Elephant Yam/Senai kizhangu Vada

Elephant yam or senai kizhangu or suran in hindi is one great veggie which tastes awesome but yam just reminds me of the strong itching they causes after cutting them and all these days I never had courage to cook them in my kitchen, but applying the coconut oil in hands would avoid the itchiness still I couldn’t and at last somehow I gathered some courage and cooked it but I didn’t apply oil, I used latex glove and it was far better than oil and it worked wonderfully , no itch at all, thank god.
Making vada using yam is the best recipe I could think of with yam, it is so tasty and whoever tastes this would easily mistake them to a lamb keema vada and is its true is tastes exactly like that. Usually I have seen people making curry or porial with yam/suran and I think this recipe would be different and interesting to you all.
Always remember to take all kind of precaution before chopping to avoid the itchiness, it would be great if you get frozen yam at your Indian store, better use that and you can avoid the itchiness I guess, never used one. Here is the recipe for elephant yam vada,

Ingredients
Elephant Yam Grated – 2 Cups (wear glove or rub coconut oil in hands)
Roasted gram – ¼ Cup
Green chilies – 3
Ginger – ½”
Garlic – 5 cloves
Onion – half of one chopped
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – ½”
Coconut – 2 tsp
Fennel seed – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Cilantro
Breadcrumbs – 3 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method
Grind all the ingredients other than elephant yam and breadcrumbs to a coarse paste and mix with the grated yam and note that if your yam is little watery after grating, just squeeze out the water and mix with the grinded paste and if is still not thick enough or when you fry and if it is too oily add the breadcrumbs and fry it, that also adds more crispiness to vada. Make small flat round with it and deep fry in oil until it is brown on both side and transfer to the kitchen paper to drain the excess oil. Enjoy it!!!

Streusel Topped Pumpkin pie

I made this pumpkin pie for our thanksgiving feast, first of all I had no intension of celebrating thanksgiving but my son said we should have a special meal on thanksgiving day but I tried to convince him that its not our tradition but he replied once we are here in US, we got to follow their tradition too and I had nothing to say rather than agreeing with him and that’s how I ended up making a special feast on thanksgiving day but I refused to make turkey and substituted with smaller bird chicken and made it the Indian tandoor way and I also made mashed potato, gravy, baked an Italian bun and steam cooked plain sweet peas and one food that really stood out is the pumpkin pie.
This the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted (I haven’t tasted any before), I made this for the first time and I got the recipe from the ehow.com website and once again I say baking is always easy and comes out good if follow the exact measurement and it that case this recipe was a great success. My hubby loved it and he almost licked his spoon. Streusel is a kind of crumb topping made with some nuts that goes on top of the pumpkin pie, which gives a wonderful twist to the taste.

Ingredients
Pumpkin Puree – 1 can
Sweetened condensed milk – 1 can
Pie Crust – 1
Egg – 2
Ground Cinnamon – 1 tsp
Ground Nutmeg – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp

For streusel topping
Brown Sugar – ¼ Cup
All purpose flour – 2 tsp
Walnut or pecan – ½ Cup chopped
Butter – 2 tbsp
Ground Cinnamon – 1tsp

Method
Pre-heat Oven to 425*F
Separate yolk and white.
In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs yolk, spices, and salt and blend well.
In a separate bowl, beat well the egg white until you get a stiff peak and fold the egg white into the pumpkin mixture. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and place the crust on the cookie pan and bake in the oven for 15 mins.
For streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour, walnut or pecan, cinnamon and butter, note that butter should be used directly from fridge not melted, use your hands to mash the butter and mix with all ingredients.
After pie is baked for 15 mins, reduce the oven temp to 350*F .
Top the pie with the streusel and bake in the oven again for 40 mins.
Cool for 1 hour and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving, serve with whipped cream.

Kanchipuram Idli

I have no idea why it is called by this name, might be popular in kanchipuram? I know  kanchipuram is only famous for temples and silk saree but idli?? I really don't know. The only time I had this idli is at my sisters place and I never ever got a chance to have after that and this idli is totally different from the regular one, first by its shape they use a different mould for that and to my surprise my sister has got that and the second is little spice like pepper and cumin is added to the batter.
One day just a thought of this idli flashed my mind and remembered my sister and immediately I got the recipe from her and here I am posting the recipe of this idli, which I relished. I was told this idli stays good for couple of days and best food during traveling. Coconut chutney is the best combo for this but my boy doesn’t like that so I made tomato chutney and it was really awesome, I will soon post the recipe for tomato chutney. Now here is the recipe for kanchipuram idli…

Ingredients
Raw rice – 1 Cup
Idli Rice – 1 Cup
Urad dhal – 1 cup
Curd /Yogurt – ½ Cup
Black Pepper – 1 tsp
Cumin Seed/Jeera – 1tsp
Ginger – 1”
Curry leaves – 4
Salt to taste

Method
Soak rice and urad dhal separately for 3 hours and grind them separately and note that rice need not be too smooth, little coarse is good for this recipe and add salt and mix them and set to ferment for 8 hrs.
When you are ready to make idli, grind together the pepper, cumin, ginger, curry leaves and add to the idli batter along with the curd and mix well and make like the regular idli and enjoy with the chutney of your choice.

Easy ways to cure acidity

I came across this article at timesofindia website and it was quite intersting and useful one for me so I thought why not share this with you all as everyone at some point or other might have suffered from this problem and it might be useful to you all and if you havn't read it already here it is .... 

Acidity occurs when there is excess secretion of acids in the gastric glands of the stomach. When the secretion is more than usual, we feel, what is commonly known as heartburn, which is normally triggered off by consumption of spicy foods. Here are some home remedies to cure acidity...

- Skip the aerated drinks as well as the caffeine
- Have a glass of lukewarm water everyday.
- Include banana, watermelon and cucumber in your daily diet. Watermelon juice is    great for curing acidity.
- Tender Coconut water is known to soothe the system if you suffer from acidity.
- Drink a glass of milk - everyday.
- Have your last meal at least two to three hours before you hit the sack.
- Keeping long intervals between meals is another cause for acidity. Have small but regular meals.
- Try to avoid pickles, spicy chutneys, vinegar, etc.
- Boil some mint leaves in water and have a glass of this after meals.
- Sucking on a piece of clove is another effective remedy.
- Jaggery, lemon, banana, almonds and yogurt are all known to give you instant relief from acidity.
- Excessive smoking and drinking will increase acidity, so cut down.
- Try chewing gum. The saliva generated helps move food through the esophagus, easing symptoms of heartburn.
- Ginger aids in digestion. Either buy powdered ginger in capsule forms or add the herb to your recipes.
- A simple preparation of lemon water with sugar can be sipped on an hour before lunch to reduce uneasiness.
- Have vegetables like drumsticks, beans, pumpkin, cabbage, carrot and spring onions.

Sugar Cookie with icing

Of course, who would say “No” to cookies, such a delicious snack for any age and especially when they are baked at home. Baking the cookies at home is always fun and easy if you know the exact measurement and by using the proper tools and ingredients. While making this sugar cookie I little messed up the measurement and the dough which is suppose to be very smooth turned out very sticky and I had to add more flour to make it up and surprisingly the cookies came out really good. My boy had real fun in adding the sprinklers to the icing on the cookie and I suggest every one should try this recipe.

Ingredients
For Cookie
All Purpose Flour - 2 ½ Cups
Margarine – 1 Cup
Sugar – 1 Cup
Egg – 2
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Cream of tartar – 2 tsp
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp

For Icing
Butter – 4 tbsp
Confectionery Sugar – 1 Cup
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Milk – 2 tsp
Sprinkler

Method
Oven temperature – 350*F, Baking Time – 8 to 10 mins
In a mixing bowl, beat egg and add sugar and margarine and mix well.
Add flour, baking powder, tartar, salt and vanilla extract and mix well to a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a clean flat surface and roll the dough with a rolling pin to a ¼ inch thick and keep dusting the rolling pin and work surface slightly with flour, if necessary, to prevent sticking and cut to your favorite shape of your choice using cookie cutter and transfer to the baking sheet and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350* F for 8 to 10 mins in batches.

For Icing
The butter should be at the room temperature before mixing. Combine butter, sugar, milk and vanilla extract, this recipe is very flexible, if you feel its too watery add the flour and if you feel too thick add milk and bring to the consistency that would allow you to  spread  on the cookies and decorate the cookie and put the sprinkler on the top.
Enjoy the delicious cookies.

Chettinad Pepper Chicken

No introduction is needed for chettinad cuisine as it is a widely popular for its well-known spicy taste and you can get thousands of hits when you google for this dish and its always difficult to find the correct authentic way of preparing this chettinad dishes unless someone from that region tells us what the exact recipe is and this dish is one such recipe passed on to me by my friend and very special thanks to her.
Chettinad dishes are incomplete without garlic and pepper and in this dish pepper being the main ingredient, there is no need to mention the fiery taste is what that makes dish more special and simply very delicious. Always use the freshly grounded pepper for this dish to get the original wonderful flavor.

Ingredient
Chicken – 1 lb
Onion - 1 chopped finely
Tomato – 2 medium chopped
Curry Leaves – 10
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Pepper Powder – 3 tsp (freshly crushed)
Cumin Powder – 1tsp
Garlic – 3 cloves chopped
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Whole garam masala – cloves – 3, cinnamon – 1”, cardamom – 2
Salt to taste
Oil – 4tsp

Method
Heat oil in a pan and add the whole garam masala and when you get the good fragrance from it add the garlic and onion and sauté for few mins and add the ginger garlic paste and mix well and add chopped tomato and fry till the oil separates from it and add the curry leaves and all the dry masalas and add the chicken and add some water and close and cook for 10 mins, stirring in between and if needed splash little water to avoid burning. When removing from stove, add a addition half tsp of pepper powder and mix and add the chopped cilantro. This dish goes very well with sambar rice, or plain curd rice and enjoy!!!

Chicken Sandwich - A Hubby Way

Though I have passion for cooking and I strongly believe that we can share the love of life through cooking as it feeds the soul, both who cooks and also who eats. But sometime I feel bored and frustrated of the same cooking which I love to do for all day and I want someone to cook for me and I eat. If I was in India I can go around to relatives house or just say at mothers house for 10 days and I get to sit and do only eating, I feel it would be a kind of refreshment but unfortunately or fortunately I am living here in US that makes me eligible to cook for all 365 days. Sometimes my hubby understands my feelings and he insists on cooking for me, though he doesn't know how to cook but his intension is what I appreciate and this chicken sandwich is one such dish he prepared for me and this was a excellent chicken sandwich I would have tasted. He got this recipe from some cook book and it was very tasty and I wish he cooks more often like this me...ha ha....I know next time he would purposely gonna spoil it....

Ingredinets
Boneless Chicken Breast halves - 2
All Purpose Flour - 3 tbsp
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mushroom Chopped - 1/2 Cup
French Onion Soup - 1 tin
Sandwich Bun - 2
Cheese Singles - 2
Garlic Chopped - 1tsp
Olive Oil - 3 tsp


Method
Mix salt and pepper to the flour and coat the chicken with the flour on both the side and fry in a pan with 2 tsp of oil until its cooked and nice brown on both sides and set aside.
In the same pan, add garlic and fry for few secs and add chopped mushroom and cook until its soft and add the french onion soup and allow to boil.
Now add the cooked chicken and make sure chicken is well coated with the soup.
Roast the bun in a skillet or in oven until its crisp.
Place the cheese slice on the bun and place the chicken on it and top it with mushroom and chose the bun and enjoy the wonderful sandwich.