Nimakaye karam (Lime karam)

This is an instant side dish, quick and easy to prepare.

6 Limes/ Lemons

2 tsp Urad dal – Minnapappu

2 tsp Chenna dal – Senagapappu

1 tsp Jeera

1 tsp Mustard seeds

4- 5 Red Chilies

Hing

Few curry leaves

1 tsp Red chili powder

Squeeze lime/lemon juice, add salt and turmeric powder and keep aside. Avoid using instant lemon juice.

Take 6 tsp of oil in a small skillet and when oil is hot add urad and channa dal. Then add jeera, mustard seeds, hing, red chilies, and curry leaves. Fry till nicely done, remove from flame, add red chili powder for extra spice and let cool.

Let cool. Transfer the tadka into a blender jar, leaving oil in the skillet. Dry grind tadka to a smooth powder.

Mix the ground tadka, lemon juice and the oil in the skillet and mix well.

Serve as a side dish with rice or upma. The taste leaves a tingling taste craving you for more.

Pessara pachadi

Pessara pachadi is an age old pachadi that has been coming down from generations. This is a rescue item, for those days when we run out of vegetables in the fridge. Sliced onions with lemon juice and salt and hot tomato charu/rasam by the side, is, all it requires.

                                    

1 cup Moong dal – Pessara pappu

10 – 12 Red chilies

1 tsp Jeera

Small lemon sized Tamarind

Lemon juice

Soak moong dal in luke warm water for 2 - 3 hours. Drain and keep ready.

In a mixer jar add 1 tsp raw jeera, raw red chilies (about 10 – 12) and dry grind them first. Then add the soaked moong dal, salt and grind to a smooth paste (add very less water).

Transfer into a serving bowl and mix with 2 tsp of lemon juice. This pachadi needs no seasoning; it is good to be eaten. Simple plain tomato rasam will be a great accompaniment with this pachadi.

Enjoy the pachadi with hot rice, a tsp of ghee or oil with warm rasam and onions sprinkled with lemon juice and raw green chilies dipped in salt.

There is a bonus with this pachadi. With left over pachadi a crunchy chakki or attu can be made.

Add a chopped onions, green chilies and coriander, red chili powder, salt and ½ tsp jeera and 2 tsp rice flour. Mix well with the pachadi.

Heat a dosa griddle and add a tps of oil and spread the mix well and cook on medium flame till it is roasted well. This chakki has a wonderful and unique taste. Serve with warm rice and enjoy!

Carrot hawla

Gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa is a  very nutritious and tasty Indian sweet dish. It is a very simple process; nothing can actually go wrong here. By using evaporated or half-half, cooking time will be drastically reduced.

1 lb Carrots

1 can Evaporated Milk or 1 cup Half-half

1½ cups Sugar

4 tsp Ghee

½ tsp Elachi powder

2 tsp Raisins

2 tsp Almonds

2 tsp Pistachios

2 tsp Cashew nuts

Few strands of saffron

1 tsp Rice flour

Wash and peel carrots. Finely grate them, keep aside.

In a large non stick pan take 3 tsp of ghee, when warm add all nuts and then raisins, fry them till golden yellow. Remove the nuts and raisins from the ghee to a bowl. Keep aside. To the remaining ghee add another tsp of ghee and add the grated carrots, fry till the raw color changes. Then add a can of evaporated milk or cup of half-half and cook for a few minutes.

Now add sugar, elachi powder and 1” butter or ghee. Cook on medium heat and keep stirring regularly. When it all comes close together add a tsp of rice flour. Rice flour acts as a binding agent and brings all the ingredients together. Add all the friend nuts and mix well or arrange on the top. And garnish with saffron.

Grease the serving bowl and transfer the contents into it.

Carrot halwa can be served warm or cold, it’s a personal choice. Enjoy it with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for variation. I have see people enjoying hot jelabi with carrot hawla and if you are like someone I know, warm halwa with roti for dinner!

White vatana sundal

2 cups White vatana (Whole yellow peas, the peas look quite similar to garbanzo beans ( chick peas), except that they are smaller in size and white in colour.
2 Onions
3 Tomatoes
2 - 3 Green chilies
1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
½ tsp Amchur/Dry mango powder
½ tsp Cumin-coriander Powder
½ tsp Garam masala
¼ tsp Red chili powder
Coriander

Soak white vatna over night. Cook in a pressure cooker with salt with a pinch of turmeric till they are soft. Do not overcook; just about right otherwise they become very mushy. Drain and keep aside.

Take 3 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and make tadka with mustard seeds and jeera. When it starts to sizzle, add very finely chopped onions and chilies. Keep stirring at medium heat till the onions are translucent. Add ginger- garlic paste and fry for a few minutes. Then add cut tomatoes, cook for a few minutes and then add amchur powder, cumin- coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder and salt.

Mix in cooked vatna, taste for salt and adjust the seasonings. Add some lemon juice and garnish with coriander, serve hot.

This is a very filling dish, a pot dish that can be eaten as is or can be served with roti. The same base can be made like a gravy dish by adding water and can be served over potato patties. This is the famous ragda patties on Mumbai streets!

Cashewnut chikki

Srirama Navami Subhakanshalu (03/24/2010)

Chikki is a traditional Indian sweet prepared with any edible nuts or with mixed nuts and sugar/jaggery. The preparation is quite simple. These are finger deserts that are hassle free and easy to eat!

Cashew nuts, like all nuts, are an excellent source of protein and fiber. They are rich in mono-unsaturated fat which may help protect the heart. Cashew nuts are also a good source of potassium, B vitamins and folate. They contain useful amounts of magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper. (source: Wiki)

I have to mention here the chikki made in Lonavala, Pune. They are simply mouth watering and will leave us craving for more! One piece is never quite satisfying. I love their pistachio, mixed nuts chikki.

Traditional chikki are made with peanuts but, I am a cashew person, so..

1 cup - Roasted cashewnuts (sliced or whole)

1 ¼ cup - Jaggery

2 tsp Ghee

Roast the nuts on low flame in ghee and in the case of peanuts remove the skin.

Take grated jaggery in a kadai and add ¼ cup water and on medium flame bring to a boil till it thickens. Perform the ball test, drop some syrup drops in cold water and try to roll it to form a ball if it is like a string, it needs to be cooked a bit more.

Filter the jaggery syrup to remove any impurities. (Avoid if you trust the jaggery). I buy mine at the same store always!

Once the syrup is ready, add a tsp of ghee to the syrup switch off the flame and immediately add the roasted cashew nuts. Stir and mix well.

Grease a parchment paper and pour the hot mixture on it. Roll it with a rolling pin and let the temperature of the mixture come down. Lumps of mixture can be rolled into a ball in the palm of your hand or cut into any desired shape.

Store in an air tight box, they have a good shelf life.

White turmeric (Mamidiallam) in lemon juice

A member of ginger family, white turmeric is a rhizome. Its flesh is a lighter than common turmeric; its flavor, however, is not as subtle, and some roots can be quite pungent.

Turmeric is known to be used medicinally for ulcers, parasitic infections, various skin disorders, strains, bruises, inflammation of the joints, cold and flu symptoms, preserving food and as a digestion aid.

This special turmeric is very rare and seasonal. But, I am able to see it regularly in the Indian groceries here. This is a simple dish, where all the properties of the ginger are intact and tastes great at the same time.

¼ lb Mango ginger/ white turmeric - Mamidiallam

5 – 6 Long Green Chilies

Lemon Juice

1 tsp Vammu

Wash and peel ginger as much as you can, it is really difficult to peel it all, leave the rest of it and cut into small pieces. Chop green chilies into small pieces, use enough to suit your taste. I use Cayenne or milder green chilies for relishing the raw taste of the chilies.

In a glass bowl squeeze lemon juice and add chopped green chilies, vammu (raw), salt and turmeric. Add chopped ginger pieces. Mix well and let sit for 1 -2 hrs before serving, by doing this, vegetables will absorb the lemon juice and the seasonings.

This can be used as side dish with rotis and as an accompaniment with dals, curries and rice. Store in an air tight glass bowl, in the refrigerator for up to a week. The citric in the lemon juice will not let it go bad.

Ugadi Subhakanshalu

Vikruti Nama Samvatsara Subhakankshalu.

March 16th 2010

In Sanskrit, Prakruti means "Nature" or "creativity"and Vikruti is "the adnormal state" or "the diseased state" of the body in Ayurveda. So, lets eat well, be healthy and lead a happy life to ward off an evil.

Wishing all my dear friends, family and readers a very happy Ugadi.