Blueberry Lassi

Drink: Lassi: Blueberry Lassi

It was very very hot on one saturday afternoon and we were badly looking for some cool drink to quench our thirst. That's how I tried Blueberry Lassi and it turned out so good that it has now become our weekend drink. You should definitely try this.

Blueberries are fresh in town now and I just saw an event that says Eating With The Seasons. Hence, this post is on its way to the event...

Fresh Blueberries

Wholefat buttermilk

Sugar

Dry fruit masala

1. Crush Blueberries first in the blender.
2. Add buttermilk, sugar and dry fruit masala and blend for a 1 minute.

Serve with Ice.

Jonna Payasam

Dessert: Jonna Payasam

(Jonna: Jowar/Sorghum/Millet)

We've heard of various Payasams, but this one was completely new to me. When I saw it on TV, I immediately jotted down the recipe. Though this recipe calls for Whole Jowar (soaking it for a day and grinding it coarsely), I made this with the Jowar flour I already had in the pantry. Coconut powder certainly made a huge difference to the overall taste and I would definitely recommend this to everyone.

Jonna has good amount of calcium and phosphorus and is said to be very good for bones and teeth. Especially good for the people suffering with Osteoporosis. And this has good amounts of fiber too and that helps in controlling sugar levels. Coconut has all the essential vitamins and minerals needed for the body. Maida could be replaced with Jonna in certain recipes.

Printer Friendly Recipe: Jonna Payasam

This should be cooked on a low-medium flame.

1 cup Jonna Flour
1 cup Milk
1 cup Water
1 tsp Cardammom powder
1/3 cup Coconut powder
2/3 cup Sugar
1/2 cup khoya
4 tbsp Ghee (add generously if you don't mind calories)
Saffron, optional

1. In a cooking pan, add ghee and roast the Jowar flour till you smell nice aroma.
2. Add cardammom powder to it and mix.
3. Add coconut powder and mix again.
4. Add warm milk and water and keep stirring, mixture tends to thicken a bit. Cook for 5 mins.
5. Add khoya and mix, then add sugar at the end. You will see mixture loosening up at this stage. Add Saffron.Cook for 2-3 mins.

Remove and serve. Garnish with ghee and coconut powder.

Note: This pudding becomes hard after cooling, so it is better to serve it hot.

Aratikaya Vada

South Indian: Raw Banana Vada/Plantain Vada/Aratikaya Vada

Plaintains are rich in fiber and they can be a good addition to our daily diet. Cilantro added in this recipe is very good for our digestive system and it tends to remove bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. Turmeric removes bacteria from the digestive track. So, overall this is a healthy food and can be taken frequently.

Printer Friendly Version: Aratikaya Vada

2 plantains, grated

1/2 cup rice flour

1 cup besan flour

2 green chillies (more if like it hot)

1/2 bunch curry leaves

1/2 bunch coriander/cilantro

1/2 chana dal

red chilly powder to taste

a pinch of turmeric

oil for deep frying

salt to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together and make them into disc shapes and deep fry them in oil.

Serve with ketchup or as it is.

Tip: Plantains tend to become dark after cutting, putting them in water after cutting will retain their color.

Aloo Manchuria

Indo-Chinese: Aloo Manchuria (Aloo: Potato: Aloo Gadda)

Aloo/Potato Manchuria is my sister's favorite dish and she has been making this for quite sometime now and each time she tried she asked me to try and see how it tastes. I told my mom that we should make that and she immediately started cutting potatoes but let me tell you that she hates potatoes big time and she ate only one piece after making it. She says one piece once in a while is ok but not everyday. Btw, Ravi commented on this and said that he found Aloo Manchuria more tastier than any other Manchuria.

Sending this over to A.W.E.D Theme: Chinese

Anyways, coming to the Recipe, here it is..

Printer-Friendly Recipe: Aloo Manchuria

Potatoes-2 (cut into any shape you want)
1 cup each of Maida and Corn flour
1 onion
1 capcisum/green bell pepper
2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce
2 green chillies, chopped (and increase according to your taste)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil for shallow frying
oil for deep frying
ajinomoto, a pinch
half bunch cilantro
spring onions, optional for garnish

1. Add maida, corn flour, salt and pepper to the potatoes and mix well with very little water.


2. Deep fry potatoes in oil and keep aside.


3. Take a wide pan, pour 2 tbsp oil, add green chillies, ginger and garlic pieces and fry for a minute.


4. Increase heat and add onions and green peppers and fry them till until they turn light brown.


5. Add soy sauce, chilli garlic sauce, ajinomoto, pepper, salt and little water. Let that cook for a minute. Add cilantro and mix well.


6. Add fried potatoes and mix until the mixture coats well on all potatoes. Remove and garnish with cilantro or spring onions. Serve hot.
   

Rava Biscuits

Its such a happy feeling to have Mom around with us, those never ending conversations about life in general, recipes, colony people, cousins etc..she is the first best friend for any girl, there is so much to learn, so much to accomplish, looking at her everyday around the kitchen makes me question over and over again, why am I not so like her, she takes care of every minute thing at home, from filling drinking bottles to even folding your bedsheets when you wake up.

For cooking, she is concerned of green leafy vegetables and if they are not fresh at one store, we make rounds to all the other stores around Raleigh but they are must on the table with any meal. She is just something that I want to have her around forever in my life. But, I know that it is just not possible.

While having coffee yesterday, we had this discussion on various biscuits/cookies that she makes at home and she mentioned to me about these Rava Biscuits and said we can make those in jiffy and the ingredients she mentioned in making those were all available in the kitchen, so I thought we should go ahead and make those immediately. We finally made these in less than 30 mins.

These biscuits were soft with the first batch and we made them crunchy in the next batch by leaving them in the oven for another 5 mins. I think these are also known as Nan Khatai as I recall seeing the ingredients but I have tried various versions of Nan Khatai and this is one of them.

This makes approximately 30 biscuits.

Printer-Friendly Recipe: Rava/Semolina Biscuits/Cookies

21/2 cups maida

3/4 cup rava

11 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp cardammom powder

4 drops vanilla extract

3 drops rose water (optional)

3/4 cup sugar (you can add more, as these were not so sweet)

milk if needed for kneading

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a bowl, sift flour, add semolina to it and mix well.
3. In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add cardammom and vanilla extract, rose water to it and beat again.
4. Add the butter paste to the flour and knead for few mins. (add little milk if needed).
5. Roll the dough and cut into desired shapes.
6. Place them in the oven for 15 mins or more for crunchy biscuits.
   

Good News & Gum Laddu

Dear All,

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our baby Boy Kireeti, born on May 8th, 08.

And I have been eating these Gum Laddus (for Lactating Mothers) as suggested by my Indian doctor and she gave me the recipe which was exactly same as the one posted on "The Cooks Cottage" site. I made slight changes and avoided adding Pista and made a new addition of crushed fenugreek seeds.