Apple Fritters

Its getting too chilled here, obviously during weekends we look for something hot and spicy to munch with our cup of tea or coffee. I have couple of bookmarked recipes to try since a while and finally i got a chance to clear a bookmark recipe which i have been looking to dish out since a long. Yes finally Pioneer's Woman apple fritters, i fried these cuties last weekend while its was raining outside. Extremely addictive and dangerously delicious, these fritters are our family favourite now. If you are planning to dish out this apple fritters dont forget to prepare a huge quantity else you will regret definitely.

Minapa Sunnundalu/Urad Dal Laddoo

Sunnundalu, this sweet is quite a popular one in Andhra, with just three ingredients you can make this healthy sweet in a jiffy. Sunnundalu or minapasunni is quite a healthy sweet, urad dal are in rich in iron and its quite advise to feed young gals with this laddoo. One small ball every morning will definitely keep you away from the lower back pain problem. This laddoo helps a lot in increasing haemoglobin levels in blood and makes the bone strong. Though my today's post goes for urad dal laddoo with sugar, some makes this cute balls with jaggery. Laddoo made with jaggery are more healthier than the sugar, however this laddoos are dangerously delicious coz of the use of ghee.

Kuthiravali Kanji/Barnyard Millet Porridge

If you are searching for a easy breezy, quick, healthy and definitely a satisfy breakfast for a hurry morning, then you should take a look at this easy porridge. Kuthiravali/Barnyard millet is one among my favourite millet which i never forget to get from India, and i have few packets in my pantry to make delicious foods out of it. If you are my regular reader you might know that am not a breakfast person, obviously i try to skip breakfast but since we started our low carb diet, i couldnt skip the breakfast and trying to take millet based foods in the morning. One of my favourite breakfast or else brunch is this barnyard millet porridge.

Roasted Makhana/Roasted Lotus seeds

Going for a long drive need more organisation than a small outing, whenever we plan a long drive with kids, my mind will definitely look for some hassle-free snacks. A long drive do need some special attention when you plan with kids. I usually avoid oily foods for car snacks,so i always plan to make some baked goodies or oil less snacks which goes mostly for easy preparation. Am running my third week of blogging marathon with a fantastic theme, yes my theme for this week is Car Snacks and i simply loved this theme. Seriously Srivalli rock with her themes and dunno how she gets all these themes,am amazed to see the varieties of themes she suggest us every month.Coming to today's post, this roasted makhana aka puffed lotus seeds makes an excellent car snacks.

Sweet Horsegram Vermicelli/Inippu Kollu Sevai

Evening snacks are the one among the most important food before having the dinner. Actually Kids need to have their snacks healthy as well as filling after a long day at school. I'll try to add healthy stuffs often in my kids evening snacks, mostly I'll stick with the home made evening snacks however sometimes I'll let my kids to have their favourite junk foods for their snacks. Its quite hard to feed kids with healthy stuffs in their snacks,quite dilemma which happens also with the adults as well. My better half is not a health nut like me, he love to indulge junk foods as much as like my kids. Seriously its quite a hard task for me to feed my family members with healthy stuffs, hence i find a better way to feed them. Just mask the healthy ingredients with your usual evening snacks to feed everyone at home without their knowledge and this method works absolutely awesome. Everyone at home love vermicelli, and my H love vermicelli in anything. Obviously i opted for an healthy horse gram vermicelli for making our favourite sweet vermicelli few days back for our evening snacks.

Roasted Urad Dal Flour

South Indian savoury snacks are not complete without the addition of roasted urad dal flour, this flour is must for savoury snacks like murukku,seedai,thattais. This flour can be prepared at home with just an ingredient. Yes just deskinned urad dal is quite enough to make this flour at home easily. When dehusked urad dals roasted in a pan without oil in low flame turned as golden brown is the only ingredients which makes this nice aromatic flour. Slow roasting urad dal makes an excellent homemade urad dal flour. You can make this flour earlier and they can stay prefect for a long if they are stored properly in an air tightened container or bottle. If your urad dal and rice flour is ready at home you can make savoury snacks quickly for your evening snacks.

Kamarkat/Kamarkattu/Jaggery Balls/Jaggery Candies

If you would have doing your schooling during 80's or earlier in 90's you might have definitely crossed this chewy addictive kamarkats atleast once in your life. I tasted this jaggery candies aka Kamarkat for the first time when i was doing my 6th standard, i was totally tempted by the smell of jaggery syrup which pulled me to get this kamarkat from the petty shop situated in the corner of Gandhi street in Pondicherry.Every afternoon the vendor of this petty shop makes his fresh batch of Kamarkat.I still remember the owner of this shop was quite famous for this Kamarkats, he is very much known for this freshly made kamarkats among the Pondicherrians. Now this petty shop is still there but they dont do that fresh kamarkats now, even during my last India's trip, i went to that shop to get some fresh kamarkats but i was disappointed to find out some already prepared and packed kamarkats there.

Salted Pan Roasted Peanuts/Uppu Nella Kadalai

You cant forget few nostalgic moments and the foods we enjoyed during those moments, one among is this Salted peanuts. Love this pan roasted peanuts since ever i tasted first time when my grandma bought me in a store near to Pondicherry's raja theatre, this shop doesnt exist now, the oldman who hails from a nearby village never failled to sell the freshly roasted peanuts everyday along with puffed rice, rice flakes, salted channas etc. Everytime we go to Nehru street, we never forget to get a huge pocket of this roasted peanuts, the highlight of this peanuts is they are roasted along with sand which gives a wonderful flavor, i cant forget those tasty roasted salted peanuts.

Neer Nellikkai/No Oil Amla Pickle/Oilfree Gooseberry Pickle

Pickling is definitely a summer affair, we make varieties of pickles with varieties of vegetables. Each South Indian famillies prepare their batch of pickles during summer to share among the family members and my grandma makes bags and bags of pickles, vadams every summer whenever we go for summer vacation. I seriously cherish those nostalgic moments which is quite rare now, my kids miss this much fun moments with grand parents. Personally after my generation, these summer rituals seems to be very much rare even in my grandma's village.Coming to today's post, this pickling method of making this oil free gooseberry pickle we usually follow when we get gooseberries abundantly during the peak season. This method of making this oil free pickle helps to preserve those gooseberries. Neer Nellikkai can be enjoyed just like that, or else these preserved gooseberries can be used in making chutneys, or can be prepared with as pickle with spices and oil.

Garlicky Baked Potato Wedges

Potato wedges, my lil one's favourite whenever we go to the famous fast food restaurant. Potato wedges are almost like French fries, its a finger food, and kid's favourite as much as like French fries. Usually potato wedges are prepared by slicing the potatoes as wedges without peeling the skin of the potatoes. They are often deep fried as well as baked. Many fast food restaurants sold them along with their sandwiches instead of French fries. Potato wedges are served along with cheese and mayonnaise here, but my kids love these potato wedges with barbecue sauce or else with sweet chilly sauce.

Orange Wedges Chaat

Oranges are excellent source of vitamin C and we never forget to get some kgs from market once they starts showing their heads. Usually i make many bakes, juice,shakes and many more beautiful dishes out of this incredible fruits. My kids are ardent fan of this fruit and they can have anything prepared with this vitamin rich fruits, i can give this fruit as anything and i know they will definitely enjoy it thoroughly. Coming to today's post, its nothing just few orange wedges sprinkled with some chaat masala and i simply named it as Orange wedges chaat.This chaat is my lil one's favourite whenever i make this simple chaat, he will go crazy and he love it to the core. Obviously this chaat is tasted and approved by my lil one and this chaat is most favourite.

A simple evening snacks or a quick dessert to serve after a heavy lunch or dinner, just adjust the amount of chaat masala according to your kid's spice level or else just simply sprinkle salt and enjoy this fruity chaat, you can also add more fresh fruits of your choice and make this chaat more interesting. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#40. Sending this pancakes to Kid's Delight-Fat Free Kid's Friendly Recipes guest hosted by me, an event by Srivalli..

Horsegram Idly Podi/Kollu Idli Podi/Horsegram Gun Powder

Horsegram this incredible beans are less known but they have definitely an important place in our weekly menu, i'll make atleast once a week a dish with this horsegram. Also i never forget to make idly podi with this horsegrams, actually i tried this idly podi a year back and completely fallen in love with it. Usually i'll make paruppu podi with usual dals and spices but intentionally i prepared horsegram idly podi since i ran out of channa dal while making my usual batch of idly podi. Trust me, none will find the difference between the usual and this idly podi. A wonderful way to sneak this nutritious horsegram in our diet, its adviced to add this horsegram in our diet if you feel like dieting.

This horsegram idly podi goes awesome as side dish with hot steaming idlies or else with crispy dosas or with uthappams, my personnal favourite is thick vegetable uthappams with this idly podi. Trust me, uthappams tastes simply awesome with this healthy idly podi. If you are planning to make idly podi at home, just give a try to this beautiful,healthy idly podi and am sure you will definitely love it.This podi is going to be a part of Friendship 5 Series an event by Geetha and Savitha.

Sennakunni Idly Podi/Chennakunni Podi/Sennang Kunni Idly Podi/Dried Shrimps Idli Podi

Sennakunni/Sennangkunni/Sennagunni are tiny dried shrimps, we Pondicherrians makes a delicious idly podi with these sun dried shrimps. They tastes excellent with hot steaming idlies and definitely along with crispy dosas. Just mix them with gingelly oil and enjoy it with idlies.Dried shrimps, dry roasted in low flame grounded with other dry roasted dals and red chillies makes this delicious flavourful spice powder. I have pampered with this podi since ages and we love it to the core. Sennakunni podi have its important place in our cuisine,this podi was shared among the family from the old peoples to the younger ones. Obviously some recipes may varies depending upon the spices but still if its sennakunni podi its goes definitely for dried tiny shrimps we get easily from fish markets along with dried fishes.

If you love shrimps very much like le, this spice powder is for you, we also make a simple spice powder with this dried shrimps to have with rice, will share it soon.If you get tiny dried shrimps,dont forget to make this super delicious spice powder.This podi is going to be a part of Friendship 5 Series an event by Geetha and Savitha.

Flaxseed Rasam Powder/Alsi Rasam Powder

Rasam is a part of our daily meal, i cant imagine a day without rasam and obviously i make my fresh batch of rasam powder every month. We can survive for many days with rasam and even my kids can have their food without any complaint if they have their dose of rasam for their lunch. Usually i make my mom's style of rasam powder, you can check here.. But this time i want to make few changes and ended up with this incredible rasam powder. Yes this rasam powder goes for the incredible fibre rich seeds aka Flaxseeds. Actually its quite difficult and challenging to add this seeds in our daily menu, one of the most popular technique to add this flaxseeds are by grinding them as fine powder and using them in bakes or breads. They are wonderful egg substitutes in case if you are making eggless bakes.But trust me this seeds are very versatile, you can add them in our Indian cuisine in various way, either making spice powder out of it or else just adding them as powder in our curries and gravies. Will try to post different spice powders am going to make out of this interesting seed soon.

Coming to today's post, this rasam powder is definitely an interesting way to add this seeds in our daily diet. This seed is very much rich in antioxidant than blueberries or else olives. The addition of flax seeds doesnt change the taste this rasam powder, if you dont reveal the secret seed in this powder none will notice it.Obviously its a best way to sneak this healthy seeds in our diet.This podi is going to be a part of Friendship 5 Series an event by Geetha and Savitha.

Tindivanam Hotel Ariyaas Style Garlic Coconut Chutney Powder/Poondu Thengai Podi

Idlis or dosas needs side dishes especially idli podis or chutneys, one of my recent trial is this Poondu thengai podi aka Garlic coconut powder, i tasted this delicious,spicy and garlicky coconut chutney powder during my last trip in India at Hotel Ariyaas Tindivanam while am travelling to Chennai Airport from Pondicherry.The hotel manager was kind enough to share the ingredients and recipe with me discretly when i asked about the recipe for this spice powder as i have completely fallen in love with this spice powder. Without any hesitation i bought few packets of this poondu thengai podi to carry them to Paris.This chutney podi tastes fabulous when mixed with gingelly oil and they can stay for months if they are conserved properly. Kopra thengai aka dry coconut is used in this recipe, if you are using fresh coconuts either as slices or grated you need to dry roast them slowly in simmer to get rid of the moisture presents in coconut, however i advice to use kopra thengai for making this chutney podi.

Simple podi to make and i guess whoever loves garlic flavoured podi with their dosas or idlies will definitely loves this spicy garlicky coconut spice powder to the core. You doesnt need any spices apart from garlic cloves, dry red chillies,kopra thengai aka dry coconut pieces to make this podi, just make them and enjoy it with any dosas or idlies. This podi is going to be a part of Friendship 5 Series an event by Geetha and Savitha.

Urulai Kizhangu Bonda/No Deep Fried Potato Bonda

Chilled weather means deep fried snacks for us. Paris weather is playing around between chilled weather, sudden rain and mild sunny days obviously everyone at home needs some hot,crispy evening snacks to keep them comfort. I prepared this potato bondas few days back with kuzhi paniyaram pan or aebleskiver pan which hardly need a half teaspoon of oil to get ready. This no deep fried potato bonda is definitely a guilt free snacks to enjoy simply with a cup of coffee or tea,trust me they will get vanished quickly one you remove them from the paniyaram pan.

Since this bonda is not deep fried,you can have two more bondas without any hesitation, if you dont like this method, sure you can prepare them by deepfrying. Enjoy this fantastic no deep fried bondas for your evening snacks.Today is the 2nd tuesday of the month, i belong to a group of friends  who shares authentic dishes from Tamilnadu and the name of the event is Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday, please do check the announcement if you want to be a part of it.

                      

Thalicha Kambu Idli/Tempered Pearlmillet Idli

Pearlmillet / Bajra is one of the nutritious and the oldest millet used by our ancestors, its highly rich in fiber content which makes it more healthier. This millet is used as a regular meal in some regions of India. Its really very much advised to include this fibre rich millets quite often in our regular diet.Eating often pearlmillet provides us plenty of fibre,iron,magnesium,copper,zinc, vitamine E and B Complex, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Its a gluten free grain, which can be easily included in a diet of a person who have allergy towards gluten.This grain is also highly effective and recommended for people who suffers from constipation and stomach ulcers.Obviously this grain is very much good for diabetics to keep their glucose levels normal.

Dunno how to add this incredible grain is your diet, just make our South Indian dishes like idlies,dosas and pongal with it. I do quite often idlies or dosas, but for a change i went for a tempered pearlmillet idli which sounds almost like Kanchipuram Idlies. This tempered spices gives a wonderful flavour to this idli and we had a satisfying dinner with nutritious rich idlies.Sending to my own event Healthy Diet-Cooking with Wholegrains guest hosted by Nupur.

Sesame Curryleaves Spice Powder/Ellu Karuvepillai Podi

I cant imagine my pantry without spice powders, monthly once or twice i'll prepare varieties of spice powders. These spice powders will definitely helps you whenever you run out of veggies or lazy to cook your lunch. Once i came back home after my long stay in India, the first thing i prepared back at home is this spice powder and a thogayal with plantain stem. Yes i missed spice powders that much eventhough i had so many options to buy or to prepare at home. I picked this spice powder from a supplement we get along with a Tamil magazine called Aval Vikatan, this spice powder goes for simple ingredients and gets ready in a jiffy.

The original recipe went for white sesame seeds, but i prepared mine with black sesame seeds apart from it, i followed the original recipe without any change. Since i had fresh curry leaves which i carried all the way from India, i dont want to miss a chance to give a try to this podi. We enjoyed thoroughly this flavourful  podi with hot piping rice topped with gingelly oil.This post goes  for the CC Challenge of the month.

1/4cup Black sesame seeds

1/4cup Curry leaves

3nos Dry red chillies

2tbsp Urad dal

Salt

Dry roast the sesame seeds until a nice aroma comes from..

In the same pan, dry roast the curry leaves until they turns crisp.

Now dry roast the dry red chillies and urad dal until they turns brown.

Let all the ingredients gets cool completely.

Now take everything in a mixie jar and grind as fine powder with salt.

Serve with rice topped with gingelly oil or ghee.

Conserve the spice powder in an air tightened box.