Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Freshly Ground Sambar Paste - Two Recipes

These days we are all so used to making sambar with instant and ready to use powders due to time factor.I do not remember my mom using sambar powder not even once.Every time she prepares sambar  ,she would use all fresh ingredients and prepare fresh masala paste and the sambar always tasted out of the world.I can still feel the fresh and delicious aromas of my mom's sambar.I am sure I can never make it like her,even if I have all the procedure explained by her,I feel that it is "mom's magic hand".

You can find the recipe for my Sambar Powder here .If you have time go for fresh ground paste.

Let us see how the two versions of this Delicious Sambar Paste are made------------

Recipe #1 Flavorful Regular Sambar Paste 

Main Ingredients :
-----------------------
Chana daal........................2tsp
Urad daal..........................2tsp
Cumin seeds......................1/4tsp
Mustard seeds...................1/4tsp
Black pepper.....................1/4tsp
Dry Red Chilly...................2(to your taste)
Coriander seeds.................5tsp
Fresh Coconut...................2tsp

Seasoning Ingredients :
---------------------------
Canola Oil..........................1/2tsp

Preparation :
-----------------
Place a pan on medium heat and add half teaspoon of oil .To this add chana daal , urad daal , cumin , mustard , black pepper , red chilly and fry till they are golden in color.Tranfer them to flat dish and let it cool.

Once cooled transfer the fried ingredients to the mixie jar. To this add coriander seeds and coconut  and grind to smooth paste using little water.

Sambar paste is ready to be used in the sambar.

Recipe #2 Sambar Paste with Garam Masala Flavors

Main Ingredients :
-----------------------------
Chana Daal.......................2tsp
Urad Daal.........................2tsp
Mustard Seeds..................1/4tsp
Cumin Seeds.....................1/4tsp
Black Pepper....................1/4tsp
Red Chilly.........................1
Cloves..............................2
Cardamom........................1
Ginger...............................1inch
Garlic................................1cloves
Coriander Seeds................5tsp
Fresh Coconut...................2tsp

Seasoning Ingredients :
--------------------------
Canola Oil............................1/2tsp

Preparation :
--------------------
Place a pan on the stove on medium heat and add oil.To this add chanadaal , uraddaal , mustard seeds , cumin seeds , black pepper , red chilly , cloves and cardamom and fry them till they are golden in color and switch off the stove.

Now add the garlic pods(stove should be off) to the warm ingredients in the pan and stir once and transfer the ingredients to a plate and cool them.

Once they are cooled transfer them to the mixie jar and add the ginger, coriander seeds and coconut and blend all of them to a smooth paste with little water.

Delicious Sambar Paste with Garam Masala Flavor is ready to be used in the making of Sambar.

Note :
-------------
1) Both versions of the Sambar Paste are very very delicious.

2) Make sure you do not roast the coriander seeds,corainder seeds enhance the flavor of the sambar.

3) Using fresh coconut gives fresh flavors to the samabar.

4) We need not add salt to the paste as you will add salt to the sambar.

5) Use only 1/2 tsp oil not more than that.We use oil only to coat the ingredients.

6) If you don't like to add black pepper , you can skip it.

7) Add garlic to warm seasoning so that raw smell is gone , don't fry it.

8) You can make this sambar paste ahead and can freeze  in the ziploc cover and use it later.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tried and Tasted on Tuesday's(3T's) : June 29 2010

As you all know Tuesday is a special day, as on this day I get to post the recipes that I tried from our fellow bloggers.As I try and make the recipes according to their directions I do not post their recipes here but I post a link to their recipe so that the visitors of SUMADHURA get to see the recipes of the fellow bloggers from their blog.I do not alter their recipes unless there are some ingredients with allergy concerns.

This week I am sharing the recipes that I tried from 3 wonderful fellow bloggers and 3 delicious recipes.Thank you dear friends for sharing these delicious recipes with us.



I followed the recipe according to her directions, except that I added some cumin and mustard seeds too in the seasoning.It was very simple to make and delicious to taste.We loved it.Thank you Faiza Ali for sharing this healthy recipe with us.

2) Dosakaya Pickle from VineelaSiva by Vineela.


I followed the recipe according to her directions and the pickle tasted very delicious.Thank you Vineela for sharing this delicious recipe with us.(My dosakaya does not have the peel on it as I cut the pieces  for making daal and peeled the skin.As there were more pieces I ended up making this delicious pickle).




I followed the recipe as is in her blog except that I used asafoetida instead of garlic.Adding jaggery to the kadhi was new to me,I did add it to the kadhi and it tasted very delicious.Thank you Nayna for sharing this tasty and healthy recipe with us.

Dear visitors of SUMADHURA ,will be back with more tried and tasted recipes next week.Enjoy these  few recipes that I tried from fellow bloggers and posted today.For these delicious recipes and more visit the blogs of these wonderful blog pals and explore their culinary world.

Broccoli-Celery Rice

This is an other simple,healthy and delicious rice dish.As the days are getting hotter and humid I prefer to make one pot dishes more often for lunch and dinner.We had a get-together and had broccoli and celery for salad and some pieces were leftover.Did not feel like eating them raw any more and ended up making this rice dish with them.It tasted very delicious and we all enjoyed eating it.

Let us see how this rice is made--------------


Main Ingredients :
------------------------
Raw Rice...........................1.5cups
Broccoli Florets.................1med bunch
Celery Sticks.....................2small

Seasoning Ingredients :
-------------------------------
Canola Oil...............................1.5tbsp
Mustard Seeds........................1tsp
Cumin Seeds...........................1tsp
Bay Leaf..................................1
Cardamom..............................4
Pav Bhaji Masala.....................2tsp
Lemon Juice............................1tbsp
Salt..........................................to taste

Preparation :
--------------------
Cook the rice and keep it aside to cool down.Now take the rinsed broccoli florets and celery sticks and chop them finely in the chopper.Place a pan on the stove on medium high heat and add oil to it.Once the oil heats up add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,bay leaf and cardamom.


Once the seasoning starts to splutter add the finely chopped mix of broccoli and celery to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.


Now add turmeric and salt and cook for 1 more minute.


Now add pav bhaji masala to the cooked veggies and stir .


Now add the cooked rice to it,adjust salt and mix well till all the flavors blend in.


Finally switch off the stove and add lemon juice and stir well.


Delicious and healthy Broccoli-Celery Rice is ready to be served.


Note :
-----------
1) We enjoyed eating it as is with some yogurt as side.

2) If you don't like to eat broccoli or celery in raw form, this will be a great way to eat them.

Vegetable Toast and Grilled CheeseToast coated with Avocado Batter

This is a very unique and delicious vegetable sandwich dipped in avocado batter.A unique creation or replica of french toast, very good substitute for people who do not eat eggs.This is a very healthy way to make kids eat avocado.My kids enjoyed this sandwich and so did we.I made 2 variations of this sandwich which I am going to share with you.

My kids were asking for grilled cheese sandwich so I made theirs with cheese.For me and my husband I made it with onion and tomato filling.For coating both the sandwiches I used the same Avocado Batter.

So let us see how I made these delicious and healthy sandwiches------------

For the Avocado Batter :
-------------------------------
Ripe Avocado........................1(pitted and scooped)
Milk.......................................1/2cup
Black Pepper.........................1/2tsp
Paprika Powder......................1tsp
Lemon Juice...........................1tsp
Chaat Masala Powder............1tsp
Salt........................................to taste

In a bowl mash the avocado very well and add milk,pepper powder,paprika,lemon juice,chaat masala and salt and mix them well and make a nice batter.Keep the batter aside.



For Kids Sandwich :
--------------------------
Canola Oil.....................................................1tsp
Eizekel Bread with Sesame Seeds..................4 slices
Cheddar Cheese...........................................2squares
Avocado Batter............................................to coat the bread

Preparation :
----------------
Place a tawa/pan on the stove on med heat.While the pan is heating,take 2 slices of bread.Place a cheese square on one of the bread and cover it with another bread.


Now coat the top of the covered bread with the avocado batter and place the battered side on the pan and now cover the top bread piece with avocado batter.


Spoon 1/2 tsp of oil around the bread and toast it well on both the sides .


Delicious Grilled Cheese Sandwich dipped in Avocado Batter is ready to be served.My kids enjoyed this delicious toast along with Dates and Carrots.


For Veggie Sandwich :
-------------------------------
Canola Oil.................................................1tsp
Eizekel Bread with Sesame Seeds..............4slices
Eizekel Bread with Cinnamon Raisin...........2slices
Tomato.....................................................1(cut in circles)
Red Onion................................................1(cut in circles)
Cilantro.....................................................few leaves(finely chopped)
Avocado Batter........................................to coat the bread

Preparation :
----------------
While the pan is heating, take 2 slices of bread.Coat both the open sides with avocado batter.On one of the battered slice place some cut onion,tomato and cilantro.Cover it with the other batter coated slice.


Now cover the top of the sandwich with the avocado batter and placed the battered side down on the hot tawa.Now coat the other open side with avocado batter.(In this sandwich both sides of each bread is coated with avocado batter inside and out).


Spoon 1/2 tsp of oil and toast the sandwich on both the sides.


Delicious Veggie Sandwich coated with Avocado Batter is ready to be served.


Note :
--------
1) As an alternative I tried one Veggie Sandwich with Cinnamon Raisin Flavored Eizekel Bread and that too tasted very delicious.



2) It sure is a delicious alternative for French Toast with delicious Indian masalas.

3) One more healthy way to add avocado to our diet.

4) Eizekel bread is a bread made of sprouted grains,very healthy.

5) For kid's sandwich only the outer side of bread is coated with avocado batter.

6) For veggie sandwich both inner and outer sides of the bread are coated with avocado batter.

This goes to Priya Mitharwal's Veggie/Fruit a Month Event.

This goes to Global Kadai: Indianised French Toast event hosted by Priya and started by Cilantro.

This goes to Healing Foods:Onion Event hosted by Priya and started by Siri .

This goes to CWS : Pepper Event hosted by Padma started by Priya.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Burmese Style Cucumber Salad

While I was looking for salads from Burmese Cuisine,I came across this simple and delicious Cucumber Salad.Immediately I tried and it was very tasty and delicious.This is a very nice way to make the watery cucumbers more tasty.I got this recipe from here and this recipe calls for use of fruit vinegar,as I did not have fruit vinegar ,I used red vine vinegar.

This is how we make this simple and delicious cucumber salad---------


Main Ingredients :
------------------------
English Cucumber........................1medium size
Celery.........................................1stick
Green Chilly................................2

Seasoning Ingredients :
------------------------------
Sugar.......................................1/2tsp
Red Vine Vinegar.....................2tsp
Sesame Seeds..........................1tsp(toasted)
Salt..........................................to taste

Preparation :
---------------------
Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds from it.Cut the cucumber into thin strips and place them in a bowl.Add sugar , vinegar and mix well and keep aside.

Now toast the sesame seeds and cool and crush them a little.Cut the green chillies and celery into small pieces and keep them aside.

When you are ready to eat add the celery pieces,cut green chilly ,toasted and crushed sesame seeds and salt to the bowl of marinated cucumber and serve.


Delicious Burmese Style Cucumber Salad is ready to be served.


This goes to AWED : BURMA guest hosted by Swathi and started by DK .
 
Note :
----------
1) When serving for kids omit the chillies.

Avocado-Kasoori Methi Rice / Avocado Rice


This is another dish that I prepared with Avocado.It's obvious that I intend to make one pot dishes on the weekend and as a part of it I tried this delicious and tasty avocado rice.This is a very delicious,healthy and easy to make rice.

Here is how I made this rice-----------------


Main Ingredients :
-----------------------
Raw Rice..........................2cups(uncooked)
Ripe Avocado...................1(pitted and scooped)
Kasoori Methi...................1/4cup
Red Onion.........................1(small ,diced)

Seasoning Ingredients :
-----------------------------
Canola Oil...............................1.5tbsp
Bay Leaves..............................2
Cinnamon Sticks......................2(small)
Cardamom..............................4
Cumin Seeds...........................2tsp
Lemon Juice............................1tbsp
Black Pepper Powder.............1.5tsp
Pulav Masala Powder..............2tsp
Salt.........................................to taste

Garnish :
---------------
Cilantro...........................few leaves(finely chopped)
Lemon Juice....................for drizzling on the rice for flavor(optional)

Preparartion :
-----------------
Cook the rice and keep it aside to cool down.Now take the scooped avocado flesh into a bowl and mash it.


Once the avocado is mashed, add little salt ,black pepper and lemon juice to it and mix well.Keep it aside.


Now place a pan on medium high heat and add oil.Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds,bay leaves,cinnamon sticks,nutmeg and fry for a minute.Once they start to turn golden add kasoori methi  leaves and fry for a minute.

Now add diced red onions and turmeric to the pan and fry for 2 more minutes or till the onions are translucent.

Once the onions are done, now add pulav masala powder and stir well.


Now add the avocado mix that we kept ready to the pan and mix in well till the mashed avocado blends in well with the ingredients in the pan.Cook for just 2 minutes( not more than that,we do not want to fry the avocado).

Once the avocado mix blend in well add salt and cilantro to the mix and stir.(Remeber that we added salt to the mashed avocado so do not add more now).


 Now add the cooked rice to this flavored avocado mix and mix the rice well so that all the flavors blend in and garnish with cilantro.


Yummy and delicious Avocado-Kasoori Methi Rice is ready to serve.


This goes to Priya Mitharwal's Veggie/Fruit A Month Event.

This goes to Healing Foods : Onion Event hosted by Priya started by Siri .

This goes to CWS : Pepper Event hosted by Padma started by Priya.

Note :
----------
1) We enjoyed it as is with some lemon juice drizzled on top.

2) You can omit Kasoori Methi and just make plain Avocado Rice too.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Avocado-Coconut Vegan IceCream(Healthy and Delicious)

Since Yasmeen announced her Icecream event and PriyaMitharwal has announced Avocado as the fruit of the month,I was looking for avocado icecream recipe.Every time I looked at a recipe there would be some ingredient that I did not want to use.Finally, I ended up making my own version of this icecream and it tasted very delicious.I am happy with the outcome and hence posting it here.My family loved eating it and hope you would too.

Let us see how this is made--------------


Main Ingredients :
-------------------------
Ripe Avocado....................1(Pitted and scooped)
Coconut Milk.....................1cup(store bought)
Pure Vanilla Extract...........1tsp
Agave Nectar.....................2tbsp

Preparation :
-----------------
Blend the scooped avocado flesh with the coconut milk,agave nectar and vanilla extract until smooth.


Now pour this smooth blend into a freezer safe container and freeze it covered for 3hours or till frozen.


Now take the icecream out from the freezer and scrape it with the fork and whisk the icecream so that it does not form crystals and put it back in the freezer for 2 more hours.(After 2hrs repeat this step one more time) and then let freeze completely
.

You can leave it in the freezer overnight and move it to the fridge few minutes before you plan to eat so that it softens.


Delicious Avocado Icecream is ready to be served.

Note :
------------
1) I had only a cup of coconut milk , so I used only that.
2) It's easy to make and healthy to serve.Definitely make it again.

I am sending this to Priya's Veggie/Fruit A Month : Avocado Event and Yasmeen's I Scream for Icecream Event.


This icecream goes to Sizzling Summer Recipes Contest hosted by SpicyTasty.


Saturday, June 26, 2010

BottleGourd Peel-Broccoli Stalks-Yellow Cucumber Peel Chutney

This is another try that resulted in a delicious end result.Never thought of this combination ever before.It just happened out of the blue.I generally use bottle gourd peels to make chutney and we do eat the yellow cucumber with peel when we make pickle with it and I do use the broccoli stalks too when making the filling for the paratha.

I came up with this recipe because I was having few peels of bottlegourd(sorakaya) and yellow-cucumber(dosakaya) and stalks from 2 small broccoli bunches and none could be used just by themselves. I did not want to throw them and hence this delicious chutney with all the nutrition.Using them all togehter was a beautiful decision and this recipe is a keeper.

Let's see how it is made-----------------


Main Ingredients :
------------------------
BottleGourd Peel......................from 1 small  sized bottlegourd
YellowCucumber Peel..............from 1 medium sized yellow-cucumber
Broccoli Stalks.........................from 2 small bunches of broccoli
Green Chilly.............................3

Seasoning Ingredients :
-----------------------------
Canola Oil............................1.5 tbsp
Mustard Seeds......................1tsp
Cumin Seeds.........................1tsp
Chana Daal...........................2tsp
Urad Daal.............................2tsp
Methi Seeds..........................few(4seeds)
Asafoetida.............................pinch
Turmeric...............................1/4tsp
Red Chilly.............................2
Tamarind Paste......................2tsp
Salt........................................to taste

Preparation :
-------------------
First rinse the peels and the stalks in fresh water and cut them into small pieces.In the picture right side yellow peels are from yellow-cucumber,in the middle you see cut broccoli stalks and to the left you see the peels from bottlegourd.


Place a pan on the stove on med-high heat.Add oil then add cumin,mustard,chana daal,urad daal,red chillies,methi seeds and hing.


Once the seasoning is fried transfer it into a bowl and add the slit green chillies and cut peels and stalks to the remaining oil and fry them. Also add turmeric and little salt and cook till the rawness is gone.


Once the veggies get tender or cooked switch off the stove and add tamarind paste to the hot veggies.


Transfer the hot ingredients from the pan to the blender jar ,also add some of the fried seasoning to it and blend .Adjust salt as needed(we added some salt while cooking them) and blend one more time.


Now transfer the chutney to a serving bowl and top it with remaining seasoning.


Delicious BottleGourd Peel-YellowCucumberPeel-Broccoli Stalks Chutney is ready to be served with rice,rotis,dosas,idlies,uthappams.Use your imagination.


This goes to Best out of Waste event hosted by Nithu.

Note :
------------

1) As this is the first time I tried this combination I did not add any other herbs or garlic to this chutney.I wanted to enjoy the original flavors of the dish.

2) If you like you can add cilantro or garlic or curry leaves too.You may even try adding sesame seeds or peanuts too and try it.
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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.