Sweet Vermicelli.

Sweet Vermicelli- A lovely sweet dish beautifully aromatic and fragrant with spices such as cinnamon cloves,nutmeg and cardamom.

Ingredients:

125 grams vermicelli
2 tablespoons melted ghee
2 sticks of cinnamon
4 cloves
1.5 cups water
Pinch saffron strands
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg powder

Method:

1. Break the vermicelli into small pieces.
2. Heat ghee in a heavy saucepan add the cloves and cinnamon stick and add the vermicelli .
3. Roast in ghee the vermicelli until golden brown, stirring so that it colours evenly.
4. Add hot water and saffron and bring to the boil, then turn heat low, cover and simmer gently until vermicelli is cooked. (About 20 minutes)
5. Add sugar and cook uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed.
6. Stir in 2/3 of the almonds( reserve rest) and add cardamom and nutmeg powder.
7. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with remainder 1/3 of almond slivers.
Serve Warm.

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Semolina Halwa

Submitting to:

Priyas tasty n easy recipes-Cook with cardamom event.

Pink Grapefruit and pickled gherkin salad.

Pink grapefruit and pickled gherkin salad- A Fruity citrus salad with a wonderful tangy flavour from the pickled gherkins. Healthy and colourful and simply delicious to eat on own or as an accompaniment.

Ingredients:

4 leaves of iceberg lettuce shredded
3 in piece cucumber cut into strips.
1 small red onion cut into thin slices
1 carrot peeled and shredded
1 pink grape fruit peeled and cut into segments. (Click here to see how to do this)
12 baby pickled gherkins
2 firm red tomatoes cut into slices.
½ yellow pepper cut into strips.

Dressing:

2 tablespoons brine from pickled gherkins
2 tablespoons pink grapefruit juice (Reserved from grapefruit when segmenting it.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey( optional I didn't use it)

Method:

1. In a serving dish, put the lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, red onions and peppers. Toss together.
2. Slice the gherkins if they are big if they are mini gherkins leave them whole.
3. Top the salad mixture with gherkins and pink grapefruit segments. Chill.
4. In a jar with a lid add all the dressing ingredients and shake the jar to mix together.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.




NB-You can include any of these ingredients in this salad: sweetcorn, mushrooms, springonions, celery or any other salad vegetable of your choice.

You may like:
Garden salad with Italian herb dressing.

Submitting to:

Cook curry Nook- Serve me your salad event

Masala Panirayams.

Masala Paniyarams- A tasty snack made from left over Paniyarams, stir fried to make them crispy, garnished with coconut and coriander to give them an added flavour.
Ingredients:

10-12 Paniyarams1 tablespoon grated coconut
3 green chillies finely chopped
2 red dried chillies
3 curry leaves
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon urad dhal
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Cut the paniyarams in to quarters.
2. Heat the oil in a wok, when hot add the mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chillies and curry leaves.
3. Once they start to splutter add the sesame seeds and paniyaram pieces.
4. Toss and stir fry till paniyaram pieces turns slightly crispy and start to take on golden colour. Add lemon juice
5. Transfer to serving dish, Sprinkle with grated coconut, chopped chillies and fresh coriander.

NB- I used left over methi paniyarams from the previous days meal.

You may like:

Semolina Instant dhokla.

Submitting to:

Spicy Lounge-COL left over delicacies event.

Sago muruku- ICC cooking challenge March 2010

Sagu Biyyam Muruku / Sago Muruku -A tasty savory snack made from Sago, rice flour and chickpea flour. Delicately flavoured with curd, chilli and salt, it is formed into spirals using a muruku maker and deep fried till golden brown. A mouth watering delectable crunchy snack ideal for that teatime treat.

The recipe was provided by -Srivali of Cooking 4 all seasons.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour 2 cups

Besan flour 1/2 cup

Fried gram flour - 1/2 cup

Sago - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste
50 grams oil

Curd - 50 grams (1/4 cup)

1/4 cup water

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or as per taste
2 green chillies finely crushed.
Oil for frying

Special Utensil

Muruku Achu

Method:

1.Mix together curd and water to make buttermilk. Soak the sago in butter milk for 3 hours. (It is important to do this or else sago will burst in frying process.)

2. Mix all the flour together, heat 50 grams oil, mix to the flour along with salt and chilli powder and green chillies. (Take care oil is hot mix with a spoon)
3. Add the butter milk soaked sago slowly and knead to a chapatti dough consistency.

4. Heat the oil for deep frying.
5. In the muruku achu, add the dough.
6. Press out the murukus in a round coil shape on cooking foil. (This makes lifting the muruku easier when transferring to hot oil.
7. Once you have pressed out few murukus, secure the end of each muruku by gently pressing it down to overlap slightly so that muruku does not unravel when dropped in hot oil.

8. Gently lift muruku from foil using spatula and drop in hot oil .Fry on medium flame to ensure the muruku is cooked well and golden brown.

9 .Drain the murukus on kitchen paper and repeat process till all the dough is used up.
10. Store murukus in an airtight container to keep fresh.

Notes:

Ensure sago soaks in buttermilk well and is soft or else it will burst when you fry muruku in hot oil. Cook on medium heat to ensure even cooking turning the muruku in oil frequently.

Fried gram flour is fried channa dhal that is available commercially. It is general sold as the dhal, we have to powder it at home. This is also referred as chutney dhal as it is used in making coconut chutney.



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Chegodilu

Bean burrito with an Indianised touch.

Burrito with an Indianised touch- A wheat flat bread filled with a spicy bean curry garnished with a sour cream and cheese dip and topped with crispy salad to add a lovely crunch .
3 tablespoons left over black eyed bean (lobia bean)curry.
Shredded lettuce
2 tablespoon diced cucumber
1 small tomato de seeded and diced
2 teaspoons sour cream
1 tablespoon grated cheese
1 spring onion finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 burrito

Method:

1. Warm up the black eyed bean curry in microwave. Drain the gravy and discard use the beans only.(Too much gravy will make burrito soggy)
2. In a dish add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and spring onion and mix.
3. Warm the burrito in a skillet.
4. Transfer burrito to a serving plate; spread the sour cream mixture over it.
5. Next spread the black eyed bean curry over it.
6. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato, cucumber and roll up burrito.
7. Cut into two and serve immediately with potato crisps and a side salad.

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Toasted cheese and tomato sandwich

Submitting to:

Dil se -Global kadai indian flavoured burritos event.

Spicy Lounge-COL left over delicacies event

Tea masala and Indian masala chai (tea)

Masala chai (Tea)-Milky brewed tea, flavoured with an array of fragrant and aromatic Indian spices such as powdered ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper.

Tea masala:

Ingredients:

50 grams ground cinnamon
50 grams ground black pepper
85 grams ground dried ginger (soonth)
85 grams ground cardamom (elaichi)


Method:

1.In a bowl add all the spices and mix throughly.
2.Transfer into an air tight jar with lid and use as required.

Masala chai (two servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups water
3/4 cup milk
1.5 teaspoon loose tea leaves
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon  tea masala

Method:

1. In a saucepan mix the water and milk and heat.
2. Add the sugar,tea leaves and tea masala.
3. Bring the chai to boil ,reduce heat and simmer to allow the flavours to infuse.
4. Strain into two serving cups.

Moong dhal pudlas (pancakes)

Moong dhal pudlas (pancakes)- Moong dhal pancakes healthy, protein packed and simply delicious flavoured with spring onions and fenugreek (Methi ).

Ingredients:

1 cup split moong dhal with husk
1.5 cups water
½ cup yoghurt
1 teaspoon eno salts
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
2 green chillies finely chopped
½ cup fresh chopped fenugreek
3 spring onions finely chopped
3 tablespoons sunflower oil for cooking pancakes.

Method:

1. Wash the moong dhal and drain water put in blender.
2. Add the salt, turmeric, ginger paste, chillies and fenugreek.
3. Add the measured water and yoghurt and blend to form a dropping consistency batter.
4. Stir in the chopped spring onions and the eno salts.
4. Heat frying pan and oil it. Place a ladle full of mixture and spread it to form a small pancake. (These pancakes are thicker and smaller than the average pancake)
5. Once pancake batter starts to set flip the pancake over and cook underside.
6. Place on kitchen paper and repeat process for rest of batter. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Serve with yoghurts and carrot pickle.

You may like Pudlas

Submitting to:

Priya's easy N tasty pancake event.