Lemon Rice

Tags

easy lemon rice, elupichambala satham, how to make lemon rice, Indian rice variety, Lemon Rice, Rice Variety, Turmeric Powder

Today again it’s going to be one of the most simplest and easiest rice variety. Quick , easy and fast to pack for lunch. Very common in South Indian houses 🙂 And this is my hubby’s favorite 🙂

Ingredients:

Basmathi Rice : 1 cup

Lemon : 1 small

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Oil : 1 tablespoon (preferably sesame oil)

Turmeric powder : 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds : 1/8 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1/8 teaspoon

Channa dal : 1/4 teaspoon

Peanuts : 1 tablespoon (unsalted)

Curry Leaves : few

Asafoetida/Hing : 1 generous pinch

Method:

• Cook Basmathi rice with 1 : 1.5 cup of rice and water. Let it cool, set it aside.
• Squeeze Lemon juice.
• Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan.
• Add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, peanuts. Let it crackle. Add asafoetida and curry leaves.
• Next add turmeric powder and lemon juice mix well. Let it get heated for 2 mins. Then reduce the heat to low.
• Next add the rice to pan and mix well.  Add salt and mix. Make sure it doesn’t get over cooked and smashed.

Now easy lemon rice is ready 🙂 Goes well with chips or potato gravy.

 

 

 

Yellow Pumpkin Dish/Parangikai Puli Kulambu (Chettinad Style)

Tags

Chettinad Style Parangikai Kuzhambu, curry powder, Fennel seeds, Indian Style Yellow Pumpkin Gravy, Parangikai, Parangikai Kulambu, Parangikai Kuzhambhu, tamarind, Turmeric Powder, Yellow Pumpkin, Yellow Pumpkin Gravy

This is again one of favorite dish prepared by my grandma. This time without calling her, I prepared it myself 😀 Yay! I could make it well 🙂 , Quite a simple dish and goes well with cooked rice. This is another very common dish in chettinad families. The special ingredient in this is the Jagarey/ Gur. It gives a sweet taste and I love that taste with the sour tamarind taste.

Ingredients:

Yellow Pumpkin : 1/4 pieces of a large

Onion/Shallots : 1/2 cup

Garlic : 6 to 8 pods

Tamarind: lemon sized

Red Chili Powder : 1 tablespoon

Corriander Powder : 2 tablespoon (you can substitute corriander powder with curry powder)

Turmeric powder : 1/4 teaspoon

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Grated Jaggery : 1 teaspoon

Oil : 3 teaspoons ( I prefer Gingely oil)

Cilantro leaves : to garnish

To season:

Fennel seeds : 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds: 1 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : few

Method:

First Soak the tamarind in water, allow it to soak for 10 mins. Chop the pumpkins to small pieces. Cut the outer hard skin. Chop the shallots/Onions, I prefer shallots for this dish. Chop garlic to small pieces. Grate the Jaggery.

After 10 mins, put the tamarind and water mixture in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 30 sec in microwave. Then remove the extract from tamarind. Pour two cups of water to this. Add red chili, corriander/curry powder , salt, turmeric powder with the tamarind extract and mix well.

Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot add fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds. Let them crackle. Then add curry leaves, when they splutter, add the chopped onions and garlic.  Let it turn translucent. Then add the chopped Yellow pumpkins. Let it get cooked for 3 to 4 mins.

When it is 30% done cooking the pumpkins, add the tamarind extract water which is mixed with the powders mentioned above. Close the pan with a lid. Let it cook for at least 20 mins. In between keep stirring. Now add the jaggery/gur in this.  Let it cook for another 10 mins.

Now it would start becoming thicker. Add the chopped cilantro leaves and serve with hot cooked rice 🙂

Turmeric

Tags

Indian spices, spices, Turmeric, Turmeric Powder

Turmeric is a spice used in cooking, as well as for medicine and as a dye for food and fabric. It imparts a subtle flavor and brilliant yellow color. Therapeutically, turmeric is known as a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, helpful in the treatment of skin diseases, digestive problems, bacterial and viral infections, wounds, and many other uses. In India it is the king of all spices. It is widely found in south Asian cuisine.

What does it look like? Fresh turmeric roots are small, knobby roots about the size of your finger with brownish skin and pale to deep-orange flesh. When boiled, dried, and ground, the powder turns a deep yellow.

What does it taste like? Turmeric adds a slightly bittersweet, astringent flavor to foods. The active ingredient is curcumin, which is unrelated to cumin seed.

What’s the best way to store it? Place ground turmeric in an airtight container and store in a cool, dark, dry place. Store fresh turmeric root in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic or sealed in a glass jar up to several days; freeze for longer storage.

How is it used in food? Turmeric powder is widely used to color and flavor mustard, relish, chutney, and pickles. It is a component of curry spice mixtures and commonly used in Indian and Indonesian cooking, where it originated. Turmeric enhances the flavor of many foods, including meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, potatoes, rice, lentils, and vegetables.

What are some substitutes for it? For yellow color, you can substitute annatto seeds, marigold blossoms, saffron (which is much more expensive), curry powder, or mustard powder. However, there is no substitute for the flavor of turmeric and each of these substitutes carry their own distinct flavor.

Turmeric has a lot of medicinal benefits. You can find them in this link http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html