Tomato sweet

After posting the 'Tamil Muslim's wedding Biryani' , I wanted to explain about the side dishes. (Yes, the biryani preparation varies from state to state and there can be a lot of variations).
Tomato sweet explained here is authentically known as Thakkali thithippu in Tamil. Thakkali means Tomato and Thithippu means sweet . It is an unique side dish served with Biryani in Tamil-Muslim festivals. Many a time I had the opportunity to taste this sweet brought by my mother's friend. The aunt tells us that the Tomato sweet can pacify the heat of biryani and will help in digestion. Mom got many recipes from that aunt and thereafter my mom too started making her yummy dishes in our house:) One among those is the drool worthy sweet, the Thakkali thithippu




Ingredients:
Ripe Vine Tomato (nattu thakkali)- 5 (1/2 kg)
Sugar - 1/4 kg
cardamom - 5
cashew nut - 10
Kismis / Raisin - 10
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Rose essence - 2 drops (must)
Water

Method:
Put all the whole tomatoes in a wide vessel.
Pour water to immerse the tomatoes.
Cover and cook till the tomato starts cracking.
Put off fire and let the fruits get cool.
Then peel off the skin and discard.
Grind the pulp into a fine puree.
Now heat a wide vessel with 1 tbsp ghee.
Fry the cashews , raisins and keep aside.
In the same vessel pour the puree and sugar .
Let them boil to get a thick consistency.
Now add the fried cashew, raisins and powdered cardamom.
Turn off heat.
Add 2 drops of rose essence and mix well.
(I have seen a lot of rose petals strewn over the sweet in the marriage feasts).
Tomato sweet is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with Biryani or simply like a jam with bread.

Note:
I have given the original measurements for sugar , just like I make. But you can vary that with Zero calorie sugars. But I am not sure of the results.

Some reposts

Sending the following for Sanghi's FIL - Brinjal event.



1. Ennai Kathirikai kulambu


2.Mochai kulambu


3. Pongal Aviyal



4. Vangi Badth


The following posts are for Padma's Dosa corner event.



1. Soft dosai



2. Azhagar Kovil dosai



3. Green gram dosai


4. Nava Dhanya Adai




Expecting numerous dosa varieties from Padma and mouthwatering brinjal dishes from Sanghi.
Happy hosting friends!

Lasagna (Vegetarian)

Many of us love the comic character Garfield , the cute cat. He is known to be born in an Italian Restaurant . It would be portrayed that he is a cat of great affinity for Lasagna. From the minute of knowing it I got addicted to Lasagna. Yeah , I am a proud fan of Garfield and I love whatever he eats:) That cartoon inspired me a lot to grow with cats as my pet till my marriage.

Lasagna / Lasagne is a kind of pasta made like sheets with rippled adges. It is made into a recipe called 'lasagne al forno' (means 'oven-baked lasagne") . It is made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and often ragù (a meat sauce) or tomato sauce. Americans commonly use the singular term 'lasagna' while others use the Italian plural 'lasagne'.

I have made my version of vegetarian Lasagna without any Ragu sauce. Just like many other Italian dishes the preparation of Lasagna is also a very easy one.




To cook Lasagna:
whole wheat lasagna - 10 strips
Water - 1/2 of the vessel.

We may need a large vessel to accommodate the Lasagna as they always come as long strips. Smooth breaking is impossible before cooking:)
First bring the water to boil and add the full strips of Lasagna and cook as per directions. (Cook them 75 % and not completely)
Drain water and run it under cold water.
Then cut every strip into two equal parts.
Now we get 2o strips. We will be arranging them into 4 stacks of Lasagna

Preparing the vegetables:
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Kale leaf - 2 cups (chopped)
Spinach - 3 cups (chopped)
Black olive fruits - 10 (cut in circles)
yellow bell pepper - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1
Tomato - 1 cup(chopped)
Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Red pepper flakes - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Heat oil in a wok. Add the crushed garlic followed by the onion.
Then add the kale leaf with spinach and saute well. Keep aside.
Saute the vegetables and mix the tomato sauce , keep aside.

Pasta sauce :
Grated Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup
low-fat cottage cheese - 1 cup
Dried mixed Italian herbs - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Sour cream (I used plain yogurt)- 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1 tsp (for thickening)

Mix the flour with milk. Then add everything above and mix well.
Pasta sauce is ready.
We can use ready made sauce also.
Divide it into 3.Mix one portion with the cooked vegetables another portion with the cooked greens and keep the remaining aside.

Arranging the layers:
Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray / oil.
First place a sheet of cooked Lasagna on the sheet.
Spread the Kale + spinach filling over the Lasagna.
Place the second layer of lasagna sheet over it.
Arrange the cooked vegetables on it.
Place the third sheet over it.
Again spread some more Kale + spinach filling.
Place the fourth Lasagna sheet again.
Spread the vegetables again.
Now place the fifth sheet over the vegetables.
The stacking should look like the playing cards:)
Now pour the prepared pasta sauce over the stacked lasagna.

Just like this make as many stacking as you want side by side.





Baking the Lasagna:
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup (1 cup if u want)
Italian seasoning - 1 tbsp

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese , Italian seasoning powder over the arranged layers.
Preheat the oven to 325 deg F.Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
The foil should not touch the top of Lasagna.
Bake for 45 minutes in oven. (Till the cheese in the top starts bubbling)
Then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes ,so that the top is slightly brown.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as main course lunch or dinner along with any sides like garlic bread , french fries or any fried chicken along with a drink of your choice.
We had it with baked Texas toast and coke:)

Enjoy your weekend!

Tuti fruity and an award

Hope many of you are familiar with those Christmas cakes studded with the tiny bits of fruit like sweet. They are globally called as Tuti fruity / Tooti frooti .Actually these tiny pieces of heaven are not real fruits. They are made from the raw papaya colored and soaked in sugar.
We can buy them easily in any grocery shop. But the fact is if we are doing it at home, we can be sure of using some natural / organic colors and sugar-free stuff. Isn't it:)
The entire process will not take more than 30 minutes and we will be all set for a baking spree:)

In the mean time, I am so much thrilled when my friend Chakh..le..re passed me this cute award. Thank you so much dear. I feel honored.
I am passing on this cute award to any one who leave a comment here:)
Enjoy!



Tooti fruity:



Step 1:
Raw papaya - 1 (chopped 3 cups)
Water - 2 cup

Peel and wash the raw papaya.
Chop it into small pieces.
Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add the papaya pieces.
Cover and cook till the papaya gets 80 percent cooked.
(Don't cook it completely).
Drain excess water and keep the pieces aside.

Step 2:
Bring 1/2 cup of fresh water to boil.
Add 1 cup of sugar along with some sugar free sugar according to taste.
(We can add original sugar completely also.)
Add 5 drops of any organic food color .
Put the cooked papaya pieces and cook till the sugar starts crystallizing.

Tooti frooti is ready !

Let them cool and store in zip lock covers in refrigerator.

Notes:
The general colors are yellow , red and green.
Tooti fruity are used in making cakes , breads and ice creams.
We can make individual colors in separate vessels also.
Beet root juice , carrot juice can make natural colors.

Onion samosa / Cinema theater Samsa

Samosa is an Indian deep fried spicy snack usually served with tea .
In India we can see numerous varieties of samosas. The famous ones are made by the Gujarathis. Those samosa are normally stuffed with potato , onion, vegetables and chaat masala.

But the Samosa I explain below is a different one. It has a simple onion masala as stuffing with a more crispier outer layer. May be this one can be called a typical South Indian Samosa. We pronounce it as Samsa:)
Onion samosa can be a very usual snack in the cinema theaters of my native place.
Ranganathan street in T.Nagar of Chennai is famous for its mini onion samosas.
Because of my love for the street foods of my native place, I prepared this onion samosa and it came out pretty good. Hope you all enjoy them.



Stuffing :

Ingredients:
Red onion - 2 (100 gms)
salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry masala powder - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
green chilly - 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Fennel seed (sombu) - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Chop the onion finely in lengthwise.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seed and let it get red.
Then add the onion and saute mildly till it becomes almost tender.
(Don't cook the onion completely).
Then add all the items given and mix well.
Samosa masala is ready. Keep it aside.

Samosa preparation:
Maida / All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Rice flour (fine) - 1 tbsp
salt - 1/8 tsp
baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Oil - to deep fry (250 ml)
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Mix all the items given above except the oil. Remove any lumps.
Add water little by little and knead it into a chapathi dough like one.
Divide it into lemon size balls.

Take one ball. Spread it into a circle by applying some oil.
Put a tbsp of onion masala in the center.
Fold it in to a triangle.

Heat oil in a wok.
Deep fry the samosas one by one .

Drain oil in a paper towel.
If prepared in a correct way ( i.e., immediately after kneading the dough), the samosa will not absorb oil.

Onion samosa is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve with Tomato ketchup as tea time snack.
Makes 6 - 8 samosas .

White kuruma (vegetarian)

White kuruma is a different variety of kuruma cherished by coconut lovers.
Even though the cooking process won't allow a perfect white color to the kuruma , we call it by the name. My kuruma got a yellow tint from the carrots:) So we can avoid using carrots here to get a more white color.
The coconut and green chillies along with the poppy seeds gives a gorgeous creamy touch to the normal vegetable kuruma. This can be a perfect treat for any person who loves a lesser spicy side dish.

Vellai Kuruma / vegetarian white kuruma:



Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 100 gms (1/4 flower)
Beans - 50 gms (10 number)
carrot - 1
potato - 2 (medium size)
Red onion - 2 (medium size)
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
curd - 1/2 cup
bay leaf - 1
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

paste 1:
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 4 pods

paste 2:
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
green chillies - 6
cashew nut - 5
poppy seed - 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
cardamom - 3
cloves - 5
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch

Method:
Grind ginger and garlic together.

Dry roast the poppy seeds till they make a popping sound.
Grind everything given under paste 2 and keep aside.

Wash peel and cut the vegetables into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan. fry some fennel seeds and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, curry leaves, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add all the vegetables and mix well.
Add 2 cups of water, salt and cook covered till the vegetables become soft.

Then add the paste 2 , curd and mix well.Boil it for one minute and Switch off immediately.
Vellai kuruma is ready!


Serving suggestions:
serve hot with parathas / roti / naan / rice/ pulav .

The 'potluck - chicken ' event .. Round up !!! (links only)

As soon as I published the 'Potluck - chicken' event round up, I found that the slide show I posted on the other day could not be seen from places with lesser internet speed. Moreover I wanted to classify all the dishes in a browser compatible manner. So I am reposting it with the links classified into many groups like, starter, soup, kuruma, curry, fry, rice etc. So if you are looking for the post with slide show ...
click here.

Here I am reposting the links for the Chicken event round up only.

I am very glad to release the roundup for my first event in the Potluck series , the 'chicken' .

When I started blogging nearly an year ago, I hardly had a clue if I would be able to host an event. Still remember how anxious I was , to see my recipe in an event which I took part for the first time. You know what friends, I clicked that blog nearly for 50 times to see my recipe in the round up:)
First time hosting too panicked me enough but the eagerness to collect and try so many chicken recipes pushed me to choose the theme as 'CHICKEN'.
Actually the way you all supported it encouraged me a lot.
My sincere thanks to all for sending their kitchen treasures to the event.
I clubbed the entries in a possible alphabetic manner. Please excuse and point me out if I can do anything better.
Mostly I mentioned the blog name for the bloggers who have not given the name in their own blog profile (just to protect their privacy even though they happily sent me their names).
Thanks to all the participants for sending their lovely entries. I have tried my best to check and publish all the entries. But my apologies if something got missed. Do drop a comment and I will do the needful.
(event mail id: vikiskitchen@gmail.com)

I am dedicating this event to all the foodies out there.
We got recipes ranging from Kashmir to kanyakumari , Bombay to Calcutta and even beyond the borders.
What's more important for a true chicken lover than trying them at their home?
So here is the round up with all those adorable pictures and recipes.
Enjoy the round up and Happy cooking !

Starter:
Chicken cutlet From Akal's Saapadu.
Oven-fried chicken strips. from Gita Jaishankar of Gita's kitchen.
Chicken bonda from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Chicken Pakoda from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.

Soup / Rasam:
Country Chicken Soup from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Kozhi Rasam from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.

Kuruma / Kulambu:
Shahi Chicken Kurma from Akal's Saapadu.
Chicken kuruma from Ammu of Nature kitchen.
Chicken Korma from Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Chicken Kurma from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Kozhi Kulambu from Kayal of Kayal's Kitchen
Murgh Khorma from Lubna Karim of Yummy Food.
Chicken Kola Urundai Kuzhambu from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Chicken Kurma from Padma Rekha of Plantain leaf.
Nilgiri chicken Kuruma from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Country chicken Kuzhambu from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Pepper Chicken Kuzhambu from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Kerala chicken stew from Sangeeta khanna's another blog , Banaras khana.
Chicken Salna for Parotta from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Nilgiri Chicken kuruma from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Chicken Sambhar from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.

Gravy / curry :
Cashew Chicken from Ashwini of Nanna Adige .
Chicken curry from Ammu of Nature kitchen.
Chicken Vindaloo from South recipes of AnuRadha.
Chettinad Pepper Chicken from Dharani Jagadeesh of Dharani's kitchen.
Easy Breezy Chicken Curry from Dolon Das of Doloncookbook.
Chicken Curry from Happy Cook of My kitchen treasures.
Quick Chicken Gravy from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.
Chicken in poppy seed gravy from indosungod of Daily Musings.
Chicken Keema from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Chicken Malaidar from notyet100 of Asankhana.
Tomato Chicken Thokku from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Cornish Hen curry from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Country chicken Tomato curry from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Achaar Chicken curry from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Spicy Pepper Chicken Curry from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.
Coriander Chicken from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
Chicken Manchurian. from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
murgh methi malai from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
Low fat butter chicken from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
chicken kali mirch from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi
Classic Chicken curry from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Chicken Spicy curry from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Kashmiri Chicken from SGD of cookadoodledo.
Chicken curry from Valarmathi of Simple and Yummy recipes.
Chicken kheema from Vineela Siva.
Bachelor's chicken Thokku from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Butter Chicken from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Chettinad chicken curry from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Country style Chicken curry from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Indian Chicken curry in Oven from Viki of Viki's Kitchen.
Chicken curry In coconut milk from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Butter Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa

Dry side dish:
Chicken 65 from Aysha Dileen.
Pepper Chicken from Rupali of Chakhlere.
Chilli Chicken from Dharani Jagadeesh of Dharani's kitchen.
Chilli Chicken from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.
Chicken Tikka Masala from Jasmine Subashini of Sugary Spicez.
Sweet and Sour Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Garlic Chilli Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Pepper Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Easy Baked Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Ginger Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Murg Kaali Mirch Kabab from Lena Rashmin Raj of cooking with Lena.
Hadi wala chicken from Oriya Foodie of Oriya food.
Chicken 65 from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Pepper Chicken Fry from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Andhra Chicken fry from Padma Rekha of Plantain leaf.
Tandoor Chicken from Pinky of Esho-bosho-aahare.
Crunchy Fried Chicken from Akal's Saapadu.
Tandoori Chicken from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Ginger Chicken from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Cornish Hen Manchurian from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Country Chicken Fry from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Chicken 65 from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Nei Kozhi from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Hot cornish Hen from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Chicken fry/Tandoori chicken from Pooja of Pooja's Kitchen.
Chicken Ularthu(Roast)-Kerala Style from Pooja of My experience with cooking.
Lemon Pepper Chicken from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
Chicken Tikka from Preeti Nilesh of Khaugiri.
Chicken Seek Kebab from Preeti Singh of Shail.
Chili Chicken from Preeti Singh of Shail.
Chilly Chicken from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken Jalfrezi from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.
Chilly Chicken from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.
Spicy and Crispy Chicken from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.
low fat chilly chickenfrom Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
Classic chicken roast from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Ginger chicken from Saritha of My kitchen aroma.
Spicy Chicken with Green Chillies from Sujatha of spicy khazana.
Chicken Cacciatore from SuperChef of So I married a meataholic.
Kolchick from Usha Nandhini of Usha Nandhini's recipes.
Chicken 65 from Sowjanya of Mommy's cuisine.
chili chicken from Sree of Taste spell.
Mint Harissa Chicken from Yasmeen of Health Nut.
Pepper chicken From Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Chicken 65 From Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Indian style deep fried Chicken From Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Kozhi varutha kari from Lissie of Salt and spice.
Jeera Chicken Roast from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chettinad Karuveppillai Chicken from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken Masala from Ramya Vijaykumar of Memory archieved.
Chicken karahi from Rina of Rina's recipes.
Quick chicken roast from Rina of Rina's recipes.
Kerala Chicken fry from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Kerala chicken roast from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Chilli chicken fry from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Chilly Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Oven Roasted Mint Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Kerala Fried Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa

Full chicken:
Chicken in Oyster Sauce from Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Grilled whole chicken from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.

With a bread / roll:
Chicken roll from Oriya Foodie of Oriya food.
Shredded Chicken in a braid from Phanitha of Phanitha's kitchenette.
Chicken Tikka Kathi Kabab from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.

Chicken Biryani / Rice:
Chicken Biryani from Divya Vikram of Dil Se..
Bombay Biryani from Dolon Das of Doloncookbook.
Chicken Briyani from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.
Chicken Rice from Jasmine Subashini of Sugary Spicez.
Chicken Dum Biryani from Kalyani of Kalyani's kitchen.
Arcot chicken biryani from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Grilled chicken biryani from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Chicken Biryani from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
chicken Biryani from Prasu of Prasu's kitchen
My style Chicken Briyani from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
TamilNadu Muslim's wedding special Biryani From Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Mughal Biryani from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Malabar chicken biryani from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Saffron Chicken pilaf from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Kushka From Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Chicken Biriyani from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa.


Specialty chicken dishes:
Slow Roast Chicken with Red Wine Sauce from Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Jerk Chicken from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Chicken Pickle from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.
Kung Pao Chicken from Pooja of My experience with cooking.
Barbeque chicken from Priyameena of Madurai style.
Pasta, Chicken N Bellpepper Salad from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Potatoes N Chicken Sausage Gratin from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken keema noodles from Vineela siva.
Chicken tikka pizza from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.


Have you missed to send your recipe?
If you have some incredible chicken recipe and want to include it in this event, just post the URL in the comment space for this post.
I will be more than happy to include them.

Enjoy blogging!