Mullai Keerai Masiyal / Kadayal (Pureed Amaranth Leaves with Garlic)

Amaranth leaves is a rich source of vitamins and minerals.  There are  many  varieties and is called by different names around the world.

In Tamil Nadu (India) Amaranth leaf is called as Mullai Keerai. Mullai Keerai Masiyal / Kadayal is a popular, easy to make, healthy dish.  Traditionally, it is cooked in mud pot using a wooden ladle to mash.

Click here to know more about Amaranth leaves.



Ingredients

Mullai keerai – 1 punch (roughly chopped)
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Greenchilli – 1
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Cooked dhal – 1 tbsp (optional)
Ghee – 1 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions:

Remove the roots and wash the leaves along with stems thoroughly to remove any sand particles in it.

In a pan, add roughly chopped Amaranth leaves, chopped garlic, cumin seeds,  green chilli and sprinkle little water.

Close the lid and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from flame and allow to cool.

 Grind the cooled contents in a mixie to purred consistency, adding cumin seeds and salt.

(But I like to grind it coarsely and not to a fine paste)

Transfer it to a serving bowl. Serve this tasty and healthy Keerai Masiyal with steamed rice or as a accompaniment for any spicy curry with rice.

Note:  Adding Dhal and Ghee will improve the nutritional value and will be a wholesome meal for kids.
                                      Keerai Masiyal in picture below after adding dhal

Potato (Urilai Kizhangu) Masala for poori / Poori Masala

Potato (Urilai Kizhangu) masala is a best vegetarian accompaniment for Poori.  Though it is regarded a South Indian dish, it is famous all over India.

It is quick and easy to prepare.  We can also use this as a spread for Masala Dosa, if the masala is made thick!

Ingredients:

Potato - 2
Big Onion - 2

Tomato  - ½

Fresh Ginger  - ½ inch pice

Coriander Leaves for  garnishing
Gram Flour  - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Green Chillies  – 5 to 6 (adjust according to your spice needs)
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - to taste

For seasoning:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard  - ½ tsp
Urad dhal  - 1 tsp
Channa dhal  - 1 tsp
Cinnamon – 1
Clove - 2

Directions:

Pressure cook the Potatoes until it becomes soft. 

Allow it to cool; then peel the skin and cut into small sized cubes or mash them coarsely.

Cut Onions and Green Chillies lengthwise; keep aside.

Finely chop the Tomatoes and Ginger; keep aside.

Heat oil in a Kadai; season it with Cloves, Cinnamon, Mustard seeds and Curry leaves. Once it splutters, add Urad dhal and Chana dhal.

After it reaches golden brown colour, add the chopped Onion, Ginger and Green Chilli. Fry till the Onion becomes translucent.

Add finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and Salt; continue to fry.

Once the tomatoes become soft, pour 1 to 1½ cups of water and allow to boil.

Add the cubed or coarsely mashed Potatoes to the boiling water and give it a mix.

In a separate bowl, mix bengal gram flour with ¼ - ½ cup of water to form a paste like consistency.

Pour this into the Potato mixture and allow to cook for 5 minutes in reduced flame.

Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve hot with Poori.

Note:

Tomato, Cinnamon and Cloves are optional. If you don’t want to add, omit that and follow the procedure.

Chettinad Chicken Curry (Chettinad Kozhi Kuzhambu)

This is a popular chicken recipe of Tamil Nadu from chettinad cuisine, using freshly ground spices and also i am very happy to inform that i got a second prize for this recipe in a cookery contest under chicken category.

Ingredients :
Chicken (medium-size pieces) - 1/2 kg
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
small onion - 10 

Tomato (chopped) - 1
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Fresh coriander leaves - for garnishing

For the masala(Dry roast and grind):
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 4 to 5 nos (Adjust according to your spice level)
Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon sticks - 1
Cardamoms - 1
Cloves - 2
Star anise - 1

To grind:

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Cashew nut - 5 to 6

For seasoning:

Oil - 1 or 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 Sprig
Bay leaf - 1
Kalpasi - little

                               



Directions:

Roast all the masala ingredients without oil and grind together to a smooth powder.

Grind coconut and cashew nut together to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a wok; add curry leaves, bay leaf, kalpasi, onion and sauté till brown.

Add ginger, garlic pastes and tomato. Sauté till tomato becomes soft.

Add masala powder, salt and chicken; sauté well, till chicken is well coated with the spices.

Allow to cook till the chicken is half done. Now add the coconut cashewnut paste with water.

Close the pan with a lid and cook in a low flame for 10 to 15 minutes, till the chicken becomes soft and oil separates.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

This is a best accompaniment for Steamed rice, Biriyani, Idli, Dosa, Appam (hoppers), Chappati, Parotta, kothu parotta and Idiyappam (String Hoppers).

Also check mom's special Kozhi Kulambu (Chicken Gravy)

Orange Cranberry Muffins

These kid-friendly fruity muffins make a good, healthy breakfast or anytime snack!  An excellent combination of cranberries and oranges giving it a tangy cranberry bite and bright orange flavour!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 2 cups
Sugar – 1 cup
Baking powder – 1 ½ tsp
Baking soda - ½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Orange rind - 1 tbsp
Orange juice – ¾ cup
Vegetable oil – ¼ cup
Egg – 1
Milk – ½ cup
Walnuts- ¼ cup (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 deg. C; Line a muffin / cupcake pan with paper liners.

Grate the rind from one whole orange (making about 1 tablespoon of rind) and set aside.

Place the dried cranberries and the freshly squeezed orange juice in a small sauce pan and bring to simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring as needed. Turn off heat and set aside.
(This helps plump up the dried cranberries)

In a large bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar, walnuts and set aside.

In a separate bowl add oil, orange juice and cranberries, orange zest, egg, milk. Blend until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir until combined (do not over mix!). 

Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared muffin tin.  Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the muffin, clean. Cool muffins on a wire cooling rack and serve.

Wheat Halwa / Godhumai Halwa

Halwa is a popular dessert across the Indian sub-continent and middle east. This comes in different forms though the main ingredients are mostly flour,sugar and nuts.

Usually wheat halwa preparation is very elaborate, involving extraction of milk from whole wheat.  I have used wheat flour in this receipe, which is quicker & simpler.

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 ½ cups
Ghee - ¾ cup
Milk – 2 cup
Water – 3 cup
Cashew nuts -10 to 15 (broken into pieces)
Cardamom – 2 tsp
Food colour – red (a pinch)

Directions

Add 1 or 2 tsp of ghee in a pan and fry the cashews into golden brown; keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add little ghee and fry the wheat flour in medium flame, stirring continuously till flavour of the wheat flour comes, but don’t allow to burn. Remove the pan from the stove.

Mix milk, water, food colour and wheat flour without lumps.

(To avoid lumps, use hand beater or whisker)

Again keep the pan on fire. When it starts to thicken add sugar, cardamom powder and fried cashews. Add ghee at regular intervals spoon by spoon, while stirring.

When the halwa reaches to ball like consistency without sticking to the pan, your halwa is ready.

Pour into a greased tray and garnish with cashews.

After cooling it will start to set. You can cut this into desired shape and serve.

Note: 

You have to stir continuously throughout the process in medium flame; this preparation will take 30 minutes approximately.  Quicker & Simpler!

Broken Wheat Bisibelabath

Bisibelabath is a famous one pot meal from Karnataka, a Southern Indian state. Usually this recipe is prepared with rice along with lentils (dhal), spices and veggies. Here I want to give a healthier version of this using broken wheat instead of rice.

Broken wheat has nutty flavour, chewy and a delightful taste.  It is nutritious and has a better glycemic index than rice. Broken wheat is considered as a super food for diabetic.  It is an excellent source of fibre and fits in a low fat diet.
Include this in your daily routine for a healthy living. I will try to give more recipes using this.

Ingredients

Broken wheat – 1 cup
Toor dhal (thuvaram paruppu) – ½ cup

Carrot – 1 small (cut into bite sized pieces)
Beans – 6 to 7 pieces (cut into bite sized pieces)
Drumstick – 1 (cut into pieces)
Capicum – ½ (cut into bite sized pices)

Small onion – 15 (chopped roughly)
Tomato – 3 medium sized (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Tamarind – big gooseberry size soaked in 1 cup water
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Asafoetida – ½ tsp
Ghee – 1 or 2 tbsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Urad dhal – ¾ tsp
Cashew nuts – 5 to 6 (optional)
Oil – 1 tbsp

For BBB powder:
Red chillies – 6 to 7 (adjust according to your spice level)
Coriander seeds – 4 tsp
Bengal gram dhal – 4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Grated coconut – 1 tablespoon

Directions

Wash broken wheat and toor dhal and pressure cook by adding 5 cups of water for 4 to 5 whistles along with turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt, till it becomes soft.

once it is done, give a quick mash using a ladle and keep aside.
Now squeeze the soaked tamarind and keep aside.

For BBB powder, dry roast the ingredients by adding one by one.  Add the coconut at last fry and grind altogether.  Keep this aside.

Take a kadai, add oil, season with mustard seeds, after it splutters add the remaining tempering ingredients, one by one.

Once it is done, add small onions and tomatoes with little salt, fry till tomatoes become soft.

Now add chopped vegetables with little water. Allow to cook till becomes soft. Once it is done keep aside.

Place the pressure cooker again in the pan; add Tamarind extract to the cooked broken wheat and dhal mixture. Give it a mix.

Keep fire in a medium flame. Add the cooked vegetable mixture and BBB powder, garam masala powder to wheat dhal mixture.

Mix well; add the remaining ghee and simmer for 5 minutes.  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note:

Diabetic and those who want to have a low fat diet can avoid ghee & cashew and relish.

Sending this to HITS – Diabetic friendly and HITS page"

Banana Raisin Bread / Banana Bread

This recipe doesn’t require an electric beater and very easy to prepare.  Make sure you are using fully ripened  bananas for better taste.  A touch of cinnamon flavor is added in this receipe to add to taste!

Makes: one loaf

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 1  cup
Banana – 2 or 3 large bananas
Unsalted Butter – 1/3 cup (melted)
Raisins – ¼ cup
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Sugar – ¾ cup 
Egg – 1
Vanilla - 1 tsp

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Take a bowl; mash the bananas well by the use of fork or spoon.

Mix in melted butter to the mashed bananas.

Mix in the sugar, eggs, vanilla essence .

Then mix in flour, cinnamon powder and baking soda. Mix it thoroughly and add in raisins. mix once again.

Pour into the greased  loaf pan, transfer into the oven.

.


Bake at 180 deg C for about 45 - 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven.  Allow it to cool before slicing and then serve.

Note:

Do not over mix the batter. This will produce tough bread.

Instead of raisins you can use chocolate chip.

Potato Kurma / Side dish for Chapathi / Parotta

This kurma (South Indian) is one of the best accompaniments for chappathi; also goes well with poori and string hoppers (idiyappam).  Instead of potato you can also try this recipe with mixed vegetables (like potato, beans, cauliflower, peas, carrot).



Ingredients

Potato - 2 medium sizes (boiled)
Onion – 1 (finely chopped)
Tomato – 1 Small (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1½ tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Corriander leaves – to garnish

To Grind:
Coconut – ¾ cup
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 4 (adjust according to your spice level)
Cashew nut - 5

For Seasoning:
Cinnamon – 1
Cloves – 3
Cardamom – 2
Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Directions

Peel the skin of boiled potatoes and chop into cubes; keep aside.

Grind coconut, fennel seeds, green chillies and cashew nuts into fine paste.

Heat oil in a kadai and add all the ingredients given under seasoning.  After it splutters, add finely chopped onion and fry till colour changes.

Now add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes with little salt.

Once tomatoes become soft, add the potatoes and ground paste; give it a thorough mix.

Add water if required and allow to boil.

Close the pan with a lid and cook in low flame for 5 to 10 minutes till oil separates.

Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with chappathi, poori or string hoppers(idiyappam).

Wheat Bread pizza

This is one of the favourite foods for kids. Here I am using wheat bread instead of usual white bread to make it healthier.

Ingredients

Wheat bread slices – 4
Tomato sauce or pizza sauce – 1 or 2 tbsp
Mixed vegetables of your choice – ½ cup (onion, capsicum, olives, mushroom, and tomatoes)
Mozzarella cheese – ½ to 1cup
Chilli flakes – to sprinkle (optional)
Oregano – to sprinkle
Olive oil - to drizzle

Directions

Preheat oven at 180 deg. C.

Apply tomato sauce / pizza sauce over one side of the bread slices. Arrange the veggies of your choice over the bread.

Sprinkle oregano, chilli flakes and mozzarella cheese.

Place the prepared bread base in the oven and bake   at 180 deg. C for 5 to 10 minutes or  till the cheese melts.

Note:

You can also prepare this dish in  tawa.

Toast the bread using butter; follow the same method.  Instead of placing in oven, keep the bread in the tawa till the cheese melts.

I am sending this recipe to
What is with my cuppa and Nupur's page"

Mushroom Biryani

Biryani is an Indian dish made with highly seasoned rice and meat or fish or vegetables; here is a variation made with spices, rice and mushroom. Use of long grain rice is preferred for better taste , texture and consistency.

Ingredients:

Button Mushroom – 250 grams (clean in warm water and cut into bite sized pieces)
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato – 1 big
Ghee – 1 or 2 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp
Bay leave – 1
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice – 2 tsp (optional)

To Grind:
Cinnamon – 1 small piece
Cloves - 2 or 3
Cardamom – 1
Ginger – ½ “piece
Garlic – 3 cloves
Corriander leaves – less than ½ bunch
Mint leaves – less than ½ bunch
Redchilly powder – ¾ tsp
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Curd – 1 tbsp

Directions:

Chop the onions and tomatoes lengthwise. Keep aside.

Wash and soak the rice in water for nearly fifteen minutes.

Take a pressure cooker and add oil and ghee, after it becomes hot add bay leaves and chopped onions. Saute well, till it reaches the golden brown colour .

Add chopped tomatoes and little salt; sauté till tomatoes become soft.

After that add grounded paste and chopped mushroom; sauté well till the raw smell goes. Then add drained basmati rice. Give a quick mix and add 1½ cup water .

When the water starts boiling, check for salt and spice (if you feel spice is more, add lime juice to reduce it). Close the cooker with the lid.

After the first whistle simmer for five minutes and switch off the gas.

Serve hot with onion raita and for more tast along with any veg or non veg gravy.