ALOO POORI

Last week my husband's cousin and his wife visited us. In between our conversation she told me that she had a cookery show in one of the Kannada channels. She had prepared Aloo Poori along with some north Indian dish and the pooris were real soft and fluffy. I did not ask her how she prepared. I had prepared ' potato ambodo masala a few days ago. And i could not make it on the same day so i kept it in the fridge. I thought I prepare poori with this aloo masala for breakfast today. Here is the recipe.. Do try..

ALOO POORI

WHAT YOU NEED

Wheat flour - 2 cups


Potatoes - 2 medium, boiled and mashed

Green chilly - 4

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Asafoetidà - diluted - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig, chopped

Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Salt - to taste

ALOO POORI

HOW TO MAKE :

Heat a tsp oil in a pan, add mustards, when it splutters add udad dal, crushed ginger and green chillies. Saute.

Then add mashed potatoes and salt, mix well. Remove from heat.

Now in a mixing bowl put some water and add wheat flour.

Then add potato mixture, combine well. Make a firm dough, adding little water to it.
Add coriander leaves, mix well.

Now make small balls and roll them with a roll pin to make pooris, about 4-5 inch diameters.

Then heat enough oil in deep bottomed kadahi.

Slid one poori at a time fry fluffy on both sides.

Serve AlooPooris for breakfast along with any spicy curries.

HINGA CHUTNEY

IDLI WITH HINGA CHUTNEY

WHAT YOU NEED:

coconut : 1/2 of coconut, grated

Dried red chilly - 4-5

Asafoetida/ Hing - big chana size

Tamarind - a small piece

Salt - to taste

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

HOW TO MAKE:

Heat a tsp oil in a pan, add dried red chillies, roast them without burning. Remove. In the same pan add asafoetida piece and roast well.

Now grind coconut, roasted red chillies, roasted asafoetida, tamarind and salt along with little water.

Transfer ground paste in a bowl. Add some water to make little watery.

Then heat a tsp oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, when it splutters add curry leaves. Pour this on hinga chutney.

Serve Hinga chutney with Khotto/ moodo/ Idli.

RIPE MANGO RASAM

Lot of mangoes lying in my kitchen and i have no idea that what I can make. I have already prepared many dishes but still there are many. Today i tried my own version of rasam. I have not tried mango rasam with rice. I just had it like any other soup, so you can call it soup also.

RIPE MANGO RASAM

WHAT YOU NEED:

Mango pulp - of 1 mango (1/2 -3/4 cup)

Tamarind pulp - 3-4 tsp

Pepper corns - 10-12

Jaggery - a small piece

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped

MANGO RASAM

HOW TO MAKE

Mix mango pulp and 2-3 cups water and heat on medium heat.

Add tamarind pulp, crushed pepper corns, Jaggery and salt

Allow to boil for 5 to 10 minutes.

If you want very thin rasam you can add water.

Now put off the gas.

Finally add finely cut coriander leaves.

Serve hot in bowls.

MANGO ICE CREAM

When the mercury goes up, we start sweating; when our throat dries up.... surely we'll feel to drink cold drinks or even eat ice creams which is the best thing to make you relieve from the dryness of throat. Some time back i saw my FB friend Vidya Nayak Sheoy's repeated ice cream posts, which were tempting me. She adapted the recipe from my another FB friend Nandini Kini's page Kini's Kitchen. I thank both of them for this inspiration. The recipe goes like this..

MANGO ICE CREAM

WHAT YOU NEED:

Toned milk - 1 cup

Milk powder - 1 cup

Fresh cream - 1 cup ( recipe says 1/2 cup)

Mango pulp - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

BENEDETT ALPHONSO, FROM OUR GARDEN

MANGO ICE CREAM

HOW TO MAKE:

First I kept milk and mango pulp in the freezer till they became semi solid.

Then in a blender I added all the ingredients in blender and blended till it becomes smooth.

Empty the contents in plastic container and I kept in the freezer for 2-3 hours.

Again I blended for 15 minutes in a blender or till it is smooth and fluffy.

Then I poured the contents back in the container and kept in the freezer for 7-8 hours.

Ice cream ready to serve.

PULI INJI

Here in Kerala, in festivals or marriage feasts, Puli Inji takes the honor to get the place on the left side of the banana leaf which is served along with pickles and fried items. Vishu festival is nearing (on 15th April). Keralites prepare their traditional recipes on this particular day and one of them is Puli inji. Puli is tamarind and inji is ginger, it is tangy and sweet gojju.

PULI INJI

WHAT YOU NEED:

tamarind - one small orange size ball, almost 1 cup pulp

Ginger - finely chopped, 1 cup

Green chilli - 7-8, finely chopped

Jaggery - 2 cubes /same quantity of tamarind pulp.

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig, finely chopped

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

INGREDIENTS, READY FOR THE PREPARATION 

SWEET N SOUR TAMARIND AND GINGER GOJJU

HOW TO MAKE:

soak tamarind in hot water till it is soft. Then make pulp out of it. I pureed it in mixie. Keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in kadahi.

When the oil is hot add mustard seeds. When it splutters add chopped curry leaves.

Then add chopped ginger and chopped green chillies and fry till ginger turns dark brown.

Now add Jaggery powder, salt and some water. Stir well.

Cook the mixture on medium flame till it becomes thick and oil separates from the mass.

Puli inji is ready now, when cooled store it in refrigerator, which lasts for 3 weeks or more.

Serve Puli Inji as side dish.

HIBISCUS TEA

Since a long this recipe was in my mind ...but i did not have the required red hibiscus in my garden. One day my daughter brought Hibiscus tea from a local restaurant for me to taste. I liked it very much, since then i was restlessly waiting and watching the flowers to bloom. Today, at last i saw a red hibiscus. And here is the outcome of hibiscus. I heard it has a lot of medicinal values and it is good for high cholesterol and high blood pressure patients.

RED HIBISCUS TEA

WHAT YOU NEED:

red hibiscus flower - 1-2

Tea leaves - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon stick - a small piece

Cardamom - 1 (optional)

Sugar - 4-5 tsp or to taste

I USED 5 PETAL HIBISCUS FOR THE DRINK

HOW TO MAKE:

Wash hibiscus flower and separate the petals.

Boil one cup of water along with tea leaves, cinnamon stick and cardamom. Boil for few minutes. Switch off the gas.


Then put the hibiscus petals in the boiled tea water. Keep covered for an hour. 

After an hour strain the tea through a strainer.

Mix sugar. Add one more cup of water.

Refrigerate hibiscus tea till it is chilled.

CHILLED HIBISCUS TEA

Steve chilled Hibiscus Tea along with few ice cubes in glasses.

LONG BEANS / ALASANDE UPKARI - 2

It is a GSB recipe and a very simple side dish.

LONG BEANS UPKARI

WHAT YOU NEED

Alasande / long beans - 1/2 kg

Dry red chilli - 4-5, broken in to pieces

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

ALASANDE UPKARI

HOW TO MAKE:

Wash the long beans and cut them in small pieces and Keep aside.

Heat 1- 2 tsp oil in kadahi.

Add mustard seeds, when it splutters add broken red chilli, saute.

Then add alasande pieces and some water.

Add grated coconut and salt. Mix well

Cover and cook over a medium heat till it is done.

Serve alasande upkari as side dish.

ROSE LEMON DRINK

I got some roses yesterday, which were red and very beautiful. I kept some of them to the goddesses in my pooja room and the remaining flowers in fridge. I was thinking of making murabba, which i tasted at my aunt's place at Bangalore. She had grown many rose plants in her garden. I liked her home made murabba. But i had very few roses, it was not sufficient for murabba. Then i thought of making drink, perfect for this summer heat. Here is the recipe.

ROSE LEMON DRINK

WHAT YOU NEED:

Rose petals - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup or per your taste

Lemon - juice of 1 lemon

Water - 3 cups

ROSE LEMON DRINK

HOW TO MAKE:



First wash rose petals very well for 3- 4 times. Then soak the petals in a little crystal salt for half an hour. This is to remove any dirt or pesticides.

Discard the water and again wash.

Heat a cup of water along with sugar, dissolve it with spoon.

Then add rose petals and boil for 5 minutes over low flame.

Keep covered for half an hour to one hour.

Strain the liquid through a strainer.

Add lemon juice and 2 cups of water. Stir well.

Refrigerate till it is chilled.

Serve chilled rose lemon drink in tall glasses.

TOMATO SOUP

Soups always welcome whether it is winter or summer. Now tomatoes are available in plenty, so you do not know how to use without spoiling them. There are many ways to use in our daily diet. One of them is soup that is healthy and you can prepare in a limited time too.

TOMATO SOUP

WHAT YOU NEED:

Tomatoes - 6-7

Onion - 1

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Pepper powder - 1 tsp or to taste

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Corn flour - 2 tsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Butter - 1 tbsp

TOMATO SOUP

TOMATO SOUPY SOUP

HOW TO MAKE:

Wash tomatoes and puree them.

Chop onion and garlic.

Pour tomato puree in a vessel, add half cup of water and cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat or till the raw smell goes.

 Now heat a tbsp butter in a pan, add garlic and chopped onion. Stir fry till the raw smell disappears.

Add salt, sugar and pepper powder. Stir well.

Then add corn flour or maida and stir till it combines well.

When it is cool grind coarsely. The bits of onion and garlic give the awesome, extra taste .

Transfer the paste back to pan.

Heat over a medium heat.

Add tomato puree, stir well.

Add any of the ingredients like salt and pepper, if you feel it is less.

Add milk, give a boil.

Serve hot Tomato soup along with bread croutons, rusk or toast.