Kobbari Mamidikaya Pachi Pachidi / Mamidikaya Kobbari Pachi Pachidi - Andhra Summer Delight

Kobbari Mamidikaya Pachi Pachidi is truly an Andhra Summer Delight. Flavoured with garlic and spices, its definitely a kick start in any meal. With hot rice and a drop of ghee, it tastes heavenly with few padads and fryums. We love to enjoy this spicy, tangy pachidi during our lunch menu whenever we have raw green mangoes. Sourness of the raw mango is the key factor here. If the mango is not that sour, then the pachidi will taste more like a normal kobbari pachidi.!!! I know few versions of making pachidi with raw mangoes and this version is purely using raw mango, fresh coconut and raw garlic. Later I will post the other versions in the blog. 

Ingredients

Grinding 

Raw Mango grated -- 1 cup

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 cup

Raw Garlic - 5-6

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 7 to 8

Salt - As Required

Tempering / Tadka 

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem

Dry Red Chillies - 2 Small

Method

Wash the mango and peel the skin off. Grate the mango and shred the coconut as required. Grind all the ingredients into a coarse paste in a blender and transfer them into a serving bowl. Just before serving, do the tempering process by putting all the ingredients into a small tadka pan with few drops of oil. When they turn golden brown, pour them over the top of the Pachidi and serve.

Chickpeas Bell Peppers Salad / Chickpeas Salad / Garbanzo Salad - With Garlic Sesame Dressing

Chickpeas Salad with colourful bell peppers tossed with some garlic sesame dressing is a very delicious,colourful and flavourful salad. If i could bring out the real flavour of this salad to the blog right now, I would be more than happy. Wonderful flavour emanating from the salad bowl while tossing the salad with the sesame garlic dressing was absolutely great and it was quite difficult for me to control the temptation of grabbing some salad during the preparation process itself. I am ardent lover of Chickpeas / Garbanzo since childhood and no wonder this salad made me happier. For the dressing, I decided to make my own version using white sesame seeds, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. To me, chickpeas and sesame seeds could get along well and uplifts the taste too which proved to be true. So, my dear friends, make this delicious aromatic salad in your kitchen and enjoy summer.

Ingredients

Cooked Chickpeas - 4-5 cups

Cucumber - 1 Medium

Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped

Orange Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped

Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped

Green Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped

Tomato - 1 Medium chopped 

Jalapeno Peppers - 1 medium chopped into tiny bits ( with no seeds )

Salt - As Required

Lime Juice - 1/2 tbsp

Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp

Fresh coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup chopped

Dressing 

White Sesame Seeds - 1/4 cup

Garlic Pods - 2 Medium

Extra virgin olive oil - 1/2 tbsp

Method

Toast the sesame seeds and garlic pods in microwave for about 40 seconds. You might get a nice aroma from the microwave and then grind them with extra virgin olive oil in a blender and keep the dressing ready. In a salad mixing bowl, add all the ingredients as mentioned above and pour the dressing slowly over the salad and toss them well so that the salad gets coated with the dressing perfectly. Garnish with coriander leaves on its top and enjoy the refreshing summer salad. 

Mango Milkshake / Mango Milkshake with No Sugar

Enjoying the sweet mangoes this week again with a glass of yummy mango milkshake. To enjoy this milkshake completely without any guilt, I made this without adding any extra white sugar. Trust me, no compromise in the taste and it tasted very well with a tbsp of MTR Badam Powder. Sweetness of the milkshake comes from the mangoes so make sure that the mangoes you use for milkshake are not sour but sweety. Natural sweetness from the fruit blends with 2% fat milk and few spoons of Badam Powder makes a perfect milkshake for any time of the day.Try this out in your kitchen and enjoy a healthy sugar free chilled mango milkshake.

Ingredients

Mangoes - 3

MTR Badam Powder - 1 tbsp

2% Fat Milk - 2 glasses 

Water - As required for your consistency.

Method

Peel the skin off and extract the mango pulp and cut them into chunks. Grind the mango chunks, badam powder, 2% milk in a blender till it gets fluffy. Add some water to the shake if its too thick. Pour them over the serving glasses and enjoy the green trees with a sip.

Rainbow Salad with Quinoa / Rainbow Salad

"Rainbow Salad", the name I gave to the salad I made yesterday for lunch. While making the salad, I was astonished to see the amazing colours emerging out of all the veggies and the warm quinoa. It was kind of making a beautiful rainbow to my eyes and giving a colourful message to my mind. Wonderful lunch with lots of colour and tons of goodness to the body. Not to forget, the crunchy veggies perfectly blended with the warm, fluffy quinoa and completely upgrades the taste. Quinoa, as we all know, is called as the "SuperGrain" which is rich in proteins, contains double the amount of fibre than other grains and other numerous health benefits. 

I opt to make this as my after workout lunch as it contains all the fresh vegetables plus the protein rich quinoa which gives good punch to the salad. We can even pack this salad and enjoy in outdoors too. Kids will also love the colourful salad and it proved to be true in my case.!!

Ingredients

Quinoa - 3/4 cup

Purple Cabbage - 2 cups chopped into thin slices

Cucumber - 2 small ( cut into thin stripes of finger size )

Carrots - 1 Big ( cut into thin striped of finger size )

Zucchini - 1/2 cup ( shredded like carrot )

Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 cup ( thin slices of finger size )

Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup ( thin slices of finger size )

Yellow Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup ( thin slices of finger size )

Coriander Leaves or Parsley Leaves - 2 tbsp ( chopped )

Lemon Juice - 1/2 tbsp 

Salt - As Required

Dressing For the Salad :

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tsp

Black Pepper Powder - 2 tsp

Garlic Salt - 1 tsp

Method

• Cook the quinoa in a separate cooking vessel by adding 2 cups of water. Meantime cut all the veggies as mentioned above. In a big mixing bowl, add all the colourful veggies followed by the cooked fluffy quinoa and the dressing. Toss them carefully till everything gets blended well.
• Serve on a plate and enjoy with a side of Honey Green Tea.

Vazhaithandu Curry / Vazhaithandu Poriyal / Banana Stem Curry / Banana Stem Poriyal

Without realising the amazing health benefits of Banana stem, I had been enjoying the Vazhaithandu recipes since childhood. My mom used to bring 2 or 3 white sticks of Banana stem from market often and she never got tired of cleaning the banana stem. I used to notice the way she cleaned and cut them into thin rounds and the way she carefully extracted them out of the thin threads that was coming in every step of cleaning. Though I did not have any interest then, I simply noticed and the process got registered in my mind. Now, due to health reasons, I wish to bring the same goodness into my kitchen by adopting her techniques in everyday cooking. Happy to see Banana Stems in the Indian Grocery stores nowadays and I grabbed them quickly fearing that it might be taken by someone like me without glancing at the price even. I will post all the recipes that we could make using this Banana Stem. We could make Vazhaithandu ( in Tamil ) curry, Vazhaithandu Mor Kootu ( Curd gravy ) and Vazhaithandu Curd Raita, etc.,Though the cleaning process is cumbersome, once you know the technique of the process, you can prepare the Banana stem recipes in no time.

I added few Moong dal ( Payatham Paruppu ) along with the Banana Stem in my curry just to inject some protein into it. You can make this even without moong dal too. Little addition of moong dal enhances the taste of curries like cabbage, banana stem, beans, etc.,  

Looking at the health benefits of Banana Stem, its has a high source of fiber, eases constipation, helps in weight reduction, can reduce stomach pains, increases body immunity, suppresses the formation of kidney stones, etc.,

Ingredients

Banana Stem - 1 of any size.

Moong dal - 1/4 cup

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 3 tsp

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6

Green Chillies - 2 or 3 medium. 

Salt - As required

Fresh Coconut flakes - 1 tbsp

Method
In a small cup, soak the Moong Dal in water before you start cutting the Banana stem.Take out the outer layer of the Banana stem one by one till you get the round firm banana stem at the center.

Basically, we are not going to use any of these outer covers so discard them.

Before cutting the Banana Stem, take a vessel with some diluted buttermilk ready. This is mainly to add the chopped banana stem pieces into it to avoid discolouration. Cut the Banana stem into thin rounds from one corner. Take out the thin threads coming out during the process using your fingers as below.

Continue the process by following the same process and drop the chopped banana stem pieces into the vessel.

In the cooking pan, add some oil and do the tempering by adding the hing, mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, curry leaves. Add the soaked moong dal into the pan along with little water enough to cook the Moong dal. Cover the lid and allow the dal to get cooked three fourth. While the dal is getting cooked, drain the banana stem pieces from the vessel and keep ready. Add them into the pan and smear some water and cover the lid.
In 3-4 minutes, the banana stem along with the dal would get finely cooked with the steam inside. Add required amount of salt into the pan and allow them to cook for another minute. Finally add fresh coconut flakes at the top and switch off the flame.

Tips / Suggestions
Try to make the curry as soon as you get the Banana stem from the market as it looks more whiter and richer in all nutrients.
Avoid adding more water into the pan while cooking as they get smashed. Water content in the banana stem itself is sufficient for them to get cooked with the steam inside on low flame.
Try to include this healthy vegetable in your cooking at least once in two weeks and enjoy the benefits.

For weightloss, drink the diluted buttermilk from the vessel after draining the banana stem pieces from it. Its suggested to be taken in empty stomach.

Mango Lassi / Mango Smoothie

No one could resist a glass of chilled mango lassi and that too given during a hot mid day. I grabbed a cart of sweet organic mangoes on mother's day. So, this week would be a "Mango week" in our home and you would be glad to see some yummy recipes out of my sweet mangoes.!! Well, I started with our traditional mango lassi / mango smoothie in a healthier way by adding plain greek yogurt and some honey. As the mangoes were sweeter, it tasted heavenly. This lassi would be a nice addition during any parties as it compliments the entire menu with its flavour, richness and taste. Feeling happier to blog this recipe during the Mothers Day time as this is my mom's favourite too. She always love to enjoy the mango lassi with more...sweetness by adding more secret sugar.!!! Mom, this treat is specially for you on Mothers Day.

Ingredients
Sweet Ripe Mango - 2
Plain Greek Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Honey - 1 tbsp
Crushed Pistachio - 3 tsp ( To Garnish at its top )
Water - As required.

Method

• Peel the Mango skin and extract the pulp. Add the mango pulp, greek yogurt and honey to the blender.
• Grind them smoothly for 1-2 minutes. Add some water to get the consistency as desired. If you decide to have a thick mango lassi, omit the water and enjoy the thick lassi.
• If you wish to sip it little by little and enjoy the smoothie in a glass, add some water and acquire the right consistency.
• Pour the lassi over the serving glasses and garnish the lassi with crushed pistachios.

Tips / Suggestions

• Sweetness of the mangoes decide the sugary taste of the smoothie. So, add more honey if the mangoes are not that sweet. If you wish to add white sugar, add 11/2 tbsp of white sugar to the blender.
• You can pre-prepare the mango smoothie and pour them over the serving glasses well in advance. Cover the top of the glasses with a wrapping plastic sheet and chill them in a refrigerator. During parties, its a pure blessing to us while taking out these yummy treats in the mid of all hungama.

Green Gram Sprouts Sundal / Sprouted Green Gram Sundal / Sprouted Green Gram Salad / Pachai Payaru Sundal

Read in magazines that "Sprouts are Super Foods and called as the Powerhouse of Nutrients". In modern life, we run around aisles in departmental stores looking for healthy and organic super food but failing to eat the natural home made sprouts. Sprouts are considered to be the cheapest source of nutrients which has good amount of protein, fiber and vitamins. We can make sprouts out of grains ( wheat for ex ), legumes and seeds. Sprouted seeds of alfalfa, mustard and sesame are used while making healthy salads and sandwiches. Out of that, alfalfa sprouts are considered to be the "father of sprouts". I love to put bunches of alfalfa sprouts or some spicy mustard sprouts into my sandwich all the time. Addition of sprouts into the sandwich always enhances the taste to a greater extent, i feel.

Sprouting Process :

Soak the grains / legumes overnight for 6-7 hours. Drain the water completely and cover the soaked legumes or seeds with a dry muslin cloth. Time span for soaking depends on the size of the seeds / legumes. Generally it takes 2-3 days for the seeds to germinate and become sprouts. Over soaking may harm the seeds to rot and ferment so the seeds should be soaked only for a limited period. After they sprout, store them in the refrigerator till you actually consume them.

Ingredients

Green Gram Dal / Pachai Payaru - 2 Cups

Oil - 2 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chili - 2 Medium ( slit them into halves, I used green chili paste instead. )

or Green Chili paste - 2 tsp

Salt - As required

Fresh coconut flakes - 1 tbsp

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6

Method

• Make the Green Gram Sprouts by following the process as mentioned above.
• In a cooking pan, add oil first. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chili paste, curry leaves to the oil.
• When they sputter, add the drained sprouted green gram into the pan. 
• Sprinkle some water into the pan and cover the lid. Allow them to get cooked with the steam inside for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
• When they get cooked to desired level, add required amount of salt into the pan and stir them well. Do not overcook the sprouted green gram as the nutrients might be washed away. 
• Fry them for another 1-2 minutes. Switch off the flame and finally add the fresh coconut flakes and coriander leaves to the pan.
• Enjoy this healthy sundal / curry as a snack or as a healthy accompaniment in your regular meal.

Carrot Beetroot Halwa - Low Calorie With No Sugar

Its really difficult to satisfy the sweet tooth especially if you are working on a weight loss program but its easy to choose a healthy dessert which does not add any extra calories to your daily count. Bags of sweet organic carrots sitting in the refrigerator along with some fresh beets triggered my mind to make some colourful dessert. Natural sweetness from carrots and beets are just enough if you prefer a milder version but a little jaggery and honey could be added to make it more sweeter. During the process, you might even wonder that the final halwa is going to be a Gerber Baby product.!!! ( Well, that's the comment I honestly got from my husband when he looked at the cooking pan in the mid of the process...) Just ignore the comments and continue the process. Trust me, the final product would be appreciated and enjoyed by all.

I did not add any ghee to my halwa but the consistency did not disappointment me at all. It came out well in a pasty form with good sweetness and flavour. 

Ingredients

Carrots - 15

Beetroots - 2 Medium

Jaggery - 1/2 cup

Honey - 1/4 cup

Cardamom Powder - 3 tsp

Rose Essence - 2 to 3 drops

Melted Ghee - 2 to 3 tsp at the end ( OPTIONAL) ( I did not add a bit of extra ghee ).

Ghee roasted Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp

Method

• Wash the carrots and beets and peel the skin off. Cut them into squares and pressure cook them for 2-3 whistles.
• In a cooking pan, add the mashed carrots and beets along with powdered jaggery and honey. Cover the lid and allow them to cook till it gets reduced in quantity on medium heat.
• Stir the halwa content constantly so that the halwa does not get burned at the bottom. 
• When the consistency of that halwa becomes little pasty, add the cardamom powder, rose essence and the melted ghee. 
• Keep the halwa on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes. Finally add the melted ghee and ghee roasted cashew nuts at its top.
• Serve this colourful healthy dessert to the kids in small cups and enjoy.

Cabbage Subzi for Roti / Chappathi

Green Cabbage will always be sitting  in my refrigerator like carrots. I love to include cabbage in fried rice, curries often as its a good source of fiber, helps in weight loss, well known for its anti cancer compounds and various other health benefits. Read in some health magazine that red cabbage has the highest amount of power nutrients. 

For rotis / chappathis, I made a healthy side dish with cabbage, some tomato, red onion and lilva ( thuvar seeds / Pigeon Peas ). Its wise to store some chopped cabbage in a sealed storage box in the refrigerator. In less than 5-6 minutes, the dish can be made as the process is much simpler. This is a very good accompaniment for roti, chappathi or any parathas.

Ingredients

Green Cabbage - 1/2 Medium 

Chopped Red Onion - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1 Medium

Tuvar Lilva - 1 Handful ( Substitute Peas if you want )

Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp

Chopped Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Salt - To Taste

For Tempering / tadka :

Oil - 3 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp

Sombu / Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chillies - 1 Medium

Chopped Garlic - 1 tsp

Powders to Add :

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp

Method

• Chop the green cabbage, tomato and red onion and keep all the other ingredients ready.
• In the cooking pan, add oil first and finish the tempering process by adding the ingredients one by one.
• Add the red onion next to the pan and fry them for a minute. Add tomato, lilva and fry them till the tomatoes get mushy.
• Add the chopped cabbage and grated ginger into the pan now. Cover the lid and allow them to cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Occasionally stir them in the middle. No need to add water at any stage while cooking.
• Only with the inside developed steam, the cabbage could easily get cooked. After the contents are cooked perfectly, add all the powders and required amount of salt to the pan.
• Mix them thoroughly and fry them for another 3-4 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.