Lemon Rasam.

Lemon Rasam is a liquid type of dish.  You can drink this as soup or starter or even you can eat with rice. It also helps as appetizer. It helps for easy digestion and it helps to improve your taste bud when you are sick.

Pepper seeds, jeera and jaggery is used while preparing this rasam and that adds to the healthy ingredients which helps you to get well soon.
Lets see the recipe Now:

Things Needed:

Lemon : 2 to 3.
Water : 3 to 4 cups.
Green chilly : 2.
Pepper Seeds : 6 to 8.
Jeera : 1/4 Tea spoon.
Jaggery : 1 Table spoon.
Salt :  To taste.
Ingh (Asafetida) : a pinch.
Turmeric Powder : a pinch.
Oil : 1 Tea spoon.
Curry leaves : 6 to 8 leaves.
Coriander Leaves 1 Table spoon.
Ginger : an Inch .

Method:

1.Wash coriander leaves, green chilly, ginger and curry leaves and cut them small.
2.Grate ginger and crush pepper seeds. Keep them aside.
3.Now keep a pan on the fire. Put oil and heat.
4.Put jeera and crushed pepper. Leave it for 10 seconds.
5. Now add curry leaves and ingh to it. Put water and let it boil.
6. Add cut green chilly and ginger to it.
7. Add turmeric powder, salt and jaggery to the boiling water.
8. Let it boil for 1 minute.
9. Squeeze out juice from lemon to the boiling water.
10. Let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes.
11. Add coriander leaves and serve Lemon Rasam with hot rice. OR serve as starter or use it when you have throat pain or fever. This works as kashaya too.
12. Hot Rasam is good for throat.
Its a good appetizer too.

Note : 

You can add more lemon juice if you want. Be careful not to add the seeds since it gives the bitter taste. You can add garlic to this rasam if you are fond of garlic flavour. Definitely it gives a different taste. Adding a spoon of ghee will give better taste. But remember if you are preparing this rasam for the sick person strictly do not add ghee.
Serves. 2 to 3.

White Pumpkin - Avade Huli

White Pumpkin - Avade ( A kind of bean seed) Huli is a curry and  You can have this with rice, chapati, pooris , Idlies and Dosas.

Things Needed:
White Pumpkin: 3 to 4 cups.( cut into medium size).
Avade Seeds:  1/2 cup
Coconut : 1/2 cup
Tamarind: 1 small ball size.
Toor Daal: 2 Table spoon.
Salt : to taste.
Sambaar Powder : 2 to 3 Tea spoons.
Curry Leaves: 5 to 6
Water : 2 cups.
Jaggery : 1 Table spoon.
Turmeric: a pinch.
Method:
Wash and soak Avade seeds over night or 4 to 5 hours. Cut white pumkin into small pieces.( medium sized). Soak tamarind in hot water for 5 minutes and squeeze out the pulp and keep it aside. Wash and cook toordaal  and Avade seeds for 8 to 10  minutes in pressure cooker and keep it aside. Grind coconut  and samaar powder with little water till paste and keep it aside.

Now take a big pan and put water and bring it to boil. Add pumpkin pieces and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add cooked daal and Avade to it, after the pieces softened. Add tamarind pulp, and jaggery and cook for 1 minutes. Now add salt to it. Add ground coconut mixture to the boiling mixture. Mix well and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add curry leaves to  Avade White Pumpkin Huli and serve with HOT RICE .
Note : You can add spurt mustard and urd daal mixture to Avade - Pumpkin Huli to give more taste. You can also add little ingh to it. Soak ingh in water for 2 minutes and put this into the  Huli.

Sambaar powder: Roast 2 table spoons of Daniya, 1/2 spoon of methi seeds , 6 to 8 red chillies, 1 Tea spoon of channa daal or urd daal and roast one by one. Add jeera at the end. Do not over roast any of the spice.  Ground all roasted items one by one. and dry grind this mixture and use 2 tablespoons of green chillies.
Serves: 4 to 5

Kokum Rasam/Punar Puli Saaru

Kokum /Punar Puli/Murudina Odu Rasam is good for digestion. It helps to get back the taste you lost during your sickness.

It is a practice in Dakshina Kannada and Malenadu (in Karnataka State) of using this Kokum once in a while. It is used to prepare rasam and drink during indigestion and fever. It helps to cure cold and helps to get back the taste of the taste bud in tongue..
Let us see the recipe. You can serve this rasam as soup too.

Things Needed:

Dried Cocum  : 5 to 6
Water : 2 cups
Green chillies : 2
Coriander Leaves : 2 Tablespoon ( wash and cut into small pieces).
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6
Salt :to taste
Jaggery  : 1 Tablespoon
Ghee : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Pepper : 1/4 Teaspoon
Jeera /Cumin seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ingh :  a pinch
Turmeric powder: a pinch.

Method : 

1. Soak Kokum pods in hot water. (Wash it before you use). Squeeze out the pulp and keep it aside.

2. Crush pepper and jeera.

3. Wash coriander leaves and curry leaves. Cut into small. Wash green chilly and slit in between.

4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add little ghee and mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
5. Add ingh and curry leaves. Add slit green chilly.
6. Add kokum pulp and add 2 to 3 glasses of water.

7.Add turmeric powder and jaggery . Let it boil nicely. Add crushed pepper and jeera. Add salt.

8. Let it boil nicely for 3 to 4 minutes.Shift Kokum Rasam to a serving dish.

9. Add cut coriander leaves and serve.

Note: 

You can add more water to take out the content from kokum pods. Adding more jaggery is optional.
This tangy and sweet taste is nice to have like a soup. Adding more pepper is optional.
Time : 20 Minutes
Serves : 4 to 5. 

You can prepare this and serve as soup.

Good for cold, cough, cooling down the body, removes pittam. Helps in easy digestion and helps the tasty bud to get better. (Tongue taste bud)

Almond and Cashew balls..

Almond and Cashew balls are sweet and healthy  snacks and you can have them with breakfast too...and eat any time of the day.
Things needed:
Almonds : 1 cup
Cashew Nuts : 1 cup
Raisins : 1 Cup
Jaggery  : 1/2 cup
Coconut : 1 cup ( Fresh or dry coconut: copra ).
Cardamom : 5 to 6
Ghee : 2 Table spoon.


Method :  Roast Cashew nuts and Almonds separately .  Dry grind Almonds in to small pieces.( Do not powder). Cut cashew nuts in to small pieces and powder cardamom and keep it aside.
Now keep a bowl on the fire . Add jaggery and add 1 table spoon of water and let jaggery dissolve and become liquid. Put off the fire when it starts bubbling.  Add powdered Almonds , roasted cashews and raisins.  Mix thoroughly .Add fresh coconut and powdered cardamom and mix again . Take a handful of the dough and prepare balls using your palm.  Serve them when it is cold.

Note : Adding coconut is an option. You can also try  using grated copra( kobbari in Kannada). If it does not hold can use little ghee or sprinkle little hot milk and prepare  Almond balls.  Remember if you use milk it will not stay for long. So better to use ghee . You can also add 1 table spoon  of roasted  edible gum and roasted wheat powder.  so that balls can be prepared easily by adding wheat powder.  Adding edible gum will help you to reduce your backache. 

15 Almond Balls can be made .

Ginger Tambuli .

Tambuli means Tampina Huli. (Cooling For the body) and its very healthy curry. Tambuliis one of the side dish. It is normally prepared using savoury butter milk. It is served in the beginning and should be eaten with rice. (first few spoons). Eating tambuli helps to digest the food easily. It is one of the traditional dish. We can prepare so many types of tambulis. Here is a recipe of Ginger (Shunti) tambuli.

Lets see some benefits of having ginger in our diet. 
Ginger is loaded with nutrients and bio active compounds which are loaded with benefits for our body and brain. Ginger can be used as fresh, dried, powdered, oil or juice. It is very common ingredients in Indian cooking.
Ginger has anti inflammation, anti-oxidant and anti-emetic properties. It is good for common cold and help to resolve respiratory problems. It is good for morning sickness, nausea and vomiting. It helps to digest the food easily. Its juice is a good remedy for headache.
Lets see the recipe now and there is no onion or garlic in this "Ginger Tambuli". It can used as one of the side dish and goes well with all most all the main dishes.

Things Needed :

Ginger : a small piece
Butter milk : 1 cup ( Can use 2 table spoons of curd( yogurt or dahi)
Jeera: 1 Tea spoon
Pepper : 1/2 Tea spoon
Fresh Coconut : 1 Table spoon
Salt : to taste
Red chilly or Green chilly : 1
Ghee : 1 Table spoon
Curry leaves: 6 to 8 leaves
Ingh or Asafetida : A pinch

Method:

1. Wash and remove the outer layer of ginger.( skin). Wash again and cut into small pieces.

2. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put some drops (1/4 Teaspoon) of ghee, black pepper, jeera/cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds.

3. Add ginger and fry for a minute.  Put off the fire, add ingh and curry leaves.  Let it cool down.

4. Grate or cut coconut.

5. Grind fried ginger mixture and 1 tablespoon of grated coconut with very little water or butter milk.

6. Grind till fine paste. Add required salt and churn once or twice. Remove from the mixi jar.

7. Put it in a bowl. Add butter milk or curd. Add water if you use curd and make into thin watery consistency.

8. Keep a pan again on the fire and put 1/2 teaspoon of ghee. Add jeera and ingh to it. Fry for 10 seconds. Add 2 to 3 curry leaves and put this jeera mixture to tambuli. Mix it well.
9. Serve with hot rice along with other side dishes.

Note :

Do not add more water while grinding. Add required water later. Do not add lot of pepper or chilly. Tambuli should be mild. Adding more ghee is not required. Grinding fried mixture with curd turn creamy. It may not taste good even if you add water. So use little water to grind if you are using curd.
Time : 10 minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3

Rava (Semolina) Rotti

Rave or Rava is also known as Semolina. We get rava from durum wheat. We get rava in different sizes. They also called as bansi rava, chiroti rava and the normal upma rava.
Rava/Semolina/Suji as it is called in different parts of India. We do use rava and cook many dishes. It is loaded with healthy sources.

Lets see some benefits of having Rava/ Semolina in our diet.
Rava is digested slowly and is ideal for people who wish to reduce their weight. It is good for people who suffer from blood sugar problems. Rava is low in fat and high in carbohydrates and it helps to boost energy. It is low in sodium and cholesterol and high fiber content. It is considered as a balanced diet. It contain less saturated fats and zero trans fatty acid. It has a rich source of Vitamin B complex and Vitamin E. It contain minerals like potassium, phosphorus and magnesium helps us for good functions of kidney and heart functions., body metabolize energy and for good healthy muscles, nerves and bones. It has calcium and it helps to keep strong bones, and zinc helps us in our immune system.
I have used medium size rava, onions, curry leaves, coriander leaves and little Mangalore Cucumber/Sambar cucumber.

Ingredients.\

Samolina: 2 cups
Yogurt/Curd/ Dahi : 2 to 3 Tablespoons.
Onions : 2 to 3
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Mangalore Cucumber : 1 small cup (grated)
Green chilly : 2
Curry leaves : Handful
Coconut : 1/2 Cup
Water : Required
Oil : 2 to 3 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Wash and cut coriander leaves, curry leaves,onions and gree chilly.
2  Wash and remove the outer skin of Mangalore Southe kai and grate it nicely.  Grate coconut and keep it aside.

3. Take a big bowl and add Rava, grated cucumber, coconut, cut green chilly, curry leaves,  onions and coriander leaves.

 4. Add salt. Add 1/2 cup of curd/dahi and required water. Mix it nicely and leave it for 10 minutes. ( little thicker than idli dough).

5  Now keep a dosa pan on the fire. Heat and sprinkle oil.
6. Take a handful of prepared dough and spread it evenly on the dosa pan. Add little oil.

 

7. Cover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on low and medium flame. Turn the other side of rotti and cook for another 2 minutes.

8. Remove from the pan and serve hot rotti with ghee and the side dish you have prepared.

Note :

The dough should be thicker than idli dough. You should be able to take handful of dough.  It should not be watery either. Adding more oil is optional. You can use chiroti rava instead of medium size rava. Adding more chilly is also optional.
Time : 20 to 30 minutes
Serves : 2 to 3