Low fat creamy Sweet corn curry

My Diet phase is back . I normally go on diet without compromising on taste . Otherwise we would get bored of eating what we dont like and drop it half way . Oh yeah Did I tell you I have started some cardio too ... Oh this simple cardio for 40 mins a day is something I am passionate about of late . Lets see how much I lose coupled with not so strict diet in a month ..

My sweetcorn in the fridge was nearing its expiry and that i needed to finish it off . I have been seeing lots of sweetcorn curry floating in the blog and most of them are very rich and creamy . Then I came up with my own version and it tasted extremely extremely good . You can indulge in without any guilt and can still thoroughly relish it.

Ingredients :

1. Sweet corn - 1 cup
2. Onion - 1 big
3. Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp.
4. Tomato - 1 big
5. chilly powder - 1 tsp.
6. coriander powder - 1/2 tsp.
7. cumin powder - 1/4 tsp.
8. kasoor methi - 1/4 tsp.
9. Skimmed Milk - 2/3 cup
10. corn flour - 1 tsp.
11. oil - 1 tsp.
12. salt to taste.
13. sugar - a pinch

Method :

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan , once it is hot add chopped onions and fry until it turns brown colour.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
3. Add chopped tomato , chilly powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,salt and a little of water and fry until tomato is completely mashed.
4. Now add boiled sweet corn and milk and corn flour dissolved in water and simmer it completely for about 8 mins.
5. Finally add kasoor methi .

Notes :

1. Kasoor methi gives a total flavour to the gravy.
2. Adding a sugar is a must to get that creamy taste.
3. cook on sim after adding milk otherwise milk might get curdled .

Simple Dhal recipe

Days are getting busier after my sis's marriage got fixed . I hardly find time to even think what to cook . Too much of baking in the last few days have resulted in me adding on like 4 kgs which is definitely not good . So I am so much resisting myself from baking , cooking rich foods and got back into diet phase again .

I am also planning to post from now on for next few months about the basic recipes to make it easier for my sister ;). She hardly knows to make dhal leave alone making sambhar . So this simple recipes period starts with this simple Dal which is anytime comfort food . It goes well with rice,idli, dosa and roti as well .

Ingredients :

1. Split yellow moong dhal - 1/2 cup
2. Small onion - 3 nos.
3. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
4. Tomato - 1 no.
5. Sambhar powder - 1 tsp.
6. Green chilly - 2 nos.
7. Garlic - 1 pod

Method :

1. Pressure cook dhal upto 3 whistle along with sambhar powder and keep it aside.
2. Heat a pan , add oil and once it is hot add cumin seeds , let it splutter , then add onions and saute for about 30 secs.
3. Now add chopped garlic, tomato, green chilly,  and salt . Fry until tomato is completely cooked .
4. Add the boiled dhal into the pan , adjust the water and simmer it until the dhal gets thickened. 

Notes :

• Any dhal like split masoor dhal, toor dhal can be substituted for moong dhal. 

Chettinadu Mushroom

If there is one cuisine that I can die for is this chettinadu cooking.Chettinad is famous for two things.One is the beautiful house and their cuisine.I have lived in chennai for a couple of years and the only good thing that had happened to me in chennai was staying next to karaikudi restaurant.
The aroma from the kitchen only make my kneels go week.I have known chettinadu cuisine only from the restaurants and have never tasted any at home kitchen. So my version of chettiandu mushroom will closely resemble the restaurant style .
Of late I have become addicted to photography though dont know anything about it.Thats funny right? I am hoping to improve on this :)
Lets go to the recipe straight

Ingredients :

1. Ginegelly Oil - 2 tbsp.
2. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
3. Clove - 2 nos.
4. Bay leaf - 1 no.
5. Fennel Seeds - 1 tspn.
6. Small onion - 20 nos.
7. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp.
8. Turmericpowder - 1/2 tsp.
9. Tomato - 1 no.
10. Mushroom - 200 gms.
11. Coriander Powder - 2 tbsn.
12. Chilli powder - 1 tbsn.
13. Salt to taste.

To be ground :

1. Grated Coconut - 3 tbsn.
2. Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp.
3. Kus Kus (poppy seeds) - 2tsp.
4. Cashenut -2 
5. Cardamom - 1 no.
6. Clove - 1 no.

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan and once it is hot enough , add cinnamon,bayleaf,clove,fennel seeds and fry until you see a slight change in color of the spices.
2. Now add chopped onions and fry unti onion turns light brown color.
3. Immediately ginger garlic paste and saute for about 30 seconds.
4. Add tomotoes, chilli powder,coriander powder and salt , cook until oil leaves the sides.
5. Now add mushrooms , stir it once and close with lid.Mushroom leaves lots of water, so cook until all the water is evaporated.
6. Add the ground paste with a glass of water and simmer it for 7 minutes.If the gravy is too thick after 7 minutes , add some more water and cook for another 2 minutes.If the gravy is watery add corinader powder and make it thick.

Note :

1. I used poppy seeds to the ground mixture, but it was not smooth.I was okay with it as it is not fatty yet thickens the gravy with nice aroma.If you dont like grainy mixture, substitue 4 cashews for 2 tsp of poppy seeds.:)
2. This will be perfect for idly or Kal dosa.

Aishu's Low Calorie Vada Curry

I am not cooking at all as I am at amma's place and literally doing only eating and sleeping 24 hrs. If it stretches for another 10 days , I would forget how to boil water leave alone cooking.

Anyway, my friend Aishwarya , a great cook by herself who constantly encourages me in blogging by trying out my recipes and coming out with good feedback everytime I post , immediately said yes when I asked her to contribute a post. Aishu, I owe you so much.Thanks a ton sweet heart for trying so much to keep my blog alive.:)

I am getting lots of brickbats for my sinful mushroom kurma for having included it in so called health conscious blog, so will try to limit myself only to the healthier ones from now on. Thanks once again for keeping in mind about this space and coming up with perfect recipe Aishu.

Looking forward to more such recipes from you da ;)..Lets get into today's recipe:


Ingredients:
Channa  dal-1cup
Onion-2
Cloves-2
Cinnamon stick-1
Fennel seeds 2tsps
Chilli powder
Garam  masala powder-1/2tsp
Turmeric powder
Salt
Tamarind pulp -1-11/2tbsps
Milk or coconut milk-1/2 cup

Method;

Soak dhal for about 2 hours and drain water completely. Grind the dhal coarsely in a mixer. Do not add water while grinding. Grease a plate with oil and spread this dhal mixture and steam in a pressure cooker for 15 mins.  Cool and cut into small squares or give a couple of churns in a mixer.
In a kadai heat oil. To it add cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and onion. When onion turns light brown add tamarind pulp and all the powders. Boil till the raw smell disappears. Now add the dhal pieces and boil well. Lastly add the milk and check the consistency. Consistency must be like thick gravy. Do not boil much after adding milk. Remove from fire and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Mushroom Kurma

For a non vegeterian converted into vegeterian like me , its really very tough to give up that non veg taste.And for me , the best substitutes are mushrooms and soya nuggets.But if you are a non vegeterian evnthough not a hard core , I would recommend you to substitute mushroom with chicken . That would be incredible.
Again a warning , This is one for a street food buff like me or who always ogled at them but restrained from eating only on hygenic point of view, then this one is a sure try. I dont know why I always like eating at street food licking my fingers more than some food in a posh restaurant with spoons and forks . I probably was a dog in the last birth , the impact still hangers in this birth as well I guess.
Back in native, the only outside food allowed at home is parotta, apparently because Karur is known for its parotta accompanied with this luscious kozhambu. Being in bangalore, getting a parotta itself is a big deal , leave alone this scrumptious kurma accompaniment and since me having used to this non veg kurma , I am not able to accustom to the vegetable kurma provided at hotel . They are too very vegetiranish . So, I tried this substituting with mushrooms and it turned out as good as I get in Karur.
This parotta has a special style of eating as well.Please get to the last para to know how to eat this .:D ..

Let me get into the recipe :

Ingredients :

1. Mushroom - 200 gms
2. Bay leaf - 1
3. Onion - 2 nos.
4. Tomato - 1
5. Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp.
6. Coconut scrapped - 1 cup
7. Everest Sabzi/chicken masala - 3 tsp.
8. Coriander powder - 2 tsp.
9. Chilli powder - 2 tsp.
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil - 3 tsp.

Method :

1. Heat a pan and oil , once oil is hot enough add bay leaf and onion , fry onion untill it turns golden brown.
2. Then add ginger garlic paste and saute for few seconds.
3. Add mushroom and fry for a minute.
4. Now add tomato , all masala powder and salt and fry until oil leaves on its sides.
5. Grind scrapped coconut and add it to the above mixture and add enough water and boil it nicely.
6. Consistency of the kurma is to be really thin , so that parotta gets soaked up well.

How to eat :

1. Tear the parotta into small pieces and then pour this kurma enough to soak those pieces well . Let it soak for a minute and then just binge on this .

This is the only food in the world which i never get bored of . Its really hard to keep up with your diet plan if you get a craving for parotta. Trust me I will have to run 20 mins more next day to even up for this binge.

Superman's Chole masala

Hey guys am back after my not well exams but fully charged up and more enthusiastic than before I should say . As you all know, His Cooking event is going on hosted by Priti Singh. I was eagerly waiting for my exams to get over just to post all my Superman's Recipes .

When Priti announced this event, I like a child went to him and said ' Hari, His cooking event is going on and I want you to contribute some ( not one ;) atleast to keep my blog alive . He was so happy as if he was waiting for this for so long . Yeah I should have got a hint when he was looking at me with one evil smile when mailing my friends asking them to contribute some recipes . I could see the happiness on his face when I asked him , but immediately his ego man popped up and acted ' what will I get if I cook  for your blog ' . I said I can show everybody how great a cook you are . ( Frankly, I never wanted others to know that he is a better cook than me :D) .
I have almost forgotten about this event , immediately after exams are over, he said tomorrow I want to cook. I have never let him cook in the last 1 year and am sure I have deprived him of his pleasure of cooking and domintaing me. I said yes because he promised to get me food processor.
Well, morning he got up a way before me and was in the kitchen cooking something.I lazily got out of the bed to see what he was doing. He had almost finished everything and I absolutely dint do anything.
I blew out of the air when he said softly ' GET YOUR CAMERA , LETS SEND THIS TO HIS COOKING EVENT ' . I stupidly felt so romantic ( seriously dunno why I felt ) .
He was still making pooris when I was taking these pictures instructing me from the kitchen how to take pictures. I for the first time in my felt happy when he was cooking .
This is one of his specialities and am with full jealous sending this to Priti Singh's HIS COOKING EVENT

Ingredients :

1. Channa - 1 Cup
2. Jeera - 1 tsp.
3. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp.
4. Onion - 2 mid sized onions.
5. Tomato - 1 no.
6. Cinnamon - 3 1/2 " sticks
7. Garlic - 4 pods
8. Ginger - 1/2 inch
9. Tamarind - 1 small marble size
10. Everest Chole masala - 3 tsp.
11. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp.
12. Jeera Powder - 1 tsp.
13. Garam masala - 1 tsp.
14. Oil
15. Salt to taste.

Method :

1. Boil channa softly say for about 25 mins in medium flame.
2. Grind 2 mid sized large onions along with Garlic and ginger and keep it aside.
3. Grind a handful of Boiled Channa into a thick liquid. 
4. Heat oil in a kadai.
5. Add Cinamon after the oil is heated nicely.
6. Immediately add the ground onion + garlic + ginger. Fry till it becomes golden brown.
7. Add the cut tomato into the kadai.
8. Add salt, coriander powder (1 spoon),  Jeera powder (1 spoon), Chole masala (3 spoon) and garam masala (1 spoon)  one after the other. When adding each of the spices, stir the tomato nicely so that the spices are well absorbed. Give around 30 seconds after adding one spice, before the next spice is added.
9. By the time all spices are added, the tomato will have mixed well with the onion (and no pieces will be seen).
10. Add the tamarind extract. This is added to give a tangy taste. 
11. Wait for tamarind extract  to come to a boil.
12. Now add the thick liquidy ground channa.
13. The ground onion, tomato and ground channa gives the base for the curry.
14. Wait for it to come to a boil.
15. Add the rest of the boiled channa pieces along with water. You could use  the water used for boiling the channa.
16. Boil the mix nicely while stirring ocassionaly so that the base for the curry does not settle at the bottom.
17. Once the mixture start simmering, check for correctness of salt and channa masala.
18. Boil the mixture until you get the correct thickness of the gravy (i like semi-thick. you may want to control the amount of water you add).

Thanks Hari for typing elaborately whatever you had done and not putting me to type.None of my posts is as elaborate as this I guess. I know he is a true passionate cook !!!

Baingan Bharta

I really hate to be in kitchen when friends are at home. I prefer finish cooking before they arrive or I feel its better to order something outside. This specially after getting into blog, friends call me and say " Pavi we are going to test your cooking skill today in real, be prepared. The moment I hear them say something like this , my legs and hands will never stop trembling until they come.You cannot make the usual idli chutney or roti subzi . At the same time you cannot spare more time specially when it is a short notice. Under circumstances like this , this recipe comes in handy. This is one of the richest gravies atleast among my friends circle. Trust me , you will get wowowoooooo for this recipe.One of my favourites.

Best part is , it goes well with roti, dosa, rice rawa upma , idli . u name it , it will go with anything after all.

Ingredients :

Egg plant - 2 nos.
Onion - 2 nos.
Tomato - nos.
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tsp.
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves - few
Oil - 3 tsp.
Salt to taste.

Method:
1. Smear oil on egg plant and roast it directly in gas medium flame.
2. Remove from flame and run it in cold water and remove the outer skin.
3. Cut it into pieces and check for any worms. then mash it thoroughly.
4. Take a pan, add oil and once it is hot add chopped onions and fry until it turns color.
5. Add ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell goes off.
6. Add tomato and fry until it is all smashed completely.
7. Now put the mashed baingan , stir well and cook for 3 mins.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Lip smacking baingan bharta is ready.

Egg kurma - Thirunelveli style

Ingredients :

Small onion - 7 nos.
Country tomatoes - 2 nos.
Coconut - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Egg - 3 nos.
Oil - 2 tsp.
Salt to taste

Salt to taste

Method :

1. Take a pan, add oil and once it is hot add onion and fry it till it turns into brown color.
2. Add tomatoes , salt , chilli powder, coriander powder and cook until tomatoes are mashed completely.
3. Grind the coconut smoothly and add into the above pan. Add enough water and bring it to boil.
4. Once the gravy starts boiling , break the egg and add it into the gravy one by one. It should not be stirred. Close the lid and leave it for 10 mins in medium heat.

Serve it with idli, dosa or aapam.

Vendaikkai - Puli kozhambu

I will be eagerly waiting for sundays to come as that is the only day, me and my husband get to have home made lunch together.So, I always make it a point to prepare something that we both of us like.


Be it any kozhambu, we both of us drool over Hee hee ( we eat anything as far as that is edible that is a different thing ). But vendaikkai is in the top of the list.


This is typical kovai style.After so many days of trying ,now I am able to make this proper vendaikkai kozhambu.

Ingredients :

Lady's finger - 12 nos.(small)

Small onion - 10 nos.

Red chilly - 4 nos.

Coriander powder - 3 tsp.

Tamarind extract - 3 tsp.(thick)

Coconut - 1 handful

Roasted channa dhal - 2 tsp.

Oil - 4 tsp.

Salt to taste

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry small onions (no need to cut).once it is slightly brown add red chillies, coriander powder and fry for few seconds.

2. Now add coconut and roasted dhal into the pan, stir once and turn off the stove.( dont fry coconut for long , then it will start giving oil smell).

3.Keep aside the pan and let it cool until it gets ready to be run in a mixie.Then grind it and make a paste.

4.Take another pan and 2 tsp of oil.Once the oil is heated , fry the lady's finger until it gets cooked.

5. Now add the ground mixture into the above pan , add tamarind extract , enough water and salt .Bring it to boil.

6. Curry will start thickening, so add some more water if you feel it is too thick.

Kozhanbu is ready !!!

Lobia gravy

This lobia is called Karamani in tamil and black eyed pea in English.This is one simple and easy to make recipe.You can just make it in max 20 mins.More importantly ,Black-eyed peas are an excellent source of calcium (211 mg in a 1 cup serving), folate (209mcg), and vitamin A (1,305 IU), among other nutrients.[2](source wikipedia).Yummy too !!!
Ingredients
Lobia - 1 cup
Tomato - 2 nos.
Onion 2 nos.
Ginger - 1"
Garlic - 3 pods
Green chilly - 2 nos.
Chilly powder - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 2tsp
Butter/ oil - 2tsp

Method
1. Boil lobia in pressure cooker upto 3 whistles with enough water.
2. Meanwhile, In another pan , add oil or butter .
3. Once the oil is heated add chopped onions and saute till onion turns light brown colour.
4. Then add crushed ginger and garlic into the pan and saute for 10 secs.Now add salt,chopped tomatoes,chilli powder, coriander powder.Fry this for a minute.
5. Pour this sauted mixture into the cooker,add green chilly at this point, stir it twice,close the cooker and give a whistle.
6. Once the pressure comes down , open the lid , stir it and add some butter(optional).

Happy cooking !!

Aapam with stew

Aapam has been my favourite from my childhood.But I wanted to try it without adding yeast or baking soda as I read somewhere that baking soda and yeast are not good for health.Believe me this tastes as good as made with yeast.I went through lots of aapam recipes over the net but dint get anything right. Finally I thought let me try this simple recipe like how we make dosas.Here is the recipe

Ingredients

Raw Rcie - 1 cup
Idli Rice - 1 cup
Urad Dhal - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Cocunut - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Method

For Batter :

Soak Raw Rice and Idli Rice together over night. Soak Urad Dhal with Fenugreek seeds and keep it in the fridge over night.Keeping it in the fridge makes aapam very soft.

First grind Urad Dhal with Fenugreek seeds smooth until you see bubbles in the batter.Then add coconut and grind until cocnut is crushed.Add finally the soaked rice
and grind it coarse. Remember rice should not be ground very smooth.
Ferment it for one day. Batter should be thinner than idli batter so that when poured over the skillet it spreads acroos the skillet well.

Making Aapam :

Heat the appam pan. Once the pan is hot enough,Pour about 2 scoops of the batter and swirl the aapam pan in a clockwise manner so the batter spreads to the edges of the pan. If the pan is hot enough, the batter will coat and hug the sides of the pan. The middle of the aapam is usually thicker and spongy while the edges are thin and crispy.Close the pan with the lid and leave it for few minutes . aapam is done.

Recipe for stew :

Ingredients :

Thin coconut milk - 1 cup
Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
Potato - 2 nos.
Oil - 1 tsp.
Onion - 1 no.
Green chilly - 3 nos.
Ginger - 1 inch
Salt to taste

Method :

Heat the pan and add oil. when the oil is hot enough add green chilly and fry for a minute then add ginger and saute for a couple of minutes.Now add onion and fry till it turns light pink colour. Then add potato , saute for a minute. Put all these into a cooker with thin coconut milk and pressure cook it for 2 sounds from the whistle.

Once the pressure comes down add the thick milk. No need to heat it after adding thick coconut milk.Add salt to taste and stir it. Stew is ready.

Aapam can also be served with sweet coconut milk.