Pazham Pori | Ethakka Appam | Nendra Pazham Bajji

Pazham pori is a delicious banana fritters made with a special variety of banana know as Nendra pazham. Nendra pazham is a regional famous banana variety in the state of Kerala and it's known for its unique texture and taste.

Nendra pazham(both ripe and un ripen) is great for cooking and a lot of dishes can be prepared with it and this  Pazham pori is one of  dishes made with the well ripen nendra pazham.  

Nendra Pazham

As i said earlier, this fritters is only made with nendra pazham and you can't substitute other varieties of bananas for this recipe. In the states of Tamilnadu and Kerala, you can easily find this banana in most of the stores. Here (both in US and Canada), you can find them  in Indian Stores around the Onam festival time. 

Frying

I have used the Sunflower oil for frying but heard that coconut oil is used for this recipe for great flavor and taste. So you can try frying in coconut oil too if you want.

It's such an easy recipe and can be prepared in less than 20 mins. So it makes an idle chai time snack. Do give it a try and i'm sure that you will love it.

Pazham Pori | Ethakka Appam

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 3 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pazham Pori, Ethakka Appam, Nendra Pazham Bajji,Indian Banana Fritters Pazham pori is a delicious banana fritters made with a special variety of banana know as Nendra pazham.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Nendra Pazham(ripen) - 1

All purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1/8 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Baking soda - a pinch

Water - as needed

Oil - for frying

Procedure

First peel the skin of the nendra pazham and cut into thin slices in preferred length(as shown in below pic). Next in a bowl, add the all purpose flour, sugar, salt, turmeric powder and cardamom powder. Mix it all well together. 

Next add the water little by little and make a thick batter like the bajji batter. 

Heat the oil for frying. Once the oil is hot(check by add a drop of batter and it should come up in  3-4 secs) , take a slice of nendra pazham, dip it in the batter so that both the sides are well coated with the batter and then drop it in the oil gently. Do the same for the remaining.

Cook the pazham pori in the medium heat for 3-5 mins or until the outside layer is crispy. Once it's well cooked, remove it from the oil and place it on tissue paper.

Delicious Pazham Pori is ready. Enjoy it hot with a cup of chai !

Related : How to make Rava Appam

Notes:

• Don't add too much baking soda. Otherwise it will absorb a lot of oil.
• Here i have used crushed cardamom seeds instead of cardamom powder.

Continue Reading »

Thengai Pidi Kozhukattai | Easy Kozhukattai Recipe

Thengai Pidi Kozhukattai, an easy to make delicious kozhukattai with wonderful coconut flavor. Honestly, this kozhukattai recipe is not a standalone one, we make this kozhukattai with the last batch of idiyappam dough whenever we make idiyappam at home. 

If you're from the southern parts of Tamilnadu or especially from the Tirunelveli state, you might know this habit of making kozhukattai with the last bits of idiyappam maavu(dough). When i was a kid, i absolutely loved this kozhukattai and even asked Amma to make a little extra of this kozhukattai.  

It doesn't need any fancy ingredients but the flavor and the taste are awesome especially when it's hot. 

In those days, people didn't like to waste anything, this kozhukattai is mainly made in order to avoid  throwing  away the last bits of idiyappam maavu which would be cold and hard to squeeze at the end. So people simply make these kozhukattai by adding some coconut and sugar for the sweet version or only coconut for the savoury version.

Though it's made with leftover idiyappam maavu, today i have shared the whole recipe from scratch. Instead of sugar, you can also add jaggery powder but i grew up eating these sugar kozhukattai so still i have been making it like that.

If you're looking for an easy evening snack then definitely give this kozhukattai a try. Now let's check out how to make this easiest and delicious kozhukattai. 

Thengai Pidi Kozhukattai

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Thengai Pidi Kozhukattai, Kozhukattai,Pidi Kozhukattai,Coconut Kozhukattai Thengai Pidi Kozhukattai, an easy to make delicious kozhukattai with wonderful coconut flavor.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/3 cup

Sesame oil - 1/4 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder  - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First take the rice flour in a bowl, add the salt and mix it well. Heat the water in a saucepan, when the water starts to boil, switch off the flame and add the sesame oil into it and then immediately pour the water into the rice little by little.

Mix it with a ladle vigorously.  Once the rice starts to form a dough, stop adding the water(depending on the quality of the rice flour, you may need little less or more of the water mentioned here) and cover it with a lid for 10 mins. When the rice is hot enough to touch, make a nice dough and add the remaining ingredients(sugar, grated coconut and cardamom powder) into it. 

Mix it all together and then pinch a small ball of dough and make the kozhuttai.

Place it on the oiled steamer/idli platter and steam it for 5-7 mins. 

Delicious and flavorful kozhukattai is ready.

Related: How to make Thengai Poorna Kozhukattai

Notes:

• You can make this kozhukttai without cardamom powder too.
• Don't over cook the kozhukattai otherwise it might be rubbery.
• Kozhukattai would be shiny when it's fully cooked.

Continue Reading »

Paruppu Sadam, a delicious one pot meal made from rice and toor dal. It's one of the easiest meals that will be ready in under 30 minutes. 

Nowadays, many might be aware of the Coimbatore famous "Arisi Paruppu Sadam" and this paruppu sadam is so similar to that and is quite famous in Tirunelveli district. It's also known as "Thuvaram paruppu sadam" in order to differentiate it from the ulunthu sadam. 

When i was a kid, this rice was one of  my favorites and always asked Amma to pack this rice for lunch whenever she asked what to  make for a lunchbox. Also this paruppu sadam is one of the travel foods that we used to pack for our one day trip or temple visits. 

This paruppu sadam is the great example for the quote "Less is more" . Don't underestimate this recipe by looking at the basic ingredients list, together they make one delicious meal. 

Coconut is the main flavor of this recipe, so don't reduce the quantity of the coconut. I personally prefer coconut oil tempering for this rice because it enhances the flavor and taste so much. However, sesame oil tempering also works for this rice but i don't recommend any flavorless oil for this rice. 

This paruppu sadam tastes great on its own. Usually we have it with appalam, vathal and /or  thakkali pachadi. 

Around 2012, i posted this recipe on the blog. For the past few years, i have been wanting to update this post. Finally after more than a decade, today I updated the post with step by step procedure :-) 

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Paruppu Sadam.

Paruppu Sadam | Thuvaram Paruppu Sadam

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: One Pot Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paruppu Sadam, Thuvaram Paruppu Sadam, Tirunelveli Paruppu Sadam Paruppu Sadam, a delicious one pot meal made from rice and toor dal. It's one of the easiest meals that will be ready in under 30 minutes.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1 cup

Grated Coconut - 1/3 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Tamarind - a small gooseberry size

To Temper 

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Procedure

First soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of water. Next rinse the rice in the water for a couple of times and soak it for 1/2 an hour. In a pressure cooker,add washed toor dal along with 3 cups of water. Add the asafoetida powder in it and bring into boil.

Let the dal boil for 5 mins and then add the spices(Turmeric powder, red chili powder),salt and the soaked rice(drained the soaked water).

Next add the tamarind juice extracted from the soaked tamarind and the grated coconut. Finally temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add it into the pressure cooker.

Give a good mix and then put the lid and weight on the pressure cooker. Cook it for 3 whistles. 

Delicious Paruppu Satham/ Thuvaram Paruppu Satham is ready. Serve it with Thakkali Pachadi and appalam/vathal.

Related : How to make Ulunthu Soru / Black Urad Dal Sadam

Notes:

• It tastes even more delicious when it completely cooked.
• Thengai or kothamalli thogayal also taste great with this rice.

Continue Reading »

Rose Ice Cream | No Churn Rose Ice cream recipe

Rose Ice Cream, a delicious , flavorful and  easy to make homemade ice cream. This Rose ice cream is a no-churn ice cream so you can make this easily at home with a blender. It's such a simple recipe with a very few ingredients, but the taste and flavors are simply amazing.

If you like rose milk or rose flavor in general then this rose ice cream is definitely for you. Do give it a try and i'm sure that you would be amazed by its deliciousness.

Heavy Cream 

The key ingredient of this ice cream is the heavy/full fat cream. Here in the recipe, i have used cream with 35% fat. Higher fat content gives the richness to the ice cream. So highly recommend  to use full fat cream.

Sugar

Make sure to add the sugar when the cream starts to thicken, then only the sugar will be all melted when the cream reaches its peak. 

 However you can also use condensed milk for more richness. If you're using condensed milk, you can add it in the cream when it reaches peak and gently fold it. 

Flavoring 

Rose essence is the key to the flavor of this ice cream. If you're using rose water instead of rose essence then add more rose water because its flavor is not very concentrated. 

Freezing 

When freezing this ice cream / any ice cream, make sure the cling wrap touches the ice cream completely. It prevents the ice crystal formation and gives a super smooth ice cream.

Scooping

For perfect ice cream scoop, keep the ice cream out of freezer for 2-3 mins and then dip the ice cream scoop in the warm water and scoop the ice cream. It would be easy to scoop a perfect ball of ice cream.

Rose Ice Cream | No-Churn Ice cream recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Ice Cream | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Rose Ice Cream, No Churn Ice cream, Rose flavored Ice cream, Pink Ice cream Rose Ice Cream, a delicious , flavorful and easy to make homemade ice cream.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Heavy Cream - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Rose essence - 4 drops

Red food color - 3 to 4 drops

Procedure

In a bowl, add the cream and start beating the cream with a hand blender.

Once the cream starts to thicken, add the sugar, rose essence and food color.

Blend it all together until it forms soft peak. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and cover it with cling paper tightly. Make sure that the cling paper touches the cream.

Cover again with butter paper to avoid any water crystalization and then keep it in the freezer for minimum 8 hrs or overnight.Once it froze, remove the cling paper, scoop and serve.

Delicious Rose Ice cream is ready to enjoy !

Related : How to make Strawberry Sorbet

Notes:

• You can use condensed milk instead of sugar.
• You can use rose milk syrup instead of rose essence and color,  that too gives the same taste.
• You can freeze this ice cream in any freezer safe container.

Continue Reading »

Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast. 

The pineapple gives such a nice aroma to this kesari and truly elevates the taste of the kesari to the next level. This recipe is so similar to the regular kesari recipe just with the addition of pineapple. So you can make this very quickly for any occasion. I'm sure that your family and friends go on praising you for making this yummy sweet.

Pineapple

Pineapple is the key to this kesari so make sure to use well ripened and sweet pineapple. Here in the recipe, i have used fresh pineapples. But you can also use canned pineapples. 

While using fresh pineapples, make sure to remove all the eyes of the pineapple(a tiny thorn in the pineapple which gives itchiness in the tongue)

If you're using canned pineapple, use only pineapples and leave out the juice.

My pineapples are very sweet so i used 3/4 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. If the pineapples are less sweet, you may need a couple of tbsp of more sugar.

Finally, don't use the sour pineapples, it won't taste good  and ruins the whole recipe.

Related: How to make Pineapple raita

Water

For any kesari recipe,  the water quantity is very important to get that perfect texture. In general, 2 to 2.5 cups of water is needed for 1 cup of rava to get that soft and well cooked kesari depending on the rava quality.

Adding too much water makes the kesari sticky and slimy. And too little water makes it undercooked.

Therefore, when boiling the water, don't let it boil for a long time because some of the water evaporates and it affects water and rava ratio . So turn off the heat when the water comes to vigorous boil and pour that immediately into the roasted rava. 

How to avoid lumps in the kesari ? 

This is one of the common questions from the beginners while preparing the kesari. Here is my tip that i learned from my Amma. 

Make sure that both the rava and water are hot when they are mixed together. That way, there won't be any lumps in the kesari.

Hence you have to roast the rava and boil the water side by side at the same time. So that when the rava is well roasted, the hot water would be ready to pour. 

If you haven't tried this way of making kesari, do give it a try and i'm sure that there won't be any lumps. I have been following this method ever since i started cooking and so far, i never had any lumps in my kesari :-)

Ok, now let's check out on how to make delicious pineapple kesari.

 

Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Kesari, Pineapple sheera Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Ravai/ Rava / Semolina - 1/2 cup

Pineapple(finely chopped) - 1/2 cup(heaped)

Sugar - 3/4 cup*

Ghee - 2 & 1/2 tbsp

Cashew - 8 to 10 

Water - 2 & 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Yellow Food Color - a few drops(optional)

*For more sweetness, you can use up to 1 cup of sugar.

Procedure

First in a saucepan, add the pineapple, sugar & mix it well. Keep it aside for 10 mins.

After 10 mins, the sugar starts to melt a bit. Now add the water, mix it well and place the sauce pan in the heat and bring to boil.

In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in another pan, add the cashews, roast the cashews for about 1 min.

Keep the heat in medium and then add the rava, roast the rava in the ghee until it's very aromatic.

By the time the rava is well roasted, the water should also come to a boil. Add a few drops of food color(if you're using)  to the water and then pour the hot water into the rava(keep the rava at the lowest possible heat.). It splatter a lot, so be careful. 

Once all the water is poured, give a gentle mix and then cover it with a lid for about 2 mins.

Now, the rava would be  well cooked , add the cardamom powder(if you're using) and the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee on the top. Switch off the flame and keep it covered for 2 mins.

Delicious Pineapple Kesari is ready to serve. 

Related: How to make Paal Kesari / Milk Kesari 

Notes

• It tastes great after a few hours of making so that the pineapple flavor is well infused in the kesari and give such a nice flavor and taste.
• Adding more sugar gives the glossy texture to the kesari. You can add up to 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. However i find that 3/4 cup of sugar is just enough sweetness without overpowering.

Continue Reading »