minimunch

This is a very healthy snack as you are using green gram split or green gram. It is very good for health.

Serves: 45 to 50 Medium size balls (urundai) can be made
Shelf life: A month
Ingredients:
1. Green gram dal (Payatham Paruppu) or Green gram split (Pachai Payaru) - 1/2 kg
2. Sugar - 1 kg
3. Cashew nuts - 100 gms (cut the cashew to very small pieces)
4. Elachi - 10 pods
5. Ghee - Required amount

Method:
1. Dry roast Green gram split until it turns red
2. Grind the roasted green gram split and sugar to fine powders. In India we have the machine mills where they grind it to finest extent. If you are abroad, the only way out is mixer. Try to grind them to the best extent possible
3. Powder elachi and mix it with Sugar. Add this mix to the grind flour
4. Roast cashew and add to the above mix
5. Boil ghee and take out from oven when it is less hot
6. Take a small vessel. Add little mix to little amount of ghee and start making balls (urundai)
7. Repeat step 6 until you exhaust the mix and ghee

The reason for taking little flour and little ghee is that the whole mix should be less hot when you make the balls else it will become powder when you have large quantities. Happy cooking! Do tell me how you made it

Before explaining on the recipe, let me tell you the origin of this snack. In olden times in southern part of India, the house wives used to make this dish at home and carry them along with them when they travel out of station for couple of days. You may wonder why. The reason is when you eat this and drink some water during your journey, it will help in ensuring that you do not pass stools . During travel those days did not have the rest room facility everywhere they went. Thats why they used to make this and eat them before they leave.

In these modern times, we are eating so many types of foods and this snack would not do any harm. It is very good for health too. Check out the recipe now.

Serves: 125 balls can be made
Shelf life: couple of months
Ingredients:
1. Par Boiled rice (Puzhungal arisi) - 1 kg
2. Green gram dal (Payatham Paruppu) or Green gram split (Pachai Payaru) - 300 gms
3. Wheat (Samba godhumai) - 300 gms
4. Jaggery - 1.5 kgs
5. Coconut - half of the whole
6. Dry ginger (sukku) - little quantity
7. Water - 1 tumbler of water for 1.5 kgs of jaggery

Method:
1. Dry roast Par Boiled rice, Wheat and Green gram split separately
2. Cut the coconut pieces like our tooth size ( thengai pal)
3. Grind them to fine powder. In India we have the machine mills where they grind it to finest extent. If you are abroad, the only way out is mixer. Try to grind them to the best extent possible
4. Add jaggery to water and then make it to a paste by boiling the jaggery in the water for sometime. The paste also called as caramel (vella paagu). Another clue is drop little caramel in fresh water. It will appear to be a small ball which will get you the feeling of a ripe tomato
5. After the jaggery dissolves in the water and appears like caramel, strain it so that the solid jaggery pieces that did not dissolve will be taken out
6. Add the cut coconut pieces to the mixture
7. Add the dry ginger in the grind flour (add all the three flour together)
8. Take a small vessel and add little flour into it
9. Add the caramel to this flour and stir well and start making ball shaped snack
10. Repeat step 8 and 9 until all the flour and caramel are used.

Try this for any festival or just for any other day and am sure you will love it.

For those that are very tired after a long day at work, school or college and want to eat something new other than the 2 minutes Maggi noodles this is yet another quicky dish that you can relish and enjoy eating.

Serves: Each packet for 1 person
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
1. Milk Peni (available in all leading food outlets)
2. 3 tsp of Sugar
3. 250 ml of milk

Method:
1. Keep the milk peni in a plate
2. Add the sugar on top of the milk peni
3. Boil the milk. Pour the hot milk until the peni gets soaked well
4. You are done! Serve it hot

Serves: 4 to 6 persons
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
1. 500 gms fresh palak (saag or spinach)
2. 200 gms paneer (cut them into cubes)
3. 2 medium sized onions (finely chopped or cut them into long ones)
4. 2 spoons of Ginger, garlic paste
5. 1 tsp of pure ghee
6. 1 tsp Garam masala powder
7. Red chilli powder
8. 1 tsp cumin powder (if you do not have cumin powder, no worries. You can dry roast the cumin seeds and then grind them)

Method:
1. Clean the spinach with water to remove the mud/sand
2. Boil the spinach and then let it cool. Mash the spinach in the mixer and keep it aside
3. Roast the paneer cubes in pure ghee until it turns golden brown and keep it aside
4. Heat oil in the pan. Add onion to the oil. Saute until golden brown
5. Add ginger garlic paste to the mixture and fry for a minute
6. Add the spinach to the mixture and add little water as required and cook for 5 minutes
7. Add the roasted paneer to the mixture and cook again for 3 minutes
8. You are done! Move the palak paneer to a bowl
9. Take 2 tsp of ghee in a small pan and when the ghee gets hot add required amount of red chilli powder to the ghee and pour it immediately into the palak paneer. Stir well
10. Garnish the dish with ghee

Serves: 4 to 6 persons
Cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients:
1 medium size Cauliflower
1 cup Peas
1 medium size tomato
1 medium size onion (finely chopped)
Red Chilli Powder
Garam Masala Powder
Turmeric Powder
2 to 3 Tsp Corriander seeds
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
6 - 8 Cashewnuts
1 Big Cinammon
2 to 3 green chillies (finely chopped)
Garlic 2 to 3 pods (finely chopped)
Ginger small size (finely chopped)
Corriander leaves, Lemon ridges and Onion rings to Garnish

Method:
1. Boil the cauliflower pieces in water or microwave it and keep aside
2. Dry roast corriander seeds, mustard seeds, cashewnuts, cinnamon
3. Grind the dry roasted mix with onion, green chillies, garlic, ginger
4. Heat oil in kadai/pan. Add the masala paste to the oil and mix it well. Add oil as needed until the masala mixes well and becomes non-sticky
5. Add red chilli powder, Turmeric & Garama masala powders and mix well until the gobi is coated with the masala paste
6. Add peas, salt and 2 cups of water to the mixture and keep in sim for few minutes
7. Add the mashed tomato paste to the mixture and stir well. keep in sim for few minutes
8. Garnish the dish with corriander leaves. Serve hot with Lemon ridges and Onion rings

Cooking time - 20 to 30 mins
Serves: 4 to 6 people

Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower stem removed
1 tablespoon cashewnuts broken into pieces
ginger as required
5 garlic pods
2 green chillies (you can add more as required)
2 large onions chopped as long pieces
2 tomatoes chopped finely
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Half teaspoon red chilly powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
Half teaspoon cumin powder
Onion rings, lemon ridges & coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. Boil the cauliflower in water with salt added it. Drain the boiled cauliflower and keep it aside
2. Grind the cashew with little water and keep the paste aside
3. Grind garlic, ginger and green chillies and keep the paste aside
4. In a frying pan, add oil and heat it. Add onions and saute until it turns golden brown
5. Add tomato, ginger garlic paste, cumin and coriander powder, turmeric powder to the pan
6. Add the boiled cauliflower to the mixture and fry it until the gravy mixes well with it
7. Add the cashew paste to the mixture and leave the gravy to boil in low flame for 2 to 3 minutes
8. Garnish the whole mix with coriander leaves. Serve the dish with onion rings and lemon ridges alongside

Serves: 2 persons
Cooking time: less than 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Rice flakes (aval) 300 gms
2 medium size onions (cut into small pieces)
1 large size potato (peel the potato and cut into small pieces)
1 spoon turmeric powder
1/2 spoon chilli powder
3 spoons of finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt as needed
5 spoons oil

Method:
1. Soak the rice flakes in water and drain the water using a strainer
2. Heat oil in kadai. Add onion and saute till it turns golden brown
3. Add potato to the mix and fry them until the potato is done
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder as per the need
5. Add the wet rice flakes into the kadai. Keep stirring the rice flakes until it mixes well with onion and potatoes
6. Garnish the food with coriander leaves and you are done

Try it out. Its easy to prepare and healthy to eat. You can eat this upma with yoghurt and it tastes yummy!!!

Cooking time : 20 to 30 mins
Serves: 4 to 5 persons

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
2 potatoes, boiled & peeled
1 tbsp. coriander finely chopped
1 to 2 green chillies
1 onion finely chopped
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. dhania powder
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. curds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
3 tbsp. oil or gheeBlend to a paste:
2 tbsp. coconut grated
1/4 cup coriander chopped
3 green chillies
1/2 tsp. ginger grated
1 tsp. garlic grated
1 onion
1/2 tsp. wheat flour

Method:

1. Break cauliflower into florettes

2. Simmer in boiling water for 3-4 minutes

3. Drain, keep aside

4. Chop potatoes into medium chunks

5. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, allow to splutter

6. Add onion and green chilli, saute till pink

7. Add paste, turmeric powder, dhania powder, saute for 2-3 minutes

8. Add curds, stir continuously, till boiling resumes

9. Add potatoes, cauliflower, cook till gravy thickens

10. Stir occasionally to avoid burning

11. When gravy is thick and oil separates, add lemon juice and it is done

12. Garnish with coriander, serve hot with rotis, parathas or bread

Cooking time: 30 - 45 mins
Serving: 4 persons

Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rice
1 medium size potato peeled and cut into long thin slices (like the french fries)
1 big onion (or two small onions) chopped
75 gms Beans
1 medium size Capsicum
1 medium size Carrot
100gms Cauliflower
2-3 green chillies (you may add more according to your taste)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
Required amount of coriander leaves
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
2-3 tbsps oil

Method
1. Cook Basmati rice (Should be like puffed rice - separated from each other) and keep aside
2. In a pan, add oil. After the oil heats up a little add jeera, mustard seeds and wait for them to pop
3. After few minutes add grated onion. Wait until onion turns golden brown
4. Add all the vegetables. Add some oil, salt, tumeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder,coriander powder, and half a cup of water and close the pan with the lid. Leave it for 5 minutes in low flame so that the vegetables get cooked
5. Add the cooked rice to this mixture. Stir well so that the rice get mixed with the cooked vegetables
6. Garnish with coriander leaves
7. Serve it hot with onion raitha or cucumber raitha

Serves 4 to 6 people
cooking time 15 to 20 mins

Ingredients
Ladies finger 500gms (cut as long pieces, typically a small ladies finger can be cut into two)
Onion 100gms (cut into small pieces)
Tomato 4 nos (cut into small pieces)
Coriander powder 1 spoon
Besan flour 1 spoon
Jeera powder 1 spoon
Gharam masala 1 spoon
Amchoor powder 1 spoon or lemon juice( 1 lemon squeezed)
Garlic 5 pods
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method
1. Dry roast coriander powder + Besan flour + Jeera powder in a kadai and keep it aside. Grind the garlic pods and keep it aside.
2. Fry onion in the kadai with oil until it turns translucent
3. Add tomato pieces to the kadai and fry for 1 min
4. Add the cut ladies finger to the kadai, add salt, red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder and 1 spoon of amchoor powder
5. Mix them well and close the kadai with lid. let the whole mix get steam fried for 2 mins. Have the flame in sim
6. Add 1 cup of water to the whole mixture, add 1 spoon of gharam masala powder, add the dry roast flour prepared in step 1. Add the mashed garlic to the mix. stir well. Close the lid
7. Let the whole mix boil for 3 to 5 mins
8. Switch off the flame and garnish the masala with Coriander leaves and you are done with a spicy delicious Bhindi masala gravy

Have it served with Poori, Chappathi or any other food that you might want to taste with.