Manathakkali Keerai Chutney

Hi Friends,

My Today's post is on Manathakkali Keerai chutney (Black Nightshade Chutney).(Botanical name- Solanum nigrum)

Manathakkali Keerai health benefits are enormous. It cures many stomach related problems, ulcer and piles. It improves digestion and best food during pregnancy.

Many dishes are made out of this keerai. I have tried chutney out of this.

Ingredients:

• Small onion - 1 cup
• Urad dhal - 2 tbsp
• Manathakkali Keerai - 2 Cups
• Garlic - 5 Pods 
• Coconut - 2 teaspoon (optional)
• Red chillies - 3-5 Nos
• Tamarind - gooseberry size
• Oil - 1 teaspoon

To Saute:

• Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red chilles - 2 Nos
• Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Curry leaves - a few 
• Chopped Onion - few

Method:

1. Heat the kadai and add few drop of oil. When it is hot add urad dhal, red chilli and fry till dhal is brown in color and keep aside.
2. In the same kadai add some oil and add small onion, garlic and fry until it becomes translucent.
3. Now add keerai, salt, tamarind and fry until the raw smell goes off.
4. Now add coconut to it and fry for a minute and switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
5. Add all fried ingredients to the mixie/blender and grind it into a smooth paste.
6. Heat the kadai and add the oil and add items one by one under To saute. and fry well and add to the chutney mix.
7. It goes well with Idli, Dosa and rice.

Happy Cooking

Pirandai Thuvaiyal

Dear Friends,

My todays post is on Pirandai Thuvaiyal / Pirandai Chutney - It is a famous recipe of our Tamilnadu parampariya samayal.

Pirandai in english - Cissus quadrangularis. It is a painkiller and has been used extensively in Siddha medicine. It is used to increase appetite. 

Courtesy: Mooligai sithar blog

Ingredients:
Pirandai  - 1 cup
Red chilli  - 3-4
Peppercorns - 5 to 6 Nos
Urad dal  - 3 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Tamarind  - small marble size
Salt   - to taste
Ghee - 1 tsp

To saute:
Mustard  - ½ tsp
Asafoetida - ¼ tsp
Oil   - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Clean and wash pirandai. Remove the thick fibre on the four corners of the stem and chop into small pieces.
2. In a kadai, heat one teaspoon of ghee and saute the pirandai for 6 to 7 minutes in low flame. Remove from stove and keep aside for cooling.
3. In the same kadai, heat 1/2 tsp of oil and add urad dhal, peppercorns, red chilles,tamarind and fry it until the urad dhal changes into light brown colour. Now switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
4. Now grind all the ingredients along with fresh coconut and salt and finally add pirandai and grind it well.
5. Saute the items under To Saute and add to the grounded chutney.
6. Pirandai Chutney is ready and goes well with hot rice & gingely oil

Pirandai is good source of fibre and cures joint pains and digestion problems.

Thanks for visiting.

Kambu Appam / Pearl Millet Appam

Dear friends,

I have been MIA in my recipes blog. Here is my post on Kambu recipes.

Pearl Millet / Kambu - Rich source of phosphorus, which plays an important part in the structure of body cells. Phosphorus, found in pearl millets, is a significant component of several necessary compounds including adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This element is also a crucial component of nucleic acids, which are the building blocks of the genetic code. Phosphorus is a constituent of lipid-containing structures such as cell membranes and nervous system structures.

Here is my recipe on how to make Kambu Appam.

Ingredients

To Soak & grind
Pearl Millet/ Kambu / Bajra - 1 1/2 cup
Pachaarusi/ Raw Rice - 1
Par boiled rice - 1/4 cup
Urad dal (whole ) - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 10 no
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

To Mix
Salt - to taste
Baking Soda - optional

Method

• Wash and soak all the items under Soak & grind for 5 to 6 hours.
• Grind the soaked pearl millet,rice and dal along with the shredded coconut. 
• The batter should be of smooth paste consistency and thin when compared to normal dosa batter.
• Mix salt & store the batter in vessel and allow it to ferment overnight.
• If you want to use baking soda, add it to the batter 10 minutes before cooking.
• Keep the appam pan on the stove in medium heat , brush it with a little oil and pour one ladle of the batter to the center of the pan and take the pan and make a swirl to spread the bread to appam shape. Cover it with a lid to let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Once the center of the appam it cooked, remove it from the pan.

Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar. Best food for Diabetes.

Health Benefits of Pearl Millet / Kambu / Bajra

Millets are a great source of starch, making it a high-energy food. It is also an excellent source of protein and fiber. It is said that the amino acids in the pearl millet are more easily digestible than the ones found in wheat.

Millets contain an essential phytonutrient, lignin, which is very beneficial for the human body. With the help of natural flora, lignans get converted to mammalian lignans and they fight against hormone-dependent cancers and reduce the risk of cardiac arrests.

Consumption of pearl millets helps in minimizing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Being a good source of magnesium, millets act as a cofactor in a number of enzymatic reactions.

Thanks for visiting

Varagu Rice Vegetable bath / upma

Dear friends,

I have been MIA for a very long time in my cooking blog. Mr Craft blog kept me busy and i felt lazy to write the recipe(open to agree).

Varagu rice is a habitat crop of our ancient South India and it has high source of Protein, Calcium, fiber and Minerals. It can reduce body weight. Varagu increases Liver functionality and good for lympatic disorder.

You can make anything with this Pongal, fried rice, upma and many more. one can't forget the taste of Varugu Rice Pongal. it is yummy, will post the recipe soon on this.

Here is post on a health dish - Varagu rice upma / Kodo millet upma.

Ingredients:
Varugu Rice - 2 cups
Mixed veggies - 1 cup(carrrot, beans, peas)
Big Onion  - 1 no
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Green chilli - 3 Nos
Curry leaf - a few
For tadka - mustard, urad dhall
Asofoetida - a pinch
Salt for taste
Oil for seasoning

Method:

1. Dry roast the varagu rice like rawa. Keep aside. 
2. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, green chillies and curry leaves. 
3. Fry for while and add the asafoetida, ginger and onions and sauté till the onions become translucent. 
4. Add the vegetables along with Varugu rice and add 2 ½ cup of water and pressure cook it for 2~3 whistle.
5. Serve hot with Coconut chutney

It will taste yummy 

Health Benefits;

• It is rich in fiber
• It has high antioxidant properties
• It helps to control Blood sugar and Cholesterol
• It is rich in Magnesium, Calcium, Tryptophan,Phoshorus, Fiber, B vitamins

Thanks for visiting

Sweetened Poha

Hi friends,

Today is my third post on no oil cooking and on rawfood. Poha is rich in fiber and it contains Potassium, Sodium, Vitamins and carbohydrate. If you consume it without cooking, you will get the minerals as it is. here is my recipe to prepare sweetened poha.

Ingredients:

• Thick Poha - 1 cup
• Chopped banana & apple - 1/2 cup
• Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
• Grated jaggery - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method:

1. Wash the poha and soak it in 1/2 glass of water for 10 minutes.
2. Now strain the excess liquid from poha, mostly everything will get absorbed.
3. In a mixing bowl mix all the above ingredients together along with poha.
4. Sweetened poha is ready to eat.

Thanks for visiting
 

Fruit Salad

Hi friends,

It is almost a month over, I have not posted any recipes in this blog. Today I would like to share the fruit salad recipe here. It's good for health, instead of fried snacks, you can try this with kids. They would love to eat.

Ingredients:

1. Chopped Banana - 1 cup
2. Chopped Apple - 1/2 cup
3. Chopped Papaya - 1/2 cup
4. Chopped pineapple - 1/4 cup
5. Pomegranate - 1/2 cup
6. Honey - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy. It is so easy isn't ?

Variation: You can top vanilla ice cream while serving. It will be yummy.

Thanks for visiting

Sweety Sprouts

Raw diet in morning is good for health. Natural food is the best food. In this busy world, many of us tend to incline towards processed food. But just think of our children health and the future generation - there would be big ?.

Hence start today on raw food.

Sprouts are rich in protein and it is good for all ages. Including sprouts in our diet will give amazing results. here is my recipe for Sweety Sprouts.

Ingredients:

Green gram sprouts - 1 cup
Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp
Powdered Jaggery - 1 to 2 tbsp
Dried ginger powder - a pinch

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and have it.

Thanks for visiting.

Sprouts Delight

Sprouts - It is good for health and best for all ages. Here is a easy recipe without cooking.

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Sprouts (mix of lentils)

1 Cup – Grated Carrot

1 tbsp – Coconut

2 tbsp – Mix of dry fruits (Dates, cashew, grapes)

½ tbsp – jaggery or a pinch salt (according to your taste)

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and take as it is.

Note: you can vary the vegetables (beetroot, radish, turnips, and cabbage) as you want.

Thanks for visiting

Beety sprouts

Ingredients:
Grated Beetroot - 1/2 cup
Green gram sprouts - 1 cup
Powdered jaggery - 1 ~ 2 tbsp
Dry ginger powder - a pinch

Method:
Mix all and taste it.

Variation: Carrot can be used instead of beet. Mix with curd and enjoy the raita

Moong Dhal Salad

Ingredients:

1. Moong dal - 1/2 cup

2. Grated Raw Mango - 1 tbsp

3. Green chilies - 1(finely chopped)

4. Corriander leaves - a few

5. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak moong dal in 1 cup of water for 1-2 hours.

2. In a salad bowl, add soaked moong dal and add all other ingredients.

3. Mix well and serve.

Notes: Right amount of salt is secret to this salad.

Variation: Grated coconut will add more taste to it