Rose Basil Sarbath

Rose Basil Sarbath / Summer Recipes
Rose basil sarbath is ideal for this summer. Basil seed is also known as sabja seed. Basil seed is a very good coolant. It quenches the thirst as well as cools the body. As we cannot take only basil, I made this with artificial rose syrup. Soon I will post with real rose syrup which I made for Aval Kitchen magazine recently. I already posted Nannari Sarbath with basil seed and Home Made Nannari Syrup.

Now let us see how to make
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Serves - 2

Ingredients:
Rose Syrup - 2 tblsp
Sabja seed - ½ tsp
Ice cubes         - 5
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Water - 1 ½ cup
Method:
Soak sabja seeds in 3 tablespoon water and set aside for 15 minutes.

Add rose syrup in a glass.

Add water, lime juice and soaked sabja and mix it well. I used my terrace garden mini orange.

Finally add ice cubes and serve.

Note:
Add rose syrup and lime juice according to your taste.
Add few crushed mint leaves also. It gives nice flavor to the sarbath.
Sabja Seeds are available in Nattu Marunthu Kadai and also in nuts and spices.

Veppam Poo Rasam

Veppam Poo Rasam / Neem Flower Rasam
This is the season for Veppam poo. You can make veppampoo rasam only now. Alternatively you can dry veppampoo in the sun and store in a container. So that you can use it through out the year. As veppampoo is very good for health you can often make this recipe. For tamil new year as all the 6 tastes should be there. This recipe can be made for bitter taste out of the six tastes.

This is dried veppam poo picture.

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 20 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients:
Veppampoo - 1 tblsp
Tamarind - gooseberry size
Jaggery - ½ tsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 2 pinch
To temper:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 4 to 5
Urad dal - ½ tsp
Tuvar dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Asafoetida - ¼ tsp
Method: 
Soak tamarind in 2 cups of water and extract the juice. Add salt, jaggery, turmeric in the tamarind juice and allow to boil until the raw smell goes. Heat Ghee in a tadka pan and add mustard, red chilli, urad dal, tuvar dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. When it crackles add to the rasam.

Dry roast veppampoo till nice aroma comes. Finally add roasted veppampoo to the rasam and switch off the the flame.

Serve with rice.

Notes:
Dry roast veppampoo in the sim flame or else it will burn.
Don’t boil rasam after adding veeppampoo.
 If you want you can saute veppampoo in little ghee and add.

Eggless Dates Walnut Cake

Eggless Dates and Walnut cake
Dates and walnut cake is an easy recipe. All the ingredients required for this cake is easily available in our kitchen. It is good for all ages. Adjust the baking time according to your oven. I baked at 160 degree in 20 minutes.

Let us see how to make Eggless Dates Walnut Cake
Preparation time - 30 minutes
Baking time - 10 + 20 minutes
Serves - 4
Eggless Dates Walnut Cake Ingredients:
Maida - 1 cup
Dates - 20
Milk        - ¾ cup
Sugar - ¾ cup
Oil          - ½ cup
Cooking soda - 1 tsp
Walnut chopped - 2 tablsp
Eggless Dates Walnut Cake Method:
Soak dates in ¼ cup of warm water. After 10 minutes discard the seed and grind it to smooth paste along with sugar.  Add milk and oil in a vessel.

Sieve maida and cooking soda twice. Add dates paste and mix well with a whisk.

Then add maida little by little and mix thoroughly without lumps. Add chopped walnuts.

Grease the baking tray with oil, ghee or butter and dust the flour. Add the cake mixture in the prepared tray.
 Preheat the oven 160 degree for about 10 minutes. Bake the cake for 20 minutes.

Insert the stick in to the cake. It will come out clean then the cake is done. Cool in the wire rack. After cooling cut in to required size. Garnish it with chopped walnuts and serve.

Note:
You can put the dates in the microwave for about two minutes to reduce the soaking time.
My oven baked the cake in 20 minutes. You can check with your oven.
Keep an eye to the cake while baking or else it will burn quickly.
Adjust the baking time according to your oven.
I used seedless dates.

Mango Nungu Payasam

Mango Nungu Payasam / Mango Ice Apple Dessert
Mango Nungu payasam is a seasional payasam recipe. I saw this recipe in chef and her kitchen. It is same like nungu payasam. We can add chopped mango pieces along with nungu. Sweetness of mango and the texture of nungu gives great taste to the payasam. Nungu tastes like natural jelly.

Let us see how to make Mango Nungu Payasam

Mango Nungu Payasam Recipe:
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cook time - 10 minutes
Serves - 2

Mango Nungu Payasam Ingredients:
Milk - 250 ml
Nungu (ice apple) - ¼ cup
Mango - ¼ cup
Almond - 6
Sugar - 2 tblsp
Cardamom - 2 pinch
Mango Nungu Payasam Method:
Boil milk with sugar and cardamom powder. Soak badam in water for one hour.

 Grind badam to a smooth paste. Add this to the boiled milk and boil for few seconds and switch off the stove. Keep aside for cooling.

Chop nungu and mango finely. Add this to the milk mixture and refrigerate for one hour.

Serve chilled.

Note:
If you want the payasam rich you can add 2 tblsp condensed milk.
If you boil the milk long time, the payasam will be more tasty.
Don’t boil the badam paste long time(Just few seconds).
If you want you can add badam paste .
Add sugar according to your taste.

Chettinad Kathari Vathal / dried brinjal

Kathari Vathal
Chettinad is well known for its vegetable vathal varieties. Normally in chettinad people make many vegetable varieties like kathari vathal, vendaikkai vathal, kothavarangai vathal, maa vathal, avarai vathal, milaguthakkali vathal, sundaikkai vathal, mithukka vathal etc. Kathari vathal is very famous and is often made in all houses when it is available in plenty and stored throughout the year for round the year use.

Katharikkai otherwise known as brinjal is available in plenty from Jan to April at very economical price. People buy in plenty and make this and use it in kathari vathal kulambu, vathal mandi etc.,
Recently when my mother went to my native, she bought lot of brinjal. Our native brinjals are good to make vathal. So I decided to make kathari vathal which is easy to make and good to taste. You can also make this as the summer is on now and use it all year around.

Kathari Vathal Recipe:
Prep time – 30 minutes
Drying time - 3 days
Cook time – 30 minutes for 1 kilo
Ingredients:
Katharikkai(Brinjal) - 1 kg
Tamarind - lime size
Salt - hand full
Kathari Vathal Method:
Trim and cut brinjal lengthwise. Put it in the water, to prevent blackening. Soak tamarind in water and extract the pulp.

Boil water in a big vessel and add brinjal, salt and tamarind pulp. Cook the brinjal three fourth.

 Strain the water. Spread brinjal in a plastic sheet or cloth and dry in the hot sun for 3 days.

You can store it in the container and use. I served kathari vathal kulambu, kovakkai fry and rice.

Note:
Use salt according to your taste.
You can cut brinjal thin or thick (your wish). Thin will dry quickly.
You can use it for about a year.
You can dry it well.
I used my idly pot vessel for cooking the brinjals.

                                                                                

Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding

Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding / Ice Apple Pudding
Last year i googled for palm fruit recipes. I saw this recipe in sharmis Passion.  I tried Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding recipe last year but the season was over. So i stored this recipe in my draft till this season. Now the palm fruit season has begun. You can try this recipe and give your feed backs.

Let us see how to make Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding
Preparation time    - 10 minutes
 Setting time          - 2 to 3 hours
Serves              - 4

Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding Ingredients:
Palm fruit          - 4
Boiled milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 3 tblsp
Rose Syrup - 2 tblsp
China grass - 1 tsp
Water - ¼ cup
Palm fruit Pudding / Nungu Pudding Method:
Peel the cream color outer layer of the palm fruit. Chop two fruit in to tiny bits. Grind remaining two fruits in to fine paste in a mixer.

Add sugar, rose essence and chopped fruit in a milk and mix it well.

Add china grass in ¼ cup of water and heat till it dissolves. Add china grass to the palm fruit mixer and stir well.

Pour this mixture in small bowls and small glasses.

Keep it in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to set the pudding. After 3 hours unmold the pudding and garnish with sugar semiya and serve.

Note:
Add sugar according to your taste.
Select tender palm fruits.
If you don't have rose syrup, you can add rose essence and beet root puree 2 tblsp.

Nannari Sarbath / Homemade Nannari Syrup

Nannari Syrup 
Nannari is known as Sarasaparilla and as Hemidesmus indicus  botanically. It is an active principle and raw material in many ayurvedic medicines. The main action of this nannari is as a coolant. It cools down the body. It is used generally in many syrup preparations and it is known as sharbhat in hindi and sarbath in tamil.

This kind of nannari syrup preparations are very valuable in summer with the sun is harsh. Usually when the dehydration is more, these types of natural cool drinks help replenish the body fluids.
Although it is a coolant it has a wonderful flavor which every one will love and cherish.
Nannari Syrup  Ingredients:
Nannari root - 50 gms
Water - 2 ½ cup (500 ml)
Sugar - 250 gms
Lime         - ½
For Sarbath
Syrup - ¼ cup
Water - ¾ cup
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Ice cubes          - 3
Nannari Syrup Method:
Wash the roots well and dry in a kitchen towel. Remove the centre hard white part of the root using pestle and mortar.

 Collect all the soft root and grind it coarsely in the mixer.

Boil the water till it bubbles.Add the ground nannari root powder in the boiled water.

 Close the container with a lid and keep undisturb for over night or 8 hours.
 After 8 hours filter the extract in the double filter or muslin cloth.

 Boil the syrup along with sugar before one string consistency.

Allow it to cool and add lime juice and stir well.

The syrup is like as honey.  Store it in a clean glass bottles.

For sarbath
 Add syrup ¼ th of the glass, ¾ th of water, ice cubes and lime juice and mix well and serve.

Note: 
For making this quantity,it will take 15 to 20 minutes exactly.
The consistency is like honey.
Refrigerate and use because we cannot add preservatives.