Wheat Rava Upma

When I am bored of having the usual idli or dosa for breakfast, I turn to upma for a change.It is so easy to prepare and in granny's words this is South-Indian fast food!

You need:
Wheat Rava - 1 cup
Vegetables - peas,carrot,potato,cabbage[purple/green] - finely chopped and parboiled

Onion - 2 chopped
Tomato - 1,chopped
Ginger - a small pice ,finely chopped
Green chillies - 3,chopped/slit
Curry leaves - a few
Salt - to taste
Oil- 2 tablespoons
Cashew/roasted groundnuts

Water - 2 cups

Seasoning:
Mustard-1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Gram dhal -1 teaspoons

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Fry cashews and keep aside.
3. Add seasoning to the same oil and when it turns brown add ginger, green chillies,curry leaves ,onion and fry till onions turn brown.
4. Stir in tomatoes and add water,salt.The water:rava ratio changes with the brand.I use 2 cups water for 1 cup rava.
5. When it boils add the veggies and wheat rawa and keep stirring.
6. When it is cooked and the water is all absorbed remove from heat.
7. If you like a tangy upma ,add the juice of half a lime after removing it from heat.
8. Serve hot with sambar / coconut chutney.

Bon Appetit...

Coconut Chutney

You need:

Grated coconut - 1/2 a cup
Roasted Bengal gram-1/4 a cup
Green Chillies - 3 [adjust to taste]
Tamarind - a small piece [optional]
Salt - to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal- 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - a few
Oil - 1 tablespoons


1.Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste.
2.Heat oil and add the seasoning and wait till it the dhals turn brown.
3.Pour over the ground paste,mix and serve.

Goes well with iddli,dosa,upma.

Poondu Kuzhambu [Garlic Gravy]

You need:
Garlic – ½ cup ,chopped
Shallots /pearl onions– 1 cup ,chopped
Tamarind extract – 1 ½ cups [thick]
Salt -to taste
Chilli powder – 1tsp
Turmeric powder -a pinch
Gingelly /sesame seed oil – ½ cup
For seasoning
Mustard – 1 teaspoon
Asafetida – a pinch
Red chillies – 2
Curry leaves

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the seasonings – mustard, asafetida, red chillies and curry leaves.
2. Fry for a few minutes till mustard splutters.
3. Add chopped garlic and onions and sauté.
4. When they turns brown add the tamarind extract,salt and turmeric powder,chilli powder
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Stir once in a while and remove from heat when it turns thick.

This can be used with Plain rice,curd rice,idli,chapathi.

I had prepared a little extra and stored it in the refrigerator and I found that it tasted even better on the second day.There was a drumstick looking forlorn so I added that to the kuzhambu as well.After sautéing the garlic and onion add the boiled drumstick [cut into 2” pieces] and continue the remaining steps. Tomato can also be added instead /along with drumstick.

Garlic Rice

During my post-natal stay in the hospital,a small bowl of rice was served along with the regular lunch.I tasted it hesitantly and found that it was good and it was garlic rice.That was the first time I ever tasted this dish.I liked it straight away and since then I have made it a point to include this once a week in my lunch.Its very simple to prepare and tasty too.

You need:

Cooked Rice - 1 cup [Grains should be seperate]
Garlic- 10 cloves chopped
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - a few
Ghee - 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste

1. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the jeera.

2. When it splutters add curry leaves and red chillies.

3. Saute for a few seconds and add the chopped garlic.

4. Lower the heat and saute till the garlic is soft.

5.Add the cooked rice , salt, mix well and serve hot.

Spice Or Medicine

Da suan,ajo,agliottli,ail,poor man’s treacle…..

Wondering what these are? They are nothing but the names of GARLIC in Chinese,Spanish,Italian. ...

Did you know that garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian atheletes and thought to be essential for keeping vampires at bay! ?

Garlic is used as a seasoning or a condiment. It has been used as food and medicine for more than thousands of years. Apart from the culinary use, its medicinal properties are innumerable. It contains allin, enzymes, vitamin B, minerals, and flavonoids.

Garlic has long been considered a herbal "wonder drug", with a reputation for preventing everything from the common cold to the Plague.



So, is garlic a spice or a medicine?

It was used to protect against plague by monks in the Middle Ages. Hippocrates used garlic vapors to treat cervical cancer. Garlic poultices were placed on wounds during World War II as an inexpensive and apparently quite effective replacement for antibiotics which were scarce during wartime.


Now science is beginning to prove the medicinal properties of garlic that our ancestors took for granted.Extensive tests on humans have concluded that a regular intake of garlic can:
* Lower total cholesterol (but raise the good-type HDL cholesterol)
* Produce more "natural killer" cells in the blood that will tackle infections and tumours
* Lower blood pressure
* Reduce the risk of blood clots (that are responsible for most heart attacks and strokes)
* Destroy infection causing viruses and bacteria
* Reduce the risk of certain cancers, in particular, stomach cancers

DARK SIDE

The only real danger of toxicity from garlic would come from long-term consumption of several bulbs or more of raw garlc.The most common side effects are
• Stomach irritation
• Nausea
• Skin irritation

The following effects can be experienced with a high enough dose and a long enough application:
• Diarrhea
• Flatulence
• Flushed face
• Gastric irritation
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Hot skin
• Increased sexual desire
• Insomnia
• Nausea
• Rapid pulse
• Vomiting
• Skin blisters and irritation on external application

GARLICKY BREATH…..WHY AND WHAT TO DO?

Did you know that the royal chef in the French court of King Louis XIV used to chew up a clove of garlic and breathe over the salad?[Yuck].This would give the garlic flavor to the salad without subjecting the king to the embarrassment of garlic on his breath.

The sulfur –containing compounds are responsible for the garlic’s odor, whether from a cut garlic or on the breath. But these compounds are full of medicinal properties that are at work protecting the body from various infections, heart diseases, cancer and toxins.

Tips for dealing with garlic breath:
Brush your teeth after the meal
Try a swig of Chinese tea after garlicky meal
Take it cooked instead of raw
Cover it up!!Use a mouthwash or chew parsley,mint leaves, cumin or cardamom

LIGHTER SIDE
'An apple a day keeps the doctor away;
A garlic a day keeps everyone away'

'Did you hear about the dog which ate garlic?
His bark was worse than his bite!!'. .....