Tomato Jam

I guess tomato season is on, streets are filled with tomato carts and fresh cute little tomatoes are quite inviting. I once tried tomato pickle so this time decided to try something sweet.. so why not jam. But dint want to pour in all those huge amount of sugar into it. So I decided to use sugar candies. I Kerala sugar candies ( kalkandam ) are generally used in the food of babies instead of sugar or else jaggery is used. Kalkandam is usually white in colour, but we also fine yellow coloured sugar candies in some grocery stores, mainly those stores which sells ayurvedic raw materials and other stuffs. It is costly compared to the white ones because of its medicinal values. I made this jam using a mixture of the above said white and yellow sugar candies. The recipe is as follows

Ingredients

Tomato pulp - 2 cups ( I took almost 10 medium ones)

Yellow sugar candy - 1 cup

White sugar candy - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/3 cup

Lemon juice - 1 tspn

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method

Wash the sugar candies in fresh water and then add 1/3 cup of water and melt the candies. Strain in a towel or fine sieve to remove the impurities in the candies. Add this to the tomato puree, add in the lemon juice and cardomom powder too. Stir occasionally in med flame till the contents thickens. Remove from flame when the contents reduce to a jam consistency.  Pour into a sterile jars while the jam is still hot, close the lid tight and refrigerate for longer shelf life.

Note : You are free to replace the sugar candies with white sugar.

Done! :)

Mango tender coconut drink

Summers and mangoes are made for each other, mangoes lasts till the summers last! and this time I tried this king of fruit with king of drinks.. nothing but a simple tender coconut. Like I have said in many other places I am very poor at naming my creations, I combined these two nice fruits with curd/yogurt. I dunno whether this should be a smoothie, juice or something else. But I just named it as a drink not complicating it much :)  Garnished with sliced almonds over the chilled drink was quite a relaxing drink in this summer.

So following is the recipe

Mango pulp - 1 cup

Tender coconut water and pulp- of 1 tendercoconut

Yogurt- 3/4 cup - 1 cup

Method

Blend /Mix the three ingredients well and serve it at room temperature or cooled, garnished with almond slivers

Now say cheese and relish this drink. Sugar is very much optional.. I chose not to use sugar.

Multigrain uthappam

Ok, Like most of the days I had not prepared or thought about the next day's breakfast and then just before hitting the bed, I just soaked few pulses and beans and ground the next day and made uthappams. I  was a little scared on the thought that ingredients might be a little risky. But surprisingly it was good and now have come to a conclusions that anything can be made to a dosa :D. So without much boasting recipe follows...

Ingredients

Rajma beans- 1/4 cup

Soya beans- 1/4 cup

Whole masoor dal ( black lentils) - 1/4 cup

Broken corn kernels - 1/4 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Ragi flour - 2 cups

For the topping

Finely chopped one med sized onion

FInely chopped one med sized tomato

FInely chopped coriander leaves

Green chillies - 2-3 finely chopped

Salt 

Method

Soak all the ingredients except the ragi flour overnight or for 4-5 hours. Grind it to a fine batter  and then add in the ragi flour into the batter and grind along for another couple of minutes. Add salt and little turmeric powder. This batter doesn't need fermentation. 

Spread a laddle of batter and spread over the hot tava and when it is half cooked spread the toppings and flip over the dosa.

Remove from the tava once cooked.

I served with spicy curry leaves chutney

Topping can be varied as per your choice.

Guacamole

I got good avocados again, and guess I am getting a hang of it in choosing the right ones. This time I chose to make guacamole, since it is very easy to make too.

Moslty gucamole is made my mashing the avocodos by fork or other manual means and then chop the onion, tomatoes, squeeze the lime etc etc. But I have a habit of trying easier means to most of the recipes. Hence, as always I have used my food processor to make this dip. It wasn't bad either. Probably some of you might shudder by this idea but the rest may try it :)

Ingredients

Med sized ripe avocados - 2 no.s

Med sized onion - 1 

Tomato - 1 ( remove the seeds )

Chillies- 2 

Coriander leaves - a few

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Lime - 1

Salt and pepper

Method

Throw in all the ingredients in a food processor and blend for around less than a minute. Remove from the blender to a serving dish and serve with tortilla chips. I made flour tortillas at home and had it with the freshly made guacamole

Tips

When buying avocados check for the medium size ones totally green in colour and with no black spots, it should look fresh and smooth

Let it stay for 3-4 days and check its tenderness once a day and dont wait to use it until it turns black or is more tender. You use it just when you feel it is slightly tender. I am sure you will get it right because we just cannot miss this healthy fruit.

The guacamole tastes better when served chilled too.

Cheers!!

Easy mango tart

Whats is the fun not trying anything new in the mango season, tho strangely me not being a big mango fan :). I wanted to try something really simple and dint want to add too many  ingredients to the  recipe and alter the natural taste of the mangoes as such. And such thoughts gave birth to this recipe.

I would like to precaution you with a few stuffs of my experiment

 > This is not a baked tart

 > This required skills of pressing and tapping hard.. literally hard upside down :)

Ingredients

For the tart base

Marie biscuits - 136 gms ( just to specify that I used that big pack)

Butter - 2 tbspn

For the filling

Mango pulp - 1 cup

China grass -10 gms

Lime juice - 1 tbpsn

Sugar - 2 tbpsn ( more if you want it more sweet )

Cherries - for garnish

For the base :

Process the biscuits in a processor and add in the butter, mix them well so that it comes together. Take the tart moulds and throw in the mixture into it and press it well through all the sides of the tart mould. Repeat the same process for the rest of the mixture.  


Refrigerate the moulds for around 30 minutes.

For the filling

Melt the china grass /agar- agar as per packet instructions 

Mix the rest of the ingredients and simmer in the flame for about 5-7 minutes

Mix in the cooled agar agar mixture into it 

Meanwhile remove the tart moulds from the refrigerator and tap out the base, as I told you this is not easy, but just be confident and tap it on to a plate and turn it upright to a plate. Repeat the same for the rest of it. I was 90 percent successful :)

Once you turn out the moulds fill the mixture into the moulds and garnish with the cherries.

Refrigerate again for few hours until the mixture sets.

Easy no bake tart is ready!

Mini dosas

I really dunno what to call this, a dosa, or pathiri or pancakes :) anyway I did a quicky thing for a weekend which doesnt need a side dish .. infact you can have it even without a chutney too. So following  is the recipe.

Ingredients 

Unpolished rice - 1 cup

Coconut- half  of one coconut

Shallots- 5-6 no.s

Jeera- 1 tspn

Green chillies- 1-2 or more if u want it spicy

Method

Soak the rice overnight or for 5-6 hours. Grind rice, grated coconut, shallots, jeera and green chillies to a smooth batter. The batter need not be watery and can be certainly slightly thicker than the dosa batter.

Heat up the dosa tava, I use my iron tava and using a small laddle pour little of the batter to the hot tava. Flip when one side is done and remove from the tava when both sides are cooked.

It is certainly nice to eat it on its own  or you can have it with any side dish or chutney of your choice. I was plain lazy to make a chutney too :P

Done!

Spicy roasted peanuts

I love spicy roasted peanut tho some claims it is certainly unhealthy,  and I know many people who love roasted spiced peanuts. I never use to get the correct recipe until recently when my friend's mother in law shared it with me. The recipe is very simple the deal is just to know it right and get it right.

Following is the same

Ingredients

Peanuts- 1 cup
Chilli powder- 1/2- 1 tspn
turmeric powder- 1/2 - 1 tspn
chaat masala- 1/2 - 1 tspn
salt
Oil- 2-3 tspn

Roast the peanuts in oil in medium flame, switch off the flame and add the masalas to your taste. Done!

Note: If you wish to have peeled nuts may dry roast the nuts and remove the peels and then follow the recipe.

Drumstick leaves pooris

I have tried puris with spinach, fenugreek leaves, tomato, but today it was with drumstick leaves. And as always the verdict are given my my little judges and they happily approved it during their snacks time.

Ingredients

Wheat flour- 2 cups

Drumstick leaves- 1 cup

Green chillies- 1 

Cumin seeds- a pinch

Ajwain seeds- a pinch

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn

Garlic - 2-3 cloves

Salt - a pinch

Garam masala- a pinch

Method

Grind the leaves with all the other ingredients and mix with wheat flour and required amount of water to a stiff smooth dough. Heat up the oil in a kadai. Make a slightly bigger ball from the dough,roll it out , cut into four pieces and fry in the hot oil. Remove when cooked and drain in a kitchen towel and serve hot with potato curry, chana curry or spicy chutney or simply tomato ketchup :)

You can make small balls and roll out smaller puris, I mentioned the above method to only save time and effort.

You can replace the Drumstick leaves with any greens or vegetable of you choice and change the flavours/masalas according to you taste.

Done!

Jowar idlis

You would have realised by now that I try making dosas, idlis, cookies and cakes with anything edible :) . So this is another attempt making idlis with another millet called jowar. I know jowar roti been made by Marathi neighbour which requires a lot of skill and experience. And we south indian can eat anything if it is in the form of idlis and dosas specially when it comes to kids. Hence this experiment and needless to say my family dint realise much about my experiment :) Served with curry leaves chutney !

Ingredients

Urad dal : 1 cup

Idli rava- 1 cup

Jowar flour- 2 cups

Soak urad dal for around 5 hours and grind it well till soft and fluffy. Add in the idli rava and jowar flour and mix well with required amount of water to an idli batter consistency. Let it ferment overnight and then steam as usual idlis. Serve hot with sambhar or any chutney of your choice. Done! :)

Pathiri with kadla curry

Pathiri is nothing but thin crepes made of rice flour. No this is not made with rice batter but with rice dough. You get pathiri flour in the market, you can just follow the instructions or if you have veyr fine roasted rice flour add hot water and knead to a fine smooth dough. Make small balls from the dough and then press it in a roti maker , so that you get a thin flaky rice sheet. Grill in both sides on a tava without oil. Serve hot with any spicy dish of your choice.

I made kadala ( black gram) curry and the accompaniment for this pathiri. Kadala curry is a famous side dish of keralites and is mainly eaten with another keralite dish called puttu, which is again steamed rice flour.

Yesterday I did pen the recipe about the kadala curry and I am wondering where and how it disappeared. Anyway following is the recipe

Ingredients

Black gram - 1 cup ( soak it over night)

Onions- 2 med ones

Ginger - one inch

Green chillies- 2-3 

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn

Pepper powder- 1/2 tspn

Coriander powder- 2 -3 tspns 

Garam  masala- 1/2 tspn

Jeers- 1/2 tspn

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tspn

Coconut -1/2 cup ( grated)

For seasoning

Mustard- 1/2 tspn

Dry red chillies- 2-3 

Curry leaves

Cut coconut or Kopra pieces

Method

Drain the soaked black gram and then add in the chopped onions, ginger and green chillies and pressure cook until soft. You can wait for the first whistle and then simmer for around 20 minutes to get it cooked.

Grind the coconut with all the masalas and two laddles of the cooked black gram to a very fine paste. Add it to the cooked black gram and mix well and keep it on the stove again and let it boil for around 5 minutes. Remove from fire and do the seasoning. Serve hot !

Tender coconut drink

Had some opened up pack of fresh cream and was thinking what to do with it. Usually I use the fresh cream for cakes, waffles and few other recipes... but have no such plans and this pack would expire by that evening ! Hence this product.
 

Ingredients

Tender coconut - one

Fresh cream 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup

Milkmaid - 2 tbspn

Rose water ( optional)

Cardomom powder ( optional)

Method

Blend the fresh cream , milkmaid and tender coconut water and pour into a glass and scrape out the tender coconut meat and add to the drink. You may add a pinch of cardamom powder and a few drops of rose water to enhance the flavour. But it was equally good without these enhancers.. yes you got me .I dint use at all. You may also add a scoop of vanilla ice cream while serving ! I thought about it after finishing the drink. :)

Vegetable momos with chilli garlic chutney

Have made this before and I have a pic and recipe in my page , but this time I made it a lot more simpler, tastier and quicker. Though it doesn't have the perfect shape of the momos I promise it tastes good. Anyway let me get into the recipe and you all make it to believe it is simple, quick and tasty!

Ingredients 

For the momo wrap

Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups

Cooking oil - 2 tspns

Salt - a pinch

For the filling

Carrots - 1/2 cup ( finely chopped)

Broccoli - 1/2 cup ( finely chopped)

Shallots - 4-5 no.s ( finely chopped)

Green chillies - 1-2 ( finely chopped)

Garlic and ginger  - 2 tspns (finely chopped)

Soya sauce - 1 1/2 tbspns

Tobasco sauce - 1/2 tbspn

salt

For the chutney

Garlic - 5 cloves

Dry red chillies - 2 

Tomato sauce - 2 tbspn

Rice vinegar - 2 tbspn

Salt and water - as required

Method

Knead the flour and oil with salt and water to a smooth dough and keep aside

Mix all the ingredients for the filling and check the taste and keep aside./ Instead of chopping the vegetables separately you can throw in a food processor and chop it at one stretch the way I did :)

Blend all the ingredients for the chutney and check taste and keep aside.

Make 5 balls from dough. Take the rolling pin and roll out one ball not too thin and not too thick but ofcourse thinner than you roll out for chapathi and and cut into four pieces. Keep the filling in each triangle, fold and seal its sides carefully. Make sure the filling stays in.

Mean while keep the steamer on the stove with the required amount of  water for boiling. Place the sealed momos over the steamer and steam cook for around 10-12 minutes or until it is cooked.

Remove and serve hot with the chilli garlic chutney. Repeat the same for other dough balls.

Make sure you enjoy it hot!! 

Note : There are no limitations for the fillings for momos, you can make you choice of veg and no-veg fillings.

Usually it is made with white flour or maida, but whole wheat flour tasted equally good and is healthy too.

Even in the chutney make sure you get a balance of sweet and sour taste and you are privileged to alter the quantity of its ingredients according to your taste.

Jowar cookies

Been long time I baked some cookies, and wanted to try something new too. Had jowar flour in my flour bank :), so thought of baking with it. It was not bad ! Kids enjoyed it . Would like to share the recipe here

Ingredients

Jowar flour- 1 cup

Whole wheat flour- 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/3 cup (powdered)
Flaxseed - 1/2 tbspn ( powdered)

Butter- 1/2 cup

Choco chips- one handful ( optional)

Baking soda- 1/4 tspn

Method

Mix all the ingredients to a smooth and soft dough. Add milk if necessary. Make small balls, flatten and place in the greased baking tray. Press lightly with a fork and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees celsius. Following is my method of baking cookies

I preheat the oven ( I bake in my OTG) for ten minutes at 150 degrees celsius, place the cookie tray in the top rack and bake for around 6-8 minutes, when you feel that the bottom of the cookies are baked slowly shift the mode of the OTG to grill mode and grill for another 5-8 minutes..make sure that the top and bottom should not get dark brown , it should be just golden brown.

Remove the tray from the oven and remove each cookie carefully ( it would be soft ) from the tray using a flat spatula and let cool till it turn crispy and then store in airtight jar.

Tomato upma

Whole wheat chocolate waffles

Tried chocolate flavoured waffles today and yes it is with whole wheat flour. Getting into the recipe without much delay :)

Ingredients

Set 1 :

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup

Sugar - 3 4 tbspn 

Salt - a pinch

Baking soda- 1/2 tspn

Cocoa powder - 2 tbspn

Set 2 :

Milk  - 1 cup

Egg - 1 no.

Butter - 2 tbspn

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tspn

Whisk in all ingredients in a big bowl  and keep aside

Whisk in all the ingredients in set 2.

Add in the wet ingredients ( set 2 ) to the dry ingredients mixture ( set 1 ) Melt the butter and add to the batter and mix well. Heat the waffle iron and pour in quarter cup of the batter into the iron and cook for few minutes. Remove the waffles from iron and serve with combinations of your choice.

Avocado orange smoothie

I have been always wrong in getting good avocados, either it will be unripe or rotten or ripe and spoilt. I try my luck again and again and voila , I got a nice one this time. I was feeling like a new baby in my hand .. I know it sounds a bit of an exaggeration, but as I said I was super happy !! Knowing the fact the fruit is super nutritious I wanted to use it as an evening snack for the kids. They would happily reject if I would have tried a guacamole with it.
SO i went ahead to try a smoothie and also had few oranges with me. So follow is what I tried!

INgredients
Avacado- one
Oranges - 3 no.s
Sugar - as required
Choco chips - for garnish and fooling :)

Method
Peel the oranges and remove the juice and keep aside.
Half the avacado and remove the seed. Scoop out the flesh of the avacados in a blender and add in the juice to make a smooth paste. You may add in sugar if you feel it is required.
Remove the smoothie to a tumbler or bowl and throw in some choco chips.
Smoothie is ready!

Want to read more about avacadoes ? read this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado

Soya idlis

You must be wondering I keep posting about idli recipes. I do this because it is easiest way to get in some nutritious stuffs for us and kids. Idlis are praised all over by the world for its cooking method which is steaming. And who doesn't like soft fluffy spongy idlis. So this time my idlis are loaded with soya protein and is super easy to make and easy to eat too. So following is the recipe for the soya idlis

Urad dal - 1 cup

Idli rice - 2 cups

Soya flour- 1 cup

Soak dal and rice separately for 5-6 hours.

Grind it separately to a smooth batter preferably in a wet grinder.

Mix the rice batter and dal batter together. Add in the soya flour and add required water, mix well to form a smooth idli batter consistency.

Let the batter ferment overnight and the add in the salt and pour the batter in idli moulds and steam as usual.

Serve with hot with sambhar, chutney of your choice.

I made a curry leaves chutney for this idlis

Coconut - 3 tbspns ( grated)
garlic - 2 - 3 cloves
green chillies- 1 -2 no.s
Curry leaves - a handful
roasted gram dal - 2 tbspn

Grind all the above ingredients well in a a blender to a smooth fine paste. 

Will upload the picture soon!

Choco chip peanut butter cupcakes

Now this recipe is totally inspired seeing my peanut butter jar lying at my cabinet which will get expired soon ! . Neither my kids nor us like the taste of peanut butter so it was just lying like that. I did try peanut butter cookies a while back , so I thought of trying cupcakes this time and it was good! So tells my kidoos who happily munched it off!

Now shall I proceed to the recipe

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup

Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence  1/2 tspn

Egg - 1

Peanut butter - 1/2 cup ( in which 2 tbspns is butter)

Choco chips- a handful

Baking soda- 1/2 tspn

Baking powder - 1/2  tspn

Milk- 1 cup

Method

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder and keep aside. 

Beat together the egg , peanut butter and the butter till soft and fluffy.

Add in the vanilla essence

Fold in the flour and milk alternately till the batter comes to a smooth consistency.

Throw in the choco chips and fold in again

Scoop out the batter with an icecream scoop to the cupcake moulds place with the liner.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean  at 180 degrees Celsius
 

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack and get ready to munch on it!