Rice cookies

Rice Cookies

These rice cookies are yummy, crunchy and would disappear very soon!


Ingredients:
1 cup crisp roasted rice
1 1/4 cups pancake mix
1/2 cup sugar    
1/2 cup butter
1 egg

Directions:
1. Take a cup of  rice ( I used brown parboiled rice) and roast in a hot pan on low flame until the rice grains pops and turns crisp.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I also tried making these cookies in the toaster oven and it did work, but the conventional oven cookies turned out the best.
3. Melt butter and add the beaten egg to it.
4. Add sugar, pancakemix and rice. Mix all ingredients.
5. Make a dough and roll into small balls.
6. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
7. Bake for 10 minutes and allow it to cool.

Bon appétit!

Steamed wheat balls with coconut stuffing/ Kozhukattai/ Modak

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Enjoy making steamed kozhukattai-Lord Ganesha's favorite dish.

Ingredients

Wheat flour (Chappati flour/Aashirvaad Aata) - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Water
Salt
Jaggery- around 1 cup
Cardamom powder
Oil

Method
To make the poornam/ stuffing
1. First melt jaggery in little water (just enough to melt the jaggery).
2. Strain or transfer the jaggery syrup into another pan to remove the impurities that settle at the bottom.
3. Reheat the jaggery syrup and add the fresh grated coconut and mix well. When the water gets absorbed and the coconut mix starts to leaving the sides of the pan switch off the heat and add a pinch of cardamom powder.
4. Allow the coconut poornam/stuffing to cool.
5. Boil water and add wheat flour to make a soft dough. Add little oil and a pinch salt and knead it well without lumps.
6. Coat your fingers with little oil and take a small amount of dough- the size of a lemon.
7. Start spreading the dough from the center to make it flat and round.
8. Apply oil on your hands and take little coconut poornam/stuffing and roll it in between your palms to make it round.
9. Place the coconut poornam/stuffing in the center of the flattened wheat dough.
10. Gather the corners and give a twist.
11. Repeat steps 6 to 10 and steam the balls in a pressure cooker or a steamer.




Bon appétit!

Pumpkin Peach Soup

This soup tastes like a dessert! Its healthy and easy to make yet delicious. You are definitely going to crave for more once you taste it.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin fresh-1 pound/16 oz
Ripe peaches-2
Brown sugar-2-3 tablespoons (depending on how sweet you want it)
Cinnamon-1/2 teaspoon
Nutmeg-1/2 teaspoon
Salt-1/4 teaspoon
Milk- 1/4 cup

Preparation:

Cook the sliced pumpkin by using either the microwave, or oven or on the stove. It's easier to remove the peel after the pumpkin is nearly half cooked. Dice the pumpkin and transfer into a sauce pan. Add brown sugar,mix and keep the stove in low heat.

In the meantime clean the peaches in running tap water. Microwave the peaches for a minute in water and wash them in cold water to remove the skin. You can also drop peaches in boiling water for a minute and then plunge into ice water to peel off the skin. Cut the peaches into half and remove the pit.

Just before the pumpkin is nearly completely cooked add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and mix well. Switch off the heat when the pumpkin is completely cooked and taste it. Check whether you need to add brown sugar and add accordingly. Mix well and allow it to cool.

Transfer the contents into a blender (add the pumpkin first followed by the peaches). Add little milk and pulse it few times. Process it well into a soup by adding the required milk.

Serve fresh or after refrigeration. To garnish drizzle cinnamon powder on top.

Bon appétit!

Indian potato radish curry

Thank you for checking out my blog. This is my first blog entry and I am really excited! I have always wanted to publish my healthy vegetarian cooking recipes and I am sure your are going to enjoy trying out my recipes.

Indian potato radish curry

Ingredients

Idaho/red potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)- 2
Red radish (Raphanus sativus) -10
Curry leaves (Murraya koenigii)- few
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) powder- 1 teaspoon'
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) powder -1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida/hing (Ferula assafoetida) powder ( LG brand)-1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder-1/2 teaspoon
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) freshly ground- 1/2 teaspoon
Green chillies- 6
Olive oil- 4 teaspoon

Method

1. Wash potatoes and dice them into small cubes with the skin. Cut radishes into small, long pieces.
2. Heat the pan and add four teaspoon of oil. You can get great results with less oil.
3. Once the oil becomes hot, add asafoetida powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and mix well.
3. Add the green chillies and diced potatoes to the pan and mix it for two minutes.
4. Next add the radish pieces, salt and mix well. Close the pan with a lid and cook on low flame for few minutes until the potato gets cooked. There is no need to add water as the radish oozes out water. You can sprinkle a few drops of water if the potato sticks to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the cut curry leaves once the potato and radish has been cooked.

Bon appétit!