Cashew / Mundhiri /Kaju Pakoda

 Cashew Pakoda - the name itself tempting me.Making crispy and tasty pakoda in home is task .I love Adyar Anandha Bhavan Cashew pakoda .Addition of Mint,ginger,garlic makes the pakoda makes more tasty .But in my family they dont like mint so i add less mint and more coriander leaves.

Also i want white colour so add more green chillies instead of chilli powder.If we make the dough correctly then no need to add baking soda.

Am really happy that  i got Anandha Bhavan Style.

Ingredients

Besan /Gram flour -1/2 cup
Rice flour -1/4 cup
Cashews nut -1/2 cup (Broken)
Ginger -1 tsp (finely chopped)
Garlic pods - 2(finely chopped)
Onion - 1(finely chopped)
Green chillies -4 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves -1/4 cup(finely choppes)
Curry leaves -2 sprigs(Finely chopped)
Mint leaves -1 tbsp(finely chopped)
Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
Water - 3 tbsp (approximately)
Salt -to taste
Oil -for deep fry

Method

*Heat oil in a kadai.In a bowl take the ingredients except water and cashew.

 *Mix well,now add the cashewnuts and  1/4 cup hot oil.mix well

 *Sprinkle the water little by little,the consistency should be thick.

*Now take a little dough and slowly drop the dough in small pieces in hot oil.Fry it until it turns golden brown.

MY NOTES

*Mixing the dough is very important to make crispy pakodas.It should never be loose and sticking in hands

Olaiyappam / Karuppu Idli/ Sweet Idli | South Indian Breakfast Recipe

 Olaiyappam - Its a sweet idly based with appam batter mixed with jaggery. Its other name is "Karuppu Idli" thats how we pondicherrian called it but dont know that why we called like  it.

We can eat as such or served with freshly  squeezed coconut milk with sugar.However we mostly prefer with plain.

I  already posted appam batter with rice flour .In this recipe i shared a traditional method.

Let us move to the recipe.

Preparation Time :30 mins
Soaking Time : 2 hrs
Fermenting Time :8 - 10 hrs
Serves - 4

Ingredients
Raw Rice - 2 1/2 cups
Par boiled Rice -1/2 cup
Whole white urad dal - 1/4 cup
Methi Seeds -1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut -1/2 cup
Cooked Rice -1 hand fistful
Salt -To taste
Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
Cardamom Powder -1/4 tsp
Split Yellow Moong Dal -2 tbsp

Method

*Soak the Both rice with urad dal and methi seeds together for 2 hrs.Once it soaked drain the water .

 *Grind it with 1/2 cup grated coconut and cooked rice to a very smooth batter.Mix with little salt.Ferment it overnight .

*The batter should be very thick .

 *Next day the batter is well fermented.You can see the both pictures.

 *Dry roast the moong dal until the nice aroma comes,keep it aside

* In a vessel add the jaggery and litter water.Boil it until the jaggery dissolve then filter it to remove the impurities.

*Once the jaggery water cooled down mix it appam batter.Now the batter will become too thin.

*Put some water in a  idli vessel ,heat it in medium flame.On the idli plate place the cotton cloth fill it with some batter on the mould.

*On the top sprinkle with roasted dal and grated coconut.Slightly press it them

 *Let it steam it for  6- 7mins

 *Once it cooked invert the idli plate on a broad plate,remove the plate and sprinkle some water on the cloth.Remove the idlies from the cloth gently.

MY NOTES

*The batter should be very fine and thick

*You can also make sweet appam in the same batter .

*The key ingredients of soft idli is dont overcook it else it will become dry and hard.

*The colour of the idli depends upon the colour of the jaggery.

Coriander Seeds/Dhaniya/Kothamalli Vithai Kuzhambu |South Indian Kuzhambu Recipes

 As we all know that coriander seeds have lots of medicinal values.Tried this recipe from Mrs.Meenakshi Ammal "Samaithu Paar" Cookbook.

Its a very tasty and flavourful kuzhambu goes well with rice,idli and dosa too..

Preparation Time :10 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Serves :4

Ingredients :

Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
Salt -To taste
Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp +2 tsp
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

To Saute and Grind
Coriander Seeds -1/4 cup
Dry Red chillies - 5
Peppercorns -2 tsp
Compound Asafoetida - a small size

Method

*First Saute the igredients given under "To saute and grind " in 2 tsp oil.Once cooled down ground to a very fine paste

*Soak the tamarind and extract the pulp.

 *Mix the pase in tamarind pulp with salt and turmeric powder.

 *Heat 2 tbsp oil in a vessel temper with mustard seeds,once it popped pour the tamarind water and boil it well.

 *Once the kuzhambu boiled well starten to thick and oil floats on top then switch off the flame.

MY NOTES

*Use old tamaraind thats pazhampuli for this kuzhambu,gives a better taste.

*It stays good  upto a week at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Brownies | Brownies Recipe | Vegan Recipe

 I bought some sweet potatoes to prepare poriyal but am not in mood to cook.Kids are want some brownies for snacks so i want to use that potatoes which was sitting in my table for almost a week.

I prepared brownies with that potatoes which was soft,gooey and chocolatic.No one find the secret behind the brownies until you revealed it.

Also its completely vegan too....

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Makes : 9 Brownies

Wet Ingredients

Sweet Potato Puree -3/4 cup
Almond Butter -1 cup
Vanilla extract -1 tsp

Dry Ingredients:
Almond Flour -5 tbsp
Cocoa Powder -5 tbsp
Baking Soda -1 1/2 tsp
Salt -1/8 tsp
Sugar -3/4 cup (Powdered)

Method

Preheat the oven at 180 °C for 10 mins.

*Mix the Wet and dry ingredients seperately,Keep it aside.

*Add the dry ingredients to  wet ingredients gently.

 *Poured it in greased tray.

 *Bake it for 20 mins.

*After 20 mins it looks like a little underdone after it cools down it will firms up.

MY NOTES
*Dont bake more than 20 mins else you end up with hard brownies.

*Instead of almond butter you can use peanut butter too .

Chocolate Brownie ( Vegan ) | Brownie Recipe

In this Recipe i added pureed dates to reduce the sugar  content,also make the brownie more fudgy.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 25-30 mins
Makes : 9 Pieces

Ingredients :

Part - I
Self Raising Flour - 1 Cup
Salt - 1/8 tsp

Part -II
Cocoa powder - 1/4 Cup
Dates -10 (Pitted and Soaked in Hot water for 10 mins)
Coconut Oil - 2 Tbspn
Vegetable Oil - 4 Tbspn
Flax Meal -2 Tspn
Water -1/2 Cup
Agave Syrup - 2 Tbspn
Raw Sugar / Jaggery - 1/3 Cup
Lemon Juice -1 Tspn

Method

*In a Blender add the Part -II ingredients  and blend it well.

*Preheat the oven at 180 °C.Grease the Square tin pan with little oil.

*In a Mixing Bowl add the Part I ingredients and date puree.Mix it well.

*Pour and smooth the batter in prepared pan.Bake it 25- 30 mins and a toothpick  inserted come out clean.

*Cooled it completely before slicing.

MY NOTES

*Instead of date puree you can also add chopped date.

*For  gooeyier brownie add more 2- 3 tbspn oil.

*You can adjust the sweetness and cocoa powder too.