Bitter gourd Tamarind Rasam / Pavakkai Puli Rasam

 
        Day 7, final day of Blogging Marathon under the theme "Rasam" . I really had fun doing this BM with all my fellow bloggers and i would like to thank Valli for organizing such a group everymonth with different n interesting themes. I got to know more new friends through this BM and really this group was too friendly and helping. I enjoyed this rasam theme a lot n happy that i got so good comments for my recipes too. In the line, today's rasam is really a healthy and tangy Rasam with Bittergourd. We usually make puli rasam with only Tamarind and add more cumin-pepper-garlic. And i came to remember about my mom's Bittergourd/Pavakkai rasam. Being diabetic daily she use to have bittergourd in her diet. And sometimes she makes this bittergourd rasam by steaming the bittergourd pieces in idly plates and add it to the rasam. But i tweaked her recipe and made a very very good rasam less in bitterness n more tasty than her version :) Yes, this wan't much bitter i enjoyed sipping the hot rasam and had a filling lunch with Ridgegourd curry,Vazhakkai fry n this bittergourd rasam.

Kitchen Chronicles ~ Summer Splash - Event Announcement !

        Hi friends, I am happy to announce that am guest hosting Kitchen Chronicles event by Kalyani(Mom Chef) for this month. And this month's theme Summer Splash. Yes, Summer started in India n almost in many parts of the country , to beat the heat n its side effects we need to take lots of water and other coolers to make ourself fit and energetic. So here i am with Kalyani's Kitchen Chronicles~ Summer Splash. Thank you Kalyani for giving this wonderful opportunity. I request all my blogger friends to participate in this event and share your innovative recipes to this event.

This event runs from March 1st - March 31st 2012 and following are the rules to send in your entries...

1. All kinds of mocktails / summer drinks/ iced items (ice creams/ etc) shall be accepted. And also any food which you think as heat suppressant like raitha, salad, puddings, porridge etc or any cousre of food are also accepted.
   Link to this announcement page and Kalyani's original announcement is necessary.
2. Any number of fresh entries are accepted, and maximum of two archived (but reposted and linked) entries are allowed
3. Only vegetarian and eggs free entries are accepted.
4. Event is from 1st - 31st March 2012.
5. Roundup will be posted by first week of April.
6. Bloggers and Non-Bloggers can also participate and send in your recipes with an image to the email id sangeethaskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com.
7. Bloggers are requested to send in your entries to the above email id with the following details....

Name:
Blog Name:
Recipe Name:
Recipe URL:
Recipe Image (plz reduce to 400px) :


Looking Forward for your wonderful entries....

Onion Rasam / Vengaya Rasam

        Day 6 of Blogging Marathon under the theme"Rasam" and today's rasam is another simple yet tasty rasam with pearl onions/sambar onions or in tamil - Chinna Vengaya Rasam. I already posted Bottlegourd Onion Rasam and this onion rasam is little different from that. For this rasam i used both cumin-pepper and also rasam powder. To make it bit healthy i also added little Tuvar dal. Overall this is a very filling and delicious rasam. Adjust pepper to your taste. I made this rasam little thinner in consistency, adjust to your taste n desired consistency. Thinner or thicker both way this rasam tastes awesome. The recipe as follows...

Lemon Rasam

Day 5 of the Blogging Marathon under the theme "Rasam"n today's rasam is simple and interesting Lemon Rasam. I learnt this rasam from my neighbor Maami, i really love her lemon rasam with her Iyengar style rasam powder loaded with lots of flavor n spices. That too she use crushed green chilli for this lemon rasam which really enhances the flavor n taste. I follow her recipe as such except i use store bought shakthi masala Rasam powder. If u haven't tasted lemon rasam so far plz give this a try...sure u will love it.  Now to the recipe...

Mysore Rasam

          Day 4 of Blogging Marathon under the theme, Rasam...Today's rasam - Mysore Rasam. I tried this rasam only 2 or 3 times but liked this rasam a lot. This is different from my usual cumin-pepper rasam, with freshly ground masala / rasam powder. I like to add some shredded coconut and jaggery to this rasam. Its completely optional you can add it or skip, but i say that coocnut n jaggery give some fine taste to the rasam. The recipe as follows,

Garlic Rasam / Poondu Rasam

         Day 3 of Blogging Marathon Under the theme "Rasam" and today's special rasam , Garlic /Poondu Rasam. This super tasty n flavor rich rasam is especially for all garlic lovers. This is also one of my fav rasam, i just love its flavor n taste of garlic which dominates more in the rasam. After a long time i made this rasam and the rasam came out perfectly. Like Kollu Rasam i use crushed cumin n pepper and do not add rasam powder. For garlic rasam, "Naatu Poondu" will be the best one for real flavor n taste. But here we don't find that garlic variety so use any garlic available but i recommend to use garlic with its skin do not peel n chop....just crush n use. The recipe as follows...

Kollu Rasam / Horsegram Rasam

      Day 2 of BM under the theme Rasam, today I am going to share "Kollu Rasam" . This Rasam is perfect for the winter season, great homemade remedy for cold n cough. I like to drink this rasam piping hot . It really cures sore throat and related problems. For this rasam, kollu/horsegram need to to be soaked overnight you can use as u need, just roat and pressure cook with more water...that's enough. I normally do not add rasam powder to kollu/milagu/garlic rasam(coming next) just crushed pepper n jeera/cumin is enough. Try this Kollu Rasam to treat your cold n cough and let me know h it turned out to u.The recipe as follows...

Vendhaya Rasam

        From Today we are starting the second week of Blogging Marathon Edition#13 and for this week my selected theme was "Seven Days of Rasam" . After a week of successful BM under Rice theme I am not yet tired and begin the fun with seven types of Rasam. Rasam, one of the staple menu of  a complete South Indian Meal n its very common and favorite at my home too. My fav rasam was Tomato Rasam, and i have already share some four rasam types but still find easy to make 7 rasam variety. For the Day 1, Vendhaya Rasam...I remember my neighbor maami makes different kinds of rasam daily and also she share a small cup of rasam daily to us but i never bothered about the recipe. Recently i saw this rasam recipe in Tomato Blues immediately i bookmarked and tried it . The next week i saw Valli's BM schedule with Rasam as one of the theme. So again i made this recipe and took pictures to share it on my blog. Very flavorful and tasty rasam i liked its unique taste, it wan't bitter so good n appetizing. Now to the recipe...

Quick Palak Rice / Spinach Rice

            Today Day 7 last of Blogging Marathon under the theme, Easy Kids Lunch Box Recipe ~ Rice my recipe - Quick Palak Rice. This is another healthy n yummy rice recipe with palak / Spinach. Thank You Valli for this nice theme, so that i could able to produce some quick n healthy recipes n also get to know more rice varieties from other Marathoners. I really enjoyed doing with this theme, of the seven recipe this Palak rice was more loved by my kids. Even Yesterday also i made this palak rice for them. I served with Carrot Raitha but i forgot to take pictures of that carrot raitha, so will share you that in another post. But simple Curd itself tasted so good with this palak rice. Second time i tried with adding some garam masala powder to the rice that was also so good n spicy which like by my H. For kids the following recipe serves best. Do give it a try n let me know. Now to the recipe....

Sweet Corn Cilantro Rice

        Today for Day 6 of BM edition # 13 under the theme"Easy Kids Lunch Box Recipe ~ Rice" My recipe, Sweet Corn Cilantro Rice.  As the main theme was to cook any rice recipe under 15-20 minutes, at the same time it should be a kids loving recipe...this again a challenging task for me, So i picked my kids' favorite veg as a key ingredient and worked on it. Sweet corn is one of their fav, another quick and delicious recipe with lots of Nutrition n Flavor. I did not add much masala just simple seasoning n sauting with onion n ground ginger-cilantro-chili paste followed by sweet corn really turned out to a Filling n Delicious Rice. I am sure this recipe will liked by both adults n kids. Try this and let me know the result...Now to the recipe...

Tofu Masala Rice N Special Award !

      Day 5 of Blogging marathon and today's recipe is very nutritious n protein packed lunch box recipe. Rice looks like a rich biryani/pulao but it takes only 10-15 minutes to prepare this yummy n healthy rice. I started replacing paneer with Tofu. Tried so many recipes like curry/stir fry/pulao etc with tofu in place of paneer. My kids not able to find the difference between tofu n paneer , they know only paneer n started loving tofu :))  I simply stir fried the tofu cubes with Indian masala n then added it to the sauted rice. This was too good n tofu remains so crisp n yummy. U don't like Tofu?? then try this way i am sure u will love to eat Tofu. Try this....
     Before entering into the recipe i would like to share a good news with you all. Few days back i got an email from Banypaul, editor on Be@home with subject " award for your awesome cooking blog"  She also added "I just stumbled upon your blog and you have an awesome site with some mouth watering vegetarian recipes! It's great to see there are still people out there who make room in their hectic lives to cook and do an excellent job of it at that."  and had send me this "Creative Chef Award". I am on cloud nine :) You know what? there are some days where my work were not appreciated but now everything changed already won so many awards from my fellow bloggers n this special award exclusively for my blog n hard work :) A way for me to connect with people worldwide...!! A Zillion thanks to Banypaul for this special award and really am going to cherish this wonderful moment forever n ever :))
                                                      

Carrot Lemon Rice

        Day 4 of Blogging Marathon under the theme " Easy Kids Lunch box recipe - Rice" and today's easy lunch box recipe is Carrot Lemon Rice. For a change i added shredded carrots to the usual lemon rice. My kids don't like carrots so i always have to do some experiment with carrots. One such experiment was this Carrot Lemon rice. They love to eat lemon rice with more peanuts n cashew nuts so i added more carrots to it and feed simple lemon rice with loaded nutrition. You too try to feed carrots in this way n I bet they won't complaint n finish it off .Now to the recipe...

Sweet Corn Tomato Bhat / Sweet Corn Tomato Rice ~ Easy Lunch Box Recipe !

     
Day 3 of Blogging Marathon under the theme " Easy Kids Lunch Recipes - Rice" . Today's recipe is also a very quick n delicious recipe with sweet corn n tomato. One of the fav ingredient of kids n most of the adults is Sweet Corn. And of course its favorite of my boys, they really love to each corns a lot. So i took sweet corn n tomato as the key ingredient and sauted with light masala to a interesting and yummy dish. This was super hit at my home n my boys loved this rice and asked me to make this more often :) I served this sweet corn tomato bath with plain yogurt n fryums. Now to the recipe...

Coconut Rice ~ Easy Lunch Box Recipe !

    Today Day 2 of the Blogging Marathon Edition # 13 under the theme, "Easy kids lunch box recipe featuring Rice". Today's easy lunch box recipe - Coconut Rice. Just like me Sanjay too love coconut rice more. This time i made this rice with little variation by adding some roasted ground dal powder which was adapted from Vardhini's Coconut Sevai recipe. Thanks dear for the recipe , really addition of podi to the coconut rice gives lots of flavor n mild crunchy taste. We loved it. This coconut rice can be done within 10 minutes if u have cooked rice in hand. Very simple and delicious recipe. The recipe as follows...

Broccoli Jeera Rice

          This is my first Blogging Marathon and for the first week of Blogging Marathon Edition # 13 I selected "Easy Lunch Box Recipes for Kids - Rice" .To me rice recipes are one of the easy and quick to do menus. So i am going to share very simple and easy lunch box rice recipes for all seven days. For the Day 1 i am here with Broccoli Jeera Rice. Broccoli is one of my kids' fav veg. Broccoli and Jeera sounds to be a wonderful combo, more than my kids i loved it. They complained that i added more pepper n it was bit spicy to them. That's not an issue u can adjust it by adding few drops of ghee and pack it. The recipe as follows:

Chocolate Coconut Muffins ~ Eggless N Butterless !!

      
  Happy Valentines Day to all my Friends & Readers. Today my kids too clebrating their first Valentines Day with their friends & teachers in school by giving cards n gifts. My boys were so active today... wore new dress and got ready soon without troubling mom. So eager to give gifts to their friends n teachers. Its really nice to see them socialised. They even have fav friend, fav teacher likes n dislikes :) The day started all with their cute smiling faces n warm kisses...:))
     Even I celebrated many Valentines day with my friends, those were ever green days...After falling in love with "Him" my life had totally changed. My likes n dislikes narrowed and all my thinkings dreams were all about MY Valentine only. I still remember my first Valentine gift to Him. The year 2000 was more special to us, it was the year(May) i accepted His proposal. Our 2 years friendship was extended to life time and we decided to hold hands till our last breathe.
      I don't believe that only by giving gifts one can prove or show their love  but still I love to give gifts n like to see His face brightened with all smile n surprise.
      Now about today's recipe, I made this Chocolate Coconut Muffins long back and didn't expect that i will post this today or else i could have used related props. I was not feeling well for past few days or else i could have made a new recipe. Anyway i have at least one sweet chocolate recipe to share on this special day. These muffins are eggless n butter less and also very quick and simple recipe. This is a very soft n moist delicious muffins, i added sweetend coconut flakes so reduced the amount of sugar. You can add the same amount as mentioned in the original recipe if using normal coconut flakes. I served these muffins with chocolate glaze both turned out finger licking good. Now to the recipe...

Adai / Murungai keerai Adai

          Adai is nothing but thick dosa/crepes with mixed dals. This is one of the protein packed Nutritious breakfast or dinner recipe. Generally this Adai recipe is done using Raw Rice(pachaiarisi) and bolied rice or Idly rice (puzhungal arisi) but i don't have both so i always use the combination of Sona Masoori n Basmati Rice. This way also adai comes best and tastes so good and i don't find any difference in taste. If u have raw n boiled rice you can use instead sona masoori n basmati rice ratios respectively. Addition of greens to the adai is completely optinal, Murungai keerai is the best green for this Adai. I love adai with murungai keerai, so flavorful, colorful n yummy adai. I am happy that i could get my fav murungai keerai often in Indian Groceries. But now they reduced the quantity, the amount u seen in the below step wise picture was $1 :( Still happy that its available for one dollar. My H bought two packets of drumstick leaves one packet i used to make Adai and another to my Bisi bela bath. Have u ever tried murungaikerrai/drumstick leaves in bisibela bhath? if not try it next time when u find. That also a very yummy and super dish. But couldn't take picture as it was a very dark n cloudy day. For this Adai also, i ground the batter evening itself for dinner and took the dosa picture next day morning.  This chill winter weather makes my hands dry n crack more, that too with excessive hand washing got more cracks n bleed. Sometimes i really hate to take stepwise pictures :( So i couldn't take detailed / proper step wise pictures will update it soon.The recipe as follows...

Salmon Fish Fry ~ Indian Style !

      I hesitate to share any non-veg recipe since most of my blogger friends were pure veg :) That's y you don't see any non veg recipes now-a-days. And also i don't make them often and every time i use to try my bookmarked recipes from other blogs n sites. I learned and tried some recipes from my dear friend Malar's Kitchen Tantra. And also we do not eat any non-veg items except chicken, but my kids n Mr.V like this Fish fry. I make it monthly once or once in two months. This time i managed to take some pictures to share it in my blog. Couldn't present you well as kids were in hurry n hungry to taste this yummy fry :) Mr.V  buy only Salmon fillets, its easy to clean and it doesn't have any thorns...so easy to feed and my kids really love this Salmon Fillets Fry a lot. You can use this fish fry recipe to make any fish fry. Its very simple and quick except the marination time. I always prefer homemade masala i don't use store bought chilli fish fry.  I add some corn flour to the masala for extra crispy and tasty fry.   Now to the recipe...

Moongdal Onion Chutney

        Today's recipe is simple chutney, Moongdal onions chutney. This is also one of my Mom's recipe. This chutney goes well with Idly/Dosa/Adai/Pongal n with all tiffin varieties. This moongdal chutney is very flavorful and tasty chutney. I love it with Idly but this i made with Adai. Instead of giving plain onion tomato chutney to your kids you can give this healthy and yummy chutney. Try this and let me know how it turns out to you. Now to the recipe..

Idiyappam

       For this month's Blog Hop Wednesday i am paired with Divya of Divyazeasyrecipes. This is second time time i am paired with her. I really love all her recipes and this time i made Idiyappam. Idiyappam is one of fav food. i was planning to post idiyappam in my blog for long time, due ot one or the other reason i was postponing it  and when i saw this recipe in her space i ended my search. I love Idiyappam with Thengai paal/Coconut milk. I followed her direction with my rice flour:water ration. If u are doing with fresh homemade rice flour then you can do it simply by adding boiled water and knead it like chapathi dough but with store bough rice flour this method only help you to get soft and tasty Idiyappams. Today i made this idiyappam with Jaggery sauce and roasted peanut-sesame powder. If u haven't tried this combination before plz give it a try, (if u love sweet version). This is such a delicious recipe, i learnt this from my H, he taught me his Grandma's recipe.
      Today i really had a tough time with taking this Idiyappam picture. After a long time, today sun was shining very brightly.(but temp. 20F). Because of it i couldn't take a fine picture of this white color smooth texture of Idiyappam. Some how i managed but couldn't get fine image like i seen in some of my friend's blog. So did some editing to look good. Ok now to the recipe...

Chocolate Cola Cake - For The Gourmet Seven

    Here comes my first recipe for The Gourmet Seven - Chocolate Cola Cake. For this Valentine Special  Month-February Theme was "Chocolate" and we landed on BBC Food for the gourmet style recipes. I was  much impressed on some recipes and bookmarked to try later. Now I chosen "Chocolate Cola Cake" as we love chocolate cakes a lot. This cake was really different from usual chocolate cake, addition of cola drink makes it more soft and moist and this cake was absolutely a sinful delight loaded with lots of butter and sugar.
I thoroughly enjoyed baking it but at the same time i did few mistakes also and learned a lot from this single recipe. Preparation of chocolate glaze was bit challenging task. And also i used dark brown sugar(powdered) instead of golden caster sugar. I don't have 4" deep pan so i poured half of the cake batter and remaining i baked as 6 cup cakes. Now to the recipe...