Drumstick Leaves (keerai) soup

This is a very tasty soup full of nutrients and good for a rainy day.
Ingredients:
Drumstick Keerai (tender) - 1 cup
Drumstick -1 (cut into pieces) - optional
Tomatoes- 2
Pepper- 1 teaspoon
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 big or 2 small
Tuvar Dal (Arhar dal) - 1 tablespoon washed.
Coconut oil - 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Method:
In a pressure pan , heat the oil and put the pepper and jeera. When they crackle, add the onion and fry for a minute. Add the cut drumstick, tomatoes and keerai and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the washed dal and pour two cups water and close the pan and put the weight and cook for four to five whistles. After the pressure is down, open the cooker and remove the drumstick pieces and scrape the pulp and add to soup mixture and remove the skin. After the mixture cools down, put it in a mixer and blend well for few minutes and strain. Add more water if the soup is very thick. Add salt as per requirement. Before serving heat the soup and serve hot.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin

A very simple and nutritious snack with fruit, nuts and whole wheat flour. Very filling for hungry kids returning from school.
Ingredients:
1. Whole wheat Flour - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 1/2 cup
3. Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp
5. Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp.
6. Oil/Ghee - 1/2 cup
7. Apples Grated with seeds removed - 2 nos.
8. Finely chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup
9. Milk - 3/4 cup
10. Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp.

Sieve the flour with ingredients 3,4 and 5 three to four times. In a large bowl, combine the flour mixture with Items 2,6, 7, 8. Mix well adding milk. Add the vanilla essence and mix.Stir in one direction preferably till the mixture is smooth without lumps. Grease and dust a muffin tray and pour one ladle full of batter in each cavity in the muffin tray. Pre heat the oven to about 220 - 250 degree and bake the muffins at 200 degree for 20 minutes - 22 minutes. Yippee! The muffins are ready to be devoured by the little and big citizens of your household.

After 10 minutes remove the muffins and cool it on a wire rack so that the underside of the muffin also gets cooled. Storing it immediately in a dabba makes it 'sweat' and it will get spoilt easily.

I am also attaching a photo taken by my son of the only muffin which was left over in the evening. This amount of batter makes six big muffins.
Note: Oven is pre heated to a higher temperature to make up for the loss in temperature when you open the door to keep the muffin tray.

Nei Payasam

I tried making "Nei Payasam " otherwise called "Aravana Payasam" which is made for Bhagavati Seva . I am sharing the recipe here as it came out extremely well.
Ingredients:
2 cups Raw Rice
10 cups Jaggery (Powdered)
Coconut chopped into thin slices- 1/2 cup
Ghee (preferably Cow Ghee)- 350 ml.

Wash the rice well in water. Boil 5 cups water in a vengala panai or any open vessel as if you pressure cook it it will become smudgy. Water can be reduced by 1 cup if rice is very new. Put the rice in the boiling water and cook stirring once in a while seeing that it does not get stuck in the bottom of the vessel. After it is almost cooked (should not be smudged) put off the fire. Take the 10 cups jaggery and pour enough water to submerge it in an uruli or heavy bottomed wide mouthed pressure pan. When the jaggery is fully melted, strain it  for impurities and pour it back into the vessel again. Add the cooked rice and bring to boil. Keep on boiling stirring it often so that it does not get burnt and keep adding ghee little by little leaving about 100 ml for frying coconut. When it is quite thick and done, put off fire. Heat the rest of the ghee in a small kadai and fry the coconut pieces well in the ghee and add to the payasam. The Nei Payasam is ready!!

Tender coconut Tango (for those who do not prefer tender coconut as it is)

 Tender coconut water is a very good medicine for urinary disorders, body heat, indigestion  and helps the body to absorb the other medicines faster. It is an excellent tonic by itself but unfortunately many do not prefer the rather bland and sometimes not so sweet taste of Ilaneer mostly kids who would prefer a Mirinda which is Zero when compared to Ilaneer. This recipe is one of the  way kids could be made to drink Ilaneer . Some people call it Ilaneer Payasam but I have named it Tender Coconut Tango because for the kids to like it , it needs the combination of Ilaneer and Condensed Milk!!(Takes two to tango)

Ingredients :
Tender Coconut water with pulp - Water of 2 coconuts . (Tell the vendor beforehand that you want a "Pulpy" one .
Condensed Milk - 200 ml
Milk at room temperature- 1 cup
Elaichi Powder for flavouring.

Take about 1 tablespoon of the pulp and shred to fine pieces for garnish. Strain the Tender coconut water . Check the remaining pulp for any hard portion of husk sticking to it and remove the same. Put the pulp in blender and blend well to smooth pulp. Add the other ingredients and blend again. Pour in glasses and garnish with shredded "Vazhukkai" (Pulp). Serve chilled.
This may be a better energy booster for kids when they come home after school tired out and you do not need to declare to them about the base of the drink.
Try and let me know.

Thinai Payasam

Thinai is a millet which is widely available. It is called Foxtail Millet. It is a very delicious and tasty millet and I tried Thinai Payasam for Naivedyam during this Navaratri.  Take 1/4 cup of Thinai and soak for 1/2 hr. Cook in pressure cooker with one cup water. Thinai gives volume and so that much water is needed. Cookfor three to four whistles. Take out the cooked thinai from cooker and add to 3/4 lite of boiling milk. Simmer for 15 to twenty minutes. Add 1 cup sugar and 1/4 litre milk and wait till it starts boiling. Take off fire and add cardamom powder. Thinai Payasam is ready

Ubiquitous Idli with a difference

This is a recipe I recently tried . Instead of using Urad fully, I added 1/4 cup barley and 1/4 cup Urad and soaked them for 3 hrs . Soak the idli rice also (2 cups) separately. When grinding, grind all put together and ferment like normal idli batter. the idlis are much softer and spongy. try and see.

Some interesting facts about Barley. This grain has been there from time immemorial and it is learnt that sages like Vasishta and Viswamitra cultivated Barley and consumed the same. 

Paneer creamy spread (for Bread)

This is a yummy protein rich spread, easy to make and even store in the refrigerator and we mostly use it as a spread on Bread or use it instead of butter for Sandwich.

Ingredients :
Paneer 200 gms
Green Chillies 2
Mint leaves - few
Garlic - one or two pods (Optional)
Curd - 2 tablespoons (thick and NOT SOUR)
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Method: Grate the paneer and grind it in the mixie along with the chillies , mint, garlic and sugar. Add the Salt and curd and whip once more. The creamy spread is ready for use. Children love the taste and it is much better than the ready made spreads.I have not tried this spread with any other dish. If you try, let me know.Enjoy!!