Cook like Priya

As a continuation of celebrating my dear Priya Aks B'day I made these colorful Suji Crystal cookies today. They turned out absolutely yum, to keep in mind the theme of doing recipes of different colors I went ahead with this recipe. Aks I hope your day if filled with loads of surprises to keep you happy. And as excited as you are we all your friends are so so excited to share you all our virtual treats today. I hope they are pure feast for your eyes and that you virtually enjoy all the goodies we gobbled up saying your name :P.

Happy Birthday once again to one lovely Priya Aks.

May your birthday and the days to come be as colorful as you are :-)

Suji Crystal Cookies as it is named does not contain any sooji/ rawa and I wonder why they were named so. A Malaysian delicacy made with melted ghee, flour, almond meal and raising agents colored and formed into marble effect cookies. They taste fabulous and simply melt in your month. Great for a kids party or any birthday celebration, these cookies are sure a hit with almost anyone. I also want to thank Reshmi and Uma for this beautiful recipe, loved it so so much.

SUJI CRYSTAL COOKIES RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Originally from Reshmi adapted from Uma

Makes ~ 10 medium to large cookies

Prep time ~ 15 mins

Bake time ~ 15-20 mins

Ingredients

All purpose flour/ Maida - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Baking soda -1/2 tsp

Almond meal/ powdered almond - 1/2 cup

Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup

Melted Ghee - 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Edible food colors - pink, blue, yellow (any color of your choice)

Caster Sugar - 1/4 cup

Method

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt sieve together add icing sugar, vanilla extract, almond meal and melted ghee (room temperature) little by little to form a firm dough. Set aside for 15 mins
Now divide the dough to 3 parts and in keep them in separate bowls. Add the food colors and knead for few minutes to combine well
Preheat oven to 150 C for 15 minutes and line a baking tray with parchment / butter paper, set aside
Now take a tsp of dough from all 3 colors and roll together to form a marble effect. Place the rolled dough on the prepared tray. Repeat the same for all the dough.
Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once the cookies completely cool down roll them in castor sugar and place in a serving tray

Cooks Wisdom

- Make sure you roll the dough well do that the cookies are firm and hold shape.

- You can make your own almond meal by blending almonds in a mixer for 30 secs, do not blend more than that it will turn oily

- Cookies spread a little so leave space between cookies before baking them

- You can use your favorite colors for the dough

-Once they cool down store them in air-tight container to enjoy later

- Measure ghee after melting and also measure icing sugar after powdering.

Here is a collage of all the recipes done by our lil group of friends :-) +Divya Pramil +Divya Prakash, +Sangeetha M , +Sangeetha Priya, +Preeti Tamilarasan, +Manjula Bharath +Vijayalakshmi Dharmaraj, +nalini suresh , Shama Nagarajan and Pradeeka

Our Award for Priya Suresh Aks, we feel honored at the same time humbled to give you an award aks. We truly believe that this award is something you truly deserve and it sure will be something unique.

Chocolate Kheer, who can think of such a combo right? well I know this one person who can stir any recipe within minutes and come up with unusual combinations yet make the dish super appetizing. She is a lovely friend, sister, blogger, mother and someone who still surprises me with her down to earth nature and be the most approachable person on earth. She is beautiful inside out and carries a bright smile, I had the chance to meet her in person and spend time with her, that I know many would wish for. To me she is an amazing cook, bestest friend and an elder sister I never had. We've had many long endless conversations and I have always been the one holding the phone listing, wondering how to frame the words and to the contrary she would be this endless pom pom ball talking endlessly ;-). I must thank blogging world for adding some awesome people into my life who are so special and dear to me. I know you must have guessed who I am talking about its my aks Priya Suresh :-). Priya aks you sure are one big gift to me. Aks I have always admired your energy, friendliness, blogging passion and your approach to life itself. Love you for who you are...

Why chocolate kheer? and all the rambling? well its her birthday today and we a bunch of bloggies wanted to do a virtual birthday treat for her. This time around we wanted to do recipes of different colors and cook something that is her own recipe. So I chose Chocolate as my choice of color and there is a reason behind it cos its Priya aks favorite, I must tell you all this she is so crazy about chocolates that she came from Paris to London and the one thing she wanted to buy was Dairy Milk to take back with her to Paris. That chocoholic, chocolaty and chokywookey doo daa :P ! So you see I made her Chocolate Kheer and clicked pictures with a pink background cos she is a pink fetish personality. Priya aks I hope you are having a ball reading this post.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, charming and

ever loving sweet Priya Aks.

Wishing you blissful years with fond memories to keep you smiling always :-)

Chocolate Rice Kheer is a sweet dessert prepared the traditional way with a twist of using chocolate. Its a rich creamy dessert that is luscious with the rich tasting chocolate and basmathi rice, almost doing magic to your tastebuds. The cardamom powder is very light in taste and the chocolate has an over powering taste to the recipe. You can alternately use cocoa powder by diluting it in 2 tbsp of warm milk and adding it along with the condensed milk. You can do the same recipe using white chocolate too ;-) the options and choices are almost endless.

CHOCOLATE KHEER RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Priya's Versatile Recipe

Serves ~ 4 generously

Cook & Prep time ~ 20 mins

Serving suggestion ~ topped with nuts served warm/chilled

Ingredients

Basmathi Rice - 1/4 cup

Water - 1 cup

Milk - 2 cup (any fat %)

Condensed milk - 1/2 cup

Chocolate chunks - 100 gms chopped

Cardamom powder - 2 tsp

Nuts - to garnish (optional)

Method

Pressure cook the basmathi rice along with water and milk for 4-5 whistles. Once the steam settles, mash the cooked rice with an wooden ladle.
On the stove and keep in medium. Add the condensed milk, chopped chocolate and cardamom powder, cook until the kheer thickens

Garnish with chopped nuts and serve warm/ cold

Cooks Wisdom

- No need to per soak basmathi rice but if you do then reduce the no of whistle

- You can add any kind of nuts of your choice

- I used unsweetened dark chocolate so added 1/2 cup sugar if you using sweetened variety reduce the amount of sugar

- For Diabetic you can use fructose/ sugarfree

- The kheer tends to thicken as it cools down, you can add milk to lighten it

Our Award for Priya Suresh Aks, we feel honored at the same time humbled to give you an award aks. we truly believe that this award is something you truly deserve and it sure will be something unique.

The past 5 months have been super exciting for us, yes us ;-) I am referring to all my dear blogger buddies. August month has been super busy with us planning for virtual birthday parties and back to back birthdays but its really fun to plan something special for a dear friend. Today also we are happy to host a virtual birthday party for our dear budding photographer and one amazing cook who rocks this blog world with her enthusiasm and her humble nature, yes I am talking about Preeti Tamil (PT as I call her) she is a great person to be around, fun to talk to and someone I have been waiting to meet in person. PT hope the day comes soon that we meet ;-). PT according to me is a great hard worker, be it blogging, cooking or photography she does everything with much passion and enthusiasm. I have always been stunned by the fact that in a matter of a yr she had posted 600 recipes. Can you believe it??? now isn't that really something? I am so glad to get to know more about her and talk to her.Today for your party I tried one of your recent posts Paneer Cigars, they were so addictive and was a perfect snack for us today.

Hope your special day is filled with loads of surprises and memories to last you forever. Happy Birthday to you dear Preeti ;-)

PANEER CIGAR ROLLS RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Adapted from JoPreetsKitchen

Prep time ~ 45 mins

Cook time ~ 20 mins

Makes ~ 8-9 cigars

Serving Suggestion ~ along with tomato ketch-up

Ingredients

For Paneer filling :

3/4 cup scrambled paneer

2 tbsp finely chopped onion

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp finely chopped carrot

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

salt to taste

1 tsp mustard seeds

2-3 tbsp finely chopped coriander

For Rolls :

1 cup maida (all purpose flour)

salt to taste

water to knead dough

For Maida Paste :

3-4 tbsp maida

enough water to make paste

Method

For Dough

Sieve maida and salt. Combine in a mixing bowl. Add water, knead to a smooth dough. Close and keep aside for 30 mins.

Combine maida and salt in a bowl. Add water little by little to make a sticky paste. Keep it aside.

For Paneer Filling

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan or kadai. Tamper mustard seeds. Add chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Saute a while and add copped carrots.
Fry for a min. Add scrambled paneer, turmeric powder and red chili powder. Saute a while.
Add garam masala and salt to taste. Cook on low flame till all the moisture is absorbed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

To Make Paneer Cigar/Mini Rolls

Take the prepared dough and divide into equal shaped balls. Take a ball and dust with little flour. Roll it using rolling pin. Make sure it is not too thin or too thick.
Cut the sides and make small rectangles using knife. Take the sheets and keep aside. And use the remaining left over dough to prepare sheets again. I made 8 sheets
Take one sheet and place little paneer mixture at one end of sheet, apply maida paste on all corners and start rolling it. On the other end of sheet, seal the end of the sheet. Repeat the same for all the maida sheets.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai and deep fry the rolls till it turns golden brown on all the sides. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil using tissue paper.

Paneer Cigars are now ready to be enjoyed serve along with tomato ketch-up!

Cooks Wisdom

- Make sure you do not make the maida dough too sticky else it will result in soggy cigars

- You can add onion seeds to the dough for more flavor

- You can also use grated carrots, potato and cheese for the filling

- Also for a non veg variation you can use shredded chicken/ kheema

Pink Guava are in abundance right now, so I wanted to make sure that I make good use of them, so the other day I tried to make a sweet lassi using pink guava and it was delicious. Right from childhood I have had this fond affection towards Guava fruit, the ripe kind. Amma keeps saying that when ever she wanted to keep me busy she would give me a ripe guava fruit and I would keep mushing over it for about an hour ;-). Now you know how much I love this fruit. Back then I had this fond liking towards the white variety of guava (green apple guava) but off late I have fallen in love for these pink beauties. If you have been following my lil blog you would know that I am a big lassi fan ;-), this time around I wanted to try a lassi using guava fruit. To my surprise it was absolutely yum and stayed fresh even after 1 day.

Guava is a tropical fruit that is rich in nutrition. The are low in calories, rich in dietary fibers, high in vitamin C and rich in potassium compared to bananas. Guavas also helps in weight loss and digestion, so I tried to combine it along with curd to make a great tasting lassi. Give it a try and I am sure you will keep making it again and again.

PINK GUAVA LASSI RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own

Serves~ 4

Prep time ~ 20 mins

Ingredients

Pink Guava - 5 nos, washed & quartered

Curd - 1 & 1/2 cup ( I used lowfat)

Water - 1 cup

Sugar - as required (optional)

Method

In a saucepan heat 2 cups water and when it comes to a boil, add the quartered guava pieces and let it cook for 5-6 minutes until soft. Switch off discard the water and set aside to come to room temperature
Add the cooked guava, curd, water and sugar in batches, puree them to smooth.
Using a strainer strain to remove the seeds

Serve chilled/ immediately

Cooks Wisdom

- Cooking guava helps the drink to stay fresh for long

- I added more guava for the pink color to remain

- You can add half glass milk too for this recipe

Check out my other Lassi Recipes

Mango Lassi

Kesar Malai Lassi

Masala Mor

Of late I have become this crazy Rasam fan. With husband and me taking turns with fever and cold, the only thing that was pure comfort to us during these times is a simple flavorful rasam. I have never tried lemon rasam before so I was bit skeptical of how the taste would be. I even thought to myself how just few tbsp of lemon juice can make the rasam so unique. To be on the safer hand I checked for the Lemon Rasam recipe from my dear friend Sangee Vijay's blog. To my surprise husband and me felt that this is one of the best tasting rasam's ever so you know what happened right ;-) I had to make this rasam again the same week. Thanks Sangee dear for this lovely and delicious recipe.

Lemon Rasam is a tangy and flavor rich tamarind curry made with strong flavors of lime/ lemon juice. It has a unique and dominating taste of lemon and makes you enjoy every bit of the rasam from start to finish. The tempering of whole spices, tomato, lemon juice, tamarind pulp, cooked dal adds magic to this recipe. Give it a try and I am sure that this will be a rasam that you will keep making again and again at home.

LEMON RASAM RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ adapted from SpicyTreats

Serves ~ 4 generously

Cook & prep time ~ 20 mins

Serving Suggestion ~ White rice, sambar, poriyal and appalam

Ingredients

Toor Dal - fistful

Tomato - 1 large chopped

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp or juice of 1 large lemon

Green chili - 3-4

Coriander leaves & stem - chopped to garnish

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Rasam Powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Tamarind pulp - from 1 lemon sized ball

To Temper

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing - a generous pinch

Dry red chili - 1

Curry leaf - 1 spring

Method

Pressure cook toor dal with 1 cup water, turmeric powder, salt and few drops of oil for 4 whistles or for 10 minutes. Once done switch off and let the pressure settle, mash the dal with an wooden ladle and set aside
Extract tamarind pulp with water and set aside. Squeeze lemon juice and set aside.
In a wide pan add the tamarind water, mashed tomatoes and let it come to a boil ( this takes 3 minutes) now add the cooked dal to this again bring it to a boil.
Now add the rasam powder and give it a good stir, wait for the rasam to boil and when bubbles come to the brim of the pan switch off by adding lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves and stems
Now add salt and check for spice level. In a little wok add oil temper mustard seeds, hing, curry leafs and chopped green chilli add this to the prepared rasam. Close the lid for the flavors to combine.

Serve hot along with rice, sambar, porriyal and appalam :-)

Cooks Wisdom

- In the original recipe Sangee tempers the rasam at the beginning itself, but I followed my usual method of tempering at the end.

- You can add few drops of coconut oil/ ghee while tempering for additional flavor.

- Make sure that the lemon is fresh for a great tasting rasam

- I used store bought rasam powder you can use freshly group powder too.

- Coriander stems give the lift of flavor for rasam recipes, so make sure you add the stems

- I have not added garlic in this recipe, you can go ahead and add chopped garlic while tempering

Frozen hands and melting Kulfi, this was something I did not anticipate while clicking the pictures for this gorgeous Indian favorite. I have never come across someone who does not love Kulfi, have you? Ever since I tasted this yum dessert there has never been a time that I have not collected those cute little earthern pots in which Kulfi's are usually served and ya not to forget how we used to scrape those cute little pots for those last bits of the creamy deliciousness. I never ever thought that there will be a day that I would make Kulfi at home :p I wonder why though...

Kulfi is a popular Indian frozen dessert, you can say its India's way of making ice cream. It is popular throughout places such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Middle East. Taste wise Kulfi is much more creamier and also dense with nuts & flavoring. Kulfi was traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened and flavored milk with slow cooking, with continuous stirring to keep milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel where it might burn, until its volume was reduced by a half and thickening.

At this point I want to congratulate my dear sis Divya Pramil, the owner and host of the cooking group South vs North (SNC), Divs I knew that day when you shared about your idea of this event that I told you that this is something so unique and definitely it would be a massive hit. I was so happy to see the trailing mails of the group that what started as a little bunch of us is now a 88 + group, wow. Kudos to all your efforts, hard work and enthusiasm to create a group as unique as this. And also want to congratulate all those great cooks who make this event a success. This month being the 11'th challenge I was so happy to see the recipes by the 2 teams, this Months Challenge is Kesar Pista Kulfi by Shruthi and Passi Paruppu Payasam by Divya Pramil. I must thank Shruti for the perfect recipe to make the delicious Kulfis. We all at home simply loved it a lot :-) and plan to make variations too.

KESAR PISTA KULFI RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Shruti

Serves ~8 medium sized kulfis

Prep time ~ 25 mins

Chill time ~ min 5 hrs

Ingredients

1 liter milk ( I used full fat)
1/2 tin condensed milk (I used Amul)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tbsp cornflour powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/3 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 tsp saffron

Method

Boil milk in a sauce pan until it reduces to 3/4'th. This took nearly 20 mins.

Keep the condensed milk and in a glass take some of the boiled milk and dilute the cornflour in it. Now add the condensed milk and cornflour mix to the reduced milk

Now add the chopped pistachios, ground cardamom powder and saffron strands. Mix well, if your saffron strands don't give much color you can add pinch of food color (yellow), mix well

Once all the nuts and cardamom combine well switch off and let it rest to come to room temperature Keep the kulfi molds ready in the mean time. Then fill the molds with the prepared thickened milk and close the lids tight and place in the freezer for minimum 5 hours

Once the kulfis are all set, show them on running water for few seconds and place them on serving bowls immediately and enjoy

Cooks Wisdom

- I added a pinch of yellow food color, you can always skip this step

- You can add your preferred nuts to this kulfi

- You can make variations to the recipe by making chocolate kulfi, almond kulfi or rose kulfi

Linking this wonderful recipe to the SNC group

Whoever said 'baking bread is therapeutic' is so right. Last week I was in a full time baking mode and that's when I tried to do this lovely Asian Marble bread. Firstly I have to tell you I am this big fan of Marble cake, I so love the chocolate and vanilla flavours together and not to miss those swirls you get to do with the cake batter. I was so excited to see this bread recipe. I have had many failures with baking bread and the big culprit would be the yeast, most times I would kill it. Thanks to blogging and a bunch of awesome bakers I fixed the issues and of all the bread baking method, I have always found the Roux/ Tangzhong method to be a child's play. No worries about the yeast and you are sure to get super soft bread. Although getting the roux right is something you need to master but tell you it isn't so complicated.

Talking about roux method of baking it results in the softest bread that remains so for upto 2 days. A mix of flour and water gently simmering to form a paste that has ripples is prepared. Later it is brought to room temperature and then combined with other ingredients to form a soft dough, proofed and later knead to be baked. Breads prepared by this roux method doesn’t get stale and hard like other breads within a day of baking, it will stay soft and fluffy for several days. Mind you this marble bread is not sweet and hence you definitely need a spread to enjoy them. I baked this bread for the Home Bakers challenge started by Priya Aks. This is the first challenge I could participate in and so happy I did. August month challenge is bread and is hosted by Manjula. She challenged us with four different interesting bread varieties and I picked this Chocolate Marble bread. Thanks deary for this awesome bread, we at home really loved it a lot ;-). I think I need to master my skills in plating bread, hmm hopefully someday I will. I have learnt a lot from this challenge

ASIAN MARBLE BREAD RECIPE

Recipe Source: Simple Recipes

Makes ~ 9" loaf, approx 10-12 slices

Serving suggestion ~ Along with Nutella/ jam

Storage ~ in an air-tight container for upto 2 days

Ingredients

For roux

All purpose flour, 1/3 cup

Water, 1 cup

Other ingredients

All purpose flour, 2 1/2 cups

Sugar, 2 Tablespoons

Salt, 1 teaspoon

Milk powder, 3 Tablespoons

Water, as needed

Unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 Tablespoons

Yeast, 1 1/2 teaspoons

Butter, 2 Tablespoons

For roux

In a small pan, mix flour and water without any lumps and cook it in low heat stirring with wooden spoon to prevent from burning.
When the mixture starts to thicken and ripples are formed, turn off the heat.Set it aside to cool. You can cover it with cling wrap to prevent the top from drying.

For Dough

In a mixing bowl combine all purpose flour, sugar, salt, milk powder and yeast. To this add the roux (all of it) and knead well. Then add Butter and knead till the butter is fully incorporated into the dough.Divide the dough into 1/3 & 2/3 portions approximately. Cover the smaller portion and set it aside.
Knead the larger portion of the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cover it and set it aside.Now to the smaller portion of the dough add the cocoa powder and water as needed and knead until it is incorporated well and the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and set this aside too.
Let both the dough proof until it is double its size (for about 2 hours).Then deflate the dough and knead them.
Flatten the white dough to about 12* 6 inches rectangle and chocolate dough to about 6 * 9 inches. Layer Chocolate layer in between the while dough layers. Flatten them and cut them into 2 equal portions, place one on top of the other and flatten them again. Repeat the process for couple of more times.
Cut the flattened dough into 3 equal strips. Gently roll each of them and place them together and braid them. Place this braided bread in loaf pan.Cover it and let them rise till it is almost tripled its original size.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and bake it for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush it with melted butter. Remove from the loaf pan, let it cool completely. Then slice and serve.

Cooks Wisdom

- This marble bread is not sweet so make sure you use a spread like nutella or jam to go with it

- Make sure that the butter and roux is in room temperature

- Kneading well results in soft bread

- Make sure you allow the bread to proof well, if you start kneading it in a hurry it will proof again and result in the braids not holding the shape

- The actual method calls for bread flour but since I didn't have that I replaced it with all purpose flour.

- In case if you don't have milk powder, you can omit it.

Linking this to the Home bakers Challenge @ Desi Fiesta. To know more about this challenge click here.

Check out my Wholewheat Hot cross buns made in Roux method

After all the cakes & bakes at home I am in no mood to eat anything sweet, so my breakfasts now are mostly drinks or fruits. I don't call this a diet but still I am just playing it safe :P. Usually I love to enjoy fruits as they are but I do love to have drinks/ smoothies that make its super simple yet delicious. So the other day I tried this pomegranate milkshake and it was super yum. If you have picky eaters at home and ones that will not eat pomegranate this is a great way to add this fruit to their diet.

We all know that Pomegranates are known as a blood purifier, they are best source of antioxidants and also aid in increasing immunity. Not only that they have the ability to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure and even in suppressing depression to a great extent. I must say that there is so much magic to colored fruits and vegetables that they are so good for our health. And me being a fruit lover, pomegranate comes handy ;-) although I must agree the job of seeding the pomegranate is sure some work but eventually I am sure we all do it right?

POMEGRANATE MILKSHAKE RECIPE

Source ~ Own

Serves ~ 2 tall glasses

Prep time ~ 10 mins

Ingredients

Pomegrate seeds - 3 cups

Milk - 1 cup

Sugar - if required

Method

Deseed the pomegranate and set aside. Add them to a blender and make a smooth paste, strain the seeds and excess pulp and discard.
Now add the thick pulp with the milk and sugar if using and blend well.

Serve in tall glasses and enjoy

Cooks Wisdom

- For a vegan option use soy milk

- Adding sugar is totally optional I skipped it.

- You can also add your preferred nuts to add more nutty flavor

Since childhood I have always been this good child who will eat vegetables and fruits, I would never complain about food as such. I did have disliked to certain veggies like bitter gourd and drumstick but not anymore. Carrot juice is something that mom used to make for me often, using raw carrots. Today I wanted to share a cooked version of carrot juice with a combination of orange which makes a great tasting drink, you can even serve this as a welcome drink and keep your guests guessing what it is ;-). So I tried this drink and it turned to be too good and served it to everyone at home and no one could actually guess what the drink was :-) I was super happy. This drink is a great way to start your day, absolutely tasty and guilt free indeed. A must try if you are beauty conscious person as carrots are known to improve skin complexion and oranges for clearness of skin.

CARROT ORANGE RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own

Serves ~ 4 tall glasses

Prep time ~ 15-20 mins

Ingredients

Carrots - 3-4 nos

Orange - 3-4 nos

Water - 4 cups approx

Sugar/ honey - as required

Method

Chop ends of carrot and wash them clean, then pressure cook with 1 cup water for 2 whistles, let the pressure settle down
Once it cools down make a fine puree in a mixer, to this add orange juice and 2 cupa water and sugar (if adding), again blend in mixer for 30 seconds
Using a strainer strain the pulp and add more water if required

Serve chill in tall glasses and enjoy

Cooks Wisdom

- You can add cardamom powder / ginger to give little more lift to the drink but I did not add them

- Make sure carrots are partially cooked so that they have their goodness intact

- The pressure cooker carrots leave a stock use them up for making chappati dough or to add in soups/ curry

- You could also fizz the drink by adding drinking soda to it ;-)

Today is another day for a Virtual Treat. We a bunch of blogger friends are up for a virtual birthday bash to one of our dearest and sweetest friend who is full of smiles, laughter and happiness. She is such a unique friend that anyone can have, that much friendly, caring and someone whom you will have a good laugh with. Her down to earth nature, fun filled talk, caring nature and her simplicity have always stunned me. She is a great cook too and can make recipes withing minutes, her love of sweets are endless, you must check out her space to see so many innovative recipes. Its none other than our dear +Manjula Bharath who blogs at Desi Fiesta. Its been couple of months since we became friends and I still get this feeling that we have been friends for a longggg time. Manju is such a fun person to be around with, we both are born and brought up in the same city and instantly we had this connection. You will be surprised that she is a Rajastani who can speak Tamil so so well. I am still amazed with her knowledge of my mother tongue and of course those crazy typologies that she makes ;-). She is a very beautiful mom and wife, I always pull her leg for her slim and trim figure :p which she never really accepts, but who cares ;-) So for Manju's birthday we planned to do a virtual thali treat of different course basically south Indian since Manju loves food from South India. I have made a mini tiffen thali for her hope you love this simple platter Manju

Happy Birthday Manju dear have one wonderful birthday as wonderful as you. Wishing you a year filled with all the choicest blessings from above.

MINI TIFFEN THALI RECIPES

Sambar Idly
Sambar
Coconut Chutney
Kal Dosa
Podi
Mysor Pak
Apple Date Gulkand Milkshake

MINI IDLY / 14 IDLY

Make mini idlies using idly batter and line them in a bowl, pour hot sambar and garnish with chopped onions for crunch

COCONUT CHUTNEY

SAMBAR

KAL DOSA

Heat a non stick skillet, smear some oil and take a laddle of dosa batter and make thick dosas, drizzle oil and once it is 805 cooked flip side and let it cook for 30 seconds. Serve hot

APPLE DATE GULKAND MILKSHAKE

Ingredients

Apple - 1 large chopped, de-seeded
Dates - 6-7 de-seeded chopped
Gulkand - 1 spoon
Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
Sugar - if required

Method

In a mixer or juicer first blend dates, chopped apple and gulkand to a thick puree, then add milk and give it a good whisk for a minute. Strain or serve directly to tall glasses and enjoy

I love cakes! Period. Be it those creamed ones or simple plain snack cakes I am all game. Usually I love to have cakes as a snack rather than a dessert, only exception is when they are served with a scoop of icecream ;-). I am not sure why thought. I think for me cake is more of a snack or a tea time treat or mid morning hunger prank rescue. So the other day I was in this cake prank and wanted to bake something fresh and fragrant. I found this recipe so interesting as it uses wheat flour and jaggery along with toasted coconut. Just when I read that I started to dream the marriage of flavours in my mind, vola within minutes I started to prep for the cake.

Vegan coconut cake as it is called does not use any butter, egg or dairy (milk/curd). The cake is super rich and so filling that just one piece I felt was totally rich and satisfying. Great way to serve tea for the family or friends. The cake is super moist and I just felt if vegan bakes were so delicious may be I must take an oath to vote for them quite often. Since the cake gets its flavour from coconut milk and shredded coconut do use freshly done coconut milk and shred freshly cut coconut, this sure adds more flavour to the cake. The cake browned quite well on the outside and the inside gets its colour from jaggery, I used a bit of sugar too to be sure of the sweetness once its baked. But you can easily skip sugar if you want to. Nevertheless this is one of the best tasting vegan bakes I have laid my hands on.

VEGAN COCONUT CAKE RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Curryleaves

Prep time ~ 15 mins

Bake time ~ 25 - 35 mins

Makes ~ 6" cake

Serves ~ 10

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour- 1 and 1/2 cups

Baking soda-3/4 tsp

Baking powder-1 tsp

Salt- 1 pinch

Toasted coconut-1/2 cup (see notes)

Grated or powdered jagerry / Brown sugar- 1 and 1/4 cup( loosely packed)

Granulated white sugar (powdered) - 2 tbsp

Coconut milk-1 cup

Vegetable oil-1/3 cup

Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

White Vinegar- 1 tsp

Method

Preheat oven to 180 Deg C.Lightly grease the cake tin with oil and line it with parchment paper.Keep aside
In a large mixing bowl,combine together alal dry ingredients - whole wheat flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt,toasted coconut and grated jagerry, sugar (if using). Mix until everything is combined
In a another bowl combine all wet ingredients - coconut milk,vegetable oil,scraped vanilla and vinegar.Pour this into the prepared dry ingredients.
Mix gently with a wooden spatula,just until combined.( Do not over mix)
Pour this batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 - 30 mins until a skewer inserted in centre comes clean

Cooks Wisdom

- Make sure you use fresh coconut milk and freshly shredded coconut for more flavour, you can add coconut essence if you have
- To toast coconut in a medium heat on a non stick pan dry roast the shredded coconut for 2 minutes until fragrant and all the wetness disappears. You will find the coconut changing color this is the right time to remove from heat, once this cools down add to the dry ingredients. Reserve some to be topped later on cake
- If you don't have jaggery use powdered sugar / brown sugar
- In case u want to do muffins with this recipe adjust the baking temperature and bake for 15-18 mins

Linking this recipe to an event Vegan Thursday hosted by Priya Suresh aks To be part of this lovely group do visit here.

I love Beets, mainly for the lovely color and the unique sweet taste in them. I love to make different recipes using Beets and this is one such kitchen trials that turned to be so yum. We had guests at home and everyone loved it so much and asked for a second and third serving. They could hardly guess how I got the pik color to the Kheer ;-), later I told them that it is Beetroot, immediately they all got the recipe and plan to do it at home. Can there be anyother better compliment?

Kheer are quick desserts to serve for guests, the preparation time is less and of course you need to serve them chill to enjoy every last drop. Milk is thickened and beetroot puree is added to it along with condensed milk, sugar and flavoring, cooled and later refrigerated to be served later. The addition of beetroot gives a unique taste to this recipe. Give it a try and

BEETROOT KHEER RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own

Prep time ~ 15 mins

Serves ~ 4 generously

Ingredients

Beetroot - 2 large peeled

Milk - 1 liter

Sugar ~ 1 spoon (adjust as per sweetooth)

Condensed milk - 1/2 tin

To Garnish - chopped cashew and pumpkin seeds (handful)

Rose Syrup - 1 tbsp

Method

Pressure cook beetroot with 2 cups water for 10 mins for 3 whistles. Once the pressure settles remove the cooked beetroot once it cools down puree it
Boil milk and reduce it to 3/4 quantity, add beetroot puree, condensed milk, rose syrup, sugar and stir well and cook for further 5-7 mins. Switch off
Add the nuts and seeds, once it comes to room temperature keep in refrigerator to be served chill

Cooks Wisdom

- Make sure that the kheer is chilled well, it tastes great when served chill

- You can adjust the sweetness to the recipe by adjusting quantituy of condensed milk and sugar

- You can also add cardamom powder for flavoring

- You can also add cooked carrots puree to the kheer for more flavor

Linking this recipe to SYS- Beetroot event started by Viji (Virunthu Unna Vanga)& hosted by Shama (Easy2cook Recipes)

Monday Morning and the day seems long for me all because I woke up a bit early ;-) hope your weekend was good, mine was super busy with the husband at home and this weekend was pretty much cooking and eating. So today I am all sluggish and wanted to go for light meals, I often make this Spicy Oats porridge and since one of my reader requested for this recipe I thought of sharing it here, I made the same for this morning's breakfast. I find lot of commercial masala oats packets in food shelves these days, trust me they cannot be as good as homemade ones. Oats has been a long long ago ingredient as far as I am concerned, ever since I can remember Amma used to make oats porridge at home. But as the years have passed I have learnt to spice it a bit and added more vegetables to make it more appetising to eat.

Oats is low in GI (Glycemic Index) which means its great for those who have diabetes and PCOS. A great filling breakfast/ dinner with oats is said to reduce bad cholesterol improve digestion and control blood pressure. One other thing is that never have more than 2-3 tbsp of oats per meal the quantity also matters if you are looking at oats as a diet food. Adding lots of fresh vegetables to this porridge make it really filling at the same time balance in fibre and I have also added tofu for a bit of protein to make this a complete fulfilling meal.

MASALA OATS RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own

Prep & cook time ~ under 15 mins

Serves ~ 2 small bowls

Ingredients

Oats (quick oats) - 4 tbsp

Water - 3/4'th cup

Vegetables - 1/2 cup (I used carrots, beans, peas)

Tofu - 2 tbsp (optional, but recommended)

Curd - 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 medium, chopped

Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Olive oil - 2 tsp

Method

In a non stick pan dry roast oats for a minute until you get a fragrant smell
In the same pan heat oil add onions and saute until transparent Add the chopped vegetables except tofu and salt saute until it gets half cooked in medium to low flame
Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and curd, mix well. Now add the oats and mix well and add boiling water, tofu and let it boil for 1 minute

Serve hot

Cooks Wisdom

- You can skip tofu if you dont have. Add your preferred vegetables in this porridge or you can just make it plain by adding onions and tomato
- This spicy oats id mild in flavour your can heat it up with green chilli or also by adding some chopped garlic
- Dry roasting oats makes the oats cook faster
- For a vegan option skip curd

We group of friends started a new event Tamizhar samayal tuesday which is going to happen in 2nd and 4th tuesday of every month.Tamilnadu cuisine is famous for its flavor and spices,each disrict has their own signature foods.We know very well that Tamilians have many delicious foods, for example Kanchipuram is famous for idlis, while tirunelveli is famous for halwa, needless to say much about the famous Chettinad cuisine and another well known kongu cuisine.

Yes we are proud to be Tamilians and we love to share our knowledge of this famous foods, thus we planned this event.In this event you can cook and show case the food which is very popular and traditional in any region of Tamilnadu.Both veg and non-veg recipes are allowed.

This event doesn't have any specific themes or ingredients,cook anything popular in the region of Tamilnadu.

The main motto of the event is to know the food cultures followed in each region especially in village sides.

Want to be a part of this event, do leave your mail id in the comment box.

Sometimes something as simple as a fresh drink can make me all satisfying. Do you get what I mean? I always love to load myself with juices and drinks more so the fresh ones with fruits and yogurts. So I have been in this whirlwind of trying different drink recipes and if you have noticed just last month I posted a couple of them like - Carrot Orange Cooler, Pomegranate Milkshake, Watermelon Aguafresca, Kesar Malai Lassi and Pink Guava Lassi. Yes that many juices and drinks ;-) so this month is no exception I have few juices and drink recipes that will be up on this space. So if you are someone like me who loves fresh juices and you are sure to enjoy those posts. So the other day I was in this juice prank and I remembered this recipe of Watermelon Lassi done by Priya aks so I immediately chopped some watermelon and added some yogurt and vola a great tasting Lassi was ready :-) the taste is quite unique and with an inviting color who can so no to this pretty looking lassi?

WATERMELON LASSI RECIPE

Serves ~ 2 tall glasses

Prep time ~ 6 mins

Ingredients

Watermelon - 2 cups

Fresh Yoghurt - 5 tbsp

Sugar- if using

Water - 1/2 cup

Method

Blend all ingredients in a blender/ mixer and stain the pulpy bits and seeds. Serve immediately and enjoy

Cooks Wisdom

- Makes sure you use fresh yoghurt and not sour curd as it does show a difference in the drink
- You can add chopped watermelon on top before serving

Mango Dal have you ever tried it? Its absolutely delicious and it was my first time that I ever tasted it and I cannot stop raving about it because Amma made this yumm dal for me when I visited her a while ago. I really wonder how she does magic to food.. I know all our mothers are great cooks, they perfect recipes and their recipes taste the same every time they make them right? If you are food blogger I have this one question to you, do you only post recipes that are a favourite at home? or your trails too? just curious you know :P

MANGO DAL RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Amma

Prep & cook time ~ 20 mins

Serving suggestion ~ white rice, appalam and veg stirfry

Ingredients:

Thoor dal - 1 cup

Raw mango - 1 small(cut into small pieces)

Methi leaves - 2 small bunches(cleaned & cut)

Onion, big - 1 no, sliced

Tomatoes- 2 cut into cubes

Green chillies - 3 slit

Garlic & ginger - 1 tbl sp (slightly crushed)

Turmeric powder -1 tsp

Jeera/ cumin powder-1 tsp

Salt to taste

To Temper

Oil - 3 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Hing/ Asfodetia - 2 pinches
Curry leaves - 4-5

coriander leaves cut 2 tbl sp. for garnishing.

Method

In a pressure cooker put all the ingredients, add 2 cups of water and cook for 5 whistles or for 10 mts. Let the pressure gradually settle
Remove from stove, mash well using a wooden laddle. Add hot water to required consistency or make it bit thin
Check for spice and salt and adjust accordingly.
Do the tadka and add to the dal. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Cooks Wisdom

- You can garnish with come raw mango pieces
- Serve hot with white rice and may be top with some ghee for additional flavor
- You can also skip methi leaves for this dal
- Amma used small methi leaves so they almost disappeared in the curry

Andhra Pesaruttu Dosa is a famous breakfast special from the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is healthy, filling and a quick to do dosa that does not require fermenting of dosa batter. I make this quite often and its always a big welcome recipe with my family. I love to spice it up with onions and green chilli and the perfect combo would be coconut chutney. Usually in tiffen centres in Andra I have heard they they serve it with rawa upma as a stuffing inside but I have personally never tried it. You can mix and match ingredients to suit your tastebuds.

Pesaruttu Dosa is green in colour and made using green moong dal/ pachapayaru, raw rice, onions and green chilli. Its very filling and soft in texture, usually a little thick compared to paper dosas or the usual dosa varieties. A loose batter will result in a crisp outer and a soft and spongy inside. Don't mind to drizzle with some oil while making this dosa for added taste.

ANDHRA PESARUTTU DOSA RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own

Prep time ~ under 25 mins

Makes ~ close to 10-12 dosas

Serving suggestion ~ along with coconut chutney or peanut chutney

Ingredients

To Soak & grind

Green Moong Dal/ Pachai Payarru - 1/2 cup

Raw Rice/ Ponni Rice - 1 Cup

To Grind to paste

Green chilli - 7-8 nos

Small onions - 10-12 nos (you can replace with 1 big onion)

Garlic - 3 pods

Ginger - few pieces

Coriander/ mint leaves - 15 leaves

Salt - to taste

Method

Wash several times and soak the green moong and rice together in warm water for atleast an hour.
Drain and save the excess water, using a wet grinder/ mixer grind until a smooth batter forms by adding the saved water little by litter the consistency can be medium thick to that of dosa batter.
Collect batter in a vessel and grind the ingredients under to grind - green chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander/ mint leaves to a smooth paste with little water
Mix the paste to the batter, salt and add more water to form a dosa batter consistency. Let it sit for at-least an hour for the flavours to mingle
Now to prepare dosa heat a non stick tawa and once it is hot. Take scoop of batter using a ladle and form a dosa in circular motions. Drizzle oil and flip side after 1-2 minutes and cook on the other side too.
This dosa takes a while to cook so don't be in a hurry, give it some time and make sure the tawa is in medium- low flame so that the dosa does not get burnt fast

Serve hot with your favourite chutney

Cooks Wisdom

- It is important for the dal and rice to soak for atleast an hour in warm water. Do not be in a hurry else it would result in a course batter than a smooth one

- If the dosa batter is thin you will get crisp outer and soft inner dosas

- I have spiced it according to my taste you can reduce the amount of chilli or ginger/garlic according to your preference.

- Also once you grind the batter let it sit in counter top for atleast an hour for the flavors to mingle, I have noticed that if I make dosas in a hurry they do not brown that well and also the dosas are hard to flip and stick to the skillet.

- You can save the remaining batter in the refrigerator to be used the next day

- This dosa takes a while to cook so don't be in a hurry, give it some time and make sure the tawa is in medium- low flame so that the dosa does not get burnt fast

Linking this recipe to an event Vegan Thursday hosted by Priya Suresh aks To be part of this lovely group do visit here.

Truly Madly Deeply cakes, yep that's how I dream about them. I was and am always this kid who loves cakes and never failed or missed a birthday cake ever. My big time excitement would be to visit a local bakery for a cake and milkshake. On the completion of every exam calender Amma used to promise me to take me to the bakers for a cake and milkshake. And I used to dream about going to the shop while writing my exams :P. I was packing bags to go home (parents) and I wanted to bake them a cake to take along with me. Truth be told this is the first time I baked a cake for them, hmmm let me put it this way the first time they got to taste my bakes. Since my parents are not cream cake fans I made this simple super moist banana cake for them, it turned out so perfect and I was one happy child ;-) and really I had this joy of them relishing this cake which is priceless.

Banana cake is a super soft and tender cake that is rich in favour, truly makes you eat more and enjoy every crumb. Since banans give great moisture to cakes with the addition of nuts and eggs they taste heavenly. Give it a try and go bananas... :P Happy Weekend Y'll :D

BANANA SNACK CAKE RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Joy of Baking
Makes ~ 8 " cake
Servings ~ 10
Prep time ~ 10 mins
Bake time ~ under 40 mins

Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas

1/3 cup (80 ml) sour cream/ curd, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 cups (230 grams) cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used cashew)

10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Method

Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease an 8 inch (23 cm) round cake pan.
In the bowl place the bananas, curd, and vanilla extract. Whisk until blended and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after every addition.
In another bowl combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
Add the softened butter, along with half the banana mixture, and beat on low speed just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium (on high if using a hand mixer) and beat the batter for 1 1/2 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top and pan the pan on the counter top to avoid air pockets in the batter
Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.

Cut into thick slices and serve.

Cooks Wisdom

- adding chopped nuts, raisins or dates.
- I used 3 small bananas for this recipe, you can use any variety of bananas and make sure they are really ripe

I've always been this person who thought birthday's are special little did I know that this birthday boy is the one who is so special :-) Yes, it was my husband's birthday yesterday and I have been planning his special day for over a month. I have to admit this time I asked him what cake he wanted me to bake, he said a 3 layered one and chocolate to be exact. Then started my confusions, I have to tell you my husband is a picky eater and also my biggest critic, does this sound familiar? He really challenges me with his tastes and likings. One time he would say no butter another time it would be no eggs, thankfully for his birthday cake he was being really nice and let me do as I please ;-). Ok if you are thinking that this is a cake recipe from some big baking legend, the answer is no... I made a moist chocolate 3 layer sponge and frosted it with chocolate whipped cream and decorated with chocolate curls and shavings. I tried to mix and match and this was a result of it, as it has a resemblance of a black forest cake and has moist layers I thought let me name this a Chocolate BlackForest, sounds cool right? . But nevertheless he loved everything about the cake.

His Verdict - a super soft birthday cake and the best chocolate cake I ever had

CHOCOLATE SPONGE CAKE RECIPE {BUTTERLESS}

Recipe Source ~ Jane

Makes ~ 2 number 8 inch cakes, can be divided into 4 layers

Serves ~ 10 people or more

Prep & Bake time ~ 45 mins

Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose flour (I used unbleached)

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used natural cocoa)

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 and 1/2 cup milk (I used 2 percent)

1 tsp instant coffee powder

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used light oliveoil)

2 eggs, large

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C degrees. Grease two 8" round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment cut to fit. Flour the bottom and sides of each pan, tapping out the excess flour.
In the large bowl sieve flour, sugar, cocoa, coffee powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl combine the wet ingredients - milk, oil, and eggs. Beat this mixture at medium speed just until smooth. The batter will be very thin.
Pour it evenly into the three prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake springs back when very lightly touched. Cool the cakes in their pans, on racks, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Carefully invert the cakes to remove them from their pans, then invert them again so they can finish cooling on racks right side up.

Cooks Wisdom

- Do not over mix the batter and tap on the counter top once the batter is on the cake tin.

- In the original recipe brewed coffee is used I just increased the amount of milk since I added instant coffee powder

CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ JoyofBaking

Makes ~ 2 cups of whipped cream

Prep time ~ 5-6 mins

Ingredients

Regular full fat cream - 2 cups (cold)

Cocoa powder - 3-4 tbsp (adjust according to taste)

Vanilla extract / any flavouring - 2 tsp

Icing sugar - 4 tbsp

Method

Before whipping cream keep the bowl, whisk attachment (of hand/stand mixer) in the freezer for atleast 30 mins until it is nice and chill. Also put the cream in the refrigerator and ensure it is nice and cold too
Just before whisking the cream take out the bowl and pour the cream to it. In the meantime in a small bowl combine the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and add 3-4 tbsp of the cream to form a smooth paste. Set aside
Whisk the cream in the chilled bowl for a minute or more until u form soft peaks/ you see ripples of the whisk on the cream
Now add the cocoa paste and icing sugar, whisk again until frothy it takes under a minute. Stop now if you are too ambitious and whisk for long you will end up with cocoa butter.

Cooks Wisdom

- Do not over whisk the cream else it will result in butter
- Make sure you keep the cocoa paste and icing sugar ready before starting to whisk cream
- Freezing the bowl and whisk attachment speeds the process of whisking the cream

Assembly

Cut the top layers of the sponge and make 4 layers of the 2 8 inch cakes, Keep on a plate.
Prepare the serving tray/ platter drop a small dollop of whipped cream to it and place the first layer and then add a big dollop of the cream on the first layer smoothen it with a off set spatula or a cake knife. Repeat for all three layers.
Smooth the outside and top of the cake with more whipped cream. You can also pipe little of the white whipped cream on the sides and top of cake.
Decorate with chocolate shavings and chocolate curls on the sides.

So what do you think about this cake? do drop in your thoughts and comments would love to hear from all of you :-), posting this recipe on time for World Chocolate Day and happy choco weekend to all

How was your weekend? we had a super fun one, ate out with friends and slept early too, all in all relaxing too. Since its Monday and Onam I was all set for an Onam recipe but things changed as today one of our neighbours invited us for Onam Sadhya, so I am all excited about the feast. Happy Onam to all my readers and friends, since there is no Onam recipe thought of sharing a post from the draft. Vazhakhai poriyal/ stir fry is a simple vegetarian side for white rice and curry, a bit spicy and crisp on the outside. I love to have this along with sambar / curd rice but you can almost make this for any curry. Did you all notice the new header? ;-) I was bored of the old one so changed it.

VAZHAKKAI PORIYAL RECIPE

Recipe Source - own

Serves - 3-4 people

Prep & cook time - 30 mins

Serving suggestion - along with white rice, curry and appalam

Ingredients

Raw banana/ Vazhakkai - 1 big remove skin and cut into thin round slices

Turmeric powder -1 tsp

Red chilly powder- 1 tsp

Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhania/ Corriander powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying (about 2 to 3 tbl sp)

Method

Make a paste of all the powders adding little water. coat the banana slices with the masala paste on both sides and set aside for about 15 mts.
Keep a flat non stick pan on stove and heat it. Once hot, reduce flame to medium apply little oil and spread the banana slices on the pan. sprinkle some oil on top of the slices. after 1 or 2 mt, flip the slices and fry.
Add oil if needed. Fry all the slices in this way. Fry till the become crisp. Remove from stove.
Garnish with fried curry leaves.(optional)

Suji Crystal Cookies | Biskut Suji Crystal | Colored Cookie Recipe ~ Virtual Birthday Treat for Priya Suresh Aks

Chocolate Rice Kheer | Chocolate Pudding | Chocolate based Indian dessert ~ A Virtual Birthday Treat for Priya Aks

Paneer Cigar Rolls | Paneer Snack Recipe | Vegetarian Snacks ~ A Virtual Birthday Party for Preeti Tamilarasan

Pink Guava Lassi | Guava fruit drink | Summer Drinks

Lemon Rasam | Dal Lemon Rasam | South Indian Tamarind Curry

Kesar Pista Kulfi | Indian Kulfi Recipe | Frozen Indian Dessert

Asian Marble Bread | Chocolate Marble Bread | Roux Bread making method

Pomegranate Milkshake Recipe | Pomegranate Juice Recipe

Carrot Cooler | Carrot Orange Juice | Healthy fruit & veg drink recipe

Mini Breakfast Thali | South Indian Mini Tiffen Recipes ~ A Virtual Birthday Treat for Manjula Bharath

Vegan Coconut Cake | Coconut Jaggery Cake | Egg-free Butter-free Dairy-free Cake

Beetroot Kheer | Beetroot Dessert Recipe | Beetroot Milk Dessert

Masala Oats Breakfast Recipe | Spicy Oats Tofu Porridge | Healthy Diabetic Friendly Breakfast

Announcing Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday Event-Showing the Traditions

Watermelon Lassi | Watermelon Yogurt Recipe | Watermelon Drink Recipe

Mango Dal | Manga Vendaiyam Paruppu | Raw Mango Curry Recipe

Andhra Pesaruttu Dosa | Green Moong Dal Dosa Recipe | Andhra Breakfast Recipe

Banana Snack Cake | Banana Bread - Rich, moist & so so soft for my dear parents :-)

Chocolate Forest Cake ~ Happy Birthday Husband ♥

Raw Banana Pan Fry | Vazhakhai Porriyal | Vegetarian Sides