BER CHUTNEY

Ber or Bhor it is known as is a sweet and sour fruit which is available in Indian market during the period November to March. 

It brings back the childhood memory as we used to go to pluck this near the Krishnan temple at Pallanchathanur where my  grandfather used to stay.  During vacation,  we used to go there and our time pass is this among other mischievous activities. It is a nutrient fruit with antioxidant properties and stimulates your immune system.  It is also rich in Vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, iron, and phosphorous. These nutrients will keep your skin healthy, and your scalp and hair in good  condition. 

Traditionally in India, the fruit is dried in the sun and the hard nuts are removed. Then, it is pounded with tamarind, red chillies, salt and jaggery.  In some parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, fresh whole ripe fruit is crushed with the above ingredients and dried under the sun to make cakes called ilanthai vadai or regi vadiyalu ) (Telugu).  This vadai I happened to taste when I went to Marudamalai in Coimbatore.  I was fascinated with the shape and colour of this and the fact that never tasted before, I purchased it for tasting.  I really liked it.

Various shapes and colours of ber is available in the market now.  I happened to see the green big ones looks like green tomato and tastes bit like a green  apple.  I purchased the same and cut it for tasting.  I felt the mild sweetness in it and thought of biting a green apple.  I made chutney, subzi and molagootal/kootu out of this and was excellent though you will not be able to identify the taste separately as you will feel that you have made it with the chow chow.  

Let us look at the recipe now and giving below a little brief about the fruit:

MAA VILAKU

Maa vilaku  (rice flour lamp) is prepared during the Thai, Adi months and for karthikai deepam.   It is a family custom for many of us.  My mother's side, my aunty used to light this lamp during Thai month.  In my in laws place this is not a practice.  However, I made this for posting the same on the blog.

This is a child hood memory for me as I love to eat this.  But after leaving my hometown, I hardly got the chance to eat this.  The combination of the rice flour, jaggery and the coconut pieces to eat is divine.  Since I had not eaten for years together, may be 15 years or more, I was craving for the same too. 

The lamp made out of this is lit with ghee in it and we have to wait for the same to completely get over.  Then neivedyam is done and it is distributed as prasadam to everyone.

In Thai month or thai  masam, it is done normally on Friday.  Since Thai masam is on, you can prepare this and enjoy it.

Now let us look at the recipe:

BABY BANANA PLANT STEM CURRY

I have got the habit of watching food and travel channels because we get to know various places and the food habits of that particular region / state/country.  Since we are connected with food through our blog, it is an interesting channel for us to pass our time.

As I was watching the Travel XP channel, I happened to see them cooking the  tender banana false stem.  Though I do not remember, the ingredients put in for cooking the same due to some work in between could not be noticed and missed the recipe.  However, I saw them cutting the baby plant for preparing the subzi.

Since then I was also thinking of making the subzi out of it.

Recently, we had Satyanarayan Pooja in our Society and the Baby plants are used for the Pooja.  I brought the baby plant and removed the outer false stem till such time I got the tender stem. video

I cooked the subji out of it and to my surprise, it was really really delicious.  Here I am sharing with you the recipe and giving below little brief about the benefit of the banana plant.

Let us look at the recipe now:

GREEN METHI, CHUARA, KISHMISH LAUNJI

Green Methi, chuara, kishmish curry is a Rajasthani dish which is quite healthy.  All the three ingredients used in this dish are having several health benefits.   This dish is made by soaking the ingredients overnight with mild spice and goes well with the roti, chapatti and rice.

My friend Mrs. Rinku Shinde shared this recipe with me yesterday and I am glad to post the same in the blog for the benefit of all my viewers.

Methi seeds are the rich sources of minerals, iron, vitamins, natural soluble fibres, potassium, sodium, Saponin, amino acid, phytochemicals, etc. Soaked methi seeds in the morning treats the digestive disorders like; loss of appetite, stomach upset, indigestion, bloating, constipation, eases emptying of bowl.

Date fruit or Phoenix Dactylifera is one of the most nutritious foods that can either be taken fresh or consumed after drying. Dry dates, also known as ‘Chuara‘ in Hindi, ‘Endu Kharjuram‘ in Telugu, ‘Pericham Pinju‘ in Tamil,  ‘Vana kharjura‘ in Kannada, ‘Sookno Khejur‘ in Bengali, ‘Kharik‘ in Marathi and ‘Kharek‘ in Gujarati. Dry dates are known to be an all-in-one natural remedy for a number of health-related problems.

From boosting your energy levels to taking care of your cardiovascular health, date fruits have multifaceted benefits to offer. You can also consume them for enhancing your beauty.  You can further google search for the  benefits of dry dates for health, skin and hair.

Improves Overall Health:

Dry dates are considered to be a gold mine of vitamins. They contain a wide range of vitamins including Vitamin A, C, E, K, B2, B6, niacin and thiamin. These vitamins are vital for our health and wellness. Therefore, consuming dry dates is beneficial for improving our overall health.

Source of Essential Minerals:

Dry dates also have all essential minerals like iron, potassium, selenium, magnesium, phosphorous and copper, without which our body cells cannot perform their regular activities.

Raisins or dried grapes  look very simple and unpalatable with their aged appearance and dry texture but they are one of nature’s healthier alternatives to those sugar-rich manufactured candies and sweet products.   Raisins, also known as ‘Kishmish’ in Hindi, ‘Yendu Dhraksha‘ in Telugu, ‘Ular Dhraakshai/Kaintha Thratchai‘ in Tamil, ‘Kismis/Unakku Munthiringa‘ in Malayalam, ‘Ona Drakshi/Vonadraakshe‘ in Kannada, ‘Lal Draksh/Khismis‘ in Gujarati, ‘Bedane/Manuka‘ in Marathi, ‘Khishmish‘ in Punjabi and ‘Kash/Kishmish‘ in Bengali.  Consumption of raisins keeps the bowel movement regular and the fibers help to keep toxins and waste products out of the system.  Raisins are beneficial not only for gastrointestinal problems but also for constipation.

Now let us look at the recipe now:

GADBAD CUTLET

When you hear cutlet, you think about the vegetable cutlet, paneer cutlet, brinjal and peas cutlet  etc. etc. It is a nice snack item anytime we can relish.  You can load vegetables of your choice and make it.  Main purpose of making these items that most of the vegetables can be used and feed the children mainly as knowingly or unknowingly, it goes into the stomach, especially when you serve it with sauce for them.

The gadbad cutlet is mixture of various left out items I had in my fridge today.  I had four slices of the bread slices top and bottom of the bread packet which I had kept in the fridge which became very hard and I could easily make the crumbs out of it.  Then I had two to three pieces of boiled raw jackfruit, boiled peas.  I added some more ingredients in it and made this cutlet.  I also had quarter cup of sabudana soaked.   So many things put together made a lovely dish which I am sharing with you.

Let us look at the recipe now:

SABUDANA, BREAD UPMA

Sabudana kichadi and bread upma we are familiar with.  The combination of both the ingredients are also quite good and filling.

Today for the breakfast, I made this as I had 3-4 slices of left over bread and ½ cup soaked sabudana in fridge.  Since both the ingredients are very less and will not be sufficient to make different varieties, I thought of combining these ingredients and made the upma.

You can either make bread crumbs by putting the same in the mixer or just tear off the bread into pieces and add to the upma.

While serving, you must serve the same hot otherwise tend to become dry to eat or else you have to serve it with chutney or sambhar or curd as you wish.

When we are having left over items in the fridge, we choose the option of combining the ingredients which really makes a good dish.

Let us look at the recipe now:

FRESH TURMERIC PICKLE

Fresh turmeric is available in winter.  The season is now on and you will get plenty of fresh turmeric now.  

Pickles are my weakness and I always try with any ingredients I feel it is right for the pickle.  I had made the pickle several times but somehow, the same was not posted.  Now it is available, everyone can enjoy this pickle.

Turmeric has got many medicinal properties and helps in curing various diseases.  One must introduce this ingredients whenever it is available in their menu. 

The turmeric pickle can be made with or without spice.  Here I am sharing with you with the spice and oil.  This pickle can be used instantly since we are finely chopping the same and the hot oil will make it bit softer to eat it instantly.


chutney

Let us look at the recipe now:

MYSORE BONDA WITH URID DAL

Mysore Bonda is prepared either with maida or ulundu i.e. urad dal.  You do not worry about making this bonda with ulund because when you are grinding for idli or dosa, bit extra urid can be put and grind it.  But the batter should be like the medu vada batter and should not go extra water in it.  

I used to make this bonda without adding any other stuff like the ingredients we add for the mysore bonda.  Here I would like to give you a tip - in case the batter has extra water in it, just add bit of rice flour and rava and keep in fridge, which will absorb the extra water in it.

coming back to the recipe, I made today the mysore bonda with urid dal.  As I said, while grinding for idli, I had taken out some urid batter and kept aside.  I used that only for making the bonda.

It is an easy snack item which can be served with chutney or sambar.  My children would be happy to serve it along with sauce.

Let us look at the recipe now:  video

maida mysore bonda will be posted shortly.

KACHE HALDI KI SUBZI, FRESH TURMERIC SUBZI

Turmeric Curry (Haldi Sabzi) is a traditional recipe of Rajasthan served in special occasion like marriages and parties. This wonderful root with the stunning yellow colour looks like ginger can be found in winter.   Turmeric is hot in tendency and is used to cure cold and joint pains that  affects us severely mostly in winters.  

Turmeric is fried in  ghee so that the bitterness goes away. Turmeric Curry is made only with whole raw turmeric.  We can also add some peas, cauliflower in this preparation.  If you do not like the strong flavour of the turmeric, you can add bit sugar, cream etc. in this curry.   But I would suggest to taste the same in the original form without losing the natural taste of it.

Fresh turmeric generates a lot of body heat and so it is a great way to counter the bitter cold of the desert. The curd and ghee used in this dish balances the heat of the Kachi haldi. 

I  tasted this subzi in my friend's house who is a Marwadi.  Since I liked it very much, I prepared it two to three times and now only I got the time to post it.  I thought of posting it now as the fresh turmeric is available now so that you all enjoy this delicious dish.

  I used to make pickle also out of this.  Turmeric got many medicinal properties.  It has been used in India for thousands of years as spice and medicinal herb.  It is also a natural Anti inflammatory compound, increases anti oxidant capacity, improves brain functions and lower risk of brain diseases, lower risk of heart  disease, helps prevent cancer, alzheimer's etc.   

Video 

IDICHAKKA KUZHIPANIYARAM

I have already posted two raw jackfruit snack  recipes ie. bhajia and bonda.  Here is another version kuzhipaniyaram.

It is easy to make provided you have the idli batter at home.  When I purchase some ingredients, I try to make most use of the same by trying various dishes out of it.  As I was having lot of raw jackfruit with me, I made the three dishes out of which I have already posted two as mentioned above.

Everyone is familiar with Kuzhipaniyaram.  I just filled the same with the raw jackfruit masala in it.  But remember one thing, all these dishes tastes good when you serve them hot.

Now let us look at the recipe now: