Cilantro Thogayal

We always want something new to taste with rice and normally pickles take their turn. The readymade pickles are really commercialised and so oily for preservation.My husband can't eat his rice with buttermilk or curd without some pickle.One day there was no pickle in the house. I saw some cilantro in the fridge loosing its glamour.I thought why not make a thogayal with it. After all Cilantro is good for health.

Why don't you try it, easy to make and nice to taste.

Cilantro Thogayal

Ingredients:

Cilantro----1cup(washed leaves)

Coconut---1tab.sp

Tamarind paste--1/4 tea.sp

Salt ---As per taste

Urad dhal---2tab.sp

Red chilly---3 numbers

Asafoetida---1/4 tea.sp

Method:

Fry the urad dhal and the red chilly in a pan,no oil.

Powder it and keep aside.

Put the cilantro in a blender and grind for 2 minutes.

Add the coconut and tamarind to the cilantro and grind .

When all are mixed well add the ground powder, salt and asafoetida.

Mix every thing well.

Thogayal is ready.

Goes well with rice ,dosa etc.

Easy Tips:

Thokayal Podi:

Urad dhal----1cup

Red chilly-----About 15 (numbers) - adjust according to taste

Asafoetida----1tab.sp

Fry these ingriedients without oil.

Put in a blender and powder coarsely.

If you keep this podi ready, you can make thokayals easily.

In this case,you have to put tamarind,coconut and cilantro and this powder and grind.

Thokayal is ready.

If you want coconut thokayal,just put coconut,tamarind,salt and this thokayal podi and grind.Coconut thokayal is ready. 

Channa Sambar

We were returning  from  Chicago  to Maryland. The flight was delayed for more than 2 hours.We never expected this delay. It was November night.The cold weather and the tiresome journey  frustrated us.

When we reached home ,we were very hungry .there was nothing left in the fridge except some cooked black channa.

Immediately I cooked some rice and made this channa sambar.

With in 10minutes we were able to fill our hungry stomach with this delicious recipe and we all got rejuvenated.

Channa Sambar

Ingredients:

Black channa cooked---1cup

Tamarind paste----1tb.sp

Salt-----As per taste

Sambar powder----2tb.sp

Turmeric powder---1/4tea.sp

Asafoetida-----1/8tea.sp

For seasoning:

Urad dhal--1tea.sp

Mustard seed--1/2tea.sp

Fenugreek---a pinch

Cilantro--2to3 twigs

Method:

Put all the ingredients  in a deep pan with 2cups of water.

Cook it for 10 minutes.

Fry mustard ,urad dhal and fenugreek with little oil spray.

When mustard splutters add it to the sambar.

Cut one or two twigs of cilantro and add to it.

Channa sambar is ready.

Easy to make and very tasty to eat with rice, dosa and chappathy.

No oil, and channa adds to our protein.

Variations:

Substituting white chana or kidney beans for black channa,we can do the same recipe.

Tips:

Soak the black channa or white channa or kidney beans for 10 to 12 hours in water.

Wash well and cook it in the cooker.

Again wash and drain.

Store in small sandwich bags and  keep it in the freezer.

Whenever you want you can use it.

Ginger Juice for Digestion

Ginger is widely recommended as an aid for good digestion.  It is a commonly used spice in Asian cooking. It is also used for preventing motion and morning sickness up to a certain extent.

If you do not use ginger in your daily cooking, then this juice is a great way to get some into your system. It has a sharp taste from the ginger, with a hint of lemon and some sweetness from the sugar.

Ginger Juice

Ingredients:

Ginger-----2cups(washed&cut)

Sugar/Jaggery------2cups

Lemon juice-----1cup

Method:

Grind  the ginger  nicely with two cups of water in a blender.

Squeeze the ground ginger and extract the juice.

Filter it and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Transfer the juice to another vessel and discard the white residue.

Take a deep pan and pour about 1/4 cup of juice and the sugar.

Heat it till the sugar dissolves and the syrup is little thickened.

Remove from fire and add the remaining juice and mix well.

Allow it to cool.

Then add the lemon juice, mix well and jar it.

To serve, mix 1/4 th glass of ginger juice and 3/4 th glass of water.

If you want to take the concentrate juice without mixing water, don't take more than 2oz.