Lemon Squash

Making squashes with various fruits has become a usual summer time activity at home. They are easy to make and much better by taste and for health when compared to the store bought ones.

Lemon squash is the easiest to make. The squash is so versatile that you can add it up to any other juice to get the lemoney flavor. It makes life so easy when you want to make ice lemon tea etc.

Gulp Gulp Gulp.. Lemon is such a humble little fruit that gives you so much flavor and taste. :)

Check my other squashes too :

Grape squash
Hibiscus squash
Mango squash

Ingredients:

Lemon juice - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 1 cup

Method:

Take the water and sugar in a heavy bottomed vessel and heat it until the sugar melts and bubbles up slightly. Switch off the stove.

Pour the lemon juice while the sugar syrup is hot and mix it well.

Lemon squash is ready. Allow it to come to room temperature and store it in sterilized container.

You can store this is fridge and use it upto one year.

To make lemon juice:

Take the serving glass and fill in 1/4 with lemon squash and rest with chill water. Stir well and serve :)

Tips:

Use the same syrup for making ice lemon tea. Add a tsp of tea powder to 3 tblsp water and allow it to boil. Strain and mix it with 1 glass of lemon juice made above. Add some honey for extra taste :)

Written by: Nithya
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Oats Kuzhi Paniyaram / Oats Ponganalu

The little soft balls called paniyaram / ponganalu are delicious small dumplings haling from south India. The typical traditional recipe would have rice and lentil combination in its batter, but we came up with a different combination having oats and three other lentils to make it delicious and healthy snack or breakfast :)

Oats paniyaram is extremely soft and goes great with mint chutney or tomato chutney :)

Ingredients:

Powdered oats - 1 cup
Channa dhall - 1/3 cup
Urad dhall - 1/3 cup
Green gram dhall (paasi paruppu) - 1/3 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Green chillies - 4
Salt
Cooking soda - a pinch
Grated carrot - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1
Coriander leaves

Method:

Soak the three dhalls together in water for 1 hour.

Now grind the dhall along with oats powder, ginger, green chillies, cooking soda and salt. Add little water while grinding and bring it to dosa batter consistency. Leave this batter alone for 1 hour

Chop onion finely.

Add the chopped onion, grated carrot and coriander leaves to it and mix well.

Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan and pour little oil in all the holes. Now pour the batter into the holes and cook until roasted on all sides.

Serve the oats paniyaram hot with mint chutney or tomato chutney :)

Tips:

Allow the batter to sit for atleast half an hour for best results.

Add ghee while roasting for extra flavor :)

Written by: Nithya
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Lentil Soup / Dhal Soup

On and off I would get some sudden gyan of what I'm eating and what I'm missing out. One such occasion happened last day and I felt I am not feeding myself with enough proteins and iron. Our gym instructor always says we need lots of proteins if we have to tone up quickly and build healthy muscles.

When mom and I listed out ingredients that have proteins and iron we came up with all lentils and greens varieties. So quickly checked the pantry for ingredients and picked moong dhal and methi leaves to make this simple yet very healthy soup :)

Ingredients:

Moong dhal - 1/2 cup

Fenugreek / methi greens - 1 bunch

Garlic - 3 pods

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Wash and pressure cook dhal along with methi leaves for three whistles.

Allow it to cool down.

Grind the cooked contents into a smooth paste.

Chop the garlic into small pieces.

Now take 1 tsp of oil in a pan and saute the garlic pieces. Now pour in the ground dhal greens mixture and add adequate salt and water. Let it boil for 5 mins.

Sprinkle some pepper and serve hot.

Delicious and super healthy dhal soup is ready.

Written by: Nithya
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Aadi Special - Roasted Coconut Dessert

Aadi - the Tamil month begins today. Its a month filled with festivals and discounts :P

The first day of aadi is marked with celebration and prayers in the district of Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Yes! My native is Salem and though I have not been there in Salem for this festival so far in my life time, I have still heard so much about it from my dad. I have also tasted this delicious coconut dessert that my grandma makes and sends it for us :)

This year it so happened that I was in Salem yesterday and chanced to buy the stick to make this dish. Dad explain his childhood experience of making it with his family and so we did today with all at home :) Dad even sung the traditional prayer song while we were roasting the coconut :)

Just imagine the taste of roasted soft coconut along with the juicy jaggery sauce made of sesame, poha and roasted gram. Isnt that tempting?!! It was and is. I am licking my bowl right now :) Yummyyy.

The only sad part of the month is that newly wedded couples have to miss each other for the next 30 days ;) (Oh yeah me too :( ) But can enjoy being back home with parents :)

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Sesame - 2 tblsp
Flattened rice (Aval) - 2 tbsp
Roasted gram (Pottu Kadalai) - 2 tbsp
Wooden stick - for roasting

Method:

Remove the fiber from top of the coconut.

Pierce open one eye of the coconut with a knife. Collect the coconut water in a bowl and preserve it.

Dry roast the sesame seeds in a pan for five mins. Allow it to cool.

Take the jaggery, sesame seeds, roasted gram and flattened rice in the mixie jar and powder it coarsely. This will be the filling.

Now fill the above made filling through the hole made in the coconut. Fill in the entire contents and finally pour in 3 tbsp of the reserved coconut water inside the coconut.

Sharpen one end of a long wooden stick so that it fits the hole made on the coconut. Insert the stick firmly inside the hole. Now mix some turmeric powder with water to make a paste. Use this to seal around the stick and apply the rest on the coconut and the stick.

Next, show this on the flame and roast the coconut on all the sides.

Rotate the coconut and roast on all the sides until it cracks on one side exposing the coconut. This might take roughly 10 - 15 mins.

Remove from flame and allow it to cool. Meanwhile keep the coconut in the pooja and pray to god.

Once it cools down, break the coconut using a stone and remove the pod. Cut open the cooked coconut and transfer the liquid to a bowl.

Slice the coconut into small pieces and add it to the bowl with the liquid. Mix and serve.

Enjoy the roasted coconut dessert :)

Written by: Nithya
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Paneer Pulao

You know!! I was lacto intolerant until I was 1. None of the milk products could be consumed, if done by mistake it would result in high levels of diarrhea and it even intoxicated me is what mom says.. :(

Thank God! All thanks to GOD for getting me rid of it. I cant even imagine being away from milk, cheese, ghee, paneer, sweets, CURD, lassi, butter milk, ICE CREAMS and so on.. My life would have been so boring without them. I am so sorry if my statement is offending the vegans but for me life would have been hard without these because I like them so much :)

This pulao is with one of my latest interests - the paneer. The soft cubes are so delicious when they are in curries, as starters and even in rice. They take the taste of the spices from the dish and bring it out so beautifully when you bite them. :) Yummmm.

This rice is so simple to make yet delicious and grand to serve. :)

Ingredients:

Paneer cubes - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1
Peas - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Ghee - 1 tblsp
Salt - for taste

Method:

Cut the onion into thin slices. Dice tomato into small cubes. Split the green chillies.

Wash and soak the rice for 15 mins.

Take 1 tbsp of ghee and 2 tsp of oil in the pressure cooker and add the cloves, cinnamon piece, green chillies, garam masala and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a min and then drop in the sliced onion, peas and tomato and saute until onion turns golden brown.

Now drain the soaked rice and add it to the pressure pan too. Saute for two mins and then add 2 cups of water and adequate salt. Mix well and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles.

Meanwhile saute the paneer cubes by adding few tsp of oil in a pan. I like my paneer slightly crispy on the sides with soft inner part.

Once the rice is done, remove from pressure pan and mix in the paneer cubes. Serve hot.

Enjoy with onion raitha.

Written by: Nithya
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