Nannari Syrup

Water -300ml

Nannari roots- 100 g

Sugar -200g

Lemon juice- from 6 lemons

Citric acid crystals -optional ( a generous pinch)

Method 

Wash nannari roots thoroughly.spread them on a towel till dry.Remove the inner white  portion from the roots.crush the roots with a pestle or run in a mixer 

Boil water and turn off the stove.put the crushed roots and close the lid and leave overnight.

Next morning strain the nannari water mix with a muslin cloth

Add sugar/jaggery and boil till it turns into a syrupy consistency

Squeeze the juice of six lemons and add to the syrup once cool.

Add pinch of citric acid crystals as preservative(purely optional since it contains lemon)Adding for that extra tanginess and lemonade taste.

Store in an airtight glass bottle..

To make a glass of sherbet mix 2 tablespoons of this syrup with chilled water and crushed ice.

EGGLESS VANILLA CAKE

Ingredients

Maida-1and half cup

Curd-1 cup

Baking Soda-3/4tsp

Vanilla Essence-1 and1/4tsp

Baking powder-1and1/2 tsp

Cooking Oil-1/2 cup

Sugar-1 cup

Cashews- a few


Method

Mix sugar and curd with a whisk till sugar dissolves completely.

Add baking soda, baking powder to the curd and sugar mixture.

and leave it aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven at 200 degree for 10 minutes.

Add vanilla essence,cooking oil and mix well. Slowly add maida

and mix well till everything blends. Add sliced cashews to the

batter.

Transfer the mixture to a greased and dusted baking tray.Bake it

at 200 degree for 10 minutes and 35 minutes at a reduced

temperature of 180 degrees till a toothpick when inserted comes

out clean.

Keep the cake on a cooling rack before slicing it . Slice it only after
it cools completely.

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients

Cauliflower-broken into medium size flowerets(15 numbers)

Ginger Garlic Paste-1/2 tsp

Chilli Powder-1/2 tsp

Finely Chopped Green Chillies-1tsp

Corn Flour-3tbsp

Maida-5tbsp

Rice Flour -1tbsp

Soy Sauce-1tbsp

Tomato Ketchup-1tbsp

Water-1/4cup

Salt-to taste

Oil-for deep frying

Chopped Spring Onion-3tbsp

Method

Dissolve corn flour,rice flour and maida in water. Add chilli 

powder and salt and mix well.

Dip the flowerets in the batter and deep fry until golden brown.

Take another pan and heat oil.Add ginger garlic paste ,chopped 

green chillies, chopped spring onions and stir fry for a few seconds.

Toss the fried cauliflower with the tomato ketchup and soy sauce 

and stir well.

Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

Coconut rice

Cooked rice-1cup

Grated coconut-1/2 cup

Fried cashews-2 tbsp

Ghee-tbsp

Urad dhal-1/2 tsp

Red chillies-1

Green chilles-1

Asafoetida-pinch

Salt-as needed

Heat ghee temper mustard , urad dhal,chillies( green and red) , 

asafoetida. Add cashew nuts and fry till brown. Now add coconut 

gratings and a few pinched curry leaves.

Fry till moisture in coconut gets absorbed and add salt as needed.

Turn off the stove.

Add rice and mix well .Serve with papad.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients


Rice Four-3cups

Gram Flour-1/2cup

Roasted Gram Dhal Powder-1/2cup

Asafoetida-1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Powder-2 tsp

Butter-1 tbsp

Salt

Water

Oil-1/2 litre

Method


Slightly roast all flours separately till hot. Sieve all flours. Add red

chilli powder , asafoetida , salt and butter  to the flours.

Add water to make a not so stiff dough.Grease the pakoda press.

Insert the the pakoda disc. Take a little of the dough and put it in

the press holding the press over the oil.

Press out the dough in oil making a circular motion of the hand so

that the pakoda is circular in shape. Cook one side and turn and

cook otherside. Remove from oil after hissing stops.


Tips

1) Take care to see that the pakodas do not fall in a heap and oil should be hot else pakodas may consume lot of oil

2) Prepare the dough in batches. Do not let the dough sit for a long time as the last batch of pakodas may turn very dark.

Musk melon Badam Smoothie

Fruit smoothies provide you with the essential nutrients.Excellent meal replacement for those who want to do a detoxification.keeps u full for a long time provides you with fibre which is otherwise lost in juicing..apart from vitamins and minerals you get from fruits milk gives an extra dose of calcium and Vitamin D which makes this an excellent choice for health watchers.

Musk melons are a good source of Vitamin A,Vitamin C,B Complex Potassium etc

It is highly refreshing  on a hot summer day since it is a body coolant

Next time you crave for something sweet jus blend these and have a sweet low calorie guilt free healthy treat

Musk melon cut into small cubes-1/4 cup

Milk-3-4 cup

Almonds-4-6

Almonds sliced thin-1/2 tsp for garnishing

Saffron strands-few

Badam mix powder -1/2 tsp(optional)

Honey-1 tsp

Blend melons,milk honey badam mix almonds together until smooth.Pour into a glass.Garnish with sliced almonds and saffron strands..

No need to add sugar since honey substitutes.

Serve chill..

Arrowroot Halwa(koovakkali)

This halwa popularly known as thiruvathirakkali is prepared on Thiruvathira,considered Birthday of Lord Shiva

Kali and koottu are offered as neivedyam.

A simple never fail recipe..

Arrowroot powder-1/4 cup

Jaggery powdered-1/2 cup

Grated or thin sliced coconut-1 tbsp

Cardamom powder- a pinch

Water- 3/4 cup

Ghee-2 tbsps

Method

Dissolve jaggery in water and strain impurities

Heat on medium flame till it turns into   consistency of a syrup

Dissolve arrowroot powder in water and cook it in low flame till it turns transparent

Add jaggery syrup at this stage along with coconut scrapings and ghee

Keep stirring till halwa leaves sides

Add cardamom and a spoon of ghee before turning off the stove

Allow it to cool

You can transfer into any mould of your choice and turn upside down after it cools down completely

Eggless Chocolate super soft cake


Ingredients


All purpose flour/maida-1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder-1/4 cup
Baking soda-1 tsp
Baking powder 1/4 tsp
Sugar-1 cup
Warm water -250 ml
Instant coffee powder-1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
White Vinegar or Lemon juice-2 tsps
Oil-1/4cup

Method

Take water in a mixing bowl add instant coffee powder oil sugar  vanilla essence vinegar and stir till the sugar is completely dissolved
Sift flour cocoa powder baking soda baking powder twice.Add this to the wet ingredients slowly and stir in one direction with a whisk.mix for two min till everything is blended well.Grease and dust a baking tray and pour the mixture.Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 25 min or till a tooth pick when inserted comes out clean

Please use the exact measurements given above else the result may vary.You can reduce the amount of cocoa powder..I used more for an extra chocolatey flavor

Urad Dhal Vada

Urad dhal vadai ulundu or Medu vadai in Tamil  is a popular south indian delicacy. It is usually served with idli,pongal or  can also be had as a snack as it is or as sambar vadai where it is soaked in hot sambar.Can be soaked in curd too and topped with boondhis to make it a cool Curd Vadai..Crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside vadai is relatively an easy snack for any occasion


Urad Dhal-1 cup
Raw rice-1 1/2 tbsp
pepper-1 tsp crushed
Green chillies-cut finely-2
Ginger finely chopped=½ tsp
Curry leaves-few
salt -as needed
Asafoetida-a pinch


Wash the urad dhal and rice and soak in 2 cups of water for 2 hours.
Using a wet grinder or blender grind to smooth thick fluffy batter.

Add crushed pepper, green chili, ginger, salt asafoetida and curry leaves  mix well.


Mean while heat oil for frying. Wet your left palm and dip your hand in water before taking the batter so that the batter does not stick to your fingers. Place the batter on your left hand  (smear oil on your left palm)and flatten the batter and dig a hole in the centre

Drop this in medium hot oil and deep fry until golden brown on both sides. Again wet the hand and repeat the same for rest of the batter.

Drain the excess oil and serve with sambar or coconut chutney.

Tips

Keep the soaked urad dhal in refrigerator for a few minutes before grinding to get a fluffy batter


Rice is added to make the vadai crispier

Make sure the oil is medium hot else it will get burnt outside but half cooked inside

use only teaspoonfuls of water while grinding else vadais will consume oil

to check the consistency of the batter drop a teaspoon of batter in water,if it floats then go ahead with the prep

Can also add sliced onions to enhance flavor

Shaping is slightly tricky esp the traditional shape(I haven't got it right  this time but am going ahead and posting this not waiting for another trial and error,coz I can assure you of the taste and crispiness if you go by the above measurements and method)

If finding tough to get the shape take small quantities and drop them in oil as it is and will end up getting round vadais like Mysore Bonda..

Aloo Tikki

Chaats can be a sumptuous starter or in other words can be a filling snack..Sweet,tangy,spicy,aromatic..

Who wouldn't love them..With its origins in UP and nicknamed as mumbai street food their popularity has spread to entire South Asia..

This is one of my favorite among them

Anything with Aloo..

Aloo tikki


Potatoes-5-6(medium sized)
Onions-cut in small sizes-2 tablespoons(optional)
Chaat Masala-1 tsp
grated ginger-1/2 tsp
garam masala-1 tsp
corn flour-1 tbsp
Green chillies finely chopped
salt-as needed
coriander leaves-few
bread crumbs-half cup
oil-as needed

Method
Pressure cook potatoes for a couple of whistles.Peeel and grate them.

Take grated potatoes in another bowl. Add onions(they are optional, I love when onions and aloos come together hence added)corn flour, grated ginger, coriander leaves, finely chopped green chilli, garam masala powder,chaat masala and salt.

Mix them to prepare smooth dough like mixture. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions and roll them into small size balls.

Take one ball and gently press it between your palms and make a round shaped thick patty. Take 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs in a plate. Coat prepared patty with breadcrumbs on all sides by rolling it in breadcrumbs filled plate.

Heat a tawa drizzle 2 tbsps of oil and when the oil turns hot place the patties on the hot oil(basically shallow fry) Cook them till they turn golden brown

Flip patties and cook the other side as well

You can cook 2-3 patties at a time depending on the size of your tawa.

Serve hot with Ketchup or Khatta Meettha chutney!!

Wheat Moong Dhal Halwa

Halwa is an irresistible sweet for any festive occasion.Not a guilt free sweet though with loads of ghee and sugar/jaggery :)

Unparalleled aroma and texture makes this sweet overpowering 

Now lets get to the recipe

Wheat flour/atta- half cup
Moong dhal--half cup
Sugar-2 cups
Ghee-1 cup
Cardamom powder-a pinch
saffron-few strands
cashews and raisins fried in ghee and kept aside-1/4 cup

Method

Slightly roast moong ghal in a dry kadai till nice aroma comes and soak in water for half an hour

Meanwhile in a kadai add one tablespoon ghee and fry cashews and raisins and keep aside

Add one more tablespoon ghee and add wheat flour little by little to it stirring continuously.Keep the flame low.

When a nice aroma emanates turn off the stove and transfer the wheat flour to another plate

Pressure cook moong dhal for 3 whistle.Mash the dhal till its mushy.Add sugar in the kadai and add water till the sugar immerses.Boil till sugar dissolves completely and reaches one string consistency (when u touch the syrup with your forefinger and thump and pull them apart gently a single thread will be formed)

Now add the mashed dhal and mix well.Add wheat flour little by little.Keep adding the ghee occasionally and stir continuously.

When the halwa does not stick to the bottom of the kadai and ghee oozes,turn off the stove.Add cardamom powder and saffron strands at this stage

garnish with fried cashews raisins and serve hot..

Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice

A perfect recipe which comes handy as a quickie..

In less than five minutes you can liven up your plain rice with a few ingredients from your kitchen shelf

Here you go

Rice-1 cup(should not be sticky)

lemon-2

turmeric-a pinch

green chillies-sliced round-2

ginger grated-1/2 tsp

salt-as needed

asafoetida/hing-a pinch

urad dhal-1 tsp

chana dhal-1 tsp

peanuts-a handful

coriander leaves- few

curry leaves-few

Sesame oil-two table spoons

Method

In a pan add oil and temper mustard, urad, chana dhals and peanuts.fry for two minutes.

Now add green chillies and grated ginger

Add turmeric, curry leaves, hing and salt

Turn off the heat and squeeze the juice of two lemons.Those who prefer less tangy Lemon Rice can reduce the lemons to one

Mix well.

Now add rice to this mix 

Mix everything well using a fork

Garnish with coriander leaves

A perfect lunch box recipe!!

Serve with papad or Potato chips

Watermelon Amla Cooler

It is supposedly winter in Chennai,yet one rarely feels cold here.. Here is a drink for you to refresh esp when back from an elaborate shopping session or a long day at work...

Here is a quick and easy cooler to refresh with only two ingredients

Amla and Watermelon

Amla (Phyllanthus) is also known as amlakka or amlakai in Hindi, which means the “sustainers” or the fruit where the “goddess of prosperity presides”.

Watermelons are mostly water — about 92 percent — but this refreshing fruit is soaked with nutrients. Each juicy bite has significant levels of vitamins A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids.There's even a modest amount of potassium.

Watermelon -roughly chopped into big chunks -1 cup

Amla-2-3(deseed and cut into small pieces)

Honey(optional)-1 teaspoon

blend first two ingredients and strain it

Add honey and icecubes

Sweet and Tangy cooler ready!