Day: February 11, 2009

Poriyals / Kootu Varieties. · Side Dishes for Rotis/Dosas/ Naan.

Quick Cauliflower subzi.

Shoba5 Comments

Cauliflowers are always a welcome addition to any dish I make as cauliflowers are an excellent source of Vitamin C and dietary fiber. I am a fiber freak and try to sneak in this element of our daily requirement in any dish I create. I also have this habit of immediately cleaning with salt water, drying and storing the florets in an air tight container, so I can scoop them and add them in to any dish I am making for the day. Cauliflowers are an excellent addition to any dry subzi preparation, mixed rices, bajjis, fillings and gravies. This is one of my entry for JFI Cauliflower hosted by Paajaka Recipes.

Cauliflower Subzi.
Cauliflower Subzi.

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This is a quick and simple everyday recipe, known for its simplistic presentation and flavourful taste. A handful of peas could also be thrown in for added nutrition. It`s all about innovation in everyday cooking right???

INGREDIENTS:

Cauliflower:                 2 cups. (cleaned and chopped in to florets)

Salt

Besan                              1 spoon

Seasoning:

Mustard, Broken Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves, Hing.

Roast in Oil and Powder:

Toor Dhal           – 2 spoons

Bengal Gram     – 2 spoons

Dhania                 –  2 spoons

Pottu Kadalai   –  1 spoon

Red Chillis         – 5

Hing

Curry Leaves

PREPARATION:

  • Before you start, pop the cauliflower in to the microwave for 3 minutes so its almost halfway cooked. There is no need to add water, as the inherent water content in the cauliflower helps it to cook.
  • Place the tava in the stove, pour a spoon of oil,season with mustard, urad dhal, curry leaves and hing and immediately add the cauliflower.
  • Add turneric and salt according to taste and allow to cook for 5 mins or so until the raw smell is gone.
  • Add the ground powder, sprinkle besan  and serve garnished with cilantro.
  • This subzi is quick and can be coupled with roti or rice. For added nutrition and colour, pop in peas or lilva beans.
Poriyals / Kootu Varieties.

Stuffed Yennai Kathirikkai – (Eggplant stuffed with ground masala and slow roasted in oil)

Shoba7 Comments

 

img_5133Stuffed Brinjal is a delicacy that has a hundred different methods of preparation – influenced by the culture and changes over the times. My mother in law is an expert in this delicacy and she would make it often when we visited home in Srirangam. My husband loves eggplants and specially this particular dish and relishes it ,when its lovingly made by his  mother.At his request, I learnt to make this dish from my mother in law. Over times, on account of lavish use of oil, I have concocted my own way of simplifying this dish to accommodate both counts of flavor and health. There are a number of little tips that are important for this delicacy to turn out the way its supposed to be presented. Care should be taken to buy fresh, tender, small  brinjals, and prepare it in its freshest form, to minimize the effort involved as well as the oil used in its preparation.Most of the cooking is finished in the microwave oven, so that saves a lot of time, makes it a lot more simpler, and reduces the oil used. My recent addition of the Calphalon Sear Pan with its super wide base and sear bottom halves the cooking time and makes it fuss free.

INGREDIENTS: 15 – 18 tender and fresh Brinjals.

Salt

Curry Leaves

Hing

Roast in oil:

4 Tsp Dhania

2 Tsp  Bengal Gram.

1 Tsp Toor Dhal

1 Tsp Pottu Kadalai  .

1 Tsp Peanuts.

6 – 7  Red Chillis

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Coconut

5- 7 Curry Leaves

Hing

PREPARATION:

  • Clean the brinjals, dry them and slit them in horizontally and vertically until you just reach the stalk.
  • Roast the captioned ingredients in oil and powder them finely in a mixer. The ground powder already has salt which will help to flavor the brinjals.
  • Spray the eggplants with oil spray/ (spread gingely oil ) and sprinkle salt over them.
  • When the  brinjals are cooled, stuff the powder inside the brinjals, and keep them closed again as if they were whole. Since they are sprayed with oil, the stuffing will stick to the sides of the brinjals.
  • Place inside a greased cooker and cook on HIGH for one whistle.

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  • Take a wide mouthed pan, add oil, and season with mustard and curry leaves and slowly place the stuffed brinjals one by one,  in to the pan.img_5127
  • Cover and cook on low flame for about twenty minutes. Keep adding a spoon or two of oil, if you think its getting dry.
  • If needed sprinkle a few drops of water and cook until the brinjals are soft and cooked to perfection.
  • When one side of the brinjal gets seared, tip them over with a spoon so they cook uniformly.
  • When done switch off stove and serve HOT with Mango Kuzhambu or Chinna Vengaya Vathal Kuzhambu. 
  • IMG_1373
Snacks & Tiffin Items

Healthy Adai with oats and flax.

Shoba9 Comments

“Adai” is one of the most nutritious tiffin items loaded with nutrition and health. Traditionally, in our homes, adai is an come-home-after-school evening snack. But many days, its a filling dinner. Adai is a thick crepe like entree, serves with Avial in tamil nadu and other times with Idly Podi or tomato thokku. Its basically made with rice, bengal gram and toor dhal, but in the process of making it more healthier, I also add oats, flax, spinach, cabbage etc, to boost on the fibre intake. Many times, when I take stock of the daily food intake, what I miss at the most, is Fibre.

Fibre rich foods keeps the digestive system in good working order helps prevent a lot of lifestyle driven dieseases, and is packed with protiens and minerals. Its also important that one gradually increases the fibre intake and should be followed by a substantial increase in fluid intake, in order to assist the body to assimilate the fibre consumed.

Adai can be rehashed to include onions, or minus onions to include cabbage, or for those who find the aroma of cooked cabbage unagreeable, corriander and spinach, brocolli and collards etc. I also add two spoons of flax powder, which acts as a catalyst in increasing the fibre, but does not alter the taste even a wee bit.

This is a version with Oats, flax and onions.

Onion,Oats and flax Adai with Tomato Thokku.
Onion,Oats and flax Adai with Tomato Thokku.

INGREDIENTS:

Idli Rice/Boiled Rice          – 1 cup.

Bengal Gram                           – 1/2 cup.

Toor Dhal                                 – 1/2 cup.

Red Chillis                                 – 6 or 7.

Curry Leaves                           – 6 or 7.

Oats Old fashioned                – 1/2 cup

Flax Seed Powder                   – 2 tsp.

Salt                                                – 1 and 1/2 tsp – 2tsp accd to taste

Corriander                                  – 1/4 cup.

Hing                                               – A pinch.

Onions chopped                       – 1.

PREPARATION:

  • Soak the boiled rice,  and the dhals seperately and to this add the seven red chillis; Allow to soak for 3 hours. Add the oats to soak for ten minutes only.
  • Grind the rice, dhals, oats,red chillis, salt, hing, curry leaves and corriander to a coarse batter. The batter should be almost 80% ground, but not to a smooth paste. Do not make the batter watery – grind the batter with around 1/2 cup of water.
  • Keep the batter ready and add some  more chopped curry leaves for added flavour.
  • If the batter is a little too thick, feel free to add a little water to make it in to a consistency easy to make in to a dosa form.
  • Keep the tava on the stove and when hot, grease with gingely oil.
  • Pour the batter on the tava, and circle to form a thick dosa. Make a little hole in the middle of the adai, with your dosa turner and pour some oil to allow uniform cooking. We do this, as the adai is packed with pulses, which needs to be cooked well.
  • Immediately add the chopped onion pieces.
  • When done on one side, turn over to cook on the other. Keep the stove on a medium flame.
  • Serve HOT with Avial or Tomato Thokku.

HINT:

  • Vary the taste of the adai to include onions when you grind to get a light flavourful onion adai.
  • Cook the adai with chopped cabbage for a healthy alternative.
  • You can also soak soya beans, green gram dhals etc to vary the nutrition and taste.

Sending piping hot adais to Meetha`s Monthly Mingle – Ravishing Rice.