Rawa Kesari / Semolina (Sooji) Sweet

How i missed the most popular and traditional sweet which we make for satyanarayana

pooja to post in my blog. That is a kind of embarrassing. But i am damn sure, that this

is not the only recipe i must have missed. There must be hundreds of other recipes too.

I will surely try to cover them up.

So try this out and let me know how it turns out for you..

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves - 4 to 5

Ingredients:

Rawa / Sooji / Semolina - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cashews - 10 pieces
Sultanas / Kishmish - 10 pieces
Kesari Colour / Orange Food Colouring a pinch (optinal)
Milk - 1 tblspn
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat a heavy bottom pot. Heat 2 tblspn of ghee in it and fry cashews and raisans in it till golden. Remove it and Set aside.

Bring water to a boil in a separate sauce pan. Mix food colouring with milk and set aside.

Now in the remaining ghee add sooji and fry for 3 to 4 mins till it is light golden and raw smell goes away from it.

Now pour in the boiling water and mix well so no lumps form. Keep this mixing till it gets little thickish.

Now add in the sugar and keep mixing.

Add in food colouring (Optinal)and cardamom powder and mix well.

Keep stirring till the mixture get thick.

Now add in the ghee and keep mixing till the kesari leaves the sides of the pan.

Add in the roasted nuts and mix well.

Serve this warm or hot.

ANDHRA PESARATTU | GREEN GRAM DOSA

Pesarattu is a famous Andhra breakfast item that is consumed all over the state.This dosa is made with green gram and rice ,which makes a perfect combo with upma..The hit duo is called Upma Pesarattu..These crepes are so crisp and gives a total different taste.Pesarattu will be garnished with lots of chopped onions,ginger and chilli flakes,fresh coriander which makes it even more tastier..
Amma used to make this whenever I visit home for holidays..This is such a special breakfast for me..Andhra Pesarattu is best consumed with Ginger Pickle(aka Andhra Allam Pachadi) and also peanut chutney. I totally love these crsipy green gram dosas t any time be it for breakfast or dinner.
Usually it is prepared with only green gram(in telugu it is called 'pesalu') but we add a fistful of rice tinorder to give the dosas a crispy nature.

Green gram - 1 Cup

• Rice  - 1/4 cup
• Green chilli chopped - 2
• Ginger chopped - 1/2 inch piece
• Cumin seeds - 1 2 tbsp
• Oil - for making dosas
• Salt to taste

For garnishing dosa:

• Onion finely chopped - 1
• Green chilli chopped - 2
• Coriander chopped - as much as possible

Recipe for Andhra Pesarattu:
1.Take both rice and green gram into a large bowl and wash it thoroughly under cold water.

2. Soak them over night or for at least 8 hours.Grind them along with green chilli,ginger and salt by adding required water.Don't add too much water.See the picture below.Add cumin seeds as well.

3. Chop up all your veggies.Take a ladle full of batter and spread on dosa pan evenly.

4.Sprinkle onions,chillies and coriander leaves.Drizzle some oil around the dosa and on the onions.

 5.Fold it to left side once and then to right.Serve hot with your favourite chutney or dips

I served this with peanut chutney and ginger pickle..Ginger pickle is the best with pesarattu..

TIP 1: Do not flip the dosas,instead make as much thin as possible and just fold it once done,

TIP 2: Having these crispy green gram dosas without ginger pickle is waste I should say :)

TIP 3: This dosa variety demands more oil than the normal dosas,so to extract best taste forget about calories else use a non-stick pan and compromise on taste:)

Also make some upma and place in between the dosas..Pesarattu Upma is a highlight combination,but this time I could not do upma..but you go ahead and enjoy the super yummy taste of Upma Pesarattu..

Have you linked in your recipes to my nniversary give away..Enter the conte

Atukula Upma

Ingredients:

• Thick pressed Rice (Poha) – 2 Cups
• Oil – 3 Tbsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves – few
• Red Chilli Whole – 3 no
• Asafoetida – pinch
• Green chillies(finely chopped) – 6 no or to taste
• Chanadal – 1/2 Tbsp
• Onion (chopped) – 1/2 cup
• Tomato (cubes) – 1 big
• Salt – to taste
• Cilantro (finely chopped) – 3 Tbsp
• Lemon Juice – 1 Tbsp or to taste

Procedure:

• Wash poha under cold water in a colander or a sieve to remove the starch and dirt particles from them.
• Once poha is washed well, transfer to a wide container and set it aside.
• Heat a wide non stick pan, add in oil, add mustard seeds to the hot oil and allow them to pop.
• Add in cumin seeds, red chilli, hing, green chillies, chanadal,curry leaves and cook for 30 secs stirring continuously until chanadal dal turns golden.
• Add in onion and cover to cook till soft but do not burn them even a bit.
• Add in tomato and immediately add in poha, salt and cook on low heat for 5 mins.
• Add cilantro and lemon juice, give it a final mix and turn off the heat. Serve hot.

south indian mushroom biryani

Spicy and hot mushroom biryani from south indian cuisine.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rice
• 4.5 cups water
• 200-250 gms mushroom
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 or 2 green chili
• ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 cup mint + coriander leaves
• ½ tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ or 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 sprig of curry leaves (optional)
• salt

whole spices:

• 1 cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4-5 cloves
• 3-4 small cardamom
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small star anise

Instructions

1. heat oil in a pan.
2. fry all the whole spices mentioned above till they become fragrant.
3. now add the onion and fry them till they become transparent.
4. now add the tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, green chilies, half of the mint-coriander leaves and all the spice powders.
5. fry for 2-3 minutes.
6. now cover the pan and cook the masala.
7. make sure the masala does not get burnt.
8. remove after some minutes and stir.
9. when the masala is all one and the tomatoes are all cooked & mushy, add the chopped mushrooms.
10. saute for 2-3 minutes.
11. add 4 cups water and stir.
12. cover the pan with a lid and let the mushrooms cook for some 4-5 minutes.
13. add rice and mix well.
14. add salt and the remaining half of the mint-coriander leaves.
15. cover and cook till the rice is done.
16. while serving mushroom biryani garnish with some mint or coriander leaves.
17. 
    

Mushroom Masala-Mushroom Gravy-Mushroom Recipes

Button Mushroom is one of my favorite mushrooms and I prepare a variety of dishes with it. Mushrooms contain 80-90 percent of water and are very low in calories. They are good source of minerals and are high in anti-oxidants. Research studies show that consuming white button mushrooms can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. It also helps to boost our immune system. As mushrooms are loaded with essential nutrients, we include them on a regular basis. Today we will learn how to make restaurant style Mushroom masala curry (South Indian style, vegetarian recipe) following this easy recipe.

Mushroom Masala (Step by step recipe)

Prep time - Under 10 mins
Cook time - Under 30 mins
Serves - 2-3

Ingredients needed

Button mushrooms - 200 grams
Onion - 1 cup
Tomato - 3/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder -1 tbsp (mine is not hot)
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coconut paste - 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves for garnishing

For the seasoning

Oil - 4 tbsp
Whole Garam masala - 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 marathi moggu.
(If you want it very spicy, you can dry roast the spices, powder it and add after heating the oil. In that case. skip the garam masala) I did not powder it but used the whole spices for seasoning.

Preparation

Wash and clean the mushrooms well and chop it into big pieces.
Finely chop onions and tomatoes.

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon, marathi moggu, when it splutters, add finely chopped onions and curry leaves.

Saute onions till it becomes brown.This step is important. Do not add tomatoes without browning the onions.

Then add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become mushy.

Add the chopped mushrooms, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt needed and cook for a few minutes.

Then add a cup of water and cook till the mushrooms are soft.

Finally add coconut paste, simmer and cook for another 6-7 minutes.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note-The consistency of the gravy can be adjusted according to individual preferences.This is a fantastic side dish for flavored rice, pulao, chapati, poori and naan.

Enjoy preparing a variety of Vegetarian Mushroom Recipes ranging from Biryani to mushroom pepper fry to kurma.

Meet you all with more interesting recipes and tips. Keep visiting Padhuskitchen.

Coconut oligalu or Coconut bhakshyalu

Ingredients:
Cardomon powder-1tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Coconut-1 cup
Jaggery-1 cup
Maida -4 tbsp
Atta-1/2 cup

Preparation:

Make dough with maida and atta, Make a soft dough and keep it aside.

Grind the Coconut piece first and then add jaggery. Do not add water.

Keep it in a thick bottomed vessel and heat till it becomes Soft. You should be able to make round balls with it. Add cardamom powder to this mix.

Now make the dough into small balls in equal proportions. Roll each ball like puree and stuff with the a spoon of coconut-jaggery mix.

Roll stuffed balls like chepati.We call them as oligalu or bhakshyalu. Now fry them on a chapathi pan with lots of ghee.

Serve them hot or cold.  This is a Ugadi special sweet in Andhra Pradesh.

Thotakura Vepudu ~ Amaranth Leaves Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Amaranth Leaves Bunch - 1 medium ( chopped 2 cups)
Onion- 1/2 medium
chana dal-1tbsp
urad dal-1tbsp
cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
putnala pappu powder-2tbsp
Green Chilli - 2
salt - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method:

Heat non-stick pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds, followed by curry leaves.

Add chopped onions, green chili and turmeric powder. Saute for 2 min.  Add Chopped Amaranth leaves and stems to the pan and mix it well with onions. Saute for 2 min. Once the leaves are wilted add salt. Keep it on high and stir-fry. 

putnala pappu powder, saute on medium flame for 3-4 min

Taste and adjust the seasonings and add Cilantro on top and switch off the stove. 

Serve hot with white rice. Enjoy!

Tips:

• If Amaranth is abundant in your area you can separate the stems from leaves and make this fry only with stems. We have scarcity of Amaranth so just used stems and leaves together in this recipe. 
• Instead of grinding the garlic you can use the coarsely chopped garlic, in that case add garlic to the oil after the tempering is done, so that gets roasted leaving nice aroma to the fry. 

Palak Chapati

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour 2 cups
Oil 1 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
palak leaves(cut into small pieces)-1 cup
Water to knead dough
Preparation:

1.Mix salt, wheat flour and palak leaves adequate amount of water to knead smooth dough add oil.

2.Leave it for an hour.
3.Make equal sized balls,smear them with dry flour and roll them out on a rolling board.

4.Heat a pan. Put the chapati on it.
5.Moderately roast both the sides of chapati.
6.Chapati is ready to serve.

Beerakaya Thokku Pachadi ~ Rigde gourd skin Chutney Recipe

.

Ingredients:
skin of 2 large ridge gourds, wash and peel the skin (prepare another dish with the peeled ridge gourd)
2 green chillis
Salt
Coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
Garlic 1
very small lemon sized tamarind
2 tsps oil
For seasoning/poppu/tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 dry red chillis
channa dal 1tbsp
few fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp oil

Preparation:

1.In the  vessel, add tsp of oil and add the green chillis and cumin seeds saute for a mt. Add the ridge gourd peels and fry on medium heat for 4-5 mts.
leave aside to cool.

3 Once cool, grind  green chillis first till coarsely ground, add the rest of the sauteed ingredients along with tamarind ,salt ,coconut and garlic  grind to a slightly coarse paste.

4 Heat half a tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop, add curry leaves and dry red chillis and channa dal stir fry for a few seconds.

5 Pour the seasoning over the ground pachadi and serve with hot rice.

Ridge gourd peel chutney

Ven Pongal (Rice and Dal flavoured with Ghee,Cashews and Spices)

Pongal is served in the morning as breakfast..It is a protein rich one pot meal which is really nutritious...

I hope you all like it...Let me know what you think..

Ingrediants:

Rice- 1 cup

Split yellow moong dal / Pasiparuppu-1 cup

Salt to taste

Water-6 cup

Spices:

Ghee-3 tblspn

Cumin seeds-2 tsp

Cashew-3 tblspn

Green chilli-3 chopped

Ginger-2 tblspn grated

Pepper-1 tblspn

Curry leaves-1 spring

Method:

Soak rice and dal together for 30 mins..Drain it and set aside..

Heat 1 tblspn of ghee in a pressure cooker and add in rice and dal...Fry this for 5 mins..

Pour in the water and bring this to a boil...Add in salt...

Cover and cook for 5 whistle and simmer it for 10 mins..Let the pressure go by itself...Open the pressure cooker and mix well..

Heat ghee in a kadai and add in cashews, cumin seeds, pepper, ginger, green chilli,curry leaves and sauté this for a minute..

Now add in rice and dal mixture and mix well..Let the rice absorb all flavours...

Mix this for 3 mins...

Serve hot with sambar or chutney..