The most favorite sweet in most of our homes. I don’t think anyone can make Mysore pak like the one made by my grandma. Her Mysore pak used to be soo silky and smooth that it would just melt and just slip through your throat. Here’s my rendition of Mysore pak!
Ingredients
Kadalai mavu/ besan -1 cup
Sugar – 2 cups
Ghee – 2 1/2 cups
Sunflower oil — 1/2 cup.
A tray greased with ghee
Kuzhi paniyaram is a snack everyone loves. Most of the time it’s made with idli batter. So when I was left with little pasi paruppu idli batter , I added some ingredients and made this masala kuzhi paniyaram. Enjoy paniyaram with a cup of steaming tea or coffee .
Ingredients
Pasi paruppu idli mav — 2 cups ( https://sujatasrecipes.blog/2020/06/24/pasi-paruppu-idli/)
Rice flour — 1/2 cup
Onoin — 2
Green chili — 2
Ginger — 1/2 inch
Sauf — 1 teaspoon
Salt — 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh curry leaves.
Method
Coarsely grind together green chili ,ginger ,sauf and curry leaves. Chop the onions . Now add the rice flour, chopped onions ,grounded ingredients and salt to the pasi paruppu idli mav. Add enough water and mix well to get a semi- thick batter. Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan with little oil in each mold. When the oil is hot pour in the batter in each would. They will puff,wait for 2 minutes ,use a chop stick turn it ,lower the flame and cook it till done. Remove and enjoy paniyaram.
A healthier version of idli. Instead of rice I have used moongdal to make idli’s. The taste is awesome. Enjoy soft and fluffy plain moong dal idli or also with vegetables.
Ingredients
Pasi paruppu / Moong dal — 2 glass
Urad dal — 1 glass
Salt — 1 1/2 teaspoons .
Method
Wash both the dals separately and soak it for 3 hours . Grind urad dal into a fluffy smooth paste. Grind moong dal separately adding enough water.Add salt and mix both the dals together. Allow it to ferment ,which would take a minimum of 6 hours. After fermenting mix the batter well,the batter should not too thick or thin. Pour the batter into the idli mould and steam the idli’s for 10-12 minutes. Allow it to cool and then remove the idli. Enjoy idli with chutney or sambar or both.😋
Variation — Make vegetable idli. Before pouring the batter into the idli mould ,add shredded carrots ,chopped ginger ,green chill and cashews. Give a tempering of mustard seeds and channa dal.
People who like the taste of fresh pudina will love this chutney. The combination of pudina and coconut gives the chutney a very refreshing taste. Enjoy this chutney with any snack like bhaji or bonda.
Ingredients
Fresh pudina — 1/2 cup
Coconut —- 1/2 cup
Channa dal —- 1 tablespoon
Dry red chili — 1
Mustard seeds — 1/2 teaspoon
Asafetida — 1/4 teaspoon
Oil — 2 teaspoons
Salt — 1/2 teaspoon.
Method
Wash the pudina leaves well and drain out water. Heat a spoon of oil and fry the channa dal and red chili till the dal changes color,add the pudina leaves and saute and put of the heat. Cool the fried ingredients and grind it along with coconut,asafoetida and salt,adding water to get a chutney consistency .
A simple chutney to make but,the most liked chutney of my family . It goes well with any tiffin item. Spread a tablespoon of this chutney on dosai, top it up with some shredded cheese and enjoy spicy cheese dosai.
Ingredients
Onion —- 2
Tomato —- 2
Urad dal —- 2 tablespoons
Dry red chili —- 4
Garlic — 2 ponds, optional
Oil —- 2 tablespoons.
Method
Heat a spoon of oil and fry the urad dal till the dal changes colour. Remove and keep aside. Now heat the remaining oil saute the chopped onion and garlic till it turns translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes. let them cool and grind everything together with salt. Tomato-onion chutney ready.
A chutney with mild heat and smoked flavour, this capsicum chutney takes a minor deviation from traditional chutney recipes. Enjoy this chutney with uthappam or any dish of your preference that requires an oomph factor.
Ingredients
Capsicum —- 1
Onion— 1
Green chili — 2
Peanut —- 2 tablespoon
Dry red chili. —- 1
Tamarind. — small marble size
Mustard seeds — 1/2 teaspoon
Oil — 3 teaspoons
Salt —- 1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves.
Wash the capsicum well and apply little oil all over the capsicum. Place the capsicum on open flame of a gas stove and roast it. Use a pair of tong or a skewer to turn the capsicum until the skin blackens a little. Allow it to cool and remove the seeds and blacked skin. Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and fry the peanuts and red chili. Once the peanut starts changing color add the chopped onoin and saute till the onion turns pink in color, put of the heat. Add the green chili and tamarind and saute. Grind together the fried ingredients along with roasted capsicum,fresh coriander and salt, adding little water to a chutney consistency . For the tempering , heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds when the crackle add it to the chutney . Grilled Capsicum Chutney ready.
Hummus is a dip or a spread used along many dishes in Middle East . The method is simple but to get the proper consistency you need some patience and practice.
Ingredients
Kabuli channa — 1 cup
Gralic — 2
Tahini paste— 2 teaspoon
Olive. Oil —
Red chili powder —
Salt —
Ice cubes, warm water.
Method
Rinse and soak the chick peas for at least 8 hours or overnight.Pressure cook the soaked chick peas. If you want a smooth texture to the Hummus, try peeling off the skin of the chickpeas. Start by first blending the chick peas and the roasted garlic pods. Gradually add in the ice cubes, lemon juice, tahini paste and salt. Keep adding the warm water to achieve the required consistency. Once, the hummus is nice and fluffy, sprinkle chilli powder on top to add a bit of spice. Feel free to add olive oil while blending or in the end, if you desire the extra texture and flavor of olive oil.
Tahini Paste
Dry roast white sesame seeds until you get the aroma. Blend the seeds with olive oil until smooth.
Falafel is a Middle Easten dish. Its a snack iteam,something similar to our paruppu vada. Having spent around 30 years in Middle East, I was missing on the Arabic dishes. Since lockdown various cuisines have been prepared at home. So this Sunday my daughter prepared few Middle Eastern dishes to satisfy our craving for Arabic dishes, and I must admit we went back a few years 🤗.
Ingredients
Chick peas —- 2 cups
Onion —- 1
Garlic — 2 pods
Cumin seeds — 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder — 1 teaspoon
Pepper powder — 3/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder — 1/2 teaspoon
Salt — 1 1/2 teaspoon
Plain flour — 2 tablespoons
Fresh coriander leaves.
Falafel
Blend together all the ingredients without adding water to get a coarse mixture (just like the mixture to make paruppu vada). Shape the mixture into medium sized balls, cover it with cling wrap and freeze it for an hour. Heat oil in a kadai. The heat shouldn’t be too high, as the Falafal will brown outside but will remain uncooked inside. Gently place the falafel balls and deep fry them in medium heat, turning them to the other side once it gets browned.
Make a wrap with falafel and Pita bread to make a wholesome meal or just have them with tomato
sauce as a snack.
I have made only pickles of Nellikkay. I wanted to make some other dish with nellikkay ,so tried out making rasam with it. The mild spice and tanginess adds to the taste of the rasam. It is always recommended to have rasam whenever you have a cold. Have nellikkay rasam which is high in Vitamin C.
Ingredients
Nellikkāy —- 5
Tomatoes — 2
Tuvar dal — 1/2 cup
Green chili —- 1
Ginger — 1/2 inch
Whole pepper — 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds — 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds — 3/4 teaspoon
Jaggery — 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder — 1/2 teaspoon
Salt — 1 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee — 1 teaspoon
Few curry leaves.
Do you like chakkai / jackfruit? Here’s a recipe where chakkai has been used differently. You will require very little quantity of chakkai to prepare chakkai dosai. It’s quick and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
Wheat flour —- 1 cup
Fresh chakkai a pieces — 1/2 cup
Jaggery — 2 tablespoon
Water — 2 cups
Ghee.
Method
Grind together chakkai pieces and jaggery adding half a glass of water. Now add the remaining water to the grounded paste. Now slowly incorporate the whole mixture to the wheat flour,mixing everything together . Heat a tava,grease it with ghee,lower the heat,pour in a ladle of batter. Drizzle ghee around the dosai. When its cooked,flip it,drizzle some more ghee on top of the dosai, and cook it. Enjoy sweet jackfruit dosai.
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