Idiyappam/Sevai with veg Stew

All south indian families in India make sevai/idiyappam at home but the process is difficult, messy and cumbersome... It always required 2 people... so as long as my MIL was with me, we attempted making this...after that we ate it either at restaurants or at mom's place in India. Kids  look forward to these yearly trips to India esp for the different n scrumptious food they get to eat at grandma's.... But this weekend, armed with the basic omapodi press (bhujia press), I attempted making it at home... I took mom's recipe, halved it..... and  proud to say that it came out well...!!! 
I made veg stew to go with it.


 Really guys these rice noodles just melt in your mouth.....no leftovers too!!
This dish is served with coconut chutney, any sambar variety, mor kozambu(kadi) or stew... whatever the family likes... 


For the sevai/idiyappam I used
1 glass boiled rice soaked in water overnight
2 spoons oil (I used gingily/seseame oil..any oil's ok)
for garnish...some oil, mustard seeds, urud dal, chana dal and freshly grated coconut


For Stew...
2 potatos, 
1 carrot (optional:  beans, cauliflower, peas)    
3 green chillies, 
big piece of ginger (cut in big flat chunks)
curry leaves
salt
100 ml coconut milk 
1 tspoon of coconut oil


Sevai
1.Grind the soaked rice till very smooth.
2.For cooking..In a non stick kadai/dish add 2 spoons of oil and pour the rice batter, add salt and keep the stove at medium. Keep stirring the mix till it becomes one big soft lump, switch the gas off Don't let it become very solid, will become difficult to squeeze through the press.
3. Put big spoonfulls into the press and squeeze the sevai out. repeat till all the batter is over.
4. steam the squeezed sevai for 10-12 min.
5. for tadka/garnish, in a spoonful of oil kept on stove add mustard seeds, urud dal and chana dal, when imustard starts to spurt, swich it off and garnish. Add tadka and tablespoonful of fresh coconut to each serving.


For Stew..
Cook all the vegetables with 1/2-3/4 glass of excess water (in a cooker as thats convenient) with salt added. 
Once done turn off the gas and add coconut milk, mix well and stir in the coconut oil....garnish with more curry leaves...


I make so much dosa n idli for b/fast at home that this dish was a welcome change and also not very difficult to make...try it out...and do write....:)

Fettuccine Al Fungi

Guys this Pasta came out real yummy! Last week my lil one ate it at our local pasta place, 'Pasta Fresca' and felt like eating there again today...( I knew it would set me back by quite a few $$$) so I decided to try my hand at it...!! Of course I didn't follow any recipe, just tried to recreate the taste and aroma of the dish...well dint turn out exact but yum nevertheless!


I used 1/2 packet fettuccine..(could use any pasta!)
200 grms button mushrooms cut
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
some leek or asparagus or spring onion ( I used leek)
Water for boiling pasta
salt to taste
White Sauce
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp butter (can add some cheese too)
1/2 ltr milk


For White Sauce...Roast the plain flour for a few min and mix it with 1/4 cup of cold milk. whisk it well so that there are no clumps of flour.
In a seperate dish start boiling the remaining milk...after a few moments add the flour and milk mixture and stir it continuously, add salt and butter, once its thicked to resemble light sauce, switch the gas off.


Boil the pasta and remove all the water, wash it in cold water. keep it aside.


Roast the garlic in the olive oil in a seperate dish till light brown, add the cut mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Once done, add the pasta, salt to taste. Switch the gas off. Add the white sauce(if the white sauce becomes too thick, add more milk to bring it to right consistancy). garnish it with leek/asparagus...some black pepper maybe....Heavenly Aroma...Scrumptious to taste...try it sometime..
Enjoy...

Baked Rissotto Capsicum (bell peppers)

This Dish took me ten min of preperation and about 20  min of baking. 
It turned out really yummy. Of course I always improvise on the recipe and you can do too. I have no set ways of making any particular dish...just have an idea and the gut feeling that it would turn out ok.. here's what I used...
 3 bell peppers
75 grm grated cheddar cheese
1 sml bowl of cooked basmati rice
3/4 cereal bowl frozen corn
1 big tomato blanched and pureed
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion
1 tbsp Olive oil
Fresh herb----basil, Sweet majoram, Majoram, Coriander leaves


---Thaw the frozen corn by placing in the microwave for a min. 


----Cut the bell peppers horizontally and remove out all the seeds.


-----Saute the onion and garlic in some of the oil, add the corn and rice. Add salt and finally add the pureed tomato. leave it on the stove until its all mixed, for about 2 min, add the herbs.(You may add some cheese too if you wish)


----take one of the cut peppers(capsicums) and fill some cheddar cheese, add the rice mix and top it with some more cheese. Repeat with all the rest of the peppers. Arrange them in a pre-oiled dish.


-----bake at 200 deg C for 20 min...


Enjoy...bon appetet... 

Vishu ( Malayalam New Year) Spread!

This Year  Vishu was on the 15th of April. I had some friends over for the Kerala feast that day. I had onion pakoda, banana and jackfruit chips with kalamansi lime soda for starters...this was followed by lunch...avial, veg stew, broad beans veggie, salad (mango, cucumber n moong dal), rice, sambar, rasam, kerala papadam and ofcourse the yummiest of all...pal payasam..!!

Also had made some authentic pickles like puli inchi, raw mango instant pickle and mango ginger pickle...

We all ate to our stomachs fill and to finished it off with a strong cup of southie coffee(to avoid dozing off after the sumptuous meal!)

The Spread...

The pickles..

For Vishu the main ritual that is performed is in the early morning. I decorated some flowers esp yellow kani flowers, pulses, rice, salt, coconut, veggies, fruits, gold, pudu panam(panch dantu which is given at the time of wedding!) and currency notes in front of a big mirror.... for viewing the reflection of decorations first thing in the morning... in the morning, I lit the lamp and woke up my husband and kids and brought them to the temple n decorations with their eyes closed...so that they see it first thing ..!  All the youngsters are  then given some money with blessings...(one of the reasons why all kids remember this festival very well!!).. Its fascinating that we all have such unique festivals celebrated in different parts of India, each having its own significance, according to the climate, harvest or  based on epic tales, each so colourful.... coming with its own set of rituals and yum food items..! i havent given any recipes here as there are too many items...also they are very traditional...ones you would find easily on the net...nevertheless pl feel free to ask for them, will pass it o you...happy reading...raji.

Pasta for All

 This is one dish which brings my kids to the table within seconds (be it for breakfast, lunch ,evening tea or Dinner!) ... When they were young they preferred pasta with just tomato based sauce or the white sauce with lots of cheese. But now that they are teenagers, their tastes have changed and so has my recipe...they like it spicy, tangy and hot....

Here's one that always turns out yum and is very easy to make with everyday ingredients..

1/2 packet (250 grms)-- pasta (I have used Penne)

2-3 cloves ----garlic cut into small pieces

1-2---- fresh red chillies (hot ones)

1 tbsp----- olive oil (use less if desired)

 dry basil 

 fresh coriander leaves cut small

1/2 lemon juice

75 grm grated parmesan cheese

water for cooking the pasta.

1.Cook the pasta, once done put it in a colander and wash it in cold water to stop it from cooking further.

2. In a heated  pan pour the olive oil , garlic and pieces or red chillies.

3. Once the garlic turns light brown, stir in the pasta, add the dry basil and mix it well. Leave it in the stove for a few minutes.

4. Once the gas is switched off, add coriander leaves and lemon juice. Stir it well. Check if salt if sufficient.

5. Serve it by adding the parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!

Serve it with a Salad of blanched cooled brocolli, cauliflower, sweet peas, snow peas, tomato, Avacado....whatever you like....salted and with a dash of olive oil for a complete meal!

veg grilled sandwitch

 I have used foccacia bread...filled it with mashed avacado, thinly sliced onion, tomato, red n green peppers, some fresh basil leaves, sweet majoram (marugu in tamil thats used in prayers! yum herb),  sliced cheddar cheese...add salt,  pepper, chillis... 
 Cut the bread in half and fill it with all the the above Grill it in a sandwitch maker... Enjoy hot grilled sandwitch in appox 8 min!!!
You can add grilled veggies, chutneys, pasta sauce, pesto sauce...each one tastes unique n yummy.