Thengai Podi

Thegai podi - dry coconut chutney powder, kopparai thenga podi, instant coconut rice powder.

I prepare this kind of ready to eat podi during festival times, as I will be much occupied with snack making and won't have much time to concentrate on regular cooking. Paruppu podi and thengai podi can make that hot rice heavenly with just a drop of ghee and appalam. Before marriage I packed this podi for hubby dear as a gift(along with paruppu podi and a sweet)and from then on it became his favorite. He saved those 'plastic sunrise coffee bottles' which I used to pack and showed me after marriage and keeps them as a treasure till now:) It may be a small gift from my side, but the way he remembers it makes me enjoy cooking:)

Thengai podi in container.

Ingredients:Shredded coconut - 1 1/2 cup (or) dried coconut / kopparai thengai - 1 (small)
(I used dry unsweetened coconut)
dry red chillies - 10
tamarind - 2 inch
bengal gram (kadalai paruppu / channa dhal) - 2 tbsp
black gram (urad dhal) - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 2 sprig
salt to taste (1 tbsp)

Method:
Heat a tbsp oil  and fry the dhals, cumin, tamarind, curry leaf separately and keep aside.
With 1 drop of oil fry the red chilles to get a nice red flavor (not black).
In the same pan add  the coconut pieces / shredded coconut and fry to get a mild red color and nice flavor (do it in low heat). If needed add a few drops of oil.
Let them all cool. Then dry grind them to a fine powder.
It can be kept safely for a month without refrigeration.

Serving suggestion:

It can be served over hot rice with little ghee or mixed and served as quick coconut rice.
Its a good side dish for curd rice also.

Tips:

*Coconut chutney podi / thengai podi holds good as a travel food during vacations. Sometimes people require home made foods during long journey or pilgrimage. In that case a rice cooker along with this thengai podi will do the job:)
*This podi can be used as replacement for coconut paste in any dishes.
*Adding little water with a handful of this podi will become a chutney for idly/ dosa / tamarind rice.

Carrot orange juice

Breakfasts are a must for a healthy start. Juices coupled with a protein rich breakfast is a must for athletes or body builders and also for everyone :)  Homemade juices are not only healthy but also they can be altered according to our need. Here is a juice, rich in vitamins and minerals.

carrot orange juice.

Ingredients:

Carrot - 1
orange - 2
ginger - 2 inch
brown sugar - 4 tsp (optional)
cold water - 2 cup

Method:

Peel the carrot and grind it to a paste along with ginger.
Extract the juice using a filter and some water.
Squeeze the juice from orange. Don't filter to remove the fiber, as it is highly beneficial.
Mix the orange juice with the extracted carrot juice and add enough sugar.
Carrot orange juice is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as a healthy drink along with breakfast.