Friday, July 23, 2010

The Hotel Sambhar

I know everyone of us drool as we see the waiter bring in the yummy sambhar along with hot idlis, dosa or rice...I always wanted to make something that tasted at least somewhat like the nearest cousin of THE HOTEL SAMBHAR ...then one fine day found out this recipe from some old tamil newspaper clippings i have been collecting and i made few changes for better taste and ease of cooking try this and let me know
Ingredients Toor Dhall - 1 cup Sambhar onions(shallots) - 15 nos Tomato ripe - 3 nos Drumstick - 8 finger length pieces Brinjal - 1 cut into cubes Green chili - 1 Garlic - 2 pods Tamarind juice - size of a amla Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp roast it in a kadai till it turns little brown Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp Sambhar powder - 2 tbsp Jaggery - 1 tbsp Ghee - 2tbsp 0il - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp Curry leaves - a few asafoetida - 3/4 tsp Salt Coriander leaves Method Wash the toor dhall and pressure cook it with little salt for 4 whistles and mash it well Cook brinjal and drumstick seperately with little salt and turmeric powder Now heat Oil in a deep Pan and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, hing and wait till it splutters Now add onions, slit green chili and garlic pods and cook till they are brown Add tomatoes that are finely chopped along with chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt and cook till the tomatoes turn mushy Now pour in two cups of water along with tamarind juice ,cooked and mashed dhall, sambhar powder, cooked vegetables , jaggery and roasted coconut and let it simmer till the raw smell is gone When the sambhar boils add in Ghee and coriander leaves and let it cook for 2 mins This can be served with idlis, dosas and rice

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tangy Lemon Rasam




Lemon rasam with rice and potato curry is the one of the best comfort foods and a lazy cook's best deal
This rasam is dedicated to my dear friend jeni ..who was the first person to compliment my rasam

Try this and let me know...



Ingredients

Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 slit into half
Ginger - 1 inch
Lemon juice - from 1 lemon
Toor Dhall - 1/2 cup cooked
coriander leaves
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves
Hing
oil - 1 tbsn


Method

Boil two cups of water in pan adding to it finely chopped tomatoes,green chillies and ginger

Cook till tomatoes turn mushy

Add all the powders and salt and coriander leaves

Add the cooked dhall and let it simmer for about 5 minutes

Turn off the stove and then add the lemon juice

Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing for seasoning and then add it to the rasam.

Note: Never add lemon juice when the rasam is boiling as it will turn the whole thing bitter

Serve with rice and potato curry

Paneer Bhurji

Hah...I always loved paneer...whenever I eat out always try to accommodate as many paneer dishes possible in my stomach....This dish is a lot different from our usual paneer dish like paneer butter masala ...

This is very very simple and easy to cook and goes well with rotis, chapatis..
Here it is:

Serves - 3
Ingredients

Paneer(Cottage Cheese)- 200 gms
Onion - 1 Big finely chopped
Tomato - 1 Big finely chopped
Green Chillies - 3 nos finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
Garlic - 3-4 pods finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Tumeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves
Milk - 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt


Method

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let them splutter

Then add finely Chopped onions,ginger,garlic and green chillies to the pan and cook till they are soft

Now add chopped tomato and cook till they turn pulpy

Add salt and all the dry powders and cook for few mins

Now crumble the paneer with your hands (don't grate) and then add it to the gravy and cook for 10 mins

Now pour the milk and add in salt as required and cook for another 5 mins

And finally add chopped coriander and mix well
serve hot with rotis

Will be adding photos shortly...

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Wow...This is my first post in MY BLOG...cant believe

THIS IS THE DAY...
I always wanted to create a blog for my LOVE- "COOKING" but this was a long pending task (for more than 2 years) ..but today all of sudden I created this blog and the title came flowing out of my mind without any thought process involved...
" COOKING WITH LOVE AND FOR LOVE"
I would like to mention here about the encouragement I got from my dear hubby MY DEAR GUINEA PIG...for this blog without whom i wouldn't have entered into The Cyber Kitchen....He is the one behind my successful cooking experiments... initially i wanted to cook to impress him but then it turned out to be a passion which was cooking inside me ...also I would like to mention about my dear Mom and Dad for showering their love and showing courage by tasting ...

Last but not the least I request all of you to welcome me into this world of cooking with open mind and tongue
Will be posting my first recipe Shortly......