Murmura chaat(Puffed rice snack)

This is a healthier version of bhel puri made with puffed rice and veggies.

Ingredients:
Murmura(or puffed rice or pori)-2 cups
Oil-1 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Red chilli powder-1/4 tsp
Hing- 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-a few
Salt
Onion chopped -2 tbsp
Carrot(grated)-2 tbsp
Cucumber chopped-1
Bell pepper chopped-2 tbsp
Tomato chopped-2 tbsp
Coriander leaves-to garnish
Lime juice - 1/4 tsp
Sweet chutney(optional)- but tastes good when added

Method:
Heat oil in a wide pan. Add mustard seeds followed by turmeric powder, hing, chilli powder, salt and curry leaves. When mustard seeds crackle, add murmura. Fry on low heat for a couple of minutes so that the spices get nicely mixed with murmura. Set aside.
In the same pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil, fry onions till the raw smell goes off.
Now mix onions and rest of the ingredients with murmura and stir well. Squeeze lime juice in the end or drizzle sweet chutney if you like.

Recipe for sweet chutney- You can grind some dates and tamarind(a small piece) with water to a sauce like consistency or heat 3 tbsp of jaggery mixed with very little water for 2 minutes and drizzle on top of bhel in the end.

You can also add finely chopped mango pieces for added taste.

This goes to Healthy Bite: Feb 28th event.

I would like to thank Foodbuzz for sending me a box of Quaker's True delights granola bars for tasting. They were awesome! The flavors are - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond, Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry, Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut. Catchy names isn't it? I liked Toasted coconut bar the most. These are slightly salty and silly sweet at the same time. When this product hits the market, grab a box and try!

Chettinad Kuzhi paniyaram and chutney

This is very famous dish in chettinad,taste is awesome with this onion garlic chutney.
you can prepare this using leftover idly or dosa batter also.if u want to prepare something quick,easy and tasty dish u can try this one.



Ingredients for paniyaram:

Idly batter-1 cup
Onion-1
G.chilly-2
Mustrad-1/2 tsp
Urad dhal-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-8

Idly batter is in ratio 4 cups of rice and 1 cup urad dhal.Allow it to soak for 5-6 hrs.Add little menthil(venthayam) along with urad dhal.Grind it into smooth paste.Allow it to ferment the batter overnight.

Preparation method:

1. Heat the oil,add mustrad and urad dhal,allow it to popup.
2. Add chopped onions,g.chillies and curry leaves,saute for 2 min.
3. Mix this with batter.
4. Heat the paniyara kadai and fill it with 1/2 tsp of oil.
5. Add a tsp of batter in each portion.
6. Turn both sides and fry.
7. Cook the remaining and serve hot with chutney.

Kara chutney:

Onion-1
Tomato-1
Redchilli-3
Garlic-3 flakes
Jeera-1/4 tsp
Salt-Requried

Preparation method:

1. Chopp onion and tomato,Grind everything into smooth paste.do the seasoning and
serve along with chettinad kuzhi paniyaram.

Consumers Budget-Sizing Kitchen Projects

A respected survey group has reported on a study of kitchen designers that shows consumers proceeding cautiously.

Only makes sense in the current economic environment.

At least they are proceeding...

I was asked to be in the last study RICKI did. They were very thorough.

Peggy

Study Shows Consumers Making Budgetary Compromises on Kitchen Projects

Kitchen designers are reporting that clients moving forward with a kitchen project are altering their behavior to adjust for economic conditions. This is according to an online research study conducted by the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), a Charlotte, NC-based organization of manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and others whose revenue derives from kitchen remodeling and related activities.

The study - called Kitchen Intelligence: A Designer's Perspective - revealed that consumers "are compromising on the scope of the project, being extra cautious to stay on budget and within the scale typical for the neighborhood, and voicing concern about the long-term stability of suppliers due to concern that the company may not be in business for service after the sale," notes RICKI.