Bottlegourd Adai/ Bottlegourd pancake south indian style

Adai is a quick dosa from tamilnadu . Batter need not be fermented. Any vegetable or herb can be added to enhance the taste of batter. This is my favorite version of adai which have arrived at after a lots of trial and error. 

Raw Rice - 1/2 cup

Moong Dal - 1/4 cup

Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Toor Dal - 2 tbsp

Urad Dal - 2 tbsp

Ginger  - 1 inch piece

Coconut - 1/4 cup,grated

Green Chili - a few to taste

Bottlegourd /lauki - 1 cup , grated

Curry Leaves - 1 spring , chopped

Salt to taste

Ghee or Oil  - 1/4 cup 

Ghee - 2 tsp , for tempering 

Hing -  1/8 tsp

1. Wash  rice and dals very well.
2. Soak them together for 3-4 hrs.
3. Grind rice , dal, chili and ginger with a cup of water.
4. Heat ghee and add hing and then curry leaves.
5. Add the grated bottlegourd , coconut and salt.
6. Cool the mix and add to the batter.
7. Mix everything well and get ready to make adai.
8. Heat a frying pan or skillet  and pour a ladleful of batter.
9. Spread the batter like a dosa /pancake.
10. Pour a tsp of ghee around over the dosa.
11. Once the dosa cooks on one side flip and cook the other side.
12. And serve with any chutney of choice.

Sending it to Bottlegourd Event :  http://vegetariantastebuds.blogspot.com

Sending it to  Show me your hits : Healthy Treats Event  : http://sangeethaskitchen.blogspot.com

Methi and Amaranth leaves stirfry

Methi we brought this week was a little too bitter so i mixed it with equal part of amaranth leaves and the stir fry was really yummy.

Methi - 2 cups , chopped
Amaranth - 2 cups , chopped
Onion - 1 cup , chopped
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let it pop.
2. Add the onion and cook till translucent.
3. Add the turmeric and chili powder and cook for 30 secs.
4. Add the greens ,cover and cook.
5. When the water evaporates completely add salt.
6. Mix well and you are ready to serve.

Sending it to new-u-event  @ vardhini's blog

Cauliflower and spinach soup & Awards

This soup recipe is from a friend Supraja. she showed us her very popular cream of broccoli soup  and today i have tried a variation with cauliflower and spinach.Its a perfect soup for the cold weather .

Cauliflower - 2 cup  , florets separated and washed
Spinach - 1 cupOnion - 1/2 of big one , chopped
Green Chili - 1, slit
Ginger - 1 inch , sliced into half
Wheat Flour - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 1/2 tbsp

1. Melt the butter in a deep a sauce pan and add onion.
2. Mix well and let onion turns translucent and add cauliflower .
3. Saute for few minutes and add the wheat flour.
4. Mix well and cook for another few minutes.
5. Add 1 cup of milk , spinach,chili and ginger .
6. Cook till the cauliflower turns just fork tender.
7. Allow the mixture to  cool enough to handle .
8. Fish out chili and ginger pieces and then  puree.
9. Add the rest of milk and water to the puree .
10. Simmer the puree for another 2- 3 minutes   .
11. Add salt and pepper mix well and your soup is ready to serve.

Sending it to :
Healthy soups @http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com

Healing food cauliflower @http://vardhiniskitchen.blogspot.com

AWARD1 :Sangeetha  of  http://sangeethaskitchen.blogspot.com  has showered us with a lot of wonderful awards. Thank You very much for the awards Sangeetha.

Forwarding it to this wonderful bloggers 
Priya  : http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com
Deepa : http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com
Gayathri : http://g3foodspot.blogspot.com
Santosh : http://santoshbangar.blogspot.com

AWARD2 :Shoba of http://sobha-goodfood.blogspot.com sent this cute award. Thank You Shoba.

Forwarding it to these wonderful blogger 
Arathi : http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com
Faseela : http://faseelanoushad.blogspot.com
Hema: http://aromatic-cooking.blogspot.com
Neha : http://muchmorethanahomemaker.blogspot.com
Suja : http://kichencorner.blogspot.com

AWARD3 : of http://cook-ezee.blogspot.com has sent this wonderful award. Thank you very much prathibha.

Liebster' means favourite or dearest in German. Rules for accepting the award: 

- Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog.

- Copy and paste the award to your blog.

- Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.

- Hope they pass it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honour.

Forwarding it to these wonderful blogger 
Hari Chandana : http://thecuisine.blogspot.com
Maayka : http://maayeka.blogspot.com
Priya : http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com
Divya : http://edivyaraj.blogspot.com

HorseGram Podi

I was paired with Priya of http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com for this months blog hop .She has a wonderful collection of fabulous recipes and when i saw this traditional recipe  at her blog i knew what i wanted to cook. Horsegram which is called  mudhira in malayalam  is said to be  very warm so its really good podi for winter season . I have heard ,my mom say that horse gram should be used very judiciously in summer but can be eaten in winter in which ever form you like.

Horsegram /Mudhira - 1/4 cup
Toor Dal - 1 tbsp
Whole Dry Red Chilli - 1 
Peppercorn - a few
Salt 

1. Roast horsegram till color changes to dark red on low heat.
2. Roast the dal to golden on low heat.
3. Roast the red chili till fragrant.
4. And toss black pepper too for a few minutes on low heat.
5. Once everything cools grind it to a powder.

Serve sprinkled on hot rice with ghee or use as seasoning for vegetable.


"Blog-Hop-Wednesdays" at tickling palates.

Quick Pavakka Mezkuvarrati

Here is a quick stir fry that goes well with curd or sambar rice. If you ask me i even love it with roti. My mom makes so many version of this stirfry and i love them all but specially this one for its simplicity.

Bitter Gourd/Pavakka - 2
Curry Leaves - a few
Whole Dry Red Chili  - 3, crushed
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp

1. Wash the pavakka and divide into half and slice thin.
2. Heat oil in a wide frying pan .
3. Add curry leaves and crushed red chili.
4. Then add turmeric to the oil and  sliced pavakka.
5. Add salt and mix well  and cook on medium heat.
6. Cook till the vegetable is cooked to the crispiness of your liking

PS :This stir fry stays good even outside the fridge for two three days so perfect for traveling.

French Beans Mezhukvaratti

French beans is cooked here in  coconut oil with little to no spices . Goes very well with curd rice and is perfect for lunch box. Can be served as a warm salad too .

Fresh Beans -  2 cups , chopped as in picture
Onion - 1/4 cup , chopped
Green Chili - 2 , chopped
Ginger - 1/2 tsp, chopped fine
Curry Leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

1. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let it pop.
2. Add the onion , green chili , curry leaves .
3. Cook till onion turns translucent and add turmeric.
4. Then add the beans , ginger and salt , mix well and cover.
5. Remove the cover  in 2-3 minutes and cook for little more.
6. Remove from fire and  you are ready to serve.

PS : Mix few salted and roasted nuts and then it can be served as a warm salad too.

Banana Peel Stirfry

I have used the banana peel left over from the  garlic-pepper-vegge-balls recipe for this stir fry which we call mezhukvaratti . In kerala green plantains peels left over from the  banana chips preparation is  used for this stirfry . Here i  have used the regular banana  which we find in Indian grocery store.

Raw Banana - 2 , boiled
Onion or Pear onions  - 2 tbsp , chopped
Curry leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste.

1. Boil the bananas  till fork tender and take out the peel.
2. Use the banana for garlic-pepper-vegge-balls or kerala-style-raw-banana-potato-curry.
3. And the peel is used for this recipe.
4. Remove the top fiber layer from the boiled peels and chop finely.
5. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let it pop.
6. Add onion and curry leaves and cook till onion turns translucent.
7. Add the turmeric and chili powder and cook for a minute.
8. Add the chopped peels and mix well and add salt.
9. Cook for another two three minutes and you are ready to serve. 

Sending it to banana recipes @http://myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy and Prosperous New Year  !