- Very healthy recipes from the kitchen to the table in minutes

The other day I happened to find a very cool cook book written by the famous chef Raji Jallepalli at our local library. She is a chef ...

How To Make Edible Bowls In The Microwave In Under A Minute?

The other day I happened to find a very cool cook book written by the famous chef Raji Jallepalli at our local library. She is a chef who had the guts to follow her passion and move from being a Biochemist to a world class chef creating fusion food combining Indian and French cuisines. I tried to learn something from her book. I found the corn compost recipe and apart from the actual recipe, she explained the method of making little edible bowls using papad/ appalam/ lentil crackers to showcase her food creations. In her method, she used oil to deep fry and then forming bowls. My version is with the microwave. It turns out awesome bowls and gets done in less than a minute. The papad bowl can be used to serve salads in spring or summer, sundal, varieties of rice, nuts, dry curries, deep fried snacks etc. Kids and adults would find it very exciting eat the edible bowls.



Gadgets:

Bowl
Plate
Microwave


Ingredients:

Lijit Papad/ Apalam - 2
Water- Enough to Spread


Preparation:

1. Wet your hands with some water and spread it on the papad. If will get lightly damp.

2. Place the papad on a plate and microwave it. ! microwaved in mine for 20 seconds.

3. Remove the papad and allow it to form the shape of the bowl you have.

4. Microwave it for another 30 seconds. Remove the bowl and you will see a papad bowl formed.


3 Comments:

Its been kind of fun the last few days. Four birthdays and a valentines day is a lot to handle, but I enjoy them every year. Blogging was ...

Dry Fruit And Nut Rava Dosai/ Cream Of Wheat Crepes

Its been kind of fun the last few days. Four birthdays and a valentines day is a lot to handle, but I enjoy them every year. Blogging was difficult with my camera breaking down. Last night for dinner we had rava dosai. This recipe is something I  had in my cook book forever. It was given to me by Lakshmana Iyer form Kallidaikurichi. He used to cook at my Aunt's house and I have tasted some delicious meals prepared by him. Today, I share his recipe that turns out perfect every single time. The dry fruit and nut is my addition to his recipe, inspired by what I enjoyed at Saravana Bhavan often. The photos are from my cell phone camera. 


Gadgets:

Measuring Cups and Spoons
Bowl
Tava
Spatula
Ladle
Cutting Board
Knife
Seasoning ladel

Ingredients:

Rava/ Cream of Wheat - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 1/2 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Water - Enough to make a thin batter
Green Chillies - 2  sliced
Ginger - 1 inch grated
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Salt
Oil - 3 tbsp plus extra to roast the rava roast
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Whole Pepper - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashew Nut - 10 nos
Raisins - 10 nuts
Almonds - 10 finely chopped


Preparation:

1. Soak the flour in water for 30 minutes. Add enough water to form a thin batter.

2. Heat the oil in a seasoning ladle. Add asafoetida, mustard seeds and allow the seeds to pop. Add pepper and cumin seeds and allow for them to get lightly toasted. Add green chillies, ginger and add it to the soaked batter.

3. Heat the tava on medium heat. Add a spoon full of the batter and allow for it to get lightly browned around the corners. Flip it and cook. Remove and taste to see if the salt is right.

4. Pour the thin batter around the tava and allow for holes to be seen in-between. Scatter some dry fruit and nuts on the raw batter. Spoon very little oil around the doasi. When the corners are browned flip the dosai carefully and toast it on the other side.

5. Serve it hot with some chutney.

12 Comments:

I had intended on posting this one yesterday before the Super Bowl, but with all the excitement I had to do it today. It was so crazy...

Cream Of Wheat Crunchy/ Rava Kunukku For The Super Bowl 2013



I had intended on posting this one yesterday before the Super Bowl, but with all the excitement I had to do it today. It was so crazy with my daughter making her banner for the game, me frying away bite size food that resembled a football and mixing up a bunch of dips to go with it. Supporting the 49'ers, we was going nuts watching the game. Until the half time, it was a totally different story, but in the second half we were going through a roller coaster of emotions. Watching the game with a room full of die hard 49'er fans was worth something. The yelling, screaming, sighs and drama were all happening. God bless our neighbors, they tolerated all that noise. In spite of a hard fought game, the ref's did not do their job in being fair to the 49'ers. They did not get the obvious calls and it was a heart breaker in the end. Well, coming back to the recipe, here is the football shaped snack I prepared for the Super Bowl.



Gadgets:

Measuring Cups and Bowls
Bowl
Frying Pan
Spatula
Colander
Paper Towel
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Cream of wheat or Coarse Rava - 2 cups
Freshly Crushed Pepper - 2  1/2 tsp ( add more for more spice)
Salt
Asafoetida Powder - 2 pinches
Ginger - 2 inches grated
Curry Leaves - a few 
Cilantro - 2 tbsp finely chopped
Yogurt/ Sour Cream/ Water - 1/2 cup
Extra Water - 2 tbsp to 4 tbsp ( depending on the dough texture)


Preparation:

1. Add all the dry ingredients first into a bowl, followed by ginger, curry leaves and cilantro. Mix well to evenly distribute the herbs and spices. 

2. Add yogurt and make a dough, add water to make a dough that is easy to work with.

3. Make mini football shaped dough and deep fry them in oil a little over medium. When they turn golden brown, remove and drain them in a colander lined with a paper towel. 

4. Serve them hot or cold with a sour cream dip of your kind. 





9 Comments:

It is the time of the year when you see oranges everywhere you go. Farmers markets are flooded with different varieties of them. Every yea...

Citrus Fruit Marmalade ( Grapefruit, Orange & Lemons)

It is the time of the year when you see oranges everywhere you go. Farmers markets are flooded with different varieties of them. Every year I make a big batch of marmalade and store them for the rest of the year. This year I made marmalade with 3 different types of citrus fruits ( grape fruit, lemons and oranges). It was an interesting combination I must add, leaves a light bitter taste at the end. I was surprised that it was gone by the end of the week. I did share with family but, everyone seemed to enjoy it. So, I had to make another batch. 

At the farmer's market, I have the regular guys I buy my produce from. Last week, I was given a very heavy grape fruit which was personally picked by the farmer. "Senorita" he said," this one will be good in the jam you are going to make". I thanked him and paid his 2 $ for the huge organic grape fruit and came home to make the marmalade.


Gadgets:

Stock Pot ( Preferably non reactive one like enamel coated iron pot)
Wooden Spatula
Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring Cup and Spoons
Cheese Cloth


Ingredients:

Oranges with seeds - 5
Lemons with Seeds - 5
Grape Fruit - 1
Brown Sugar - 3 cups
White Sugar - 3 Cups
Water - 2 Cups


Preparation:

1. Thinly slice the lemons and oranges and make sure to collect the seeds and keep them aside.

2. Remove the skin of the grape fruit, making sure to avoid the pith as much as possible.

3. Thinly shred the grape fruit peal and add them into the stock pot alone with the sliced lemons and oranges.

4. Cut the grape fruit open and slice off the thick pith, remove the skin from the slices and add them to the stock pot.

5. In small piece of cheese cloth add all the seeds, make a bundle and toss it into the pot.

6. Add 2 cups of water and bring them to boil.

7. Add both the sugar and allow for the sugar to melt and the citrus fruits to get cook for about 30 minutes on medium high.

8. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cover and allow to rest for 12 hrs or over night.

9. Reheat the pot and allow for it to cook on medium heat for an hour an a half.

10. Allow it to cool and store in sterilized bottles.

6 Comments: