Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Radish Chutney - No Coconut Chutney


Dosa or Idli is one of the staple breakfasts in every South Indian home. The most common condiments are chutney and sambar. There is a wide variety of chutneys but the most common ones are made with coconut. If you are bored with the regular coconut chutneys, then I suggest you try this no-coconut chutney using radish. 

"Fresh Winter Veggies"  was the theme for the Nov "Shhhhh Cooking Secretly" event. The theme was suggested by Preethi of Preethi's cuisine. Do check out her blog for a wide collection of delicious recipes. I have bookmarked to try her Tom Yum flavored Mushroom and Coriander soup. My partner for Nov month is Priya Vijaykrishnan who blogs at Sweet Spicy & Tasty. Medu Vada platter in her blog caught my eye and I am craving for one now. Priya suggested radish and mustard seeds as my secret ingredient and I made this radish chutney. I gave her Spinach and green chilies and she made healthy and delicious - Keerai Masayil. Do check visit her blog to get the recipe. 


Ingredients
  1. Radish - 1 cup
  2. Onion - 1 medium
  3. Tomato - 1 
  4. Dried red chilies - 2 or as per your preference
  5. Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
  6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
  7. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
  9. Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 1 handful
  10. Oil - 2 teaspoon
  11. Salt to taste

Method:
  1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and add urad dal. Saute for few seconds and add dried red chilies and onion.
  2. Saute till onions turn soft. Then add turmeric powder, diced tomatoes and radish. Cover and cook for 5 mins on low flame. 
  3. Add salt to taste and turn off the heat.
  4. Wait till the mixture cools down and grind into a fine paste.
  5. For the tempering, heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add a sprig of curry leaves and add the tadka to chutney. 
This chutney can be served along with idli or dosa. 


Do check out other chutney recipes in my blog:

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Vettu Cake | Kerala Tea Time Snack


Vettu cake is a delicious tea time snack of Kerala. This deep fried snack is made using maida, sugar and egg and flavored with cardamom. It is very crisp from outside and soft and crumbly inside. 
 
Ingredients:

  1. All purpose flour - 1 cup (plus few more tablespoons as required)
  2. Sugar - 1/2 cup
  3. Cardamom - 6 pods
  4. Egg - 1 
  5. Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon
  6. Ghee - 2 tablespoon
  7. Salt - 1/8 teaspoon 
  8. Turmeric powder - 1/8 teaspoon (for color)
  9. Oil for deep frying
Method: 
  1. In a chutney grinder of mixer, take sugar and cardamom seeds. Grind till cardamom seeds form fine powder. Take only seeds of cardamom and discard the skin.
  2. Add one egg to this powder and pulse couple of times until egg is well combined with sugar powder.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all purpose flour, salt and baking soda. Add 2 tablespoon of ghee and mix well to get a crumb consistency.
  4. Add the egg-sugar mixture and knead well to make a dough. If the dough is very sticky, add couple of tablespoons of all purpose flour. 
  5. Set the dough for resting for half an hour.
  6. Divide the dough into two parts, make each part into a long log of 1.5 inch diameter. 
  7. Using a knife, slice the dough into 1 inch thick pieces. Make a deep cut in the shape of a 'x' at the center of each piece.  
  8. Heat oil and deep fry the pieces in low-medium flame until they turn golden brown color. 
Note: Never fry them on high heat as inside of the cake will not be cooked. 

For the month of October, the theme for "Shhhh Cooking Secretly" challenge is "Diwali Sweets and Savories". As part of this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.  October month challenge was suggested by Poonam Bachhav who blogs at Annapurna. Her Easy Motichoor Ladoo which is a No-Fry recipe is in my to-do list. Do visit her blog for a huge collection of traditional vegetarian dishes. 

My partner for this theme is Swaty Malik who blogs at Food Trails. She gave me cardamom and sugar as my secret ingredient and I gave her ghee and milk. She made these delicious soft melt in the mouth Kesar Pista Burfi. Meanwhile do check out her Crispy Masala Papdi and Custard Trifle recipes which caught my eyes. 

Friday, October 2, 2020

Vegetable Saute for Fajitas


Fajita is a Mexican dish which is grilled meat served in a corn flour tortilla or taco. Grilled meat usually includes beef or chicken. But there are also vegetarian versions where in meat is replaced with Portobello mushrooms. Along with meat/mushrooms they also add onions and bell peppers. The veggies/meat is placed on warm tacos and toppings are added and served. Toppings include sliced avocado, cooked beans, salsa and sour cream.

I made this dish as part of the "Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge".  As part of this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

September month's theme was Mexican Cuisine and it was suggested by Narmadha from Nam's Corner.  I am in love with her Fish popcorn and Butter murukku.

My partner for this month is Jayashree Trao and I gave her Sweet Potato and Cumin powder as her secret ingredients and she made a Mexican dish- Roasted Sweet Potatoes. She gave me Capsicum and pepper and this dish is made with this secret ingredients. Jayashree blogs at Evergreen Dishes. This talented cook has a wide range of recipes in her blog not to mention a range of  South Indian and Traditional Cuisine. Chocolate and Vanilla Floral Cookies in her blog is so eye catching and I am going to try it very soon for my kids. Another sweet dish is Badam Puri which is one of my favorite sweets.



Ingredients:

  1. Onion red medium -1
  2. Bell pepper(combination of green, yellow, red) - 1 cup sliced into 1/4 inch thick
  3. Mushroom( preferable portobello) - 1 cup
  4. Garlic - 1 tablespoon - minced
  5. Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  6. Chili powder - 1/4 teaspoon
  7. Salt and Pepper powder to taste
  8. Oil (Olive oil) - 2 tablespoon
  9. Spring Onion - 2(optional) 
Method:
  1. Make thick slices of bell pepper, onion and mushroom and set aside.
  2. Heat a skillet(preferably cast iron) on high and add 2 tablespoon of cooking oil.
  3. Add the minced garlic and sauté for few seconds. 
  4. Add the sliced vegetable and toss on high heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the water from the mushroom evaporates.  
  5. Add cumin powder, chili powder, salt and pepper powder and mix well.
  6. Turn the heat on high for the last minute to get a charred effect. 
Serve this vegetable sauté in a tortilla along with toppings on your choice.  

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Easy Chicken Roast

Ingredients:

  1. Chicken - 1 kg
  2. Onion - 2 large
  3. Tomato - 2 medium
  4. Ginger and Garlic paste - 2 tablespoon
  5. Green chili - 2 or as per your spice level
  6. Curry leaves - 2 sprig
  7. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Black Pepper powder - 2 teaspoon
  9. Coriander powder - 3 teaspoon
  10. Chicken masala - 1 teaspoon
  11. Coconut oil - 3 tablespoon
  12. Salt to taste
Method:
1. Clean and wash the chicken pieces. Add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, a teaspoon of black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan and add 3 tbsp of coconut oil. 

3. Add thinly sliced onions and saute till they start to turn light brown in color.


4. Add ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilies  and saute till the raw smell disappears.


5. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder,  1tsp pepper powder, coriander powder and chicken masala. Mix well and fry for a minute.


6. Add sliced tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.
 


7. Add the cooked chicken along with the stock. Mix well and turn the heat on high and till all the liquid evaporates and the gravy becomes thick.




7. Garnish with more curry leaves and serve as a side dish for chapathi/rice.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Oats Chocolate Cookies

    
Oats Chocolate Cookies are gluten free cookies made using oats flour. These cookies were a hit in our home and it vanished as soon as I baked them. As a sweetener, I used honey and brown sugar but we can substitute the brown sugar entirely with honey. If you like chewy textured cookies, I suggest you bake it for 15 minutes and if you wish for a little crumbled ones, bake it for little longer (3 minutes more).  

I made this dish as part of the "Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge".  As part of this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

This month's theme is Chocolate and it was suggested by Mayuri Patel from Mayuri's Jikoni.  
Mayuri's blog has a wide variety of cuisines from all over the world. I have bookmarked a couple of  her desserts to try soon which includes "Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp" and "Coffee and Walnut Cake".

My partner for this month is Narmadha and I gave her milk and cashew and she made Biscuit Truffles. She gave me butter and salt and I made these oats chocolate cookies. Narmadha blogs at Nam's Corner and she has a wonderful blog with wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. I am in love with her Fish Popcorn recipe and would love to try them very soon. Also do check out her Butter Murukku recipe. 

Let us take a deep dive into the oats chocolate cookie recipe now.

Makes - 15 medium sized cookies 

Ingredients:

  1. Oats flour - 1 cup
  2. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
  3. Salt - 1/4 tsp
  4. Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
  5. Butter - 2 tbsp
  6. Egg white - 1
  7. Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Milk - 1 1/2 tsp
  9. Honey - 3 tbsp
  10. Brown sugar - 3 tbsp
Method: 
1.   To make oat flour, use either quick cooking or rolled oats and powder it in a blender.

2.   Take 1 cup of the oat flour in a mixing bowl along with baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Sieve them all together twice to remove all the lumps and to mix them together.

3.   Beat a egg white in a different bowl and add melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, honey and brown sugar. Give it a good mix. 

4.   Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix gently.

5.   Preheat the oven to 325 deg F.

6.   Line a parchment paper on baking tray and scoop a tablespoon of cookie dough on the tray and gently press them with the back of a spoon.

7.   Bake for 15 minutes for chewy cookies or 18 minutes for crisp ones.




Thursday, July 30, 2020

Vattayappam - Kerala Style Steamed Rice Cakes

Vattayappam is a very soft and spongy steamed rice cake popular in Kerala. 

Vattam in Malayalam means "round" and appam translates to pancake. Hence the name 'Vattayappam' for these round spongy cakes.  This traditional snack is a oil free, vegan and gluten-free. It is made by grinding rice and coconut. The batter is fermented and then steamed. Sugar is added for sweetness and cardamom for flavoring. This sweet cake is usually eaten as an evening snack or dessert. It can be made savory by omitting the sugar and can be served with curries. 


Ingredients:
  1. Raw rice/Sona Masoori - 1 cup
  2. Coconut grated - 1 cup
  3. Cooked rice - 1/4 cup
  4. Instant Yeast - 1/2 teaspoon
  5. Sugar - 3 tablespoon
  6. Cardamom - 3
  7. Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Oil for greasing
Method:
  1. Wash and soak raw rice for at least 4 hours. 
  2. Grind soaked rice, grated coconut, cooked rice and cardamom into smooth paste. The batter should be thick as that of idli batter.
  3. Add salt, sugar and instant yeast to the batter and mix well until sugar dissolves.
  4. Set aside the batter for fermentation for around 3 hours.
  5. Use a round vessel for steaming the vattayappam. Grease it well with oil (preferably coconut oil).
  6. Pour the batter in a round vessel and place it in a steamer. Steam for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool for 15 mins and then invert the vessel to remove the vattayappam.
  8. Cut into wedges and serve.
Note: 
  1. The round vessel to steam can be either a deep steel plate, wide mouthed steel tiffin box, round pyrex box or even a cake pan. 
  2. You can replace cooked rice with thin poha. Soak the thin poha for around 5 minutes before grinding.
  3. With 3 tablespoon of sugar, this snack is mildly sweet. You can adjust the sweetness according to your preference. 
  4. For the sweet version, you can sprinkle cashews and raisins to the batter before steaming. 




I made this recipe as part of the "Sshhh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe. At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 


I got the opportunity to choose this month's theme and I selected "Steamed Foods". 

My partner for this month is Archana Gunjikar Potdar and she shared me coconut and cardamom as my secret ingredients and I gave her flour and water as her ingredients. She made "Kankiche Dive". Do visit her blog to check out an amazing collection of recipes. She also has a wide variety of exotic desserts like Easy Mocha Semifreddo, Popcorn Rocky Road Dessert, Layered Angel Cake the British Version to name a few. 

Purslane with Dal

Purlane Dal

Purslane is a a weed that grows in many parts of the world. It is also a highly nutritious leafy vegetable with lot of health benefits.

Purslane is much higher in omega-3 fatty acids than other greens. It contains two types of omega-3 fatty acids, ALA and EPA. ALA is found in many plants, but EPA is found mostly in animal products (like fatty fish) and algae. Purslane contains high amounts of ALA, and also trace amounts of EPA.

It is loaded with antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds, which may have various health benefits.. It is also great source of minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium. Source: healthline.


Ingredients:
  1. Purlane leaves - 1 bunch
  2. Toor dal - 1/2 cup
  3. Tomato - 1 medium
  4. Onion - 1 medium
  5. Garlic cloves - 4
  6. Green chilies - 2
  7. Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon or as per your spice level
  8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  9. Sambar powder - 1 teaspoon (optional)
  10. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
  11. Dried red chilies - 2-3
  12. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
  13. Salt to taste
  14. Oil - 1 tablespoon
Method:
  1. Chop off the roots of purlane. Wash and cut them finely.
  2. Pressure cook toor dal along with turmeric powder, chopped onion, tomatoes and green chilies.
  3. Once the dal is cooked, mash it and add the chopped purlane leaves. Bring it to boil and add salt to taste and sambar powder. 
  4. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds. Add dried red chilies and curry leaves and transfer to dal.
Serve with rice. 



Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Kerala Style Cucumber Salad



Ingredients:
1. Cucumber- 1 medium sized
2. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
3. Mustard seeds - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
4. Green chilli - 1
5. Dried red chilli - 1
6. Curry leaves - few
7. Yogurt/Curd - 1 cup
8. Oil - 1 teaspoon
9. Salt to taste

Method:
1, Wash the cucumber, peel the skin off and cut into small pieces. Transfer cucumber in a mixing bowl.

2. Grind coconut and green chilly into a fine paste. Roughly crush 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds. Add the coconut paste, crushed mustard, yogurt and salt to cucumber and mix thoroughly.

3. For seasoning, heat oil in a pan and splutter 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds. Add dried red chilly and curry leaves. Transfer this seasoning to salad and serve as a side dish for rice and curry.



I made this recipe as part of the "Shh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe and now being taken forward by Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.  At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 


This month's theme is "Summer Salads" and it was chosen by Kalyani Sri of "Sizzling Tastebuds". 

My partner for this month is Renu Agarwal Dongre and she shared cucumber and salt as my secret ingredients and I shared her watermelon rind  and salt as her ingredients. She made "Raw Watermelon rind and Avocado Salad". Do visit her blog "Cook With Renu" to check for amazing collection of dishes. I have bookmarked couple of recipes from her blog to try in future: "Whole Wheat Methi Matri" and "Baked Falafel".


Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Homemade Ice cream - No Sugar | No Condensed Milk | No Cornflour


Homemade Ice Cream
Homemade ice cream served in store bought cone

This homemade ice cream is made without added sugar, condensed milk, cream or cornflour. It can enjoyed guilt free. 

Ingredients:
  1.  Banana(Chiquita) - 3
  2. Dates - 10 count
  3. Almonds - 25 count
  4. Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon
Method: 
  1. Make thin slices of banana and freeze for at least 4 hours.
  2. Soak almonds and dates in water for 1/2 hour.
  3. Take a blender and add soaked almonds, dates and 2 tablespoon of water and grind to a fine paste.
  4. Add frozen banana slices and vanilla essence and blend till they form a smooth paste. 
  5. Add the mixture in a freezer safe box(preferably glass) and freeze for at least 8 hours. 
Serve this ice cream in a bowl or store bought cones.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Spicy Braised Tofu

Ingredients:

  1. Tofu Firm - 16 oz /1 lb/ 450 gm 
  2. Onion chopped - 1/2 cup
  3. Garlic minced - 3 no.
  4. Sesame oil - 1 tsp
  5. Vegetable oil/Olive oil - 2 tbsp
  6. Toasted sesame seeds - 1 tsp
  7. Spring onion - 3 roots

For the sauce:

1. Soy sauce - 2 tsp
2. Sugar - 1 tsp
3. Salt - 1/2 tsp
4. Chili flakes - 1 tsp
5. Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

  1. Drain the water from tofu package and cut tofu into small pieces. 
  2. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable/Olive oil in a pan and place tofu pieces in a single layer. Fry one side for 7-8 minutes. Turn them over and again fry till both sides turn golden brown. Remove tofu from the pan and set aside. 
  3. In the same pan, add chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute till onions turn slightly brown.
  4. Mix all the ingredients listed in the sauce section in a bowl.
  5. Add the sauce mixture to the sauteed onion. 
  6. Transfer the tofu back to the pan and mix gently. Keep the flame on high.
  7. When the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and add a teaspoon of sesame oil, chopped spring onion and toasted sesame seeds.
Serve as a side dish for steamed rice.


Sunday, May 31, 2020

Avalakki Upkari | Udupi cuisine


Udupi cuisine is a cuisine of South India. It forms an important part of Tuluva-Mangalorean cuisine and takes its name from Udupi, a city on the southwest coast of India in the Tulunadu region.

This Udupi style preparation of flattened rice is one of the easiest dish you make in less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
  1. Thin poha/Thin flattened rice - 3 cups
  2. Onion - 1 small sized
  3. Green chilies - 2
  4. Dried red chilies - 2
  5. Peanuts - handful
  6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 
  7. Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
  8. Coconut grated- 1/2 cup
  9. Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
  10. Oil - 1 tablespoon
  11. Salt to taste
Method:
  1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan and roast peanuts. Set aside. 
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of oil in the same pan and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
  3. Add slit green chilies, dried red chilies, curry leaves, salt and chopped onions. Saute till onions turn soft. 
  4. Switch off the flame and add poha, grated coconut, roasted peanuts and around 2 tablespoon of water. Mix well till everything is well combined. Check for seasoning and add more salt if required.
  5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve. 

Note: Adding couple of tablespoons of water to poha will make it soft and easy to chew. 

I made this recipe as part of the "Shh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe and now being taken forward by Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.  At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

This month's theme is "Udupi Cuisine" and it was chosen by Jayashree Trao of "EverGreenDishes". My partner for this month is Aruna SarasChandra and she shared Green chilies and Coconut as my secret ingredients and I shared her Fenugreek and coconut as her ingredients. She made Udupi Saaru, an Udupi style preparation of Tomato Rasam. Do visit her blog "Vasu's Veg Kitchen" to find this  recipe.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Potato Sagu | Karnataka Style Potato Bhaji



Ingredients:
  1. Potato - 2 large
  2. Onion - 1 small
  3. Tomato - 1 
  4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
  5. Cumin seeds/ Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
  6. Urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon
  7. Chana dal - 1 teaspoon
  8. Green chili - 2-4
  9. Besan/Gram flour - 1 tablespoon
  10. Hing/Asafoetida - 3 pinch
  11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
  12. Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
  13. Oil - 2 tablespoon
  14. Salt to taste
Method:
  1. Wash and boil the potatoes till they turn soft. You can pressure cook for 2 whistles. Once cooked, remove the skin and mash the potatoes.
  2. Take a pan for sauteing and heat 2 tbsp of oil.
  3. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. 
  4. Add urad dal and chana dal and saute till they turn brown.
  5. Add hing, slit green chilies, curry leaves and chopped onion. Add salt and saute till onions turn translucent.
  6. Add chopped tomatoes and saute for 2-3 min.
  7. Add 2 tablespoon of water to besan and mix well to remove any clumps.
  8. Reduce the flame and add besan water and mix well.
  9. Add mashed potatoes, salt and water to get desired consistency. Start by adding 1 cup water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and turn off the flame.
Serve with poori/chapathi. 



Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Masala Kadala | Masala Peanuts



Ingredients:
  1. Peanuts (roasted) - 2 cups
  2. Besan/Gram flour - 1/2 cup
  3. Rice flour - 3 tbsp
  4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  5. Kashmiri chili powder - 1 tsp
  6. Fennel seeds/Saunf - 1 teaspoon
  7. Garlic cloves - 4
  8. Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
  9. Oil - for deep frying
  10. Salt to taste
Method:
  1. Roast the peanuts on stove top or using a microwave. Check out this method of roasting peanuts in microwave. 
  2. Crush the fennel seeds and make a paste of garlic.
  3. In a mixing bowl, take roasted peanuts, besan, 2 tablespoon rice flour, turmeric powder, chili powder, crushed fennel, garlic paste, hing and add salt as per taste.
  4. Sprinkle water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix everything together. Add enough water till the flour is all wet and the peanuts are well coated.
  5. Heat oil for deep frying on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add peanuts in batches and deep fry till they turn golden brown.
Note: If you want more reddish colored masala peanuts, omit the turmeric powder and increase the quantity of Kashmiri Chili powder.


Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Chocolate Cookies


Ingredients:
  1. All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup
  2. Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
  3. Sugar - 1/2 cup
  4. Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
  5. Oil - 1/4 cup
  6. Egg - 1 
  7. Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
  8. Coffee powder - instant - 1 tsp (optional)
  9. Salt - 1/4 tsp
Method:
  1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and coffee powder and set aside.
  2. Take the mixing bowl and add egg, sugar, oil.and vanilla essence. Beat well till everything is well combined.
  3. Add the flour mixture and mix gently to form a dough.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C) and place a parchment paper on the baking tray.
  5. Take small portion of the dough and make a ball. Place the ball in baking tray and flatten it using a fork. Makes around 15 medium sized cookies.
  6. Bake for 12 min and allow it cool for 10 minutes.
Delicious chocolate cookies is ready to serve.









Sunday, May 3, 2020

Ragi Rotti


Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  1. Ragi flour/Finger Millet flour - 2 cups
  2. Rice flour - 2 tbsp
  3. Grated carrots - 1 cup
  4. Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
  5. Onion - chopped - 1 small
  6. Green chili - 1 or as per your spice level
  7. Curry leaves - 5-6
  8. Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 teaspoon
  9. Coriander leaves/Cilantro - 1 handful
  10. Salt to taste
  11. Oil around 3 tbsp for making rottis
Method:
  1. Take a large mixing bowl and add all the ingredients except oil.
  2. Sprinkle water little by little and mix well to form a dough.
  3.  Heat the skillet on medium flame. Take a piece of parchment paper and apply little oil on it.
  4. Take a large lemon sized piece of dough and flatten into thin disc on greased parchment paper by pressing it with your palm.
  5. Take the rotti along with parchment paper and place on hot skillet with the rotti side facing down. Carefully remove the parchment paper.
  6. Apply little oil on rotti. Cover and cook each side for 5-6 minutes on low-medium flame.
  7. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
Note:
    • For pressing the dough, you can use banana leaf instead of parchment paper.
    • To easily separate the parchment paper from rotti, grease the parchment paper well with oil before pressing the rotti.
    • Another way to flatten the dough is directly on the hot tawa. You need to dip your hand in cold water every time you press the dough.  Please have a look at the video recipe to see how to do this.


    I made this recipe as part of the "Shh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe and now being taken forward by Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.  At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

    This month's theme is "Millet Magic" and it was chosen by Aruna SarasChandra of "Vasu's Veg Kitchen". My partner for this month is Kalyani Sri and she shared Ragi and Green Chili as my secret ingredients and I shared her Kodo Millet and Asafoetida as her ingredients. She made Kodo Millet Pongal. Do visit her blog "Sizzling TasteBuds" to find this delicious and healthy pongal recipe.