Kugan's Kitchen Part 7

[kugan98]

Hello Kugan Madam.

I'm newbie to posting responses, but i've been following the food forum for quite a while. Now only after marriage i'm cooking on my own and having doubts. I was going through your older posts. In that (http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthrea...n-Part-2/page6) you have mentioned about whole hing (the blocks), not the one we get in the powdered form.

Is there any difference in quality between whole and powdered? (like how they adulterate turmeric powder). Also how do you break it off and use. Can you scrape it with knife?

Thanks!

Welcome to Kugan's Kitchen Priyasari. Just call me Kugan.
Glad that you have started to cook after your marriage. As you know the way to your man's heart is through his stomach.
Well for the hing, the powder once are all adulterated . little hing the rest are all some sort of powder.
You can dump the whole container and you will not get the smell of hing.

As for your information , the blog hing is much better than the powdered one.
It is also a compounded version and not pure Hing

According to my uncle Hemant:
Pure Asafoetida is an amorphous resin and has absolutely not even the lightest sheen . It is soft and a bit sticky to fingers. If you burn it, it will burn with yellow flames. When mixed with water, it will resemble Milk. It is very expensive.

Priyasari, you can buy the blog, use your pounding stone and break it into small pieces.
when you want to season your sambar and things, drop the small piece in the hot oil.
it will puff up and later will dissolve in your sambar.

Priyasari, you can find lot of day to day cooking, simple dishes in this kitchen.
Hope you will try them and give us your feed back.
Do not be a silent reader, you will have lots of friends here.
You can request for any recipe, we will post the recipe if we know.
Thanks and take care, Kugan.

[kugan98]

Dear friends I have tasted different types of puliohara, rice rava and things.
This dish sounded new to me, when my niece introduced it to me.
Try it friends, it is healthy since the idli is not fried. Kugan.



PULI IDLI

Ingredients:

1 tbs oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
½ tsp cumin seeds

1 big onion chopped
4 green chillies chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ tsp asafetida powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chillie powder

¾ cup tamarind juice from lime sized tamarind
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

8 idly, cut into 6 cubes each
Little cut coriander leaves.

Method:
Heat oil in a non – stick wok, add in the spices.
Let them crackle, add in the onions, green chillies.
Let the onions turn little limp, add in the curry leaves.
Add also all the powders and stir fry once.

Now add in the tamarind juice, sugar and salt.
Cook on slow flame till the raw smell goes and the gravy thickens.
Add in the cut idli pieces, toss well so that the pieces are well coated with the gravy.
Remove, garnish and serve .

[kugan98]

O.K friends, Aishu is suffering from viral fever for the past week.
Sleepless nights because of her, very fussy.
A niece is coming from overseas to night for dinner.
I am making idli, hotel sambar, iddiappam sothi.
Fried noodles, tomato rava upma with kara chutney.
Rogan Josh tofu, chapathi, green moong dal curry.
puttu with bananas, ghee dosai and jelly.
Full day ahead with sick Aishu
Thanks and take care, Kugan.

NOTE: will try to post the spread.

[NOV]

NOV anneh, enna kolappureenga. We celebrated Krishna Jayanthi in August.
All the temples too celebrated in August.
Just like our New Year every thing is changing.

Sorry, murkku seedai ellam theenthu pochi
Better luck next year. Kugan

we didnt celebrate the one in august as it was during aadi... which temples are you talking about? Full day celebrations going on in Krishnan temple in Brickfields now.
also in Perumal temple in Klang http://www.perumaltemple.com/

madhu annaa can explain this better

we just finished our home poojai with murukku, jangiri, paalkOva, laddu & fruits with the children fighting over Krishna's milk
lunch was rice with two koottus, two vege, sambar, rasam, some variety rice and panneer pulao... completed the meal with kesari and filter coffee

Happy Krishna Jayanthi to all at Kugans Kitchen

[Aarthii]

Hai kuganka,
Tried your chilie parotta and it turned out well.Thanks kuganka.
How is Aishu now?What happened to her?
Take care of her.
Wow,you are going to make such a nice dinner for your niece.Great.
In your free time,please post the sothi recipe for idiyappam and tomato rava upma .

[FernGraebn]

Thanks for your kind words kugan! Please call me priya. Sri is my husband's name.

I somehow did not realise hing also would be adulterated till i saw your post... I need to check in korean/indian stores here in US if they sell the blocks. Also do you buy chilli, coriander and turmeric powder or grind your own? If you do so can you please tell me how?

I've read through your older threads and lined up some recipes to try. I will let you know as and when i try.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and glad to be here.

[kugan98]

Hai kuganka,
Tried your chilie parotta and it turned out well.Thanks kuganka.
How is Aishu now?What happened to her?
Take care of her.
Wow,you are going to make such a nice dinner for your niece.Great.
In your free time,please post the sothi recipe for idiyappam and tomato rava upma .

Thanks Aarthii for your nice post. Glad you liked the chilli parotta.
Aishu is still having fever, they say viral fever.
Thanks for the concern.

eight of them came for dinner, tomato upma with kara chutney was a big hit.
I will post the recipes soon for you.
Thanks and take care, Kugan

[kugan98]

Thanks for your kind words kugan! Please call me priya. Sri is my husband's name.

I somehow did not realise hing also would be adulterated till i saw your post... I need to check in korean/indian stores here in US if they sell the blocks. Also do you buy chilli, coriander and turmeric powder or grind your own? If you do so can you please tell me how?

I've read through your older threads and lined up some recipes to try. I will let you know as and when i try.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and glad to be here.

Thanks Priya for your nice post. I was wondering where you were staying.
May be you can find hing block in the Indian section of the super markets in US.
I have seen so many things that we do not get in Malaysia is available US.

As for curry powders, I find that Baba's is the best. You do not get that in US.
Found out the shocking truth that they use coconut husk, maize husk into the curry powders.

Curry powder is usually a mixture of many ingredients.

Priya , you can dry roast all the ingredients one by one.
Then when cool use your small coffee grinder and make it into powder.
Later in your grinder add water and make it into smooth paste.
Lot of work, this is possible for only day to day cooking.
If you are entertaining, no chance. Try to get a good brand of curry powder from India.

When ever I am in US, I will buy the chillie, coriander, cumin tumeric, powders all seperate.
Then I will mix it myself. I do not like their meat curry or fish curry, ready made powders.

Try this Madras curry powder by my uncle Hemant.


MADRAS CURRY POWDER


Hot Chillies 200 gms
Dhania seeds 150 gms
Black pepper 15 gms
Fenugreek seeds 1 spoon
Mustard seeds 1.5 spoons
Jeera 1.5 spoons
Black gram dhall 1 table spoon
Thoram Parappu 1 table spoon
Idli Rice 1.5 spoons
Asfoetida 1 spoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 spoon
Curry leaves 1/2 Cup

METHOD OF PREPARATION

As all the powders in South, it is important that the ingredients need to be sun dried till chillies crumble when pinched and so should Dhania.But since it may not be possible for most of you, dry roast each ingredient seperatly in an Iron Kadai just to let the moisture leave the ingredients.Only rice needs to be roasted till the grains become light pink and curry leaves should crumble.
use your mixi and grind to powder all the ingredients properly.
Use an uniform maida sieve to sieve the powder.The powder is to be stored in an air tight container.You must not use platic jars or pet jars to store powders, a Glass jar is a must.
Use this powder to make Mutton curry, Meen Kozambu,Chicken Curry etc.


Try out some recipes and give us the feed back.
Thanks and take care, Kugan

NOTE: by the way where do you stay in US?

[kugan98]

Dear Aarthii, here is the tomato upma for you.
Kugan

TOMATO RAVA UPMA

Ingredients:
1 cup sooji nicely roasted in 1 tbs of ghee
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
1 green chillie chopped more if you like hot
1 medium onion chopped
1 big tomato chopped, seeds removed
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tbs coriander leaves chopped
2 tbs fresh coconut scrapings
2 tbs ghee
3 cups of water
Salt to taste
Little lime juice
Fried cashew nuts if desired

Method:

Heat ghee in a wok, add in the mustard seeds and urad dal.
When the mustard splutters, add in the onions, green chillie,
Curry leaves, and chopped ginger. Stir fry on medium heat for 3 minutes. When the onion becomes soft and little brown add in the chopped tomatoes.
stir for a minute.

Add in the 2 cups of water, coconut and salt and let it come to boil.
Add in the roasted sooji, keep mixing make sure it does not form lumps. Keep stirring till the sooji is cooked and all water absorbed.
Add in the chopped coriander leaves, cashew nuts and lime juice.
Give a final stir and remove. Serve with kara chutney.

This preparation will be a bit mushy.

[kugan98]

Aarthii, here is the sothi recipe.
Kugan.


Here is the recipe for sothi.

Sothi

1 cup thick coconut milk
2 cups thin coconut milk
1/2 onion, sliced
2 green chillies, silted lengthwise
a pinch of tumeric powder
lime juice to taste
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt

In a pot, pour in thin coconut milk, onions, chillies, tumeric, curry leaves, funugreek seeds and salt.
give the ingredients a slight squeeze, to release the flavour.

Allow it to boil for at least 10 mins. Then finally add thick coconut milk. After one boil, shut down the flame. You can add thick milk according to the thickness of the sothi you want. When you add thick milk, keep stirring so that the milk should not curdle. Allow the sothi to cool a bit, then add the juice, make sure you keep stirring while adding the juice. Otherwise it will curdle. It goes well with iddiyappam