Mango milk shake with chocolate

Mangoes are widely used in cuisine.  Mangoes are rich in fiber,beta carotene,phytochemicals and vitamins.We also get calcium when you add milk.Mango milk shakes can be made with fresh or frozen mangoes or with pulp that can be purchased in local Indian stores. Mango lassi is popular throughout South Asia. Ripe mangoes are used in making milk shakes.Mango milk shake is one  of the delicious shakes which we like to drink during summer season.Adding a chocolate  gives  unique flavor and a great taste to the mango milk shake.Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Mango pulp 1 cup
• milk 2 cups or 1 cup as per our taste.
• chocolate sauce 2 tspns
• sugar 1/4 cup(If  you want more you can add more sugar)
• chocolate chips 1 tbspn

 Procedure:

• Blend together sugar,mango pulp,milk till smooth.( you can take out pulp from fresh ripe mangoes,i  used store bought pulp here)
• If you have chocolate powder you can prepare chocolate sauce by adding little water,sugar and just boil 1 to 2 mins.( 1 tbspn of powder, water and sugar same amount i.e 1 tbspn)
• Pour mango mixture into glasses,on top of it just pour 1 tsp of chocolate sauce,sprinkle some chocolate chips.serve chilled.Yummy milk shake is ready.

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Maagaya(sun dried mango pickle)

Bellam avakaya is a sweet variety of avakai made with jaggery.Most pickles are made in the summer as this is the peak time for availability of raw mangoes. Raw mangoes, hot oil, chillies and a variety of spices are key ingredients.The process of preparation,storage and serving of these pickles is almost considered to be same.. Andhra ( State in India) culture may be thought to be incomplete without aavakaaya, in their meal.

The mangoes are cut into medium sized pieces approximately 2cm x 2cm using strong and ultra sharp cutters/knives in swift strokes so as not to structurally damage the pieces. These pieces are wiped clean and dry with a well absorbing soft cloth .They are then pickled with powdered mustard seeds, red chilli powder (dried and powdered or sometimes dried, roasted and powdered), salt,Gingelly Oil and fenugreek (both in whole and powder form). Garlic is optional. Here goes my recipe..

Ingredients

• One raw mango(big size,sliced thinly after peeling the skin)
• Jaggery 1/2 lb or less than half lb
• Methi seeds or fenugreek seeds 1/2 tbspn
• Mustard seeds 1/2 tbspn
• Red chilli powder 1 1/2 tbspn
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tspn
• Sesame oil 2 tbspns

seasoning

• oil
• Mustard seeds 1/2 tbspn
• Red chillies(dry) 2 to 3
• Hing 1/2 tspn

 procedure:

• Take a bowl add the sliced mangoes,salt turmeric and grated jaggery.Mix it well and keep the bowl covered at least  2 days i.e 48 hours.keep in a dark corner.
• After 2 days you see lot of liquid in the bowl.Squeeze out the liquid into a separate container and  squeeze out mango slices in another plate.
• Sun dry the mango slices and the liquid obtained separately for 2 days.
•  I sun dried them for 8 hrs.(Here in florida we get sunlight like as in India) so i dried just one day.
• Roast methi seeds slightly just 1 min and keep methi seeds and mustard seeds aside.Then grind into powder.
• In a wide bowl add sun dried mango  slices, the sun dried liquid,red chilli powder,methi powder,mustard powder.
• Now heat oil in pan add little bit of hing,few mustard seeds,red chillies and mix it in the bellam or jaggary maagaya mixture.
• Have it with simple hot rice or curd rice.

Note :This pickle stays more than year and doesn't need any refrigeration.

           Use sour mangoes for better taste.
            Depending upon your place where you stay, dry the mangoes till they are completely dry.                    
 
     check out what my fellow bloggers are doing in BM# 40                                                                          Also linking this recipe to linky party which is being hosted by usha and pavani this week.

Mango pickle

Raw mango or tender mango is the most popular variety of fruit used for pickling. There are multiple variety of mango pickles prepared depending on the region and the spices used but, broadly there are two types of - whole baby mango pickle or cut mango pickle. Whole baby mango pickle is a traditional variety very popular in Southern India and uses baby mangoes that are few weeks old. There are special varieties of mangoes.Here iam going with the mangoes that are available in our indian store.

This summer i thought of preparing simple mango pickle with just 2 mangoes.Luckily I got good variety of sour mangoes in Indian store.very simple recipe here goes..

Methi and mustard powder

Mango pieces mixed with spices

Ingredients:

• Mangoes 2( raw sour mangoes)
• Fenugreek or methi powder1/2 tea spoon
• Mustard powder 1 tea spoon
• Chilli powder 1 table spoon
• 5 to 6 garlic pods
• Salt to taste( 2 tspns or less)
• Sesame oil 3 table spoons

Procedure:

• Wash mangoes and dry it out with towel
• Cut mango into small pieces and dry in a plate with paper towel or spread them in a dry cloth  for half an hour(Make sure you completely dry the mango otherwise the pickle will spoil soon,it get effected with fungus)
• Grind methi seeds,mustard seeds separately and prepare powder.
• Now take a big bowl and mix the mustard powder,redchilli powder,salt until everything is mixed well.
• Add mango pieces to it and mix well with your hands,it is better to use hands instead of ladle.
• Add methi powder and garlic pods to the micture and mix it well.
• Heat sesame oil in a pan for few mins(5 to 10 mins). Let it cool completely.
• Now add sesame oil to the mango pieces coated with spice mixture and mix well.Store it in a glass jar.
• On first day oil might have started floating over the pickle,if you feel the salt is less we can add little more salt and mix it well with dry ladle.
• On day3 if you see oil floating over the pickle thats fine or else you may have to add extra oil to it.
• Serve hot with rice and ghee.

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Mutton korma

korma is defined as a dish where meat or vegetables are braised with water, stock, and yogurt or cream added. The technique covers many different styles of korma.The flavour of a korma is basedmixture of spices, including ground coriander and cumin, combined with yogurt kept below curdling temperature and incorporated slowly and carefully with the meat juices.

Mutton korma originated from MUGHLAI cusine.Mutton korma is a traditional recipe from India and pakistan.This time I really want to try different version of mutton curry as i like to cook varieties in mutton.Usually I cook mutton with potatoes,brinjal,Ridgegourd.Here goes the tasty mutton korma curry.

Ingredients

• Mutton 1/2kg or 1 lb
• One big onion
• Tomato 2 medium size or one large one
• Chilli powder 2 tspns
• Ginger garlic paste 2 tspns
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
• Coriander powder 2 tspns
• cumin seeds 1/4 tspn
• fennel seeds 1 tspn
• curry leaves 1 string
• salt to taste

Marination: Marinate mutton with redchilli powder(1 tspn),turmeric powder,ginger garlic paste,2 tbspns of yogurt and salt.Keep aside atleast half hour.

Dry masala:

• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom
• 1 dalchin
• 1 javentri
• 1 bay leaf

grind above ingredients( except bay leaf) in a blender and make into smooth powder.

coconut paste:

• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
• cashews 3 to 4
• Fennel seeds or sompu 1/4tspn

Procedure:

• Heat oil in a pan,saute marinated mutton few mins then take out and keep aside.In the same pan add chopped onions fry well till they are traslucent and add ginger garlic paste.Fry well till the raw smell goes off.
• Add chopped tomatoes ,salt ,and cook few more minutes in a medium flame until the tomatoes get mashed.
• Let the mixture cool down and grind into smooth paste
• Now to cook mutton if you are using pressure cooker, heat  1 tbspn of oil when it is hot add fennel seeds,cumin seeds,curry leaves and dry masala powder and bay leaf.
• When jeera start spluttering add grounded paste followed by marinated mutton.Mix it well and let it fry 4 to 5 mins then add coriander powder,turmeric powder,red chilli powder (1to 2 tspn)
• Fry few mins till the mutton completely absorbs the masala.Let it cook for3 to 4 mins.
• Now add water to the mutton as per our consistancy.cook for 3 to 4 whistles(Depends upon the quality of mutton)
• When the mutton is almost cooked remove the cooker lid add coconut paste and let it cook 4 to 5 mins till the consistancy of gravy we prefer.

Gongura Mutton(Mutton cooked in sorrel leaves)

Gongura is widely consumed all over Andhra Pradesh.Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition.^[1]Similarly, Gongura is popular in Tamil Nadu as well, and is called pulichakeerai in Tamil.Gongura comes in two varieties, green stemmed leaf and red stemmed. The red stemmed variety is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Other well known recipes made with Gongura as the main ingredient are Gongura Pappu (Lentils),Gongura mamsam (goat/mutton) and Gongura royyalu (shrimp).

    when one talks about Andhra food Non vegeterian  the first thing they would say is Gongura mutton or mamsam.Andhra non vegetarian is incomplete without gongura mutton.It is lip smacking mouth watering dish.There are no words to describe only you have to taste it. 

                 Ingredients  

•   Mutton 1 kg(Nearly 2 1/2 lb)
• Gongura leaves 2 bunches (2 to 3 cupsof leaves)
• Onion 1 big size
• green chillies 4 to 5
• Red chilli powder 2 tspns
• turmeric powder 1/2 tspn
• Ginger garlic paste 2 tspn

 Marination: wash mutton and drain the exra water then add

• turmeric powder
• chilli powder 2 tspns
• ginger garlic paste 2 tspn
• salt as required

 Marinate mutton with above ingredients  and keep aside for half an hr.

For masala paste:

• As the gongura added to the mutton gives a unique taste in which gravy dominates the mutton.I added less spices compared to the regular mutton as i wanted to enjoy the gongura flavour in the mutton.
• Half onion
• 2 green chillies
• lavang,dalchin,each2 count
• gasgas or poppy seeds 1/2 tspn
• Small 2 ginger pices and 2 pods of garlic.
• Grind all into fine paste.

Procedure:

• Take wide pan add 2 cups of water.Let it boil few mins then add gongura leaves(wash gongura leaves and discard the stem)cover with a lid then cook few mins until the leaves are well cooked.Iadded few chopped onion and2 green chilli in boiling water.
• Then drain the water from gongura and blend it into smooth paste with the help of blender.(Some may add directly without doing paste,but i like this way which binds with mutton easily.)
• Heat oil in a pan add chopped onions 1 cup , fry until they are golden brown.Now add the wet masala paste,fry well until the raw smell goes off.
• Now add the marinated mutton to the masala paste and fry well in a medium flame, until the masala well absorb the mutton.cover with a lid.This is important step, if we dont fry the mutton well we not able to enjoy the perfect taste.
• After frying 10 to 15 mins  we can see oil oozes out from the curry.Now remove the lid and fry until it is completely dries off.
• Now we may add water to the curry,add water just enough to cover the curry.Cook until the mutton 80 to 90% cooked.
• Usually after adding water i shift the mutton in  pressure cooker  and cook upto 4 to 5 whistles.
• Open the cooker after 4 whistles see whether mutton is almost done.Then add 1 tspn of daniya powder and 1/2 tspn of( store bought mutton masala this is optional) 
• Add gongura paste and cook 5 to 10 mins until the mutton completely absorb green masala paste.
• Yummy gongura mutton curry is ready enjoy with rice or roti.

vegetable cutlet

Vegetable cutlet is a snack item made with mixed vegetables.An excellent way to make kids eat the vegetables as snack.Vegetable cutlet is a very popular and simple snack item. It is very easy to make and can be had as an appetizer or light afternoon snack or evening snack with tea. It is great for small parties and get together . Now a days they are good vegetarian meal ,that are tasty and a good  way to hide a lot of veggies inside one tasty patty. Today  i am posting Vegetable cutlet for the Blogging Marathon#40 with the theme as evening snack.

Ingredients

• potatoes 2 medium size
• Beans,carrots,green peas,plantain( raw banana) -1 cup(vegetable of your choice)
• onion -half
• turmericpowder pinch
• chilli powder 1/2 tspn
• Garam masala 1-2 tspn
• Daniya powder 1 tspn
• salt needed
• maida1/2 cup
• bread crumbs just enough to coat the cutlet
• oil for shallow fry

Procedure:

• Chop onions,beans, carrots finely.
• cook potatoes,plantain in a pressure cooker for 2  to 3 whistles.
• Take out potatos,plantain and cook  remaining vegetables for 1 whistle with just enough water.
• After the vegetables are cooked drain the water immediately.squeeze out the all the water with a muslin cloth. There should not be any moisture in the vegetables.
• Mash potatoes and rest all vegetables .
• Heat  oil in a pan add jeera when it splutters,add finely chopped onions.when onions turn golden brown add mashed potato and veggie mix.
• Now add turmericpowder,chillipowder,daniyapowder,garam masala salt needed mix it well.Let it cool.
• Now divide the mixture equally,make small balls and then flatten it as shown in the pic.
• Mix maida with little bit of water to form  a thick paste.
• Now dip the prepared cutlet into the maida mix,so that it is well coated.Now drop it gently into the bread crumbs and see that it is well coated with bread crumbs.
• Drizzle some oil in pan and shallow fry the cutlets until golden brown on both sides.Serve hot with toamto ketchup.

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Pani puri

Pani puri/phoocka,/gol gappa,/gupchup is known by different names based on the regions you hail from but neverthless it is a popular street snack especially inIndia,Nepal&pakistan.It comprises of a round , hollow  puri and filled with a watery mixture of pani.(tamarind, coriander , mint,& chilli paste topped with chat masala and coriander powder.)The puri is stuffed with mashed potato, onion and chick peas.The name pani puri literally means "water in fried bread.".It all depends on an individual's choice to present pani puris in their own way.sour to taste.Mine is the eastern version of pani puri.

 One may find different flavors and ingredients involved ranging from the regional taste buds, but the basic shape, size and its effect remains the same.Traditionally, pani puris are eaten by placing the entire puri into the mouth in one go and biting into it. This releases a barrage of tastes enticing the different taste buds.

Ingredients

For puris

• 1 cup rava
• 2 tsp of maida(all purpose flour)
• bottled soda water
• Oil
• Salt

For the filling

• 1 cup dried batani or vatana or chick peas soaked in water for at least 5 hrs
• 2 medium size potatos
• 1 medium size onion finely chopped
• 1 Tspn of red chilli powder(optional)
• 1 Tspn of chat masala
• 1 Tspn of jeera powder
• Salt to taste

For the pani or water

• 2 tbspn of tamarind juice(thick)
• 1 tbspn of sugar or jaggery
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 Tspn of Daniya powder
• 1 Tspn of black salt
• 1/2 Tspn of cumin powder
• Mint leaves 1 small bunch
• Half cup of coriander leaves
• 1 Tspn of pepper powder(optional)
• Salt

Procedure:

For making pooris 

• In a mixing bowl,mix rava,salt,bottled soda water  slowly,until it absorbs the water
• Now add maida,mix it well until the dough is well kneaded.cover with damp cloth.let it rest for 20 mins
• Heat oil in a kadai or pan on medium flame.
• Divide the dough into2 halfs
• Roll out each half into  a big thin chapathi.
• Using a small cup or glass ,cut out small puris from chapathi.
• Fry these puris one by one when the oil is really hot.
• Cover the remaining puris with damp cloth.
• Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.

Filling

• Pressure cook the soaked batani or vatana and potatos separately.
• Chop potatos,add  red chillipowder,chopped onions,chat masala,coriander leaves and mix well
• Add salt to the vatana or chick peas combine with mashed potato .
• We can also add hot boondi or sev.

Pani

• Mix all ingredients and grind to a fine paste.
• Take a mixing bowl with 1or 2cups of cold water add the grinded paste.
• refrigerate few hours and serve chilled with pooris.

Serving pani poori

• Place the poori in your palm tap the poori at the center lightly to make a small gap for the filling.
• Fill it with small quantity of mashed potato,chickpeas,chat masala,sev or boondi raw onions.
• Dip in tamarind mint flavored water also called as pani and enjoy.

NOTE:1.Roll the big chapathi very thin so that your puris will puff up.While frying make sure the oil is hot.
            2. you may use baking powder 1/4 tspn and enough water to knead the dough.
             3.cover the dough with damp cloth until you fry.
             4. Don't use oil while kneading the dough this may result into soft puris.
             5.Use fine sooji for better results,here i have used the regular sooji.( you may grind the regular one                   for fine sooji)
             6. Store puris in a airtight container for further use.
             
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Chegodilu (crispy rice flour rings)

Chegodilu is a delicious Andhra snack which most people would like to have as evening snack.During my  childhood this was my favorite snack and my mom used to prepare this one or sometimes the other version called jantikalu. For this week marathon I am excited to prepare favorite snacks of my whole family.My little one who is 5 years old is a picky eater so i keep trying new varieties to satisfy her taste buds.Now when i was preparing chegodilu,she started roaming around the kitchen and keep asking -mummy can i try this. To my surprise when she tried one chegodi she kept asking for more and ended up having light dinner.
                             chegodilu is a very easy recipe to prepare yet super delicious, Simple rice flour mixed with moong dal ,chillipowder,Ajwain and sesame seeds.

• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 cups water
• 1tea spoon of red chilli powder( you can use less than 1 Tspn)
• 1 tea spoon of salt
• 1 tea spoon of sesame
• 1 tea spoon of Ajwain (vamu)
• 2 table spoon of moong dal soaked in water for an hour
• 1 table spoon of ghee
• Oil for deep fry

Procedure:

• Boil two cups of water in pan,then add salt, ghee,soaked moongdal.
• Then add  rice flour,mix it well slowly,make sure the stove is on a low heat.Switch off the stove when the rice flour combines well.
• Now add Ajwain,sesame seeds,chilli powder. mix it well.Cover it,Rest it for an hour till it completely cools down.
• Apply ghee or oil to your fingers,take a small lemon size ball between your palms to form a thick rope
• Bring the ends of the rope together to form a ring.In the same manner prepare the remaining chegodilu.
• Heat a deep bottomed pan with enough oil for deep frying.When the oil is hot slowly drop the chegodilu one by one.
• Let the chegodies fry in the high flame first 1 or 2 mins then slowly reduce the flame to medium.
• Don't fry it in the low flame as the chegodies absorb lot of oil.
• When the chegodies slowly turn to golden brown color,turn then slowly other side and cook until it is golden color.
• Store them in a air tight container when it is completely cools down.

Note: I  prefer adding kashmiri red chilli powder for the color.
         only Start preparing chegodilu when the dough is completely cool.
          Dont fry chegodilu in low flame,as it absorbs lot of oil and end up with very soft texture.

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