Rasam Powder | Charu Podi | Saaru Podi

Rasam powder or charu podi is a main ingredient in making Rasam. This powder makes rasam flavorful & aromatic. It's believed that spices used will help improve digestion. There are different recipes for a rasam powder & I'm sharing the rasam powder recipe I borrowed from my mom. 

Cook Time-10mins | Prop Time-10mins | Yields - 7Servings 
Ingredients 

1/2Cup toor dal / kandi pappu
3Tbs coriander seeds / dhaniyalu
1Tsp cumin
1Tsp black pepper
1/2Tsp methi
4Red chili's 
Directions
- Heat a pan & add toor dal to it. Dry roast them till toor dal changes it color to darkish yellow. 
- Transfer dal on to a plate & allow it cool. Mean while heat the same pan with rest of the spices. 
- Dry roast them till they change to light brownish color. Switch off heat & transfer spices to the dal plate. 
- Allow them to cool completely before grinding. 
- Grind them to a coarse powder.
Note:
- Store powder in a air tight container 
- Make it in small batches to have a flavorful rasam.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Blueberry Crisp

Blueberry crisp is a bubbly crispy dish. The fruit added oozes out the juices making the dish irresistible. I chose blueberries as my love to them is inexpressible & I love to include them into my diet as much as possible. You can replace any fruit to blueberries & can enjoy this dish. I replaced the all purpose flour to almond meal to make it a little healthy. 

Prep Time-15mins | Cook Time-45mins | Yields - 2Servings

Ingredients

For Crisp

1/2Cup almond meal

3Tbs brown sugar

1/2 of 1/4Tsp salt

1/4Tsp cinnamon powder

1/4Cup olive butter @ room temperature 

2Tbs sliced oats

For layers

1 Pear sliced 

1/2Cup blueberries

Directions

- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees.

- Take a bowl & to that add almond meal, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon powder & butter. Mix it well & keep aside. 

- Divide the mixture equally in to two parts & to one part add oats & mix them.

- Now take a oven safe bowl & arrange pears as your first layer & on top add a little of mixture without oats. 

- Top it with blueberries & add the layer of crisp on top. 

- Now bake it @350degrees for 30mins.

- At the end fruits will oozing the juices & the crisp layer will bake brown & looks crispy. 

- Serve it warm.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Parfait with Yogurt & Mixed Fruits

Parfait is a french word for "perfect" & there is no better word to describe this healthy & filling dessert. Healthy word bit me very badly & I'm weighing everything what I'm having. This is one of those desserts I love enjoying as my bedtime snack.

Prep Time-15mins | Yields-2servings

Ingredients

1Cup non-fat greek yogurt (plain) / non-fat thick yogurt 

1Cup sliced grapes

1Cup sliced banana

1Tbs honey 

Few chopped dates to garnish (optional)

Directions

- In a bowl take yogurt & honey. Whip it to cream & smooth texture. 

- Take a bowl to arrange the parfait. First add 1 scoop of yogurt & on that add the sliced grapes. 

- Next add another scoop of yogurt & add bananas. 

- To that add few grapes & few dates to garnish. 

- Repeat the same with rest of the ingredients. 

- Enjoy it chilled.

Note:

- You can replace yogurt with whip cream or a pudding. 

- Add as many fruits you want.

- Mix & match fruits to enjoy more.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible. Sending this recipe to "Taste of the Tropics - Grapes" event hosted by Prachi Agarwal of Prachi's Veg Litchen.

Fruit Custard with Pomegranate Seeds

Fruit custard is a simple & delicious dessert that you can serve it any occasion. The basic custard powder is available in different flavors like vanilla, pista, mango..etc.So you can enjoy the flavor depending upon your mood. A pinch or more of elachi gives this dessert a nice flavor. 

Prep Time-10mins | Cooking Time-20mins | Yields-4Servings
Ingredients
3Tbs vanilla custard powder
3&1/2Cups milk (2% fat)
3Tbs sugar (Adjust according to your taste)
1Tsp cardamon powder / elachi powder 
Few saffron strands
3/4Cup pomegranate seeds
Directions
-In a bowl add custard powder & to that add 1cup milk. Mix custard powder without leaving any lumps. 
- Meanwhile heat a vessel with rest of the milk & saffron. Add sugar to milk & bring it to boil. 
- Now add the custard mix & elachi powder to the boiled milk & keep stirring it on low heat till it becomes little thick.
- Switch off heat & allow it to cool a little bit before refrigerating it.
Serving Instructions
- Arrange a layer of pomegranate seeds in a bowl & to that add a ladle full of custard & repeat the same with rest of the layers. 
- Serve it chilled.

Note:
- The custard with thicken itself when refrigerated. You don't have to over cook it to reach the consistency. 
- You can add different fruits of your choice other than pomegranate seeds.
- Touch of elachi elevates the flavor. You can skip it if you want to.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Almond Milk - Homemade

Almond Milk is healthy alternative for regular cow's milk. It consists of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, proteins & less calories compared to regular milk. It is also know as a heart healthy drink & can also help in lowering your bad cholesterol.In general a cup of almonds have 500 & odd calories & when we prepare milk from them the whole calories are divided the cups of water you have added.

Ingredients
1Cup almonds
1Tsp vanilla extract 
Pinch of salt
6Cups water
2Dates (Soaked overnight)

Soak almonds for 6hrs to 8hrs in sufficient water. 

After 8hrs in a blender add almonds, water, salt & vanilla extract.Now blend them till the almonds milk can be seen as above. All the water in blender changes to whitish color. This means your almond milk is ready. 

Now filter the milk using a mesh filter & a cheese cloth.

Squeeze out all the milk from almonds. 

Store it in a air tight container & refrigerate it. 

Enjoy it as you like.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Flavor up with Spices #1 - A Monthly Event

Spices are the ingredients used to flavor our food. They are mostly the dried parts of root, seed, vegetable or a fruit which have a strong flavor & used in very small quantities for cooking. Some spices are also known for their good healing properties & used widely all around the world. 

Black Pepper's are the star of this month. They are widely used in Indian cooking & believed to help health problems like cold, digestion & are also widely used in Ayurvedic medicine.Black Pepper's are hot & empowering when they are added in a dish. So for the first month make a dish using Black Pepper's and share it here. 

Rules to follow:

1. Vegetarian & egg dishes are welcome. No non-vegetarian pls.
2. Post it in your blog and link back the recipe to my event.
3. Can send in multiple entries. Archives are ok too.
4. Event starts from 1st of February 2014 & ends on 1st of March 2014.
5. For any queries you can just leave a comment on my facebook page Ammaji Kitchen or mail me to Valli.sunil@gmail.com.
6. I will be posting the round up on my Facebook page. If you want to be tagged in the round then do mail your Facebook page url or just leave a comment below & I will add you.

Apple Milkshake with Almond Milk

Prep Time-5mins | Yields-1 Serving 

Ingredients

1Cup apple juice 

1Cup almond milk

4Dates (Soaked in water overnight)

1/2Tsp cinnamon powder

Directions

In a blender mix applejuice, almond milk , dates & cinnamon powder. Blend it on high speed once. Transfer the milkshake in to a glass and enjoy.

Note: 

- I used almond milk as it is less in calories rather than normal milk. 

- Check kitchen basics section to get almond milk recipe. (Coming soon)

- I soaked dates in just enough water & not more.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Check this too..

Banana Nutella Milkshake 

Besan Ka Halwa

Halwa is basically a thick sweet dish & can be made with different flours & ingredients. I'm sharing a recipe for Besan ka halwa & it's is very famous in indian households. This dish contains lots of ghee & that is what flavors of this dish. To the ingredients below you can add grated coconut for twist to the recipe.

Cook Time-30mins | Yields-2 servings

Ingredients
1Cup besan
1Cup ghee / butter

1Cup milk

3/4Cup sugar (Adjust accordingly)

1/2Tsp elachi powder

6 Cashew's

- Heat a pan with butter. Add cashew & stir fry them till they change to light brown. Remove cashews from pan & keep aside.
- To the pan add besan. Stir fry it carefully. You should fry it till it changes slight color.

- Immediately add milk & sugar to the besan and mix it well with out forming lumps. 
- Keep stirring until halwa becomes thick. Switch off heat. 
- Add elachi powder and fried cashews to it. Mix them well.

- Serve it warm & enjoy.

Note:

- Reduce the ghee content to 1/2 Cup if are concerned about the fat.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

Menthi Avakaya | Mango Pickle

Pickles & chutneys are my favorite side dishes. A south indian meal is never complete without them. It is also believed that having a spicy chutney as a course of your meal will help in good digestion.

The menthi avakaya I'm sharing is a temporary pickle & also has less oil compared to the traditional avakaya pickle.

Prep Time-40mins | Cook Time-5mins | Yields-4 servings
Ingredients

2Cups grated mango

5Tbs red chili powder (Adjust according to taste)
2Tbs methi powder 
Salt 
Seasoning
2Tbs oil 
1Tsp mustard seeds
3 red chili's cut equally
Few curry leaves
1Tsp hing (Asafoetida)
Directions
- In a bowl mix mango,chili powder, methi powder & salt. 
- Leave it for 30mins on your counter with closed lid. - After 30mins adjust chili powder & salt if needed. 
- Heat a pan with oil & to that add mustard seeds & red chili'. 
- Once the mustard starts jumping add hing & curry leaves to pan. 
- Switch off heat & add it immediately to the mango mix. 
- Mix it well & store it in refrigerator. 
- Serve it with rice & a dollop of ghee.
Note:
- Leaving the mango mix for 30mins will allow the flavors to mingle.
- This pickle will stay good for months when refrigerated.

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.

  

Pulihora | Puliyodhara | Chitranna | Tamarind Rice

Pulihora, a tangy flavored dish is a very well known dish in south indian states. Though it has different names based on a state, but the preparation remains almost same with little changes.The main ingredient of this dish is tamarind pulp & the seasoning we add enhances the flavor of it. This is a festive dish & is offered to god as prasad. It is also believed that offering this dish to lord vishnu is very auspicious.

Ingredients

4Cups cooked rice

Pulihora mix 
2/3Cup thick tamarind pulp

2Green chili's
1Tbs methi powder

1Tsp turmeric

Salt for taste 

1Tsp sugar

1/4Cup of oil

2Tbs mustard

4Tbs chana dal

4Tbs urad dal

5Red chili's cut equally

3Tbs peanuts or cashew nuts

1Tsp hing(Asafoetida)
Cilantro for garnish

Directions

- Heat a pan with oil & to that add mustard, chana dal & urad dal, green chili's, peanuts or cashews & red chili's. 
- Stir fry them till the dal & cooked to light brown color.Now add tamarind, turmeric, salt, sugar & hing to pan. Stir till the tamarind pulp becomes thick & switch off heat. Last add the methi powder to the mix. 
- Add the pulihora mix to rice & adjust salt if needed.
- Garnish with cilantro & serve.

Note: 

- I used a thick tamarind pulp & it took less cooking time for the mix. 

Follow me on "Facebook", "Google+", "Pinterest" for daily updates. Leave me a comment on any queries regarding this recipe & I will be able to answer it for you as soon as possible.