Last Weekend my son had his culturals day. Only on his reharsal's day, (i.e) a day prior to the culturals day, i came to know, the song, for which he is going to perform. that night, we searched for that song in the youtube and played it. My son did few steps and he was dancing good. even the next day, before starting for the function, we gave him another rehersal and took him to the function hall. Do u know, what he did on stage, when he is supposed to dance, he stood simply for the whole performance. but i guessed that it would happen, as i had similar experience with my brother too.

Coming to this Thakkali Puthina Chutney, i love this chutney very much, as it can be prepared quick and it also tastes good with hot steaming idli's. However adding Puthina is optional, Mint Leaves addition gives a nice taste and aroma. and its good for digestion.

Ingredients:

1 Onion
2 Tomatoe's
4 Garlic pod's
1/2 cup mint leaves / Puthina
2 Tbsp's of Chana Dal
2 tbsp's of grated Coconut
3 Dry Red Chilli's
1/2 tbsp of oil for frying onion/tomatoes

1/2 tsp oil for Tempering / Thalippu
1/4 tsp Mustard
1/2 tsp split Urad Dal

Method:

Heat a pan, and a tbsp of oil, add chana dal and roast it, till it turns golden colour. add garlic pods and roast it too.

Now add chopped onion and tomatoe's and fry them. add salt to taste and chilli's and mix well.

Add Washed and Drained Puthina Leaves to the pan and saute it along. now add grated coconut and saute it for a minute and remove the pan from flame and cool it down.

Add 1/3 cup of water and grind it along with the cooled ingredients of the pan to a smooth chutney.

Now, heat a Tadka pan, and heat oil, add mustard and let it splutter and add urad dal and roast it and add to the grinded chutney.

Serve the Chutney, with Hot Idli's and Dosa's.

This Chutney is one of our favourite. Do try it!

* I also add Chilli Powder instead of dry red chilli's.
* You can also have a small bit of tamarind while grinding the chutney.

Cupcakes would be our evening tiffin in our hostel. I remember eating them in my boarding school and also in college hostel. Only one cupcake will be served, and it would never be sufficient for us. till the dinner is ready, we had to starve or some times we head to canteen, to have Noodles or fried rice. I usually have a partner to share one plate of Veg fried rice / Noodles. chatting and eating with her would be a great time. Iam really glad, that me and my partner are food bloggers now.  we would also go to movies on thursdays, as we both used to have free periods on thursday. and more than that, one thing bonded us was, we hailed from the same native place. I was thinking all this while baking these cupcakes.

You all might know, that i was not actively blogging, for the past two months. Sharmilee of Sharmi's passions gave me a Good Push, to blog frequently. I hope, i will maintain this pace in the coming weeks too. as her first event, she is hosting, is getting over by today, i wanted to submit my entry too to her. As i sleep along with my son, in the afternoon, i miss catching up with blogs or baking. but today, in my half-way through the sleep, i woke and went and baked these cupcakes, to send her this sweet little entry. Here, Walnut Cupcakes are for you Sharmilee.


Ingredients: (8 to 10 cupcakes)

All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 and half a Cup
Baking Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 50 gms
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp's
Egg's - 2
Warm Milk - 2 tbsp's
Chopped Walnuts - 4 tbsp's

Method:

Pre-Heat the Oven at 190C for 10 minutes. Line the Muffin Pans or grease the muffin pans with little butter, if you dont have muffin lining papers.

Sift the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda atleast three times.

Powder the Sugar.

In a Mixing Bowl, Have the butter at room temperature. add powdered sugar and beat well either with a hand whisk or hand blender.

After Creaming the Butter with Sugar, Break egg's into them one by one and beat well.

Add Vanilla essence to the bowl and beat well.

Now add sifted flours little by little and mix with a wooden spoon.  add little milk and give a mix with the wooden spoon.

Add chopped walnuts and give a soft mix. and drop a spoon full of mix onto the lined muffin pans.

Bake the Cupcakes for 15-18 minutes at 190C. or till a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.


After Baking, cool the cupcakes for atleast 10 minutes.

 I frosted the cupcake with Nutella. It was yummy, though the frosting patterns was difficult for me.

The Cupcakes was great in taste. the sweetness was just correct. If you are planning for frosting, go ahead with the same sugar amount mentioned in the recipe. if not using frosting, increase the sugar amount by 1/4 cup.

Vanilla Walnut Cupcakes are heading on the last train to Sharmi's Let's Munch - Light Tea Time Snacks.

Vathakuzhambu is certainly not my choice. but my hubby loves it very much, that too, if it has coconut milk, its heavenly for him. after Varalakshmi viratham, i usually have more coconuts, which had to be used fast. so this vathakuzhambu with coconut milk, was prepared for yesterdays lunch to use up the excess coconuts laying on my fridge. it turned out so Good. i never like vathakuzhambu, but this kuzhambu with coconut milk was so tasty and i liked it too.

Ingredients:

Sundakka Vathal - 3 tbsp
Small Onions - 15
Garlic - 10 pods
Tomato - 1
Coconut milk - 1 cup or coconut milk of half a coconut

Gingelly Oil - 1/3 cup
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida powder - a pinch

Mix the following in a bowl :

1 cup of water
2 tsp's of Sambhar Powder
1 tsp of Dhania powder
1/4 tsp of Turmeric Powder

Method:

Heat a Kadaai, and add 1/3 cup Gingelly oil and heat it, add Sundakka Vathal and fry them in medium flame. Remove the fried sundakka vathals and keep aside.

Add mustard to the oil and let it splutter, add curry leaves, asafoetida powder, garlic and shallots and fry them well.

After frying the shallots, add chopped tomatoes and fry along.

Add 2 tsp's of Sambhar Powder, 1 tsp of Dhania Powder, 1/4 tsp of Turmeric Powder to a Cup of water aand mix well.  add this mixed water to the kadaai and let it boil for 3-4 minutes.

Add Sundakka Vathals to the kadaai and add very little salt. Now switch off the flame and add 1 cup of coconut milk to the kadaai, mix well. do not boil after adding coconut milk, as it may curdle.

Serve this Vathakuzhambu with Hot Rice and Appalams.

Dry Ingredients:


For Wet Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate - 150 gms
Almonds - 15 (Grated)

How to Prepare?



Let the Chocolate and Butter Melt together and turn into a chocolate sauce like one. Switch off the flame and remove the bowl.


Mix all the Dry Ingredients together and sift them twice.


Pour the mixed batter to the lined baking bowl. Top them with some grated Almonds.

Bake at 180c for about 40 - 45 mins. till a toothpick inserted in between the centre and the corner of the bowl comes out clean. Remove the Baking bowl and dont disturb it for 10 minutes.

I was not regular here, as me and my son fell ill one after another. It was Very Difficult Part of life, to take care of  my son, dropping and picking up trips to school all alone, when i was ill. I would not have suffered this much, if my husband was here. Thank God, time passed very fast, and my hubby will be with us in 3 hrs. i just dont want to sleep, till i receive him. so you know, why iam relaxing here. Also one more reason, why i did'nt frequent here is, i did not cook much other than idli's for break-fast, and Rasam with some Poriyal / Vegetable for Lunch and Chapathi's or Dosa's for Dinner. But now i assure you, you will see me back in Power, as iam longing to cook lots and lots for my hubby, who cooked and ate all alone for the past 3 months.

Let me Come to today's recipe. We call this Curry as Oorppu. this is basic kuzhambu recipe, but has milk in it. i think this curry may be called different in other housholds. This curry is always prepared with these specific vegetables - Murungakaai, Palakottai and Kathrikaai. Potato would also make a nice combo. So if you want to try this curry, stick with same vegetables for good taste. This is one of Grandmom's special. my mom also prepares it equally good.

Ingredients: (Recipe for 2)

Murungakaai / Drumstick - 1
Palakottai / Jackfruit seeds - 8
Kathrikaai / Brinjal - 2
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Milk - 1 cup (Boiled and Cooled)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder / Kuzhabu Milagaai Thool - 2 tsp's


Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard / Kadugu - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek / Vendhayam - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red chilli - 2
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig


Heat 2 tbsp's of oil in an iron skillet, add mustard and let it splutter. add fenugreek seeds, dry red chilli's and curry leaves. roast them all for 1/2 a minute.

Pressure Cook the Jackfruit seeds and Drumstick for upto 5 whistles. remove the outer skin of the Jackfruit seed and keep aside. chop the Brinjals into pieces and set aside.

Add finely chopped Onion and fry them till they turn translucent. add finely chopped tomatoes and fry along with the onions. add little bit of salt, to speed the frying process. add turmeric powder and chilly powder and mix along with the onions.

Add the Brinjal pieces to the Skillet and mix them with the masala's. let the brinjal get shrinked for a minute and add Jackfruit seeds and Drumsticks. also add salt to taste and a cup of water.

Close the Skillet with a lid and reduce the flame to low and let brinjals get cooked for 5 minutes atleast.

Once the Brinjals are Cooked, remove the skillet from flame. Now add the Boiled and cooled milk to the skillet and give a mix and transfer to a serving bowl.


Serve it Hot with Steaming Hot Rice.

* The Milk reduces the Spicyness of the Curry and gives a nice taste.
* If you have excess milk, go for this curry.
* Also Stick to Vegetables Drumstick and Brinjal.