Pineapple Pudding

I was always fascinated by names like Puddings,Souffles etc.We never made it at home because most of the times,it required use of eggs which were not used at my place.Even though we were pure vegetarians,we kids were allowed to have Pastrys and Cakes with eggs from outside.I always used to ask amma why she did not eat it and her reply would always be-you eat it,that's enough for me.I wondered how anyone can let go of such yummies.That is one main reason I was tempted to bake something eggless for my parents,which I did.They absolutely loved the Dates cake and I am constantly on the lookout for such recipes.

I tasted my first pudding at a friend's place.Her mom was an expert in making such yummies and when I had it I was bowled over.It was too tasty,even though it did have a tinge of eggy taste.It was a layered pudding with addition of fruits in between.Shall try to get that recipe from her somehow.Next one I liked was caramel custard,even though it was not exactly a pudding per se.Me and my cousin Swetha,loved to have Caramel custard from Abad Plaza,Ernakulam.We tried making it at home and it was a success,only thing,once again,it was too eggy,something which I had started to dislike.The ready made Caramel custard-Cremelle,was just fine though.

During my stay in Bangalore last week,my Vanni made this amazing Pineapple pudding which left everyone asking for more!! It is very easy,so easy that you really start wondering if it is too good to be true!!Though the pineapple slices brand which we used was not upto the mark.The pudding was over and was cleaned up with a last lick..!!Do try it if you want to make something exotic and which requires very less effort!!



Pineapple Pudding

Ingredients

Pineapple slices in syrup - 1 tin ( 450 gms)
Milkmaid - 1 tin (400 gms)
Amul Cream - 2 packs ( 200 ml each-total 400 ml)
Pineapple Jelly - 1 packet


Method

Take a big bowl and transfer contents of the jelly packet into it.
Add 1 tbsp hot water and mix well.
Pour milkmaid,mix well.
Add cream,mix well.
Make small bite sized cubes of the pineapple and add to the mix.
Reserve the syrup and add it little by little till the mix becomes a creamy texture.
If you want you can add a tsp of pineapple essence too.
Pour into a serving dish and refrigerate in the fridge overnight or for 6-8 hours.
Pour into individual serving bowls and serve chilled.

Kadala curry-Thattukada style!

I have mentioned about a thattu kada turned restaurant - Pai's thattu kada in one of my earlier posts.Thattu kada is a roadside eatery which usually serves ready to eat food like idlis,dosas,porottas,idiyappams etc etc.Thattukadas in Kerala are especially famous because of the type of food they serve-the famous one being Porotta and Beef fry.You can find these shops on almost every nook and corner.They usually start preparing by early evening and by nightfall,everything is ready to be served.They continue their business till wee hours of the morning.It is a pleasure to see them serving the food onto the plate with such fervor and enthusiasm.People start flocking these shops immediately after they start the business.

As kids,we never had outside food on a regular basis.Once in a fortnight appa would take us all out for an evening in the park,dinner in a restaurant and ice-cream.And we loved it!!But then,we grew up..hmm...!!We got introduced to Hotel food(as my dad puts it) and came the days of ordering out.It was during that time that Pai's started their shop.It was very close to where we lived and was quite tempting.Their speciality was 36 varieties of dosas with various accompaniments.But...thattu kada food was taboo in our house.Appa felt that they cooked veg and non-veg food in the same kitchen and used same dishes.For quite sometime he believed that,but we persisted and then he gave silent approval.But till date,when we order food from Pai's,he has a frown on his face!!Amma also had similar misconceptions,till she tasted this-or rather,was forced to taste this.Usually,kadala curry is served with Puttu or Idiyappam.But in Pai's it is served with the famous thattu dosa.Here it is...

Kadala curry - Thattukada style!

Ingredients

Black channa/Bengal gram/Chickpeas - 200 gms(soaked overnight)
Salt to taste

For the masala

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 4 or 5
Tamarind - 1 small channa size
Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 small

For seasoning

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprig
Onions - 2,sliced thinly lengthwise
Tomatoes - 1/2 of one tomato,sliced thinly lengthwise

Method

Cook the channa in a pressure cooker with salt till done.
Roast the ingredients for the masala adding the ingredients one after the other starting with coconut and ending with elaichi till well browned.
Let it cool and grind it to a smooth paste adding half of the tomato.
Prepare seasoning in a frying pan,add oil-splutter mustard seeds.
Add curry leaves,onions and fry till it starts browning.
Add tomatoes and the grounded masala.
Let it boil,add the cooked channa with the water.
Mix well,check the salt.
Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot with Puttu,idiyappam or dosa..!!

Eggless Chocolate cake by my Bro

On my parents' wedding anniversary,my two elder brothers surprised my amma with a Microwave oven.I felt very happy hearing that!!Ever since,my brother(yeah!)has been asking me for an eggless cake recipe so that he can make it on his own.I suggested my own version of Eggless chocolate cake which I got from Shilpa's blog.But maybe,he wanted to try another one,so he just asked me about the power and time settings.I was also anxious to see how this new recipe came about.He surprised everyone and made a wonderful cake..though the recipe is from a Cookbook(he's not gonna be very happy reading this,hehe).

Jokes apart,he made not one but 4 cakes..yeah you read that right,pretty cool for a newcomer in kitchen,right?He called me up and said the cake dish was medium sized,so I suggested he bake it in two pans.It seems,the cake in the smaller pan got over the moment it got inverted into a plate.The second one,in a big pan was kept aside for fudge topping.He was so surprised and impressed with his own efforts that he decided to bake two more.Here comes the funny part,the third one also came out well.But the fourth and the last one was neglected too much and it got burned.I couldn't control my laughter when I heard this..;-)Anyway,cheers to my bro Somannu,who incidentally celebrates his birthday today.

Happy Birthday to you my dearest Somannu..Love ya!!!

Eggless Chocolate cake
A quick microwave chocolate cake that nobody can resist!!!

Ingredients

Maida/Flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Hot milk - 1/2 cup
Curds - 1/2 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Method

Grease an 8 inch round microwave safe dish.Line with butter paper.
Sieve flour,baking powder and cocoa powder thrice.
In a seperate bowl,beat butter and sugar till fluffy.
Add vanilla essence,curd and baking soda,beat well.
Add 1/2 of the flour mix and 1/2 of the milk,mix slowly and repeat the same process twice till everything is mixed well.
Transfer to the dish and microwave uncovered at 60 % power for 11 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes and invert into a rack or a plate.

Fudge icing

Butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Icing sugar or sieved powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Coffee powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp

Mix icing sugar,coffee and cocoa powder.
Take butter and milk in a bowl and microwave at 60 % power for 1 and 1/2 minutes.
Add rest,mix well and pour over the cake.
Delicious chocolate cake with fudge icing is ready!!!

Mangalore Buns

I first tasted these "buns" at my friend Pinky's place.When her mother offered me homemade buns,I was fascinated as those days,anything home baked caught my fancy.Little did I know these buns had nothing to do with their baked counterparts.I loved the delicate flavor of banana and the melt in the mouth texture of these buns,almost soft like cotton.I learnt the recipe from my ma-in-law who adds her healthy touch by mixing atta into it.It took me a long time to master these simple buns,but let me tell you,it is as easy as making poori[minus the rising time].

My Brother-in-law(hubby's elder bro) and vanni(co-sis) are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary today.

Wishing you both a very happy anniversary dearest Ramnathanna and Vanni!! They have come to India on their annual vacation and are in Bangalore now.Me and hubby are driving down to Bangalore this weekend.I am taking a surprise cake for them(Vanni,if you are reading this,please do act surprised ok..hehe).Shall post the pics soon.I will try to post from Bangalore,if time permits.So till then,have a great time all of you,keep blogging!! But for now,a sweet recipe which goes to Srivalli's Roti mela.

Mangalore Buns

Ingredients

Ripe banana - 1
Maida - 2 cups
Atta - 1/2 cup
Curds - 2 tbsp
Oil/Ghee - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Baking soda - 1tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp OR Pepper - 1 tsp,coarsely ground
Oil for frying

Method

Mash the banana with a fork.
Add curds,sugar,salt,jeera[or pepper],oil/ghee and baking soda and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Sieve maida and atta and add to the mix,add as much as the wet ingredients can absorb[you would not need all of the mentioned flour,or sometimes you would need more than this measure,add little by little till you get a pliable dough-not too sticky]
Knead well to form a dough.
Apply 2 tsps of oil and keep under cover for 4-5 hours.
Shape portions of the dough into balls of the size we make for puris.
Flatten them with a rolling pin into small thick rounds.
Deep fry them in oil till golden brown.

Check out the Roti Mela round-up-Part 1,Part 2

Kellya Ambat

My parents are celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary today.

Wishing you both a very happy wedding anniversary Appa and Amma!!!

Special days and special moments..feeling bad that I am not with them to celebrate..!! Anyway,I am happy that I wished them first thing today morning and I am wishing them through my blog too.I am making my appa's favourite Kellya ambat today.It is made with ripe bananas(nendra pazham),channa dal,coconut and jaggery.It is very similar in taste to Pazham pulisheri sans the tangy taste of yogurt.This ambat is made for special occasions like marriage and festivals,especially during Diwali and Ugadi.I have already blogged about my hubby's displeasure to sweet curries,so no more on that.

But this reminds me of one incident.During our marriage,my ma-in-law had especially asked for inclusion of this ambat in the lunch menu coz she absolutely loved this.I remember very well,while having food ambat was untouched on my hubby's plate and when I asked him why,he said,he's gonna ask his amma why she wanted this curry when he absolutely disliked it..Ohhh..!!I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed when I heard that!!But anyway,I have stopped forcing him to taste it and become extremely selfish when it comes to having such yummies..All mine..all mine!!Hehe.

Kellya ambat

Ingredients

Ripe banana(Nendrapazham) - 2,cut into round slices
Channa dal - 100gms,about 1/2 cup
Grated jaggery - 4 tbsp
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Red chilly - 1
Haldi/turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts - a handful

For the seasoning

Oil/ghee(or a mix of both) - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a sprig

Method

Cook the channa dal and the cashewnuts in a pressure cooker till done.Channa dal should be just cooked enough,not mushy.
Add the bananas and cook till soft.
When the bananas are soft add jaggery and salt and mix well till the jaggery melts and blends with the dal.
Make a smooth paste of coconut,haldi and red chilly.
Add this to the cooked channa dal-banana mix.
Mix well and let it boil.
Prepare seasoning in a pan with oil,splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves.
Add it to the boiling ambat.
Serve hot!!

Channe ghashi - Mangalore style

At times,its quite funny when you think about the changes marriage has bought to your life.Its not the change in its actual meaning of the word..but..change it is!!Its amazing how you start thinking about 'US' and not 'I'.In our case,both me and my hubby are the youngest kids in our respective families.I think that has helped us quite a bit,both of us are used to taking orders from our elder siblings and being pampered by them;-)so we didn't have much problems adjusting to each other..!!We often talk about being strangers years ago and now part of each other's lives.We might have crossed paths before,maybe..who knows!!

Anyway I am drifting away too much from the topic..what I wanted to say was the way my eating habits have changed.My amma is so surprised when I tell her I had papaya for breakfast,or had channe ghashi and beans pachadi for lunch,pej/kanji and bea upkari for dinner..!!I was a fussy eater at home.Amma used to think twice before preparing anything thinking whether I would eat it or not.I did not like most of the vegetables,fruits were only had when I had the 'mood' and food was gobbled up as it was some duty to fulfill.I feel very very bad that I behaved that way when I was young,feel very sorry for amma.

I realized my folly after marriage,whatever I cooked was a tasteless mass for me and I really really missed my amma's food.It is after I started cooking on my own that I took cooking,taste and ingredients that go into it seriously.Now I like most of the vegetables,feel upset if hubby does not eat anything I made and get angry if food is untouched on his plate;-)A long intro for today's post,without further ado I will post the recipe.

Channe ghashi - Mangalore style

Ingredients

Brown channa/Bengal gram/Chickpeas - 200 gms
Drumsticks - 2,cut into 2' size
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Roasted red chillies - 6(mix of normal and byadgi chillies)
Tamarind - 1 small piece,channa size

For the seasoning

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method

Soak the channa overnight or for 6 hours and cook in a pressure cooker till soft and well cooked.
Cook the drumsticks seperately till tender,add to the channa.
Make a smooth paste of coconut,red chillies and tamarind using enough water.
Add it to the channa-drumstick,salt to taste and bring to boil.
Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Prepare seasoning in a frying pan with oil,splutter mustard seeds and jeera,add curry leaves.
Add the seasoning to the boiling curry.
Serve hot with rice.

Also check out my Channe ghashi-Kerala style prepared with Soi bhajil masol.

Ambe Upkari for Mother's Day

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people,promptly announces she never did care for pie - Tenneva Jordan.

Today is Mother's day.I don't remember when these DAYS started popping up and all we could see was people celebrating such occasions with much pomp and glory.No,please don't get me wrong,I am not against celebrating such 'days' but I am of the school of thought which feels that we do not need one day in a year to celebrate such occasions.We love our parents and we don't need a Mother's day or Father's day to tell them that we love them and one day in a year is not enough to thank them.Same with Valentine's day.But times have changed and we need to change too!!I speak to my amma daily on the phone,today I am going to wish her and tell her that I love her!!She's definitely gonna be surprised..and I would love that!!I am also going to call up my ma-in-law whom I also regard as my amma and wish her too!!Since we are celebrating it anyway,I will cook up something which both my ammas are going to love!!

When I thought of preparing something which my amma loves,I was in for a dilemma.I just could not decide what to cook because amma does not have any particular dish which she loves to have.As far as I know,she has always given priority to what we like.I don't remember something which she made and said,here-have it,its my favourite dish,Never!!It has always been what appa likes,what we kids like..So why not make something today which she likes..??Same thing with my ma-in-law.I have never seen her making something according to her taste and likes.She is a pure vegetarian and she churns out almost all varieties of non-veg food for her hubby and kids.So this is for both my ammas..I love you!!!

Coming back to a dish which is their favorite...Ah...didn't I decide it yet??I'll prepare something which is necessarily not their favorite,but something which they would love to have.Yes,a simple meal with a sweet.I am sure they will relish it,mainly because I have prepared it for them with so much love.Love you amma..

A simple meal of rice,dalithoi,batate upkari,cabbage upkari,pickle,papad,curds and the special item - Ambe upkari.

Ambe Upkari - Ripe mango curry

Ingredients

Ripe mangoes - 6(I used Alphonso mangoes)
Jaggery - 4-5 moulds OR half of one big ball of jaggery,grated
Green chillies - 2-3
Salt to taste
Maida or Cornflour - 1 tbsp

For seasoning

Oil/Ghee or a mix of both - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Red chillies - 2,cut into pieces

Method

Wash and wipe the mangoes well.
Peel the skin of the mangoes a little thickly with your hands.
In a big pan put all the mango skins and add about 2 cups of boiling water and keep aside.
After 5 minutes,mash the skins with hands till it oozes out mango pulp,collect as much as you can and throw away the skins.
Take one mango and make pulp with it,add it to the above mix.
In a thick bottom pan,add the mangoes,skin pulp and mango pulp together.
Add jaggery,green chillies,salt and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.
Make a paste with maida and 1 cup water without forming lumps and add to the boiling curry,let it thicken a bit.
Prepare seasoning in a frying pan with oil,mustard seeds,red chilly,methi and curry leaves.
Pour it over the curry,serve hot.
It tastes even better next day,cool from the fridge.

Here's to my ammas with looooottttsss of love..I love you amma,
Happy Mother's Day!!!

Kuvala Huli- Ash gourd curry

Handling leftovers is one of the toughest parts in managing a kitchen.At my place in Ernakulam,amma never repeats leftovers.My appa(dad) dislikes anything which is kept in the fridge forever and then reheated for eating.There are exceptions of course.But generally he does not like something which is more than a day old.So amma has always tried to make food in less quantities.There is absolutely no wastage in her kitchen,that's something which I am trying to learn from her ever since I started cooking.

On the other hand,my ma-in-law is an expert in handling leftovers.She completely transforms a leftover dish into a new one that nobody can guess that its not freshly cooked.I marvel at her prowess in cooking up new dishes and transforming them into newer ones if left over!!!Dalithoi is one such dish which can be transformed,it acts like a base for new curries.Leftover dalithoi..??Call up ma-in-law(during my initial days of cooking) and she'll come up with so many dishes that you wonder if you should actually wait for excess food to cook up all those delicacies!!

Kuvala huli is one such dish I prepare to camouflage previous days' dalithoi.In fact hubby has got an idea of this and whenever I prepare dalithoi,he asks me in what form is the dalithoi going to re incarnate itself into!!I get immense satisfaction when the dal gets a makeover and the huli gets gobbled up,thank God I can save huli from re incarnating!!!

Kuvala Huli - Ash gourd curry

Ingredients

Ash gourd - 200 gms,cut into medium sized cubes
Drumsticks - 2,cut into 2' pieces.
Dalithoi - 1 to 1 1/2 cups,you can also use fresh dal for this.Cook 1 cup toor dal in a pressure cooker till mushy.

For the masala

Coriander - 2 tbsp
Methi - 1/2 tsp
Roasted red chillies - 4-5
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp
Tamarind - 1 small channa size
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Hing - 1 tsp

Roast all the above ingredients in a kadai till light brown and grind into a smooth paste adding enough water.

Method

Cook the drumsticks and ash gourd till soft and well cooked.
In a thick bottom pan,add the dalithoi(or freshly cooked dal) and the cooked veggies.
Add salt to taste and let it boil.
Add the roasted and ground masala at this stage,mix well.
Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Pour 1 tbsp coconut oil on top and close the lid.
Mix well before serving.
Goes well with rice and dosas.

Cream of Onion Soup-The healthier version

Soups are the best way to fill one's stomach when on a diet.No seriously,when you go to a function/party which is unavoidable and the food in the buffet table looks inviting but fat fat fatty..what to do?Catch hold of the biggest soup bowl available,load your bowl with soup and sip as slowly as possible.This is a foolproof way of going on with your diet and not letting anyone know about it.Even though soups served during these buffet dinners will be of cream types,you still can have it instead of the fatty foods.When my nutritionist told me I can have soups anytime of the day when I feel hungry,I was very happy.But all my hopes were crashed when she told me I can't have ready to eat soups(like Knorr,Maggi etc) nor can I have Sweet corn soups and the likes from restaurants.What can I have then..???Only Clear vegetable soups and once in a while Homemade Tomato soups.

I had no choice but to follow it to reach my target weight.Now that I have,I can make some changes here and there without being too lenient.I love cream based soups-Cream of Carrot,Mushroom,Onions,Sweet corn..the list is endless.I came across one such recipe of Cream of Onion soup,but when I went through the ingredients,it was disappointing-3 tbsp butter,1 tbsp cheese etc.But I was determined to make it somehow.I made few changes and came up with a healthier version of this soup,but tasty nevertheless.Do try it,shall post the original recipe and then the changes I made to make it healthier.

Cream of Onion Soup

Ingredients

Butter - 3 tbsp
Onions - sliced thinly-1 1/2 cup
Maida - 1 tbsp
Salt and pepper - to taste
Milk - 2 cups
Vegetable stock - 2 cups
Grated cheese - 1 tbsp
Parsley leaves chopped - to garnish

Method

Heat the butter and saute onions.
When it becomes slightly brown,add maida and salt,pepper to taste.
Mix well.
Add the milk and vegetable stock and cook till the onions soften and cook well.
When it starts thickening,switch off the flame and pour into individual soup bowls.
Garnish with grated cheese and parsley leaves.
Serve hot.

Changes I made

Instead of adding 3 tbsps butter,I added a mix of 1 tsp ghee and 1 tsp refined oil.
I diluted 1 cup milk with a cup of water and added to the soup instead of 2 cups of milk.
I did not add grated cheese for garnish at all.
I did not have parsley leaves,so avoided that too.
Do try out this healthier but tastier version for a change.

Rava dosa

After Srivalli's Dosa mela,I am sure all dosa lovers,for a loooooong time would have a variety of dosas to try out.I am amazed how she managed the round-up and put all the dosas in one place.I am so looking forward to her Roti mela now.Though this time,I am not very sure I'll be an enthusiastic participant like in dosa mela.No,don't get me wrong here,the reason being,I am not much of a roti person.We do have Chapathis for dinner on alternate days and I love having Butter naans and kulchas while dining out,but thats all.I don't know whether I can come up with an enticing recipe.Anyway,there's still time,so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Coming to Rava dosa,one of my oft repeated choices when I go to a restaurant.I never knew it could be made at home so easily and with so little effort.Earlier,whenever I had the urge to eat this,I had two options with me.1-order from the nearest restaurant(btw,I live very close to Ratna cafe;-)2.make it at home with ready to make rava dosa batter(Thaayar rava dosa batter,for those who live in Chennai).After many unsuccessful attempts option no 2(dosas did not come out well as I expected with the batter),I thought I will stick to option no 1 itself.But dosa mela changed it all.Saw Srivalli's recipe,then Sailu's entry and from there to VahReVah chef's entry,I had an option to try it out at home.And I did...Oh Boy!!!I loved it,it came out so well,I was surprised myself,thank you dear bloggers-you made my day!!!

Rava Dosa

Ingredients

Rava - 1 cup
Maida - 1 cup
Rice flour- 1/2 cup
Curd - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2 chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 sprig,chopped finely
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water-as required to make the batter

Method

Combine all the ingredients except water in a big pan.
Keep stirring while adding water and make a thin batter-the consistency should be of thick butter milk.
Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.
The batter might thicken a little,add some more water to make it thin.
Take a non stick pan and grease it well with oil.
Mix the batter well and keep pouring/sprinkling the batter on the pan using your hands or using a ladle.
I sprinkled the batter with my hands and it came out well-thin and crispy.
Pour oil/ghee over the dosa.
Keep the tava on medium flame and let the dosa cook for 2-3 minutes.
When it is well browned and crisp,remove from tava.
Serve hot with coconut chutney.

For more tips on preparing rava dosa,visit Srivalli and Sailu's blog.Also check out the VahReVah rava dosa video.

Beans Pachadi

Ever since some of my non-blogging friends read about my post on Beetroot salad,they have been mailing me and asking me to be more careful about my health and the way I eat.I had great trouble convincing them that dieting,if done in the proper way can harm you in no way.Which brings us to another health food today.Making a salad out of our humble beans.Well,its not exactly a salad but it can be camouflaged to be one!!

Beans Pachadi

Ingredients

Beans - 200 gms,cut lengthwise into thin slices
White/Salad onion - 1,chopped finely(you can use normal onions too)
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Green,red chilly - 1 each,cut into two
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

In a kadai,pour the oil and splutter mustard seeds in it.
Add the chillies and saute for a few seconds.
Add the beans,salt to taste and mix well.
Sprinkle water on it,close the lid and let it cook.
Beans should be just cooked enough,not very mushy.
In another pan,add the onions and grated coconut together and mix well with your hands.
Just before serving,mix the onion-coconut mix to the cooked beans.
Mix well and serve immediately.

Green peas Ambat

When I started cooking after marriage,it always used to be a simple one with rice,dalithoi,rasam and curds.Not that we were diet conscious or anything then,that was all I could manage to cook!!To top it all,hubby had told me before marriage that he loved dalithoi and wouldn't mind having it daily.Little did he know that I would hold him for that one sentence!!!

Anyway,this phase did not last long.We spent about a month in Bangalore(fortunately) for his official purposes and I utilized this opportunity to learn his favorite dishes from ma-in-law.He didn't know of course.After coming back to Chennai,this ambat was one of the dishes I prepared for him and he was stunned.He just couldn't believe that my cooking prowess had gone from dalithoi to ambat!!I really understood the true meaning of the adage-The way to a man's heart is indeed through his stomach.One more advantage I had is,since I was a novice in cooking,whatever I prepare gets a nod from him coz he compares it to my initial days..;-)You have come a long way from that,he says.I take it as a compliment!!;-)

Greenpeas Ambat

Ingredients

Fresh/frozen peas - 150 gms
Carrot - 1 medium,chopped lengthwise
Drumstick - 2,cut into 2' pieces
Onion - 1 big,chopped finely

For the masala

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Roasted red chillies - 5to 6
Tamarind - 1 channa size

Method

Cook green peas,drumsticks and carrots together till soft.
Add salt to taste.
Grind the masala to a smooth paste and add to cooked greenpeas-drumstick-carrot.
Let it boil.
Simmer for about 5 minutes.
In a pan,take 1 tbsp oil and fry the onions in it till brown.
Add it to the ambat and mix well.
Serve with rice.

Pazham Pulisheri

I like having sweet curries with rice for lunch.But I am alone here,hubby dislikes any sweet dish paired with rice.What do I do?Be selfish(do I have a choice?)and prepare it anyway.I tried forcing my hubby with phrases like-"Its so yummy and delicious..why don't you try it,how can you say you don't like something without tasting it?" etc etc.He just asked one question and silenced me.."How would you feel if I forced you to eat non-veg,repeating the same lines which you said??"Oh God..how do I make him realize what he's missing..??!!

Banana-Nendrapazham,is one fruit with which you can prepare so many delicacies.Pazham pori,Nendrapazha pradhaman,Unnakaya,Kelya ambat to name a few.Pulisheri is one such dish which my dear friend Deepthi introduced me to.We usually prepare Kelya ambat-a curry with channa dal,coconut,jaggery and banana for festival and other such special occasions.This one was new to me.Try it once and I bet you will fall in love with it..

Pazham Pulisheri

Ingredients

Ripe banana/Nendrapazham - 1 big
Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Jaggery - 4 moulds or 4 tbsp of grated jaggery or 4 tbsp jaggery syrup
Thick curds - 1/2 cup

Grind to a smooth paste
Grated coconut - 1/2 of one coconut(medium)
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies-1 or 2(depending on the chillyness)

For seasoning
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method

Cook banana in 3/4 litres of water with turmeric.
When it is cooked,add salt to taste and mash the bananas gently.
Add the jaggery and let it boil.
Add the coconut paste at this stage.
Simmer for 3 minutes till everything gets mixed.
Switch off the flame.
Prepare seasoning in a pan and add all the ingredients one by one.
Add it to the pulisheri.
Beat the curds with a fork and add to the pulisheri when it is cooled a bit.
This pulisheri tastes equally good when served cool or hot.
So what's your choice??