Thursday, May 23, 2013

How to make lime squash-Easy juice recipes

Chennai Summer hmm it is unbearable…I quench my thirst either with nanari sharbath(I will post the recipe soon) or with the lemon juice…It hydrates your body and you gain loads of energy…My mom always prepares this lime squash and I got the recipe from her…Off to the recipe..

Ingredients:

Lemon(medium sized) 5
Sugar 1 tbsp
ginger(small size) 1



LEMON SQUASH

Method:

1.Cut lemon vertically and get 2 pieces out of it.Carefully extract juice from it.Remember to remove the seeds from the juice as the seeds add bitter flavour to it.

2.Peel the skin of the ginger..Grind it nicely adding little water…Add the ginger juice in a cup and rest it for 10minutes..After 10 minutes take only the juice that floats at the top and discard the calcium powder that settles at the bottom..This way you can eliminate the impurities.

3.Add sugar in a wok with very little water and heat it…Add ginger juice too and stir well…Switch off the stove when the sugar syrups is before single thread consistency and sticky.

4.Allow the sugar syrup to cool and add lime juice and mixthe content well…Store it in a bottle.

How to serve:

Now that the lime squash is ready how to prepare lime juice?I would say you can do it all in a jiffy.

Take 1/4th of this syrup add required chill water and mix well..Serve it with ice cubes…Now you will agree that this is an easy juice recioe.

Notes:

Allow the sugar syrup to cool and then add lime juice…Wj\hen you add lime juice when teh sugar syrup is hot the entire mixture would taste bitter.

Adjust sugar quantity accordingly.

You can even omit ginger..But it definitely adds flavour.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Restaurant review:Mathysa

My in-laws were away from home yesterday and I was running out of ideas for my dinner...When I asked my hubby for suggestions he promptly said We shall eat out and I was not ok with it...The main reason is my 1.9 year old hyper active kid..He pulls out the plates, glass and everything that is placed on the table...runs around the restaurant...So I was bit hesitant...Finally I nodded yes and was ready to face the challenge...

Now that We have decided to eat out We started to search for the restaurant...Since it was not planned before We were pushed to choose one...and Mathsya was our choice...We were there twice and We planned to visit it again...

Dinner buffet starts at 07.00pm and We were there by 06.45pm...Was waiting for 20 minutes and finally We chose our chairs...

The first item that came to our tables was tomato soup...It was just yummilicious..especially the croutons..My boy loved it a lot...and then We then started to explore the dishes...

The welcome drink was grape juice...It was not tangy and not so sweety...It was perfectly blended with sugar and I had 2 small glasses of it :)

Then came the salad session which I loved the most...Veg herbal salad, desi veg salad, faji radish salad(corn and radish) and beetroot salad..I loved faji radish salad the most...

Mutter kachori,veg sesami finger and kerai vadai was our next menu...I loved the kachori but did not like the keerai vadai for some reasons...veg s esami finger was the one which I loved the most...wish I could have it now :(

I took  poori and channa..And We had roti and butter naan...And the side dishes were paneer butter masala,mixed vegetable curry,dal fry,kerala hofta curry and veg and bells pepper sauce...I did not try dal fry though....

Noodles and peas pulav was there..I love peas pulav and enjoyed eating it :)Coconut rice was there...It was not in white colour but was in yellow color and I loved the taste...

I skipped rasam and steamed rice...My favourite curd rice was there along with mor molaga and pickle...
Finally We took some fruits and I skipped the ice cream..
Desserts were waiting for us...It was semiya payam,jalebi and mango payam..I had only the mango payasam and it was just out of the world..Loved every bit of it...a blend of mango flesh and jaggery…yummy in my tummy J
I ate so well and I could not even barge out of my seat...
I skipped the chaat counter and veg utappam which was their special menu that day...
Dinner buffet for one would cost 310+ tax...


Mathsya is situated in
29/31, Arcot Street, Off Thanikachalam Road
T. Nagar, Chennai –600017

Note:This is not a paid review and it is all my view about the restaurant...
On a scale of 5 I would rate 4.5...If you are looking for a simple buffet then got for it and you will enjoy :)

Maa ladu-Easy sweet recipes

Maa ladu is an easy sweet recipe which can be prepared in a jiffy…My hubby likes this sweet and my mom makes it every time when she visit my place…I have no traces of eating this sweet during my childhood and I was not a fan of it…Every time We go for monthly provision purchase my MIL gets a pack of fried gram and I have nearly  5 such packets in my pantry and so decided to try this for the first time and it did turn out yummy :)


Maaa ladu


Ingredients:

fried gram/pottu kadalai 1 cup
powdered sugar 1 cup
cardamom powder 1 tsp
ghee 2 tbsp
cashews broken(optional) 1 tsp

Method:
1.Using your food processor powder the fried gram well…Ensure it is powdered well.

2.The same way finely powder the sugar.

3.Take a wide place and add the powdered sugar and fried gram powder…Mix it well..Add cardamom powder to this mixture.Again mix it well.

4.In a wok heat 2 tsbp of ghee…Wait till vapours comes out of the ghee…Add this hot ghee to the fried gram and sugar powder and mix it well…If adding cashews,roast it in a tsp of ghee and add it after adding the ghee and mix well using a spoon.

5.Once you mix well the entire powder mixture would be warm and so you will be able to hold and form the round shape.

6.When the mixture is still warm using both the hands take more powder.Put both the hands together with the powder in the middle and shape the powder to round shape..Place it in a box,Similarly complete it for the entire powder mixture.
Notes:

If you add more ghee your maa laadu will turn into perfect round shape.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Manga pachadi-Tangy,Sweet Mango Sauce :)

 

It’s been sometime since I posted something… I am just trying to find why I lost my motivation :( for the past few weeks I was trying to cook and take a picture but I am not doing it as my camera is in dearth of the charge…ummm I wish today I recharge it and try to capture things :)Also it is a hectic month and I am finding it hard to juggle both work and home :)With no ramblings I am going straight to the recipe..This is one of the many recipes that We prepare for Ugadi…I can have a whole bowl of this pachadi and still long for it…Now off to the recipe.

Mango pachadi

Ingredients:

Raw Mango 1
Jaggery(grated) 1 cup(plus or minus it as per your need)
oil 1/2 tsp
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
green chilies(finely chopped) 2 medium sized
Water 1/4 cup

 

Method:

1.Wash the raw mango.Remove the skin and the seed and chop it roughly.

2. normally I use my cooker but you can use any pan for making it…Take a wok or cooker add oil and once it is hot add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter…Add chopped green chilies and give it a quick stir…Add water followed by mango pieces..do not add more water and ensure that it is enough for the mango pieces to cook…Finally add grated jaggery and give it a quick stir…Close the lid and pressure cook it for 1 whistle…

3.Serve it hot or cold :)

Notes:

1.My in-law’s relatives have this pachadi as a side dish for chapathi but I like to have it as is.

2.Instead of pressure cooking you can use a wok and follow the same procedure…While opting for the wok method wait for the mango pieces to cook well and finally add the grated jaggery and wait till the jaggery melts and the consistency reaches to semi solid…I always prefer the cooker method to make my job easier :)