Happy's Cook: April 2017

Friday, April 21, 2017

Radish Sambhar Recipe | Mullangi Sambhar | Sambhar Recipe for Rice

Jany loves Sambhar very much and especially he likes the Capsicum Sambhar. I always try to explore different sambhar recipes. Once my friend, Florence was sharing her lunch scene with radish sambhar. It reminded my hostel days and I almost forgot this sambhar until I saw her photo. I was very much tempted to try it and I was waiting for the availability of white radish in the market. However, I was able to find only the pink radish and I end up making with it. There is no compromise in the taste and it turned out super yummy. Check out my other sambhar varieties like Mixed vegetable sambhar, tiffin sambhar and varutharacha sambhar too. Let us move on to the recipe:

15 Easy Chutney Recipes | Chutney Recipes for Idli/Dosa | Easy ChutneyVarieties | Side dish for Idli and Dosa

Raw Mango Chutney Recipe | Raw Mango and Coconut Chutney | Chutney Recipes for Idli/Dosa | Chef Venkatesh Bhat Recipes - Recipe #15

I am planning to do a roundup post with all the chutney recipes on my blog and hence thought of posting my last chutney recipe from the drafts. I saw this mango chutney in Chef Venkatesh Bhat's show Samayal Samayal and it attracted me to try it. I made few modifications based on my taste buds and prepared the chutney. It came out super delicious and here I am posting it as the 15th chutney recipe. It goes very well with Idli/Dosa. Do check out my other chutney recipes here. Let us move on to the recipe:

Pineapple Kesari Recipe | Pineapple Rava Kesari | Pineapple Sheera | Pineapple Kesari Bath

Happy Vishu and Happy Tamil New Year to everyone out there. Hope you all are enjoying the long weekend. I have not prepared any special items to celebrate this occasion since it is Good Friday. We were busy with the Good Friday rituals in the church and the day went peacefully. Before winding up the day, I thought to share a special recipe of Pineapple Kesari from my drafts.

During my recent India trip, dad got us few fresh pineapples and it was very tasty. After having few slices of pineapple, I thought of making few dishes using it. I made this pineapple kesari for our special lunch during the church thiruvizha in my native. It came out very well and everyone liked it very much. My uncle (Jany's dad) was asking for a second serving of the kesari since he liked it. Check out my other Kesaris like Milk Kesari, Rava Kesari, Aval Kesari, Semiya Kesari and Wheat Flour Kesari as well. Also, check out the other pineapple recipes from the blog: Pineapple pachadi and Pineapple upside down cake.

Payaru Kanji Recipe | Green Gram Rice Porridge | Cheru Payar Kanji | Pachai Payaru Kanji | Payaru Kanji with Thengai Chammanthi | Good Friday Special

Payar Kanji is a comforting and traditional food for many Keralites and for people from Kanyakumari District. It is very nutritious, filling and easily digestible. My mum and grandma make this payar kanji at least once in a week and it is very close to my heart. Still, I follow the tradition and make it once in a week for dinner. It is very easy to make and it goes very well with coconut chammanthi or pickle. Whenever I feel bored to cook or I am sick, we end up making this since it is nutritious than buying from hotels. Since Good Friday is nearing, I thought of sharing this recipe on the blog. We make Payaru Kanji for lunch on Good Friday and even in Churches, it is served. Check out my Cheru payar Thoran which goes well with Plain rice Kanji. Traditionally, they make it in a big pot. However, you can make it in a pressure cooker too. (check notes)Let us move on to the preparation of kanji:

Red Capsicum Chutney Recipe | Red Bell Pepper Chutney | Chutney Recipes for Idli/Dosa

I am very much interested in trying different chutneys for Idli/Dosa as the side dish. I have already posted 10+ chutney recipes in the blog and to add on this list, today I am sharing yummy red capsicum chutney. Chutney with veggies is very new to me and I started to learn only after my blog. Once my TCS colleague Rama was talking about this red capsicum chutney and I was not very much interested at that time. However, she prepared it once and gave it to me for tasting. It was so delicious and it goes well with Idli/Dosa, Chapathi and also steamed rice. Recently, I tried it at home and it turns out super delicious. I made it a mildly spicy and Happy too liked it very much. Let us see the preparation steps:

Kerala Style Nandu Roast Recipe | Nadan Njandu Roast | Spicy crab roast in Kerala Style

When I was in Chennai, I had got crabs quite a few times since my neighbour helped me with the cleaning of the crabs. After making Crab Masala with Coconut, I was searching for some other recipes without coconut and this recipe caught my attention. I gave it a try and it came out very well. I was postponing this post since the pictures were not good. However, I am never going to buy crab until someone is there to help me out with cleaning. So, I just thought of posting the recipe with my very old pictures. Let us move on to the recipe:

Broccoli Rice Recipe | Indian Style Broccoli Rice | Variety Rice Recipes for Lunch Box | Lunch Box Ideas

Broccoli has a lot of health benefits and I would like to include it in our diet. I don't really like the taste of broccoli and whenever I make Broccoli stir fry or Broccoli potato roast, we eat it considering its health benefits. However, Happy doesn't eat it and to make her eat, I tried Broccoli paratha. She liked it very much and when I was thinking something similar to that, this broccoli rice came to mind. Since we are grinding the broccoli for this recipe, she didn't complain and had it. Do check the broccoli pulao recipe, if you don't prefer grinding the broccoli. Let us move on to the recipe:

Kadai Paneer Dry Recipe | Spicy Kadai Paneer | Dry Kadai Paneer | Restaurant Style Kadai Paneer

I am not a crazy fan of Paneer, I can have it once in a while. I always make paneer butter masala whenever I have paneer at home. Even Jany and Happy don't show much interest in paneer. I try new paneer recipes, just for the sake of the blog. However, after trying Paneer 65 and Kadai Paneer, I started liking Paneer. I am planning to try more recipes in the future. I always use homemade paneer for my recipes and this Kadai paneer goes very well with Roti or Pulao. Let us move on to the recipe and do check out my Chilli Paneer Dry and Mattar Paneer.

Pachai Payaru Javvarisi Payasam Recipe | Green Gram Sago Kheer | Paasipayaru Payasam | Moong Bean Payasam | Payasam Recipes

When I was asked to prepare some green gram recipes for an event, I made this Payasam along with the other green gram recipes that I posted earlier. Initially, I was planning to make this payasam with Karupatti (Palm Jaggery). However, I ran out of karupatti at that time and hence I made it with normal Jaggery. Green Gram and Karupatti are very nutritious and I suggest you make this payasam with karupatti. Unlike other lentils, the green gram doesn't upset the stomach and it has a lot of nutrients. Do give it a try and let me know the results. Also, check out my other green recipes too: Green Gram Ladoo, Green Gram Suzhiyam, Green Gram Poli, Green Gram sweet sundal, Puttu Payaru Pappadum and Green Gram Thoran.

Mango Shrikhand Recipe | Amrakhand | Mango Recipes | Mango Flavored Yoghurt

Today is a special day for me, yes, it is both my birthday and my dad's birthday. Though we both miss mum on this day, we know she is always with us and she is our strength. The day went well with a lot of blessings and wishes from the family and friends. To celebrate this day, I am sharing a recipe with my favourite fruit mango. Shrikhand is a yoghurt based thick dessert which can be made with any fruit. Mango (Aam) Shrikhand is called as Amrakhand and it is usually served along with Poori or as a dessert. I would relate this to the flavoured yoghurt which we get in tubs. The Shrikhand is made using hung yoghurt/curd and unlike Mango lassi it is thick. Let us move on to the recipe and do check out my other Mango recipes too:

Paruppu Sevai Recipe | Paruppu Idiyappam | Lentil Rice Noodles | Idiyappam Varieties

Idiyappam/Sevai is one of our staple breakfast/dinner in south India. At home, we always pair it with Non-Veg Curries or Sodhi (Vegetable Stew). When I was working with TCS, one of my colleagues usually brings different types of Idiyappam. It was very new to me at that time and I have tasted her coconut sevai and sweet sevai, it was so delicious. At Jany's friend's engagement, I have tasted lemon sevai and from that day I wanted to try all these sevai at home. I feel really lazy to make Idiyappam at home. However, I force myself to make it since Happy likes it a lot. Recently, I tried three kinds of sevai and it came out super delicious. Today, I am sharing the paruppu sevai and I will post few more varieties too in the coming days. Let us move on to the recipe:

Channa Biryani Recipe | Chick Pea Biryani | Chole Biryani | Easy One Pot Meal | Pressure Cooker Biryani

Yesterday when I was sharing the Carrot Raita, you would have seen this Channa Biryani served on the plate along with raita. Today I am sharing you all the recipe for an easy one pot meal Channa Biryani. When I was talking to my friend Neena, I realised that this Channa Biryani was not posted on the blog, though I had prepared it quite a few times for our lunch box. I prepared it with white Channa and if preferred you can make it with Kala Channa too. Check out my other Chickpea recipes like Kadala (Channa) Kuruma, Puttu Kadala Curry and Channa Sundal.

Carrot Raita Recipe | Carrot Thayir Pachadi | Raw Carrots in Yoghurt Sauce

Posting a recipe on weekends is an unusual thing in my blog. After the busy and hectic week, I would like to relax on weekends. However, I am planning to post on all days of this month since April is special for me and my family. Hopefully, my plan should work out and I am keeping my fingers crossed :) Today I am sharing a simple and healthy Carrot Raita. I packed this for Jany's lunch box along with Channa Biryani. He liked it a lot and after coming home he told it was very tasty. (again an unusual thing 😁). Though it is very simple, I would like to share the recipe for the beginners and let us move to the recipe. Please check out my Carrot Halwa, Carrot Rice, Carrot Beans Thoran and Carrot Juice recipes as well. If looking for more Raita's then check out my Boondhi Raita.