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Dear Mrs. Mano,
A query about wet grinding:
I use an Ultra Grinder, which is a recent purchase. My problem is that I do not get a smooth batter with the urad and the methi. I soak the urad for min 1 hr and the methi for min 6 hrs. Still there is a grainy texture.
I used to keep grinding the two in the hope that it would get smooth, but after reading ur suggestion on grinding for max 20 mins, I am foll the same. In both cases, grainy texture is there.
My mum suggested grinding the two in the mixie once or twice and then in the grinder, but am not too kicked about that as I bought the grinder to avoid messing with the mixie.
Looking fwd to ur suggestions.
Thanks,
Thattai
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Dear Thattai!
I regret for the delayed reply. As I was in Tamilnadu for the past month, I couldn’t browse in the computer as I normally do.
Thanks a lot for the nice feedback on “chilli chicken” and “Idli sambar”.
About grinding the black gram- all types of it will yield good frothy batter with the ultra Grinder. I am also using it regularly. Before starting to grind, pour 1 to 1 ½ cup of water in to the grinder [for 1 cup of black gram]. Then add the soaked black gram and start to grind. Grind for 10 minutes. Then pour half cup of water and again grind to a smooth batter. You have to clean the sides with yr fingers while the grinder is running. Again sprinkle some water and grind for 10 minutes. Now you will get a smooth batter. You can soak both the fenugreek seeds and the black gram in the same vessel.
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Here is a tasty recipe which I have tried last week.
NEER URUNDAI:
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Ingredients:
Raw rice- 2 cups
Green gram- half cup
Red chillies-4
Black gram- 2 tbsp
Shredded coconut- half cup
Mustard seeds- half sp
Asafetida pr- half sp
Curry leaves- a few
Gingelly oil- 2 tbsp
Enough salt
Procedure:
Soak the rice and the dal for an hour and then grind them with enough salt smoothly. The batter should be watery. Heat a pan and pour the oil. When it becomes hot add the mustards. When they splutter add the black gram, red chillies, asafetida powder and the curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds on slow fire. Pour the batter and cook until it becomes solid. Put off the fire and allow it to cool a little. Add the coconut and mix well with yr fingers. Make small smooth balls and steam them for 15 minutes.
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dear Mrs. Mano,
Thanks for your suggestion. I will grind accordingly and let you know the outcome.
thattai
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Dear Mrs. Mano,
Made vegetable kuruma today. It was very delicious. The only change I made was that I used mixed veggies instead of only potatoes and peas. Thanks for yet another yummy and easy recipe.
Thattai
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Dear mrs. mano,
tried the microwave kesari (again) yesterday. Though the taste was very good, I did not get the right consistency. For one thing,after adding the rava and water (I also added the colour at this point), I mixed it well, and cooked it for 3 minutes.
When I took it out to stir it, it had kind of solidified at the bottom with a layer of water on the top. So when I mixed it, it was lumpy and remained so throughout.
Please tell me where I could have gone wrong. This is my husband's fav sweet and I thought I had cracked it when it came out so well the last time. But this time it was quite gooey and lumpy. Please help.
I followed the directions to the 'T'.
Thattai
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Hi Mrs.Mano, can u please post a recipe for making vegetable puffs & egg puffs that we get in the bakeries in India... we get readymade puff pastry sheets here... so a recipe for the filling & baking directions would do.
BTW, can we make the outer covering for the puffs at home?.I guess it's a tedious & time consuming work!!!...
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Dear Thattai!
Thanks a lot for the feedback on ‘vegetable kurma’.
I think that you would have added just ordinary water to the rawa. Add warm water. It will definitely come out correctly. I think I haven’t mentioned about the warm water. I regret for the mistake.
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[tscii]
Dear Dev!
Here is the recipe for ‘Puff pastry’ and some fillings.
PUFF PASTRY:
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Ingredients:
Plain flour- 2 cups
Butter- 175gms
Margarine-50 gms
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Ice clod water- ¾ cup
Procedure:
Cream the butter well. Chill it again in the refrigerator. Sieve the flour with the salt and put this in a bowl. Add the margarine, cold water and juice and make a stiff dough. Cover the dough with a damp towel and keep it aside for half an hour. On a board, sprinkle some flour and roll out the dough into ¼ inch thickness. Place the butter in the center. Fold the pastry in to thirds. Roll little to seal the layers. Fold in thirds again. Repeat rolling and folding four times. After each rolling wrap the pastry into a grease-proof paper and chill for 15 minutes. This will make the pastry easy to roll and the pastry extra flaky. Roll the pastry in to desired thickness. Cut into desired shapes, brush of the extra flour, and place it on a greased baking sheet. Desired fillings can be filled in and again closed. Bake in a hot oven [220deg C to 235 deg C] for the first 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 125 deg C and bake till brown.
EGG FILLING:
Ingredients:
Onion [finely chopped]-2
Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tsp
Tomato[crushed] – half cup
Cinnamon powder- 2 pinches
Fennel powder- half tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- half tsp
Salt to taste
Hard boiled eggs-4 to 6
Coriander leaves-2 tbsp
Oil- 2 tbsp
Procedure:
Heat a pan and pour the oil. When it becomes hot add the chopped onion and tomatoes. Fry them until they are mashed well. Add the pastes and fry for a few minutes until the raw flavour disappears. Cut the eggs into small pieces without braking them Add them carefully to the onion tomato mixture. Sprinkle the salt and the powders. Mix careful and cook on slow fire for a few seconds. Sprinkle the coriander leaves.
For vegetable and potato filling, avoid the cinnamon powder and add green chilli paste instead of red chilli powder. You can increase the quantity of tomato and the onion according to yr taste.
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Thanks a lot Mrs.Mano... Will try it out the filling this weekend...have a half of the pastry sheet I bought last week...:)
BTW, how do we fold the sheet into 1/3rd?...like this?...
http://fusionchef.com/globalcuisine/...cs/puff_p3.jpg And can we freeze the pastry for future use?...if yes, for how long can it be kept frozen?...