steamed and sauted pearly rice dumplings...

Okay here comes another favourite snack of my boys , actually mine too. These are mini rice dumplings called kozhukattai's in Tamil. They make superb tea time snack. If u want to impress your guests with something totally new then,you should give this a shot. This is not a commonly done dish even here.

At home it is n and p who help me roll out these mini kozhukattai's with their tiny little hands which makes it even more adorable. They enjoy this activity completely and for me it is job done.

You can make it absolutely non spicy for kids or make it hot and chilly for adults.

you will need

For the kozhukattai -

Rice flour - 1cup
salt to taste
oil - 1 tsp
hot boiling water - as required

To the rice flour add enough salt, oil and boiling water, a little at a time and keep stirring to form a stiff dough . It should look like this.


Now comes the interesting part. Take dough a little at a time and roll them out into tiny round dumplings...like this..



Now place them in a steamer and steam it for about 10 mins. They will look beautiful and glistening like this..



For sauteing you will need

Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Cumin - 1tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves a few.
Dried Red chillies - 2


Heat a tsp of oil and add urad dal, mustard, cumin, red chillies and curry leaves and let it splutter and brown a little bit. Now toss in the dumplings and check for salt and give it a good toss. At this stage for the dare devils you may add plain chili flakes ....

Kozhukattai ready ... enjoy!!

pomegranate cooler....

Temperature in Chennai continues to mount and refuses to show any sign of mercy. Past two days has been really bad. Last evening the three musketeers,boys and me , went to the beach in an attempt to fly kites and get some breeze. mm.. mm. hard luck. No breeze and no kites. Finally we dunked in the sea and cooled ourselves.

Got back home and was yearning for something chill and refreshing. Ransacked my fridge for fruits and found pomegranate. Didn't want the plain old pomegranate juice . So i added few this and that and yep it was quiet refreshing and interesting. So i thought i will share it with u all.


Pomegranate cooler

Pomegranate juice - 1 cup
Ginger juice - 1/2 tsp
honey - 1tbsp
Rose water/orange blossom - 2tbsp
sugar - if needed
mint - very very finely chopped


1. Blintz all the above ingredients.
2. Check for sweetness
3. Top with ice cubes and finely chopped mint.




and sip.. sip... sip.

pretty pulao....

This time i decided to do a pulao. Honestly pulao is a very muddled up dish especially in the south. Any flavoured rice - has just one name and that is 'Biriyani', atleast from where i come from. It can be brinjal biriyani, tomato biriyani, mutton biriyani..and so on.

Pulao to me has to be mild and flavoured and not overpowering with too much spices and masala....And my pulao's has to be white . Talk about mind blocks!

It is such a versatile dish and there is so much space to get innovative.
There is nothing more comforting than a mild falovoured rice with a good curry... won't you agree..


Vegetale pulao:

Spices:
Cloves -4
Cardamom - 3
Bayleaf - 2
Cinnamon - 2 sticks

Seasoning:Cumin seeds - 1 1/2tsp
Peppercorns - 1tsp
Cumin pdr - 1/2 tsp
Corriander pdr -1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 finely chopped sp
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
G- chillies chopped - 1tsp
Mint leaves -1/2 cup chopped
Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
Yoghurt - 1/2 cup

Vegetables:Chopped carrots -1
Peas - 1/2 cup
Chopped potates - 2

Rice - 2 cups soaked

Method:

First soak the rice .

Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add all the spices. Then add chopped onion and saute till pink. Add G & G paste and saute further for aout 2 mins. Add green chillies followed by mint and cilantro. Add cumin pdr and corriander pdr. I added some chilli pdr as well but it is optional.

Now add the vegetables and saute . Add about 1/2 cup of yoghurt. Cook till the masala is coated well on the vegetables. Keep aside.

Now switch on the rice cooker and pour 4 cups of water and wait till it comes to a boil. Then add the rice and the gravy and give it a stir. Add salt to taste and cover it up.

When the rice is cooked gently fork it to fluff it up and serve with nice chilled raita.


You can also garnish the pulao with birishta/fried onion .