Savoury wheat cake

This is a savoury cake. It comes out soft. Good snack for people who are restricted in sugar consumption.

Ingredients 

Wheat flour 1 cup, sieve it to remove any lumps,

Coconut oil 2 tbsp,

Milk 1 cup,

Water 1 cup, 

Cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp.,

Grind it in a mixie to smooth it.

Baking soda 1/3 tsp.,

Baking powder 1/3 tsp.,

Salt to taste,

Sugar 1 tbsp.

Preparation 

Add all the ingredients in a bowl, whisk it thoroughly on one side only for about 5 minutes.

Transfer into an oil brushed pan. Tap it twice or thrice to level the surface. Heat a nonstick wok to the maximum. Bring the flame to medium, transfer the cake mix pan into the wok. Cover with the lid. Close the hole in the lid. After 5 minutes, bring the flame to low. After 20 minutes, sprinkle a tbsp. of fried sesame seeds on the top of the cake mix and cover. After 25-30 minutes, run a tooth pick into the cake to check whether cooked. Total 50-55 minutes needed to bake it in the wok. Allow to cool down. It takes 2 hours. Upside down it on a plate. Cut into your desirable size and shape. Serve with tea or coffee. 

Broken wheat steamed cake

Steamed foods  are my favourite dishes. Steamed food are super healthy. Back in my young age these type dishes are made in earthen woks. Now the cooking becomes easy with nonstick cookwares. Earthen wok is known as ‘ Kalam’ in Malayalam. So this dish is known as ‘kalathappam’ in Malayalam.

Ingredients 

Broken wheat 1 cup,

Water 2/12 cups,

Salt to taste.

Pressure cook these ingredients and keep aside.

Carrot 2, onion 1, ginger 1 inch piece, green chilli 2, all finely chopped.

Baking soda 1/2 tsp.

Preparation 

Mix the veggies into the cooked wheat mix, add baking soda, combine well and transfer into an oil brushed pan. Heat a nonstick wok, put the pan into the wok, cover it, close the hole on the lid of the wok. Leave the wok on low flame for 50-60 minutes.

Allow to cool down. It takes 2 hours. Upside down it on a plate. Cut it into desirable size and shape. Serve it with vegetable stew or kurma or with some pickles. Good for breakfast or dinner. 

Rice starch water white Halwa

Rice porridge is a healthy meal. 

We prefer porridge for babies, aged and sick. Why? It helps in boosting the energy and ease in digestion.

Otherwise we waste the rice starch water.

Cold rice water can be used as shampoo.

It can be diluted and used for spraying in vegetable plants against sucking insects.

It can be turned into tasty snacks too.

In this Covid 19 pandemic season it was my passion to bring out snacks from rice starch water. Made black and yellow Halwa.

Made kesari, upma and appam.

Today the turn is for white Halwa. So simple to prepare. If you serve for your guest, no one will identify the main ingredient in it.

Ingredients 

Rice starch water 4 cups,

Fried Semolina 1 cup,

Sugar 3/4 cup,

Ghee 2 tbsp,

Fried sesame seeds 2 tsp,

Fried cumin seeds 1 tsp,

Salt a pinch.

Preparation 

Sieve the rice starch water to remove any cooked rice in it. I took the rice starch water of red rice. Add all the ingredients except ghee into a nonstick wok, combine well without any lumps. Put the wok on medium flame, stir continuously. It will starts thickening in 5 minutes, add a tablespoon ghee, stir continuously, add another tablespoon ghee at 7 or 8 minute, continue stirring till it thickens well and starts detaching from the sides of the wok. Transfer the mix into a ghee brushed plate or tray. Allow to cool down. It will take about 2 hours. Upside down it on a plate. Cut into your desirable size and shape and serve it as a snack. You can refrigerate it for 3-4 days. 

Fried coconut powder with spices to thicken the curry

Grated coconut 2 cups,

Red chilli dried 12,

Coriander seeds 4 tsp.,

Shallots 4 chopped,

Curry leaf a sprig,

Salt to taste.

Dry fry the ingredients in a nonstick pan to dark brown colour. Care should be taken not to over fry.

Allow to cool down.

Powder it in a mixie bowl.

Store it to use further.

Good for vegetable curries.

Also can be used for fish or chicken if you prefer to have fried coconut powder gravy.

Moringa leaf Pulav

Moringa is a miracle tree.

The leaves, flowers and fruits are great cooking ingredients. The roots, bark and leaves are having medicinal properties. The leaves can be dried and used to prepare tea and also used in cosmetics.

Moringa leaf Pulav

Ingredients 

Rice1 cup, washed and cooked in 21/2 glass of water, 

Moringa leaves cleaned, 2 handfuls,

Onion 1, ginger a small piece, garlic cloves 6, all finely chopped,

Green chilli 4, thinly sliced,

Whole spices

Nutmeg mace a little,

Cloves 3,

Cinnamon 2 piece,

Black pepper corns 2 tsp.,

Salt to taste 

Vegetable oil 1 tbsp.

Preparation 

Heat the oil in a shallow pan, drop in the whole spices, fry it until the aroma spreads out, drop in onion, ginger and garlic, sauté till tender, add salt and green chilli, mix well, add Moringa leaves, mix well and sauté. Add cooked rice, combine well. Dish is ready. Serve hot with pickles and papadum.

Pumpkin flower stir fry with grated coconut

Pumpkin flowers are grouped in super food. It is rich in vitamins and minerals. It is of high quality because of grown in our own homestead garden. It is not a common ingredient to get in hand. Only male flowers are used in cooking. Female flowers are left for fruits.

Our pumpkin plant is producing only male flowers. Three days collection made it to 13. Thoran, any chopped veggies with grated coconut, is a delicacy side dish for lunch with rice. Today thoran is ready in Suma’s kitchen.

Ingredients 

1.Pumpkin flowers, 13, cut the bottom to remove the base petals and stigma. Split open, wash it gently, allow to drain out the excess water and chop it.

2.Shallots 3, garlic cloves 3, green chilli 1, all finely chopped,

3. Grated coconut 2 tbsp., 

4. Turmeric powder a pinch,

5. Cumin powder 1/4 tsp.,

6. Salt to taste,

7. To garnish, coconut oil 2 tsp., mustard seeds 1/4 tsp., red chilli 1, broken , curry leaf 3 petals.

Preparation 

Add the ingredients 4,5 &6 into the coconut, combine well with your hands. Add the chopped pumpkin flowers and mix well.

Heat oil in a pan, drop in mustard seeds, allow to crackle, drop in red chilli followed by curry leaves, allow to sautéed, add the ingredients in 2 , to the garnish mix, add salt, sauté it into tender, add the flower coconut mix, combine well and cook in low flame for 2 minutes. Dish is done. Serve with rice porridge or with hot rice.

Pumpkin flower Dosa with Cilantro chutney

Pumpkin flowers are fresh from the homestead garden. No need to leave it unattended. Only male flowers are used in culinary purposes. Female flowers have the tiny fruit at the base, allow it to grow. Pumpkin flowers are rich in vitamins and minerals. Enhances immunity power.

How to prepare pumpkin flower dosa?

Dosa batter 2 cups,

Pumpkin flowers as you have, 4 or 5, cut the bottom to remove the bottom, base petals and stigma. Wash it gently, cut it into small pieces,

Green chilli 2, cut into thin circles,

Finely chopped ginger 1 tsp.,

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp.,

Salt to taste.

Combine all the ingredients in the batter.

Heat the dosa pan, take a ladleful of batter, pour into the pan and circle it. Drizzle few drops of sesame oil. When cooked flip it to cook the other side. Serve hot with cilantro chutney.

How to prepare cilantro chutney?

Onion 1, garlic cloves 2, ginger a small piece, all chopped and sautéed dry in a nonstick pan.

Chopped Cilantro a handful,

Green chilli 2 or 3,

Salt to taste.

Grind the ingredients in a mixie bowl. 

Nice combination with any dosa.