Pesarapappu Podi(Moong Dal Powder)

Ingredients:

1 cup moong dal(pesara pappu)

1 tbsp roasted chana dal

4-5 dry red chillies

1 tsp cumin

salt as required

Method:

Dry roast dals and red chillies untill dal is light brown. Once dal is completely cooled, grind to a fine powder along with cumin and salt.Serve with rice with a teaspoon of ghee or oil .

Curd Rice in Karnataka Style

Thinking about Karnataka Cuisine,this is the first thing I remember . Curd rice aka mosaranna in kannada is little different in karnataka because of the addition of fruits like grapes and pamoegranate seeds. First time when I ate this rice in a kannadigan friend's houseI felt it a little unusual because of the addition of fruits which was kind of new to me. But slowly I started liking this and now I make this even in my house sometimes just for a variety . This can be last in the course of a traditional south indian meal.But this is my first entry to the RCI - Karnataka event hosted by Asha of Foodie's Hope .

Making this curd rice is very easy. Just mix cooked rice with enough curd and add required salt to season it. Now add fried cashewnuts,chopped cilantro,green chiilies if required,chopped or whole grapes and pamoegranate seeds. Season with 1/4 tsp each of mustard seeds and cumin fried in 1 tsp oil.

Authentic Karnataka style curd rice is ready to serve.

Tomato Pachchadi

Its been long time I had some fresh pickles. Being an Andhrite ,I love to have pickles once in a while.This version of tomato pachchadi is more like a pickle with longer shelf life and it is almost instant with very little salt and other spices compared to the normal pickle.

Ingredinets:

2 large tomatoes

thick tamarind juice 1 tbsp

turmeric a big pinch

salt 1 tsp

oil 2 tsps

For popu ->

red chilly powder 1 tsp,

fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp,

mustard seeds -1/2 tsp

cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

1/4 tsp asfoetida or hing

Method:

Take a wide pan and heat with a tsp oil.Add chopped tomatoes,salt and turmeric. Once toamtoes are cooked to a dry soft thick paste ,add thick tamarind juice and let cook till the mixture again turns to a thick soft and dry paste. Meanwhile,in a tadka pan heat one tsp oil and add mustard ,cumin,fenugreek and when mustard seeds splutter add hing to smeel a nice aroma.At this stage add 1 tsp red chilly powder and stir well for 30 secs making sure not to burn the chilly powder. Add this to the cooked tomato paste and stir well.This pachchadi can be served with rice or chapati . This pachchadi can be sored for more than a week

Stuffed Capsicum

This is another popular variety of Stuffed capsicum in my kitchen.This one is the most easiest and quickest way and I can ever do.

Ingredients:

Small capsicums 4 or 1 big capsicum

half cup roasted chana dal

half of medium sized onion

green chillies 2 small

jeera 1 tsp

corainder leaves 4-5 sprigs

salt as required

Method:

De-seed capsicum after cutting the stalk carefully and make it hollow. If using a big jumbo capsicum,make it into two and them make the capsicum hollow by removing seeds. Make sure both pieces stand straight by trimming of the bottom if needed.

Gring coriander,green chillies,cumin to a fine powder.Now,add roasted chana dal/chutney dal and grind to fine powder. Mix this powder with finely chopped onions and a teaspoon or required oil to make it into a moist crumbly powder.

Stuff this mixture into hollow capsicums. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan and place capsicums carefully with filling side up. Cover and cook till capsicum is tender on all sides. It takes approximately 10-15 mins for this.

Alternatively, bake the stuffed capsicums in the oven a t 350F for 30 - 40 mins while brushing them with some oil or cooking spray

Varalakshmi Vratam and Award for me from Richa

Varalakshmi Vratam Subhakanshalu to all those ladies who are doing and celebrating this pooja.

And one more happy news to share with all of you buddies is ,Richa Of As Dear As Salt gave me

this award.Thank you dear Richa!

I would like to pass on this award to the following of my blogger buddies.First of all,I would like to pass it on to my beloved,inspiratinal blogger Asha of Foodie's hope. I know that Ashaji already got this award many times but I cannot stop myself from honouring her with this award once again for inspiring me to enter blogosphere and her continued support. Dear Asha! with immense pleasure Iam passing on this award once again to you.I hope you will accept this once again.Now I want to pass on this award to

Archana of Spicyana
Alapana of Another New day

Sneha of Kadambam
Sreelu of Sreelu's Tasty Travels
Lakshmi of Spring Blossoms
Trupti's The Spice Who Loved Me
Vini's Passion for food
Seema's recipe Junction
Chandrika's AkshayaPatra
Deepa's Recipes'n'more
Latha 's The'Yum'Blog
Hima 's SnackORama

Seven Cups Sweet

Iam not really good in making sweets. So,I don't try new sweets on my own but instead try only classic old,especially simple sweets .

I tried this recipe from this blog and it came out too good.Iam not posting the recipe as I did not make any changes to it.I just followed exactly as the recipe said and it came out very delicious and melting.Here is the picture for seven cups sweet in my kitchen.

Thanks for the recipe Lakshmi !!

Iam sending this sweet as my contributiton for " Festive sweets for Janmastami ",event created and hosted by Latha of The'Yum'blog

Tindora Stuffed with Kura karam

Stuffed Vegetable curries are some of my favourite vegetables. These stuffed vegetable curries are easy to make and become a special dish when made during parties/get-together lunches/dinners. More over you can whip up many different varieties each time you make. For me ,one such choice is this tindora(dondakaya) with Kura Karam.

Kura Karam podi is always in stock in my house and this powder has a unique taste ,subtle flavour and aroma that you will plunge into your meal right as soon as the aroma touches your noses.

Ingredients:

Tindora 10-12

kura karam 2 tbsps

besan/senagapindi 1 tbsp

salt as required

oil enough to make a crumbly mixture

Method:

Wash,clean ,pat dry and slit dondakayalu/tindora in the centre in shape of a "+".Meanwhile in bowl mix together kura karam,besan and salt. Add one or two teaspoons of oil to the mixture and mix to form crumbly texture so that it binds easily inside the vegetable.Stuff all tindoras with the stuffing.Heat a skillet with 1 tbsp oil and add these stuffed tindoras. cover with a plate and fill with water. To do this ,yesterday I kept another big nonstick pan which had handle and filled with water.It was easy to take this when I had to stir the vegetable. Keep stirring veggies till they are tender.

Alternately,you can steam cook tindoras in advance,carefully stuff and then fry. Either way it is good.

Serve hot with rice.

Here is a nice place for foodie blogger's to join and share with the rest of the world.Plz join the foodie blogroll here.

Eggless Strawberry Muffins

After long time I baked some muffins today and that too with a fruit that I just love to have as long as Iam here in America,because these fruits are not so common back in my home . I never knew these strawberries in Vizag. I heard of them, but, never tasted untill I came to America. My choices of milkshake,icecreams, sundaes and cheesecake are always some kind of strawberry only. And for strawberry crazy people like me I got to know abt one more way to enjoy strawberries is the delicious strawberry short cake. Today I was in a mood to bake some muffins and while peeking into the fridge in the process I saw my red beauties and just made them part of my baking . I knew recently that adding mashed banana gives fluffiness to eggless cakes.And today just to give a try I added 2 tsps of heavy whipping cream as I reduced butter quantity.

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1.5 cup of sugar(add or reduce sugar to suit your requirement)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsps of softened butter

pinch of salt

2 tsp finely mashed or grated ripe banana paste

2 tsp haevy whipping cream+ 2 tsp curd mixed and whisked together

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1/4 cup milk(or as required)

1 cup chopped strawberries(or as desired)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Take a bowl and add sifted flour,sugar,pinch of salt,baking powder,baking soda.Now add softened butter and mix with forefingers to make the dough look like crumbly and now add mashed banana,whipping cream+ curd mixture,cardamom powder.Stir to form a thick cake batter adding milk little by little slowly.Add chopped strawberries and just stir gently.Line a muffin pan with baking paper cups and scoop one teaspoon batter into muffin cups.Mkae sure the batter is only 3/4 of the cup giving it a good chance to rise evenly.Bake for 15-20 mins or untill light golden.

My muffins today were super de duper.I liked them.My daughter liked them and Iam waiting for my husband to taste them.

As soon as I got these beauties out of the oven I tried it in another way also. It is my all time favourite strawberry short cake style.I was prepared for this by adding some sugar to a cup of chopped strawberries. So that by the time muffins came out ,my chopped strawberries oozed out juice and were ready to be added onto my cake.I then topped this combo with a scoop of whipping cream and enjoyed the delight.Hope you all will like it too!!

Pulihara with Poha(Atukulu Pulihara)

Breakfast in my house is usually standard south indian breakfast except with some exceptions sometimes.Cereals are usually the last preferred option. Breakfast is usually made within 5 minutes to 30 minns max.Most of the time the menu is idlies,dosas upmas,ponagal and sandwitches.Absolutely no deep fries during this meal of the day.

Poha or rice flakes is widely used in my kitchen all the time for making upma,pulihara,alu poha and also in making dosas.

My recipe today is Poha aka atukulu in telugu pulihara.It can be made under 10 minutes and a complete satisfying meal with very very little oil.

As this recipe is made almost instant in express time of less than 10 minutes and made of a rice product,Iam sending this recipe of mine to two food blog events at the same time.

1)Express Cooking Event by Shaheen of Malabar Spices

2)JFI - Rice hosted for this month by Sharmi of Neivedyam

Now the recipe:

Ingredients:

Poha 2 cups

handful of peanuts

For popu -> 1 tsp urad dal,chana dal,mustard seeds,1/2 tsp cumin seeds,a dash or pinch of hing,2 dry red chillies,2 green chillies,pinch or turmeric,2 tsps or as required lemon juice

Method:

Wash and strain poha.Meanwhile heat a skillet,add a teaspoon oil and fry peanuts till 3/4 done.Add urad dal,chana dal,mustard seeds,cumin seeds and dry red chillies.When the dals are golden brown add slit green chillies,curry leaves, hing and turmeric.Now add washed and strianed poha. Add salt and stir well. Take off from heat and just before serving add lemon juice and stir well.Serve warm and enjo express breakfast

Pickled Green Chillies

I almost thought that I'll skip JFI event forthis month. But,inspired by my favourite blogger Asha,I decided to rush my last minute entries today.This is my entry to JFI _ August. Hope nandita accepts them. Just before writing this i checked on her blog and saw that she is accepting till august 2nd.That was so nice of you Nandita!good for last minute rushers like me.Thanks again!

coming to the recipe,

Pick any variety of green chillies(tender ones are good though),clean,wash,wipe dry,slit in the middle and carefully deseed using a toothpick and add these deeseeded chillies to about half cup of lime juice or vinegar. Add a teaspoon of salt to this.After an hour pickled green chillies are ready to eat with anything. Refrigerate and these are good to eat for many days. Goes good with bland foods like dal,roti etc.