Hibiscus Tea

Hibiscus Tea

This herbal tea which can be easily made at home has several medicinal effects and is really good for health. During this monsoon, have a sip of hot hibiscus tea and enjoy the rain!!!

Ingredients:

1. Red hibiscus flowers (any color can be used, but red ones give better color to the tea)....10
2. green tea powder...........................................................................................................3 table spoon
3. cinnamon........................................................................................................................50 gms
4. cardamom......................................................................................................................50 gms
5. cloves............................................................................................................................ 50 gms
6. crushed pepper...............................................................................................................50 gms
7. water..............................................................................................................................4 cups
8. honey/sugar....................................................................................................................1 table spoon

Method of Preparation:

1. Cut the hibiscus flower petals (only the soft part of the petal)
2. In a steel/glass container, add the cut flower petals and all the other ingredients (2-6)
3. Add boiled water to it
4. Keep aside for 8-10 hrs
5. After that, drain the mixture and add sugar/honey before serving
6. It can be served either hot or cold
7. Flavors and ingredients of your choice can also be added at this stage

Enjoy Cooking!!!!

Punjabi Rajma Masala in Kerala Style

Punjabi Rajma Masala in Kerala Style

This is an experimental dish which came out to be really mouth-watering!!!! Do try this dish and please share your views....

Ingredients:

Rajma.......................250 gms ( soaked in water for 6-8 hours )
Small Onions.............15
Tomato......................3
Ginger.garlic paste......1 table spoon
Jeera..........................1 table spoon
Green Chillies.............2
Turmeric powder........1/2 table spoon
Chilly powder.............1/2 table spoon
Pepper powder...........1/2 table spoon
Coriander Powder.......1/2 table spoon
Garam Masala.............1 table spoon
Salt..............................as required
Coconut oil..................as required
Curry leaves.................a few
Cinnamon.....................2
Cloves........................2

Preparation:

1. Finely chop the small onions, tomatoes and green chilies
2. Grind it to a paste
3. Cook the rajma in a pressure cooker by adding salt and garam masala

Cooking:

1. Heat the pan and pour a little oil to it and add jeera
2.  Add the ground paste to the pan
3. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and salt
4. To this mixture, add the cooked rajma
5. Add the water used for cooking rajma to the pan as required for the gravy
6. Cook for 5 mins
7. Switch off the flame, and then add the cinnamom and cloves to it
8. Also crush the curry leaves using hand and add to the curry and pour some raw coconut oil to it

Now, the kerala style rajma curry is ready to be served.....

It goes well with rice and roti...

Enjoy Cooking!!!!

Sweet Corn Mutter Rice

Sweet Corn Mutter Rice 


Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time     : 20 mins
Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients:

Jeera rice or Basmati rice.........................1 cup
Sweet Corn.............................................100gms
Mutter (Green Peas)................................100gms
Big Onion (chopped as small pieces)........2
Big Onion (finely chopped length wise).....1
Ginger Garlic paste..................................1/2 table spoon
Bay leaf...................................................1
Jeera.......................................................1/2 table spoon
Salt..........................................................to taste
Garam Masala powder............................1/2 table spoon
Ghee........................................................as required
Cinnamon................................................2
Cloves.....................................................5
Cashew nut..............................................100gms
Kishmis....................................................100 gms
Coriander Leaves.....................................a few
Water.......................................................2 cups

Preparation:

1. Saute the cashew nuts and kishmis in ghee and keep it aside
2. Deep fry very finely copped big onion in ghee and keep aside

Cooking:

1. Pour ghee to the hot pressure cooker and add bay leaf, jeera and ginger garlic paste
2. Add the big onions and salt
3. Later add the green peas and sweet corn and stir for 3 mins
4. To this add garam masala powder, cinnamon and cloves
5. Pour 2 cups of water and stir well
6. Add 1 cup of rice to it
7. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and wait for a single whistle in low flame or 3 whistles in high flame
8. Once the pressure cooker's lid is opened, serve it to the dish for serving
9. Garnish with coriander leaves, cahew nuts, kishmis and the deep fried onions

Now the Sweet corn mutter rice is ready to be served!!!!!

It can be accompanied with any side dishes with gravy or with simply picke, salad and pappad...

Enjoy Cooking!!!!!

Sweet Corn Paneer Mutter Masala Recipe

Sweet Corn Paneer Mutter Masala Recipe


Preparation Time: 5 Mins
Cooking Time     : 15 Mins
Serves                 : 3-4 persons

This is a very simple and easy recipe. It is also a very healthy side dish since it uses paneer, mutter, tomato and sweet corn.

Ingredients:

Paneer.........................100gms
Muttor (Green Peas)....50gms
Frozen Sweet Corn......50gms
Big Onions...................2
Tomato........................4
Ginger Garlic Paste.......1/2 table spoon
Jeera............................1/2 table spoon
Oil................................as required
Salt...............................to taste
Turmeric Powder..........1/4 table spoon
Red Chilly Powder........1/2 table spoon
Kashmiri Chilly Powder.1/2 table spoon
Coriander Powder.........1/2 table spoon
Garam Masala Powder..1/2 table spoon
Sugar.............................a pinch
Butter.............................25 gms
Cream............................3 table spoon
Bay leaf..........................1
Coriander Leaves............to taste

Preparation:
1. Cut onions as small pieces
2. Prepare tomato puree

Cooking:
1. Add a little 15gms butter or oil to the hot pan
2. Add the ginger garlic paste, bay leaf, jeera and onions to the pan
3. Add a pinch of salt to it and saute till the onions become translucent
4. To this add the the sweet corn and mutter and saute for 1 min
5. Later add the paneer cubes to the pan
6. Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, kashmiri chilly powder, garam masala and coriander powder
7. Once it is well stirred, pour the tomato puree to the pan
8. Cook in low flame till it starts to boil.
9. Add a pinch of sugar (optional)
10. Pour some fresh cream and keep in low flame for 1 min (optional if u don't want extra calories)
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and also the remaining butter

Now the delicious Sweet corn mutter paneer masala is ready to be served!!!!!
This goes well as a side dish with rotis as well as rice!!!!

See the next blog to see the recipe of Sweet corn mutter Rice.....

Enjoy Cooking!!!

Loka Vayana Dinam (The World Reading Day)

Today is World Reading Day. I am thinking about my childhood days when I used to wait for my mother to buy me a new book. She is an avid reader. So whenever she bought books for her, she used to get a few for me too. And usually since I din't know how to read then , she used to read those beautiful stories to me at bedtime. The words, the beautiful narration all these gave wings to my imagination and I still can recollect those beautiful colorful visuals I had in each of her stories. I wonder at the strength of words. The imagination those words create on each person is different. And that is one dreamy visual which each one have in private and which can't be shared.

While I was in class 1, I read a book alone for the first time without the help of my mother. That book is named 'The Little Match girl'. I don't remember the author's name. But the great visuals the words in the book gave me at that small age is still vivid in my mind. A girl selling matchsticks at freezing cold weather of a Christmas Eve. The poor girl sees the celebrations in rich houses. But, she can't go home without finishing her sale of matchsticks since her step mother will scold her. There, she lays at the doorstep of one big mansion and dreams about her past loving grandmother. She lightens matchsticks one by one to see the face of her granny clearly. Once she lightens her final matchstick, her granny asks her to come. And happily the little girl holds her dearest granny,s hands and moves away from all her sufferings. I still remember the tears I have shed for that little girl. I strongly feel, whatsoever empathy that remains in my heart now is from listening to stories and reading books. Words have the magical power to make us stand on the shoes of others, feel other's emotions, see life from a different viewing angle, to know about different cultures and civilizations.

Seeing a movie also creates a long lasting visual in mind. In a film, the visual is created and that same visual strikes everyone who sees that movie. But a book makes each one create his/her own visuals which in my opinion is the greatness of reading.

I wish everyone gets the opportunity to read beautiful books. Wishing the world a wonderful reading day.

Geethadhunikku - Dhanasri thillana - VijayaDhwani - Institute of Carnatic Music

Geethadhunikku - Dhanasri thillana - VijayaDhwani - Institute of Carnatic Music

A layman review of Koothara

A Common Viewer's Review of Koothara

Film Name: Koothara

Language : Malayalam

Director : Srinath Rajendran

Producer : Shahul Hameed Marikar

Music Director : Gopi Sunder

Cast : Mohanlal, Bharat, Sunny Wayne, Tovino Thomas

Release Date : 13 June 2014
Rating : 2.5/5

After reading a few reviews I watched the much awaited film, Koothara, with so much of expectation. I am writing this review not in the film language and not as a person who knows the nuances of film making. It is just a review in terms of a common film lover. 

The film is named Koothara (a local term in malayalam for referring to something which is bad or not up to the mark), from the characters played by Bharat (Koobrin) , Tovino Thomas (Tharun) and Sunny Wayne (Ram). 

The film starts with Tharun joining the engg college run by the Calicut University. In the college, Tharun gets the other two as his room mates and all the three is said to have joined for the Electronics and Communication Engg Course. They make friends with each other. The film then shows about their college life in the much cliched manner. As usual with drinking, smoking, playing cards, romance etc. I must say that there are a few instances which shows the engg college gimmicks very accurately and gives you a good laugh but, most of the time, the message given to the audience about engg is very negative. Here the film has to be rated differently by considering the first half and the second half separately since the approach of the film in both the halves are totally different. I feel the first half, despite many usual comedies and college scenes, went fairly well. That may also be because of the high expectation about the next half.

In the next half, the cameo role played by Mohanlal (Ustad Saali) appears. He plays a significant role in the lives of Koobrin, Tharun and Ram. The weird appearence of Ustad Saali was really appealing. Also the north malabar accent dialogues and the screen presence of Ustad Saali was also remarkable. But, altogether I felt the character very shallow even though the script demands a very deep character. Ustad saali appeared from nowhere and vanished into nowhere.

Bharat has done a good job and did justice to his character, while the performances of Tovino Thomas and Sunny Wayne are decent. The female artists in the film have simply nothing to do. And I think there requires no mention of them in this review. 

The visual impact of the film is good. But, the music and the background score by Gopi Sunder fails to create anything special.

There are so many loopholes in the script which could have been better since the story thread was actually good.  The over usage of alcohol and smoking was a bit annoying for me. 

As a bottom line, the film does not have anything in special, lacks a strong script, but is just watchable. For those who wish to see a good cinema, I suggest them to avoid this one.

A welcome Note

Hai All,


With this blog, I wish to write about all that I love in my life, all my hobbies, my craziest thoughts, my passions, my nightmares, my opinions and what not. It is purely a personal blog that I am planning right now. May be this may change later.

Wishing the human race to open their minds to greater dimensions.

With Love,
Signing off
 Have a great day !!!