Corn Palak Curry

The cloudy weather and showers were a welcome respite from the heat wave.  And I immediately used the opportunity to prepare some hot rotis with a delicious curry, after a long time. 

Sweet corn is something that is loved by all at home. This combination of sweet corn and spinach is wonderful. A very flavorful curry that gets done in no time.

What you'll need

1. Spinach - 1 Bunch
2. Sweet Corn Kernals - 1.5 cups, Fresh or frozen
3. Onion - 2 Medium,  finely chopped
4. Garlic - 2 cloves, crushed
5. Green Chilly - 2 or 3 
6. Tomatoes - 3 to 4 Medium sized
7. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
8. Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
9. Kasuri Methi - 1/2 tsp
10. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
11. Salt to taste
12. Oil - 1.5 tbsp

Method

1. Wash and rinse the spinach well. Roughly chop and blanch them along with the green chillies.
2. Cool, drain and grind to a smooth puree. Reserve the water.
3. Boil the sweet corn kernals and keep aside.
4. Heat a kadai with oil, add cumin seeds, next add the chopped onions and crushed garlic and saute till the onions are browned.
5. In the meanwhile, grind the tomatoes.
6. Add the tomato puree to the browned onions and fry till all the moisture is absorbed and the raw smell disappears. Keep stirring. This will take approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
7. Add the coriander  powder, garam masala and fry for another minute.
8. Next add the spinach puree and boiled corn. Also add the salt and mix well.
9. Add the reserved water as required to adjust the consistency. Simmer for 2 to 3  minutes.
10. Finally add the crushed kasuri methi and mix.

Serve hot with phulkas or any Indian bread.

Note:

To make a slightly richer curry, add about 2 tbsp of fresh cream and give and mix.

Barley Adai

You must be wondering why I don’t post breakfast/tiffin recipes regularly on my space. It is not that I don’t prepare tiffin, just that they are prepared mostly at dinner time and not for breakfast, which makes it really difficult to click pictures. Moreover, I’m really not good at clicking pictures of these Dosai/Adai varieties. So even if I make them at some time when there’s enough light to click, I keep postponing the task of taking pictures of these items.

The other day, I tried these Barley adais for dinner and they tasted really good not to forget the goodness of barley. Also they were not as heavy as the ones made with the combination of rice and lentils. So couldn't resist clicking. I had some batter leftover, so prepared them the following day morning and took pics. As expected, pics were not up to my expectation, but still I decided to post. Do try these healthy barley adais some time; I am sure you will not miss the rice adais. 

What you’ll need

1. Barley Flour – 3 Cup
2. Raw Rice – ½ cup
3. Tuar Dal – ½ cup
4. Bengal Gram Dal – ½ cup
5. Urad Dal – 2 tbsp
6. Horsegram – ¼ cup (optional)
7. Dried Red Chillies – 3 to 4
8. Asafoetida – a generous pinch
9. Curry Leaves – few sprigs
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil – as required

Method

1. Soak the rice, dals and red chillies for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Grind to a coarse paste adding water. Add the barley flour to the ground paste and mix well.
3. Add the salt, asafetida and curry leaves and mix well.
4. Add water as required to make the batter of pouring consistency.
5. Heat a tava. Now pour a ladle of batter on the tava and spread in a circular motion from center to outside. Just like making a regular dosa.
6. Drizzle oil on all sides and cook on medium flame. Flip and cook the other side too until brown spots appear and adai is crisp.
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately with chutney of your choice.

We had it with Maanga Kootan.

Note:

1. The adai batter does not require fermentation and can be prepared immediately after grinding. But I like to rest my batter for a couple of hours.
2. You can replace the barley flour with barley pearls. Soak the barley pearls for a minimum of 5 to 6 hours.
3. You can add Moong dal/pasi paruppu instead of horse gram.
4. You can add finely chopped onions to the batter.
5. You can replace dried red chilies with cumin and black pepper, that gives a unique flavor.

Mango Coconut Milk Smoothie

I am here with another mango post today. Mangoes are the most versatile of all fruits and hence are rightly called the King of fruits. Apart from eating the ripe juicy mangoes as such, they can be had a variety of forms. You could make anything from a Pulissery, Cheesecake, Kulfi, Milkshake or this Smoothie. You could even use it in muffins and Kheers. 

Here is a wonderful combination of mango and coconut milk. So if you are tired of making the regular milkshake try this, I'm sure you will love it. The amount of coconut milk mentioned in the recipe below, makes a really thick smoothie. If you would like a runnier consistency then feel free to add more coconut milk.

What you'll need

1. Ripe Mango – 1 Big, peeled, diced and frozen
2. Thick Coconut Milk – 1 Cup* (See notes)
3. Sugar – 2 Tbsp

Method

1. Add all the ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Serve Chilled.

That's how quickly the smoothie disappeared, even before I could clear the set up, so thought of clicking the empty glass.

Note:

1. The smoothie was really thick, you can dilute it with a little more coconut milk if you want. I will be adding a cup more the next time.

Mango Kulfi

Today is one of those days, where I have been sitting in front of the computer, writing sentences after sentences and deleting them all. Just not my day to write a post I guess. But I did not want to postpone posting this delicious kulfi. So, go ahead and make these delicious kulfis at home and treat your family.

What you'll need

1. Milk – 2.5 cup (500 ml)
2. Condensed Milk – ¾ cup
3. Mango Pulp – 2 cup (I used the pulp of 2 mangoes)
4. Sugar – 3 tbsp
5. Cardamom – 3 to 4
6. Saffron – few strands
7. Cashewnut/Almond/Pistachio Powder – 2 to 3 tbsp
8. Cornflour – 2 tbsp
9. Pistachio – few sliced for garnishing (optional)

Method

1. Heat milk, condensed milk together until it starts boiling.
2. Add saffron strands and powdered cardamom
3. Also add the sugar and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Make a paste of corn flour with 3 tbsp of cold milk.
5. Add this paste to the milk mixture and keep stirring on medium flame until it starts thickening.
6. Remove from flame and cool completely.
7. Once cool add the mango mixture and the nut powder and mix well until homogenous.
8. Pour into Kulfi moulds or paper cups close lid or cover with aluminum foil and freeze until set.
9. If you want to insert a stick, then, once the kulfi is half set insert the stick cover with aluminum foil and set to freeze again for about 5 to 6 hours.
10. To serve, run the outside of the kulfi moulds under tap water for a minute, this enables the kulfi to come out of the mould easily. Serve as is or cut and serve garnished with few saffron strands and pista slices. The garnishing is optional.

Cucumber Mint Cooler

A glass of fresh lemonade is always a welcome relief on a hot sunny day. I remember I started making lemon juice on my own when I was around 10 years old, but my daughter who’s just 7 surprised me the other day, by preparing this refreshing juice. And she even presented it with a straw and a slice of lemon. Now our family has totally stopped tea in the evenings and look forward to a chilled glass of lemon juice prepared by my daughter.

Now, if you are a person who likes experimenting with your cold drinks, then here is a refreshing way to do so. This summer, try this cucumber lemonade, with the freshness of cucumber, mint and lemon. There are many variations to this drink you can try, apart from the one mentioned below like use honey to sweeten the drink instead of sugar. Why think of only sweet juices, you could completely skip the sugar and spice up the drink with some black pepper powder and chaat masala.

What you'll need

1. Cucumber – 2 cups, peeled and chopped
2. Mint – 8 to 10 Leaves
3. Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp *
4. Sugar – 2 tbsp*
5. Salt – ½ tsp
6. Water – 1.5 cup
7. Ice Cubes

Method

1. In a blender, add the cucumber pieces, mint leaves, sugar and salt and grind.
2. Strain using a fine strainer, add the water while straining.
3. Add the ice cubes in serving glasses and pour the drink over it. Serve chilled, garnished with a cucumber slice and sprig of fresh mint.

Note:

1. Adjust lemon juice and sugar according to taste.
2. For a variation, skip the sugar and spice it up with some black pepper and chat masala.