Rasam~ south indian tomato soup

Hey everyone, posting a recipe after a long time. Actually I was typing it out for my friends, and thought of adding it to the blog as well.

It is called Rasam, its a south indian dish, it has many variations. Some make it with tomatoes only, some add tamarind too, and at times some lentil stock too.

The one I usually make is with tomatoes and tamarind. So sharing my version, you can adjust the sour taste as per your tastebuds.

In my household, it is a very common plus favorite dish, which I make at least once a week, or more at times. It is a best anti dote for flu.

 

Let's look at the ingredients.

 4 medium sized tomato, halved 

 half a lime sized seedless tamarind

1/2 cup tomato puree

1/2 tsp rasam powder

1/4 tsp red cjili powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

oil for seasoning

2 whole dry chili for seasoning

Fresh curry leaves, a sprig

 Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

for the spice mix

1. 1tsp Black peppercorns(kali mirch)

2. 1 tsp cummin seeds

3. 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

4. 8-10 garlic pods(if big pods, then 3)

Crush the dry spices roughly, and then add the garlic and crush it again.

the mix should be coarse not a fine mixture.

Keep it aside for later use.

Below is the coarsely grounded spice mix.

Procedure

1. Add 2 cups of water and bring the tomato and tamarind to boil and turn off the heat after 5-7 minutes OR microwave on high for 4 mins. Let it cool.

2. Take out the tomatoes and tamarind and blend it in a blender to a smooth paste. Once done, sieve the paste directly into a big pot, add the remaining boiled water, add in the tomato paste too, mix and adjust the consistency. It should not be a thick gravy like consistency. It should be more flowing. By straining, you will get rid of the tomato skin and the seeds.

3. Add the rasam powder, turmeric, red chili powder and salt to the sieved tomato mix and heat it for about 10 minute. Fine white bubbles will start to appear on the rasam. Once the bubbles are formed , switch off the heat. DO NOT BRING IT COMPLETE BOIL.

You can see in the above picture.

5. Take a small pan to prepare the seasoning.

heat the oil, add mustard seeds, let those splatter.

then add the dry red chili and curry leaves, once fried, add the grounded spice mix.

fry till the garlic is light brown, then add this  to the rasam mix. See below.

Rasam is ready. Enjoy it with steamed rice, and a side dish of veggies. Or simply serve it in a bowl and savor it like a soup.

Hope you try out this recipe, and enjoy it.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind  feedback :) Have a great day!

Samosa - A savory treat

Hello everyone, I am in Hyderabad for my summer and away from my crafting supplies,  so will be adding a recipe every now and then.

 Adding a picture of Hyderabad, it is very hot and bright,  I wish I have this house in Macau, I will have my own room for crafting!

There are a couple of people who are following my recipes,  and I feel bad for them for not adding, but most of them are family and close friends, so I will be forgiven ;)
Today I am sharing the recipe of Samosas, it is the most famous Indian snack. Plus very famous among my cooking class girls too. Traditionally it is a veg dish, with potatoes filling, but nowadays you can find meat samosas too.

 

But I stick to the tradition and make only veg samosas. There are tons of variations available for this recipe.  This one is my home recipe,  and will be definitely different. 

Ingredients and procedure :

For the pastry:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Caraway seeds - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1/2 TBsp
Water to knead the dough

Procedure :

In a medium sized bowl,  mix in all the ingredients except water. Add water little by little and knead the dough. Your dough should be on the harder side, so my advice here is add water sparingly.
Once you knead the dough, cover it and put aside. 

For filling:

Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1 cup

fresh peas - 1/4 cup

1 green chili finely chopped

1 small onion finely chopped

turmeric - 1/4 tsp

red.chili powder - 1/4 tsp (if you don't want too spicy then choose only r. chili powder, no green chili)

mint leaves  - 1/2 TBsp(no need to chop)

fresh coriander leaves chopped

Chat masala - 1/4 tsp

Amchoor(dry mango powder) - 1/4 tsp

salt to taste

1 tsp oil

Procedure:

Heat oil in a medium sized pan, and fry the onions till golden brown, add the peas, and saute for 5 minutes. now add the potatoes and all the above ingredients and mix well and cook for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. your filling is ready.

I don't have the pictures for the fillings, will click and update when I make next.

                      About to knead the dough

After kneading the dough and letting it sit for 

sometime, knead again for 5-10 minutes till it is soft, and looks like this.

 

 Take a small lime sized dough and roll it in between your palms to make a ball.

Roll it in  an oval shape.

Now cut this in half.

Scoop in a TBsp spoon full of filling

This fold is the most important part, fold from the middle, and then take the bottom and seal it in. If you take long time to do this, then I would highly recommend you to apply a bit of water on the rolled pastry before folding to ensure that it sticks well.

A good fold will let your samosa sit on its own.

I always make quite a few, these are now ready to be deep fried in oil.

I usually fry some and freeze the rest for later use, all you need to do is remove from the freezer and fry immediately, no need to thaw.

Heat oil in a deep pan to a low temperature, and fry the samosas, it will take at least 15 minutes for the pastry to become golden brown and crisp.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup , or any chutneys..I like it with Indian tea.

I can guarantee you that if you follow the recipe and make, you will be treating yourself to a very yummy savory treat.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind  feedback :) Have a great day!

Kheema Aloo masala ~ minced meat with potato curry

I though of finishing up this draft which has been sitting for a very long time on my blogger, I feel guilty for not putting up many recipes, I have many recipes as drafts, I just need to write and post, summer vacation I will be away from my craft supplies, so will catch up on recipes.

Today I am sharing kheema masala, it is a minced lamb dish, very popular from my hometown Hyderabad. There are many versions of this recipe available, this is my home recipe.
This is going to be my first lamb recipe on the blog. My family of four has basically given up on red meat, excluding me - I am already almost a vegetarian! But I cook meat for my hubby and kiddos.
You can cook this dish with beef too.

I cook many other lamb dishes,  will share as and when possible.

Lets look at the ingredients:

250 gms boneless minced lamb

1 big potato peels and cubed

1 medium sized onion

2 g slit green chilli

few mint leaves

1/4 tsp turmeric

3/4 tsp red chili powder(adjust to your taste)

1/2 tsp  garam masala

1/2 tsp coriander powder

coriander leaves

coconut curry paste

Tomato puree - 1/2 cup

salt to taste

1/2 TBsp oil
11/2 cups water

Homemade coconut curry paste:

dessicated coconut  - 2 TBsp

2 cloves

1/16 tsp ground cinnamon

poppy seeds 1 tsp(optional)

2 cloves garlic chopped

1" ginger chopped

blend the dry ingredients first, then add ginger and garlic and a little water to blend in a smooth paste.

coconut curry paste

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan(I am using a tiny pressure cooker), add the onions and chili and saute till golden brown.

 

2. Once the onions are brown add the minced meat, potatoes,and the coconut paste, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt...mix well and let it cook till the meat leaves water and the water dries up completely.

3. This is how it should look.

4.  Now add tomato puree and saute till the puree is cooked, add water and cover it..and cook till the gravy thickens, and making sure the meat is cooked well too.

5. garnish it with fresh coriander leaves, you can add some lime juice too if you like bit tangy.

That's it enjoy it with biryani, veg pulao or roti/naan.

Hope you try making it and like it!

Next recipe will be Samosas.

Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your kind  feedback :) Have a great day!

Kesar Kulfi ~ Indian Ice Cream with saffron

 

Sharing a recipe today not a card. The weather is soooooo hot that I find myself looking for some cold stuff to munch on.
This is my family's one of the most favorite desserts, I always get requests to make this one when I go back home during summer vacation.
Very simple,  no cooking required! 

I didn't make this time, my daughter made this.

Ingredients :
1 small can carnation milk (170g)
1 small can fresh cream (200g)
1 can condensed milk (150-200g)
2TBsp white sugar
1 slice bread (crust less)
1cup full cream milk
A handful of raw peeled pistachios
2-3 pods cardamoms crushed
5-6 strands of saffron

Procedure :
Put everything in the blender and blend till a smoothie like consistency.
Put in the molds or in a container and freeze for at least 5hours or till completely frozen.
Done....remove from the molds, you can cut it or eat straight with the stick.
Scoop the container ones, I usually use small containers to freeze when I rum out of molds, so no need to scoop,  just eat straight from the mini containers.

ready to blend - all the ingredients in the blender

After the blending

in the molds

ran out of the molds, so used a container, will have to use ice cream scoop.

Frozen...and ready set go

 Hope you enjoy this simple dessert.

Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate your feedback, if you are not in a hurry :) Have a great day!

Lobia ~ black eyed beans vadas

Sharing a very simple and yummy recipe.  This dish is full of protein and fiber. Made using whole black eyed beans. I bet yes I do :D, once you eat this you are going to be completely bowled over by this dish. I made it just 2 days back for my friends, and they liked it very much!

You will need:

1. 1/2 cup black eyed beans(soak for 4-5 hours)

 

2.  Drain the soaked beans and keep aside in the strainer for 15 minutes so that all the water is drained.

Once all the water is drained, blend it with some salt, do not make it to a smooth paste. don't add any extra water.

I use a handheld mincer to do this, the texture is just right.

3. Finely chop 1 medium sized onion, 2 g.chilies, a few curry leaves, some fresh coriander leaves and a tiny bit of ginger. add all the chopped veggies to the above blended beans and mix well. adjust the salt if needed.

4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan, once medium hot it is ready. Take about a lime sized bean paste in your hand and squeeze it gently to form a ball, flatten this slightly and add to the oil. Frying turning sides, till it is brown, careful not to make them too brown.

Serve hot, i serve it with Indian tea. You can eat it plain too, no ketchup or sauce is needed.

 

Hope you try and enjoy this simple dish.

Thank you for stopping by, have a great day!