Are you new to kitchen??? - Part II

I will share with you my experience and which i learnt in my kitchen (i.e. en-anubhavam). In starting i used to get scars while cooking now learn't by experience. If planned and organised cooking can be finished very quickly.

Be relaxed while cooking. If anything goes wrong don't get tensed it will make the situation worse. Find out what alternative can be done. I share with you that how organised you can do the cooking.

First keep the cooking place neat and clean. Don't make the kitchen messed up because that is the most important place i.e. heart of families health.

Be happy while entering the kitchen. Love the cooking process and do with passion as you study, do your work, drive, play or watch movie etc. Because it surely reflects in your cooking dish.

Keep the most essential things for cooking in accessible distance.Before start cooking, plan what are the menu items you are going to cook.Check whether all the required ingredients are available in the kitchen before you start cooking.

Try to use minimum number of utensils so that your vessel cleaning process will come down. Reuse the kadai/cooking vessel while cooking. For e.g. If you want to prepare onion chutney. First fry the garnishing items (mustard, urad dhal,etc) transfer to serving bowl and then fry the onion for chutney. Wash it and fry the dry curry in same kadai. 

Chop all the required vegetables for cooking and keep before you start the cooking process (switch on the gas). While cooking vegetables for dry curry boil vegetables only with required amount of water and for correct time to retain the nutrient value and color of the vegetable.Always cook in low heat or medium heat so you don't burn down the vegetable, energy is saved and cleaning of vessel will be easy.

Use less amount of salt. If salt is less it can be added on later stage also but, too much of salt will spoil the whole dish.

Keep small tsp in oil bottle/box/vessel so that you use less oil for garnishing the curries and gravies.

Will share more.......

Lemon, ginger and honey juice

Lemon, ginger and honey juice
This cleanses the stomach, for digestion problem, to remove the chest cold. Mom used to give this monthly ones. Usually she used to give this early morning (like bed juice).
　

Ingredients:-
Ginger - 30 gms
Lemon - 1/2
Honey - 1 tbsp
Water - 1 cup

　
Preparation method:-
Peel the skin of ginger (it is really bad for health). Chop to small cubes and crush it. In a mixer add the crushed ginger and grind with 1/2 cup of water.

Filter this and transfer to closed container and leave in the fridge overnight.

In the morning you can see that white content will get settled in the bottom of the container. Remove the juice alone and warm it.

To this warm ginger juice add lemon juice, honey and mix well.

Take this in empty stomach (morning). This cleanses the stomach, removes bad breath, chest cold and you feel refreshed.

Pachaipayaru dosai (Green mung dhal dosai)

Pachaipayaru dosai (Green mung dhal dosai) - Preparation time 20 mins if ordinary dosa batter and soaked green gram is available
One day i had dosa batter which is slightly sour. I thought of trying something new so i ground 1 cup of soaked and sprouted green gram (I soaked for 4 hrs and left overnight to sprout for making sundal) and tried this dosai for morning tiffin. It really came out well. Easy to make
　
Ingredients:-
Soaked and sprouted green gram - 1 cup
Dosai batter - 1 cup
(or) Soak 1/2 cup boiled rice, urad dhal 1 tbsp and fenugreek seed - 1 tsp and grind to smooth dosai batter consistency.
Green chili - 2
Ginger - small piece
Salt - To taste
Water - to grind mung dhal

Preparation method:-
Grind mung dhal (green gram) to paste along with ginger, chili and salt. Add water only if required because the soaked and sprouted mung dhal will be soft and water is not required.
Mix the mung dhal batter with dosa batter and mix well.
If you want you can sortae few chopped small onion and add to batter to enrich the taste of dosai.
Heat the tawa and make the green gram dosai using prepared batter. Use sesame oil (nalla ennai) to the side of dosa.
This dosai will be crisp,  slightly greenish brown and tasty. Try it out. Goes well with

Potato bonda (Urullai kizhangu bonda)

Potato bonda (Urullai kizhangu bonda) - Preparation time 20 mins
Mom used to prepare this snack occasionally but when consumed hot along with coconut chutney (will be yummy even when consumed without chutney). This is dish is my first dish for my sister-in-law and her (now our) grandfather when they came to see me before marriage. I don't know whether she remembers it :-(.
We make this interesting by adding grated carrot and peas.
Ingredients:-
Potato - 3 medium size
Green chili - 1 (finely chopped)
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Carrot - 1 (grated)
Coriander leaf - 1 tsp
Peas / Soaked channa dhal and boiled - 1 tbsp
Salt - as required
Bengal gram flour - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Water
　
Preparation method :-
In a bowl mash the boiled potato and mix chopped green chili, salt to taste, 1/4 tsp chili powder, grated carrot, coriander leaf, boiled channa dhal (or) fresh peas.
Make the above potato mixture into small balls.
In another bowl mix bengal gram flour, rice flour, remaining chili powder, asafoetida and little water. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thick so that it can evenly coat the potato balls.
Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the potato ball in the mixed batter, coat evenly and drop carefully into the hot oil.
Cook the bonda in medium flame and remove from oil when the coating is slightly brown.
Transfer to the tissue paper to remove excess oil (if the oil is heated correctly and bonda is cooked in medium flame the bonda won't absorb oil).
Serve this hot to your family and friends with coconut chutney.

Javvarisi Payasam (Sago sweet)

Javvarisi Payasam (Sago sweet) - preparation time 25 to 30 mins
When mom used to make this payasam. The payasam looks very beautiful. She used to add kesari colour to this payasam so it will be like orange beads floating. We both (myself and my brother) don't like sweet so we don't even taste during childhood. Now I am tasting and preparing for my husband :-)

If you want the payasam to be white don't add kesari colour.

Ingredients:- 
Sago (small nylon javvarisi) - 100 gms
Sugar - 100 gms (or less if you don't want it to be too sweet)
Coconut milk - 1 cup which gives a rich taste or Boiled and cooled milk.
Crushed cardamom - 4
Cashew - 8 (finely chopped)
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Kesari color - one pinch (dissolve in little water and keep) - optional
Water - required amount (2 cup approximately to cook sago)

Preparation method:-
Roast javvarisi (sago) with 1 tbsp of ghee.

The sago will become pure white from transparent white and will start crackle.

Add water and boil till sago is cooked well (will become transparent).
If not cooked add little hot water and cook.
When cooked add required amount of sugar. 

Add the coconut milk, boil for few mins. Switch of the flame.
Roast the cashew till brown in ghee. Add to sago payasam along with crushed cardamom.
Serve this hot payasam with masal vadai (or any vadai varieties). You can also serve chill during summer season.

Mint leaves Paratha (Puthina elai paratha)

Mint leaves Paratha (Pudina elai paratha) - Preparation time 10 mins
Aroma of the paratha will be very good. The green leaves will be very attractive to eat. Puthina is very good for health. Try it out. You and your family will like this recipe very much.

Ingredients:-
Mint leaves - 1 handful (Wash, remove excess water and chop finely)
Salt - required amount
Coarsely crushed cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Wheat flour - 2 cup
Water - To knead the dough

Preparation method:-In the kneading bowel, add wheat flour, chopped mint leaves, crushed cumin seed & salt.
Mix well and check the salt level. Add required amount of water and make tight dough (for chapathi or paratha consistency).
Make small balls and chapathi's. Heat the tawa and cook the chapathi. This goes well onion and potato green chili kuruma.