Meesa Podi / Roasted Bengal gram powder

 

Peak Navarathri season. When everyone is posting left and right the sundal receipes, I wanted to share something which is forgotten over the period of time.  Meesa podi.  Meesa means mustache. This powder, when u eat from your hand, will stick on ur upper lip and luk like mustache. Hence it gets the name.

Meesa podi is usually made during navarathri when some last evening guests arrive when sundal is over. Or if you forget to soak for sundal. Believe me, Kids will love this.

In kalayamputhur, my husband’s native, it is called as ‘Nenjadachan podi’. Because when u eat more, you will choke.

Meesa podi is as simple that it has only 2 ingrediants. 

Ingrediants :

·         Roasted Bengal gram  - ½ cup

·         Sugar – 1.5 tbsp sugar

Method :

 

 

Finely Powder roasted Bengal gram and 1 tbsp of sugar in a dry mixer. Add ½ tbsp. sugar after grinding as it will give good texture and taste.

Put them in small packets and give to guests with vethala pakku.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosemilk Popsicle

 

Vacation started for my daughter. The fridge door will be opened and closed 1000 times a day from today. Though there will be nothing inside, my daughter keeps opening it and closing it to see if there is something to eat. Now and then she will ask ‘Amma .. give me something sweet’. Recent craze is rose milk from the time I bought the essence. From morning till night!!. Her mother is no exception.

I poured some rose milk in Popsicle tray and treated Lakshmi and her friends to celebrate the vacation.

Ingredients:

·         Milk

·         Rose milk essence

Method :

 

Mix the boiled and cold milk with rose milk essence.  Use more essence as you will freeze it.  Pour the rose milk in Popsicle tray and freeze it overnight.

 

 

 

Note:

My rose milk essence had sugar in it. If yours don’t have, please add sugar to the rose milk.

 

 

 

Little Millet Adai

 

Adai is a one of the perfect South Indian multigrain breakfast.  Very filling and spicy. Usually its made with parboiled rice. I replaced the rice with little millet / Saamai. With all the dals and addition of millets make it perfectly healthy.

Adai aviyal / Jagery  / butter is the best combination ever.

Added to add these.. it is very easy to prepare, needs no expertise.

Ingredients:

·         Little Millet – 1 cup

·         Chena Dal – ½ cup

·         Thor dal – ½ cup

·         Urad dal  - 2 tbsp

·         Red chillies – 5 numbers (according to your taste)

·         Hing – ¼ tsp

·         Curry leaves and coriander leaves fine chopped – ¼ cup

·         Salt to taste

·         Oil – to drizzle on adai while cooking.

·         Water

 

Method:

Wash the millets and Dal mentioned. Add red chilies.  Soak it in 2 cups of water for 2 hours. Drain the water and grind into coarse paste.  Add lil water while grinding. It should not be too watery, but thicker than dosa batter. Add hing salt to taste. Mix the curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Leave it in fridge over night to ferment.  You can also make adai just after grinding, but it tastes better when fermented.

Heat dosa pan. Drizzle some oil. Pour the adai batter and spread it like dosa. Cook in medium heat for 3-4 minutes and flip it and cook the other side for 3 more minutes. Drizzle oil. Flip 1 or 2 times till it becomes lil crisp.

You can also prepare paniyaram with same batter. Add some chopped onions too.

 

Note:

·         This is just the basic version of making adai, you can add other dals like green gram, horse gram.

·         Other millets like varagu, kambu, kudhiravali can also be used.

·         Grate veggies like onion, carror, caggage and add while cooking to make it healthier

  

Sweet corn salad

I buy sweet corn very often, for my daughter’s snacks box. She just likes it steamed with some pepper and salt. To me it is kind of boring to eat the same thing for months now.  So am trying to make some additions.

Ingredients:

·         Sweet corn – 1 cup kernels steamed

·         Bell peppers – ½ cup finely chopped

·         Tomato – 1 finely chopped

·         Cucumber – 1 finely chopped

·         Lemon juice – 2 tbsp

·         Gooseberry  - 1

·         Pomegranate pearls – 2 tbsp

·         Salt and pepper to taste

 

There is no step by step recipe picture for this. It’s fairly simple.

Just boil the sweet corn. Finely chop fresh veggies. Add salt and pepper. Squeeze lime and server. I grated a Gooseberry to make it a healthier version.

Sowcarpet Sandwich

 

Sowcarpet is much happening place in Namma Chennai. It is the best hang out place for foodies.  You won’t find an inch free to park ur vehicle. You get all the north Indian chaat and food there. Walk all the way long in the narrow streets and eat whatever you see and gain how much ever weight you want. Jalebis, Paani Puris, Samosas.. . Put some extra sit ups next day.

I will introduce a recipe of Sowcarpet special s/w.  The twist here for the s/w is the spread. The green chutney is the key.

This is a wholesome breakfast with all healthy ingrediants sandwiched between two slices of bread.

Ingredients for Green chutney:

·         Coriander leaves – 1 cup

·         Mint leaves – ¼ cup

·         Roasted Peanuts -1/2 cup

·         Green Chilli – 2 numbers

·         Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

·         Salt to taste

Ingredients for S/w

·         Brown Bread 

·         Butter

·         Veggies (Onion , Tomotto, Cucumber thinly sliced)

·         Cheese grated.

·         Salt and Pepper

·         Sev for garnishing.

Method:

Grind all the items mentioned for Green chutney into smooth paste. Use water if it is too thick to grind.





Spread the green chutney in one side of the bread and place the thinly sliced veggies and grate the cheese on that. Sprinkle salt and pepper.  You can also spread the chutney on the other slice which you will close with.

Put some butter on the hot skillet. Place the S/W carefully and toast both the slides.

Cut it into 2 slices and Garnish with Sev.

 

 

 

Cafe Frappe

 

 

 

Café frappe is one of my favorite in café coffee day. This slushy drink drives me crazy. Many varieties of frappe are available there.

Varagarisi Pidi Kozhakattai / Steamed Millet balls

Millets are known as "Small Grains" or "Siru Thaaniyangal" in Tamil. They are small seeded grasses and thrive well in dry arid climatic conditions.

Why eat millets?

Aval Upma / Kanda Poha

This is a quick fix for breakfast when I don’t have idli/ dosa batter stock.  Aval/ Poha is always handy and you can make numerous kids friendly dish with it. My daughter, who is a picky eater,