Me and my hubby are ardent fans of all kinds of chutney powders, which go with hot steam rice.
Sometimes we get very bored of our regular rice, roti, sabji, rasam, sambhar etc...but we cannot live without rice..so on those days, we simply love to eat our rice....like mix hot steam rice with ghee or oil and dry chutney powder and enjoy.
One of those dry mix powder is menthya hittu or metkut...menthya/vendiyam means fenugreek seeds....
It is a very flavourful mix of lentils and mildly spiced with little addition of fenugreek seeds.
It mildly tastes bitter, but it is enjoyable, when mixed with hot rice and ghee.
Rejuvenates your taste buds and it is, trust me comfort soul food.
It has a shelf life of more than months...can be stored in refrigerator for upto six months.
Ingredients:
Chickpea dal/Chana dal - 1 small heaped cup,
Urad Dal - 1/2 small cup,
Whole Wheat/Flour - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Rice - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Cumin seeds - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons,
Coriander seeds - 3/4 tablespoon,
Red Chillies - 2,
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Dry Ginger Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon.
Method:
Except salt, turmeric and dry ginger powder, dry roast rest of the ingredients separately.
Dals to be roasted until golden brown.
Once all the ingredients are roasted, mix everything together.
Allow to cool.
To this cooled ingredients, add salt, turmeric and dry ginger powder and grind to fine powder.
Store in air tight container.
Mix with hot rice and ghee/oil and enjoy.
Note:
Dry roast means, frying or roasting without oil.
Take care not to burn any ingredient while roasting, else the end product will be very bitter.
So roast on medium low flame.
Mirchi/Chilly Bajjis/Pakodas are perfect match on a rainy or cold evening with a cuppa.
But this time when it was cloudy outside, I was feeling a bit low because, I was just remembering my days in Bangalore, When we used go out for shopping in the evening, and suddenly it used to start drizzling..we used run for the shade...but some where from near by, the aroma of hot fried pakodas would drag us to the shop.
This one place we would never miss to visit when we were nearby...was our hot bajji spot...
He used make whole green bell pepper(green Capsicum) pakodas...once fried cut hot pakodas into quarters and sprinkle generously chopped onion, grated carrot, chopped coriander mixture..to top it with red chilly powder and a squeeze of lemon...mouth watering..this would continue to rest of bajjis/pakodas like raw bananas, baby corn, mirchis and so on...We would stuff ourselves and return home and skip our dinner.
The clouds were supporting my mood today..ready to pour from sky and my eyes...all those days came flashing in front of my eyes..I just don't know how many evenings we cousins spent shopping and enjoying these foods..Wish I could go back again there....free of all worries and responsibilities..I know it almost near to impossible..but anyway..I simply craved for that stuffed bajjis..so what next?..went into the kitchen and looked into my fridge..I was lucky to find the chillies to make pakodas..being sunday, husband and kids having a nap after lunch..so thought of surprising them, when they wake up..
Also made some green chutney to go with..since my lil one doesnt eat spicy food, so thought of making some potato bajjis for her..Once done and the family came down for tea....tadaaaa...here it is the stuffed mirchi bajji with hot coffee..we all enjoyed a lot..needless to say skipped lunch..but it surely took me to good old days for few hours...hah..sigh..
Ingredients:
Mirchis/Chillies - 10-12,
Chickpea/Besan Flour - 2 cups,
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup,
Red chilly Powder - 2 teaspoons( I used mildly spiced),
Salt,
Sodium Bi Carbonate - 1/2 teaspon,
Oil - 1 tablespoon,(do not heat, it is just raw oil).
Oil to deep fry pakodas
For Stuffing:
Onion - 1 large chopped,
Carrot - 1 large grated,
Coriander Leaves chopped - 3 tablespoon,
Salt,
Red Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon,
Lemon juice - juice of 1 large lemon.
Method:
In a kadai keep oil to heat.
Slit the chilies and desseed it, if you find it very spicy.
Mix chickpea flour, salt, red chilly power, rice flour, soda and mix well.
Slowly add water to make a smooth, medium thick, lump less batter.
The chillys should hold the battter, not flow away, when to put into hot oil.
So I have said slightly thicker batter.
Add one tablespoon of oil to the batter(dont need to heat) and mix well.
When the Oil in the kadai is medium hot,
Dip chillys in batter and deep fry evenly to golden brown.
Remove and drain excess oil on a kitchen towel.
Meanwhile, mix onions, grated carrot, coriander leaves and keep aside.
Once the mirchi pakodas are fried, make a little larger slit in the middle of the pakodas.
Stuff generously the stuffing mixture, sprinkle salt, red chilly powder and squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve Immediately with green chutney and enjoy.
Yet another basic milkshake recipe..when I first made a milkshake..it was banana milkshake..
I remember reading in a local magazine...then I wanted to try it.
I soo wanted to try because we had got our new fridge...I wanted to chill the milkshake and drink it.
The recipe called for only few basic ingredients...like banana, sugar, milk, fresh cream or malai and lemon.
At First I was wondering why ? lemon...later I found out to stop the discolouration of the bananas.
Through the process making it for many years..there was many changes to make it healthy.
I omitted fresh cream, used semi skimmed milk, instead of sugar..used honey..sometimes added more bananas...added maple syrup..flax seeds powder and so on..
Add nuts like almond powder and add vanilla essence...
But whatever even today I enjoy and love it the same way I did the first time.
It is a compulsory drink I have after my breakfast on saturdays in summers.
Ingredients:
Banana - 3 large,
Chilled Milk - 250 ml,
Sugar/Honey/Maple Syrup - 1 Tablespoon,
Flax Seeds Powder - 1/4 teaspoon,
Vanilla Essence - 1/4 teaspoon,
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon.
Method :
Blend all the ingredients, in a blender, to smooth frothy liquid and pour it to glasses add ice cubes and serve.
If you cannot have any kind of sweetener, add one extra banana while blending.
If you want to add oats, add 1 tablespoon powdered and soaked oats.
You can also add almond powdered to it
It is my atte's(my father's younger sister) signature dish.
In my childwood days, summers would mean, raining tender mangoes, big omelette variety mangoes and to ripe mangoes in our backyard.
It would start with tender mangoes/baby mangoes pickling in jaadis/chettis.
The aroma of that raw mangoes would fill the house.
We would steal couple of those, break it by keeping them in door joints.
Then add salt and chilly powder and enjoy it.
Then while pickling big cut mangoes, it was to save few of them and make this thokku/Chutney.
We used to love this chutney with dosa, idly and with hot steamed rice.
This time when I went for Indian grocery shopping, saw those big raw mangoes, picked it up.
The first thing after I came back called up my aunt and took the recipe.
Ingredients:
Big Raw Mango - 3 quite sour(when I grated I got 750 grams of grated mango),
Oil- 150 grams,
Mustard - 1 tablespoon,
Curry Leaves - 20 leaves,
Whole Red Chillies - 10,
Turmeric - 1 teaspoon,
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Red Chilly - 200 grams Powdered,
Asafoetida - 10 grams,
Salt,
Sugar/Jaggery - 1 and 1/2 tabelespoon.
Method:
Dry roast fenugreek seeds/methi seeds until nice brown.
Take care not to burn, or else it turns bitter.
Powder and keep aside.
In a kadai, add oil and heat it.
Add mustard seeds, when it crackles, add asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies.
Add grated mango and fry until it soft,
Add turmeric, salt, red chilly powder and fenugreek seeds and mix well.
Cook for five more minutes.
Remove from heat, cool until it warm.
Add sugar or grated jaggery and mix well.
Allow to cool well and store in air tight jars.
One more Summer cool drink.
In summers you always want to drink something cool.
It may be from simple lemonade to any other fresh fruit juice or cool cool milk shakes.
I like milkshakes after my light breakfast in the morning or in between breakfast and lunch.
It keeps you cool and healthy for long, you don't need to munch on any high calorie snacks.
If you add oats, skimmed milk, add less sugar/no sugar or replace with honey..makes a healthy drink and filling too.
Ingredients:
Papaya - ripe 1 small size or say 1 medium sized bowl heaped
Milk - Chilled 2 cups
Sugar/Honey - 1 tablespoon or less(optional),
Lemon - 1 tablespoon.
Ice cubes -few.
Method:
In a blender add all the ingredients and blend well.
Pour in glasses, add more ice cubes and serve.
Note:
I have used semi skimmed milk, you can use skimmed milk or whole fat milk.
Adding lemon gives a nice zing to the milkshake.
You can oats powder or soaked oats.
You can skip honey/sugar or skip its optional.
You can flax seeds powder, almond powdered or ground to make it healthy.
I haven't added ice cubes as my kids and hubby cant have ice.
It is one of my favourite cool drink during summers,
Its favourite and common in all households in India.
Drink it hot or cold, it always relishes you.
It is very healthy to all ages, be it kids or grown ups.
I love this drink during summer nights after my food.
Adding a pinch of nutmeg powder, adds more spice to the milk but also get a good night sleep.
Nutmeg is said to be best medicine for insomnia/sleeplessness.
Homemade fresh and all the goodness of milk, almonds and a pinch of dry ginger powder and a pinch of nutmeg powder.
Saffron not only gives unique yellow color and flavour, also saffron is good skin lightning.
Cardamom gives that needed nice aroma for the drink.
Method:
Milk - 2 cups,
Almond - 10-12,
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Or
Honey - 1 tablespoon,
Saffron few strands,
Nutmeg Powder - a pinch,
Dry Ginger Powder - a pinch,
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 teaspoon,
Pistachio - chopped to garnish.
Method:
Soak almond in warm water for 4-6 hours or overnight,
Then remove skin, save a couple to garnish and grind rest to smooth paste with milk.
Soak saffron in warm milk, again save one or two strands to garnish.
Now bring milk to boil, once it gets a boil add ground paste of almond.
Cook for a minute, add sugar/honey(optional).
Remove from heat.
Add nutmeg powder, dry ginger powder and cardamom powder.
If you want to serve chilled cool it well, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
Then remove from fridge and serve with chopped almonds, pistachios and saffron strands.
If you want to serve it hot, serve it immediately garnished with chopped almonds, pistachios and saffron strands.
Note:
Adding sugar or honey is completely optional.
I have used semi skimmed milk, you can also use skimmed or whole fat milk, choice is yours.
One more rice flour rottis with veggies like onions and grated carrot.
You can add veggies of your choice, today I am adding only classic two veggies for masala rotti is chopped onion and grated carrot.
In this rotti, I feel its tastes good even without coconut, its completely optional to add or not add coconut, as I feel it becomes very heavy.
Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 2 cups,
Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1tablespoon,
Salt,
Sugar - 1 teaspoon,
Onion - 1 largefinely chopped,
Carrots - 1/2 cup grated,
Asafoetida - 1 large pinch,
Coriander - 2 tablespoon finely chopped,
Water,
Oil to cook.
Method:
Other than water and oil, mix rest of the ingredients well.
Slowly add water to make a stiff dough.
On a non stick pan, add few drops of oil and spread all over the pan.
Take a tennis ball size dough and spread evenly on tawa and out it on medium flame.
Cook it on a medium flame, covered.
Once the bottom is crisp and cooked, flip/turn over and cook for few more minutes.
Remove from pan, serve it with chutney, ghee or butter.
To know the tips and dill leaves rotti click here.
For hyacinth beans rotti/Avarekaalu rotti click here
