Easy Rasam Recipe With Easy Rasam Powder

As I mentioned in my kara kulambu post, my appa makes rasam very well. When my father was in mumbai, he used to do this rasam with an easy homemade rasam powder. For this recipe, store bought rasam powder  is not needed. We love this rasam more than my mom’s version. So we (me & my sis) used to tell our dad to make rasam in weekends and we enjoy with mom’s potato poriyal.

This is a very simple rasam recipe using freshly ground rasam powder with just 2 ingredients. U can replace this rasam powder with store bought or your own rasam powder too. It comes out well. It can be made in few minutes. We call this as bachelor’s rasam. U can even drink this rasam. I love to mix with buttermilk & drink. 

The flavour of pepper and jeera waft around your house when you make this rasam. Try this easy rasam during busy mornings. Tastes great with simple potato curry and papad !

Rasam recipe

Easy rasam recipe with freshly ground easy rasam powder

Cuisine: Indian Category: side dish Yields: 3

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Total Time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For rasam powder Pepper corns - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp For rasam Tamarind - Medium gooseberry size Tomato - 1 no Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Rasam powder - 3 tsp (mentioned above) Crushed garlic cloves - 5 nos Sugar - A pinch Salt - as needed Water - 3 cups To temper Oil or ghee - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Jeera/cumins seeds - 1/2 tsp Red chillies – 1 or 2 nos Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (to garnish)

HOW TO MAKE RASAM - METHOD

In a bowl, soak tamarind in half cup of hot water for 5 minutes. In the mean time, prepare rasam powder by grinding the pepper corns and cumin seeds together. Store in a box.Set aside. Extract tamarind juice using 2.5cups of water. Totally it should come to 3 cups. Add salt, sugar, turmeric powder & rasam powder. Mix well. Check for taste. U’ll feel the rasam taste. Add more salt & rasam powder if necessary. Now crush the tomatoes well using your hands and add to this tamarind water. In a kadai, heat oil or ghee and temper the mustard seeds, jeera/cumin seeds, pinched red chillies, curry leaves. Add the tamarind mixture. Let it boil for a minute. Then add 1/4 cup water and add the crushed garlic pods. Give a full roll boil only once and it becomes frothy. (alternately you can just boil the rasam and add the tempering at the end. It gives a nice flavor).  When it becomes frothy, add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Transfer to a bowl. Close it with a lid immediately. Rasam is ready to enjoy with plain rice !

Note

The quantity I have given for rasam powder can be used for making rasam thrice. Store it in an air tight box and use a clean, dry spoon. U can also use sakthi, priya, aachi rasam powder. Use 1 tsp for 1 cup of water. Check for taste. Add more or less based on your need. Dal water can be added for more taste. For variations, you can saute the tomato while tempering instead of adding it raw.. Adding Sugar gives a clear rasam. Garlic cloves and coriander leaves is a must for this recipe. Tempering can be done at the end too. It will give a different flavour. Using ghee is optional but it smells good while you eat.

 

Yummy , flavourful rasam is ready to eat with plain rice!

Technorati Tags: Easy rasam,easy rasam recipe,rasam recipe,how to make rasam,rasam powder recipe,rasam preparation

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FOOD PANDA - Order delicious food online | Review

Dear all,
Today I have come up with the review about FOOD PANDA, an ONLINE SITE FOR ORDERING FOOD from favourite restaurants in your Location.We can order the food in 4 easy steps. Login, Select the city/location,find ur favourite restaurant,order ur food.Food will be at ur doorstep in some minutes at discounted rates !

They are offering attractive discounts  as well as cash back on selected cards.I was surprised to find an advertisement showing “ Buy One Briyani and get One free” ..

Some of the features of this Online Site which I admired are given below
1.Food panda started in March-12 just completed one and half years but marked a significant strides in the online food market internationally.

2. Where ever u are, in which part of the world u are, u can order your favourite dish from your favourite hotel nearby u.

3.It can be useful for the techies who cant afford to cook or have time to go to a restaurant of their choice.

4.It can be helpful for the retired and old persons who find cooking little difficult due to  unforeseen health problems.

5.Tourists also can use this site for ordering their favourite dish at places where they are new.

6.We housewives, can use this site for ordering food when we need a change from the routine work of cooking.

7. During this monsoon, it will be difficult to travel to our favourite restaurants.We can use this site to order our favourite dishes.

All u have to do is just login/register into this site.Choose your favourite cuisine from your favourite restaurant in your location.Order the food and enjoy !

Here are some more screen shots of this site for ur information.

They do have their own app for mobiles and iPhones.Download it for free and use it as needed.They provide Live chat facility apart from phone helpline.

So to sum up, i can say Food Panda helps you to find restaurants. They provide the service of ordering food online and avail home delivery services.
Disclaimer : Friends,Please share your experience with Food panda if any.As i have not personally experienced their service,the above mentioned points are just my opinion. So friends, do try your own and share below.

Thanks for visiting. Have a happy weekend.Catch u all with my recipe post on monday

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Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe Without Condensed Milk, Curd

 

Eggless vanilla sponge cake recipe was in my try list for long time. Usually eggless sponge cake is prepared using condensed milk, curd and butter. But this egg free vanilla cake recipe is without condensed milk and curd. This recipe uses fresh cream and milk instead.  I had planned to try this cake recipe during Christmas. But I was forced to make it yesterday. I had a packet of fresh cream which was about to expire and I wanted to use it without wasting. When I was thinking of what to do with it, two recipes flashed in my mind. 

One was methi mutter malai and the other one was cake using fresh cream. I made both and somehow I finished the whole packet on the same day. For this cake, I google searched and got this recipe from Parita’s blog. I followed that recipe to the ‘T’ but I followed an easy method to make the cake batter. The result was awesome.The cake came out very soft and spongy. Raksha loved it to the core and she finished all the cake herself in two days. We got only one piece to taste.

Check out this link if you wish to try the same using pressure cooker.You can just follow the same method.Hope u will get it right. Try and let me know how it turned out for you.

Eggless vanilla sponge cake recipe

Easy to make eggless vanilla flavoured sponge cake recipe using fresh cream. Kids would be pleased with this cake recipe :)

Cuisine: Indian Category: Sweet Yields: 8-10 pieces

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Total Time: 45 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup=200ml

To make the cake batter Powdered Sugar - 1 cup Fresh cream - 3/4 cup ( I used amul) All purpose flour /Maida - 1 1/3 cup ( 1 + 1/3 CUP) Baking powder - 1 tsp Cooking soda/ baking soda - 1/2 tsp Milk – 3/4 cup Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

HOW TO MAKE EGGLESS VANILLA SPONGE CAKE - METHOD

In a big mixie jar, take the sugar and powder it nicely. Add fresh cream to it and beat twice or thrice to make a smooth paste OR take a bowl and beat the sugar & cream with a hand whisk. To this add the maida mixture as mentioned below. Do not beat the batter, mix gently. Follow this method if you don't want to use mixie. Then add the maida, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla essence and beat twice. U’ll get a thick paste. Wipe the sides. Now add the milk and run the mixie in low speed. Do not over beat the mixture. U’ll get the batter in flowing consistency like a ribbon. Grease a baking pan with oil & sprinkle maida all over the pan and pour the cake batter. Pat the bottom of pan to break the air bubbles. Pre heat the oven at 180c or 10 minutes in convection mode. Keep the baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes and bake in convection mode at 180 c.Please keep an eye after 25 minutes and check with a toothpick. Check with a skewer/toothpick or knife for doneness. If it comes out clean,cake is done. Cool completely. Run the knife through the sides of the pan and then invert it on a plate. Cake will come out easily. Cut into pieces.Serve n Enjoy !

Note

I am unable to say the shelf life of this cake because it got over by two days. If you don’t want to use mixie, you can mix the powdered sugar and fresh cream together in a bowl to make a smooth paste. In another bowl, mix maida, baking powder, soda and add this to the fresh cream mixture in one direction. Add essence and milk. Make a batter and proceed as above. Preheating is essential.Use Convection mode at 180c.

Wanna bite?? : ))

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Brinjal Curry | Kathirikai Poriyal - Poriyal Recipes

Kathirikai poriyal recipe is one of my favourite poriyal recipes. I love to have this South Indian style brinjal curry with hot sambar sadam and more kuzhambu.This is my mil’s version. Before marriage , I used to enjoy my mom’s kathirikai podi curry with rasam. But this is a very easy & flavourful poriyal in Tamil nadu style. We make potato poriyal using the same method which I’ll post soon.

Kathirikai poriyal recipe

Flavourful Brinjal curry recipe - A best side dish for sambar and curd rice!

Cuisine: Indian Category: Curries Yields: Serves 2

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Total Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Brinjal - 5 nos (medium sized) Sambar powder - 1 to 1.5 tsp Tamarind - Berry size (soak in little water) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Salt & water - as needed To grind Grated coconut - 3 tbsp Big onion -1 no Cumin seeds/jeera - 1/2 tsp To temper Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1tsp Curry leaves - few

HOW TO MAKE KATHIRIKAI PORIYAL - METHOD

Cut brinjal into two vertically. Again cut this into two cubes. Soak in water till use to prevent color change. Cook brinjal adding the required water, salt , tamarind extract and sambar powder. Make sure the brinjal is not over cooked. It should retain its shape. After the brinjal is cooked well, remove and drain the excess water. U can use this water for making sambar. (I usually pressure cook the brinjal along with dal by keeping it in a separate bowl inside the cooker. I keep it after the cooker starts steaming so that by the time it whistles, brinjal will be cooked properly without losing its shape).  In the mean time, grind the grated coconut in the mixie without adding water. Then add the cubed big onions and jeera. Run the mixie twice so that onions will be coarsely ground. Do not over grind to make a paste. This is most important for this poriyal to give a nice flavour. Now mix this paste with the cooked brinjal. Add turmeric powder and pinched curry leaves. In a kadai, heat oil and temper all the ingredients given under”to temper”. Add the brinjal mixture and mix it well. Make sure brinjal doesn’t break. Simmer the flame and allow it to roast in oil till all the moisture leaves it. It gives a nice masala smell. Takes nearly 10-12 mins in low flame to get ready. Flip every now and then to avoid burning in the bottom. Enjoy !

Note

U can replace brinjal by pumpkin or potato and make this poriyal. Make sure masala coats the brinjal well. Leave the masala in low flame for 10-15 minutes to get a nice flavour.

Technorati Tags: kathirikai poriyal,brinjal curry,kathirikai poriyal recipe,brinjal curry recipe,brinjal recipes,side dish for rice,poriyal recipes

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Maa Vilakku Recipe - Maavilakku Maavu Recipe Using Rice Flour | Karthigai Deepam Recipes

Maa vilakku /  Rice flour Lamp in English is an edible lamp made using rice flour, jaggery, honey and ghee. Maavilakku is a must and should neivedyam recipe in all our households for Karthigai deepam and Aadi month to offer Amman. My mom and mil makes different naivedyam recipes to God for karthigai deepam but offering maavilakku maavu is a common practice for both of them. Not only for Karthigai deepam , we make it during tamil month Aadi, Thai and Purattasi sani. Actually maavilakku maavu has to be made by mixing jaggery with home made processed wet rice flour. 

My MIL follows this procedure. But my mom makes it very simple using store bought rice flour. It can be done in minutes. Though I follow my MIL’s procedure, I thought of sharing my mom’s easy version with simple decoration in my blog. I have shared some tips and tricks from my mom to make a perfectly shaped maavilakku without losing its shape. For people who are not able to soak and grind the raw rice, this version would be useful. Do try this easy maavilakku maavu recipe with step by step pictures and video. Let me know your feedback.

I wish you all a very happy karthigai deepam, enjoy the festival of lights.

Do check out my other Karthigai Deepam Recipes too.

Maavilakku recipe

Maavilakku maavu recipe using store bought rice flour for karthigai deepam.It can be done in minutes.

Cuisine: South Indian Category: Sweet Yields: 2

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Total Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

To make the maavilakku maavu Store bought rice flour/ arisi maavu/ idiyappam flour  - 1/2 cup Grated jaggery – 1/2 cup Ghee – 2 to 3 tbsp (6 tsp, unmelted,thick ghee) Honey - 1/2 tbsp ( 1.5 tsp) Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp To make lamp Thread/thirinool - 1 no Ghee - 2 tsp(melted) Kumkum and turmeric - little

METHOD

Take the rice flour and grated jaggery in a mixie jar. Pulse it 3-4 times. Do not grind continuously. But make sure, they are mixed well without any lumps. ( I got this tip from sharmi’s blog, thank you sharmi .) As the rice flour is dry, it will absorb all the water from jaggery. Remove in a plate. Make a dent and add the thick, unmelted ghee.(The key here is if you use melted ghee, you can shape it easily but later on as the ghee hardens, maavilakku will also become hard. So if you use unmelted ghee, maavilakku will stay soft without losing its shape and taste). Initially add 1 tbsp and mix well. Again add 1/2 tbsp more, mix well. Add 1.5 tsp honey and mix well. Try to make a ball. Roll it tight between two hands. If it cracks, seal it with fingers. As you roll tight, jaggery will melt because of the heat of your hands and it will make a smooth ball.  Make a smooth ball without cracks. Make a small dent in the center using your pointer finger for pouring ghee. Seal with fingers if any crack appears.( I used overall 2 tbsp unmelted ghee) Apply turmeric and kumkum on all the sides. Put the thread and lit the lamp. Keep a flower nearby and offer to God.

Note

Maavilakku stays good for  a week in room temperature. I have seen people keeping it for months by freezing it. When you freeze the dough, bring it to room temperature before u consume. My mom never use water or milk to make the dough as it reduces the shelf life. But if  you are concerned about adding ghee OR if you can consume it immediately, you can add water or milk to make the dough. You can add more honey if you want to reduce ghee. But reduce the quantity of jaggery accordingly.  Using unmelted, paste like ghee is more important for maavilakku to hold its shape for long time. If you add more jaggery, it may leave water and maa vilakku will lose its shape. For making home made wet rice flour, wash and soak the raw rice/maavu arisi for 30 minutes. Drain the water and spread it on a paper for few minutes. Remove and powder it nicely. Sieve the flour and proceed as mentioned above.  To see the step by step pictures, please click this link. Remember if you are using homemade rice flour, quantity of jaggery and ghee used would be less.

Enjoy maavilakku with chopped coconut pieces. Tastes heavenly !

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Pori Urundai Recipe With Video, How To Make Arisi Pori Urundai - Karthigai Deepam Recipes

In Tamil nadu, Pori urundai is a must try recipe for Karthigai deepam. Last year I posted Pori urundai recipe with poha/aval for karthigai deepam. This year I wanted to make pori urundai using puffed rice. We call it as arisi pori in Tamil. 

 As I don’t get nel pori here, I used arisi pori / Puffed rice. Procedure for making pori urundai is similar. It may be  aval , nel or arisi. So I wanted to share this recipe in my space with step by step pictures and a video. Hope it will be useful for beginners. 

As my MIL usually says, the ratio of pori and jaggery is 8:1 based on the sweetness of jaggery. You can follow 6:1 too.  I follow the same every year and it comes out very well. Over to recipe with a picture and my latest video recipe !

Pori urundai recipe for Karthigai deepam

Pori urundai recipe using arisi pori/puffed rice for karthigai deepam

Cuisine: Indian Category: Sweet Yields: 15 nos

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Total Time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 250ml

For jaggery syrup Paagu vellam/Jaggery - 1/2 cup (grated) Water - 1/4 cup For balls Puffed rice/Arisi pori - 3 cups ( Use 4 cups for mildly sweet urundai) Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp Coconut bits - 1 tbsp (Roast in 1/2 tsp ghee) Black sesame seeds - 1 tsp Fried gram dal - 1 tbsp (optional) Ghee or rice flour - to grease hands

HOW TO MAKE PORI URUNDAI - STEP BY STEP

Dry roast sesame seeds in a kadai till it crackles.  Measure 3 cups of puffed rice  ( 4 cups for less sweet) and take in a bowl. Add the roasted sesame seeds to it. Chop coconut into small pieces. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan. Roast coconut pieces till it turns golden in color.  Add to the measured puffed rice. In a wide kadai , take the grated jaggery. Add water to it. Make sure jaggery should be immersed completely. I used 1/4 cup of water for 1/2 cup of jaggery. Measure the puffed rice and keep it ready. Keep ready a small plate with water. Melt the jaggery completely and strain it to remove impurities. No need to boil the syrup. After straining the syrup, wash the kadai and then heat it again adding the strained syrup.  Boil the syrup till it becomes frothy and thick. Take the syrup in the ladle and drop it. The syrup will drop slowly  and the last drop will make a string. This is an indication of reaching the correct consistency. At this time , simmer the flame and pour little syrup in a plate of water. Try to gather all the syrup and remove it. It will be non-sticky and you’ll be able to make a ball but firm in shape. Ball should hold its shape but not too hard. It is called as uruttu padham in Tamil. This is the right stage. Switch off the flame. Suppose if you miss this stage, add little water to the syrup and boil again. Check the consistency and proceed. ( some people make hard ball consistency too. i.e you should make a ball and if you drop the ball in a plate, it should make a tung sound. But you should roll the balls as soon as you mix with the syrup because syrup will thicken very quickly).  Add the puffed rice mixture along with roasted sesame seeds, coconut pieces, fried gram dal immediately. Mix well. All should be done within few seconds. Take care. Mix the puffed rice well in the syrup till the bottom of kadai. All the puffed rice should be coated well with the syrup. Grease your hands with rice flour or ghee and make balls tightly when the mixture is slightly warm. If the mixture cools down, you can't shape it. So do it fast. U’ll be able to make a perfect round.   If you are a beginner, you cannot handle the heat of balls. So make balls roughly and arrange in a plate. Then roll it tightly when the mixture becomes warm. I usually follow this for aval pori urundai.   If the mixture cools down before making balls, heat the kadai slightly in low flame. The syrup will melt and helps you to make balls. Make round balls. Give a setting time of 10 minutes and enjoy ! U can store these balls and use it for 2 weeks. If the mixture cools down, you can't shape it. So do it fast.

Note

Jaggery consistency is very important here. Please have a look after the jaggery syrup becomes frothy. It takes hardly 2-3 minutes in high flame to reach the consistency. Make balls when the mixture is with bearable heat. When it cools down, you can’t make it. So you have to reheat again in low flame for few seconds. Adding coconut bits, sesame seeds and fried gram dal are optional. I have seen my neighbours making pori urundai without all these. But we add sesame seeds for sure as we keep it for neivedyam.

Wish you all a very happy karthigai deepam. Enjoy the festival of lights with pori urundai!

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