Jiffy cooking & Planning of Menus for all occasions at home.

Gol Papdi - Just under 10 mts

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Ghee - 8 tbsp

Powdered jaggery - 2/3 cup

Cardamom powder - ½ tsp

Keep a greased tray & powdered jaggery mixed with cardm powder ready.

Mix wheat flour & ghee.

Fry in a kadai on low heat.

When the colour becomes light brown, remove, quickly add powdered jaggery mixed with cardm powder & mix well.

Immediately transfer to a greased plate & cut when cool.

For the same recipe in M W please go to
Modern Microwave Cooking

Banana-Bread Balls - an interesting taste, quick to make !

You can use milk bread, wheat bread or whole wheat flour bread.
Chop the bread into fine cubes.
Chop the bananas also into fine cubes – do not grate or mash.

Bread cubes - 1 cup

Banana cubes - 1 cup

Besan - 1 tbsp

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 3,4 ( or to taste: chop fine)

Salt - a pinch

Sugar - 2 tsp

Oil - to deep fry

Put the bread cubes in the mixie &make crumbs.

Knead together all ingredients to a dough, without adding water.

Heat oil to medium.

Roll into small balls & fry on a low fire to prevent the colour turning dark brown.

Oats – Atta Oothappam - jiffy + health combine !

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Oats - ¼ cup

Powdered sugar - 4-5 tsp

Milk - ½ cup

A pinch each of cardamom & Cinnamon powders

A pinch of salt

Oil - 1tsp

Eno’s fruit salt - ½ tsp

Low fat butter - to cook

Combine all ingredients, except fruit salt, adding enough water to a smooth batter, blending very well.

Add fruit salt just when you start making oothappams, mixing well.

On a non-stick tava, make small oothappams, using butter for a good taste.

Serve with honey or jam.

Cabbage Stir–Fry - cruncy with dhal, all the way !

The only point to remember is to soak moong dhal fot atleast 30 mts – 1 hour.
It can be blanched as given below. The alternate method is to soak for 2 hrs, when it can be strained & added directly in the stir fry. It is crunchty & very tasty.
Cabbage must be shredded thin.
Cook on a high flame definitely.

Shredded cabbage - 1 1/2 cups

Moong dhal - 2 tbsp ( less by choice)

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp

Salt

To temper:

Oil - 2 tsp

Jeera - ½ tsp

Green chillies - 2, slit lengthwise

Soak moong dhal 30 mts & drain well.

Boil 1 cup of water & add dhal.

Allow to boil for just 3 mts & immediately strain.

Heat oil in a kadai & temper.

Keeping the flame high, add strained dhal, cabbage & salt.

Cook for 3 mts on a high flame, stirring continuously.

Switch off; add coconut & coriander.

Serve hot.

Jain Channa-Palak Stirfry - Make in 5 mts with preboiled channa

If you keep cooked channa ready, this can be made in a jiffy.
Boiled channa - 1 cup

Finely chopped palak - 2 cups

Tomatoes - 2, chopped

Green chillies - 3, 4, slit into 2

1” ginger - cut into thin juliennes

Ajwain (omum) - a pinch ( optional)

Channa or chole masala - 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt

Heat oil & temper omum.

Fry green chillies, ginger & cpalak.

Stir fry on highflame for 3,4 mts.

Quickly add all other ingredients & again stir fry for 3 mts.

Serve immediately.

Cheese Toast - one of many recipes, but no butter !!

You can use any bread for this, like whole wheat bread, ragi bread, 7 grain bread etc.
I used Cheddar cheese.

Bread slices - 4

Mix to a thick paste:

Cornflour - 2 tbsp

Grated cheese - 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder - to taste

Mustard powder - ½ tsp

Salt - very little

Milk - just sufficient to hold all the above (excep bread) to a thick spreading consistency.

Toast the slices till light brown.

Spread the chees mix on them & grill till the top sizzles.

Simple Kuzambu - we also call it "Easy kuzambu" !

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Onions - 3 – chop fine

Tomatoes - 3 – chop fine

Potatoes - 3 ( peel, cut into ½” cubes, steam)

Drumstick - 2 – cut 2 “ long ( steam)

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

Haldi, salt

To temper:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - ½ tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Saunf - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

Heat oil & temper all given ingredients one by one.

Then add chopped onions & fry till colour changes.

Add chopped tomatoes & fry till it becomes pulpy.

Now add water, tamarind paste, all masala powders & steamed vegetables.

When everything boils together, remove & add coriander leaves.

Goes with rice as well as tiffins.

Aval Kesari - as well as Aval Sakkare Pongal.

We call this aval sakkare pongal if jaggery is used & aval kesari, if sugar is used.

Aval sakkare pongal recipe was given to me by my Bangalore friend – hence “ sakkare pongal” !

It is better to use medium or thick aval.

Poha (aval) - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup ( or sugar – 1 cup)

Ghee - ½ cup

Cashews chopped - 1 tbsp

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Cardamom Powder - ½ tsp

Saffron - a pinch ( warm & powder)

Soak poha in milk.

Boil jaggery with 1 cup of water till it dissolves & strain.

Boil again till it becomes a light syrup.

If you are using sugar, do the same way.

Pour in it, soaked poha with milk.

Add ghee & cook till the mass leaves the sides of the vessel.

Add spices & cashews & raisins fried in little ghee.

Remove & serve hot.


This is a quick & easy sweet.

Exotic Vegetable Toast - a real treat !

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Brown bread slices - 4

Pizza cheese - 5-6 tbsp, finely grated

Small potatoes - 2, boiled & sliced

Tomatoes - 2, sliced

Butter - 2,3 tsp

Salt, pepper

Heat butter in a pan & lightly brown the potato slices on both sides.

Butter the bread slices lightly.

On each place 2 each of potato & tomato slices.

Cover with grated cheese completely.

Grill till cheese melts & bread turns a little crisp.

Oats Oothappam & Cutlet - Delicious, quick & easy !

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The proportion is the same for oothappam & cutlet.

For oothappam, vegetables need not be added (optional) & the dough can be loose as for oothappams. Make small oothappama like carrot oothappam.

Oats - ½ cup

Bread crumbs - ¼ cup

Fried gram powdered - ¼ cup (pottukadalai mavu)

Chopped onions - ¼ cup (optional)

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Salt

Frozen boiled vegetables - ½ cup

Oil - to make

Mix all ingredients to a cutlet-like dough, adding very little water if necessary.

Shallow fry cutlets on a tava.

I am posting the photo of oats oothappam as well as cutlet.