Spinach ( Keerai) Poriyal

This is the recipe that i learnt from my mom. When i was pregnant, they adviced me to intake food which is rich in iron content. So i always use to try different type of recipes in spinach. And this is one of my fav......

INGREDIENTS :

keerai ( Spinach ) - 300 grms ( Washed and Cleaned)

Big Onion - 1 ( Finely chopped)

Garlic - 2 pallu ( Finely Chopped)

Red chilly - 3 number

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urid Dhal - 1 tsp

Chana dhal - 1 tsp

Oil - To fry

Salt - 3/4 tsp or To taste

PREPARATION :

* Take a pan, add oil. When oil is heated , then add the mustard seeds, urid dhal and chana dhal. And fry it.

* Now add the chopped onions and fry till golden brown.

* Add the chopped garlic and red chillies and fry it.

* Then add the washed keerai ( If you use the spinach, its better to chop the leaves rather than adding just like that)and fry it.

* Spinach will shrink into half when it is cooked. So Now add salt according to taste.It goes well with rice when served hot..........ENJOY......

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Spicy Tuna Chunks

Hi friends, Tuna are a type of fish. In Uk we get tuna chunks in sealed tins. I prefer tuna chunks in sunflower oil. There are many tuna recipes. But i will start with a simple recipe. And will surely post other tuna recipes soon.This recipes is a very simple and tasty. You can have this as a side dish or can even mix directly with plain rice and eat. Both are too Yummy.

Well.....here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS :

Tunk chunks - 1 tin

Big onion - 1 ( Chopped finely )

Ginger and Garlic paste - 3 spoons

chilly powder - 1 spoon

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 spoon

Salt - As per taste

Oil to fry onions

MASALA ITEMS:

Cinnomon sticks - 2-3 small pieces

Green Cardamons - 3 number

Cloves - 2

Bay leaves - 1

PREPARATION :

* First take a cooking pan. Add oil and add the above mentioned masala items and fry it.

* Then add the chopped onions and fry till golden brown.

* When the onions are fried to golden brown colour, add the tuna chunks to the pan ( Add along with the oil in the tuna chunk tin, do not drain away).

* Then add Turmeric powder, chilly powder, and salt and mix every thing to-gether. Then add Gram masala finally.

*Fry till the raw smell goes. You can even have the tuna fried till they change in dark brown colour. Do keep mixing, every now and then.

Thats it , Spicy Tuna Chunks are ready to eat. ENJOY....

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Dal Vadai / Kara Vadai / Masal Vadai

Dal vada, is one of the most common and famous dish in southern part of india. You can usually see these during clelebration days, or even prepared for friends who come home in the evening time. The main part of this is to keep the vada crispy. Its such a simple and tasty dish.

Well, my friends always ask me how i prepare such tasty vadai. Its something that i learnt from my mom, and here is the answer for that......

INGREDIENTS :

Channa dhal - 1 cup

Big Onions - 1( Finely chopped. If you can manage to get small onions, it will taste much more better, But being in place like UK, it very difficult to get in some parts)

Green Chilly - 3 small ( finely chopped)

Ginger and Garlic paste - 3 spoons

Coriander leaves - little ( Chopped)

Curry leaves - Little ( chopped)

Rice flour - 3 spoons

Corn flour - 2 sppons

Salt - To taste

Oil - To deep fry.

PREPARATION :

* Well... First soak the channa dhal for 3 hrs. ( If you dont have that much time, then you can soak them in hot water , so that you can soak it for 1 1/2 hrs. )

* Now take the soaked chann dhal and put it in the mixy jar...But remember you should not add water to it. Don't add even very little water to it. Because, how much ever you put less water, that much crisp you get.

* Grind the chann dhal........But just for very little time....(Dont grind too smooth)

* Now put it in a dry bowl, and add ginger and garlic paste to it and mix well.

* Then add the chopped onions, Chopped Green chilly, Coriander leaves, curry leaves, and salt and mix well.

* Finally add the rice flour, corn flour and mix well.

* Well.........Now make a small ball shaped and keep it in your palm and press gently by using your other palm.

* Now put it in the oil and deep fry it untill it comes to golden brown.

Thats it, your yummy and spicy Dhal vada is ready.

You can serve them hot with Coconut chutney or Tomato chutney....Hope you enjoy making this recipe.........ENJOY...

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Ghee Rice - Basmati rice cooked with onion, chilly and cashew nuts

Well...Ghee rice is one of the delicious, simple, rich and yummy dish. I love the taste. It goes well with any sort of side dishes. I prefer this while guest arrive home. Its so simply that we can prepare it for any number of people. Here i will tell the measure for one cup of basmati rice, so you can convert the measurments for as many cups you want.

INGREDIENTS :

Bamathi rice - 1 cup

Ghee - 3 tsp

Cashew nuts - 100grms

Onions - 1 ( finely chopped)

Green Chilly - 3 ( if you want less spicy, then you can add according to yours....)( cut it length wise)

Ginger and Gralic paste - 3 tsp

Coconut Milk - 1 cup

Salt - To taste

MASALA ITEMS :

bay leaves - 2

Cardamons - 3

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon sticks - small piece ( 2-3 )

PREPARATION:

* Well, the preparation is too simple, first take a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the Ghee and when it melts, add the Cloves, Cardamons, Cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Fry it.

* Then add the cashew nuts to it and fry till it comes to golden brown.

* Then add the chopped onions and fry for some times. Then add the green chilly and fry it.

* Then add the Ginger and garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.

* Then add the washed basmati rice and fry for 3 - 5 mins.

*Then add 1cup coconut milk and 1 cup water. Now mix all together. Then add salt to it.

( If you are doing it in electric rice cooker, then the job, but just keep mixing it inbetween , so that every thing blends to-gether. just before its going to get over, add 1 more spoon of ghee, and leave it. So that once the rice is cooked you can serve it hot.....)

or otherwise , if you are cooking it in a pressure cooker, then do not put the vessel. After adding the salt, simmer the stove, and close the pressure cooker with its lid , (but dont put the vessel or weight), let the air come out, but every one and then, keep stiring it and when it is semi-cooked add 1 more spoon of ghee and mix well...So finally, when it rice is cooked, switch off the stove , close the pressure cooker and now put the weight on it and leave it for few 5 mins.

Well, the Ghee rice is ready now.

Serve hot with spicy side dishes.

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Kitchen Tips

It was in the past olden days, where women use to spend loads of time in kitchen. But in todays modern days, the most expensive commodity is "Time". Yound women today are totally nonplused and do not have patience to learn through advice or trial and error method. So those who are new to kitchen, and dont have time to spend much time in kitchen, has to surely need some handy tips to know to save time and efforts.

There where days, where i was very much new to the kitchen. As a newly married bride, i came to UK leaving back my parents and relations. It was a tough time for me to go and cook something for my hubby. So many errors and wastage. I was totally clueless about running the house. In my endeavour to become a perfect cook and a homemaker, i really spend lot of time in getting tips my my mom, grandmother, friends, and going thro so many books. Here are the few tips which i learnt from my mom, grandmothers, friends and relatives, and also few whom i come arcoss. Hope these tips would be useful for someone like me.

KITCHEN TIPS JUST FOR YOU

Cooking Tips :

* Add 1 or 2 pieces of betel nuts are excellent meat tenderizer.

* To maintain the original colour of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, keep them in ice-cold water just after boiling them.

*To prepare vegetable biriyani with meaty flavour, add little of lemon grass while cooking it.

Cleaning Tips :

* To remove stubbirn stains from utensils, soak them in water with little bleach. Leave them overnight and wash next day.

* To clean the microwave, sprinkle some baking soda on a damp cloth and wipe off the stains. This way you can clean the microwave without making any scratching.

Spicy Fish Fry ( Meen Varuval) - Fish pieces marinated in fresh ground spices and deep fried

Spicy fish fry (meen varuval) is a fish marinated with a blend of unique southern spices. It can either be deep fried or pan fried ( pan fried used little less oil comparing to deep fried)

INGREDIENTS:

*Fish (Sea bass) - 1/2 Kg
*Ginger & Garlic Paste - 3-4
*SpoonSalt - As per taste
*Chilly powder - 1 and 1/2 spoon
*Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon
*Rice flour - 4-5 spoon
*Corn flour - 3-4 spoon
*food colouring (red) - 1/4 spoon
*Oil - To fry the Fish
*Lemon wedges for garnishing

PREPARATION :

* Cut the fish into small thin slices.
* Now take a bowl and add all the above mentioned item together and make it into thick paste using water( you can even use yogurt instead of water).
* Now apply the paste evenly on each onto each and every slice and spread it on a plate.
* Keep it in fridge for 1/2 hr.
* Then heat oil in a pan and add the fish and fry it...... Enjoy!!!

Spinach - Lets Know

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial), which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular-based, very variable in size from about 2-30 cm long and 1-15 cm broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, 3-4 mm diameter, maturing into a small hard dry lumpy fruit cluster 5-10 mm across containing several seeds.

Nutrition :
Iron:
Spinach is known as a rich source of iron and calcium. According to the United State ofDepartment of Agriculture, a 180 gram serving of boiled spinach contains 6.43 mg of iron, whereas one 6 oz. (170 gram) ground hamburger patty contains at most 4.42 mg. Thus spinach does contain a relatively high level of iron, compared to other vegetable and meat sources.
The iron in spinach is poorly absorbed by the body unless eaten with calcium.

Calcium:
Spinach also has a high calcium content.

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, and vitamin B6. It is a very good source of dietary fiber, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc and vitamin E. In addition, it is a good source of omega-3 and fatty acids.

Chilly Paneer

Basic preparation of Paneer :

*At first slice the paneer into smaller cubes.
*Then fry it in the oil till it gets golden brown.
*Then if u want the paneer to be soft ( Because few people like it in that way) then add the fried paneer into boiled water and soak it for 10 - 15 mins.
*If you like it bit harder then you can use the fried paneer directly, without soaking them in boiled water.


Ingredients :

* Paneer - ½ kg
* Onions - 1 (slice lengthwise)
* Green chilly - 5 (sliced lengthwise)
* Ginger & Garlic - Small piece.( Sliced into very small pieces)
* Vinegar - 3 tsp
* Cornflour - ½ tsp (mix it with water to make it paste)
* Ajinomoto - ½ tsp
* Soya Sauce - ¼ tsp
* Cooking oil - 6 spoons
* Salt - To taste
* Food colouring - red or orange(Optional)

Preparation :

* Heat oil in an iron vessel.
* Add ginger & garlic pieces(chopped very finely) and fry well.
* Add Green chilly and fry for just 30 seconds.
* Add onions and fry till golden brown.
* Now add ½ cup water and also the vinegar and boil for 20 seconds.
* Add the corn flour paste and when the mixture thickens add salt, ajinomoto, soya sauce, food colouring and boil for few mins.
* Finally add the Paneer to the mixture and boil it for about 2-3 mins.

Garnish and serve hot.