Neiappam with Jackfruit

Here goes another sweet dish and a traditional one too. Neiappam is a sweet paniyaram, which is usually made using banana. For a change, I have used jack fruit, which is in season now.

Ingredients
Raw rice                       100 gms
Jaggery                         3/4cup (melted)
Jack fruit                       100 gms
or
Medium sized banana  1
Cardamom                    2
Coconut (optional)       2 tbsp ( grated or finely chopped)
Oil for frying

Method
1. Wash and soak rice for 2 hours.
2. Grind the soaked rice without adding water.
3. Add the fruit and grind to a fine paste.
4. Add melted jaggery and cardamom, pulse again to blend.
5. The batter should be slightly thin like a dosa batter.
6. Add coconut and mix well.
7. Grease the paniyaram kal ( a cooking utensil with small indentations), on medium heat add 1/4tsp of oil in each pit, pour a tablespoon of the batter in each pit, cover and cook. Turn the appam upside down, add another 1/4 tsp of oil to each paniyaram and cook. Repeat the same to the rest of the batter.

Basundhi - Milk sweet

Basundhi is an easy to prepare milk sweet. Like all the other milk sweets, Basundhi is also a very sweet and a rich dessert. I find making basundhi easier than making a rasagulla or palgova, so whenever there’s excess milk at home, the first thought that hits my mind is this creamy indian dessert, which can be served either warm or chilled, after a good lunch on a sunday afternoon.

Ingredients

Milk                500 ml

Sugar              3tsp

Cardamom      2 (crushed)

Almonds         4

Saffron           few strands (optional)

Method

Heat milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and bring to a boil.

As the milk boils gently on low heat, collect the thin film of cream that forms on the surface of the milk, in a separate bowl.

Keep collecting the cream as it forms, until the milk is reduced to 1/4 th of its original consistency

Add sugar, stir to dissolve, add crushed cardamom and the collected cream, stir genlty.

Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with saffron and sliced almonds.

Note:

The quantity mentioned here serves 1 or 2.

It takes about 30 minutes to reduce to 1/4 th of its original consistency.

Flour-less Chocolate cake

This beautiful cake is from a blog, that has beautiful and very delicious shots, a real treat for the eyes. The cake was super spongy and melted in the mouth. As usual junior and I, couldn’t wait to finish it, but managed to save some for my better half, who later, when asked, how was the cake, commented,  "What cake ? I thought it was chocolate". I guess he is also slowly getting into our chocolate madness.

Ingredients

Bittersweet chocolate             8ounces (225 g) chopped

(with 70% cocoa )

Butter                                        1 stick ( cut in small pieces ) ( I used 100 g )

Eggs                                           5

Sugar                                         1/2cup

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Cocoa powder  2tbsp for dusting

Method

Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Stir until smooth. 

Whisk egg yolks with sugar in a bowl.

Add this egg mix into the slightly cool chocolate, whisking until well blend.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

Whisk 1/4 of the whites into chocolate mix, gently fold remaining whites into the chocolate, with a spatula. 

Transfer to a greased 8"baking pan dusted with cocoa powder and bake at 350*F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Bake until tooth pick comes out clean. 

Note:

It took only 40 minutes to cook in my oven at 180*c.

Dates and nuts cookies

This is my first attempt in using natural light for photography. After reading a lot of photography tips here and there, I tried taking photographs using natural light and started loving it. This is one of those recipes that I had marked a decade ago, a soft cookie with a nice cinnamon flavour.

Ingredients
Flour (maida)             1 1/2cup
Unsalted butter          100 g
Egg                               1
Baking powder           1tsp
Sugar                           1/2cup
Cinnamon powder     1/2tsp
Vanilla                         1/2tsp
Dates                           1/2cup (de seeded and chopped)
Nuts                             1/4cup (cashew, walnuts,almonds - any one of these chopped)

Method
Measure sugar and make a fine powder.
Beat sugar and butter well using an electric hand mixer.
Add the egg and beat well.
Whisk flour and baking powder. Add this and the rest of the ingredients to the above mixture. Using hand, gently knead to form a dough.
Divide into portions, flatten, cut into desired shapes, transfer to a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180*c for 15 - 20minutes, until it turns golden brown.

Pudalangai kari - Snakegourd stuffed with minced meat

                   Every time my mother sees this vegetable she would say, you know I used to cook this snake gourd stuffed with minced meat, it’s a delicacy, I have to try it one of these days. This has been going on for years (nearly 20 years), but she never made it. I only had a vague memory of having eaten this as a child, but was sure it was delicious. Finally, I decided to give it a try and when I called her to check out the recipe, she started; 'you know, I always  want........ ', while I was thinking,' I have heard that before'.  Yes, It was undoubtedly delicious and I realised why my mother went on and on about it or why I couldn’t forget the taste after all those years. She even called up later, eagerly to check if it came out well, though she wasn’t going to taste it even if she had made one, now that she has turned to vegetarian food for the past 5 years or so. I loved it and it is best when eaten hot.

Ingredients
 Snake gourd                                     1k
 Onion                                                3 small size or 2 medium size
 Ginger garlic paste                          1 1/4tsp
 Chilly + coriander powder              2tsp
 Salt                                                     1/4tsp
 Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves         3 each
 Black stone flower                           1 (small)
 Fennel                                               1/4 tsp
 Oil                                                      1 1/2tbsp + 4 tbsp
 Minced chicken or mutton              1/2k
 Bengal gram flour                             2tbsp

Method
1. Pressure cook minced chicken with 1/2tsp of turmeric powder and a tsp of salt.
2. Heat 1 1/2tbsp of oil in a pan, add the whole garam masala, add finely chopped onion and saute until, soft and crisp.
3. Add ginger garlic paste, stir, add chilly + coriander powder, salt, stir for a minute on low heat.
4. Add cooked minced chicken ( without any liquid ), stir well. Check for salt.
5. Stir until everything is well mixed, the mixer should be dry. Add chopped coriander leaves if desired, stir, remove from heat and let it cool. ( if there’s any large piece of chicken, mash it  with the back of the ladle)
6. Scrap the outer skin of the snake gourd, cut into finger length portions and de-seed the vegetable.
7. Make a thick paste, using the gram flour by adding little water.
8. Stuff the minced chicken mixture in each of the snake gourd portions and seal the open ends with the gram flour paste( this is done to prevent the filling from coming out, while cooking the snake gourd)
9. Heat a tbsp or two of the oil in a sauce pan, transfer one batch of the stuffed snake gourds  to the medium hot pan and cook. Stir lightly to cook the vegetable on all sides. Repeat the same with the rest of the snake gourds. Serve hot.

Note:
The snake gourds, that I have mentioned here is not the short bulb variety, but the long gourds, which are really thin and long like a snake.
Can use cornflour or flour (maida) instead of bengal gram flour.

Orange cup cake

I have always loved orange flavoured chocolates and cakes. It has the quality to enhance the taste of any food that it is incorporated into. This is one of my favourite, not for its flavour alone, but for its spongy texture too. I have never had a cup cake decorated with any kind of frosting and I think this orange cup cake surely does not require any adornment. Orange cakes seem to have the quality of tasting better on the next day of baking, so to relish the rich flavour of orange save some and try it the next day.

Ingredients

Flour                        100 gms

Sugar                       100 gms

Unsalted Butter      100 gms

Baking powder        1tsp

Baking soda             1/4tsp

Orange zest              1tsp

Orange juice             50 ml

Eggs                         2

Vanilla                     1/4tsp

Almonds                  20gm

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180*C

2. Beat Butter and sugar until soft.

3. Add in eggs one by one and beat until fluffy.

4. Add in vanilla and orange zest. Beat to mix.

5. Add in flour mixture and beat on low speed, only till everything is mixed.

6. Add in the juice and beat again for two-seconds for the juice to get mixed in.

7. Spoon the mixture in paper cups, sprinkle lightly toasted and chopped almonds and bake for 15 minutes at 180*C.

8. Makes about 15 cup cakes.

Note:

1. I used powdered sugar.

2. When adding flour, do not beat for a long time, if done so the cakes will become hard. So, to avoid over beating, can fold in the flour using a spatula by hand.

Naan- Garlic naan, Butter naan

One food that my son will love to eat, three meals a day would be Naan and Paneer butter masala.He never gets bored of eating this North Indian food and I have seen quite a lot of other kids also who are crazy about this combination. For a change, when I made egg curry, he was surprised but didn’t complain. I know he wouldn’t, because as long as it is naan he would eat it, even without a curry.  This is one food that I feel comfortable to cook next to roti, as it easy to prepare and doesn’t take a great deal of time. Naan can be cooked at home exactly the way it is cooked in a tandoor, but without a tandoor. Naan can either be made using or without using yeast. Since I ran out of yeast this time, I prepared the naan using curd and baking powder.

Ingredients

Flour (maida)        - 500 g

Baking powder     - 1tsp

Soda bi carb          - 1/4tsp

Salt                        - 1tsp

Sugar                     - 1tsp

Curd                      - 2tbsp

Milk                      - 50 ml

Oil                         - 5tsp
Non - stick tawa or pan, with a handle - must

For flavour

Garlic            - 3 cloves

Butter  or oil  - 3tbsp

To make naan using yeast avoid milk, curd, baking powder, soda bi carb and use 2tsp Active dry yeast. I use only a tsp of yeast, to avoid the strong odour of the yeast.

Method

1. Combine flour, baking powder, soda bi carb, sugar, milk, curd, salt and oil in a large bowl, add required amount of water and knead to a fine dough. 

2. Cover and let it rest for an hour.

3. Divide into small portions. For the given quantity I was able to make 13 naans.

4. Take a portion of the dough, roll it to an elongated shape - dust some flour to prevent it from sticking to the board.

5. Brush water on the surface of the rolled naan, transfer this to a medium hot non- stick tawa with the wet surface of the naan down. 

6. Brush some garlic butter or just butter on the top surface of the naan in the tawa. (Can even sprinkle some dry herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano or coriander leaves  if desired 

7. When the naan begins to puff up lightly, invert the tawa upside down with the buttered side facing the fire directly and cook until golden brown spots appear or until it is cooked. Transfer the cooked naan to a plate and continue the process with the other portions.
8. Serve with paneer butter masala (recipe given), egg curry or any chicken curry.

For garlic butter naan

1. Heat butter in a pan, add minced garlic and let it cook for a minute or two until the flavour is well infused into the butter. Let it cool and use. This can be brushed on the cooked naan also just before serving.

For butter naan 

1. Brush melted butter on the surface of the naan, either before cooking or after.

Suggestions: 

1. Brushing water on the surface of the rolled dough, keeps it sticking to the tawa and prevents it from falling when the tawa is inverted.

2. This is possible only with a non- stick tawa or can even use a non - stick sauce pan or frying pan.

3. For plain naan skip step 6 and go to step 7.

4. Though it is best when served hot, the naan remains soft even when it is cold, when cooked in this manner.

5. To make naan using yeast, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water, after 10 minutes add this to the flour, add salt, oil,sugar and knead to a fine dough. Let it rest covered for an hour and cook it in the above said manner.

Kambu puttu - Pearl millet puttu

Kambu or pearl millet can be used just like ragi and its importance in a healthy life style is highlighted nowadays by many health professionals. In Kerala, puttu is sweetened by sugar, but in chettinad cuisine, jaggery is used predominantly in sweet dishes, even puttu, be it ragi or rice is sweetened by jaggery. In this authentic traditional food or gramathu samayal, I have used jaggery instead of sugar, but the rest of the procedure is same as that of ragi or rice puttu.

Ingredients
1. Pearl millet ( Kambu ) flour    -   1 cup
2. Jaggery                                   -   1/2 cup (grated)
3. Coconut                                  -   2 tbsp (grated)
4. Salt                                          -   a pinch
5. Water
6. Ghee
7. Banana

Method
1. Roast the flour for a few minutes, add salt and set aside.
2. Sprinkle water little by little and continue to mix, by breaking lumps working with the fingers.
3. Stop adding water when the mixture resembles wet sand( not too wet ) and holds firm in hand when pressed. To be precise, it should look like bread crumbs.
4. Transfer this mixture to processor and whip for a second or two to remove even the tiniest lumps in the mixture.
5. Cook this in a traditional puttu maker or steam cook for 20 minutes on medium heat and let it cool.
6. Add grated jaggery and whip for a second or two. This makes the jaggery spread even.
7. Puttu should be had by adding ghee and mixing it with mashed banana.

Suggestions:
1.To steam cook, take water in a wide pan, place an idly plate that does not touch the water, cover the plate with a white cloth, spread the puttu mixture on the cloth, top it up with grated coconut, cover and cook.
2. Some prefer to add salt to the water and use it, that’s how ladies in my home did, but I find the other way more sensible, when we do not know the exact quantity of water to be used.
3. Can use kambu flour in dosa batter or  when making roti. I usually add a couple of tbsps and it does’nt  alter the taste to a great extent.

Puliyodarai - (Puli saadam) - Tamarind rice

When I say puliyodarai or puli saadam, a traditional Iyengar speciality, the first thought that hits my mind is the puliyodarai that is given as prasadham in Parthasarathy temple and Mylai Kabaleeshwar temple in Chennai. People in the South, know for sure that we get the best puliyodarai in a perumal temple. The following recipe is my mother’s version, which is slightly different from the regular puliyodarai.

Ingredients - I
Roast and powder
1. Bengal gram - 1tsp
2. Tuar dal - 1tsp
3. Urad dal - 1tsp
4. Red chilly - 2 or 4
5. Coriander seeds - 1tsp or 2tsp
6. Raw rice - 1/4tsp
7. Curry leaves - 5
8. Fenugreek - 1/4tsp
9. Black sesame seeds - 1/2 to 1tsp

For tempering - II
1. Gingely oil - 3tbsp
2. Mustard + urad dal - 1/2tsp
3. Fenugreek - 1/2tsp
4. Bengal gram - 1tsp
5. Curry leaves - 5
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
7. Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
8. Red chilly - 1


 Ingredients - III
Raw rice - 100 gm s
Tamarind - small lemon sized ball soaked in 300 ml water and strained
Jaggery - 1/2tsp
white Channa - 1/2cup

Method
1. Cook rice with a few drops of gingely oil, spread it on a wide plate and let it cool.
2. Soak, dry channa for 8 hours in water and cook with salt and keep aside.
3. In a few drops of oil roast the given ingredients and grind to a fine powder.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard + urad dal, bengal gram, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, split red chilly and when they begin to change colour, add asafoetida. Add in the tamarind water.
5. Add turmeric powder, salt and let it boil for two minutes.
6. Add the powder, mix well and on low heat, continue to cook until the oil surfaces.
7. Add the jaggery, mix well remove from heat.
8. Add this mixture to the cooked rice and mix well.
9. Mix in cooked channa and serve with pappadam.

Suggestions
1. The given quantity will serve 2, and the spice level of the rice will be low.
2. As I have mentioned use 4 red chillies and 2 tsp of coriander seeds for a spicy rice if desired.