Ani’s Kids Recipe,South Indian samayal & Tips!

Just to share with you………….

I love “santhakai” which is also called as iddiyappam in many places. The traditional way of making it includes a lot of process. Now a days we are getting frozen Idiappam in Indian groceries in US. But for those where Indian Groceries are nearby they can try the sevai(anothername ) using rice noodles.

In my place and also in my neighbouring places (coimbatore,erode,salem side) ” Santhagai ” has one particular  importance. After marriage when the guy (mappillai ) comes to his in-laws place (mamiyar vedo)for the first time  that time they have to make idiappam as first food . We use a special tool/utensel  for this . I will upload that picture later. Idiapam maker has a tumbler shaped place with tiny hoes where you need to put  idlis(made out of only rice flour) and there will a screw type press which presses the idli when you start screwing . This process makes rice noodles to come out of idlis like how the water comes in shower.   Many has the belief that while pressing (which make some sounds) they think all the thirusti’s (bad eyes on the couple) will go away . This is what I have heard from grandma’s. There might be some other reasons too.

This Idiyappam is my all time favourite. Last week I saw rice noodles in H-mart and I thought why I can’t I try this like idiyappam so i bought and tried it. Almost 90% close in taste to Santhagai. You can try that too.

Tomato Rice Noodles

Ingredients

Note:I am not mentioning the amount since it deponds on the amount of rice noodles you have taken. Another reason is Rice noodles are available in different size packets.

1. Rice noodles – as needed
2. oil – 3 tsp
3. mustard seeds – little
4. urud dal/channa dal – little
5. Curry ,corriander leaves -little
6. chopped Green chilli
7. chopped onion (more onions gives more taste)
8. Red chilli powder
9. turmeric powder
10. Tomato  (atleast 4 tomatoes or one hunts diced tomato tin for 2 persons quantity)
11. salt as needed

Preparation

1. Break the noodles  into small pieces(2cm size) othewise it will be too tought for mixing.
2. Soak the rice noodles in water for 5 mins. Once you feel that its soft drain the water and steam cook in idli maker till soft. Moslty 5 mins will be enough.
3. Heat wide mouthed pan. Add oil and temper mustard seeds, Urudal /channa dal,curry leaves and corriander leaves.
4. Add the chopped onions and green chilli (may be 1 or 2). Let it fry.
5. Blend the tomato roughly( may be 5 seconds the so that thee will be some little tomato pieces) don’t  make as fine paste.
6. Now add the coarsly blended tomato.
7. Add turmeric and red chilli powder (remember that you add green chilli too) and needed salt and let it cook for 5 mins
8. If needed sprinkle little water.
9. Now add the steamed rice noodles and mix well together . Now your sevai is ready to serve.

Tips

You can try curd sevai, lemon sevai, vegetable sevai,coconut sevai etc . Try in the way how to make that variety rices but instead of rice add the steamed rice noodles because this this how we do curd idiyappam, lemon idiyappam ,mixed vegetable idyappam,and coconut idiyappam.

Just to share with you….

Vinayagar chaturthi is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. Vinayagar Chaturthi is grandly celebrated in India.Lord Ganesha /Vinayagar is the Son of  Lord Shiva and Parvati. The festival Vinayaka Chaturthi is an occasion or a day on which Lord Ganesha makes his presence on earth for all his devotees. Whenever we remember “Vinayagar chathurthi ” /”Ganesh chathurthi” the first thing comes in our mind is “KOLUKKATAI”. There are different types of Kolukkattai’s (both sewwt and mirchi)  but we used to make this kara kolukkati always at my home. This can be eaten as tiffin as well as snack too.

 Ready for cooking

Kolukkattai

Ingredients

1. Idli rice  -2 cups
2. Coconut grated – 1/2 cup
3. Salt – to taste
4. oil -2 tsps
5. Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
6. Curry and corriander leaves
7. Channa dal /kadalaparuppu – 1/2 tsp
8. Urudal – 1/2 tsp
9. Green Chillies – 4-5
10. Onion medium size – 1

Preparation

1. Soak the rice forminimum of  2 hours and grind it into a  thick  coarse batter with salt (thick and close to rava consistency so that you can make shapess).
2.  Chop the onions, chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
3.  Heat the pan with oil. Temper the mustard seeds, channa dal & urud dal. When it starts spluttering, add the onions, chillies and curry/corriander  leaves.
4.  Fry for few minutes and add the grated coconut.
5. To this add the  grinded bater  and mix well . Add salt if needed.
6.  Then add the coriander leaves and mix well.
7. Now make them into small portions and steam it in a idli pot / cooker for 10-15 minutes

Tips

Some of the variations you can try are :

• You can replace green chillies with red chillies.
• The  chillies can be ground along with the rice to serve children.
• Instead of grated coconut you can cut the cocount in to very small pieces and grind along with rice OR you can add the finely  chopped pieces to the batter directly.

Just to share with you…..

My daughter loves pancakes a lot especially from IHOP. Sometimes she used to ask me in odd times. So I started making pancakes using the recipe I got in net. I came good but can’t be compared with IHOP ‘s Pancakes.

Pancakes

Ingredients:

1. All-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring  – 2 cups
2. Baking powder  – 2 and half tsp
3. salt – 1/2 tsp
4. lightly beaten  egg – 1
5. Milk -1 1/2 cups
6. melted butter -2 tablespoons

Preparation:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In abowl, add egg and milk. Add to flour mixture, stirring  until smooth.
3. Then add the melted butter and mix well.
4. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
5. Cook until brown on one side and around edge; turn and brown the other side. 
6. This can be eaten with Honey.

Just to share with you…..

Many people in India (mostly south Indians) are great fans Biriyani. For most occasions and festivals Biriyani is the most often made recipe. Biryani is made using basmathi rice or seeraka samba rice (very small size rice commonly called as birayani rice by people).This recipe is made using lots of spices.

We all can cook Veg Birayani and Non-Veg Birayani’s. Yesterday when I was talking to my friend Monica she was telling me that she tried chicken birayani with pasta basically rice is substituted with pasta in the birayani and it came good. Today morning when I was thinking what to make for the breakfast suddenly i felt why we should not try Birayani out of Wheat Rava because my plan was to make wheat Rava upma. I tried out cooking Wheat Rava Birayani and the outoput was good.

It slightly diffent from Rava kitachadi which we make with Rava by adding vegetables. The difference is the addition of spices we use for Birayani.Wheat Rava Biryani is very good for diabetic and those who are on diet and also people who are not supposed to take the oily non-veg birayani. This biryani has very less oil and contains lots of vegetables.

Wheat Rava Birayani

Ingredients

1. Wheat rava – 1 cup
2. Mixed vegetables – 1 cup ( finely chopped or u can use frozen mixed vegetable)
3. Small size Onion – 1 (chopped)
4. Small size tomato -1 (chopped)
5. bay leaf – 1
6. cooking oil – 2 tsp
7. curd – 1/4 cup
8. salt – as needed

For powder and paste

In mixie first dry grind the below ingredients:

1. Cinnamon – 1 small piece
2. Cloves – 2
3. Cardamom -1
4. Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp

then add the following ingredients ,sprinkle some water and grind everything into fine paste.

1. ginger-garlic paste – 3/4 tsp
2. green chillies -2
3. coriander leaves – little
4. Mint leaves – little

Note: you can do powder and paste seperately since for small quantity its just a speed up process

Preparation:

1.  In a heavy bottomed pan, Pour oil and add chopped onion,Bay leaf and fry till it becomes soft.
2.  Add the ground paste and fry till the raw smell disappears
3.  Add chopped tomato till it gets cooked
4.  Add all the vegetables and fry for 5 minutes
5.  Add wheat rava and fry for a while
6. Add  curd ,2 cups of water  and needed salt to taste
7. Pressure cook the mixture or you can cook in open pan ( Allow one whistle to come and reamve the cooker from the stove)
8. Serve hot with mixed raitha

Tips

 Use vegetables like carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas , pototes and capsicum. Don’t any any watery vegetables.

Just to share with you……..

Cheese sandwich is simple and easy to make in a minute.

For kids

Take two bread slices  toast it with ghee (your wish) buy form grocey store the square shaped slices cheese coming as a pack (eg singles).  This cheese is available in almost all the grocery shops. Keep the cheese slice inbetween the two toasted bread slices.  Cut diagonally and give your kids. They find it easy to hold and eat nicely.

My kid ,she even don’t want to toast the bread.  She is 3 year old .  She used to make her own sandwich and eat it. She will takeout  cheese slice from refrigerator keep the slice inbetween bread slices and she will eat it.

You can aslo make variation in this. Buy hot dog buns. slice the butter stick  ask your kid to open the hotdog bun (which has cut to open) and ask him/her to arrange the sliced butter sticks in straight line and him/her to close the bun and eat it. Since they are making they really enjoy this.  I have seen this  in my kid.

For Grownups

You can make a slight variation to what i have mentioned so that adults also like this sandwich. This is very simple sandwich which can be made in 2 mins. We need 2 mins only for toasing the bread. You can toast  it using toaster or in dosa tava . This can be liked both by adults and kids.

Sandwich

Ingredients

1. Breadslices -2
2. Kraft cheese slice-1
3. onion slices -1 ( take big onion and make a thin slice which willcome as circle)
4. tomato slice-1(take big tomato and make a thin slice like circle,if tomato is small make 2 slices)

Preparation

1. Toast the bread.
2. Take one slice bread on the top of keep stacking cheese slice,tomato slice  and then onion slice ( or in any order). Cover with another slice of bread.
3. Cut in diagnal and make it into two halves.
4. Simple sandwich is ready. Which is good for breakfast.