Aloo Paratha & Vegetable Sagu

It was my husband's birthday on 28th Jan, my daugher and I decided to give him a surprise dinner at home. Then we decided to make aloo paratha, vegetable sagu and a cake. I kneaded atta and had boiled potatoes. Suddenly I thought of my friend Shirley, who is a north Indian. She came home and helped me to do parathas.



ALOO PARATHA


Ingredients
Wheat flour - 4cups
Salt - a pinch
Oil - 1tsp
Water - to kneed


Method
1. Mix wheat flour, salt and add water little by little and knead the dough very soft. Add oil and roll into a ball and keep it covered.


Ingredients for stuffing
Potatoes - 5nos
Onion - 2-3nos
Green chilli - 2nos
Red chilli - 1/4tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Mango or amchur powder - 1/2tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4tsp
Corriander leaves - little
Spring onion leaves - little
Mint - few leaves
Salt - little
Oil - 1/4cup


Method
1. Boil, peal and mash potatoes. To it add onions, turmeric, red chilli, garam masala, dry mango powders. Then add corriander leaves, mint, spring onions, salt and mix well.
2. Take a small ball of wheat flour and spread it into round shape. Take a big ball of potato mixture and place it in the centre. Fold all the sides. Dust it with wheat flour and slowly spread it out into round shape. If the filling comes out, spread some wheat flour and continue to roll. Roll out the centre, so that it is not very thick. It will be very hard to eat, if it is very thick. Try to make as thin as possible.


3. Heat the pan, add 3-4drops of oil and place the paratha on it. Apply oil on sides and turn it once or twice and remove when the both sides are cooked and the colour is little brown. Can serve it hot with thick yogurt, pickle or any kurma which has more gravy.


VEGETABLE SAGU


Ingredients
Mixed Vegetables - 1cup
(carrot, potato, beans, peas)
Coconut milk - 1/4cup
Dhania - 2tsp
Channa dhal - 2tsp
Roasted channa dhal - 1tsp
Dry red chilli - 3nos
Ginger - small piece
Cardamom - 1no
Cinnamon - small piece
Cloves - 2nos
Seasame - 1tsp
Onions - 2nos
Tomatoe - 1nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Corriander leaves - little
Mustard - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Salt - little
Oil - little


Method
1. Boil the vegetables, peel and cut onions and dice tomatoe into small pieces.
2. Add a little oil to a heated kadai and roast dry red chilli, channa dhal, seasame, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Blend it with dhania, roasted channa dhal, ginger adding little water as needed. If you want a pod of garlic can be added.
3. In a heated kadai, add oil and then mustard, jeera. After it splits add onions and then tomatoes. Later add turmeric powder. Saute for a minute or two and then add the vegetables. Mix well. Add the blended mixture and coconut milk and add enough water and allow it to boil for 5-6minutes after adding adequate salt. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot.


Didnt have enough time to bake, so bought a nice vanilla sponge cake.

Vegetable Bread Pizza

Ingredients
Bread slices - 6 pieces
Onions - 2nos
Tomatoes - 2nos
Capsicum - 1no
Grated Cheese - 1/2 cup
Itallian Herbs Seasoning - 1/4tsp or oregano, basil, rosemary - little
Pepper - little
Salt - to taste
Butter spread - little
Olive oil - 4tsp

Method
1. In a heated kadai, add olive oil and to it add itallian seasoning. Then add the cut onions and saute for 2min, then add capsicum and later add tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Mix well and remove from fire after they are half cooked.
2.Pre heat the oven at 180deg. C
3. On one side of the bread spread the butter and place it down on the baking tray. On the top layer spead the vege mixture and add the grated cheese to it. Bake for 3-4min.
4. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Potato Bonda

Ingredients

For masala:
Potato - 6nos
Onion - 2nos
Green chilli - 2nos
Ginger - little
Carrot - 1
Peas - 1/4cup
Curry leaves - little
Corriander leaves - little
Oil - 4tsp
Mustard - 1tsp
Urad dhal split - 2tsp
Channa dhal - 2tsp
Hing - little
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
cashewnuts - 6nos
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying
Lemon juice (optional) - 1tsp

For Batter

Besan flour - 1cup
Rice flour - 2tsp
Salt - little
Chilli powder - little
Sodabicarb (optional) - a pinch

Method
1. Boil, peal and mash potatoes. Cook carrot and peas. Cut onions, green chilli, ginger into small pieces. Split the cashews into half.
2. In a heated kadai, add 4tsp of oil, once hot add hing, mustard, urad dhal, channa dhal, split cashews, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric powder and saute.
3. Then add mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and peas. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Once it leaves the sides add the corriander leaves and lemon juice if you like and switch off. Allow it cool and shape it into small lemon size balls.
4.In a basin add the besan flour, rice flour, salt, chilli powder, sodabicarb and add little water to make it into a batter (it can be of iddli batter consistency).
5. In a heated kadai, add enough oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, take a potato ball and dip it into the batter and drop it into the oil. Turn the sides and once it is golden brown remove and drain the oil in a kitchen towel before serving hot with coconut chutney.

Rice Uppuma Kozhakattai

Hi Everyone,

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2008 and Happy Pongal.

Two salt kozhakattai and one jaggery kozhakattai with coconut and mint chutney

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup
Oil - 4tsp
Mustard - 1tsp
Urad dhal split - 2tsp
Channa dhal - 2tsp
Curry leaves - little
Hing - Little
Pepper - 10nos
Jeera - 2tsp
Dry Red chilli - 3nos
Coconut - little
Salt - to taste


Method
1. Soak rice and wash thoroughly. Then remove water and keep in microwave for 2min or fry in dry kadai for few minutes, till the rice is dry. Then dry grind it. Seive it and remove the fine powder.
2. Heat kadai, add oil, then mustard, urad dhal, channa dhal, hing, jeera, pepper powder, dry red chilli, once they are fried add 3cups of water and salt to taste. Once the water starts to boil add the coarse rice. Mix till all the water is absorbed. Finally add coconut, curry leaves and mix thoroughly. Allow it to cool.
3. Shape the rice into oval and keep it in iddli cooker for 20min. If the kozhakattai breaks after shapping, that means there is not enough water, so add little hot water and shape it.
4. Serve hot with puthina or coconut chutney.


For sweet lovers, you can keep a little bit of jaggery into the rice balls. Take a little rice ball, flatten it and make a deep whole in centre and place the jagger. Fold it and shape it into oval.

About my trip to India 2007

Hi Everyone,

I am back home after an enjoyable trip to India. My spirits and energy levels have been boosted up after visiting parents, in-laws, kith and kin. India has definitely changed a lot. Chennai life is pretty fast. Many new malls have come up in all places. There are lots of eating joints with very good stuffs which would definitely satisfy everyone's tastebuds, I bet. I heard from my relatives that the train service from velachery to beach is good and very convenient. It enables them to go to Parthasarthy temple in just 20mins, amazing!!!. I had been to coimbatore for 10days and went to Palani for my son's tonsuring, had a very good darshan of Lord Muruga. I stood in the sanctorum area for 20mins, watching the breathtaking abhishegam and maha deeparadana. I considered myself very lucky.

A good sight of Palani temple.

One day we visited Maruthamalai and had a good darshan.

My kids at Marudamalai top.

SriRangam Raja Kopuram

Later we hired a car and went to Sri Rangam. I specially wanted my kids to get a darshan of Lord Ranganathar. I wanted them to see his reclining posture, in all HIS glory. We went there on the eve of Vaikunda Ekadesi and therefore it was crowded. We had a good darshan of Thayar(Holy Consort) as well. Later i took them to malakkotai, showed them the shops around.

On our return we went to Namakkal and had a darshan of Lakshmi Narasimhar and Anjaneyar. We also visited the famous Shirdi Sai Baba temple at Coimbatore.

Namakkal Lord Narasimhar Temple

Namakkal Lord Anjenayar Temple

We then went to Bangalore where we had a good darshan of Lord Venugopalan and Shirdi Sai Baba Mandir at Malleswaram.

Lord Venugopal Temple, Bangalore

We Went to Iscon Krishna temple. Wow!!, we really enjoyed having darshan there. The canteen there is just amazing, we were spoiled for choice with mouth-watering snacks. My uncle then took us for a tasty sumptuous lunch at MTR, situated next to Lalbagh Gardens.

Elephants stationed at the circus camp after the show.

We then went to Jumbo Circus. Enjoyed the show very much as we were reminded of our childhood days.

Back in Madras enjoyed doing shopping at Pondy Bazaar, Anna Nagar and of course GRT. Nothing can beat the colourful costumes and accessories paraded all along the city!!! We just enjoyed the snacks and chats in India. I really miss them here. I took my silver idols and got it gold plated at a shop named Thejus at G.N.Chetty Road, Chennai. If anyone is interested please write to me, I will forward the address to you. Now, God idols made of Navathaniyam are available. They are of light weight too which ensures easy portability.