Veg Keema Balls/ Veg Kola Urundai/ Beet Balls/ Beet Falafel

                      Keema Balls/ Kola Urundai is always a non-vegetarian delicacy. But what will vegetarians do???

                   Usually veg keema balls is prepared with meal maker, but we have made this recipe with a super ingredient Beet root. Every women will have a dream to have beet coloured lips. I am not sure if your lips will turn in beet colour, but beet is surely good for our health. 

                 Beetroot lowers the risk of anaemia, promotes digestion, boosts immunity and much more benefits.

Cooking Time: 5-10 minutes

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes

Soaking Time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Beetroot Grated

1/2 tbsp Chilly Powder (can change as per taste)

1/2 tbsp Rice Flour

Salt as per taste

Oil for frying

For Grinding:

1 cup Channa Dal/ Bengal Gram (Clean and soak in water)

1 tbsp Mint Leaves

2-3 nos Green Chilly

1 inch sized Ginger

6-7 cloves of Garlic

2 tsp Fennel Seeds

2-3 sticks of Cinnamon

3 nos Cloves

Procedure:

1) First soak the Channa dal for 1 hour.

2) Meanwhile, we can make the other ingredients ready. Starting with Beetroot,         Peel the outer cover of beet and then grate it.

3) In a mixer jar, put all the ingredients mentioned in for grinding.

4) Now in a pan, put the grated beetroot and saute it, till the raw smell goes off.

5) Then, add the grinded paste along with the beetroot and saute it together.

6) Check for the spice and salt. If needed add a little chilly powder and salt as per your taste. Add the rice flour and mix it together.

7) After sauteing for 5 minutes, let the mixture cool down. Now, make small balls out of it.

8) Now in a kadai, pour some oil. After the oil heats up, put the beetroot balls and fry it in medium low flame.

9) Considering the color of the beetroot, the balls will turn dark so fast. Hence fry it in medium low flame.

10) Now the yummy beetroot balls is ready to be accompanied with your evening tea. Kids will surely love this delicacy.

Chettinad Eral Gravy / Prawn Curry Recipe

                  For any non vegetarian, there will be a special crush for prawn recipes. Recipes with prawns are effortless, but the outcome will always be appetizing. This prawn gravy is a fata-fat gravy, yes it consumes your time very less.

Nethili Meen Varuval/ Netholi Fish Fry/ Spicy Anchovies fry

                                 Sometimes when I crave for something Spicy, crispy and yet healthy, my mind's rapid thought would end with this nethili fish fry only. This is a droolicious recipe, with number of health benefits of the fish.
                               

Ragi adai with Drumstick leaves- Ragi Rotti(Spicy version)- Kezhvaragu MurungaKeerai Adai- Finger millet Adai

                               Ragi is one special ingredient recommended for when puberty in girls. Ragi or Finger millet has loads of calcium in it.This recipe is one best recipe with loads of calcium and iron in it.

Pomegranate and Carrot Juice- Juice for Supple Skin

                     Juicing always gives joy, that too when a healthy juice is yummy......My try for Pomegranate and Carrot juice, gave me a splendid experience. Was not aware of the worth of Pomegranate, when in my country. Got a chance to travel abroad, there I found shocking that the price of pome was nearly 20 times more that of our country. They said there was a big demand for that fruit too...

Ulutham Paruppu Kuzhambu/ Foods for puberty in girls/ Urad Dal Curry (Tirunelveli Special Recipe)

                               Opps! I am too lazy to cook today, but still I want to give my family a healthy food. It might be the mind voice of many homemakers and mothers, sometimes. Your search for easy, simple, quick yet too healthy dish will end up with uluntham paruppu kuzhambu/ urad dal gravy.

             This recipe may sound new to many and it belongs to Tirunelveli (down south district of Tamil Nadu,India) cuisine. It is same as the dal recipe we make using toor dal or moong dal. Urad dal has abundant nutrients in it; calcium, iron, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, etc,. It is highly  recommended for pregnant women and girls who attained their puberty. Urad dal can be taken in various forms like ulunthu kali , ulunthu kanji. and kuzhambu.                         

Prep Time 2-3 mins
Cooking Time 12-15 mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup Urad Dal (without skin)  
1 tsp Chilly Powder (or as per taste)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
A pinch Asafoetida
As per Taste Salt


To grind
1 tbsp coconut grated
2 nos Green Chilly
2-3 nos Small Onion
1 tsp Cumin Seeds


To Temper
1 tbsp  Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Small onion Chopped
1 sprig of Curry Leaves



Procedure

1) Pressure cook the urad dal with turmeric and asafoetida added. It takes around 10 minutes.

2) Once the urad dal is pressure cooked, now we can temper it, using mustard seeds, chopped onions and curry leaves. 

3) Once the added onion for tempering has turned into brown colour, pour the cooked urad dal into it. 
4) Then coarsely grind the coconut along with onion and cumin seeds. Now add the coarsely grinded paste and salt to the urad dal mixture.

5) Allow it to boil for 10 minutes for the raw smell of coconut to go off.
6) Now you are done with the urad dal gravy.

                            Note:

• Even little amount of urad dal will yield more when cooked. So take the lesser amount than the normal amount (of dal you take) during cooking.
• Green chilly and chilly powder can be increased or reduced as per your taste.
• Need not be worried of the sticky texture of the gravy, it is it's property.

                        This gravy will be sticky, because of the mucinous of the urad dal. The mucinous property is good for diabetics and anti-cancerous too.
                        When taken along with hot steamed rice and ellu thuvaiyal, you will fall in love with this new dish.

Seem Paal / Junnu Paalu / Cow Colostrum Sweet Recipe

                      It has been a very long time, I am into the stream of blogging. Feeling glad to end my long interval with A Superfood Recipe. And the Super-food ingredient is cow's colostrum milk.
                     Colostrum is the fore milk produced by all the mammals after giving birth. This is considered to be the first gift of mother to her child. Packed with lots of antibodies and nutrients, is a low fat and high protein content milk. The cow version of colostrum is Bovine Colostrum.

                      This bovine colostrum is gaining popularity among the athletes and weightlifters. The high protein value is an asset to athletes. The abundance of amino acids in colostrum is considered to be a boon for weight lifters in making them stronger and bigger. Apart from sports and athletic persons, bovine colostrum is used for gastrointestinal benefits.

                     There are various methods of preparing the colostrum milk. Even little watery version is also being prepared in my native. This s a dry version. I have completely reduced the colostrum milk, adding jaggery and cardamom. And the shelf life for this dry version is four to five days, without refrigeration itself. For cold countries/climates the shelf life extends little more.

Prep Time 2-3 mins
Cooking Time 30-40 mins


Ingredients
5 cups Cow's Colostrum Milk/ Seem Paal/ Junnu Paal
1 cup Jaggery / Palm Jaggery (Crushed)
5-6 nos Cardamom (Crushed)

Procedure

1) The colostrum milk is yellow in colour. Shown in the picture below.

2) Crush the  palm jaggery or jaggery, add little water and heat it till it melts completely. Then filter for the impurities.

3) Pour the milk in a wide opened vessel. In medium flame, keep on stirring the milk. Within five minutes you can see the milk forming and then coagulating. By this time it looks like curdled milk.

Keep on stirring it with a ladle. When almost the whole content is reduced to half add the crushed cardamom.

4) When almost all the water is reduced, add the jaggery syrup. Keep on stirring. 

5) When the whole content is out of water, switch off the flame. Allow it to cool down completely and then transfer it to a container.  

                     Note:

• The foremilk or the first milk produced by cow after giving birth to calf is colostrum milk. Until nine days the cow will give colostrum milk.
• Even a very large quantity of milk, will yield to a very little output.
• Instead of palm jaggery / jaggery, sugar can also be added. Sugar is in least preference when compared to the other two.

                   Once when preparing this sweet recipe, I added a lot of jaggery. I had to rectify that mistake, so then added some grinded coconut, which became a new dish. Tasted similarly to theratti paal ( a famous tirunelveli recipe). Will post that recipe in the near soon.

                  

Sprouts Salad Recipe for Kids with Sprouted Lentil

                               Yesterday I got a chance to go to a library. My intention was to engage my kid over there, to avoid her boredom. But, I found my mind completely refreshed after I went there. Lots of books, lots of kids, lots of people and many new activities. When I was gazing through a book, I found food for kids, food for 20's, food for 30 & 40's, food for 50's and so on. Sprouts is the one item which falls almost in all categories.

                            While making this Sprouts salad recipe, I crumbled some potato chips along with the sprouted lentils, boiled peanuts and some veges. The taste turned to be better. From then I have started adding chips of some sort to the sprouts salad.

Prep time 15 mins (regardless of sprouting of beans)
Cooking time Nil

Ingredients
1 cup Sprouted Lentil / Sprouted Mung Beans.
1/2 - 3/4 cup Peanuts (Boiled)

1/2 cup Potato Chips (Crumbled)
1 Onion Big (Chopped)
1 Tomato (Chopped)
1 tsp Pepper Powder(optional)
1 tbsp Cilantro(Chopped)
As per Taste Salt

Procedure

1. Sprouting of Moong beans is the first step.
2. Then boil the raw peanuts for 5-6 whistles in pressure cooker.
3. Crumble the potato chips. Chop the onion, tomato, cilantro and set aside.
4. Now mix all the above ingredients, add salt and pepper as per taste.
5. Sprouts salad is ready. 

                          Note:

• You can add lemon juice if needed.
• 1 tsp of chat masala can also be added. It gives a good flavor and taste.
• You can add the chips you wish to add. As potato chips are tender I prefer adding them.
• You can also add the roasted peanuts, will end in different taste.

Ulundhu Kali (ulunthangali) / Foods for puberty in Girls- Urad Dal Balls (Tirunelveli Special Recipe)

                               Ulundhu Kali is a traditional, authentic, flavorful dish of TamilNadu. Still in most villages of Southern TamilNadu, there is a practice of making this kali at least once in a weak. It is a great challenge to make this soft kali without any lumps. My chithi (mom’s younger sister) is an expert in doing this kali. The kali, she makes, will not stay in the tongue, but will go slipping straight into the stomach, she makes such a soft kali and no need to chew.

                                        
                             In my village, they advise to give lots of ulunthu (urad dal) and sesame oil, for girls even from five years. Ulutham Kali is very healthy combination of all good ingredients; Proteins (from Urad Dal), Iron and Calcium (from Palm Jaggery), Omega 6 and Vitamin E (from Sesame Oil). So it is like a must food for girls who have attained puberty, for strengthening their uterus.

Prep time 10 mins

Cooking time 15 - 20 mins    

1 cup Urad Dal (with skin)

1/2 cup Raw Rice

1&1/2 -2 cups Palm jaggery /Jaggery (Crushed)

3 cups Water 
2 tbsp Coconut Grated

6 tbsp Gingelly oil

1 tbsp Ghee (optional) 

4-5 nos Cardamom (Crushed) (optional)

Procedure

1) First grind urad dal and raw rice together into a fine powder.

2) Dissolve the palm jaggery  in one cup of water, heat till the lump goes off and then filter it. 
3) Add the remaining water along with the above palm jaggery water and allow it to boil.
When boiling, reduce the flame to simmer position and now add the urad dal (and rice)powder, grated coconut and crushed cardamom.

4) Keep the vessel closed, with flame in simmer position. Stir the flour to get mixed with water.
When the water is completely absorbed, stir it, and add oil/ ghee in the intermediates (one tbsp oil each time). 

 
 5) Add the oil and stir continuously. You can see the kali rolling as ball and it is done.


                   Hence, a very healthy ulunthangali/urad dal ball is ready. Make small small balls out of the made kali, using sesame oil/ ghee.


                        Note:

• You can make this Kali flour in large amounts and store it; can be used when needed. 
• Some will change the ratio of urad dal and the raw rice; It can be 1:3 or 1:4 respectively.
• Instead of Palm jaggery, normal jaggery can also be added. But palm jaggery will give a unique taste.
• Add jaggery according to your taste. Normal ratio is 1:1, urad dal flour and jaggery respectively.
• The ratio of the flour and water is 1:2 respectively.
• Dry ginger/ sukku can also be added.

 

Sukku Malli Kappi with Karupatti / Dry Ginger coffee with Palm Jaggery

                           Yep, it was terribly hot few days back, but now the climate is very very pleasing. It is raining here in some parts of Tamil Nadu. We can see(in news) many waterfalls are flooded because of this rain. And the rain is because of a cyclone. Nature is always enchanting and great, if it didn't rain, the summer would have been horrible. Mother nature gives us what we need in right time. So, please start saving nature from plastics at least.

                         Because of the sudden change in climate, we get easily infected by cold. The magic drink made with dry ginger(sukku) , pepper (milagu), coriander seeds(malli) and tulsi, will be a great heal for the cold and flu and will reduce the severity also. The magic drink is sukku malli kappi made with karupatti / dry ginger coffee made with palm jaggery.
                 

Prep time 5 mins

Cooking time 10-15 mins

Ingredients

4-5 inch long sized Dry Ginger (Sukku)

1 tbsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 tbsp Palm Jaggery (Crushed) 

4 cups Water

9-10 nos Tulsi Leaves

Procedure

1) Take all the ingredients dry ginger, coriander seeds, pepper, cumin seeds and crush it.

2) In a sauce pan pour water, add the palm jaggery and also the crushed ingredients along with it. Crush and add the tulsi also. Allow it to boil for 12 -15 minutes. The four cups of water should be reduced to two cups. Once done remove from the flame.

Then strain the impurities and serve the hot sukku kappi/ dry ginger coffee.

                          Note:

• When this coffee is made for kids, then reduce the amount of dry ginger and pepper.
• Adding of tulsi gives a good flavor.
• Reducing the water to half the amount gives a strong coffee.