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Red Rice Idli and Dosa

I am going to share the recipe to make soft, yummy and healthy red rice idlis and dosas. You can also make puttu, kozhukkattai, idiyappam using red rice flour.  To make idli/dosa batter with red rice, you need to soak the red rice atleast for about 6 to 8 hours.  You will need : Red Rice - 1 cup Idli rice - 1/2 cup Urad Dal - 1/2 cup Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp Salt - 2 tsp Add all the grains and methi seeds in a container and rinse thoroughly for 2 to 3 times. Add enough water and soak them well.  Then grind all the ingredients together into a thick batter using a wet grinder or a mixer grinder into a idli batter consistency, add 2 tsp salt and let it ferment overnight.  Grease the idli plates and pour the batter upto 3/4 full and steam for 12 minutes. when you insert a tooth pick into the idli, if it comes out clean, the idlis are cooked.  Idlis are ready to eat with any  chutney  or sambhar.  Look how the idlis are soft and fluffy inside, in the ab...

Black Rice Dessert / Kavani Arisi

Now-a-days many people have started eating healthy millets and different varieties of rice. This recipe is made from a very healthy rice variety. It is a deep purple-black colored rice called Black Rice or Forbidden Rice. In tamil, it is called kavani arisi. It is a good source of protein, fibre, iron and several antioxidants. This rice looks like in the picture below. Please remember that it has to be soaked overnight, before cooking. For this desert recipe, you need the following ingredients Black rice - 1 cup Water - 2 1/2 cups used to soak the rice overnight Sugar - 1 1/2 cups Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Ghee / Clarified butter - 2 tbsp To begin with, first wash the rice 2 to 3 times and drain the water. Soak the rice with 2 1/2 cups of water overnight or atleast 10 to 12 hours. In a large bowl, add the soaked rice and measure 2 1/2 cups of water and add to the rice. You can use the same water that you used to soak the rice. It will be red in color, but it is o...

Baked Spicy Peanuts

Hello all, I am going to share a baked spicy peanut snack today. Be it a rainy day or a snowy day, the aroma of the hot n spicy peanuts is divine with a cup of hot tea. Let's quickly grab the ingredients mentioned below and get started.. 2 cups - raw peanuts with skin 1/2 cup - besan / kadalai maavu 4 tbsp - rice flour  1/4 tsp - turmeric 1 tsp - salt or as per your taste  1 tsp chilli powder a pinch of baking soda  2 tsp - cooking oil  2 tbsp - water Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Remember to sprinkle water little by little and mix. The masala should just barely stick to the peanuts. It should not look like a paste consistency.  Lastly add another tsp of rice flour and mix, so that, the sticky peanuts get separated.  In a baking tray, line the parchment paper and coat with cooking spray or grease it with 2 tsp of oil.  Now spread the peanut mixture on the tray and bake for 30 minutes. The baking...

Happy New Year 2022

  HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022 TO ALL !!

Happy Deepavali 2021 to all

 Hello readers, My hearty wishes to all who celebrate Diwali / Deepavali 🪔🪔 I prepared Somas, Thirunalveli style oat milk halwa, Badam halwa and Murukku for this year's Deepavali. 

Thirunelveli Halwa with oat milk/ திருநெல்வேலி அல்வா ஒரு மாற்றத்துடன்

                                             Hello all,  Wishing you all very Happy Deepavali/ Diwali in advance! Let's begin this Diwali season with a sweet recipe. The city of Thirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is well-known for its specialty sweet "Thirunelveli Halwa", not only that, there is a famous dialogue that says "Thirunelvelikke Halwa waaa"!  There was an article written by Kalwyna Rathod in Femina.in , published on July 27, 2021. It was about the different types of wheat and its qualities, very well explained. You can read the article to gain more knowledge about wheat.  The halwa is typically made with sambaa godhumai, a  premium variety of whole wheat grain. The grain is soaked overnight, then ground to a thick paste and then milk is extracted from this pulp, by filtering it.   I have used the quick cooking steel cut oats instead of whea...

Banana Cake Pops / வாழைப்பழப் பணியாரம்

Hello readers, I am going share a kids favorite snack recipe, which is NOT loaded with sugar, but definitely LOADED with nutrition and fun!! There was a lonely banana, in my fruit bowl, ripened and blackened... which noone wants to eat 😔 So I thought of making an interesting and healthy snack or breakfast out of it.  Banana Cake Pops Recipe Card (makes about 21) Fully Ripe Banana - 1 large, peeled and mashed Light Brown Sugar - 2 tbsp  Cinnamom powder or Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt -1/2 tsp Baking soda - 1 pinch Whole Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup (You can use the aatta you use for making chapathi) Rice Flour - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup, as needed In a large bowl, add the mashed banana, brown sugar, cardamom / cinnamon powder, salt and baking soda and mix well with a hand mixer, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Now add the flours and water little by little and mix well without lumps. The batter should be a 'pour batter consistency' and not a running consistency. Let the batter sit ...

Moringa Twig Clear Soup ( முருங்கைக்காம்பு சூப் )

Today we will learn how to prepare a healthy soup with drumstick twigs. When we separate the leaves from the stem, I save the stem parts / twigs. I enjoyed this health drink prepared by my grandma and wanted to share the recipe with you too.  In the picture below, you will see that I have separated the leaves and also separated the small twigs from the stem. You have to discard the stem and only use the twigs. You can store the leaves in a dry container for a few days.    Now let's see how to prepare the healthy soup... You will need -  Moringa twigs - 1 handful   3 cups of water Slices of one small onion Julienne cuts of 1/2 inch ginger Slices of 1 medium sized tomato 2 green chillies whole peppercorns - 6 crushed peppercorns - 2 tsp 1/4 inch piece - cinnamon bark cloves -2 fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp salt - to taste 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp ghee / clarified butter as you wish, or you can also skip it, if you do not want any ...

Moringa Leaves Chutney Powder / முருங்கைக்கீரை பொடி

Moringa Leaves Chutney Powder In my childhood, we used to live in a big single family home with lots of trees and flowering plants. There was almost every tree in our backyard. You name it, we will have it! For example, Coconut trees, Mango tree, Guava Tree, Pomegranate tree, Banana Tree, Moringa Tree, and the list goes on...... Hmm, we come across a lot about the Moringa Trees, and the goodness of their leaves nowadays. The vegetable from this tree is called Drumsticks. We can cook delicious dishes with these drumsticks, with a combination of lentils or just a curry which will be yummy with cooked rice varieties, idli or dosa.  The leaves from this tree are also very healthy. It can be cooked with lentils as well.  The kids may not like the taste of these leaves.  In this case, we can make chutney powders and they can mix this with hot cooked rice and clarified butter (ghee). When I have a lot of moringa leaves, if I do not want to cook all of them into a curry, I clean ...

Fun Bun Breakfast

  This post is going to be a fun for the kids as the name says. It is very easy to make and the kids will never say NO to breakfast.  You will need -  2 eggs beaten and seasoned with a little salt, crushed pepper, cumin powder and turmeric powder. If you like, you can make it a little sweet by adding a tsp of brown sugar, and a dash of ground cinnamon. Buns / Bread Slices - cut them out as in the picture below and also save the cut pieces. I have just cut out a square with knife. You can use a cookie cutter of any shape. Choose the one which is your kid's favorite shape.   Now, heat up a pan / skillet and grease with some cooking oil or cooking spray. Keep the stove in medium heat. Place one piece of the cut bun and using a spoon, pour little beaten egg carefully into the hole in the middle as shown in the picture below.. After it is half cooked, flip it over and pour 1/2 tsp of oil. If you see the picture below, you will see how  the bottom looks like afte...