Special Mor Kuzhambu(Spicy coconut-buttermilk gravy)

Mor Kuzhambu is a typical South Indian dish made with buttermilk and coconut-green chilli-cumin paste. This recipe is slightly different from the usual.  The addition of roasted spices makes the gravy flavorful and taste better.

Serves:3

Ingredients:
Thick Yogurt-1 cup
Salt
Hing-1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-a few
Any one vegetable of your choice(lady's finger/capsicum/pumpkin/chayote squash)-1/2 cup chopped into big pieces

Spices to roast in 1/2 tsp oil till golden brown:
Urud dal-1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds-1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/4 tsp
Red chillies-2

Other Ingredients:
Coconut-2 tbsp
Green chilli-1

Seasoning:
Mustard seeds-1 tsp


Method:
Roast the spices mentioned above and grind along with coconut and green chilli with 1/4 cup water to a smooth paste.

If you are using lady's finger(aka okra) or capsicum, fry it in 1 tbsp oil till it is cooked.
If you are using, pumpkin or squash, boil it with water and a pinch of salt till it is cooked.

In another vessel, mix yogurt with 1/2 cup water and beat well. Add salt, hing, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add the ground paste and prepared vegetable. Simmer for 5 minutes. Do not stir while cooking. Turn off the heat and stir.

Season with mustard seeds and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rice, ghee and beans parupu usili.
Click here for parupu usili recipe!

Have a great week ahead!!

Cherry Crumble Cheesecake

After the first attempt on durian cheesecake, I feel quite encourage to try another cheesecake from the same recipe book 我和起士蛋糕的秘密. At first, I was thinking to make an apple crumble cheesecake but at the same time I want to use the canned apple cherry given by PH. I was very curious about the taste of that apple cherry so ended up I make cherry cheesecake.

The cheesecake was not too bad but I still like the texture of durian cheesecake as it's very smooth and silky texture that melt in the mouth was great! This texture is slightly thicker that might take a few more second to melt in your mouth.

I tried to place a piece at room temperature for 15 minutes and the texture was not that thicker then. The crumble is very tasty and goes well with the cheesecake but the apple cherry wasn't that very special. It taste ok but nothing so special for me.

I've done a few study from the recipe book and found that some cheesecake had a very silky smooth texture. I remember before baking the durian cheesecake, the batter was quite liquid or should I say runny whereas this batter of cherry cheesecake was quite thick.

I guess it's due to the ingredients used. Although they both used the same amount of inggredients like cream cheese, sugar and eggs. The different is batter that added with same milk or cream is smoother than the batter made with cream cheese and eggs only. The durian cheesecake was added milk whereas this is not, may be that's make the difference. Please correct me if I'm wrong but so far this is the experiment I've gone through. Anyway, people who are not very choosy like me will still love this cheesecake. It's just an ordinary one for me :P

Recipe from 我和起士蛋糕的秘密 for (7 inches cake tin)

For the base:

200g digestive biscuit

100g butter

For the filling:
400g cream cheese

80g caster sugar
3 eggs

140g cherries

For the Crumble:

60g plan flour

60g caster sugar

50g ground almond

30g butter

1 tbsp cooking oil

1. To make the base, stir all ingredients until combine. Press mixture into base of 7 inches cake tin.
2. To make the filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until well blended.
3. Place cherries into the tin. Pour in cheese filling.
4. To make crumble, combine flour, sugar and ground almond, rub in butter and oil until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the top.
5. Steam-bake in preheated oven at 160C for 1 hour 20 minutes or until cooked. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Chill in fridge for 5 hours or overnight.

IRS Home Improvement Tax Credits!

It's not often the Internal Revenue Service tries to help you save money. So, if you're looking to make a few home improvements, you may want to get to work while the government is in a giving mood.


"There's actually a way for homeowners to invest in some energy efficient improvements and actually save some money twice," said the IRS's Michelle Eldridge.


It's part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Make your home more energy efficient and get back part of what you've spent at tax time.


"Replacing windows and doors or perhaps replacing your heating and air-conditioning system or maybe adding insulation. All of these products, even roofs in some cases, can qualify you for this energy credit," said Eldridge.


Here's how it works. You get to claim 30 percent of the cost of improvements up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500. Installation costs, though, do not apply.


But Eldridge says do your homework and make sure the product qualifies before you buy.

"What you're looking for is a tax credit certification from the manufacturers," she said. Keep those certifications and receipts to then file with your tax return.


The government's message is save now while improving your home's value, and save later with lower energy bills. But time is running out for the 2009 credit.


"You need to make this purchase and have it installed by the end of the year," Eldridge said.

The good news is the credit extends into next year as well if you need more time.


There is a second tax credit for homeowners investing in alternative energy equipment. If you're looking to add solar electric systems, solar hot water heaters or even wind turbines at your home, you can deduct 30 percent of the cost on your 2009 or 2010 taxes. And best of all, there's no cap like the earlier credit.


For more information, check out the Internal Revenue Services' website.


Source: www.wcnc.com