Corn Chivda/ Chooda / Mixture

Corn Chivda/ Chooda/ Mixture is a very popular Indian snack. This snack always makes me nostalgic. As a kid I used to spend my summer holidays at my aunt's house. They had a small grocery store in which this chivda was sold. I liked it so much that I used to have them very often as my evening snack.

The Indian stores sell this chivda (chooda) and my husband gets it every time we go there. So I decided to try it at home. I gave a close look at the chivda and noted down the ingredients which I could see and taste. I also referred this recipe. I was really happy with its taste and crunch. It was worth all the effort. Do try it and I hope you all will like it too!

Ingredients:

• Corn Poha- 2 cups
• Peanuts- 1/2 cup
• Raisins- 1/3 cup
• Cashew pieces - 1/4 cup
• Fennel seeds (saunf)- 2 tsp
• Sugar- 1-2 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 8- 10 leaves
• Oil - For deep frying

For Sprinkling:

• Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

The corn poha looks like this- 

First mix the ingredients listed under 'for sprinkling' and set it aside. Then measure out your ingredients and them ready.

Then take a big bowl and line it with paper towel. Heat the oil.
Once hot, slowly fry the corn poha in small batches. As each batch comes out, sprinkle with little amount of the spice mixture. Repeat it with the rest of the corn poha.
Then continue frying peanuts until they turn light brown. Repeat the same with cashew pieces. 

Then fry the curry leaves until crispy. 
Then fry the raisins until they plump up. 
Finally fry the fennel seeds (do this separately in a small pan with few drops of oil). Now it is time for mixing.

Crush the fried curry leaves and add them into the bowl containing seasoned fried corn poha. Then add rest of the fried ingredients along with sugar.

Mix gently and taste the mixture. Add salt or sugar or red chilli powder at this stage, if required. 
Corn Chivda is ready!!

Store the mixture in an air tight container (after cooling).  This makes a wonderful evening snack along with a cup of coffee or tea.

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Strawberry Milkshake ~ Summer Drink

Strawberry Milkshake is a very popular drink. Strawberries are in season and the summer is setting in. So this milkshake is perfect for a hot summer day or it makes a wonderful 'after school' treat for kids. It is very simple and requires handful of ingredients. Do try making it and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Strawberry - 3-4
• Milk - 3/4 cup
• Sugar - 2 Tbsp (or to taste)
• Ice cream (strawberry or vanilla) - one small scoop

Procedure:

Wash the strawberries and give a rough chop.

Then transfer the strawberry pieces along with milk and sugar to a blender. Blend it until you get a smooth mixture ( I strain the mixture to get rid of the seeds. This is an optional step). 

Now taste the mixture and add more sugar, if needed. Then add ice cream and blend it again for few seconds. Strawberry Milkshake is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves one.

Note: While serving, you can also top it with whipped cream for extra creaminess and richness.

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Corn Salsa

Corn Salsa is a perfect summer dish. The grocery stores are loaded with fresh sweet corn and I was tempted to buy them. I love grilled corn and also like to add it in my Mexican dishes. But unfortunately my husband doesn't like it. So I buy once in a while and enjoy by myself. This recipe is adapted from here.

Making corn salsa is pretty easy. This is served in my favorite fast food chain - Chipotle. I make sure to include it in my burrito bowl every time :-) Do try making this simple salsa and enjoy it with chips on a lazy weekend!

Ingredients:

• Sweet Corn - 1 ear
• Onion, finely chopped- 2 Tbsp
• Jalapeño - To taste
• Cilantro (coriander leaves) - 2-3 sprigs
• Lime juice- To taste
• Salt- To taste

Note: For variation - You can also include bell pepper, roasted poblano pepper, cooked black beans, tomato.

For mild onion flavor, use scallion (green onion) instead of red onion.

Procedure:

Clean the corn and start roasting it.

Until it is charred evenly throughout (or you can even cook the corn in a pot of boiling water).

Shave off all the corn kernels using a knife. Then chop jalapeño, cilantro and onion.

Put them in a bowl. Then squeeze in lime juice and salt. Mix well. 

Corn Salsa is ready!!

Serve it with corn chips or you can include them in fajita, burrito or quesadilla. Above measurement serves one.

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Maavinkaayi Chitranna (Raw Mango Rice)

Maavinkaayi Chitranna is a very popular South Indian rice dish. In Kannada, maavinkaayi means raw mango. This rice is very similar to lemon rice but with added flavor from mustard powder and the awesome addition of raw mango - coconut mixture. I found this recipe here few years ago and we both are hooked to it. We like this recipe a lot !! My husband loves to have this rice packed for his lunch box. So do try this recipe and I am sure you will enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1/2 cup (I used Basmati)
• Raw mango, chopped- 1/3 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 2-3 Tbsp
• Green chilli - 1-2
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Mustard- 3/4 tsp
• Sugar- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- To taste

For Seasoning:

• Oil - 2-3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Peanuts- 2-3 Tbsp
• Chanadal (Split chickpeas)- 1/2 Tbsp
• Urad dal (split blackgram) - 1/2 Tbsp
• Curry leaves - Few
• Asafoetida (Hing) - A generous pinch
• Dry Red Chilli - 1-2

Procedure:

Wash and cook the rice (I cooked in a microwave oven). Let it cool for some time. The rice grains should be well separated (you can as well put the bowl in a refrigerator for 5-10 minutes. This ensures the rice grains to be well separated).

Chop the raw mango, green chilli.

Now transfer the chopped raw mango, green chilli and grated coconut in a blender.

Pulse it few times to get a coarse mixture. Set it aside.

Now powder the mustard seeds in a blender or mortar and pestle.

Now heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once it starts to pop, add the peanuts. When it starts to change its color, add in chanadal, curry leaves, dry red chilli pieces, asafoetida and urad dal. Continue cooking until they turn golden brown. Now add the turmeric powder, ground mixture and sugar. Mix well.

Continue to cook this mixture for two minutes and then turn off the heat. Add in some salt and then cooled rice.

Mix it gently until everything comes together. 

Maavinkaayi Chitranna is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves 1-2 people.

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Coconut Chutney

Coconut Chutney is a very popular South Indian dish, which is served with dosa, idli. There are so many varieties of coconut chutney and I go crazy looking at the recipes in the internet. There are chutneys with seasoning, without seasoning, plain ones, chutney with herbs etc. One recipe which I found interesting was in a video on youtube. I tried it within few days and we really liked it. Hence I thought of sharing the recipe. The recipe calls for chanadal which gives good flavor and provides thickness. The herbs also give wonderful flavor and color. Do try this version of coconut chutney and I am sure you will love it. I served it with Rava Idli.

Ingredients:

• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/2 cup
• Chanadal (split chickpeas)- 1 Tbsp
• Garlic pods - 2
• Ginger- 1/2 inch
• Green chilli - 2-3
• Cilantro (coriander leaves) - 1 Tbsp
• Mint (Pudina) - 1 Tbsp
• Tamarind - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash green chilli, mint, cilantro and ginger. Give them a rough chop.

Heat oil in a pan. Add chanadal. Fry until it starts to change color slightly.

Then add green chilli, ginger, garlic. Fry for 15- 20 seconds. Then add grated coconut. Mix well and fry for a 1-2 minutes on a medium- low flame (don't brown the coconut). 

Then turn off the heat and add mint, cilantro. Mix well. 

Allow it to cool. Then transfer the mixture into a blender along with tamarind and salt. 

Grind it along with little water to get a paste (don't grind it too fine).

Transfer it to a bowl. Adjust the consistency of the chutney using water. I kept it medium thick. Coconut Chutney is ready!!

Serve it with idli or dosa. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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Mashinga Palle Muddo (Spicy Drumstick Leaves Idli)

Mashinga Palle Muddo is a popular Konkani Spicy Idli. Generally Idli is made for breakfast. This variety of idli is spicy, non-fermented and served for lunch or dinner. They taste really good when steamed in banana leaf pockets. I am a great fan of these idlis and my mother makes the best. 

I love drumstick leaves (we call it mashinga pallo). It is not available in the place we live. So I requested my mother to make these idlis during my recent trip to India. I really enjoyed eating them. Few days back I was really surprised to find these leaves in a local Indian grocery store. So picked two big bunches and decided to make these idlis. Do try making this if you can lay your hands on drumstick leaves.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 1/4 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/4 cup
• Roasted red chillies- 5-6
• Tamarind - A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Fresh Drumstick Leaves, packed - 2 cup
• Salt- To taste
• Banana leaves - As required *

*Use idli moulds if you don't have banana leaves.

Procedure:

Soak the rice for two hours. While it is soaking, wash the leaves and remove all the leaves from the tough stalk. Then give a rough chop.

Now grind grated coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind (add very little water). 

It looks like this after grinding-

To this add the soaked rice without water. 

Start grinding so as to get coarse grains of rice (just like idli rava. If you make a smooth paste then the idlis will turn hard after steaming). Use water as less as possible. 

The mixture should be firm, in order to get firm dumplings. Transfer this mixture to a bowl. To this add drumstick leaves, salt to taste. 

Mix well. The final mixture looks as shown below.

Now grease the idli moulds and fill the mixture in it. If using banana leaves, please refer this post . 

Steam them in a steamer for 20- 25 minutes.

Allow the idlis to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove from the mould with the help of a spoon. Mashinga Palle Muddo is ready!!

Serve it warm along with rice and dalithoy. Drizzle little coconut oil for a twist. Above measurement makes eight big sized idlis.

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