Bengal gram flour and coconut cake

Bengal gram flour and coconut cake - Preparation time 45 mins

I first made this cake during deepavali. It came out well and the taste was tempting. People won't stop with one piece. Actually i got this recipe from internet only. But added cashew and saffron strands. I used fresh grated coconut and finely chopped cashews.

Ingredients:-
Bengal gram flour - 1 cup ( use the same measurement cup for flour, sugar, milk & ghee)
Sugar - 2 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup (keep little more if required you can add)
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Cardamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron strands - few (soaked in little milk) 
Cashew - 10 to 15 ( finely chopped)

Preparation method:-

Roast bengal gram flour along with little ghee (2 tbsp) till slight aroma comes and raw smell goes off. To this add grated fresh coconut and sortae for few mins.

To this roasted mixture add milk and and boil. Keep on stirring the mixture till it is thick and doesn't stick to bottom of the pan. 

Now add the sugar to bengal gram flour, coconut, milk. Keep on stirring and slowly add the ghee, cardamon powder and saffron soaked in milk .

The mixture will become thick and white bubbles will appear on the edges. 

Add remaining ghee little by little. Till the ghee cake consistency comes. Also the ghee will seeps on the edge.

In a plate coat 2 tbsp of ghee both in the base and side of the plate. While slightly liquid and thick pour into the plate (don't wait till ball consistency because it will become more rough after cooling).

In a big plate pour little water and keep aside. After pouring the cake dough using a flat laddle or spatula (coated with ghee) flatten the dough quickly else it will start ticking to the laddle.
Keep this plate in the bigger plate with little water so the cooling process will be quick. When slightly cooled coat a knife with little ghee (to avoid sticking) and make pieces on the cake dough.

Don't disturb the cake till it cools completely else the cake will break. 
Enjoy this yummy, tasty and easy to make delicious cake.

Murungai keerai adai (Moringa leaves and rice,pulses pancake)

 Murungai keerai adai (Moringa leaves and rice, pulses pancake) - preparation time 3 hrs 

According  to me adai is a wholesome food or tiffin because it is rich in protien content due to the pulse which we include while preparing the batter. Also lots of small onion which is added for taste and richness to adai. To all this now in this recipe i am adding fresh moringa leaves while making the adai. Surely you will love the taste of the adai.
This adai is packed with health benefits so don't leave without trying this when you get fresh drumstick tree leaves.

Ingredients:-
Boiled rice - 2 cup (wash rice and soak for 2 hrs)
Bengal gram(Kadalai paruppu) - ½ cup (wash dal and soak for 2 hrs)
Toor dal (Thuvaram paruppu) - ½ cup (wash dal and soak for 2 hrs)
Mustard seed - ¼ tsp
Sesame oil -4 tsp
Urad dhal - 3 tbspn
Chili - 8 (can increase according to your spice)(soak in water)
Coriander seed (Dhaniya) - 2 tbsp
Cumin seed (Jeera) - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water - to grind
Asafoetida - ¼ tsp
Curry leaves - 10 (finely chopped)
Moringa leaves (Murungai elai) - 1 cup 
Small onion - 20 (peeled and chopped fine)

Preparation method:-
In mixer grind little rice along with coriander seed, cumin seed, chili, required water (don't add too much water) to coarse paste (like rava).
For detail refer adai making
Likewise grind the soaked dal's and mix with ground rice mixture. We have to be careful while grinding the dal else it will become like a paste.

Now in a kadai heat oil and add mustard seed. Once it splutters add urad dal and roast till golden brown.
Add asafoetida, chopped small onion, curry leaves and fry till onion is cooked.
Add the garnishing ingredients to ground rice & dal mixture along with required amount of salt.
Mix all the ingredients well.  
Take required amount of adai flour, add required amount of water, add the moringa leaves as you like (some might like large amount some like just few leaves) to make adai in tawa.

Use this adai flour (mavu) and make adai in heated tawa. You can use sesame oil or coconut oil to cook adai.

It will be soft to eat. Goes well with coconut chutney.

Sigappu Ponnangani keerai Kootu (Dwarf Copperleaf, Sessile Joyweed leaf gravy)

Sigappu Ponnangani keerai Kootu  (Dwarf Copperleaf, Sessile Joyweed leaf gravy) - preparation time 20 mins 

This green contains cooling properties and rich source of vitamins and minerals. Can be consumed as soup, curry or kootu. Any greens should not be cooked for long time because it will loose its medicinal properties and nutrients. So take care while cooking greens.

Ingredients:-
Sigappu ponnangani keerai - 1 bunch (wash, remove the root. chop the leaves)  
Turmeric - ¼ tsp
Sambar powder - 1 and 1/4 tsp (As vendaya keerai is slightly bitter, more sambhar powder when compared to other keerai varieties)
Salt - to taste
Water - 1 or 1 ½ cup water (till the greens get immersed)
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp and Urad  dhal - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1/4 tsp
Pepper- 10 
Toor dhal (Thuvaram paruppu) - one cup (pressure cooked).
Grated and grind coconut - 3 tbsp along with cumin and pepper
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Preparation method:-
Boil water with turmeric, sambhar powder and salt. When water boils add chopped ponnangani keerai and cook till the greens are tender/cooked. It will take only few mins to cook.

Add cooked dhal to greens and boil.

Add coconut, cumin seed, black pepper to mixer and grind to coarse paste with little water and add to the kootu. Switch off the flame.

In a tawa urad dhal (turns golden brown), cumin seed (jeera will splutter)or if you have thalikkum vadagam (which contains jeera, urad dhal, onion, mustard, castor oil, etc) it can be used.

Add the garnish to kootu.

Finally add roasted cummin powder to kootu and serve.
Mix this healthy sigappu ponnangani keerai kootu to rice along with a tsp of ghee and some spicy bitter gourd dry curry or potato poriyal or even a roasted pappad is enough as a side dish.

Quick gravy using bengal gram, onion and tomato(kadalai maavu,vengayam,thakkali kuruma)

Easy and quick gravy using bengal gram, onion and tomato (kadalai maavu, vengayam , thakkali kuruma) - Prepartion time 15 mins

One day i decided to make chapathi very late. I prepared the dough for chapathi and kept but didn't thought of any sidedish. It was already late and dinner time so searched in net for making any quick side dish for chapathi found few with bengal gram it was quick and easy to make. My husband might question if i do the same procedure because it will be like gravy (moor kuzhambhu) which we used to prepare for rice.

I got some ideas and tried making the side dish in my way. Actually it tasted good, easy to make with the ingredients which will be available i our home. My husband tasted and told that the side dish is really very good. The same input came when i served remaining people in home. 

Now it is your turn to try out and enjoy.

Ingredients:-
Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Tomato - 1/2 chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece sliced to thin strips
Garlic - 4 pods finely chopped)
Green chili - 1 or 2 according to your taste 
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp (take care we are adding green chili also)
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Bengal gram flour - 2 tbsp (mixed with 1 cup water to thin liquid without any lumps)
Salt - to taste
Saunf - 1/4 tsp
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander - 1 tbsp chopped

Preparation method:-
In a bowl mix the bengal gram flour, salt, red chili powder, saunf with a cup and half of water and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a kadai. Add mustard seed to splutter, urad dhal to become golden brown and cumin seed. 

Now the vegetables green chili, onion and fry for few minutes. When half cooked add little salt for onion to cook well. Add turmeric, chopped tomato to cooked onion and fry.

Add little water and cook the vegetable for few mins. Bring down the flame to low.

Finally add the bengal gram mixture to cooked onion, tomato mixture. Keep stirring else the flour will stick to the bottom.

Cook till the raw smell of the flour goes off. If the gravy becomes to thick you can add water and adjust to consistency of the gravy.
When cooked switch of the flame and transfer to serving bowl. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapathi or idli or dosa.
Tasty, easy and quick to make gravy.

Lemon, ginger and Jaggery syrup (Elumichai, inchi and vellam sarbath)

Lemon, ginger and Jaggery syrup (Preparation time 1 hour)

The lemon and ginger syrup can be made and stored in fridge for few days. 

Ingredients:-

Ginger - Juice 1 cup 

Lemon - Juice 1 cup

Jaggery syrup - 1 cup

Water - little to melt the jaggery

Salt - A pinch

Preparation method:-

Peel the skin of ginger (it is really bad for health). Chop to small cubes and grind to paste.

Filter the juice and leave for 1 hour so the white content in the juice will get settled in bottom.

Cut around 6 to 7 lemon and squeeze the juice from lemon.

Melt the jaggery with little water filter the dust from the jaggery syrup and boil till it become thick syrup.

To the syrup add the ginger juice and boil till it becomes slightly thick. After few mins add the juice   syrup and boil. Adjust the sweet content accordingly. 

Some like the ginger flavor or taste than lemon so add the juice according to your taste.

Leave the juice syrup to cool add pinch of salt mix well and transfer to a glass bottle a refrigerate.

You can mix 2 to 3 tbsp of syrup with a glass and water and serve chill. Good for health (dunno whether all kids like bcoz they may say it is like kashayam)

This juice contains health benefits of jaggery, ginger and lemon.

Pachai veerkadalai masala sundal (Fresh raw groundnut snack)

Pachai veerkadalai masala sundal (Fresh raw groundnut snack) - Preparation time 15 mins

I got some fresh big size groundnut from our regular fruit vendor. I peeled the skin and got the fresh raw groundnuts. When i saw the ground first i thought of making normal sundal which i changed later to masala sundal. I haven't tried masala sundal using fresh groundnuts before. 
When made it came of well. Only when you make it spicy it will be good because the groundnut will be sweet so to beat that it should be spicy.

Ingredients:-
Fresh raw groundnuts - 2 cup pressure cook with required water & salt for 3 whistle and in low flame for 5 mins.
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic pods - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Onion medium size - 2 (chopped to big pieces for grinding)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Fresh coriander - finely chopped.
Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Saunf - 1 tsp
Clove - 1

Preparation method:-

Pressure cook the peas as mentioned above. Remove the excess water and keep which can be used if required.

Grind the ingredients - onion, ginger, garlic, clove, saunf to coarse paste (might be like crushed soya chunks)

In a kadai heat oil. Add mustard seed, urad dhal, coarse paste, turmeric, red chili powder and sortae well.

Raw smell of the ingredients will go off and oil will separate.

Now add the boiled groundnuts mix gently. Check the spice and salt. At this stage you can adjust by adding salt and chili powder.

Add chopped fresh coriander and switch off the flame. 

This will be with sweet (because of fresh and boiled groundnut) and spicy treat for you.