Badam Kheer/Badam Milk/Almond Kheer

Badam kheer or badam milk is one of my family's favorite and these days I am making it often as we all are craving to drink or eat something cold due to high temperature here.This badam milk can be served chilled or hot but we always prefer to drink chilled and used the 2% milk.The use of whole milk gives a rich and creamy taste to the kheer.Now to the recipe..........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Almonds/badam	1/2cup
Cashews/mundiri paruppu	2tbs
Sugar	1/2cup
Milk	41/2cups
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	1/2tsp
Saffron	6-7 strands
Yellow food color(optional)	a pinch

Method 

                       Soak the almonds and cashews in water separately for 2-3 hours.Peel the skin of the almonds and grind both almonds and cashews to a paste with 1/2cup of milk.Soak the saffron in a tbs of warm milk and keep aside.
In a sauce pan boil the milk in a medium flame till it becomes thick,now add the sugar and and bring it to a boil.

Add the ground paste and cook it till everything gets blend well with continuous stirring to prevent burning.

Finally add the saffron and cardamom powder and put off the stove.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours once it becomes cool down.
Chilled Badam Kheer is ready to serve.Garnish it with finely chopped pistachios.

Enjoy........................................

• The color gets deeper on cooling as the saffron gets soaked in the milk and I didn't use any food color. 
• Grind the almonds and cashews to a bit coarse consistency.
• To get a rich and creamy consistency 2-3tbls of condensed milk can be added. 

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Paavakkai Puli Curry/Bitter gourd in tamarind sauce

Puli curry or puli kottu is a traditional South Indian delicacy which is served as an accompaniment or can be mixed with white rice.Vegetables such as okra,bitter gourd,brinjal and yellow pumkin are used to make the puli curry.
It can be made with freshly ground masala or sambhar powder and today I made this one with sambhar powder,bitter gourd and black chick peas.Now to the recipe..............

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Bittergourd/pakarkkai	2nos.(long variety)
Sambhar powder	2tsp
Shallots/chinna vengayam	10nos.
Tomato	1no.(medium size)
Tamarind	gooseberry size
Coconut(grated)	2tbs
Black chick peas/karuppu kondai kadalai	3/4cup(cooked)
Salt	to taste
Oil	1tbs
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1tsp
Curry leaves/karivepillai	1sprig

Method

              Slice the bitter gourd and shallots thinly,chop the tomato and soak the tamarind in a cup of water.Grind the coconut and sambhar powder to a fine paste,set it aside
Heat a pan with oil,throw in the mustard seeds and curry leaves,saute the shallots to transparent with a pinch of salt.Now add in the sliced bitter gourd and fry it till it changes the color,add the tomato and cook it.

At this stage add the ground paste,tamarind water,salt and cook it in a medium flame till the raw smell goes off.

Finally add the cooked chickpeas and allow o boil it for a minute.Garnish it with coriander leaves.

 Serve it with steamed rice with a dash of ghee.

Enjoy.......................

• Instead of cooked chick peas,peanuts can also be used.
• The consistency can be adjusted according to personal preference and becomes thick on cooling.
• For the fresh spice powder,dry roast 1tbs of coriander seeds,3 red chillies,2tsp of channa dhal and grind it with grated coconut. 
• Sliced garlic can also be used along with shallots.

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Ulunthan Kali/Urad dhal Halwa -Indian Cooking Challenge July 2012

For this month of Indian Cooking Challenge(ICC) Valli has chosen ulunthan kali which is a traditional sweet of Tamilnadu.
This sweet is prepared and given to girls especially at the time of puberty to strengthen the spinal cord and back bones.I grew up eating this sweet and my mom and aunt make it with the whole skinned urad dhal and sesame oil,I never made this sweet on my own.
As my mom is here she helped me to make the sweet and it came out very delicious and my kiddo liked it a lot.
Original recipe calls for 1 cup of urad dhal and 1/2cup of rice but mom used both in the same quantity and used palm sugar as sweetner.Here is the recipe........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Urad dhal/uluutham paruppu	1/2cup
Raw rice/paccharisi	1/2cup
Palm sugar or jaggery/vellam	1/2cup
Sesame oil(optional)	1tbs
Ghee/nei	2tbs
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	1/4tsp
Water	2cups
Cashews(optional)	2tbs
Salt	a pinch

Method

                              Dry roast the rice and urad dhal separately in a pan to pink color in a medium flame and powder it to a bit coarse consistency,keep aside.

Heat a pan with palm sugar with  little water and dissolve it,strain it through a filter and set it aside.
Now heat 2 cups of water in a pan,add the sugar syrup and bring it to a boil,once the water is boiling add the rice and dhal powder to it.

Stir it well and cook it till it reaches halwa like consistency.Add the ghee and oil, mix it well,cook it for a minute.

Finally add the cardamom powder and ghee fried cashews,mix it well.

Ulunthan Kali is ready.

Enjoy........................

• Mom suggested adding a tbs of grated coconut also enhances the flavor and taste of the kali.
• Using the sesame oil is purely optional which can be substituted with ghee.
• Both palm sugar and jagerry can be used if you  don't like the taste of palm sugar.

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Mutton Fry/Mutton Sukka Varuval

Its been a while since I posted a non-veg recipe and DH likes mutton sukka but I cook it rarely due to health conscious.Last week we got mutton from halal shop and made the mutton fry.This is a dry version which goes very well with rasam rice and curd rice or biriyani.As my parents are here for a visit I am enjoying my mom's cooking and she made this fry for us.Since there was no charge in the camera,when she was making I couldn't take the stepwise pictures,will update it soon.Here is the recipe.....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Mutton(boneless)	250gms
Onion(finely chopped)	1no.
Shallots/chinnavengayam (chopped)	4-5nos.
Tomato(finely chopped)	1no.
Garlic/poondu(finely chopped)	3 pods
Cashews	1tbs(optional)
Ginger&garlic paste	2tsp
Black pepper/milagu	1tsp(coarsely ground)
Chilly powder/milagai podi	11/2tsp
Coriander powder/dhania podi	2tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	a pinch
Coconut paste	2tbs
Curry leaves	1sprig
Coriander leaves(finely chopped)	2tsp
Oil	2tbs
Salt	a pinch

For the Seasoning

Ingredient	Quantity
Cloves/lavangam	2-3nos.
Cinnamon/pattai	1 inch piece
Fennel seeds/sombhu	1/4tsp

Method

• Add the mutton with ginger&garlic paste,a pinch of chilly powder,turmeric powder,finely chopped shallots and little salt along with enough water in a pressure cooker.Cook it in a medium flame for 5-6 whistles or till the mutton becomes tender and keep aside.
• Heat a pan with oil and do the seasoning with the ingredients and fry the cashews.Saute the onion and garlic,then add a tsp of ginger &garlic paste.Now add in the tomato and cook it till mushy.
• Once the tomato is cooked add in the chilly powder and coriander powder,turmeric powder,add the mutton stock and cook it till it becomes thick.
• At this stage add the coconut paste,salt and cook it for 2-3 minutes.Add the cooked mutton pieces to it and mix it well.
• Cook it in a medium flame till it gets dried.Finally add the ground pepper,coriander leaves and give it a mix.

Mutton sukka is ready.

Enjoy...........................................

• Instead of onion,shallots can be used which gives a very nice taste and flavor to the fry.
• After adding the ground pepper do not cook it for a long time.
• Adding the cashew is optional but gives a richness to the fry.

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Peanut Rice

Today is another session of blog hop Wednesday of Tickling Palates of Radhika and this month I am paired up with Nirmala of Nirmala's Kitchen.
Her blog has a collection of South Indian recipes and innovative snacks,I chose Peanut rice from blog which is a healthy and quicker version.As I always prefer to cook and eat one pot meal or variety rice rather than sambhar,rasam or kulambhu,tried this one.
It is a easy to make delicious variety rice which is a good option for lunch box too.Now on to the recipe.....

 Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Cooked rice	11/2cup
Peanut/Verkaladalai	1/4cup
Dessicated coconut	2tbs
Red chilly/varamilagai	3nos.
Urad dhal/uluutham paruppu	2tsp
Oil	3tsp
Salt	a pinch

For the tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1/2tsp
Urad dhal/uluutham paruppu	1tsp
Channa dhal/kadalai paruppu	1tsp
Cashews/mundiri(chopped)	2tsp(optional)
Curry leaves	1sprig
Asafoetida/perungayam	a pinch

Method 

• Dry roast the peanuts separately in a pan and keep aside.In the same pan add 1/2tsp of oil and roast the red chilly,urad dhal and the coconut,fry it to a golden color.Once it becomes cool down grind it to a coarse powder.
• Heat a pan with remaining oil and do the tempering with the given ingredients.Add the ground powder to it and put of the stove.Now add the cooked rice and salt to it and mix it well.
• Simple and easy to make peanut rice is ready.
• Serve it with chips or pappad or some fries.

Enjoy................................

• While grinding first powder the urad dhal,coconut powder and red chilly then add the peanuts and pulse it.Do not grind the peanuts for a long time it should be coarse.
• The crunchiness of the peanuts gives a nice taste to the rice.
• The powder can be adjusted according to the preference.

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Ennai Kathirikai Kulambhu/Baby Eggplants in Tamarind Sauce

Ennai Kathirikkai Kulambhu is a spicy,tangy kulambhu in which baby eggplants are stuffed with a spice powder and cooked in a tamarind sauce.
This kulambhu is one of my family's favorite and its is my mom's version of making ennai kathirikkai kulambhu.
Last week in the local farmers market I found out the baby eggplants and wanted to try,it came out delicious.Here is the recipe for yummy and tangy kulambhu......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Baby eggplants/kathirikkai	10-12nos.
Shallots/Chinnavengayam	10nos.
Tomato(finely chopped)	1no.
Garlic/poondu	7-8cloves
Tamarind Paste	2tsp(diluted in a cup of water)
Chilly powder/milagai podi	11/2tsp
Coriander powder/dhaniya podi	2tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4tsp
Coconut paste	2tbs
Sesame oil/nalla ennai	4tbs
Salt	to taste

To roast and grind 

Ingredient	Quantity
Red chilly/varamilagai	5-6nos.
Coriander seeds/varakothamalli	1tbs
Black pepper/milagu	1/4tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	6-8seeds

For the Seasoning

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1/2tsp
Urad dhal/ullutham paruppu	1/2tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	5-6seeds
Curry leaves/karivepillai	1sprig
Asafoetida/perungayam	a pinch

Method 

                                 Start by heating a pan and dry roast the given ingredients to a golden color,grind it to a coarse powder.

Take the eggplant,trim the stalk and cut it as shown in the picture.Stuff the eggplants with the ground powder and arrange it on a plate.Mix in the chilly powder,coriander powder,turmeric powder,salt and coconut paste to the tamarind water and keep aside.

Heat a shallow pan with the oil and do the seasoning with the given ingredients,saute the shallots and garlic to transparent.Add in the tomato and cook mushy.

Then add the stuffed eggplant.Fry the eggplant till it gets tender and soft in a medium flame.

Once the eggplant is tender and change its color add the tamarind water and cook it till the raw smell goes off and becomes thick.

Ennai Kathirikkai kulambhu is ready to serve along with rice.

Enjoy.......................................

• Once the kulambhu becomes cool down it gets thick,so adjust the consistency according to preference.
• I used the tamarind paste,if you are using tamarind a small lemon sized is needed for the given measurement.
• Instead of chilly and coriander powder,sambhar powder can also be used.
• Use the same sized eggplants to get the eggplants cooked evenly.
• Using the sesame oil gives a nice flavor and taste to the kulambhu.

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