Vazhaithandu Juice / Banana Stem Juice Recipe - Sweet And Salt Version

I really got bored of making thogayal, pachadi and poriyal with vazhaithandu.My husband hates to eat vazhaithandu just becoz it takes so much time to chew n eat ;). I heard drinking vazhaithandu juice in empty stomach is one of the healthiest way to include in our diet. Its a hassle free job too.Last month when i went to my native ,we tasted this juice in Salem, Lakshmi hotel. We loved it.It was mild in sweet and they served it chilled. We couldn't find out its the juice of vazhaithandu .I wanted to try the same at home.I tried sweet and salt versions. Both were excellent. I dint serve it cold, I made at room temperature.Finally its your choice  !!

SWEET JUICE

INGREDIENTS

Plantain stem /Vazhaithandu - 1 /2 no (medium size) Boiled Milk - 1/2 cup (adjust) Sugar - 2 tbsp Water- If necessary

METHOD

Remove the outer layer of vazhaithandu till core ( At this point u dont have layers to remove). Cut into rings while removing the fibre simultaneously that comes between the rings . Chop into small pieces .Grind with sugar and milk.Add more milk & sugar if necessary. Strain in a double cloth filter.Pour in a serving glass. Serve it chilled or at room temperature !!

SALT VERSION

INGREDIENTS

Vazhaithandu - 1/2 no (medium size) Sour curd - 2tbsp Salt & water - As needed Pepper powder - 2 pinches (optional) Coriander leaves - To garnish

METHOD

Repeat steps 1 and 2 given in the above version and cut the stem into pieces and immerse in buttermilk to avoid color change. Grind the pieces along with curd and salt. Add more water , whisk and strain in a double cloth filter. Pour in a serving glass and  garnish with little coriander leaves serve chill!!

NOTE

1. Drinking vazhathandu juice alone doesnot help u to shed ur weight. U have to carry on the other things like diet .excercise etc.
2. U can prepare the juice in another way .Grind the Banana stem with salt , pepper powder and lime juice. Filter and enjoy !! Hope this method sounds easier.

Technorati Tags: Banana stem,plantain stem juice,Vazhathandu juice,Banana stem benefits,plantain stem benefits.

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Karisalankanni Keerai Chapathi - Keerai Paratha

Nowadays i am using karisilankanni keerai in my cooking twice a week for health reasons. I make kootu and this chapathi.But i would say,we love this chapathi more than kootu ;) It is very easy to prepare.I make this for my hubby's lunch box. It stays softfor hours and onion raita is the best side dish. I use the same method to prepare palak and other keerai chapathis.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Karisalankanni leaves- 1 bunch Wheat flour - 1 cup Besan flour  - 1 tbsp Sambar powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Curd - 1/5 cup ( adjust) Olive oil - 1 tsp Salt -as needed water - As needed

METHOD

• Wash the leaves .Heat the kadai with a tsp of oil  and saute the leaves till it reduces to half in quantity.
• Grind to make a smooth paste by adding little curd . Now in a bowl , take the wheat flour,besan flour , sambhar & garam masala powder,salt and water.Knead well to make a soft , pliable dough.
• Roll to make thin chapathi and toast on a dosa tawa.
• Serve hot with onion raita and pickle.

      

Technorati Tags: Keerai chapathi,Spinach chapathi,Karisalankanni keerai. yellow karisalankanni keerai chapathi

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Oats Kara Paniyaram Using Leftover Idli/Dosa Batter

                                     

Nowadays i am making oats buttermilk porridge and oats- wheat rava idly for my hubby very often. I wanted to try some other simple and yummy dish with oats. Last weekend i tried this for our breakfast . I got this recipe from aval vikatan supplementary. It was very nice. The actual recipe called for grinding , fermenting and all. But i made an instant paniyaram with little left over idli/dosa batter. The taste was awesome. It was like the usual one we make with idli batter.We loved it. Try this and let me know.I’ve also written the actual recipe at the end of the post.Please have a look at it.

INGREDIENTS

Quaker quick oats – 1/4 cup Idly / dosa batter – 1/4 cup Salt & water – As needed To temper Olive oil/ Cooking oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp Urad dal – 1/2 tsp Channa dal – 1/2 tsp Big onion – 1 no (chopped finely) Green chilly – 1 no (-do-) Ginger – 1 small piece Curry leaves – a few SOUR CURD – 1.5 TSP (OPTIONAL)

METHOD

• Dry roast oats for few minutes and grind to make a fine powder.
• Mix  idly batter and powdered oats with the required salt and water. The batter should not be too thick.
• Temper all the items given above and mix in the batter.
• Take a non-stick paniyaram pan and pour the batter. Drizzle little oil if necessary.
• Cover and cook for sometime. Flip and cook the other side for few mins.

Delicious oats paniyaram is ready to savour with coconut chutney or any other chutney of ur choice !!

NOTE

1. This paniyaram would be very soft inside . So dont think its uncooked. It cooks very fast just like our normal paniyaram . Just cover and cook in sim fire for sometime. Its enough.
2. I dont like the smell of oats to be dominant here . So i’ve added equal quantity of oats and idly batter. U can lesser the amount of idli batter and try.
3. Sometimes the sourness of batter may reduce if u add oats. Add little sour curd if needed.

ACTUAL RECIPE GIVEN IN THE BOOK Quaker quick Oats– 1 cup Urad dal – 1/2 cup Salt & water – as needed To temper : The same ingredients as mentioned above. METHOD Soak the urad dal for 30 mins and grind with oats in a mixie . Leave it for 4 –5 hrs for fermentation. If u feel the batter is not sour , add little curd to it. Now make the paniyaram with seasoning as mentioned above

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100 DIWALI SWEET RECIPES FROM INDUS LADIES- MOST AWAITED E-BOOK IS PUBLISHED

                                                            

I think i am the last one to write about this most eagerly awaited e-book from Indus ladies .U can download this e-book here . There are so many wonderful , unique recipes being published.I am elated that my BOONDHI LADOO recipe is also featured in this book :) Thanks a lot INDUS LADIES !!

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Ulundhu Kali / Urad Dal Kali Recipe - Tirunelveli Style

I hope many of you (ladies) would have tasted this ulundhu kali at the time of puberty. Today I have shared this ulundhu kali recipe learning from my aachi in Tirunelveli / Nellai.  People usually make this ulundu kali using black urad dal with skin and palm jaggery(Karupatti in Tamil) as it is supposed to be more healthy. In Tamil nadu , our grand mothers used to give this for the teen aged girls to make the bones strong especially hip bones. When my Tiruenlveli aachi gave this for me, I have literally cried a lot to eat this. But now I know its importance. Nowadays at this early age (30+), we get pains in joints and back very often. We are not able to bend continuously for sometime. We get pain in spine. This shows the weakness of our bones. Urad dal helps to strengthen the bones. 

Apart from this, urad dal has lots of other health benefits too. So its better to have urad dal in our regular diet to avoid all these problems. Apart from eating idli/dosa and vada, I feel this is also a good choice of including urad dal in our daily diet..So lets see how to make this ulundu kali/Urad dal kali at home.

INGREDIENTS

URAD DAL – 1/2 cup JAGGERY or PALM JAGGERY – 1/2 cup GINGELY OIL – 1/4 cup CARDAMOM SEEDS – 2 NOS (optional) WATER – 2 cups

METHOD

• In a kadai, dry roast the urad dal till you get a nice flavor. Powder it in a mixie adding cardamom seeds. Store it in an air tight container.
• Now take 4 tbsp of urad dal powder in a bowl and mix 2 cups of water.
• Cook the urad dal for 7-8 mins. It thickens. Stir well for sometime and make sure there are no lumps formed. 
• Now add the powdered jaggery and mix well. Keep the fire in low flame. Allow it to boil till the raw smell of jaggery emanates. (You can also melt the jaggery, strain the syrup and add to urad dal). 
• Add the gingely oil  in 1 tbsp at regular intervals and stir well. Kali absorbs all the oil. Keep mixing in low to medium flame. At one stage, it thickens and leaves the pan completely. It starts to leave little oil in the corners. 
• U’ll get a glossy, sliding non sticky kali is ready to enjoy .

Delicious , healthy uluthankali is ready to eat !!

NOTE

• If you use palm jaggery instead of jaggery , dissolve in water and make a syrup. Strain and use.

Technorati Tags: kali,uluthangali,uluthangali for teens and ladies.

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MIXED FRUITS AND VEGETABLE SALAD WITH SPROUTS

I wanted to make a simple , healthy salad with sprouts, mixed vegetables and fruits for a long time. I googled so many basic salad recipes and came out with my version.Here i used grated beetroot .So the color of beetroot dominates here. Otherwise it would be a colorful salad to attract ur kids. Make ur choice of adding or omitting the veggies and fruits given in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
For 1 person

Sprouted green gram - 1 handful Carrot - 1 no(grated) Beetroot - 1/2 no ( grated) (optional) Big onion - 1/2 no (chop finely) Cabbage - Few leaves ( chop finely) Pomegranate - 1 handful Guava - 1/2 no ( Chop into squares) Coriander leaves - A few Lime juice  - Few drops Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - As needed

METHOD

• Take a wide bowl and mix all the ingredients given above. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice. Mix well and serve !!

Variations

1. Add two pinches of chat masala to the above recipe to give a nice flavor. But adjust the salt as chat masala contains salt.
2. U can also add chopped tomato pieces and cucumber pieces when u want to serve instantly otherwise the salad may become watery. 
3. I usually pack the above salad for my hubby's lunch box without tomato and cucumber.

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