute for a minute and then add cooked dal mixture. Add ground coconut paste and enough salt.
• Mix everything well and switch it off when the gravy starts to boil. Your Kadappa is ready to enjoy with Idli , Dosai , Chapathi / Roti.