Mango Icecream| Icecandy| Popsicles!

Mango popsicles/kutchi ice I made this simple and easy for my son yesterday. It was just a beginners recipe and we all enjoyed on a sunny afternoon. Just remembered the ice cream factory near my house in Bangalore and we used to buy 1 ice cream on saturday afternoon while coming back from school:-)

Ingredients
Mango - 1no
Sugar as required
Water

Preparation Method
Wash, remove skin and seed from mango. Take only pulp, sugar and water (approx 1 cup) and blend to juice.
Strain it. Check on sugar, it should be really on higher side.
Pour in the popsicle cups and freeze to 5 to 6 hours.
Take out from the freezer and wait for few minutes or keep in normal water for easy removal.

Enjoy the Mango Popsicles.

Notes - You can also mix orange or pineapple juice or essence. I also tried mixing mango with pineapple juice, it was good.

Sending this to
 Icecream Recipes by Dr Sameena
Fruit Recipes by Radhika.
Summer Spunk by Anusha.
Cooking with made easy with Mango by Anjali

Vazhakkai Roast | Crispy Raw Plantain!

Crispy flavoured Vazhakkai/Raw Plantain Roast is a popular in Tamil Nadu non-brahmin homes. Its very tasty and flavoured. This recipe was taught by my MIL and she told it will be very nice. I tasted it for the first time and like it.

Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients
Vazhakkai/Raw Plantain - 1 no (medium size slice)
Rice flour - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder - 1 tspn(As per your spice taste)
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Asafotida/Hing - 2 pinches
Salt

Oil for shallow fry.

Preparation Method

Wash, remove skin and cut vazhakkai into medium slices. 

Mix all the other ingredients to form a smooth paste.

Apply on the veggie. Leave for few mins.

Heat a skillet/tawa and put oil on it. When its hot.

Cook on one side flip/turnover and pour little oil and cook on other side too until crisp.

Vazhakkai Roast | Crispy Raw Plantain is ready to serve.

Serving suggestion : Enjoy with hot sambar rice/rasam rice or curd rice.

Pooshanikai Mor Kulambu | Pumpkin Yogurt Gravy!

Mor Kulambu is my mom's favourite gravy in South Indian cuisine and you know many recipes are learnt from Mom. All recipes will be extraordinary when mom prepares for us with her motherly love. I am dedicating to her for Mother's Day.

Ingredients
Pooshanikai/White/Grey Pumpkin - 1/2 kg
Curds - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Green chillies - 2nos(As per your taste)
Salt
Rice - 1/2 tspn

Seasoning
Oil - 1 tspn
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Fenugreek seeds - a pinch
Dry red chilli - 1no
Curry leaves - few

Preparation Method
Cut pumpkin into medium size dices. Cook them with little water , salt until soft.
Grind fresh grated coconut, green chilli, rice and little water to a smooth paste.
MIx this in the cooked pumpkin and boil till raw smell goes.
Now add salt and off the stove.
Season it with the above mentioned ingredients under "Seasoning"
Once its cool add curds and mix well.

Pooshinikai Mor Kulambu is ready to serve. Serve with hot rice.

Notes - Some people mix curds while cooking itself. But it may curdle due to heat.

This recipe is going to Veggie/Fruit a month by Priya hosted by Sowjanya.
CC Mom's Recipe by Sravani
Black & White Wednesdays by Susan and hosted by Siri.

Mango Lassi | Summer Specials and Lakme!

Mango is one of the favourite fruit in the family. Now the season started and coming up, we bought these in Little India on weekend shopping. Mango Lassi is favourite drink for my hubby and MIL. Kids will also love it.

Ingredients
Ripe Mango - 1no pulp or chopped
Curds/Plain thick  yogurt - 1/2 cup
Milk  - 1/4 cup(if the curds are sour)
Sugar -1 tablespoon(As per your taste)

Preparation Method
Put all the ingredients in a mixie/juicer or blender and blend to smooth paste.

Serve chilled. Add ice cubes if required.

Mango Lassi is ready to serve. Enjoy.

This recipe is going to Cooking Made Easy Mango event by Anjali.
Mango Mania 99 by Pumpkin Farm
Kids Delight Fruits by Srivalli and Nupur.

This Summer I am going out with my family and friends to a Water Theme Park to beat the heat. Lakme has been my favourite since many years. I use there cleanser, moisturiser, nail polish, foundation, Rose powder, compact powder and I do not go out without Lakme suncreen lotion.

This entry is going to Lakme event by indiblogger

Samba Rava | Broken Wheat and Nuts Ladoo | Two methods!!!

Samba Rava /Broken Wheat and nuts ladoo is a healthy ladoo. Once I started preparing the Samba Rava Kanji health mix and my mother in law told me to do the ladoo too. I have been preparing every month and its my son's favourite one too.

Method 1
Ingredients
Samba Rava/Broken Wheat/Dalia - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup(If you want you can reduce or increase)
Pottukadalai/Fried Gram -  1 cup
Badam, Pista, Cashews - few
Elakka podi/Cardamom powder - 1/4 tspn or 4 nos
Ghee - as reqd.
Nuts - I have used little cashews, more of badam and pistachos.


Preparation Method
In a kadai, dry roast samba rava, pottukadalai, and nuts to slight brown separately.
Slightly roast the nuts too.
Allow it to cool.
Grind to fine powder in mixie with sugar.
Melt the ghee in a pan and slowly mix to the powder and make medium size balls.

Healthy Samba Rawa Ladoo is ready. Enjoy with Coffee/Tea.

Method 2
With the same above ingredients add milk and less ghee. Follow the same procedure to make ladoos. But the shelf life will be less.

Store it in an air tight container and refridgerate it.

Strawberry Rose Juice | Summer Specials!

Strawberry Rose Juice is a new mix of fresh strawberries and rose essence. Since my son loves both thought of mixing and he enjoyed the juice.

Serves - 1

Ingredients
Strawberry(Korea)- 6 nos
Rose Essence - 2 tablespoons
Chilled water - 1 glass
Sugar -  1 tablespoon
Ice cubes as required

Preparation Method
In a blender/mixie put all the ingredients and blend to smooth juice. Strain it.

Serve with ice cubes.

Strawberry Rose Juice is ready to serve.

This Juice is going to Summer Spunk by my dearest friend Anusha and Kids Delight by Srivalli hosted by Nupur.

Flavours of Lebanon | Event Annoucement!

This month I am happy and excited host my favourite cuisine, Lebanese. This cuisine has many vegetarian dishes and it became my favourite cuisine when we stayed at Panama City. There were many Lebanese Restuarants. Thanks Nayna for giving me this opportunity for Guest hosting her event.


We are now on our culinary journey to Lebanon in the “Flavors of Series 2 around Asia” by simply.food guest hosted here at Sara's Corner.


Lebanese Republic is a country of East Mediterranean/Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identityof religious and ethnic diversity.


Lebanese cuisine includes an abundance of starches, fruits, vegetables,fresh fish 
and seafood; animal fats are consumed sparingly. It also includes copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, often seasoned by lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, garlic and lemon are typical flavours found in the Lebanese diet. Most often foods are either grilled, baked or sautéed in olive oil; butter or cream is rarely used other than in a few desserts. Vegetables are often eaten raw or pickled as well as cooked. Herbs and spices are used and the freshness of ingredients is important. The coffee served in Lebanon is sometimes a variation of Turkish coffee, but a dark type of coffee is the main type served.(courtesy wiki.org)

Rules
1. Cook any vegetarian lebanon/mediternaian dish anything from starters to desserts(no eggs allowed)
2. Multiple entries and Achieved entries allowed if reposted with linkback to the 2 event annoucements.
3. Entries must Include link back to simply.food event announcement and this event annoucement link.
4. Non bloggers can participate by emailing image and recipe.
5. Although use of logo is not mandatory, using it helps to spread the word.


If you want to get an idea of Lebanon Food do check the following links
http://www.habeeb.com/Vegetarian-and-Lebanese-recipes.07.html
http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/middleeasternrecipes.html
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/lebanese-vegetarian


Mail me your entries with subject line Flavours of Lebanon to simplysara07@gmail.com  under below format.


Name-
Blog Name-
Post Name-
Post URL-
Include Image no larger than 300 pixels.


Hope to see your entries and participation. So start cooking and start sending your entries.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment. I will answer them.


Cheers,
Saraswathi Iyer

Potato | Aloo Masal! Type 2

Potato /Urulai/Aloo Masal is very tasty sidedish. This is a multipurpose masal I have used it in 2 to 3 dishes.

Ingredients
Potato - 4 nos
Onion - 1no
Ginger - 1 tspn
Curry leaves -  few
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tspn
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1/4 tspn
Jeera - 1/4 tspn
Salt

Preparation Method
Wash and cook potatoes in pressure cooker with little salt for 3 to 4 whistles. When the steam is up, cut into medium pieces or break into small pieces by hand.
Heat a kadai, add oil, mustard, jeera, wait till it splutters. Add onion, ginger, curry leaves, a pinch of salt and saute till onions are transparant.
Add all the masala powders and saute.
Add the potatoes and mix well. Add salt.
Cook till raw smell goes and it combines well.
Off the stove.

Potato/Aloo Masal is ready to serve. I served with delicious Masal Puri!

Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin Sambar | Inji/Ginger Pachadi | Traditional South Indian Thali!

Sara's Corner is featured on the Foodie Blogroll  Featured Blogs for April 27, 2012. See this link here Featured Blogs Page. I am very happy and excited.

Let it be festivals or any occasions, at home we will have thali prepared and served on Banana Leaf. I have served in this steel thali plate, it was given by my grandmother with other utensils for my wedding.

Click on the names for Recipes
Paal Payasam
Beans Curry(French)
Paruppu Vadai
Ingi Pachadi (for recipe see below)
Steamed Rice
Paruppu (Plain toor dal cooked)
Ghee
Parangikai Sambar (for recipe see below)
Paruppu Rasam
Appalam/Papad
Curds/Yogurt 
Pickle
Salt
Banana

Recipe for Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin Arachuvitta Sambar. On all special festivals and occasions Arachuvitta Sambar should be prepared - This is my family's favourite sambar.

Parangikai/Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin -  1/2 kg
Tuvram Paruppu | Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

For Grinding
Dhaniya /Coriander -  2 tablespoon
Channa Dal - 2 tspns
Dry red chilli - 4 nos(As per your taste)
Katti Peringayam/Asafatida/Hing - a small piece/1/4 tspn
Venthayam/Fenugreek seeds -  2 pinches
Fresh grated coconut - 1 /2 cup

Preparation Method
Wash, remove skin and seeds. Cut the mathan into medium cubes.
Cook Toor dal in pressure cooker with water for 4 to 5 whisltes and keep aside.
Heat a Kadai, add 1/2 tspn oil and fry all the ingredients under "for grinding" till the dal is brown. Allow it to cool and grind with little water to smooth paste.
Boil tamarind water and mathan with little salt and tumeric.
Once the mathan is boiled slightly soft add the grinded mixture and dal.
Boil well. It should be semi liquid consistency as later it will become thick.
Season it with ghee, mustard, curry leaves.

Recipe for Inji Thayir Pachadi | Ginger Yogurt Raitha.

This simple pachadi is mostly prepared on auspicious occasions at my home.

Ingredients
Ginger - 2" piece
Green Chilli - 2 nos(As per taste)
Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
Curds/Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt
Chopped Coriander for garnish.

Preparation Method
Grind ginger, coconut, green chilli with little water and curds in blender to smooth paste. If you like ginger you can grind to coarse paste too. Mix in the curds. Garnish with coriander.

Inji Pachadi is ready to serve.

Notes - On all festivals dishes are prepared without onion and garlic.

This recipe is going to Indian Thali Mela Event hosted by Srivalli.

Oats Buttermilk | Summer Specials!

Oats Buttermilk is very healthy and refreshing for this scorching summer.

Ingredients
Rolled Oats - 2 tspns
Ginger - 1" piece
Curds/Plain Yogurt - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Salt

Preparation Method


Soak rolled oats in water for few mins.
In a blender, add oats, a piece of ginger and salt. Grind to smooth paste.
Take chill thick curds/plain yogurt add 2 cups water. Mix the smooth paste with curds, mix well and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve chilled.

Enjoy Oats Buttermilk.


   This recipe is going to CWS Oats Event by Kalyani and Priya and Summer Spunk by Anusha.

Moong Dal | Pasi Paruppu Halwa and Awards!

Moong Dal/Pasi Paruppu Halwa is a easy and tasty Halwa. I tried this yesterday for Akshaya Thrithiya.

Ingredients
Moong Dal/Pasi Paruppu - 1cup
Sugar - 1.5 cups(Adjust accordingly)
Ghee/Nei - 1 cup(You can lessen if required)
Elachi / Cardamom powder - 1/4 tspn
Atta/Wheat Flour - 2 tablespoon
Cashews and Raisins for garnish

Preparation Method
Dry roast the dal in kadai, till slightly brown. Allow it to cool and pressure cook for 4 whistles. Once the steam is gone, grind to smooth paste in blender/mixie.
In a Kadai, add 1 tspn ghee, fry cashews and raisins and keep aside.
In the same Kadai, fry wheat flour till it smells good aroma and transfer it to a bowl.
In the same Kadai, add the dal paste, sugar and keep stirring. It will come to semi liquid consistency.
Add little by little ghee and keep stirring.
Then add the wheat flour and mix.
Add all the ghee and keep stirring till it leaves the sides. You will know the halwa consistency.
Add the elachi powder and cashews and rasins.
Mix well and off the stove.

Moong Dal | Pasi Paruppu Halwa is ready to serve.

Notes - More ghee more tasty.
Awards

Viya has passed on me these awards, thanks for sharing with me.

 

• Add the awards to your blog.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
• Share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
• Include this set of rules.

I am a libra women.
I Love to cook, share with my friends and neighbours.
I like Music and Dance.
I do read books.
I love to watch music and dance shows live or on TV.
I like to organise and plan events.
I love to be with my son and cook what he likes most.

Now as per the rules of the award, I'm giving this to  fellow bloggers commenting on this post. Pls post this award in your blogs.

Homemade Mixed Fruit Jam | Step-by-Step Recipe Type 1!

Homemade Mixed Fruit Jam is a simple and delicious spread mix of fruits. I never thought would be making jam at home:) but when I was talking to my friend Rekha about it she told me a simple recipe for the jam. I have slightly changed the recipe, it tasted delicious. Kids will surely love!

Step by Step Pictorial Recipe

Soak agar agar strands in water.

Wash, remove skin, seeds and chop all the fruits into  chunks.

Heat a non stick pan, put the soaked agar agar with 1/2 cup water in low flame. Allow it to dissolve.

Grind all the fruits to smooth paste.

When the agar agar is fully dissolved, add the grounded fruit mixture into this and mix well.

When you feel the raw smell is gone add sugar and stir.

Mix and keep stirring

It will be in liquid consistency

 Remove the paste from sides and keep stirring till its bubbling up and thick.

Off the stove. Add the vinegar.

When its thick and finally looks shiny

Ingredients
Strawberry - 6 nos
Apple - 1no
Banana - 2nos
Guava(white) - 1 no
Brown sugar - 1 cup(As per your taste)
Vinegar - 1/2 tspn
Agar Agar/China Grass - few strandsPreparation Method
Soak agar agar strands in water.
Wash, remove skin, seeds and chop all the fruits into  chunks.
Heat a non stick pan, put the soaked agar agar with 1/2 cup water in low flame. Allow it to dissolve.
Grind all the fruits to smooth paste.
When the agar agar is fully dissolved, add the grounded fruit mixture into this and mix well. Keep stirring.
When you feel the raw smell is gone add sugar and stir. It will be in liquid consistency, keep stirring until its thick.
Remove the paste from sides and keep stirring till its bubbling up.
Off the stove. Add the vinegar.
Mix and allow it to cool.
It will become thick  jam.
Store in air tight container and use with your bread.

Delicious homemade mixed fruit jam is ready to serve.

  The next day served with Wholemeal Bread/Toast. Enjoyed.

PS - Your feedback is appreciated. Do try recipe from (http://www.sarascorner.net/) take picture and send it to me through Facebook message or mail me at simplysara07@gmail.com. Will be glad to add in my page Tried & Tasted album on FB or post on my page.

This recipe is going to Kalyani's Event Pickles and Preserve Fest and Spring Seasonal Food Event by Sravani.

Thin Crust Cheese Pan Pizza and Sauce Ver 2 - Beginner's Recipe!

Thin Crust Pan Pizza is what I prepared for my son yesterday for dinner. I have already posted Veggie Paneer Pizza here. This one was quick enough and he thorougly enjoyed, but asked me few questions " Why pizza hut aunty won't put Paneer?" but still its yummy:)

Ingredients for Pizza base
APF/Maida - 1 cup
Dry yeast - 1/2 tspn
Warm water - 1/2 glass
Sugar - 1/2 tspn
Salt - a pinch

Toppings
Paneer - few pieces
Cauliflower florets - 1 cup
Basic Sauce - 1 cup(As required) click here for recipe.
Tomato - 1no few chopped and few rings
Tomato Ketchup/sauce - 2-3 tspns
Mozarella cheese - as required
Parmesan cheese - as required
Olive oil/any oil - 1 tspn
Spinach - 1 tspn chopped

How I made the quick sauce?
In a kadai, add 1 tspn of olive oil. Add garlic saute for few mins, then add chopped tomatoes, salt and cook for few mins.
Then add the basic sauce if you have already prepared. Otherwise add in the tomato sauce or ketchup now mix well. Add in the cauliflower and cook. Add in spinach or basil or oregano at this time.
Finally add paneer pieces and mix well.
Off the stove the quick sauce is ready.Preparation Method
Mix yeast with water, sugar and salt in a glass and allow it to sit for 10mins.
When it forth mix it with APF to a soft dough with oil.
Leave it till it raises for about an hour. Punch out the air.
Then you can make 2 small pizza base with it.
Dust the surface with flour, slowly knead like chapathi by rolling pin to thin and round shape.
Heat a skillet/tawa and put the dough and slow cook both sides till its slightly brown. Reduce flame. Remove from fire.
Spread the prepared sauce.
Top it with Mosarella cheeseand Parmesan Cheese.
Brush the tawa with oil of butter and put the pizza on a skillet/tawa, slow cook covered in low flame till the cheese is melted.

Thin Crust Cheese Pan Pizza is ready to Serve. Enjoy warm.