Garam Masala Powder

A beautiful mixture of several spices that perk up every dish.A simple powder that lets you know that an Indian family stays in a building ;).Many times when Hubby & I go for a stroll just the aroma of a dish cooked with this powder would make us smile at each other & we'd say ' that's for sure an Indian'. Every family would have its own recipe for this powder and it definitely adds a unique flavor to the dish.I prefer making this at home as it definitely tastes and smells better than the store bought ones.I find that sometimes sprinkling a pinch on a dish just before serving makes it very aromatic & tempting.Well ,how many times have we tried out dishes just because they smell great :) There are many versions of this powder,this is just the way I make it.I usually make it in small batches so that the aroma stays intact !

Ingredients:
Cardamoms - 20
Cloves - 20
Bay leaves - 3 big
Star Anise - 7-8
Mace/Javitri - 7 - 8 pieces
Cinnamon - 3 big sticks
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tbsp
Whole Pepper Corns - 2 tsp
Dry Ginger Powder - 1 tsp or Dry ginger(chukku) - a small piece

Method:
-Dry roast all the Ingredients together on a low flame for 8 - 10 minutes or until they turn a little crisp & a shade dark.Be careful to not burn any of the spices.

-Grind in a blender to a fine powder.Store in an airtight container.Stays good for 2 months.

Sending this to 'Homemade spices : Store to bowl'

Garlic Pickle - Poondu Oorugai

Makes about 200g
Pickles ! some people just love them.Hubby is one of those people who loves pickles and Garlic too.I guess all of us would know about how healthy Garlic is,especially for new mothers.Garlic actually reminds me of a comedy in the Tamil movie 'Mozhi' where Prakash Raj speaks about the health benefits of Garlic:) This is a very easy to prepare version of Garlic Pickle and stores well in the fridge for  more than a  month.I usually make small batches every month. It makes a great side dish but tastes heavenly with Curd Rice !

Ingredients :
Garlic  - 200g
Sesame oil - 75 ml
Red Chilli Powder - 50 g (around 3-4 tbsp)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice - Juice from one big one
Salt - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek & Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp(for tempering)

Method: 

-Peel the Garlic. If the pods are big slice them vertically to resemble small ones.
-Dry Roast 2 tsps each of Fenugreek & Mustard Seeds and grind to a fine powder.
-To the lemon juice add the red chilli powder ,fenugreek & mustard seeds powder and the turmeric powder and mix well.Add some more lemon juice if needed to make a thick well blended paste,shouldn't be watery.
-Add the oil to a pan when it heats up splutter the mustard seeds and add the Hing.
-Add the Garlic on low flame and let it cook until they are half done,takes about 5 minutes.
-Then add the lemon juice & powders mixture and mix well, let it cook for a further 5 - 7 minutes on low flame until when it starts oozing out
oil .
-Take it off the stove and let it cool.Store in an airtight container.For best results let it sit at least for one day undisturbed for the flavours to set in.

Note:
Make sure that the knife,cutting board and all the utensils,like blender are wiped dry and free of moisture .

Sending this to Lets Cook Pickles

Ridge Gourd Skin/Peel Chutney - Peerkangai thol chutney

Serves 3
I've become a big fan of chutneys lately and this is surprisingly a very tasty one . I didn't expect  the skin of a vegetable to taste so yum.It's very healthy with a lot of fiber in it.Most of the skins of vegetables have a lot of nutrients in them ,but we don't eat as they aren't exactly tasty.This one's definitely an exception.

Ingredients:
Peel of one big Ridge gourd chopped finely - 1 cup
Grated Coconut or desiccated cconut - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 10 -12 sprigs
Green Chilli - 1(optional)
Whole Red Chilli - 2
Urad dal - 2 tbsp
Sesame oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind - a tiny marble
salt - as needed

Method:
-To a pan add the oil, when it heats up add the mustard seeds and whole red chilli.
-Add the Urad dal and fry on low heat until slightly brown.Now add the chopped peel and saute till it looks cooked and withered,around 5-7 minutes.
-Add the coconut,green chilli and chopped coriander leaves and saute for another 3-4 minutes.
-Finally add the salt and tamarind and cook for a further 2 minutes.
-Remove from the stove,let it cool and grind to a fine paste,adding salt and a little water as needed.

Sending this to Learning to Cook - Dish name starts with R

Capsicum chutney

Serves 3
A different kind of chutney to try when you get bored with the regular ones :)

Ingredients:
Capsicum - one medium
Urad dhal  - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 1 small
Whole Red Chilli - 1 or 2
Desiccated coconut - 1-2 tbsp (freshly grated coconut can also be used)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Method:
-In a pan heat the oil and splutter the cumin seeds.
-Add the whole red chilli and urad dhal and saute until the dhal turns golden colour.
-Add the onion and capsicum and saute for 4-5 minutes, until the onions turn translucent.
-Then add the tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes.
-Finally add the coconut and saute for 2 mins.Remove from the stove and let the mixture cool.
-Grind to a fine chutney in a blender !

Sambar powder

Ingredients:
Whole red chili - 350 g                              

Coriander seeds - 350 g                       

Toor Dhal - 150 g                             

Ural Dhal - 4 tbsp                          
Cumin - 4 tbsp
Turmeric - 25 g or turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Whole pepper corns - 50 g
Channa Dhal - 60 g

Optional :

Cinnamon - 2 sticks

Coconut  - 4 tbsp

Method:

-Dry roast all the Ingredients on a low flame separately and grind to a fine powder together.

Sending this to Dish Name starts with S

         

Mango Pickle

Mango Pickle
I'm not a big fan of mangoes,though I've seen lot of my friends go real crazy over them.It's real funny when i think that there was this mango tree standing in our house,in Chennai and my mom was always making pickles with them.I was prejudiced about it's taste and never really tried it.My hubby is one of those people who love mangoes and only when i started preparing pickles for him did i realize that I've missed all those years of my mom's pickles !

Ingredients :
Raw Mangoes - 2
Salt - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Red Chili powder - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Gingely oil - 100 g
Mustard - 2 tsp


Method :
-Clean the mangoes, pat them dry and chop them into small pieces.
-Add the salt to them and mix it well.
-Dry roast the Fenugreek and 1 tsp of Mustard in a pan. Grind them into a fine powder.
-Add the Fenugreek & mustard powder,Asafoetida and red chili powder to the mangoes and mix well.
-Heat the oil  and splutter 1 tsp of mustard.
-Pour the oil over the mango and mix it good !

Paruppu Podi

Paruppu podi
Podis and Thokkus come real handy on days when we don't feel like cooking.We usually stock our kitchen with at least a few of them.Just these powders with rice and a spoon of Ghee can taste yum !

Ingredients:
Dhalia - 1cup
Copra or dry roasted coconut scrapings - 1/4 cup ( can use desiccated coconut too)
Whole Red Chilli - 8
Garlic - 5 big pods
Curry leaves - a sprig
Mustard - 1 tsp
Oil - 4 tsp
Salt - as needed

Method :
-In a pan add 1 tsp of oil and fry the Whole red chilies on low heat until they puff up and are well browned, remove from pan.
-To the same pan add another tsp of oil, fry the Garlic and remove.
-Again add 2 tsps of oil to the pan and splutter the mustard and the curry leaves.
-In a blender grind the Whole red chilies,salt and Dhalia finely.Then add the coconut and garlic and pulse again.
-Now mix the tempering into the powder or you can add it to the blender and pulse along with the mixture.
-It's done !