Tuesday, July 26, 2011

About Me



I thought the “About me”  page of my blog looks so bland and I was meaning to update it for long but the laziness in me, never allowed to do it… Time and again I sat and pushed myself hard and Voila the result is this page J

Till my college I never gave so much of importance to my food…The regular preferred lunch box menu of mine would be curd rice and pickle…and yay I always preferred varieties in pickle so my mom always was into the laborious process of preparing at least 4 varieties on a regular basis…Many people scared me saying curd rice alone will never take me anywhere but least did I bother…

Then came an important phase in my life…Work J Like many I moved to a different city to earn my bread and butter…New city, away from home made me to long for my mom’s food…That period was an eye opener for me…Only then I started to realize how divine my mom food is! I had no option but to eat out and that it did give a toll on  my health…I searched for all the possible options and finally scored it out to self cooking J Hold on, not much of cooking but cooking that can satisfy my hunger pangs…Mom prepared ready mixes and I got an electric cooker…From there started my cooking journey…Initially I managed to cook rice and satisfied my hunger pangs with curd and pickle but gradually moved to a next level…I started to make pongal,vegetable pulao and variety rice all by using my electric cooker J

Days moved and I did not put any efforts to learn cooking…The Dday arrived and I got married…Now that I have to cook for my new family, I had no clue but to try learning the recipes as much I could…Thanks to the scientific inventions ,I survive with my mobile…Every time I start a  recipe, I call my mom and ask her for portions…Ask her for 100 times, she still explains me so that I manage to master the recipe so well, even any would master it…Being a vegetarian that I am (sans egg) my initial days of learning were totally devoted to sambhar, rasam and kari(vegetables)…Then it was a gradual transition…Whenever we had get together at home,I started to indulge myself and try my hands on Puloa and other rice varieties…The transition continues and I now started to try my hands on desserts which is my mom’s forte…

When you have bro and hubby who are very much like you and love to eat good food,I have no option but to try every possible ways to make my food taste yummy J My mother-in-law is also very much studious in trying recipes so I do get a good company and ideas from her…

Birth of my blog:

                After marriage my love towards food became four much J And when I was in my maternity leave ,I thought to document all the recipes from my mom so that it will be an easy reference for me and from there started the journey.

Recipes of my blog:
I have not tried many cuisines, so my blog would predominately be devoted to vegetarian traditional food for now but I wish I try out different things and will post soon it J

Just a cookery blog?

I don’t just want to post the recipes and stop there but I wish to do “restaurant reviews”, ”product reviews” and share information related to food. Also I would like to make it mélange and lively JWish I put on my thinking cap J

Food Photography:

During initial days of blogging, I never cared about the photos sometimes I did not even post a snap of the recipe but these days I started to be conscious when it comes to food photography…I am very much a learner and my knowledge into photography is zero but still I love to master someday…I was using my mobile camera to take snaps but now I own a digi cam…I mostly use the point and shoot method to click the snaps…Would love to learn and master it someday J

I guess I spoke three much.I welcome you all to my space. Please drop your valuable comments and that would help me to improvise.

Regards,

Annapoorani Sivaramakrishnan

Email: moicuisinecorner@gmail.com

Twitter: @moicuisine


Monday, July 25, 2011

Tomato dosa

For the past few days my hunger pangs want something yummy,delicious and tangy...Suddenly I started craving for dosa...My hubby can eat dosa for all 7 days in a week and for the whole year...I was not very much of dosa kind but suddently became a dosa maniac...Eating dosa twice  a day in a week has become a routine so I wanted to try varieties...Masal dosa suddently caught my attention...But I have kept it on queue...I saw fresh tomato on my veggie bag and so wanted to prepare tomato dosa...It is the first time I tried it and I became addicted to the tangy dosa flavour.It is an excellent variety and here is the recipe part.

Ingredients:

Dosa batter
Tomato-4
chilli powder-1/2 table spoon
asafetida-a pinch
salt-as required
oil- 1 table spoon

Preparation:

1.In a wok add oil and wait till it gets heated.
2.Add tomato,chilli powder,salt and asafetida and fry the tomato well in the oil.

3.Wait till raw smell of the tomato goes off and the mixture becomes solid.Switch off the stove and cool the mixture.
4.Grind the mixture to a fine paste and add it to the dosa batter
.
5.Heat tawa and powder a laddle of tomato dosa batter and spread it to a round shape.Drizzle oil around the dosa.
6.Wait till both of the sides of the dosa is cooked well and serve with chutney of your choice.


Note:
1.I had yogurt as my side dish and it tasted too good.
2.You can add garlic,coconut and onion while you fry tomato and grind it to fone paste.I do not want to add garlic,onion  and coconut and so skipped it.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Plantain partial fry(Vazhaikai aravanakkal)


 When mom does not prepare either kari(poriyal) or Kootu she makes this vazhaikai aravanakal and I love this yummicious dish a lot.It is also one easy recipe and she prepares this one when we all sit in dinning  table because this recipe will be more yummicious when served hot also the crispiness adds an extra flavour when served hot.

Ingredients:

1.Plantain-2
2.Salt
3.Red chilli powder
4.Oil for frying

Preparation:

1.Wash the plantains,remove the skin and cut it into small pieces.
2.Add oil in a wok and wait till it gets heated.
3.Add the cut plantain pieces and fry it in oil till it changes to golden yellow color.You don't have to fry for long and the color change happens in a minute.
4.Drain the oil and take the partially fried pieces.Add chilli powder and salt to this mixture and have it as a side dish with rice of your choice.


Note:
You can skip adding chilli powder and salt if you wish because the fried pieces itself wil have an excellent taste.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Stuffed Bun

I was introduced to this stuffed bun recipe by my sister's SIL.She is from hyderabad and came here for vacation.She prepared this stuffed bun within a jiffy and that was the first time I tasted and loved it too .It is a simple recipe which does not take too much of time and I made this one today and so the recipe is here :)

Ingredients:

Bun
onion-2
tomato-4
Red chilli powder-1/2 table spoon
garam masala-1/2 table spoon
salt -as required
oil

Preparation:

1.Slit the bun making sure that the two halves of the bun are still in contact and keep it aside.I did ot make a perfect cut and so blame me for the below image.



2.In a wok add oil and wait till it gets heated.
3.Add onions and wait till it turns to golden color.
4.Add tomato followed by chilli powder,garam masala powder and salt and stir it well.
5.Wait till tomato cooks well and raw masala smell goes off.You don't have to add water because we are gonna stuff it inside the bun.Switch the stove at this stage.
6.Stuff the tomato onion contents into the slit bun.
7.Toast the bun in a tawa by adding ghee and make sure that the bun is crispy on both the sides.Remove the bun from the tawa and serve it with sauce.

Note:
You can add boiled potato and peas to the onion-tomato mixture and make the stuffing still more rich.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Vegetable fried rice

 Vegetable fried rice remains to be one amongst many dishes that I always browsed  through net for knowing the method of preparation.After reading a zillion articles about fried rice and its preparation I wanted to give it a try.The scape goat for my testing is my dad and I prepared it the other day.Here I post the recipe part.

Ingredients:
Vegetables of your choice.I used the below veggies since I had only the below veggies at that momemt.
Carrot-2
Potato-1
Onion-1
Garlic flakes-5
soya sauce-2 tablespoon
chilli sauce-2 tablespoon
Pepper powder-1/4 table spoon
Salt - to your need
oil-2 tablespoon.
Cooked rice-1 cup

Method:
1.Cut the veggies into strips and keep it aside.




2.In a wok add oil and wait till it gets heated.
3.Add onions followed by gralic flakes and wait till it turns golden color.
4.Add the veggies and try it for 5 minutes.Make sure to cut the veggies in thin strips so that it cooks soon.
5.Add soya sauce and chilli sauce and saute the mixture.Add required salt.


6.Add the pepper powder and stir the mixture well.
7.Finally add rice and mix the whole mixture well without breaking the rice.Serve it hot with raitha of your choice :)

Note:
1.You can use bells pepper,beans,carrot,Spring onions.
2.I used 4 table spoons of soya sauce and the color of the rice became so dark.You can restrict the soya sauce contents to 2 tablespoon.
3.I used red chilli sauce you can replace it with green chili sauce and retain the color of vegetable rice as white.
4.you can add a tablespoon of vinegar to the fried rice to bring an extra flavour :)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Roasted bengal gram chutney

    All the recipes I post are the ones I learn it from my mom.She is an wonderful cook who dishes out varieties in a jiffy and whatever she makes is just an ambrosia to me.She prepares varieties of chutnies  and this roasted gram chutney is one amongst them.

Ingredients:

Roasted bengal gram(pottukadalai)-1 cup
tomato-2
Green chillies-2
Corriander leaves-1/2 cup
Salt

For Seasoning:

oil
mustard seeds-1/4 tablespoon
Urad dal-1/4 tablespoon

Method:
1.Add roasted gram,tomato,gren chillies and corriander in a mixture and grind it to a coarse mixture by adding little water and required salt.

2.In a separate wok add oil.Once heated add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.Finally add Urad dal and wait till it turns golden color.
3.Add the seasoning to the coarse mixture aka chutney and mix well.

The chutney is ready for serving.You can serve it as a side dish for Dosa,Idli and Adai.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Aloo Paratha

    I love Aloo Paratha a lot.Mom made this paratha last week and here comes the recipe.


Ingredients:

1.Potato-3
2.Dry red chilli powder-1/2 table spoon
3.Garam masala-1/2 table spoon(optional)
4.Salt
5.Chapathi flour balls
6.oil

Method:

1.Boil the potato.Cool it and peel the skin.
2.Finely smash the potato.Add salt,dry red chilli powder and Garam masala.I did not use garam masala because people at home don't eat masala flavours.
3.Mix it well,prepare potato balls and keep the potato balls aside.

4.Take a chapathi flour ball,flatten it and keep the potato ball in the center.

5.Close the potato ball with the sides of the flattened flour and roll it to  round chapathi.You can dust with wheat flour for rolling it into round shape or for any shape of your desire.

6.Put it on the tawa and drizzle oil.Wait till both  the sides of the chapathi are done well.
7.Serve it hot with raitha or gravy.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Pacha thenga thogayal

    Mom prepares pacha thenga thogayal and this goes very well with chapathi.Many a times I mix this thogayal with steamed rice and awww the taste is something I love forever.This is a quick recipe and the recipe part is here.

Ingredients:

1.Grated coconut-1 cup
2.Tamarind- a very small ball size.
3.Green chillies-3
4.Salt
5.Asafetida

Method:

1.Put grated coconut,tamarind and green chillies in a mixer and grind it to a coarse paste.Add only little water.The cosistency of the thogayal should be tight.
2.To the ground mixture add required salt and asafetida.
3.Mix the thogayal well.
4.You can serve this as a side dish with chapathi or you can mix this thogayal with steamed rice by adding little oil.

The taste is just yummicious :)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Instant Puliyodharai

Puliyodharai is my all time favourite.I love to eat it for breakfast,lunch and dinner.Puliyodharai with vadam makes a great pair.Mom makes instant puliyodharai which does not take more than 10 minutes and this instant version helps me a lot and I prepare this version often :) Here I am posting the version.

Ingredients:

Thick tamarind juice-1 cup
urad dal-2 tablespoon
mustard seeds-1/2 tablespoon
chenna dal-2 tablespoon
dry red chillies-3(break the chilies into pieces)
turmeric powder-1 tablespoon
fenugreek powder-1 tablespoon(optional)
corriander powder-1 tablespoon(optional)
oil
Asafetida
salt
curry leaves

Method:

1.Add oil in a wok and wait till it gets heated.
2.Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
3.Add urad dal and chenna dal,curry leaves and wait till it turns to golden color.
4.Add dry red chillies and fry it for a minute.
5.Now add the turmeric powder and stir well.
6.Add the thick tamarind juice followed by fenugreek powder and corriander powder.If you don't have fenugreek and corriander powder handy you can skip it.
7.Wait for the whole mixture to boil for 2 to 3 minutes and till oil separates from the side.Add salt and asafetida at this stage and stir for a minute.
8.Switch the stove off and add this paste with steamed rice.Mix well and the instant puliyodharai rice is ready for serving :)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Arisithenga payasam

    Every Thursday we have pooja at home and bro holds fasting throughout the day and ends his fasting at night with palaharam...For neivedhyam mom prepares different dishes on this day.Today mom prepared arisithenga payasam and I am posting the recipe here.

Ingredients:

1.Rice-1/2 cup
2.Grated coconut-1/2 cup
3.Jaggery-to your sweet level
4.Water
5.Powdered cardamom

Method:

1.Soak rice in water for almost 20 minutes and drain water from it.
2.Mix rice and coconut and grind it to a coarse paste.
3.Heat water and once it boils add the rice coconut paste and wait till the raw smell goes off.
4.Finally powder the jaggery and allow to melt completely in the water coconut rice mixture.
5.Once jaggery melts and mixes well a nice arome appears.
6.Switch the stove off.
7.Add powdered cardamom and serve it hot.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Ragi dosa


 Last week we went to a super market and mom immediately picked Ragi flour...She says Ragi dosa is an easy recipe also Ragi kanju is good for health...I have neva tried any Finger Millet recipe but as always I can learn it from my mom:) yesterday we attended a function and came late to home...We were done with our dinner but mom was in a position to prepare dinner for granny...I suggested her to make rava upma because it is one such easy recipe...Mom said she will make Ragi dosa...I was skeptic because I have encountered situations where the batter consistency was not proper and when I pour it on tawa it becomes sticky and I need to struggle a lot to get a proper dosa...After lotsa trials and patience a perfect dosa appears at the end of the last ladle of the flour...But mom makes crispy dosa and it is all because of the right consistency of the flour added to make the batter.Here I present the ragi dosa recipe

Ingredients:

Ragi(Finger Millet) flour-1 cup
Wheat flour-1 cup
Salt-to the need
oil-to drizzle on the dosa
cumin seeds-1/4 table spoon
curry leaves-finely chopped

Method:

1.Mix Ragi flour,Wheat flour,salt,cumin seeds and finelly chopped curry leaves.
2.Add required water and bring the batter to the dosa consistency.
3.Pour a ladle of flour on the tawa and prolong the batter to a thin round shape.
4.Drizzle oil around the dosa and wait for the dosa to become crispy.
5.Turn the dosa and let the other side also becomes crispy.
6.Serve the Ragi dosa hot with chutney of ur choice.

P.S you can mix finelly chopped onions,pepper,grated carrot to the batter and make the dosa.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Arisi Upma(rice upma)

    If it is an Amavasai day then I am sure Arisi upma will be the tiffin at home.It is followed like a ritual to prepare arisi upma on amavasai.Katrika kotsu accompanies arisi upma.Yesterday mom prepared arisi upma and I was fortunate enough to learn the recipe and below is the recipe part.

Ingredients:

To grind:

Rice-2 cups
curd-1/4 cup
pepper-1 table spoon
cumin seeds-1 table spoon
toor dal-1 table spoon

To temper:

oil
asafetida
curry leaves
green chilies-3 in number(finely chopped)
urad dal-1 table spoon
channa dal-1 table spoon
mustard seeds-1/2 table spoon

Preparation:
1.Powder cumin seeds,pepper and toor dal to a coarse mixture.
2.Add 1/4 cup curd in 2 cups rice and mix it well.The curd content should be less and rice should be mixed with little curd.It should be a rough mixture.Curd is added here just for the flavour.Let the whole mixture be kept for 30 minutes after that grind it to a coarse mixture.The mixture need not be powdery and is preferred to be coarse.Add powdered cumin,tor dal and pepper powder to it.

5.In a wok.Add oil and add items given in "to temper" list and wait till dal becomes golden color.
6.Add 5 cups of water and add required salt.Wait till the water reaches its boiling point and vapour comes out.
7.Now add the coarse rice mixture and stir it well.Keep the stove in low flame for the entire content to cook.Wait till all the water is absorbed and rice mixture is finely cooked.


Switch the stove off.
Serve the arisi upma with Katrika kotsu :)

Friday, July 1, 2011

Molagu(Pepper) kozhambu

Uhhh was attending get togethers/treats and functions and was away from my space.Now that I am back,I need to come up with something spicy and here I post the molagu kozhambu recipe...

 My mom says molagu kozhambu is a pathya sapadu(if I am right the raw english translation is this particular kozhambu cures all the disease and this kozhambu is preferred for moms after pregnancy).Whenever we feel fever or cold mom prepares this and it is always a respite :) Now comes the recipe part

Ingredients:

Pepper-2 table spoon
urad dal-1 table spoon
channa dal(kadala paruppu)-1 table spoon
Tur dal-1 table spoon
corriander seeds- 1 table spoon
rice(arisi)-1 table spoon
tamarind-small ball size
oil
mustard seeds
salt
veggie(of ur choice).

Method:

1.Cut and wash veggie of your choice and boil it and keep it aside.
2.Squeeze tamarind by adding water and extract the essence.
3.dry roast urad dal,channa dal,tur dal,corriander seeds,rice and pepper until nice aroma appears.cool it and grind it to a coarse powder.
4.In a separate wok add oil.Once heated add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.
5.Add tamarind extract followed by salt and wait till the raw spell of tamarind goes off.
6.Add the cooked veggie.
7.Finally add the coarse powder.
8.Wait for 2 minutes for the mixture to mix well with tamarind extract and let the whole mixture boil for another 2 minutes.
9.Switch the stove off.Serve it with hot steamed rice.

P.S The addition of rice is to make the kozhambu to a thick consistency.I always have the habit of using rice flour whenever the kozhambu consistency is not thick :)