Saturday, October 31, 2015

White Sauce Veg Sandwich | Veg Sandwich

If you have read my blog regularly , you must knew by this time , that i love sandwich a lot.For lazy morning, usually i make sandwich for breakfast. This one recipe i watched on one of the tv show and tried it on next morning immediately. I love this sandwich for gooey filling inside.
Straight from the stove, it taste heavenly, crispy outside, gooey & cheesy inside . It's best way to sneak in the veggies for kids too.

White Sauce Veg Sandwich

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Sandwich | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Bread Slices - 8 nos
Carrot - 2 medium
Capsicum - 1 small
Onion - 1 small
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Basil - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
All purpose flour / Maida - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 cup 
Mozzarella cheese - 2 tbsp(Optional)
Butter - 1 tbsp + extra for toasting the bread


Procedure
Grate the carrot & chop the onions and capsicum into small pieces and then heat the pan with butter , add the onions,carrot & capsicum one by one and saute it well.All the veggies are sauted well, add the flour and mix it well with the veggies.Pour the milk and bring into boil, add the herbs(oregano & basil) & pepper powder .Now add salt to taste and cheese if you're using and give a quick stir.Once the cheese is melted and  the sauce is thickened, switch off the flame and allow it to cool.Take single piece of bread and apply the sauce evenly on the bread and close it with another bread.Heat the tava and grease it with butter and place the bread on it and cook on medium flame till both sides turns golden brown and crispy.Serve immediately with fresh fruits and juice.
See how cheesy & gooey inside

Notes:
  • Serve this sandwich immediately, it becomes soggy after some time.
  • You can make white sauce separately and   then add into the veggie.
  • Instead of oregano & basil,you can use mixed italian herbs too.
  • If you want extra spice, add 1/2 tsp of chili flakes.
  • I used Whole wheat bread here.
  • The sauce thicken with time, so switch off accordingly.



  


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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Bombay Karachi Halwa | Corn flour halwa | Diwali Recipe

If you want to make easy and tasty halwa for  this diwali , try this.Bombay Karachi Halwa/ Corn Flour halwa is one of the easiest halwa i make so far. It doesn't require any fancy ingredients and within 20 mins you can prepare this halwa. I like the jelly consistency of this halwa. 

The elastic of  the halwa is propotional to the cooking time of the halwa,want more elastic and chewy texture , cook the halwa for few more minutes and viceversa.   
See how glossy it looks

Bombay Karachi halwa | Corn flour halwa

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 15- 18 pieces 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Corn Flour - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Water - 2 1/2 cup
Citric acid - a pinch
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Cashew - 2 tbsp (broken into small pieces)
Food color - a pinch

Procedure
Heat the pan, add the sugar, citric acid  and 1 1/2  cup of  water and bring to boil.
In a bowl add the flour and add 1 cup of water and food color and mix it well without any lumps and keep it ready.
Once all the sugar is melted, add the flour mixture and start stirring continuously. It slowly starts to thick and became a whole mass.
At this stage , start to add ghee, 1 tbsp at a time mix it well until all the ghee incorporated,then add another tbsp of ghee. 
In the mean time add the cardamom powder and cashew , mix it well in the halwa. Finally add all the ghee and mix it well for 2 more mins. 
Halwa becomes glossy and doesnt stick to the pan ,remove from the flame at this stage.
Pour it in greased plate and smooth the surface and allow to cool for atleast 1 hr. 
Then cut into desired shape and serve.Tasty & simple Bombay Halwa is ready.
Notes
  • After adding the flour mixture into sugar syrup, stir it continuously, otherwise it form lot of lumps.
  • You can increase or decrease the amount of cashews
  • Dont hurry to cut the halwa. Cut into desired shape after completely cooled.
  • I used orange food color. Use your choice of color. 
  • The more you cook, the halwa become more elastic. 
  • You can use lemon use instead of citric acid.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Home made Seedai | Thengai Seedai | Coconut Seedai | Diwali Recipe

Seedai , a deep fried savory ball made from the rice flour and other spices. In our home, Amma makes murukku & seedai for every diwali/deepavali  and put it  in a "thukku"(large silver vessel ) and it lasts for around 10 days and we used to keep on munching them whenever we saw the thukku :-). 

Sometimes Amma used to hide the thukku otherwise we would have snacks all day without eating a proper meal. Such a fond memories they are !!!
Now coming to the seedai recipe, today i'm gonna share my  mom's recipe for this seedai and for decades we're using the same procedure to make this seedai without a change.

Here in this recipe, coconut is used and it gives such a nice flavor to the seedai, since i've been eating this seedai while i grew up, i can't think of seedai without coconut flavor. They are literally addictive with a burst of coconut flavor. 

Next, coming to the fear of bursting seedai, i've heard from people saying  that it bursts sometimes, for me , it never bursts so far, touch wood :-).  Even if you're a beginner, you can make this seedai without the fear of bursting.

But please do check out the notes section on how to avoid the bursting of seedai which i learned from the elders in the family and i have followed it religiously  every time when i'm making the seedai. Now let's see how to make this crunchy seedai.

Seedai | Thegai Seedai | Coconut Seedai

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 1&1/2 cup 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Seedai, Coconut Seedai, thengai seedai, easy seedai,diwali snack, deepavali snack, tamilnadu snack Seedai , a deep fried savory ball made from the rice flour and other spices.
Ingredients
Rice flour - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water to knead
Oil for deep frying


Procedure
Take flour in a bowl and add all other ingredients like cumin, coconut, butter & salt.Mix it well and it becomes look like crumb.
Add water little by little and form the dough.Keep it aside for 10 mins and then pinch a small piece of dough and roll it without applying much pressure . Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil in the deep frying pan.
Once the oil is heated well ( if you drop small piece of dough into the oil, it should come up immediately), add the rolled dough and keep the flame in medium.
Once the seedai is cooked , the color of the seedai changed to light brown and also the "Shh" sound is stopped. For me, it takes approx 9 mins on one batch.
Remove from the oil and put it on tissue paper, once cooled, stored in air tight container. It store well for weeks at room temperature.
Notes:
  • Roll the seedai gently, don't give too much pressure in rolling.
  • The grated coconut should be fine. Large piece of coconut may cause the bursting of seedai.
  • Here i have used store brought rice flour, but you can use the home made flour also, make sure it's fine.
  • The time for cooking depends on the pan size and the amount of seedai you fry in a batch.
  • Cook it in medium flame for crispy seedai.



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Monday, October 26, 2015

How to make urad dal flour | Home made urad dal flour

Urad dal flour can be easily made at home without any fancy kitchen gadgets. As deepavali is around the corner, rice flour, urad dal flour & fried gram dal flour are the most basic flours that we need  for most of the traditional snacks/sweets. 

Making these flour at home gives great taste and flavor to the snacks than the store bought flours. At home, we can make the required quantity without buying a bag full of flour from the store just for a couple of tbsp required in a particular recipe. Before moving to the recipe ,let's check out the FAQ!!

What kind of urad dal is best for making urad dal powder ?
I recommend using an un skinned whole urad dal or un skinned split urad dal. Both are easy to make powder.
Do I need to wash and dry the urad dal?
I have seen Amma used to wash and sun dry the urad dal before making powder. The whole purpose is to make sure to remove all the dirt. But now we can source the quality urad dal without any impurities easily, so i guess, it doesn't need. But by all means, if you like to wash them, go ahead and make sure it's completely dried before making powder.

What kind of mixer works best for making home made powder ?
I have been using my Indian mixie for all types of home made powder. It works well for my needs.

Is it mandatory to sieve the flour after grinding ?
I highly recommend sieve it once even though the powder is so fine. Because if there are any large granules in the flour then while making murukku or seedu, it has the chance to burst and spill the oil. 
 
Now, let's see how to make Urad dal flour at home!!


Home made Urad Dal Flour

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsServes : 1 cup 
Recipe Category: Basic | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Urad Dal Powder, How to make, homemade, Diwali Preperation, Ulunthu Maavu Making Urad dal flour is way easier than you think and it has wonderful aroma and gives great taste to all the snacks.
Ingredients
Urad Dal - 1 cup

Procedure.
Measure and take the dal, heat the kadai and add the urad dal. 
Keep the flame in low and roast it until the nice aroma comes, for me it takes about 8 mins, don't let the dal color change drastically .Allow the dal to cool and put it in mixie jar and grind  into fine powder. 
Sieve the flour with fine mesh.
If there are any large particles, put it in mixie jar again and repeat the process. Finally around a tsp of large particles left out for me, that you can discard it.
Allow the  flour to cool completely and store it in air tight container. 
Home made Urad Dal Flour/Powder is ready. For home made rice flour, check out this post .
Notes:
  • Keep the flame in low for even roasting of flour.
  • It stays well for days in room temperature if you have stored in air tight box.

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Susiyam | Suzhiyam | Diwali Recipe

Susiyam , a delicious deep fried sweet made from the channa dal and jaggery. It's one of the famous sweet in Tirunelveli area and it's often prepared on festive days like deepavali/diwali and Aadi Pandigai. 

In our family, we make this susiyam for deepavali and Aadi festival along with all the vadas and serve as offering to the god. It's one of the authentic sweet that has been prepared in our home town for generations. 

The chana dal stuffing for this susiyam is quite similar to the poornam of modak kozhukattai that we used to prepare on vinayagar chathurthi. 

So with the same stuffing, you can make two sweets, after making the susiyam, usually i reserve some of the stuffing in refrigerator and the next day i would be making the kozhukattai with the same stuffing and vice versa.

Ok, now let's check out how to make authentic sweet recipe.

Susiyam

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 30 minsMakes : 15 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Chana dal pooranam, Susiyam,Suzhiyan,Authentic tamil sweet, Diwali Sweet,Jaggery Susiyam , a delicious deep fried sweet made from the channa dal and jaggery. It's one of the famous sweet in Tirunelveli area and it's often prepared on festive days like deepavali/diwali and Aadi Pandigai.
Ingredients
For Stuffing
Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 2 nos
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Oil for frying
For Outer Layer
Maida - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - as needed


Procedure
Soak the channa dal for 1/2 hr .
In a sauce pan, bring 3 cup of water to boil, add the channa dal and allow to cook.
The channa dal should not be mushy, if you press the channa dal in between your fingers, it should be pressed.That's correct stage, switch off the flame, drain the dal and dry it on neat kitchen cloth until the extra water is absorbed.
Put the chann dal in the blender and pulse it for few seconds, it will become powdered easily and keep it aside
Heat the  wide pan, add the jaggery with litltle water & crushed cardamom, allow the jaggery to melt and bring it to boil.
Add the powdered chann dal, mix it well, then add coconut and stir it well.
Once the dal leaves the side , remove it from flame & allow to cool. Then make equal size balls from the stuffing and keep aside.
For Outer layer, take the flour & salt in a bowl and then add enough water to make thick paste like below pic. Heat the oil in a kadai. Once the oil is heated (if you drop pinch of batter in oil, it should come up immediately).Take one stuffing at a time, coat it with the batter well.
 Drop it in oil slowly. Gently flip the susiyam in all sides and cook until the outer layer is well cooked. Remove from the oil and place it in tissue paper.
 Tasty susiyam is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Athirasam 

Notes:
  • You can make the stuffing a day before evening and make equal size balls and keep it at room temperature for next day use. It doesn't get spoiled and stay good for next day.
  • The batter should be in thick consistency and coat the stuffing well, otherwise, the stuffing will come out and mix it  in the oil while frying and the whole oil get wasted. so check it by dropping one in oil and then proceed.
  • Don't stir the susiyam immediately when you drop it in oil, let it cook for few minutes and then flip or stir, it will help the outer layer to cook & firm and prevent the stuffing to come out.

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