Dry Fruits Powder

Any kheer or payasam is always a welcome dish when it comes to a festival or party.

Ingredients:
Cashew nuts - 1 cup
Badam - 1 cup (soak and deskin)
Cardamom - 8 nos
Ground nut - 1 cup (deskinned)
Dry grapes - 1 cup
Walnut - 1/2 cup

Method:
Dry roast cashew, badam and ground nut one by one in a pan. It should be roasted in low flame. Grind it together with cardamom, dry grapes and walnut.

Add 2 spoons of this powder to 1 cup of warm milk along with a spoon of sugar. This is a very good health drink. A spoon of this powder can be added to a cup of corn flakes and milk.

Potato Jeera Rice

When it comes to packing lunch box for kids, it is always a confusion for all the mothers. But there are lots of dishes that can be made in the morning, and pack it for the kids. One such is mixed rice. Giving kids different kinds of mixed rice will keep them energetic and filling too.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Potato - 2 nos (medium size peeled and diced)
Onion - 2 nos (finely chopped)
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chilly - 2 nos
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and soak Basmati rice for 30 mins. In a pressure cooker or pressure pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee. Fry cumin seeds. To that add slit green chilly and layer the onions. Add the potato cubes and basmati rice in layers. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt and mix. Spread the coriander leaves and mint leaves on top and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

Remove from flame, open immediately by releasing the whistle. Fluff up the rice with a fork. Transfer it to a serving bowl immediately.

Serve with any raitha of your choice. Best will be capsicum raitha. 

Energising Hot Chocolate Drink

Ingredients:
Drinking Chocolate Powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Milk - 2 cups
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Heat milk. Add sugar and Drinking chocolate powder and mix well. Add the cinnamon powder and mix well. This is a great energising drink. Good for exam goers, morning breakfast and also for pregnant women.

Strawberry Milkshake

Ingredients:
Strawberry - 10 to 12 nos
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Vannila Ice cream - 1 scoop (optional)
Ice cubes - 2 to 4

Method:
Add Strawberry and sugar to a juicer blender and blend it thoroughly. Add milk and ice cubes and belnd them again till they frost. Serve in a tall glass with a topping of Vanilla Ice cream.

This quantity makes about 3 cups of milk shake.

Healthy Snack bag

Ingredients:
Corn flakes - 2 cups
Roasted Channa Dal - 1 cup
Roasted puffed rice - 2 cups
Roasted Poha - 1 cup
Roasted peanuts - 1 cup
Roasted channa - 1 cup
Roasted green moong - 1 cup
Curry Leaves - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat 1/2 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the curry leaves in it till they turn crispy. Add all the ingredients one by one and saute them. Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp of ghee on top and mix well. Remove from flame and let them all cool. Store in an airtight container.

This makes a great snack for exam going students and for dieters.

Recipe for a healthy salad

 Salads have become the latest fab for many. People love to eat salads as regular meals. Here is one healthy salad recipe that can be had along with rice or chappati or just as a snack during tea/coffee time.

Ingredients:
Ground nut - 1/2 cup(fired or boiled fresh groundnut)
Sprouted Moong Dal - 1 cup
Onion  - 1 big finely chopped
1 big ripe tomato - Finely chopped (can also add 2 to 4 tbspns of Tomato Puree)
Green Chilly - 1 medium sized
Ginger - 1 inch piece (grated or finely chopped)
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
 
For seasoning:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - a few
Coriander Leaves - a few (finely chopped)

Method:
        In a salad bowl, add groundnut, moongdal, onion, tomato (or puree), ginger, green chilly and the lysalt. In a frying pan add oil and add the mustard seeds and when it splutters add it to the groundnut mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the lemon juice to it.
        This salad can also be decorated with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Recipe for Special Buttermilk

I have started having this buttermilk as the summer have started. It is a great drink for this time. I have started avoiding tea and coffee in the day. It is very refreshing too.

Ingredients:
To powder:
Cumin - 1/4 cup
Methi Seeds - 2 tbspns

Method:
Fry Methi seeds and Cumin in a dry pan and this can be stored in a dry container.

Cut curry leaves, coriander leaves, one inch of ginger piece and mix with salt and keep it for 15 mins. In a glass, add 2 ladels of thick curd and add 3 cups of water and churn well (this will give 2 glasses of buttermilk). To this add one spoon of the powder, and one spoon of the cut leaves and ginger. If you like you can add half of small green chilly.

Let everything set for around 30 mins. If needed it can be refrigerated for 15 mins before drinking. But I prefer not to refrigerate it.

Recipe for Puzhungalarisi Kanji - Boiled rice Rawa Porridge

When ever some one falls ill and runs high temperature, the first diet elders advice to give them is Puzhungalarisi Noi Kanji.

This is also a good first food for infants.

Ingredients:
Boiled rice - 4 cups
Pottu Kadalai or processed bengal gram - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1 cup
Jeera - 1/4 cup

Method:
Soak Boiled rice in water after washing it for about 2 hours. Drain the water thoroughly and dry it inside the house (better not do it outside). Let all the wetness go off. Fry all the ingredients including the dried boiled rice in a dry pan till they become brown (should be done carefully and not over do it). This can be ground in flour mill and grind coarsely. (Or it could be ground in mixer also one by one and then mix well)

If the powder is prepared for infants, make little at a time, take 1 cup of boiled rice and the remaining as per the ratio and grind it in mixie and sieve it thoroughly until a fine powder. Mix one tbspn of this powder to warm water and mix it thoroughly without lumps. Keep it in flame and bring it to boil. This could be given to kids either with a pinch of salt or sugar. (Better give it with salt).

When the kids grow, the coarseness of the powder can be increased. This makes a great morning breakfast, if given to the kids in semi solid form. They can eat it with spoon. This will sustain hunger till it is time for them to have lunch at school. (Daughter's experience).

Tomato Soup - Simple and Easy Recipe

Tomato Soup is all time favourite for all of us in our family. Whenever kids want to have this soup, I just make this and they simply love it. As we have tomato always at home, it is easy to make this in no time. This can be done both on stove top and also in Microwave

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 2 large
Onion - 1 large
Jeera - 2 tbsp
Pepper Powder - 1 Spn
Curry Leaves - from 1 strand
Coriander leaves - 2 strands
Ginger - 1 inch piece (if you dont like ginger, you can avoid this)
Garlic - 4 flakes
Green chilly - 1 small
Salt - To taste
Water - 4 cups

Method:
Wash the tomatoes and cut into 4 pieces. Cut onion into small pieces. In a pan add 2 cups of water and add the tomato and onion and ginger pieces. Bring them to boil. Remove from fire and when cool, grind, tomato, onion, ginger, green chilly, curry leaves, coriander leaves together. Boil the remaining two cups of water and add the paste and salt and let the mixture boil again. Serve hot.

Healthy drink for exam goers - Soya bean milkshake

Ingredients:
Soyabean powder - 100gms
Milk Powder - 100gms
Baadam, Unsalted Pista - 50 gms
Sugar - As per taste
Cardomom - 2 to 5
Milk - 1 cup chilled

Method:
Mix and seive soya powder and milk powder to blend well. Dry roast baadam, pista and cardomom and grind them in a dry mixer. Mix it along with the soya bean mixlk powder mixture and blend well again.

Add this powder and 1 tspn of sugar to one glass of chilled milk. Beat it in a juicer or hand blender and serve cold.

Alternatively, it can be had in a glass of warm water and this helps in keeping a person awake but alert when studying for exams.

Healthy drinks for exam goers - Mid day special buttermilk

Ingredients:
Unsour curd - 1/2 cup
Mango Ginger - 1 inch piece
White pepper powder - 1/4 tspn
Oregano (Karpooravalli) - 2 leaves
Thulasi leaves - 2
Coriander leaves - a handful
Salt to taste

Method:
Finely chop oregano, thulasi and coriander leaves. Cut mango ginger also into small pieces and crush them. Beat the curd after adding salt and 1/4 cup of water. Mix all the ingredients and serve.

This is a great drink for summer as well as for students. A max of 3 glasses can be had on a day. Oregano have the capacity to remove cold. This helps in appetite increase also.

For variations, one can add grated carrot, grated cucumber also. Season it with mustard and a small piece of green chilly.

Healthy drinks for exam goers - Nuts Thandai

Early in the morning, the brain is fresh after a good amount of sleep, to make it more energetic, a glass of milk that is added with nuts helps.

Ingredients:
Cashewnut, Baadam - 50 gm each
Walnut - 20 gm
Khus Khus - 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 2 pieces
Kesar Strands - 5 gms
Sugar - 100 gms

Method:

Dry roast all the nuts and powder them. Grind the kesar strands separately. Grind the sugar separately. Mix all the three ingredients together and store it in a cool dry container.

As sugar is added to it already, it is better to avoid sugar while preparing this drink.