What's cooking in

2008-10-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

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VINAYAKA CHAVITHY SHUBHAKASKSHALU

2008-09-04T00:58:00.001-04:00

SCHEZWAN CHICKEN

2008-08-17T17:04:00.001-04:00

To make this dish we need:

Boneless chicken cut into cubes.
1 Egg white.
1 spoon corn flour.
1 spoon all purpose flour.
Schezwan stir fry sauce.
Capcicum 1.
Green chillies 2-3.
coriander leaves.
Red food colour.
salt to taste.
Oil to fry.
Ginger small piece grated.
Garlic cloves sliced very fine.
Black pepper powder.
Tomoto ketchup 1/2 cup.

How to make this dish here is the the method,

First take the cubed chicken pieces and was them and drian them nicely , now add the food colour, salt, black pepper powder,all purpose flour ,corn flour, egg white and mix all these ingredients nicely with the chiken and leave it on the side for 1/2 hr.

After the chicken is marinated for 1/2hr deep fry the chicken in the oil untill golden brown.

After frying the whole chicken ,now take a another kadai and add some oil to it when the oil is warm add some curry leaves to the oil and then sliced capcicum and sliced green chillies, grated ginger and garlick and fry them all very light,now add the fried chicken to this and mix them all together ,now add the tomato ketchup,black pepper and schezwan sauce and mix the whole thing finely fry this for just 2-3 mnts and remove from the stove, change them to the serving dish and garnish the chicken with fresh coriander and serve as a starter to ur family and enjoy the dish.

2008-03-27T16:10:00.003-04:00

CRISPY CHICKEN AND CHEESE

Ingredients

Boneless chicken breasts,½ inch cubes 2
Cheese, ½ inch cubes
200 grams
Garlic, chopped 4-5 cloves
Salt to taste
Black peppercorns, crushed 4-5
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon
Lemon juice 2 teaspoons
Egg, beaten 1
Tomato ketchup 1 tablespoon
Breadcrumbs 1 cup
Oil to deep fry

For sauce

Mayonnaise 6 tablespoons
Tomato ketchup 3 tablespoons

METHOD

1. Put the chicken cubes in a bowl. Add garlic, salt, crushed peppercorns, coriander leaves, lemon juice, egg and tomato ketchup. Let them marinate for half an hour.
2. Place the breadcrumbs in a plate.
3. Take toothpicks and string two chicken cubes on each with a cheese cube between them.
4. Roll them in the breadcrumbs so that they are well covered all around. Dip them in the remaining marinade and once more roll them in the breadcrumbs to double coat. Press lightly so that the breadcrumbs stick firmly.
5. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai till hot. Slide the chicken and cheese fingers and deep fry till golden and crisp.
6. Drain and place on an absorbent paper.
7. To make the sauce mix mayonnaise and tomato ketchup in a bowl.
8. Arrange the chicken and cheese fingers on a serving plate, garnish with a sprig of parsley and serve hot with the sauce.

This receipe is from sanjeev kapoor's khana kazaana I tried it its very simple and kids fav snacks.

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T01:47:00.000-05:00

We Wish all my fellow bloggers A very Happy New Year

HAPPY THANKS GIVING BLOGGER FRIENDS

2006-11-23T23:48:00.000-05:00

THANKS GIVING DINNER

2006-11-23T23:44:00.000-05:00

MEATBALL CURRY

2006-11-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

This recipe is dedicated to all my fellow bloggers who give me support and encourage me to keep up my passion for cooking.This is my way to say thanks to my friends:).

Here is the recipe:

we need:

2 lb ground lamb(we can even use chicken,beef,turkey).
2 small onion diced very fine.
1 green chilli finely diced.
few coriander leaves diced fine.
1 tspn of red chilli powder.
salt to taste.
1 tspn of ginger garlic paste.
1/2 cup coconut milk.
2 tspn tomato paste.
1 tspn garam masala powder.
oil.

Before we make the curry lets make the meat balls ready, For that we need to take a bowl and add the ground lamb and mash it finely using ur hands, now add pinch of salt,pinch of chilli powder,pinch of garam masala powder,1/4 tspn of ginger/garlic paste,few finely diced onion and coriander leaves,Now mix all these ingredients together and make lemon size balls.Now its the main part of these meatballs, I steam them before I make the curry to keep the meatballs perfect,Steam the meatballs for around 7 to 10 minutes.Now they are ready.

For the gravy:

Take a deep fry pan and add oil to it and warm it.When the oil is warm enough add the rest of the diced onion and diced green chilli and fry untill tender,Now add red chilli powder,salt,garam masala powder, ginger/garlic paste and fry for few minutes.Now add tomato paste and coconut milk and mix altogether well and add water according to the thickness we need for the gravy,allow to come to a boil and then add the steamed meat balls and cook until the gravy gets thick.

The meat ball curry is ready to serve with peas pulao or some rice cooked

Moving to a new place

2006-09-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends,these days I have been neglecting my blog ,but I could not help it as I have been packing. We are moving to a new place this saturday, these are few of the recipes that are going to be showed up as soon as I unpack my things,so here I am on a break for few days will see u all soon in my new kitchen.

CORNMEAL BHATH

2006-09-21T13:25:00.000-04:00

Finally I am back with the recipe:

INGREDEINTS:

2 cups dry roasted corn meal(dry roast the corn meal in a saute pan).
4 cups water.
1 sliced onion.
1/2 cup green peas ( we usually use mixed vegge).
4-5 sliced green peppers.
1/2" ginger diced.
1/2 spn mustard seeds.
few curry leaves.
oil to fry.
salt to taste.
2 tspns ghee.

1. Take a saute pan and heat oil&ghee (BY adding ghee and oil together the flavour of the bhath will be good),when the oil is warm,add mustard seeds and allow to sprakle,later add curry leaves.

2. After adding the curry leaves add the sliced ginger and fry till light golden,later add sliced onion and sliced green chillies and fry for few mnts.Now time to add some vegge's, When vegge's are half cooked add water and salt and allow the water to boil nicely.

3. When the water is boiled add the roasted corn meal slowly and mix well,allow the corn meal to cook,when it is cooked remove from the stove and serve hot with any kind of chutney or chicken curry the taste is awesome and its healthy value is also the same.

DIKSHA'S BIRTHDAY BLASH

2006-09-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

VASUKESH AND DIKSHA

VASUKESH HELPING HER CUTTING THE CAKE

BROTHER FEEDING THE CAKE
Party snaps from the school
Do I look tired no away I want to go jump and play with these friends of mine,I have two best friends in my class,suprisingly their birthday was also on the same day, We had great fun.
Thank u one and all for ur blessings.

PANEER BURFI

2006-08-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

Here I am back after a break with something related to milk as we all know milk is the theme selected by VINEELAS for the event JFI#5.

We need these items
************
2 pounds Paneer
1 can Milkmaid
3 tspns Sugar
Few strands of
Saffron
Pinch of Ilachi
Powder

PROCESS OF MAKING THIS BURFI

1.If u want to make home made paneer here is the recipe INDIRA.I have used the store brought ready paneer,To make it smooth I grated the paneer in the food processor for few seconds.

2.Now take a nonstick deep pan and warm it up,when the pan is warm enough fry the grated paneer until it turn its colour to slight golden while frying the paneer we should be stiring the paneer with spatula other wise it will burn very fast.

3.When the paneer turns its colour add milk maid to it and mix well,If u want more sweet add some sugar to it at this time.Add the saffron and Ilachi powder and mix all these ingredients well and keep frying.

4.Keep frying the paneer mix till it turn to leaves its edges and ready to form a Burfi,After its ready turn off the stove and set it aside,meanwhile take a plated and apply some ghee to it and pour the paneer mix to the greased plate,Allow it to cool for few seconds and cut it into what ever shape u prefer.

5.We can decorate this dish with some pista grated. The Paneer Burfi is ready to serve.

A SALUATE TO MY MOTHERLAND

2006-08-14T07:58:00.000-04:00

click here for NATIONAL ANTHEM

Vijayi vishwa tiranga pyaara
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humara
Sadaa shakti sarsaane waala,
Prem sudha barsaane waala,
Veero ko harshaane waala,

Maatru bhoomi ka tan-man saara,
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humara.

Swatantra ke bheeshan run mein,
Lakhkar josh badhein
kshan-kshan mein,
Kaape shatru dekh kar man mein,

Mit jaye bhay sankat saara
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humaara.

Is zande ke neeche nirbhay,
Rahei(n) swaadheen
hum avichal nishchay.
Bolo Bhaarat maata ki jay.

Swatantrata ho dhyey humara
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humaara.

Aao, pyaare veero! Aao;
Desh- dharm par bali-bali jao
Ek saath sab mil kar gaao,

“Pyaara Bhaarat desh humaara,
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humaara.

Iski shaan na jaane paaye,
Chaahei(n) jaan bhale hi jaye,
Vishwa vijay karke dikhlaaye,

Tab hove praan poorna humaara
Jhanda uncha rahei(n) humaara,
Vijayi vishwa tiranga pyaara.”

The recipe for the FOOD PARADE conducted byINDIRA is Royala kurra.This recipe is originaly from my home town vijayawada,As we all know this city is famous for Durga temple, The cusine of this city is vast its famous for its pickles like Mamidikaaya,Gongura,Allum,Chicken,Fish,Royalu etc... The famous company which is well known for pickles all over the world PRIYA was born from this city. I would not bore u all telling more about my city.

As a tribute to my motherland I am here sharing the recipe of my grand mother which has been passed to us as a gift:)Here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 LB Cocktail Shrimp(Royallu).
2 medium onions sliced.
2 sliced green chillies.
oil.
1/4 tspn mustard seeds.
few curry leaves.
fresh coriander to garnish.

For the Masala:
1 cup fresh grated coconut.
1tblspn poppy seeds(khuskhus/gasagasalu/gasagase).
1 tspn garam masala.
10 cashews powdered.
1 tspn red chilli powder.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
salt to taste.

First grind all the masala ingredients into fine paste and set it aside.Later take a fry pan and heat the oil,when the oil gets warm enough add mustard seeds and allow them to crack,now add curry leaves,sliced onion,sliced green chilli and fry them till half cooked.

Now when the onions are half cooked add the masala paste which we have grinded and let it cook till the pan starts leaving the oil.When the oil starts leving the edges drop the cleaned shrimp and fry for few seconds later add enough water to make it a good gravy and let it cook until the shrimp are well cooked with the masala.Now ur Royala Kurra is ready to transfer to a serving bowl.Granish it with fresh coriander and serve with fried rice or naan, If u taste once u will never forget the taste of it I assure u that:)

Mini Hot Dogs

2006-08-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

I always have problem making something special for the details,as we all know kids always look for something different ,I am a fan of Food network I watch regurlary sandalees quick and easy meals, here is one of her innovative idea which I gave a try and it was a super hit.My kids started asking me to make them everyday for their breakfast:)

To make this its very easy and healthy for the kids too.

We need:

1 pack biscuite dough which is avaliable in an american grocery stores.
1/2 pack of smoked Turkey/chicken sausages.
1 cup of sherded cheese.

Method:

Pre heat the oven on 350dg meanwhile take the dough out and make it into equal lemon size balls and press each ball into flat like shape and rool them with sherded cheese and arrage a sausage in between the dought and give a shape like its shown in this picture and arrage all in the baking tray.

Now time to take the tray and place it thw hot oven and bake it for 10 to 15 mnts,After 10 mnt have a look at the dogs if they are ready to remove ,take them out of the oven and let them rest for a few seconds.When they come out of the oven they look like this.

Serve them to the kids with a glass of juice or a cup of milk on the side and look at their glowing faces while having them.This can be served as a snack for kids birthday parties,Here is how my daughter likes to have them.

As my daughter birthday is arriving I would like my fellow blogger friends to suggest me some kids fav snacks.I have few more which I liked from the food network shows and I have tried them I will be sharing those shortly.

RAKSHABANDAN CELEBRATION

2006-08-09T12:57:00.000-04:00

Here are few shots of Rakhi celebration at my house

Chanagapappu Gongura/Sorrel Channa Dhaal

2006-08-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Here is my entry for Lg GBPS.After seeing the beautiful gardens from my fellow bloggers I could not stop myself from growing veggies in the contianer in my small patio corner,Its some thing lovely expeirence one can not express himself seeing the fresh flowers or veggies that comes out after ur hard work.

As my veggies are not yet ready, I would like to share my younger brothers garden, He does this summer project every year,This beauty shows the hard work he and his wife contributed for this lovely garden, He grows sorrel/Gongura,chilli,tomato,lemon cucumber,Brinjal,squash,Bendi,Totakoora,curry leaves, the list keeps on going like this.

Here are few snaps of his beautiful back yard veggie garden,These are the veggies that came out of his garden arent they fresh and looks like eating them as it is:)

Finally here is main ingredient I used from his garden for this project, Sorrel/Gongura is the leafy veggie we rarely get outside INDIA, In Andhra Gongura is also known as Andhra Maata(Mother of Andhra Food).Today I would like to share Channaga pappu gongura.

Here is the recipe for Channagapapu Gongura:

Ingredients:

2 Cups Chanaga pappu/Chana Dhal/slit chick peas.
1lb sorrel/gongura leaves sliced finely.
1 small onion sliced.
2 green chillies sliced.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
1/2 tspn red chilli powder.
salt to taste.

For Tempering:

oil.
curry leaves.
1/2 tspn mustard seeds.
pinch of Hing.
pinch of mustard powder.
1 clove garlic crushed.
Fresh coriander to garnish.

Method:

First soak the chana dhal for a hr and, later take the pressure cooker add channa dhaal, finely chopped gongura/sorrel leaves,sliced onion,sliced green chilli,salt,turmeric,red chilli powder and add some water to it and cook until 3 to 4 whitles. If ur cooker has no whitle system dont worry u can cook for 25 to 30 mnts.

Remove the pressure cooker lid and change the dhaal into the serving dish, meanwhile prepare the tempering for the dhal. To temper take a saute pan and heat it up add some oil to the pan,when the oil is warm enough add rest of the ingredients like mustard seeds,hing whole red chilli,curry leaves,mustard powder, garlic and roasted them until the aroma comes out finally add the hot sizzling tempering to the dhal and serve it.

This dhal goes well with hot steaming rice or pulka, paratha.

NETHI ARISELU

2006-07-30T01:40:00.000-04:00

This is another traditional dish that is made during festival times for sure this dish is made during makara sankranti as it is the right time for the new harvest for the farmers we have new rice and jaggery they make this dish and store for the spl guests:) As varalakshmi puja is arriving and the festiv season is almost on its way more dishes will be cooked in indian kitchen.

Making this dish I recollected some beautiful child hood memories as kids we kids use to go grandparents house for each and every festival and their would be a big family gatherings.we kids use to enjoy playing and eating all those nice dishes prepared by grandma. I remember when ever Ariselu are prepared the servant was given instrutions to wakeup early at 5am to blend the rice flour as soon as the flour is ready grand use to sit front of the stove and make ariselu and grand pa use to help her press the ariselu after they are cooked to remove the excess ghee from it:)it was a dream that we cant forget those sweet memories of our life.

I wanted to come up with some spl dish of Andhra for this event of flour hosted by
Santhi for this month.So here is the dish what I came up with.

Ingredients:

1 kg rice.
3/4 kg jaggery (grated)/sugar.
2 tb sps of sesame seeds/1 cup cubed and shaloow fried coconut pieces.
Oil/ghee to fry.

Method:

First wash rice and soak it overnight and in the morning remove water completely (spread on a cloth for a few minutes to make sure that the rice is dry).Then make a fine powder of it in a blender (sieve if necessary) and set aside. The flour should be slightly damp.

Secondly add one cup of water to the grated jaggery/sugar and heat it in a pan till it melts. Heat it on low flame till it becomes thick syrup (a drop of the syrup dropped in a spoon of water should make noise and become lumpy and not melt).

When the syrup is ready add the rice flour to it slowly and stir well.If u would like to add coconut slices,fry the coconut slices in some ghee and mix to the flour when u mix the flour in the syrup. Remove flame and make sure that no lumps are formed. When the mixed flour becomes slightly cool make big lime size balls of it.

Heat oil in a thick bottom pan/wok. Pat each ball into a thin, round and flat disc on a banana leaf/plastic sheet or a foil sheet and dab it with a few sesame seeds. Fry each one in oil on low flame till deep brown and remove.

After they turn golden brown place it between two flat ladles and press to remove the excess oil/ghee. Repeat the procedure till the dough is over. When cool store them. They last for more than one month if we make them in right way and store it properly.

ALLUM VANKAYA ONION PACHADI

2006-07-27T23:42:00.000-04:00

Busy Busy days are about to go:)I had not much time to spend on my blog for all these days due to my kids vacation they always keep me busy.Now its my time to keep myself busy:)Thanks to all of u for ur concern.

My family has craving for roti pachalu everyday as part of the menu for lunch or dinner.Roti means stone grinder which is alvailable in India these pachadi,s are not finely grind like paste these are little bit crunchy type of chutney.

Here is one of the pachadi I made today for Dinner.

Allum Vankaya with onion Pachadi:

For this pachadi we need:

Vankaya(Brinjal) sliced into big pieces.
6-7 green chillies.
1 inch piece ginger.
2 garlic cloves.
small lemon size tamarind(Imli).
1/4 tspn cumin seeds.
1/2 sliced red onion.
salt to taste.
oil to fry.
Fresh corinader.

Method:

First cut the Brinjal into big size pieces and leave them in salt water.

Take a saute pan and add 1 tblspn oil to it and heat up.When the oil is warm add green chillies, and cut brinjal pieces and fry till half cooked.

Now take a food processor and add the fried brinjal, chillies,ginger,salt ,cumin,tamrind and grind them all together.

Lastly add the sliced onion pieces and freshly chopped coriander to the brinjal mixture and mix well.

Now the pachadi is ready to have with hot steaming rice with some melted butter(ghee).

Kodigudu mullakaaya pulusu/Egg with drumstick tangy curry

2006-07-20T23:54:00.000-04:00

Here is one of the variety of cooking egg curry.This goes well with sudda pappu(toordhall cooked plain).

Ingredients:

4 boiled eggs.
2 sliced onion.
2 sliced green chilli.
1 sliced tomato.
4-6 drumstick pieces.
2tblspn tamrind pulp.
1/4 tspn red chilli powder.
1/10 tspn turmeric powder.
1 tspn sugar.
salt to taste.

For tempering:
oil.
mustard seeds.
curry leaves.
pinch of asafeotida.

METHOD:

1.Take a sauce pan and heat the oil in it,when the oil is warm enough to temper add mustard seeds and allow to crack,later add hing and curry leaves.

2.After ur tempering is ready add the sliced onion and sliced green chilli and fry till golden brown.later add the sliced tomato and allow to cook for 1mnt.

3. In between take a lemon size tamrind and soak in warm water and take out the pulp out of it and add the pulp to the onion mixture.

4.After adding the tamrind pulp, add rest of the spices to the gravy mix like red chilli powder,salt,turmeric,sugar and mix well.

5.Now its time to add the drumstick slices to the gravy and allow to cook until the drumsticks are cooked well.

6.Now its time to add the main part of this curry the eggs.peel the boiled eggs and give the eggs a slight cuts and add the eggs to cooking tangy gravy and let it cook for a minute.

Now the egg pulusu is ready to serve.This sweet tangy spicy egg pulusu is my fav curry.I hope u too will love this dish.

Masala Peanuts

2006-07-07T15:33:00.000-04:00

These peanuts are sold all over south India at the street side moving stall vendors or some sweet stalls also sell these peanuts. In cities where we find beaches like Madras,vizag and many more cities when ever we go to beach we find people carrying small cane baskets selling peanuts and batani...etc .Here we miss all those little things in life.

I as a child when ever I have chance to go to market with my mom or ammama I used to butter them to buy me some snack from the street side bandees, my mom used to always say those are not hygenic to u so stay away from those vendors, but ammama used to buy them and hide them from mom to give us those precious snacks. Now I miss all those sweet things we did in our child hood.

Here is the recipe for this snack:

Ingredients:
1 lb/kg raw peanuts.
2 tblsp besan/channaga pindi/chickpea floor.
1/2 tspn red chilli powder.
salt to taste.
2 garlic cloved crushed very fine(if not u can even use garlic powder)
oil to deep fry

Method:

First soak the peanuts for 1hr in water,after 1hr drain the water from the peanuts and keep the peanuts aside.

Masala for the peanuts:
2 tblsp besan/channaga pindi/chickpea floor.
1/2 tspn red chilli powder.
salt to taste.
2 garlic cloved crushed very fine(if not u can even use garlic powder)

Mix these above ingredients(all dry ingredients only dont mix any water)and coat them to the soaked peanuts,just sprinkle the mixed masala to the wet peanuts and shake the bowl so that all the masala is coated to the peanuts equally.

Meanwhile take deep fry pan and add oil to it and heat the oil, when the oil is warm enough to deep fry the peanuts add the masala coated peanuts and fry till crisp when the peanuts are crispy remove from the oil and drain it on a tissue to remove any excess oil and later stove it in a air tight container.

These snack is good while watching ur fav movie with the family or its good for picnics.

PURNAALU/CHANNADHAAL BONDA

2006-06-30T11:11:00.000-04:00

This is a traditional sweet dish served during festivals,My kids love this sweet dish when ever they visit India the one thing they ask my mom to prepare is this sweet dish.This is very easy to prepare and its good for health also.

Here comes the recipe for this:

Ingredients for inner stuffing:

2 cups channa dhaal/chickpea dhall.
21/2 cup jaggery grated.
1/4 tspn of Ilachi powder.
4-5 cups oil to deep fry.

For the outer layer we need:

1 cup urad/minappa papu dhaal.
2 cups rice.
1 tspn salt.

Method:

First soak the urad/minapa papu and rice together 4-5 hrs and after its well soaked grind them together in a blender and make a fine batter, the batter should be like dosa batter consistency. Add salt to the urad batter and keep aside.

Now boil the channa dhaal/channaga papu in the presure cooker,later when the dhaal is cooked drain the water and add jaggery to it and cook again mixiing both channa dhaal and jaggery together.We have to cook this until its well cooked and its ready to form balls.(the dhall mixer should not be watery we should see that its dry enough to make good shape balls,If its watery we can give a good shape as well as when we fry them they splitter in the oil and makes a whole mess).When the dhaal is ready to make the balls take a lemon size dhaal mixture and make balls and keep them for 15 mnts in the fridge( this way the balls will become little stiff and it will be easy to dip them in the urad batter and fry and they dont observe more oil).

Now here comes the final part of cooking this dish.

Take the deep fry pan and heat the oil,when the oil is warm enough dip the channa/jaggery balls into the urad dhaal batter and drop them in the warm oil one by one and deep fry them till golden brown.When they are fried remove from the fry pan and serve them hot with few drops of ghee. and enjoy the dish:)

This traditional dish of andhra is my contribution for
Sailus JFI Event for dhaal for this month.

TAG WORLD CONFESSIONS

2006-06-24T00:50:00.000-04:00

Thank you SUDHA'S SAMAYAL for tagging my for this meme.

Here comes the List:

5 ITEMS FROM MY FREEZER:

pickles from India
frozen veggies(corn,mixveggies)
Ice cream
home made popsiclus for kids
dry fruits brought from india

5 ITEMS FROM MY CLOSET:

Uptodate sarees/salwar suits
Jeweleries
Diksha's indian dresses
A rack with full of cooking books and telugu novels
Bobby's& hubby's outer wares

5 ITEMS FROM MY CAR:

Music cd's of some latest telugu/hindi songs
Tissue box
Toys
Story books
US/CANADA city maps

5 ITEMS FROM MY PURSE:

Credit/Debit cards
Health cards
Canadian citizen card
Shopping cupons
Cash

I would like to tag all those who have not been tagged for this meme.

Vankaaya Masala

2006-06-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

This dish is from rayalaseema part of Andhra , they make this dish for spl occasions like festivals.The combination of Lemon rice with bengan masala its yummy. Its my all time fav food,This dish I had first time in my friends place her mom makes so good I have no words to express. The lemon rice which is served with the masala bengan is not the one we all generally make ,this is siletly diff from the original one.

TO make this lemon rice we need:

2 cups cooked plain rice.
3-4 green chillies chrushed almost to a paste.
1/2 tspn mustard seeds.
1/2 tspn bengal gram dhaal(chanaga pappu).
pinch of hing.
pinch of turmeric powder.
salt to taste.
curry leaves.
1 tbspn oil.
very light lemon juice 2tspns.

Make a seasoning of all the ingredients except rice and mix well with the rice.

Now here is the main dish vankaaya masala.

Ingredients:

1 pound brinjals sliced into 2 inch pcs.
2 small onion sliced.
2 tomatos sliced.
1 potato sliced.
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut.
1 tspn garam masala powder.
1 tspn red chilli powder.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
1 tspn mixed mustard/jeera/menthi
salt to taste.
2 crushed garlic.
curry leaves.
oil to cook.
fresh coriander to garnish.

Method:

Take a sauce pan and heat the oil when the oil is warm enough add the mustard/jeera/methi and wait till the crack,later add curry leaves. Now we can add the sliced onion and fry till light golden brown.Then add brinjal sliced and add salt (when ever we cook brinjal,its good to add salt as soon as we add the brinjals to the saute pan,this way we can prevent the brinjals from getting black)wait till the brinjals are half cooked later add tomato's sliced and potato sliced pcs and cook for a few mnts.Now its time to add the rest of the masala the fresh grated coconut,red chillie powder,turmeric powder,crushed garlic,garam masala,and fry well till the aroma comes out add little water to make it gravy. when its cooked remove and change to the serving container and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

This dish goes well with any kind of rice items or roti,kulcha,parathas.

10 Things I miss my families cooking meme

2006-06-18T01:49:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Vineela and Sudha for tagging me for this great meme.When we remember amma the first thing we miss is amma chethi mudda,Now I am mother of 2 kids but even now I feel like I am small baby when I see my mom.I am proud to share about four great ladies in my life who are excellent cooks in this world.

The First lady is my great grand mom(grandma's mom).

I miss her sudda pappu with kodiguddu pulusu she cooks this lentil in a clay pot not on the stove top she use to cook the dhaal on the charcoal stove(bhoggula kumpati), the taste I cant forget till today.
I miss her gongura pachadi.
I miss her sweet bonda which she use to prepare with ragi flour and jaggrey.

The second lady is my grandma/ammama.

I miss her minappa garellu/urad dhaal wada and fresh coconut pachadi,chekkalu,chakodeelu,punugulu..............
She makes the best sweets the list of sweets are so many.
I miss her wadiyala pulusu,vullava charu,pappu charu........

The Third is my mom who has been trained under the first two great cooks.

I miss her spuzzy Idlis and peanut chutney, pesarattu upma.
she makes the best krispy paper dosa,mutton biryani,kobari annam,bhisi bhele bhat, vangi bhaat,cakes.
I miss her pickles like mutton pickle,mamidikaay pachadi,chintakaaya pachadi...........

The Fourth lady is my mother-in-law.

I miss her rotti pachallu like vankaya dosakaaya,pachi meerapa kaaya .
I miss her chicken curry,fish pulusu.
I miss her pala kovva/coconut ladoos covered with sugar syrup.

If I keep on telling their is a huge list going on . I try to copy their cooking style but till today I cant beat them.Hope I can atleast become perfect like them when I prepare this dishes to my grand kids:).

I would like to tag Santhi Sailus arjuna

My little Garden

2006-06-13T13:35:00.000-04:00

Here is my small garden corner,It has moggra/mallepuvullu, kanakambaram, madara,gullabi,bhanthi,karivepaku,menthi kura.I have passion for gardening due to no much space as I stay in an apartment I use my patio corner for my gardening. I wanted to share with all my friends.

Menthi Kurra close up
Menthi Kurra
Karivepakku/Curry leaf
My garden corner
Bhanthi
Kanakambaram
Kanakambaram/Crossandra/Firecracker Flower
Diksha asks for orange flowers every day
Garden view
My gardens first rose of this year

HARYALLI MURGH/CHICKEN IN GREEN GRAVY

2006-06-06T00:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry friends I have problem with my system it had virous so it took me some time to fix the system at last I am back to my work their are ton's of dishes on my desk to post here is one of them.

As my kids love to eat chicken everyday in their meal. If I try to convince my daughter having chicken everyday is not good, she says ammama told me to eat healthy food and I will become a doctor, by hearing her cute words I could not stop myself cooking her fav dish for her. But she does not like to eat the same way all the time she says amma something new, I have to try something always, I can tell u they are tone's of varieties of chicken dishes from Indian cusine, here is one of them.

This dish is known as haryalli chicken or some people serve it as chilli chicken too.

Ingredients;
2 LB Chicken sliced.
2 red onion sliced.
1 bunch of fresh coriander.
10-15 mint leaves.
1tspn coscus seeds/gasagasalu/poppyseeds.
2tspns fresh grated coconut.
10 to 15 green chillies.(or reduce according to ur taste)
1 taspn ginger garlic paste.
1 tspn garam masala powder.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
salt to taste.
oil.
few curry leaves.
1 bay leaf.

Before we start making this they are few things we should prepare first.we have to make a paste of ingredients to marinate the chikcen .

to make the marinate make a paste of:
coriander leaves.
mint leaves.
grated coconut.
poppy seeds.
green chillies.
ginger/garlic.
blend all these ingredients together to make a fine paste, later add some salt and turmeric powder to this paste and marinate the chicken with this paste. and set it aside for a hour.

Now time to cook this haryalli chicken.
Take a sauce pan and add oil and heat up , later add bay leaf and curry leaves and fry for a second. Now add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown,later add the marinated chicken and fry well until the chicken leaves its fat.when the chicken starts leaving oil add enough water to make the perfect gravy u want.lastly add garam masala powder and cook for few minutes and remove from the stove and arrange it into the serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander.

This is a very simple dish.we can serve this dish with hot parathas, or any kind of friend rice items or plain rice.This dish is well known in rayalaseema part of andhra they call this dish as pacha chicken kurra(green chicken curry).As this is totally cooken with green chillies thats why they call it by this name.Hope u all will like this dish.

chikudukaaya veppudu/Indian broad bean fry

2006-06-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

This is one my fav veggie I can eat this veggie cooked in any way,This is a simple traditional way of cooking Indian broad bean known as chikkudu kaaya in Telugu.Its available in most of the Indian grocesry stores sometime in chinese stores also.

plate contains rice with pachimerapakaaya pappu,chikudukaaya veppudu,and ura mirapakayalu fried.

Ingredeints:

Sliced Indian Beana/Chikudukaayalu 1 lb
1 clove garlic crushed.
1/2 tspn salt.
1/2 tspn red chilli powder.

For tempering:
1tbspn oil.
1/4 tspn mustard seeds.
1 tspn channa dhaal(split chick peas).
4-5 curry leaves.
1 whole red chillies.
pinch of hing(asafoetida).

Method:

First take a sauce pan and add enough water and salt and boil the chikudukaaya pieces. When the beans are half boiled remove and drain the water and set the beans on the side later.
Take a fry pan and heat the pan adding oil to it, when the oil gets warm, add mustard seeds and wait this they start cracking then add channa dhall and fry till light golden brown . later add red whole chilli split into two pieces, curry leaves, hing and fry for a second. Now add the boiled beans and fry for few minutes.later add salt,chilli powder and mix well, fry till the beans is cooked till tender, lastly add crushed garlic cloves and fry for a second. and remove from the stove.

This can be served with rotis, and rice as a side dish, its hightly protein contained dish.

Vermicelli Veg Biryani

2006-05-23T13:07:00.000-04:00

In India we use vermicelli to make dishes like payasam,upma, pulihora,here is another one which is very good for brunch ,To know more about this VERMICELLI. Its very much liked by the kid's as it contains all mixed veggi's.

Here is the method how to prepare this dish:

Ingredients:

2 cups vermicelli.
1 cup mixed sliced vegge's(carrot,beans,corn,peas).
3 sliced green chilli's.
1 small onion sliced.
1/2 tspn ginger/garlic paste.
1/2 tspn garam masala powder.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
salt to taste.
1 cup water.
4-5 mint leaves.

For Seasoning:
Oil.
1/2 tspn cumin seeds(jeera/jeelakaara).
3-4 curry leaves.
bay leaf (optional).

Fresh coriander leaves to garnish.

METHOD:

Take a meduim sauce pan and heat up the oil. When the oil is warm enough add cumin seeds and let it crack later add bay leaf and curry leaves. Later add the onion and green chilli and fry till golden brown,Now add the sliced vegge's and let it cook for few seconds. Add turmeric powder,ginger/garlic paste,garam masala powder,salt to the cooking veggi's and mix well.Later add water and let the water come to boil. when the water is boiling add vermicelli to the boiling water and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.Now remove from the stove and let it cool for a minute.Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and few drops of lemon juice and serve it hot.

U can serve this with raita as a side dish.

Note: To make this dish look perfect after adding the vermicelli dont mix with the spoon that will hep u not to break the vermicelli,if u mix it till will become lumpy.

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN

2006-05-16T09:09:00.000-04:00

Another MEXICON fusion cooking from my kitchen, which was a great sucess. I would like to share with my fellow bloggers.

To make this dish we need:

1 whole chicken sliced.
2 onion sliced.
1 tspn ginger garlic paste.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
1 tspn garam masala powder.
oil.
fresh coriander to garnish.

Here is the main spice for this dish.

Chipotle sauce/jalapeno sauce:

2 tomatoes boiled.
1tspn red wine vinegar.
1/4 tspn sugar.
5-6 red chipotle peppers/jalapeno peppers.

grind all the above ingredients to make the chipotle sauce,Its readily available in any stores where mexican grocery is available .

METHOD:

First cut the whole chicken into 2 inch size pieces or as big as u like, wash the chicken slices well and marinade the chicken with ginger garlic paste, turmeric,salt,and few drops of oil and marinate it for 1/2 hr.Take a sauce pan and heat it, add oil to the sauce pan and warm the oil ,then add onion sliced and fry till light golden brown.
Next add the marinated chicken and fry for few seconds, when the chicken is half cooked add the chipotle sauce and enough water and cook well till tender.later add the garam masala powder and cook for few mintues.when the chicken is well cooked remove from the stove and set it in the serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

This is rich in colour, but mild in taste, if u like to make it more spicy u can add some red chilli powder to this dish.Generally kids growing in US are not much spicy eaters so this dish is perfect for them.

Chicken Mangeria/Mango Chicken

2006-05-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

This dish is original a Thai dish but I tried to belend it with Into Indian style,In Andhra we make Mango chicken but that is totally different from this version. Did u feel the name looks different this name for this dish was given by my kids. Hope u all will like it too. so here comes the recipe for chicken mangeria:)

TO prepare Chicken Mangeria we need:

1 pound/lb boneless chicken breast.
1 small onion sliced.
5-6 Mango slices(raw or we can also use the half ripe ones also).
1 bell pepper sliced (I did not add to this as my kids dont like it).
2-3 jalepeno peppers sliced.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
1/2 tspn ginger garlic paste.
1/4 tspn garam masala powder.
salt to taste.

For tadaka/teeragamotha/poppu/seasoning.

oil.
few curry leaves.
1/4 tspn cumin seeds.

fresh coriander leaves to garnish.

Method:

Slice the boneless chicken breast into 2 inch piecesand shallow fry them unti golden brown and keep aside.

Now take a fry pan and heat it up, when the pan is warm enough add oil to it, when the oil is warm add cumin seeds and let it start crcking later add curry leaves and fry for a second. Now add add sliced onion and sliced jalepeno peppers and fry for a while until they become soft(half cooked). When the onion/chillies are half cooked add bell peppers sliced, mango sliced pieces, ginger garlic paster, turmeric powder, salt, chicken fried pieces,and mix them all together and fry for a while.Now add water if u like ur curry to be gravy consistency and cook for a while at the end add garam masala powder and cook for few mnts. Remove from the stove and set the chicken in the serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

Here the chicken Mangeria is ready to eat. It very well goes with sizzling hot rice or rotis.

Aaritikaaya Wada/Raw Banana wada

2006-05-10T19:33:00.000-04:00

To make these yummy wadas we need:

Ingredients:
1 raw banana.
1 small onion sliced.
2 green chillies sliced.
1 tspn besan/chanaga pindi/chick pea flour.
1/2 tspn cumin seeds/ jeera/jeelakara.
fresh coriander leaves.
oil to fry.

Method:

First take the raw banana and slice it into 4 pieces and pressure cook it until its ready to be mashed like a potato. Take the boiled banana and mash it finely then add the sliced onion,sliced green chilli,besan,cumin seeds,salt and coriander leaves and mix all the ingredients well . If u feel the consistency is dry add little water to make the batter perfect to make the wadas.

Heat oil in a deep fry pan, when the oil is warm ur ready to fry the wadas. take the mashed banana in a lemon size ball in the wet hand and press them into flat wadas, drop them in the sizzling oil and fry till golden brown. Later remove from the oil and serve them with hot chilli sauce or ketchup.

Nuvvu Pappu Fry/Seasame fry

2006-05-03T23:43:00.000-04:00

I have come up this dish from a famous south Indian tv channel called Etv, In this channel everyday In the evening they host a show called Srimathi bagyasree, In this show they teach us a new dish, and they discuss about a new topic, some handworks, and they even show us simple games which we use to play in our child hood. I love to see this show as I get to learn so many things.

I try most of the dishes shown in this show, This dish has come out so yummy I could not stop myself from sharing with u all.

Ingredients:
1 cup seasame seeds.
1 onion sliced.
1 green chilli sliced.
salt to taste.
1/2 tspn chilli powder.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
2 gloves garlic.

For Tempering:

3 tbspn oil.
1/2 tspn mustard seeds.
pinch of hing.
1/2 tspn channa dhaal.
4-5 curry leaves.

Fresh coriander to garnish.

Method:

First before we start making the fry we have to soak the seasame seeds adding a cup of water to it in a bowl for 15 to 20 mnts, And later after 20 mnts make a fine paste of the soaked seasame seeds and set aside.

Take a fry pan add oil to it and let the oil warm up, later add mustard seeds and fry till the mustard starts cracking, then add channa dhaal, hing and curry leaves and fry till the channa dhaal turn lite golden.

Now add the sliced onion and green chilli to the tempering and fry till the onion turn light golden. Later add the seasame paste and fry slowly mixing all together till the water evaporates. and becomes completely dry , then add red chilli powder , turmeric, salt and mix well and let it fry slowly till the seasame leaves its aroma, last but not the least crush the garlic cloves and add that to the fry and let it fry for a second ( by adding garlic in the end the aroma of the garlic will give much more flavour to the fry).

Now take the dish to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander. This dish goes well with parathas, rice.

I had it with hot rice and some fresh desi ghee and seasame fry wow it was yummy, I hope u all will like it too.

Mamidikaaya Aavakaaya/Mango Pickle

2006-04-30T09:38:00.000-04:00

India is famous for its spices as we all know that, Indians are famous for making Pickles. During the Mango season all are busy making the Mango pickle is different styles from different states. In Andhra we call this pickle as Mamidikaaya Aavakaaya,In karnataka they call Maminikaaya uppinikaai,In north they call Aam Ka Achar, I would like to know what other states people call this pickle, if u could share with us that would be great. TO know more about this pickle see Andhra Aavakaaya .
Mango slices,salt,red chilli powder
Oil,turmeric powder,mustard powder,fenugreek powder
Mix all the Ingredients together

Ingredients:
4 cups sliced raw mango pieces.
1 cup salt.
1 cup red chilli powder(If u want to make it mild u can first add half cup and later u can add more to it.)
3/4 cup turmeric powder.
1/4 cup mustard powder.
1/4 cup fenugreek powder.
2 cups seasame oil.
10 garlic cloves crushed.

Method;

First wash the raw mangoes, well and wipe it nicely with a colth and let it dry for a minute. Meanwhile we can prepare the mustard powder and fenugreek powder, to make this powders we have dry roast the mustard and fenugreek seprately and grind them into fine powders. Now slice the mango into 2 inch slices and measure. Add this slices into a large bowl.

Now take the oil in a bowl and add the turmeric powder to the oil and mix well, later dip the mango slices into this oil mixture(by doing this the pickle will not spoil and it will stay for longer period). When ur done dipping the mango slices in the oil, now add chiili powder, salt,mustard powder, fenugreek powder and mix all together nicely later add the crushed garlic and remaining seasame oil and keep this aside remember not to use any wet containers or wet hands while making this pickle.

After mixing all the ingredients set this pickle aside covered in a safe place and let it marniate the pickle for 3 to four day so that the spice mixtures is well mixed with the mango slices. After 3-4 days mix the pickle nicely and taste it and check weather salt is correct or not if u feel its less add some more to it(If salt is not enough the pickle will get spoiled very soon so we should see that the salt is perfect in this pickle. Now store the pickle in a air tight glass jars or procliam container and store them. This pickle can be preserved for more than a year.

This recipe is my contribution for Indira's Jihva.

Mango Lassi/Mango Yogurt drink

2006-04-27T10:17:00.000-04:00

Another cool cool drink for the summer evenings to serve the dear one:). Its very easy and healthy for the kids. we can use fresh fruit or even canned mango pulp also tastes good.

Ingredients:

1 Cup ripe mango pulp.
3 cups plain yogurt.
1 cup water.
1/2 cup sugar.
1 tspn roasted cumin powder.
pinch of chat masala(optional).
ice cubes.
mint leaves to garnish.

To make the Roasted cumin powder, Take a fry pan and heat it, later when the pan is warn enough add the cumin to it and dry roast the cumin without adding any oil. When the cumins starts leaving the aroma remove from the stove and leave it aside for the cumin to get cold. Later when the cumin is cold enough grind the cumin to a fine powder. This powder can be used for raitas, chats, Dahi wada( north indian style) and can also use in gravy curries to add extra flour to the dish.

Method:

Take the blender jar pour the first four ingredients and run the blender till everything mixes well, later add the roasted cumin powder and run once again the blender for a second. Remove the lassi for the jar and serve it with ice cubes and mint leaves garnished. Enjoy the yummy taste of the mango lassi with ur family and friends.

Chat masala can also gives the lassi a different flavour if u want to give a try.

MANGO PUNCH

2006-04-26T00:32:00.000-04:00

Summer is on its way, when we think of summer we remember the hottest fruit of summer yummy Mango. In India we have the mangoes first on the day of Ugadi fest
We consume mangoes from that day in many different ways.

In Andhra we use raw mangoes for making Avvakaya, which is our most famous pickle there is no house that does not do this pickle. I have been watching my mom and grand mom since all these years to make this pickle they do all the hungamaJ. The Kids enjoy eating raw mangoes dipping the slices in the salt and pepper mixer. If we talk about mangoes we have a long list coming on so let stop it here.

As INDIRA started the JIHVA and she has decide this month’s topic about Mango. So I want to have this week as mango week. Here is the first posting on Mangoes.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Mango plup.
2 Cups Ginger-ale (Even Canada dry also can be used).
Pinch of cardamom powder for flour.
Ice cubes.
Mint leaves to garnish.

Method:

Take a large bowl, mix the first three ingredients and serve with ice cubes and garnish with mint.

PERUGU CHARU/SPICY YOGURT

2006-04-21T00:05:00.000-04:00

This dish is prepared during summer to cool the hot temperature. This dish is from coastal andhra the place I came from. May be other regions are also famous making this dish,If so I would like to know what they call this dish.

My grand mom and mom used to serve this every other day during summer even today they do this dish. I have changed their version a little. Here is my version for this dish. Its very simple not much to cook.

Here are the Ingredients used for this:

2 cups plain yogurt.
1 onion sliced.
salt to taste.

For tempering:
2 tblspn oil.
3-4 green chillie sliced very fine.
1/4cup peanuts(optional)
1/4 cup chana dhal(spilt chick peas).
1tspn mustard.
1/4 tspn turmeric powder.
curry leaves.
2 whole red chillies.
1/4 tspn hing ( asafeotida).
fresh coriander to granish.

How to make the tempering:

Take a saute pan and heat the oil, when the oil gets warm add whole red chillies and fry for a second, later add mustard seeds and allow the mustard to crack. Then add channa dhal and peanuts and fry till golden, later add turmeric powder, hing and curry leaves and fry. Last but not the least add the finely chopped green chillies and fry well. Add this mixture to the yogurt.
Take plain low fat yogurt in a bowl
In the yogurt bowl add sliced onions and salt
Now add the tempering mixture to the yogurt

After adding all these mix well and serve it with plain rice or u can serve this dish with rotis or even with any type of fried rice items. I even like to have this dish with minappa garelu(urad wada).

AVOCADO PACHADI/CHUTNEY

2006-04-17T00:29:00.000-04:00

Hi friends the guess work was good at last here is the recipe.I wanted to give my family ever day a AVACADO its very good for health , I wanted to try some thing like this and see how it turns I remembered my dad teasing my mom everyday saying u make pachadi out of everything is their any veegie or fruit left whith out making pachadi. I got inspired by his words and thought of making this. My family loved this dish. Hope even ur family will love it give a try and see.
Here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Small ripe Avacado's.
5-6 green chillies.
small lemon size tamarind.
salt to taste.
1/4 tspn cumin seeds(jeera).
1/2 cup yogurt(optional).

For tempering:

2 tspn oil.
1/4 mustard seeds.
1/4 tspn hing (asafeotida).
1/4 tspn turmeric powder(optional).
5-6 curry leaves.

Method:

Take a fry pan add few drops of oil and warm it and add green chillies and fry till chillies gets tender. cut the Avacado and remove the pulp from it . Take a blender add Avacado pulp, green chillies fried, salt, tamarind, cumin, U can even add some garlic cloves to it, I could not add garlic to it as I had a friend for lunch who never take garlic in her food. blend them nicely to a fine paste dont add too much water when u blend just a few drops if u want .

Take a fry pan add oil to make the tempering, when the oil gets warm add mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds starts cracking add hing, and curry leaves to it and fry for few seconds and add tempering to the avacado pachadi serve it with hot rice I even tried it on my sandwich as a spread.

MUSHROOM MAHARAJA/MAHARANI:)

2006-04-12T01:03:00.000-04:00

Like the name of this curry, the curry is rich in taste, I had this version of mushroom curry in a restaurant in Canada I could not stop myself from asking the cook for the recipe, And here is the result in front of u.Now in kids list this is one of their fav I don’t need to call them for dinner or lunch by the time I set my table I see them sitting like good kids. Like my kids I feel u all will enjoy this curry

INGREDEINTS:
Mushrooms 2 lb.
2 onions sliced and half fried.
1 tomato boiled.
2 tspn sea same seeds.
2-tspn kajju (cashews).
1 tspn ginger garlic paste.
½ tspn garam masala powder.
1 tspn red chilli powder.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
Salt to taste.
Curry leaves.
½ tspn shahjeera (it looks like jeera cumin family).
Oil.
Fresh coriander for garnish.
Before u start making the curry we have to get prepared with some grinding things here are they. First cut the onion and fry them using very little oil until half cooked to avoid the raw smell from onions. And by frying the onion before making the paste the curry will have rich gravy.

Secondly boil the tomato before u make the paste. When the onions are fried and tomato boiled u ready to grind the paste for the curry.

To make the paste we need fried onion, boiled tomato, seasame seeds, kajju, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt to taste, blend all these ingredients together and make a paste like this.

METHOD:
Here comes the final part of how to make this dish. First take a sauce pan and add 1 tblsn oil and warm it, when the oil starts sparkling then add shahjeera and when the shahjeera starts cracking add curry leaves and fry for a second, later add the paste which we made grinding all the ingredients and fry for a minute later add ginger garlic paste and fry nicely until the gravy leaves oil in the sides. When the gravy is finely cooked add the mushrooms (In this dish they use whole mushrooms as my kids like cut mushrooms I used sliced mushrooms) and mix well with the gravy and cook, when u add the mushrooms u can see how thick the gravy is, if u want to make it more gravy type add some water to it and let it cook well until the mushrooms are cooked. Later remove in the serving dish and garnish the dish with fresh coriander.

This dish goes well with fried rice, plain rice or roti, kulcha, Nan any type.

SREE RAMA NAVAMI SHUBHAKANKSHALU

2006-04-07T12:36:00.000-04:00

Sree Rama Navami Is one the festival that comes after Ugadi, As like other Festivals these Festival has a historic story. This Festival is celebrated in Andhra in a grant style during these days people gather together and arrange a marriage mandap which is called pandiri in telugu, we see all the glowing faces of people moving around and doing preparations for the grant wedding of Lord rama and Devi sita, In my place back home ever year a couple sits for the puja and perform this grand wedding. After the wedding they distribute the prasadam which will be panakam which is only made during this festival. As a tradition in every marriage function the girl’s family give this drink to welcome the boy’s family.

Here a small article on Sree Rama Navami:

Sri Rama was Lord Vishnu's seventh avatar (incarnation) on earth. Sri Rama was portrayed as being the ideal man, and his wife Sita, was the ideal woman. Sri Ramanavami is the birth of Sri Rama on this earth. This festival usually occurs between March or April in the Christian calendar. The festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Chaitra. In some parts of India, it is a nine-day festival, coinciding with the Vasanta Navaratri.
Ramnavami occurs in the month of March on the ninth day Chaitra Sukla Navami (the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra). Celebrations begin with a prayer to the Sun early in the morning. At midday, when Lord Rama is supposed to have been born, a special prayer is performed. In northern India especially, an event that draws popular participation is the Ramnavami procession. The main attraction in this procession is a decorated chariot in which four persons are dressed up as Rama, his brother Laxman, his queen Sita and his disciple Hanuman. The chariot is accompanied by several other persons dressed up in ancient costumes as work by Rama's solders. The procession is a holy affair with the participants shouting praises echoing the happy days of Rama's reign.
Surya - The Sun was recognised as the source of light and heat even in ancient times. Many royal dynasties potrayed symbols of virility like the Sun, Eagle, Lion etc. as their progenitor. Rama's dynasty considered themselves to have descended from the Sun. This could have led to the tagging on, of Rama's birthday to a festival devoted to the sun.
On the face of it Sri-Ramnavmi appears to be just a festival commemorating the reign of a king who was later deified. But even behind present-day traditions there are clues which unmistakably point to the origin of Ramnavmi as lying beyond the Ramayana story.
Sri Ramnavami occurs at the beginning of summer when the sun has started moving nearer to the northern hemisphere. The Sun is considered to be the progenitor of Rama's dynasty which is called the Sun dynasty (Raghukula or Raghuvamsa, Raghu means Sun and Kula or Vamsa mean familial descendant). Rama is also known as Raghunatha, Raghupati, Raghavendra etc. That all these names begin with the prefix Raghu is also suggestive of some link with Sun-worship. The syllable Ra is used in the word to describe the sun and brilliance in many languages. In Sanskrit, Ravi and Ravindra mean Sun. The hour chosen for the observance of the lord's birth is that when the sun is overhead and is at its maximum brilliance. In some Hindu sects, prayers on Ramnavami day start not with an invocation to Rama but to Surya (sun). People keep a fast throughout the day, breaking it only at midnight with fruit. Public gatherings called satsangs are organised to commemorate the birth of Rama. Excerpts from the Ramayana, extolling the glory of Rama and his holy marriage with Sita are recited. People of all castes and creeds participate in these gatherings to listen to the stories and their explanations offered by the learned. The ritual of Ramayana is concluded with prasadam of 'vada pappu' (soaked lentil) and panakam (sherbat made of jaggery dissolved in water to which pepper powder and cardamom powder are added).

SreeRaamaRaamaRaamethi
RameRaameManorame
SahasraNaama Thatthulyam
Raama Naama Varaanane
Aapadaamapa Harthaaram
DaatharamSarvaSampadaam
LokaabhiraamamSreeRaamam
Bhuyo Bhuyo Namaamyaham

The birthday of Sri Rama, indeed, signifies an event worth of remembrance by every one, whatever his country or race or religion, who cherishes the time honored sublime values of human culture and civilization.

Foodblog Meme from around the world

2006-04-07T01:39:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends,
I am happy to take part in this Meme. This is my first Meme.Karthi tagged me for this meme, Thank u karthi for tagging me. Here comes my Meme….

1.Please list three recipes you have recently book marked from foodblogs to try:
a) Junnu Arjuna's Cuisine.
b)Indira's Soymilk
c)Karthi's Appam

2. A foodblog in your vicinity
Baker's

3.A foodblog located far from you.
SAILU
and many more blogs.

4.A foodblog you have discovered recently (where did u find it)
Menu
Tony
Priya

5.Any bloggers who would like to tag with this meme.
Shilpa's
Anitha's
My Dhaba
Arjuna's
Meena's
Lakshmi's
Saffron hut

KALA CHANNA FRY

2006-04-06T13:01:00.000-04:00

This recipe is very simple and healthy, It can be served with rice as a side dish or with roti, if not have it directly as chat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pack of frozen kala channa (If not frozen soak the kala channa overnight).
1 onion sliced.
3-4 curry leaves.
Salt to taste.
1tspn red chili powder.
½ tspn jeera (cumin).
2 tblspn oil.
Fresh coriander to garnish.

METHOD:
If u r using fresh kala channa, in telugu we call nalla channagalu, in English its black chick pea, soak the kala channa overnight and pressure cook them by adding some salt to it.

In these busy days of work I mostly prefer to get frozen ones, which save some time for us. It’s available in Indian grocery stores.

First take a sauce pan and heat it up, Later when the pan is hot enough add oil and let the oil warm up, when the oil is ready add jeera to it and fry till the jeera turn its color to liter golden then add curry leaves if u want to make it some spicy u can add whole red chilli at this time and fry. Then add onions sliced and fry till golden brown. When the onions are well fried later add the frozen kala channa or the fresh one u cooked. And mix it well later add red chilli powder and salt and fry for 5 minutes, ur kala channa fry is ready to serve. Remove it in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

JUNNU

2006-04-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from Arjuna's Cuisine. una.blogspot.com/I make this dish in a different method but arjuna method was easy so I gave it a try it has come out great here is the result. Thanks for the receipe arjuna.

EGG FRY

2006-04-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

As I was busy with work and home so could not post any new receipes will be back soon with this receipe and some more.
INGREDEINTS:

2-3 boiled Eggs.
2 onions sliced.
4-6 green chilli (paste).
½ tspn ginger paste.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
4-5 curry leaves.
½ tspn mustard.
Salt to taste.
Oil to make the curry.
½ cup fresh coriander leaves .

Method:

First take a sauce pan and heat it up, when its hot add oil to it and warm it, when the oil starts sizzling add mustard, curry leaves and fry till the mustards cracks. Then add onions to it and fry till the onion turn golden brown. Later add turmeric powder, green chilli paste, ginger paste and salt to the onion mixture and fry till the aroma raises. When the onion mixtures is well cooked add the boiled eggs and fry for a mnt later add fresh coriander leaves and serve it hot with rice or roti.

UGADI VINDU BHOJANAM

2006-03-31T00:19:00.000-05:00

Friends come lets have ugadi vindu bhojanam. The menu consists of Maamidikaya pulihora, purnallu,aritikaya bajji,white rice,sudda pappu, bendakaya pulusu, potato fry, channa masala, papad,last but not the least curd. Andhrites meal is not complete with out curd and they serve mangoes with the curd. The main dish of the festival is ugadi pachadi which resembles the joy and sorrow of a human. The ugadi pachadi consists of tamarind plup made out of new tamarind, jeera(cumin)bellam(goud in hindi) honey,raw mango,sugarcane,and the raja of this pachadi ofcourse veppa puvvu( neem flower).

In my house backhome on the day of this festival my mom use to wake us up early in the morning and asks us to decorate the front yard with beautiful rangolis(muggulu), and she used to tell my brothers to tei the torans made out of mango leaves to the doors and this way they use to welcome the festival in a grand style,I spent my child hood having these type of meals for any festival sitting along with the whole family, during we eat our meal we used to share jokes with uncles, aunts, cousins, As my grand mother was the elder member of the family she used to serve us the meals with help of my mom Now i some time feel where are those precious days we spent in our child hood. When I see my kids I feel they are missing so many things in their life's. Even in our busy life style we prefer to sit and enjoy the meals with the kids and tell them about our customs and culture.In this way we pass our customs and tranditions to our next generation.

మిత్రులందరికి వ్యయ నామ సంవత్సర ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు

2006-03-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

Ugadi is the first day of the Telugu New Year. It is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Telugu New Year, Chaitram.
Generally, the people of Andhra Pradesh celebrate Ugadi by waking up early in the morning, have a head bath and wear new clothes, symbolic of a new beginning. The elder woman of the house prepares Ugadi Pacchadi Prasadam (Ugadi Sammelan) and distributes it to all the members of the family. The prasadam is to be taken with an empty stomach as to have a balanced life all through the year.
Ugadi Pacchadi is the special preparation of the day. It comprises of six tastes (shadruchi sammelan), each standing for a special character a man experiences in life. It consists of jaggery, neem flowers, tamarind, chilli powder, salt and raw mango pieces. The underlying idea of mixing different tastes is that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow and all of them have to be treated alike.
A delicious lunch comprising of Garelu, Pulihora (Yellow rice), Payasam(Kheer), etc. follows. This auspicious day is also known for its Panchang Sravanam chanted by Veda Pandits. Panchaang contains astronomical data relating to the position of the Sun, The Moon, Planets, Stars and details of Eclipses, Occultations, Raasi results, and Muhurtams for a complete year (usually from April to March). It is a customary practice to attend the temple in the evening of this day where a Siddhanthi (Pandit) recites Panchanga Sravanam. The yearly fore cast for the country as a whole, different places and people basing on Raasis will be predicted. It is believed that listening to Panchanga Sravanam is good for the people.

MIXED VEGGIE RASAM

2006-03-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

Before I post the recipe of this dish I would like to share a small experiment I tired in my cooking today. I was always worried how to include more veggies in my kid’s meal, as they don’t eat all kinds, these is why how I experiment few meals which turn good sometimes. But this Rasam recipe has turned out really great. Now my kids ask me to prepare everyday. Here is what I did, I hope even u all will like it.

INGREDEINTS:

1 Tomato.
2 Carrots.
1 Beetroot.
1 Celery.
1 Onion sliced.
Salt to taste.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
1 tspn lemon juice (optional).
3-4 cups water
For seasoning:
1-2 tspn oil.
1 whole red chillie.
1 tspn mustard.
10-15 curry leaves.
¼ tspn hing (asafeotida).
1 clove garlic crushed.
Fresh coriander for garnish.

METHOD:

In a saucepan boil tomato, carrots, beetroot, celery. When the veggies are boiled blend them using the blender into a smooth paste. Take a saucepan and heat it, when the saucepan is warm enough add oil to it. When the oil gets warm add the whole red chilli and mustard. When the mustard seeds starts cracking add curry leaves, Hing and crushed garlic and wait for the aroma. Later add onion sliced and fry for a second, then add the veggie paste to it and add enough water, then add turmeric powder salt and cook well. When the rasam is well cooked garnish with fresh coriander. ( If u want u can add lemon juice to your rasam at last when it is well cooked).

The taste was so yummy , I hope you all will like it give a try and let me know how you all liked it.

KAARJUM PULUSU/LIVER CURRY

2006-03-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

INGREDEINTS:

2 lb Liver sliced into medium pieces.
2 onions sliced.
2-3 green chillies.
1tomato.
½ cup grated fresh coconut.
½ tspn cuscus paste.
Curry leaves.
½ tspn white vinegar.
1 tspn red chilli powder.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
Salt to taste.
½ tspn garam masala powder.
1tspn ginger garlic paste.
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish.
Oil.

METHOD:

Heat a saucepan, When the saucepan is warm add oil, when the oil gets warm add curry leaves to the oil, later add onion, green chillies and fry till golden brown. When the onion turn golden brown add tomato, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Cook for few minutes when the aroma starts add liver pieces and mix well. Later add coconut grated and cuscus paste, mix well all together and cook until liver is half cooked then add some water and white vinegar and cook till done. When the liver curry is well cooked remove in the serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

This dish goes well with rice , or rotis.

THIS is for Anthony's Curry Mela

PALAK PUREE/SPINACH PUREE

2006-03-23T14:09:00.000-05:00

INGREDEINTS:

4 cups whole wheat flour.
1cup spinach (cut spinach and blend it into fine paste).
Salt to taste.
½ tspn red chilli powder(optional).
Oil to fry the puree’s.
11/2 cup water to mix the flour.

METHOD:

Take a wide container and mix the flour, spinach paste, salt and water and mix well and set it aside for 10-15 mnts. Meanwhile take a wide sauce pan and heat the oil to hot, When the oil is warm enough, take the mixed spinach dough and make it into small lemon size balls and flatten it into small size puree’s and fry them in the oil till golden brown.

As puree’s are kids favorites, if we mix greens to it its good for their health, These puree’s can be served with any non-veg curries, or veg gravy curries like matar paneer, koftas….etc .

TOMATO ONION RAITA

2006-03-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups plain yogurt.
2 onions sliced.
3-4 green chillies sliced.
1 tomato sliced.
1 tbsn mayyonese.
Fresh coriander.
½ tspn chat masala.
Salt to taste.

Method:

Take the curd into a big bowl and beat the curd nicely, add sliced onion, chillies, tomato, mayo, and salt and mix all the ingredients together. Remove the curd mixer to the serving bowl and sprinkle fresh coriander leaves and chat masala and serve it with paratas or fried rice.

CARROT RICE

2006-03-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups cooked plain rice.
11/2 cup grated carrots.
3 green chillies sliced.
1 medium onion sliced.
½ cup fresh grated coconut (optional).
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish.
¼ cup oil to fry.
½ tspn mustard seeds.
1-2 tspn channa dhal ( split chick peas).
15-20 kajju sliced (optional).
Curry leaves.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
¼ tspn hing (asafeotodia).
Salt ( according to taste).
1 tspn lemon juice.

First take a big broad container and spread the cooked rice and set it aside.
Take a sauce pan and heat it, When its warm add oil to it and let it get warm. When the oil is warm enough add mustard seeds to it and allow the seeds to crack, later add channa dhal and kajju to the oil and fry till light brown, then add curry leaves,turmeric powder and hing to it and fry for a second. T hen add onion and sliced green chillies and fry, when the onions are half cooked add the grated carrot, fresh coconut and salt to it and mix well and fry till done.

Now when the carrot mixer is ready, mix it to the cooked rice which was already spread in a container . Mix well and add lemon juice to it and remove the rice into a serving bowl and decorate with the fresh coriander. Serve it hot with any curry or raita.

This rice item is good for health and very easy to do.

BEANS CURRY

2006-03-17T00:09:00.000-05:00

This curry was served in one of my friends party it was yummy so I wanted to try this recipe for sure, today I tried this same as she did it ,it has come out great , I would like
to share with all.

INGREDEINTS:

Oil for poppu/tadka/for tempering
6 cups fresh beans, chopped into bits.
1 tspn. Mustard seeds.
¼ tspn fennel seeds.
Few curry leaves.
2 bay leaves.
4 tomatoes chopped.
2 onions, chopped.
¼ tspn turmeric powder.
½ tspn red chili powder.
1 tspn garam masala powder.
1 tspn ginger/garlic paste.
1-2 tspn salt( according to taste).
Fresh coriander springs, chopped.

METHOD:

Heat oil in a sauce pan, when the oil is warm enough, add mustard and fennel seeds. When mustard seeds begin to pop, add onions and bay leaves. When onion turn light brown, add ginger/garlic paste, after few minutes add turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala powder. Wait until a spicy flavor emanates from the pot. Then stir in the cut beans, curry leaves, cut tomatoes, and salt and mix well, Later add enough water and cook over medium heat covered. When the beans are soft, remove from the heat. If you like you may add some more water to obtain the desired consistency. Adjust salt according to taste. Garnish with coriander before serving.

Serve hot with plain rice or any kind of fried rice or rotis.

Variation: Instead of tomatoes, you can use tamarind juice or you can also use dried mango powder/amchoor powder .

This receipe is for Anthony's curry mela.

MASALA WADA

2006-03-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

This savoury snack tastes good accomplished with a cup of hot coffee or tea, Its also served with the meal on festival days , It has rich falvour of spices and all kinds of lentils used in this receipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup urad/ minapa pappu dhal (black gram).
1 cup sanaga pappu/channa dhal(chick pea).
¾ cup tuvar/kandi pappu dhal(pigeon beans).
¾ cup masoor/pesara pappu dhal.
¼ cup rice.
Salt according to taste.
3-4 green chillies sliced.
Ginger/garlic paste.
2-3 lavang(cloves).
1-2 dalchina chekka/dalchini(cinnamon).
10-15 pudina leaves(mint).
Coriander leaves.
Cumin ½ tspn.
Oil to fry.

Soak all the pulses and rice ingredients for 2 hrs and grind them coarsely without adding water, if u grind them watery it will observe more oil when deep frying. When the batter is grinded add salt,sliced green chillies,ginger/garlic paste,and mix the batter well. Powder the whole garam masala spiced to a coarsely powder(lavang,dalchini) and mix the spice powder to the pluse mix and then cut the pudina and coriander leaves and add to the batter mix lastly add some cumin to the batter mix well altogether and keep aside.

Meanwhile heat the oil ,when the oil is warm enough to fry the wadas, make small balls of the batter and flatten them and drop them in the hot oil and fry till the wadas turn golden brown and when the wadas are ready serve them with coconut chutney, it can also be served with mint chutney or coriander chutney. Enjoy the yummy yummy masala wadas.

CHEPPALA PULUSU (FISH CURRY)

2006-03-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

Here is my families all time fav dish CHEPALA PULUSU (FISH CURRY) . I have this receipe from my grandma’s kitchen, I love grandma’s cooking style with out using any techinal help she prepares the food with lot of love . Staying far away from them today I miss all of them . I try to do the same kind she does but my receipe taste’s good but not exactly like her I still could not understand whyJ . I would like to share with everyone.

INGREDEINTS:

2 lb CAT FISH ( U can use any kind of fish) cut into medium size pieces.
2-3 meduim size onions sliced.
1 Tomato sliced.
3 green chillis cut into strips.
2 spoons tamarind pulp.
2 spoons fresh coconut grated ( if not dry coconut).
1spoon(tspn) red chillie powder.
¾ tspoon turmeric powder.
1 spoon salt.
1 spoon garam masala powder.
Fresh Coriander leaves to garnish.
1-2 spoons oil.
Curry leaves.
Butter milk to wash the fish (optional).

METHOD:

Wash the fish pieces with some butter milk and turmeric powder, by washing with turmeric and butter milk their wont be the stinky smell while cooking fish .

Take a wide pan , add oil to it when the pan is hot , add curry leaves when the oil gets hot. Later add onion and sliced green chillies. When they are half cooked add tomato sliced and cook for a while. When the onion and tomato are cooked add the fresh coconut , tamarind pulp and cook it for 1 minute, later add red chillie powder, turmeric powder, and salt to the pan and cook it well. When oil starts leaving the pan add some water to the pan and same time add the fish pieces and cook till the fish is cooked . Later add the garam masala powder and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the stove and add fresh coriander leaves and garnish. Ur chepala pulusu is ready to eat.

Can be served with rice or roti. Do try this receipe and tell me how u like itJ.

KOVVA BURFI (RICOTTA CHESSE SQUARE)

2006-03-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

This is an instant sweet dish. which helps us when u have no time for the long
process ones,its easy and its all time fav for kids of all ages. The ingredeints
for this dish are avialable in any local grocery stores like kroger.......

RICOTTA CHEESE

INGREDEINTS:

1 CONTAINER RICOTTA CHEESE
3/4 CONTAINER SUGAR
3/4 CONTAINER WHOLE MILK POWDER
1/2 TSPN ILACHI POWDER
3/4 CUP HALF AND HALF MILK (OPTIONAL)

FOR GRANISHING:

BADAM SLIT INTO SMALL PEICES
PISTA SLIT INTO SMALL PEICES
FEW SAFFORN STRIPS

PREPARATION METHOD:

First take a microwave container and pour the cheese,sugar,and milk powder and mix it well.when it is mixed nicely add ilachi powder to the cheese mixture and mix well.Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for 10 minutes or until it is cooked well. later remove from the microwave and set it cool.

when it is cool cut into small pieces and decorate the pieces with saffor spilts,badam grated or cut pieces and pista on top.serve it as it is or u can pour some half and half milk on the burfi (optional) and serve too.

This sweet dish is nutritious too.

PALAKURRA PAPPU

2006-03-01T13:03:00.000-05:00

INGREDEINTS:

1 cup tur dal kandi pappu,red gram)
1 medium sized onion chopped finely
4-5 green chillis slit length wise(indian variety)
1/3 tsp turmeric (pasupu)
2 whole dry red chillis(deseed and tear into pieces)
5 garlic flakes slightly crushed
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp tamarind plup
10 curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (Ria,aavaalu)
1 tsp salt or according to ur taste
1 tbspn oil
chopped coriander leaves for garnish
2 cups water

PREPARATION METHOD:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a sauce pan and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.Now add the cumin seeds,crushed garlic,whole red chilli pieces and curry leaves and fry for a minute.This is called“Taalimpu”in Telugu.The tempering adds to the dish.Now add the chopped onions,chopped ginger and green chillis and fry for 2 minutes on medium heat.Remove from heat.Add the "Taalimpu" and turmeric to the tur dal and add 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker.Now add the washed and picked palakurra leaves(spinach)on top,add the tamarind pulp also to it and pressure cook till three to four whistles or until tur dal is soft.Wait until the pressure is released and remove the lid.Add salt to this cooked mixture and mash with laddle or if not with a tblspn till well combined.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice and ghee..some papad ural pirapakayallu(friend chilli) and vadiyaalu.You can also serve with rotis.
Absolutely nutritious and tasty dal...

2006-02-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

MAMIDI KAYA TOKUDU PACHADI(Mango pickle)

INGREDIENTS:
1 raw mango
1tspn red chilli powder
1tspn salt
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn cumin (jeera)
1clove garlic

SEASONING:
1tbsn oil
1tspn mustard seeds
1tspn urad dhal
1tspn channa dhal
pinch of hing (asafoetida)
curry leaves
whole red chilli 1 or 2

Preparation Method:First peel the mango and cut into small pieces later put them in the food processor add chillipowder,turmeric powder,salt ,garlic,and cumin to the mango and blend them slow do not over paste them it should be in half blend. Remove from the blender in a serving bowl .

Next take a small pan and heat it then add oil to it when the oil is warm add mustard seeds when they start to crack then add the rest of the ingredients when all turn golden brown remove from the heat and mix the seasoning to the pickle mixture.

U can serve this pickle with rice or roti .