Recipe world

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Sometime back, I was planning to buy Flax seeds just to experiment it in egg-less baking. But I couldn't find it in any shops nearby. So, we bought it from a shop in our native during last visit. For our surprise, it was available in so many shops there! Its popularly known as 'Agase Beeja' in Kannada. Flax seeds are a good source of Omega - 3 Fatty Acids. So, vegetarians can rely on Flax seeds to get Omega - 3 Fatty Acids, which is not available from vegetarian food. Also, I heard that Flax seeds help to control cholesterol levels in our body.

Due to its health benefits, we have started using flax seeds as a part of our daily food. Flax seeds, when roasted, will give a nice aroma. I tried adding salt and spice to the roasted flax seeds while preparing the powder. It tasted really good with rice. We also tried adding little curd to flax seeds powder which tasted very good with chapathi.

Here is the recipe of Flax Seeds Powder which I prepared..

Preparation Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

Flax seeds - 3/4 cup

Dry red chillies 1 - 2 (adjust according to taste)

Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves

Salt to taste

Method:

Take a heavy bottom pan. Combine flax seeds, red chillies and garlic cloves and roast them on medium flame.

Keep mixing them occasionally. Roast them till you hear the crackling sound of flax seeds.

Once it gets cool down, add salt to taste and make a fine powder out of it.

Store this powder in an air tight container and use it as needed.

These days, its the routine at our home to have a spoonful of Flax Seeds Powder with a small portion of rice as a part of lunch as well as dinner. If you are a Roti fan, you can mix 1 tsp of Flax Seeds Powder with little curd and it tastes good with roti or chapathi.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

These days, we are trying to follow healthy food habits as a part of which hubby wants me to use leafy vegetables in cooking at-least 3 - 4 days a week. Normally, he will bring fresh leafy veggies from a vegetable shop nearby. Other vegetables will not be so good, but varieties of leafy vegetables are available very fresh there. If we go in the evening time, shop keeper will be busy arranging the fresh leafy vegetables on the racks. Hubby prefers using spinach in our food regularly since its very rich in iron.

These days, I really got bored with spinach palya and currys due to regular usage. So, thought of trying some new recipes using spinach. This recipe is from an old Kannada magazine which I noted down long back. Already I have tried this Roti quite a few times at home and it was a success! So, here is the recipe for you :)

Other than spinach, fenugreek as well as dill leaves will also go well for this recipe.

Preparation time: 30 - 35 minutes

Time for the dough to set: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 Rotis

Ingredients:

Spinach (Palak), fenugreek or dill leaves - 1 1/2 bunch

Wheat flour - 2 cups

Rice flour - 1/2 cup

Gram (Besan) flour - 1 cup

Baking powder - a pinch

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Ginger green chilli paste - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Cooking oil

Method:

Clean the spinach and chop it finely.

Combine all the flours, baking powder and turmeric powder in a miking bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil and mix it nicely.
Add chopped spinach, ginger- garlic paste and salt to taste and mix it well. Add water little by little and prepare thick, non sticky dough.
Keep the batter closed with a lid and allow to set for half an hour.
Make lemon size balls from the dough and roll them into thin circles. You can use some wheat flour while rolling the Rotis.
Cook the Roti on hot tawa by applying oil on both the sides.
Serve hot Rotis with your kind of side dish!
This Roti will remain smooth after cooling. So, you can plan it for the lunch box as well!

Sending this over to:

Love Lock Series - Breads event hosted by Divya @ Divya's Culinary Journey which was started by Vidhya of Sweet Karam Kapi.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Ash gourd is one of the main and very common vegetables of Indian cuisine. During old days, pure vegetarian people were not supposed to eat ash gourd and it was strictly prohibited. These days, everybody is using this veggie, but even now, some people won't prefer this veggie to enter into the home from the front door; just they will take it in from the back door of the house! I really don't know the reason behind it, but if you see the nutrition facts of ash gourd, I'm sure you will fell in love with this veggie :) Ash gourd is a good source of calcium, carbohydrate, protein and iron, which are very essential for our body.

Ash Gourd ('Kumbalakayi' in Kannada) tastes very good when used in different varieties of curries. Here is a yogurt based curry using ash gourd which tastes very good with rice. Other than ash gourd, you can also use Seeme Badane (Chayote Squash), Egg plant or cucumber for this Majjige Huli.

Preparation time: 20 - 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Ash gourd - 1/2 kg

Grated coconut - 1 1/4 cup

Chana dal (soaked in water for 1/2 hour) - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 (adjust according to taste)

Chopped coriander leaves - 3 tsp

Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Sour curd (Buttermilk) - 1 to 1 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

For seasoning: oil - 2 tsp, mustard seeds - 1 tsp, curry leaves - 1 strand

Method:

Peel the ash gourd and remove the seeds portion. Cut the veggie into medium size cubes and cook with enough water and salt to taste till smooth.

Grind grated coconut, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, turmeric and soaked chana dal into fine paste. Add water if required.

Add this paste to cooked ash gourd and allow to boil for 3 - 4 minutes and switch off the flame.

Heat oil in a small wok. Add mustard seeds and roast till it splutters. Then add the curry leaves, saute for a while and switch off the flame. Add this seasoning to boiled Majjige Huli.

Add buttermilk to Majjige Huli when its still warm. Serve this Majjige Huli with hot rice.

Tips:

If you want to retain this Majjige Huli for night dinner or for next day, take out a portion of Majjige Huli and keep separately before adding the buttermilk. Heat the majjige huli before serving and mix with buttermilk.
Veggies like Seeme Badane (Chayote Squash), Egg plant and cucumber will also go well for this recipe.
I have added the soaked chana dal just to make the curry thicker. You can replace chana dal with Putani (split dalia) also.

Sending this over to 'Spotlight: Curries/Gravies', ongoing event @ Cuisine Delights, which was originally started by Indrani of Recipe Junction.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Here is one more variety of juice or cool drink for the for the summer! I love to have this Jaggery cool drink regularly due to health benefits of jaggery. As all of us know, jaggery is a very good source of iron. So, it helps to increase hemoglobin count in our blood. People suffering from acidity and digestion problems can surely rely on the usage of jaggery as a home remedy. People with digestion problems can have one glass of water mixed with 1 tsp of jaggery everyday half an hour before lunch and dinner for better results.

So, here is the healthy juice recipe for you friends! Try this easy and tasty Jaggery Juice at your home for a healthy living!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Cold water - 2 glass full

Jaggery - 4 tsp (adjust according to sweetness)

Lime squeeze - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - one pinch

Ice cubes - optional

Method:

Add enough jaggery to water and mix it well.

Then add lime squeeze and pepper powder to enhance the taste.

Check the taste and add jaggery or lime squeeze, if needed.

Transfer the juice to serving glasses. Add ice cubes if you would like to.

Enjoy the healthy and tasty Jaggery drink with your family :)

Linking it to the event 'Bon Vivant #6 - Sunny Refreshing Drinks' @ Sumee's Culinary Bites

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Here is a famous sweet dish from my native. Its very royal to prepare Rice Kesaribath in marriages and other functions in our region. 'Kesari' means saffron in Kannada. Kesari or saffron is the key ingredient in this dish, hence the name Kesaribath. Its bit difficult to prepare this sweet in large quantities unless you are an expert, but anybody can prepare it easily in small quantities!

I have enjoyed Rice Kesaribath quite a few times at my sister and sister in law's place, but never thought of preparing my own. But recently, the time has arrived to prepare this sweet dish at my house. I had all the necessary ingredients with me, and hubby was asking me why not to try Kesaribath at our home. Also, mom was there with me, who has got expertise in preparing Kesaribath. I prepared it under the guidance of mom and Kesaribath was a big hit!

For preparing Kesaribath, we have used a variety of rice called Jeera Rice (Sannakki). Experts say that Jeera Rice is perfect for this sweet dish. If you won't get jeera rice, you can use basmati rice.
Today is the first anniversary of my little place. Wish me Happy Anniversary to my blog baby with this sweet recipe :) And thanks to all of you for your love and encouragement!

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Servings: 5 - 6

Ingredients:

Jeera rice (or basmati rice) - 250 gm

Saffron strands - 3/4 gm

Sugar - 375 gm

Pure ghee - 250 gm (can use little less also)

Cloves - 2

Milk 5 - 6 tsp

Lime juice - 4 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Cashews - 10

Raisins 25 - 30

Method:

Cook the rice with enough water and 1 tsp of ghee. Cooking the rice rightly is very important here. All the grains should be cooked nicely, and at the same time, rice should not be sticky. So, be careful.

If any water is remaining in the cooked rice, drain it fully and spread the cooked rice on a wide plate for 5 minutes to cool.

Bring the milk to boil and switch off the flame. Soak the saffron strands in the hot milk for 10 minutes.

Take the cloves and make a fine powder. Cut the cashews into medium size pieces.

Combine the salt the with lime juice to dissolve and keep it ready.

Take a wide vessel preferably with heavy bottom. Combine rice with sugar and ghee. Keep mixing it on slightly high flame.

Once it starts boiling, add milk with saffron strands, salt and lime juice mixture. Keep sauting the mixture to avoid burning.

Once the mixture starts absorbing the ghee, bring the flame to medium.

Add powdered cloves and raisins and mix it well.

Within few minutes, you can see the mixture starts oozing the ghee. Switch off the flame immediately and add the cashew pieces.

Close the vessel with a lid and allow to set for 10 minutes.

Delicious Kesaribath is ready to serve now! This tastes very good when its still hot.

Tips:

Don't try to replace saffron with turmeric or any other artificial color. Saffron is one of the key ingredients for this sweet dish and it will add a nice flavor to Kesaribath.
For good results, use fresh and pure ghee for this recipe.
Its very important to saute the Kesaribath mixture till it comes to boil. If done on low flame, mixture will become sticky.