Mysore Rasam

Its been quite a long time that I created a post here.Many things kept me engaged..Exams,Dad's visit,travelling etc.

It was raining all day for the past 3 days.And our whole house was surrounded by water . And we couldn't get any groceries.There was no power supply and I was going insane without knowing what to do.My sister was sick and I was in the verge of catching cold.The continuous slashing rain,numbing chillness and boredom all together made the day grey.So to keep ourselves warm and peppy we made 'Mysore Rasam'. The steaming rice and the hot rasam was like medicine.I felt rejuvenated and cozy after sipping the rasam.

This may not be the authentic recipe for Mysore rasam.What we made was our own version,which is simple,quick and too good.

You will need:
4 Big Tomatoes
1/4 cup boiled Toor Dal
6 cloves of Garlic
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 small gooseberry sized tamarind
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
A pinch of hing
Salt as per taste

Begin by soaking the tamarind in 1/2 liter water.

Dry roast cumin seeds and pepper.Ground them coasrsely.Add toamotes and garlic in the same jar and puree them.Add sugar,salt and chilli powder mix well and keep aside.

In a vessel,heat 1 tbsp oil and add the mustard seeds,hing and curry leaves.Let the seeds splutter.Add the tomatoe paste.And fry until the raw smell goes away.

Extract the tamarind juice and pour over the tomatoe paste.Add the cooked Dal too.Stir and check for salt .At this point,one can add whatever more is required.

Bring to boil and turn off the heat.

We had it mixed with rice accompained by 'Potato Podimass' and 'Masala Pappad'.

Raisin Rocks & Raisin Bars!

Raisin and oatmeal bars form an excellent part of a healthy diet.These bars are not only healthy but delicious too.Snacking on such healthy bars can prevent us from consuming unhealthy stuffs.
There are so many variations to make these Bars.I have tried two different versions.The first one was my own trial while the latter one was from 'ThePioneerWoman'.Surprisingly ,the first one was so good(for my first try!) and it was crunchy and had the right amount of sweetness.And it was rustic and appeared like rocks so I named it 'Raisin Rocks'.
The Raisin Bars are also pretty good.I tweaked her orginal recipe a bit.I used strawberry preserve and minimised the amount of butter.They were chewy and the tartness of the strawberry added an extra kick!



For the Raisin rocks,

I combined in a large bowl,
1/2 cup of Raisins
3/4 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat flakes(crushed)
1/4 cup Oats
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
A pinch of salt



After adding the butter to the dry mixture it will become like a dough.Add a tbspoon of water if necessary.Spread them evenly in a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven of 250 C for 20 mins.





Cut them into square shapes and cool them on a wire rack completely before storing in jar.






For the Raisin bars,



Combine in a large bowl,
1 cup flour
1/2 cup Raisins
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup oats
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder




Spread half of the mixture in a baking dish.Press them with a spatula and make them even.





Now spread 1/2 cup of strawberry preserve over the mixture.





Spread the remaining miture over the strawberry preserve and press them gently.

Bake in a preheated oven of 250 C for 30 mins.



Square them.Cool on a wire rack and store.



Enjoy!

Low Calorie Vegetable Cutlet

Few months back ,I was watching a Cookery show in Vijay Tv called 'Samayal Samayal Kitchen Kiladigal'.The show is more like a contest between two teams(mostly celebrities) and some interesting segments like 'Nodiyil Ready' and 'Aji-no-moto cooking'.A star hotel chef gives a 'topic' and accordingly the teams have to prepare some recipes in the given span of time.
That day's episode topic was 'Health recipe'.One team made 'Soya Upma' and the other team(winner) made this 'Low Calorie Cutlet'.While watching the show,I felt like trying it immediately.The Chef commended it as 'delicious' and he assured that it is considerably 'oil free'.So the same evening I tried out the recipe.I was so much impressed and the Cutlet tasted soooooo much better than the usual fatty Cutlet.This Cutlet is very very low in Calories.It sans Potatoes and consumes less than a tsp of oil.Isn't this a good news for all the Cutlet lovers??
And the other good news is,one can prepare the Cutlet mixture and can store in the refrigerator for a couple of days and can toast the cutlets whenever required.
The real crispiness for this Cutlet comes from the 'Bread Crumbs' (Rusk powder). 1/2 kg of rusk powder costs only Rs.25 and can last for many months when stored in refrigerator.
I'm posting this recipe for all those who missed that episode.Its definitely worth giving a try.


You will need:

4 large Carrots peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes
1 large capsicum de-seeded and roughly chopped
1 Cup of Bread crumbs
2 tablespoon Corn flour
1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
1 teaspoon of Coriander powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
salt to taste
oil





Boil the carrots ,capsicum and tomatoes with very little water for 10-12 mins.


Strain completely and mash them with a potato masher or with a wooden pestle.
Add the dried spices,salt,corn flour and 1 cup of bread crumbs.Combine well.


Shape them into patties and coat them in remaining bread crumbs .
(Note:One can add more bread crumbs to the mixture if the patties are not holding the shape.)
Toast these patties in iron skillet till they become crispy in both the sides.A teaspoon of oil is sufficient for frying a batch of patties.


Serve hot with tomato ketchup..Or place it between two toasted buns or bread slices and devour them as if there is no tommorow!