Coriander Pulav / Coriander Rice

Memory Lane: We had a small grocery store (natar kadai/nadar store) and a vegetable shack around the corner of our street. On saturdays and sundays we'll run errands for our mom, mostly to buy eggs or coconut. I really enjoyed those trips, that small store's front had a horizontal wooden shelf with jars of colorful sweetmeats and the shopkeeper (customers will call him natar or annachi) will stand inside and take our orders.
        The vegetable lean to shack! It was owned by a lady (It's in the front area of her house)  She would be sitting cross legged in the middle of mounds of colorful vegetables and have a hand scale, small cash box and assorted  sizes of weights near her. If we want to buy any vegetable, she'll hold the scale in her hand and weigh the vegetables and put it in our bag. Most of the time she'll toss curry leaves and coriander leaves without us asking for it. Those leaves are important in our south indian cooking. It's used to temper, garnish and flavor the food.

It contains anti oxidants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander 

Coriander Rice

Ingredients

2 cups       cooked basmati rice / long grain rice
1 med        onion -thinly sliced
1               clove, cardamom, star anise
1''              cinnamon
1 tsp          lemon juice
1 handful   cashew nut
2 tbs          cooking oil
1-2 tsp       ghee

To grind...

To grind:  
6-10          green chillies  
3tsp           coconut
3 cloves     garlic- crushed
1bunch       coriander/cilantro 
1tbs            oil
Method:

1. Heat oil and ghee in a pan. Add clove, cardamom, s.anise, cinnamon and cashew nuts.

2. Stir for a few minutes then add the onions and fry till it gets a golden hue, remove it from the pan. 

3. Heat oil (low) in the same pan add chillies and garlic fry for few mins, add coconut and stir it, now add the coriander leaves and cook, till it gets wilted.

4. Add lemon juice and salt, grind the mixture to a paste.

5. Mix the fried onion mixture and the ground coriander masala with the rice.

6. Transfer the rice to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. 
      Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.

                                                             ENJOY :)

Custard Coconut Tarts

          I love this tarts. It's easy to make: prepare the pastry shell, custard and bake it together.

Custard Coconut Tarts

Ingredients for pastry shell:
2cups      all purpose flour
1/4 tsp     baking pwdr
1/4 tsp     salt
2tbs         sugar
*4ounce  chilled cream cheese
*4 ounce chilled butter
2tbs        ice water
2 tbs       powdered sugar
Few spoons of sugar for dusting 
*4ounce=113 grams=1 cup. Cut the butter into small cubes.

To make pastry shell:

1. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together.
2. In a bowl beat the softened cream cheese and butter cubes.
3. Add the flour mixture and blend it till the flour resembles coarse meal.
4. Add sugar and ice water and pulse it till the flour resembles small peas.
5. Take the flour out and knead it lightly to form a dough.
6. Roll it into a log, wrap it and refrigerate it for 30-45 mins.

Tasty tart..

Ingredients for custard:
1cup           whole milk
2                 large eggs
1                 large egg yolk
1cup           sugar
2 1/2 cups  shredded coconut
2tsp           vanilla extract 

To make custard:
1. Heat milk (low) till small bubbles starts to form on the edges.
2. In a bowl beat the eggs and the egg yolk one at a time ,beating in between each addition add sugar, salt and vanilla extract.
3. Add the milk and the coconut, blend well.

To bake custard coconut tarts:
1. Take out the dough and divide it into 4 parts and flatten it with a rolling pin to form 1/8 inch thick discs.
2. Drape it over the tart mold and press it gently to the sides and the bottom evenly, remove the excess dough and repeat this process with the remaining molds.
3. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork.
4. Fill the custard into the tart shells.
5. Dust sugar evenly over the tarts.
6. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees, Place the tarts on a baking sheet on the centre rack of the oven and bake it for 20-25 mins or until it's golden brown.
7. Cool it on a wire rack before removing from its mold.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.

Flour resembles small peas..

Roll,wrap and refrigerate the dough

Drape the dough over the tart mold...

Tart shell.

                                                               ENJOY :)

                         
                                               

    
                                
                               

Ginger Water Melon Salad

Ingredients:
2 tsp ginger extract
2 tbs honey
2 cups cubed or scooped water melon
1/2 cup fresh blue  berry(optional)
1tbs coconut milk
2tsp shredded coconut

Method:
Combine the ingredients together, sprinkle the coconut over the salad and serve it immediately.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.
                              ENJOY:)

Araichu Vita Sambar(araitha sambar)

         Araithu vitta sambar or Varutharaicha sambar is a combination of sambar and coconut. This dish originated from the -land of coconuts. It's made with dal/parupu, any vegetables of our choice and fried and ground coconut with spices. This is a flavorful accompaniment for white rice or pongal.

Varutharaicha sambar

Ingredients:

            ( a )

1/2 cup     red gram
1            *brinjal 
1              drumstick 
1              potato
1/2 cup   *shallots
1/2 tsp      turmeric
few           coriander 
1tsp          tamarind paste 
* eggplant

* small onions
we can add any vegetable
          ( b )

To fry and grind:

1/2 tsp   pepper

1 tsp      jeera/cumin seeds

1 tsp      dal

1 tsp      coriander seeds

1/8 tsp   methi/fenugreek 

6-8         dry red chilli*

3-4tbs     grated coconut 

1tsp         oil
*add or reduce chilli according to preference. 
         ( c )
To temper: 

1 tsp      oil
1 tsp      mustard seed
1/2 tsp   cumin seed 
1/2 tsp   fenugreek/methi seed
1           dried red chilli
few        curry leaves

It's a five step process:
1. Cook the dal and keep it aside

2. Heat the oil in a pan (med), fry the first 6 ingredients under (b)"to fry and grind", lower the heat and add coconut and fry till it becomes dry. Grind every thing together into a fine paste.

Fry the coconut

3. Heat the oil in the same pan, fry the ingredients given under ( c ) "to temper", after the mustard seed crackle add the vegetables and fry for some time now add the turmeric powder and salt with some water and cook till the vegetables are done.

temper and cook the vegetable

4. Add the cooked dal + tamarind paste + ground coconut masala with the vegetables. *Add water as needed, check for salt, cover the pan and simmer for another 10 mins and / or the raw smell is gone. 
* If the dal / parupu is too thick add water to the desired consistency.
5. Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.

                                  ENJOY :)