Nan-Khatayi

Contributed by Lipakshi Sharma

A 20 something Account Manager of a leading Bank, Lipakshi also famous as Lipi spends her days exploring new places and learning new things and cooking is one such passion

Ingredients

Maida/ all-purpose flour 1 ¼ cup

Besan ¼ cup

Powdered Sugar ½ cup

Soda Bicarbonate- 1 tsp

Desi Ghee- ½ cup

1/4 teaspoon green cardamom seed coarsely powder (ilaichi)

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 375 degree.
2. In a bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, gram flour, baking soda and set aside.
3. Let the ghee come to the room temperature (butter should be soft not melted)
4. Add ghee and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat for two to three minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Add the flour mix to butter and sugar mixture and knead them together to make smooth dough.
6. Divide the dough into about 24 equal parts and make them into balls.
7. Press each ball between your palms lightly; every piece should be about 3/4″ in thickness.
8. With a sharp knife softly draw a tic-tac-toe design on the top and put few pieces of almonds and pistachios and press them into the dough gently.
9. Put Nan khatai on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 13 to 15 minutes or until Nan khatai are lightly gold brown.
10. After they are lightly golden brown remove the cookie sheet from the oven.  Let the Nan Khatais cool down for two to three minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet.

  

Lemon Rice

Contributed by Lipakshi Sharma

A 20 something Account Manager of a leading Bank, Lipakshi also famous as Lipi spends her days exploring new places and learning new things and cooking is one such passion 

Email your comments to Lipi

About Lemon Rice:

Lemon Rice is a delicious South Indian dish you can easily put together when in a hurry. You can also make it with leftover rice. Serve Lemon Rice with a Raita (yogurt salad) and Poppadums for a simple yet tasty meal.

Recipe and Ingredients:

1  cup of rice
Salt to taste
2 tblspns of oil/ghee
A pinch of asafoetida
2 dried red chillies
1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal)
1 tspn of fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
1/4 cup of peanuts
1 tspn of mustard seeds (optional)
10-12 of curry leaves
3 tblspns of lemon juice
1 tspn of turmeric powder
1 tblspn of grated fresh coconut (optional)

Procedure:

• Pick, wash and soak rice for about thirty minutes. Drain and then boil in plenty of boiling salted water until almost done. Drain and keep aside.
• Heat oil/ghee in a shallow pan or a kadai. Add a pinch of asafoetida. Add dried red chillies broken into two, urad dal, chana dal and methi seeds. Cook until dals change colour to light brown.
• Add peanuts and mustard seeds. Let mustard seeds crackle, then add curry leaves. Mix turmeric powder in this. Stir fry for half a minute. Add cooked rice, salt and lemon juice.
• Garnish with grated coconut.
• You can use roasted or fried peanuts for this recipe.
  

  

  Lemon Rice read to be served

Tomato Rasam

Lipakshi Sharma aka 'Lipi'

Contributed by Lipakshi Sharma

A 20 something Account Manager of a leading Bank, Lipakshi also famous as Lipi spends her days exploring new places and learning new things and cooking is one such passion 

Email your comments to Lipi

A little about Rasam:

 Rasam, is a South Indian soup. It is prepared with tamarind juice or tomato, pepper and other spices. Lentils are added by some along with vegetables.

It is eaten with rice or alone, as a soup. In a traditional meal, it follows the sambar course and is followed by curd rice. It differs from sambar in that it usually relies on tomatoes for its sourness rather than tamarind, and it is usually much more fluid.

In Tamil,'Rasam' means Juice. It can refer to any juice but simply Rasam commonly referred to the one prepared with Tamarind/Tomato juice with added spices.

There are different kinds of rasam, varying by ingredient:
Tomato rasam, Lemon Rasam, Meriyala/Milagu (Pepper) rasam, Neem flower rasam, Ginger rasam, Garlic Rasam, Pineapple Rasam, Parupu (Dal) rasam etc.

Recipe:

We are now going to make Rasam by using the shortest method. All my recipies are for people who lack time to do it the long way :)

Ingredients:

Tomato(medium) - 3 nos
Tamarind(Imli) juice/paste(thick) - 1 tbsp
Garlic pods(crushed) - 2 - 3 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Rasam powder - 2 tbsp ( My favourite one is MTR's Madras Rasam Powder, available at your local           Indian grocery Store)
Curry leaves - A few
Coriander leaves - A few (chopped)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 3 cups
Salt - As reqd
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies(Kollamulaku) - 1 no (broken into 2 pieces)

Procedure:

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan.
• Add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add red chillies and saute for a while.
• Add crushed garlic and stir for a minute.
• Add chopped tomatoes and salt and stir, till the tomatoes blend well.
• Add turmeric and rasam powder and stir for a few seconds.
• Add the tamarind paste and mix well.
• Add curry leaves, coriander leaves and water.
• Boil rasam on low flame for about 7 - 10 mins.
• Finally, you can sprinkle asafoetida powder(optional).{Asafoetida is usually contained in Rasam Powder.}
• Your rasam is ready.

Rasam can be had as plain soup or traditionaly with rice