Beetroot Thoran- A side dish with Beetroot and grated coconut

I remember when I was a child, I used to hate all sorts of veggies and to make me eat my food, I was given beetroot thoran with rice. The sweet taste of Beetroot was loved by me and this was the reason why I prefer this side dish as a once in a week dish with rice.

Beetroot thoran is a side dish with rice in Kerala. It has a sweet touch of beetroot, the crispiness which is often tempting, blended with the chilies to make it the perfect side dish for a Kerala meal. As for me I am a true lover of beetroots, and this one is my favorite. Usually beetroot thoran is made in houses where there are small kids. This sweet thoran is a real delight for kids during their meals. This will also match perfect with chapattis, though it is dry. A combination, which most of us is not aware of.

While making Beetroot thoran, care should be taken to pick fresh and crispy beetroots. This can make the dish tastier. Prefer organic ones for better results. If you find cutting beetroots a bit of a tough task, then you can even grate it in a grater or pick out your mixer grinder or even choose your food processor. Food processors are much quicker and easier to make those large beetroots to fine and small pieces. Care should also be taken while cooking Beetroots. If we leave them unattended in the pan, there are chances of the beetroots to harden. So it is advisable to stir it occasionally with your spatula and leave it closed in slow flame. Cooking in slow flame can help to cook things without burning them.

Check out the recipe.

Ingredients

• Beetroot- 1/2 kg
• Coconut gratings- 1/4 cup
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Green chilies - 2 nos
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp ( you may use the powdered version too)
• Shallots - 4-5
• Onion- 1 medium
• Oil
• Salt

Method

1.     Peel the skin of beetroots and cut it into small pieces. You may even grate it with the help of a grater or use a food processor for the same.

2.     In a mixer jar, add coconut gratings, garlic, green chilies, cumin seeds and shallots and grind it for a second or two. Do not grind it to a paste.

3.     Switch on the stove, place a pan and when the pan is heated, pour some oil to it

4.     Add mustard seeds soon after the oil are heated. You may then add curry leaves to it.

5.     Now add the finely cut beetroots to the pan, onions and salt to it and sauté well

6.     Add the coconut mix to this and sauté

7.     Close the lid for 5-10 mnts. Let it cook in slow fire.

8.     After 10 mnts, you may check whether it is cooked well

9.     Serve with rice

Prefer to give Beetroot thoran to kids during their lunch. They would really love it.

Vazhakkappam or Pazhampori

Vazhakkappam or Pazham Pori is an evening snack. It is made out of ripe bananas. The sweet taste of the ripe bananas combined with the batter gives a heavenly taste that surely makes any mouth water. Vazhakkappam is loved by every kid in Kerala. It is a quick and easy snack to be served in the evening with tea. If you are searching for the perfect evening snack that is healthy and tasty, try making vazhakkappams. Just make sure that the oil is completely drained off using tissues.

 As a child, I remember my cousins craving for this tasty snack. As for me, I always preferred my Mom’s special Vazhakkappam in the evenings when I came back from school. So whenever I eat this sweet evening snack, I become nostalgic. I tend to remember my loving cousins in Mumbai and Hyderabad that time. At that period of time, we were so in love with this wonderful snack.

Tea stalls in the city as well as villages are lined up by people who prefer tea and vazhakkappam in their hands. A three o' clock in any place in Kerala is decorated with this evening snack. Well the difference between the vazhakkappam that we make at homes and what we get from the tea stalls is that at home, we prefer a more sugary version. The tea stalls on the other hand mostly avoid sugar. The sweetness depends on the ripe bananas you are using. And mostly the tea stall vazhakkappams are more salty than what we make at home. Well I do not like the salty version, I prefer sweet ones instead. To make it more soft, you can keep the batter out for 4 or more hours. I usually mix the batter soon after the household chores in the morning are over.  Keeping the batter out will allow it to stick on the banana slices very easily.

Yummy and tasty, this all time evening delight is a real enjoyment for the tummy and your spirits.

Ingredients

• Ripe bananas- 3-4
• Maida     - 2 cups
• Turmeric – a pinch or two (or maybe you should add ¼ tsp for that bright   yellow color)
• Baking soda- 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch (if you want, you may not add it)
• Water - to mix
• Oil - for frying (prefer coconut oil for better taste)

Method

1.     In a large bowl, add Maida, turmeric powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. 

2.     Mix well

3.     Now add water and mix the flour well

4.     Bring it to the consistency of dosa batter

5.     Keep the batter covered for 20 mnts (I usually prefer to keep the batter covered for 4 hours)

6.     Peel the bananas and cut into long slices

7.     After 20 mnts, the batter will rise a bit

8.     Dip the sliced banana pieces into the batter and deep fry

9.     When the bananas have turned golden brown, take them out and place on tissues for draining excess oil

10. Serve hot and enjoy!!

Squid Thoran or Kanava Thoran

Squid Thoran or Kanava Thoran is a common side dish that is served with rice. Since Kerala has a long coastal line, getting variety of fish has made it possible for Keralites to taste a variety of fish. Squid or Kanava is a common variety that is prepared with coconut gratings and sufficient amount of spices. This is not at all a time consuming dish and can be prepared within 20 mnts.

This dish was actually taught by my Mom. But I have added certain changes to her recipe. The recipe might vary according to your tastes and liking. Those of you who have innovative ideas for this dish may let me know. I would like to make yet another variety of this dish. And for those of you who fear that they are not able to make the perfect Kerala squid thoran can go ahead and make it following the recipe given below. Well as only make sure that you clean the squid properly before cooking. Since squid is a sort of conical fish, it tends to hold the sand from the sea. Hence you will have to be extra careful while washing and cleaning it. For convenience, you can cut the bottom out and allow water to pass through the hole. Push out the water through the cut portion and you can wash off all the dirt in it. This should be done after the bone of the squid and other internal parts are cleaned out.

Ingredients

• Squid  - 1/2 kg (Large)
• Onions - 2 large
• Coconut- 1/2 cup
• Green Chilly - 2 large
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1 tsp
• Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - a pinch or two
• Vinegar - a dash
• Tamarind paste- a pinch
• Curry leaves 
• Salt - as per your taste
• Coconut oil or Vegetable oil - 1  tbsp

Method 

1. Clean Squid well and cut into small pieces. You can even cut it in rings to give a much better look. But i would recommend you to cut it into smaller pieces as I like the masala go deep into the flesh. Rings sometimes take too much time to cook and the salt does not go deep into it.
2. In a heated pan, add some coconut oil and add mustard seeds and wait for it to pop
3. Now you may add curry leaves 
4. Add add finely chopped onions and green chillies to it and saute for a while
5. When the onions have turned golden brown, you may add the pieces of squid to it and add some salt 
6. Close the lid and wait for 2 mnts
7. By that time, you can take out your mixer grinder and in the mixer jar, add grated coconut, chilly powder, turmeric powder, vinegar and tamarind paste and grind for a second or two
8. To the pan, you may add the coconut mixture and saute well
9. Close the lid of the pan and allow it to cook in low flame for another 10 minutes
10. Make sure you do not over-cook it
11. After 10- 15 mnts, you may switch off the flame
12. Open the lid and serve hot with rice.

Simple Coconut Egg Curry

Eggs in coconut gravy is a common curry in Kerala. It is a breakfast special and is served with appam or dosa. What I find in this curry is that it is the simple curry that usually has saved me a lot in the mornings. Usually i prefer vegetable stew or meat stew with appam. Those are the curries that take some amount of time for preparation. But this one is a savior, and i find it very easy to make an egg curry that goes pretty well with appam. The curry usually takes to about 10 to 15 minutes maximum for preparation. It will include the boiling of eggs too. Try this side dish and make your breakfast quick, healthy and tasty.

Ingredients

• Eggs boiled- 4 nos
• Onions - 1 1/2 
• Coconut- 1 cup
• Green chilly - 1 to 2
• Chilly powder -  1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Garam masala - a pinch
• Salt- add little salt
• Oil

Method

1. Heat a pan and pour oil to it
2. Add mustard seeds and wait till they crack
3. Now add curry leaves 
4. Add chopped onion (One only) to the oil
5. Add green chilly and saute well
6. Simmer
7. By this time, you may grind the coconut paste. Take a mixer grinder and add coconuts, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and 1/2 onion and grind with small amount of water to form a paste.
8. You may add water to the paste for getting a not so thick consistency
9. Add exact amount of salt to the coconut mix
10. Now you may add the coconut mix to the pan that is simmered
11. Do not boil it
12. Switch off after one minute 
13. Add the boiled eggs 
14. Serve hot with Appams or Dosas
15. Enjoy!!

Health Benefits Of Pumpkins And Method Of Storing Pumpkins

The word ‘Pumpkin’ reminds us of Halloween. The decorated pumpkins in the streets and pumpkin lanterns definitely make us delighted and does brighten up our spirits. This yellow orange vegetable is an an all time favorite of people living all round the world. When I was a child, I was told that pumpkins are good for health. A healthy pumpkin soup or a curry is a must in every kitchen. The season of pumpkins is the month of October, and the yummy pumpkin pies always remind us of Thanksgiving.

Apart from being a specialty of Thanksgiving, Pumpkins are loved by all due to its never ending list of nutritional benefits that it offers. Make it one among the many things that are included in your healthy diet for each day, and make yourself healthy and strong. Yes, Pumpkins are loaded with hundreds of nutrients, antioxidants that fight against diseases, beta-carotene that protects your skin from damage. When you are consuming pumpkins on a regular basis, you are sure to get a beautiful skin and a healthy body.

Health Benefits of Pumpkins

1.    Pumpkin fights against diseases- Pumpkin is filled with nutrients. It has a full load of carotenoids that help to fight against diseases. It is also a known fact that cancer can be prevented by taking in foods that contain a whole lot of carotenes, and Pumpkin is the fruit that has loads of carotenes that help you to fight against diseases.

2.    Pumpkin gives you younger looking skin-  Pumpkin is loaded with Vitamin C  and fatty acids that helps to decrease wrinkles and fine lines on the skin. It gives a younger looking softer skin, and gives you a radiant complexion, as it has alpha hydroxyl acids and vitamin A.

3.    Increases the UV protection- The color of pumpkin, deep orange shows that it has beta carotene in it. Beta carotenes actually help to protect against the damage of the skin cased by the ultra violet rays of the sun. When pumpkin extract is applied on your face, you can get the right kind of sunscreen effect, as it protects against sun’s rays, smoke and air pollution.

4.    Sharpens your brain- Do you throw off the seeds of pumpkin after taking the flesh alone? If yes, then that would be a great loss from your part. You are losing a lot of goodness by discarding the seeds. With Zinc and Omega 3 fatty acids, Pumpkin seeds can provide you the right bone density and also helps you to sharpen your brain. So next time when you are about to throw the seeds to the waste bin, remember that you are discarding something really precious. There are a lot of pumpkin seed recipes to include the seeds in your daily diet.

5.    Get healthy teeth- To get rid of tooth decay and cavities, it is better to try out pumpkin seed oil while cooking.

As for me, I like pumpkins in my soups or would prefer them in my sambaars. Yes and they do taste yummy.

How to store pumpkins for a week or two

Keeping pumpkin in the vegetable rack will not keep it fresh and fine for more than one week. So let us check out the method of preserving pumpkin the right way. Storing pumpkins is easy. Peel its skin off, deseed it, cut it into cubes, close it in a zip-lock pouch and freeze. You can store it for 2 weeks. Take the desired amount of pumpkin cubes for any of your healthy pumpkin recipe and keep the rest to the freezer.

Netholi Thoran or Netholi Peerapattichathu

Netholi or Anchovy thoran is a specialty of Kerala. The fish is an all time favorite that can be made into a dry fry with grated coconut, or fried with chilly powder and turmeric or even tried out as curries for the lunch. Netholi fish is rich in calcium and is good for your health. Though we find it irritating to have the fish bone in the thoran, the flesh is otherwise tasty and loved by all. You can take out the bone when you clean the fish. But most of us prefer to have the bones and there is no harm in consuming it too.

Netholi thoran or Netholi peerapattichathu is a very simple yet tasty dish that can be prepared within minutes. All you need is some grated coconuts, chilly powder, turmeric powder, onions and ginger garlic with a dash of oil and the right amount of salt to taste better.

I always remember my Mom cooking this delicacy for us when we were kids, and to be frank, I really loved it very much. When I was a child, i thought there was magic in her hands, and whatever she made tasted yummy. So here you go the recipe of Netholi Peerapattichathu right for you folks.

Ingredients

• Netholi fish (Anchovy fish)- 500 gms
• Onion - 1 large
• Shallots - 2 or 3
• Chillies  -  2 medium
• Coconut (Grated) -1/2 cup
• Chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Tamarind  OR(Kudampuli/ Gambooch) - If you choose 1/4 tsp Tamarind paste and if you prefer                                                                        Gambooch, prefer to take a small piece. Make sure                                                                            you do not add too much of tamarind or Gambooch
• Vinegar  - a dash
• Salt        - according to your taste
• Coconut oil- 2 tsp

Method

1. Clean the fish well
2. Grind coconut with Chilly powder, turmeric and shallots. Do not make it to a paste.
3. In the pan you are planning to cook, add the fish, coconut masala, vinegar, tamarind/Gambooch, chopped onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, salt and oil. Mix well. This procedure is done just before placing the pan to the stove.
4. Switch on the gas stove and place the pan with the fish that is mixed with the masala. You may add 3 tbs of water for the fish to cook.
5. Close the lid and allow the fish to cook well. This will take for around 10 to 15 mnts
6. After the fish is cooked well, check whether the water is completely dried out. If not, carefully increase the flame and dry out the water completely.
7. Serve hot with rice.

This is a very tasty side dish that is loved by all in Kerala. Well of course those who prefer vegetarian food alone say a No to this wonder dish. You may find other methods of making netholi thoran other than this one. So I am not saying that this is the only method of making a netholi thoran.

Traditional Parippu Vada - The All Time Evening Snack of Keralites

The name Parippu Vada would make the mouths of every Keralite water. It is a fact that Parippu Vada is a traditional evening snack, served with tea. The peculiarity of this snack is that the taste of the chana dal makes it more addictive. No tea stall in Kerala is complete without Parippu Vadas. No Keralite would say a "NO" to this tasty and crispy snack during evenings, and I am no exception. The right combination for Parippu vada is of course hot steaming tea, but some people prefer to eat it with Bananas. Well as for me, my favorite combination is tea of course. Check out the recipe given below and make your evenings yummy with this crispy evening snack of Kerala India.

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

• Chana Dal / Yellow split peas/ Vada Parippu - 2 1/2 cups 
• Onions   - 1 large
• Green chilly - 1
• Fennel seeds - a few (optional- I prefer not to use it)
• Red chilly powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp ( according to your taste)
• Asafoetida -  a pinch or two
• Salt
• Oil - to fry

Method 

1. Soak Chana dal (Vada parippu ) for 3 hours
2. After 3 hours, keep aside 5 tsps of soaked chana dal aside
3. Now grind the rest of the chana dal in a mixer grinder
4. To the ground chana dal (Do not grind it to a paste), add the chana dal that has been kept aside, and mix
5. To this you may add finely chopped onions, green chilly, curry leaves, fennel seeds (optional), chilly powder, asafoetida and salt
6. Mix all ingredients well and keep aside
7. Heat a pan and pour coconut oil or vegetable oil and let the oil get heated
8. Divide the chana dal that is ground well into small balls
9. To the hot oil, you may add a small ball of chana dal mix that is flattened with the help of your hands. Usually, it is flattened by placing the ball of ground mix to the palm and then flatening it with the other hand.
10. Fry the flattened vadas till they become crispy
11. Fried vadas have to be placed in a tissue paper to remove excess oil from it
12. Serve hot with a steaming cup of tea and enjoy this evening snack. 

Quick and Easy Fish Fry

Kerala is popular for its delicious fish fries. Any household in the state or any reputed hotel on the roadside other than a vegetarian one, would provide you with tasty varieties of fish fries for the afternoon meals. The fish which i have chosen for frying is Barracuda or Sheelavau.


Ingredients

• Fish   - 6 pieces
• Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Onion paste   - 1 tsp
• Salt

Method

1. Clean fish well 
2. In a plate, mix all the ingredients- Chilly powder, pepper powder, turmeric, ginger garlic past, onion paste and salt.
3. sprinkle some water to this and mix well to form a paste
4. Make small cuts on the fish so that the masala gets inside the flesh
5. Apply the masala on the fish 
6. Heat a pan, pour oil and add the pieces of fish one by one, giving independant space for each one
7. Deep fry for 5 mnts. Turn the other side after 5 mnts
8. Take the fried fish and place it on a tissue paper so that excess oil can be absorbed into it
9. Serve hot with onions 
10. Enjoy!!

Vegetable Pulao- The Indian One Pot Meal

When you feel like eating something special that takes only a small amount of time, i would recommend you try the all time favorite Vegetable Pulao. You can add a lot of vegetables in a pulao and make it yummy. Usually I find that many people add potatoes in pulao. I have never tried adding potatoes, but I think adding potatoes can add more taste to the pulao. You can serve the pulao with your favorite Paneer curries or vegetable curries if you are a pure vegetarian. If you are a non vegetarian, then you may try serving pulao with chicken curries of your choice. This is a healthy and extremely tasty one pot meat that will be loved by all, and can be cooked within minutes.

Ingredients (Serves 5-6)

•  Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Vegetables   -  2 cups (include 2 carrots, 10-15 beans, 1 potato)
• Onions         - 2 large
• Green chillies  - 3
• Coconut milk  - 2 1/2 cups (You may even substitute coconut milk with water)
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp
• Cinnammin  - a small piece
• Cardamom  - 1
• Vegetable oil - 
• Ghee   - 1 tbsp
• Salt

Method

1. Soak Basmati rice for half an hour
2. Cut vegetables and keep aside
3. Heat a pressure cooker, add vegetable oil and add the cloves and cardamom 
4. Now you may add the diced onions with green chillies and saute for five minutes.
5. To this you can add ginger garlic paste and saute well 
6. Add the soaked rice and vegetables to the cooker
7. Add sufficient salt and finally add the coconut milk or water for the rice to cook
8. You may close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes in low flame OR you may put the weight of the pressure cooker and wait for 1 whistle in low flame.
9. After the rice is cooked, add ghee and mix carefully
10. Serve hot with vegetable curries, paneer curries or chicken curries.

Mac Cheese and Chicken- The One Pot Meal

Macaroni when cooked with the right ingredients can give you the perfect taste, and baked macaroni with cheese and chicken is a one pot meal that can fill your tummies right away. Parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese can be used together with chicken to prepare this one pot meal. You can even try out three cheese varieties in this dish to make it more yummy. I think you must avoid mozzarella cheese, as it tends to stick around the macs. Here i have used only cheddar cheese. This is a yummy delight if cooked with great care and lots of love.

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

• Macaroni  - 250 - 300 gms
• Chicken    - 150 - 200 gms
• Onion       - 1 large
• Black pepper powder - 1 tsp ( or more as per your taste)
• Milk        - 150 ml or 1/4 cup
• Cornflour  - 1 tsp
• Butter       - 2 tsp OR Cream     - 150 gm (I have used butter here)
• Ginger garlic paste- optional (if you prefer to cook chicken with it)

Method

1. Boil water in a vessel and add some salt to it.
2. Add macaroni to it and wait till it cooks
3. when it gets cooked, strain and keep aside
4. Heat a pan, add oil  and add diced onions
5. Saute onions till golden brown
6. Now add ginger garlic paste (optional), pepper powder, Boneless chicken pieces and salt. Add a quarter cup of water.
7. Close the lid and allow the chicken to cook well. You may add herbs if you prefer to. Italian herbs are the best ones to be added. (Optional)
8. When the chicken is cooked, remove it and keep aside.
9. In the pan, add some butter and melt it.
10. Now you may add the cornflour to the melted butter. With a spatula, heat the cornflour.
11. Add milk immediately and cook it it thickens. If it thickens too much you may add a bit of water.
12. If you are adding salted butter, prefer not to add salt to the cornflour mix. If it is unsalted butter that you use, add a bit of salt just for the cornflour mix/white sauce.
13. Take a greased baking tray (glass) and add macaroni, chicken pieces and the white sauce.
14. Mix well and check if you have added right amount of salt.
15. Grate cheese and you may add luxurious amount on top
16. Switch on the microwave and bake for 5-10 mnts in full power till the cheese melts completely.
17. Serve hot and Enjoy!!

Soft Appam - A Temptation from God's Own Country

 

Appam is a typical Kerala style bread that is usually made for breakfasts. It is a fact that Appam is a special bread usually cooked during almost every major Christian occassions or celebrations. Christmas or Easter Breakfast without Appam in Christian families cannot be imagined. The popular curries that accompany Appam are Mutton Stew (You can Check for the recipe in Foodomania), Beef Stew, Chicken Curry, Peas curry (Recipe available), Beef curry or with Vegetable Stew.

To make soft fluffy Appam is a real challenge. But with the help of certain ingredients, you sure can make it fluffy and soft. Actually Appam is loved by everyone at home. You sure can try this out and make your family happy too. The batter for Appam as given below can serve 6 people for 2 days. It has to be refrigerated so that it does not sour out.

Ingredients 

• Pachari or Raw Rice or White rice -    6 Glasses (Nazhi)
• Uzhunnu  (Urad Dal)          - 2 tsp
• cooked rice      - 3 -4 tbs 
• Coconut (grated)-  2 large
• Soda powder     - a pinch or two
• Sugar                - 2 tsp while grinding  and 2 tsp while cooking
• Yeast                - 1-1 1/2 tsp
• Coconut water and water for grinding

Method 

1. Clean the rice and Urad dal (2 tsp) and soak it in water for 3 hours.
2. Grate coconuts
3. Do not throw off the coconut water
4. Put the grated coconuts in a vessel
5. In a 5 tbs luke warm water, add the yeast and let it bubble
6. Add 2 tbs of sugar, Yeast and cooked rice to the vessel with grated coconut and mix well
7. You may now drain off the water from soaked rice
8. In a mixer grinder, grind a portion of soaked rice and coconut mix with coconut water or water
9. similarly, grind all the remaining rice and grated coconut
10. If you prefer to use the batter for later use, you may keep in the refrigerator
11. The batter has to ferment a bit. So it would be advisable to take the batter out of the refrigerator half an hour before you make Appams
12. When you plan to make Appams, add a pinch or two of soda powder to the batter and do add two table spoons of sugar too for a slight sweet taste (Sugar can be avoided)
13. After half an hour, you may heat an appam pan 
14. Pour a large spoonful of appam batter to the hot pan
15. Swirl it to form a large circle
16. Close the lid and let it cook in slow fire
17. Take it out if you feel it is fully cooked
18. Serve hot with any kind of Stew or curries of your choice.
19. Enjoy!!

Watermelon juice

Summer always makes us thirsty and we have great craving for something cool to drink. What is better to quench your thirst than a glass of pure Watermelon juice, in a hot summer. The thought of drinking this wonder drink can make us cool. Watermelon is a really tasty fruit that is mostly consumed during the summers. When we are preparing watermelon juice or watermelon crush, care should be taken to de-seed the flesh of the fruit or choose those with little seeds so that you can enjoy the yummy taste of the fruit without the seeds irritating you. Enjoy this cool summer special drink this summer and say bye to the hot sun!

Ingredients

Watermelon - 1 large
Lemon    - 1 large
Sugar      - as per your taste

Method

• Cut the watermelon and de-seed it
• cut it into smaller pieces 
• Put these pieces of watermelon and lemon juice in your mixer grinder or juicer and switch on.
• You can strain it if you want.
• Pour into a vessel and add sufficient sugar
• Pour into tall glasses and serve chilled

Mulaku Baji

Mulaku Baji is an all time evening snack of the people of Kerala for years. You can still see people crowding around the street shops for tasting a mulaku baji while moving around. In short, Mulaku baji is a popular street snack loved by all in Kerala, India.

Ingredients
Bannana Pepper (Chilly)- 6 nos
Besan (Kadalamavu)-  2 cups
Chilly powder  - 1 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida    - 1/4 tsp
Soda powder - 1/4 tsp
Water
Salt
Coconut/Vegetable oil- For frying

Method

1. In a bowl, add besan, chilly powder, soda powder, salt, asafoetida and small amount of water
2. Mix well to get a not so thick or not so free flowing consistency.
3. Let the besan mix rest for half an hour or more.
4. After half an hour, you will find the mix rising up a bit
5. In a hot pan, add oil for deep frying
6. Put a slit in the chilly making it half, but not cutting it deeply to separate it into 2.
7. You may slightly apply a pinch of salt to the slit of the chilly or you may dip it in salt water so that the chilly picks up sufficient salt.
8Dip the chilly into the batter and deep fry
9. Fry till the batter turns light brown.
10. Serve hot with chutney or with tomato sauce.

What is Gluten free diet?

Gluten free has become a common term these days. It can be seen that at least a small group of people prefer to eat a Gluten free diet. But unfortunately, most of us are not aware of the fact as to what Gluten is.

Gluten is actually a protein that is mostly found in Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye and Triticale. Gluten, in some people causes allergic reactions. This type of reaction is called gluten intolerance. Gluten sensitivity causes in people the disease known as Celiac disease. People suffering from this, often have to avoid gluten and have to follow a diet that is free of gluten.

The protein named gluten has the qualities of glue. It is usually found in bread, cereals and pastas too. Usually, breads and cakes get that fluffy nature because of gluten. It also helps in binding the dough.

Common foods rich in Gluten

·         Wheat contains gluten. This is the reason why most food we eat contains gluten. Cakes, cookies, waffles, pasta, biscuits, all have large amount of gluten in them.

·         Cereals are also found to be filled with gluten. Barley is yet another grain like wheat that has gluten content in it.

·         Baked food items and those foods that help in thickening are sumptuous in gluten. Hence foods like ice-creams, sauces and puddings tend to have gluten content.

·         Processed foods too have gluten in them. Pizza, salami, soups and lots of other such food contain gluten in them.

Foods that do not have Gluten

·         Rice

·         Dairy products

·         Fruits

·         Vegetables

·         Tapioca

·         Arrowroot

·         Potato

·         Soy flour

And the list goes on and on.

The market today has a lot of gluten free products like gluten free biscuits, cakes, pastries, cakes, breads and cereals. So now that you people are familiar with gluten free diet and also about the term gluten free, you might not get confused with gluten free with something related to weight loss.

It is a fact that people consuming gluten free food
tend to lose weight simply because they are avoiding those foods that tend to increase weight, and not because food free of gluten do not stimulate weight loss. When we skip our regular diet, we tend to lose weight and people have the misconception that gluten free products help in loss of body weight.   

Hot and Spicy Sausage

Sausages are tasty and yummy even without adding any spices. Sausages can be consumed after putting them into boiling salt water for a minute or two. The recipe is all about spicy sausages. This dish very tasty and healthy too, since it is loaded with onions, spices and herbs.

Right from my childhood, I loved sausages a lot. So my dad made it sure to that there was at least one dish made out of sausages. So here is my favorite sausage delicacy right for you guys!!


Ingredients

Cocktail Sausage - 1 packet
Onions  - 2 medium
Tomato sauce - 2 tbs
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric  - a pinch
Salt
Oil
Corriander leaves - a small bunch

Method

1. For thawing the frozen sausage,  add them to a vessel with boiling salt water.
2. Grind Onions
3. Heat a pan and pour in sufficient oil
4. Add the ground onions and saute well
5. Now you may add chilly powder, turmeric powder and saute
6. Now add tomato sauce and salt ( Add only a small amount of salt sufficient for the onions, sausages have salt in them).
7. Add the cut sausages and mix well
8. Close lid for 10 mnts
9. Open lid and stir till dry
10. Add corriander leaves and serve hot.