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September 30, 2016

Maladu Recipe(Roasted Gram Ladoo) – Pottukadalai Urundai

Maaladu recipe
Maladu/ Maa ladoo (Fried gram dal laddu Or roasted Gram ladoo in English) is one of the very popular and easiest laddu recipe in South India especially in Tamil nadu. Some people call it as Pottukadalai urundai or pottukadalai ladoo as well. It can be made quickly in few minutes. When I was thinking of some easy Navratri sweets to distribute to the guests, ladoo recipes came to my mind. Ladoo is one of the best crowd pleaser sweets and this maa ladoo is a kids friendly snack, healthy sweet too. I have made this with sugar and nuts. You can even use jaggery, roasted raisins to make it more healthy.Friends, do try this easy laddu recipe during this Navarathri along with a sundal variety.Offer to God and distribute it to your friends along with thamboolam. Ok, Lets check how to make maaladu recipe with step by step pictures.

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September 28, 2016

Bread Halwa Recipe – How To Make Bread Ka Halwa

Bread halwa recipe
Bread halwa came to my mind when I saw few leftover bread slices in my kitchen.I am making this easy halwa recipe for the second time. First time I tried bread halwa without milk by adding sugar syrup and ghee.It was good in taste but not so rich. Then I watched few bread halwa video recipes where they added khoya or condensed milk instead of milk. I felt that If I had added Khova/mawa, the taste would have been much better. But this time I prepared bread halwa with milk and followed a different procedure as Khoya is not easily available in my place. I will make a post adding khoya soon. 

For this recipe, I followed Tarla Dalal and used less milk & ghee when compared to other bread halwa recipes on net.It came out really well and satisfied my expectancy. Its process and making is so easy. I am sure its a rich, quick, Indian style dessert recipe made with easily available ingredients to serve your surprise guests and a good choice to use leftover dried bread slices. Kids would love it for sure. You should eat it hot or warm to enjoy its real taste. 

If you want to make a super rich and tasty bread halwa, you can deep fry the bread pieces in ghee just like double ka meetha or add ground cashew+ badam paste to the halwa. For variations, you can try this halwa with rusk and bread crumbs too. But adjust the quantity of milk and sugar. Ok, Lets see how to make bread halwa recipe with step by step images and a video.

Bread halwa - Video recipe

Bread halwa recipe

Bread halwa recipe


Bread halwa recipe How to make bread halwa - Easy version !
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Dessert recipes
Serves: Serves 2
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 15 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
  • Milk bread slices – 6 nos ( I used Spencers bread)
  • Sugar – 4 tbsp
  • Milk – 1/2 cup
  • Cashews and badam - a fistful ( chopped)
  • Melted Ghee – 1/4 cup
  • Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
METHOD

  • Take 6 slices of milk bread ( I used 3 days old bread) and chop into small pieces roughly. Grind to a fine powder. Set aside in a bowl. ( Do not use too soft n fresh bread. You can't powder it.In that case, microwave it for a minute and then powder it.)
    Bread halwa recipe
  • Heat 1/4 cup of ghee in a kadai. Roast sliced cashews and badam till golden brown. Remove in a plate.
    Bread halwa recipe
  • To the remaining ghee, add the powdered bread.Roast well for 2-3 minutes till you get roasted aroma. To this, add 1/2 cup of milk and 4 tbsp of sugar. Mix well till sugar melts and milk is absorbed by the bread. Mixture will become thick and wet. ( If you feel the mixture is too dry, add little more milk Say 2 tbsp) Cover and cook the mixture for 2 minutes.
    Bread halwa recipe
    Bread halwa recipe
  • After 2-3 minutes, open the lid.Mix well and add cardamom powder, roasted nuts. Keep mixing till the mixture becomes thick, shiny and starts to leave traces of ghee in the sides of pan. It will be non-sticky to touch. Transfer to a bowl and serve hot OR press the halwa to make shape. Invert in a plate and serve warm or cold. Remember, this halwa tastes the best when served hot /warm.
    Bread halwa recipe
    Bread halwa
Enjoy !

Note
  • No need to remove the sides of bread.The color of this halwa looks brown as I din’t remove the sides. If you remove the sides, the color of halwa may slightly change.
  • Add more sugar according to your taste buds.
  • Do not reduce the quantity of ghee. It may change the flavor and consistency.
  • Instead of adding roasted nuts, you can try adding cashew + badam paste along with sugar to get more richness.
Do try this easy, yummy bread halwa and enjoy !
Bread halwa
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September 26, 2016

Cooking Tips For Working Women – Indian Cooking Ideas

Cooking tips for working women
Friends, this post is all about useful cooking tips for Indian working women, beginners in cooking, bachelors, stay at home moms with babies in hand and for house wives who wish to finish the morning chores quickly and easily without any tension .These pre-preparation ideas would help you feel relaxed and manage to do quick and easy cooking during the busy, hectic weekdays. 

Recent days I have been getting mails to share some simple lunch menu ideas for busy weekdays by spending less time in kitchen. Very soon I will start a lunch menu series suggesting some easy and healthy Indian lunch recipes for daily cooking. Before that, I wanted to make a post about useful cooking tips & pre preparations to make the job easier.

As I had worked for an year after marriage, I have seen and heard from my colleagues about the difficulties in managing home and career.Time management plays a major role here. For me, there was no problem at all as I was in a joint family. My in-laws did all the household chores and supported us very well.In this present day nuclear family setup, many people does not get the luxury of moral & physical support of elders to share cooking and other household responsibilities. So it would be really tiresome and stressful if we don’t plan things ahead. 

I hope these simple, handy tips and tricks would  be helpful to make the kitchen chores easier and stress free. Don’t worry, these pre-preparations won’t eat your weekend’s relaxing hours. You may need to spend just 2-3 hours to finish all these works or you can get the help of your servant maid to finish this job quickly. This will save lot of time during busy weekdays.

Before going to this post, I must thank my friend Shalini for helping me to frame these points as she is regularly following these things. Love you lots dear !!.  She also shared some pictures from her kitchen. I have made them as a collage and given below. 

Friends, I hope this post would be useful to plan & manage things easier. Working women and bachelors, please share your valuable tips you follow in your daily cooking in the comments section. It would be of great help for the people who read this post. Thanks in advance. Ok, now lets see some smart cooking tips and secrets to be a super wife and mom.This post is with more & more of stories and essays. Please bear with me.

DISCLAIMER : All the points I have shared below is based on the ideas I got from my working friends. I have also gone through some websites and magazines for more tips. Please modify or skip the suggestions as per your wish & need. You need to have a refrigerator, pressure cooker and some good air tight containers to make & store the dishes.

Cooking tips for working women Indian

SOME USEFUL GADGETS

According to me a 2 burner gas stove, 3 small pressure cookers, few ladles, mixing bowl and a mixer grinder is enough to cook even for 10 people. Pressure cooker is my biggest strength. It helps to cook any food quickly and easily. I have shared the pictures of  my cookers above for your reference. 

I use 3 Hawkins small sized pressure cookers ( 1.5 liters and 2 liters) and one 5 liter cooker. I use 2 of them for lunch preparation and 1 for cooking breakfast. I use the big sized cooker only for my guest. I will share how I use these cookers for quick cooking in my upcoming lunch menu series.

Cooking tips for working women - Indian
Pic courtesy – My friend Shalini
PLAN AHEAD

Make a weekly timetable for the menu according to your family's preferences. Keep a list of all the dishes you want to cook in the following week and write down all the required ingredients so that you can purchase all the groceries and vegetables as per the list.If you don’t like to spend time in grocery shopping, go for a monthly purchase. 

Refer my “Monthly Grocery list” post for the idea. You can buy vegetables once in 10 days and store them in refrigerator.  I follow this every month to save my time spent in shopping. 

Please check the links below for the grocery, fruits and vegetables pruchase from Amazon. I am completely dependent on Amazon during this pandemic lockdown. All the below are affiliate links. If you use this link to purchase the products,  I would be getting a small percentage for sales. Thanks for your support. 

Dal : https://amzn.to/2UymjQe

rice : https://amzn.to/38LTZSB

flours : https://amzn.to/38L3elU

spices : https://amzn.to/36yeSxK

Oils : https://amzn.to/3pxxVAZ

Nuts : https://amzn.to/2IGnhae

Pasta : https://amzn.to/3pxyjzr

Toiletries : https://amzn.to/38OcGVM

cleaning products : https://amzn.to/3f2baQS

pooja items : https://amzn.to/32MmQlU

ready mix : https://amzn.to/2UvQSpx

miscellanous : https://amzn.to/36GRJti

fruits : https://amzn.to/3kzIwI0

vegetables : https://amzn.to/2K7FyxP 

Diary products : diary products

Spice powders : spice powders


GRIND THE BATTER

This point is especially for people who rely on Idli dosa recipes. Grind Idli dosa batter, Appam batter, Adai batter during weekend and store it for a week. You can even make millet idli, dosa batter and store it for one day. Idli, dosa batter is a real savior in Indian cooking. You can make idli, dosa, uthappam, Paniyaram for breakfast and dinner as well.

 Similarly you can also grind and keep batter for dosa varieties like Set dosa, sponge dosa, poha dosa etc. It will help you for sure. My friend Shalini's maid helps her to grind varieties of idli and dosa batters during every Sunday for the whole week's use.

Even though I am a house wife, I too grind all the batters during weekends and use it mainly for the week's breakfast because I don't want to hit my head thinking about breakfast recipes during busy morning hours. Generally I make Instant dosa varieties, Instant idli varieties like oats idli, rava idli, upma recipes like wheat rava upma, vegetable rava kichdi, millet recipes, Ragi roti, Phulka or stuffed paratha varieties for my dinner. I try to avoid consuming rice at night.

Check out my Idli varieties post for varieties of idli,dosa batter. Check out my easy dosa batter recipe too ! For other options, you can make instant dosa varieties, upma varieties for breakfast or dinner.

MAKE ROTI DOUGH

Make roti dough well in advance and refrigerate it. The kneaded dough will remain fresh for at least 2-3 days. You can make use of this dough for making roti , poori and stuffed paratha. Remember to store in an air tight box. Take only the required quantity of dough from the box and immediately refrigerate the leftover dough.  But try to use it within 3 days.

PREPARE THE SIDE DISHES

When we have idli, dosa batter in our hand, we start to hit our head for making side dishes. That’s quite natural. So prepare some side dishes like tomato thokku without onion, tomato thokku with onion, onion tomato chutney, garlic chutney, Raw onion chutney, Idli Podi/Gun powdergreen chutney without coconut based on your preference and store in an air tight box. It will stay good for a week. You can use these chutneys as side dish for idli, dosa, appam and roti or use it as sandwich spread too.

I usually make onion tomato chutney and stock it for my daughter’s breakfast and lunch box. For roti, you can prepare side dishes like capsicum-tomato curry, tomato thokku, pickles and even jam for your kids.  You can even cook Dal for making dal tadka or dal curry and refrigerate for 3 days. If you love to have pasta, you can make white sauce & pasta sauce ahead and store them.

Check out my 50 chutney recipes for more ideas.

For quick lunch, you can prepare and store Pulikachal paste/Puliyogare paste, Lemon rice paste, coriander thokku, thogayal varieties, Vathakuzhambu paste and podi/powder varieties like Dal powder/Paruppu podi, Dhania/coriander seeds powder, Angaya podi, Sundakkai podi, Poondu podi/Garlic powder, coconut podi etc.

Kuzhambu varieties like vatha kuzhambu, poondu kuzhambu, milagu kuzhambu, kara kuzhambu, tomato gravy, brinjal gravy stays good for even 2 -3 days with or without refrigeration. So you can make them once or twice in a week apart from sambar and rasam.

Check out my 30+ kuzhambu varieties post to get the links for the above recipes.

READYMADE BREAKFAST MIX

Roast rava and keep in bulk. It will help you to make upma quickly. You can also make Rava/sooji upma mix, Poha mix, pongal mix, rice upma mix in advance and store in the freezer. It helps you to make your breakfast or dinner quickly and easily. Always keep a packet of bread in stock for making quick sandwich or toast.

CHOP THE VEGETABLES AND FREEZE

Vegetables like carrot, beans, peas, cauliflower, sweet corn, cluster beans, spinach, broad beans can be diced or chopped & frozen for a week.If you want to use the vegetable for the next day morning, you can simply refrigerate the chopped veggies. Do not freeze them. 

Usually I keep frozen peas and frozen corn always in stock. Grate 2 coconuts and store 3/4th of the quantity in a zip lock cover.Deep freeze it. Store the remaining coconut in refrigerator. Just thaw it for few minutes before use or use warm water to grind the coconut.

Take the required quantity of coconut, refrigerate it and keep the remaining in freezer immediately. 
De-stem coriander, curry leaves and mint leaves and store in an air tight box. Mostly I use palak leaves during weekdays as it is easy for cleaning, chopping and cooking. During weekends, I buy other greens/Keerai varieties, clean them and store in a ziplock cover.Do not chop onions and store. It attracts more bacteria when its cut.

Apart from chopping veggies, you can make some lemon juice and store in a glass bottle, peel garlic cloves, Peel &finely chop ginger, peel small onions and keep them ready for usage. But remember to store the chopped vegetables in a clean zip lock cover and refrigerate.

COOK PUREES, PASTE & LENTILS

Cook toor dal or moong dal in large quantity, refrigerate/freeze and store in a box for 2-3 days use. Take the required amount and make sambar instantly. Soak beans like rajma, dried peas and chana for 8 hours and refrigerate them for later use.

 You can easily cook a quick meal like pulao,  biryani or gravies & even make a healthy salad with it. Sprout green gram and other legumes based on your liking and keep them in the freezer. So whenever you want to have some salad, you can semi cook and have them ready.

Grind and keep tomato puree, homemade tamarind paste, ginger-garlic paste, onion paste, sauce varieties ready in hand. You can also keep some readymade seasoning, green chilli pasteSome people keep some sauteed, browned onions too. I have seen some of my friends making onion-tomato puree adding masala powders and keep the base ready for making North Indian gravies. If you have enough time in hand, you can even make two to three varieties of curries and refrigerate them.
 
Vegetables like potato, cauliflower, sweet corn and peas can be boiled in advance and refrigerated for later use. You can even cook pasta and store them in the fridge.

Keep curd, buttermilk, paneer, cheese and other essential milk products ready in hand so that you can use it for raita, buttermilk/ Chaas, lassi, gravies and sandwich.

TO DO LIST

I have summarized the above points and shared a TO-DO list for weekend. Do this according to your preference and time in hand.
  1. Grind idli, dosa batter and other batters if grinding.
  2. Make chapathi/ roti dough.
  3. Soak pulses & lentils like rajma, chana/ kabuli, peas.
  4. Chop all the required vegetables. Make frozen peas and sweet corn.
  5. De stem green leaves/Spinach, coriander leaves, mint leaves and curry leaves.
  6. Cook toor dal and moong dal in large quantity for making sambar & dal for roti.
  7. Make Tamarind paste, Tomato puree, Puliyogare paste, Tomato thokku, homemade powders like dal powder, curry leaves powder, coriander leaves thokku, thogayal varieties, Lemon rice mix, Chutney varieties according to your choice. ( I have shared the links in the above sections. please check it)
  8. Make white sauce and pasta sauce for cooking pasta recipes.
  9. Prepare rava/sooji upma mix, poha mix, dosa mix, pongal mix.
  10. Make onion tomato base for North Indian gravies.
  11. Purchase week’s grocery and vegetables.
  12. House cleaning if needed.
Friends,I  hope this post will be helpful to you. Thanks for visiting this page !!

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September 23, 2016

Chola Poori Recipe – How To Make Chola Puri

Chola poori recipe
Recently I tasted a big sized, puffy Chola poori with chana masala in Hotel Saravana bhavan, Salem. Actually speaking, Punjabi special chole bhatura was in my try list for years. But I haven’t tasted it so far. Soon I must taste it in North Indian restaurants to know its actual taste and then experiment at home. I think Chola poori must be an adaptive version of chole bhatura in South. So I tried this Tamil nadu style chola poori at home. I was thinking chola poori is called as chole bhatura in Hindi. But there are variations in the ingredients for dough and preparation for making bhatura and chola poori. 

For making bhatura yeast, baking powder or soda water is used whereas chola puri is made without yeast or any raising agent. Only curd/yogurt is used. Bhatura dough needs a resting time of 3-4 hours whereas this one needs just 30 minutes. The method of preparation of chola poori is quite similar to our plain wheat flour poori. All the tips and tricks we follow for wheat flour poori is applicable to this as well.I got this awesome recipe from this blog. I have tried it thrice during weekends. It comes out very well with a puffy looking, soft texture. 

We all know the best, popular side dish for chola poori is chana masala or chole masala. So I prepared Punjabi chole following this recipe from my Punjabi thali post and served with chola poori. It was a yummy combo.We loved it to the core. Friends, do try this easy chola poori recipe. Don’t mind about calories, just enjoy with chana masala. Serve it for weekend breakfast or dinner. 

Ok, Lets see how to make Chola poori recipe with stepwise pictures. I will try to make a detailed video post soon.

Check out my beetroot poori and Palak poori recipes if interested !

Chola poori

Chola poori recipe


Chola poori recipe How to make Chola poori recipe - Delicious breakfast recipe for weekends
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Breakfast/Dinner recipe
Serves: 12-14
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cook time: 2 Minutes
Total time: 32 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml
  • Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
  • Sooji/Rava – 1/4 cup ( Semolina, Upma rava)
  • Wheat flour/Atta – 1/4 cup
  • Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
  • Fresh Curd/yogurt – 2 tbsp
  • Salt - as needed
  • Water - as needed
  • Cooking oil - to deep fry
METHOD

  • In a wide bowl, sift the maida and wheat flour.To this, add sooji, Oil, salt and curd. Mix well with your fingers. Oil and curd should spread well with flour and the mixture looks crumbly. ( Sooji helps to maintain puffiness for long time. Wheat flour helps to make perfect round shape. Oil  & curd is to give softness to the poori)
    How to make chola poori
  • Add the required water little by little and make a stiff dough.Dough should be non-sticky, thick and stiff like our usual wheat flour poori.Cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
    How to make chola poori
  • After 30 minutes, knead the dough for 2-3 minutes and make it smooth. Make small or big sized balls from the dough as per your wish. In hotels, they serve big sized poori. Roll it slightly thicker than the usual poori. Use wheat flour to dust the balls. Arrange them in a paper or a plate.
    How to make chola poori
    How to make chola poori
  • Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated, drop a pinch of dough to check the oil temperature.The dough should rise immediately to the top. Keep the flame medium high and drop one poori at a time. Poori will puff up immediately. If not, press the poori gently with a slotted ladle. It will puff up. Flip it and cook the other side till bubbles cease.It will look slightly golden in color.
  • The color of poori will change based on the oil temperature. You can find the difference in color or pooris in the main picture. To maintain white colored pooris, switch off the heat after making 2-3 pooris, let the oil cool down slightly. Then heat it and check with a pinch of dough. Proceed as mentioned above and deep fry the poori.
  • Remove the puri in a tissue paper. Drain and enjoy with chole masala or chana masala. Adjust the heat before frying each poori. Make sure oil is not smoking hot. Please check my POORI RECIPE for more details.
    How to make chola poori
    How to make chola poori
Enjoy !
Check out my beetroot poori and Palak poori recipes if interested !

Note
  • Make sure the dough is thick and hard but smooth. It should not be too soft like soft chapathi dough. So add water accordingly.
  • Resting time of 30 minutes is needed.
  • Poori will puff up only when its rolled thick. Thin poori will become like papad. So roll it thick.
  • The temperature of oil is very important to get puffy poori. If the oil temperature is too low, poori will absorb more oil and does not puff up. If oil temperature is too high and smoky, poori will turn golden brown very soon and cook unevenly.
Enjoy this white, puffy chola poori at home with chana/chole masala !!
How to make chola poori at home
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September 21, 2016

Soya Chunks Manchurian – Soya Chunks Recipes

How to make Soya chunks manchurian/ meal maker manchurian – Dry version with step by step pictures !
Soya chunks also known as meal maker & soya nuggets is a good source of protein for vegetarians. Usually I add them in biryani. Recently I bought a pack of mini soya chunks(Soya chunks nano) to try some curry or gravy with it. But I got tempted to make soya chunks Manchurian after watching Vahrevah Youtube video. Soya chunks fry came out very crispy like Gobi 65 and tasted great when hot.I made a dry Manchurian sauce and it stayed crispy for sometime even after adding in gravy. But It became slightly chewy and soft after its cooled down. So make and serve it hot to enjoy its actual taste because the moisture content inside the soya chunks makes it soft soon. Use mini soya chunks for best results.If you use big sized soya chunks, chop it after soaking in water to make a crispy fry. Do try this for your kids. I am sure they will love it. Lets see how to prepare Soya chunks Manchurian also known as meal maker Manchurian with step by step photos !
Check out my other Manchurian recipes

Gobi manchurian

Baby corn manchurian

Idli manchurian

Mixed vegetable manchurian

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September 19, 2016

How To Cook Millet In A Pressure Cooker, Rice Cooker, Pan - Indian Style

How to cook millets 
In this post, I have discussed how to cook millet in pressure cooker, rice cooker and in a pan. All these are our Indian ways of cooking millets. Iam happy to make a post about Millets (Sirudhaniyam in Tamil)after a long time.

As we all know, Millets are a super healthy grain with loads of fiber, calcium, minerals & iron. People have started switching to millets and include it in their regular cooking as a replacement of rice for breakfast, dinner and lunch as well. Millet rice can be cooked on stove top( In a open pan), in a rice cooker, pressure cooker and even in microwave just like normal rice.

 But most of us are not sure about how to cook millets perfectly in a fluffy way like pulao, biryani or for making Indian style recipes like Pongal, upma, porridge, koozh with a mushy texture. Its always confusing about the water ratio for different types of millet like Varagu arisi (Kodo millet), Samai (Little millet), Kuthiraivali (Barnyard millet), Thinai rice (Foxtail millet) and Kambu (Pearl millet).
 I have not discussed about Quinoa in this post. Quinoa and thinai are different millets. I will make a post on that separately.

So in this post, I have shared how to cook Indian millets in 3 different ways i.e Open pan method, In a pressure cooker and in an electric rice cooker. Water quantity may vary based on the quality of millet. Some millet may need less water and some may need more. So please keep this post as a reference and do the trial and error.

Warning about millets

I would like to emphasize this point before going to this post. Even though, Millet is a super healthy food, one should consume it moderately based on their body. Over consumption may lead to indigestion, stomach bloating, loss of appetite, imbalanced thyroid levels. So please include different types of millet in your diet thrice or 4 times in a week.

Do not consume the same millet repeatedly. Try to include varieties of millet in your cooking. I have heard people consuming millet for all the 3 times in their daily food just for weight loss by completely avoiding rice. Recently I read in an article that Millets would slow down the thyroid activity. So moderate consumption is advised for people with thyroid problems.

In general ” Too much of anything is good for nothing”. So please consume it in moderate quantity and reap all it benefits. Maintain a healthy life style. This is my kind advice based on my own experience.

For people who are new to millet, please check my “All about millets” post for a better understanding. 

How to cook millets in pressure cooker

Millets names in different languages

ENGLISH – Finger millet, Kodo millet, Pearl millet, Barnyard millet, Little millet, Foxtail millet
 
HINDI - Nachani /mundua, Koden/Kodra, Bajra, Jhangora, Kutki, Kangni/Rala 
 
TAMIL – Ragi, Varagu, Kambu, Kuthiraivali, Samai, Thinai
 
KANNADA – Ragi, Harka, Sajje, Oodalu, Saame, Navane
 
TELUGU – Ragula, Arikelu, Sajjalu, Odalu, Sama, Korra
 
MALAYALAM – Panjipullu, Koovaragu, Kambam, Kavada pullul, Chama, Thina

How to cook millets in different ways

How to cook millets in different ways

How to cook Millet


How to cook Millet How to cook different types of millet - Thinai rice, varagu rice,samai, kuthiravali and kambu
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Millet Recipes
Serves: Serves 2
Prep time: 5-30 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 15-40 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml
  • Varagu arisi (Kodo millet), Samai arisi (Little millet), Kuthiraivali ( Barnyard millet) - 1/2 cup
  • Water – 1.25 cups to 1.5 cups ( 1:2.5 to 1:3 ratio)
  • Cooking oil - few drops (optional)
For thinai & kambu, water quantity may vary. Soaking is needed.
  • Thinai rice( Foxtail millet) - 1/2 cup
  • Water - 1.5 cups
  • Kambu / Pearl millet – 1/2 cup
  • Water – 2 cups
For making pongal, bisibelebath, thick porridge : use 1: 5 ratio of millet & water and use pressure cooker.
For making pulao, biryani : use 1:2 or 1: 2.5 ratio of millet and water. It is better to cook in open pan to get fluffy rice.
METHOD


  • Try to buy unpolished millet because its healthier than polished ones. Wash the millet at least twice or thrice.Use a strainer or metal sieve with fine holes to filter it. Some millet may contain husk, dust particles or even small stones. So wash it well.
    HOW TO COOK VARAGU, SAMAI AND KUTHIRAVALI 
  • In Open pan : For 1/2 cup of varagu arisi, measure 1.25 cups of water ( 1:2.5 ratio). No need to soak in water. Heat water in a pan. When it starts to roll boil, simmer the flame completely.
 
  • Add the washed and drained millet to the  boiling water. Lower the flame completely. Cover with a lid & cook for 5-7 minutes. Fluff it gently once in the middle using a fork. Cook till all the water is absorbed. Switch off the flame and keep it covered for 10 minutes.
  • It will get cooked in the resting time and becomes fluffy. After 10 minutes, you can remove it and serve with any sambar or any kuzhambu OR use it for making variety rice. Enjoy !

How to cook in rice cooker : Wash 1/2 cup of millet and drain the excess water. Boil 1.5 cups of water and add the millet
 ( 1:3 ratio). Cook it till the lights turn to warm mode. Open the cooker & check if its cooked well. If not, add 1/2 cup more water and cook for some more time.

How to cook in Pressure cooker : For cooking in pressure cooker, wash the millet and drain the excess water. Heat a cooker base with 3 cups of water. In a cooker vessel, take 1/2 cup of varagu/ kodo millet, Kuthiravali/ barnyard millet and add 1.25 cups of water (1:2.5 ratio). 

For Samai/ Little millet, add 1 cup of water ( 1:2 ratio). Add few drops of cooking oil if you need fluffy rice. Cover with the lid and pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Make sure flame should be the minimum. It takes nearly 5-7 minutes to cook. If not, cook for 5 minutes in low flame and switch off the flame.

DO NOT COOK the millet directly in a cooker base. It may lead to burnt bottom layer. So its better and safe to cook millets by placing them inside a vessel.

If you are making pulao or biryani, you can directly cook it with spices and vegetables. In that case, add 1:2.5 water and keep an eye. Switch off after cooking for 6-7 minutes in very low flame. Open the cooker after the steam is released.

HOW TO COOK THINAI/ FOXTAIL MILLET
  • In a open pan : Wash the foxtail millet twice to remove the dust. Soak it for minimum 30 minutes. For 1/2 cup of thinai/ foxtail millet, heat 1.5 cups of water. When the water starts to roll boil, add the soaked thinai. Mix well and add a few drops of cooking oil. Cover and cook till all the water is absorbed. Toss it once or twice in the middle. Actually thinai takes long time to cook than other millets. So keep checking for the water content and add 1/4 cup more only if needed.
  • In a rice cooker : Wash 1/2 cup of foxtail millet and drain the excess water.Soak it for an hour. Boil 1.5 cups of water and add the millet. Cook it till the lights turn to warm mode. Open the cooker & check if its cooked well. If not, add 1/2 cup more water and cook for some more time. 
  • How to cook in Pressure cooker : For cooking in pressure cooker, wash the millet and drain the excess water. Heat a cooker base with 1.5 cups of water for 1/2 cup of thinai. Let the water roll boil. Add the washed millet, few drops of cooking oil and mix well. Cover with the lid and pressure cook in very low flame just for one whistle. Make sure flame should be the minimum. It takes nearly 5-7 minutes to cook. If not, cook for 5 minutes in low flame and switch off the flame. Cooking for longer time burns the bottom layer. So keep an eye.
How to cook thinai
How to cook thinai
  • HOW TO COOK KAMBU/ PEARL MILLET : Wash the kambu well. Soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain the excess water and spread in a cloth. Let it dry for 5 minutes. Grind it coarsely in a mixie to remove the husk. Sieve it well. Boil 2 cups of water for 1 cup of kambu. When the water starts to roll boil, add the kambu, mix well without lumps and cook till all the water is absorbed. Cover & cook it. Kambu cannot be cooked fluffy. It comes out mushy in texture.
  • In pressure cooker : Take 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 1 cup of kambu. Cook for one whistle in low flame or 3 whistles in medium flame.
Enjoy with sambar, kootu and poriyal !


How to cook millet


Note
  • The quantity of water may vary. +/- 1/2 cup difference may be there.
  • Cooking time may vary for the cooker and open pan method. So keep an eye if you are cooking for the first time.

MILLET RECIPES


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September 15, 2016

Ulli Theeyal Recipe Kerala Style - Small Onion Theeyal /Shallot Curry

Ulli theeyal recipe Kerala
Ulli Theeyal is a Kerala special, gravy kind of side dish served for rice. Ulli means onion in Malayalam. Theeyal curry preparation is usually made with pearl onions (Shallot/Small onions) as the main ingredient. For variations, drumstick(Muringakka), Bittergourd(Pavakka) or ladies finger(Vendakka) can also be added along with onion. It is also served in Onam sadya. This gravy tastes similar to Tamilnadu Arachuvitta Puli kuzhambu.

 Traditional, authentic theeyal recipe calls for roasting coconut along with whole spices like coriander seeds, red chilli whereas I followed an easy and quick version from Marias menu. I have used Dhania powder and red chilli powder along with coconut.It came out really well and finger licking delicious.I am sure I will make this kuzhambu very often in my kitchen.Lets see how to make Kerala style Ulli theeyal recipe with step by step photos !

Check out other Kerala recipes too.

Ulli theeyal recipe Kerala

Ulli theeyal recipe - Kerala style Shallot curry for rice


Ulli theeyal recipe - Kerala style Shallot curry for rice Ulli theeyal recipe - Kerala special spicy, tangy gravy made with small onion/Shallots
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Side dish for rice
Serves: Serves 2-3
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240 ml
  • Small onions/ Shallots - 15 nos
  • Tamarind - Big gooseberry size
  • Salt & water - as needed
To saute in oil
  • Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
  • Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
  • Red chilli powder – 1.5 - 2 tsp
  • Dhania powder - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
To temper
  • Coconut oil – 1.5 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Red chilli - 1 no ( pinched)
METHOD

  • Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes and take the extract.Wash and peel the small onions. Slice it into two if its very big. Set aside.
  • In a big kadai, heat oil and roast the grated coconut along with 5 small onions.Roast till coconut starts to turn golden brown with a nice roasted smell. It takes nearly 10 minutes to do this. So stay nearby and roast it patiently with continuous stirring. Keep the flame medium. Finally add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and dhania powder. Mix well for a minute till raw smell leaves and switch off the flame. Let it cool down completely. Then grind them to a paste.
    Ulli theeyal - Kerala style
    Ulli theeyal - Kerala style
  • Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves. Saute the  small onions till transparent. To this, add tamarind extract and required salt. Boil the gravy till onions cook well. After the onion is cooked, add the ground coconut paste. Check for taste, add more red chilli powder & dhania powder if it tastes tangy. Boil well till the gravy thickens and leave oil.
    Ulli theeyal - Kerala style
    Ulli theeyal - Kerala style
  • Enjoy ! This gravy thickens  more in time. So adjust the consistency by adding some water and give a boil before serving. check for taste and add more salt or red chilli powder, dhania powder if needed. Boil and serve !
  • This gravy stays good for weeks stored in refrigerator ! Use clean spoon for every use.

Note
  • Add more chilli powder if you like spicy gravy.
  • This gravy tastes the best with small onions. so its better to use it. If you don’t have them in hand, you can use big onion but flavors may differ.
  • Add less tamarind if its more tangy.

Yummy, finger licking Kerala ulli theeyal is ready to serve ! I served with Chena Erissery, Nendran chips and rice !!
Ulli theeyal recipe
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September 13, 2016

Kerala Semiya Payasam Recipe – Vermicelli Kheer – Kerala Payasam Recipes

Kerala semiya payasam recipe
In Kerala, People make varieties of payasam recipes for Onam sadya menu. My neighbor told they make nearly 3-4 different types of payasam with jaggery and sugar. Semiya payasam@vermicelli kheer is one of the most popular and easy Kerala payasam recipe. Some people make it by adding condensed milk (Milkmaid) whereas I prepare in Nadan style with reduced milk following a chef’s recipe from Vanitha magazine. 

I modified the recipe and prepared in pressure cooker without adding condensed milk to make it quickly. Even though the ingredients of  Kerala semiya payasam is very similar to Tamil nadu semiya payasam, its preparation is slightly different from ours. It comes out very rich, tasty and creamy. Do try it for special occasions in your family. I am sure everybody will love it. Lets see how to make Kerala style semiya payasam with step by step photos !

Check out my Kerala Onam sadya feast in this link

Kerala vermicelli payasam recipe

Semiya Payasam - Vermicelli Payasam ( Kerala style)


Semiya Payasam - Vermicelli Payasam ( Kerala style) How to make Kerala Special semiya payasam using pressure cooker
Cuisine: Kerala
Category: Sweet
Serves: Serves 2-3
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
  • Semiya/ Vermicelli - 1/4 cup
  • Full fat Milk - 2 cups
  • Water - 1/2 cup
  • Sugar - 1/4 cup
  • Ghee – 1 tbsp
  • Cardamom powder -1/8 tsp
  • Roasted cashew nuts & Raisins/dry grapes - 2 tbsp
HOW TO MAKE KERALA STYLE SEMIYA PAYASAM - METHOD

  • In a pressure cooker base, take the milk + water.Allow it to boil in medium flame till it reduces to 1.5 cups ( almost 1/2). Keep an eye on it to prevent from spilling. Milk becomes slightly thick.
    In the mean time, heat a kadai with ghee. Roast cashews till golden and remove in a plate leaving the ghee in the pan. Roast raisins( dry grapes) till it turns plumpy. Remove in a plate. In the remaining ghee, add the semiya/vermicelli and roast for few minutes till it turns golden in color.
    Kerala semiya payasam
  • Add the roasted vermicelli to the boiling milk and pressure cook in very low flame for 1 whistle. Remove after the pressure is released by itself. Open the cooker and stir well. Vermicelli would have cooked well in milk. But it should not be mushy. Now add sugar, cardamom powder and boil till sugar melts. Remove and serve warm or chilled by refrigerating the payasam.
    Kerala semiya payasam
    Kerala semiya payasam
Enjoy !

Note
  • Adjust the quantity of sugar based on your taste.
  • Use thick milk for best taste. You can even use 3 cups of milk, reduce it to half of its quantity before cooking the semiya.
Creamy, delicious Kerala special Vermicelli Payasam is ready to relish !!
Kerala semiya payasam
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