Microwaved Masala Peanuts

For this week's Blog hop Wednesday by Radhika, I was paired with Prathima . She has a wonderful blog with so many tempting dishes but this simple recipe caught my attention.This was something that I had always wanted to try but  kept on postponing. The recipe sounded perfect so I finally tried the microwave version of masala peanuts.Now I repent for not trying this out earlier, as this was such a delight to have and I have made this five times already after my first try. So instead of  going for the deep fried version, try this option for the same taste sans the calories. Thank you Prats for this awesome snack made in minutes.
Recipe Source: Prats Corner
Ingredients :
1 cup plain unsalted  raw peanuts
2-3 tbsp gram flour (Chickpea flour)
2-3 tsp rice flour (for crispness)
1/2 to 1 tsp chilli powder
a pinch of hing powder (asafoetida)
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Method :
Mix together all the dry ingredients .Add the oil to this and mix well. Add water and mix well ( I added a little more than 1/4 cup as I wanted an even smooth coating on my nuts). Transfer the peanuts onto a microwave safe bowl (flat and wide). Spread them so that they do not stick to each other. Cook on HIGH for 2 mins. Remove, break lumps  if any and stir the peanuts and place back in microwave and repeat this process in 1 minute increments until done.
The time in the microwave will depend on the power of the microwave,  and the amount of water added. It took me approximately about 10 minutes.
Sending this over to Blog Hop Wednesday and Diwali Special-Sweets and Savories by Radhika

Sesame Balls / Ellunda

This recipe is originally from my mom. She used to make the Ellundas as a means of compensating for any deficiency of iron in our diets; and used to make them ever so frequent. So growing up, I used to regard these as more of a dietary supplement rather than as the snack that these really are. I began appreciating these more only after I grew up; even though as a mother myself, I don't make these anywhere as frequently as my mom used to.Both Jai and Aishwarya loves it whenever I am inclined to make this :-)
Ingredients
Black sesame seeds - 500g
Flattened rice - 300g
Jaggery - 250g
Coconut (grated) - 1 cup
Cardamom - 10
Water - 1/2 cup

Method
Dry-roast sesame seeds and  flattened rice separately. When  flattened rice is cold enough, powder it  to a fine powder . Now powder the sesame but it should be powdered only coarsely. Melt the jaggery in water. Seive it and add coconut to this and cook till coconut dries up.Keep this aside. Add powdered cardamom to this . Mix together all the ingredients and make into little balls.

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Divya

Old Fashioned Baked Apples in Microwave

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Though it is healthy eating apples every day, during those chilly winter days you may not feel like biting into any of the cold fruits. This is one recipe that lets you have the goodness of apples in a wholesome and appetizing meal even on those cold winter days.

If you are in a hurry and yet want the great taste of oven baked apples, along with that wonderful aroma, all in a fraction of the time you should try this recipe.
Recipe source:ILoveInns
Ingredients:
1 medium apple per person
1 tbs brown sugar per apple
1/2 tbs butter per apple
Cinnamon powder to taste
Method:
Using a melon baller, scoop out stem, core and seeds of apples leaving bottom intact. Using sharp knife, slice a thin waist around each apple. Arrange apples in microwaving pan. Fill each apple with 1 tbs brown sugar, top with 1/2 tbs butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover apples with kitchen towel . Microwave on high until tender. Let stand covered for 3 minutes before serving. Serve with some home made granola to make this a complete meal.
Microwave timing for different quantities of apples

 6 apples for 10 – 14 minutes

 4 apples for 6 – 10 minutes

 2 apples for 3 – 5 minutes
 1 apple for 2 – 3 minutes
Sending this over to ABC Series A for Apple at Ramya's Recipe

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Stuffed Artichoke Indian Style

Today Jay was in a mood to experiment. So he asked me to take my day off from kitchen and that he would make something different. He went out and came back with the artichokes and while I  enjoyed my Sunday, reading a book, he came up with a delicious artichoke bake. When I asked him how he did it (I know he was checking through many recipes on the internet), he said that he has combined many of what was there on the net and he would rather blog his recipe on my blog !!  Thus it saved me the job of posting a new recipe on Sugar'n Spice as well. Thanks to him I had a totally relaxed Sunday!

Ingredients:
4 large artichokes
4 button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup soy-granules , Morningstar meal starters
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion; diced
4 cloves garlic; minced
2 teaspoonLemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 tablespoonsfresh parsley; minced
1 1/2 cupsbreadcrumbs; (fresh and soft)
1/2 cupParmesan cheese; grated
1/4 cup Mozzarella optional
For drizzling:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt

Method:
Trim the stem off the bottom so artichokes can stand flat. Peel off the bottom leaves (the hardest ones).Place artichoke on its side and cut off the top inch or so to remove top thorns. With scissors, snip thorny tips from remaining leaves. With a spoon, scoop out the choke (the fuzzy part) in the center of the artichokes. Cut one lemon in half and squeeze into a large bowl of cold water. Put the cut artichokes in this water so that the lemon water coats the cut portions. This is to avoid discoloration. Steam the artichokes and cook for about 30-45 minutes, until the leaves pull away easily. Once done, drain out any water onto a towel, keeping the artichokes upside down.
While the artichokes are being steamed, prepare the stuffing.
Saute garlic and onion in butter till they turn translucent. Add the curry powder and saute for another minute. Add mushrooms and the soy-granules and saute again. Now add all the remaining herbs  and salt to this and when it is almost dry add the bread-crumbs and Parmesan cheese to this.
Combine the olive oil with the seasonings (for drizzling). Now drizzle half of this oil over the artichokes. Stuff the artichokes in the center as well as in between the leaves gently with the stuffing prepared. If you prefer you may put some mozzarella cheese over the stuffed artichokes. Now drizzle the artichokes with the remaining oil and bake at 350 degree F for 20 minutes till it is heated through.

Paniyaram

For this week's Blog hop Wednesday by Radhika, I was paired with Monika. She has a wonderful food blog with so many tempting dishes.But this being the week after Onam, I wanted to try something simple and not been blogged by me yet. My search ended at this simple yet scrumptious snack/breakfast dish.
Recipe Source:Sin A Mon
Ingredients:
Idly batter-2 cups
Salt to taste
Ginger green chili paste-2 tsp
Onion chopped-1 medium
Curry leaves a handful
Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped
Method:
Mix all the ingredients into the Idli batter  and mix well .Check for salt /seasonings.Take an unniappam chatti (or an aebleskiver pan) . Grease the molds with ghee or vegetable oil.Spoon  the batter into the greased molds till 3/4 full. Cover and cook till golden brown on low to medium heat.Flip slowly with a flat teaspoon  or skewer and cook on the other side.Serve hot with chutney,sambar or ketchup
Sending this over to Blog Hop Wednesday

Masala Biscuits

This is a spicy cookie that is common in bakeries in India. My mom used to bake this when we were small. This is an easy recipe to put together, taking only a few minutes to make. And one of the added attractions is that it is egg-less. You may increase or decrease the spice level for these cookies to your taste.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour-300 gms
Shortening-150gms
Sugar-20 gms
Salt-10gms
Baking powder-1 1/2tsp
Green chillies ---}
Curry leaves----}               
Ginger ---------}
Cilantro -------} 20 gm , altogether
Yogurt-2 to 3 tsp
Sesame-2tsp

Method:
Sieve the all purpose flour twice with baking powder and salt. Rub this mixture with shortening and sugar. Add the green chilli and herb mixture to this along with the yogurt and sesame. Knead it to a soft dough. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 mts.

Carrot 'N Vermecilli Kheer/Payasam

Wishing all my Malayalee friends around the globe a Very Very Happy ONAM!!!
This is a healthier version of the traditional semiya payasam that lets you indulge in your sweet delicacy and yet have your share of veggies. Aishwarya, my little bunny, loves anything made with carrots. One of her favorites is the carrot cream. But this is the Onam season I thought of mixing the carrot cream and the traditional Semiya (vermicelli) payasam recipes and came up with this one. As per my tasters, this is the best of both!

Ingredients:
Carrot diced-1cups
Carrot grated-1/4 cup
Semiya /Vermecilli -1/2 cup
Whole Milk-41/2cups
Sugar-3/4 cup or as required
Condensed milk-1/2 cup
Ghee -1tbs
Cardamom- 2tsp
Cashew-2 tbs

Method:
Roast the semiya with 1/2tbs of ghee in a heavy bottom vessel till they turn golden.Add 4 cups of milk and sugar to this and cook the semiya till done.Meanwhile pressure cook carrots with half a cup of milk  till well done. Now Puree the carrots in a blender and add this to the cooked semiya along with the condensed milk. Remove when the payasam  consistency  is  that of a smoothie .Add cardamom powder.Roast the nuts and grated carrots using the remaining ghee . Garnish the payasam with this and serve.

Kerala Kitchen - Aug 2011 Event Round-up

Thank you all for sending in your wonderful recipes for the Aug 2011 Event of the Kerala Kitchen. We had a total of 25 entries and it was a difficult task for me to choose the winners for different categories. To me all of you are winners, yet for the sake of adhering to the tradition of the Kerala Kitchen Event, I have chosen the winners for the categories specified. Hope you all enjoyed participating in the event as I had in conducting it. Keep up the good work!

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe send in this Mathanga Vanpayar Erisseri




 
 Ramya of Ramya's Recipe send in this Yam Fries





Shoba Shyam of Good Food send in this Coconut rice





Ramya of Ramya's Recipe send in this Koottu Curry





 Ramya of Ramya's Recipe send in Egg Kothu Porotta





Ramya of Ramya's Recipe send in Fish Biriyani





Umm Mymoonah ofTaste of Pearl City send in Neythili Meen Aviyal





Rinku Naveen of Rinku's Kitchen Treat send in Kallumakkaya Upperi





Reshmi Mahesh of Easy Cook send in this Collard Green Stir fry





Reshmi Mahesh of Easy Cook also send in this Kerala Puttu





Kaveri of Palakkad Chamayal send in this Chammanthi Podi





Karishma J Anand of Effortless cooking, Easy baking send in this Multigrain power-packed dosa





Nashira of Plateful send in these Chicken puffs





Najla of Foodie Corner send in this Layered Moss Pudding





Kaveri of palakkad Chamayal send in this Mangai Kootan



Indu of Indugetscooking send in this Kottayam Style Red Fish Curry



Najla of Foodie Corner send in this Spring Roll



Sobha Shyam of Good Food send in this Savoury Kozhukattai



Sobha Shyam of Good Food send in this Vegetable Kurma



Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor send in this Stir-Fry Tapioca with saffron



Roshan of Roshan's Cucina send in Pazham-Puttu



Divya of Easycooking send in this Neichoru ~ Ghee Rice



Smitha Mohanan of Food my companion send in this Fried dried fish



Lastly my dish Kaya Bhaji


Now, the WINNERS ARE:
For the month of August is Umm Mymoonah ofTaste of Pearl City's Neythili Meen Aviyal


For the month of August is Nashira of Plateful 's Chicken puffs




For the month of August is Ramya of Ramya's Recipe


Congratulations to all the winners and all the wonderful participants of  this event! Thank you all for the participation

Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Frosting

Today was Jai's Birthday and as this month we had so many celebrations Jai told me not to bother making a birthday cake for him. But since I thought it wouldn't be nice on my part to "ignore" his birthday, I thought of making this brownie with chocolate frosting instead, as he likes brownies very much.  This is an easy to make one and I would recommend any of you who has not yet tried making a brownie with frosting to try this. This frosting is a really good one and I am sure would go well with the cakes too. I sure am planning to try this out on a cake soon.

For the Brownie make 1 quantity of this in a round cake pan
Frosting:  Source:Hershey
6 tablespoons butter, softened
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
2  tablespoons milk
Method
Beat the butter, cocoa, corn syrup, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and the  milk, and beat well. Add more  milk if needed  until a spreading consistency is attained. Frost the cooled brownie with an offset spatula.