Kozhukatai (Modhaks)

Make kozhukatais for this Ganesh Chaturthi (Sept 1, 2011)

To make the flour ready

Soak 1 kg Raw Rice for 20 minutes, spread them out in linen for sometime to drain excess water and grind them into fine powder.
Sieve and keep aside.

Take water in 1:1 ratio of flour and boil it in a big vessel.
once it boils, add 2 table spoons gingeli oil and a pinch of salt.
Simmer and mix the flour slowly little by little into the boiling water without forming lumps.
Once the flour mixes well remove from fire and keep it tightly closed.
The flour showld be soft and non-sticky and must be able to mould into any shape.
Keep aside.

For sweet stuffing

1 cup grated coconut
1 cup jaggery
2 cardamoms

Mix the jaggery and coconut together and saute in pan till the jaggery melts and coats the coconut well.
Remove it from stove once it becomes non-sticky.
Add crushed cardamoms.
Keep aside.

For salt stuffing

1 cup black gram dhal (urad dhal)
1 cup bengal gram dha
3 - 4 green chillies
Salt

Soak the dhal for half an hour and grind into coarse poste without adding water. just sprinkle water so that it forms a non-sticky paste. Add salt.
Keep it in idli plates and bake for 10 minutes.
crush it loosely like bread crumbs.
heat oil in pan, splutter mustard and curry leaves.
Add the crushed dhal mixture and saute for few minutes and keep aside.

To make the kozhukatai

Make cups out of the baked flour and stuff the sweet or salted stuffing into it and close it.
To get the cups easily without sticking into hands, keep some gingeli oil beside and keep touching it with the hand.
Make different shapes for salt ans sweet for easy identification later.
Keep in idli plates and bake for 10 minutes.
Tasty kozhukatais are ready.

Kozhukatai upma

The salt kozhukatai can be made into a upma too.
Make small balls size of grapes out of the baked flour and bake in idli plate for ten minutes.
Heat oil in pan, put the salt stuffing into it and fry well.
Add the baked balls mix with the stuffing and saute for few more minutes.
Upma is ready.

Easy Pizza

Before cooking:

After cooking:

Ingredients:

2 Pizza base
1 onion chopped finely
2 tomatoes chopped finely
1 capsicum chopped finely
5 button mushrooms chopped (optional.. add anything else u like too!)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato sauce
butter
grated mozarella cheese as reqd

Method:

1. Put chopped tomatoes, onion, and capsicum (and whatever else you have added) in a bowl,

add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and microwave with closed lid for 2 - 3 minutes
2. Take pizza base and spread butter on each side and place on the grill stand
3. Spread tomato sauce on top and sprinkle some cheese
4. Spread the microwaved vegetables over it evenly and add more cheese as much as u like
5. put the oven in grill mode and grill for 5 minutes or till cheese melts

A very tasty pizza is ready to eat!!!

Tomato chutney

Ingredients:

1/2 kg tomatoes grind to a paste
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander seed powder (dhania)
6 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
salt as reqd

For seasoning:
Fry 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp fenugeek seeds in little oil and grind to powder
1 tbsp gingely oil
1 tsp asafoetida

Method:

1. Heat cooking oil in pan and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves
2. Add chilli powder in oil and as soon as it froathes, add the tomato paste
3. Add salt, turmeric powder and coriander seed powder mix well and open cook in medium flame till oil settles in sides
4. Add gingely oil to it in one side and add asafoetida and ground powderin the oil and mix well and stop.

Hot chutney is ready to be served with anything.. even bread!

Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients:

To marinate for 1 hour:
500 g chicken cut into pieces,
2 tbsp thick fresh curd,  1 tbsp ginger garlic paste,
1 tsp red chilli powder,
1 tsp salt
Grind together:
3 cloves,
2 cardamoms,
1 inch cinnamon stick,
2 inch ginger,
10 cloves garlic,
a small bunch of coriander leaves
For seasoning:
1 tsp cumin seeds,
2 cloves,
1 inch cinnamon stick,
1 big bay leaf,
3 green chillies
Others:
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt as reqd
2 big onions thinly chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1 1/2 cup rice
1 cup coconut milk
2 cup water
Garnish:
Mint leaves and cashews fried in butter

Cooking Method:
1. Heat oil in pan, and splutter the seasonings.
2. Add the ground paste and saute for 1 min
3. Add chopped onions and tomatoes and fry well
4. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder and saute for 1 min
5. Add marinated chicken and required salt and saute for 5 mins
6. Add coconut milk and bring to boil
7. Transfer the contents to an electric rice cooker and add rice and water and cook till done
(if you use pressure cooker, the ingredients can be fried in that itself and then covered with lid and cook for 3 whistles)
8. Garnish and serve with raita