Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Hello

Hi Friends. Its raining here for the past three weeks on and off. Mostly it is heavy downpours. We didn't get much sunlight. So I am lagging behind on all my chores. I just hope we do get some sunlight during the next few days.


Because of all these I am not able to post regularly on all my blogs.


Any way keep watching my blog as I am going to post some very special recipes......



Sunday, August 29, 2010

Chutneys With Lentils-4


Andhra cuisine is known for its pickles, chutneys and spicy powders. Especially during some seasons like the hot summer and early rainy season, when it is difficult to buy vegetables, these come in handy. These can be used as dips by making them a little more thinner by adding water. So some more recipes here for you....

My previous posts on this topic are here :

These are Recipes on Chutneys
http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/search/label/Chutneys

These are Recipes on Lentil Chutneys
http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/search/label/Lentil%20Chutneys

Chick Pea-split and de husked.

1. Chick Pea Chutney

Chick Pea is also known as Bengal Gram. It is very tasty, nutritious and good for health. But excessive in take will cause indigestion. This chutney will be good with cooked rice or  any fried snacks.  For the recipes given below use split and cleaned (de husked) gram which is known as Chana Dal (चना दल) in Hindi and Senaga Pappu (శనగ పప్పు) in Telugu, which looks as in the picture above.

Ingredients:
Chick Pea   150Gms
Red Chillies dried    3-4
Cumin seeds     1 tsp
Tamarind pulp thick    1 Tbsp
Salt   to taste
Jaggery grated     2 tsp
Oil 1-2 Tbsp
Coriander Greens chopped fine 1 tbsp

For Tempering:
Oil   2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4th tsp
Mustard seeds   1 tsp
Split and de husked black gram  1 tsp
Cumin seeds  1 tsp
Asafoetida    1/4th tsp
Curry leaves   2 sprigs

Method :

  • Heat oil in a pan and roast the lentil till golden brown in colour and gives off nice smell
  • Cool it.
  • Take lentil, tamarind pulp, jaggery, salt and red chillies and grind to a paste adding water little at a time.
  • The paste should be a little coarse and very thick.
  • To make it more tastier- Heat oil to smoking point,lower the heat, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, black gram and fry for two minutes, then add cumin, let them splutter, add  asafoetida and  curry leaves. Add this to the chutney mix well and serve.
  • Garnish with coriander greens. Serve with rice or snacks.

NOTE:
  • Adjust the quantity of chillies according to your preference, as it will be very spicy.
  • Add 2-3 pods of garlic(sliced) to the chutney after frying it in oil along with the tempering or separately. It can also be ground (after frying) along with the ingredients of chutney.

2. Soaked Chick Pea Chutney

Ingredients:
Chick Pea 150Gms
Green Chillies 1-2
Onions (medium) 1
Ginger grated 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 Tbsp
Salt to taste
Jaggery grated 2 tsp
Coriander Greens Chopped fine 1 tbsp

For Tempering:
Oil 2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4th tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Split and de husked black gram 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Dried Red Chillies 1
Asafoetida 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves 2 sprigs


Method :
  • Wash and soak the lentil in enough (two to three cups) water for 2-3 hours till well soaked. Drain the water and keep aside. 
  • Take lentil, jaggery, salt, lemon juice, ginger and green chillies and grind to a paste adding little water if necessary. Actually since it is soaked, it does not require additional water. 
  • The paste should be a little coarse and very thick. 
  • Chop onions very finely, add to the chutney and mix. Alternately just chop them into very big pieces and add while grinding 
  • Heat oil to a smoking point, lower the heat, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds fry for a minute or two. Add cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves and pieces of red chili. After they start spluttering, remove from fire, add to the chutney paste and mix well. 
  • Garnish with finely chopped coriander greens and serve. 


    NOTE:

    • Adjust the quantity of chillies according to your taste if you are using, both green and red chillies. The above quantity will make it very spicy.
    • You can add garlic raw or fried sliced or ground to paste.


      Try these and let me know please......

      Tuesday, August 17, 2010

      Its Raining

      Its raining here cats and dogs..but I think I should add elephants and whales perhaps..:) It rained heavily and just now has stopped near my place but it might still be raining in other parts of the city. Boy I had a tough time getting back home. But I was one of the lucky few who reached home safely when the rain stopped to a manageable drizzle for some time. Most of the low lying areas are inundated and many have knee deep water in their homes. Poor things! I just hope they would be all right. There are so many vehicles stuck in traffic jams. Many places dont have power too.

      Many of the places don't have the power now due to damaged lines or tree falls. Near my place the voltage is fluctuating. So I can't keep the system on for long. Sorry folks will post tomorrow. 

      Bye Take care... Good Night....

      Monday, August 16, 2010

      Independence Day

      Wishing all my brothers and sisters a very Happy Independence Day belatedly on the occasion of Independence Day on 15th August...

      Oh by the way I am sorry friends that I am not able to post at all in this blog and also not much on my other blog. The reason is that this year we are having very good rains, almost continuously. Sometimes for days together. When it rains heavily, there is also wind. There are power failures as well as shut downs to avoid any mishaps due to the forceful winds, uprooting of trees which affect the power lines. Also during that time there will be high fluctuation in the power supply which may damage our computers and other appliances.
      So I dare not switch on my computer for long.

      Any way now that the rains have eased a little bit, I will be posting regularly. Please do bear with me. 
      Keep watching......

      Saturday, August 7, 2010

      Chutneys with Lentils-3

      Please go through my previous posts on this topic if you are new to this cuisine.

      Here are some more recipes for Chutneys With lentils...We have to use, de-husked (cleaned), split lentils for this and not the whole one. Split and de-husked Green Gram is known as Moong Daal in Hindi and Pesara Pappu in Telugu.


      1. Green Gram Chutney-Roasted

      Ingredients:
      Lentil         150Gms
      Ghee (clarified butter) or oil   1 Tbsp
      Red Chillies(dried)        2-3
      Cumin Seeds      1/2 Tbsp
      Garlic Pods  2-3
      Grated Jaggery -1tsp

      Method:

      • Heat ghee or oil in a pan and roast the lentil until it gives of a nice roasted smell. Cool it.
      • Roast dried chillies just for a minute and keep aside.
      • Peel and slightly roast the garlic.
      • Take all the ingredients and grind to a paste by adding water little at a time. 
      • Adjust the quantity of the Red Chillies as this will be very spicy for those who are not used to eating spicy food.
      • The consistency of the chutney should be a very thick paste if used as an accompaniment to rice and thinner if used with Idly Upma or Dosa.
      • Garlic is optional and sugar can be used in place of jaggery.



      2. Green Gram Chutney-Soaked.

      Ingredients:
      Lentil         150Gms
      Red Chillies(dried)        1
      Grren chillies  1
      Cumin Seeds      1/2 Tbsp
      Garlic Pods  2-3
      Grated Jaggery-1 tsp

      Method:
      • Wash and soak the lentil for 2-3 hours. Usually this lentil gets soaked easily. If not soak it till it is done. Remove the excess water.
      • Roast dried chillies just for a minute and keep aside.
      • Peel and slightly roast the garlic.
      • Take all the ingredients and grind to a paste. Add a little water if required. 
      • Adjust the quantity of the Red Chillies as this will be very spicy for those who are not used to eating spicy food.
      • The consistency of the chutney should be a very thick paste if used as an accompaniment to rice and thinner if used with Idly Upma or Dosa.
      • Garlic is optional and sugar can be used in place of jaggery.


      Tempering or Seasoning:
      For the above two recipes if tempering as follows is added it tastes good:
      Ingredients:
      Bengal gram split and de-husked  1 tsp
      Black gram split and de-husked  1tsp
      Fenugreek Seeds     1/2 tsp
      Mustard seeds   1tsp
      Cumin seeds   1tsp
      Asafoetida   1/4 tsp
      Curry leaves   2 sprigs
      Coriander greens  finely chopped 2 tbsp

      • Heat 1-2 tsp of ghee or oil to a smoking point and lower the heat.
      • Add 1 tsp each of split and de-husked Bengal gram and black gram, fry for a minute
      • Add 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds. Fry for two minutes
      • Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds. Let them splutter.
      • Now add 1 tsp of cumin, one red chilli broken into pieces(avoid this if you don't like spicy food).
      • Add 1/4th tsp of Asafoetida, curry leaves (two sprigs).
      • Mix it with the chutney and serve garnished with finely chopped coriander greens.
      These chutneys will have to be consumed within a day. But it is easy to make.

      Monday, August 2, 2010

      Spicy Powders from Indian Cuisine-5

      My other posts on the topic are here...
      Well here are some more....

      1. Dry Coconut Powder  (ఎండు కొబ్బరి పొడి ): 

      It is known as Khopra in Hindi and Endu Kobbari in Telugu. The coconut fruit  is left to mature completely on the tree. Once it is done, the water inside it disappears. It is then dried as a whole after removing the outer coir and hard shell or after breaking into halves. It is either sold as a whole or in halves. The whole ones are used in some ceremonies and also for carving designs and presented in marriages to grooms party by the Brides side in Karnataka. They are very beautifully made.

      Any way in general the halved kernels are sold in the stores. We use that for cooking .


      This powder is great with Dosas and Idlis. Of coarse you can eat it with steamed/boiled  rice. This can also be sprinkled on curries in addition to other spices. This is very easy to make.  While selecting dry coconut, take care to taste them a little bit. Sometimes they taste very stale or oily. It is better to make this powder in small quantities rather than making huge quantities and storing for a long time  to retain the fresh taste.

      Ingredients:
      Dry Coconut Kernels (halves) 2
      Dry Red Chillies  2-3
      Cumin seeds 2 tsps
      sugar 1 tsp
      Salt to taste

      Method:
      • Grate the coconut. Slightly roast it with out oil or fat for few minutes until it gives off nice smell.
      • Roast dry chillies too for it is easier to powder them. Adjust the quantity according to your taste. Grind it to a fine powder.
      • Coarsely grind the cumin.
      • Mix all well and store in air tight jar or bottle.

      2. Coconut and Groundnut Powder:

      Ingredients:
      Dry Coconut Kernels (halves) 2
      Ground nuts or peanuts    200gms
      Dry Red Chillies  5-6
      Cumin seeds 2 tsps
      Sugar 1 tsp
      Salt to taste

      Method:
      • Grate the coconut. Slightly roast it with out oil or fat for few minutes until it gives off nice smell.
      • Roast peanuts well and cool them. You may remove the husk. But it is tastier and nutritious with the husk.
      • Roast dry chillies too. Adjust the quantity according to your taste. 
      • Grind peanuts and chillies to a powder.
      • Coarsely grind the cumin.
      • Mix all ingredients well and store in air tight jar or bottle.
      • This can be served with, Idly, Upma, Dosa and Rice.
      NOTE: The easier way out with Coconut is to cut it into small pieces and put them in the food processor. It gets grated into a fine powder saving time and energy.

      Still many more spicy powder recipes....Keep a watch......