Madappalli - Temple's Kitchen

Feb 1, 2017

485: Vazhaithandu Thoran/Banana Stem Poriyal

Banana plant is one of the most useful plant. No part of this plant is a waste. Not only the fruit, but it's flower or leaf and even the stem!. The stem is cooked in various ways in South Indian cuisine Dishes such as vazhaithandu usli (dry cooked banana stem with lentils), vazhaithandu kootu (banana stem cooked with lentils), vazahaithandu porial (banana stem tempered and garnished with coconut) are popular in Tamil Nadu.

Health Benefits of Banana stems are:

Helps detoxify the body
Rich source of fiber and helps in weight loss.
Vitamin B6 helps in production of hemoglobin and insulin.
The Banana Stem juice also relieves ulcers, burning sensation and acidity.

Ingredients:
Tender Banana stem 3” inch
Finley chopped green chilies 2 tbsp.
Grated ginger 1 Tbsp.
Curry leaves 1 stem
Coconut oil 1Tsp.
Lemon Juice 1 Tbsp.
For Seasonings:
Coconut oil 1 Tsp.
Mustard seeds 1 tsp.
Urdh dhal ½ Tsp.
Chenna dhal ½ Tsp.
Red chillies 2 no.
Asafetida powder 1/8 tsp.
Grated Coconut 2 Tbsp.

Method

Wash and discard the outer cover of banana stem and take the inner part only.
Cut the stem into thin rounds and remove the excess thread. Then chop the round stems into small pieces and put it in buttermilk water to avoid discoloration.
Heat a oil in a pan , add all seasonings and fry for a minute, add the chopped green chilies, grated ginger, curry leaves and fry for a minute.
Add the banana stem (discard the buttermilk water),salt and cover and cook on medium slow flame till stem is cooked.
Add the grated coconut and lemon juice and mix it well. Decorate with coriander leaves.
Serve with plain rice with kuzhambu.

Jan 1, 2017

484: Ribbon Pakoda- Version 2

Ribbon Pakoda is a very popular South Indian tea time snack made from gram flour and rice flour. Ribbon Pakoda are an inclusion to all festivals and occasions. I already posted a ribbon Pakoda recipe in my blog. I slightly modify and tried this recipe and made it for this Diwali. It came out very well.

Preparation Time : 5 Minutes
Cooking Time : 25 Minutes
Recipe Category : Snacks
Serves : 3-4 People
Recipe Cuisine : South Indian

Ingredients:

Rice flour 2 cups

Gram Flour 1 cup

Red Chili Powder 2 Tsp.

Asafetida powder 1 Tsp.

Salt To Taste

Water As required

Butter 2 Tbsp.

Oil for Deep Frying

Tools:

Sev Press

Slotted Spoon

Paper Towel

Kadai

Method:

In a bowl sieve rice flour and Gram flour together.
Add red chili powder, asafetida, salt, and melted butter, mix everything well.
Gradually add water to make it a stiff dough. The dough should not be too tight or too loose.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a kadai. The stove heat should be in medium flame.
Grease the Sev Press with oil. Fill in the dough into the press.
Only press in enough to cover the oil.
Fry it till becomes golden brown, strain the excess oil in a paper towel, let it cool.
Cool the entire ribbon Pakoda and store in an air tight containers.
Serve with Tea or coffee.

Note:

If making in large quantities, mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl and take small portions and mix water to make dough.
You can use 1/2 cup of Bengal gram flour and 1/2 cup of Fried gram(Pottukadalai-Chutney dhal) powder.

See my Other Ribbon Pakoda Recipe here

Ribbon Pakoda

Dec 31, 2016

6th Anniversary

Today marks the Six year anniversary of My “ Madappalli” Blog .Can you believe that?! I cannot believe Six years flew so fast. The number of visitors to my blog is constantly increasing and it’s always fun to see where they live.

I really just wanted to say thank you to all of my amazing followers and friends who have been with me on this journey! It has been an exciting journey and without your support it won’t be possible. I hope you all will support me in my journey for further years . Thank you for the Six remarkable years of warmth, friendship, and support.

I'm proud to share some Key stats on my blog's 6th year of life:

Total Posts 482

Total Visitors 171,341

Total Page views 1,522,486

Facebook Fans 4158

Dear Friends

Tomorrow is the First Blank Page of 365 page Book. Write a Good one.

Happy New Year 2017

Dec 19, 2016

482: Kodubale/ Ring Murukku/Chekodies

Crispy Kodubale is really a yummy snack and is very famous in South India. This snack is been called in different names in different parts of the places. In Tamilnadu, it’s called as ring Murukku.

One of my Karnataka friend Kohila Mami gave this recipes. I made little change and made it. It came very well. Thank you Mami for Crispy Kodubale recipe.

Ingredients

Kodubale dough

Rice flour 2 cups

Roasted Maida ½ cup (skillet dry roast)

Roasted Fine Rava 1/4 cup

Roasted Gram dhal (Pottukadalai) ½ cup

Dry coconut powder ½ cup

Red chili powder 1 tablespoon.

Asafetida (Hing powder) ¼ teaspoon

Dry fried ajwain 1/2 teaspoon.

Melted Ghee 1 tablespoon.

Finely chopped curry leaves 1 tablespoon
Salt To Taste

Oil For deep frying

Method:

Dry roast the Maida and keep aside.
Powder the fried gram dal and coconut powder to very fine texture.
In a large bowl, add all flours, roasted Rava, Hing, dry fried ajwain, chopped curry leaves, red chili powders and salt. Add melted ghee in it and mix well.
Add little water and knead to a thick smooth dough.
Make coils and turn them round to make small bangle shaped rings with the ends pinched together to hold.

Heat the oil in Kadai. Oil should be very low heat.
Keep the prepared coils on a plate and deep fry when the oil is heated and sufficient number has been made to fry together.
Fry on medium heat and wait till the bubbles stop after frying, indicating it is done, remove from the oil.
Drain oil and transfer to the paper towel.
When completely cooled, store in air tight containers.

Dec 1, 2016

481: Methi Crackers/ Fenugreek Crackers

Fenugreek is a spice and a herb that is quite popular in the Indian kitchens. The fenugreek leaves are aromatic, cooling and mild aperient. The leaves are popular for their aromatic and unique flavor. Fenugreek leaves are basically a kind of green leafy vegetables unless you dry them for storage (kasuri methi). The seeds and the leaves are well known for their medicinal uses.

Health Benefits

It cures digestive problems, considered as good appetizer, Very good for Diabetes,Heals mouth ulcers, prevents anemia

Fenugreek Leaves

Ingredients:

Multi Grain flour 1 cup

All-purpose flour 2 tablespoon

Chopped fenugreek leaves ½ cup.

Red chili powder ½ teaspoon

Black pepper powder 1/8 teaspoon.

Ajwain ¼ teaspoon

Jeera powder 1/4 teaspoon

Hing 2 pinches

Melted Ghee 1 teaspoon

Curd 1 teaspoon

Salt To taste.

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Remove the fenugreek leaves from the stem and wash thoroughly. Chop the leaves coarsely. Microwave it for 5 minutes.
Sift the flour, add all above ingredients, fenugreek leaves and salt.
Make a stiff dough using water. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
Then make even size small balls of the dough. Roll out into disc shape of 5” diameter.
Prick the diamond shapes using a fork to prevent them from puffing up.
Cut into small diamond shapes.
Heat the oil in a pan, fry the crackers in a slow fire till golden brown on both the sides. Drain on the paper towel.
Cool and store in an air-tight container.

For Baking Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the crackers in a well-greased baking tray.
Bake them at 180°c for 5 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Let it cool for some time.
Store them in a airtight container.

Nov 16, 2016

480: Channa Masala Powder

Chenna masala is a traditional and very popular Punjabi recipe. Channa Masala is a great recipe for vegetarians, because chick peas are rich in protein, fiber and iron. This is a traditional Indian seasoning for Chenna masala. This spicy powder takes the dish to an extra high level. This masala is very handy and useful in making subzis and dals.

Ingredients to DRY ROAST

Cumin Seed/ (Jeera) 1 Tsp.

Coriander seeds/ (Dhania) 1 Tbsp.

Black Pepper corns 1 Tsp.

Whole Cloves /(Laung) ½ Tsp.

Dry Red chilies 5 No.

Cinnamon /(Dal chini) 4 sticks -1/2” long

Caraway Seeds/ Shah-Jeera 1 Tbsp.

Star Anise/Chakri Phool 1 No.

Big Black cardamom/elaichi 2 pods

White Sesame Seeds/Safed Til 1 Tbsp.

Annar dana 1 Tsp.

Ingredients NOT to roast:

Hing/Asofoetida 1/4 Tsp.

Nutmeg powder 1/4 Tsp.

Lace/Javetri powder 1/4 Tsp.

Dry ginger powder 1/2 tea spoon

Small green cardamom/elaichi 1/2 tea spoon

Rock Salt/Kala Namak 1/2 Tbsp.

Method:

Dry roast all ingredients one at a time on Medium heat till you can smell their aroma. Stir constantly. Cool all the ingredients.
Grind all roasted spices along with all other not to roast ingredients ,grind into smooth powder using mixer/coffee/spice grinder.
Sieve powder masala, cool and store in air tight container..
You can use this powder for chick peas, Channa Masala is also great on: Vegetables, bread, curry, potatoes and stew.

Nov 1, 2016

479: Coconut Mint Chutney

Chutney plays a very multiple role in Indian cuisine. This Mint chutney is cooling and excellent for digestion. It served with Dosa, Idli , Indian fritters and snacks.

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes

Serves: 3-4 People
Recipe Category: Chutneys

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:

Grated Fresh Coconut ¼ cup

Chopped Mint leaves ¼ cup

Green chilies 3 no.

Grated Ginger 1 Tablespoon

Chutney dhal 1 Tablespoon

Lemon juice 1 Tablespoon

Salt As required

Procedure

Add all ingredients to a blender/ food processor .
Grind it to fine paste. Add water if required. The chutney should not be runny but it should not be firm too. It is a kind of dip.
Transfer to a storage container or serving dish

Note: