Chicken Masala Powder - சிக்கன் மசாலா தூள் - Friendship 5 Series - Step by step

      Chicken masala powder gives an extra flavour to the curry. Its a special blend of spices, with which we can marinate the chicken or use as a rub.We can just grind them in batches and store it in airtight containers. Whenever we need, just add a tsp or two. We can also use our normal chilli powder along with this powder. Adding curry leaves ,elevates any dish. This powder can also be used to all non veg dishes, but mainly it goes well with chicken. Keep this magic powder in your cub boards, you will not be bored of making chicken :)

Preparation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 5 minutes
Grinding time : 2 minutes
Yield : 50 gm



Ingredients:
1.Red chillies - 6 to 8
2.Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
3.Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
4.Pepper corns - 1 tsp
5.Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
6.Cinnamon sticks - 3
7.Cardamom - 2
8.Curry leaves - 20

Method:
* Take all the ingredients in a plate. Make sure all the ingredients are clean ,without any weeds.

* Take a pan, dry roast the ingredients together. Saute them, till nice aroma comes out of the pan.

* Cool the ingredients completely and grind them. Store the masala in a air tight container.



Notes:
* We can alter the amount of ingredients according to our taste.
* We can also add some,cloves,nutmeg .
* Curry leaves adds a magic touch to the powder. So don't miss them.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series" started by Geetha and Savitha
                                       

Paruppu Podi - பருப்பு பொடி - Dhal mix for rice / Step by step

      Paruppu podi is a very special powder, to mix with the rice. In Chennai, there is a very famous store called " Ambiga Appalam Depot " - T.nagar. My H is an ardant fan of that powder. Whenever ,we go for vacation, he used buy in bulk . There are days, where he or his dad will go hunt for this store in "Tambaram".  In that store, not only paruppu podi, there are appalam, instant mixes and so many powders, he will buy. I ran out if this podi, now. So started preparing my own paruppu podi now. It smells yumm, when we add the powder to the rice along with sesame oil or ghee. When we come back home , after a long day, this powder comes handy. Just rice and papad will go together. To this powder, we can also add some garlic pods and curry leaves and grind. It will give a nice aroma to the powder.

Preparation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 5 minutes
Grinding time : 5 minutes
Yield : 100 gm approx


Ingredients:
1.Toor dal - 1/2 cup
2.Red chillies - 4 to 5
3.Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
4.Hing - a pinch
5.Roasted gram (pottukadalai) - 2 tbsp
6.Oil - 1 tsp
7.Salt - as needed

Method:
* Take the ingredients needed and keep it ready.

* Take a pan, add oil. When the oil is hot, add all the ingredients  . Roast them till, the dal turns golden brown. Add hing at last.

* Grind the ingredients to a fine powder. Now add the roasted gram and salt. Grind it well.

* Store this powder in air tight container and store in a cool,dark palce. Serve it with white rice ,with a dallop of oil or ghee. Pappad goes well with this podi rice.

Notes:
* We can also add 2 to 4 garlic pods and some curry leaves. It will give a nice flavour and punch to the powder.
* Paruppu podi stays fresh for almost a month, when stored properly.
* We can also add some chana dal to the mix. I didn't add any.

Home made garam Masala masala powder/ கரம் மசாலா தூள் / Step by step - Friendship 5 series

        For the third day of "Friendship Series", I selected garam masala powder. This powder is a must in all "North Indian " dishes. In the beginning, I used to buy this powder from shop. But now started preparing my own powder. It is fresh, when we grind it at home. Always grind garam masala powder in small quantities. Because, it looses its aroma quickly. Nutmeg has a strong flavour, so always use it less. When we prepare a gravy, just add a tsp of garam masala at the end. One of my Senior and my blog follower, asked for this recipe long back. I was postponing this post for so long. This event made me to post the recipe. Enjoy this powder for every curry.

Ingredients:

1.Bay leaves - 1/2 cup

2.Cinnamon sticks - 1 1/4 tbsp

3.Pepper corns - 1 1/4 tbsp

4.Cardamom - 2 tbsp

5.Cloves - 2 tbsp

6.Nutmeg - 3 

7.Cumin seeds - 2/3 cup or 3 tbsp

Method:

* Measure all the ingredients and keep it ready. Make sure all the ingredients are perfectly dry. Or just dry it under sun for half an hour. The amount of bay leaves and nutmeg can be decreased, as they have a strong flavour. 

* Transfer the ingredients to the blender and pulse it. The mixture should be fine powder. If you feel the mixture is grainy, then pulse it again. We can also sieve the mixture to a fine powder.

* Store it in air tight containers.Whenever ,we want to add, just add a tsp of garam masala.

Notes:
* Don't store the masalas in glass containers. Because, the glass container can absorb the aroma of the powder.
* Always store in cool and dark place.Sunlight will easily take away the aroma.
* Always grind the garam masala in small quantities, as it may loose it freshness easily.
* For any dish, just add little garam masala,as they tend to over power the dish.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series " started by "Geetha" and "Savitha"

Spicy Idli podi / பூண்டு மிளகாய் பொடி / Side dish for idli and dosa / Friendship 5 Series

   Today, for "Friendship 5 Series" under the theme " Home made powders ", I am going to post idli podi or gun powder . Idli podi has always a connection between us and our mother. When she runs out of time to prepre any side dish for idli or dosai, she strainghtaway grabs this podi and serves us. Usually, idli dosai or pongal will be our morning breakfast. It provides the necessary nutrients to our body. Idli podi comes handy, when we travel . Just aplly this podi all over the idli and pack it. It stays good for atleast 2 days, without oil.

     Idli podi is an essential asset in every South Indian household. Its a combination of dals, with red chillies. Usually my MIL will prepare it with garlic pods. This was new to me. My mom powders in a different way. Adding garlic ,gives a nice aroma to the podi and a punch. But my Mil uses less red chillies, compared to the amount given here. This podi can be served with  little sesame oil. Check my mom's version of idili podi Here .

   

Ingredients:
1.Urad dal - 1 cup
2.Chana dal - 3/4 cup
3.Red chillies - 15 to 20
4.Garlic pods - 9 to 10
5.Roasted gram ( pottukadalai) - 1 tbsp
6.Curry leaves - a hand full.
7.Salt - as needed
8.Hing - a pinch
10.Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

* Take all the ingredients and keep it ready. The amount of red chillies depend upon your spice level. Since we also add garlic pods,   it will be spicy, so try to alter the number of red chillies. Take urad dal ,little more than the chana dal always. It will give very good taste to the powder.

* Add little oil to the pan. Roast the ingredients one by one,except roasted gram (pottukadalai).When we are about to turn off the stove, add hing.Let the ingredients cool completely. We can also dry the curry leaves and powder it or just roast it with all the ingredients.Add salt to the mixture.

* Grind the roasted ingredients upto 80% powdered. Now add the roasted gram to the blender and grind it finely. Store it in air tight container. Mix it with gingely oil and serve with idli or dosai.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series" started by Geetha and me.
                       

Instant Badam Milk Powder - Step by step - Friendship 5 Series

    Happy to post my first entree to the "friendship 5 Series" . This is an interesting series, where we post 5 recipes per month on one theme. The thought of making some recipes will always be in our minds, but some or the other we will postponing . That particular thought made me to think about this event. So we are going to post recipes on the theme " Home made powders" this month.

      When we think of home made powders there are so many of them, we would have been buying it from shop. Though those store bought powders are good, but not too good. They are not economical too. So making at home is too good ,economical and fresh . Today's recipe instant badam milk powder is very easy, nutritious and tasty. I have tried store bought badam milk powders. They don't taste good. They have preservatives too. Its easy to prepare the badam milk powder.Badam milk can be prepared within 5 minutes for our guests, if we have this powder at home. Kids will love the flavour.

Ingredients:
1.Almonds (Badam) - 1/4 cup or 20 pieces
2.Cashews - 10 pieces
3.Pistachios - 2 tbsp ( crushed)
4.Dried Dates - 4 (seedless)
5.Saffron - a pinch
6.Cardamom - 2

Method:

* Since I didn't have dried dates with me, just dried some fresh dates. Cut the dates into small pieces and keep in your counter top, overnight. It will dry beautifully.If you don't have time, then just dry roast them on  a  tawa.

* Take a pan, heat it well. Now turn off the heat and drop the saffron strands in it. This will make the saffron strands to toast. It will be easy for us to powder these strands.Don't try to roast the saffron strands in direct flame, then it will start to blacken quickly.

* Take 1/4 cup sugar to add it to the blender. Amount of sugar depends on how much sweet tooth you have. If you find the sugar level is les, you can add to the milk, when you are about to prepare "Badam milk".

* Now cool the saffron strands and transfer it to the blender along with almonds,pistachios,cashes, dried dates sugar and cardamom pods. Pulse them to form a smooth powder.Store this powder in a air tight container or a ziploc and store it in refrigirator .

To prepare Badam milk !!!

  When we are about to prepare the badam milk, just heat the milk very well. It should be thickened to some extent. Then add a spoon or more to the milk and stir. Adjust sugar to your taste. Serve hot or chilled. I loved both. In the below picture, the first cup is light in colour, because I added one tsp of badam milk powder. But in the second cup, I have added more than 1 tsp and hence the dark colour. So it depends how much deep colour you want your badam milk to be.

    In the below picture, the first cup is made out of 2 tsp of badam milk powder. The second glass has only 1 tsp of badam milk powder. The more we add the powder, the darker colour we get.

Notes:

* We can add some dried fruits like prunes to the mix. We can alter the amount of cashew or pistachios, but make sure the amount of almonds should be more.

* The badam milk powder should be kept in refrigerator .

* We can also blanch the almonds and toast them in a pan. We can also toast the other ingredients in a pan or in a microwave.

* Add the sugar according to your taste.

* The saffron and cardamom can also be added ,while preparing the milk. 

* It stays fresh for about a month in the refrigerator.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series " started by me and Geetha Achal
                                               

Friendship 5 Series

Hi friends,
Geetha Achal and I have come with an interesting series idea.There are so many recipes, which, we would have thought to post in our blogs.But because of some reason, we would have not posted in our blog. This series challenge will help us to post those kind of recipes.This is going to happen first week of every month from monday to friday. We have compiled some interesting themes for the series. Have uploaded it in the file section in FB page.So for the first month (May) the theme is going to be "Home made powders" series.If you are interested,kindly reply and start posting the recipes on first week of every month.

Here are some kindly reminders.

* Link back to this page  and Geetha Achal Recipes page.
* Include this logo. This will spread the word.

* Both vegetarian and non vegetarian recipes are allowed.

If you have any suggestions and ideas,you can contact me any time.

Mango Shirkhand / Mango Flavoured yogurt - 400 th post - Step by step

  I am very happy to post my 400 th post, today. I started this blog to kill my time.  It has become one of my favourite hobbies now . Thank you every one, for your endless support. Though blogging is not so easy, we bloggers will never ever give up this passion. Every picture in the blog has its own stories or memories, which can be felt, when we see the picture after some time. We have experimented so many recipes again and agian, till we get the satisfaction to post it in the blog. With toddlers running around, every blogger faces the challenge of cooking,clicking and editing. I personally feel that ,blogging is about documenting the history and culture of our country. There are so many authentic recipes,which were forgotten now. So blogging is not just taking pictures, its a very good way to spread the culture and food of our country. 

    Today's recipe is very simple, but very nutritious . I have used hung curd to prepare shirkhand. But we can use greek yogurt too. It works fine. I got around 6 mangoes from "costco". They were not that sweet, so tried some recipes with it. Rohith, enjoyed the shirkhand . Shirkhand is so easy and simple, but what matters is its texture. The texture should be smooth and silky.You may be wondering, why I am posting simple recipe for my "400 th" post . According to me ,every recipe is special. Even a simple recipe should be presented and executed very well. Hence this recipe for my milestone. Check my other milestones here.

             50 th post  - Mutton Biriyani

100 th post  - Jangiri

                     150 th post   - Coconut Macroons

       200 th post    - Mysore Pa

         250 th post    - Doodh Peda

              300 th post - Chocolate Mousse

    350 th post - Shahi Tukda

Setting time : 3 to 4 hours
Preparation time : 5 minutes
Chilling time : 30 minutes
Serving : 1

Ingredients:
1.Yogurt - 1 cup
2.Mango - 1/2 cup or as needed
3.Powdered sugar - 3 tbsp
4.Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method:
* Take yogurt in a clean white cloth and hang it on a tap. Keep a bowl , under the bundle, as the whey will be dripping from the bundle. Keep the yogurt in  this cloth, for atleast 4 hours or untill the yogurt become firm ,without any moisture. Keep the hung curd in the refrigerator immediately, as it may turn sour quickly. Instead of using hung curd, we can also use greek yogurt.

* Take the mango cubes in a blender, and puree it well. Make sure, we don't have any chunks in the puree.The amount of mango ,we put in the yogurt ,depends on our taste and the colour we need. If we want , a darker colour, add more mangoes.

The mangoes has to be first, peel,cubed and then pureed. Make sure you don't have any piece of the skin.

* Now take a bowl, add the hung curd,powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Mix them well. Adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.If the mangoes are sweet, then reduce the amount of sugar. My mangoes are not sweeter, so I used 3 tbsp of powdered sugar.

* Now, add the pureed mango to the bowl . Whisk the mix using a hand whisk. We can also use a hand mixer to mix the shirkhand. The texture should be very smooth. So if you are not able to whisk the shirkhand without any lumps, pulse the mixture in the blender for some time. This will yield us a smooth shirkhand. But this is just optional.Serve it chilled.

Notes:
* Try to select ripe and sweet mangoes to prepare mango Shirkhand. This will reduce the amount of sugar to be added.
* The yogurt has to be fresh, if not it will give a sour taste to the dessert.
* Add very little cardamom powder to the dessert. Because it may over power the dessert.
*  Don't hang the yogurt for more time, if not it will become sour.
* Try to whisk the shirkhand using a hand whisk. If you cannot get a smooth shirkhand, then you can use a hand mixer or a blender.
* To get a dark yellow colur, just infuse few strands of saffron in milk and add it to the shirkhand.