Chocolate Brownie (Egg Less)

This is a low fat , Eggless, wheat flour recipe.

Ingredients:

Skim Milk - 1 and 1/4 cups

White Vinegar - 2 Tbsp.

Wheat Flour - 1 and 1/2 cups

Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup

Soda - Bi- Carbonate also known as cooking soda or Fruit Salt - 1 Tsp.

Sugar - 1 and 3/4 cups

Oil - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence 1 - 2 Tsp.

Crushed Walnuts - 1/4 cups.

8" square tin

Preparation:

1.      Boil milk. Add vinegar. Let the milk curdle and remove from heat. Let it cool.

2.      Add all the dry ingredients (Wheat Flour, Cocoa Powder, Soda - Bi- Carbonate and, Sugar) in a mixing bowl or a deep dish. Mix well, until all the ingredients gets blended and is a smooth powder.

3.      Now add oil and the curdled milk with the water. Add essence. Mix well with a blender ( you can either hand mix or use an electric blender).

4.      Grease an 8 inches square baking tin. Dust with flour. Put the cake batter in it. Sprinkle crushed walnuts on top.

5.      Bake in an oven at 160 ^o C / 320 ^o F for 40 minutes.

6.      Remove the Brownie from the oven, let it cool and cut it into cubes.

Okra/ Ladies Finger roas/ fry using Microwave

Required:
Okra/ Ladies Finger – 1 Kg/Pound
Salt – as per taste
Chilly powder - as per taste
Mustard, Urad dhal, Channa Dhal, and Hing - 1 tsp for seasoning.
Oil 1 tbs.

Preparation:
In a microwave vessel add Oil, Salt, Mustard, Urad dhal, Channa Dhal, and Hing for seasoning. Close the vessel with the microwave splatter guard. And heat high power for  1 Min or until the mustard splatter. Now add chilly powder and cut vegetable and mix well. Close the vessel and microwave for 6 mins. The Okra will get cooked now. Remove the lid and microwave (without lid / open container)  Okra for 3 mins. Stir and microwave again for 3 mins. Let it cool. The Okra will be nicely roasted and can be eaten with hot rice Rasam or Sambar.

Notes:

1.      If you do not have splatter guard. You can prepare the seasoning in a tava. Add the seasoning to the vegetable and then microwave.

2.      Based on the amount of Okra, you should reduce the microwave time.

3.      The same method can be used to roast potato or other vegetables. Cooking time varies based on the vegetable.

4.      Microwave helps to reduce the amount of oil used in cooking. Also for working women it reduces the time spent in the kitchenJ.

Venn Pongal / Salt Pongal

This is for my friend Rathi. She says the pongal I had made the other day tasted very nice and according to her -  "it had the stamp of Iyengar pongal J .   So here  we go:

Required:
Rice – 1 Cup
Moong dhal (Pyatham Parupu) – 1 Cup
Pepper – 1 Tsp.
Jeera – 2 Tsp.
Hing – a pinch
Turmeric – 1 pinch (optional)
Salt – as per taste
Curry leaves – 4 – 5 leaves
Green Chilli – 1No.
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Water – 1 :2 ( 1 cup rice and dhal  means 2 cups water)
Ghee – 2 - 4 Tbs.
Cashew  -  as many as u want J


Preparation of Seasoning / Tadka:
Powder the pepper and jeera in a mixer (dry powder). Heat ghee in a tava and add the ground powder, curry leaves, cashews roast for 1 min. Add hing and take it out of fire.  Keep it aside.

Preparation of Pongal:
Heat 1 tsp. of ghee in a fry pan, add the Moong dhal and fry for 2 mins. Or until you get the roasted smell (very light brown).  Mix the roasted dhal and rice in the cooker. Add 4 cups of water, salt and green chilli. Lightly crush the ginger and put it in the cooker. Switch on the cooker and pressure cook for 4 – 5 whistles. Simmer for 2 mins and switch off the cooker.
Once the pressure goes down, open the cooker. Add the seasoning/tadka. Mix well. If needed you can add more water and simmer for a minute or two.


Notes :

1.      I do not cut the Ginger, since I don’t like to eat Ginger , but it is required for the Pongal preparation. This way after cooking, I take the ginger piece from the rice and throw it.

2.      If you are health conscious and want to reduce the amount of ghee, you can replace 1/2 of it with cooking oil. Use oil and ghee mixture only when making the tadka/seasoning.

3.      You can also add the tadka/ seasoning in the cooker and then pressure cook.

4.      You can also use whole peppesr and powder only the jeera. (I powder the pepper so that  it will not be  not be wasted ). Also while using whole pepper you need to add little more to get the spice.

5.      Again if you are health conscious, you need not add roasted cashew.

6.      The same method is used while making in electric rice cooker also.

Serves – 3 – 4 people. Eat it hot with coconut chutney and Brinjal gotsu or Moong dhal sambar.

Tamarind Rice / Puliyodharai

Required:
Tamarind - 1 lemon sizes / 1 packet tamarind paste
Methi Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Dhania seeds - 1 tbs
Red Chilies - 6-8
Hing
Curry Leaves
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt – as per taste

Preparation of powder:
Roast all the above in little oil (expect tamarind, salt and hing). Add hing and pepper and let it cool. Once cooled powder them. Heat 1/2 a cup  gingili ( idyam nalla enai) oil, add mustard, curry leaves, and then add the tamarind juice and let it simmer. Add salt, the ground powder and turmeric. Stir and let it simmer for a few mins.  The tamarind rice paste is ready. Cool and store it in a bottle.

Note : If you add the readymade tamarind paste .. the gotsu (pulikachal) will be little thick.. but when kept refrigerated it will come for a longer time compared to taking the juice and making the paste.

Now when you want to make the rice - Just mix the above paste, little salt with rice. Heat oil add some fresh hing, curry leaves and nuts fry and pour it on the rice and mix. The tamarind rice is ready to be served. The amount of paste you add to the rice is as per your taste.  Some like it little less spicy and lighter in color, and some like it dark brown.

Tips:

1.      If you feel you need more spice, just add some dry red chilies while seasoning.

2.      For me pulikachal is like pickle. It is a life saver in case I need to pack lunch for office and I don’t have time and things in the fridge.  So the amount of paste to be added to the amount of rice is like making pickle rice using pickle.

3.      The same paste can be used to make Vatral Kuzhambu. Just add water to the paste and let it simmer add the fried vatral and the season it . You are ready.

4.      This powder can also be used while making brinjal curry  or capsicum curry. After frying the vegetable add this powder and a tea spoon of dry coconut powder ( you can omit coconut powder ).

Hey do try and give me your feed back.