Back to blogging...

Iam back to blogging after a long break. It seems like yesterday when I published my last post, but days ran so quickly that its almost 18 months.Year 2007 has been a great year for us as we were blessed with a baby boy.Life has been hectic ever since with the little one around but we are enjoying every moment of it.We have now moved to Belgium and are residing in a nice quite town named 'Halle', some 50km away from Brussels. Life here is much more different from that in US.Its very serene, simple and peaceful.

After settling down and setting up a routine of things, the urge for blogging started growing in me like a wild creeper.Finally I have decided to take some "me time " from my hectic schedule and start blogging.

With so many new blogs, events and activities in the blogosphere, I think there's definitely lot of catching up to do!!!

On a Blogging break

As Iam leaving to India for good tomorrow I will be on a blogging break for probably a month or two.I will start blogging once I settle down completly in chennai. Until then bye from Sumi's Kitchen.
Happy blogging everyone.

Pepper Rasam/ Milagu Rasam with Homemade Rasam Powder.

"Rasam sadham" is the common term used in tamil for simple plain white rice mixed with Rasam.In authentic tamil cuisine, white rice and rasam are served as the final course of the meal. The reason for this being that rasam aids in quick digestion.
Usually the basic rasam is prepared by the combination of pepper, tamarind and other spices.But then there are different kinds of rasam's which can be had as the main course like paruppu/dhal rasam, lemon rasam, pineapple rasam etc.These receipes are prepared using the main ingredient in their names + basic rasam.

As kids, we always jump into rasam sadham skipping the main course such as dhals/sambhar or kulambhu.Sometimes when we want to give our Mom a days rest (which she doesnt want to ) we would request her make us just rasam.Whenever I go on a long trip and spend days together by eating fast foods like burgers and pizza, my heart starts aching for the hot steaming white rice and rasam.I get the same feeling while travelling from India- US and vice versa.On such times, I can't wait to go home and make a pot full of spicy rasam.

According to me the definition for 'comfort food' is the food that comes to your mind or the food that you ache for, when you are deprived of homemade food for days.With that in mind my first choice for FMR - comfort food would be 'Pepper Rasam'.

Here's a simple receipe for Pepper Rasam.

Ingredients:

3 cups of tamarind juice by soaking and squeezing lime size tamarind in water (or) 2 tsp tamarind pulp dissolved in 4 cups of water.
2 tsp pepper powder
2 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 cloves garlic smashed and roughly chopped
1 medium size tomato
1/cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
salt as needed

For tempering:

1 tsp mustard
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 red chilly
a pinch of hing
few curry leaves

Method:

Take the tamarind juice in vessel.Add all the powders, garlic and salt to it. Squeeze the tomatoes by your hand and mix with the liquid well.Check for salt and spice level.Add the coriander leaves and keep aside. Take a kadhai or sauce pot and add 2 tsp of oil. To this add the tempering ingredients one by one.When the mustard pops add the tamarind juice mixture to it.



Reduce the heat the medium and look for the bubbles.The trick for good rasam lies at the last stage.My mother tells me that the rasam should not boil at any cost.When the first stage of boiling bubbles appear like a foam as shown in the above picture,we should switch off the stove and take the pot away from the stove and close with a lid.Allow it to rest for atleast 15 mins. At this stage your house will be filled with the wonderful aroma of the rasam.

Serve it piping hot with white rice, papad and egg curry as a side dish...hmm.. yummy :)

Some Tips:
Pepper-Jeera Powder
If you are making rasam regularly then its better to make the pepper -jeera powder at the ratio of 1:2 at home.Make it a coarse powder.Add a tblsp of this powder instead of adding the pepper and jeera powder seperatly
Another form of home made rasam powder :
5 red chillies
1/4 cup of coriander seeds
1/2 cup of pepper
1 cup of jeera
2 tblsp of chana dhal
2 tblsp of toor dhal
Dry roast all the above spices, till you get a nice aroma, grind them into a coarse powder, store in an airtight container.Add 1 tbsp of this powder to the above rasam along with the other powders mentioned in the recipe.The Rasam becomes even more spicy and it greatly enhances the taste.

I would like to thank each and everyone of you who have tried this recipe and left such wonderful feedback in this blog as well as in email. Thanks for you support and love readers.

Recipes from Other Blogs

Hello folks, here's a post I wanted to do for a long time.I wanted to blog about the receipes that I have tried from other blogs.I have been composing this post for more than a week now.Yesterday I came across priya's post on the same thought.It was so beautiful that it made me speed up mine.I feel that the only way to actually appreciate other fellow bloggers is by actually trying some of their receipes that we like.
Blogging has become such a passion for me that I cannot pass a single day without taking a peek at some of the blogs .I am sure many of you are like me. Dont you agree with me?.
In this process we try atleast 2 0r 3 new receipes each month, but we dont take the time and patience to blog about them. So going forward I have decided to post about the receipes that I have tried from other blogs once every month, probably the last week of every month.Those who are interested can join me in this effort and do the same in their respective blogs.It would be fun isnt?

Here goes the first of my series "Tribute to fellow bloggers".

Like many of us I started blogging after getting inspired by Indira's Mahanandi receipes and pictures. I have tried as many receipes as possible from her website.Iam posting some of my favourites here.

I came to know about this blog world, when I accidently came across 'Mahanandi' while searching for a "stuffed brinjal receipe". I was totally taken back by her brinjal receipe.
Though my picture is not great as hers, the taste of the dish was absolutely wonderful.We enjoyed it very much. This is my first ever food picture. :)


A absolutely fabulous receipe about Ridgeguard - "Ridgeguard potato and carrot curry" again from Mahanandi, till then I have been using this vegetable only with moong dhal like a kootu.So this receipe was a complete variation for me.



The next comes my favourite Avaccado chappati's from GM's Spice is Right' didnt expect this to be so soft and buttery.
Did my part of the research from internet and found that its a good fruit/vegetable as it contains the necessary fatty acids.If you are counting calories you need to limit the number of chappatis.


The next one is Garam Masala's 'Methi Chick peas' . I have already blogged about it here.But still wanted to mention it here, as its truly delicious ( and I dont have to chop up onions..yayyy!!!).



Thats it for this week's tribute.Will definitely post about some other great receipes from other blogs (of course with pictures) in my next months tribute.

Chettinad chicken curry

Chettinad chicken is one of my all time favourites among chicken dishes.

Chettinad is a small part in southern tamilnadu which is famous world over for its unique cuisine.The flavour of freshly grinded chillies, coriander and fennel, coconut and all other spices gives it a fiery taste.Once you taste any chettinad dish you will never forget the taste of it.
I adapted this receipe from one of the Tamil cookbook magazine and it turned out great.

ingredients:

Chicken 1.5 lb - cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces
to marinate - 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 pinch of turmeric and some salt

2 medium size onions
8 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1 medium size tomato chopped
few sprigs of curry leaves

To roast and grind:

1 inch cinnamon
4 cloves
8 red chillies
2 tblsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp shredded coconut

Method:

Clean the chicken pieces and marinate them by adding the chilli powder, turmeric for atleast 30 mins.Cut 1 onion into small pieces, peel the garlic and ginger.Fry these in a pan and grind them to a smooth paste.Roast all the spices without oil, finally add the coconut and grind them together to a smooth paste

Chop the remaining 1 onion and the tomatoes.

Take 3 tsp of oil in a pan and add the curry leaves, chopped onion and fry well.
To this add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves.
Now add the roasted spice paste and fry well.To this add the chopped tomatoes, 1/2 tsp of turmeric and fry well till the oil leaves the sides of the pan.Now add the chicken pieces and stir well so the masala coats the chicken well. Add salt and check for the spice level.
Add 1/2 cup of water and close tightly with a lid.Reduce the heat to medium and allow it cook for 10 - 15 mins. Add 1/2 cup of chopped coriander leaves and mix well before switching of the stove.

Serve it hot with Rice, chappati, puri's or even Idli's

Updated with some new pictures that I took when I made this curry recently.

Check out my other interesting chicken recipes below:
 'Chettinad Chicken Varuval / fry'
Chicken/Muttton Kuzhambhu