Kothamalli Thogayal | Thick Coriander leaves Chutney | Kothamally Thovaiyal without coconut for Rice

Back in Chennai, I used to get coriander leaves for even as less as some 8-10 stalks. But here in Pune, it is not like that. You get to buy only a whole big bunch and that too doesn't stay great for a long time even after refrigerating. That was when my mom suggested making thogayals with them for storing them better :) Deeps is a fan of this thogayal and he loves to pair it with curd rice. And you know what I would like to pair it with.. Yes, rasam sadam :) Or simply mix it up with rice and add a little bit of sesame oil too to the rice and that too would taste yum and heavenly. And for many it doesn't actually feel like having greens as such coz the other spices does that effect to the coriander and leaves you with a yummy condiment. Not that I do not like coriander leaves, ok :) So let's see how to make this then..

Recipe Source: Ma

 

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

 

Makes : ¾ cup

I Used:

Oil	-	4 tsp
Coriander leaves	-	2 ½ cups (tightly packed)
Urad Dal	-	4 tbsp
Red Chilly	-	3 nos
Asafoetida	-	¼ tsp
Tamarind	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Clean the coriander leaves by removing the roots and a little bit of the thick stem at the bottom. We need only the tender ones and not the thick stem. Then rinse them well in water to remove the mud and dirt. Drain them and keep aside. Use fresh leaves for making this thogayal. Avoid the yellow coloured leaves or the old ones

2. Heat the oil in a pan/kadai. Add the urad dal and red chilly and saute on a medium flame. Keep roasting them till the urad dal turns to golden colour. This should take around 3-4 minutes

3. Now add the asafoetida and give a quick stir

4. Then add the tamarind and saute for 2-3 minutes till they become soft and moist

5. Now add the cleaned coriander leaves and saute for a minute or two till the leaves wilt. Once done switch off the flame and allow them to cool

6. Once cooled, take them in a blender/mixie and add needed salt and grind them coarsely. If needed you can grind to a smooth paste. But we like them coarsely ground. Do not add water (if needed, maybe 2-3 tbsp but not more). This reduces the shelf life and changes the texture 

7. Transfer to a bowl and serve with rice and rasam or curd 

Notes:

• Use fresh coriander leaves for a tasty thogayal. Old leaves will surely compromise the taste

• This thogayal will stay good for 3-4 days if refrigerated in a clean container

• You can add coconut also to this thogayal. But would recommend to have it the same day itself

• Can add channa dal too. If adding adjust the urad dal quantity accordingly.  Would need around 4 tbsp of both the dals combined 

• Can add jaggery too if preferred. Adjust quantity to balance to the level of sweetness that you need. Would recommend around 1 tsp

Cheers,

Chitz

Eggless Pumpkin Muffins | Halloween Special Pumpkin Cupcakes | Eggless Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's that time of the year when it starts to feel the chill and the kiddo's rhymes are always beginning and continuing and ending with Halloween :) And occasionally I can hear "Where's Santa Claus?" too from him ;) We live in India but with those rhymes and those carved pumpkins and everything he sees on TV, he's slightly obsessed with Halloween. Always asks me now to keep Halloween rhymes or asks me to sing them for him :) And he loves cakes. 

So to make it little bit more exciting for us, I decided to make a pumpkin muffin for us. It's an easy peasy recipe, like my most recipes.. Mix the dry ingredients and mix the wet ingredients. And mix them both. Voila. The job is done.. And it is eggless too.. And what's that made me more happy was that Deeps too loved it, see he has not got a sweet tooth especially for cakes. That made me really happy and the 9 cupcakes that I made in the evening got over by the night :) So shall we see how to make this yummy tasty pumpkin muffins..

Recipe Source: Here

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10+25 minutes (pre-heat+baking)

Makes : 9 medium sized muffins 

I Used:

Unsweetened Pumpkin Puree*	-	1 cup
All purpose flour/Maida*	-	1 ½ cup
Baking Soda	-	¼ tsp
Baking Powder Cinnamon powder Dry Ginger powder Salt	- - - -	2 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp A pinch
Sugar	-	1 ¼ cup
Unsalted Butter (melted)	-	6 tbsp (approx 3/8 cup)
Butter Milk*	-	½ cup
Apple Cider Vinegar	-	½ tsp
The Way:

1. For 1 cup of pumpkin puree, you need 1 cup of cubed pumpkins. Peel the skin and remove the seeds. Then cube them and take them in a pressure cooker. Add ¼  cup of water and pressure cook them for 2 whistles. Once the pressure is released, see if any water is remaining. If then drain them and mash the pumpkins to a puree. You can do that in a blender or use a masher. Once done, keep aside

2. Pre-heat the oven o 180 degree C

3. Take all the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder and dry ginger powder and salt in a bowl and whisk well. Then set aside

4. In another bowl take the melted butter, sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar and  butter milk and whisk them well

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not over mix

6. Line the muffin tray with the muffin liners. Spoon the batter into the liners. About 2 tbsp for each liner should be good enough

7. Bake them at 180 degree C in the pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted at the centre comes out clean

8. Once done, cool them for about half an hour and serve

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for self rising flour. If you are using them then omit the salt and reduce the baking powder to 1 tsp

• If you have pumpkin spice powder then use 2 tsp of them instead of the cinnamon powder and dry ginger powder

• Instead of buttermilk I mixed ½ tbsp vinegar in ½ cup of milk and allowed it to stand for 5 minutes. Then used this in place of buttermilk

• You can use normal vinegar too instead of apple cider vinegar

Cheers,

Chitz

Channa Sundal | Kondakadalai sundal | White Chickpeas Sundal | Navarathri Recipes

Today being the first day of Navarathri this year, I though I should post a sundal recipe. Sundal makes a healthy snack and very easy to prepare as well. Just cook the legume/pulses and then add tadka/tempering to it. Tada! done.. Generally on the nine days of Navarathri festival, nine varieties of sundal is offered as neivedhyam (offering) to God during the evening pooja. I do not do gollu at my place, but definitely go on golu hopping whenever I can. It is fun and who can say no to tasty sundals and yummy payasams (kheers), right:) So off to the recipe for the most easiest and my favourite sundal, Channa Sundal...

Soaking Time : 8 hours

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 2 

I Used:

Channa/Kondakadalai	-	½ cup
Coconut	-	3 tbsp
Salt	-	As needed

To temper:

Oil	-	1 tsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Urd Dal	-	1 tsp
Asafoetida	-	1 pinch
Red Chilly	-	2 nos - broken
Curry leaves	-	1 sprig

The Way:

1. Rinse and soak channa in water overnight or for at least 8 hours. If you are hard pressed for time, then soak channa in hot water for 3-4 hours

2. Now take the soaked channa in a pressure cooker. And pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or until done. The channa should not be under cooked or over cooked. It should be soft and hold it's shape after cooking

3. In a pan, heat oil. Temper mustard

4. Add urad dal and fry till it changes colour. Then add the broken red chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves. Take care not to burn

5. Now add the cooked channa (without the water) to the tempering. Gently stir for 2 minutes till the moisture content in the channa evaporates and it becomes dry

6. Then add the grated coconut and give a gentle stir. Switch off the flame and serve

Notes:

• Red chilly can be replaced with green chilly
• Can also crush coconut and green chilly together and add 

Cheers,

Chitz

Oven Roasted Broccoli | How to roast Broccoli in Oven

I love playing with my oven. But for quite a long time, it was playing with me. Now all is well for a while (*touchwood*) and I absolutely love playing with it :D And with broccoli it's a nuetral relationship as of yet. It is not too love or too hate. I can have in moderation. And the taste should be well balanced. If it's too raw like or bland I can't take it :D And I don't like too much of Indian spices in broccoli either. Yes, i am like a fussy toddler when it comes to broccoli :D

And yes, I do have a fool proof, easy peasy recipe to roast broccoli in oven. It is easy as well as kickass :) You will love it for the simplicity of making it as well as the taste :) Play around with the ingredients as per your preference. If you like more chilli flakes than pepper powder, then go ahead with that. The recipe is quite versatile that way as well. So shall we see how to roast broccoli in oven?

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 2-3 persons 

I Used:

Broccoli Olive Oil	- -	1 cup 2 tbsp
Garlic Salt	-	1 tsp
Pepper Powder	-	½ tsp
Chilli Flakes	-	½ tsp
Oregano (or Mixed Herbs)	-	½ tsp

The Way:

1. Pre heat oven at 200 degree Celsius

2. In a bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic salt, pepper powder, chilli flakes and oregano

3. Add the broccoli florets to it. And give a nice toss

4. In the baking tray, lay a cookie sheet. Then place the broccoli florets on the sheet

5. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. In between turn each of the florets so that it gets cooked evenly. Make sure they do not burn and are just caramelized

Serve hot!

Notes:

• You can immerse the florets in warm salt water for some time if you like. This will kill any worms if present in the broccoli

• If you do not have garlic salt, then substitute with normal salt and 3-4 cloves of finely chopped garlic or an equivalent garlic paste

• If you want the broccoli to be cooked al dente then cook for 10-15 minutes  

• You can also toss in some parmesan cheese once the florets are roasted and before serving

Cheers,

Chitz