Ribbon Pakoda

Ribbon Pakoda

Ribbon Pakoda is a crispy savoury item prepared for tea-time / festival's like Deepawali. 

Ingredients:

Besan / gram flour - 3 cups

Rice flour - 1 cup

Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp

Asafatidia / hing - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - for frying

Method:

# Mix gram flour, rice flour, salt, asafatidia in a bowl.

# Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Pour the hot oil in the dry mixture. When you pour the oil sizzling sound should come.

# Give a resting time for 5 minutes. Mix well, you should get bread crumbs consistency. 

# Sprinkle water about 1/2 cup or as you required to knead a soft dough.

# Heat oil on medium flame.

# Use ribbon dics to prepare Pakoda.

# Roll the dough and put it in the machine and start making Pakoda.

# Turn the Pakoda in every 30 sec. Once the bubbles settels down remove from oil.

# Once it becomes slightly cool store in an airtight container.

Please do try and provide your comments.

Thank U!

Jackfruit Rice Payasam

Jackfruit Rice Payasam

In South India we call pudding or kheer as Payasam or a dessert recipe. This is one of the authentic recipe of Palakkad Iyer. As we all know we can prepare number of recipes with jackfruit such as Chakka Pradhaman, Ela adai, Chakka Varati, Kheer, Nei Appam etc... 

One of the most delicious recipe is jackfruit Rice Payasam, which is my Grandfather's favourite.

Ingredients:
Jackfruit - 7-8 bulbs
Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Cardoman powder - 1 tsp
Coconut bits - 1 tablespoon
Cashew's - 4-5 nos
Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Method:
# Wash rice and cook well.
# Dissolve jaggery in water and strain it.
# Chop jackfruit bulbs.
# Once rice is cooked well, add jaggery syrup and chopped jackfruit  bulbs and boil well on medium flame.

# Once it comes to porridge consistency, switch off the stove.

# Add cardoman powder and dry ginger powder and mix well.

# Fry coconut bits and cashew peices in ghee and add to the payasam.

Payasam is ready to serve.
Please do try and provide your comments.
Thank you!

Onion Tomato Chutney ( South Indian Style)

Onion Tomato Chutney ( South Indian Style)
Onion Tomato Chutney is one of the most popular or traditional chutney recipe of South Indian. We can add ginger,  garlic, with onions and tomatoes. A very easy recipe, which goes as a side dish for Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Chapati, Parathas, even you can have it will rice or curd rice.

This Chutney can be stored for 2-3 days in room temperature, if it is prepared with exact proportion's you can store  in refrigerator for 10 days.
My mother use to prepare this chutney, when we travel by train or even bus for long journey or tours.

Ingredients:

Onions - 2 big size
Tomatoes - 3 big in size
Ginger - 1 inch
Roast and grind masala:
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1.5 tsp
Urud dal - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli's - 6-7
Oil -1 tablespoon
Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Tempering:
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Mustard - 1 tsp

Method:
# Roughly chop onions, tomatoes, and ginger.

# Heat a pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil, add mustard, channa dal, urud dal, red chilli, pepper, salt and asafatedia and roast well one by one. Remove from stove.
# Add little oil, roast chopped, onions, tomatoes and ginger. Remove from stove.

# In a mixer jar blend dry roasted masalas and make powder.

# Add roasted onions and tomatoes with the grinded masala and make a fine paste.

# Heat 3 tablespoons of oil, let mustard crackle well, add the paste and mix well.

# oil should separate from chutney, at that stage switch off the stove.
# Allow it to cool and serve, or store in an airtight container.

Hope you all like it!
Pl. do try and provide your comments.
Thank you!

Lemon Pickle

Lemon Pickle
One of the easy and traditional pickle is Lemon. Which you can store for months and use it with roti, Indian bread, rice, curd rice...etc. I am sharing an easy way to prepare this pickle.

   There are certain things which you should follow while preparing any pickle such as:
# Always use dry vessel, when you mix ingredients together.
# Wash your lemon well and put it in kitchen towel and ensure that it is completely dry (not even a single drop of water).
# Wooden spoon or spatula should be dry.
# Sterilize your glass bottle well. It should be dry.
# For pickles, jam, sauce etc we need to use glass bottles or containers.
(Pl. avoid plastic, which is not good for health)

Ingredients:

Lemon - 18-20 medium size
Salt - 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder - 1 tablespoon
Hing/ Asafoetida - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 .5 tablespoons
Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp
Gingerly Oil - 3 tablespoons / 50 ml

Method:
# Cut lemon into 4 pieces.

# Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well, keep it in glass container and cover it tightly ( for three days shake well and keep it a side). 

# After 3-4 days, put it in a wide vessel.

# Add chilli powder, asafatedia, Fenugreek powder / methi seeds powder, and mix well.

# Heat gingerly oil and switch off the stove. Allow it to cool completely.

# Mix oil with other ingredients and mix well, store it in sterlized bottle.

In another 2-3 days your pickle is ready to serve.
Pl. do try and provide your comments.
Thank you!

Rava Ladoo / Semolina Ladoo

Rava Ladoo / Semolina Ladoo

Rava Ladoo or Semolina Ladoo's are very easy to prepare...even begginer's can try. 

This is one of the traditional dessert recipe of South India. Some add condensed milk, sugar syrup....but without that if you prepare.....you can store in an airtight container for more than a month....it will remain fresh. Certain things you need to remember....

# I use 3/4 cup of sugar for 1 cup of rava, it depends on your taste you can even add 1 cup.
# After roasting rava, it should come to room temperature before you make a powder.
# Sieve the rava flour, so that you get a nice texture.
# Sieve i the powdered sugar.
# Mix rava flour, sugar powder, cardoman powder.
# Take one portion of the mixture and pour the hot ghee in batches...
# This is done because rava soaks ghee very soon..
You will get the same texture and taste of a sweet stall.

Ingredients:

Rava or Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cups
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Cardoman powder - 1 tsp
Cashew and badam - few

Method:
# Dry roast rava on medium flame.

# Once the aroma comes switch off.
# Allow it to cool, make a fine powder in Mixie or handmill.
# Sieve rava powder and powdered sugar for fine texture.

# Fry cashew's and badam and keep it a side.

# Mix rava powder, powdered sugar, cardoman powder well.

# Heat ghee, take one portion of the mixture, add one portion of fried cashew and badam mix well.
# Once ghee is heated well, smoke should come... when you pour in the mixture...ghee should sizzle.....mix well with spoon or spatula.

# It will be very hot, once it becomes warm mix with your hand and prepare laddo's.

Pl. do try and provide your comments.
Thank you!

White Pumpkin Yam Curry / Yalavan chenai Curry

White Pumpkin Yam Curry (Yelavan Chenai Curry)
One of the traditional side dish of Palakad Iyer Special. It is served as a side dish which is prepared with coconut.

Ingredients:
White Pumpkin / Yelavan - 1 cup chopped
Yam / Chenai - 1 cup Chopped
Channa dal / Kabuli Channa - 2 tablespoons
Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Masala for dry roast:
Urud dal - 1.5 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut- 2 tablespoons
Curry leaves few

For seasoning:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves

Method:
# Dry roast the above mentioned ingredients and make a fine paste adding little water.

# Pressure cook yam and white pumpkin along with Channa dal or Kabuli Channa ( soaked well)....for 3 whistles, add turmeric powder.

# Heat a kadai, add oil, let mustard crackle well add, curry leaves, add cooked yam and white pumpkin, Channa dal, salt to taste.

# Add the grinded paste let it boil well.

# In a separate pan add oil once heated fry grated coconut little brown with curry leaves and pour it in Yelavan Chenai Curry.
Mix everything well serve as a side dish.
Pl. do try and provide your comments.
Thank you!

Soft Idlis ( South Indian Special)

Soft Fluffy Idlis
Idlis are one of the traditional South Indian recipe, which is served as a breakfast or tiffin item in most of the homes. Which are easily digested and prepared with minimum ingredients....even it can be served any time. 

To make it soft, fluffy, spongy only ingredients and measurement plays an important part. When measuring ingredients take the same cup to measure rice and dhall and we need to take heaped cups of both ingredients.
1.We need to wash both rice and dhall well atleast 3-4 times.
2. Soak Idli rice for atleast 2.5 hrs before you grind, but for whole urud dal only 45 min before is enough.
3. Wash and soak idli rice first. After 2 hrs wash and soak urud dal.

There is a slight variation in measurement, when you grind in Mixie and Wet grinder.
For Mixie 1:3....1 whole urud dal: 3 Idli rice...

Ingredients: ( Wet grinder)

Idli rice - 4 cups
Whole urud dal - 1 cup
Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
# Soak idli rice and urud dal separately.
With urud dal add methi seeds and soak.

# Whether using wet grinder or Mixie always grind whole urud dal first and just Sprinkle little water and with your hand give a mix in every 10 min. To get a nice fluffy dough.

# Always use hands as with our body heat the idli batter will get furmented well.

# Once urud dal is grinded well....remove from the grinded or Mixie.

# Idli rice should be grinded well and smooth batter.... while grinding rice add salt according to your taste.

 #Remove the rice batter in a vessel and add urud dal dough and mix well with your hands. 

#If you are preparing dosa can use the batter immediately...but for Idlis need to wait for 7-8 hrs for furmentation.

# Once furmented can store in refrigerator.

# Atleast 1/2 hr before you prepare your Idlis, need to keep the idli batter out of the refrigerator.
# Give a nice mix..from the batter you can find whether your Idlis will be fluffy and soft.

# In an idli steamer add water, Grease oil in idli plates and steam for 20-25min.
# Check with a knife, if it comes out clean that means your Idlis are done.

Allow for few minutes and with the help of a spoon...dip it in water then remove the Idlis from plate.
Serve with Chutney or Sambar.
Pl. do try and provide your comments.
Thank U!