RICE AND JAGGERY PAYASAM

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

A quick and very easy dessert. Healthy for people who are sick(suffering with normal fever or cold). The day doctor suggests that you can give jaggery to your baby, this is the best food(minus the coconut milk). No need to buy anything extra for it. You will usually have all these at home. Its quick dessert for unexpected guests. Believe me, it looks bland but the taste is really very good.

Coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:

Rice flour  - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 1/2 cup or less (grated or powdered)

Water - 1 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Coconut milk powder - 2 tbsp or freshly  coconut milk - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Almonds and cashew nuts - 1 or 2 tbsp, crushed or cut into small bits

Ghee to fry the dry nuts

Method:

Keep water to boil in thick bottomed pan.

Take half the milk in a bowl and mix the rice flour in it to remove lumps. 

In other half milk add the coconut milk powder and mix well to avoid lumps. (skip this step if you are using fresh coconut milk) 

Once the water start boiling add the jaggery and allow to melt. If you see any dirt in it please sieve and keep again to boil. 

Now add the rice flour and milk. Mix well to avoid lumps. Boil on a medium flame for few minutes. Add the coconut milk cardamom powder. Boil till the rice flour is cooked. The color will change and you will get the nice aroma of the cooked rice flour. Remove and keep it aside. Heat ghee in another small pan, fry the nuts.

Add it to the ready payasam.

Isn't it easy? And its really delicious, the coconut flavour is really a blessing in this dessert.

Keep Smiling,

KUZHALAPPAM for ICC JUNE

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Fried food again!! I am not that fond of these oily things, I am not 100% health concious and I don't like diet. Still these fried foods are always at the last in my "to eat wish list". This month Valli announced the recipe for  Indian Cooking Challenge, and it is this. A delicious treat from the God's own country, Kerala. She has suggested 3 recipes and given us the choice to follow either one of those. I have followed KUZHZLAPPAM from Julie of www.erivumpuliyumm.com. 

This is a very simply dish but tasty and the interesting part is the shape. My kids loved these. I served these with spicy green tomato chutney. It was really delicious. 

Please visit Valli Kuzhalappam ~ Kerala Special or Julie(www.erivumpuliyumm.com)for the detailed recipe. 

I am happy that I finished my challenge and enjoyed it too. Waiting for more challenges and hoping that I will be part of it on regular basis.

Keep Smiling,

Rice flour and Oats Porridge

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am blessed with the kids who are not very fussy about the food. The little one is little choosy but always prefers the good food. Both are not much into junk food.

Everyday she should be ready by 7:20 in the morning, I should be always ready with her breakfast before 6:30. Usually I ask her what she would like to have in the morning for breakfast and will make according to that. Am I giving too much choice to her!! But, I feel the breakfast is the first food in the morning and I want her to have it full and enjoy it too. Anyways, her lunch is always my choice so I am not worried about the strict laws.

Coming to today's recipe, my younger one loves this! Porridge :-), I prepare porridge with fine semolina, oats, rice flour, ready idly batter.. She loves everything.

Today is the time to share the recipe of Rice flour and oats porridge. Its very easy and I know many of you also make it.

Here is my version,

The recipe is for one cup

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 1/4 cup

Oats or Oats powder- 3 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Milk  - 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp(do not add if giving for younger children)

A pinch of hing or cumin powder(optional)

Ghee - 1 tsp to serve

Method:

• Take the water and milk in a thick bottomed vessel keep to boil.
• When it starts boiling, add the rice powder and oats, keep stirring as there is a chance of getting rice flour lumps. 
• Once it is mixed well, keep on low flame and cook for few more minutes. Keep watching for the water consistency. Add some more water if you feel the porridge has become more thick or its still not cooked.
• Add hing or cumin powder and pepper powder.
• Remove from the heat, add salt. Mix well.
• Serve hot with ghee.
• Its good for those also who are not keeping well(minus the ghee)
• Serve with roasted paapad and pickle for dinner.

Sending this to three events. 
The First  one is

Nithu's ongoing event:

Event Announcement : Know Your Flour - Rice Flour

 which is started by Jagruti

The Second one is Jagruti's

Announcing JCO event - Super foods~Super Power

The third one is Srivalli's 

Announcing 30 Minutes Meal Mela

Keep Smiling,

Rice flour Murukku( akki hittina Chakli)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Today, I am here with a snack which is very common, liked by all the age group(only those having full set of strong teeth!!), can be eaten at any time of the day.. Easy to carry, love to share and happy to munch together.

Murukku, Chakli...

Its first time (actually second time in this month) but first time in my life that I dared to try out these mini wonder snacks all alone. And yesss!! I got them perfect in the first attempt(which rarely happens with me).

I do not know why I used to hesitate to prepare these!! may be because whenever my mom tried, either these chaklis came out very soft and got spoiled or I wanted my kids to push me into it..

My younger daughter loves chaklis, and as you know me, I do not like outside food much... I try to try everything at home.. 

Here is the recipe,

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 2 cups

Dalia powder (puthani powder) - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - 2 tbsp or little more if you want it spicy

Ajwain - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp(optional)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Butter - 2 tbsp

warm water - 1/2 cup

more water to prepare the dough

Oil to fry

Murukku maker to press the murukku.

Method:

According to my mother and aunties, The rice should be cleaned, washed, dried and the flour should be done in flour mill. But, do we have all that patience now a days? if we have patience, we do not have time for sure. So I went for the shortcut way(some times shortcut way brings you success!!). I had the rice flour(but again it was done in flour mill, not from the shop).

I kept the rice flour in M/W safe plate for a minute and allowed it to cool before adding other things.

1. Take the all the ingredients from rice flour till sesame seeds in a big plate.
2. Mix well.
3. Add the butter in warm water and keep it for half a minute.
4. Heat the one tbsp oil and add it to the flour. Add the butter and water.
5. Mix well to make hard dough. Add some more water if you need.
6. Keep it ready.
7. Heat the oil in a wide kadai. Till it gets hot,

Keep few plates ready to put the murukku before putting them in to oil to fry, or I used kitchen tissue papers so that I could spread two murukku on a paper. This will make your work easy and fast. OR if you are expert you can directly put the murukku in a kadai and fry directly.
Take a big ball size of ready flour mix, put in the murukku maker. 
Press slowly, turning the upper knob to get the proper shape. Put one by one in a hot oil and fry till slight brown. Fry in batches. Allow to cool and store in a air tight jars. These can be kept for 15 days also(if remains!! )

Sending this to Nithu's ongoing event:

Event Announcement : Know Your Flour - Rice Flour

 which is started by Jagruti

Keep Smiling,

Sarva Pindi/Ginnappa for ICC FEBRUARY

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I am back in ICC after 5 months. Sorry Valli. No excuses :-(. I am ready for any punishment :-)

Hope I am still in your team. Here is the Indian Cooking Challenge for  February month. Srivalli, this is tastiest food, which I would have never tried without you. She has taken the recipe from Usha.  Ranjani and Lavanya's blogs are also given for the reference.

 

In North Karnataka we also prepare the food similar to this with only difference in using the flour. Here we use Jowar flour as the main ingredient. We call it ThaaliPeeth and the link is here.

 

 

When I was making this one, the aroma filled the whole house and my daughter could not control to have it. She had it directly from the tawa :-)

Enjoy this crunchiest, hottest(???), I added more chilly snack with tea or morning breakfast or for picnic or just like that. Do we need any reason or time to have good food???

Please visit Valli's RECIPE for the detailed post.

Keep Smiling,

Magic of Sindhi Rasoi(Food Remake)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Last week again I wanted to wear a Sindhi cap to try some recipes from Alka's Sindhi Rasoi. She has wonderful collections of Sindhi food. A Non- Sindhi girl(like me) married to a Sindhi guy will bless Alka for sharing such an authentic Sindhi recipes.

Coming to the recipes, I tried four recipes in three days and all came out very tasty. 

Sharing her recipe links and my photos:

First one is 

Saayi dal : Click here for the original recipe.

Second one is 

Paneer Bhurji: Click  here  for the original recipe.

Third one is 

Chaawaran Jho dodo(Rice flour roti): Click here for her recipe.

Now its time for sweet from her blog(As we Sindhi people never get tired of eating sweets)

Singhar(Sev) ji Mithai: Here goes the link for original  Recipe.

Sending these four to 

Ria's(of Ria's Collection) 

TRIED&TASTED September2010

(Linking it to Lakshmi's blog and Zlamushka whose brain child is this event)

Keep Smiling,