Raspberry pinwheels are very easy to make and it is a perfect party recipe. This cream filled berry pastry is absolutely energising and Im sure you would crave for more..

INGREDIENTS:

125 gms cream cheese

6 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 cup frozen raspberry

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Juice from half lemon

1 Egg

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat the oven to 350 degree F.

In a small bowl , take an egg and beat it. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, take cream cheese, lemon juice and brown sugar. Beat well until combined. Set aside.

Place the each sheet of thawed puff pastry on prepared baking sheets.

Place a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into the center of each pastry. Spread it lightly into a small circle. Place 4 raspberry on top the cream cheese.

Using a knife, make four cuts from the center towards the edge of each square. Fold one corner from each piece you’ve cut into the center, pressing it lightly on top of the raspberries.

Give egg wash all over the each pinwheel. Bake the pastries for 20 to 25 min until it is puffed and golden brown on all sides.

Serve warm and enjoy..

Left over idlis are always a great handy ingredient, in which you can make many dishes like idly manchurian, chilly idly, podi idly, kaima idly, idly upma and many more.

Idly manchurian is absolutely a lip-smacking and very inviting starter and definetly kids will love it. It is an innovative indo chinese recipe in which south indian delicacy Idly is fried and added to the sweet and sour chinese gravy. Enjoy idly manchurian as a starter or as a evening tiffin with hot masala chai.

INGREDIENTS:

3 to 4 idlis (cut into small pieces)

Oil to deep fry

FOR BATTER:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1½ tablespoons corn flour

2 dry red chilly finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1 egg (optional)

Salt to taste

Water

FOR SAUCE:

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 green chilly chopped

1 onion (cut into 1″ pieces)

½ bell pepper (cut into 1″ pieces)

½ teaspoon pepper powder

½ teaspoon soya sauce

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

½ teaspoon corn flour (mixed with 2 tablespoons water)

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves or spring onion greens

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the Idlis into small cubes. Refrigerate the idlis for half an hour before cooking.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan for deep frying.

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients given under “for batter”. Add water little by little and make a thick batter. Dip cubed idlis into the batter and deep fry it. Drain on paper towel and Set aside.

In a non-stick pan, add a tablespoon of oil and heat it. Add chopped ginger, garlic,green chilly and saute for a min.

Add in onion and bell pepper. Saute for a min. Add in soya sauce, tomato sauce and pepper powder. Mix well and add cornflour dissolved in water.

When the gravy begins to thick, add in the fried idlis and mix well in such a way that the idlis are coated well with the sauce.

Sprinkle coriander leaves, give a quick stir and remove from the flame.

Serve hot with raita.

NOTES:

Refrigerating Idlis makes sure that the idlis will not absorb oil, while deep frying.

Deep frying Idlis is optional. You can shallow fry it.

Serve hot, else it may turn soggy.

Kuzhi paniyaram, made with idli batter,  is one of the most popular breakfast and snacks recipe in Tamilnadu. Here I have tried making paniyaram with urad dhal batter and believe me it turned excellent. It is a simple and healthy recipe which fulfill most of your daily nutrient requirement. I have adapted this recipe from my , Ulundhu Adai recipe, which I posted earlier. Try this and njoy..

INGREDIENTS:

1½cups Urad dhal

1 onion chopped

1 large egg

2 green chilies finely chopped

3 tablespoons rice flour

Few curry leaves (finely chopped)

Salt as required

Water required

INSTRUCTIONS:

Soak the Urad dhal in water for 2 hrs. Drain the water and grind the dhal to smooth paste.

Transfer the paste to a mixing bowl and add rice flour, egg, green chilies, onion, curry leaves, salt and mix well. Set the batter like dosai consistency by adding required amount of water.

Pre heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan and fill each kuzhi with two drops of oil. When it is heated enough, fill each kuzhi with batter. Cover the pan and cook in low flame. When one side becomes brown, flip to another side using a small spoon and cook until it becomes brown.

Remove paniyarams from pan and serve with chutney.

Umm Ali is a super delicious Egyptian traditional dessert made with puff pastry or filo pastry, milk, nuts and raisins. It tastes slightly similar to bread pudding and it tastes heavenly when it is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large sheets filo pastry, cooled to room temperature

2 cups low fat milk

3 to 4 tablespoons condensed milk

½ tablespoon cardamom powder

2 tablespoons raisins

2 tablespoons chopped almonds

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons chopped groundnuts

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

2 tablespoons grated coconut

1 tablespoon brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil the milk in pan. While boiling add condensed milk and cardamom powder. Set aside.

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Tear the filo pastry sheets into small pieces and place on a baking tray. Bake it for 15 min until it is puffed and golden brown.

Place the baked filo pastry pieces in a large bowl. Add the raisins, almonds, walnuts, groundnuts, pistachios and toss gently to distribute it evenly. Now pour the boiled milk into this bowl gently.

Then spread the grated coconut on the top and brown sugar above it.

Bake for 15 min in pre heated oven until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let it stand for 10 min and serve warm.

This is the first time, I bought raspberries from a super market in Kuala belait. I planned to make milkshake with that, as it is my fav and it is an excellent source of calcium, fiber and vit C.

INGREDIENTS:

2½ cups low fat milk

½ cup frozen raspberries

¼ cup raspberry syrup – optional (I used raspberry syrup settlement in frozen raspberry packets)

2 scoops vanilla ice cream

3 to 4 tablespoons honey or sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a blender, add all the ingredients given and pulse it few min until everything is mixed well.

Transfer to serving glass, garnish with raspberries and serve chilled.

Kambu (in Tamil ) is also known as Bajra in Hindi and Pearl millet in English.

Kambu thayir sadam is a healthy, filling , cooling and delicious rice recipe, made with the combination of cooked kambu and curd along with vegetables and herbs. It is a great lunch box recipe, which can be made easily without any hassle.

Now a days, I started to include more millets in our diet than white rice. Millets tastes excellent when making variety rice than just cooking as like white rice. Pearl millets are the excellent source of fiber and protein. Amino acids in pearl millets are easily more digestible than one in the wheat. Regular intake of pearl millets lowers the blood pressure, reduces the risk of heart diseases and provides protection against breast cancer.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Kambu (Bajra)

1½cups curd

3 tablespoons grated carrot

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Water as required

TO TEMPER:

2 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ tablespoon urad dhal

2 green chilies finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

Few curry leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take kambu in a bowl, wash well and soak in water for half an hour. Drain the water and pulse it once using a blender, to make it as rava consistency.

Heat 3 cups of water in a pan. When water begins to boil, add the broken kambu , salt and mix well. Cook it in medium flame, till it is soft , thick and cooked well. Check the consistency and add more hot water, if required.  Stir in between, to prevent it from getting burnt.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down completely.

Then add in the curd, grated carrot, chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Add more salt if required.

Heat oil in a tempering pan and add all the ingredients given under “to temper” one by one.

Add this tempering to the curd rice and mix well.

Transfer to serving plate, garnish with grated carrots and serve with pickle or milagai vathal.

NOTES:

Grinding the kambu, is suggestible only if you cook in open pot. If you cook in pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water for 1 cup of kambu and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

Pomegranate is one among the healthiest fruits on earth. It is completely loaded with nutrients like fiber, potassium, folate, vit C, vit K and proteins. It has anti-cancer properties, protects against heart diseases, guards memory and brain function and it is a great fertility boosting super food.

Taking pomegranates atleast twice in a week is very good for health. But most of us may not like to eat the seeds as it is a lazy job.. Whenever i eat the pomegranate seeds, i usually leave some without eating and it straightly goes to bin. So, drinking it as juice is the best way of taking all the nutrients without wasting. Lets see how to prepare pomegranate juice.

Since this is a very simple preparation, I didn’t add step by step photos.

INGREDIENTS:

1 big sized pomegranate (maathulam pazham in Tamil)

2 tablespoons honey (or sugar)

Few ice cubes

INSTRUCTIONS:

Shallow cut the pomegranate’s outer skin on four sides and break it.

Remove the pomegranate seeds (I got 1 full cup of seeds).

Take the seeds in  a blender and add ½ cup of water. Blend it for few seconds and strain it using a mesh strainer. Press the remaining pulp tightly using the back of a laddle, to extract the juice as much as possible.

Add honey to the strained juice and mix.

Pour the juice to a serving glass, add ice cubes and serve chilled.

This is the best tandoori prawn recipe, which can be prepared easily followed by a simple marination. This grilled appetizer with smoky flavour would just lifts you..

INGREDIENTS:

½ kg prawns with tails on (shell removed & de veined)

7 to 8 bamboo skewers (soaked in water before using)

Oil required

TO MARINATE:

1/3 cup yogurt

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon red chilly powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients given under “to marinate”. Add the prawns to the marinade and marinate it for atleast½ hr to 2 hrs.

Thread the prawns onto the skewers. Set aside.

Grill the prawns on both sides until they are cooked and changes to brown colour. Sprinkle oil while grilling.

Remove from grill and serve hot with lime wedges.

Ridge gourd is known as Peerkangai in Tamil and Turai in Hindi. It is a very healthy vegetable packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals. It is very good for people with digestion problems and it helps to control the sugar levels.

Ridge gourd egg curry is cooked with dhal and coconut milk, egg and is traditionally prepared in my hometown. Though the combination may sounds little different, the taste is amazing. Try it once and im sure that you will always want to prepare ridge gourd in this way.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup ridge gourd (skin removed & cut into cubes)

¼ cup chana dhal

2 eggs

½ cup pearl onions (shallots) cut into two

4 to 5 green chilies

1½ cup 2nd extract coconut mik

1 cup 1st extract coconut milk

2½ tablespoons cumin – fennel powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chilly powder

Few curry leaves

Salt to taste

Oil required

INSTRUCTIONS:

Wash and pressure cook the chana dhal till it is soft. Set aside.

In a kadai, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Then add in shallots, green chilies, curry leaves and saute till the onion turns translucent. Add in ridge gourd and saute for a min.

Add the 2nd extract coconut milk, cumin fennel powder, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt. Close the pan and cook it in medium flame till it comes to single boil.

Add the cooked chana dhal and cook it for 2 min.

Keep the flame low, add in the 1st extract coconut milk and mix well.

Brake the shell and drop the egg into the curry. Do not drop the eggs near by near. Leave some space between two.

Do not mix the curry, after dropping the eggs. Close the pan and cook the eggs for 2 to 3 min in completley low flame.

Switch off the flame and serve the curry with hot rice.

Well , though we know oats is a healthy and nutritious food packed with fibres and minerals, it is very boring to have oats porridge daily. So this, oats dosa comes as a rescue during those times. You dont need to grind or to ferment this batter. It is a very simple, nutritious and extremely tasty breakfast or snack which can be prepared in no time.

When trying it for first time, I didn’t expect that this dosa would turn  sooo much tasty as i get. When you serve it to your kids, definitely they couldn’t find, that there are oats in them. Let us learn how to prepare this instant oats dosa.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup oats

¼ cup roasted rava (semolina)

¼ cup rice flour

¼ teaspoon finely chopped ginger

3 green chilies finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

Salt to taste

Water as required

Oil as required

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dry roast the oats till it slightly changes in colour and gives a nice aroma. Remove from heat and let it cool. Once cooled, grind it to a fine powder, using a blender.

In a mixing bowl, add the powdered oats, rice flour, roasted rava, salt, chopped onion, chopped ginger, chopped green chilies and mix well.

Add water little by little and set the batter , thin and flowing consistency just like the rava dosa batter.

Heat the iron dosa tava and grease it with oil. Take a laddle of batter, drizzle it from corners and finish it in the center. Do not spread the batter, with the back of the laddle just like we do for regular dosa.

Fill the large gaps with little more batter. Sprinkle some oil around the sides and cook it till turns golden brown and crispy.

Flip to other side and cook till it turns crispy.

Transfer to plate and enjoy crispy, hot oats dosa.

Notes:

If the batter is thick, you may not get crispy dosa. So add 2 to 3 tablespoons water (or as required) and set the thin batter.

If the batter is too thin, when u pour the batter, it begins to accumulate in the center and dosa will become sloggy, with no shape. So add 2 to 3 tablespoons rice flour(or as required), to make batter little more thick.

Use iron pan for best results.