Ragi thattai / kezhvaragu thattai

Lord krishna is calling.. Hope everyone is busy preparing snacks or neivedhyam for janmashtami which is tomorrow. I just made these crispy thattais using Ragi flour. Normally we make with rice flour or even maida.. But this Ragi thattai is easy to make and also healthy for eating. On the name of lord krishna , we consume snacks on this day. We make Seedai, murukku, thattai, Vella Seedai, palkova, 

Recipe for thattai :

Ingredients : 

Ragi flour - one cup

Moong dal - one tbsp( soaked)

Chilly powder -1/2 tsp

Salt

Asafotida - 1 tsp

Curry leaves 

Oil

Water

Method : 

In a wide vessel, add the above ingredients one by one.

Heat oil in a pan, once it is hot. Take a tbsp of oil and pour it in the vessel with ingredients.

Knead the mixture into a soft dough. Make small balls out of it.

Take a plastic cover or Ziplock and place the balls and flat with your palm or fingers to make thattai.

Place in the hot oil and fry.

Flip on both the sides and fry till crisp and till the bubbles reduce.

Remove it from the oil and place it on the kitchen towels to remove excess oil and transfer into a air tight box.

Yummilicious thattai ready for lord krishna!

Avocado paratha

Today ' s post is about a healthy dinner or breakfast option. What is it when it is done with avocados?

It's a paratha , it's an Indian bread made using avocados. For a Long time I was planning to buy avocados, but didn't buy till date. For today's dish , courtesy is my Cousin who bought me some avocados so that at least I. Oils innovate some dishes. Thanks to her.

Nutrients of avocados:

Hass avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit. Why is nutrient density important? According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, nutrient-dense foods are those foods that provide vitamins, minerals, and other substances that may have positive health effects, with relatively few calories. They are lean or low in solid fats, and minimize or exclude added solid fats, added sugars, and added refined starches, as these add calories but few essential nutrients or dietary fiber. Nutrient-dense foods also minimize or exclude added salt or other compounds high in sodium. Ideally, they are in forms that retain naturally occurring components such as dietary fiber.

With nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients per 1-oz. serving, avocados are a good nutrient choice.

Avocados – the Nutrient Booster

Why increasing absorption of these nutrients matters: Alpha- and beta-carotene can form Vitamin A in the body, which is important for proper growth and reproduction as well as good eyesight.  Vitamin A is involved in immune functions, vision and cellular function. Vitamin A also supports cellular growth and differentiation, playing a critical role in the normal formation and maintenance of the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs.

Let's go the recipe:

Verdict from my kid : Amma, the chappathi is Super soft and wonderful. She just loved it. Mamma happy.... Courtesy for today's snaps is my kid. 

Ingredients :

Avocados - 2 ripe

Garlic pods - 2

Lime juice - half lime

Green chilly -2

Salt

Coriander leaves - finely chopped

Wheat flour / atta - 1 1/2 cup 

Oil - for making chapathies

Water if needed

Method :

In a big vessel, take the ripe avocadoes and cut open it.  

Take the has from it. Put it in the vessel. Smash it well using a potato smasher until no chunks . Add the lemon juice.

Add the grated garlic pods ,green chillies and coriander leaves.

Add salt and add the wheat flour and knead the dough using the pulp itself.( I did not add any water).

Add the flour little by little while kneading it. Once the dough is ready. Add a tsp of oil and mix the dough.

Allow it to rest for 15- 20 mins.( I kept for 2 hrs).

Like the normal chappathi, make into small balls and roll it using the rolling pin by dusting on the flour.

Heat a Tava and keepin high while making chapathies , place the chapathies and flip over on both the sides. Sprinkle oil if required.

Wonderful soft avocado paratha share ready. I served it with cucumber onion tomato raitha..Enjoy!

Beetroot kesari

August is here, so all the festivals would be around soon. Aadi masam has started, Aadi pathinettu was celebrated last Tuesday  and Aadi pooram is tomorrow. Everybody will be confused as what sweet to make. It should be simple and easy and healthy as well.

My kiddo requested for kesari and I wanted to avoid adding Colour. I have made quiet a few combos of kesaris. When I opened the fridge I found beetroot, then thought why not add these to the kesari? 

Kesari was too yummy , tasty and colourful 

Try this for any one day for neivedhyam.hope you all like it.

Ingredients :

• Ghee - 1/2 cup
• White Rava - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 -1cup
• Water - 3 cups
• Beetroot - half puréed
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Nuts - optional ( I have just garnished with roasted almonds)

Method:

 

• Heat a pan, Dry Roast the Rava and keep it aside.
• In the same pan, add the beetroot purée and the required water for the kesari.
• Add sugar. Mix well. Close it with lid and allow the beetroot purée to be boiled and cooked well( raw flavour should vanish).
• Once the purée is boiled nicely. Add the rava. Allow the rava to boil. Close the lid.
• After the rava is cooked well ,add Ghee  and cardamom powder. Cook till ghee comes out.
• Add the nuts , if you are adding. I have garnished few almonds.

too.

Mouth melting soft kesari is ready to serve for God!

Walnut mini muffins - air fryer

Hi all,

 After nearly 4 months , started writing. For the past four months have been very lazy and lethargic to even cook as my parent in laws and parents. I sited us and again I went on a vacation. Now I am back to my den. Happily relaxed and no much cooking, no work At all . 

Now it's my turn to go back to my work, so just started the blogging too today. I am motivating myself to write regularly. Please do motivate me by your encouraging comments and feedback.

Today I am sharing a simple muffin recipe. You can make any changes that you want to make. I ,add these for my kid's class party on her last day of school. Hope you all like it.

Ingredients :

All purpose flour - 115 gms

Butter - 100 gms

Sugar / powdered sugar - 115 gms

Eggs -2

Baking powder -1tsp

Salt - a pinch

Milk - if needed

Walnuts powdered or crushed - 1 cup

Vanilla Essence -2 tsp

Method :

In a mixing bowl , mix the bitter and sugar with a hand mixer until it becomes fluffy and frothy.

Add the eggs to and beat well.

Add the vanilla Essence and pulse it quickly.

Now at all the dry ingredients together. apf , baking powder, salt ,crushed walnuts.

Mix nicely until it's mixed well into a cake batter. If it's too thick sprinkle little milk and beat the batter.

Once done. Pour the batter into moulds whichever you have.

Sprinkle some crushed walnuts on TOP for crunchy feel.

I have used silicon moulds which I had.

I am using air fryer to bake. Preheat the airfryer for 5 mins at 200 degrees.

Place the cups inside the baking tray of the fryer and close it and set the temperature to 200 or even 180 deg for 10 mins. Check with a tooth pick or skewer if it's done by pricking .if nothing sticks to it , the cake is baked.

If it comes out wet, give 2 more mins standby time for it to to bake well.

Walnut mini muffins are soft and so fluffy.

Kollu podi / horse gram podi

Horse gram can best be described as a reddish brown legume which is packed with a number of health benefits. It can help with a number of health problems as it is a grain which contains a good and rich amount of vitamins, proteins, and iron. In addition to weight loss, it helps in reduction of extra fat from the body. Horse gram is rich in B-complex vitamin and proteins. It helps in purifying menstruation and cures and prevents arthritis. The presence of a good amount of dietary fibre in the gram helps balance sugar glucose and blood pressure levels.

Horse gram seeds possess a rich content of polyphenols, flavonoids and proteins, the main anti-oxidants, which are mostly present in fruits. Therefore, a few of the main benefits which are associated with consuming horse gram are:

• Horse gram can be mixed with asafoetida, dry ginger and a pinch of ‘veed salt’ to help treat stomach pain to provide immediate relief.
• Incorporating horse gram in diet will help relieve pain from dry piles.
• For women, intake of horse gram helps in purifying during the menstrual cycle.
• Horse gram made into a semi-liquid solution will help reduce and prevent gas and flatulence.

Source : the healthsite.com

Horse gram is very easy and tasty like our any other legume. I have made kollu I podi which is used to mix in rice and eat along with coconut oil or ghee. Gun powder with horse gram is absolutely flavourful and tasteful. It's healthy too.

Ingredients :

• Toor dal - 1/4 cup
• Kollu - 1/2 cup
• Gram dal - 1/2 cup
• Pepper - 2 tsp
• Red chilly - 5-6
• Salt
• Asafoedit

Method:

• In a pan, dry roast each ingredient separately.

• Cool them and grind it little coarsely.
• Store in refrigeration if you are grinding a larger quantity.

Goes well with rice and coconut oil.

Cream of mushroom soup

Cream of mushroom soup is a simple type of soup where a basic roux is thinned using cream or milk and then mushroom or mushroom broth is added . It is famous in North America as condensed canned soup. This soup is used for making mushroom gravies. This soup is used as a base ingredient for making casseroles and comfort food.

The weekend I planned to make mushroom soup for my family. I wanted to try the cream of mushroom soup for a Long time. It was really flavourful and yummy. 

Ingredients:

Mushroom -4 chopped

Onion - 1/2 chopped

Butter or olive oil - 1 tsp

Garlic -2 cloves chopped

Full cream - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Vegetable broth - 3/4 cup

Salt

Mixed herbs -2 tsp

Spring onion - 1 tsp

Method:

For the vegetable broth , in a pan, add a glass of water and add chopped carrots, cabbage, beans.

Allow it to boil until it becomes 3/4 th cup.

Heat a pan, add butter or olive oil. Add the chopped garlic, sauté until its fried.

Add the chopped onion, mushroom and spring onion. Sauté it till its fried well.add salt to it.

Add the vegetable broth to this and the full cream and milk. Add the required salt. Close and cook for 5 mins.

Open the lid and add the herbs, allow it to boil once.

Thick delicious soup is ready!

Devanagare benne dosa - Karnataka style

According to wiki, Benne Dosa or Benne Dose  is a type of dosa which traces its origin from the city of Davangere in Karnataka. The term "benne dosa" in English language simply corresponds to Butter Dosa. It is prepared by addition of generous amount of butter while preparing the normal dosa, and accompanied by coconut Chutney. It is similar to masala dosa or set dosa but smaller in size, made out of rice batter and much butter. It is served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it. This makes the dish enticing in both flavour and aroma.

Some of the variants of the benne dosa:

• Benne khali dosa
• Benne open dosa
• Benne masala dosa 

Today, benne dosa is almost synonymous with the city of Davangere and has found its own well-deserved place in the menu cards of all well-known restaurants in Karnataka. It has also found its distinct place in the cuisine of the Indian diaspora abroad. There are also restaurants in Singapore and USA that serve this specialty dish of Davangere.

My Husband being a Bangalore guy wanted to have Karnataka style special recipes. So I make these dishes for him. He just loved it and enjoyed. So let me share the recipe of this benne dosa.

Ingredients:

• Aval - 1 cup
• Parboiled rice - 1 cup
• Idly rice - 1 cup
• Urad dal - 1/4 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Water

Method :

• Soak Aval . Soak idly rice and parboiled rice together.
• Soak Urad dal and fenugreek seeds separately.
• Grind Aval, do not add too much of water.Grind rice. 
• Grind Urad dal,add salt and mix it.
• Add water accordingly.
• Leave to ferment overnight.
• Heat a Tava , add the batter and make regular dosas. This particular dosas must be thin outside and little thick in the corner.
• Place the benne cube on TOP of the dosa while serving.

For the potato masala :

• Potato - 250 gms
• Onion - 2 finely chopped
• Green chilly - 2 finely chopped
• Ginger - 1" finely chopped
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil
• Water

Method:

• Boil potato and smash them well.
• Heat oil in pan, add mustard seeds .
• Add curry leaves, green chilly, ginger.
• Add chopped onions. Saute well.
• Add turmeric powder, salt.
• Add the smashed potatoes and little water.
• Keep it closed and cook well.
• Turn off when its mushy.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Coconut chutney for accompaniment

Ingredients:

• Coriander leaves - a bunch
• Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Roasted gram - 3-4 tsp
• Ginger - small piece
• Salt
• Green chilly - 2
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Method:

• Grind all the above ingredients using water. 
• For the last pulse add the lemon juice and pulse it.
• A perfect chutney is ready.
• You can also increase the chillies if you want it more spicy.

Enjoy the hot benne dosas!