Butter Beans Kurma ( Gravy )

This is one my family favorites. If you are a roti lover, then this one is for you!!! This Butter Beans Kurma  tastes awesome with roti. I have never been able to get hold of these butter beans in Coimbatore, so whenever my SIL visits us these butter beans are sure on the list. They taste awesome, you can even use them in puli kolumbu. My daughters are a big fan of these. Neha will take one butter bean for each chapathi piece ( it will be so cute to watch :) ) This kurma goes well with poori too.

Look at the beautiful butter beans...

INGREDIENTS:

Butter Beans -  1 1/2 cups

Saunf - 1/2 tsp

Clove- 1

Cinnamon - 1 small piece ( about 3/4" )

Onion - 2

Tomato - 1

Ginger garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp 

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp

To Grind:

Coconut - 1/2 cup ( scrapped )

Cashew - 4

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Water - as required

METHOD:

1) Heat oil and temper with cinnamon, clove and saunf. Add chopped onions and fry till translucent. Next add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves.

2) Add chopped tomato and fry till mushy and the oil starts to separate. Next add turmeric, chilli and coriander powder and mix well. Add the butter beans and give it toss in the masala.
3) Grind the contents under the title To Grind into a fine smooth paste. Add to the butter beans masala. Add water, salt and mix well.
4) Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Let the pressure release on its own. After opening the cooker, keep back on stove and add garam masala, kasuri methi and garnish with some coriander leaves. Turn off the heat.

 That's it....delicious Butter Beans Kurma is ready!!!

NOTES:

1) Make sure there is enough water before pressure cooking to get the gravy consistency.

2) 3 whistles will be perfect, it will be soft and yet retain its shape.

3) You can replace half of chilli powder with two green chilli as well for a different flavor.

Sending this to,Nupur's My Legume Love Affair event created by Susan and now organised by Lisa and to kids delight

 

Cheers,

Sindhiya.S

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Easy Senai Kilangu (Yam ) Fry

Hi everyone, this yam(Senai Kilanghu) fry is so easy to make. This is best for kids lunch side dish. This is little crispier in outside and so soft inside and the taste is so heavenly. It goes best with curd rice, sambhar. Do try and tell me guys....

Ingredients
Yam - 1/4 kg
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/8 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - to boil
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure
Cut the yam as shown in the picture.
Meantime boil water with little salt and turmeric.
Add the yam pieces to the water .
Let it boil for 4 to 5 minutes and switch it off.
Now strain it in a strainer.
Make a paste using chilli,coriander,salt,ginger garlic paste and tamarind pulp (add water if it is too dry).
Marinate the boiled pieces in the paste and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Then shallow fry the pieces in the oil.
Fry for 2 to 3 minutes in one side, then flip and cook the other side also for 2 to 3 minutes.
Done.

Notes
Marinate the pieces for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
Don't over boil the yam.
Take care while adding salt as we add in two places.



Cheers
Jayanthi B

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Pomegranate Lemon Soda

First I thought to name this drink as Pomegranate Lemon Paneer Soda as I used Paneer Soda in this recipe. Well, as you see then the name gets pretty long (Who cares what the name is as long as the drink is good??) This drink is quite refreshing. Tired of your Diwali purchase or preparing sweets and snacks?? Take a break and have this refreshing drink. And I must say its a feast to eyes as well... The bright red color itself will knock out half of our tiredness :) And no - I haven't added any artificial colors to this drink.

INGREDIENTS:
Pomegranate - 3/4 cup ( 1/2 fruit)
Lemon - 1/2
Paneer Soda - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp ( or to taste )
Ice cubes - as required
METHOD:
1) Pulse the Pomegranate in a mixer and strain the juice.
2) Add salt, lemon juice, soda and mix well.
Look how vibrant the color is

Add ice cubes and serve immediately.

NOTES:

1) I haven't added sugar in this drink as the paneer soda itself is sweet enough.

2) Paneer soda adds a nice flavour, If  you can't get it then just substitute with water ( and add some sugar to taste ) and enjoy as a lemonade, it will still taste good ( I have tried this )

3) I haven't tried with regular soda, but I think it should work too, just add some sugar if required.

Cheers,

Sindhiya.S

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Mini Apple Pies

Pies - I never knew what they were until a few years ago, while I googled about them when I came across the term in a novel. Even after seeing Tom and Jerry throwing it on each other's faces for as long as I can remember, I never knew about them ( I just thought that Tom and Jerry are throwing some creamy stuff on each other faces :) ). Ever since I learnt about them I couldn't wait to try them. Mainly I wanted to try chocolate pie, They looked rustic, decadent and cute too. And as usual anything with chocolate can never go wrong, right?
I never thought of making Apple Pies. Personally I don't like apple much (actually its little less than hate..) But then when I googled about pies, I saw lot of posts on apple pies. Everybody were gloating about it so much. I couldn't understand at all. Surely they were looking delicious, but why such a big fuss ?! ( they don't even have chocolate in it was my crazy thought :) ) Anyway I decided to give it a go ( I was so curious..) and here are the results..

Who would have thought I would post the apple pies first instead of chocolate?  Forgive me for I too am going to gloat about it!!!!!
Yes!!
They were awesome as promised. Even I loved the filling. The pastry was so tender and flaky. The apple filling was moist, juicy and caramel flavored with a slight trace of cinnamon. The cinnamon was not overpowering at all. Your home will swim in the warm apple and cinnamon aroma!!!!

INGREDIENTS:
Recipe reference : here
For the crust:
All Purpose flour ( maida ) - 1 cup
Butter - 5 tbsp ( 71 g, cold and cubed )
Water - 2 to 3 tbsp ( ice cold )
Salt - 1/2 tsp ( or to taste)
Sugar - 2 tsp
For the filling:
Apple - 1 ( big )
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - a pinch
Flour - 1 tbsp
Nutmeg - a pinch
Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp
Optional:
Milk - 2 tbsp ( for brushing on top )
Sugar - 1 tbsp ( for sprinkling )

METHOD:
1) Whisk the flour, salt and sugar. Add the cold butter cubes. Rub the butter with flour using your fingertips ( you can even use a fork ) till the mixture resembles bread crumbs ( little pea sized butter pieces are ok ).
2) Now add ice cold water a little at a time till the mixture comes together. You will be needing only a few tablespoons ( I added 2.5 tbsp). Gather the dough into a ball.
3) Wrap dough in a cling film and let it rest in refrigerator for 1 hour ( minimum 30 minutes). After an an hour, lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough ( not too thin, not too thick). Now cut circles to fit your muffin pan, the circle should be slightly larger than your muffin size ( I just used a bowl )
4) Lightly grease your muffin pan with oil, and arrange the circles gently on it. Don't stretch the dough much. Using a fork prick the base and put the muffin pan in the refrigerator while preparing the filling. Gather the remaining dough and refrigerate.
5) For the filling, finely chop the apples. Mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the chopped apples and lemon juice and mix well.
6) Spoon the filling in the muffin pan. Roll the remaining dough, and cut circles for the top crust ( little smaller than the first batch). Make small slits using a knife to let out the steam. 
7) Place the circles on top of filling and gently press the sides to seal. (you can even use milk for sealing). Now Place the prepared muffin pan in fridge for 10 minutes, while preheating the oven to 180 degrees. Finally brush with milk ( optionally you can sprinkle some sugar on top too ) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or till golden brown.

Delicious Apple pies are ready !!!!!!

Enjoy it warm with vanilla ice cream or drizzle some caramel sauce and dive in.......

Look how flaky the crust is!!!!

NOTES:

1) Make sure the butter is cold. Always keep the pastry dough cold. If you feel the dough is getting warmer just pop in refrigerator for few minutes.

2) To get a flaky crust, don't over work the dough. Over working / kneading will develop gluten, which will result in tougher crust.

3) Try to add little water while making crust.

4) If you do lattice tops, you will get 6 pies, but adjust the filling accordingly as this filling measurement will yield 5 pies only.

5) After the pies cool down, store them in a air tight container.

Cheers,

Sindhiya.S

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