Mango popsicle

Everyone knows how to make a popsicle. I too wanted to note down my version. I can call this as Indian version of mango popsicle because of its flavor. Here is another quick dessert from my kitchen to yours. Come let's make the kids happy with these popsicles and enjoy a cool summer !

Mango popsicle

Lovely mangoes

Ingredients:
Mango - 1 (big)
whole milk - 1 cup
sugar - 4 tsp
cardamom - 2 large pinch

Method:
Peel and puree the mango in a blender along with milk, sugar, cardamom.
Pour in popsicle moulds or in small cups. see a less expensive mould idea here.
Close the top of popsicle using the stick provided in the popsicle kit or insert a small wooden stick in the cups. Keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 hours.
Before serving, show the back of the popsicle in running water and remove the mango ice popsicle.
Serve as dessert or a cool snack.
Makes 4 standard US size popsicles.

Tangy spicy puli kuzhambu

Some months ago, my friend Brindha shared this tongue tickling kara kulambu with me and from that day I became an absolute fan of this curry. Thanks to her, I learned a very delicious curry that can stay long and can satisfy anyone's taste buds. This kara kulambu is very different from the  puli kulambu or Chennai kara kulambu I usually make. The main focus on this gravy is on tangy tamarind , reminding me of tamarind rice (puli saatham). This is a very simple version of kara kulambu (or) puli kulambu with lot of tamarind. So a few drops of this curry would be enough to mix with a cup of rice. This kara kulambu can be made for a week and kept refrigerated for further use. Try and enjoy this tangy kara kulambu of Chennai.

Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1 big lemon size
Sesame oil - 4 tbsp
red onion - 1 (small)
curry leaves - few
garlic - handful
red chilly powder - 2 tsp
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing - 1/8 tsp

Method:
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract juice using 2 - 3 cups of water. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok, add mustard, methi seeds. Let it splutter. Then add curry leaves, finely chopped onion, garlic and saute till onion gets golden brown.
Then add red chilly powder , turmeric powder, hing and fry for a few seconds.
Immediately add the tamarind extract, salt and bring to a boil.
Reduce flame and let it get thicken by partially covering the vessel with a lid.
It may take nearly 15 - 20 minutes to reduce the curry to a thick one and oil will float on top.
Switch off. Tangy kara kulambu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve over hot rice as main course meal.
Good side dishes for this rice , curry is appalam or any poriyal (stir fry).

Note:
Instead of red chilly powder, we can add sambar powder also. But the taste will vary.
To know about benefits of tamarind....click here.

Kambu koozh

Kambu - pearl millet / bajra  , koozh - a simple porridge served as main course meal.
Though I belong to  a south Indian small town, I actually started liking this kambu koozh after tasting it in Chennai only. Hubby dear introduced me this yummy koozh near koyambedu market and I totally enjoyed drinking that koozh out of an earthen vessel:) After drinking this koozh or the spicy buttermilk in a summer, we won't feel the heat....this koozh is one of the natural cooling foods prepared in Tamilnadu during summer. Preparing the kambu koozh at home is not only easy but also a beautiful process. Afterwards I learned that this simple dish invented by our ancestors is a probiotic rich food and it would be more delicious if made at home. I am noting down both the traditional and simple recipes I use. Try this and enjoy a cool summer.

Ingredients:
Whole kambu grain - 2 cups

Kambu koozh

kambu  balls soaked in water overnight.

kambu saatham made into balls.

Cooking the pearl millet / kambu grains.

Method 1:
Rinse the pearl millet grains in water  twice or thrice and drain water completely. Spread it on a plate or kitchen towel and dry for 30 minutes.
Dry grind the pearl millet in an Indian mixie to a fine to coarse texture.
(Many years back this grinding step was used to be done in a hand mortar - ural , ulakkai )
Sieve and remove any husk. (While the husk goes to the cattle, the millet becomes the meal of the family:)
Heat 5 cups of water in a vessel with 1 tsp salt and add the powdered kambu.
Cook till it gets soft (nearly 20 minutes). Switch off and let the millet absorb all the water.
This is called kambu saatham (kambu rice meal), which can be served with any spicy curry.
The remaining kambu saatham should be made into small balls of palm size. Put these kambu balls in an earthen vessel or any vessel and pour enough water to stand above the balls. 

Serving suggestion:
For one glass of kambu koozh: The next morning, take a ball of kambu, along with a 1/2 cup of soaked water. Mash it gently and add 1/2 cup curd or buttermilk. Garnish with finely chopped shallot onion, green chillies (optional), curry leaves, cumin.  Serve as breakfast or refreshing drink.

Note:
Always keep the kambu balls well immersed in water.
This kambu balls soaked in water can stay up to 2 days in countertop at room temperature.

Method 2:
readymade kambu flour - 1 cup
Mix 1 cup of pearl millet flour with 2 cups of water and add 1/2 tsp salt.
Bring this to a boil in a medium heat and stir continuously .
After it gets cooked completely (5 minutes), add enough water to cover the porridge and let it sit overnight.
Then next morning scoop a laddle of cooked flour along with some water above. Mix with curd or buttermilk and serve with onion.
This is one of the easiest versions of kambu koozh.

Try both traditional and easy koozh and let me know how you liked it.

Carrot paratha

I always look for ways to sneak some vegetables in our regular meals. Carrot sambar, poriyal, carrot uthappam, carrot kuzhi paniyaram, carrot cake ,carrot raitha,carrot orange juice, carrot halwa are some of the delicious recipes for carrot. Likewise carrot filled paratha is a very easy recipe to help include another serving of vegetable. I am sure many of us are having a happy summer. Here I am back to the blogging world with this paratha. Hope you all like it!

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
Extra virgin olive oil - few tsp

Filling:
carrot - 2
red onion - 2 tbsp (chopped)
green chilly - 1 (chopped)
salt - to taste
cumin - 1 tsp
Peel , wash and shred the carrot. Shred it as small as possible. Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add cumin, chopped onion, chilly and saute till onion gets soft. Then add the shredded carrot and saute well. Cook covered in minimum heat after adding salt. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes only. Switch off.

Method:
Knead the wheat flour , salt using regular water to a chapathi dough stage. Apply 1 tsp olive oil and knead again. Wrap it using a wet cloth or 'cling wrap' and keep aside.
Take a small lime size ball of dough (12 balls). Flatten it to palm size round chapati. Place a tbsp of carrot stuffing inside and close it as shown in figure (by bringing all the edges together).
Dust the chapati rolling board with tbsp of wheat flour and place the stuffed bundle in such a way that
knot like portion touches the board. Using a rolling pin , flatten it to a thin paratha.
Heat a tawa and place the rolled paratha on it. After few seconds, flip it and drizzle some oil around the paratha. Flip again and cook both sides.
Take out and keep warm inside a casserole or airtight vessel.
Likewise make the entire batch.
Carrot paratha is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Makes 12 parathas.
Serve with any pickle or raitha or side dish.

Baked masala peanut

Fried masala peanut (masala verkadalai) is a much familiar one for people like me. Recently after successfully roasting the peanuts (easily) in conventional oven, I tried to make masala peanuts and it has turned out very scrumptious too. Deep fried ones are really tastier than this baked version,  as our taste-buds are used to it:) but I love the way it is done easily for larger batches. I am sure you all enjoy this !

First bake the peanuts for 7 minutes

Masala mix

Peanuts coated with masala

Crispy masala peanuts after baking.

Ingredients:
Peanut - 2 cups
besan flour - 1/2 cup
rice flour - 2 tbsp
salt - as per need (2 tsp)
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
curry leaves - few
hing - 1/4 tsp
oil - 2 tbsp

Method:
Preheat the oven for 10 minutes to 350 deg C.
Spread the peanuts on a baking tray and bake for 7 minutes at first.
Take out.
In a mixing bowl add everything in the ingredients and mix well. Add little water to make it a thick paste.
Add the semi baked peanuts and mix well. Check for salt.
Spread the peanuts (as separate as possible) on the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
Take out, flip slightly using a spoon and then bake again for 10 minutes.
If needed bake for 5 minutes till it turns crispy (not red).
Let cool completely and store in airtight containers.
Masala peanuts is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack.

Pottukadalai murukku

Pottukadalai - puffed channa dal.
Murukku in our house always means a urid dal murukku.  I make it for all the festivals as it is my hubby's favorite. When I shared that murukku with my friend Priya during Easter, she gave me this recipe for pottukadalai murukku. She suggested adding chilly powder also, but I made a plain murukku. We finished our Easter murukku very soon and hubby dear started asking me for more of his snack during the next weekend. I too wanted to make one batch exclusively for him to have with coffee.  Thanks to her I could make a snack so easily. This is  a very easy murukku recipe and we can do this as a quick evening snack while preparing coffee.

pottukadalai murukku

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 2 cups
(store bought rice flour)
Puffed channa dal (pottu kadalai) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cumin - 1 tbsp
Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/8 tsp
Salt per taste
Water for mixing - (nearly 1 1/2 cups of water)
Oil - to deep fry (500 ml)

Method:
Grind the puffed channa dal to a fine powder using an Indian mixer. Sieve it and get the very fine powder.
Heat a wok and dry roast the rice flour till it gets loose. Don't let it red.
Put both the flours in a large mixing bowl . Add cumin, asafoetida and butter. Mix well.
Take 1 cup of water and add 3/4 tsp salt for every cup of flour (almost 2 tsp). Mix this salt water with the flour and knead to a soft chapathi dough consistency.
Now check salt and add more mixing with water,if necessary.
Fit a 3 hole plate in the murukku mold and fill it with dough.
In the mean time heat the oil in a wide pan till smoking point. Then reduce flame and press the murukku in circular shape into the hot oil.
Flip once after one side is done.
After the hissing sound and bubbles subdue, take out the murukku. Place them on paper towel and remove oil. Store them in air tight containers after they get cool.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack with coffee.
Makes 15 - 20  murukku.

Coconut poke cake

Coconut cakes are popular desserts in Southern states of US. The original recipe calls for more ingredients and longer preparation time. But this poke cake is an alternative to get the same taste with simple ingredients. I was waiting to try this cake which I saw few months back in 'Create TV'.
It is our tradition to make cake for all of our celebrations and festivals. So I made this for this Easter and it came out very delicious. I referred this website  also for details and thanks to the chef I could understand better. The suggested icing was 'frozen whipped topping' but I didn't use it.
I made this cake on Holy Thursday, before going to Church in the evening. Hubby dear became very happy on seeing his new cake in his favorite flavor and I am also glad that I could make one cake completely within an hour. But we waited to slice and share and taste it till Easter:)

Coconut cake , cooled and sliced.

Coconut cake for Easter

Top it with shredded dry coconut.

Soak the cake with coconut milk and condensed milk

Poking the cake

Spongy vanilla cake from scratch

Ingredients: 
All purpose flour (maida) - 2 cups
Salt - 1/2  tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
sugar- 1 1/2 cup
egg - 5 (large eggs)
butter (unsalted) - 2 sticks (16 tbsp / 226 gms)
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
For soaking:
coconut milk - 1 cup
sweetened condensed milk - 1/2 cup
dry coconut flakes - few tbsp for topping

Method:

Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature , by keeping them outside the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease the baking pan with 1/4 tsp butter.
Mix the dry ingredients like maida, baking soda, baking powder by sieving twice.
(This makes the cake spongy).
Add the egg, butter, sugar, vanilla essence , salt to a blender / mixie and beat till it turns fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and beat well using an electric beater. we can mix by using a fork / spatula also.
Pour the cake batter in to the greased pan and shake / tap it to release the air.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
(Test the quality of baking by inserting a skewer and see if it comes out clear).

While the cake is still hot, poke it all over using a skewer or fork.
Mix condensed milk with coconut milk and pour all over.
Dry roast the dry coconut flakes till it turns mild golden red.
Sprinkle over the cake.
Easy coconut cake is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert or tea time snack.
Always keep it refrigerated, as it contains coconut.

Note:
*Cream cheese frosting can be used for icing..
Frozen whipped topping can also be used as icing.
*Makes one 9x13 inch or two 8x8 cakes
*We can use self rising flour also:
2 cups self rising flour =
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1/2  tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Kadaai paneer with soya chunks

Paneer + capsicum + soya chunks in a curry = yummy ! That's all I should say now, before you try and tell me how you like it:)
Including paneer and soya chunks is my Yoga akka's (my sister) idea  to get best alternatives for non-veg. I really enjoy these ingredients and now started including more vegetarian foods.
'Kadai'  or 'kadaai ' means wok. Kadaai paneer is a semi dry gravy that is served in most of the Indian restaurants. I have added protein rich soya chunks also with that and it is absolutely delicious. Here is my version to get the restaurant flavor at home.

Kadaai paneer with soy chunks

Pan fried capsicum and paneer

Cooking soya chunks

Green capsicum, soya chunks and paneer

Ingredients:
Paneer - 1 cup (chopped)
(I used half of the above shown pack)
green capsicum - 1
Soya chunks - 1/2 cup
olive oil / butter - 1 tbsp

For masala to grind:
oil - 1 tbsp
Tomato - 2
onion - 1 (big)
ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 5 cloves
coriander seed - 1 tbsp
dry red chilly - 4
cinnamon - 1 inch

others:
garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
cilantro - a handful
cumin - 1 tsp
brown sugar / jaggery - 1 tsp

Method:
Slice the onion lengthwise. Peel garlic and ginger. Heat oil in a wok.
Add a tsp fennel, cinnamon, coriander seed, dry red chilly, onion and fry till it becomes golden brown. Then add ginger garlic and fry for 1 minute. Let everything cool.
Cook tomato with 1 cup water till mushy. (I microwaved it for 3 minutes). Let it cool.
Grind all the above to a fine paste and keep aside.

Chop the paneer into 1 inch size cubes. Fry the chopped paneer till golden brown in the left over oil in the same wok and take out. Chop the capsicum to small cubes and fry for 30 seconds and keep aside.
In the same time cook the soya chunks (Bring 2 cups of water with pinch of salt to a boil , add soya chunks and cook for 5 minutes. Drain water and squeeze to remove all water). Keep aside.

Heat the wok and fry a bay leaf, cumin .

Add the ground paste, turmeric powder,  garam masal powder, salt , sugar and bring it to a boil.  Wait till raw smell vanishes.

Then add the fried capsicum, cooked soya chunks and bring to a boil. Then add fried paneer and cook covered for 3 minutes.

Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Kadaai paneer with soya is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with chapati or paratha or ghee rice.

Baked salted peanut

Baking the peanuts , instead of dry roasting in stove top is a very easy way to make large batches.  I make this often and so thought of writing it down.

Salted oven roasted peanuts: Nescafe bottle for hubby's snack time in office and another container for us at home:)

Baking / oven roasting the peanut.

Ingredients:
Peanut - 2 cups (coffee mug full)
salt - 1/2 tsp
water - 1 tbsp

Method:
Choose good quality peanuts. Oily ones are bigger in size and the tasty ones are comparatively smaller in size. I use medium size or small peanuts. (Oily peanuts are good for making boiled peanuts for salads by pressure cooking . In that method we can discard the oil by removing the cooked water).

Preheat oven to 350 deg F for 5 minutes. Put the peanut in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the water and salt and mix well with hand. Spread it over a baking sheet and bake for 12 - 15  minutes.

Check by crushing one peanut with hand. The skin should come off immediately .The peanut may seem uncooked a little, but it will continue cooking in room temperature also.  In this stage switch off and let the peanut remain in tray till it gets cool. I open the oven and let the tray inside oven for 5 more minutes.

If needed, remove the skin of groundnut by rubbing it with hand gently and blowing the chaff off. Store in airtight containers.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as  snack.
Used in making coconut chutney.

Groundnut with jaggery, a very tasty snack box:)

Note:
If dry roasting the peanut in stove top....then follow the same method and dry roast it in a wide wok , till the chaff comes off easily.

Tamilnadu Easter special menu

Preparing  homemade dessert or spicy snack would make any festival more happier. That too sticking to our traditional food is everyone's wish.
Here are some Easter specials that are popular in Tamilnadu. I thought it would be nice to note down a few suggestions on festive menu for my readers. So gathering a few of my best recipes here.
Here is my visual treat to you all :)

Idli

Idli with goat leg paya kulambu.

Idli , sambar, chutney - A festival breakfast.

Aappam

White aappam (my easy method using rice flour) - Easter special.

Rava kesari

Rava kesari...breakfast dessert

Chicken 65

Chicken 65....make all preparations on the previous night and just do the frying part on special days.

Easy chicken biriyani (in cooker)

Chicken biriyani with onion raitha and egg

Paruppu payasam:

Paal payasam (semiya , javvarisi) kheer:

Easy and delicious dessert.

Simple lime juice;

Plain sweet lime juice for mid-morning or afternoon.

Ulunthu vadai:

urid dal vadai for evening snack.

Masal vadai:

paruppu vadai.

Murukku:

Make some murukku ahead of the festival day to give a nice snack with evening coffee.

Adhirasam

Athirasam :  Indian rice doughnut

Though it may take three days to get the dough ready, this snack is one of the easiest to prepare. This athirasam is my mother in law's recipe and I am glad that I learned it from her.
Munthiri kothu:

Sweet snack:  munthiri kothu .

Sukiyan / susiyam:

Traditional sweet in Tirunelveli.

Notes:
Getting prepared for the festivals needs a little planning ahead. So remember to make a list of the items we are going to prepare and things to do on that day.
Make a grocery list and buy accordingly.
If planning for easy desserts like kheer, then make ahead and keep refrigerated.
Vada batter can be made 2 - 3 days ahead and kept in fridge.
If preparing snacks like susiyam, then make the sweet balls one day ahead and keep in fridge. we can fry it on festival morning.
Keep the cooking for the day easy, by earlier preparation and enjoy the day:)
If you are a beginner to cooking, then just focus on one specialty like breakfast or snack or lunch and make it grand to see your loved ones happy. Try a few and enjoy!
Get up early and enjoy the day thoroughly with your loved ones....that is more important:)

Wishing all a very happy Easter,
Love,
Viki Xavier

Coconut milk icecream

Wishing all a very happy Tamil New year,

Coconut milk ice cream

Ingredients:
coconut milk - 1 1/2 cup
(I used thick coconut milk from carton)
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Whipped Topping 8 oz (225 gm) - 2 pack
butter - 1 tsp
sugar - 1 cup (or to taste)
Almond / cashew - 10
cardamom seeds - 1.5 tsp
saffron - 3 strands
Raisin - 1/2 cup
Tooti frooti (dry fruits) - 1/2 cup

Preparation:

Slightly dry roast the almond or cashew and make a powder along with cardamom seeds and sugar.
In 1 tsp butter fry the shredded coconut till it turns mild red and fragrant.
The whipped topping should be kept in the refrigerator (not freezer ...see instructions on container) till we start using.
In a mixing bowl add the powdered almond mixture, shredded coconut, raisin, dry fruits and coconut milk . Mix well.
Now add the whipped topping and mix gently (too much mixing will make the ice cream hard).
Immediately transfer them to a freezer-safe lidded container.
Cover and freeze for 3-4 hours.
Coconut milk ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Makes a dessert.
Makes 15 servings.