Bendakaya Iguru - Lady finger Curry Andhra style

 Bendakaya Iguru (Guntur Style)

          Bendakaya iguru is One of my favorite dish. It is not a stir fry. We can eat with rice and rotis. It will be more tastier with Mamidikaya pappu.

Ingredients:

Bendakayalu (Lady fingers) - 500 grams
Onion - 1 big size
Green chilly - 5 to 6
Red chilly - 2 to 3
Garlic cloves - 5 to 6
Curry Leaves
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 to 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

• Soak them into water with 2 tbsp of salt about 10 mins.
• Wash them with fresh water and wipe with a clean cotton cloth.

• After they become dry Cut them into small pieces.
• Take onions and green chillis and cut them.
• Take a wide pan add 2 tbsp oil.
• Add mustard seeds, chana dal and jeera, red chilly and curry leaves.
• Add pieces of garlic cloves also.
• After they popped nicely add onions and green chillis.

• Cook till the onions become soft.
• Add Bendakaya pieces into the vessel.
• Mix well and close the lid about 2 to 3 mins.
• In between just mix with spoon.
• Add Turmeric and Red chilly powder.

• Mix well and lastly add salt.
• Take care when adding salt, because when lady fingers loosing all its moisture they will shrink a lot.
• Its better to add some salt while cooking and add some salt at last of preparation.

• Serve with hot rice or rotis.

Tips:

• When we are buying the lady fingers, make sure they are tender and good.
• For knowing they are tender, bend the tail end of the lady finger and if it breaks easily then they are tender, if they doesn't break they are not tender.
• And when we are cutting those lady fingers if they are getting crunchy sound, they are also not tender, better to avoid them into curry.
• It is better to make curry at the same day or next day when we are buying them.
• Don't cover the lid over while cooking.
• Cover for 2 to 3 mins and remove the lid and fry them and again close the lid about 2 mins and remove the lid and fry them again, so just don't cover the lid continually.
• If we cover more time then the curry will be gooey( gummy).
• Here i just make curry only, if we need fry then we need to take more oil, so for calorie conscious, i am not advising that. 

Mamidikaya Pappu - Mango with Dal Andhra style

Mamidikaya Pappu - Mango with Dal Andhra style

Ingredients:

Toor Dal( kandi pappu) - 1 cup

Raw mango( pachhi mamidikayalu) - 2

Red chilly powder - 2 tbsp

Onion - 1

Green Chilly - 4 to 5

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind  just 1/2 inch Small Piece

For Tampering:

Garlic cloves - 5 to 6

Red Chilly - 2 to 3

Jeera - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves

Salt as per taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Wash the toor dal and cook it for 3 whistles and mash the dal nicely and kept aside.

• Cut the onions,green chilly and mango.

• Peel the skin of mango and make small pieces of mango.

• Add the mango pieces,onions and green chillis and pinch of tamarind also.

• Add red chilly power and turmeric powder and a pinch of salt.

• Close the lid and again cook for about 2 to 3 whistles.
• Take a pan add 2 tbsp oil.
• Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, jeera and chana dal, red chilly and curry leaves.
• After they popped pour it to dal mix vessel.
• And Gently mash the dal mix.

• Serve with hot rice or rotis with ghee.

Potlakaya Paalu Poosina Koora (Snake Gourd Curry with Milk)

Potlakaya Koora (Snake Gourd Curry with Milk)

Ingredients:

Potlakaya - 500 grams

Onion - 1 medium

Green chilly -5 to 6

Curry leaves

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Milk - 1 cup

Red chilly - 2( optional)
Red Mirchi powder - 1 to 2 tbsp ( as per taste)

Salt as taste 

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

• Clean the skin of snake gourd by spoon removing the soft thin layer and wash.

• Cut thin slices and take water with adding 2 spoon salt.

Soak 15 mins.

• After with our hand gently rubbing and pressing the slices.

• Take a wide vessel and add 2 tbsp oil.
• Heat the oil then add mustard seeds, chana dal , red chillis and curry leaves.

• After they popped add onions and green chilli.
• Fry till onion become soft.

• Then add the potla kaya( snake gourd) slices and mix well.

• Cover the the lid and cook it for 10 mins, in between mix the slices with spoon.
• Add turmeric then mix well, then add red chilly powder and salt.

• No need to add more salt because already at beginning we have mixed the slices with salt.
• Cover the lid about 2 mins and take cup of milk.
• Mix well with milk and cook for 2 mins more and switch off.

• Serve hot with rice or rotis. 

Tips:

• For Good taste of this curry lies in Cutting the vegetable, Make thin round slices.
• D'not through the water after pressing, because the water is full of vitamins so we can add this for gravy curries, we can store them into fridge.
• Else we drink the water or we can use into rasam or sambhar.
• Snake gourd is rich of vitamins, so we can use this as healthy drink.

Andhra Chintapandu Pulihora ~ Andhra Tamarind Rice

Andhra Chintapandu Pulihora ~ Andhra Tamarind Rice

          Chintapadu pulihora is one of my dear hubby's favorite rice item.Because of him i prepare this item mostly. My mom always make chintapandu(tamarind) paste for this. With my mom suggestions i made this pulihora.

I will give the recipe for tamarind paste, but i will provide pics for tamarind paste at next post.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp or as per taste 

Chana dal - 2 tbsp

Cashews- 8 to10

Ground nuts - Handful

Urad dal - 2 tbsp

Split Moong dal( pesarappu for talimpu) - 1 tbsp

Mustrud seeds - 2 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Red chillis - 6 to 7

Green chillis - 6 to 7

Curry leaves

Method for Tamarind paste:

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 packet

Salt - 1/2 cup

For popu:

Oil- 3 tbsp

Green chillis- 10 to 12

Curry leaves

• For Bulk tamarind paste here i am giving the recipe. From that we can take the paste and left paste we can keep it in fridge. It will stay for 2 to 3 months.
• Take the tamarind pulp and water, clean the tamarind.
• Take the tamarind pulp in wide vessel and add water, then bring it to boil for at least 15 to 20 mins.
• Pour the mixture into another vessel, we can extract the paste from using holed filter type container by pressing with hand or spoon.
• Then add the salt as required and mix it well, then take the oil in a kadai.
• Heat the oil and add green chillis and curry leaves after a while,then switch off .
• Mix well this mix and allow to cool completely.
• Store in a large container and keep it into the fridge.

Method for Pulihora:

• Wash the rice and take into pressure cooker or rice cooker or kadai.
• Add 2 to 2 1/2 cup water and allow to cook,if we cook through cooker then cook them for 3 whistle.
• Take the rice into wide vessel and take 2 to 3 tbsp tamarind paste. 
• Mix well by using spoon.
• Then add turmeric powder and mix well.
• Take a pan and heat oil for frying cashews and ground nuts, then kept aside.
• In the same pan take sufficient oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal , moong dal and chana dal and curry leaves.
• After a while add green chillis fry some time and then add red chillis, wait till all roasted nicely and get nice aroma.
• Pour this popu into rice mix well and nicely.
• At last add fried cashews and ground nuts.
• Serve it hot or cool.

Tips:

• We have to boil the rice till soft but not sticky.
• Don't mix rice roughly, otherwise the texture will spoil.
• Mix nicely and gently.
• With Egg fry or Omlet pulihora combination will get more tastier.
• Compare to hotty serve, complete cool pulihora gets more taste. 

Healthy Banana Biscuit Milk Shake ~ Equivalent Chakkerakeli Banana Milkshake

Healthy Banana Biscuit Milk Shake ~ Equivalent Chakkerakeli Banana Milkshake

 One of my favorite milkshake .. Actually at my college days i love to drink chakkerakeli banana milkshake.

With horlicks it will be very tasty. But here Bangalore rarely i am getting chakkerakeli banana. So i tried to this biscuit milk shake and gives as equal taste of chakkerakeli milkshake.

Ingredients:

Banana: 1 ripe

Biscuits: 3 to 4

Milk: 1 cup 

Water: 1/2 cup or Ice cubes

Sugar: 1 tbsp or Honey: 1 tbsp

Almonds: 4 to 5

Cashews: 4 to 5

Horlicks: 1 tsp(optional)

Method:

• Take one ripe banana and biscuits in a blender.

• Add milk, water and honey and almonds.

• Blend until very smooth.
• If we want ice cubes then add cubes and blend it a few seconds.(optional)
• Pour the milkshake into glasses, garnish with finely chopped cashews and horlicks(optional).

• Serve chilled milkshake.

Chama Dumpala Pulusu ~ Taro Root Gravy Curry(Arbi)

Guntur Chama Dumpala Pulusu ~ Taro Root Gravy Curry(Arbi)

Ingredients:

Chamadumpalu: 250 grams

Onions: 2 (medium size)

Green chillies: 6

Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp

Tamarind: 1 lemon size

Red chilly powder: 1 to 2 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Pinch of sugar

For Tadka(Popu or Thiragamotha):

        Chana dal: ½ tbsp

         Mustrad seeds: ½ tsp

        Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

        Curry leaves

        Oil: 1 tbsp

Preparation Method:

• Wash taro root (chamadumpalu) and boil, later peel the skin.

• Cut into small pieces and kept aside.
• Take lemon size onion with water and squeeze the pulp.
• Cut onions lengthy wise and cut green chillies also and kept aside.

• Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a wide vessel.
• Add mustard seeds, chana dal,jeera and curry leaves and wait for splutter.

• Add onions and green chillies fry till onions get transparent.

• Add sliced chamadumpalu and fry for a while add turmeric powder.

• Pour 2glass tamarind water into vessel.
• Boil for 2mins them and add red chilly powder as per spicy we need (maxim 1 to 2 tbsp).

• Add salt as per taste and boil with close lid.

• Mix a ½ tsp sugar and mix a while and switch off the flame.

•  Serve with hot rice or rotis.

Benefits of Sago(Saggubiyyam)

Benefits of Sago(Saggubiyyam)

           At India Mainly south India, sago is used in Kheer(payasam), in gruel or soup or jaava, as upma, vada and Vadiayams(Sun Dried Papads). 

          In gruel form, it's a good alternative to carbonated drinks as it gives energy without the added chemicals and artificial sweeteners, and its 
natural cooing effect . 
           Sago is full of starch or carbohydrates and is great for a quick boost of energy, and regularly served in India for breaking fasts during religious festivals. 

           Sago gruel is also great when you're sick because it will gives you quick energy and is easy to digest. 

           Sago and rice have a cooling effect on the system, mainly sago gruel is given if you have excess bile (because of excess body heat).
          Sago is extremely low in fat but also low in protein. It is just starch, other than the carbohydrates, nutrition wise - sago does not contain any minerals or vitamins and has very low amounts of calcium, iron, and fiber. 

          By adding Milk and jaggery will make sabudana kheer/payasam/gruel or vegetables and peanuts for making sabudana khichdi.
         Sago powder can be used as a thickening agent in gravy dishes, and sago or tapioca flour can be used to make flat-breads. 

Saggubiyyam Senagapappu Payasam ~ Sago Chana Dhal Kheer

Saggubiyyam Senagapappu Payasam ~ Sago Chana Dhal Kheer

  Saggubiyyam ( Sago) Payasam Widely used at Southindian payasam. Saggubiyyam(sago) is used in soups(java) and payasam dishes.

Ingredients:

Sago: 1 cup

Senagapappu(chana dhal): 1/2cup

Bellam (jaggery grated): 1 cup

Milk: 2cups

Water: 2 cups

Cardamom powder: ½ tsp

Cashews: 6-8

Chopped Badam: 3

A few Raisins

Ghee: 1tsp

Method:

• Wash and Soak 2 hrs sago and chana dhal.

• Take ghee 1 tsp in a pan and fry dry fry cashews and raisins.

• Take a heavy bottom vessel, add water with jaggery and let it cook for 5 mins.

• Add sago and chana dhal and let it in simmer and stirring once in a while for 10mins till sago looks soft.
• Add milk and let it in simmer for 10 mins and stir once.
• Add cardamom powder and fried cashews, raisins and chopped badam.

• Stir it and let it cool. We can serve it hot or cool.