orema

  Masala peanuts or masala kadalai we call in tamil is a basically a deep fried snack and i still remember during our childhood days whenever my dad buys masala peanuts from office me , my sister and my grandma used to finish this on the same day itself. Yes my grandma is also a big fan of these masala peanuts. Though my mom and grandma makes all the sweets and snacks at home and i still remember we never buy any store bought snacks but somehow these masala peanuts we always buy from a particular shop from my home town. Suddenly i got a craving for these masala peanuts and my friend who makes this often guided me with few tips and the recipe for masala peanut is here:

(The peanuts which we get will be slightly bigger. I used the raw peanuts without skin and you can use the raw peanuts with skin too.)

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

• In a wide bowl add the peanuts and wash it nicely.
• Drain the water completely.

• Add the besan, rice flour, chilli powder, salt, chaat masala(if using), crushed garlic pods(if using) and mix thoroughly.

• I didn’t add garlic.
• Add few drops of water and ghee to make it into a tight mixture.
• Never add excess water and make the mixture loose.

• Ghee is added to give more crispiness and to retain that too.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
• Sprinkle this peanut mix in oil.
• do not add too much in a batch.

• When the sizzle sound of the oil lessens take out the peanuts from the flame and drain them in the kitchen towel.

• This peanuts will be done very fast and be careful while frying this as this will get burnt easily.
• Store this in a air tight container and enjoy with tea.
• I love to have with curd rice too.

Note:

• If using skinned peanuts just continue with the same procedure or if you don’t want the skin just roast them in a pan for few minutes and rub it.
• Alternatively you can microwave it for a few minutes and take the skin out.
• The entire recipe cane be done  without deep frying. You canbake it in an oven or microwave it too.
• I added crushed garlic in the last batch and i loved the flavor in that.

        As promised in my previous post of Vegetable stock I am posting the recipe of how to make Mexican Rice which i wanted to try for a long time after tasting this in a Vegetarian restaurant and the recipe i tried from here.

It turned out very well and my hubby who always loves fusion cooking and loves to try new dishes liked this Mexican rice a lot.

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

• Wash the rice and drain the water.

• Slice the onions and chop the capsicum .

• Peel the skin of the garlic and finely chop them.
• Puree the tomato in a mixer.
• Soak the red kidney beans overnight and pressure cook this till it becomes soft.
• Drain the water and keep it aside.

• In a heavy bottomed pan, add oil and throw in the chopped garlic.

• Then add the sliced onions and saute till it becomes soft and turns pink.

• Now add the chopped capsicum( i used the red color one).
• Saute well. Add salt.

• Now add the rice and saute well till it turns slightly golden brown.Be careful not to burn it. This is more important as it will give a nice texture to the rice when it is cooked.

• Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well.

• Add the cooked red kidney beans and throw in the pepper powder and oregano.

• Add 3 cups of vegetable broth to this. Check for salt.

• Allow the mixture to come to a boil.  Turn the flame down to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
• Fluff the rice with fork. Do not mash it.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Mine got over so i didn’t use .

Note:

• You can use canned red kidney beans also. In that case drain the water and wash it thoroughly and use.
• Tomato can be replaced with tomato puree also. In that case use 1/2 cup of puree.

HOMEMADE VEGETABLE STOCK

    Vegetable stock | broth which i wanted to try at home for a long time. When i wanted to make a Mexican Rice at home influenced by the one which we had restaurant here , the google search for most of the Vegetarian  Mexican rice includes Vegetarian broth | Stock. So i wanted to try this at home. I made this with the regular veggies which we use at home.

Before making this ensure that the vegetables should be fresh. Because i have seen in many cook books they use the left over veggies which will not give a nice flavor to the stock. When i made vegetable stock yesterday my house was filled with fantastic aroma and here comes the recipe of how to make vegetable stock at home.

INGREDIENTS:(YIELDS 5 CUPS OF BROTH)

METHOD:

• Wash the veggies and chop them roughly.
• Peel the skin of the garlic and ginger and just crush them once with the mortar and pestle.

• In a heavy bottomed wide vessel, add oil and throw in the garlic and onions.
• Saute them in medium flame for 2 minutes.

• Now add all the veggies and mix well.

• Now add the water and add the whole black pepper and ginger to this.

• Now add the coriander leaves | parsley to this and add salt.
• Let this come to a boil.
• Cover this and keep the flame low.

• After 45 minutes to 1 hour switch off the flame and when it slightly cooks down and you can handle the stock pot, strain the mixture and keep the water aside.
• Discard the veggies as all the goodness of the veggies are trasferred to the water.

• If you are using them immediately continue else you can completely cool this and  freeze the stock and use when needed.

• For  3 – 4 days you can store it in a clean box and keep it in the refrigerator.

Notes:

• Normally celery, spring onions, leak are added to the stock. though i get these easily here i wanted to try out with the veggies which we use on daily basis.
• A bay leaf can be added to the stock while boiling to enhance the flavor.
• Do not boil the vegetables for more than an hour else the stock will not be flavorful.
• Freeze it once it is completely cool.
• While freezing the cubes, pour the stock in ice cube tray and once it is set, take out and put them in zip lock cover and freeze them.
• Take out the required portion when you want. Do not re freeze once defrosted.

STEAMED RICE DUMPLINGS- Using idli rava.

      Upma kozhukattai is a easy and healthy dish which is usually made for evening tiffin or dinner at out place. Though my kids doesn’t prefer this very much now a days they started liking this and so i am making this once a week. Usually we make as the same procedure of Arisi Upma but addition of toor dal is optional in upma kozhukattai. But sometimes my mom add moong dal also which i like in upma kozhakattai .

Recently i have started trying this with Idli rava which we can easily find in Indian grocery stores. If not you can wash raw rice and  drain the water and spread in a cloth for 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour inside the home and pulse it in a mixer to get the coarse rava.

INGREDIENTS:(YIELDS APPROX 25 NO.)

METHOD:

• In a mixer pulse the moong dal , cumin seeds and black pepper.(i normaly crush the pepper in a pepper crusher as my kids will prefer this way)
• Mix with idli rava and keep it aside.

• In a pan add oil and temper with mustard seeds, asafoetida , peanuts(if adding) and red chillies.

• Add 5 cups of water to this and add salt to this.
• The ratio of rava and moong dal mixture and water is  1:2.5

• When the water comes to a rolling boil, simmer the flame and add the idli rava + moongdal mixture.
• Add coconut(if using) at this stage.
• Mix well without any lumps.
• Let the flame be in medium.
• Stir well.

• When the water gets absorbed completely switch off the flame.
• When the mixture becomes warm and can handle the heat with your palms start making round shaped balls or oblong shapes.
• Steam in a greased idli maker for 8- 10 minutes.

• Serve hot with any chutney .

Note:

• Do not leave the cooked idli rava mixture open for a long time else it will become dry and end up in hard and dry kozhukattais.
• Make it when it is warm.
• Grease you hands with a few drops of coconut oil while making balls.
• Do not steam this more than 12 minutes else the kozhukattais will become hard and break while taking out.