BREAD THAYIR VADAI

I love thayir vadai [Lentil dumpling soaked in yogurt].Each and every time I eat out at my favorite restaurant [or any restaurant for that matter], I never fail to savour it.Mom too makes it often and I am never bored .

Recently there was a 'forgotten' loaf of bread and I decide to give it a second chance and came up with this recipe.Its so simple that even kids can prepare it in a jiffy[Provided they have adult supervision].


You need:

Bread slices

Thick curd/yoghurt

Salt,Red chilli powder to taste

Oil - for deep frying

1.Immerse bread slices in water one by one for a few seconds and drain the water by pressing it between the palms.

2.Shape them into balls

3.Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the balls till golden brown .Drain and keep aside.

3.Combine curds,salt and red chilli powder.

To Serve:

Place a bread ball on the serving plate and pour a generous helping of curd mixture over it.

Garnish with grated carrot,coriander leaves.

There is another variation.If you have leftover vegetable curry keep that as the filling and deep fry the bread balls in oil and serve soaked in yoghurt or as such with tomato sauce.

Usually,the thayir vadai is immersed in hot water as soon as it is deep fried and then soaked in curds.By this technique,the vadai absorbs less curds and is very spongy to taste.You can follow the same method for bread thayir vadai if you want a spongy vadai instead of a crunchy one.

BABY BRINJAL IN TANGY SAUCE-JFI TAMARIND

I have always wanted to participate in JFI but somehow I kept postponing it.Few days ago as I was surfing the net,I stumbled upon Sig's announcemet on JFI-Tamarind and immediately I wanted to be a part of this mega event.

Presenting-Baby brinjal in tangy sauce-a traditional dish in a new name ,cooked in a new method!


The saying - ‘The way to a man’s heart is through is stomach’ may be very true but what if that food affects his heart??? Scary thought, huh?? Each and every day we hear about ‘cholesterol, heart blocks, low fat diets …… -the list is endless.

A tasty dish does not necessarily mean it has to be laden with oil. Even the traditional recipes that use loads of ghee or oil can be modified to ‘low fat / fat-free’ version and still be lip-smacking.

This is one such dish which is very delicious when cooked in lots of oil .It is originally called ‘Ennai kathirikkai’ meaning brinjals cooked in oil!!!!.But I have modified it and used very little oil [just for seasoning] without compromising the taste – Thanks to the microwave !

You need :

[Tender] Baby brinjal – ½ kilo
Tamarind – big lemon size

Fry in a little oil and powder coarsely:

Gram dhal – 5 teaspoons
Urad dhal – 5 teaspoons
Red Chillies – 8-10
Asafoetida – a pinch
Sesame seed – 2 teaspoons [roast separately without oil]

Seasoning:

Mustard – ½ teaspoon
Gram Dhal – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – a few sprigs
Oil – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

1. Remove the stalk from the brinjal and make a few slits on the same side.
2. Check for ‘wormies’ and stuff it with the powder. Save the remaining powder.

3. Arrange the stuffed brinjal in a microwave proof dish and microwave in 80% power for 6 minutes or till almost tender. 4. Make a thick extract of the tamarind[2 cups or more if you want more sauce]. Strain and keep aside.
5. In a pan heat oil and add the seasonings and wait till it splutters and turns golden brown.
6. Put in the brinjal and stir for a few seconds.
7. Now add the tamarind extract and salt and let it simmer,stirring lightly.
8. When it reduces to half the quantity, add the remaining powder mixed with a little water.
9. Keep stirring gently till the sauce thickens.
10. Serve hot on a warm bed of rice.



Note:
Do not microwave the brinjal till tender as they will also get cooked in the tamarind sauce and fall apart.

There is another way of preparing the same dish. Powdered spices like saunf, cinnamon, cloves can be added while preparing the powder and also the slits can be made from the other end keeping the stalks intact.

WHO AM I.....

I am into blogging for the past 6 months and have been requesting my family & friends to have a look at my blog. Recently many of them expressed the fact that they had stumbled upon my blog but didn’t know it was mine coz I am publishing it under the name ‘Creative cook’.


You may be knowing the story behind the birth of my blog.When I started it ,I had lots of time to spare and I was so much into it that I could not call it quits when I learnt that there was going to be an addition to my family, through my journey to motherhood and even more so now with a 5 month old in tow. Every spare second I am planning/cooking/photographing/writing for my blog. The efforts that go into it should count for something so I decided to let the world know who I am.

Thus 29 posts later, I am letting out the little ‘secret’!Here I am-Padmajha Suresh-a Dietitian and Health educator, who loves to cook and experiment in the kitchen.

This blog is becoming a means for sharing my family recipes and those that I collected from friends and other places and also a dossier where my lil-one can look-up to when she starts her experiments in this lovely field .

Collecting recipes, crockery and cutlery interest me greatly and I have a wide collection to flaunt. My other passions include performing/listening to music[I am a music [veena]graduate as well], reading books on a wide range of topics, Philately[Inherited the interest from my dad],watching old[B&W] movies and my latest one is blogging.

Continue your expedition to the magical world of cookery with me…Happy cooking!!!!

RASAM POWDER

You Need:

Coriander seeds - 1 cup

Pepper-1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 cup

Toor dhal - 1 tablespoon

Chilli - according to taste

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Oil-2 tablespooons

1. Dry roast coriander seeds till a nice aroma arises.

2.Roast the rest of the ingredients together till the dhal turns brown.

3.Let it cool.

4.Combine all the roasted ingredients and grind to a fine powder.

5.Store in an airtight container.

SAMBAR POWDER

Sambar powder needs no introduction in South Indian homes.Each and every household have their own version of sambar/rasam powder.These magic powders can turn a dull meal to a feast.This is my mom's recipe and I took extra packs of her 'Sambar Podi' when I left India-One reason ,I didnt want to miss her Sambar,Two my sambar powder recipe is yet to be mastered to her taste.

You Need:

Coriander Seeds - 1 cup

Gram Dhal - 2 tablespoons

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tablespoon

Red chillies- adjust to taste

Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon

1. Dry roast coriander seeds till you get a nice aroma
2. Fry the remaining ingredients together in a little oil.
3. Cool and powder all ingredients togerther finely.
4. Store in an airtight container and use as required.

A COINCIDENCE???

Again,this is a mail I recieved from a friend.Knowing that I am a dietitian many of my friends forward anything they find intersting on food.This is one such mail.

A Coincidence????

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes...

'The news isn't that fruits and vegetables are good for you, it's that they are so good for you, they can save your life.' David Bjerklie, TIME Magazine, Oct. 2003.