Brinjal Kotsu - The best match for Idly

Idly comes two times a week in the breakfast cycle at home. On the first day all of us would welcome it with a smile and eat it with any side dish that is available. But on the second day, Idly and I would share a very sad glance at each other. :( Yup I get bored so easily..

So its only the side dish that makes me smile at idlys again. :) Kotsu is one such super dooper combination with Idly that I can afford to have more idlys than ever. :)

Ingredients

Brinjal(egg plant) - 3
Potato - 3
Onion - 3
Moong dhall - 1/2 cup
Coconut scrapings - 3 tbl sp
Tamarind extract - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Jaggery - 2 tsp
Chilly powder(sambar powder) - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - for taste
Curry leaves

Method:

Pressure cook the moong dhall and keep it aside. Dice onions, brinjal and potatoes into small pieces.

Now in a pan take a tsp of oil and splutter the mustard and curry leaves. Add the diced vegetables and fry till it gets cooked. Add the cooked dhall, turmeric powder, tamarind extract, jaggery, chilly powder and salt to it. Grind the coconut scrappings adding little water to it. Pour it into the gravy and mix well. Let this boil for few mins. Kotsu is suppose to be thick in consistency unlike sambhar.

Yummy Kotsu is ready to serve. Serve it hot with idly or dosa. :)

Happy eating :)

I am happy to send this along with my Tortilla and salsa combo as an entry to Pari's lovely event called "The combo event".

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Jello Mello :)

Jello Mello is a very interesting twist added to the easily made jelly that kids and kids by heart enjoy. :)

It looks pretty exciting and would make people take a second look and thought of how it was made before eating it. :)

I got this idea from a fellow blogger who calls herself "The Food Librarian" and she truly is one. Do visit her blog to see more exciting recipes.

This marble like looking delight was surely a hit at home. :) :) :)

Ingredients:

Jelly crystals - 3 boxes of different flavors. (Brands could be REX, China grass, Weikfield etc.)
Milk maid(Condensed milk) - 3/4 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Gelatin - 4 tsp(or as per the pack instructions)


Method:

Make jelly as per the instructions given in the pack. Use a little less water than what they ask you to use so that the jelly is a little firm to cut. Now set it in 3 different trays. I used raspberry, orange and lime. Leave it in the refrigerator over night or at least for 3 hours.

After chilling the three flavors, cut them into small cubes. Now mix them carefully in a larger pan(tray/mould) and keep it aside.

Now in a separate bowl, take 4 tsp of gelatin and dissolve it by adding 1/2 cup of hot water. (some brands of gelatin requires cold water to bloom and some ask for hot water. So proceed according to the pack instructions for this step).

Once it dissolves, add the remaining 1 cup of water and 3/4 cup of condensed milk to it and mix well.

Now pour the milk mixture over the mixed cubes of jelly and set over night in the refrigerator.

The condensed milk layer was suppose to be perfectly white in color. But the culprit orange jelly gave out its color to the white layer making it kind of dull orangish too. :( Anyways it tasted awesome so no issues about the color.

Cut them into desired shapes and serve. :) Happy making. :)

Note:

If you find vanilla flavored milk based china grass powder in the store you can very well use it instead of the condensed milk mixture to make this.

People who don't prefer gelatin in their food can substitute it with china grass.

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Strawberry Ice Cream :)

I am still a kid by heart. I crave for ice-creams and would not mind living on it. :) (My dentist hates this wish of mine :( )

I am sure lot of you would say "Same pinch". I guess Ice cream is one of the dish that is available in every country and is liked by all ages.

When it is so much interesting, would it not be all the more interesting to make it at home by yourself?!!!!!

Here you go for the easiest method of making a lovely delight. :)

Ingredients:

Milk - 1/2 liter
Strawberry flavored custard powder - 1 pack(20 gms)
Sugar - 3/4 cup

Method:

Take the custard powder in a small cup and add 2 tsp of milk to it and mix it into a smooth paste. Keep this aside.

Now boil the remaining milk in a heavy bottomed vessel till it thickens to half its quantity. simmer the stove and add the sugar as well as the custard paste to the milk and mix well. Keep stirring for just two mins and switch off the stove. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool for a while. Now leave it in the freezer for an hour or so. By this time the custard would have set and come to the right consistency.

Now take out the custard and blend it in mixie to a smooth paste again. Now transfer it back to a bowl and place it in the freezer for two hours. Once again take it out and blend it in the mixie and freeze it again. Repeat this process three time minimum. This would make the ice cream really creamy and smooth. :) Finally transfer it to the serving bowls and freeze it.

Decorate it with some strawberries and serve. :) Enjoy eating the chill delight. :)

Note: You can make loads of flavors in ice creams. Custard powder is available in store in more than ten flavors. So just make your choice and enjoy.

If you don't find your flavor ready at store, just use the plain custard powder along with food color and the respective essence to custom make it.

There is one more healthier choice. Just use plain custard powder along with a cup of the natural fruit pulp and make the ice cream. I am sure it would taste much more yummy this way. :)

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Iced Sugar Cookies - Valentine's day special

Wish you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!! :)

Though there is nothing much for me to do with this day, I really cant let my blog starve on a happy day when there is a lot of celebration around. So I am celebrating the love for my blog and the love spread all around me.

Love you mom and dad. Love you all my friends. :)

The A and P are my Sis and Bil :)

I was badly looking to bake something and was also wanting to make some heats. So was googling for a while and found this simple yet interesting cookies in Deeba's lovely blog. If you have not visited her blog before, do it right now. She is just too amazing in everything that she does.

I dint make much of changes in the recipe but would still post it here.

Ingredients:

Butter - 3/4 cup
Castor sugar - 1 cup
Egg - 1
All purpose flour(Maida) - 2 1/2 cups
Salt - a pinch(avoid this if your butter is salty)
Almond essence - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy and light. Now add the salt, vanilla essence almond essence and beat for 30 seconds. With a spatula mix in the beaten egg. Finally put in all the flour in one go, and gather together to make a firm dough. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in wrap.

Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut with assorted cookie cutters. Preheat the oven to 190deg C. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes, watching closely so that they don’t get too brown.

Remove from oven and let the cookies lay on the sheet for a minute. Let the cookies cool on the grill for a while.

This recipe makes approximately 8 dozen 1 ½” small cookies.

For the icing - I simply used icing sugar mixed with just enough water to make it thick and flowing. Add the required food color and drizzle on the cookies as you like. Be creative and have fun.. :)

Iced sugar cookies is ready to eat.. Its yummm and absolutely attractive for kids. :)

Note: You can dip the cookies in melted chocolate and make it taste and look interesting too. :)

This is a cute card that my brother-in-law gifted to my sis today. :) Was happy to see a cute valentine couple at home. :)

My festive mood is always reflected by my Kolam design in the entrance. So here is my valentine's day kolam. :)

I am happy to send this to Priya's "Heart's for St. Valentine's day" event

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Badam Halwa

Badam Halwa!!! Your mouth would start watering by just saying the word isn't it!

Yes its one of the most delicious, rich, expensive and drool worthy Indian sweet. You can easily flatter your guest by serving them home made badam halwa. :)

Me and mom had made 2 kgs of this halwa and packed it with us to native. All our relatives gave one common expression.. and it was ummmmmmmmmmmm... :):):):)

All smiles!!!

Ingredients:

Badam(Almond) - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Milk - 3 cups
Food color- yellow - a pinch
Saffron strands - few

Method:

Soak badam in warm water for 2- 3 hours. Now peal the skin and grind it in mixie into a paste(not so smooth) by adding little milk to it.

Take the ground paste, the remaining milk and sugar in a heavy bottomed vessel or a nonstick pan. Keep stirring it in medium flame till it becomes slight thick. Once it reaches dosa batter consistency, add the food color and ghee and stir for just two mins till it all blends. Now switch off the flame and let it cool. Don't panic if the consistency is lose, it would automatically become thick once it cools down. Top it with saffron strands. :)

Yummy home made badam halwa is ready to eat. :)

Enjoy eating the truly Indian delicacy. :)

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Spring onion Capsicum Noodle Soup

Decoration: Carved the capsicum top out to make a flower vase. Made an arrangement using spring onion tops with buds and a paper flower that I made.

I am back from my vacation and badly down with cold and cough. Yup it happens! When the climate, water and surroundings change drastically, its hard to maintain fitness. All you can do is get back and take rest for a week with a hot soup everyday. I am sure one can be back with josh as I am now. :):):)

Spring onion and capsicum are really healthy green vegetables and say what about noodles.. :) its universal favorite of all. So combined them all to make a very exciting soup.

Ingredients:

Diced capsicum - 1/4 cup
Finely chopped spring onion / onion - 1/4 cup
Chopped spring onion tops - 1/4 cup
Aji-n0-moto - a pinch(It enhances the taste. But health conscious ppl can avoid it. May be next time I too will avoid it :) )
Butter - 2 tsp
Cooked noodles - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Corn flour - 1 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - for taste
Grated cheese - for topping(optional)
Salt - for taste

Method:

Heat the butter in a pressure pan and fry chopped spring onion and capsicum. Add aji-no-moto and little sugar to it and fry for few minutes. Add 3/4 th of the spring onion tops. Now sprinkle some corn flour and pour enough water or stock and pressure cook for one whistle. Let this cool for a while. Now puree the cooked mixture in mixie and strain well. (don't strain if you like your soup chunky)

Crush noodles to small pieces and cook till it becomes soft in just enough water and keep it aside.

Now add milk and cooked noodles along with enough salt to the pureed mixture and reheat in reduced flame.

Spring onion capsicum noodles soup is ready to eat.

Serve it hot topped with grated cheese, pepper and rest of the finely chopped spring onion tops. :)

Happy making. :)

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com

Siyaali

Idly is a staple food that south Indians prefer and most of them would have idly as their breakfast. And for home chefs like us, its a tough task to make them in right numbers to exhaust it all for breakfast.

We would surely find lots of idlys left over sometime. So when you face such a situation, there is a yummy recipe to convert it into a very sought after tiffen for the evening or for dinner. Thats nothing but Siyaali. :)

Ingredients:

Idly - 10
Onion - 2 big
Bengal gram dhall - 1 tblsp
Urad dhall - 1 tblsp
Red chilly - 3
Coriander seeds - 1 tblsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Tamarind paste -1 tsp
Salt - for taste
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves


Method:

Take a tsp of oil in a pan and fry bengal gram dhall, urad dhall, red chilly, cumin seeds, asafoetida and coriander seeds till they turn golden brown. Now powder the fried ingredients coarsely and keep it aside.

Cut the idlys into square pieces of same size. In a pan take a spoon of oil and crackle mustard and curry leaves. Add finely chopped onions and saute for a while till the onions turn golden brown. Now add tamarind paste, turmeric powder and the above powdered masala and fry just for a min. Add little salt to it.(Do keep in mind that the idlys already have salt in it.) Now add the idlys and saute for few more mins mixing it well. Finally add chopped coriander leaves to it. S

Siyaali is ready to eat :) Happy making :)

Note: Just in case you dont have time to make the masala powder, just add idly molaga podi which would taste good too. :)

Written by: Nithya
post your queries to fourthsensesamayal@gmail.com