Carrot Chitranna

Carrot Chitranna is a rice dish and it is very easy to prepare.  Chitranna is Lemon rice and lemon is added at the end it gives a little tangy taste. 

Carrot Lemon is a simple rice dish and you can have them for breakfast who likes to have rice dishes in the morning. It can be eaten for brunch who gets up late and miss breakfast and can combine breakfast and lunch and it is said as brunch. It is good for lunch too. Lazy days or holidays when you want to relax and not much of time to spend in kitchen can plan for this rice. It is also ideal for dinner.
Let us see some benefits of eating Lemon in our diet.
Lemon is used for treating indigestion, constipation, dental problems, throat infections, fever, obesity, respiratory disorders, cholera and high blood pressure. It is also good for hair and skin care. Lemon helps to strengthen our immune system, cleanses our stomach. They are considered as a blood purifier. Lemon is used for treating kidney stones, reducing strokes and lowering body temperature. Lemon juice is one of the best refreshing drink. They are filled with vitamins like vitamin C, Vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin E, folate and minerals like copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus and protein. they are filled with antioxidant properties and it helps in peeventing diabetes, constipation and high blood pressure.
As  I said it is simple, quick and takes very less time to prepare once you cook your rice.
I have used plain rice (Sona Masuri ), lemon, carrots, coconut and green chilly.
Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Cooked rice : 1 Cup
To Add :
Carrots : 2
Lemon : 1
Coconut : 1 Cup
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Salt : As required
Turmeric powder : A pinch
For Seasoning :
Cooking oil : 1 Tablespoon
Ghee : 2 Tablespoons
Mustard seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Urid dal : 1 Teaspoon
Curry leaves : 6 to 8
Green chilly : 2

Method :

1. Wash and cut green chilly, coriander leaves and curry leaves.
2. Wash and peel off the outer layer of carrots and grate it. Keep it aside.
3. Wash and cut lemon and squeeze out the juice. Keep it aside.
4. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
5. Keep a pan on the fire and put oil. Put mustard seeds and urid dal.
6. Let mustard seeds splutter. Add cut green chilly and curry leaves.
7. Fry nicely for 10 seconds. Add grated carrots and fry nicely for 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Add cooked rice and mix it well. Add salt, turmeric powder and mix it well.
9. Let it cook on low flame for 1 to 2 minutes. Add grated coconut and put off the fire.
11 Add lemon extract (juice) and mix it again. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee and mix it well.
11. Shift the ready " Carrot Chitranna " to a serving dish.
12. Add cut coriander leaves and serve with a cup of curd.

Note : 

Cook rice and cool it before adding to seasoning. Use of any brand of rice is optional. I have used sona masuri and required water ration is 1: 3 ( 1 cup rice and 3 cups of water). Use of green or red chilly is optional. Use of more /less chilly is optional. Use of ghee adds to the taste. Use of onions or garlic is optional.

Time : 20 Minutes if rice is already cooked. Or 20 more minutes to cook rice.
Serves : 2 to 3.
Type : South Indian ..

Corn Poha Mixture

Celebration includes Sweets and Savoury/Namkeens. The varieties of sweets and salty dishes do add colours to festivals. I think every one agree with me. My feeling is that the preparations should be short and quick and not that heavy to munch.  Thinking of this I have prepared " Corn Poha Mixture", which is very easy to prepare and love to munch whenever you feel like. 

Corn Poha is prepared using Sweet Corn. Poha fluffs up when You fry. It has a crunchy feel. So here we go with one more crunchy munching " Corn Poha Mixture.

It is as simple as always. A very few ingredients are used . Corn Poha Groundnuts, salt and chilly Powders is the basic Ingredients.

You can add what ever you wish to. Example Sev/Om Pudi and  Puffed rice/Mandakki etc, etc.

Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Corn Poha : 2 Cups.

Oil : 1 Cup

Ground Nuts : 1/2 Cup

Salt : As required 

Chilly Powder : 1/2 or less than 1/2 Teaspoon

Curry leaves : 1 Handful. 

Method :

1. Wash and dry curry leaves. ( Moisture should be disappeared). 

2. Keep corn poha in a plate.

3.  Keep a frying pan on the fire and put oil to it.

3. Let it get hot. Take a small quantity of corn poha and leave it slowly in hot oil.

4. Let the flame be medium. Corn Poha starts to fluff up. 

5. Once it fluffs up remove done corn poha from oil. Put it on kitchen tissue.

6. Repeat the same procedure and fry all the corn poha.

7. The flame should be adjusted according to heat.

8. Now fry groundnuts and curry leaves till golden brown. Remove and put it on a kitchen tissue.

9. Put fried corn poha and groundnuts to a big bowl.

10. Add required salt and chilly powder mix it well. 

11. Now " Corn Poha Mixture " is ready to serve.

12. I have added little Puffed Rice/Mandakki/Puri to it. 

Note :

Take care of the flame while frying Corn Poha. You can use a big siever to fry corn poha. Put little corn poha to a siever and dip that siever in hot oil. It is easy to fry with siever. 

Use of more /less ground is optional. Any other spice like garam masala, chat masala can be added instead of chilly powder.(Optional).

Time : 20 Minutes.

Serves : As you wish.  

Banana -Wheat-Rava Sweet Poori

Banana-Wheat-Rava Sweet Poori is good to have for breakfast/snack and loved by sweet lovers. It is done with banana, wheat flour, chiroti rava (thin variety of rava), and little jaggery.

 It is similar to Our Mangalore Buns but used wheat and rava and jagery instead of sugar. No need to add any cooking soda or baking powder and no need to allow the dough to rest for many hours.
Now it is Navarathri and many people will Arrange dolls according to their tradition and culture. Keeping dolls during Navarathri is one of the beautiful and excellent custom it keeps you busy and active. The creativity in arranging dolls is really wonderful activity and it helps to younger generation to know about our culture and moral. People come to visit and see dolls and you can serve these sweet pooris to them.  
 Happy Navaratri to All . 

Banana Wheat- Rava Sweet Pooi is good for breakfast/snack/kids snack box and even for travelling. 

Lets see the recipe Now:
 

Things Needed :

Wheat flour : 2 Cups
Chiroti Rava : 2 Tablespoons.
Ripe Banana : 1 Ripe
Curd /Milk : 1/4 Cup
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoon
Salt : A little
Oil : 1 Cup or little more

Method :

1.Peel off the banana skin and put banana fruit in a big bowl. Add a tablespoon of curd/milk and jaggery.
2. Add salt to it and mix it well. Smash banana nicely and let jaggery mix with banana. ( Powder jaggery before adding).

3. Add wheat flour, chiroti rava and ghee. Mix all the ingredients nicely and prepare Poori dough.

4. Add little more wheat flour if the dough turn sticky. Kneed the dough well.

5. Divide the dough into small portions and turn them as small ball shape.
6. Just apply little oil on each small portion and roll them as small poori shape. (Round Shape).

7. Keep a pan on the fire and add oil. Let it get heated.

8. Fry pooris on hot oil. Fry till they turn slightly golden brown. Fry on both sides.

9. Remove it from hot oil and put them on a kitchen tissue. Banana - Wheat -Rava Sweet Pooris are ready to serve.

10. Serve with coconut chutney or choice of your curry.

Note: 

Add wheat flour if the dough gets sticky or watery. Do not use any water. I have used boiled and cooled milk. Adding milk to prepare the dough is optional. Add milk little by little so that you can prepare thick dough very easily. Adding jaggery more /less is optional. Powdering jaggery before adding helps jaggery to mix with curd easily. Adding curd helps the dough to be soft. Adding ghee helps the poori to be crispy.
Time : 20 Minutes.
Serves : 25 to 30 Pooris can be prepared . (According to size).

Snake Gourd & Sweet Potato Sweet Curry

Snake Gourd & Sweet Potato curry is a gravy dish and it is one of the traditional dish of Udupi. It is slightly sweet so it is called sweet curry and serving in the beginning of the lunch.
I have used Snake gourd, sweet potato, fresh coconut and red chilly for spice.
It is very easy and yummy curry and goes well with almost all the main dish.

Let us see some benefits of having " Ghee " in our diet.
Ghee helps to boost energy and reduce inflammation in the joints. It helps to reduce  allergy and protect us from chronic disease. It helps in our eye health and strengthen our immune system. Ghee is rich source of good fatty acids and it is useful for the body. It is good for athletes or any other people to be active. It provides high energy. It has good amount of anti oxidant properties and helps in reducing the stress in the body. Ghee has good amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Vitamin D properties. Ghee contain monounsaturated  fats/Omega -3 and some fatty acids and they are good for positive health benefits to the body.
No Onion or No Garlic added in this Snake Gourd and Sweet Potato Sweet Curry.

It is called as sweet curry because little more quantity of jaggery is added than ususal to the curry and not much of spice except the red chilly which is used in seasoning.

Let us see the recipe Now :

Things Needed : 

To Cook 
Snake Gourd/Padavala Kai : 1 Bowl ( One small snake gourd)
Sweet Potato : 1 (medium size)
To Add :
Jaggery : 1 Tablespoons
Salt : As required
To Grind :
Fresh grated coconut : 1 Cup
Soaked Raw rice : 1 Teaspoon
To Season 
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Red chilly : 2
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6

Method :

1. Wash and cut snake gourd into small pieces
2. Wash and remove the outer layer of sweet potato and wash it again. Cut into small pieces.
3. Cook snake gourd pieces and sweet potatoes with little water till soft.
4. Soak raw rice for 5 minutes.
5. Grate coconut and grind it with soaked raw rice using required water. Remove from the mixi jar.
6. Keep a big pan on the fire and add cooked vegetalbes. ( Snake gourd and sweet potato pieces ).
7. Add salt and let it boil for a minute. Add ground coconut and mix it well.
8. Add jaggery and required salt. Mix it well. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Shift the " Snake Gourd & Sweet Potato Sweet Curry to a serving dish.
10. Add ghee fried mustard seeds, red chilly and curry leaves seasoning  to the curry and serve.

Note : 

Do not over cook the vegetables. Adding more /less jaggery is optional. Adding cashew nuts instead of soaked raw rice is optional.( 4 to 5 pods). Use of ghee is optional. The curry should be mild and not spicy.
You can also try this sweet curry with watermelon rind, ridge gourd, chayote squash/seeme badane, bottle gourd and carrots.
Time : 20 Minutes
Serves : 3 to 4 
Traditional South Indian Dish.

Ash Gourd Dry Curry

Ash Gourd/white pumpkin is one of the healthy vegetable and loaded with nutrients.  Ash Gourd  stays for a long duration. It is liked by many people. I have used Ash Gourd for dry curry and it is one of the traditional dish of South Canara.

I have used Ash gourd, red chilly and some coconut. This dry curry goes well with almost all the main dishes.
Let us see some benefits of eating Ash Gourd in our diet.
Ash gourd is rich in vitamins and minerals like, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, phosphorus and it is low in carbohydrates. Ash gourd is good for diabetic people. It is good for people who suffer from constipation. Ash gourd helps to stabilize nerve cells. It is low in calories. It helps to flushing out toxins from our body. It is good for reducing inflammation. Ash gourd is good for treating peptic ulcer, nose bleeding and intestinal worms and cough and cold.

Traditional - Udupi Style - No Onion or No Garlic Dry Curry

Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

To Cook :
Ash Gourd : 1/4 Kg.

To Dry Grind :
Coconut ( Fresh ) : 1 Cup ( 2 to 3 Tablespoon full).
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Tamarind : 1 small marble size
Ingh/Asafoetida : A pinch
Red chilly : 2 to 3 ( Byadagi chilly).

For Seasoning :
Coconut ool /Any cooking oil : 1 Tablespoon
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Urid dal : 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry leaves : 5 to 6

To Add
Salt : As required
Turmeric powder : A pinch
Jaggery : 1/2 Teaspoon (Optional)
Coriander Leaves : 1 Tablespoon

Method :

1. Wash and remove the outer layer of Ash gourd and wash it again.
2. Remove the inner pulp and seeds and cut the vegetable into small pieces.

3. Keep a pan on the fire and add oil. Add mustard seeds and urid dal.
4. Let mustard seeds splutter. Add curry leaves and cut Ash gourd pieces.
5. Mix it well and fry nicely on lower flame for a minute.
6. Add 1/2 glass of water,turmeric powder and cook on medium flame.

7. Grate coconut and dry grind it with mustard seeds (1/2 Teaspoon), tamarind and red chilly.
8. Remove it from the mixi jar and keep it aside.

9. Check Ash gourd pieces are cooked well (soft but not over cooked).
10. Add salt and very little jaggery. (1/2 Teaspoon). See that water content is completely disappear.

11. Add ground coconut mixture. Stir it and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in between.

12. Shift Ash gourd dry curry to a serving bowl. Add cut coriander leaves and serve with choice of your main dish.

Note :

Use of any oil is optional. Fresh coconut adds to the taste. Adding onions and garlic is optional. ( We do not add). Use of more /less chilly is optional. Adding jaggery is optional.
Time : 20 Minutes.
Serves  : 2 to 3.

JAGGERY NUTS BURFI

Jaggery nuts barfis are very nice to have them. It takes us to our childhood days where we used to buy some gol gol (round) jaggery balls and chewing it for a long time. What a fun and relish.

I have used Almond flakes generously. It adds to the rich taste. I got this Almond Flakes from Veena/Krishnaveni Beedarahalli (Vidya's sister). She stays in U.S. and in her recent visit she brought these Almond Flakes and some chocolates too.
I have used Almond flakes, jaggery, raisins and Almonds. There is no coconut in this burfi.
Lets see some benefits of eating nuts in our diet.
Nuts in general provide energy. protein and good amount of anti oxidants. They do contain vitamins and minerals and Omega -3 fatty acids. It contain unsaturated fats and helps to lower the cholesterol levels. It is full of fiber and helps to prevent type 2 diabetes. Nuts are rich with Vitamin E and it helps to stop the plaques in our arteries. Nuts are good plant protein content. They are filled with minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium, phosphorus. They help in by providing energy and strengthen our immune system.
Lets see the recipe now.

Things Needed :

Jaggery : 1 Cup
Wheat flour : 1 Cup
Raisins : 2 Tablespoons
Almond flakes : 1 Cup
Ghee : 2 Teaspoons

Method : 

1. Keep a pan on the fire and put wheat flour and dry roast till the raw smell disappear.

2. Remove the roasted flour to a dry plate.
3. Put jaggery in the pan. Add  2 Tablespoons of water and let it melt nicely.
4. Keep stirring. Jaggery starts to buble. Stir for 2 more minutes. ( On Low flame ).

5. Add raisins  and wheat flour slowly. Stir it well so that it mixes with jaggey nicely.

6. Keep stir till it starts to thicken and leaves the sides. Apply ghee to a plate and keep aside.
7. Add 1/2 cup of Almond flakes and mix it well. Add ghee and mix it.

8. Shift the ready jaggery mixture to the plate and spread it evenly. Spread the remaining Almond flakes and press it with spatula. Let it stick to the burfi.

9. Let it cool. Cut them according to your wish. It takes longer time to get it thick.
10. Remove the burfi (piece of nuts and jaggery) and put it in a steel box.

11. At First jaggey nuts burfi is chewy and then it turns hard once it is cooled.
12. Eat /serve according to your wish.

Note :

The burfi texture in the beginning is chewy. Later it turns hard. I have used organic jaggey. Do the whole process on low flame. Adding badam/almond taste nice. You can add ground nuts instead of badam/Almonds. Taste differ. No need to add more ghee.If you do not have Almond flakes just dry grind almonds for 1 minute and sprinkle the powder on the top of burfi, which adds to the taste of burfi.
Time : 20 Minutes
Serves : 10 to 15 pieces. (According to your wish. Small /big size).