Chow Chow Thol Thokku/ Chow Chow Skin Tangy Chutney

Chow Chow or otherwise known as Bangalore Kathrikai or Chayote vegetable is a common vegetable which is used down of south India. Rich is calcium,iron,magnesium etc.. a water based when cooked becomes transparent.

Ingredients:
 1 bowl / 200gms- Peeled skin of Chow Chow
 100 gms               - Kadala parupu/ Channa Dhal
  3 pcs                    - Dry Red chilly
  2 inch                  -  Ginger
  1 pc                      - Tomato
  (If, you don't like tomato you can use 1 small lemon size tamarind)
   1 tbs                    -  Til Oil/ Nalla Ennai (Can use any oil)
   1/2 tbs                -  Asafatida
   1 tbs                    -  Salt to taste

 Method / Vidhiee:
  1. Peel the skin of chow chow and keep aside.
  2. In a pan add some oil and roast the channa dal, dry red chilly, asafatida separately. Keep aside until the        heat goes down.
  3. In the same pan add in the roughly chopped tomato and skin removed ginger.
  4. In a mixer add in the roasted channa dal, red chilly, asafatida, salt grind them well into a powder.
  5. To it add the peeled chow chow peel, ginger, tomato.
  6. Grind all of them together into a paste like consistency.
 
 Serve with hot cooked white rice and ghee.

Mixed Pullipu Kootu

Pullipu or Tangy or Khatta gravy dish made during 3rd day of Pongal festival down south. It is one of the healthiest and yummy traditional dishes made during that season. It is served with mixed rices like coconut rice, lemon rice, tomato rice, puliyogare rice, curd rice etc.. on normal days too you can serve it along with dosa, chappati.

Serves - 4

Ingredients:
2                - Large Red/Orange Carrots
10             - French Beans
5               - Clustered Beans
100 gms - Fresh green peas
100 gms  - White pumpkin
100 gms  - Red pumpkin
50   gms  - Yam
2                - Medium Potato
1                - Large Capsicum
1/2            - Chayote/Cho-Cho/Chow-Chow
2                - Green chillies
1/2 inch  - Ginger
200 ml     - Tamarind pulp
1 tbs         - Turmeric powder
1 tbs         - Sambhar powder
3 tbs         - Home made kootu powder (check end of the page for the recipe)
1 tbs         - Oil
1/2 tbs     - Mustard seeds
2 arc          - Curry leaves
1/2 tbs     - Asafatida
1     tbs     - ghee
Salt to taste

Method/Vidhiee:
1. Roughly chop carrots, french beans, clustered beans, white pumpkin, red pumpkin, capsicum, potato, Yam(to be chopped and par boiled separately), chayote, green chilly, ginger finely chopped.
2. In a pressure cooker add oil and splutter the mustard seeds, curry leaves along with asafatida.
3. Add in the vegetables, turmeric powder, sambhar powder, tamarind pulp, salt amd if needed add in 1/2 cup water.
4. Pressure cook the vegetables until 3 whistles come.
5. Once the pressure cools add in the kootu powder.

Kootu Powder : Dry roast & Grind the below ingredients. You can use them in various other south Indian kootus and curries.

2 tbs   - Channa dal
1 tbs   - Corainder seeds
2          - Dry red chilly
1/2 tbs - Asafatida
1/4 tbs - Fenugreek seeds

6. Add in the kootu powder on the vegetables and boil them by stirring for 3 mins.
7. Temper some more curry leaves and mustard in ghee . Pour them over the vegetables.

Tutty Fruity Nutty Eggless Olive Cake

Well well well it was a new year eve and this year planned to make a cake which was bit healthier. Oh don't have that look towards me asking cake and healthier???!!! yes made few changes in the ingredients..may be that was the reason the cake was cracked from top but was smooth from the base. But, this cracked was no botheration to people who eat it.. it was perfectly YUmmmmmmm :)))

So lets move on to technicality ;p

Ingredients:
2 cups   - All purpose flour (Maida)
1/4 cup - Melted butter
2/4 cup - Light Olive Oil
1     cup - Light Buttermilk
1 tbs      - Vinegar
2 tbs      - Powdered Flax Seeds
3/4  cup- Powdered sugar
1.5 tbs   - Baking powder
1/2 tbs   - Baking soda
1/2 cup  - Tutty fruity
1/4 cup   - Chopped (almonds,raisins, cashewnuts,walnuts)
1/2 tbs    - Orange & lemon rind
Butter for greasing & Maida for dusting the cake tin.

Method / Vidhiee:

1. Always sieve maida, baking powder, baking soda and keep it aside.
2. Pre-heat the Owen @ 230 degrees (i used my mother's age old dome type Owen which has 360 degree heat transfer into the cake. Each Owen has its own temperature heating. So, test small portions and analyse your Owen)
3. Mix butter, olive oil. Beat them well. Add vinegar and buttermilk. Beat again them well.
4. Sieve the powdered sugar and add it to the liquid mixture. Add in the flax seeds powder.
5. Beat the mixture well for 5-7 minutes.
6. Add in the maida slowly to the mixture and keep folding the mixture.
7. Add in extra butter milk or olive oil if the batter seems to be tight.
8. Remember the batter has to the pouring consistency but, not in flowing consistency.
9. Add in the orange & lemon rind. Also the nuts, raisins, tutty fruity.
10. Mix well.  Grease the cake tin with butter completely and dust with maida a bit.
11. Pour in the cake batter into the tin. Garnish some tutty fruity chunks on  top.
12. Heat it for 45 minutes @ 230 degrees. In-between you can check by immersing the wooden stick into the cake. If, the batter is done it wouldn't stick on to the wooden stick.
13. Once it's done do not immediately open the Owen. Keep it inside for 15 minutes.
14. Once cake cools down transfer the cake to another plate.

Serve along with tea/ coffee/juice/ or any beverage. Perfect for evenings. You can also pour on fruit sauce over it to have a immersed fruity sponge cake.