Thinai Sarkarai Pongal | Millet Sweet Pongal | Pongal Recipes | Millet Recipes

At times all you need is something healthy. At times all you need is something comforting and at times all you need is some sarkarai pongal. Sarkarai pongal to me is simply home... Amma's sarkarai pongal is the best. It hits every note right, not overpoweringly sweet, the right amount of ghee, correct consistency and is perfection in every aspect. My son loves sarkarai pongal and I make it a point to make it for him once every two weeks and sometimes I sneak in healthiness like this, by subbing the rice for millet. He never finds a difference and its a win-win for both of us. You can use any kind of millet here - kodo, jowar, barnyard or anything.

~*What U Need*~ Fox millet / Thinai - 1/2 cup Moongdal - 1/4 cup Jaggery - 1/2 - 3/4 cup Saffron - 4 to 5 strands Cardamom - 2 to 3 crushed Cashewnuts - a handful Raisins - 1 tbsp Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp Water - as needed How I Made it: Wash and soak the millet and set aside. Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in the pressure cooker and fry the moongdhal till it turns light brown. Add the soaked and drained millet to this, add 2 1/2 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Meanwhile, heat the jaggery with 2-3 tbsps of water till the jaggery melts. Strain the syrup and set aside. Once the pressure subsides, remove the lid, add the strained jaggery syrup and heat the mixture in medium heat for 3 - 4 mins. Remove from the flame. Roast the nuts and raisins in ghee. Add the nuts, ghee, saffron and cardamom to the pongal and mix well.

Serve warm.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Vimitha
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Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Fruit Cake

I made this cake two days before Christmas, stored it carefully feeding it with rum every day and then on the D day, I shared it with friends, devoured it to hearts content and then totally forgot about it. Today when I was going through my food pics, I found this and I came to realize that I had missed posting this for Christmas. Well now that I have found it, I am not going to spare another moment to share this recipe with you. Its the best and just like all other christmas cakes it gets better and better. I have been following this recipe for the past 2 years but each time I use a different pan and do not flour it believing that the non stick coating would do its job but finally I would end up with the cake sticking to the pan. So this time I made it a point to grease the pan, line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the pan too. And look how neat and yummy the cake looks!!!

Recipe adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ For soaking the dried fruits Dry fruits - 1 1/2 cups ~ Raisins, dates, pineapple, apricot, cranberries, dried papaya, dates, almonds, cashews Rum - as needed (I used CaptianMorgans. U need to immerse the fruits completely in rum and then refill as and when you find the amount reducing) Caramel syrup - 2 tbsp (2tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp water) For Caramel Syrup to be used in cake Sugar - 3/4 cup Water - 2 tbsp Hot water - 6 tbsp For the cake: Butter - 1/2 cup, room temp Powdered sugar - 1 1/4 cups Eggs - 2, separated All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cups Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Coarsely powdered nuts - 1/2 cup(almonds and walnuts) Orange Zest - 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp Clove powder - 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp Jeera powder - 1/4 tsp Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Heat 2 tblsp sugar with 1 tsp water on medium heat until the sugar melts and browns up. Take off the heat and carefully add the water and stir well. Atleast 2 weeks in advance , chop all the dry fruits and place them in an airtight container. Pour the rum on top of it, add the caramel syrup and allow to soak. On the day of baking, heat 3/4 cup of sugar with 2 tbsp water in a saucepan. The sugar will start melting. COntinue heating till the syrup turns brown or almost black in color. Take it off the stove and add the hot water and stir well. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350F and grease your cake pan. Sift together all the dry ingredients with the spices. Add the powdered nuts, mix well and keep aside. Beat the butter with powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix well until well incorporated. Add in the dry ingredients slowly and mix until combined. Add the Vanilla essence, orange zest and Caramel syrup and combine everything together. Strain the rum soaked fruits (save the rum), and coat the fruits with some all-purpose flour and add the fruits into the cake batter. Fold the fruits into the cake evenly. Beat the Egg Whites until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and continue to beat until the peaks look stiff and glossy. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean. After taking the cake out from the oven, immediately pour 2-3tblsp of the saved rum over the cake. Allow the cake to cool for 15 mins and then flip the cake pan onto a wire-rack. Once cooled brush the sweet rum all over the cake. Keep the cake covered with aluminium foil/plastic wrap and brush the cake with more Rum everyday until you cut the cake.

Serve with love!!!

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Triple Chocolate Granola

We have very little options for breakfast atleast that is how it works for us. When I was a kid I still remember that my mornings started with a tall glass of milk or homemade health drink followed by two idlis, just and always with some chutney or sambar. Even after marriage it was the same, till I was with my in-laws. After moving out life seemed way more easier with cereal and bread and cereal again. And that is how its been for four years.

Lately I have been wanting different breakfast options. Not something heavy but something fancy, something that I would love to eat, something that I would look forward to on my breakfast table. I had always wanted to try granola but back in India they were pretty costly and the serving size that you get for that many bucks is very meager. The pack would hardly last you a week. I have tried my share at home with the quick cooking oats variety but they never seemed to excel in texture.

So when I came to the U.S I started experimenting with the rolled oats and lately we have been enjoying a variety of homemade granola for breakfast. And it makes a great breakfast option too. So now its cereal and homemade bread and granola and cereal again. See an added breakfast option. Anything with chocolate can never go wrong and when it is chocolate for breakfast it is definitely my kinda breakfast and when it three different types of chocolate, then it is just... "OH MY".

Prep time: 5 mins; Cooking time: 30 mins; Serves - 2 Adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ Old fashioned oats - 1 1/2 cup Canola oil - 2 tbsp Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup Dark brown sugar - 2 tbsp Maple syrup - 2 tbsp + 2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 1/4 cup Chocolate covered raisins - 1/2 cup How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix oil, cocoa powder and sugar and whisk till combined. Add the maple syrup and mix well. Add the oats and fold till evenly mixed. Bake for 25-30 mins, stirring every 10 mins. Remove from oven and add the chocolate chips when still warm. Once cooled, add in the raisins and mix well. Store in an air tight container.

Serve with milk or top on yogurt.

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Dindugul Chicken Biryani

By this time you should have atleast got an idea of our love for biryanis and how our Sundays are never complete without a plate of warm chicken biryani. A plate of homemade chicken biryani and a 1-hour nap is what the huss calls a perfect Sunday and a perfect start to the week. I like trying different biryani recipes and when I left to the US my MIL gave me a booklet which had recipes of different types of biryanis. Ya, I know, my MIL is sweet... so sweet that she had xeroxed a special side edition of a famous magazine on biryanis page by page, stapled it into a booklet and handed it over to me on the night of packing.

The book(let) is a treasure, it has all sorts of biryani varieties from thalapakatti to mughalai to dum. This recipe is from the book, ofcourse (duh!!!). The highlight of this biryani is that it uses no tomatoes and gets its richness from thick coconut milk. BTW, I read somewhere that an authentic biryani recipe uses no tomatoes and gets its flavor from the freshly ground spices. That's so true. You have to try this, its rich, its yummy and the freshly ground spices makes your house smell b-i-r-y-a-n-i.

Prep Time: 15 mins; Cooking time: 1 hour; Serves - 3-4 ~*What U Need*~ Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cup Onion - 1, sliced Green chilli - 2 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped Mint leaves - 1/4 cup chopped Ghee - 1 tbsp Oil - 3 tbsp Thick Coconut milk - 1 cup Water - 1 cup Broken cashews - 3 tbsp Raisins - 2 tbsp Salt For Marination: Chicken - 500 gms, with bone Thick Curd - 1/2 cup Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - a big pinch For Briyani Masala Powder: Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cardamom - 2 Star anise - 1/2 Cloves - 2 How I Made it: Marinate chicken with the given ingredients for atleast 30 mins. Grind the ingredients under biryani masala to a fine powder. Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 mins. Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker and fry the cashews and raisins. Add in onions, green chilli and saute till golden. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add in turmeric, chilli powder and the ground masala and fry for 2-3 mins. Now add in the chicken mix. Mix well and cover and cook for 15 mins. In another kadai, add a tsp of ghee and fry the soaked and drained rice for 5 mins. Once it is coated well with the ghee and is free from moisture, add it into the pressure cooker. Add in coriander leaves and mint leaves, coconut milk and water. Season with salt. Cover and cook for 2 whistles. When the pressure has released open and fluff the rice with a fork.

Serve with raita and boiled egg!!!

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Corn Flour Halwa | Karchi Halwa | Easy Diwali Sweets

Now now now, I know that Diwali is way past and everyone are up with their Christmas cookies and Thanksgiving menus. But you have to bear with me, BTW are you left with any other option!!! I still have quite a few Diwali sweets and snack recipes to be posted, four to be more precise. I have been held up quite a bit these days, the kid becoming overly hyper active with passing months seems to be having my full attention every minute. Leave him outta your sight for 2 mins and you are sure to hear a big thung in the kitchen followed by a 100 decibels wail.

And BTW I baked my own birthday cake few days back... Oh yeah, no risen eyebrows, I had to bake my own cake. Thanks to the huss. I had always wanted to make a coffee soaked Tiramisu cake and finally did it. The cake was a winner and I was lauded by friends and neighbors. I have started brewing the post and will post it sometime next week. Coming to this sweet, it is seriously easy to make and looks so fancy for the very little amount of work that you have put in. I made this especially to give it to the few friends that I have here and they simply loved it.

Prep time: 5 mins; Cooking time: 20 mins; Makes: 9 medium Corn flour - 1/4 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup Ghee - 1 tbsp Water - 1 1/4 cup Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp, broken Raisins - 1 tbsp Food colour - a pinch How I Made it: Grease a plate or tupperware bowl with ghee. In a pan add 1 tsp of ghee and fry the chopped cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown and keep this aside. In a bowl mix cornflour and food color with 3/4 cups of water without any lumps. In a heavy bottomed pan or non stick pan, add sugar and remaining water. In medium heat, mix till the sugar gets dissolved. Add the corn flour mixture into the sugar and mix well. Keep on stirring. Add 1 tbsp of ghee and stir till you get a glossy texture. Then the halwa will start becoming transparent. Add the cashews and raisins and mix well. The halwa will become glossy and start leaving the sides of the pan. Transfer it to the greased plate. Allow to cool for 2 hours and then cut into pieces.

Yummy karachi halwa ready!!!

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Poha Chiwda | Aval Chivda | Easy Snack Recipes | Diwali Snacks

Poha Chivda or Poha Chivda is nothing but an Indian version of hot and sweet trial mix. It makes for a perfect tea time snack and the mild spiciness and the just right sweetness makes it a perfect pairing for your coffee or tea. You may share it with your partner over your tea table or if you are like me, put the kid to sleep, pull out your favorite cooking book and snuggle onto your couch with your personal cup of black tea and personal plate of chivda. I however prefer the latter.

I made this sometime back just before Diwali when I had little above half a cup of red poha and out of ideas on what to make with it. A phone call to the mother came to rescue and I got into business once the kid was up and playing on his own (which seldom happens). BTW, he is a BIG-TIME attention seeker and can never be by himself and his mom has to be his playmate 24/7. But that is what makes me happy these days. Watching him play, watching him grow, watching him do anything ~ I just can't get enough of it.

Prep Time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 20 mins; Serves - 2 ~*What U Need*~ Poha/Aval - 3/4 cup Peanuts - 1/4 cup Roasted chana dhal - 1/4 cup Cashews - 1/4 cps Black raisins - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Hing - 1/8 tsp Brown sugar - 1/2 tbsp Salt - to tast Oil for deep frying How I Made it: Measure all your ingredients and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. When it is hot, add the poha and fry it. It should become crisp and will start floating in the oil. Drain and place in a kitchen towel. Similarly fry the peanuts, cashews, raisins, dhal and curry leaves and drain excess oil. Once it is warm to touch, take a large bowl, add all the fried items sprinkle hing, red chilli powder, salt and brown sugar and mix gently till evenly coated. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Serve as a tea time snack.

** My Notes:
** The oil should be very hot. When you drop the poha, it should fry and immediately come up.
** I used the red variety poha but you can use whatever you like.

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Beetroot Sago Payasam | Easy Festival Recipes & Celebrating 400th Post...

I like beetroots but the worst part that I hate about them is prepping them up. It needs time, plenty of time to slice them and cut them into cubes. And so I mostly go for the grating option. But one thing nice about them is that they don't go bad that easily. And so I buy beetroots, just to stack them up in the far-east corner of my fridge. And then I stack some broccoli on to top of them, not to forget the carrots, beans and cabbage and then I forget them. Its that simple, I forget them literally. I remember them only when I clean my fridge the next week.

This payasam happened because I found a single lonely fellow(beetroot) hiding behind my veggies. He was small, alone and was in need of help. All options striked out, with no vision of what I am gonna do, I simply steam cooked it and thought of making a milkshake but then a kheer sounded more delicious and just right for dessert after the finger-licking chicken biryani that we had had for lunch. Thick, creamy and rich in flavor, this payasam is perfect warm or cold!!!

On that note, I am happy to tell you that this is my 400th post... Really happy that I am here and thanks to all my readers and fellow bloggers for all the support and encouragement that you have given throughout this journey of mine.

Makes - 2 cups; Serves - 2; Cooking time - 20 mins; Prep time - 10 mins ~*What U Need*~ Beetroot puree - 1/4 cup Sago pearls - 1/4 cup Milk - 1 1/2 cups Water - 1/2 cup Sugar - 4 tbsp (adjust per taste) Cardamom powder - a pinch Ghee - 1 tbsp Cashews - 2 tbsp Raisins - few How I Made it: Cook a medium- sized beetroot for 3 whistles and blend to puree. Soak sago in water for 30 mins. Heat water in a saucepan and when boiling add the soaked sago and cook till transparent. Add milk and cook till reduced to 3/4 th. Add the beetroot puree and cook till the raw smell goes off. Add sugar to taste and cook till thick or till it reaches the desired consistency. Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashews and raisins. Add this to the payasam, followed by the cardamom powder and allow to boil for few mins. Remove from flame.

Serve warm or chilled (tastes best when cold)!!!

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Aval Payasam | Gokulashtami Recipes | Festival Recipes

Aval a.k.a poha payasam is part of the neivedhiyam kept for Lord Krishna on Gokulashtami. Before marriage amma used to make a simple sweet with poha, roasted gram and jaggery and that is what we kept for neivedhiyam alongside some butter. Amma has never made seedais till date and we have never asked for it. Thanks to all the maamis who lived near us, we had a non-stop supply of sweet and salt seedais for every gokulashtami and so amma never bothered making some.

Coming to this recipe, this payasam is so simple to make, thick, creamy and just right for that sweet cravings. I had the organic red rice beaten poha in hand and so used that but the thin white variety also works just fine. In fact amma tells that the thin variety suits best for this payasam. Also to make the payasam more creamy skip the sugar and replace it with sweetened condensed milk. If you are a health freak, then you can replace the sugar with jaggery or palm jaggery. I will be trying both ways and will update the blog once done.

~*What U Need*~ Aval / Red rice poha - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Sugar - 4 tbsp Milk - 2 cups Ghee - 1+1 tbsp Cardamom powder - a pinch Cashews - 4-5 Raisins - 10 How I Made it: Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadai, add the poha and fry till golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same kadai, add another tbsp of ghee and fry the cashews and raisins, remove and set aside. Add milk and cook till reduced to 3/4th. Then add the poha and cook till reduced to half. Add sugar and cook for 3-5 mins. Add cardamom powder. Remove from flame and add the cashews and raisins.

Serve warm or cold!!!

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(Amma Cooks) Chicken Dum Biryani

Tell me one non-vegetarian who doesn't like Chicken dum biryani. I am yet to find one. Am no exception too. I love this biryani or let me put it this way, I have a love-hate relationship with this biryani. Love it cos it is mind-blowingly delicious, hate it cos it is outrageously painstaking and labor-intensive... All with its chopping, sauteing, frying and more chopping, it gives you one hell of a time. But end of the day, I can assure you that you will be getting a plate of pure bliss that will leave you wanting for more. That is "the fruit of labor" that you are left with.

I can never stand in the kitchen for hours, chopping onions, frying 'em in one burner of the stove and sauteing 'em in the other, making the masala, fluffing the rice and finally putting them together. I am not that kind and so I never think about trying my hands on the ever famous Chicken Dum Biryani. Moreover hubby prefers the one-pot pressure cooker biryani to this and that makes things easy. Also when you have an SME at home you never have to worry about it.

Amma makes the best dum biryanis and when it is dum biryani at home, appa dons the chef's hat too. He helps her (BTW he is so good at chopping onions), chopping onions like a breeze, cleaning chicken with such skill, following her instructions to the 'T'. So whenever I have that craving for home amma-cooked dum biryani, I call them down and enjoy it to the fullest. Its that simple, so now you know why I never bothered to give it a shot.

This time when she made it, I was there with my camera to click step by step pics but having a kid on his toes never helps with things going the planned way. Finally I had to abandon the camera and the task too. But I did take decent shots of the dum biryani and I so wanted to share it with you. I will update the post with the tutorial soon.

~*What U Need*~ Servings - 6 to 8 Chicken - 1/2 kg Oil, Salt For the Rice: Basmati rice - 2 1/2 cups Water - 5 cups Ghee - 2 tbsp Cardamom - 2 Cloves - 3 Cinnamon - 2 1" piece Bay leaf - 1 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Salt For the masala Onion - 1/2 kg Tomato - 200 g Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp For frying Sliced onions - 1 cup Cashew - a handful Raisins - a handful Ghee/oil - to fry To grind Coriander leaves - half a bunch/a handful Mint leaves - half a bunch/ a handful Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 4 Sour curd - 1/4 cup Saffron - 1/4 tsp soaked in warm milk

How I She Made it:
Prep work:
Grind coconut into a smooth mixture. Grind mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli and curd into a coarse mixture. Set aside. Soak the rice for 10 mins. Lets prep it up next. Heat oil in a big kadai, add ghee, fry the crushed cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf. Add the rice and fry foir 5 mins till the water evaporates. Add the water, salt and cook till 75% done. Remove and fluff with work. Set aside to cool down. Heat oil to fry the onions. Deep fry the sliced onions till brown. Remove and set aside. Similarly fry the cashews and raisins.

Method:
In the same pan, add the remaining chopped onions and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till oil separates. Add the masala powders and fry well. Add the chicken and cook till the water separates and half done. Add the coconut mixture and fry well. Once the sauce starts thickening up, add the coriander-mint paste and cook till you get a semi-gravy. Season with salt.

Take a large cooker and grease with ghee. Add a layer of rice followed by a layer of gravy. Sprinkle fried onion, cashews, raisins, chopped mint leaves and a pinch of garam masala. Repeat till you are out of rice and gravy finishing with rice, fried onions and mint leaves and saffron milk. Close with the pressure cooker lid with the whistle on. Place this setup on top of a dosa tawa filled with sand and cook in low flame for 15-20 mins or till the mint leaves on the top get cooked.

Serve hot with raitha and boiled egg!!!

** My Notes:
** The cooking time of the rice is very important so be careful.
** When cooking on dosa tawa, do it on very low flame.
** Also add a dollop of ghee on the top for more flavor.

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