Ask here - The recipes you want from ChitVish

Dear Prabha,
Now Lion (of dates fame) have brought out seedless tamarind. Buy it - it is easy.
Add enough water to just immerse it & pressurise for 1-2 whisles with haldi & little salt.
Leave for 2-3 hrs. Just use the handblender to mash it & directly store it. When using, the thin shreds can be removed.
I use this method & the strain is less.
Love,
Chithra.

Hi chitra,

thanks a ton. I have bought seedless tamarind only . It is there in the pressure cooker now. I will try with hand blender today.

once the paste is ready making sambar, rasam everything is so easy.

prabha

Dear Chithra ma'am.

I have two queries..

1.In Peshawari chole,why do we add tea bags..?

2.What are the basic vessels/appliances to buy to start baking?- we have a inbuild conventional oven at home..

Thank you in advance...

Dear Supriya,
1 - teabags are added to give a nice dark colour to the chole.
2 - basic things needed for baking:
a mixing bowl
Hand mixer with 2 whisking blades & 2 spiral blades for dough kneading
weighing machine
A round cake pan 7-8" diameter & 2-3" high
a rectangular or square tin
2 trays to bake biscuits etc.
muffin tins or muffin tray
a set of measuring cups & spoons
Sieve for flour
wiremesh to cool the cake

Love,
Chithra.

Originally Posted by SupriyaDinesh

Dear Chithra ma'am.

I have two queries..

1.In Peshawari chole,why do we add tea bags..?

2.What are the basic vessels/appliances to buy to start baking?- we have a inbuild conventional oven at home..

Thank you in advance...

Chitra ji, just read your post in the infants section and then found my way here. Can you please share how to make a mixed vegetable kootu? Thanks a lot.

Raj

Dear Raj,
Are you asking for
a recipe for kids or for elders
A NI or SI recipe?
Please give details.
Love,
Chithra.

Originally Posted by riyasmommy

Chitra ji, just read your post in the infants section and then found my way here. Can you please share how to make a mixed vegetable kootu? Thanks a lot.

Raj

A SI recipe for adults.

Raj

Dear Raj,
Please go to
Tips on Kootus
Kootus with & without Tamarind

Please go through my recipe index, particularly the shakambari index. - I have given many kootus.
Love,
Chithra.

Hi Chitvish,
I tried the way of making tamarind paste and using it for the day to day sambhar and rasams. I have no words to express my thanks to you for making my job so easy. Now making those dishes is such a pleasure. All you jiffy cooking tips have been so beneficial to me! Thanks a ton!

I have 2 more queries:
1. Whenever I buy green chillies, i don't end up using them so much and they get wasted. When I don't have green chilies at home, I badly want them in some dishes. Can you tell me how to make "Green Chilli Paste" at home and store it? Can it be preserved, say for a a few weeks?

2. Seeing some of your posts, I see that you use the hand blender a lot. I intend buying one. Can you let me know how I can use it for different tasks?

Thanks,
SN

Dear SN,
I fully agree with you on how tamarind paste is handy to us.
Trim green chillies, spread on a plate & dry them in shade - I usually keep the plate on the voltage stabiliser! When it is completely dry, powder & keep.But avoid buying more than 100 gms of green chillies at a time.Besides, th variety that we get now in Chennai, is extremely hot!
Hand blender & hand mixer are different.
Hand blender comes with a blender & mincer & some with a whisker also.The blender churns tomatoes, keerais, lassis, small amounts of soups, blends solids & liquids(I do this when making halwas or mixing 2,3 ingredients for sweets without lump).But cannot knead a dough on its own.
Mincer - minces green chillies, ginger, onions, cabbage, gobi, nuts - chops very fine.
Whisker for lassis, omelettes etc.
Handmixer has 2 sets of 2 blades each - whisking & kneading.
The former is for cake making.
The latter is for dough kneading for chappathi, puri, naan, bakshanams etc.
Love,
Chithra.