Black eyed pea sundal - காராமணி சுண்டல் - Navarathri special - Step by step

 Navarathri is a very famous festival in India. Here Maa Durga is worshipped at the beginning of "Autumn" . All nine days, each avathar of Durga is worshipped. After worship, all the devotees are offered prashad . The prashad includes, sundal, sweet pongal or any variety rice. In India, near our home, we have many Brahmin friends, who used to display their goddess dolls on shelves as a display. Here is the link,where I would have posted pictures about the "Golu" which I pictured at my friend's place.

 

Ingredients:

1.Black eyed peas             -            1 cup

2.Mustard seeds                -             1/2 tsp

3.Broken urad dal             -             1/2 tsp

4.Red chillies                    -             3

5.Curry leaves                   -             few

6.Hing                               -              a pinch

7.Salt                                 -              as needed

8.Shredded coconut           -              1/4 cup

9. Water                             -              as needed

10. Oil                                -              a tsp

 

 

Method:

Wash the black eyed peas and soak it for atleast 3 hours. But if we are running out of time, we can also cook it directly ,without soaking and cooking for more whistles. But peas will not hold its shape, if it is cooked without soaking.We can also add some oil in a pan, slightly fry the peas and cook it for 3 to 4 whistles.



 

 Cook the peas for 2 to 3 whistles. Don't try to add salt ,while cooking, then there are chances for the skin to come out. Strain the peas immediately, if not the peas will become mushy.

 

 Take the tempering ingredients ready. We can also add chilli powder instead of using red chillies.

 

 Take a pan, add oil and splutter mustard seeds and urad dal. I was running out of broken urad dal,so used whole urad dal here.

 

 Also add broken red chillies and curry leaves along with hing. Now ,dump the cooked black eyed peas. Care should be taken ,not to mix the peas so harshly.

 

 Once,the peas are mixed well, add salt and shredded coconut and give it a mix. Serve hot.

 

                                                          Happy navaratri wishes to all !!!

 Sending this to Nalini's kitchen's " Tamixhar Samayal Tuesdays "

Kugelhopf - An eggless, savoury bread with step by step pictures - International food challenge # 2

 Kugelhopf is a soft and fluffy bread, where usually sweet is filled inside. But today we are going to see the savoury version. It is too good to have it as a dinner with some soup. Bread hating ,my husband , enjoyed this kugelhopf and Rohith thoroughly enjoyed these. I am thankfull for myf riends Saraswathi Tharagaram and Shobana for giving these wonderful challenges. The stpe by step pictures ,will help you in preparing the bread easily.

  

For The Dough:
1. All-purpose flour 1.5 cup
2. Instant yeast 1 tsp.
3. Warm Milk 6 tbsp.
4. Curd 2 tbsp. whisked  and at room temp
5. Unsalted Butter softened  2 ½ tbsp.
6. Oil 1 tbsp.
7. Sugar 1 tbsp.
8. Salt 1/2 tsp.

For The Filling: 
1. Cheddar cheese 50 g , I used Gouda cheese slices and Parmesan Cheese
2. 1 medium onion, chopped into small cubes
3. 1red bell pepper, chopped into small cubes
4. 1 green bell pepper ,cubed .
5. 1 tomato, deseeded, cut into small cubes
6. 1 tsp. Chilly flakes
7. ½ tsp. freshly ground black peppercorns
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil as needed
10. 1 tsp.Thyme or any herb seasoning 

Method:

To the mixing bowl add the 1 cup of flour, salt, sugar  and instant yeast .

 

Meanwhile, whisk the curd . Add whisked curd, warm milk, and softened butter to the mixing bowl. Start kneading  the dough, initially, it will be sticky, then add oil.

Knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes if using ur hand, else 2 minutes on the mixer to form a shiny and a smooth dough. Cover and keep it in a warm place for an hour to let them raise double in size. Mine took 1 hour exactly.

 

 

 While the dough is proofing , work on the filling. Chop the vegetables. De seed the tomato.
 



 

Take a pan, add little oil and dump the cubed onions. Let it get half cooked. Now transfer these onion to a mixing bowl.

Now in the same pan, add chopped capsicum and de seeded tomatoes and give them a tose with some salt. Don't overcook the veges, as it may become soggy.

Now add thyme,crushed pepper and chilli flakes. Give it a mix

By , now the dough would have doubled in size. Here is the proofed dough, it took me 1 hour for the proofing. Just deflate the dough ,for the air to escape. Place them on the counter ,which has been dusted with flour.

 

Take a rolling pin and roll them into , 1/2 inch rectangle as in picture.

Now spread the filling on top of the rolled dough. Place the cheese cubes all over the filling.

Roll it into a log. But make sure to seal the edges. Because the filling may come out of the log.

                                                          
                                                             Here is the rolled log.

 Now again, knead the log. The idea is to incorporate the filling evenly all over. Again make it a log. (FYI , at this point of time, our filling may come out of the log. Don't get panick, just sprinkle them on top of the log after placing them in the pan , like a pizza.) Now the dough will be too sticky, don't worry , it will be allright. Don't try to add any extra flour.

 

 

 

Now place the log in a pan or bundt pan. Let it sit in a warm place for the second proofing. It took me around 30 minutes for the second rise. 

 

 

 Preheat the oven for 5 minutes at 200 degree C/  392 degree F.Bake the kugelhopf  for 30 minutes. Cool it on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove it from the pan. Most delicious savoury bread is ready for your dinner :)

 

 

No Bake - Eggless Pineapple (Marie Biscuit ) pudding - Step by step - Celebrating my Blog's, third year anniversary !!!

 Today , " Savitha's Kitchen " is officially entering into its fourth year of blogging. I am happy to share this with all my friends, fellow bloggers and all my well wishers. Today I am going to share a very easy dessert "Pineapple ( Biscuit )  pudding ". Here, pineapple is preserved with sugar.I have shown how to prepare pineapple preserve in my previous post.Check the recipe here. It is added into whipped cream and spread it on biscuit layer.Its a quite easy pudding, but it will make our guests so happy. I bookmarked this at Cooking Easy 's   blog  2 years ago. Now only had a chance to post it. 

 

 

Ingredients:

1.Marie biscuits          -        14 -16 pieces

2.Whipping cream      -        1 cup

3.Pineapple preserve -       1 cup

4.Chocolate shavings  -        1 tbsp.

5.Milk                          -        1/2 cup

6.Sugar                         -        1 tbsp

 



Servings                  : 6 - 8
Preparation time      : 15 - 20 minutes
Setting time             :  4 hours approx.


Method :

 Place a mixing bowl and whisk attachment of a hand mixer in the freezer for 20 minutes. This way, cream can be whipped safely. After 20 minutes, add 1 tbsp. of sugar whip the cream till stiff peaks. Place the whipped cream in the refrigerator, untill it is needed. When we are ready to assemble the pudding,mix the pineapple preserve with the whipped cream using a spoon. Reserve some pineapple pieces from the preserve for garnishing.

Take milk in a bowl. Select a pan ,it can be a circle or a square one. Take the marie biscuits and dip them in  milk. Arrange the biscuits in the pan. If we have some gaps, just fill it by breaking the biscuit into halves.

 

 

Scoop the pineapple preserve ,whipped cream mixture on the biscuit layer. 

 

 

Spread the mixture evenly on the biscuit layer. This way all the gaps will be filled between the biscuits. 

 

 

Again dip the bisuits in milk and arrange on top of the whipped cream , pineapple preserve mixture for a second layer.

 

 

Again spread the  pineapple mixture. Fill all the gaps properly.

 

 

Garnish the pudding with the pineapple pieces, which were taken from the preserve. If you want to make it colourfull, sprinkle some chocolate shavings. Cover the pudding using a cling wrap and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours. I refrigerated it over night. When you want to serve, take it out from the fridge, slice it using a knife and serve. We can also wet the knife, and slice it ,this way we will have a clean slice.

 

 

Notes:

* We can also use an egg in the pudding for a stiffer consistency. Just whisk the egg and add it with the whipped cream and pineapple preserve.

* Adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of the pineapple.

* If we whip the cream more, then it will become flat. So whip it till stiff peak.
* We can also use some other biscuit like digestive biscuits. But I prefer marie for its texture.

 



Kumbakonam Degree Coffee - Filter Coffee - கும்பகோணம் டிகிரி காபி - step by step

          Kumbakonam is famous for its brass vessels, Music, Kadappa ,Temples and Filter coffee . My H and me are coffee lovers. We strongly believe that that one cup of coffee makes our day brighter and gives a kick start to it. During our visit to India , we tasted Kumbakonam degree coffee in one of  the shops on the highway ,between "Chengalpet" and "Tambaram".( FYI , there are so many shops named "Kumbakonam degree coffee" in that highway. But I don't think all the shops provide quality coffee. This shop in particular gave us quality coffee. Sorry I forgot the name of the shop. ) The coffee was so aromatic and flavourfull, I couldn't resist myself from asking the lady at the shop ,about the speciality. She happily showed her boilers and told the secret.

        She told me two main reasons. One is high quality coffee powder ,which is less in chicory. They said, that they mill their own coffee powder in the milling machine. Also she said that when we grind 100 gm of coffee bean, we should get atleast 80 gm coffee powder , then its the high quality coffee bean. The second main thing is the fresh milk. She was telling that they have their own cows too. They boil the milk and heat it on a double boiler ,this way the milk will remain hot and also it won't get burnt at the bottom. Also they serve "kumbakonam degree coffee" only in brass "dabara tamblar". I loved the coffee ,so made my mind to grab all the ingredients to make a post out of it. and here is the detailed post about kumbakonam degree coffee.

 

Ingredients:

1.Filter coffee powder (Narasus )  -  3 tsp

2.Hot water                                    -   3/4 cup

3.Whole milk                                 -   2 cups

4.Sugar                                           -   2 tsp or as required

 

 

Method:

* The first step involves preparing the decotion . There are several ways in preparing the decotion. We can either prepare the decotion in the early morning and use it for our morning coffee. It needs atleast half an hour for the decotion to completely collect in the cup. To make it simple, I prepared the decotion ,the night before.Because, I want my coffee in the early hours like 5.45 a.m. The coffee filter has two compartments, in the upper compartment, add the coffee powder . I always prefer Narasus coffee. But if you don't get that,you can also try good quality coffee powders ,with less chicory.

 

* Mean while ,heat a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes.We can also boil the water on a stove top and pour it in the coffee powder. Pour it in small quantities. I took me about 3/4 cup of water to get a thick decotion ,which can make up to 3 coffees.

* Just use a spoon to press the coffee powder,so that the hot water enters in. Close the coffee filter and keep it aside .It just need half an hour for the coffee to come out of the filter . Because the pores in the coffee filter are so minute.

* Now take a pan or bowl and add milk to it. Bring it to boil. Don't leave the milk unattended, then the milk will be  burnt at the bottom. I prefer to have whole milk for a thick coffee. But you can also use 2 % or fat free. Though you can heat the milk in microwave, but for filter coffee, I strongly suggest boil the milk on a stove top. This gives that unique taste to the coffee.

* Now take a bigger bowl of water. Place it on the stove top . Now place the milk pot inside the bowl of water .This gives a double boiler effect. From now on the milk will be heated at low ,till you are ready to make the coffee. Close the bowl with a lid. This way, the milk will not be burnt at the bottom and it still remains hot. If you want,you can can heat the coffee decotion this way. But I didn't do that .

Here is our aromatic coffee decotion ready for our coffee. Don't discard the coffee powder in the upper compartment. We can use that for brewing second  degree decotion.

* But I don't prefer using the second degree decotion for my coffee, as it won't be that thick and flavourfull. Some would prefer mixing both ,first and second degree decotion. Its upto our taste.

 

 

* Now take a dabara or a mixing bowl, add sugar according to our taste. 

 

* Pour the required amount of decotion into the dabara .I prefer to have a strong coffee ,so I have poured a bit larger quantity.

* Now , pour the boiled milk to the decotion. Froth it well .Since we have boiled the milk on a stove top,so it will not become cool, while frothing.

Now our flavourfull and aromatic Kumbakonam degree coffee is ready to be served !!! 

Notes:
* Always use first degree coffee decotion for a good coffee.
* Always use fresh milk, which is boiled well on a stove top.
* Some also heat the coffee decotion on a double boiler and pour fresh cow's milk without heating.
But I don't prefer that way, as the bacteria's in the milk has to be killed for our safety.
* If you think that the coffee decotion is too thin, then just pour the decotion back to the upper compartment for the second brewing.
* Use fresh coffee powders ,which are sealed well. If the coffee powder looses its aroma ,then our coffee will not be aromatic.

 

Sending  this to "Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday "

 

Easy Pineapple Preserve - step by step

 I had some pineapple chunks sitting on my counter. I was thinking  of some recipes to finish those chunks. Suddenly this recipe, which I saw  in Nisa Homey's Cooking is easy blog ,flashed for a second. I saw this recipe two years back. So prepared "No bake pineapple pudding " using this pineapple preserve as a layer. This pineapple preserve can also be used as spread for bread. We can prepare this pineapple preserve and refrigerate it. We can use it whenever we need. Linking this recipe to  Priya's Versatile Recipe's event ,"Lets brunch on sundays "

   

 

Ingredients :

1.Pineapple pieces                 -           1 cup

2.Sugar                                   -           1/2 cup

 

 

Method:

Chop the pineapple and take the skin away. Chop it into fine pieces. Take a bowl,add the pineapple pieces and sugar and let it rest in the counter for atleast an hour. This way ,sugar gets blended with the pineapple pieces and pineapple will let out its juices.  

  

Now transfer the pineapple pieces ,with its juices to another pan . Let it get cooked in medium flame. The mixture will become thick .

 After few minutes, the mixture will be sticky and when we take it with our fingures, it will almost form a string .This is the right consistency. Turn off the flame and let it get cooled completely.Store in airtight container and refrigerate.

 

Notes:
* Add sugar according to the sweetness of the pineapple. Mine was too sugary, so reduced the amount of sugar here.Becoz my pineapple was too sweet.
* Don't cook the pineapple to mushy.It should be thick, but still has to hold its shape.
* We can add some vanilla essence to this at last.
* This preserve can be kept in fridge for almost 15 days. We can use this as a spread for bread also.