Snake Gourd pulp Tambuli

Snake gourd is a vegetable  which is high water content, low in calories, fat free but filling and great to include in weight loss diets. Snake gourd also contains a lot of firber which can help to keep your digestive tract healthy. The firber is also helpful for those with diabetes. It is also a good source of minerals like magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.
Here I used Snake gourd pulp for Tambuli. Tumbuli is a side dish which keeps our body cool and healthy. Normally tumbuli is prepared with butter milk, fresh coconut and other spices and consumed or served in the beginning of the servings. We can have this tumbuli with rice, chapati, poori or toti too.
Things needed :
Snake gourd Pulp : 1 cup
Fresh coconut: 2 Table spoons
Pepper pods : 2 to 3
Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon
Ghee : 1 Table spoon
Salt : as required
Green chilly : 1
Ingh : a pinch
Curd : 1 Cup
Mustard seeds : 1/4 Tea spoon
Red chilly: 1
Curry leaves : 4 to 5

Method:
1. Scoop out the tender pulp from the Snake gourd and boil or cook in pressure cooker for 6 to 8 minutes using little water, and green chilly and keep it aside to cool.

2. Now keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put ghee. Add jeera and pepper seeds Fry for 10 seconds. Put of the gas.
3. Now grind fresh coconut, fried jeera and pepper and cooked Snake gourd pulp. Use the water from the cooked pulp.
4. Add salt and ingh and grind and mix it well. Now remove the ground mixture from the jar and pour it to the  bowl.
5. Add curd and mix it thoroughly.
6. Now once again keep a pan on the fire. Add the remaining ghee. Put mustard seeds and red chilly. Let the mustard seeds spurt. Add curry leaves and put this spurt mixture to the ready tumbuli and serve with rice or chapati.

Note : You can fry snake gourd pulp while frying pepper and jeera. Fry until it gets tender. Cooking the pulp is good for health. You can also use butter milk instead of curd. Using butter milk is a healthy way but adding curd to the tumbuli taste best. Use less water while boiling.
Time : 15 minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3

Raagi - Nendra Bale Halva

Ragi ( Millet ) - Nendra Bale Halva 
Halva is a sweet dish prepared using Raagi/Finger Millet and jaggery. It is one of the healthy sweet that you can enjoy at any time of the day.

Nendra bale/Nendra banana is one of the healthy banana and mostly used in South India especially in South Canara and Kerala. Nendra banana is loaded with healthy properties and in Kerala it is one of the staple food. Even for breakfast they cook and eat this banana. It is full of nutrients.
We normally use this banana for making halva and podis or even just roast it on tava and eat.
Let us see the recipe of Raagi -Nendra Bale Halva. Nendra bale should be well ripen to make halva.

Things Needed : 

Raagi : 2 Cups
Nendra Bale Hannu : 1
Jaggery :  3/4 Cup
Ghee : 1/2 Cup
Coconut : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Cardamom : 5 to 6 pods
Water : 1  cup.

Method :

1. Roast Raagi flour for 2 to 3 minutes and put it in a bowl.
2. Keep jaggery on the fire and put little water and heat. Let it turn into liquid. Now take a stainer and staine jaggery liquid into a bowl.
3. Powder cardamom and keep it aside. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
4. Smash Nendra Bale and put it with raagi flour and add cleaned jaggery. Add grated coconut.
5. Keep a pan on the fire and put the raagi mixture in the pan and start stirring. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee.
6. Stir this mixture util it starts leaving the frying pan. Stir for another 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Now add remaining ghee, cardamom powder and mix it nicely and pour it to the tray.
8. Cut Raagi -Nendra bale halva according to your wish when it is slightly cool.

Note : 

You must stir the mixture continuously so that it does not get burnt. You can add more ghee if you wish. Add water when you are preparing jaggery syrup. Coconut can be  roasted and then added.  You can grind coconut with little water and then add.
Time : 20 minutes.
2 to 25 pieces can be made.