Garlic podi / Poondu podi for idlies

Garlic is my favorite flavor and I love them in anything. I always try to incorporate a couple of pods into a lot of dishes that I make. 

This podi is no wonder my favorite :) Its very simple to make and mess free side dish. 

I love to sprinkle this on toasted bread and have it. It makes a delicious desi garlic bread ;)

Ingredients:

Dry coconut (scrapped) – ½ shell

Salt – for taste

Chilly powder – 2 tsp

Garlic – 4 pods

Ghee – 1 tsp

Method:

Scrape the dry coconut and run it in the mixie to get smooth powder. Add salt, chilly powder and garlic pods and grind again until fine powder.

Take a tsp of ghee in a pan and fry this powder for two minutes. Spread it on a plate and allow it to cool for a while and then collect it in an airtight box.  

You can store and use this within 10 days. 

Goes great with variety idlies. You can also sprinkle it on toasted bread and have it. It would be a desi garlic bread ;) 

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Spiced Idly

Oops its been really long! Almost a week and I am already missing my blog. Life has been lately a bit too busy with projects, learning and touring ;) 

Found some good time today and thought of posting an interesting spiced idly variation that can save you for some lunch box packing or a difference in the breakfast menu. I am sure you would love this for the dry ginger and pepper flavor. 

This idly goes well with garlic podi and is so delicious as a pair. Recipe for garlic podi coming soon :)

Ingredients:

Raw rice – 2 cups

Urad dhall – 2 cups

Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

Pepper – 1 tsp

Dry ginger – 1 inch piece

Asafoetida – a pinch

Cashews – 20

Salt – for taste

Oil – 3 tblsp

Curd – 1 cup (aprox)

Cooking soda – ½ tsp

Method:

Soak rice and urad dhall in water for 3-5 hours. Grind into a coarse paste without adding much water.

Add salt to it and mix well. Leave it untouched over night for fermenting.

Take oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds, pepper, powdered dry ginger, asafoetida and broken cashews and fry for a two minutes. Add this to the batter and mix well. Finally add cooking soda and curd and mix well. The batter should be of rava idly batter consistency.

Now oil the idly mould and pour the batter in the holes. Steam cook for 30-40 minutes. Yes! This idly takes a little longer than the usual one and would taste great too.

Serve it hot with garlic podi. Recipe coming soon. 

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

Custard Powder Cheesecake - Women's day Special

Wish all the Women around the world a very happy Women's day :)

I am so proud to be a women who are born literally do miracles everywhere! 

Pillsbury had conducted a cookery contest on the verge of women's day a week back and I had participated in the contest as well. 

They had asked us to use their custard powder to create a delicious dessert and present it for the judges. 

After breaking my head for hours, I came up with this no bake custard powder cheese cake with oreo base and home made strawberry glee on top :) 

The dessert turned out to be very delicious and so did the judges like it too :) The contest was judged by Chef Venkatesh Bhatt of Accord metropolitan along with co chefs from the same restaurant. 

My dessert came as the runner up in the contest :) 

The simple yet delicious recipe is here for you to try!! 

Ingredients:

Layer 1 :

    Oreo cookies – 10

    Butter – 2 tbsp

Layer 2 :

    Custard powder – 5 tsp

    Milk – 3 cups

    Sugar – 4 tbsp

    White chocolate – 100 gms

    Cream cheese – 50 gms
Layer 3 :

     Strawberries – 10

     Sugar – ½ cup

Method:

To form the base layer, crush the oreo cookies into fine powder by pulsing it in the processor.

Melt the butter and add it to the crushed cookies and mix with your fingers. Now spoon in little of the mixture to the base of the serving glass and press with your fingers to set it even. Do this for all the six serving glasses.

To make the cheese cake layer, add the custard powder to half cup of milk and mix without lumps. Now take the remaining 2.5 cups of milk in a sauce pan and add the sugar to it and boil it in medium flame. When it starts to boil reduce the flame and pour in the custard powder mixture and cook until it is thick, glossy yet in pouring consistency. Remove from flame and allow it to cool down a bit.

Meanwhile melt the white chocolate on a double boiler or microwave it for 30 seconds. Now Beat the cream cheese smoothly. Add the melted white chocolate and continue beating until smooth. Finally add the prepared custard to this and beat until well mixed and smooth. Do not over beat or allow it set for long. Do it all quickly and spoon enough quantity into each glass on top of the oreo base.

Set the cheese cake in the refrigerator for minimum of 1 hour. 

To make the strawberry sauce, wash, clean and chop the strawberries roughly. Puree it coarsely in a mixer. Now take the puree and sugar in a sauce pan and cook in low flame until it is thick and sticky yet in pouring consistency. This might take just 10 minutes. Remove from flame and allow it to cool completely.

Pour 1 tbsp of prepared sauce on top of the cheese cake and spread evenly.

Drizzle some white chocolate and decorate with a cookie on top.

Refrigerate again for an hour and serve chill :)

This is how I presented my cheese cake for the contest :)

Written by: Nithya
Send in your queries by clicking here. 

A Recognition - Kungumam Thozhi

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It surely feels great when someone says your work looks great. A simple word of recognition can mean a lot to one and it does a lot to me. When someone appreciates it just motivates me to do more and to think bigger :)

A phone call from an unknown number on a fine morning, I picked up and she greeted in a sweet voice and introduced herself as Vaidehi, reporter from Kungumam. I was surprised as to how they figured out my number and what the call was all about. Within minutes we could catch up well with more conversations and she said she loves my profession and profile and would like to meet me for a longer conversation on it. Until then I wasnt sure where it would all end up. 

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She came home and was surely one interesting person to meet. Though she isnt the first reporter I am meeting, I should say she was much different from others, she was tactful to ask loads of questions and get the maximum information from me :) And she said its going to be on their magazine!!! Felt so proud and happy to be interviewed for a popular magazine and that too about my newly born profession - Food stylist and photographer :)

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In a day, their photographer came home for a work shoot of mine and so was the article prepared by her. 

I was completely excited when the copy came home and to open it up and see the article right in the center of the book occupying 4 pages with large pictures of mine and my work :) along with brilliantly written article from Vaidehi :) 

All thanks to Kungumam, Vaidehi and the others who made it for me :)

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