Vanilla Shortbread Cookies!!!

Ingredients :

1. All purpose flour  - 2 cups (260 grams)

2. Unsalted butter    - 1 cup   (226 grams) (at room temperature)

3. Powdered sugar   - 1/2 cup(60 grams)

4. Vanilla extract      - 1 tsp.    (4 grams)

5. Salt.                       - 1/4 tsp

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:

6 ounces (180 grams) semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

 Note: 

1. All purpose flour can be maida.

2. Butter must be at room temperature, ie. when it is soft.(try to use high 
quality butter.)

3. If u are using salted butter, then you can omit salt in ur recipe. (You can omit 1/4 tsp of sugar for each 1 cup of salted butter.

4. Powdered sugar can be icing sugar or confectioners sugar (you can powder the granulated sugar).

5. Try to use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean, which gives more flavour.

6. For coffee flavour you can add 1 tbsp of instant coffee powder.

Preparation:

 Shortbreads: In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the doughinto a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:Place 3 ounces (90 grams) of the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the cookies have been dipped in the chocolate, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.

Shortbread cookies with keep in an airtight container for about a week or they can be frozen.

Makes about 20 shortbread cookies.

:http://www.joyofbaking.com/shortbreads/shortbreadcookies.html#ixzz2XsN2afhz

Easy Payasam

This Payasam is very good for our health. I got this recipe from a family who are following Naturopathy lifestyle. If we are drinking 2 glasses of this payasam, we could skip our breakfast. Its very healthy.
The speciality of this payasam is, No cooking involved, very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Robusta banana    - 8 Nos. (peeled & sliced
2. Jaggery syrup      -  from 2 Nos. jaggery (sarkara paavu
3. Coconut milk        - milk from 1 1/2 Coconut
4. Honey                  - 2 tbsp
5. Nuts
6. Raisin  
7. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Blend Banana (peeled & sliced) and sarkarapaavu n a mixie like smoothie. Pour the mixture into a big pan.
2. Then add the ingredients from 3 to 7 and mix well. Pour liquid jaggery and honey as your taste.
3. Serve it.

Note

** You can use any kind of banana, but Robusta (green banana/pacha pazham) banana is the best for this     payasam. Nalla Pazhuthu njettinu black colour vannathaanu ettavum nallathu.

** Make Sarkkara (Jaggery syrup) paavu for this. (Grate jaggery and mix a 2 small cup of water and boil it  until jaggery melts and becomes slightly thick syrup. Remove scum) Use once its cold.

** Add very little water to prepare coconut milk. Here we are not taking thalapaal, randaam paal and  moonaam paal like in other payasams.

** Add honey and jaggery paavu according to your sweetness.

** Put cashew nuts as it is without roasting. Soak raisins in water for few minutes before adding into  payasam.

Robusta Banana !!!

Robusta pazham/ Pacha pazham !!!

           

Jaggery-2

Kathrikka (Brinjal) Mezhukkupuratti

Ingredients:

1. Kathrikka (green)       - 2 Nos. (big)
2. Mustard seeds            - 1/2 tsp
3. Green chilli                 - 3 Nos. (cut into 4 pieces)
4. Curry leaves               - 3 sprigs
5. Turmeric powder        - 1/4 tsp
6. Salt
7. Oil
8. Pepper powder          - 1 tsp
9. Garam masala            - 1 pinch

Preparation

1. Cut kathrikka into small pieces (lengthwise) and green chilli each into 4 pieces.
2. Pour oil into a pan and splutter the mustard seeds, then add green chilli and curry leaves into it and saute it for few seconds untill curry leaves lost its moisture.
3. Then add brinjal, turmeric powder and salt into it, mix well and close the lid for 3 minutes. (Never add water into it since its soft and have got enough moisture in it.)
4. Saute it well in a low flame untill it shrinks well. 
5. Sprinkle pepper powder and garam masala just before taking it from stove.
6. Serve it hot.

Slice brinjals in this size.

Kathrikka Mezhukkupuratti !!!

Fried Chicken & Groundnut bite vth apple slices

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken - 1/2 kg [cut into small cubes]
2. Pepper -1 tsp
3. Chilli powder -1/2 tsp
4. Garam masala - a pinch
5. Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
6. Salt 
7. Cornflour - 2 tbsp
8. Oil - 3 tbsp
9. Ground nut - 100gms
10. Curry leaves
11. Apple - 1 (very thinly sliced for garnishing)

Preparation:

1. Mix the ingredients from 1 to 6 and leave for couple of hours to marinate.
2. After few hours cook this marinated chicken cubes with out adding water in a low flame.
3. Add cornflour into the chicken once it cooked and make sure the cornflour have coated on the chicken well.
4. Then heat the oil in a pan and shallow fry it on low flames.
5. Once the chicken turns dark brown color, mix the groundnut and curry leaves with it and saute until they mix the flavours. 
6. Add another 1 tbsp of soya sauce into the chicken just before taking  from frying pan.
7. Then serve it on a plate with very thin apple slices. Serve this hot.

Marinated chicken cubes!!

Fried Chicken & Groundnut with apple slices!!

*** Flavored Groundnuts are good for this dish than plain ones.

SUPER MOON!!!!!

It may not have the expected clarity since I took this from my iphone.

This is a beautiful view i got..

Very few pictures i got like this...But no idea why it looks like double :)

Kovakkai Mezhukkupuratti.

Ingredients:

Kovakkai - 250 gms

Green chilli - 2 nos.

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Urad Dal (optional - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbs

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Pour oil into the frying pan and add urad dal and after few seconds add mustard seeds.
2. Once urad dal turns into light brown color and the mustard seeds splutter, add the sliced kovakkai, chillies and curry leaves into it. Add salt to taste.
3. Sprinkle few drops of water (nearly 1 tbs) into it and close the lid, and keep the pan on high flames.
4. Once it starts steaming, sauté it and close the lid and keep the pan under low flames.
5. Repeat it until it gets cooked.

Note:

• Do not cook the kovakki or any veggies for a long time. Overcooking vegetables will loose its green colour and the nutrients contains in it.
• Do not add more water for cooking veggies. It will loose its texture. Vegetables need to be cooked with its moisture contained in it.

Chemmeen ularthu (Prawns Ularthu)

Ingredients:

1. Prawns - 500 gms
   
2. cocunut cuts (thengakothu) - 2 tbs
   
3. ginger - 2 tbs
   
4. garlic - 2 1/2 tbs
   
5. kukum star(kudampuli) - 2 nos
   
6. curry leaves - 1 sprig
   
7. kashmiri chilli - 1 1/2 tsp
   
8. turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
   
9. garam masala - a pinch
   
10. salt to taste
    
11. oil - 3 tbs
    
12. shallots (kunjulli thinly sliced) - 3 tbs
    
13. curry leaves - 3 sprigs
    
14. mustard seeds - 1 tsp
    
15. pepper powder - 1 1/2 tsp
    
16. dried chilli - 3 nos
    
17. water

Preparation:

** Its better to use kerala manchatti (meenchatti) to prepare prawns and any kind of fish varities.
Add the ingredients according to your taste. Its just an

1. Add the ingredients from 1 to 10 to the meenchatti and add enough water to cook the prawns. Cook on a low flame. Remember to remain little gravy in the pot to retain the moisture. (ie. Donot evaporate the water completely).
2. Pour oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the shallots, curry leaves and dried chilli until the shallots are brown. Sprinkle the pepper powder and saute for a second and add the cooked prawns. Cook on a low flame untill everything mix up well with the prawns.