Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Cranberry Coconut Chutney(Simple & Healthy)

This is a very tasty tangy chutney.There is no cooking in this except for seasoning.All raw ingredients are used in preparation of this wonderful chutney.It has the combined goodness of the Cranberries and Coconut.
I was running out of cranberries and can't find them in the shops either.Thanks to my friend "S" that she remembered I like to use cranberries in my cooking.She shared with me the cranberries which in turn were given to her by her colleauge who has a farm and hence this delicious chutney today.

Let's see how this delicious chutney is made-----------


Main Ingredients :
------------------
Fresh Cranberries..............................1cup
Shredded Coconut ............................1cup
Green Chillies................................... 4/to taste
Cilantro.............................................few sprigs

For Seasoning :
----------------
Canola Oil.............................. 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds ........................1 Tsp
Cumin/Jeera Seeds .................1 Tsp
Urad Daal...............................2 Tsp
Chana Daal.............................2 Tsp
Turmeric.................................1/2Tsp
Red Chilly.............................. 2
Hing/Asafoetida ................... 1/4 Tsp
Salt........................................to taste

Preparation :
-------------


Place the washed cranberries, fresh (frozen coconut can be used too) coconut, green chillies, cilantro,turmeric and salt in the blender and blend it well. Once the mix is ready keep it aside.


Now take a pan and place it on the stove and turn on the heat. Add oil to the pan, once it is heated up add mustard seeds. Later add jeera, chana dal, urad dal, red chillies and hing.


Once the seasoning is ready switch off the stove, let it cool down a bit.


Add it to the cranberry-coconut mix in the blender jar, blend one more time so that the seasoning and the mix blend together.


This chutney goes well with hot rice,or any Indian flat bread.This chutney can be used as a spread on any bread/toast.



I am sending this recipe to Think Beyond The Usual : Fruit event strated and hosted by Nithu.

Note:
------
1. Today I used 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup coconut.

2. I did not use any water while grinding.If you have to use water for grinding use little warm water.

Aratikaaya Thokkala Pachadi/Plantain Skin(Peel) Chutney

This is a very healthy and delcious recipe.We are using the peel of 2 plantains in making this chutney.It's said that there are lot of nutrients in the skin of the fruit or vegetable.By making this chutney not only are we going to make use of the entire plantain but also we are going to gain the goodness from it.

Let's see how this nutritious chutney is made------------


Main Ingredients :
-------------------
Aratikaaya Thokkalu/Plantain Peel..............from 2 large Plantains

Seasoning Ingredients :
------------------------
Olive Oil....................................3tsp
Sesame Seeds............................2tsp
Chana Daal................................2tsp
Urad Daal..................................2tsp
Mustard Seeds...........................1tsp
Cumin Seeds..............................1tsp
Red Chilly..................................1
Turmeric....................................1/2tsp
Tamarind Paste.........................2tsp
Fenugreek.................................few seeds
Asafoetida.................................pinch
Jaggery/Bellam..........................very small piece
Salt............................................to taste

Preparation :
--------------
Take the peel of 2 well rinsed plantains and chop it into small pieces.Make sure that the peel is tender(not too fibrous).


Place a pan on the stove on medium heat.Add oil,chana daal,mustard seeds,cumin seeds,urad daal,red chilly,sesame seeds,fenugreek seeds and finally asafoetida in the order mentioned.


Once the seasoning is ready add the chopped plantain peel and turmeric to the seasoning and stir well and let cook for few minutes.Later add salt and stir in between .


Once the raw smell of the plantain peel is gone and the peel looks cooked switch off the stove.Transfer all the hot ingredients to a mixie jar.


Add tamarind paste and jaggery to the contents of the mixie jar and blend.


Yummy,Plantain Skin Chutney is ready to serve with hot rice.



Quinoa Porridge/Pudding/Kheer

This is a very healthy recipe.We all know that Quinoa is getting great attention because of it's high protein and allergen free characteristics.I like this grain very much as being a vegetarian it is hard to get enough protein from one dish.This is one more recipe that I came up with. I would say that the dish I am presenting can be eaten for breakfast as a porridge or can be served as a dessert or can be eaten for a quick and healthy dinner.


Ingredients Required :
-----------------------
Quinoa - 1 Cup
Water - 2 Cups
Whole Grain Milk - 3 Cups (Organic Unsweetened)
Dates - 20
Cashew - 2 tbsp

For Garnishing :
----------------
Cardamom.....................5(powdered)
Pistachios...............1tbsp
Golden Raisins........2tsp
Cashews................1tsp
Ghee......................1tsp

Preparation :
-------------
First rinse the quinoa 5 to 6 times nicely in water and drain so that the bitterness of the grains is gone.


Soak the dates and cashews in warm water in separate  bowls. 
  

Now pressure cook the quinoa in a pressure pan directly with 2cups of water for 2 whistles.


Once the pressure is gone remove the lid of the pressure pan.You will notice that the quinoa is nicely cooked.


Now switch  the stove on medium heat and add 3cups of organic whole grain milk to the pan of quinoa and stir well.Let the milk and quinoa start to bubble.


Grind the dates and cashews into paste.Now add the dates paste and stir well.

 Later add the cashew paste,cardamom powder and stir well and let cook for 5 more minutes on low heat so that the dates and cashew flavor blend in well.


Meanwhile in a pan add 1tsp of ghee and toast the raisins and all the nuts of your choice and keep them aside.



After 5minutes add the nuts to the quinoa-dates porridge/pudding/kheer and tranfer it to a serving bowl.


Yummy and healthy Quinoa Porridge/Pudding/Kheer is ready to be served.


Note :
-------
1. I did not use any other sweeteners except dates. If you like it sweeter you can add sugar/jaggery/honey/agave nectar.

2. You can use regular milk instead of whole grain milk. This organic unsweetened whole grain milk is made from organic brown rice, amaranth, millet and quinoa.

3.You can use almonds instead of cashews.

Earlier I posted this recipe on Nithu's Guest Post and now I am posting it on my blog to send this to couple of events.

This goes to CWF-WG : Quinoa Event hosted by Priya Mitharwal.

I am sending this to Jihva : BreakFast event being hosted by Suma and started by Indira .

I am sending this to EVENT : KHEER FESTIVAL AT EASY2COOKRECIPES  started and hosted by Shama Nagarajan.

I am sending this to Show Me Your Whole Grains event being hosted by Divya.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Reposting for Event Participation

These are some of the recipes I am reposting for participation in various events.


I am sending the following entries to Cruciferious challenge and Cauliflower event hosted by Yasmeen.

Broccoli Paratha

Broccoli Yum-Yum

Cauliflower Stir Fry

Kale_Mushroom Curry


I am sending all the following entries in which I used whole-grains or whole-grain-flours to ShowMeYourWholeGrains event being hosted by Divya .







I am sending the following entries to Healing Foods : Spinach event being hosted by Divya started by Siri .




I am sending the following recipes to Think Beyond The Usual : Fruit event hosted by Nithu.



I am sending the following recipe to Cooking With Seeds:Corriander Seeds event hosted by RV and started by Priya.




I would like to send these following recipes to the Pancakes event being hosted by Priya.



Oil Free Quinoa Dosa/Crepe

Oats and Legumes/Daals Dosa/Crepe(Oil Free Adai)





Friday, March 26, 2010

Bittergourd Chutney / Kakarakaya Pachadi / Karela Chutney(Yummy,Healthy)

Hey every one the title of this chutney seems really bitter and unbelievale right ? Don't worry about the taste.Though it is a chutney made with Bittergourd / Kakarakaya / Karela , it is very healthy , delicious and yummy because  even my little ones enjoyed this dish along with us.This is a very quick and easy recipe o make.

Let's get started with the preparation of this healthy and delicious chutney-----


Main Ingredients :
------------------
Bittergourd/Kakarakaya....................1cup(diced)
Onion...............................................1cup(diced)

Seasoning Ingredients :
-----------------------
Canola Oil........................................1tbsp
Chana Daal......................................2tsp
Urad Daal........................................2tsp
Mustard Seeds.................................1tsp
Cumin Seeds....................................1tsp
Coriander Seeds..............................1tsp
Turmeric.........................................1/2tsp
Methi Seeds.....................................few
Red Chilly........................................2
Garlic...............................................1(clove)
Tamarind.........................................2tsp
Jaggery...........................................small piece
Salt.................................................to taste

Preparation :
-------------
First wash the bittergourd/karela and cut it into small pieces.I got 1whole cup of pieces.Now take the onion and cut it into small pieces and have 1cup of them ready.Peel 1 clove of garlic and keep it aside.

Now place a pan on the stove on medium-high heat and add oil .once the oil is heated add chanadaal,urad daal,mustard seeds,cumin seeds,coriander seeds,red chilly,methi seeds and garlic and toast them till they are golden in color .Once the seasoning is ready, take it into a separate bowl.


To the remaining oil in the hot pan add the diced bittergourd pieces and let it cook covered for few minutes.Keep stirrring in between.


Once the bittergourd is little cooked add onion to the pan and stir it well.Cook covered for few minutes and stir in between.


Now add turmeric and salt and cook for 2 more minutes.


Once the vegetables are well cooked switch off the stove and transfer the hot vegetables to the mixie jar.


To the vegetable mix ,add tamarind and jaggery and grind it till the jaggery and tamarind mix well.Now add the entire seasoning to the mixie jar and grind it well.Tranfer the entire chutney fro the mixie jar into the serving bowl.


Yummy , healthy and delicious Bittergourd Chutney/Kakarkaya Pachadi is ready to be served with Hot rice or hot Chapathi, roti or naan.

Award from Priya Mitharwal and Gift from POM Wonderful

Today one more blog-pal PriyaMitharwal  from Mharo Rajasthans Recipes has also shared with me the Blog Lovin Award and the Honest Scrap Award .You can find the details of the award and the honest scrap I shared about me  here and here.Thank you Priya for sharing your achievements with me.This collection of awards is  motivating me to work  more hard towards my passion and get many more appreciations from friends and family.

On this nice occassion of awards celebration I would like to thank Kristen Cavanaugh from POM Wonderful for sending me a pack of 100% Pomegranate Juice to try it and know more about the health benefits of this juice.Here is the picture of the wonderful gift I received------

    
Soon I will post some recipes using this POM Juice.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Award from Rupali and Prize won for MLLA #20

Today Rupali from RecipeGrabBag has shared with me the Blog Lovin Award and the Honest Scrap Award .You can find the details about the awards and details about me here and here.Thank you Rupali for sharing your happiness with me.It means a lot to be recognised by the fellow bloggers and get appreciation from them.


I am also happy to let you know that today I posted the pictures of the prize I won for MLLA #20.You can find the details and pictures here .Thank you Susan and Hurst Beans.

Tri-Color Yogurt Rice / Daddhojanam with Colorful Vegetables

Don't think that this is just a Yogurt Rice.Well it is a yogurt rice, but with some additional flavors added to it. It is colorful to the eyes and  yummy to the tummy.All in all a wonderful yogurt rice recipe.Have you ever thought of adding coconut-chilly mix to it ? No --Right? This recipe is from my brother Seri. He lives in Finland . He makes variety of dishes with the limited vegetables and spices that are available to him. He loves to cook and entertain his friends with his cooking. Many of  his friends are fans of his cooking . I am very happy and thankful to him for sharing this recipe with me.

Let's see how this recipe is made------------------------------

Main Ingredients :
------------------
Raw Rice..................2cups(uncooked)
PlainYogurt...............4cups
Grated Carrot...........1/2cup
Grated Cucumber.....1/2cup
Grated Coconut........1/4cup
Green Chillies............3(to your taste)

Seasoning Ingredients :
------------------------
Ghee/Butter...............3tsp
Mustard Seeds..........1tsp
Urad Daal.................2tsp
Red Chilly.................1
CashewNuts.............few
Asafoetida................pinch
Salt..........................to taste

Garnish :
---------
Cilantro............few sprigs

Preparation :
-------------
First cook the rice and keep it aside.While the rice is cooling down we grate carrot , cucumber and chop cilantro. Grind the coconut and chilly together coarsely and keep aside.


Once the temperature of  the rice is warm add the yogurt(should be sweet not sour) to it and mix well.Add the required amount of salt and mix.


Now add the coconut-chilly mix and stir.Now add the grated carrot , grated cucumber and chopped cilantro.Finally fry all the seasoning ingredients in ghee and pour the seasoning over the colorful yogurt rice.Stir it well .


Yummy , healthy tri-color yogurt rice is ready to be served as is.If  you want to you can serve with papad, vadams or lemon pickle. Kids and adults equally enjoy this healthy rice.

Note :
-------
1)If the rice is too hot and after you add yogurt the rice becomes thick and dried once it is cool ,you can add warm milk or water or more yogurt to loosen it.

2)You can adjust green chilly according to your taste.

3)Try it with brown rice too it tastes good.

Make this healthy recipe and let me now how you like it.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Awards from NithuBala

Wow! Just a month in blogging and  an other award bestowed upon me by NithuBala from Nithu'sKitchen , Rupali  from RecipeGrabBag  and Priya from mharoRajasthan'sRecipes. Thank you Nithu,Rupali and Priya for sharing your awards with me.I am very happy to be surrounded by such wonderful people who are very inspiring and encouraging.

Nithu,Rupali,Priya shared with me the Blog Lovin Award--------

                                                               Blog Lovin Award



Nithu,Rupali and Priya also shared with me the Honest Scrap Award--------

                                                               Honest Scrap Award


Well, this award comes with some rules :

a) I must brag about it.

b) I have to display the badge on my blog and link to the one who tagged me to prove that I didn't tag myself  .

c) Share 10 things about myself.

d) Pass the award to other fellow bloggers by visiting their site.

Nothing much to brag about.I like the idea of honest scrap.I already shared a few things about me in Nithu's Guest Post .You can find the details hereLet me add a few more points to my honest scrap:

1) Before marriage I was a non-talker(very quite) and after marriage I am a non-stopper(talk-talk...)

2)I love to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

3)I am good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries of friends and family.

4)I like to watch cartoons and comedy shows.

5)I love to watch sports(tennis is my favorite).

6)Very rarely I do deep frying(less than 10times in the last 10years).

7)I prefer spicy food to sweet food(I like to eat green chillies too).

8)I like to finish my  entire cooking under 30minutes(making at least 3 dishes).

9)I like to be simple and dress simple.

10)I like to spend my time with my family more than anything else.

I would like to share all these above awards to a few of my fellow bloggers.I really like the way they present and explain their dishes.

They are---------

                                                          Happy Blogging Everyone





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Copyright Policy

Unless otherwise noted, Sumadhura is the legal copyright holder of all the written material and pictures posted in this blog .The content here may not be used , reprinted or published without the written consent of the author. All the recipes posted here are made according to the tastes of my family and the measures used in the recipes here are approximate.