Announcing Cooking with seeds event: Corn

I am glad to announce that  I am guest hosting a very popular event  – cooking with seeds a  wonderful event started by  Priya of Priya’s easy n tasty recipes.Thanks to Priya for providing me this wonderful opportunity

For this month , corn has been selected as the ingredient.Corn is a more versatile grain which can be relished in several forms ranging from Grilled corn sold at Merina beach or American sweet corn flavored with Indian masala sold at malls or as pop corn at Theatres!!!!.Nowadays corn is used as a major components in cereals, snack food and soft drinks as well.

Coming to the health benefits, this golden yellow grain is rich in fiber content as well as contains lot of vitamins and minerals. Though it contains carbohydrates, this grain has high levels of antioxidants that substantially increases when cooked.

Guidelines for the event:

1. Cook and blog about a vegetarian dish which contains corn as main ingredient.
2. Please add this announcement link, and link to Priya’s announcement page -  to your post.
3. Corn flour/corn starch/corn meal  can also be used but it should be the star ingredient of the recipe
4. Adding the logo to your post will help spread the word.
5. Send in as many entries as you can
6. Archived entries are accepted , if they are reposted with this page links
7.  Non bloggers are also welcome to participate.
8.  Please send in your entries by 29th Feb
9.  Drop a mail to – nalakr @gmail.com with these details

• Your name and name of your blog
• Recipe and URL
• Picture of your dish

Venn Pongal

Cooking Time: 20 min
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Raw rice	3/4 cup
Moong dhal	1/4 cup
Ginger chopped finely	2 tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Pepper	1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera)	2 tsp
Curry Leaves	a sprig
Cashew pieces	6 or 7

Procedure:
Step 1:
Dry roast raw rice and moon dhal in a pressure cooker for about a minute until it gets warm.

Step 2:
Add 4 cups of water and asafoetida and cook for 3 whistles


Step 3:
Take 2 tsp of ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add pepper,ginger, cashew and curry leaves.Mas the rice dhal mixture well and add the tempered ingredients.

Step 4:
Add the remaining ghee and salt and mix well.

Step 5:
Serve hot. If not serving immediately store it in a hot box

Notes:

• 1/4 tsp of pepper powder can also be added
• I have added less ghee as I make this almost every other weekend. Upto 2 tablespoons of ghee can be added for a rich flavour
• Adding ginger is optional

Suggested Accompaniments

CoconutChutney

UlundhuVadai

Ulundhu Vadai (Medhu Vadai)

Ulundhu vadai or Medhu vadai in one of the popular snacks in South India. It is also offered as neivedhyam during most of the festivals.

Level : Medium
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 16 pieces


Ingredients

Whole Urad dhal	1 cup
Green chillies	3 or 4
Ginger chopped finely	2 tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Pepper	1/2 tsp(optional)
Onion chopped	1 small sized (optional)
Curry Leaves	a sprig
Chopped Coriander Leaves/Cilantro	1 tablespoon
Rice flour	1 tsp

Procedure:
Step 1:
Soak the Urad dhal in enough water for 1 hr


Step 2:
Drain the water and grind the urad dhal without adding much water. Just sprinkle some water at intervals and grind it.The batter should be smooth, light and fluffy
If you are using a mixie like me for grinding, the jar usually gets heated up quickly.After 1 hr of soaking refrigerate the dhal for 1 hr.The mixie will not get heated up.Alternatively ice cold water can be used for grinding

Step 3:
Add salt, pepper, rice flour chopped onions,ginger, asafoetida, curry and coriander leaves and mix well

Step 4:
Take oil in a pan and heat it


Step 5:
Now reduce the flame
Wet your hands liberally and take a ball of dough on your right hand.With the help of thumb make a hole on the vada.Then gently skip it into the oil
If this does not work, pat the dough on your left hand and make a hole.Gently slip this into right hand and put it in the oil.

Step 6:
Once you have dropped 3 -4 vadais depending upon your pan size increase the flame and fry the vada until golden brown on both sides


Step 7:
Drain the vada in a paper towel and serve hot with chutney/sambar

Notes:

• The batter should be smooth, light and fluffy resembling butter cream icing.Do not overgrind as well
• Do not soak the dhall for too long.The vada might turn out hard
• Use less water for grinding.The batter should be thick. If the batter is dilute, do not add onions to it and add more rice flour.
• For preparing as neivedhyam we usually skip the onions.Without the onions it is fairly easy to get the perfect shape. Beginners can probably try without onion
• Adding 1 tsp of rice flour gives a crispy outer layer
• Getting the perfect shape requires a little practice.Initially I used to pat the vada in banana leaf/plastic cover.But the basic trick is to wet the hands liberally and then hold the vadas to make the shape.
• Do not fry the ulundhu vada in a very low flame. It will absorb more oil and becomes soggy
• Add the salt and rice flour only after grinding the batter

Bread Upma

I learnt the basic recipe of Bread Upma from my mother in law. She makes this often as an evening afterschool snack.I tweaked it a bit to include more vegies and make it for breakfast/lunch box.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients:

Bread	6 slices
Onion chopped	1 medium
Chilli powder	1/2 tsp
Coriander powder	1/2 tsp
Salt	to taste
Asafoetida	a pinch
Turmeric powder	a pinch
Oil	3 tsp
Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Urad dhal	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	a sprig
Green peas	1/4 cup
Chopped carrot	1/2 cup
Coriander leaves	1 tablespoon

Procedure:

Step1:

Remove the crust of the bread and tear it into pieces

Step2:

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and slightly fry the bread for 2 minutes.No need to deep fry it.

Keep it aside

Step3:

Heat 1 tsp of oil and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering add urad dal, curry leaves

Step4:

Add onions and fry until it is translucent. Add green peas and carrot and fry until it is cooked.Make sure it does not become mushy

Step5:
Add salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, asafoetida, turmeric powder and fry for a couple of minutes

Step6:
Add the fried bread pieces and mix well

Step6:
Garnish with chopped cilantro


Note:

• Whole wheat bread can be used for a more healthier version
• For a quick snack, peas and carrot can be skipped.
• Boiled and cubed potatoes can also be added

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients

Coconut powder/Fresh grated coconut	3/4 cup
Fried gram/Dhalia/Pottu kadalai/Odacha kadali	2 tablespoon
Salt	1/4 tsp
Green chilli	1
Water	as needed
Oil	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	1/4 tsp
Urad dhal	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	4

Procedure:
Step1:
Grind together coconut powder,salt,fried gram and chillies together with little water

Step2:
Grind it to smooth consistency. Add water to bring it to the required consistency

Step3:
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dhal


Step4:
Once it starts spluttering add this to the chutney


Notes:

• Coconut powder also works well for this chutney.This makes the job a lot easier
• To make it more spicier, 2 chillies can be added.

Vendakkai Curry (okra)

Ingredients:

Ladies Finger/Okra	1/2 kg
Chilli powder	1/2 tsp
Coriander powder	1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder	a pinch
Salt	to taste
Asafoetida	a pinch
curd	1 tsp
Oil	1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Urad dhal	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	a sprig

Procedure:
Step1:
Wash the ladies finger and cut them into 1 cm pieces

Step2:
Keep it open in a wide pan and allow it to dry for 10 minutes


Step3:
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves


Step4:
Once the mustard seeds starts spluttering add the vegetable and cook covered for 5 minutes

Step5:
Now add curd,chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, turmeric powder, hing and the remaining oil and mix well

Step6:
Allow this to cook in open pan for around 15 minutes in medium-low flame.Do not stir at this point

Step7:
After 15 minutes mix it once and allow to cook for another 5 minutes


Notes:

1. Adding curd reduces the sticky nature of ladies finger.Drying the vegatable in air/under fan before frying also helps.
2. Never stir the curry often while it is cooking.The vegetable may not turn out crisp
3. More oil might be required if not using a non stick pan
4. Chopped onions can also be added. Fry the onions and then add ladies finger and cook the same way

Test 98BE238XZWMM

Semiya/Vermicelli Upma

Ingredients
Semiya/Vermicelli : 1 cup
Onion (small) : 1 
Ginger( Finely chopped): 2 tsp
Green chillies (chopped) 1 or 2
Oil: 1 tsp
Ghee: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Urad dhall: 1/2 tsp
Channa dhal (Kadala paruppu): 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: a sprig
Chopped coriander leaves/Cilantro: 1 tablespoon
Lemon juice: 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt: to taste
Cashews: 4 (optional)
Water: 2 cups


Procedure:
Step1:
Add one tsp of ghee in a pan and fry the broken semiya until golden brown. Keep this aside

Step2:
Add one tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, channa dhal,cashews and curry leaves.


Step3:
Once the mustard starts spluttering add chopped ginger and onion and fry until the onion turn translucent

Step4:
Now add 2 cups of water and salt and bring it to a boil


Step5:
Add the roasted semiya and cook in low-medium flame until all the water gets drained

Step6:
Add lemon juice and garnish with cilantor

Sending this to anyone can cook by Taste of Pearl City

Nenthirampazham halwa (Banana halwa)

Recipe source: TV show

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 16 pieces

Ingredients:
Banana : 4
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Ghee: 1/4 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder: a pinch
Broken cashews/almonds: 1 tablespoon


Procedure:
Step1:
Chop the bananas into small cubes


Step2:
Mix water and sugar in a non stick pan and boil until the sugar completely dissolves (No need to check for any consistency)


Step3:
Add the chopped bananas and simmer. Stir it for every 5 minutes

Step4:
Once the mixture becomes semi solid add ghee little by little and stir it continuously in low flame until the ghee separates out. Add cardamom powder as well
At this stage the halwa would have turned to a nice reddish brown color and also glossy.(This process might take around 40 minutes)

Stir until the ghee gets separated out as shown

Step5:
Pour the halwa into a greased pan and allow it to cool. Cut into desired shape

Notes

1. Use fully ripe bananas. This recipe technically works for any type of banana. I made this with Karpura vazhai some years back
2. Do not cook the halwa once the ghee has separated.Heating and stirring further will cause the halwa to harden. The consistency should be like jelly and little transparent
3. If by any case the halwa becomes hard, heat it for 10 - 20 seconds in microwave and consume immediately.It will be surely soft
4. Use a non stick pan for the above measurement.For normal pans the amount of ghee has to be increased and also there is an increased effort of continously stirring

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Palakkad Chamayal

Paneer Butter Masala - Restaurant Style

A really quick and easy way to prepare paneer butter masala at home

Recipe source: vahrehvah.com


Preparation Time:5 minutes*
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2 - 3
* Fried onions & Tomato puree and readily available


Ingredients:
Tomato ketchup: 1 tablespoon
Cubed paneer: 1 cup (See here for homemade paneer recipe)
Fried Onions: 1/2 cup
Ginger minced: 1 tablespoon
Tomato puree/tomato sauce: 1 cup
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Butter: 2 tablespoon
Kasoori methi: 1 tablespoon
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Evaporated milk: 5 oz can
Oil: 2 tsp


Procedure:
Step 1:
Put the paneer in boiling water for 5 minutes so that the paneer becomes soft

Step2:
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a non stick tawa and fry the paneer until golden brown. Drain them in a paper towel

Step3:
Mix together chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, garam masala powder, crushed fenugreek, tomato sauce/puree, tomato ketchup, half of evaporated milk and mix it well

Step4:
Heat 2 tablespoon of butter and saute the minced ginger for a couple of minutes

Step5:
Crush the fried onions and add it

Step6:
Now add the wet ingredients and cook until the butter separates out (It should take less than 10 minutes)

Step7:
Now add the fried paneer and the remaining evaporated milk and mix it

Step8:
Garnish with coriander leaves

Notes:

• If  fried onions are not available, chop the onions finely and saute until it becomes translucent.
• If tomato sauce is not available, use tomato puree. Boil 3 tomatoes and peel them.Puree it in a blender
• Instead of evaporated milk, whole milk can also be used. Evaporated milk gives a creamy texture
• Can also use fresh cream for garnishing
• The original recipe uses minced garlic along with ginger. I omitted this. But still it tasted like the restaurant one

Check the recipe for Paneer Butter Masala made with fresh ingredients.

This is a perfect accompaniment for Naan.

Carrot Rice

Ingredients
Raw Rice/Sona masoori Rice : 1 cups
Shredded carrot: 1/2 cup
Onion : 1 small sized (optional)
Ginger finely chopped: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Asafoetida: 1 pinch
Curry leaves: a sprig
Coriander leaves: for garnishing


Spices to grind:

Pepper: 1/2 tsp (Increase it for more spicy version)
Coriander: 2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Red chilli: 1 (optional)

Procedure:
Step1:
Cook rice with enough water


Step2:
Dry roast the spices and grind it to a coarse powder


Step3:
Heat 2 tsp of oil and add mustard seeds. Once it start spluttering, add urad dhal and curry leaves


Step4:
Add cut onions and ginger and fry them until translucent.


Step5:
Add shredded carrot and sprinkle a tsp of water and cook for 5  - 7 minutes

Step6:
Add salt, and the spice powder and saute for a couple of minutes


Step7:
Mix it with the rice and serve