SPINACH SALAD

There are so many salad varieties we are serving as a side dish for the briyani and pulao varieties. But this salad is a rich one compared to others by its sheer colorfulness as well as its delicious taste! Mulaikeerai and ponnangkanni keerai can also be used instead of spinach [palak] keerai!

கீரை சாலட்:

Ingredients:

Spinach- a small bunch
Finely chopped green chillies-2
Finely chopped ripe tomato-a small one
Finely chopped Sambar onions-15
Finely chopped ginger- half sp
Cumin seeds- half tsp
Asafetida- half sp
Gingelly oil- 2 tbsp
Finely chopped coriander- 1 tbsp
Enough curd
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Wash the spinach leaves and chop them finely.
Heat a kadai and pour the oil.
Add the cumin seeds and when they splutter add the chopped onion with the ginger and the green chillies.
Fry them finely.
Add the finely chopped tomato with the asafetida and fry them nicely until the tomato is finely mashed and the oil floats on top.
Add the finely chopped spinach along with the coriander.
Cook on medium fire.
In the half way add one or two pinches of salt according to the taste and the quantity of the spinach.
Put off the fire when the spinach is cooked well and still in the green colour.
When cooled mix with a liberal quantity of fresh curd.
Enjoy with a hot pulao!

Monsoon munches - Mundiri Vengaya Pakoda - Cashew Onion Fritters

MONSOON MUNCHES

MUNDIRI VENGAYA PAKODA
My mother - in - law was an expert in preparing delicious Pakodas. She used to prepare them by the time my father - in - law and his friends settled down in their garden chairs after their evening walk in the golf course. I ran up and down serving them the hot delicious snacks as and when my mother - in - law drained them out on the serving plates.
Hot coffee and crunchy yummy pakodas are an ideal combination to while away time on a lazy rainy day.



INGREDIENTS

Besan ( Bengal gram flour) - 200 gms
Rice flour - 2 heaped tbsps
Onion - 1 big ( Finely minced)
Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup
Green chillies - 2 ( finely minced) or 4 if you need it more spicy.
Finely chopped curry leaves- 2 tbsps
Chilly poweder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - for frying
METHOD

1. Mix finely chopped onion, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves, salt, chilly powder, cashew nuts and cumin seeds in a bowl.
2. Mix in the besan and rice flour to the mixture and knead lightly until the flours become moist with the juice of onion and salt.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and decrease flame.
4. Take out 3 tbsps of hot oil from the kadai and pour over the flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
5. Mix few drops of water little by little until the flour binds all the ingredients loosely together. 6. Increase the flame.
7. Pinch a marble size of dough and drop it in hot oil without shaping it. Pinch and drop some more pakodas in hot oil and cook them in batches.
8. Flip the fritters using a perforated ladle, and cook till all the pakodas become golden brown in colour.
9. Remove the pakodas and drain them on a paper towel.

Serve the crisp hot and spicy Mundiri Vengaya Pakodas with coconut chutney or tomato sauce.

Mango Murabba in Microwave

In my kitchen, raw mangoes is generally used to make instant pickles or in any kuzhambu/kootan. Blogging introduced chunda and henceforth I make at least two batches during the season.  This year two I made chunda. I just happened to find some raw mangoes in the market, even after the season has come to an end. I was searching for a raw mango jam recipe where in jaggery could be used in place of sugar. And I landed at Shubhada's place.

I decided to do it in microwave as is my practise whenever I make any jam. I find it easier than the stove top method.  It took only 7 minutes in MW and got around 200 gm of murabba with the following measurement. It stays good with out refrigeration. Since the quantity was less, it got over in a week.

Ingredients

• Raw mango, grated - 1 cup
• Jaggery powdered - 2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tspn

 Method

Mix the grated mango and jaggery in a microwave safe bowl. Micro high for 7 minutes, giving a mix at intervals of two minutes. Give a standing time of a minute or two and it will set.  Drop a spoonful and see if it falls in flakes and it is done.

Consistency is also important to determine the shelf life. While making in MW, you don't need to add extra water for cooking. This also helps in increasing the shelf life. It keeps good without refrigeration. I used mango:jaggery in the ratio of 1:2. Adjust the jaggery according to its sweetness and the sourness of the mango used. I wanted the tangy taste from mango also to be felt and not to be drowned in the sweetness of jaggery. I found using 2 cups was indeed very sweet.

 I am sending this to MEC:Favorites hosted by PJ, started by Srivalli. Also this joins the 365-days of microwave cooking project of Srivalli.