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November 27, 2014

Kuthiraivali Puli Upma Recipe|Barnyard Millet Recipes

Kuthiravali-upma

Barnyard millet/Kuthiraivali in Tamil, Oodalu in Kannada, Odalu in Telugu, Jhangora in Hindi and Kavadapullu in Malayalam is a healthy millet which has 6 times high fiber content when compared with wheat. Its a gluten free millet with high calcium,phosporous & fiber. It is high in carbohydates & fat too. It helps to maintain the body temperature.It acts as a good anti oxidant too. This puli upma with kuthiravali is an easy and yummy breakfast and dinner recipe which can be made under 20 minutes. Its a flavorful one pot meal. Its a great time saving recipe for people who look for quick breakfast/dinner options.We usually make this puli upma with rice or broken rice/Noi arisi.

Last week I just tried it with kuthiraivali for a change following my Puli sundal recipe & it tasted yummy when drizzled with few tsp of gingely oil. The best side dish for this puli upma is finely chopped sambar onions/pearl onions. This is not only a tasty combo but also it helps to balance the heat of tamarind & keeps the body cool. 

Friends try this easy, tasty puli upma recipe with any millet. I am sure you are going to love it. You can also replace kuthiravali with varagu or samai. Cooking procedure & water quantity are the same. This upma can be done in electric rice cooker too. In that case, add 1/2 cup of water more than the mentioned quantity. Ok, Lets see how to make this tasty puli upma using healthy barnyard millet. It stays good for one day travel too. Check out my varieties of millet recipes here.

barnyard millet recipes

Kuthiraivali puli upma recipe


Kuthiravali puli upma recipe Kuthiraivali/Barnyard puli upma recipe
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Breakfast/Dinner
Serves: 3
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

  • Kuthiravali/Barnyard millet - 1 cup
  • Toor dal - 2 tbsp
  • Water - 2.5 cups
  • Tamarind - Big gooseberry size
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Hing/Asfetida - 1/8 tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Salt - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil or gingely oil - 2 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  • Urad dal - 2 tsp
  • Red chillies - 4-6 nos
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Hing/Asafetida - 1/8 tsp
HOW TO MAKE KUTHIRAIVALI PULI UPMA - METHOD

  • Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and take the extract using 2.5 cups of water as mentioned above. Its not necessary to use all the 2.5 cups for taking tamarind extract. U can use 2 cups of water for extract and add the remaining 1/2 cup of water directly to the cooker.To this tamarind juice, add curry leaves, turmeric powder, salt and hing. Set aside.
  • In a kadai, heat a tsp of oil & roast the toor dal. Remove in a plate. In the same kadai, roast the millet/kuthiravali till it changes to white & puffy. Remove it in toor dal plate.
kuthiravali-puli-upma-recipe-1
  • Heat a pressure cooker base with oil and temper all the ingredients given above in the same order. Now add the tamarind extract taken using 2.5 cups of water. When the water comes to boil, simmer the flame and add the roasted dal & millet. Mix well without lumps.
barnyard millet recipes
  • Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle or 3-4 whistles if high flame. It takes 10-12 minutes. After the steam is released, open the lid and fluff it with a fork. It will look mushy when it is hot but it becomes grainy & separate as it cools down.
kuthiravali-puli-upma-recipe-2
  • Don’t forget to add a tsp of gingely oil while serving. Enjoy this upma with small onions as side dish.

Note

  • Roast the dal & millet carefully in medium flame. Make sure nothing gets burnt.
  • Adjust the quantity of chillies based on your spice level.
  • Add less water ( around 2.25 cups) if you want more fluffy upma.


Enjoy this healthy kuthiravali upma with small onions as side dish. Tastes yumeee !!
kuthiravali-puli-upma

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November 26, 2014

Eggless Tutti Frutti Cake Recipe-Basic Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe


Eggless tutti frutti cake recipe without condensed milk. Baking would be a fun & breeze if you have the perfect recipe in hand. Its so easy and most probably with just 2 steps.You don’t have to look for any consistencies like sweets. Even a beginner can make it without hassles. 

Though I know this very well, I bake once in a blue moon thinking about all the high calorie stuffs like maida, butter, sugar, condensed milk etc. If you are a controlled eater, you don’t have to worry about all these things. But in my family, no body knows what is controlled eating. Even If you give us a loaf of cake or bread, it would vanish within no time. We can’t resist our temptation to eat if it is a deep fried snack or cake. So to satisfy our cravings, I make one minute microwave cake recipes ( Refer side bar) very often in which the quantity of consumption would be greatly reduced. And When I plan to bake a conventional cake, I make sure to exclude at least one or the other ingredient from the above said ones. I always watch out for cake and cookies recipes that uses cooking oil and curd than butter and condensed milk.

 Being a vegetarian it should be eggless too. As Christmas is around the corner, I wanted to share some yummy eggless, butterless cake recipes in my blog. Last year this time, I posted eggless vanilla cake recipe using fresh cream. It took one year for me to post yet another delicious,eggless basic vanilla sponge cake recipe.To make this cake interesting, I’ve used tutti frutti  & nuts here. Recently I bought a loaf pan to try whole wheat bread. 

I baked this cake in that pan. You can try this in a round, square or heart shaped pans too. Its one of the best eggless cake recipes I have ever baked & I adopted this recipe from here & hereThis recipe was a super duper hit among my friends and family. Its one of the best tea time cake recipes and you can keep this cake as a base for making birthday and anniversary cakes too. It tastes even more rich and tasty if you decorate this cake with icing !! 

Try this yummy tutti frutti cake for this Christmas and share your feedback with me. I am waiting!. Check out my eggless pressure cooker cake recipe too. 

You can refer this post, follow the same procedure and make this cake in pressure cooker too. I hope it comes out well. Lets see how to make this eggless vanilla sponge cake recipe with tutti frutti.

Tutti-frutti-cake-recipe

Eggless tutti frutti cake


Eggless tutti frutti cake Eggless tutti frutti cake using basic vanilla sponge cake recipe - The best sponge cake ever !
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Baking
Serves: 12
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 40 Minutes
Total time: 50 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 200 ml
For sponge cake batter
  • All purpose flour - 1.5 cups
  • Fresh Curd - 1 cup
  • Baking powder - 1.25 tsp
  • Cooking soda/Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
  • Cooking oil - 1/2 cup (I used saffola oil,use any odourless oil)
  • Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
  • Fine sugar or powdered sugar - 3/4 to 1 cup ( I used 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp)
  • Salt - A pinch
For tutti frutti mixture
  • Tutti frutti - 1/2 cup( add more based on ur taste)
  • Raisins - 1 tbsp ( optional)
  • Cashew nuts - 5 nos ( chopped finely)
  • Maida – 1tsp
For greasing the pan
  • Cooking oil – 2tsp
  • Maida – 2 tsp OR Butter paper/Parchment paper
METHOD

  • First take the baking pan and grease with oil all over the bottom and sides till the rim of pan completely. Then sprinkle maida and rotate the pan. Maida should coat the pan in all the sides. If you don’t want to do this step, just line the pan with butter paper or parchment sheet. Make sure you cut the butter paper in proper size before lining the pan.
  • In a bowl, take the tutti fruit, nuts and raisins. Add 1tsp of maida and mix it well. This step is to avoid sinking of tutti frutti in the bottom of pan.
Tutti frutti cake recipe 1
  • In a big bowl, take the curd( my curd was slightly watery. I used nandini packet curd) and beat it with a whisk. Do not beat it vigorously. Just mix till it becomes smooth. To this curd, add baking powder and baking soda. Mix it slowly & gently. As you mix, you will see bubbles rising from it. Stop mixing and keep the bowl aside for 5 minutes. In the mean time, sieve the maida, a pinch of salt once or twice in a bowl and keep it ready.
Tutti frutti cake recipe 2
  • Now if you check the curd mixture, it would have risen well with foamy texture. Add the fine sugar or powdered sugar to it. Mix it with the whisk gently. Do not beat it. Just do it such that the bubbles should not subside. After mixing the sugar, add the vanilla essence and oil. Mix it slowly and nicely. The mixture should not lose its air particles. So be gentle.
Tutti frutti cake recipe 3
  • Add half of the sieved maida and fold it gently. Again add the remaining half and mix well. Lastly add the tutti frutti mix and fold it. Make sure there are no lumps formed. Batter should be of dropping consistency and not too thick. Transfer it to the cake pan and pat the pan well for uniform distribution.
Tutti frutti cake recipe 4
Tutti frutti cake recipe 5
  • Preheat the oven in convection mode for 10 minutes in 180c. Keep the cake pan and bake it for 35-40 minutes at 180c in convection mode. Remove the cake just 5 to 10 minutes before completion  and brush it with milk. This gives a golden crust . Keep an eye after 30 minutes and check with a skewer.If it comes out clean with little crumbs, your cake is done. Else keep it for another 5 minutes. Mine took exactly 42 minutes. It may vary slightly. After the cake is done, remove and let it cool. Run a knife all through the sides of pan and invert the cake in a plate. It will come off easily. Slice it and serve with coffee/tea or enjoy as it is !
Tutti frutti cake recipe 6



Note



  • This cake doesn’t come out white in color. It would be slightly yellowish in color.
  • Do not over bake the cake than the mentioned time. Keep an eye after 25 minutes. Brushing with milk is very important to get golden colored crust on top.
  • Adding cashews and raisins is completely optional. Tutti frutti alone gives you great taste to this cake. 
  • You can also make this cake plain without adding nuts & dry fruits and enjoy. For variations, you can add orange zest or lemon zest in the batter to make orange & lemon sponge cakes.
  • To make this as chocolate cake, add a tbsp of cocoa powder to the batter and mix well.
  • This cake stays good for 2 days without refrigeration.


tutti-frutti-cake-recipe

Try this yummy tutti frutti cake for this Christmas and enjoy !!

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November 24, 2014

Beetroot Kootu Recipe-Side dish For Rice


I am planning to share this recipe for long time but i was not able to do it.This is one kootu recipe i make very often next to keerai kootu & mixed vegetable kootu.This is our family favourite recipe too.As Sendhil has fatty liver problem,i try to include beetroot in my cooking at least twice or thrice in a week.I make this kootu or one of these poriyals( my mom’s version & easy version).Even Raksha loves these recipes lot.Today she told me to prepare More kuzhambu & beetroot kootu for her lunch.So i made it along with Pirandai thogayal for our lunch.My MIL has the practice of mixing side dishes with rice adding a drop of ghee or gingely oil to make her Son & daughter eat vegetablesWinking.So i too mixed this kootu with plain rice adding a tsp of ghee & packed for Sendhil’s lunch box.But Raksha loves to have this kootu as a side dish for more kuzhambu sadam like meTongue.It tastes great in either ways ! Here i have used moong dal following my MIL.You can also replace it with chana dal like in hotels.Do try it.Its a very simple and delicious kootu recipe with a mild sweetness of beets !



Beetroot kootu recipe


Beetroot kootu recipe Beetroot kootu recipe with moong dal
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Side dishes
Serves: Serves 4
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
To pressure cook
  • Beetroot - 1 no ( very big) or 2 nos ( if medium sized)
  • Moong dal - 1.5 tbsp
  • Salt & water - as needed
To grind
  • Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
  • Green chillies - 2-3 nos
  • Small onions - 3 nos
  • Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp
  • Rice flour - 1/2 tsp
To temper
  • Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
METHOD

  • Wash and peel the skin of beetroot and chop into small cubes.In a pressure cooker base,take the moong dal,chopped beetroot,salt & water.Mix well and pressure cook for one whistle in low flame.( I cooked it along with rice in cooker by keeping beetroot in a small bowl to save time).
  • Grind all the ingredients given under” to grind” to a smooth paste adding enough water.
Beetroot-kootu-recipe
  • Add this paste to the cooked beetroot and boil the mixture in a kadai till its raw smell goes off completely.Add some water if u find the kootu is very thick.
Beetroot-kootu-recipe-1

  • Lastly heat a small kadai and temper all the ingredients given under “to temper”.Add to the kootu and mix well.

Enjoy !

Note

  • You can replace moong dal with chana dal but u should soak the chana dal for 30 minutes before cooking.
  • Add more chillies if u want the kootu to be spicy.We like mildly spiced kootu.So i add only 2 chillies.
  • Adding coconut oil gives a nice flavor to this kootu.So don’t skip it.


Enjoy this healthy,colorful beetroot kootu with rice and any gravy !


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November 22, 2014

EASY HOMEMADE GRANOLA(MUSELI)RECIPE-DIY


Homemade museli

Muesli/Granola is a popular breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients including grains,fresh or dried fruits,seeds and nuts,mixed with milk,soy milk, yogurt or fruit juice.It is available in a packaged dry form,ready made,or made fresh.There are slight differences between museli and granola.Please find them here.Recent days Sendhil is taking store bought museli & granola bars to his office to have it during break time.As u all know store bought brands are very costly.So i wanted to give it a try at home.When i browsed for the same, i found a very simple and easy recipe here.Its just a three step process.I did some changes in the original recipe and tried it.It came out very well and crunchy.Anyone can make it with easily available ingredientsCool .Sendhil loved it a lot.Even i liked it very much and i am having it for my breakfast once in a week.Its really a healthy,tummy filling breakfast recipe for weight watchers like me and a good replacement for my regular plain(kellogs)corn flakes.Lets see how to prepare granola/Museli at home easily.

Homemade-museli-recipe

Homemade museli recipe


Homemade museli recipe How to make museli/granola at home easily at home
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Breakfast
Serves: 2-3cups
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
To mix
  • Quick oats - 1 cup ( i used quaker)
  • Kellogs corn flakes - 1/2 cup ( crushed coarsely)
  • Flax seeds - 1/4 cup
  • Hazelnuts - a handful ( roughly chopped)
  • Raisins or dry grapes - A handful ( roughly chopped)
  • Almond/Badam - 1/4 cup ( chop into thin slices)
  • Cranberries or dates - 2 tbsp (optional) , chop roughly
  • Cinnamon powder – 1/2 tsp ( crush 2 inch cinnamon piece into fine powder)
  • Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
  • Honey - 2.5 tbsp
  • Cooking oil or olive oil - 1 tbsp
  • Condensed milk - 1/2 tbsp ( optional)
  • Salt - a pinch
METHOD

  • Chop the nuts and dry fruits finely and set aside.In a wide bowl,take the oats,flax seeds and coarsely crushed corn flakes.Mix everything well together.
Homemade-granola-recipe
  • To this,add honey,cinnamon powder,vanilla essence,cooking oil and condensed milk(optional).Mix well using your clean hands.Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
Homemade-granola-recipe-1
  • Grease a baking tray with little cooking oil and spread the museli mixture all over the plate.Pre Heat oven in convection mode at 180 c for 10 minutes.Then keep this plate and bake at 180 c in convection mode for 20 –25 minutes.Remove it once in 10 minutes,mix well with a spatula and again bake it.The color of raisins and cranberries would turn golden brown with a nice baked smell.The oats will turn crunchy.Remove after 20 minutes and let it cool completely.After it cools down,it will become super crunchy.Store in an air tight bottle and use as needed.
Homemade-granola-recipe-2

Enjoy it for your breakfast or lunch adding a cup of hot milk or munch as it is !



Yummy,crunchy homemade granola is ready to munch adding hot milk.Its a tummy filling breakfast recipe for weight watchers Smile.


Museli-recipe



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November 20, 2014

VARAGU ARISI PONGAL RECIPE/KODO MILLET PONGAL-MILLET RECIPES

varagu arisi pongal recipe

Recently I started making upma & pongal varieties using millets. I tried Ven pongal using Varagu arisi( Kodo millet in English, Koden/Kodra in Hindi, Harka in Kannada, Arikelu in Telugu, Koovaragu in Malayalam- Source-Wikipedia) for the first time. It came out very well. 

As you all know Varagu rice/Kodo millet has amazing health benefits. It is basically a digestion friendly millet. It is rich in phytochemicals, Phytate that helps in reduction of cancer risks. It helps to reduce the body weight which is most needed for obese people. It helps to overcome irregular period problems in women. It helps to reduce knee & joint pains. It is good for diabetic people. It reduces nervous disorders especially in eyes. 

This varagu arisi pongal is a very easy and tummy filling breakfast recipe. Just 1/2 cup of varagu arisi is enough to serve 2-3 people because it doubles in quantity once its cooked. It tastes very similar to our regular rice pongal with full of flavors. My daughter Raksha loves pongal a lot. When I gave this for her breakfast today, she couldn’t identify its varagu rice pongal and not our usual one. We had with coconut chutney as side dish. It was yum. Do try this easy and healthy pongal recipe for your breakfast or dinner. I am sure your entire family would love it.

check out my other millet recipes here.

varagu arisi pongal

Varagu arisi pongal/Kodo millet pongal recipe


Varagu arisi pongal/Kodo millet pongal recipe Varagu arisi pongal recipe - Healthy millet recipe for breakfast !
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Breakfast
Serves: 3
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

  • Varagu arisi/Kodo millet - 1/2 cup
  • Moong dal - 2 tbsp
  • Water - 2 to 2.5 cups
  • Salt - as needed
To temper
  • Ghee - 1 tbsp
  • Pepper corns - 1/4 tsp
  • Cumin seeds/jeera - 1/2 tsp
  • Hing/Asafetida - a small pinch
  • Ginger - 1/2 inch piece ( finely chopped)
  • Green chillies - 1 no ( small sized)
  • Curry leaves - few
HOW TO MAKE VARAGU PONGAL - METHOD

  • Wash the kodo millet ,drain and set aside. In a pressure cooker base, heat ghee and add the moong dal,pepper corns.Saute for a minute in low flame. Make sure the color of dal should not change. Then add the cumin seeds/jeera and saute till it turns light golden. Lastly add the curry leaves, green chillies & hing. Stir it. Add the measured water and required salt.
varagu-pongal-1
  • Add the washed & drained millet and ginger pieces. Close the cooker and cook for one whistle in low flame.It will take nearly 10-12 minutes.
varagu-pongal-2
  • Remove the lid and mix well. Add a tsp of ghee and serve hot !Tastes the best with coconut chutney !
Enjoy !


Note

  • Serve this pongal when its hot to enjoy its best taste. When it cools down, it will become slightly hard.You can reheat the pongal while serving by adding little water and mix well in high flame for few seconds.
  • You can follow the same method and make pongal with thinai & samai too. But the quantity of water may slighty vary.
  • Here I used 1: 5 ratio of millet and water. You can use 1:4 too.
  • Replace ghee with cooking oil if u are calorie conscious. But ghee gives  a great flavor.
  • Add a tsp of ghee while serving for kids.

Serve this healthy,easy varagu pongal with chutney and sambar. Tastes yummy !
Kodo millet recipes


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November 19, 2014

VAZHAIPOO PORIYAL RECIPE-BANANA FLOWER CURRY/STIR FRY

Vazhaipoo poriyal recipe

Vazhaipoo poriyal has become one of our favourite vazhaipoo recipes. It is very easy to make when compared with vazhaipoo usili and super tasty without onion. I learnt this recipe from my MIL. Nowadays I am making this very often in my kitchen next to vazhipoo vadai & vazhaipoo kuzhambu.Check out my post on “How to clean vazhaipoo/Banana flower with stepwise pictures” to know how to clean, chop and store it in advance to make your morning job hassle-free.

Lets see how to make this healthy valaipoo poriyal/Banana flower curry recipe at home easily. It tastes the best with sambar sadam and paruppu rasam !

Vazhaipoo-poriyal

Vazhaipoo poriyal/Banana flower curry recipe


Vazhaipoo poriyal/Banana flower curry recipe Easy n delicious vazhaipoo poriyal recipe - Tasty side dish for sambar rice !
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Curries
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

  • Chopped banana flower - 2 cups
  • Moong dal - 2 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Sambar powder - 1 tsp
  • Salt - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1 tsp
  • Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
  • Sugar - 1/8 tsp
HOW TO MAKE VAZHAIPOO PORIYAL - METHOD

  • In a wide bowl,take the chopped banana flower, moong dal, salt, turmeric powder and sambar powder. Mix well using your hands and set aside for 15 minutes.It will leave little water.
vazhaipoo-poriyal-recipe-1
  • In a kadai,heat oil and temper mustard,urad dal and curry leaves. After the dal turns golden brown, add the vazhaipoo mixture and mix well. Keep the flame low and cover cook for sometime.You don’t need to add water because the water in banana flower itself is sufficient. Keep the flame low and cook it with a lid for 10-15 minutes. Toss it once or twice in the middle.
vazhaipoo-poriyal-recipe-2
  • After the banana flower is completely cooked, add the grated coconut, mix well for a minute. Remove and serve. You can add few drops of lemon juice if you want tanginess. We don’t do it usually.
vazhaipoo-poriyal-recipe-3
Enjoy !


Note

  • Cleaning and chopping banana flower takes more time. So make it the previous day,keep the chopped flowers immersed in buttermilk and use it next day. Squeeze the buttermilk completely and then proceed as mentioned above.

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I served this vazhaipoo poriyal recipe with rice,paruppu rasam and papad. It was lovely !

vazhaipoo poriyal

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