A Superb Second Year!!!

Om Ganeshaya Namaha

Om Annapoorna Devi Namaha

May the food relishing God Ganesha and the Godess of food Annapoorna bless every person with prosperity.

Two years of cooking, clicking and posting- A wonderful journey where we have learnt loads. On a personal note, along with the recipes that we keep posting, we have also begun to understand the nuances of photography, thus trying ever harder to click better.

Still retaining the most followed Indian blog position on networked blogs, we now have close to 650 followers on facebook. Our blog now records a minimum of 50 visits per day and we strive to do more.

We specially thank Pavan, Usha and Mr. Shastry for being our backbone and foundation.

We thank Reena Sharma, Vijaylakshmi aunty, Shruti Katiyar, Sumalatha Vellore, Parul Shekhar, Sphurthy Yaramada, Mrs. Agarwal, Umesh Agarwal, Kamal Kiran, Shanaaz Sultana aunty, Syed Vikaruddin hussain, Lalitha Rao, Mrs. Krupalakshmi Narayana Sastry ( Avva), Arpit Shekhar, Sunil Kumar Sudhakar and Vijay Bhupati for their constant support and valuable contributions to our blog. We look to publish more of their yummy recipes.

We also thank team Cervello for the food recipe service they provide across India to BSNL customers. Please SMS FOOD to 58877 and have thrilling treats on your mobile.

We would as always thank you for the continued support and inspiring feedback that encourages us to post more and be more creative. We shall together celebrate “food” and shall feed our art, your heart and energize every thought with sumptuous delicacies.

Looking forward for a blooming year 3,

Cheers

Neeharika Shastry
Pratyoosha Gurazada

Mutter Paneer

Does this recipe need an introduction?? A simplest one would be: A North Indian gravy curry.

Preparation time: 20-30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Paneer 250 gms
Green peas (batani) 1 cup (100-150 gms)
Onion 1
Cashews 5-8
Almonds 5 -8
Green chillies 3
Milk 2tbsp
Cinnamon stick (dalchini) 1
Cardamoms (Elaichi) 2
Refined cooking oil 2tbsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) 2tsp
Red chilli powder 1tsp
Pinch turmeric
Pinch garam masala
Salt to taste

Fresh cream and coriander to garnish

Method:

Soak the cashews and almonds in milk for 10-15 mins. Peel the almonds.

Blend to a fine paste: cashews, almonds, 2tbsp milk, cinnamon stick, cardamoms and the green chillies.

Cut the paneer into cubes. Shallow fry till slightly crisp and set aside.

If the green peas are frozen, they can be used directly, else boil the green peas till soft. Set aside. Finely chop the onion.

In a pan/kadai(bandli/mookudu), heat 2tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds and as they splutter, add the chopped onion, a pinch of turmeric and sauté till light brown.

Add the cashew-almond paste& cook till oil oozes out on the corners.

Add the paneer, green peas and stir. Add water as required for the gravy, red chilli powder, salt to taste and a pinch of garam masala. Cook 5-8 mins on low flame.

Hot and creamy mutter panner is done. Garnish with fresh cream and chopped coriander and serve with any of the Indian bread and flavored rice, nothing can seem better for a cold winter evening dinner.

Ariselu

We wish all our blog readers a very happy Sankranthi. May the harvest be bountiful and feed everyone stomach full.

Arisa is a traditional Andhra sweet prepared for Sankranthi. In Andhra, its avakaya for summers and Ariselu for Sankranthi.

Ingredients:
Raw rice (Chawal/Biyyam) 1 kilo
Jaggery (Gud/Bellam) ½ kilo
Ghee 2tbsp
Refined cooking oil 1cup

Method:

For Ariselu, we need new raw rice(Kotta biyyam). Generally for cooking rice on a day to day basis we prefer old raw rice, this is because the older the raw rice, fluffier and harder the output. As ariselu need to be soft and crisp, it is important and necessary to use new raw rice. Also for ariselu, the mixture should bind and stick together. Moreover, it is the harvest season and new raw rice is available now, probably this was the reason why Ariselu were made and are still made especially for Sankranthi.

Wash and soak the 1 kilo of fresh raw rice for 12 hours/overnight. Drain out the water completely and set to dry for 2 hours.

Grind the rice into a fine, dry powder.

In a pan/kadai (Bandli/mookudu), add water and the jaggery to boil to sweet syrup. Keep stirring on low heat till it turns syrupy. (Take a drop of the syrup and press and expand between the thumb and index finger to see it feels and seems like a string. This means the syrup is at right consistency. It is called teega pakam in telugu).

Add the ground rice powder into the jaggery syrup. Add ghee and cover immediately. Leave for 10 mins.

Take average sized lumps of the rice-jaggery mix and pat flat and even on a butter paper/banana leaf to look like flat round bread/rotis.

Deep fry in pre-heated oil and remove onto paper napkins to remove the excess oil absorbed.

Crisp, soft and sweet, Ariselu are done. If stored in a cool dry place they are good for quite a few days. Celebrate Sankranthi with Ariselu and experience the Andhra way of the festival.

Rotu pulusu annam/Tamarind coconut rice

While the literal translation of the name is quite impossible, rotu in Kannada/Telugu means a Pestle and pulusu here means the tangy output. Rotu pulusu annam or rotpulsannam is a traditional rice recipe that is made in most homes in Karnataka and Rayalseema parts of AP. With Sankranti round the corner, this can add to be one of the main course dishes of the festival.

Preparation time: 20-30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Rice 1 cup
Tamarind (Chinta pandu/imli) 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 3 tsp
Red chillies 2
Fresh coconut (pachi kobbari) 1/4th cup
Refined cooking oil 1 tsp
Peanuts A handful
Curry leaves 4-5
Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt to taste


Method:

Pressure cook/cook 1 cup rice.

The traditional way is to use the Rotu or pestle that can be seen in the picture. In olden days this was easily available at home and used. Crushing by hand always gives a special taste. We have used this method to prepare the recipe, more so for the authentic appeal. But now a days, its blenders, grinders and mixers that are easily available. This is also good, considering the ease in work.

In a dry mixie/pestle, grind to fine paste: 1tbsp tamarind ( the dry imli that is available to us), 2 tsp mustard seeds, 2 red chillies, 1/4th cup fresh coconut, a pinch of asafoetida and salt to taste.

Add the above ground fine paste to the cooked rice and mix well so that the rice is well spiced.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and as they pop, add a handful of peanuts (optional, black gram can also be used instead) and curry leaves. Season the rice with this tempering. Rotu pulusu annam or Tamarind coconut rice is done.

Serve as the main course or as an additional item in the menu like it is generally served: to the left bottom corner of the banana leaf, rotu pulusu annam is sure going to be the highlight of the day. The good thing about the recipe is the least use of oil and close to nil frying as most of the ingredients are raw and fresh; the aroma itself spreads a healthy aura. Enjoy Sankranthi with kites, manja and rotu pulusu annam.

Chintaaku Pachadi/Tamarind leaves chutney

It is the season now and fresh Tamarind leaves or chintaaaku is easily available is most places in India. Tangy and spicy, Tamarind leaves chutney is an instant chutney that lasts for at most 2 days if refrigerated. Another of Lalitha’s suggestions, thank you.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20-30 mins

Ingredients:

Tamarind leaves (Chinta aaku) 4 bunch
Mustard seeds 2tsps
Black gram (urad dal/uddipappu) 2tsps
Bengal gram (Chanal dal/senaga bedalu) 1tsp
Sesame seeds (Til/Nuvvulu) 2tsp
Red chillies 4
Curry leaves 4-5
Refined cooking oil 1-2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Pinch of Asafoetida

Method:

Shred the tamarind leaves. The tender ones are tangier and taste better.

Dry roast in a tsp of oil: a tsp each of mustard seeds, black gram, Bengal gram, 2 tsps sesame seeds, red chillies and a pinch of asafoetida. We don’t want anything brown. Set aside to cool.

In the same pan, sauté the tamarind leaves without heat. That is the heat present in the pan and oil are enough to cook the tamarind leaves. Set aside to cool.

Grind together to a fine paste: The tamarind leaves, mustard seeds, black gram, Bengal gram, sesame seeds, red chillies, asafoetida and salt to taste. Add a little water if required to make a fine a paste.

For the seasoning, heat a tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds and as they pop, add the black gram, curry leaves, and another pinch of asafoetida. Either add the seasoning to the chutney or vice versa and cook a min or two on low flame.

Chinta aaku pachadi is done. Tamarind leaves chutney is a typical Andhra pachadi and goes well with rice but given its tangy and spicy taste it should make a good chapathi/phulka supplement too. Lookout for the tamarind leaves and enjoy the chutney.