Instant Idli Milagai podi / Chutney powder.

It started raining here today, but a little warmer than usual.Weather prediction says it even more warmer in the weekend 8C or 9C quite unuusal for this time of the year. But its really good to go shopping as January is the official sale month over here at Brussels :)

I was little bit down  this morning  partly because of the dark , no sunshine weather and also because of my new 'trying to peek out ' wisdom tooth. Have been having a hard time with that and on antibiotics and pain killer for the past few days. Since Iam taking all these medicines I wanted to have good breakfast not the usual bread and stuff. I had a few laddles of left ove Idlibatter ,but was too lazy and tired to make a chutney, and ironically I ran out of Idli podi.  Then this method of making simple Idli podi , that Amma makes often whenever she faces the same situation came to my mind.  During schooldays I used to just make this for mysellf even if there is sambhar or chutney on the table. 

Its a tip rather than a recipe. Even my husband who does'nt like the regular Idli podi (can you beleive it !!)  loves this version.

Here you go.

Ingredients:

Sambhar powder 2 tblsp

3 pods of Garlic

salt 

Gingelly/sesame oil

Home made Sambhar powder like the one here at Cilantro's works best. I think almost all South Indian home will have a jar of this. I get a big bag of this from Amma whenever I travel abroad.

Take 2 tblsp of sambhar powder in a small  bowl.

To this add 2 -3 pods of Smashed Garlic.

Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Add 2 table spoon of Gingelly oil (must).

Mix well, Let it sit for about 5 mins.

Note:

Do not chop or grind the garlic, it gives a bitter taste.

Do not dip the Idli /Dosai into it, unless you like it very very hot. Just a touch of it is enough to enjoy the goodness.

Let me know what you think .

Funny clipping from the cosby's show

If you dont have any idea about  what she is talking about check out this video  ..Partly cloudy

Pal Koz(l)hukattai / Paal Kolukattai with Sugar

Like Everyone else in the Food blog world , I wanted my first post of the year to be a dessert or a sweet recipe. Hence this Palkoz(l)ukattai, a traditional Tamilian sweet/payasam  made with riceflour, sugar, milk and cardamom. I have already blogged about this one way back in 2006, but with jaggery instead of sugar. Its one of the popular posts in my blog to date

This is one of my favorite sweet and has loads of childhood memories attached with it. This is my Grandma's speciality and after her I dont remember anyone in  my maternal household making this nowadays.
Probably its time consuming and everyone gathers around in one place just for special occasions like weddings etc. In these days of fast travel, if at all we visit our native, its reach there by morning and start by night. Oh... how  I terribly miss my long summer holidays and endless chatting with cousins throughout the night.
Anyways traditionally this sweet is prepared by rolling the rice flour into small balls, first cooking them in boiling water, and then with milk and sugar. But I always use a shortcut method of directly pressing the prepared dough using a murruku press into the hot boiling water and then stir to break them.  Its a great way to involve the kids if you opt to make the kolukattai's the authentic way.

Ingredients:
1 cup Rice flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 pods cardomom
4 cups of water
1 cup shredded coconut.


Method:
Crush the cardamoms to a fine powder.
Boil half cup of water with a pinch of salt
Add this boiling water to the rice flour and stir well with a wooden spoon, like you do for regular kollukattai or Idiyappam. Allow it to cool slightly.
At this stage you can proceed in two ways.
Boil 4 cups of water
Pinch the flour and roll into very tiny balls using your palm and put them in a plate or paper.Once all the dough is rolled, add them to the boiling water little by little. 
 (or)
Boil 4 cups of water in a thick bottomed vessel.
Place some prepared flour into the murruku press (with one hole) .
When the water is boiling , press the dough directly in it. Wait for a minute and then stir with a laddle gently to break into pieces. Wait for 2 minutes before doing the next batch.


Once the dough is all done, allow it to cook well in the water for about 5 mins.
Parallely warm a cup of milk in the saucepan.
Add the sugar, stir well and cook for another 5 mins. 
Now add the warm  milk and cardamom pods and give it a good stir.
 Boil for another 10 mins. Stir at intervals to avoid burning.
Finally add shredded coconut (fresh or desiccated) , mix well , cook for a minute and switch of the stove.
The payasam will become thick as it cools down.

Notes:
The water should be really really hot, boiling with bubbles  otherwise the koz(l)hukattai will not retain its shape and not cook properly. 


Variations:

Palkolukattai with Jaggery

There are lots of variations to this recipe.
1. You can add Jaggery instead of Sugar like here
2. Substitute milk with Coconut milk  or equal proportions of both.
3. Sometimes my Mom adds shredded lauki /surrakkai to the boiling water before adding the koz(l)ukkatai which also gives a delicate taste to this dish.


This recipe serves 5-6 people. This dish can easily be made ahead of time and refrigerated.Warm just before serving.

Sending this to the Food Pallette series - White held at Torview

Cookies Galore

Baked lot of cookies this holiday season for sharing with Friends and Neighbors.  Here's a quick peek on to them

From the left: Oatmeal Raisin Coconut Cookies (my personal favorite) , Mexican wedding cookies, Almond Macaroons, Shortbread cookies with chocolate dipping.

Yet to blog about the last two, probably after the holidays. Till then have a blasting weekend.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

Chocolate Brownies with Fudge Frosting - A Christmas Treat

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend. The weather was pretty bad over here on Saturday and it was a white Christmas after 20 yrs or so. But after two days of snow and uncleaned roads, its a complete mess out there.
We had a relaxed weekend at home with the "very happy"  little one running around with the surprise  gift from Santa :) . Well,  he got what he wished for, and also some Brownies as a bonus treat for Christmas.

I baked these wonderful cake like brownies from the book I already mentioned here. 
The recipe was totally different from what I have been baking so long, as it called for a layer of fudge frosting over the brownies. The result was a soft cake like Brownies with a very thin layer of smooth frosting. Loved every bite of it. 
Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon milk
For the Frosting:
2 Tblsp Butter
2 Tblsp cocoa
3 Tblsp evaporated milk ( I used whole milk)
1 cup Confectionery/Icing sugar


Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C
Prepare a 11 / 7 inch rectangular pan. Grease and line the pan with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy in a seperate bowl.
 Add the eggs little by little and beat well.
Scrap the sides of the bowl and beat again for a min.
Now fold in the dry ingredients and the milk alternately. 
Mix gently until no visible streaks of flour appear.
Transfer it to the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes.


Remove and let cool in the pan.


For the Frosting:
Melt the butter in a saucepam under low heat.Add the cocoa powder and mix well, cook for a min.
Remove from heat and add the milk and sugar. Blend well with a whisk for a min.
Pour over the cooled brownies, spread evenly and allow it to set. Cut into squares.


Note: Cut only after the frosting is completly set , atleast 2 hrs, otherwise it will leak while making squares. I was a little impatient as you can see in the picture.

Try this recipe when you bake brownies the next time, you will  not be disappointed.
Sending these to Meeta's Monthly mingle event hosted this month by Ria where the theme is "Chocolate Extravaganza"

On an ending note, I am very happy to announce that I have won the giveaway hosted at Mriganayani for her blog 2nd anniversary.  So I got my share of surprise for the Christmas weekend :) Thanks Anu for the wonderful book giveaway.


Update : The picture after the frosting's set completely (overnight)

Happy Holidays Everyone...