Eggless Chocolate Chips Cookies; New Year Wishes

I bake potatoes and chicken quite often and I've never failed in any attempt. Cookies is something that I keep on trying since many months even after many disastrous results. I bookmark all cookies recipes and got really confused what to try and what to leave. I don't have any issues adding egg; but do not know when should I stop beating. So I had to go for other choices. Also, I confuse with the gram and cup measurements. I watch many food network shows; they make cookies so easily and after many attempts with trial and errors, I am quite successful, they are near perfect in shape and size but absolutely delicious. 

Happy New Year to all of you.. Lets give a warm welcome to 2014.. :)

Recipe Source: Ezcookbook

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour 1 1/2 cups
Powdered Sugar 1/2 cup
Butter 100 g
Chocolate Chips 1/2 cup
Baking Powder 3/4 tsp
Vanilla Powder 1 tsp
Milk 1/8 cup + 2 tbsp (depends upon the flour; water can also be used)

Method:

Powder Sugar along with vanilla powder. Sieve and keep it aside.

Sieve Baking Powder and All purpose flour together and keep it aside.

Bring Butter to room temperature. Beat butter until glossy. Now add the powdered sugar and beat until it combines well with the butter and becomes glossy.

Now add APF mixture little by little until everything combines well. Now the batter looks crumbly. Add chocolate chips. Mix well and then add milk little by little to form a stiff and soft batter. 

Knead for few minutes and then spread the batter. Use a cookie cutter to cut the batter into desired shapes.

Pre heat the oven. Bake at 180 deg C for 10-12 minutes or till it becomes slightly brown and crispy.

Cool completely in a wire rack before serving or transferring to an air tight container for future use.

Paruppu Vadai / Masal Vadai; My 150th Post

This Vadai/ Vada is almost prominent in every south indian household; be it a festive occasion or just a holiday or a celebration or during rainy season. This is easy to make, requires few ingredients and any one can hardly make mistakes. Though Ulundhavadai is the queen of vadais, I feel this is prepared often. No road side shop exist without this vadai in chennai. But in my native madurai, one can find Ulundhavadai and bajji the most favorite snacks. When I heard 'Masal Vadai' for the first time in chennai, I asked 'what'? What masala is used. I don't know why it got that name. My Mom then told me it is nothing but paruppu vadai. 

Well, this is my 150th post. I am happy for me and my blog. I know I am slow in reaching my goals, but still do not want to stress me further as I am already stressed and preoccupied with so many other things. When I am down, you bloggers motivate me with all those wonderful recipes and stunning clicks.. Thanks to each one of you for making me alive in this blogging world. 

 

Ingredients;

Channa Dhal / Kadalai Paruppu 1 cup

Finely chopped Garlic 1/2 tsp

Cumin 1/4 tsp

Pearl Onions few

Curry Leaves few

Dried Red Chilles 3-4

Baking Soda a pinch (optional)

Preparation:

Chop Pearl Onions, Garlic, Chillies and Curry Leaves. 

Soak Channa Dhal for at least one hour. Drain and set aside. Grind it to a coarse paste along with one chilli without adding water. The consistency must be not very smooth. Most of the dhal must have ground but few need to remain whole. 

Add chopped Pearl Onions, Garlic, Curry leaves,  remaining chillies, Cumin, Salt and Baking soda. Mix well and set aside.

Heat enough oil in a pan for deep fry. When hot, pinch a ball sized batter, gently flatten it and drop into the oil. Deep fry and continue the same with the remaining batter. 

Serve as a snack with tea/coffee.

Notes: I made this for my toddler son. Increase chillies while grinding according to your taste and preference. Chopped Coriander leaves can also be added.

Results of the 'Eat Vegetables; Stay Healthy' Event

I am overwhelmed with the response and I got 166 tasty and healthy entries with vegetables. My heart felt thanks to each one of you for participating. The event was fun filled and got to know many other bloggers. 

The winner is Asha of Chikkus kitchen with 36 lovely entries. She wins a JUSTEAT.IN voucher worth Rs.500/- flat off on orders of Rs.501 and above. 

The runners are Jillu of Jiya's Delicacy with 34 entries, Asiya Omar of My Healthy Happy Kitchen with 33 entries and Shobana Vijay of Shoba's Delights with 22 entries. The runners have won a JUSTEAT.IN voucher each worth Rs.200 flat off on orders of Rs.400 and above.

Please email me at tamilsamayaldiary@gmail.com to get the vouchers and other details.

Please collect your awards too..

Asha's (Chikkus Kitchen) lovely entries:

Kootanchoru, Veg Pulao, Avial, Sambar Sadham, Amla Juice, Stuffed Chilli Bajji, Spicy Samosa, Brocolli Potato Curry, Spicy Carrot Rice, Pasiparuppu Sambar, Gobi 65, 5 tasty oothapam, Elephant yam fry, Muttai Kuzhambu, Orange Carrot Juice, Potato Wedges, Veggie Idli, Baby Corn Fry, Finger Chips, Gobi Manchurian, Brinjal Roast, Seppankizhangu Roast, Aloo Onion Masala, Potato Paneer Masala, Pulikari, Mushroom Masala, Veg Bread Sandwich, Vegetable Egg Noodles, Pototo Roast, Crispy Potato Roast, Vegetable Chutney, Murungai Keerai Poriyal, Baby Potato Fry, Vegetable Kurma, Cabbage Poriyal, Grated Vegetable Salad.

Jillu's (Jiya's Delicacy) Lovely Entries:

Fried Momos, Cheese Corn Dosa, Steamed Momos, Breadizza, Mushroom Capsicum Fingers, Paneer Frankies, Aloo Capsicum Mushroom Fry, Tangy Noodles, Beetroot Semiya Kheer, Semiya Pulao, Idiyappam Biryani, Gobi Paratha, Vegetable Kurma, Pizza Dosa, Avalakki, Stuffed Idli, Carrot Chutney, Kharabath, Capsicum Chutney, Chicken Fried Rice, Four Color Oothappam, Cabbage Akki Roti, Cabbage Usili, Veg Soup, Palak Mushroom, Tomato Dosa, Snake Gourd Rings, Bitter Gourd Fry, Mushroom Capsicum tikka masala, Cucumber kosambari, Vegetable Kootu, Palak ki Dhal, Russian Salad, Capsicum Mushroom rice.

Asiya's (My Healthy Happy Kitchen) lovely entries:

Veg Biryani, Veg Puffed Rice, Chicken Veg Soup, Baked Chicken Vegetables, Fried Rice, Bisibelabath, Paneer Veg Fried Rice, Mixed Veg Salad Sandwich, Moong Sprouts Sandwich, Veg Raita, Oats Vegetable Porridge, Creamy Veg Soup, Healthy Mixed Vegetable Soup, Baked Veg Pasta, Mixed Veg Pakora, Moong Sprouts Kebab, Healthy Colorful Noodles, Thai Cucumber Salad, Broccoli Creamy Soup, Cauliflower with sweet corn, Beetroot onion salad sandwich, Baba Ganoush, Carrot Apple Juice, Bitter Gourd Stir Fry, Murungai Keerai Salan, Beans Mezhukkupuratti, Saravana Bhavan Poori Masala, Cabbage Salsa, Cauliflower Roast, Bhendi Stew, French Green Salad, Celery Corn Cabbage Soup, Vegetable Sizzlers.

Shobana's (Shoba's delight) lovely entries:

Bitter Gourd Kara Kuzhambu, Raw Mango Rasam, Beetroot Chickpeas Fry, Raw Plaintain Podimas, Yam Vada, Stuffed Mushroom Fritters, Pumpkin peel chutney, Navaratna Paniyaram, Sweet Potato Carrot Soup, Cabbage Moong Dhal Poriyal, Carrot Apple Rasam, Drumstick Leaves Egg Thoran, Tri color bellpepper capsicum fried rice, Spiced Curd Rice, Snake Gourd Kootu, Dal Palak, Brinjal Gothsu, White Pumpkin Sambar, Mor Kuzhambu, Stuffed Omelette, Horse gram Dill Vada, Red Pumpkin Payasam.

Jaleela Kamal's (cook book jaleela) entries:

Dum Cauliflower, Boiled Corn, Beetroot Semiya, Bottle Gourd Fenugreek Pakoda, Kidney Beans with raw mango salad, Mixed Healthy Salad, Black Channa Apple Salad, Arachu vitta Sambar, Dry ginger milk.

Haffa's (Haffa's Kitchen Adventures) entries:

Spicy peas biryani, Chicken Jalfarezi, Mustard Curry, Spinach with potatoes, Potato Patties, Carrot Curry, Peas and Potato Curry, Bread Pakoras, Aloo Gobi, Bhindri Fry.

Prerana's (Easy Indian Recipes) lovely entries:

Capsicum with Besan, Cabbage Channa Dhal Fry, Samosa, Pav Bhaji, Vegetable Pulao, Green Beans Potato Curry.

Shama's (Shama's easy 2 cook recipes) lovely entries:

Gongura Dhal, Carrot Paneer Pulao, Litti Chokha, Black eyed peas salad, Ivy gourd Peanut Fry.

Priya Anandakumar's (Priya's Virundhu) lovely entries:

Carrot Pachadi, Methi Paratha, Carrot Milk Shake.

Ruxana's (From My Own Kitchen) lovely entries:

Potato Fries, Rava Upma, Beans stir fry.

Ramya's (Lemon Kurry) lovely entries:

Carrot Beans Stir fry, Mixed Vegetable Kootu.

Sanoli's (Sanoli's Kitchen) lovely entries:

Vegetable Tikki, Banana pith stem rice.

Santhosh's (Santhosh Kitchen) lovely entries:

Peas Kachori

Thanks for your participation. Please collect your participation awards.. 

Hyacinth Beans Stir fry

Hyacinth Beans or Indian Beans (Avarai / Avaraikkai) is one of the favorite vegetables among us. Even my toddler son likes this a lot. Of course, he needs curd rice along with this. After my delivery (and other surgeries), my doctor asked my mom to serve me rice with rasam and less hot Avaraikkai poriyal. That day I realized it how good is this beans to our body. I thought it must be easily digestible and does no harm to recently operated me. From then on, I always value this beans much more than earlier.

Ingredients:

Indian / Hyacinth Beans 250g
Sambar Powder 1 tbsp leveled
Shredded coconut 1 tblsp
Salt
Water

To temper:

Mustard seeds
Urad Dhal
Curry Leaves Few
Pearl Onions Few
Oil

Method:

Chop the beans and Pearl Onions.

Heat Oil in a Pan. When hot, add the Mustard seeds. When they start popping up, add Urad Dhal, Curry leaves and Pearl Onions. Fry till the Onions turn translucent.

Now add the chopped beans, Sambar Powder and Salt. Mix well. Fry for a while and then add 1/4 cup of water. Cook till the beans gets cooked and the water evaporates. Now add the grated coconut. Fry for few more seconds until done.

Serves: 2
Serves with Rice and any Curry.

Linking this recipe to Vegan Thursdays, initiated by Priya of Versatile Recipes. We are a group of bloggers who share only vegan recipes during first and last thursdays of every month. To know more, click here. 

Potato stir fry with peas and sweet Corn

Potato stir fry is something that I prepare when I run out of time or have no idea what to cook as it goes with any rice. But when I take little effort and add some more vegetables, it becomes much more flavorful and tasty. Also, I get the feeling that I've served not just potatoes but also some more vegetables along with it.

Ingredients:

Potatoes Medium 2

Peas 1/2 cup

Sweet corn 1/4 cup

Sambar Powder 1 tbsp leveled

Onion small 1

Ginger Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves few

Salt

Oil

Preparation:

Cook potatoes. Peel and cut into small pieces. Chop Onions and Coriander.

Heat a Pan. Add corn, peas with little water, a pinch of salt and little sambar powder. Cook until done.

Heat oil in an other Pan. When hot, add cumin seeds. When it start changing its color, add chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and coriander leaves. 

Fry till the onions turn translucent. Now add the chopped potatoes. Add Sambar powder and salt. Continue frying it on a low flame. When it is almost done, add the cooked peas and corn. Stir well and fry for few more minutes until everything gets mixed well with each other. Now add few more coriander leaves and stir again. Switch it off and serve.

Serves: 2

Serve with steamed rice and curry or vegetable biryani/pulao. I served with Tomato Rice.

Note: You can also cook peas and corn while frying potatoes. But they tend to loose their shape and color while frying for a long time. So I cooked it separately and added with the potatoes.

Chettinad Prawn Masala / Chettinad Eral Masala

Whenever I love to try some thing new with non veg, I preferably look for chettinad recipes which is famous for non veg recipes. I would say no south indian non veg restaurant exist without chettinad recipes. I like the blend of different spices though have never tasted. It is flavorful and gives a sense of homely food. This is one such recipe.. 

Recipe Source: Solai's True chettinad kitchen

Ingredients:

Prawns 450g
Pearl Onions 10
Garlic Cloves 5
Cinnamon sticks
Cloves 3

For Marination:

Ginger Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Juice from Half Lemon
Salt

Preparation:

Clean the prawns. In a bowl, combine the prawns and all the other ingredients for marination. Keep it aside for half an hour.

Method:

Chop Pearl Onions and Garlic. Chop Tomato into very fine pieces.

Heat oil in a Pan. Add cloves, cinnamon sticks. When they start changing their color, add the chopped onions and garlic. Fry till the onions turn translucent.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Fry till its skin peels and the oil separates.

Now add the marinated prawns. Mix well and cook covered till 8-10 minutes and until done. Need not add water as prawns oozes out water while cooking and that is sufficient enough for its cooking.

Serves: 1-2
Serve with steamed rice and non veg curry or Idli/Dosa.

Ulundhu Bonda / Urad Dhal Bonda

Few months back, when I was preparing Urad Dhal Vada (Uzhundha vadai), I was getting late and could not shape them well. So I managed to make bondas with the batter and made it in very less time. Since then, this has become our favorite. 

I tried few cookies last week but couldn't post as they didn't turn well in shape, though tasted amazing. As we had two many sweets since Diwali, my Hus wanted something non sweet. So I made this Bonda and I feel this is perfect for the cold season here.

I remember me and my cousin used to go to near by shops in madurai and buy a big pack (pottalam) of this Bonda or Vadai and Bajji with different chutneys and sambar.. Sweet memories.. !!  I am very happy that all of my cousins are in whatsapp and don't feel like I even miss them, though they are available in different time zones.            

                                                                                              

Recipe for the snack full of proteins:

Ingredients:

Urad Dhal 1cup
Rice Flour 1 tsp
Asafoetida a pinch
Pepper 1 tsp
Curry Leaves few
Salt
Oil for deep fry

Preparation:

Soak Urad Dhal for one hour with enough water.

Method:

Grind Urad Dhal to a smooth batter with very less water..

{I added 2-3 tbsp of water in the empty mixer. Then I added the Dhal, again a tbsp of water on top and then I started grinding. As and when required I just sprinkled a tbsp of water. }

Refrigerate the batter for one hour.

Now add the Rice flour, Pepper, Curry Leaves and Asafoetida. Mix well.

Heat enough oil in a pan for deep frying. Wet your hands and pinch a ball sized batter and drop into the hot oil. Fry on a medium flame until done.

Serve with coconut chutney or any of your favorite chutney.

Wish to Just Eat Delicious Food ?

Wish to Just Eat Delicious Chinese Food?

As long as there’s pasta and Chinese food in the world, I’m okay.

I recently came across this quote somewhere on the internet and felt it was quite true. Pasta – a tasty dish that can easily be whipped up anytime of the day to stave off those hunger pangs. Chinese food – well, not exactly so easy to prepare but then the zesty flavours are very appealing to your taste buds.

So, what do you do when you feel the urge to have that perfectly flavoured American chopsuey along with chicken hot and sour soup or that exotic crispy chilli lamb with hakka noodles and chicken in parsley sauce? One thing that you definitely do not do is this: you don’t even try to cook all this at home. What you actually do is scout around the internet to find which Chinese restaurants lie nearby which can be visited or else which Chinese eateries carry out home delivery in your area.

This is not as difficult and time-taking as it sounds, provided you know about JustEat, the online food ordering portal spread across all the major metros and having a very large number of restaurants on board. Here, you could get all the Chinese restaurants (or for any other cuisine, for that matter) that are located nearby as well as those which will deliver at your place. You could even opt for the pickup option from the restaurant and pay online for your food order, depending on what works best for you.

 Even Wikipedia talks about what is known as ‘Indian Chinese Cuisine’ – an amalgamation of Indian flavours in Chinese dishes.  Some of the very popular items in this are the ubiquitous and very widely loved chilli chicken and chicken manchurian and the ‘chopsuey’ – which is somewhat like crispy noodles in a chicken, meat or vegetable sauce. Not only do restaurants all over India serve these items, but it’s also very common to see them being cooked at roadside food stalls and let me tell you, most of the times these are more lip-smacking and also relatively lighter on your pocket, with that extra zing in their flavour!

Just recently I came across this well-known Chinese chain of restaurants called Wangs Kitchen. I was surprised and also very pleased to see that it had more than a dozen outlets in Chennai itself and what’s more, you could Order Online from Wangs Kitchen Chennai and get home delivery from the place! When I went through its menus online, I noticed it had simply everything Chinese you could think of when it came to food, both in the vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian sections. Then and there I made up my mind; on my next visit, I just have to try out Wangs Kitchen, having read so much about it!

Another interesting and super-convenient option when you want to order food online is through the JustEat Mobile Apps. Using these you can order food from anywhere and at anytime – the app is just like the entire JustEat.in website minimized into a phone version. So whether it’s Wangs Kitchen or anywhere else you wish to get your food from, the app is always at your beck and call… A welcome treat for all foodies!

Hope you all know that I'm currently hosting 'Eat Vegetables Stay Healthy' event. As of now, I've received 81 entries..

Jaleela Kamal (Cook Book Jaleela)	2
Santosh (Santosh’s kitchen)	1
Jillu Anand (Jiya’s Delicacies)	27
Priya Anandakumar (Priya’s Virundhu)	3
Asha (Chikku’s Kitchen)	11
Prerana Khanwalkar (Easy Indian Recipes)	6
Asiya Omar (My Healthy Happy Kitchen)	13
Shobana Vijay (Shoba’s Delights)	8
Ramya (Lemon Curry)	2
Shama (Shama’s Easy2cook recipes)	5
Ruxana Gafoor (From my Own kitchen)	3

As of now Jillu leads with 27 entries. Just 15 more days to go.. Rush in your entries and win Justeat coupons..

Rajma Kuzhambu / Red Kidney Beans Curry

Once in  a week, I prepare kuzhambu (or curry) with whole Moong Dhal or Channa or Cow peas (Thattai Payir). This week I just wanted to prepare something different and tried the same curry with Rajma.  Mostly I run out of Drumstick while preparing these curries, fortunately I had them and with no further thoughts, I added it. This came out excellent and we had a feeling of eating something new though the preparation is the same.

Ingredients:

Rajma / Red Kidney Beans 1/2 cup
Tomato 2
Drumstick 2
Brinjal - small -2
Sambar Powder 2 1/2 tbsp
Grated Coconut 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida a pinch
Tamarind a small gooseberry size
Salt
Water and Oil


To temper:

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Urad Dhal 1/4 tsp
Pearl Onions few
Curry leaves few

Preparation:

Soak Rajma overnight. Chop Pearl Onions. Chop Tomato and make puree.. Chop Drumstick and Brinjal into small pieces. Grind grated coconut along with little water to a fine paste.

Method:

Pressure cook Rajma for 5-6 whistles or until done.

Heat oil in a Pan. When hot, add Mustard seeds. When they start popping up, add Urad Dhal, Pearl Onions, Curry leaves, Turmeric Powder and Asafoetida. Fry till the onions turn translucent.

Now add the tomato puree and fry till the oil separates. Now add chopped brinjal, Drumstick and Sambar Powder.

Mix well and fry for a while. Now add water and salt. Allow boiling. When the veggies is almost cooked, add coconut paste. Mix well and allow further boiling.

When the curry thickens to the desired consistency and the coconut paste gets combined well, add the tamarind paste. Boil for few more minutes until done.

Serves: 2-3
Serve with steamed rice and any vegetable stir fry.

Participate in 'Eat Vegetables; Stay Healthy' event and win JUSTEAT.in vouchers.

Pavakkai / Bitter Gourd Bajji

Just now I felt like I had Bitter Gourd. My Hus has bought it again. Though it has been a week, I could not complain as he picks vegetables whichever stays fresh and good. I was not interested to make chips or stir fry this time. I am not much fond of putting it in curries too. Then I thought why I not make something like a bajji. I tried and it came out very well. But still I like the chips a  lot. :)

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd 2

Besan Flour (Kadalai Maavu) 1/2 cup

Rice Flour 2 tblsp

Chilli Powder 1 tsp heaped

Cumin Powder 1/4 tsp

Tamarind - size of a small lemon

Salt

Water 

Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Chop Bitter Gourd into thin slices.

Using a cup of water extract juice from Tamarind. Soak the Bitter Gourd slices in it for at least half an hour.

Squeeze and drain.

Method:

In a bowl, combine besan, rice flour, chilli powder, cumin powder and salt. Mix well. Add water little by little to form a thick batter without lumps.

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Dip the bitter gourd slices and coat them well with the batter. Deep fry until done. Make sure you deep fry in batches with little space in between each piece, or else they would stick together.

This bajji is less hot. Include more chilli powder according to your taste.

This is off to Vegan Thursdays. We are a group of bloggers who share only vegan recipes. To know more or to join click here.

Participate in my own event 'Eat Vegetables; Stay Healthy' and win JUSTEAT.in vouchers.

Lettuce Olive Salad

Our Breakfast would be mostly Dosa, Upma, Bread Toast, Noodles or something simple and easy. Even if I make Dosa, the side dish would be just a chutney without vegetables. So I make it a point to include salads during breakfast. Also, it is impossible for me to include more veggies in a salad, so I make it two or three. 

This salad is very easy to prepare and it is so crunchy that it gets over very soon. The addition of olives makes it much more tasty and healthy.. Somehow, I am very much content with this salad and I've not tried any other new salad since few weeks.

Ingredients:

Iceberg Lettuce 1

Olives Few

Juice from half Lemon

Olive Oil 1/2 tsp (or as needed)

Pepper Powder 1/8 tsp (or as needed)

Salt

Method:

In a bowl, combine chopped lettuce and other ingredients.. Mix well and serve.

Notes:

You can also add Red Kidney Beans, Carrot and Cucumber.

Participate in 'Eat Vegetables; Stay Healthy' Event and win JUSTEAT.IN vouchers.

Pavakkai / Bitter Gourd Chips

Bitter Gourd is something that I prepare every week; either as chips like these or as a stir fry. I avoid adding it in any curries as I fear I would not be able to include it in larger quantity. I've fried these many times, but fortunately I could click only yesterday.  Though deep fries are not my favorites, I feel it doesn't matter much if we have it less. 

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd 1/4 kg
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Rice Powder 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt

Method:

Chop Bitter Gourd into very fine pieces.

Combine all the other ingredients. Leave it aside for 15 minutes.

Deep fry until brown.

Serve as a snack or as a side dish to rice.

This recipe goes to Vegan Thursdays initiated by Priya Suresh of Priya's verstaile recipes. We are a group of bloggers who share only vegan recipes. To know more, click here.

Participate in my own event "Eat Vegetables; Stay Healthy" and win JUSTEAT vouchers.