Trifle Pudding

This was my first attempt at Trifle Pudding. Looked & tasted yummy. I remember it from Dibba times. Amma's a fantastic cook. She used to invite 2 dozen people and cook all day and churn out these unbelievably tasty dishes. Trifle was one of them. We had a potluck today and I'd decide to give this fav dessert of mine a shot. Its fairly simple and cannot really go wrong. Holiday season = 5 extra pounds already. I better hit the gym before I gain back all those fat cells I'd struggled to lose.

Here you go:

Ingredients:

Sponge/Pound Cake - 1

Whipped mixed fruit jam - 4 tbsp

Sugar Syrup/Orange Squash - 2 Tbsp

Bananas - 3

Apples - 2

Seedless Grapes - 100 gms

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp

Fresh Cream - 250 gms

Powdered Sugar - 3 tbsp

For Custard:

Milk - 1/2 Cups

Vanilla Custard Powder - 1 Sachet

Sugar - 1 Tbsp

For Jelly:

Cherry or Strawberry flavored

Jelly Packet - 1

Water - 1 1/2 Cups

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Take a glass dish of 3 inches deep.

2. Cut cake in to thin slices and arrange a thin layer inside the dish.

3. Sprinkle little syrup or squash or milk to moisten the cake.

4. Apply jam evenly on top of the cake.

5. Cut apples and bananas in to thin slices, apply little lemon juice to prevent discoloring and arrange half of the pieces on top of the jam layer.

6. Mix custard with half a cup of cold milk.

7. Heat rest of the milk with sugar till dissolved.

8. When it starts boiling, pour dissolved custard and keep stirring in medium flame till thick custard is formed. Remove from fire.

9. Keep stirring to prevent skin formation.

10. Pour half of that on top of the fruit layer.

11. Repeat the layers once again on top, first cake, jam, fruits and then custard.

12. Keep it in the fridge to set.

13. Decorate with grapes, whipped cream using piping bag.

Variations:

• tinned fruits (drained) instead of the fresh fruits.
• Used the syrup from the tinned fruits to soak the cake instead of orange squash/milk.
• Used Vanilla Pudding Pie/Filling instead of the custard
• Set the Jelly separately and cut it into diamonds and used it at the top of the layers (Remember: Jelly takes about 4 hours to set)
• Used cherries to decorate the pudding after spraying dollops of whipped cream over the jelly. I did this at the end just before serving.

Jalapeno corn soup

On a rainy friday, wanted to have some soup. Was staring at my fridge for a while and came up with this concoction and this turned out to be good.

Ingredients:

Frozen corn - 1.5 cups
Vegetable stock - 2 cups
Fresh Jalapenos - 2 (You may also substitute with green chillies , I guess!)
Tomato - 1

Optional:
Chilli sauce
Soy sauce
Bread fried in olive oil

Method:
1. Microwave corn for a couple of minutes
2. In a blender add frozen corn, tomato and chopped jalapenos and blend well. The husk of corn stays little bit, you may either filter it or leave it like that for fiber :-).
3. Microwave the blended mixture for 5 mts
4. Add the vegetable stock and microwave for another 5 mts, stirring inbetween
5. Add one spoon of chilli sauce , soy sauce and salt and stir well

Garnish with bread fried in olive oil and finely chopped jalapenos. If you like it a little tangy you may also add a little bit of lime juice. Enjoy steaming hot soup with freshly ground pepper !!.

Ulundu Paruppu Sadham

I got this recipe from my best buddy Deepthi's, mother. When we were in hostel during our undergrad, her mom used to prepare this and bring it whenever she comes to visit Deepthi. The entire wing would crowd in our room. We all used to savor this dish and scrape the container till the last bit.

Ingredients
Sadham :
1 cup rice
1/3 urad dhal (black whole)
salt + little grated coconut
little bit of vendayam

Chutney:
red chilli - 2
coriander seeds- 2 tbsp
Tamrind,
grated coconut

Method:
1. Wash rice and black whole urad well. Add enough quantity of water. And some grated coconut, vendayam and pressure cook the same.
2. When it is cooked add salt and mix well
3. For chutney, dry roast red chilli, corriander seeds. Add coconut and a little bit of tamarind paste, salt and grind together.

Her mom used to tell us that the dish is to be eaten by mixing the chutney well with the rice and not by having the chutney as a side dish. ( Nalla pesanju sapdanum, chutney chumma thottu sapda koodadu !).

Orange peel gothsu

Ingredients:

1. Orange peel (- from 1 small orange , fleshier the better) or Narthangai salted and dried
2. Tamarind paste
3. Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Rice 1 tbsp
Seasoning:
Mustard seeds, curry leaves, Gingely oil (preferable not must)

Method:
I will start the recipe with orange peel as it is readily available

1. Collect those orange peels and wash them well
2. cut the orange peel into small 1cm square
3. Put puli paste + 1 cup of water . Add the orange peel and boil everything together well. Add salt and chilli powder . If you are making this with salted narthangai , do not add salt.
4. Dry roast rice and sesame seeds, add 1 red chilli and grind it into a coarse powder
5. Add this to the boiling mixture and keep it in a low flame till everything comes together
6. Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves

This tastes yummy with idli, dosa, ven pongal etc. You may also mix it with rice and eat. This recipe is spicy and has a nice tangy,sour and bitter taste combined together.

Channa

Ingredients

1 can chick peas [ Which is already cooked and salted]
1 large tomato
2 large onions
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped coriander
1 tsp. ginger grated
1 tsp. garlic crushed
1 tsp lemon essence
2 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. ghee
4 green chillies slit
1 tsp. cumin seeds


Dry masalas
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. channa masala
salt to taste

Method
Chop the tomatoes and onions fine.Heat oil in a large skillet.Add cumin seeds to splutter.Add ginger-garlic and fry for a minute.Add chopped tomatoes, onion and little bit of salt.Fry till tender.Add all dry masala except cinnamon-clove powder.Stir and fry till oil separates. Empty the contents of the can which has the salted chick peas to the skillet.Stir and bring to boil.Move this to a serving dish.


Heat ghee in a small sauce pan.Add the chillies and cinnamon-clove powder.Add chopped coriander and pour this hot over the serving dish.Pour lemon essence over channa.Stir in seasoning gently.


Serve it with chappathi or even tortilla


Making time :- 15 mins

Semiya upma with a dash of mint

Ingredients

Vermicelli - 1cup
onion - 1 large
carrot - 1 grated
peas - 1 cup
tomatoes - 1 large
pudhina chutney - 2 tbsp
red chilli - 2 (the dish tastes good spicy)
Ghee 2 tbsp

You may also add green peppers, beans and other veggies of ur choice.

Method:
In a tawa dry fry semiya till light golden brown and keep it aside.
Add a little bit of oil, add mustard when it splutters add chennah dhal, urad dhal, red chillies (2).
add the onions and fry till golden brown. add tomatoes and when they are cooked add the other vegetables and salt. The veggies should be crunchy. add 2 cups of water and boil it well (water quantity is based on the vermicilli that you buy). Add the roasted vermicilli and cook for two minutes. When the veggies and vermicilli are mixed well, add 2 spoons of pudhina paste and mix again. Tasty veggie semiya upma is ready to eat !!!.

Kadai Vegetables

Ingredients:

3/4 packet mized veggies (around 0.75 pounds) (microwave to remove ice)
2 onions (medium)
2 tomatoes
Red chillies (1)
green chilli (1)
capsicum (1) (chopped medium size)- microwave for 45 sec
jeera
garammasala
corriander
ginger -garlic paste (or use fresh and grind)

1. grind corriander, red chilli and jeera (w/o water) into coarse powder
2. grind ginger garlic paste and green chilli together
3. heat oil, put powder from step 1, put onions and fry till golden brown
4. put paste from step 2 and fry for a minute, then add the mixed veggie and cook till all masala coats. add turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder (if you want more karam)
5. add cut tomatoes, add water (use water to clean mixie in step 1 &2 into this), cook till tomatoes are cooked well and coat with the mixed veggie6. add capsicum + lill bit of garam masala and keep till everything comes together.7. garnish with freshly chopped corriander leaves and eat.
Prep time is just 15mts !!!!.