Happy New Year 2008

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Ashoka halwa

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Ashoka halwa or Moong dhall halwa. a very easy and tasty one..at the same time very healthy one too..

Ingredients:

1. Moong dhall/pasi paruppu-1 cup

2.sugar-2 cups

3.Ghee-1 cup

4.wheat flour- 3/4 cup

5.saffron

6.cashews and almonds

7.milk-3 cups

Method:

first pressure cook the dhall with milk for 4 whistles. then allow it to cool down. add sugar to it..and mash it finely and keep it aside.

Soak the saffron in 2 teaspoons of milk.

Have a Wide skillet and heat the ghee..add the wheat flour to it and keep stirring finely. you will notice a color change in it. at that point add the dhall to it and keep stirring. now add the saffron milk to the mixture. now the halwa should come togeather..it should not stick to the kadai..this is the stage to stop the flame. do all this in low flame. now add ghee roasted cashws and grated almonds..

this is a different halwa where the flavour of moond dall pleases you. its name is thiruvayaru ashoka halwa. hope this matches this marghazhi utsav.

easy to make..at the same time an healthy one too..

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kuzha puttu

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this is a kerala tiffin type..also very famous in southern parts of tamil nadu..to make this you need a puttu maker..it can also be steamed in idly cooker..


i usually do this with store bought puttu podi. this is like idiyappam pindi/mavu. this can also be done in ragi and wheat..intresting right..



another intresting factor is you can steam this within minutes..like it would take less than 5 mins.

Ingredients:





1.puttu podi-2cups


2.salt a pinch


3.water


4.grated coconut-1/2 cup





Method:

have flour in a basin and add pinch salt to it. now mix the flour by sprinkling water..keep a note that the flour should be mixed that it should look like grated coconut...very soft. so just keep on sprinkling water and mix.. then on puttu maker first add coconut grated a spoon full. and a fistfull of mixed flour.like one upon the other.till the puttu maker pipe/kuzha gets filled. the bottom of the puttu maker should be filled with water and heated. not place the kuzha upon it. when the steam comes from it..it is ready. now you remove the pipe/kuzha alone and with a spoon press the puttu on the bottom..it will come without any breaks..

you can eat it with sugar,raosted cashews and dry grapes.

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My Picture Gallery

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Biryani Variety

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NUTS

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Cashews and Almonds

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Almondscoco-nut

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for jugalbandi nuts december 2007

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Trial Vada

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have you ever tried urad dal and chana dal vada...it will be off different taste..like both the dalls taste will reflect.

Ingredients:

1. Urad dall-1/4 cup

2.Chana dall-1 cup

3.salt

4.oil to fry

5.red chilli

6.corriander leaves

7.curry leaves

Method:

Soak both the dalls togeather for 1 hour. after that add red chilli,salt and sprinkle some water and grind it well. now add chopped corriander leaves and curry leaves to it and mix it well with the grinded dough. now take a small ball of the dough and fry it heated oil.

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Combo-Tomato Rice&Curd Rice with Vada

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Tomato rice and Curd rice combo will perfectly suit for picnic's, lunch boxes.

it is also very easy to make..along with potato chips or something crispy..it will be fulfilling.


Ingredients for Tomato Rice:

1. Ripe Tomatoes-6

2.Garlic-15 cloves

3.Mustard-1/4 spoon

4.Fenugreek-8 seeds

5.Red chilli-4-5

6.Urad dal-1/2 spoon

7.Chana dal-1/2 spoon

8.Curry leaves-8

9.Corriander leaves-to garnish

10.Oil-10tsp

11.Salt

12.Chilli powder-1 tsp

13.Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Method:

Usually i prepare tomato thokku and mix it with rice instead of pressure cooking the rice with the tomatoes.


Tomato thokku:


First have a kadai and add 10 tsp's of oil and add mustard seeds..after it splutter,add fenugreek,redchilli,urad dal,chana dal. after they are roasted add curry leaves and garlic..roast the garlic.

Now add finely chopped tomatoes. fry them.add salt,turmeric powder and chilli powder to it. fry atleast for 10 minutes till the tomatoes wind up and come..also when oil seperates.

Have the rice spread on a plate and have 2 spoons of oil and spread it and let the rice get cooled. now add the tomato thokku to it and mix well. garnish it with corriander leaves..

it tastes so good..give a try.

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Mysore Pak

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just gave a try to my favourite sweet mysore pak..it came out well...which was a shock for me.

Ingredients:

1. gram flour/besan/maida pindi/kadalai mavu- 1/2 cup
2. sugar-1 cup
3. ghee-1/2 cup

Method:

to make sugar syrup:

first have a thick bottomed vessel and put the sugar on it..add water till the sugar get soaks.. now let it melt and syrup gets formed..the end point is the sugar syrup when dropped on a plate it sould stand like a pearl.

now add the gram flour and ghee simultaneously...also you should keep on stirring...
when it starts putting on bubbles and wind up and come..this is the point to shift to a ghee spread plate. let it cool for 5 minutes...with a ghee applied knife cut it..but dont take it from the plate..after it got set..you can remove and serve..

literally it takes 15 minutes to prepare....but to get set and get cooled it gets nearly 30 minutes..
enjoy it hot..

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Aval Upma

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very simple and easy tiffin item. can be done within 5 minutes of time.

Ingredients:

1. Aval/poha- 1 cup

2. green chilli-1

3.oil

4.mustard

5.onion-1

6.turmeric powder

7.salt

Method:

The aval/poha for this should be of very thin size. wash the aval with water and drain the water. let it remain for 2 minutes atleast. now take oil in kadai, season with mustard,curry leaves,green chilli sliced vertically. now add sliced onion and fry it. add required salt. and a pinch of turmeric powder.now add the wet aval/poha to it and mix it well with the mixture.

you can also add a spoon of lemon juice. garnish it with corriander leaves.

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Mint Rice / Pudina Rice

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Puthina Rice comes to rescue, whenever i need to cook fast and with less human work. Its a Healthy One Pot Meal. Puthina / Mint is Good for Digestion so try preparing this Rice twice in a month. (weekly once is much appreciated). I usually prepare this with fresh Puthina / Mint Leaves bought from  my keera kaara amma. The Fragrance is enough to charge you, when you prepare with fresh leaves.

Here comes the recipe for Healthy Mint Rice.

Ingredients:

1. Mint leaves - 2 cup's  (Remove the leaves from the stem and wash it twice)

2. Green chilli's - 2

3. Garlic - 5 pieces

4. Big Red Onion - 1

5. Sombu / Saunf -1 tbsp

6. Oil / Ghee - 5tbsp's (you can reduce it, if you are oil-conscious)

7. Rice - 2 cups / 160 gms  (I used Par-Boiled Rice)  Soak the Rice for atleast 30 minutes before cooking.

8. Water - 3 and half  cups

Method:

Grind the mint leaves, garlic and one green chilli into a paste with half cup of water.

Now in a Wide bottomed Pressure cooker, Heat Oil / Ghee, add sombu/ saunf, and fry it till it changes into light brown. Add one sliced onion. fry them well. add one green chilli and fry.

Now add the grinded paste and mix well with the onions. when it comes to boil, add Rice and water. add salt to taste and pressure cook it for 2 whistles in high flame and 2 whistles in slow flame. remove from the stove and let it cool.

Stir the Rice slowly when you open the cooker. Serve it with onion raitha.

Iam sending this Puthina Rice to EC for her Paty Food Eevent.

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Combo-Coconut rice&Curd Rice

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Coconut Rice:

When making coconut rice/tomato rice/tamarind rice, spread the hot rice on a plate and leave some oil and mix it. let them cool for few minutes. this process makes the rice seperable from each other.

For Curd Rice:

When preapring it earlier(atleast by 6 hrs earlier). add milk to it when you are preparing.
so that it wont get soured. you can add 1/2 a cup of milk , if you are adding one cup of curd. or the consistency you require.

Ingredients For Coconut Rice:

1.Grated coconut - 5 spoons
2.Rice- 1 cup
3.Green Chilli-1
4.urad dal -1/2 spoon
5.Channa dal -1/2 spoon
6.mustard -1/4 spoon
7.curry leaves -8
8.corriander leaves- to garnish
9.oil -2 spoons
10.salt to taste

Method:

have one cup of boiled rice. now take a kadai and have two spoons of oil. when it is heated add mustard,curry leaves,channa dal, urad dal, green chilli-sliced vertically. when the dal turn golden color, add grated coconut and fry it for one minute, now add required salt. now add rice to the kadai and mix the mixture well with the rice. garnish it with corriander leaves.

serve hot with pappads or vathal.

Curd Rice:

Ingredients:

1.Rice-1 cup
2.Ginger-inch size
3.Green chilli-1
4.mustard seeds-1/4 spoon
5.curry leaves -8
6.Curd-1 cup
7.Milk-1/2 cup
8.salt
9.oil for seasoning

Method:

Heat a pan. add a spoon of oil,heat it and add mustard when it crackle's add curry leaves,ginger and green chillis. no w add with the rice and mix it well with the curd. add salt accordingly.

I Think this would also be great to pack them when we travel. thus it goes for Travel Food Festival an event by easy crafts of http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2008/01/travel-food-festival.html

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Markazhi Utsav

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Here in Tamil Nadu Markazhi month(dec-17th to jan 13th) is a month of music,kolam. In my childhood me and my mom used to wake up by 4.30 in the morning and we put kolams covering half of the road atleast.. i used to color it...There will be un-announced competition between the aunties of neighbouring homes...like whose kolam is big and best. today i welcome markazhi month with a kolam.

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seppankizhanghu poriyal

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Required Items:

1. sena kizhanghu-1/4 kg

2. onion-1

3.turmeric powder-a pinch

4.chilli powder-1 spoon

5.ginger- 5 bits

6. curry leaves

6.oil

7.salt

8. asafoetida

Method:

Heat the oil and do thalippu, add asafoetida powder,curry leaves,ginger,oinion, fry the onions, now add salt,turmeric powder,chilli powder, and and pre-boiled sena kizhanghu to this and simmer the stove untill senai comes out roasted.

this goes well with curd rice,sambhar rice.

courtesy: malathi saravanan

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Dosa with corriander chutney

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Required Items:

1.Corriander leaves of 5 stems atleast
2.Grated coconut 1/2 cup
3.Green chilli- 2
4.Roasted gram-3 tbsp
5.salt as required
6.oil
7.curry leaves
8.mustard seeds
9. water

Method:

Take a pan. fry the corriander leaves and grated coconut without leaving oil for few seconds. now grind fried corriander leaves,grated coconut,roasted gram,green chilli, salt,5 curry leaves by adding little water.now do thalippu with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
iam sure it will tempt you to do again and again. try it out.
this corriander chutney goes well with idly,dosa,vadai, pongal.

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About me

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I am Lavanya. just call me Lavi. I stay in chennai with my hubby & my sweet naughty 5 year old son. My native is Pondicherry, the most beautifull and the smallest compact city. I hail from a Agriculture family. i am a Telugu girl brought up in Tamil Nadu and in Pondicherry. Though we call our self vegetarians, we eat eggs;) so I am a Eggetarian!

How I  Started my blog?

My foray into cooking had started when i was in my college. i love to cook bread upma, idli upma, maggi noodles(customized for my brother) and pizza. My brother loves to eat, whatever i cook for him. so it used to be fun, trying pani puri & different snacks for him when he comes back from school. After marriage, the cooking experience i had before did not help me. slowly i started to learn right from sambhar. i believe a good eater can be a good cook. i am definitely a good eater.

                                                                      

I have been blessed to watch my great grand mother, my avva's cooking and being in my grand mother's kitchen helping her make badam halwa, seedai and eating my mom's delicious food.  

                                                             Badam halwa
        
So when my son born in 2007, i was out of kitchen for 6 months, leaving it to my cook. after 6 months i had to cook. i was craving for ennai kathrikkai kuzhambu, and googled for it, landed on Mahanandi blog, tried the recipe and loved it. later i explored the blog and found many other food blogs, instantly i started one by giving a name " Home Cook Receipes". From then its a wonderful blog journey. i recently got my own domain and now my blog is "Home Cooks Recipe". 


                                                          

                                                                 Kaju sweets
                                                             
Experience in blogging:

The blog was started to share what i knew, slowly i started to learn and try new recipes across states and countries to blog. when i get comments from those who tried and liked my recipe, i feel happy & more responsible. now i am taking much care in writing the recipe and the measurements. Blogging also helped me to come out of my depression, post partum blues. Friends i made with my blog are so kind and they are very much supportive to me. 

                                                        Ennai Kathrikkai Kuzhambu

I developed my interest in food photography and i go mad in trying  to click decent pictures. Blogging have completely changed me in one aspect. i am person with very less interest in shopping. but after starting blogging, i became the exact opposite. my hubby comments like this, "You may cross 7 oceans and go to the corner of the world, if you need any props for your blog". yes its true!  I like myself to get involved here and forget my worries and share good food for you all..

My Favorite Three - Hubby, Son and Sun.

How to contact or to stay in touch: 

You can mail me at lavraj2k4@gmail.com and stay in touch via my Facebook and at Google+ to get the updates. 

I will keep updating this page, as i progress in my blog. Thank you for taking time to read about me.

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