Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Crispy Cabbage Pakodi


Crispy Cabbage Pakodi

Recently when I went to the grocery store I got cabbage for a less price, so I got 2 cabbages and from then I was thinking apart from curry I want to try something different and was looking on the internet. Luckily I came across cabbage pakodi recipe from here and thought of doing it as an evening snack to R. outside Environment was a bit cool with black clouds in the sky and it was about to rain and I really feel like having pakodi. I started preparing pakodi and by the time R came back home it was full of rain and on the other hand hot hot crispy cabbage pakodi, within no time whole plate of pakodi are completed. What else to say how they have turned out.

Ingredients:

  • Besan /Senagapindi – 1 cup
  • Rice Flour /Biyyampindi – ½ cup
  • Green chillies – 2 (medium hot) [as per the spice level]
  • Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Ginger paste – ½ tsp (original recipe calls for ginger garlic paste but R doesn’t like garlic so I didn’t opt for it)
  • Large onion – 1 (sliced)
  • Finely chopped Cabbage – 2 cups
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Curry leaves – handful
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for deep frying
Method:

  • Take a bowl and mix Besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, salt, green chilli – ginger paste, curry leaves, onion, finely chopped cabbage by slowing adding the water; it should not be too watery nor too sticky or hard. 
  • The batter should be medium hard and should be able to drop in oil like fritters.
  • Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel for deep frying and once the oil is hot, drop the batter with your hand like fritters into the oil.
  • Fry them till golden brown colour on both sides and remove them with a slotted ladle and remove them onto an absorbent paper or paper tissue to absorb the excess oil.
  • Serve them hot with any tomato sauce and chilli sauce.
Dropping the fritter into oil
Frying pakodi 

Cabbage Pakodi

Gulabi Puvvulu/Rose cookies/Rosettes


It was quite a long time that I am trying to post this recipe, it is lying in my drafts section for a while and finally today I took some time out to post this recipe. While I am in California, one of my dearest friends Anitha and me we both used to go for morning walk and used to discuss on many things like education, people, society and many other things. We both used to have combined studies at my home and then we both used to try together any kind of new recipe which she comes across or me. One day in our normal discussion she told me that she got the Gulabi Puvullu  or Rose cookies/Rosettes  mould by listening to that I was very happy as it was quite a long time I ate them when mom used to do it . That’s all we both decided to do that on that day and got the mould and started it they turned out very well. But very unfortunately my camera acted too smartly that day so couldn’t take nice snaps. Sorry for that ….
After, I moved to Atlanta, missing all that fun with my friends and special pot lucks without any occasion. Thanks to Anitha for sharing this recipe. Miss you so much….


Ingredients:

  • Maida - 2 cups
  • Rice Flour - 1 cup
  • Sugar-1 ½ cup
  • Elaichi/ Cardamom powder – 2 tsp
  • Water- 1 cup
  • Oil for deep frying
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Take a vessel and put together rice flour, maida, cardamom powder, salt, and sugar and add slowly the water to make a smooth batter, the batter shouldn’t be too loose and pouring nor the batter shouldn’t be too thick. It should be consistent enough and should form like a dosa batter  
  • Take a heavy bottomed vessel and pour oil for deep frying and heat it till the oil is too hot. Now put the mould in the hot oil (this needs to be done before dipping the mould into the batter).
  • Remove the mould from the hot oil and dip it in the batter and remove and place it in the hot oil and leave it for less than a minute. Use a spoon/fork to gently shake the mould with it so that the shape of the mould will be left in oil and leaves the mould.
  • Ensure to keep the heat in a medium flame (or) adjust accordingly to amount of heat required.
  • When the gulabi puvvu turns into golden colour , turn on both sides and remove from oil using a slotted ladle and remove onto a paper tissue to absorb the excess oil in it .
  • Repeat the same process till the batter is completed.
  • Once cool, Store them in an air tight container.



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Okra Curry/Bendakaya Kura

Bhendi/Bendakaya/okra/Lady’s Finger  is one of my favourite vegetables. I am very fond of Bendakaya fry , In my childhood days , my father used to say  that if you eat bendakaya/Okra/Lady’s Finger your memory power will be increased.I really don’t know to what extent that is true . but that is how i started eating the okra still out of so many vegetables given a choice i will pick up Okra  first. i recently learnt from my house owner aunty a variation of this curry.So here goes the recipe:
Ingredients :
  • Okra - 10 (fresh /frozen)
  • Dhaniya powder - 1/2  tbsp
  • Jeera Powder - 1/2 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
  • Mirchi powder/Red Chilli powder  - 3 tsp
  • Besan - 1 tbsp
  • Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
  • Oil - 1 tbsp
Method :
  • Wash the Okra cleanly with water and cut it length wise  to 1-inch size as shown in picture below.
  • Take a  bowl and mix all the ingredients except Okra with a little amount of oil and form as a semi powder -paste .
  • Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat the oil and once the oil is hot enough add okra to it and put under medium flame and let okra gets cooked till tender soft by covering it with a  lid for around 10 min.. Stir in the middle with a spatula to prevent Okra from sticking to the vessel bottom .
  • Now , Sprinkle the powder that is prepared and mix well and keep it covered and let it cook for 3-5 min.
  • Remove from heat and take into a bowl.
  • Serve Hot with Rice/Roti.




Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Janthikalu

Janthikalu are one of the famous Andhra snack items , if some one are coming to home  or some festival is there or if no occasion is there and if summer holidays are coming my mom used to prepare these for us so that we can eat them while playing also. They are very crispy and once you start eating i am sure you will continue doing the same till the tin gets completed. so this the version to my knowledge. There are many variations in preparing this snack. There are many variations in the shapes of the muruku press also. I am trying to do this ever since i came to america but i don’t have that press /aachu. so i am eagerly waiting for that . Recently when we moved from LosAngeles to Atlanta and got settled here ,Luckily we have a indian family upstairs and i found this aachu in their home  and after seeing that i couldn’t resist myself to prepare it .Next day, after sending R to office, me and upstair aunty started the work, and finally they turned out  very well and  crispy. So here goes the recipe of the same: 

Ingredients:  
  • Rice flour - 2cups
  • Besan -1 cup
  • Jeera - 11/2 tsp
  • Sesame seeds - 1 tsp ( i don’t have them immediately so i have not used them)
  • Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
  • Ajwain(vamu) - 1 tsp
  • Oil - for deep frying
  • Salt - 1 tsp 
Method:
  • Take a vessel and mix the rice flour ,besan ,jeera,sesame seeds,ajwain and salt and mix well .
  • Pour slowly  very little amount of water  to form the dough , the dough should not be too thick nor  too loose. it should be soft enough to press gently through the janthikala gottam,chatram, muruku press.(Be very careful while mixing the water).
  • Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat the oil for deep frying ,now take the janthikala press and fill the dough to half of it and gently press in circular motion to get the shape,while your are pressing the shape and when the dough enters into the hot oil the whole vessel is filled with bubbles and hot wave will come onto your face . so be very careful while doing this and once the oil is heat enough put it into medium flame and slowly do it to avoid and spill overs.
  • Once the janthikalu turns into golden brown color flip to the other side and let both sides turn it into golden brown color remove them using a slotted ladle and  place them on a absorbent paper to absorb the excess oil, Continue the same process till the dough is completely.
  • Store it in air tight container after completely cool down to room temperature.






Monday, September 20, 2010

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

 
This is a simple,easy and healthy any time snack . Recently in one of the Indian stores nearby to my place, I have seen these spring roll wrappers , I got them for a  less price too. they are just $2 and we can get around 20 wrappers .we need to freeze them and whenever we went just before 15 min take them out and defrost them and stuff it with your choice of vegetables.These  are the wrappers i got it from the store :






   
So here’s the recipe of my version :

Ingredients for filling inside the wrap:
  • Mixed Vegetables -  1 cup ( Finely chopped cabbage,spring onions,frozen green peas,sweet corn,bean sprouts,shredded carrots )[ these are what i have used , u can use your choice of vegetables]
  • Onions- 1 small size(finely chopped)
  • Green Chillies - 2 medium size(finely chopped)
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper powder -  a pinch
  • Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
  • Chat masala powder - 1tsp
  • Oil - for deep frying
Method :
  • Heat a pan and add some oil to it and  add the onions ,green chillies and saute them till the onions becomes transparent or till they turn to pinkish colour , now add the remaining vegetables  and cook all the vegetables until tender soft by adding sufficient amount of salt and water to it .
  • Finally sprinkle the garam masala and chat masala and black pepper powder to the cooked  vegetables and mix them thoroughly .
  • Remove from the heat and let the mix gets cooled down.
  • Take the Spring roll wrappers sheet and place the stuff inside and roll it up and fold the edges inside and close by applying little bit of water.
  • Heat a vessel and add oil ,once heated add the spring roll to it and fry it for 2 min or till it turns to brownish red. and remove them onto a paper towel so that any excess oil will be absorbed.
  • serve hot with any chutney or with tomato sauce.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Nimmakaya Puliora

Pulihora is very famous dish in Andhra; it comes in many variations such as Tamarind pulihora, Nimmakaya Pulihora, Dabbakaya Pulihora, .and many more. This dish is also used in temples as a “Prasadam”. This dish has all different kinds of taste as it is spicy, sour and salty too. So after a long fasting people like to prefer something like this. In Hindu religion Turmeric is treated as a holy powder and so it is used in all good occasions, as a symbol of that it is normally prepared on any good occasion too. So without any further delay, here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

· Basmati /Sona Masoori Rice – 1 cup (Cooked till soft)
·Lemons – 1 big size (remove the seeds and squeeze the juice)

Tadka /Seasoning

· Haldi /Turmeric powder – 2 tsp
·Hing/Inguva – 2 tsp
·Mustard seeds /Avalu – 1 tsp
· Jeera – 1 tsp
·Urad Dal/Minnapu – 1 tsp
·Channa Dal/SenagaPappu – 1tsp
· Red Chillies – 2 slit length wise
· Green Chillies – 2 or 3 (slit length wise)
· Peanuts/Pallilu /ground nut – few handful (roasted)
· Curry leaves/Karivepaku – few handfuls (fresh ones)

Method:

·   Take a pan ,heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the tadka ingredients , let the mustard seeds pop and now add curry leaves, hing , haldi and let them all splutter for a min.
·   Now add roasted   peanuts and let them fry for a min along with the tadka and turn off the tadka and keep it aside.
·   Take a big plate/vessel and spread the cooked rice in that without any lumps in the rice spread it evenly.
·   Now add the above tadka to the cooked white rice and mix well and add the required amount of salt to it and mix well.
·   Finally add the lemon juice to the rice and mix well.
·   Serve hot.






Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Janmashtami 2010 – Krishnashtami in 2010 or Gokulashtami


Source : different internet sources.
Sri Krishna Janmashtami or Krishnashtami, also known as Gokulashtami, is the birthday of one of the most popular deities of Hinduism, Lord Sri Krishna. Janmashtami 2010, popularly known as Krishnashtami, date is September 1, 2010. Smartha Sects celebrate the Janmashtami in 2010 on September 1 and Vaishnava sects celebrate the Krishnashtami 2010 or Gokulashtami in 2010 on September 2. Janmashtami 2010 date in North India is 2nd September (In some places).
Lord Krishna was born on the Astami thithi (eighth day) in Krishna paksha during Shravan month (August – September). It falls in Bhadrapad month as per North Indian Hindi calendars. Lord Krishna’s Nakshatra or the birth star is Rohini nakshatram. The main objective or the aim of Krishnas birth was to demolish the demon Kansa and his evil acts. Kansa is Krishnas maternal uncle.
In the south, the festival is celebrated as Sri Krishnajanmashtami, Janmashtami or Gokulashtami.
In Tamil Nadu in particular Brahmins noth Iyers and Iyengars, Yadhavas, Chettiars, Pillais celebrate the festival. Uriadi or climbing a stick containing a pot of sweet curds is also a major event inVarahur and other parts of Tamil Nadu.
The pooja is performed late in the evening,[Particularly time when Moon rises this time will differ for different places this time will mentioned in Hindu calendar Panchanga as Krishna was born at midnight. Generally, most of the sweets and savouries are prepared on that day. Normally, a Kolam(rice flour drawings on ground), also known as rangoli, drawn specially for the occasion, called ezhakoolam, decorates the front yard. Footprints representing those of Krishna are drawn from the front yard to the pooja room, representing the god entering the devotee's home.

I wish all my friends ,family members and all my well wishers a  Happy Krishnajanmashtami, Janmashtami or Gokulashtami.