Mooli Paratha and An Early Christmas Gift !

Paratha, a flat bread filled with grated radish and spices to makes a wholesome meal. Smeared with ghee and pan fried this paratha is savoured along with pickle and raita.

Ingredients

2 - White radish, finely grated
4 to 6 - Green chili, chopped finely
1'' piece - Ginger, finely grated
1/2 tsp - Ajwain
1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder
1/2 tsp - Coriander powder
3 tbsp - Coriander leaves, chopped finely
Salt to taste

For the dough

3 cup - Wheat flour
Water to knead the dough

Method

1 ) Mix enough water with wheat flour and make a stiff dough. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will help to tightened the dough. You can use the water squeezed out of the radish to knead the dough, to get more radish flavor.

2 ) Squeeze water from the grated radish very well. Sprinkle little salt on the squeezed radish and keep it aside for 30 minutes. Again squeeze and take out the water. Then mix all the masala powders, chili, ginger, coriander leaves and salt. Mix and keep the filling ready.

3 ) Make small key lime size balls of the dough. To make one paratha, roll out 2 dough balls. In one rolled out dough, spread the filling. Place the other rolled out dough on top of the filled dough. Press the edges to seal in. Dust with flour and roll out the paratha.

4 ) Heat a tawa or a nonstick pan, on medium heat and place the paratha in it. Smear some ghee / oil on top and around the paratha. Flip and cook evenly on both sides, till it's golden brown in colour on both sides.

Serve with raita and pickle.

Check out other Parantha's with detailed pictures -

• Aloo Paratha
• Green Peas Paratha
• Chana Dal Paratha
  
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An Early Christmas gift to me from a dear blogger friend who bakes, perfect mouthwatering cakes. And i had the luck to taste one of the cakes baked by this dear friend. Fruit cake !! one of my favourite cake and it tasted just like the fruit cake we get in the bakeries back in kerala. I couldn't stop with one piece. Thank you so much Mishmash for this wonderful gift.

What a tasty cake ! Check kitchenmishmash for cake recipes and other lip smacking recipes.

Rawa Dosa with Coconut Chutney

Rawa dosa is an instant dosa i fix up for breakfast, when i crave to have dosa and there is no fermented dosa batter available. Rawa dosa, hot from the tawa with coconut chutney goes so well together.

Ingredients

1 cup - Rawa / Sooji ( use fine rawa )
1/2 cup - Rice flour
1/2 cup - All purpose flour / Maida
1/2 of one - Onion, chopped very finely
1 big - Green chili, chopped finely
1/2 inch piece - Ginger, grated finely
1/4 tsp - Jeera / Cumin, crushed mildly
3 tbsp - Curds / Yogurt
2 sprigs - Curry leaves, chopped fine
Sesame oil

Method

1 ) Heat little sesame oil in a pan, add jeera, then onion, green chili, ginger and curry leaves. Fry till onion is translucent. Add rawa and fry lightly on low heat till rawa's color changes lightly. Turn off the stove. Add rice flour and maida to the same pan and mix with rawa. Let the powders warm up with rawa.

2 ) When rawa has cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add curds, salt to taste and 2 cups water and mix with a whisk. Mix well and let the batter stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Add a little more water if the batter is very thick. The batter consistency should be not too thick nor too thin.

3 ) Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot, using a big spoon pour one or 2 spoons full of batter on the pan and spread with spoon in a circular motion to make a thin dosa.

4 ) Smear some sesame oil around the edges of the dosa and in the center. Flip dosa onto the other side and cook both sides well.

Take off the pan and serve on a plate with coconut chutney.

To make Coconut Chutney

Ingredients

1/2 cup - Freshly grated coconut
2 tbsp - chana dal
2 - green chili, slit in center
2 tbsp - curds / yogurt

For Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds
1 sprig - curry leaves
2 - whole dry red chili
1/4 tsp - Asafoedita/ Hing
sesame oil

Method

1 ) Heat oil in a pan and fry green chili. Then add chana dal and fry chana dal till crisp. Take off stove and cool.

2 ) In a grinder, add grated coconut and the fried ingredients. Add curds, a little water and grind to a smooth paste. Pour to a serving bowl.

3 ) Heat sesame oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chili and hing. Pour the seasoning over the chutney and mix.

Serve with dosa.

Strawberry Raspberry Jam

Lately i have tried out jams with different fruit combinations and of course blogged about it. Strawberry and raspberry is yet another good combination for a jam.

Ingredients

1 cup - Strawberry, crushed

3/4 cup - Raspberry, crushed

1 and 1/4 cup - Sugar

3 tbsp - Lime juice

Method

1 ) To a heavy bottom pan, add mashed strawberry, raspberry, sugar and lime juice. On a medium high heat, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.

2 ) Cook till thick bubbles start forming and the jam reaches a semi-liquid consistency. Stir well when jam starts to thicken.Turn off the stove.

3 ) After the jam cools down a bit and when still warm pour the jam into sterilized glass jars. In the glass jar the jam will settle down and thicken up even more, when it has completely cooled down.

4 ) Store in the refrigerator after completely cooling down.

Use as a spread on breads.

Other Jam recipes - Blackberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Strawberry Fig Jam

Zlamushka of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen is organizing an event called " A spoonful of Christmas ." Contributing this jam as an entry for this event.

Potato Mushroom Masala Curry

Potato and mushroom cooked in a varutharacha (ingredients dry roasted and ground to paste) gravy.

Ingredients

1 big - Potato, cut to small cubes

8 oz - Mushroom

2 - Green chili, slit in center

1'' piece - Ginger, grated

1 big - Tomato, cut to small piece

1 tbsp - Poppy seed / khus-khus

Dry roast & grind to paste

2 tbsp - Coriander powder

1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1 small piece - Cinnamon stick

3 - Cloves

1/2 tsp - Fennel seeds/ Perumjeerakam

1 small - Shallot, chopped

1/2 cup - Grated coconut

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

2 sprig - Curry leaves

2 big - Shallots, diced

Method

1 ) Boil potato in enough water with ginger, green chili, tomato and salt to taste. When potato is partially cooked add mushroom and cook till potato and mushroom are well cooked. Soak poppy seeds in water for 30 minutes.

2 ) In a pan dry roast, coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, clove, cinnamon, fennel seeds, till the aroma of the spices comes out. Add coconut, shallots and dry roast till coconut is browned lightly. Cool and transfer the ingredients to a blender and dry grind. Then add poppy seeds, little water and grind to a smooth paste.

3 ) Add ground masala to cooked potato and mushroom. Add little water to make a thick gravy. Bring to a boil. Adjust salt to taste.

4 ) In a pan heat oil and pop mustard seeds. Then add curry leaves and shallots. Lightly fry the shallots till lightly browned. Pour this seasoning on the gravy. Turn off the stove and serve.

Serve with Chapati /roti.

To make Potato-Beetroot masala curry

Follow the same recipe as above. Instead of mushroom add one beetroot. Also make with just potato for potato masala curry.

Coconut Almond Cookie

Cookies anyone ?? A mix of coconut and almond enriches the taste of this cookie.

Ingredients

1 cup - All purpose flour

3/4 cup - Almond powder ( not very fine powder, a bit coarsely powdered without the skin )

1/2 cup - Fresh coconut, finely grated

1/2 cup - Unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup - Sugar

Few Almond slivers for decorating

Method

1 ) In a mixing bowl, mix and the ingredients together to form a dough. Preheat oven at 350 F.

2 ) Make small balls of the dough, flatten and place them on baking tray. Leave some space between them. Place a almond sliver in the middle of the dough and gently press in.

3 ) Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, till the bottom of the cookie turns light golden in color. Cookie will be soft to touch, but will harden as it cools.

4 ) Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve as a snack.

Check out this simple cookie too.

Note - I have put together ingredients & created this recipe. Please do not copy, reproduce or blog this recipe.

Naranga / Lemon Curry

Naranga curry or Lemon pickle curry is traditionally served as a pickle along with other dishes on a the banana leaf for onasadhya or any sadhya.

Ingredients

4 - Yellow Lemon

6 to 8 - Green chili, cut round

1/2 cup ( 4 oz ) - Water

Salt to taste

Sesame oil

Seasoning powders

4 tsp - Red chili powder

4 pinches - Fenugreek powder

1/4 tsp - Asafoedita / Hing

Method

1 ) Take off the skin from the lemon, cut to small pieces. Marinate cut lemon pieces with green chili and salt. Keep aside for half an hour.

2 ) Keep powders mixed and ready. Warm 4 tsp sesame oil, add the powders and mix. Take care not to burn the powders. Do on low heat. Add water and bring to a good boil for a minute.

3 ) Add marinated lemon pieces and bring to a boil. Turn off stove. When cool store in a glass bottle and keep it refrigerated. Always use a dry spoon to serve. Start using from the next day.

Serve as a pickle with rice.

Strawberry Fig Jam

Trying out home made jam with different fruits has been thrilling, especially when the jam tastes so good. When making jam without commercial pectin, use fruits that are naturally high in pectin. When the natural pectin level is low in a fruit used for making jam, then combine with fruits that have high level of natural pectin in them. Apple, berries, citrus fruits have high level of natural pectin in them. Using 25 % under ripe fruit also helps, as it is high in pectin than fully ripe fruit. Strawberry and fig have low level of natural pectin in them. Adding fruits with naturally high pectin will help in thickening the jam. Dry golden fig has been used to make this jam.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Mashed Strawberry
15 - Dry fig, chopped very finely
1 cup - Sugar
Juice from one orange
Juice from half a lime

Method

1 ) To a heavy bottom pan, add mashed strawberry, fig, sugar, orange juice and lime juice. On a medium high heat, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. While cooking, mash strawberry and fig with a potato masher to further mash the ingredients.

2 ) Cook till thick bubbles start forming and the jam reaches a semi-liquid consistency. Turn off the stove.

3 ) After the jam cools down a bit and when still warm pour the jam into sterilized glass jars. In the glass jar the jam will settle down and thicken up even more, when it has completely cooled down.

4 ) Store in the refrigerator after completely cooling down.

Serve spread on a toast with butter.

Check out other jams

• Blackberry Jam
• Raspberry Jam

Aval Upma

A quick and easy upma to make, if you have the ingredients ready. I love to have this upma with boiled eggs, seasoned with pepper and salt on the side. Sometimes i mix scrambled egg with the upma in the end. On it's own, it's a tasty upma. Aval is the malayalam name for poha / rice flakes.

Ingredients

2 cups - Beaten rice / Aval / Poha / Rice flakes

1 cup - Water

5 big - Shallots, chopped

4 to 6 - Green chili, chopped

1/4 cup - Freshly grated coconut

Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1 tsp - Urad dal

2 Sprigs - Curry leaves

Coconut or sesame oil

Method

1 ) First moisten beaten rice. For this, add salt to taste to one cup of water and stir. Now sprinkle water on the beaten rice little by little and moisten beaten rice well. Beaten rice will soak up the water little by little. Use up one cup water to moisten beaten rice and keep it ready.

2 ) Heat oil in a swallow pan, add mustard seeds and pop mustard. Then add urad dal, curry leaves, stir for a minute. Add shallots and chili and fry to a light brown color. Simmer heat to a low and add moisten beaten rice mix with seasoned ingredients. Add grated coconut, cover with a tight lid and cook for 5 minutes on very low heat. Turn off the stove, open the lid only after 5 minutes. Stir and mix.

Serve hot. Makes a great breakfast.

Note : Aval will lose moisteness and become dry if you have this after 2 - 3 hours of cooking. Best when still warm. If dry, you can sprinkle some water and microwave.

Nadan Kozhi Curry

This chicken curry is more of a dry preparation, with less gravy. Cooking with coconut oil, imparts a very nadan taste along with other masala powders. If you have a mannchatty ( earthen pot ) to prepare; then cooking in this earthen pot will enhance the flavours.

Ingredients

1.5 lb - Chicken, cut to pieces
2 to 4 - Green chili , slit in center
1/2 tsp - Black pepper powder
1 tbsp - Lemon / Lime juice
Salt to taste
Coconut oil

To dry roast & marinate

6 tbsp - Coriander powder
2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Garam masala powder

Coarsely grind

10 medium size - Shallots, chopped
1'' piece - Ginger, chopped
5 big flakes - Garlic

Garnishing

1/2 bunch - Coriander leaves, chopped
3 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) In a pan dry roast the masala powders listed on a low heat. With little water, make a paste of the roasted powders. Add salt to taste. Apply this marinade on the cleaned and cut chicken pieces. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours.

2 ) Heat oil in a shallow utensil or mannchatty, add green chili, black pepper powder and curry leaves. Fry for a second, then add the coarsely ground ingredients and fry lightly. Add marinated chicken and stir and mix. Cover with a tight lid and cook on low heat till the chicken is fully cooked.

3 ) Add lemon juice, stir and mix. Adjust salt as to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice or chapati.

Tea Cake - To Rejoice a Year of Blogging !

Blogging has been so addictive for the past year and can't believe, it's been a year of blogging. Always there has been a passion in me to try new / traditional recipes and serve it to my dear and near ones, eagerly wait for their reactions. Now sharing what i cook through blogging, i eagerly wait for the same reactions. So I thank each and every visitor, who come by every time i post a recipe and encourage me with positive words. Also to those very readers who try my recipes and give me a feed back, i can't thank them enough.
Rejoicing a year of blogging with a tea cake, which is moist, soft and yummy. This cake brings back memories of childhood, when mom baked cake at home in a bundt Cake pan. I have used a 8'' spring form cake pan to bake this cake.

Ingredients

1 cup - All purpose flour
3/4 cup - Sugar
3/4 cup (1.5 stick ) - Unsalted butter, softened at room temp
2 - Eggs, at room temperature
3/4 tsp - Baking powder
1 tsp - Vanilla extract
4 tsp - Warm milk

Method

1 ) Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously butter pan and dust with flour, shake off excess flour.

2) In a bowl, sift together flour and baking powder, two times.

3 ) In a blender, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to beat for 5 minutes. Add egg one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat well.

4 ) Pour the creamed ingredients to the shifted flour in the bowl. Mix and whisk the flour and creamed ingredients. Add warm milk, mix and whisk in a clock wise direction, very well till you see air bubbles in the batter.

5 ) Pour the batter into the cake pan and level the batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until done. You can insert a wooden pick in the center of the cake to test if the cake is fully baked. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Then invert cake onto cooling rack to cool completely.

A delicious tea time companion.

Chana Dal Curry

A simple, yet a tasty chana dal curry.

Ingredients

1 cup - Chana dal
1 cup - Freshly grated coconut
1/4 tsp - Red chili powder
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
About 1'' piece - Tamarind, seedless
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seed
1/4 tsp - Jeera
1 sprig - Curry Leaf
2 - Dry whole red chili
2 pinches - Asafoetida / hing (optional)
2 to 3 flakes - Garlic, crushed

Method

1 ) Soak chana dal for one to two hours. This helps in reducing cooking time. Cook dal in 4 cups water on low heat till 3/4 th cooked.

2 ) Warm tamarind in little water, in the microwave and soften it. Add to the cooking dal. Then add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook till the dal is fully cooked.

3 ) Add grated coconut and mix with dal. Cook till water evaporates and reaches a thick gravy consistency. Take off the stove.

4 ) Heat oil in a pan, pop mustard, then add jeera, garlic, red chili, hing and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning onto the chana dal curry.

Serve with rice or roti.

Green Olive Pickle

Green olives blends in well with the pickle masala and along with garlic makes a good pickle to try. A friend of mine had an extra bottle of olives in hand and came up with this idea of making instant pickle with green olives.

Ingredients

6 oz bottle - Pitted green olives, cut into two
10 flakes - Garlic, chopped ( use more if you like garlic)
1 tbsp - Red chili powder
2 to 3 pinches - Fenugreek powder
1/4 tsp - Asafoetida powder / Hing
1 tbsp - Vinegar (optional)
Salt to taste
Sesame oil

Method

1 ) Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan, add garlic and fry lightly. Then add red chili powder, fenugreek powder, hing and stir for a second on low heat. Add green olives and mix with the masala. Take off the stove.

2 ) Taste to check if you need more salt. Since olives are soaked in salt, use less salt if needed. Add vinegar and mix. Store in a glass jar. Use after 2 - 3 hours, by then the masala will settle and mix well with olives.

Serve with rice or roti.

Cherupayar Kaya Puzhukku

Made with green gram dal and unripe plantain, this is a tasty puzhukku.

Ingredients

2 cups - Green gram dal
1 - Unripe plantain, chopped with the skin
Salt to taste

Coarsely grind

1 cup - Grated coconut
1 to 2 - Shallot
4 to 5 - Green chili
1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds
2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) In a pressure cooker, cook green gram dal and plantain with 4 cups water. Add salt to taste. After the first whistle, lower heat and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the stove, cool and open the cooker.

2 ) Coarsely grind ingredients listed without any water. Add the ground mixture to the cooked green gram dal. Mix well. Add little water if there is no water after cooking green gram dal. Keep the cooker back on stove and just cook for a minute, so the ground ingredients are lightly cooked. Turn the stove off.

3 ) Heat a pan with coconut oil / sesame oil. Add mustard seeds and pop, then add curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the puzhukku.


Serve with Kanji or rice or chapati.

Also check out Cherupayar Kaya Erissery

Kantola Subzi

Kantola is a Indian gourd, which i was not familiar with, until i came across it in the freezer section in the Indian store. It's mildly bitter in taste, but nothing like the bitter gourd bitterness.You can simply fry it in oil, sprinkle some red chilly powder and salt, which makes a tasty kantola fry.

Ingredients

12 oz / 340 gm - Kantola, chopped
1/2 tsp - Crushed red chili powder,
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder
2 medium - Shallots, chopped
4 to 6 big flakes - Garlic, crushed

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp - Jeera seeds
1 sprig - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Heat a pan with oil, add mustard seed and let it pop. Then add jeera, curry leaves, shallots, garlic and fry lightly. Then add red chili, turmeric and garam masala powder. Stir and mix.

2 ) Add kantola and mix with all the masala. Add salt to taste, sprinkle little water and cook on a low heat, covered with a lid. Once the kantola is cooked, add little more oil and stir fry. Take off the stove and serve.

Serve with rice or chapati.

Raspberry Jam

After trying out blackberry jam and discovering how tasty a home made jam can taste. My next attempt was to make raspberry jam and this jam sure is a home runner for it's taste, texture & ease to make this jam.

Ingredients

1/2 cup - Mashed Raspberry ( 6 oz yields 1/2 cup mashed berry)
1 - Grated Apple ( red delicious apple )
3/4 cup - Sugar

Method

1 ) To a saucepan, add mashed raspberry, grated apple and sugar. On a medium high heat, stir and cook for 10 minutes. Ingredients will cook together and a bit of foaming layer can be seen forming. Lower the heat to medium and cook till thick bubbles start forming. Cook till the jam reaches a semi-liquid consistency. Turn off the stove.

2 ) After the jam cools down a bit and when still warm pour the jam into sterilized glass jars. In the glass jar the jam will settle down and thicken up even more, when it has completely cooled down.

3 ) Store in the refrigerator after completely cooling down.

Spread jam on a bread and serve.

Check out Blackberry jam and see some detailed pictures.

Note : If you prefer your jam a bit less sweeter, you can reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup.

Chana Dal Paratha

Stuffed chana dal paratha's are nutritious and a wholesome meal.

Ingredients

For filling

1/2 cup - Chana dal
1/2 cup - Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup - Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp - Coriander powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder
Salt to taste

For dough

3 cup - Whole wheat flour
1tbsp - Oil / Ghee
Water to knead the dough

Method

1 ) Wash and soak chana dal for 2 to 3 hours. In a pressure cook, cook chana dal with 1/2 cup water. Bring the cooker to full pressure and after the first whistle, take off the stove. Open the cooker after 2 minutes. Dal should be cooked,but not mashed up. Drain off any water if any.

2 ) Mix with chana dal, coriander leaves, onion, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Mix in well and keep the filling aside.

3 ) To make dough - Mix wheat flour, oil and salt. Mix and rub the flour to get oil and salt mixed well. Then add water little by little, knead and make a stiff dough. Rest the dough for 20 to 30 minutes. Cover with wet towel, so that dough doesn't dry out. Then again knead the dough to get a soft workable dough.

4 ) To roll out the paratha - Make small balls of the dough. Take one dough ball and roll it out with a rolling pin. Take a small amount of filling and place in the center of the rolled out dough. Wrap the dough around the filling ball, close and seal well. Dust some flour and then lightly flatten the dough with hand.

5 ) With a rolling pin, roll out carefully to make a round paratha.

6 ) Heat a tawa or a non-stick pan, on medium heat and place the paratha in it. Smear some oil on top and around the paratha. Flip and cook evenly on both sides, till it's golden brown in colour on both sides.

Serve hot with raita.

Check out other stuffed parathas, and the step by step preparation details with pictures.

• Aloo Paratha
• Green Peas Paratha

Jackfruit Thoran

Jackfruit thoran made with unripe jackfruit. Got frozen jackfruit from the Indian store to make this thoran. The product came all the way from kerala, was not so fresh. But after cooking, the thoran tasted good. So if you can get some fresh ones, this thoran will be very delicious.

Ingredients

12 oz packet - Unripe jackfruit, shredded
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
salt to taste

Grind coarsely or Crush with mortar & pestle

1/4 cup - Fresh grated coconut
2 - Green chili
1 - Shallot ( medium size )
1 flake - Garlic ( optional )

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
1 sprig - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Cook jackfruit with turmeric powder and salt to taste in little water. Cook covered with a lid on low heat.

2 ) Crush the ingredients listed, either grind coarsely in a blender or crush with a mortar & pestle.

3 ) Add crushed ingredients with cooked jackfruit and mix. Cover and cook for a minute or two on low heat. Take off the heat.

4 ) Season with mustard and curry leaves. Heat oil in a pan, pop mustard seeds and then add curry leaves. Pour over the jackfruit and mix.

Serve with rice as a side dish.

Walnut Bread - Steam Cooked

Walnut Bread that was steam cooked in a pressure cooker is my first attempt at making a bread. This is a bread all the way, just mildly sweet in taste. It's an easy way of making bread without a bread maker or an oven.

Ingredients

2.5 cup - All purpose Flour
1 cup - walnuts, chopped to small pieces
2 - Eggs
1 cup - Milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp - Baking powder
1 tbsp - Honey
Pinch of salt

Method

1 ) Sieve flour with baking powder, two to three times. Beat eggs , honey and sugar very well. I used a blender to whip. Add milk into the blender and blend very well.

2 ) In a mixing bowl, add walnuts, sieved flour, pinch of salt and mix. Pour in the mixture from the blender and mix everything together in the mixing bowl with a spatula. Fold and mix in a clockwise direction.

3 ) Grease a flat bottom bowl, like one you see in the picture below and also one that fit into the pressure cooker. Pour the bread mixture into the bowl and cover with a aluminum foil. Seal very well, so that no water gets in when steaming.

4 ) Into a pressure cooker, pour 3 cups of water. Place a separator that you get with the pressure cooker. Place the bowl on the separator, close the pressure cooker and bring cooker to a full pressure. Reduce the heat to medium and steam cook for 30 minutes.

5 ) Open the cooker and pour 1 to 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker for further cooking. Close the pressure cooker, bring to a full pressure, place the vent weight and after the 1st whistle, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to cool completely. Open the cooker and take out the bowl.

6 ) Fresh from the cooker.

7 ) Place a plate on top of the bowl and invert the bread onto the plate.

8 ) Let the bread cool completely. Then with a bread knife, cut the bread.

The bread was slightly soft on the day it was made. By next day morning it became firm, like how a bread should be. I dipped the bread in 100 % pure Maple syrup and had it for breakfast.

Cilantro Chutney and Microwave Cooking

Microwave has become a part and parcel of modern kitchen. My initial use of a microwave was mainly for reheating food like many of us. Slowly i started doing some basic cooking in the microwave, which helped speed up cooking. Here is a chutney that is cooked in a microwave and then ground to a smooth paste in a blender.

Ingredients

1 small bunch - Coriander / Cilantro leaves, chopped
1 or 2 - Serrano pepper, chopped
1 medium size - Shallot, chopped
2'' inch piece - Tamarind, seedless
1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin seeds
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) In a microwave safe bowl, add little oil and mix with chopped chili. Cook for one minute. Always keep checking in between cooking. Chili has to be fried. Add the fried chili into a blender.

2 ) In the same bowl now add coriander leaves with little oil and cook for one minute. Stir and again cook for one minute. Coriander leaves have to be cooked. If not cook for 30 seconds more.Add the cooked coriander leaves to the blender.

3 ) Now add chopped shallot into the same bowl and cook for one minute. Transfer from the bowl into the blender.

4 ) Then add tamarind and little water and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer into the blender.

5 ) Now grind all the cooked ingredients in a blender along with jeera and salt to taste to a smooth paste with little water.

Serve this chutney with samosa, vada or idli.

Note - Instead of cooking in the microwave, you can fry all the ingredients one by one in a pan on the stove top and grind to a smooth paste too.

Variation

• Add little jaggery to get a sweet & sour tasting chutney
• Instead of onion, add 2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds to make this chutney. Do not add jaggery when using sesame seeds.

Microwave easy cooking event is been organised and hosted by Srivalli of 'Cooking 4 all seasons'. Here is one or two basic cooking, i do in the microwave.

My morning's start with a cup of tea made in the microwave.

To make a cup of tea in the microwave - In a coffee mug, add half cup of water and add 2 tetley tea bags. Cook for 2 minutes. Tea will be boiling, if not cook for 30 seconds more. Then add milk and again cook for one minute. Now take out the tea bags, add sugar and enjoy the tea.

Cook pappad in the microwave - For one pappad - Place pappad on a paper napkin in the microwave and cook for 40 seconds.

Cook thayir milagu ( curd chillies ) - For one curd chili, it took one minute to cook and be firm. The chilies were big, so for a small one it will take less time.

Boil milk in the microwave - In a big microwave safe bowl, add 5 cups of milk and cook for 10 minutes. Cook till milk boils and raises up. A thin layer forms once the milk cools and that indicates the milk has boiled well. For one cup of milk cook for 2 minutes.

To make yogurt - Once the milk has cooled down a bit and is lukewarm, add 2 tbsps of yogurt /curds and set it in a warm place for the curds to set. Use whole milk for a rich yogurt or 2 % milk to get good thick yogurt.

Corn Chaat / Salad

A refreshing and filling corn chaat, great for snacking on or as a salad.

Ingredients

3 - Fresh Sweet corn, husked
2 medium size - Tomatoes, chopped to small pieces
1/2 cup - Red onion, chopped to small pieces
1/2 cup - Cooked potato, cut to small pieces
1/2 cup - Cucumber, cut to small pieces
1/2 cup - Coriander /Cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp - Fresh lime juice

Powders for seasoning

2 tsp - Chaat masala powder
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) To roast cumin seeds - In a pan on low heat, add cumin seeds and roast. Stirring till the aroma of the roasted cumin comes out and the cumin is well roasted. Take care not to blacken the cumin seeds. Now powder the seeds with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder. You can make more of the roasted cumin powder and store for future use. Can sprinkle on raita and chaats.

2 ) Cook sweet corn on the cob in a pot with enough water. Once cooked, cool then take the kernel off the cob.

3 ) In a salad bowl combine, sweet corn, tomato, onion, potato, cucumber and coriander leaves. It tastes good even without seasoning with the powders. Just add salt to taste and try as a simple salad. Try even with the powders - add roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, chaat masala powder, lime juice and sprinkle some salt to taste.

Serve the salad