Tuesday, May 17, 2016

CANNED SWEET CHERRY RAGI/FINGER MILLET CAKE

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Melted butter - 50 grams
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Ragi / finger millet flour - 1/2 cup
Canned sweet cherries - about 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Beat eggs separately.


When done add melted butter and sugar to the beaten egg and beat until creamy.


Now sieve both flours with baking powdeR. Add to the egg mixture and  mix well.
Pour to a baking tray about only 1 cm height.


Now arrange the cherries over the batter.


Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 - 15 minutes.


Allow to cool. Sweet and juicy cake is ready to serve.

Monday, May 16, 2016

THINAI / FOXTAIL MILLET APPAM

Ingredients:
Thinai - 1 cup
Coconut milk - to grind thinai
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Dry yeast - 1 tsp


Preparation:
Soak thinai / foxtail millet in just enough water for an hour.
Now drain water and grind the millet with coconut milk in mixer grinder.
Mix in sugar, salt and dry yeast. The batter must be a little thin than dosa batter.



Allow to ferment for about 5 - 6 hours.


Now prepare appam in appam pan. Appam pan is like a wok but shallower than wok. Pour the batter to the pan so that the appam must be thin at the sides and thick at the center.


Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for about two minutes. Serve hot with any gravy.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

MULTI GRAINS SANDWICH BREAD

Ingredients:

Non bleached all purpose flour - 3 cups
Dark whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Finger millet/ragi flour - 1 cup
Pearl millet/ kambu / bajri flour - 1/2 cup
Great millet/ white cholam / jowar flour - 1/2 cup
Butter - 40 grams
Active dry yeast - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water (luke warm) - 1 cup
Milk - 1 to 1 1/2 cups


Preparation:

Take all the flour together in a big vessel.


Melt butter and set aside.
Mix sugar yeast in luke warm water and allow it to prove.


Add salt to the flour mixture and mix well.
When yeast mixture is raised, add butter and yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix well. Add milk little by little and knead to a non sticky dough. The consistency is similar to chapathi dough.


Now make a ball and allow the dough to raise by covering with a damp cloth.
After about 1 hour the dough will be doubled.


Now knead again and roll to the size of bread loaf pan. My pan is a bigger one so I prepared one loaf. But if you are using a smaller one then two pans needed.


Now again cover with damp cloth and allow to raise.


In the mean time pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius for half an hour. When the dough is doubled bake for about half an hour. To check whether the bread is done, just tap the bottom of the pan. If it sounds hallow then the bread is ready. This is a perfect sandwich bread suitable for any toast, sandwich or simply with butter.



SPINACH SAMBHAR

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 small or 1/2 big bundle
Yellow lentils or thuvaram paruppu - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 pinch
Fenugreek seeds - few
Cumin seeds - 1 pinch
Garlic - 1 tsp finely chopped
Small onion - 1 tbsp finely chopped
Tomato - 1 small
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Dry roasted coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafetida powder - a little
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

Cook lentils separately. Finely chop spinach and set aside. Heat ghee in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add fenugreek, garlic, cumin, onion and tomato one by one.


When tomato is mashed add spinach, lower flame and allow to cook by closing with a lid.


After cooked add lentils with necessary water and all the other ingredients. Set heat to high now.


Mix well, when it comes to boil lower heat to medium and allow to cook well. When done add coriander leaves and serve with rice, idly or dosa.