Bhindi Zunka / Spiced Okra with Chick pea flour crust

Okra / Bhindi is a love-hate vegetable. People either love it or hate it. We at home love okra. When I saw this Bhindi Zunka in Richa's space I immediately bookmarked it. I had remembered the okra which I got few days before at the market. Gave it a try and boy did I like it... It was awesome. I had made this zunka with bell peppers (sister's recipe). This method of making okra though would please some okra non-lovers too I believe. So if you have someone at home who doesn't touch this vegetable, give this a try. They might like it.

Ingredients:
Okra / Bhindi / Lady's Finger - chopped into 1/2" pieces - 2 cups
Onions - chopped finely - 1/4 cup
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Besan/Chickpea flour/Kadalai maavu - sifted - 1/4 cup

Method:
Dry roast the chickpea flour in medium heat until it gives a lovely aroma and turns slightly brown. Remove and set aside. In the same pan heat 3 tbsp of oil and add the fennel seeds and onions. After the onions turn translucent, couple of minutes, add the spice powders, asafoetida and mix well. Add the chopped okra and mix well so that the oil is coated well on all the pieces. In medium heat, cover loosely with the lid and cook for about 10 - 15 mins until it is almost done. Mix in a fold pattern once in about 3 minutes during this time. After it is almost done, If the okra is not gooey at this stage sprinkle about a tsp of water and add the chickpea flour 1 tbsp at a time folding over after each addition. Cook for a further couple of minutes in a medium flame until the okra is fully done and the chick pea flour forms a thin crust on it. Serve hot with rice or roti.

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Baked Apple Oatmeal

 Now that the weather is getting chilly 

it's time for this hearty breakfast.

Hot cereal is far more nourishing and satisfying
than cold and it keeps you full longer. 

You can mix this up in the evening before in a
covered bowl, then refrigerate and

bake fresh and warm in the morning.

It will make your kitchen smell wonderful.

Serve in bowls with additional milk or cream.

(my photos are of half the recipe.)

I can reheat any leftovers for a quick breakfast.

This is a great breakfast to serve before a 

fall or winter activity.

Baked Apple Oatmeal

2 C oatmeal

1/2 C brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

2 T butter, melted

4 C milk

2 apples. peeled and chopped

1/2 C chopped pecans

1/2 C raisins or craisins (if desired)

Combine all ingredients and put into a buttered

2 qt casserole. Bake @350 for about 40 minutes

until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Spoon into bowls and serve 

with additional milk or cream.
6-8 servings

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum,
French Country Cottage, Between U & Me
At The Picket Fence, The Charm Of Home,
Stone Gable

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Thengai Burfi / Coconut Fudge - Wish you a Happy Diwali!! | Diwali Sweets Recipes

First things First!! Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali!! Believe you are celebrating this day with high spirits. Though it is not a holiday here in US we are celebrating with friends (miss family very much). I made this Coconut Burfi as a part of my Diwali Sweets and Snacks. This is again a recipe from Grandma. I never knew this burfi was so easy to make with only 5 ingredients and can be done with less effort compared to other Indian Sweets.
I think this is the first time I am posting in my blog 3 days in a row..Hmm.. Festival Spirit!!

Ingredients:
Cooking time - 35-40 mins; Gives 12-14 2" squares
Coconut grated (just the white part) - 3 1/2 cups - loosely packed 
Sugar - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 1 1/4 cups
All-purpose flour / Maida - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp or less
Ghee - 1 tbsp + more to grease the pan.

Method:
Get all the ingredients ready and grease base and sides of a square pan with ghee. Pulse the grated coconut in a blender for a few seconds. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and mix the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Continue boiling the sugar syrup for about 15 minutes in medium to med-high flame. Have a bowl of cold water by the side. After 15 minutes of boiling the syrup put about a drop of it to the bowl of water. If the syrup dissolves in the water continue the boil. Check with water drop method once every 2 minutes to see if the dropped sugar syrup can be made to a soft ball. At this stage add the coconut and mix well. Continue cooking in medium heat. Take caution as the mix splatters at this stage. After about 5 mins add the maida, it helps thickening of the burfi and gives the bright white color. Keep folding and stirring until it comes together. Add the cardamom powder and ghee and keep stirring till it becomes a big mass. Pour it to the greased pan and smoothen and spread the top based on desired thickness. Allow it to set for about 15 mins and cut into desired shapes. Cool completely and store in air-tight box for a couple of days. Can be stored for a week in the refrigerator.
Note: Freshly grated white part of the coconut is preferred, but frozen works perfectly fine. I used frozen 340g bag which I thawed to room temperature and measured to about 3 1/2 cups. Reduce the sugar by couple of tablespoons if you want it subtly sweetened.

I am sending this scrumptious sinful sweet delight to
Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika

Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny
Healing Foods - Coconut event by Siri & Sukanya
Only Sweets & Desserts event by Pari & Gayathri
My Diwali My way event by Khushi
Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Spicy Murukku / Chakali for Diwali with Step-by-Step pictures

Diwali!! The name brings memories of holidays, celebrations, firecrackers and Sweets and Savories. Though residing outside India has made us forget the holidays and miss the firecrackers, we still do not miss out on the celebrations and sweets part. The first and foremost snack prepared in our house is these murukkus. And this one in grandma's foolproof recipe. If you are a beginner in making murukkus, you can follow this recipe and method to the T (like I did) and I bet you would be happy with the outcome.
I started my diwali preparations yesterday with Seepu Murukku and made this Spicy Murukku today.

Ingredients:
Makes about 50 medium sized murukkus with standard cup measurements
Rice flour - 2 cups
Bengal Gram flour / Urad dhal flour - 1/2 cup 
Roasted Gram Dhal flour/ Pottukadalai maavu - 1/4 cup
Ajwain Seeds / Carom Seeds / Omam - 1/4 tsp 
Butter - 2 tsp - Do not compromise or substitute 
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Water - 1 1/4 cups - 1 1/2 cups (as needed to make the dough)
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Mix the flours, chilli powder, salt and carom seeds well. Add butter and mix with your fingers so that it gets well incorporated into the flour mixture. Add water and make a soft dough. Cover with a wet cloth and set aside. Heat oil for deep frying. Prepare the murukku press by placing the star (chakali) attachment. Fill with dough. Press into a spiral murukku to a back of a big spoon. Gently place the pressed murukku in the oil. Fry until both sides are done and the bubbles around the murukku in the oil subside. Remove and place in a tissue paper to drain excess oil. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container.
Note:
I used home-made urad dhal flour. Dry roast 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp of split urad dhal until it turns light brown. Process in a mixer to a fine powder. Sieve to remove grits if any. If using store bought urad dhal flour, dry roast until it is just warm. This is to remove the raw smell of the flour. 
You can replace ajwain seeds with 1 tbsp of sesame seeds for a variation.

And now I have a long list of events I want to send this Murukku to...

Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika

CWS - Rice event by Priya & Reva

Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny

My Diwali My way event by Khushi

Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Seepu Murukku / Seepu Seedai for Diwali

I believe everyone is busy making sweets and savories for Diwali. Well, I just started with this seepu murukku. Seepu murukku as the name implies resembles the ridges of a comb (seepu is comb in tamil). Though the process is little more time-consuming than the other murukku, it is worth the effort. It has moong dhal flour unlike other murukku which uses urad dhal flour. And it is subtly sweetened with coconut milk which gives it a rich and delicate flavor. Although I have used a murukku press for making this, we can also make this without one. 

Ingredients:
Makes about 14-15 cups of seepu murukku, using standard cup measurements
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Moong dhal flour - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tsp
Thin Coconut milk - 1 1/2 - 2 cups - as needed - See notes below for canned coconut milk usage
Sugar - 2-3 tbsps (heaped)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp (optional - I did not add)

Method:

Lightly dry roast the rice flour in medium heat until it is warm. Take the rice flour, moong dhal flour, sesame seeds (if using) and butter in a bowl. Scramble the mixture with your fingers so that te butter is evenly distributed. Heat the coconut milk with sugar and salt until hot. Do not make it to boil over. Add this to the flour and knead together to form a soft pliable dough. The rice flour tends to absorb more liquid. So you can add the coconut milk as needed. Keep the dough covered in a wet cloth at all times since it tends to dry out. Heat oil for deep-frying. Take the seepu murukku achu (attachment), one side plain and one side zigzag (like a comb). Fix it in the murukku press and fill with dough. Press out line of dough in a oiled cutting board. Cut into 3 inch pieces. Take the strip and roll it around the index finger and press the end to seal. Place the rolled murukkus in a plate until ready to deep fry. Drop in hot oil about 6 or 7 at a time. Deep fry the murukkus until the bubbling stops and it takes a shade of light brown. Remove using a slotted spoon and place in a kitchen tissue to absorb excess oil. It tends to become darker after removing from oil, so calculate the timing accordingly. Store in an air-tight container lined with paper.
Note:
I made the moong dhal powder at home. Dry roast 1 cup minus 2 tbsp of split yellow moong dhal in medium heat until light brown. Process in a mixer until fine powder. Sieve to remove extra grits. You could use the store-bought one as well. If using store bought one dry roast in medium flame until warm to touch. Cool and use.
If using canned coconut milk (cream) mix 1 cup of canned thick coconut milk with 1 cup of water to use.

And now I have a list of events I want to send this Murukku to...
Diwali Special - Sweets & Savories event by Radhika
CWS - Rice event by Priya & Reva
Serve It - Festival Potluck event by me & Denny
Healing Foods - Coconut event by Siri & Sukanya
Only Sweets & Desserts event by Pari & Gayathri
My Diwali My way event by Khushi
Diwali - Festival of Lights event by Anu.

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Bridal Shower for Nithya - Badam Kheer / Almond Milk

What is a celebration without a traditional drink. Badam Kheer!! This is an easy to make Almond drink which tastes great when warm and still better when served chilled. And what are we celebrating?? Nithya's (virtual) Bridal Shower. I bet you would very well know Nithya of 4thsensecooking. For those of you who don't, Nithya is a lovely blogger and an excellent photographer. Do check out her space for some beautiful food clicks. 
We are celebrating this joyous occasion by having a bridal shower. And what better way to celebrate than to cook up, and by cook up we mean literally with food our common interest. To make it even more interesting we decided to make dishes from her space itself. I am bringing Badam Kheer and Tollhouse Cookies. Do check out Nithya's recipe here.
Also do check out who else are participating in the celebration. And for you come join the fun!!

Ingredients:
Serves - 4
Milk - 500 ml (approx 2 cups)
Almonds/Badam - 20 to 25
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Saffron strands - 5-6
Hot water - 1 cup

Method:
Soak the almonds in hot water for an hour. Peel the almonds by just pressing hard with the thumb and index finger. The skin would just come off easily. Puree the almonds in a mixer using little water until it becomes a smooth paste. Heat the milk and sugar until it boils. Take about a tbsp of hot milk and add the saffron strands. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the ground almond paste and allow it to boil for another 5 mins. Remove from heat and add the saffron milk. Serve warm. You can also refrigerate for 2-4 hrs and serve chilled. 

Also do check out the virtual bridal shower party also being hosted at:

Anamika - Taste Junction
Archana - Mad Scientist's Kitchen
Priya Mitharwal - Mharo Rajasthan Recipes
Priya Mahadevan - Priyas Now Serving
Priya Suresh - Priya Easy n Tasty Recipes
Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit
Radhika - Tickling Palates
Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7 stages of life
Reva - Kaarasaaram
Rupali - Recipe Grab Bag
Sanjeeta - Different Strokes
Vardhini - Zesty Palette

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Bridal Shower for Nithya - Toll house Cookies

The day a girl becomes a bride, is like no other. It is one of the few most cherished moments of life. It is the day she embarks the new journey of life. Holding someone's hand, with dreams in heart and sparkle in the eyes. Having mixed feelings of missing her mother's home, excited and anxious about the new home. It is indeed a special day for her!! Very soon one of our friends, a lovely blogger and a beautiful photographer, is going to enter into wedlock. I believe you would have guessed who it is by now. For those who are still wondering, it is none other than Nithya of 4thsensecooking who is getting married this November.

Thanks to the advent of technology, the world has become very small. Though nothing can equal the joy of celebration in person, we all would want to wish her and celebrate with her, the most joyous period of her life. Here we are all, united, to wish her all the best and a very Happy Married Life. So today we are throwing this virtual bridal shower for Nithya to express our happiness and to celebrate with her.

And what could be a better way to celebrate than with food, the quintessential subject, that binds us all... So we decided to cook it up, literally and that too Nithya's own dishes from her own blog - 4thsensecooking. I chose this Tollhouse Cookies and Badam Kheer(do check out this space in a few hours). Hope she likes the recreation of her own favorite dishes and gets a taste of it through the world wide web. See Nithya's recipe here.

Ingredients:

Makes - about 3 dozen cookies
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2
Pure Vanilla Extract - 3/4 tsp
NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels - 1 cup + 1/4 cup for topping

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt together. In a  mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a hand mixer or whisk until the sugars gets dissolved. Add the eggs one my one mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture in 3 or 4 batches, mixing well after each addition. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold in using a spatula. Take one tablespoon measurement of the dough and place in the cookie sheet, each at least 2 inches apart. Top the cookie dough with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 mins. Repeat for remaining dough. Serve with a cup of milk.
I made these cookies specially for Nithya's Bridal Shower.
This is for you Nithya and for all those visiting this virtual bridal shower!!

Also do check out the virtual bridal shower party also being hosted at
Anamika - Taste Junction
Archana - Mad Scientist's Kitchen
Priya Mitharwal - Mharo Rajasthan Recipes
Priya Mahadevan - Priyas Now Serving
Priya Suresh - Priya Easy n Tasty Recipes
Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit
Radhika - Tickling Palates
Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7 stages of life
Reva - Kaarasaaram
Rupali - Recipe Grab Bag
Sanjeeta - Different Strokes
Vardhini - Zesty Palette

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All-Purpose Tomato Thokku/Pickle/Chutney | Side Dish for Idli Dosa

I had been recently trying to make jams and chutneys to preserve and to come in handy for that very-hungry-want-food-immediately days. After my successful attempt at the Dates and Figs jam, I made this Tomato thokku from Denny's site. This all-purpose thokku is a great side to idli/dosa/upma/Adai and also to bread/chapathi/parathas/rotis/curd rice. The below proportions lasted for a couple of weeks for me and I am making a batch again today as I am typing this. 
For my new readers, Denny of Oh Taste N See and I are college buddies who share the common interest of food blogging. I always wonder how she manages to cook up a storm every week. Yes, she has guests or friends over for lunch/dinner every weekend. If she is not having guests for a weekend, she goes to some potluck :). Do check out her space for a colorful treat!

Ingredients:
Yields about 2 cups of finished thokku
Crushed Tomatoes - less than 2 cups - I used half of a 28 oz can of organic crushed tomatoes (Check out what I made with the remaining half of the canned tomatoes here)
Onions - 2 cups - approx one big onion halved and thinly sliced
Garlic - 3 cloves - sliced thin
Gingelly oil - 2-3 tbsp (available in Indian grocery stores)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig - optional - I didn't add
Salt - to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a wide non-stick pan over med-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves (if using). When the urad dhal changes color, add the sliced onion, garlic and a dash of salt. Cook till the onions turn soft and golden brown, stirring once in a while. Reduce the heat to medium and let the onions caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala and fry for a minute. Add the canned crushed tomatoes and salt to taste.
Allow the mixture to boil and check for salt/seasoning. Here comes the "be patient" part. Reduce the heat to med-low to allow the tomato to cook slowly (uncovered). Stir every 5 mins and cook for about 30 to 40 mins until all the water has evaporated and the chutney comes as one big mass and starts leaving the sides of the pan. At this stage the oil would start oozing out of the mixture. Add the lemon juice and fold to mix. Remove from heat and let it cool. When cool transfer it to a sterilized container. This can be stored in the fridge for weeks. Serve with idli/dosa/chapathi/bread/rice or anything you wish. As the name indicates this is an all-purpose side dish.
Note: Always use dry spoon when taking the chutney. Do not compromise on gingelly oil while making this chutney. It enhances the taste and acts as a natural preservative. If the canned tomatoes you use already has added salt, keep a check on the salt you add to the dish.

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Asian Slaw

This is a slaw you just can't stop munching on.

I like that I can make it ahead of time.

 Gather ingredients: broccoli slaw, sunflower seeds,
sliced almonds, green onions and a packet of ramen noodles.

Whisk or shake in a jar the dressings ingredients:
oil, sugar, vinegar and the reserved flavor packet.

 Crush the noodles and put into the bowl.

 Toast the almonds in the toaster oven for about
5-10 minutes at 350, until fragrant.

 Add the broccoli slaw to the bowl.
Chop the green onions and add to the bowl along
with the sunflower seeds and almonds.

Combine the dressing well and pour over. 

Give it a good toss. Taste and try not to eat 

too much. Put in a sealed container in the

refrigerator until ready to serve or overnight. 

Asian Slaw

2 (3-oz) packages beef-flavored 

ramen noodle soup mix

2 (8.5-oz) packages broccoli slaw mix
(or 16-oz bag cole slaw mix) 

1 C sliced almonds, toasted

1 C sunflower kernels

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 C sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

1/3 C white or apple cider vinegar

flavor packets from soup mix

~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove the flavor packets from the soup mix

and set aside. Crush the noodles and place 

them in the bottom of a large bowl. 

Top with the slaw mix; sprinkle with almonds, 

sunflower kernels and green onions.

~~~~~~~~~

Whisk together the contents of the

 flavor packets, sugar, oil and vinegar. 

Poor over the slaw. Cover and chill 24 hours.

 Toss before serving.

tip: can add cut-up shrimp or chicken for
a complete meal. (about 2-4 C)

tip: I cut the recipe in half in the above photos.

for the oil ~ half of 3/4 C = 6T

for the vinegar ~ half of 1/3 C = 2T+2t

Enjoy!

Links: Designs By Gollum

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Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu - II | Indian Curry Recipes

As I said long before earlier, I am here with the second version of the Ennai Kathirikai Kuzhambu. DH likes this version better because this was the one which I made first. This Kuzhambu/Curry takes longer to cook but the whole process is worth the effort when you taste this one with hot steamed rice. I had bookmarked this recipe months ago. I would never miss to pick up some cute baby indian eggplants when I see them. And 99% of the time it goes into making this kulambu. Now to the recipe..

Ingredients:
Serves - 2-3; Preparation time - 10 mins; Cooking time - 45 mins;
Recipe from here
Baby Indian Eggplants/Brinjals - 6-8
Oil - 1 tsp + 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - size of a lime - soaked in warm water
Salt - to taste
Spice mix powder - 2 tsp + as needed for stuffing (recipe below)

Method: 
Extract about 2 cups of tamarind water from the soaked tamarind. Wash and pat dry the brinjals. With the stems intact slit the bottom to a 'X' shape with a paring knife. The slit should be halfway through the brinjal. Make sure you dont slit it open reaching the stem. Use a teaspoon to fill the slits with the spice mix powder. Stuff as much powder as it can hold to all the brinjals. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan and place the stuffed brinjals. Cook it by turning over once in 4-5 mins until all sides are cooked and soft. Have the heat in medium flame all the time. The brinjals would be done in about 20 mins. When done remove from heat. In another pan heat a teaspoon of oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the turmeric powder and the cooked brinjals with the tamarind water, 1 cup water and salt. Allow it to boil and add the leftover spice mix powder (about 2 tsps heaped). Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the kuzhambu to simmer for 20 mins until it thickens. Serve with hot steamed rice.
Note: I had reserved about 2 tsps of the spice mix powder to season my Vazhaikai Podimas. 

Spice mix powder:
Oil - 1 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Chillis - 7 or 8
Toor dhal - 3 tsp
Urad dhal - 3/4 tsp
Chana dhal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Method:
Heat oil and fry all the ingredients (except salt) in medium heat for about 5-7 mins. When roasted well, allow it to cool and grind to a fine powder in a mixie/coffee grinder adding salt. Make sure that the mix is salty because we are not going to add salt to the brinjals separately. 

Sending this to HLI-Eggplant event by Kalyani.

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