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Showing posts with label Microwave Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microwave Cooking. Show all posts

Friday, March 14, 2008

Kaipakka / Pavakka Kondattam - Bitter Gourd Crisps

Kondattam's are dried vegetables, marinated in spices, sun dried and then fried in oil. When you have limitations to sun dry, then other methods come in use. Microwaving the marinated bitter gourd is a easy and fast way to make these kondattam's.

Ingredients

1 medium size - Bitter gourd
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
2 to 3 tbsp - Yogurt / thick curds
A pinch of - Hing
Oil and salt to taste

Method

1 ) Cut bitter gourd to thin round rings.

2 ) Mix red chili powder, turmeric powder, hing, yogurt, little oil and salt in moderation. Apply this paste on each bitter gourd ring. Marinate for 1/2 hour.

3 ) Grease a microwave safe plate. Arrange bitter gourd on the plate in a single layer. You will need to microwave for 10 to 11 minutes. Don't cook for 10 minutes at one go. Cook for 2 minutes, stop, stir the rings and repeat for 2 minutes till the cooking time is total of 10 minutes. Then cook for 1 minute more, give a resting time for 2-3 minutes and then check if you need to make it more crisp. If you do, just microwave for 50 seconds more.

Great with rice, curds and pappad.
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"Vegetable of the week" ( VoW ) is an event hosted by Pooja of "creative Pooja" . "Vegetable of the week" is a monthly event now and she has chosen "Bitter Gourd/Karela" as her vegetable for this month. Bitter gourd crisps is my contribution to this event.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Cilantro Chutney and Microwave Cooking

Microwave has become a part and parcel of modern kitchen. My initial use of a microwave was mainly for reheating food like many of us. Slowly i started doing some basic cooking in the microwave, which helped speed up cooking. Here is a chutney that is cooked in a microwave and then ground to a smooth paste in a blender.

Ingredients

1 small bunch - Coriander / Cilantro leaves, chopped
1 or 2 - Serrano pepper, chopped
1 medium size - Shallot, chopped
2'' inch piece - Tamarind, seedless
1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin seeds
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) In a microwave safe bowl, add little oil and mix with chopped chili. Cook for one minute. Always keep checking in between cooking. Chili has to be fried. Add the fried chili into a blender.

2 ) In the same bowl now add coriander leaves with little oil and cook for one minute. Stir and again cook for one minute. Coriander leaves have to be cooked. If not cook for 30 seconds more.Add the cooked coriander leaves to the blender.

3 ) Now add chopped shallot into the same bowl and cook for one minute. Transfer from the bowl into the blender.

4 ) Then add tamarind and little water and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer into the blender.

5 ) Now grind all the cooked ingredients in a blender along with jeera and salt to taste to a smooth paste with little water.

Serve this chutney with samosa, vada or idli.

Note - Instead of cooking in the microwave, you can fry all the ingredients one by one in a pan on the stove top and grind to a smooth paste too.

Variation


  • Add little jaggery to get a sweet & sour tasting chutney
  • Instead of onion, add 2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds to make this chutney. Do not add jaggery when using sesame seeds.

Microwave easy cooking event is been organised and hosted by Srivalli of 'Cooking 4 all seasons'. Here is one or two basic cooking, i do in the microwave.

My morning's start with a cup of tea made in the microwave.

To make a cup of tea in the microwave - In a coffee mug, add half cup of water and add 2 tetley tea bags. Cook for 2 minutes. Tea will be boiling, if not cook for 30 seconds more. Then add milk and again cook for one minute. Now take out the tea bags, add sugar and enjoy the tea.

Cook pappad in the microwave - For one pappad - Place pappad on a paper napkin in the microwave and cook for 40 seconds.

Cook thayir milagu ( curd chillies ) - For one curd chili, it took one minute to cook and be firm. The chilies were big, so for a small one it will take less time.

Boil milk in the microwave - In a big microwave safe bowl, add 5 cups of milk and cook for 10 minutes. Cook till milk boils and raises up. A thin layer forms once the milk cools and that indicates the milk has boiled well. For one cup of milk cook for 2 minutes.

To make yogurt - Once the milk has cooled down a bit and is lukewarm, add 2 tbsps of yogurt /curds and set it in a warm place for the curds to set. Use whole milk for a rich yogurt or 2 % milk to get good thick yogurt.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Peanut Masala

Snack on some crunchy masala peanuts and enjoy this savoury snack. A friend of mine told me, how to make this snack in the microwave. This is like a instant snack you can make, when you feel like it or you have a guest come by.

Ingredients

1 cup - Besan / Bengal gram dal flour
1 cup - Peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 tsp - Red chili powder
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 big pinch - Asafoetida / Hing
2 to 3 big flakes - Garlic, grated
3 tbsp - Oil
1/2 cup - Water
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) In a microwave safe plate, put all the ingredients together, except the oil and water. See in picture.


2 ) Then add oil, mix and rub together all the ingredients well. Little by Little add water as needed and mix all the ingredients and coat the peanuts well, as in picture.



3 ) Place the plate in the microwave. Microwave for 2 minutes. Take the plate out from microwave and with a fork crumble and break the peanuts apart. Add little more oil, if you feel the mixture needs it. Mix oil well into the mixture.


4 ) Place the plate back into the microwave and cook for 1 minute. Take the plate out and with a fork stir the peanuts. Again place the plate back into the microwave and cook for 1 minute.

5 ) Repeat for 2 - 3 times. Each time cooking for 1 minute, then take the plate out and stir the peanuts. Repeat till peanuts are crunchy and cooked.

Note: Watch when cooking in microwave, as the peanuts can burn up very fast and also the plate might crack. So take the plate out and cool for a minute, check if peanut is crunchy enough. Toward the end if you need just little more cooking , then just microwave for 50 seconds and see if it is crunchy.

Serve with a cup of hot tea or coffee.