Friday, May 22, 2015

Murungakkai Porichakootu (Drumstick Dal)


 Drumstick has a unique aroma which makes any dish to which it is added very scrumptious and flavorful .We have a drumstick tree at my mom's place and every trip of mine to Coimbatore ensures a big bundle of drumsticks parceled back to Chennai.So the following fortnight in my house has a lot of dishes which includes drumsticks .One such delectable and succulent dish is this murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal. There are two versions of this recipe and the one here is my mother in law's version and it is my hubby's favourite too.
It is very simple yet delicious and goes well with a bowl of hot plain rice and a spoon of ghee.Soon I will give my mom's version too.



Preparation time:30 mins
Serves:4

Ingredients:

Drumsticks cut to 2 inch pieces -3 nos
Cooked Toor dal or pigeon peas -1 cup
Turmeric powder-1 tsp
Hing or asafetida-1/2 tsp
Salt -to taste
Oil(coconut oil or sesame oil)-1 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves-few to garnish 

To be grind to a fine paste:
Grated coconut-5 tbsp
Red chillies-3(increase or decrease according to your spice level)
Green chillies-1(optional)
Jeera or cumin -1 tsp

To temper :
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Jeera or cumin-1/2 tsp
Urad dal -1 tsp
Curry leaves-few



Procedure:

1.Grind the items given above for grinding to a fine paste.


2.Boil the drumsticks in a wok with 2 cups of water along with hing,turmeric powder and salt.


3.Once the drumsticks are soft and succulent add the cooked and mashed toor dal and the ground coconut paste.


4.Keep the fame low and let the kootu boil for 8-10 mins.Then switch off the flame and add the ingredients given for tempering in oil .After the mustard splutter add it to the murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal.


5.Serve hot with plain rice and papad or it tastes good even with rotis.


Tips:

*Do not cook the drumsticks in pressure cooker as it looses texture.
*You can add snake gourd(pudalangai) or avaraikkai(Lima beans) to this poricha kootu along with drumstick.
*You can increase or decrease the red chillies based on your spice level and as they are the only source  which gives some heat to this dish.



Sunday, May 10, 2015

Falafel




I have never had falafel until I had it in the cream centre restaurant.Cream centre remains our family's favourite and I have almost tried their every item on their menu and that was when I had falafel with pita bread and hummus.yum!!! I could still think how delicious it was !! As a food blogger the next primary concern was to replicate it at home and went through several blogs and got the recipe from here and here.If you make the hummus and the pita bread dough a day ahead then it is very easy to assemble and makes a complete meal.Nothing can beat the taste of fresh falafels prepared at home with pita bread ,hummus and a salad.It serves as a delicious snack and can work wonders with the guests if you are going to host a party.My kiddo loved it just like that and had it like a cutlet.The recipe for pita bread and hummus will be posted shortly.So here goes the falafel recipe !




Serves:4
Preparation time:30 minutes 

Ingredients:
Boiled chickpeas-2 cups
Finely chopped onion-1 no
Chilli powder-1 tsp
Crushed garlic -4 pods
Chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley -1/4 cup
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Freshly ground pepper powder-1 tsp
All purpose flour/Maida-3 tbsp
Salt -to taste
Oil-for deep frying 

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the boiled chickpeas,onion,coriander powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,pepper powder and coriander leaves.


2.Mash the chickpeas well with the powders and make a dough to form patties or falafel.
Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to this dough.In a small bowl make a thick paste of 1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida.Make round patties of the falafel dough and dip them in this maida paste and deep fry them in medium flame till they are golden brown .



 3.Hot and crispy falafels are ready to be served with pita bread and hummus.It tastes delicious even with a simple tomato ketchup.


Tips:

*The addition of all purpose flour or maida helps as a binding agent and the
 paste helps in keeping the falafel together while frying in oil.
* Make sure the chickpeas is cooked till soft otherwise it will be tough to mash them .

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Cucumber Canapes/Cucumber Chat/Cucumber Discs




Back after a nice vacation with family and friends at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.We had  great fun and got an opportunity to see few wild animals in its natural habitat.Its been a while since I posted on my blog and finally here I am.Summer calls for vegetables like cucumber and onion.I usually make raita or salad with cucumber.So this time I wanted to make something different and after a lot of browsing and reading I got an idea to make canapes which can be a perfect starter or snack in any party.The use of hung curd and fresh mint makes it more suitable for this summer. You can add fried sev or mixture to the topping when serving for kids and they will love it.These cucumber canapes can also be prepared in a jiffy if you have hung curd or cream cheese ready in your house.


Preparation time:10 minutes
Serves:2

Ingredients:

Hing curd-1/2 cup
Roundly sliced (1 inch thickness)cucumber-1 no
Finely chopped onion-1 small
Red chilli powder -1 tsp
Cumin powder-1 /2 tsp
Chat masala- 1 tsp 
Mint leaves-10 approximately
Sev or mixture (optional)-for topping
Salt-to taste

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the hung curd(or cream cheese),salt,red chilli powder,cumin powder and chat masala and mix well.


2.Take the cucumber slices and top it with hung curd and sprinkle chopped onion and a mint leaf.You can also add sev or mixture.


3.serve immediately as a snack or starter.Yummy cucumber canapes are ready.


Tips:

*You can also add grated carrot or pomegranate as a topping along with onion.
*Optionally you can get creative and add sweet chutney or green chutney as toppings.Then add sev on top to make cucumber chat.