Masala Kichadi/ Masala Bath

After a long and tiring day, what could rescue you but a bowl of Kichadi. Kichadi is the perfect comfort food for Indians. Easy to make a One Pot Meal. Breakfast, brunch or dinner, Kichadi is the epitome of convenience. Kichadi is usually made with combination of grains and dals , cooked till soft and mushy, just thicker than porridge.

Masala Kichadi/ Masala Bath is sumptuous meal of rice with vegetables and an appetizing dry masala powder made of simple spices. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve it with a  raita or plain curd.

Preparation Time :  10 Minutes

Cooking Time        :  20 Minutes

Soaking Time       :   30 Minutes

Servings               :   4 Nos.

 Ingredients:

Raw Rice                1 Cup

Tovar Dal                1 Tablespoon

Moong Dal              1 Tablespoon   

Tomatoes                2 Nos.

Green Chilies           2 Nos.

Grated Ginger          1 Tablespoon

Turmeric Powder      ½ Teaspoon

Salt                         To Taste

For Dry Masala Powder

Cinnamon sticks         2 nos.

Fennel Seeds              1 Tablespoon

Cloves                        5 nos.          

Green Cardamoms       7 nos.

Chutney Dal                1 Tablespoon

Red Chillies                 2 -3 nos.

Dhania Powder            ½ Teaspoon

Cumin Powder             ¼ Teaspoon

Garam Masala Powder     ½ Teaspoon

Tempering

Oil/ Butter /Ghee              1 Tablespoon

Mustard Seeds                  1 Teaspoon

For Garnishing

Chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

Wash and soak the rice with dals for 30 minutes. Chop the tomatoes and Green chillies and keep aside.

For Dry Masala Powder:

• Heat a pan on medium heat. Dry roast the cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, red chillies, chutney dal, fennel seeds for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Take the spices out, add Garam masala powder, cumin powder and dhania powder in it. Transfer to blender pot. Blend it into course powder. Keep aside.

For Masala Bhat

• Heat a oil in Pressure cooker, add Mustard seeds and curry leaves, let them splutter.

• Now add the chopped tomatoes, Grated ginger and Green chillies and fry for a minute.
• Drain the rice and dals add into the tomato mix and sauté for minute.
• Add two cups of hot water, Turmeric powder and  Ground Dry masala Powder and salt . Mix it well. Pressure cooker for 5 whistles . Turn off the heat

• Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.  Mix well the Kichadi.
• While serving garnish with dollop of ghee, coriander leaves.
• Serve with Pickle, Curd and Pappad

Note:

• As khichdi cools will become little thick.
• Re heat the Kichadi and eat.
• Add vegetables of your choice like  cauliflower,  tindora or brinjal into kichadi

Enjoy Cooking!.

How to make Blender Butter

Did you know you can make Butter from your blender? This homemade butter is very easy, creamy and delicious. When I was in Cochin, I learned to make butter from my mom. It was fun and the butter always turned out excellent. Making butter in your blender may not be nostalgic, but it gets the job done and the butter is still amazing!

Ingredients:

 Organic Whipping Cream   2 Cups

Plain Yogurt                        2 Teaspoon (optional)      

Ice Cubes                           Few

Salt                                     ¼ Teaspoon (optional)

 Preparation:

Culture the Butter (optional)

• The day before you like to make butter, pour a cream into the big bowl add the plain yogurt. Whisk briefly to combine and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Set in a slightly warm place to culture. Check after 8 to 12 hours.
• If you did not culture your butter, let it warm on the counter for about an hour before churning.
• Pour the heavy cream into the blender. Cover tightly. Blend it on high. You'll want to shut it off periodically to scrap down the sides and mix it up a little.
• Continue blending till the heavy cream begins to separate , about to 5 minutes.

• The mixture will splatter heavily in the final stages of churning.
• You will see beginning of butter and butter milk, and continue blending for another minute.
• Pour the butter milk through the cheese cloth and holding the butter solid back.
• Add cold water with ice cubes to cover the butter. Drain the water.
• Pour off the cloudy water, add another 1/2 cup of ice water to the bowl, and keep pressing. Repeat until the water is clear. Transfer the butter into cheese cloth.
• Bring the edges of the cheese cloth together over the butter and squeeze the butter out with your hands.
• Now run the butter under cold water and continue to squeeze. This will allow the butter to last longer.
• Sprinkle the salt over the butter (Optional)  and knead it.
• Cover the butter with parchment paper, store it in airtight container for up to three weeks in refrigerator  .Can be frozen for 6 months.

Notes:

• Homemade butter’s shelf life depends on how thoroughly you extract the buttermilk. If a substantial amount of buttermilk remains, it will sour within a week, otherwise homemade butter can keep for up to 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

Brinjal Masala Curry

Curry is a staple in my kitchen. This is one of my favorite recipes to make when I feel like I need to eat spicy . Enjoy this simple recipe from my Madappalli Kitchen. 

Ingredients

Small Indian Brinjals         1 pound

Green Capsicum                1 no.

 Big Tomato                     1 no.

Salt                                to taste

Turmeric Powder              1/2 tsp.

Hing                                ½ tsp.

Masalas

Curry leaves                     few

Chenna dhal                    1 tbsp.

Urdh dhal                        1 tbsp.

Fennel seeds (optional)    1 tsp.

Red chilies                      4 no.

Cloves                            2 no

Green cardamom              2 no.   
  

For Seasoning

 Oil                                     1 tsp.

Cumin seeds                        1 /2 tsp.

For Decoration

Coriander leaves                   few

Method

• Wash and cut Brinjals into 2’ long sizes. Cut capsicum & Tomatoes in to small pieces.  
• Dry roast the all masalas and coarsely powder it.
• Heat the oil in a pan, add seasonings, when they start spluttering, add capsicums and sauté it for 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and sauté until they are mushy.
• Now add the brinjal and turmeric, hing and salt. Fry it in medium heat until Brinjals are cooked.
• Add the grounded masals and  mix well and cook it in very low flame.
• When you feel Brinjals has been cooked soft and raw masala smell gone, switch off the stove.
• Garinish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with steamy rice or Chapatti.

KUTHARI KANJI/ RICE PORRIDGE

Kutarisi Kanji is comfort food in Kerala. It is healthy, tasty and simple. It is easily digestible hence it is recommended food during sickness or when you have a stomach upset.

Kanji is basically rice porridge, had thick or thin the way you like it. It is normally prepared with broken rice cooked in lots of water till done and seasoned with salt. In my house, Most of the Sunday Dinner, kanji happens to be my lazy meal.

Preparation Time :   5 Minutes

Cook Time            :   20 Minutes

Servings               :   4

Ingredients:

Kutarisi  /Matta Rice    -    1 Cup

Water                                4 Cups

Chopped Ginger                  2 Tablespoons

Cumin Seeds                      ½ Teaspoon

Chopped Green Chillies       1 teaspoon

Hing Powder                       ¼ Teaspoon

Salt                                   To Taste

Curry Leaves                      Few

Method:

• Wash the rice 2 to 3 times and drained the water.
• Combine the rice, water, and salt in a pressure cooker and cook on high flame for 5-6 whistles. Switch off and allow to cool completely.
• Open the pressure lid, and add chopped curry leaves, Hing powder and chopped Ginger, Chopped Green chillies and adjust the salt.
• If the kanji is thick, add more water as per required consistency.
• Once cooked, transfer on to serving bowls.
• Serve with Coconut Chammanthi and Pappad.

473: Anjarai Petti/ Masala Dabba- Exploring The Indian Spice Box

Spices are an integral part of the Indian kitchen and each one adds punch and flavor to the pantry. A stunning Indian spice box, also known as a “Anjarai Petti / Masala Dabba”. The masala box is a popular spice storage container widely used in Indian kitchens. A round stainless steel tin with a tight-fitting solid or glass lid, a masala dabba typically holds seven or more smaller canisters that house an array of spices that often flavor an Indian meal. I think the beauty of the masala dabba is that you can customize it to your own cooking preferences. It’s really a matter of personal taste. You can include whatever works for you. In India, masala dabbas are traditionally passed down from mother to daughter when the daughter marries and begins a new life in her husband’s home. I am using masala dabba since beginning of my cooking journey.

I have Three masala dabbas. For my Wedding, my mom gave one Anjarai Petti as Kalyana Seer(Wedding Gift) . It is very old now. Other two boxes, I bought it from Cost Plus /World Market shop. I recommend buying it from India if possible. Because it is much cheaper.

The following spices are in my  Tadka  (Tempering)  Masala Box photographed above:

1. Mustard Seeds

2. Coriander Seeds

3. Fenugreek Seeds 

4. Urdh dal

5. Chenna Dal

6. Cumin Seeds

7. Black Peppercorns

The following spices are in my Spice Powder Masala Box photographed above:

1. Turmeric Powder

2. Coriander Powder

3. Red Chili Powder

4. Kashmiri Chili Powder

5. Asafoetida powder ( Hing Powder)

6. Pav Bhaji Powder

7. Chenna Masala Powder

  

The following spices are in my Whole Spices Masala Box photographed above:

1. Star Anise

2. Cinnamon Sticks 

3. Green Cardamon 

4. Bay Leaves

5. Fennel Seeds

6  Nutmeg

7. Cloves 

Tip:

 Clean the Masala Dabba  once in two months and dry them in sunlight.

What is in your Masala Box?

Plain Yogurt/Plain Curd

Yogurt is known for its many nutritional benefits. Yogurt is full of good bacteria, also known as probiotics. Store-bought yogurt has many different additives and preservatives that kill off a lot of the good bacteria yogurt naturally has. There are many benefits to homemade yogurt. Eating one cup of yogurt per day can contribute to preventing osteoporosis due to the calcium content and added vitamin D found in yogurt.

Yogurt is a natural fermentation of pasteurization of milk. It is, very simple to make your own homemade yogurt, even without a yogurt maker. Not only does it actually save us money, but the yogurt is really good and healthy also. Want to save a few bucks every month on plain yogurt? Here you go

What you Need

Milk milk (ideally whole milk, )                    ½ gallon( Here , I used 2% milk)

Existing plain yogurt culture                          3-4 tbsp.

Plain Large thick sauce pan                            1 no.

Method:

• Heat the milk in a large sauce pan until it just starts to boil. Lower the stove heat, and boil the milk for few more minutes.
• Remove the pan from the stove and leave the milk to cool down. Do not expedite the cooling process by refrigerator.
• Once the milk cools down to lukewarm temperature transfer it to the container, you are going to make yogurt. Which has a tightly fixing lid?
• Now add existing plain yogurt in the warm milk and mix it well. Secure the lid on the container and place it gently in a warm corner of the room. Leave it undisturbed for 6- 8 hours or until yougurt cultured.

For winter season: 

•     Surround the container with a woolen blanket to keep milk warm. Leave it undisturbed for 8 hours.
• Turn on the oven to lowest at setting (Preheat, your oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.), and turn it off and open the oven door for 3 minutes, because you do not want very hot oven. It should be just warm. Place the milk container in the oven and turn on the oven light and close the oven door.

Congratulations! You have 'home-made' yogurt ready to serve. Refrigerate the yogurt. It will continue to firm up as it gets cold. Yogurt will stay fresh for almost a week then it becomes savor.

Tips:

• Always use plain yogurt for culture.
•  If you use low fat milk, the consisting of yogurt will be thinner.  
• Save some of your yogurt for your next homemade batch. (My method is: Pour the yogurt to the ice cube tray, and freeze it, and transfer into zip lock bags ) ,when you make fresh yogurt put 4 cubes of yogurt cubes to the warm milk

To make thachi (curd) in a cup:

• Pour the milk in cups of the desired shape and size and add a few drops of curd to it. This will make curd in a cup which can be had by the kids directly.

Kuzhambhu Powder – 2 (Sāmbhar Powder – Chettinadu style)

This Simple recipe from my Madapalli.  This powder can be used for Sāmbhar, Poricha Kuzhambu, and varuvals.

Ingredients

Byadagi chilies              -     1 cup  

Long Red chilies                  2 cup

Coriander seeds                  2 cups   

Bengal gram -                     ¼ cup   

Tuvar dhal -                        ¼ cup   

 Black Pepper -                     3 tbsp.

Fenugreeks                          2 tsp.

Jeera                                 3 tbsp. (50 gms)

 Fennel seeds (Sombhu)      3 tbsp.

 Raw rice                             ½ cup

Hing katti                            5 no.

Curry leaves                       1/8 cups

Method 

• Dry the red chilies in the sun.
• Dry roast all the ingredients separately.
• Mix all the ingredients together and fine grind them into nice powder.
•  Store it into an airtight container.

Dosa Batter

Ingredients:

Idli Rice (Boiled Rice)                   4 cups

Urud Dal                                     1 cup

Fenugreek seeds                          3/4 tsp

Tuvar dhal                                   2 tbsp

Salt                                            to taste

Method to prepare Batter

• Wash and clean the rice and dhal and soak separately for 6 hours.
• Grind the dhals with fenugreek seeds and rice for 45 to 60 minutes.
• Mix the dough with hand only. Do not use Spatulas. This is good for fermentation.
• Leave it for fermentation (In winter, Pre heat the oven 275F and switch off and place the batter and leave it for overnight).
• Next day takeout the dough and add salt and mix it with hand.
• Batter is ready.

Idli Batter

Idli is one of the most popular south Indian recipes all over the country. Idli is an ideal breakfast item. Making Idli is not difficult at all; however its preparation takes a little time as the batter for Idli requires fermentation.

In my experience, the key to making soft idli is:

• Using handful of rice/Poha while making the Urdu Daal batter.
• Let the dal soak in water overnight inside a fridge.
•  When grinding dhal and rice use only cold water.
•  Not running the blender continuously, but in short bursts
•  Making sure that the batter (before fermentation) does not have too much     water.
• When you grind the idly batter, the rice should be ground to a fine sooji rava consistency and not to a fine paste.
• To aid fermentation in cold countries, preheat your oven to 200F and put it off. Place the vessel containing the batter on a plate (to collect the overflown batter in case it pours out) and keep oven closed overnight.
• You can use idli rava instead of grinding rice. Just grind the urad batter and mix with idli rava! However, the idlis will be like the udupi style ones, not like the smooth chettinadu style idlis.

Ingredients

Idli Rice – 4 cups

Urdh dhal – 1 cup

Aval (beaten Rice) - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Oil (for greasing the pans)

Method

• Wash and soak the Daal, Poha and rice overnight or for 8 hours.
•  Wash and drain the rice. Grind it coarsely in a grinder.
• Proceed to grind the Urdh Daal, with Poha and required amount of water and make a fine frothy paste.
• Do not add too much water; the water should be sufficient just so that the mixer/grinder motor runs smoothly.
• Now mix the ground rice and Daal together into a batter.
• Mix salt and set aside in a warm place for 8-9 hours or overnight for fermenting.
• Idlis are ready to be cooked when the batter is well fermented.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Since  a store - bought broth containes onion, garlic and leeks, my preference is to make it at home.Homemade vegetable broth is easy to make and so much healthier and more flavorful than anything that you can buy in a supermarket. A basic and flavorful vegetable broth recipe to make vegetarian soups, vegetarian gravy, or just to add flavor to a variety of vegetarian recipes. 

Ingredients:

Chopped Carrot               – 1 no

chopped Celery               – 1 stalks

chopped Potato                 – 2 no

chopped Cauliflower        – ½ cup

chopped Zucchini             1 no

 Chopped Any greens       – 1 cup

Bay Leaves                       3 no

 Chopped Capsicum          – 1 no

Mushrooms   (optional)       ¼ cup

Water                                6 cups

Dash salt and pepper

Method:

• Put all ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
• Strain out the vegetables and remove the bay leaves.
• Broth is ready to use as a base for soups, gravies.

Sathuamuthu Powder (Rasam Powder) 2

This is my sister Jayathy’s recipe.  

Ingredients:

Tovar Dhal   -            2 cups

Black Pepper -           ½ cup

Cumin Seeds             ½ cups

Red Chilies –              2 ½ cup

Curry Leaves –           1 /2 cup

Method:

•  Heat the frying pan, dry fry only the curry leaves.
• Mix all the ingredients and grind it into a coarse powder (Do not grind them as very fine powder)
• Store the powder in an air tight container and use it for making Saathuamuthu.

Homemade Paneer

Indian cheese is a treasure of nutrition. It is easy to digest and can be used in a number of preparations and is used in most Indian homes. It can be used in sweets, savories, and in gravies of dishes too. Indian cheese is a rich source of calcium. This helps in building strong teeth and bones. Paneer has the health benefit of preventing osteoporosis, which is a curse of old age. Equally interesting is the fact that Paneer helps prevent stomach disorders in people as they grow older.

Paneer also happens to be one of the easiest cheeses to make at home, requiring nothing more than milk and lemon juice. Here's how!

Ingredients:

Whole or 2% milk                                – 1 gallon

Lemon Juice                                       – 3 tbsp

Special Equipment:

a colander or strainer

Cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel

Method:

• Take a heavy bottom vessel and boil milk. Keep an eye on it because it can boil over very quickly.
• When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
•  Stir until milk separates completely separates into curds and whey, if it doesn't seem to be separating completely, add another tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Immediately add about 10-12 ice cubes and turn off flame. Leave aside for 3-4 mts
• Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined colander. When it's cool enough to handle, gather the corners of the cheesecloth into a bundle and squeeze out as much of the excess liquid as you can.
• Leave aside for 30  minutes. Remove the Paneer (Chenna) into a bowl.
• Now knead it gently for 4 minutes till there is no trace of moisture and is absolutely soft on touch.

Ghee (Clarified butter)

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian. It is a clarified butter without any solid milk particles or water. It is used in India and throughout the South Asia in daily cooking. Good quality ghee adds a great aroma, flavor and taste to the food. According to the ancient Ayurveda, a moderate amount of ghee is the best cooking oil. Traditionally, ghee is made from butter churned out of Indian yogurt (curd). It is boiled and constantly stirred until the all the water is evaporated. Cow ghee is yellow in color, and buffalo ghee has off-white cream color. Aged ghee, Kumbhiighrta, aged between 10 to 100 years, and Mahaghrta, aged over 100 years, are believed to be powerful tonics.( http://ayurveda-holistic.blogspot.com/2011/01/properties-of-ghee-clarified-butter-as.html)

Homemade ghee has good aroma and flavor.

Making ghee is not rocket science. If you can melt butter, you can make ghee. I always prefer home-made ghee, rather than buy it from stores. Use with homemade ghee with any preparation of food it will come out very tasty.  

How to make ghee

Unsalted butter                              2 pounds

Tools:

Heavy-bottomed sauce pan

Unbleached fine cheese cloth or tea strainer

Metal funnel

Wooden spoon

Glass container with clasping lid that can withstand heat

 Method:

• Unwrap the butter and cut into chunks (4 or 5 per stick, etc.). Heat the butter on medium-low to low in the sauce pan.
• Within the first 8-10 minutes, the butter will melt. Give it a stir with your spoon to see where it’s at, and then let it sit.
• Butter begins to froth and then boil. Within the next 5 minutes, the butter will begin to froth. Give it a stir, and continue stirring every minute from now on. Glide your spoon across the bottom at this point, and kick up the milk solids.
• Now the butter will start to boil, Stir consistently. After a few more minutes the boil will slow. The butter will start to smell like clarified butter.
• You are waiting for the butter to turn into a beautiful orange color, the milk solids to caramelize into a light-to-medium brown, and most noticeably, fizzy bubbles to form on the surface of the butter. The aroma will change slightly, smelling more sweet and caramel-y. Be ready with your strainer.
• When straining, you can dump all of the brown solids on top of your cheese cloth, but make sure none gets into the ghee.  Now melted butter is ready. It’ll still keep for a year.

Notes:

• Don’t use margarine or any butter substitutes.
• Do use a heavy bottomed pan to prevent the butter from scorching.
• Store the  ghee  in glass jars. Glass jars should be clean and dry, before pouring in the ghee. 

 Ghee Storage Tip:

• Ghee does not have to be refrigerated.
• For long lasting ghee, keep it out of moisture, i.e., don't use a wet spoon to take out ghee.