Vegetable Oothappam

Vegetable Oothappam will be definitely liked by all kids, and this would be a great alternate for the regular dosa. It can be made with leftover poriyal also.

Ingredients:
Dosa batter - 2 cups

Vegetables- 1 cup (Carrot, beans, green peas,cauliflower, cabbage)
Onions- 1/4 cup finely chopped (optional)
green chili - 1 medium
Tomato - few slices(optional)
Oil - 2 tea spoons
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
Salt- as required
Coriander leaves - finely chopped (optional)

Preparation:

1. clean and chop the veggies finely.
2. In a pan, heat 2 tea spoons of oil and add mustard seeds and urad dal.
3.Then add finely chopped onions, green chili and saute until the onion turns transparent.
4. Then add veggies and saute well by adding a little salt.
5. Once the veggies are cooked enough, switch off the flame and let it cool down for a while.
6. Then add this veggie mix to the Dosa batter and mix well.
7.Heat Dosa pan and make thick oothappam. Place tomato pieces on it. Cook both sides well.

Serve with your favorite chutney/podi or sambar

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Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal- Before my marriage, I never thought it will become a mandatory menu at my home. My husband's all time favorite. When my in laws told, "he will not complaint, even if you prepare this all seven days a week" I really did not believe... But now I have to. Ven pongal is a mandatory menu for our Friday dinner. If time permits even vadai will accompany us... Until my marriage i was not a big fan of Ven-pongal, It was just another dish for me. Now being a Pongal lover's wife, had to learn and cook the variations of pongal recipes and slowly I too started loving it.
As This year, his birthday was on Friday,even  Pineapple kesari and Vadai also accompanied us for dinner along with the pongal treat.

There are few more methods to make ven pongal and today i am going to share the one, which is my version. I will later post the other variations too.

Ingredients:

Rice and Moong dal: 2:1 ratio (I used 2/3 cups of rice and 1/3 of dal)
Whole pepper - 1 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - 2 tea spoon
ginger - 1 inch piece (finely chopped)
curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Cashews- few
Ghee - 2 tea spoons
Cooking oil - 3 tea spoons (or you can use ghee instead of oil)
Turmeric - a small pinch (optional)
Salt- as per taste
Water- three times the rice and dal quantity.

Preparation:

1. Wash rice and moong dal and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker,  and add whole pepper, jeera chopped ginger and curry leaves one by one, and saute for a minute.
3. Then Add the washed moong dal .rice,turmeric powder and fry for a minute or two.
4. Add three times of Rice and Dal quantity of cups (I added three cups), and salt as required.
5. cook it for 3-4 whistles.
6.When the pressure leaves, Fry cashews in another pan with 2 tea spoons of ghee and add it to pongal along with ghee.
7. Mix well and serve hot with Sambar, coconut Chutney and Vadai.

Notes:
1. The measurement of water given in the recipe gives a little dry consistency. As My husband does not like a mashed/watery one, I use this quantity of water. For Mashed consistency, Add 4 times the rice and dal quantity.
2. I prefer less oil and less ghee in my recipes, if you like, add few more tea spoons of ghee or oil.
3.Normally my rice needs 2 times the of water to cook, so for pongal i added 3. You can adjust accordingly.

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Potato Masala / Poori Masala - without using Gram flour

Can anything else be the best side dish for Poori other than Potato Masala?
Poori Kilangu would be one of the favorite food to order even in the restaurants for breakfast or dinner. As it is an oily food, we dont make it often. But at least monthly once, this yummy poori and potato masala will occupy our plates.
This is an easy and quick side dish. I normally used to boil the potatoes little advanced or along with Rice in afternoon in the same cooker. So it will take just few minutes to prepare this side dish. This is the version which we normally make at our home. I normally do not add gram flour in it. But it can be added to have consistency.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2-3 large (Boiled and Peeled)
Onion - 1 medium (thinly sliced)
Green chili - 1 or 2 (depends on your spice level increase or decrease)
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece (finely chopped)
Tomato - 2 table spoons (finely chopped) (optional)
Turmeric - a large pinch
Channa dal - 1 table spoon
mustard seeds-1/2 tea spoon
Urad dal - 1/2 tea spoon
Oil - To temper and saute
curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - a few

Preparation:
1. In a pan heat oil and add the Channa dal and fry.
2. When they are turning slight brown, add the mustard seeds and urad dal to it and fry until the dal turn a mild brown and fried well.
3.Add chopped ginger and curry leaves and saute well.
4. After a minute, add the cut green chilies and the sliced Onions to it and saute until the onions are transparent.Then add the tomato and saute well
5. Add a cup of water, and a pinch of turmeric, salt to taste to it and let it boil until the onions are cooked soft.
6. Now cut the potatoes and keep ready. Take about half a large potato and mash with hands nicely and make it like a paste.
7. When the raw smell of turmeric leaves, and the onions are soft,  add the cubed potatoes, mashed potatoes to it and mix.
8. let them cook for a while, and make sure it has sufficient water to cook.(If not add some boiling water)
9. Just add some chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame

Now enjoy with the puffy poories.

Rava Idly

Rava Idly is one of the easiest dinner for me to make.When i am running short of idly or dosa batter, the dish immediately comes in mind is Rava Idly. I used to always stock MTR rava idly mix at home. When I came across this rava idly recipe from Raks Kitchen, I thought of giving a try, and it came out well. So stopped buying the instant one, and started making my own rava idlies. Any my family loves it, I too have the satisfaction of making my own preparation.

I just followed the measurement of the main ingredients from Raks Kitchen with little modification with the process for my comfort.

Ingredients:

Rava / sooji - 1 cup
Curd - 1/2 cup
Eno Fruit salt- 1 tea spoon
water - as required to get the idly batter consistency
Salt - as per taste

To Temper:
Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
Urad dal - 2 tea spoons
Channa dal- 1/4 cup
Cashews- 2 tea spoons (broken/chopped)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (finely chopped)
Oil - 3 tea spoons

Preparation:
1. In a pan, heat three tea spoons of oil and add mustard seeds, channa dal, and urad dal one by one. Saute well.
2.When the channa dal is almost roasted well, add chopped cashews, and curry leaves and saute well.
3.Then Add Rava and Roast for 10 -15 minutes in medium flame.

4. Then let it cool to room temperature, and add half cup of curd and required salt, mix well
5. Keep it aside for 3-5 minutes
6. Then add required water to get the idly batter consistency. (add water little by little)

7. grease the idly molds, and heat water in idly pot and keep ready.
8.Add a tea spoon of fruit salt and stir well. immediately pour the batter in molds and cook for 15 minutes.
9. Insert a toothpick or fork to check whether it is coming out clean.or cook for another 5 more minutes.

10. Serve with your favorite chutney or podi.

Notes:
1. I have not added the chopped green chilies and ginger as I had to feed this to my daughter also. If your kids can eat spicy food, you can add a chopped chili and ginger while tempering.
2. Adding one or two table spoons of grated carrot and green peas will give a great look and it will become a healthy food also

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Chicken Noodles

I have tried Chicken Fried Rice many times in the similar method...
And just applied that for noodles too this time.

Ingredients:

Egg Noodle - 1 cup
(If you are using the same twisted noodle which i have used, take 2 cups)
bone less chicken - 300 grams (approx)
Egg- 2 nos
onions - 1/2 medium
green chili -2
ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
pepper powder - 1 tea spoon
salt -to taste
soy sause - 1/2 a tea spoon (optional)
tomato sauce - 1 tea spoon (optional)
oil-to fry chicken(preserve 2-3 tea spoons of oil once chicken is fried)

To Marinate chicken:

garam masala -1/2 a tea spoon
chili powder - 1/3 tea spoon
ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tea spoon
salt -as per taste

Or

Even you can simply use any chicken 65 masala :)

Preparation:

1. Take 4 cups of water in a pot and bring to boil. when the water bubbles add the uncooked noodles to it.
2. cook for about 7 to 8 mins or until the noodles is tender.
(If your noodles pack says specific way of cooking, please follow those.)
3.Once the noodle is cooked, drain the water and wash it twice with the cold water (Preferably running water. if you dont have drainer or drinking water tap, you can still add cold water in pan and drain it.)
4. Keep the drained noodles aside.

5. In a pan, pre heat  about 2 table spoons of oil (or as per your measurement to deep fry/ shallow fry the chicken)

6. Fry the chicken until they are cooked softly. (Add few curry leaves in pan if you do shallow fry)

7. If shallow fried, drain all the oil and preserve only 2 tea spoons in the same tawa.

8.If not, just take about 2 tea spoons of oil to a frying pan, and add green chilies and onions to it and saute for 2 to 3 mins.

9. Once when the onions are turning into golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste to it.

10. Fry until the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes.

11. Break an egg and drop in the tawa, when it is half cooked, add the fried chicken pieces to it.mix well

12. Add the cooked noodles to this mix, with pepper, salt, and tomato sauce.

13. when they are all blended well add soy sauce and switch off the flame.. 

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Nuts Rava Upma

Upma is one of my favorite food. Any kind of upma will be a treat for me. An easy and quick dish. Sometimes if I need to prepare food only for myself, upma would be my first choice.

Now we are doing this in non-stick pans. But in my childhood days, my mother used to prepare it with iron kadai or in stainless steel kadai. That tastes the best and I always reserve for the layer that sticks with the kadai which used to be crunchy munchy....

When I was at my home for my delivery, whenever my husband asks me what is the breakfast or dinner, I used to say some type of upma. So he used to tease me as "upma family". My husband doesn't like any kind of upma. The word itself is allergic to him. But when I make this Nuts Rava upma he too likes it. As it has nuts it is healthy for kids too. It has less effort as you don't need to cut any veggies..only onions and green chilies will be required for this.

Ingredients:

Rava (Coarse) - 1 cup
onion - 1 small
green chili- 2 medium
ginger - a small piece (optional)
bengal gram - 3 tea spoons
peanut- 3 tea spoons
cashews- 2 tea spoons
mustard seeds- 1/2 tea spoon
urad daal- 1 tea spoon
curry leaves- a few
Oil- 3 to 4 tea spoons
ghee- 1 tea spoon(optional)
salt- as per taste


Preparation:

1. In a kadai/pan heat 3 tea spoon of oil, when it is ready, add bengal gram and peanuts and fry for a min,
2.When they are turning into golden brown color, add mustard seeds , urad dal, cashews and curry leaves one by one.

3. Once the mustard seeds are popped, add the finely chopped, onions, ginger, and green chilies
4.saute it until the onions turn golden brown.(I do not like onions so i cook them well, if you like to bite onions you don't need to let it to golden brown.)
5. Add the rava to this mix and start roasting it in medium flame.Add salt to it
6. In another vessel, measure 2 cups of water and bring it to boil. (simmer flame)

7. roast the rava until the water starts boiling which takes approx 7 to 8 mins.
8. Now add the boiled water to the roasted rava and mix well without lumps in simmer flame.
9. when rava is cooked, add a teaspoon of ghee and switch off the flame.

Serve with sugar/coconut chutney/ curd.

Notes: 

1.If you like a moisture upma add 2 and 1/2 cups of water. for fluffy upma 2 cups are sufficient.

2. The more you roast the rava, the more fluffy the upma will be.

3. Drink more water when you in-take upma varieties. 

4. you can increase or decrease the quantity of nuts per your choice. 

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Easy peas rice

Peas rice will be loved by kids as they love green peas and the aroma of basmati rice...

I love the smell of basmati rice and whenever i open the rice bag, i use to smell deeply. 

This rice can be cooked with ponni rice also, But normally I prefer making it with basmati. I made this stove top this time, you can make this in pressure cooker also. leave it for 2-3 whistles or per your rice used.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice -1 cup

Green peas -3/4 a cup (fresh or frozen)

Onion -1 small

Green chili -2-3 (medium)

ginger garlic paste -1/2 tea spoon

Bay leave- 1

cinnamon-1 small piece

fennel seeds -1/4 a tea spoon

anistar - 1 floret 

oil-2 tea spoon

ghee-1 tea spoon(optional)

coriander leaves - a few(finely chopped)

Preparation:

1.Soak basmati Rice for 30 mins.

2. In a sauce pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add bay leave, cinnamon stick, fenel seeds, and anistar.

3. Fry them until the nice aroma comes, then add sliced onions and green chili to it.

4. Fry them in medium heat, and dont let it burn. 

5. When the onions are transparent add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell leaves.

6.Add Grean peas and fry for a minute or two.

7.Add 2 cups of water and close the pan with lid.

8. When the water boils and green peas is half cooked, add soaked basmati rice to it and reduce the flame to simmer. close pan with a lid.

9.cook for 10- 15 mins. In between open the lid and stir gently without breaking rice and make sure it is not burning.

10. When the rice is cooked and water is absorbed, switch off the flame.

11. Add a tea spoon of ghee and chopped coiander close with lid for another 5 mins then serve with your favorite side dish.

This will be perfect for lunch boxes and dinner for guests.

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Egg Noodles

Noodles - An inevitable food in my list. I have already told in my Veg Noodles recipe how much i am crazy about noodles.

This time I got this Egg noodle pack for a change, because the shape gives the feel of pasta... I was so attracted to this twisted shape too... :)

 As  my husband  doesn't eat non-veg, the Egg dishes are the feast for him... So I prefer making this often.

Lets get into the recipe now:

Ingredients:

Egg Noodle - 1 cup
(If you are using the same twisted noodle which i have used, take 2 cups)
Egg- 2 nos
carrot,beans and peas - 3/4 cup (altogether)
onions - 1/2 medium
green chili -2
ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
pepper powder - 1 tea spoon
salt -to taste
soy sause - 1/2 a tea spoon (optional)
oil-2-3 tea spoons

Preparation:

1. Take 4 cups of water in a pot and bring to boil. when the water bubbles add the uncooked noodles to it.
2. cook for about 7 to 8 mins or until the noodles is tender.
(If your noodles pack says specific way of cooking, please follow those.)
3.Once the noodle is cooked, drain the water and wash it twice with the cold water (Preferably running water. if you dont have drainer or drinking water tap, you can still add cold water in pan and drain it.)
4. Keep the drained noodles aside.

5. In a pan, pre heat 2 spoons of oil and add green chilies and onions to it and saute for 2 to 3 mins.

6. Once when the onions are turning into golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste to it.

7. Fry until the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes.

8. Then add cut vegetables to it.

9.Add little salt to it, mix well , keep the flame on simmer and close the pan with a lid.

Let it cook for 5-7  mins

10. In between open the lid and turn the veg, so all the sides of the veg will be cooked even. Add oil to veg if required.

11. When the veg are 90% cooked, break and add an egg and scramble it..

12.  Then add the cooked noodles and mix well.

13. Break another egg and beat it well. then add the beaten egg on top of noodle and mix well. 

14. Add pepper powder and Let it cook for another few  mins. And adjust salt to taste.

15. Add soy sauce and switch off the flame.

Notes:

1.You can add both the eggs before adding noodle also. I like them on noodle so added 1 egg after mixing the noodle with veg.

2. You can add even more veg if you like.

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