Methi Powder | Menthi Podi | How to Make Methi Powder

Methi Powder / Menthi podi is a very essential kitchen basic & at home it is one of ingredients I use on a daily basis. This powder comes handy & can be added to pickle's, rasam, dal & some chutney's that go well with it. 
Methi Powder is made of slightly fried Methi seeds or Menthulu, which are later grind to a smooth powder. Quantity of adding this powder changes from one recipe to other. This powder is bitter to taste & when mixed with other dishes it totally adds a unique flavor, while the bitter taste just disappears. 
Apart from cooking, this powder has numerous health benefits to it. You can use it as a face & hair mask & results are amazingly good. 

Ingredients

1/4Cup methi seeds {Menthulu}

Directions

- Heat a pan with methi seeds. 

- Dry roast them for few minutes or until they change their color to little dark brown.

- Switch off heat & allow them to cool completely. 

- Grind them to a smooth powder. 

- Store it in a air tight container & it stays good for 1month. 

BWW #135 - Round Up

The round up of  Black & White Wednesdays #135 is here. Enjoy the beautiful images.

"Seaweed Garden" by Simona of briciole

"Seagrass" by Simona of briciole

"From Grandma, With Love" by Aparna of Stories From The Mahe Coast

"Summer Centerpiece" by Cinzia of Cindy star blog

"Wax Bean Still Life" by Lynne Daley of Cafe Lynnylu 

"Small, Yet Precious" by Rosa of Rosa Yummy Yums

"Spring Onion" by Me

Vankaya Perugu Pachadi | Brinjal Yogurt Chutney

For this week theme on BM I'm  presenting "Summer Special". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Yogurt chutneys are the regular dishes in summer. It is believed that yogurt helps in keeping your body cool & helps beat the heat of sun. Lassi's, smoothies, cool drinks & ice creams are the few things you can enjoy having on summer days. 
Yogurt Chutney or Perugu pachadi has many variations & I'm sharing the simple version of making it. In this chutney I simply pan fried brinjal along with tomatoes, but to make it much flavorful you can roast brinjal {As you do for baingan bartha} & make this dish. Though that process is elaborated it tastes delicious.

Prep Time-5mins | Cook Time-30mins | Serves-3people
Ingredients
2Cups yogurt {Curd}
2Indian eggplant chopped
1Tomato chopped
3Green chili's sliced 
Salt to taste 
Few coriander leaves to garnish
1Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard seeds
1Tsp jeera 
Pinch of hing {Asafetida}
Directions
- Heat pan with oil & too that add mustard, jeera & hing. To the pan add tomatoes, green chili's & eggplant.
- Cook them with a closed lid until they are soft and done. Allow them to cool.
- In a bowl take yogurt, salt & cooked veggies. 
- Mix them well & adjust if salt needed. 
- Garnish with coriander leaves. 
- Serve with rice or roti.

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Orange Cranberry Punch

For this week theme on BM I'm  presenting "Summer Special". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Orange Cranberry Punch - This drink was inspired by an AD on TV. The colors were awesome & at the same time I could feel that this blend would be awesome & tried my hands on this drink. I made this drink on a hot day & this drink was surely thirst quenching. We just loved it. 

You might also like:
-Pineapple Mango Sangria
-Pineapple Cantaloupe Cooler
- Mango Strawberry Punch
- Cantaloupe Ginger Mocktail
- Watermelon Mocarita | Watermelon Mocktail

Prep Time-5mins | Chill time-2hrs | Serves-2people
Ingredients
2Cups orange juice
1Cup cranberry juice
1Cup water
2Tbs Sugar {Adjust as needed}
1/4Tsp cinnamon powder
Garnish with few blue berries
Directions 
- In a pitcher mix all the above ingredients other than sugar. Adjust if sugar needed.
- Add blue berries & stir in.
- Serve chilled. 
Note
- I used fresh squeezed juice. 
- You can use a store bought juices for convinces.

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BWW #135

I'm so happy to announce the Black and White Wednesday #135 event @ my blog.This event was initially started by Susan of The well-Seasoned Cook, Wich was passed on & now being managed by Cinzia of Cindystar.

Simple rules: 

1. Send in a Black & White or a monochromatic pic of a food or something represents food.
2. A file size should be as mentioned below:

- For portrait/500 wide & 700 long

- For landscape/700 wide & 500 long or 600 square

3. Send in your Pics to Valli.sunil@gmail.com with below details: 

- Subject : BWW#135

- Name

- Title of pic

- Url to your page 

4. Event starts from 18th June 14 & ends on 25th June 14.

5. Non bloggers can send in your pics to the above mail id & I would be happy to post it for you. 
6. For queries you can leave a comment below.

 

Nimmakaya Pesara Pappu | Tangy Lemon Dal

For this week theme on BM I'm  presenting "Summer Special". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Lemon Dal is a tasty yet cooling dish for summer's or for any hot day for that matter. Moong Dal is believed to cool the body temperatures on hot days & it is a easy to digest lentil, which is tasty yet easy to cook. My mom use to regularly make this dal in summer, which goes along with pickles of the season. You can also make pulusu & chutney with dal & they are deliciously tempting.

Prep Time-10mins | Cook Time-45mins | Serves-3people
Ingredients
1Cup moong dal {Pesara Pappu}
1&1/2Cup water
1Medium onion finely chopped
2Green chili's chopped
1/4Tsp turmeric
Few curry leaves
2Tsp lemon juice

Salt to taste 

2Tbs oil 

1Tsp mustard seeds

1Tsp jeera 

3Red chili's cut in to half 

1/4Tsp hing {Asafetida}

Directions

- Wash moong dal & pressure cook with water for 2whistles. Switch off heat & allow it to cool completely. 

- Mean while heat a pan with oil & to that add mustard, jeera, red chili's & hing.

- Once the mustard starts jumping, add onions, curry leaves & green chili's to the seasoning.

- Fry onions till they are translucent. 

- Add turmeric, salt & cooked dal to pan along with 1cup water. Mix them well. 

- Bring dal to boil & switch off heat. 

- Mix in lemon juice to dal.

- Serve dal with rice & ghee.

Note

- Don't add extra water while cooking if the dal is thick enough. 

- Adjust lemon juice as needed.

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Tomato Pickle | Tomato Avakaya

For this week theme on BM we are "Pickling". I decided on making 3 Andhra style pickles for this week.Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Pickles are a comforting dish in our house. When I'm not in a mood of cooking I depend on pickles, combined with simple dal along with yogurt. I get few pickles from India & some temporary one's like this dish when in need. This particular pickle is a sun dried version & super tempting too. 
Tomato Pickle is a saver for busy days. I always make sure that I have a box of it in my refrigerator ready to go. There are many ways of making this pickle & here I'm sharing the recipe of my mom. This version has both the methi powder & mustard powder in it. The flavor is tempting with the spice mix added in it.  

Prep Time-2Days | Serves-3people
Ingredients 
6Red tomatoes 
1Tbs + 1Tsp salt
1Tbs + 1Tsp chili powder
1Tbs + 1Tsp mustard powder
1Tbs + 1Tsp methi powder
Seasoning 
3Tbs oil 
1Tsp mustard seeds
1Tsp chana dal
1Tsp urad dal
4Red chili's 
Few curry leaves
1/2Tsp hing {Asafetida}

Directions
- Clean tomatoes with water & pat them dry with a dry towel. Leaves on counter for 1hr. 
- Chop tomatoes to small pieces. 
- In a bowl add tomatoes, salt, chili powder, mustard powder & methi powder. Mix them well & cover up with a lid. 
- Allow it to sit for 24hrs on counter. 
- On a plate layout the tomato pieces along with the oozed juice. 
- Sun dry it for 2 days, until tomatoes are little dried. 
- Heat pan with oil. To that add chana dal, urad dal, red chili's & mustard seeds to it. 
- Once the mustard starts jumping add curry leaves & hing to pan. 
- Switch off heat & add it to pickle. Mix it well.
- Adjust salt & chili powder if needed. 
- Serve with rice & a dollop of ghee.
Note
- Don't over dry tomatoes. 
- Chop tomatoes in to small bits. 

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Cauliflower Pickle

For this week theme on BM we are "Pickling". I decided on making 3 Andhra style pickles for this week.Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Cauliflower Pickle has been on my to make list for long time. I tasted this pickle at my aunt's place & liked the flavor of it. So I decided on trying this pickle & we just loved it.
Cauliflower is one of those veggies I keep a little distance from. I never liked the smell of them so much & hardly will buy this veggie. This time I decided on trying this pickle which I liked & bought a small flower with much hesitation. I learned that the blend of spice mixes & garlic has dominated the smell of this flower & made the pickle much flavorful. I used much less of oil than needed & it didn't made any difference to the pickle.

Prep Time-24hrs {Prepping + Sitting} | Serves-3people
Ingredients 
3Cups cauliflower florets
1Tbs + 1Tsp red chili powder
1Tsp methi powder
1Tsp mustard powder
1/4Tsp turmeric
1Tsp size ball of tamarind / 2Tsp lemon juice
2&1/2Tsp salt
2Tbs oil
3Garlic cloves sliced
Few curry leaves
Seasoning 
1Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard
Few red chili's 
Directions
- Clean florets with water & lay them on a towel. Allow them to dry completely. 
- After 4hrs to 5hrs pat them one with a dry towel & keep aside.
- Heat a pan with 2Tbs oil. To that add garlic cloves & curry leaves. 
- Fry till garlic starts to brown a little. 
- To pan add tamarind & cauliflower florets. Fry them for 3mins-4mins & switch off heat.
- Allow the florets to cool completely. 
- To pan add chili, mustard, methi, turmeric & salt.
- Mix them well & allow it to sit for overnight. 
- Adjust salt & chili powder if needed. 
- Heat pan with oil & to that add mustard seeds & red chili's. 
- Once the mustard starts jumping switch off heat & mix it to the pickle.
Lemon juice - If you are using lemon juice instead of tamarind, add it along with all the spice powder & mix it well. If needed more adjust accordingly.

Note
- Florets shouldn't become soft. 
- Florets should be cut in to small pieces.
- Feel free to add little more oil if needed.
- Day by day the pickle gets delicious. 
- You can use either lemon juice or tamarind in this dish.

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Dosa Avakaya

For this week theme on BM we are "Pickling". I decided on making 3 Andhra style pickles for this week.Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41.

Dosa Avakaya is a delicious Andhra pickle made of yellow cucumbers & spice mixture. It is a year round pickle & can be made in small batches for much fresher pickle & also for temporary use.
Mustard Powder is what makes it a avakaya. The flavor is strong & powerful because of mustard powder. At home it is one of those pickles that will be made regularly. I got this recipe from my mom. she generally leaves few seeds with the cucumber pieces & she says they give a nice bite & also infuse some tangy taste to the pickle.

Prep Time-24hrs {Prepping + Sitting}  | Serves-2people
Ingredients
1Cup bite size chopped cucumber pieces {Dosakaya}
1&1/2Tsp salt 
1&1/2Tsp chili powder
1Tbs mustard powder
2Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard seeds
Few red chili's 
1/4Tsp hing {Asafetida} 
Directions 
- In a bowl add cucumber pieces, salt, chili & mustard powder. 
- Mix them well & keep aside. 
- Heat a pan with oil. To that add mustard seeds & red chili's.
- Once the mustard starts jumping add hing & switch off heat. 
- Allow the the oil to cool completely & then add it to the cucumber mixture. 
- Allow pickle to sit in a air tight container for one day. 
- You will see some water oozed out by the cucumbers & the pickle is ready to eat. 
- Adjust salt & chili powder if needed. 
- Serve with rice & a dollop of ghee. 
Note
- Always store in a airtight container. 
- Don't scrape the skin of cucumber.
- Refrigerate it for increased store life. 
- You can avoid mustard & heating the oil totally.
-  Just mix hing & oil to mixture & rest remains the same. 
- For little tangier taste add 1/2Tsp tamarind to the mixture.

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