LEMON RICE....

I love to take part in regional events as it helps us to know so much more about our indian food culture and habits. India has such a diverse culture and variety and such events give us an opportunity to get to know it better.

This great event is hosted by vcuisine

LEMON RICE

I have never come in contact with anyone who cooks Tamilian food i.e I have never tasted traditional tamilian food . so this event gave me an opportunity to read about their cuisine and enjoy it....


This event is hosted by vcuisine.
I ENJOYED MAKING THE RICE .


Here is the recipe for LEMON RICE.


Raw rice 1 cup
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Red chillies-2
Oil
Cut ginger-1 tsp
Asafoetida-1tsp
Finely cut curry leaves-1 tbsp


Seasoning
½ tsp mustard seeds, 1tsp black gram dal
2 tbsp Bengal gram dal, {soak for sometime-this is my variation)
2 tsps -Broken cashew nuts.


Cook rice and allow it to cool in an open thalli or plate.
Heat oil and fry the seasonings add cut red chilies and fry for a minute
Add the Bengal gram dal and cook for sometime then add the ginger and asafoetida stir.
Add the cooled rice and turmeric and stir till properly incorporated.
Squeeze lemon juice on top and garnish with curry leaves and freshly chopped coriander leaves (again optional).
Your yummy lemon rice is ready to eat..
I KNOW THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON RECIPE , BUT MY CONNECTION WITH TAMIL FOOD HAD BEEN THIS DISH WHICH I ATE AS A PRASAD AT A GANESH CHATURTI CELEBRATION IN MY BUILDING LAST YEAR , WHICH I TRIED TO UNSUCCESSFULLY REPLICATE, BUT WAS SUCCESSFUL THIS TIME BY GODS GRACE!!!!!
FOR ME FOOD EATEN ON FESTIVAL DAYS IS FESTIVE FOOD, SO THIS ENTRY FOR TAMIL FESTIVALS..

GARLIC CHUTNEY......

GARLIC CHUTNEY



garlic chutney is very easy to prepare

let me give you this recipe with the the ingredients and method
take a cup of grated fresh coconut, add 2 big or 3 small cloves garlic , marble size ball of tamarind, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 5 peppercorns, 1/4 tsp sugar, salt to taste.
Grind all the ingredients together , you get this lovely orange colour.
goes well with dosas and even by spreading on slices of bread to make a sandwich.

BAKED DISH....

I love baked dishes; I have not done any variations in the basic white sauce of the dish and prefer it to be simple and very down to earth… I love the simplicity of this dish but don’t like it to be full of cheese. Although the more cheesy it is, the more tasty it becomes. I will give you my version which is not so cheesy but tasty nevertheless, you can add your required quantity of cheese, and I don’t make it with plain flour as I am not in favour of using refined flour so, I use equal quantity of corn flour and wheat flour and the taste is just about the same without compensating on the nutrition.


INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp wheat flour
1 tbsp butter or more
11/2 cup milk
2 cubes cheese.
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper powder
I use boiled carrots, potatoes, French beans, boiled corn and pasta (you can use any vegetable you fancy)

TIFFIN FOR MY SON

METHOD

Take a heavy bottom pan add the butter and the flours
Fry till you get a mild aroma
Add milk stir continuously so that you do not get lumps
Stir till the mix starts to thicken
Add 1 grated cheese cube and pepper powder
Stir and add all the boiled vegetables and boiled pasta
You can transfer the whole mix into a baking dish, garnish with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake in the oven for about 15 mins or till the surface is brown or the cheese has sufficiently melted.
Eat with toasted garlic bread.
You can decorate the final mixture with cheese strips to make it more interesting for the kids.
I usually omit the last step and eat it directly from the pan without putting it in the oven.