Kondakadalai Sundal

Black channa or kala channa or black chickpea or karuppu kondakadalai.....!! in whichever way we call this... is always a favorite prasadham to all. Loved by kids too. This black channa sundal is prepared during festivals like navarathri, ganesh chathurthi and is also given as prasadham in many temples during the month of margali. Definitely a healthy snack too...!! :-)

Preparation Time: 5 min

Soaking time: 8 hrs or overnight

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 

1. Black channa / கருப்புகொண்டகடலை - ½ cup
2. Coriander powder - 2 tsp

To temper:

1. Oil - 2 tsp
2. Mustard - 1 pinch
3. Urad dhal - 1 pinch
4. Jeera - 1 pinch
5. Curry leaf - 1 sprig
6. Hing - 1 pinch
7. Red chili - 2 piece

Preparation:

 -   Soak kondakadalai for 8 hrs or overnight

Procedure: 
1.   Pressure cook soaked kondakadalai for 3 whistles. After one whistle reduce flame and cook for next 2 whistles or 2 min. It should be soft but not mushy. Remove excess water and set aside.

2.   Heat a medium sized pan with oil. Add all the ingredients “to temper” and roast for 1 min. To this add cooked kondakadalai.

3.   Add  coriander powder and give a good stir. Adding coriander powder is optional. It gives a masala flavor to sundal. Finally add coconut flakes and adjust salt.

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Murukku

Murukku - Post by Gayathri

Ingredients:

•    Rice flour - 3 cups (standard rice      cup)
•    Roasted gram flour - 1 cup(pottukadalai mavu)
•    Chilli powder - 1 to 2 tsp
•    Butter - 1 tbsp
•    Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
•    Salt - As required
•    Water -As required
•    Hing - a pinch
•    Oil - as required

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Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients together except water.
2. Add water little by little until the consistency is like idiyappam dough.
3. Heat the oil.
4. Dip your hand in water and add a small ball of dough in the Muruku press.
5. Drop a small amount of dough in the oil and see  if it raises immediately then the oil is hot enough.
6. Drop the dough from the press directly in to the oil.
7. When it turns golden brown take it out.when it cools down store it in a Container.
8. Enjoy it with Tea.

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Keerai vadai / Spinach vadai

Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking time: 15 min
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Onion- 1 medium sized - finely chopped
• Keerai/spinach- 100 gm
• Ajwin- 1 pinch
• Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

To grind:

• Channa dhal- 1 cup
• Hing/asafetida- 1 pinch
• Red chili- 2
• Garlic- 2-3 pieces

Preparation: 

• Soak channa dhal for 2 hrs

 

Procedure:

1. Grind soaked channa dhal with red chili, hing and garlic to make a coarse mixture. Few channa dhal should be whole. Donot grind them to smooth paste. To this add onion and spinach. Any variety of keerai can be added. I used baby spinach available here. You can chop them finely or grind keerai for few sec to get chopped form.                                                             
2. Add fennel seeds, ajwin, salt and mix them well. You should be able to make small balls and it should not break. If it breaks, take a portion of the mix in a blender and grind for few sec and mix it again.                                                                                        
3. Take a small ball and place it in the palm and tap gently to make it flat into vadai shape. It should not break.                                                   
4. Heat kadai with oil to fry. When oil is hot, put vadai one by one slowly into the oil. When one side is fried, turn to other side. Fry both the sides until it starts turning golden brown. Do not fry for longer time as vadai will lose its taste.                                                     
5. Strain the oil and place it on the paper towel or tissue to remove excess oil. Serve hot. A tasty evening snack is ready to serve.                                   

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Pancakes

Continental Breakfast

Pancakes are American's oothappam ;-) small round fluffy dosa. They are really yummy. Usually people have pancakes with honey and butter. You can try with your favorite sauces too. They are tasty and very simple to prepare.

As a variation, you can add fruit slices (Banana, Blueberry, Strawberry etc.) or essence (Vanilla, Strawberry etc.) to the batter to make it more delicious and healthy.

For Vegetarians, Egg-less Pancakes coming soon in my cuisine..... :-)

Preparation time : 10 min

Cooking time : 5 min

Serves : 2

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour / maida - 1 cup
2. Egg - 2
3. Milk - 1 1/2 cup
4. Vinegar - 2tbsp
5. Butter - 1 tbsp
6. Sugar - 4 tbsp
7. Salt - 1/2 tsp
8. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
9. Baking powder - 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. In a bowl pour milk and add vinegar. Keep it for 3-4 min. Milk will turn sour. In another mixing bowl, add all purpose flour sugar salt baking soda and baking powder. Mix them well and set aside.
   
2. Melt the butter. I kept the butter in microwave for 30 sec.
   
3. In a mixer, break and pour the raw eggs. Add melted butter to the mixer. Run the mixer for few sec.
   
4. Add sour milk to the mixer. Blend them again for 3-5 sec.
   
5. Finally add all purpose flour mix into the mixer and blend them for 5-7 sec till it becomes soft batter.
   
6. Heat dosa pan or griddle and grease it will cooking oil. Keep the stove in medium flame. Take a scoop of batter and pour them in the pan like little oothappam. When one side is cooked well, turn to the other side. These pancake tastes great when hot, with butter. You can have it with honey too.
   

Note:

• Alternatively, the mixing of all can be done manually using a whisk.
• I used mixer as it will be very easy and can be done quickly.

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Uppu Seedai

Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 30 min 

Serves: 50 balls

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 8 tbsp
• Urad dhal flour - 1 tbsp
• Salt -  to taste
• Ajwin (ஓமம்) - 1 tsp
• Sesame seeds (எள் விதைகள்) - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds (சீரகம்) - 1 tsp
• Butter - ½ tbsp

To fry:

• Oil - as required

Procedure:

1.   Dry roast urad dhal in a pan until it starts turning golden brown and allow it to cool. Grind them into fine powder and sift through the sieve. Take 1 tbsp of this urad dhal powder.

2.   In a large mixing bowl all the ingredients, add water and make it into chappathi like dough. Make it into small balls.

3.   Heat oil in a kadai and fry them until it is cooked well.

Note: Seedai may burst while frying because of the air trapped inside. To avoid this, use a toothpick to make small holes in it and then fry them.

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Kara Paniyaram

Ingredients:

• Paniyaram maavu - 3 cup
• Onion - 1 medium sized - finely chopped
• Green Chili - 4 - finely chopped
• Curry leaf - 10 - finely chopped
• Ginger - small piece - Finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil - as required

Procedure:

1. To the paniyaram batter, add salt, onion, green chili, curry leaf and ginger.   
   
2. Heat paniyaram pan. I used non-stick pan. Grease it with cooking oil. Pour a scoop of batter into the paniyaram pan pit. As the batter gets cooked it will become fluffy. So make sure that the batter does not overwhelm from the pits. 
   
3. Keep in medium flame. When paniyaram gets fluffy and cooked on one side, turn to other side and cook. Poke paniyaram with the fork or a toothpick. If its completely cooked, batter will not get to the fork or toothpick.
   

Paniyaram goes great with coriander chutney, coconut chutney, spicy tomato chutney.

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Sweet Paniyaram

Ingredients:

• Paniyaram maavu
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery - 1 cup

Procedure:

1. Heat 1/4 cup of water in a pan
2. mix jaggery and stir well so that jaggery gets completely dissolved
3. filter the syrup and add it into the paniyaram batter
4. Pour the batter into the paniyaram pan
5. When one side of paniyaram is cooked, turn to other side and cook
6. Sweet paniyaram is ready to be served hot

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Egg Puff

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 45 min
Serves: 6

I always like these puffs and now I make them in home. Crispy puffs looks yummy. Hot Crispy Puffs are always a perfect evening snack. Before preparing, keep the puff pastry sheet at room temperature for 30-45 min. Sprinkle all-purpose flour while separating puff pastry sheets into layers.


Ingredients:

1. Puff pastry sheets - 3 sheets
2. Boiled Egg - 3
3. Onion - 2 medium sized 
4. Tomato - 1 medium sized
5. Turmeric powder
6. Chilli powder
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil

Preparation:
Keep the puff pastry sheets at room temperature for 30 min

Procedure:

1. In a pan, heat a teaspoon of oil
2. When the oil is heat, add onion and saute for 3 min
3. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder
4. When onion become soft, add tomato and saute for 4 min
5. As the gravy gets thicker and leaves out oil, switch off the stove 
6. Boil 3 eggs with little salt in a pan for 20 min or pressure cook the egg with salt in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle
7. When the egg cools down peel off its shell and cut it into two half 
8. The stuffing for the puffs is ready
9. Now cut open the puff pastry sheets and cut them to the desired size based on the shape (rectangle,triangle) 
10. Then keep the stuffing along with a half slice of egg and fold the sheets diagonally for a triangle shape or horizontally for a rectangle shape
11. Close the edges with the fork or apply few drops of water along the inner edges of the sheets and stick them
12. Arrange the puffs in a oven tray
13. Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit for 10 min and then place the tray and bake them for 15-20 min
14. Once the puffs get ready, take out the tray and allow it to cool for 10 min
15. Delicious egg puffs are ready for snack

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