Fig Jam

Fig is one of the fruits for which I knew the English name before I knew its Tamil name (my own mother tongue). Although I have heard the word, I never knew its meaning.Aththi Pazham is the beautiful name I have heard so many times, but never it was Fig.. Always thought of fig as an exotic item, but little did I know that it is so easily available in India.. Recently I was visiting a market and I saw a vendor have a cart full of a pinkish brown produce which looked so much like beetroot, but it was different.. My husband asked me - Do you know what that is? I was like - I am not sure. He said that is Fresh figs!! I was like wow, looks so big and so much like beetroot.. I have mostly seen and used dried ones that are much easier to get.. For this recipe also I have used the dried version only.. Figs are very nutritious and have lots of Iron in them..

Paneer – Indian Cheese

Paneer is a homemade Indian cheese which has many applications from side dishes to chat to sweets. Paneer by itself has lot of taste and flavor of milk. Paneer can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator for around 3 –4 days. Although fresh paneer tastes best, stored paneer is close and much better than store bought ones. It is advisable to store paneer in submerged in water and change the water every day. This will give a better shelf life. Paneer can be made very quickly and takes less than 90 minutes from start to finish being ready. 1 liter 2% milk yielded around 160 grams of paneer. You can use lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid to break the milk. But when curd or whey is used, you get the maximum quantity of paneer. You could also add spices to the paneer while curdling and you get the spiced paneer. Once I have added Red chili flakes and the paneer was so cute with the little red dots from the flakes.

Ghee / Nei / Clarified Butter

A key ingredient in many recipes to help it be elevated to the next level in taste and flavor is GHEE!! Ghee or Clarified butter originated in India and is part of many delicious recipes like Indian Sweets, some gravies, some Indian Breads etc. Ghee also plays a part in pooja, homam and fire sacrifices. A great advantage of ghee is its shelf life.. Ghee can be stored in room temperature for many months. It needs to be stored in an airtight container to have that long shelf life. Also make sure to use a moisture free spoon and dirt free spoon every time. Ghee is used in many homes to light vilakku (deepam).

Ulutham Maavu for Bakshanam/ Urad Dal Flour for snacks

Why do a post on flour? Well I have had doubts at least 3 to 4 times about how to do this one.. So I am writing this on my blog, so next time I need to check, I know where to look.. When we do savory snacks at home, we use ulutham maavu and generally it is home made.. So you need to do any South Indian savory items at home, you will need this flour. Amount of this flour required depends on the recipe. I use this flour in Uppu Seedai, Thattai, Murukku etc. This is my post for U - Miscellaneous

Buttercream Frosting

Buttercream frosting or icing is the most famous icing. The ingredients are simple and the process is quick. This is a basic recipe with no colors added. You can use this frosting for cakes, cookies, cupcakes..

Milagai Podi

Some recipes are too simple to write but the taste and texture differs from house to house. Milagai podi falls into that category. This recipe is more about preference rather than strict measurements. This delicious podi is there in most of the South Indian homes and are great accompaniment to Idli and dosa.

Hung Curd

A lot of recipes call for Hung curd. What is hung curd and can it be made at home? There are products called Set curd which some people told me that it is hung curd available readily. Hung Curd can also be used in the place of cream cheese.
Preparation of hung curd requires about 2 to 3 hours of time only and most of the time is waiting time.

Ingredients
Curd - 4 cups

Method
Setup of the strainer should be like this - have a strainer over a vessel. Put double layered cheese cloth / muslin cloth / some thin cloth with very small holes over the strainer.
Pour the curd on the strainer and allow it to drain
Tighten the cloth such that the initial whey water comes out quickly. Take care to not press it too hard. If you squeeze too hard, then you might squeeze out the curd.
Allow it to rest in the fridge with the entire setup for around 2 hours.
Hung Curd is ready – isn't that easy?

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Thengai Thuvayal (Coconut Thuvayal)

A very authentic and yummy dish which can be prepared very quickly and is a great accompaniment. Mix it with rice and eat with vadam and you have a very simple and tasty menu on board. How about accompanying this with curd rice or sambar rice or rasam rice – it just adds tons of flavor.. We at home love this thuvayal and am happy to share this simple and homey dish..

Ingredients
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Ulutham Parupu / Urad Dal - 1/3 cup
Kadalai Parupu / Channa Dal - 1/3 cup
Red Chili - 12 (adjust to taste)
Asafetida - 1/4 tea spoon
Salt - 3/4 tea spoon
Oil - 1 tea spoon (preferably coconut oil)
Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
Water - 1/4 cup + As needed
Method
Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup warm water
Heat oil in a pan and add kadalai parupu and ulutham parupu and sauté until golden brown
Add the red chili and sauté for another minute
Remove from heat to a plate to cool
In the same pan, add the coconut and slightly toast (not much)
In a blender, add the parupu, coconut, asafetida, salt and soaked tamarind (without water) and blend until all are close to a powder. Now add the water in which the tamarind was soaking and blend well. Add more water as needed and blend to a paste. If you are going to store this for later use, then add little more water as the parupu will absorb a lot of water when rested
Serve on room temperature. At the time of serving, you can also add a tea spoon or so of water if it is too dry. Enjoy this yummy thuvayal.
This will keep at least for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.


Points to note (about Coconut from www.coconutresearchcenter.org) - 
In traditional medicine around the world coconut is used to treat a wide variety of health problems including the following: abscesses, asthma, baldness, bronchitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, dropsy, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis, gonorrhea, irregular or painful menstruation, jaundice, kidney stones, lice, malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurvy, skin infections, sore throat, swelling, syphilis, toothache, tuberculosis, tumors, typhoid, ulcers, upset stomach, weakness, and wounds. While coconut possesses many health benefits due to its fiber and nutritional content, it's the oil that makes it a truly remarkable food and medicine.
Once mistakenly believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content, it is now known that the fat in coconut oil is a unique and different from most all other fats and possesses many health giving properties. It is now gaining long overdue recognition as a nutritious health food.
Coconut oil has been described as "the healthiest oil on earth." That's quite a remarkable statement. What makes coconut oil so good? What makes it different from all other oils, especially other saturated fats?
The difference is in the fat molecule. All fats and oils are composed of molecules called fatty acids. Too much mention, please visit the website for lot more information!!!!

Sending this to My Guest Hosting event – Taste of the Tropics – Coconut, Chef Mireille’s page,  FFNF in Archana's page, Priya's page, Pickles and Chutney , Lentils and Legumes, CWS - Channa Dal, Dish name starts with T, CWS - Urad Dal, Priya's page, Lets cook Preserves, Jams and Chutneys

 

Tomato Chutney

Chutneys are a boon to have on hand. If you do not have on hand, then they can be done in a jiffy.. They are the best accompaniments to Idli, dosa and completes a meal. There are lot of things you do with this tomato chutney – some I can think of are – accompany with idli, dosa, paniyarams, spread it on bread, roll it with chapathi.. So many more..  I made this to serve along with dhokla and the combination was awesome.

Ingredients
Tomato – 4 (chopped)
Onion – 1 (chopped)
Green Chili - 2
Red Chili Powder - 1 tea spoon
Salt - 1 tea spoon
Tamarind - small lemon size
Warm water - 3 table spoons
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Asafetida - 1/4 tea spoon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Red Chili - 2
Oil - 2 tea spoons
Method
Soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and extract pulp and set aside
Heat a tea spoon and half of oil in a pan and sauté onions, green chili and tamarind paste for around 3 minutes.
Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, chili powder, asafetida and sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool
Grind the above mixture to a smooth paste and set aside
Heat 1/2 tea spoon oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and once it crackles, add the red chili and pour it over the chutney and serve


Sending this to Pickles and Chutney Event, Dish name starts with T

Drinking Chocolate

Ever thought you could make cocoa mixes at home? How about trying it if that is super super easy to do.. This is a homemade drinking chocolate that can be drunk hot or cold depending on choice. Sieving is not required if there are no lumps, but is preferred. This one is a quick recipe too and can be made in big batches and stored in an air tight container for at least around 6 months. I got this recipe from here and reduced it by one fourth. This is much healthier than the store bought ones in which GOD knows how much preservatives and extra stuff are added!!!!

Kitchen Basics–Vaazhaithandu

Vaazhaithandu (Banana Stem in English) is a very healthy and fiber rich food. But it comes with a few non co-operating things. Like the banana stem does not have a long shelf life, it becomes stained very quickly, it is very hard to chop, the knife, utensils, hands and linen may (will) discolor if it comes in contact with this.
Some solutions that work for me for the above are:
1. For better shelf life – store the banana stem wrapped in newspaper inside a plastic cover in the fridge. Also make sure you buy fresh banana stem. This will increase the shelf life little.
2. For discoloring after it is cut – store the chopped pieces in mor (2 table spoons curd + 1 cup water)

3. For staining – grease the palm, knife, cutting board with oil. Avoid contact of the linen with the banana stem
4. For ease of cutting – cut them into small rounds and remove extra threads like fiber with one hand as you go


Sending this to Tell Your Kitchen Secret by Gayathri.

Kitchen Basics - Jaggery

Jaggery – a very common sweetener used in Indian household.
Most of the times we need jaggery in small pieces. But we buy jaggery in big pieces. I have tried many techniques to get the jaggery to small pieces. Some methods includes keeping it on the floor wrapped in paper and nailing it with heavy objects, powder in the mixer etc.
I have also heard that breaking jaggery with jaggery will break it faster..
What works best for me like a charm is
Take the jaggery and use a peeler and peel it. This way you get small and uniform pieces and does not take too much time. Vola!! it is easy and you do not need a steel arm to do it!!
Try this method and tell me if it works for you too..

Sending this to Tell Your Kitchen Secret by Gayathri.