Brown Rice Pidi Kozhukattai / Brown Rice Dumplings | Indian Festival Recipes

No, I am still not done with the Ganesh Chaturthi recipes. I wanted to try my hands in making kozhukattai (kadubu) with brown rice and was successful this time. Even my hubby who is not a big fan of brown rice, liked it. As with most of my recipes this is a simple to make snack. This also is super healthy and tasty and now is going to feature more in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
Serves - 2; Measurements in 160 ml cup
Brown Rice - 1 cup
Water - 3 cups
Oil - 2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Chana Dhal - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Dry Red chillies - 2

Method:
Dry roast the brown rice in a tawa in medium heat. When the rice is warm to touch and lightly changed in color, transfer to a plate and allow it to cool. Pulse in a blender until it resembles the texture of rava (or bulgar). Heat oil in a non-stick pan and splutter the items under tempering. Add grated coconut, water and salt. Cover and allow the water to boil. When the water is boiling add the broken rice and stir continuously. Cook in medium heat, while still stirring, until most of the water evaporates and the mixtures comes together. Remove from heat and allow to cool down a little. When it is still warm, take lime sized portions and press with your fingers against the palm of your hands to make impressions of the finger. Steam in idli pan / bamboo steamer for 15 minutes. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Linking these up to Kid's Delight - After School bites; Whats with my Cuppa 2 by Nupur; Healthy Breakfast.

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Ellu Urundai / Sesame Laddoos | Indian Festival Recipes

Sesame seeds is an integral part of any asian cuisine. So is it in south India. Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi and I made this sesame laddus with Kozhukattai for offering to Lord Ganesha. With only two ingredients it is a breeze to prepare and tastes really good. Trust me when I say that it gets ready in under 10 minutes. It is rich in Iron and Calcium and one of the simple and healthy snacks grandma prepares when we were kids.

Ingredients:
Makes 8 small laddus; measurements in 160 ml cup
Black Sesame seeds - 1 cup (can use white sesame too)
Grated Jaggery - 3/4 cup - loosely packed

Method:
Heat a tawa until it is smoking hot. Drop the sesame seeds and roast in medium heat. The sesame seeds will pop. Continue to dry roast until the popping stops, about 3-5 minutes in total for me. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool. Place the cooled sesame seeds in a mixie/blender and pulse twice. Add the jaggery and pulse for about 5-7 times until the mixture comes together in clumps. Remove from the mixie and make balls of desired size. 

Linking this up to Kid's Delight - After School Bites; Whats with my Cuppa 2 by Nupur.

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Tex-Mix Stew

This zesty hamburger stew is a nice

 change-up from regular chili. 

Very little prep required. 

 Just seed and chop the peppers. You could even 

 use 1 C frozen chopped green and red peppers

 Brown the beef in a large deep pot for 5 minutes.

Stir in the peppers.

 Mix in the dry onion soup and the seasonings. 

 Add the canned vegetables.

 Stir in the water. 

 Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes.

Combine the 2 T flour and 1/4 C water in a jar. Stir 

into the stew; cook another minute, until thickened.

Serve with corn chips or homemade cornbread.

It's a tasty fall and winter dish that

 goes great with football watching...

if you're so inclined!

Tex-Mex Stew

1-1/2 lbs ground beef

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

1 T cumin

1 t garlic salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t oregano

1/4 t red cayenne pepper

1 can (15-1/2-oz) black beans

1 can (11-oz) corn niblets, drained

1 can (4-1/4-oz) diced green chilies

2 C water

Brown the beef in a 5-qt deep pot over 

medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the peppers; then stir in the 

onion soup and seasonings. Mix in the water.

Simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

In a jar combine:

2 T flour and 1/4 C water

Stir into the  stew; cook until thickened,

about 1 minute. Serve with corn chips

or homemade cornbread. 

Enjoy!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch

Confessions Of A Plate Addict,

Dwellings, A Stroll Thru Life,

Coastal Charm, Stone Gable,
No Minimalist Here,
Designs By Gollum

The Shabby Creek Cottage,

 Common Ground,

The Girl Creative, French Country Cottage,

The Charm of Home, My Romantic Home

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Mini Medhu Vada / Ulundhu Vada | Indian Festival Recipes

Vadas are the deep fried delicacies which are capable of making a regular day to a festive one. These little beauties are good for entertaining or perfect for offering to god as prasadam. It is not difficult to make crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside vadas. Just a few key points to follow and you will have super tasty vadas. 

Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 mini vadas; Serves - 2
Whole Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
Peppercorns - 1/4 tsp - crushed
Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Rinse the whole urad dhal 3 times and soak in water for 2 hours. Drain well. Use the small jar of the mixie/blender and grind into a smooth paste. Mostly it wouldn't need water, but if it doesn't budge, 2 to 3 tbsps of water can be added to grind. The batter would be fairly thick, more like cookie dough consistency. That is fine and it is what we are looking for. When ready to make vadas, transfer to a wide bowl with crushed peppercorns. Beat with a spoon for about 5 minutes. This step is to make the batter soft and fluffy. Add salt just before frying. Heat oil for deep frying. Line a plate with paper towels. Have a bowl of water by the side of the batter bowl. Dip your hands in the water and take lemon sized batter and toss gently as you would with a ball. Dip your thumb again in water and make a hole in the center of the ball. Gently slide into the hot oil. Fry for about 1-2 minutes and flip over with a slotted spoon. Continue to cook and remove from the oil and place on the paper lined plate. Do not put more than 3-4 vadas in a batch. Remove the vadas when it turns golden brown. Serve hot with Coconut Chutney.
Notes:
1. This ground batter mixture can be refrigerated if needed for about a day. If using refrigerated batter let it sit in room temperature before whipping. Add salt only just before frying. 
2. Curry leaves, chopped onions, coriander leaves, chopped green chillies can also be added as desired. I had decided to keep it simple for neivedyam.

Linking up to the following events - Kid's Delight - After school bites; Whats with my Cuppa by Nupur; Spotlight - Raksha Bandhan;

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Homemade Granola with Oats, Nuts and Pear Puree

When I wanted to make granola at home I had no clue as to how and where to start. But one thing I had decided was not to use sugar and definitely use a fresh fruit puree. And there began my search for the best home made granolas. The recipes I came across had a lot of ingredients (I cannot say complex) while I had sworn to keep it simple. Needless to say those recipes had a pretty good amount of sugar added which is the whole point for me to make granola at home. Then I arrived at TheKitchn's website for the granola formula. It was very simple to understand..come on I had gone through loads of website with lots of ingredients and was totally lost. So out of the blue if you give me a formula (felt like I was in my chemistry lab again) I would be pleasantly surprised and happy. I gathered the ingredients and ta-da! Simple Home made granola!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
Rolled oats - 1-1/2 cups
Almonds - 1/4 cup - chopped roughly
Pista - 1/4 cup - chopped roughly
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
Ground Ginger - 1/8 tsp
Ground Nutmeg - 1/8 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Pear - 1 medium sized - puree - approx 1/3 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp (any light tasting oil would work)
Agave nectar - 3 tbsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Mix the oats and nuts in a large bowl. Whisk the rest of the ingredients well and pour over the oats mixture. Mix well and spread on a parchment lined baking sheet (a 9x9 inch pan would be sufficient for this batch). Bake in the oven for 45 minutes mixing every 15 minutes. Allow it to cool for at least 30 mins, remember the granola hardens when it cools. So if the oats is still soft when you take it out of the oven, no worries needed as the granola becomes crispy after cooling. Serve with milk for breakfast or pack in a ziploc for a snack. Layer with fruits and yogurt for a parfait.. that is what I did!!

Linking this up for Vegan Thursdays. Also linking to Healthy Breakfast, Bake Fest by Vardhini, Srivalli's Kid's Delight - After School Bites.

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Apple Cobbler

Warm apple cobbler, ice cream and coffee.

That's the perfect intro to fall.

I love to use my apple baker. It hangs on my 

pot rack just looking cute when not in use.

But you can also use a pie dish.

 This is so much easier than making a pie.

 Peel, core and slice the apples. Toss the slices
with a squirt of lemon juice then toss again
with brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon.

 Use the butter wrapper to grease your dish.

 Pile in the apples

 Combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter.
I found this cute red wood handled pastry blender
in a thrift shop. Love it! Hang that up too.

 Add the streusel crumbles to the top.

 Bake until golden and apples are bubbly, about
40-45 min.
 I like to use Granny Smith or Macintosh apples.
Serve warm with ice cream.
Save some to warm up for breakfast.

Apple Cobbler

FILLING:

5 apples, peeled and sliced

1t-2t lemon juice

1/3 C brown sugar

1 T cornstarch

1/2 t cinnamon

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1 stick butter, (1/2C or 1/4 pound)

at room temperature

1 C flour

1/2 C sugar

Toss together the filling ingredients and place
 in a buttered pie pan or baking dish.
Mix the flour and sugar together. 

Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle over apples. Bake @400 for 45 minutes,
until golden and apples bubble around the edge.
Let stand 10 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Links: No Minimalist Here,

Savvy Southern Style, The 36th Avenue,

Between Naps on the Porch,
Designs By Gollum, Common Ground,
The Charm Of Home

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Semiya Upma / Vermicelli Upma | Indian Breakfast Recipes

This semiya upma recipe is dear to my heart. You may ask what is so special about this simple semiya upma. There is! It was during our college days when I and my friends were in Bangalore for our project work. The place where we did our project had various shift timings and ours was the first in the day 7 AM - 3 PM. So most of our days we will skip breakfast and be starving and waiting for the lunch hour which was 11.30 AM. It was during weekends when we ever got a chance to cook and eat breakfast. With the minimal kitchen gadgets we had, this upma was our go to choice for Saturday breakfasts. Semiya upma and pickle (Mango Ginger was our favorite) is the delectable combination we relished to the core.

Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Semiya / Vermicelli - 2 cups (rice cooker cup) - I used MTR brand vermicelli
Onion - 1/2 of a big one - sliced thin and halved
Green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - a few
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Carrot - 2 - chopped
Peas - 1 handful (I used frozen)
Oil - 1 tsp + 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dhal - 1 tsp
Water - 3 cups

Method:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and roast the semiya until light brown. Remove to a plate and allow to cool. Cook the vegetables in MW for about 1-2 minutes. Heat the remaining oil and splutter the mustard seeds, chana dhal, urad dhal and curry leaves. Add the slit green chillies and onion. Fry until the onions are soft and can be cut with a spoon. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a couple more minutes. Add the pre-cooked veggies, salt and water. Cover and cook until the water is boiling. Reduce the heat to medium and add the roasted semiya while continuously stirring with a big spoon. Cook until all the water has been absorbed. Serve hot with a dollop of pickle. Another crazy combination we loved was with yogurt.
I am linking this up to Vardhini's event Dish It out, happening in my space with the theme - Onions & Chillies and Friends Forever event.

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