Strawberry Rasam

Hello everyone,

We usually buy small box of strawberry whenever we go for groceries. This time SV(my husband) bought huge box from Costco. I wanted to try some interesting yet simple recipe with strawberry. Why not try south Indian Rasam instead of regular Dal, garlic, tomato or lemon Rasam. I replaced Strawberry instead of tamarind with freshly ground rasam powder. 

Ingredients:

Strawberries - 1cup chopped

Water - 2 cups

Coriander leaves few chopped

Curry leaves- 5-6

Salt to taste, pinch of hing

Rasam Powder

Toor dal -1tbsp

Pepper corns-1/2tsp

Cumin/Jeera-1/2tsp

Dhania/Coriander seeds-1/2 tsp

Dried red chilli-1-2 according to spice level

To temper

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Method:

1. Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in a pan and roast Rasam powder ingredients mentioned above. Grind it to coarse powder. Keep this aside. 

2. Grind strawberry with 2 cups of water in a mixie. Let one or 2 pulps be there. 

3. Transfer it to a vessel, add salt, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Allow it to boil in a medium heat for 5 mins. 

4. Add the ground rasam powder to strawberry mix and let it boil for another 2 mins. 

5. Heat ghee and add mustard seeds, once it sizzles and hing pour it to rasam. Garnish with cilantro. 

Serve with hot rice or drink as soup.

Guacamole Sandwich

Ingredients:

Avacado - 1 ripe

Tomato - 1/2 cup chopped

Onion - 1/4 cup finely chopped

Jelapeno - 1 finely chopped

Lemon -1 extracted to juice
Salt as per taste
Bread Slices - 2
Cheese slice - 1
Lettuce - few

Method:

1. Cut Avacado and deseed it. Mash the fleshy part of Avacado in a bowl.

2.Add onion,tomato, jelepeno, lemon extract, salt and mix well. 

3.Guacamole is ready. 
4.Butter the bread slices and toast it. Spread the guacamole to one of the bread slice. 
5. Place Cheese and lettuce of top of the guacamole. Cover it with other slice of bread. Guacamole Sandwich is ready.

Parupu Podi - Non spicy

Hello everyone,

To be frank I do not know the actual procedure to make parupu podi and I have not tried it. When my son was 3 years, he tasted my MIL's parupu podi. He liked it very much but it was bit spicy for him. She added roasted gram and sambhar powder to it to make it non spicy. This version of parupu podi has become all time favorite side dish of my son. He is 6 yrs now, he eats all tiffins like idly, dosa, chapati, poori, upma with parupu podi. He even takes it to school. 
Hope your kids will like it too :)

Time Taken : 20 mins.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 3/4 cup + 2 tsp
Channa dal - less than 1/4 cup
Roasted gram/pottu kadalai - 1 tbsp
Sambhar Powder - 2 tbsp
Hing - 2pinch
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Dry roast toor dal and channa dal separately until it turns golden brown.
2. Add salt when it is hot. 
3. Transfer both dal with salt and roasted grams to a mixie jar and grind it coarsely.
4. Then add sambhar powder & hing. Grind it to a fine powder.

Serve with hot steamed rice and gingely oil. Just mix the parupu podi with gingely oil for idly, dosa side dish.

Sabz Pulao/Mixed vegetable Pilaf

Time Taken: 45 mins

Ingredients:
Basmati rice – 1 cup.

Potatoes (Cut into cubes) – 2 medium sized.

Cauliflower florets – 1 cup.

Green peas – 1 cup.

Ghee – 1 tbsp.

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp.

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.

Water – 2 ¼ cups.

Green chili (Cut lengthwise) – 2.

Salt to taste.

Method:
1.Wash and soak the rice in plenty of water for 30 mins. Drain the water and keep aside.

2.Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan for 30 secs; add cumin seeds and turmeric powder.

3.When the cumin seeds splutters, add potatoes, cauliflower and peas. Mix well. Add 1 tsp salt to vegetables and cook for 5 mins in medium heat.

4.Check whether the rice cooker is in cook mode. Add cooked vegetables, rice, 2 ¼ cups water and salt. Allow it to cook until keep warm mode.

5.Serve hot with cool raita.

Note: It can be cooked in pressure cooker or can add rice, water and salt along with vegetables in a pan. Cover and cook in low heat till water evaporates or until rice is done.