Onion and Tomato Gravy for Curries/How to make Basic Onion Tomato Gravy

We are entering into 3rd week of Blogging Marathon #37 and for this week I will be sharing the kitchen basics.
Today's one is going to be the onion and tomato gravy which is vastly used in Indian cooking to make curries.This gravy is the base for many curries such as paneer butter masala or channa masala.If the paste is handy then your curry will be ready in few minutes.You can freeze this gravy for a month and refrigerate for 15 days.Off to the recipe....................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 40-50 minutes
Makes ~ 4 cups(approximately)

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Onion(finely chopped)	3(medium size)
Tomato(finely chopped)	6-7(medium size)
Garlic/poondu (chopped)	6-7 cloves
Ginger/inji(chopped)	2 inch
Green chilly/pachamilagai	3-4
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1 1/2 tbs
Coriander Powder/dhaniya podi	21/2  tbs
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder	1 tsp
Salt	2 tsp
Oil	5 tbs

Method

Heat the pan with a tbs of oil and saute the onion till transparent,then add the green chilly,ginger and garlic.Saute it for couple of minutes in a medium flame.Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook it till mushy with a pinch of salt.Put off the flame and let it cool down completely.

After cooling grind it a fine paste without adding any water and keep it aside.Now heat pan with the remaining oil and add the ground paste to and saute it for a minute.Now add all the spice powders and mix it well.Add around two cups of water and cook it covered till the oil separates in a medium flame.

After cooling store it in a zip lock cover and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Enjoy..................................................

• The amount of red chilly powder and coriander powder can be increased according to the personal preference.
• Freeze  1 cup of paste in individual cover so that no need to thaw everything.
• Instead of zip lock covers it can be stored in the ice tray also.
• The seasonings can be adjusted in the curry.
• Cook it covered otherwise it will splash everywhere.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry

For the day 3 of Blogging Marathon #37 under the theme desserts with fruits I wanted to share a recipe with strawberry.As Valentine's Day is around the corner thought this dessert would be perfect.
This is a simple yet rich and perfect dessert for a Valentine Day as it  can be made in no time with fewer ingredients.
The strawberry and chocolate combo makes wonder and tastes heavenly after a heavy lunch or dinner.
You can decorate the chocolate coated strawberries with candy melts,chopped nuts,white chocolate or simply with sprinkles.As I don't have candy melts,I used some chopped pistachios and colored sprinkles.Off to the recipe............................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 5 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 10 minutes
Serves ~ 2

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Strawberry	10
Semi sweet cooking chocolate	50 gms
Butter/vennai	1 tbs
Pistachios(chopped)	as needed
Colored Sprinkles	as needed
Tooth pick or wooden sticks	10

Method

Wash the strawberries and wipe of the moisture and insert the tooth pick or wooden stick to hold and keep it aside.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler till it completely melts and looks smooth.Now take out the melted chocolate and hold the tooth pick,dip the strawberry in the melted chocolate.

Make sure the strawberry coated well with chocolate till 3/4th.Now sprinkle some chopped nuts or sprinkle and place it on a parchment paper.

Serve it after 10 minutes.

Enjoy.................................................

Instead of dark chocolate,white chocolate can be used.

Using the tooth pick or wooden stick is optional but it helps for even coating.

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Pineapple Rava Kesari/Pineapple Kesari/Pineapple Semolina Pudding

For the day2 of Blogging Marathon#37 and Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday,I am sharing you Pineapple Rava Kesari.
This pineaaple rava kesari is a popular Chettinadu delicacy and its often served in wedding menus.This is one such simple dessert/sweet can be made in no time.The secret of getting a nice and delicious kesari is roasting the rava/semolina in a medium flame without changing the color.Here I used the canned pineapple to make this yummy sweet,now on to the recipe.........................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 5 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 25 minutes
Serves ~ 4-5

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Semolina/rava/sooji	1/2cup
Pineapple/annasi pazham	1/2 cup(chopped)
Sugar/sakkarai	3/4-1 cup
Ghee/nei	4tbs
Cashews/mundiri	2-3tbs(broken)
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	1/8 tsp
Water	11/2 cups
Yellow food color	few drops

Method

Heat a pan with 1tbs of ghee roast the cashews then add the semolina/rava in a medium flame till it turns pink and a nice aroma comes.

Meanwhile boil the hot water and add the chopped pineapple to the roasted rava then add the hot water.Add the food color and cook it till it becomes thick.

Now add the sugar and mix it well and cook it for 2-3 minutes and add the ghee and mix it well.Cook it for a minute and finally add the cardamom powder and switch off the flame.

Pineapple kesari is ready.

Enjoy...........................................................

• While adding the water to the roasted semolina the flame should be high to prevent lumps.
• Once the semolina is cooked reduce the flame to medium and cook it.
• To make it even more colorful add 2tbs of colored tutty frutty.
• Here I used 1 cup of sugar,if you want you can decrease it to 3/4cup.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #37.

This recipe is off to Tamilar Samayal Tuesday.

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Mango Shrikand/Amarkhand

We are starting the second week of Blogging Marathon #37 and I choose the theme Desserts with Fruits.For the next few days I will posting the dessert recipes made with fruits.
Today's recipe is a exotic,delicious dessert mango shrikand,a simple quiet easy to make dessert with no cooking involved.For this recipe you can use fresh ripe mango pulp,as mangoes are not in season now I used the store bought mango pulp.Off to the recipe..................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~40-50 minutes
Serves ~ 2

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Fresh Thick Curd/yogurt/thayir	1 1/4 cups
Mango Puree	3/4 cup
Powdered sugar	2 tbs
Pistachios or almonds(chopped)	2 tsp(for garnishing)
Saffron/kungumapoo	few strands
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	1/8 tsp(optional)

Method

Take a muslin cloth or clean cloth and pour the yogurt and tie the ends and hang over the sink for 30 minutes to drain.

Now take out the hung curd,transfer to a bowl and whisk it for a minute.To this add the mango puree,powdered sugar,cardamom powder and saffron.Mix it till everything gets blend well and refrigerate for 30 minutes if needed.

Transfer to the serving bowls and garnish with chopped nuts.

Enjoy...................................................................

• Here I used the yogurt made with whole milk and so I hang it for 30 minutes to drain,if you are using low fat yogurt hang it for 1-2 hrs.
• The yogurt should be freshly made and not too sour.

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Mixed Dhal Masala Vadai

As the weather is getting colder,especially in the evening time in the weekends we craving  for some spicy or hot snack to munch.When I was thinking to make something for evening snack along with tea,I remembered the mixed dhal vadai,noted sometime back from a T.V cookery show.
This vadai is entirely different from Thavala Vadai which I going to share soon.The original recipe calls for fresh corn along with the dhals.As I ran out of corn,didn't add it,lets move onto the recipe...........................

Basic Information

Soaking Time ~ 3 hours
Preparation time ~ 15 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 15-20 minutes
Makes ~ 15-17

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Toor dhal/thuvaram paruppu	2 tbs
Channa dhal/kadala paruppu	2 tbs
Moong dhal/paasi paruppu	2 tbs
Urad dhal/ulutham paruppu	2 tbs
Horse gram/kollu	2 tbs
Green Peas/pattani(dried)	2 tbs
Soya beans	2 tbs
Green chilly/pachamilagai	2-3
Red chilly/varamilagai	2-3
Ginger/inji	1' piece
Fennel seeds/sombhu	11/2tsp
Onion(finely chopped)	1 (large size)
Curry leaves/karivepillai(chopped)	1 sprig
Coriander leaves(chopped)	2-3 tbs
Salt	11/2tsp
Oil	for frying

Method

Soak all the dhals and lentils in warm water for 3 hours,grind it to a coarse paste along with ginger,chillies,fennel and salt.

Transfer the ground paste to a bowl,to this add the chopped onion,curry leaves,coriander leaves mix it well.Heat the oil in a medium flame.Take a small lemon size ball of batter and flatten in between the palm. 

Drop it in the oil,fry it till both the sides get golden and crisp,drain it on a kitchen towel.

Serve it with ketchup along with tea.

Enjoy.........................................................

• Grind the fresh corn also along with the dhal if you are using.
• In original recipe the green chillies are finely chopped and added but I wanted to grind it as kids can enjoy.
• Grated carrot can also be added along with the chopped onion.
• Don't grind the dhals to a fine paste,otherwise the vadais won't be crispy.

This recipe is off to  Cook Book Challenge # 5 Febuary week 2 and Let's Brunch on Sundays event.

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Whole Masoor and Mung Beans Dhal Fry ~ Vegan Thursday

When I was cleaning my pantry last week I found out a pack of whole masoor dhal which I bought couple of months back in Indian store.So wanted to try something out of it and finally ended up in making dhal fry along with mung beans.
This recipe can be made in no time with pressure cooker and these lentils no need of any prior soaking.This dhal fry goes very well with rice as well as rotis.With no further delay lets move on to the recipe.....................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~25 minutes
Serves ~ 3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Whole Masoor	1/3 cup
Mung beans/paasipayaru	1/3 cup
Onion(finely chopped)	1(medium size)
Tomato(finely chopped)	2(small size)
Garlic/poondu(finely chopped)	3 cloves
Green chilly/pachamilagai	3(finely chopped)
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/8 tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Curry leaves/karivepillai	few leaves
Coriander leaves(chopped)	1 tbs
Oil	1 tbs

For the tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1/2tsp
Urad dhal/kulutham paruppu	1tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/4tsp
Asafoetida/perungayam	a pinch
Red chilly/varamilagai	1(broken)

Method

Wash the lentils in water for couple of times and put in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water.Cook it for 4 whistles in a medium flame.Once the pressure subsides to the cooked lentils add half of the chopped onion,tomato,garlic and the green chillies to it.Cover the cooker with the lid with the weight on and cook it for 2 whistles.

Meanwhile heat a pan with oil and do the tempering,saute the remaining onion and garlic along with a pinch of salt.Then goes in the chopped tomato and cook it till mushy.Now add in the cooked lentils,chilly powder,turmeric powder and salt along with a cup of water.

Cook it for 4-5 minutes and finally add the coriander leaves and put off the flame.

Healthy and delicious dhal fry is ready.

Serve it with roti or rice.

Enjoy.....................................................

This recipe is off to Vegan Thursday event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes.

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