Avaray Gaasu Uthaka

For the second day I took a side dish recipe from PJ's site. Avaray Gaasu Uthaka yes this name sounds different and little confused right. Don't get confused avaray gaasu uthaka is literally potato and dried beans curry in Badaga cuisine from Ooty. Badagas are the largest indigenous people of the Nilgiri's. Badagas worship Hindu god's and they speak Badaga language which didn't have script, sounds almost like Kannada.
                                                                               We lived in Ooty for three years, there we took a house for rent and the landlords were Badagas, such a wonderful people. They used to take care of me like their daughter, Aunty she is just like my mother I never met a lady like her. Even I visit Ooty today I have a home there. I have noted some recipes from her but I miss placed that note book. Moving here and there because of hubby's job most of my books and things I miss placed a lot. I must say a big thanks to PJ for this recipe this Uthaka taste just like what aunty used to make. If I started talking about Ooty the story will keep on going like this so I am stopping here and let's check the recipe..... 
INGREDIENTS:---
For Badaga masala powder :
Red chillies  ---   4
Coriander seeds  ---   3 tea sp
Cumin seeds  ---  1/2 tea sp
Fennal seeds  ---  1/2 tea sp
Black pepper  --- 1 tea sp
Roasted chana dal (dhalia) --  2 tea sp
Channa dal ---  1 tea sp
Toor dal ---  1 tea sp
Rice   ---  1 te asp
Turmeric powder  ---  1/4 tea sp
Fenugreek seeds  ---  1/4 tea sp
 Dry roast all above ingredients in a pan and grind in to a fine powder, store it in a air tight container.
INGREDIENTS FOR GRAVY:--
Potatoes  ---  3 peeled and cut in to big cubes
Dry green peas  ---  1 cup soaked in water for over night
Pearl onion  ---  10 peeled and chopped
Tomato   ---  1 big chopped
Green chillies ---   3 slit
Garlic   ----  3 cloves crushed
Ginger   ----  1 inch piece crushed
Badaga masala powder   ---  2 tea sp
Coriander powder   ---  1/2 tea sp
Turmeric powder  ---  a pinch
Mustard seeds  ---  1 tea sp
Coriander leaves   ---  2 tab sp chopped
Salt to taste
METHOD:---
1. Pressure cook soacked peas, potato cubes, crushed garlic and ginger, Badaga masala powder, coriander powder, cook for three whistles.
2. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds let them splutter then add chopped onion and fry till brown.
3. Now add tomato, turmeric powder,salt to taste and cook till tomatoes turn soft.
4. Take out the potatoes from pressure cooker and lightly mash the potatoes and add to onion and tomato mixture, again mash lightly and mix well.
5. Now add remaining cooked peas mix well and bring to a full boil, stir in between if gravy is too thick add little water cook for a while.
6. Add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the heat.
Serve with rice and a stir fry but we enjoyed it with roti.

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Millet Idli

For the final week of this month BM my theme is a special theme and I am paired with PJ of Seduce your Tastebuds  . When ever I visit her blog I find some thing interestingly healthy recipe,specially with oats and different millets. Being a dietician she explains so very well nutritional values in the ingredients. I have bookmarked a big list of recipes from her blog. When I saw Valli paired me with PJ for this week theme. I was in a big confusion what to select from the list which I have book marked from her. Then decided to make a breakfast recipe and tried her millet idli. 
                                                                                 I too use millets in my cooking but never tried a idli recipe. I have a doubt idli's may turn hard, but when I tried this recipe believe me they are super soft and much more healthy then normal idlis. Only one small change I made is PJ used red pressed rice I did't have them in hand so I used normal white pressed rice
So let's check the recipe..... 
INGREDIENTS:---
Foxtail millet   ---  2 cups (Korralu)
Barnyard millet  ---  2 cups ( varigelu)
Urad dal  ---     1 cup 
Pressed rice   ---  1/2 cup (atukulu)
Fenugreek seeds   ---  2 tea sp
Salt to taste
METHOD:---
1. Wash and soak urad dal and millets in separate bowls for four hours.
2. After four hours grind urad dal in to a smooth batter by adding little by little water. Remove from the grinder and set a side.
3. Before you start grinding urad dal, wash pressed rice for two times and soak in enough water. By the time you finish grinding urad dal.
4. Before you finish grinding urad dal this pressed rice will get soaked, if any extra water is there in pressed rice drain it.
5. Now grind rice and millets in to a smooth batter like how we grind rice for normal idli.
6. Remove and mix with urad dal batter, add salt to taste mix well and leave a side to ferment for 8 hour or for overnight.
7. After fermented for 8 hours the batter have risen with small bubbles, mix well once again and pour the batter in to greased idli molds and steam cook for 15 minutes or till idli's are done.
8. Switch off the heat and remove the idli's with a spoon from the idli molds.
Serve hot with chutney and sambar. I made peanut and coconut chutney and moongdal sambar..

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Murmura Chivda-- Maramarala Mixture

For the final day of this Movie date snack my choice was a typical spicy Andhra snack. This sounds like jalmuri or bhel puri but this is a different one. In bhel puri we add chutneys and veges, in this murmura chivda we don't add any chutneys. This is a dry snack and can store for a month or so. This is very light on tummy but a very perfect snack for movie time. I have added fried peanuts, dalia, and mixture to this you can also add fried cashew nuts, almonds to make this more interesting. I don't have curry leaves in hand so could't add you can add curry leaves at the time of ading crushed garlic to the ghee. Ghee will give a wonderful flavor if you don't like ghee then use oil.
So let's check the recipe...
INGREDIENTS:---
Maramaralu (puffed rice)  ----   2 cups
Peanuts   ----    1/4 cup
Putnalu (fried dal, dalia) ---   1/4 cup
Mixture ----   1/4 cup
Garlic cloves  ---  3 crushed
Chilli powder  ---   1 tea sp
Turmeric powder  --- a big pinch
Ghee   ----  1 tea sp
salt to taste
METHOD:---
1. Heat a deep frying pan and dry roast peanuts till golden and set a side. 
2. Next dry roast putnalu (dalia) just for a half minute remove and set a side.
3. Now heat ghee in the same pan add crushed garlic fry for a while then add red chilli powder and turmeric powder immediately switch off the heat and add puffed rice, salt to taste and mix well.
4. Add fried peanuts, dalia, mixture to puffed rice mix well.
Serve with a cup of tea

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Masala Sweet Corn

Now coming to the second day of snack for a movie date theme. Like yesterday I said I do watch movies but not all movies. I like to watch suspense thrillers and comedy movies,I don't like those family dramas with lot's of problems. Even I don't like Action movies, but now a days most of the movies are action movies. May be that is the reason I stopped watching movies very often no offence please this is totally my opinion. When ever I find a movie interesting I don't like any disturbance in between the movie. In the brake I ran to the kitchen and pick my food are snack and get back in front of the TV before the movie starts.. :). But if my hubby is at home he will keep on changing the channels and I will miss half of the movie.
Any way now let's check today's recipe...
INGREDIENTS:--
Sweet corn   ---  1 cup
Red chilli powder  ---  1/2 tea sp
Cumin powder  ---  1/4 tea sp
Chat masala  ---   1/4 tea sp
Salt to taste
Butter   -----   1 tea sp
Coriander leaves  ----   1 tab sp chopped
Lemon juice  ---   1 tea sp
METHOD:---
1. Boil sweet corn kernels in enough water for ten minutes or till they become soft.
2. Switch off the heat and drain the water and take sweet corn kernels in to a big bowl.
3. All all other ingredients mix well and serve warm...          

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Masala peanuts

Third week of this month Blogging marathon, my theme for this week is snack for a movie date First I just signed up for this theme with out any idea. Because watching movie in a theater is a big deal for us. Spending two to three hours for a movie is waste of time that is my husbands opinion. He didn't even watch movies on TV, his favorite channel is BBC or National geography, Travel channels. For me other then watching movies I like to spend time in a temple I think all my friends know this about me. But I do watch movies only week days, Sunday my TV shows only those three channels.
                                              This masala peanuts are my to do list from long time. I miss placed that recipe book which I noted this recipe from my mother, finely I got it again from my mother. Now a days these popcorn and chips are becoming very popular in the theaters. When I was a child my grandfather used to take us every weekend for a movie. In the interval (in the middle of the movie break) one person use to come inside the theater with a tray filled with batani (fried white peas) and masala peanuts or fried peanuts. Those days are golden days, any way now let's check the recipe......
INGREDIENTS:--
Peanuts  ---   1 cup
Besan (chickpea flour) -- 1/4 cup
Rice flour  ----     1 tab sp
Red chilli powder  ---   1 and half tea sp
Kashmiri red chilli powder  ---  1 tea sp (This is to give a nice red color to the peanuts  so it is optional)
Salt  -----    1/2 tea sp
Garlic  ---  3 cloves
Poppy seeds ----  1 tea sp
Cumin seeds  ---  1 tea sp
Water  ---   3 tab sp
Oil for deep frying.
METHOD:----
1. In a frying pan roast peanuts till they split. remove from heat and spread peanuts in a plate to cool.
2. Roast poppy seeds and cumin seeds for two minutes and grind in to a fine powder.
3. Then add garlic cloves to the poppy seed and cumin powder add a tab sp water and grind in to a fine paste.
4. In a mixing bowl take roasted peanuts, ground masala, red chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, besan, rice flour mix well.
5. Sprinkle little water and gently mix with your fingers to coat the masala on peanuts well.
6. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and drop this masala coated peanuts like how we drop pakodis slowly in to the hot oil.
7. Fry in a medium heat till golden, remove from oil and transfer to an absorbent paper.
Enjoy with a cup of tea...                                        

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Pattanam Pakoda

Pattanam pakoda Yes I heard this word in my early age that my grandfather used to say. And that was his favorite snack. My grandmother makes this pakodas very well.  I got the recipe from my grandmother. I don't know why the name came pattanam pakoda, but the taste and texture is very different from normal pakodas. This is a old recipe, which is not very popular like other pakoda recipes.
 I had this recipe in my draft from long time but did not get the time to post. Here I would like to remember my dear grandmother. She is a great cook, and specialist in making recipes like Mysorepak, Badam puri, pulibongaralu( uraddal and rice flour fritters), Pindi miriyam and the list will be going on like this. She likes cooking very much, she used to watch each and every cookery show in TV. Then she used to give instruction to me how to make the recipe. That's how I got interest in cooking I think. Ok now let's check the recipe. This pattanam pakoda recipe is our challenge for this month ICC.

INGREDIENTS:---
Rice flour  --- 1 cup
Fried gram( putnalu, daliya, pottukadalai) powder --- 1/4 cup
Bengal gram flour (besan, senaga pindi, kadala mavu) -- 1 tab sp
Ghee  ----  6 tea sps
Cooking soda  --  1 tea sp
Cumin seeds --  1 tea sp
Finely chopped onions ---  1/4 cup (optional)
Finely chopped ginger  --- 1 tea sp (optional)
Finely chopped cashewnuts --- 1 tab sp
Finely chopped curry leaves  --- 1 tab sp
Finely chopped green chilies  ----  2
Salt ---   1/2 tea sp
Red chilli powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Oil for deep frying
METHOD:---
1. Take ghee in a mixing bowl add cooking soda and rub with hand till it turn in to frothy.
2. Mix flours, cumin seeds, red chilli powder, salt mix well to combine every thing.
3. Now add finely choped onion, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves, cashew nuts.
4. Sprinkle little water and make a dough to make balls, make balls and set a side
5. In the mean while heat oil in a deep frying pan.
6. Drop the pakodas slowly and fry in a medium heat till they turn in to golden .
Remove from oil and serve hot with coconut chuthey or onion chutney.
Instead of making balls you can make them like normal pakodas
Fry this pakodas in a medium heat only other wise they remain raw in side.

Apple Fritters

Now my second recipe in this fritters theme is a fruit fritter. First thing is we don't cook any fruit at home because no body like to eat cooked fruit. I am the only person in the family who likes fruits in baking or as deep fried snack. Specially Apple pie, apple cakes are my all time favorites, even I can enjoy pazlam pori (battered and deep fried banana in Kerala cuisine). when I was searching recipes for this theme. I suddenly remember that I have book marked this recipe long back. Actually this fruit fritters are served as an accompaniment with fish and chips in England. These fruit fritters are generally made with apples, pineapples and bananas. But to day I made it only with apple, because apple is my all time favorite fruit..
So let's check the recipe...   
INGREDIENTS:--
All purpose flour  --- 3/4 cup
Custard powder  --  5 tab sp (you can use cornflour also)
Baking powder  ---  1/2 tea sp
Salt a pinch
Sugar   ---    1 tab sp
Apples  ---  2
Lemon juice  --  1 tab sp
Oil for deep frying
Milk for mixing the batter
Cinnamon sugar  ---  1 tab sp for topping.
METHOD:--
1. Peel, core and cut the apples in to 1cm thick rings, toss with lemon juice and little flour set a side.
2. Take flour, custard powder, sugar, salt, baking powder mix well to combine them add milk and make batter. This batter should be little thin then bajji batter, set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a deep frying pan, dip the apple rounds in the batter and drop in to the hot oil, fry till golden.
4. Remove from the oil and drain on an absorbent paper.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar serve immediately.
Can serve this Apple fritters with ice cream as a dessert.

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Onion And Cashew Pakodi

The second week of this month Blogging Marathon and my theme for this week is fritters. First recipe I have decided for this theme is pakodis. All time favorite for every one, I make a few varieties of pakodis with mixed vegetables or just with sliced onion. When ever I didn't find any side dish for rice and sambar or rice and rasam or with any gravy I make pakodis. I don't know some how making pakodis is a very easy for me and pakodis are a favorite at home.. 
Valli and Veena This recipe is specially for you both
Let's check the recipe 
INGRIDENTS:---

Cashew nuts --- 100 gms

Onion  --  1 big sliced

Chick pea flour --- 1 cup

Rice flour --- 1 tab sp

Green chilies -- 6

Coriander seeds -- 1 tab sp

Cumin seeds -- 1 tea sp

Ginger --- 1 inch piece
Curry leaves  ---  2 springs chopped

Salt to taste

Ghee -- 1 tab sp

Oil for deep frying

METHOD:----

1. Grind green chilies, ginger, coriander and cumin seeds in to a coarse paste.

2.  Broke cashew nuts (if you are using full) and take them into a mixing bowl and add sliced onion ground paste,chopped curry leaves and salt mix well with your hand.

3. Now add chick pea flour, rice flour again mix well,heat  ghee till it smokes and add this to cashew and flour mixture and mix with a spoon (because ghee is very hot). 

4. Now add water little by little and mix like a pakodi batter(like dumplings) .This batter should be little thick then normal pakodi batter means just sprinkle water and make the dough till it holds.

5. Heat oil in adeep frying pan and droop this pakodi mixture with hand in to hot oil and fry till light golden color.

Serve hot with a cup of tea or coffee...

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Broken Wheat And Moong Sprouts Khichdi

My second recipe in this guilt free theme is a khichdi. Most of the people don't like to have khichdi. But I feel that khichdi is a delicious and heathy food. It can be served for breakfast, lunch  or for dinner. Normally khichdi is made with rice and moong dal or tuar dal and with vegetables or with out vegetables. But in this recipe I used moong sprouts and broken wheat to make this khichdi more healthy.
So let's check the recipe...
INGREDIENTS:-----
 Broken wheat --- 1 cup
Moong sprouts  ---   1/2 cup
Moong dal  ---  1/4 cup
Onion ---- 1 small chopped
Carrot and beans --- 1/2 cup cut in to small pieces
Green peas --- 1 tab sp
Ginger, garlic and green chilli paste  ---  2 tea sp
Cloves --- 2no.
Cinamon --- 1 inch piece broken
Cumin seeds --- 1/2 tea sp

Turmeric powder --  1/4 tea sp

Ghee  --- 1 tab sp

Asafoetida  --  1/4 tea spSalt to taste

METHOD :---- 

1. Soak broken wheat in enough water for 15 mintes set a side.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker add cinamon, cloves, cumin seeds an asafoetida let them crackle.

3. Now add all remaining ingredients mix well and add 4 cups of water mix well and pressure cook for 4 whistles.

4. Switch off the heat let the steam escape before opening the lid.

5. Open the lid and mix the khichdi well, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with plain curds or cucumber raita.

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Broccoli And Carrot Stir Fry

After that Mega Baking Marathon I took a break for one month that is unexpected . This month again we have started 53rd edition of Blogging Marathon with different themes. For this month my first week theme is Guilt free recipes. After taking this them I have done some research, really what is guilt free food, this research took a long time then searching recipes for this theme. Finally what I understood is guilt free food means the food what we eat is with low calories  and with all original ingredients means not refined ingredients like maida, fine polished rice, white sugar, refined oil, means more natural ingredients.
                                                                   For the first day I started my theme with a vegetable dish which is a stir fry but you can serve it as a salad too. I used fennel seeds to give flavor to this dish but you can use cumin seeds. Actually my husband started his salad diet so he had it with a whole wheat bread slice. But I feel that only this stir fry with a slice of bread makes me hungry so fast I had my portion with those pulkas. Actually one portion of this vegetable with three pulkas and a cup of yogurt or a glass of buttermilk will be a perfect balanced meal for me that's my choice, what do you say?  

So let's check the recipe......
INGREDIENTS:---
Broccoli  --- 1 medium flower
Carrot  ---  2 medium size
Onion  ---  1 medium
Garlic  ---  6 cloves
Fennel seeds  ---  1/2 tea sp crushed
Black pepper powder  ---   1/2 tea sp 
Salt to taste 
Olive oil  ---  1 tab sp
Lemon juice  --  1 tab sp (optional)
METHOD:---
1. Trim the broccoli, discard the thick stems and leaves and cut in to bite size flowerets.
2. Boil water in a pan bring to a full boil then add broccoli to the boiling water and switch off the heat. Let it sit for five minutes and drain the water, set broccoli a side.
3. Now peal the carrot and cut in to one inch pieces set a side, cut onion in to small pieces set a side, fine chop the garlic and set a side.
4. Heat olive oil in a pan add crushed fennel seeds, onion pieces, chopped garlic and fry for a while then add carrot pieces, sprinkle two tab sp of water cover and cook for few seconds.
5. Add broccoli and salt to taste, black pepper powder give a good stir and switch off the heat.
6. Sprinkle lemon juice mix well.
Serve hot with Pulkas or whole wheat bread or you can just have it like that as a salad..

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