Panakaram | Panakam | Traditional Drink | Summer Drink

Panakaram /Panakam, a delicious cooling drink prepared from lemon. For many temple festival in south tamilnadu, this panakaram(that's how we mention  "Panakam" in south tamilnadu) and neer moor are the most distributed drink to the people. 

In my school days, i had fond memories of having them druing ther thiruvizha(temple car festival) in my home town, Tirunelveli. During that time, people used to make panthal(small temporary store) on the road side and bring the panakaram and neer moor(Both are real thirst quencher and keep you cool in hot sun) in a large vessel to give to all the people who pay visit to the car festival. 

Amma says that in those days, the panakaram was mainly made with tamarind, instead of lemon. For tamarind panakaram, soak the tamarind in water, extract the pulp and add water as needed and add the remaining ingredients as such in the ingredients list. 

Even now, in certain temples, they do the same. When talking to Amma over phone last week, she mentioned that she prepared this panakam for around 100 people to distribute to the nearby Amman temple on Aadi Velli(Friday of Aadi(Tamil) month), since then i was craving for this delicious drink and made this few days back 😊 .

 Now let's check out how i have prepared this delicious panakaram with lemon.

Panakaram | Panakam | Traditional Drink

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Panakam, Traditional Summer Drink, Panakaram Panakaram /Panakam, a delicious & traditional South Indian drink prepared from lemon.

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

Ingredients
Lemon - 1/2
Jaggery - 3 tbsp
Water - 1 & 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First measure and take the jaggery in a bowl, add water, let it sit for couple of mins or until the jaggery dissolves completely.

Strain the jaggery water to remove the impurities, then add the lemon juice squeezed from the 1/2 of the lemon.

Next add the salt and cardamon powder. Mix it all well together and the panakaram is ready.

Delicious Panakaram is ready to serve.

Related:How to make Neer Moor

Notes:

• Ground the jaggery into fine powder using hand motor and pestle or mixie to dissolve it easily.
• Salt really enhance the taste, so highly recommend to add.
• You can use ice water for chilled drink.
• In addition to cardamom, you can add pinch of dry ginger/sukku powder too.
• If you have tulsi, add few leaves. I can't source it here, so skipped it.
  

Continue Reading »

Baked Onion Samosa using Phyllo Sheets | Onion Samosa | Vengaya Samsa

Baked Onion Samosa, a savory pastry made from phyllo sheets with spicy onion fillings. I guess, samosa needs no introduction, it's a deep fried savory pastry from India. Samosas which are quite famous in the west has potato filling inside. 

But in India, you can find variety of stuffing inside the samosa and the famous stuffing next to potato is onions. In Tamil Nadu, you can find this mostly in road side vendors, especially when you shop in T.Nagar, Chennai, you can't miss this crispy samosa from the road side vendors.  

I have the fond memories of having them in T nagar,Chennai. When i first moved to chennai for job, i was really confused by the name "Samosa". In my home town, we call this onion samosa as "Onion Samsa(சம்சா)" and the sweet one (made with roasted chanal da powder) as "Samosa". So it really take time to get used to the local slang :-). 

Related: Baked Avocado Rolls with Phyllo Sheets

Now coming to the recipe, here i have used phyllo pastry to make this samosa. I have already tried few savory items like potato samosa and avocado roll with the phyllo sheets. So i'm quite confident about the outcome, as expected it turned out super crispy and delicious.

Instead of phyllo sheets, you can use the samosa sheets that are available in the frozen section of the grocery store, but i'm not sure how good it will be when it's baked. When comes to phyllo sheets, it bakes so well with both sweet and savory filling. 

So whenever i buy phyllo sheets to make baklava, i always reserve few sheets to try this onion samosa. Now let's check out the recipe.

Baked Onion Samosa using Phyllo Sheet

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 8 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Bake Onion Samosa, Baked Samosa, Phyllo Sheet Samosa, Indian Samosa Baked Onion Samosa, a savory pastry made from phyllo sheets with spicy onion fillings.

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

Ingredients
Phyllo Sheets - 4
Onion -1(big)
Carrot-1
Curry leaves - few
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp + 1 tbsp(for brushing)
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp 
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste 

Procedure

First cut the onions into thin slices and grate the carrot. Heat the oil, temper the fennel seed.
Next add the onions and curry leaves with pinch of salt.

Saute till the onions are translucent, add the spices(turmeric,red chili and garam masala powder) and salt. Give it a good mix.

Add the grated carrot, saute till the carrot are soft. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves. Switch off the flame. Stuffing is ready.

Thaw the phyllo sheets as per instructions and keep it ready. Take a sheet, cut into half, take one half and fold them vertically.

Apply oil on the sheet, then place the onion mixture and start folding in triangle.

Continue folding till the end. Seal the edges with water. 

Place it on baking tray and brush it with oil on top.Do the same for the remaining sheets and bake them in preheated oven at 370F for first 10 mins and then reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake it for 10-15 mins.

Tada, Yummy Onion Samosas are ready. 

Related: How to make Baklava using  Phyllo Sheets

Ready to dig in 

Notes:

• The mild sweetness from the carrot balance out the spices and gives great taste to this samosa.
• Keep on eye on the samosa after 20 mins to avoid burning. 
• For more flavor, you can use oil and ghee mixture to brush the sheets.
  

Continue Reading »

Pineapple Pulissery | Pineapple Pachadi | Pulissery Recipe

Pineapple Pulissery, a modern twist to the traditional pulissery. Pulissery, a delicious and creamy curd based curry from Kerala and it's made with both vegetables (like ash gourd, pumpkin) and fruits like( mango, pineapple). It's one of the common dish in Onam Sadya menu.

This can be prepared as curry or as a accompaniment based on the consistency. Today i have prepared as accompaniment for our meal, it tastes good with rice & any spicy curry. In our home ,we often prepare thadiyanakai kootu, this recipe sounds so similar to that, instead of ash gourd, pineapple is used in this recipe. 

Whenever i try any kerala recipe, it sounds so familiar to what we cook back in my home town,Tiruneveli, to be precisely saying, in our family, the cooking style  is so similar to what we call now as "Kerala cuisine" more than the "Tamil cuisine".  After all ,all this state partition happened after independence, but even before that people have their way of cooking, right?? With that thought, let's check out the pineapple pulissery recipe.   

Pineapple Pulissery | Pineapple Pachadi

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Pulissery, Pineapple Pachadi,Kerala Pachadi Pineapple Pulissery, a modern twist to the traditional pulissery recipe.

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

Ingredients
Pineapple(chopped) - 1cup
Curd - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp
To Grind
Coconut - 2 tbsp
Green Chili - 1
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 1 pod
Pearl onion - 1 
To Temper
Coconut Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Pearl onion(sliced) -2 

Procedure

Cut the pineapple into small cubes, heat the kadai with 1/2 cup of water and add the pineapple. 

Once it comes to boil, keep the flame in low and let the pineapple cook. In the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under to "To Grind" into smooth paste.

Once the pineapple is almost cooked, add the coconut paste, turmeric powder and salt. Mix it well and let it cook completely. Beat the curd into smooth texture.

Keep the flame in low(if you're using electric stove/induction stove, switch off the flame, the residual heat in the stove is enough) and add the curd, give a quick mix and switch off the flame.  Keep the ingredients ready for tempering.

Heat the oil in kadai, temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper", saute until the onions become brown, switch off the flame and add into the pulissery.

Finger licking delicious Pineapple Pulissery is ready.

Related: How to make Pineapple Raita

Notes:

• Coconut oil gives great flavor to pulissery.
• While adding the curd, keep the flame in lowest possible to avoid the curdling.
• Adjust the consistency as per your liking.
  

Continue Reading »

Garlic Onion Kara Kuzhambu | Poondu Kulambu

Garlic Kara Kuzhambu, a spicy and tangy tamarind based curry without any vegetables and coconut. It tastes great with steamed rice or even with idli and dosa.

In our home, for almost all curries, we add coconut paste , never once Amma made any curry without coconut. Back in India,  Amma use atleast one whole coconut for our one day cooking. But now here , i'm trying to use one coconut for a week, because of limited availability of Indian coconut and our inexperience in choosing good one from the store.

Usually we bought two coconuts for a week and half the time, one would be spoiled and we realized that only when break the coconut and in order to avoid an another trip to Indian store, i manage to cook with the available coconut. You would have seen me using coconut & curry leaves in my kitchen, i have treat them as treasure 😜

Ok, now, back to the recipe, because of that coconut story , i have learned to make curries without coconut. To be honest, it was horrible at first, because of my inexperience  to balance the spices.

With my repeated attempts, i have learned to make well balanced Kara Kuzhambu / Puli kulambu without any coconut. If you're trying for the first time, even with the exact measurement and procedure, you may end with terrible curry. Not because the recipe is wrong, you have to learn to balance the spices. Every brand of tamarind and chili powder differs in taste, so by practice, you will achieve it. 

Like i always say, if i can make it, you can also :-) Now, let's check out the recipe  

Garlic Kara Kuzhambu | Poondu Kulambu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Poondu Kuzhambu, Garlic Kulambu,Garlic kulambu with coconut,kara kuzhambu, puli kulambu Garlic Onion Kara Kuzhambu, a delicious tamarind based curry made with garlic and onion.

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

Ingredients
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Pearl onion - 6
Garlic - 10 pods
Tomato(small) - 1 
Curry leaves -few
Fenugreek Seed - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece

Procedure

Soak the tamarind in a 1/2 cup of water for 20 mins, peel the onion & garlic and chop them roughly into pieces, tomato into small pieces.  Heat the oil in a kadai, add fenugreek seed, mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, then add the onion,garlic and curry leaves.

Saute till the onions become translucent, keep the flame in low and then add the spices(turmeric, red chili & sambar powder),saute them in the oil for few mins.

Then add the tomatoes, give a quick mix and add salt.

Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into kadai and add more water to your preferred consistency.

Let it boil until the raw smell goes off and finally add the jaggery pieces. Cook it for few more mins and switch off the flame.

Delicious Kara Kuzhambu is ready.

Notes:

• Keep the flame in low when adding the spices,otherwise it will be burnt easily.
• Adding the spices in the oil gives enhanced flavor to the kuzhambu.
• Sambar powder that i have used here is home made and haven't had any chilies in it. If your sambar powder has chili in it, reduce the chili powder and adjust to your taste.
• Boil the curry till the consistency you prefer. 
  

Continue Reading »

Mango Tapioca Pudding | Sago Pudding | Pudding recipe

Mango Tapioca Pudding, a easy to make pudding with just a couple of ingredients, it's a perfect summer recipe. Mango is my favorite fruit and it's really hard for me to control myself to eat as it is and try some recipe with fresh mangoes. 

Recently i have bought the mango pulp can from Walmart here, it was so good and i have been trying all the mango dishes that i want to try for years. More over, it's very easy to put together the dessert/ sweet when you have mango pulp in hand. 
Coming to today's recipe, this is in my todo list for years, at last i have made them last week with mango pulp that i bought from the store. All you need to do is cook the tapioca and the rest is simply put together everything, mix & refrigerate.

If you're making this for party / get together, pour the mix into individual bowls/cups and refrigerator. It looks cute and definitely looks like a fancy dessert. I have used the "Riveria Yogurt bowl " here and it's look so damn cute. Now, let check out the recipe.

Mango Tapioca Pudding | Sago Pudding

Preparation Time : 4 hrs | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 1 
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mango Tapioca Pudding, Sago mango Pudding, Mango Pudding Mango Tapioca Pudding, a easy to make pudding with just couple of ingredients, it's a perfect summer recipe..

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

Ingredients
Tapioca - 1/4 cup
Mango Pulp - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 tbsp(boiled and cooled)
Condensed Milk - 2 tbsp*

*see notes for substitute

Procedure

Wash and soak sago for 30 mins. Heat water in a sauce pan, add the soaked sago.

Bring into boil and then simmer the flame and cook till it's soft & then strain them. 

Wash it in running cold water for 2 mins and then add into a bowl.

Add the mango pulp, milk & condensed milk and mix it well. Keep it in the refrigerator for few hours and it's ready to serve.

Yummy Mango Tapioca Pudding is ready.

Related : How to make Chia Seed Mango Pudding

Notes:

• If you don't have condensed milk, you can use regular sugar as needed. Also add more milk for bringing into the required consistency.
• Depends on the size of tapioca, the cooking time varies.
• Based on the sweetness of the mango pulp, add more or less of condensed milk.
• Condensed milk gives richness to this pudding
• Serve chilled for best taste. 
• 

Continue Reading »

Banana Chips, a delicious snack made from raw plantain. In India, we use the special variety of raw banana known as "nethram palam" to make the chips. But here in Canada, i can't source them, so i went with the available plantain that i got from Walmart. 

Few times, i have tasted the banana chips that are available in Walmart/ any local grocery store here, guess they are made with this plantain, though it won't taste like Nethram chips, it's good on its own, so instead of buying the ready to eat chips, i have tried my hands on making some at home.

Now coming to the recipe, it's so easy to make them, all you need is raw plantain, some oil to fry, salt and some good slicer. The key to get tasty chips is how thinly you slice the banana. If you have slicer/bajji kattai, then it would be very easy to make them. 

Currently I don't have slicer with me, the problem of moving frequently, you often forget to pack the key utensils or you don't have enough space in your luggage to carry with you. But i learned to cook with the kitchen utensils that i have packed in 2 suitcases that i carried with me here., this is me who have recently moved to two different countries in the past 6 months talking, check me with one year later, i will pile up kitchen utensils again 😜 

Ok, enough with my stories, back to slicer, if you don't have one, use a sharp knife to cut as thin as possible like I did here. Obviously you end up  with some thick slices unless you're a pro in knife skills. Once fried, thick slices tend to get soggy when sitting over the counter for a  long time , so suggest to eat them first😊, now let's check out the recipe.

Related : How to make Spring Roll 

Vazhakkai Chips | Banana Chips | Plantain Chips

Preparation Time : 5 minsr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2-3 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Vazhakkai Chips, Banana Chips, Plantain Chips Banana Chips, a delicious snack made from raw plantain.

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

Ingredients
Plantain/Raw Banana/Vazhakkai -1
Oil - for frying
Salt & pepper - to taste

Procedure

First take the banana, peel and them make a thin slices.

The slices should be thin to get that crispy texture. Heat the oil for frying(if you like coconut flavor or kerala chips, then use coconut oil for frying) and add the sliced banana in batch.

Keep the heat on medium low and cook till "Shh" sounds and the bubble stops completely. Drain from the oil and place it on tissue paper.

Then immediately transfer into the bowl and add salt & pepper. Toss them well so that the seasoning coats them well.

Tada, yummy home made Plantain/Banana Chips are ready.

Related : How to make Masala Vada 

Notes:

• Make sure the banana slices are thin, otherwise the chips became soggy easily.
• For great flavor, you can use coconut oil for frying. I have used flavorless oil only here. But in the past, made this chips with coconut oil and the flavor was amazing.
• Add the seasoning when the chips are warm itself, so that it coats on them well.
• Instead of pepper powder, you can use red chili powder also for more heat.
• The flame should be medium low for even cooking, otherwise the corners get burnt easily and left the inside chewy.
  

Continue Reading »