MIXED VEGETABLE KORMA

This vegetable korma can be had as side dish to vegetable biryani, with dosa, vada, and even with plain rice...it is easy to make and has all the goodness of vegetables in it liked by kids and adults too..

Ingredients
1. Potatoes 3 to 4 of medium size
2. Carrot  2 to 3 in number
3.  Peas a half a cup
4. Ginger garlic paste 1.5 tsp
5. Onions 2 to 3
6. Tomato 2
7. Green chillies 2
8. Turmeric a pinch
9. Red chilli powder 1.5 to 2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Whole garam masala spices- clove, cinammon, cardamom--- all a few
12. Curry leaves
13. Coriander leaves
14. Curd 3/4 cup
15. Milk 1/2 cup
16. Oil/ghee
17. Cashew nuts
18. Water 1.5 cup
19. Besan 2 tsp

Masala paste
1. Coconut 1/2 cup
2. Coriander a few seeds
3. Garam masala powder

Grind the three ingredients using some water and your masala is ready to be used..it can be used in egg curry, chicken curry also and it looks like above

Method
This curry can be made in cooker or in a pan as you wish...i do it in cooker to save time ..so do it as you wish..it as follows
1. Take oil/ghee or both in a cooker/pan and heat it..add cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom and fry..now add curry leaves...few cashew nuts an d fry.
2. Now add onions, green chillies, tomato, and mix well...add ginger garlic paste and fry well..add cut vegetables..potato, carrot, peas, and even cauliflower if you like..and add salt, turmeric..and mix well..add 1.5 cups of water...add chilli powder(if you want spicy add accordingly) and mix well.  Now close the lid of cooker if cooking in cooker or cover the lid if ordinary pan for 10 minutes or until vegetables cooked softly.

3. After 4 whistles or in a pan check the vegetables if cooked.  Now to the masala paste...add curd and 2 tsps of besan and mix well..add this to the vegetables and mix well...cook for 5 minutes and at the end add milk and cook for another 5 minutes and check the salt and spiciness and adjust accordingly.
4.  Garnish with coriander leaves and the vegetable korma is ready to be served...


















This goes to veggie/fruit a month potato event,

VENN PONGAL MADE EASY

Venn pongal is ideal for prasadam or as a one pot meal ..easy to make and tasty..can be had with coconut chutney, lime pickle, avakai, or sambar......i normally do this in cooker.which makes the task easier
Ingredients

1. Rice/rice ravva 1 cup
2. Moong dal 3/4 cup
3. Ghee/oil 1.5 to 2 tablespoons
4. Green chillies 3
5. Ginger few pieces
6. Cashew nuts a few
7.  Pepper corns (crushed) 10
8. Jeera 1 tsp
9. curry leaves a few
10. Hing a pinch
11. Salt to taste
12. Water 5 cups
13. Mustard seeds

Method
1. Wash rice/rice ravva if available and moong dal drain water and take in a pressure pan both and add 5 cups of water(needs more water as it we have to get a soft consistency)..do not add salt now itself as dal may not get cooked easily...add 1tsp ghee to the rice and dal as this will prevent dal from overflowing...keep the whistle on and in simmer let it cook for 20 minutes..if in high flame the dal will overflow...so take care to cook it in low flame.
2. After 20 minutes..switch off..let the cooker cool and open the lid and mix the rice and dal mixture well with back of spatula so that no lumps are formed...add salt..now.
3. Take ghee/oil in a pan add mustard seeds, jeera, ginger and chillies(crush together), pepper corns, and curry leaves, cashew nuts and hing. and fry well and add in the rice and dal mixture...and mix well.  Alternatively, you can also do the tempering first in the pressure pan first i.e the 3rd step and then do the first step i.e. adding rice and dal and mix...according to one's wish...anyways it will turn out soft and tasty as it is cooked in cooker..after it it is finished transfer to hot box..so it can be had piping hot...

SWEET PONGAL MADE EASY

Sweet pongal is the neivadyam for pongal festival all over south india.  After all these years of making it finally came up on a easy method which can be made by even by a beginner..it goes like this...

Ingredients:
 1. Rice 3/4 cup
2. Moong dal 1/4 cup
3. Milk 2 cups
4. Water 1 cup
5. Jaggery 2 cups
6. Cashew nuts a few
7. Kismiss a few
8. cardamom powder  
9. Ghee two tablespoons

Method
1. This pongal is made in cooker to make it fast and soft..so first take a pressure cooker and boil the 2 cups of milk and water together for 5-8 minutes..now add the rice and moongdal in the cooker  and close the lid and put on the whistle and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. As the moongdal has the tendency to overflow we should cook in low flame for about 15 minutes.and wsitch off.now open the lid and the mash the rice and dal mixture well with back of a spatula.
3,  Now switch on the stove and add the cut jaggery to the rice and dal mixture...jaggery melts and mix well with rice ..this takes about 8-10 minutes....now add cardomom powder.

4.  Heat ghee and add cashews and kismiss, fry well and add the ghee along with nuts to the rice and jaggery mixture..and mix well and switch off.....and the pongal is ready to be served....the ratios of the ingredients are 1:2:3..ie rice+dal one cup(if u want u can add more moongdal), 2 cups of jaggery(less if u want less sweet), 3 cups(2 cups of milk and 1 cup water)...so easy and quick to make ...and very tasty too.

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY PONGAL