Gadget in Kitchen

Here is a new gadget/tool in my kitchen. My husband got it as my birthday gift. This is a electric pressure cooker. Doesn't whistle as our regular pressure cooker but cooks exactly like it. We can make all kind of dals, Sambar, Rice or any item in it. We can add tadka directly in it by putting in it in browning mode and then switch it back to high pressure for cooking dal later. Easy to use. Easy to clean the bowl. Faster cooking happens when I do use my rice cooker for rice, and add curry on stove and dal in electric pressure cooker. All my items are done at the same time, making us ready to eat faster.

My husband got it from Costco for 80 bucks I believe. Worth it if you have kids and need to cook dal/sambar everyday or if you cook rice very often. Cooking in this is also much faster I should say :).

Authentic Gongura Pachadi

This is the authentic way of doing gongura pachadi. Made from fresh leaves from our backyard by my mom in September of this year.

Gongura Leaf


Ingredients
Gongura leaves washed

Dhania

Onion

Red chillies

Green chillies

Chana dal - 1 tea spoon

Urad dal - 1 tea spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

Jeera - 1/2 tea spoon

Oil

Salt to taste

Garlic cloves peeled chopped

Method of preparation

1) wash the gongura leaves and set aside
2) chop the onions into squares

3) Put some oil in kadai and let it get heated. Now add chopped garlic and after it turns light brown, set them aside from oil as shown in following photo.

4) Now in same oil add gongura leaves and let them cook. you will notice that the leaves become a mushy paste after sometime indicating that they are cooked. Put the paste aside from kadai.

5) Now add little oil for tadka and then add mustard seeds. after they start splutter add jeera, chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, green chillies, dhania also. Add salt sufficient for the whole chutney to this.

6) After they are a little done ( a minute or two), put all the tadka in the blender and make them into powder/paste.
7) After the above paste is done, now add the gongura to the blender and do not run for a long time. run it so that the gongura paste and the tadka mixes consitently.

8) Take a serving bowl add the gongura paste and chopped onions along with fried garlic. Mix them well and serve with white rice.

Note:

1) People who do not like garlic can avoid using garlic.

2) Another lazy way of doing it is first do the tadka and then add gongura leaves to it and put them all in the blender.

Vankaya Allam Kura/Eggplant Ginger Curry

Ingredients
Brinjals/Eggplants/Vankayalu
Ginger/Allam
Green Chillies
mustard seeds/aavaalu
Jeera/Cumin Seeds/Jeelakarra
Oil
Salt to taste
Curry leaves/Karivepaku
Coriander/Kothimeeru

Method of preparation
1) Chop brinjals into squares. If you like then grind ginger and green chillies to paste or else chop them so that they are very tiny or grate. The option of how to put them is on you.

2) Add oil in kadai and put in on stove. Let the oil get heated. Now add mustard seeds after it splutters add the following: jeera, curry leaves, ginger(chopped/grated/paste), green chillies(chopped/grated/paste).

3) Now finally add brinjals and let it cook. Once it is almost done then add salt to it. Make sure you do not move brinjals hard or many times, that would make brinjals mushy or kind of paste.

4) Once the brinjal is done, transfer the contents into serving bowl and add coriander on top. Serve it with white rice or roti.

Filter Coffee Making

A hot coffee while the weather is cold or in the morning at work is a better way to start the day. I dont say it but lot of others say it. If the coffee is special and cheering up it is even more interesting way to start the day. That is how my husband loves to start the day now-a-days. He generally prefers the typical filter coffee but if it is not there then he would opt for the instant coffee.

All we need to make the filter coffee is coffee filter, filter powder and then hot water.
You would initially add powder to the top section as shown in below picture:

Close it with holes holder (see picture)

Then you pour hot water into the top part. (see picture)

Within few minutes the decaution(spelled dekation) of filter coffee is ready.
Mix a little decaution with hot milk and sugar depending on your taste.

Enjoy !!!

Kalapataala Curry/Mixture of veggies Fry curry

This curry is very famous one from our village. Kalapatam means mixture. Kalapatala curry means mixture of veggies and fried. This mixture of veggies I am talking about contains combination of okra(bhendi, bendakaya), Tindora (dondakaya), Bitter gourd (karela, kakarakaya) and amaranth leaves (thotakura). So here goes the simple recipe.
Ingredients
Okra/Bhendi
Tindora
Bitter gourd
Amaranth leaves
mustard seeds, jeera, chana dal for tadka/popu/poni
Red chilli powder
Turmeric
Salt to taste
Oil
Method of preparation
Chop the veggies and leaves and keep aside. Take a pan and add oil to it. After oil is heated add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add jeera and urad dal and let dal fry a little bit. Dont burn the dal or make it turn black. Add the chopped vegetables at this point and little turmeric. Add salt to taste and fry it. Once the veggies are cooked add red chilli powder and mix it thoroughly. Turn off the heat and serve hot with rice.

Dryfruit Sweet

This sweet I just love it. It is healthy, nutritious and yummy to eat. Here is the recipe from one of my cousin (from Amitha akka):
Ingredients
Dates - 1 cup
Cashew - 1/2 cup
Badam, Pistacheos together - 1/2 cup

Sweet condensed milk - 1/2 cup
Coconut powder to roll
Method of preparation
1. Put 1 spoon of ghee on tawa and put dates, after dates become smoochy add all dry fruits.
2. After little bit of frying the nuts, mix the condensed milk and keep on stove for 1o min by stirring all the ingredients.
3. Then take this mix and roll over on in the coconut powder
4. Keep in freezer for 3 to 4 hours. After taking out cut into round pieces.

Simple and easy .... yummy for the tummy. Try it out....