Microwave Ladies Finger Fry

My hubby loves ladies finger, even If I cook It daily he will be happy. For me more than cooking ladies finger pre work is the one which demands a lot of time – Washing and patting well with a dry cloth or dry in a paper towel for a longtime. These days with my little one running around my legs I find it difficult to do the steps my mother usually does to avoid mushy ladies finger. As I mentioned in my Bhindi Masala, microwave helps me to skip those steps. One  day when I had microwaved ladies finger, I thought of giving a try with cooking the entire curry in microwave and it worked.

Ingredients:

Chopped Ladies Finger – 2 cups

Sambar powder/ chilli powder – 1 tsp  ( I used Sambar powder)

Coriander Powder – 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder – 1/8 tsp

Rice flour – 1/8 tsp

Asofetida – generous pinch

Curd – 1/2 tsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1/2 tbsp

Method:

• In a small bowl combine sambar powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, rice flour, asofetida and salt
• Cut the washed ladies finger into small pieces and place them in a paper towel. In a bowl add oil and ladies finger; mix well

• Microwave them for 3 minutes, take out and add curd. mix well. Microwave for another 3 – 4 minutes till the mushy texture changes
• Add the spice powder mix and combine well

• Microwave for 6 – 8 minutes or till the bhindi cooks well with spice powders flavors well incorporated. Serve it with rice/roti

My Notes:

• Can do tempering separately and add it to the curry but I skipped it
• Curd is optional. Add it of you thinks Okra is very sticky than usual
• Can bake ladies finger instead of using microwave method. Bake it for 375 degree Fahrenheit 20 to 25 minutes if its cut like this. If  cut pieces are lengthy baking time changes
• Can add coconut for extra taste during the last minute
• Can cut ladies finger into big pieces, slit and stuff the spice powder
• Can add garam masala, chat masala or any other spice powder of choice

Vella Sadam

Vella sadam is a traditional dish, preparrd during Aadi perukku. My Amma either prepares Sakkarai pongal or Vella sadam, along with Pulikaichal, Coconut rice and Aviyal.  Sonerimes after returning from school, my sweet tooth craves for eating something sweet and I remember Amma making Vella sadam in no time with leftover rice.

Ingredients:

Rice –  1/2 cup, washed and drained

Jaggery – 1/2 cup, powdered /cut into small chunks

Water  –  2 cup + 1/4 cup

Grated Coconut – 3 tbsp

Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp

Almonds – 1 tbsp

Raisins/Dried grapes –  1 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tsp

Method:

• Cook rice with 1 cup of water either in rice cooker, or in pressure cooker for 2 whistles
• Soak jaggery in 1 cup + 1/4 cup of hot water, After the jaggery completely melts in water, strain the impurities
• In a pan, add jaggery syrup and bring to boil. Add the coconut and cardamom powder; mix well and cook  for 2- 3 minutes

• Add  cooked rice to the boiling jaggery syrup and cook till the jaggery syrup is completely absorbed in the rice

• Add ghee to the pan, once the ghee becomes hot, add raisins and switch off. Add the raisins and almonds to the Jaggery rice and serve hot

Notes:

• You can use cashew instead of almonds
• Basamti rice can be used instead of regular rice
• You can cook jaggery in water instead of soaking jaggery in hot water

Baked Bread Tikki

Its raining these days at my place, and a rainy day calls for a quick snack. Had few bread slices, and thought of preparing baked bread rolls. I then rembered the bread vada recipe in I saw in sanjeevkapoor site, and wanted to try that. Since I preferred baking, I consider it as Tikki:-)

Baked Bread Tikki

Prepartion time : 10 mins | Cooking time : 20 – 25 mins | Serves : 4

Recipe category : Appetizer

Ingredients:

Bread slices – 6, crumbled (I used whole wheat bread)

Onion – 1, finely chopped

Green chili – 1, finely chopped

Curry leaves – few

Coriander leaves – few

Salt – as needed

Ginger – 1/8 tsp

Asafoetida – generous pinch

Rice flour – 1/3 cup

Semolina – 1 tbsp.

Baking soda – generous pinch

Yogurt – 1/3 cup

Oil – 2 tbsp

Oil/ Cooking Spray – to grease

Method

• Preheat the oven to 400 degree Farenheit

• Add rice flour, bread crumbs,semolina and salt in a bowl and mix well

• Add onion, ginger, coriander, curry leaves, oil and green chilli to the mixture and combine everything. Add yogurt and make a dough. If required add some more yogurt/water (1 or 2 tsp of yogurt)

• Make small balls and flatten it to a thin tikki. Grease the foil with cooking spray, or brush with oil on both side of tikki

• Bake them for about 20 minutes, turning sides in between or until they are crisp and golden brown. Broil for 2 -3 minutes in low

My Notes:

• Instead of baking, can also deep fry in oil
• Can add any veggies of your choice
• Original recipe called for peanut powder. As I didn’t have peanut that day I used semolina
• They taste best when served immediately. If its kept for a long time they tend to became rubbery

Appam – Without Yeast

Aapam is one of my favorite breakfast items. During our childhood days, Amma used to do Appam in an Iron skillet. Then she brought this nonstick pan and started preparing with this. When my parents came to visit us, I had prepared a list of item to be brought from India, Appam pan and Kuzhi panniyaram pan were top priority items in the list 😉

Aappam – Without Yeast

Preparation time: 5 Minutes | Soaking time : 7 hours | Fermentation Time : 8 hours

Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:

Raw rice – 1 cup

Par boiled rice/Idli Rice – 1 cup

Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp

Whole Urad dal – 2  tbsp (whole urad dal without skin)

Baking soda  – 1/2 tsp

Salt – as needed

Method:

• Soak raw rice, par boiled rice, fenugreek seeds and urad dal overnight, or atleast for 7-8 hours. Add water and grind well, making a bater which is slightly thinner than dosa batter consistency. Leave it  overnight to ferment. In the morning, add baking soda and sugar to the fermented batter, and mix well. Keep it aside for 10 – 20 minutes

• Switch on the stove and keep the aapam pan in low heat. After the pan is slightly hot, add oil to the pan (Spread oil all over the pan using cloth or brush). Add a ladle full of batter and hold the handle of the pan and rotate the pan in such a way that the batter spreads all around in a circle (This is the traditional way, instead, you can spread the batter with the ladle, and because of the pan texture, remaining batter will come in the center)

• After that close the pan with the lid. Once the Aappam is cooked and the edges start turning brown, remove the Aappam from the pan. Do not flip side. Serve Aappam with sweetened coconut milk/ Vegetable Stew/Vegetable Kurma/Theeyal

My Notes: 

• If you do not have Aappam pan, you can make it in any other curved non stick pan with lid
• Can add 1 tbsp of coconut milk before making Aappam, for nice flavor
• If you want crispy edges can add 1/4 tsp of sugar before making Aappam

Mango Mousse (without eggs)

Anything with Mango is delicious. I wanted to make mango smoothie but without eggs/gelatin. Had some heavy whipping cream in fridge, so thought of using that.  I have prepared mousse with eggs before, but this was my first attempt with heavy whipping cream. Happy that it came out good! This mango mousse is super easy. Only four ingredients, no gelatin, no eggs and no cooking needed.

Mango Mousse

Preparation Time : 10 min | Freezing Time : 5 hours | Serves : 3

Recipe Category: Dessert

Ingredients: 

Pureed mangoes – 1/2 cup

Heavy Whipping cream – 1/2 cup

Pureed Mangoes (for topping) – 2 tbsp

Sugar – 2-3 tbsp

Vanilla – 1/8 tsp

Method:

• Mix pureed mango (I have blended mango pulp with 1 tsp of water) and vanilla in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk Whipping Cream with sugar for 5 mins and set aside

• Blend the mango pulp and the whisked cream together. Scoop into serving glass (about half glass)

• Top it with some pureed mango and refrigerate for at least 5 to 6 hours

 

Check my other Mango Recipes,

Mango Ice Cream

Mango Kulfi

Mango Halwa

Mango Milkshake