Millet Idli

                                                            Looks like Millets are the "In thing" now a days. I have seen so many millet recipes recently and these products are found plenty in the super market. So, I thought let's start with Idli and Dosa first.This is my first attempt in making these recipes.You can check out this website for the benefits of milletshttp://suryaecolife.in/nourish-protect/benefits-millets/
Benefits of Little millet includes

• Chama / Samai is rich in phyto-chemicals and it has excellent antioxidant properties.
• Its Dietary fiber protects against hyperglycemia.
• It reduces cholesterol and helps to digestion.
• Kutki / Samai / Chama contains nearly 2.5 times minerals and nearly 38 times fiber and nearly 13 times Iron than Rice. 
• Kutki / Samai / Chama  contains nearly 6.3 times fiber and nearly 1.8 times Iron than Wheat. 
• Kutki / Samai / Chama  contains lesser amount of carbohydrates than Wheat and rice and has abundant quantities of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) which is not present in Rice and Wheat.

Fried Rice/Indo Chinese

The best way to finish your old rice while satisfying a craving for restaurant-style Indo chinese food is to make this "Fried Rice".Yes, old rice best suits this recipe because it has to be tossed in high flame along with vegetables and it should withstand the tossing.

My daughter is very fond of this Fried Rice and she orders it most of the time when we go out.I never knew until recently that it tates best with old rice. If I had known, I would have made it more often

Pumpkin sweet Curry/Parangikkai Inippu curry

                                                                     Parangikkai or Pumpkin is one vegetable that is used a lot during pongal time.We make the kuzhambu with other vegetables along with lots of pumpkin and we also make sweet pumpkin curry only on Pongal day.I remeber this small tamil poem about pumpkin while I was making this curry.I am not sure if the words are accurate, correct me if i am wrong !!!!!

 பரங்கிக்காயை நறுக்கி 

பட்டையெல்லாம் சீவி

துண்டு துண்டாய்  நறுக்கி 

உப்பு காரம் போட்டு 

இன்பமாக உண்போம் 

இன்னும்கொஞ்சம் கேப்போம் 

The recipe itself is given in the small poem.Make this yummy curry and enjoy your Pongal!!!Wish you all a very Happy Pongal!!!!

Masala Thepla/Masala Roti

                                                             Gujarati's prepare a whole lot of Rotis and Theplas with simple masalas and greens (like palak,methi etc).Masala Theplas or Masala Rotis are tasty rotis prepared by adding few spices to the normal rotis.It is a staple dish in Gujarati cuisine. It has a better shelf life and perfect for travel.You can even have it  at tea time.You can serve these rotis with curd or some sweet mango pickle called chudda (sweet mango pickle) which is also home made.

Thiruvadirai Kuzhambu/Kootu|Ezhukari Kuzhambu/Kootu

Thiruvadirai Kuzhambu or Ezhukari Kuzhambu is made with minimum of seven vegetables as shown below.There are lot of versions to this kuzambu and this is how we make in our house along with Thiruvadirai Kali for Neivedhyam on Thiruvadirai day.We make this kuzhambu on Pongal festival day also.
It was a special dish in my house my mother used to make it in large quantities during pongal time and used to have it with "Kanu Sadam"the next day morning also.