Recipe Fundas!-Simple,Tasty, Healthy Vegetarian recipes for a Vibrant Living!

 

 This preparation, is authentic from Southern districts of Nagercoil in Tamilnadu and it turns out to be best when coconut oil is used. Ingredients that go into the making are: a. Coconut- 1/2 fully scrapped b. Small Onion- 200g, peeled and cut into half c. Curry Leaves- one handful d. Coriander seeds- 2 tablespoons e.Cumin seeds- 1/2 tbsp f. Red chillies- 5-6 g. Tamarind juice- from a small gooseberry size tamarind h. Salt - as per taste g. Mustard seeds for sauting h. Coconut Oil. 1.In a pan, add 4 tbsp of coconut oil 2. Add small onions, coriander seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and start frying 3.Add coconut and fry until all ingredients turn into brown color 4. Allow to cool and blend into a mixer 5. Add coconut oil to a pan, add mustard seeds, shallots and any vegetable of your choice 6. Add tamarind water and allow it to come to a boil Theeyal is ready to serve with Rice.

 Ingredients: a. Tomatoes- atleast 4 b. Onions- big (3) sliced lengthwise or Shallots: 25 c. Cashew nuts- one handful d. Sesame Oil e. Curry leaves-1 strand f. Coriander seeds- 1 tbsp g. Red chillies- 6 (long ones) or 1/2 tbsp of pepper and 2 long red chillies. h. Garlic- one, peeled and chopped i.  Coconut- 1 one half (finely grated) For tempering: Mustard seeds:1 tbsp, and hing- 1 pinch This is a famous gravy from Kongu Zone of Tamilnadu and it typically follows spices used in meat also. In Singapore, poppy seeds are banned and this is my variation of the same recipe to suit what is available. 1.In a pan, add 4 tbsp of sesame oil. 2. Add onions(b), garlic(h) and start frying. 3. Once the onion changes color, add cashew(c) coriander seeds(f), curry leaves(e), red chilllies(f) and roast for a few minutes.tomatoes(a), and add salt and cover it up with a lid and cook. 4. Once the tomatoes are fully cooked, add coconut(i) and cashew(c). If you want to use either of the two, that ...

 Yesterday, I made Dum Aloo and it reminded me of my BITSIAN batchmate, Aparna Sharma. She was very fond of this recipe and often kept saying that its a food that she missed most. It has been more than 2 decades and we are living in different continents. Yet, a food reminded of friendship and her mum's love. We are living in a world, that is better connected. My mother had a Punjabi friend too. After her wedding, my mum lost touch with most of her friends as there was hardly any phone those days. My mum had moved to Mannargudi and her friend went to Mumbai. Yet, my mum will keep talking about her Punjabi friend Sushma. Today, my mother is no more. I keep thinking how souls will be together in Heaven. Will God surround us with people who we miss, if it is heaven? Let me stop my musings and move to recipe. I made a pulao for this dum aloo and everyone at home, including my son Siddharth and husband Arune and my helper Selvi liked it. Now, lets move to the making part of it. What do w...

 This evening I made Khaman dhokla after a long time. In the interest of not forgetting and for quick reference, I am quick to note down my notes. Hoping it would help you too a. Besan- Channa dhal flour (கடலை மாவு )- 3 cup b. Sooji (ரவை)- 2 tbsp c. Green chillies- பச்சை மிளகாய்- 4 d.Ginger- இஞ்சி -துருவியது - 2tbsp e. Sugar சர்க்கரை - 1tbsp f. Salt -உப்பு - 1 tbsp g. Lemon juice-எலுமிச்சை சாறு- 2  h. Cooking oil- 3 tbsp i- Ino fruit salt- 1/2 tbsp Procedure: 1. Mix Besan, Sooji, nicely chopped green chillies, ginger, sugar, salt and mix with eletric mixer adding 2 cups of water. 2. After mixing well, add lemon juice, cooking oil and mix again in same direction for 10 minutes 3. In a thick bottomed pan add water and let it boil. 4. In an idli mould or in a mould for thatte idli, grease with oil. 5. Add Ino fruit salt to mixture and add to mould until half of its level allowing space to rise 6. Steam for 20 minutes until it is fully cooked For garnishing, I have ...

  Butter- 1/2 cup Wheat flour- (Atta)-1 cup Sugar- 1/4 cup Salt- 1 teaspoon 1.Mix butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl 2. Use an electric/hand whisk to mix in same direction for atleast 5 minutes 3. Add wheat flour and salt and mix to a tight dough consistency I did not add water. Now bring the dough to a shape of a log and cover it with an aluminum foil and keep in fridge for an hour. Cut into small shapes. Pre-heat oven at 180c for 10 minutes.  Cover a baking tray with baking paper. Keep a few cookies allowing space between each other Cook in oven for 180c for 15 mins Delicious cookies are ready to serve!

முதியவர்களின் வயிற்றுக்குக்கேடு செய்யாத மற்றொரு தோசை வகை.  தேவையான பொருட்கள்: 3 கப் ராகி  1/2 கப் இட்லி அரிசி  1/2 கப்உளுந்து  இம்மூன்றையும் ஐந்து மணி நேரம் ஊற வைத்து அரைத்து, ஒரு நாள் இரவு வெளியே வைத்து (பொங்குவதற்காக) தோசையாகப்பயன்படுத்தலாம்  This is another good recipe that can suit geriatric people. Ingredients: 3 cups of Ragi grain 1/2 cup of Idli Rice 1/2 cup of Urad dhal. Soak all the above for about 4 hours and grind and use for making dosa. This batter needs fermentation for about 8 hours.

 மிகச் சுலபமாக செய்யக்கூடிய இந்த தோசை, வயதாகி, பல் இல்லாமல், ஜீரணசக்தி குறைந்தவர்களுக்கு ஏற்றது. தேவையான பொருட்கள் (Ingredients) 3 கப் பச்சை பயிறு (முழுமையாக உள்ள) 6 மேசைக்கரண்டி இட்லி அரிசி 6 மேசைக்கரண்டி கடலைப்பருப்பு  மேலே குறிப்பிட்டப்பொருட்களை நான்கு மணிநேரம் ஊற வைத்து, மிருதுவாக அரைத்தால்,சுவையான பச்சைப்பயிறு தோசை தயார். This is a recipe that best suits kids and elderly who have digestion issues and is soft for those lacking teeth. Ingredients 3 cups of Green gram 6 tbsp of Idli rice 6 tbsp of Channa dhal Soak the above for about 4 hours and you can grind it into a soft batter and make dosa after adding salt. This dosa can be made with or without fermentation.

 I had tried Poli for a few times but got the best after listening to Ms. Revathi Shanmugam's video. I am capturing what I tried here in my online cookbook. Ingredients: 1. Channa dhal- 1 cup 2. Maida- 2 cups 3. Turmeric- a pinch 4.Jaggery- 1cup 5.Ground nut oil- around six spoonful 6. Ghee as needed 7. Salt- a small pinch 8. Coconut- 1/2 cup (optional). Adding coconut enhanced the taste and I liked it this way. Soak channa dhal in water for 4 hours and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Cool and blend in mixie. Add jaggery to a wide bottomed pan and add 1/4 cup of water. When jaggery starts to boil, add channa dhal, grated coconut and a scoop of ghee. Keep stirring until it becomes thick. Keep the stove in medium flame. The stuffing (pooran) is ready. Take a wide bowl, add maida, salt, turmeric and oil. Mix well with your hands. Sprinkle little water and make a soft dough. Do not add any cooking soda. Do the maida mixture only at the time of making Poli. If you store maida batter in ...

 Kesari is a very easy sweet that is made by everyone including beginners. Secret for good kesari, lies in standard of roasting of Suji (Rava). Yesterday I made Kesari and Vada for my family as evening snack. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: 1. Rava- 1 cup 2. Water-3 cups 3. Sugar- 1 cup 4. Saffron strands- few 5. Cardamom powder- 1/2 tbsp 6. Cashew nuts- 8 7. Raisins- 2 tbsp 8. Ghee- 4 tbsp. Procedure: 1. Take a thick bottom pan. Add 2 tbsp of ghee and add raisins and cashew nuts. 2. Once Raisins puff up, remove raisins and cashews from the stove. 3. Add one more tbsp of ghee and roast the rava in medium flame for atleast 4- 5 minutes and transfer it to a bowl 4. In the same pan, Boil 3 cups of water and once it starts boiling, add rava and mix slowly. 5. Add sugar slowly and ensure there are no lumps. 6. Add one more scoop of ghee, add cashewnuts, cardamom powder and raisins. 7. Add saffron strands and food colour soaked in few tablespoons of milk. 8. Keep stove in medium flame a...

  This is indeed a beautiful moon lit, full moon morning. After jogging for a while, and making breakfast, I tried cooking jam for the first time and it came out delicious. All we need are, Red apples- cut (2 cups) Sugar- 1 cup Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon Cinnamon powder- 3/4 tbsp In a broad pan, add apples, sugar and cinnamon powder and stir well for some time. Add lemon juice to avoid crystallizing of sugar. Add 1/2 cup of water and let the apples cook, in sugar and cinnamon mixture Mash the apples using a thick ladle. After a while, the texture will be like what I have shown. Store in a air tight bottle. Jam without preservatives is ready முழுமையான பௌர்ணமி காலை. அதிகாலை நடைபயிற்சிக்குப்பிறகு, இன்றைய பொழுதின் காலை நேர வேலைகள் முடிந்தபின்னர் நான் ஆப்பிள் லவங்க ஜாம் செய்தேன். இத்தனை சுலபமா என்று ஆச்சர்யமாக இருந்தது. இதை செய்ய மிகக்குறைவான பொருட்களே தேவை ஆப்பிள்- 2 கப் லவங்க பட்டை தூள்- 3/4 தே.கரண்டி சர்க்கரை- 1கப் எலுமிச்சை சாறு- 4 தே.கரண்டி ஆப்பிளையும் லவங்கப்பட்டை, சர்க்கரை சேர்த்து ஒ...

Thattu idli, is a special variety of idli, prepared with sago. Adding sago makes it very soft. 1. Raw rice- 2 cups 2. Idli rice-2 cups 3. Urad dhal- 1 cup 4. Sago- 2 cups 5. Fenugreek - 1 tbsp. We tasted this Thatte Idli during our last visit to Karnataka,India and have always wanted to try this recipe. Soak all the rice and sago together for 4 hours. Soak Urad dhal and Fenugreek separately. Grind together adding salt in a wet grinder. Allow to ferment overnight. I have only an idiappam stand and here is how I managed. I bought some banana leaves, cut them to suit the idiappam plates and I greased the leaves with sesame oil and steamed them.   In ten minutes, we got best thattu idlies that goes well with chutneys, sambar or podi. Happy Cooking! These idlies were not very white as these were cooked in leaves. That is okay for someone like me who does not want to add another utensil to my small kitchen.

We are constantly being lured to buy instant foods... instant noodles, instant coffee, what not? Here is a healthy recipe of previous generation. The term Kadakada means, doing in a hurry. Imagine life hundred years back, life was never easy in terms of kitchen gadgets. With firewood for cooking, even to cook lentils will take longer. If there are guests who come without notifying, how to cook and give them an instant lunch? This was one such recipe that could be done with roasting and grinding by hand. Lets go some centuries back... with this lockdown and pause to ponder about how life would have been. This recipe has good proportion of lentils and is also delicious. Most of the ingredients we would anyway have at home and there is nothing that you would need to buy, if you are someone who cooks regularly. Ingredients: 1. Toor dhal- 2 tbsp 2. Urad dhal- 2 tbsp 3. Moong dhal- 2 tbsp 4. Channa dhal- 2 tbsp 5. Coriander seeds- 2 tbsp 6. Fenugreek (Venthayam): 1 tbsp 7. Black Pepper corns...

Tawa Idli! Feeling bored amid Covid 19 lockdown? Do you have idli batter and idli podi, and some oil? Lets get started. Take a pan, put 4 tbsp of cooking oil or sesame oil. As the oil becomes hot, add a spoon full of  Idli chilli powder (also known as idli podi). Let it fry in the excess oil. Add a ladle of idli batter in the center and close the tawa with a lid. The corners will get crispier. Do not turn. After a while, your crispy tawa idli, that tastes like Idli in the top and crispy dosa on the other side will be ready. This does not need any side dish. Enjoy the below video of Tawa idli cooking by our son, Siddharth!

  Musfata Center- a place usually popular among locals in Singapore was looking different in Phase III of circuit breaker of Covid outbreak. There were very few people seen and most of the staff were immersed in their own chats. Though baby mangoes (Maavadu) are nowhere to be seen, we were happy to see some rare goodies from India. Mango Ginger- a variety of Ginger that has strong aroma of raw Mango was something that caught my attention. I made a yummy pickle and my family enjoyed it as as a side dish. Here is the pickle recipe 1. Wash and peel the mango ginger. 2. Give it a good blend in a mixie adding half a cup of water. 3. In a pan, add 2-3 tbsp of sesame oil, add the blended mixture. Add  2 tbsp of chilli powder and salt to taste. Keep stirring regularly until the ginger cooks and you would see the oil oozing around the sides. 4. Store it in an air tight container. 5.Shelf life would be around a week with refrigeration

  This dish has its origin in Karnataka in India. I used Malabar Cucumber that has the Orange Color Skin for this recipe. Key Ingredients are only a few: 1. Rice- 1 cup 2. Jaggery-1/2 cup 3. Grated Cucumber- 1 cup 4. Cardamom powder- as per your taste 5. Banana/Plantain leaves to steam Soak the rice for about 1-2 hours. I used Idli rice, but Raw rice is also good. Peel and grate the cucumber. Extract the juice completely by squeezing and keep the juice aside. In a blender add the rice, jaggery and cardamom powder. Grind without adding water. To this mixture, add the squeezed cucumber first. Mix well. The batter should be of Idli batter consistency. Add cucumber juice to adjust the consistency. In an idli cooker, add water to the base first. Then, grease the banana leaves with ghee and put a ladle of batter in each pocket. Fold and steam for 20 minutes. This dish is served with hot ghee and is good for a breakfast.

  Lotus root is easily available in all stores in Singapore- both in Wet markets and in Supermarkets. Lotus root helps in treating cardiac problems and this is rich in fibre. It tastes very good. Here is the simple recipe 1. Chop Lotus roots into small pieces, wash them in running water. 2. Add 1/2 tbsp of turmeric and pressure cook to 4 whistles. 3. Mix 2 tbsp of Grated coconut, 1 green chilli, a small piece of ginger in a blender. 4. In a pan add oil, cumin seeds and add the pressure cooked lotus roots. Add the mixture from step 3. Add salt and let it cook for a few minutes. This delicious dry curry can be a good side dish for both Roti and Rice.

  This is a preparation loved by all age groups, for its rich taste. I used store bought Paneer. To thaw paneer and make it soft, I boiled hot water and added to the paneer and let it rest for 15 minutes. This will make paneer very soft to eat. Ingredients for Paneer Burji: Onions- finely chopped 4 Garlic- finely chopped- 4 pods Paneer- 250gm Green chilli- finely chopped 2 Ginger- finely grated- 1 tbsp Cumin powder- 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder- 1 tbsp Chilli powder- 1/2 tbsp Kasuri methi- 2 tbsp. In a broad pan, add oil, add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until it turns soft. Then add green chillies, coriander powder, chilli powder and cumin powder and mix well. Add the paneer after crumbling it in blender. Reduce the flame and mix well. Add salt as per your taste and let it remain in slow flame for 5 minutes. Then, add kasuri methi before switching off the stove. Delicious Paneer burji will be ready to serve!. You can take few drops of lemon juice if you like.

  Last week in my visit to wet markets here in Singapore, a bunch of Tapioca (atleast a kilogram heavy) were sold for less than two dollars and I could not resist the temptation to buy. This dosa was a left over preparation from pre-boiled Tapiocas. Soak two cups of Idli rice and 5 red chillies for 3-4 hours. Grind them in wet grinder together with tapioca and 1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut and salt. Tapioca dosa was very tasty to have without any side dishes.

 Easy idli that is fermented and needs no grinding. Ingredients 1.Idli Rava - 1cup 2.Sabudana - 1 cup 3.Curd - 2 cups 4.Salt to taste 4.Baking soda -1/4 tbsp (optional) Mix idli rice,sabudana,and yoghurt. Allow it to ferment overnight in a tall container with enough space for batter to rise Add water as per required consistency,salt and baking soda . Grease idli   plates with sesame oil. Pour batter and steam for ten minutes Serve with    your favourite chutney, sambar or podi.