WHITE PUMPKIN MORKUZHAMBU

பூசணிக்காய் மோர்க்குழம்பு


This is a famous vegetarian dish in south India. White pumpkin, ladies finger, colocasia and brinjals are the suitable dishes for morkuzhambu.

Ingredients:


White pumpkin pieces- 2 cups
Thick curd- 2 to 3 cups
Shredded coconut- half cup
Fenugreek seeds- half sp
Black gram- half sp
Tuar dal- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- half sp
Chopped tomato- 1 cup
Turmeric powder- half sp
Salt to taste
Red chillies-4
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Gingelly oil- 3 tbsp
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Chopped coriander- 3 tbsp
Green chillies-5
Shredded ginger- half sp


Procedure:
Soak the tuar dal in a cup of water for half an hour.
Boil the pumpkin pieces in enough water and salt.
When they are cooked, drain the water and keep the pieces in a plate.
Heat a pan and pour a tsp of oil.
Add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and black gram and fry them to light golden colour.
Add the tuar dal without water and fry them for a few minutes.
Add the green chillies and fry for a few minutes.
Then add the coconut with the ginger and fry them for a few seconds.
When cooled, grind them with enough curd to a coarse paste.
Beat well the remaining curd except a half cup
Mix well the beaten curd with the ground paste and enough water to the required consistency.
Heat a pan and pour the remaining oil
Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter, add the tomato, red chillies, curry leaves and the turmeric powder.
Cook on medium fire until they are mashed well and the oil floats on top.
Add the coriander and fry for a few seconds.
Pour the morkuzhambu mixture with the cooked pumpkin pieces and enough salt.
When the morkuzhambu starts boiling, put off the fire and mix in the remaining curd thoroughly.
In this way, this kuzhambu will be perfect and delicious.

Homemade Tortilla Veggie Wrap - Reposting for Global Kadai Event - Burritos/Wraps

My hubby used to buy me a veggie wrap called Chip Sandwich, from a Foodshop near his office. Veggie stuffing with some chips,  wrapped in Arabic bread.Wanted to make something similar. Got a Flour Tortilla recipe, While Browsing. Made some Veggie stuffing Desi Style and made a Tortilla Veggie Wrap For Dinner, Tasted Great. Here comes the recipe

Ingredients

For Tortilla

All Purpose Flour - 2 cups (the actual recipe calls for unbleached flour)

Baking Powder - 2 tsp

Vegetable Shortening - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Luke Warm Water - 3/4 cup

For Stuffing
2 Medium sized potatoes, boiled and mashed
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 large capsicum, finely chopped
1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
4-5nos baby corn , finely chopped
2 green chillies, slited lengthwise
curry leaves - one tight fist, finely chopped
ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
fresh coriander for garnishing
salt to taste.

Method

In a large bowl, Stir  together flour, Salt, Baking powder. With a  pastry blender/hands gradually mix the shortening until u feel like a coarse meal. Add enough warm water to make a soft, not so sticky dough, let it rest for 20 minutes.

Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead of 5 minutes.  Divide them into 10 balls, roll out each ball as thin as possible. Cook until brown on both sides, dont add any oil/ghee. Flip every 5 seconds, to ensure even cooking. Once Cooked, Keep them wrapped in towel.

The Filling

Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard seeds, add green chilles, curry leaves, add onion, cook until translucent, Add tomatoes and saute for a minute or two, add ginger-garlic paste. Then add rest of the veggies, Add salt, cook in low flame for 5-10 minutes. Add coriander and take it off the flame

Wrapping

Take a tortilla, Place enough stuffing(3-4 tbsp) at one end and roll tightly, secure the wrap using a paper tissue. i actually used a wax paper!!! Enjoy it with some Tomato Sauce.

Wrapping this to Food for 7 Stages of life - Kids Special co-hosted by Radhika and Sudheshna.

And also to CFK - Veggies and Fruits hosted by Lakshmi Venkatesh of Kitchen Chronicles, Event Started by Sharmi of Neivedyam

Reposting for Global Kadai Event - Burritos/Wraps hosted by Divya of Dil Se, Event started by Cilantro

More Green Plumbing Tips!

We all want to save money during these challenging economic times, and making green plumbing improvements is one of the best money-saving changes you can make. But in addition to saving you a lot of green in your wallet, green plumbing solutions around the home are some of the most effective and easy things you can do to reduce energy consumption, to improve your health and to help the environment.


Green Plumbing and Energy Reduction
When it comes to your energy bills, most people focus on their furnaces or air conditioners. But your plumbing system also has a big impact on how much energy you consume.

• Unprotected pipes, especially ones in exterior walls, are responsible for a huge amount of heat loss as water flows from your hot water tank to a faucet. Insulating pipes keeps more of this heat in, significantly cutting into your energy usage and saving you money on your utility bill.

• If you are considering a plumbing remodel, upgrade or new home construction, keeping pipes out of exterior walls altogether will eliminate unnecessary heat loss. Instead, run pipes through insulated and interior spaces where temperature is more regulated.

• Invest in an on-demand hot water pump. These devices send hot water to fixtures in seconds, eliminating costs that arise when hot water is left to sit unused in your pipes and reducing water usage overall.

• Hot water heaters constitute up to 15 percent of your home’s total energy usage. A new, energy-efficient water heater can cut a big chunk out of high utility bills.

Green Plumbing and Your Health
It’s true-—improving the efficiency of your home’s plumbing can have a positive impact on the health of everyone in your household.

• Request a copy of your town’s most recent water report or hire an independent tester to analyze your water. Before you can do anything, you need to know what kinds of substances may be in your water.

• Install a chlorine filter on your showerheads. Eliminating chlorine from your water can ease symptoms of chlorine sensitivity, which include dry skin, itchiness, flaking, rashes and tightness.

• Look into a whole house filtration system that will get rid of chemicals, heavy metals and micro organisms that may be present in the water you use for cooking, bathing, cleaning and drinking. A comprehensive filtration system will also prevent staining and corrosion caused by hard water, and will extend the life of appliances that use water.

• If you live in an area with particularly poor water quality, install an activated charcoal filter or reverse osmosis system. These water purifiers filter out contaminants and make water safer to use.

Green Plumbing and the Environment
Many of us are looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Green plumbing solutions help you do just that. Coincidentally, many of these initiatives can save you money, too.

• Install low-flow fixtures, which can reduce your water consumption by about 60 percent.

• Low-flush toilets are also a great way to restrict unnecessary water usage, saving about 28 gallons of water per person every day.

• Purchase a leak monitoring device that will notify you of leaky faucets, pipes and toilets so you can have the problem taken care of before too much water is wasted.

• Faucet flow reducers are easy to install and can cut water usage by more than 40 percent.

• Replace old appliances with energy efficient models. Dishwashers and washing machines with an Energy Star rating can reduce water use by more than 50 percent.

More About Green Plumbing from Horizon Services...

• Energy-Efficient, Green Plumbing Services for the 21st Century and Today’s Economy