Lemon-Koozh

#LemonKoozh #ElumichaiKoozh :

When we were school going children, my mother used to prepare a sour & spicy paste/cake for evening snacks to relish with coffee as soon as we came back from school. It is one of the traditional dishes prepared from rice flour or rice batter, tamarind juice, red chilly and other spices. Whenever my mother made it, me and my brothers used to finish it off without any traces. The speciality of this dish is that the taste of it is very good when it is relished hot and even tastier when it is cooled down. The texture of the dish is just like a thick paste and sticky when it is hot. When it cools down, the sticky paste turns into a smooth cake and can be cut into pieces. The dish that I have been describing so far is known as Puli koozh.

Later after marriage I learned from my husband that in the same way another tasty and traditional dish is being prepared from sour buttermilk. The dish made from buttermilk is called more koozh. I also used to prepare more koozh whenever I churned out butter from saved cream at home. The butter is being churned out from collected cream by adding chilled water. The remaining watery milk after taking out the butter is turned into buttermilk by adding a few drops of curd/buttermilk. Thus made buttermilk is being used in the preparation of buttermilk koozh - mor koozh.

Now I have three lemon trees in my garden and they are giving lemons throughout the year. The #Lemon [ Citrus lemon ] is a berry with leathery skin [ peel ] called rind containing volatile oil glands. The interior part of lemon is called endocarp which contains fleshy part of the fruit in separate sections. Each separate section is called carpel and is filled with fluid-filled sacs [ vesicles ] that are specialized hair cells. I squeezed out juice from lemons and filled in bottles then stored in the refrigerator. Then discarded inner skins from the rinds and dried the rinds in the Sun to preserve them for future use.

I always used to make rasam only with lemon juice. Nowadays I have been preparing sambar also adding lemon juice instead of tamarind. In the same way. I tried puli koozh adding lemon juice in place of tamarind juice. The outcome happens to be tastier than the original dish, the puli koozh.

This yummy dish is prepared from rice flour. Or take out half a cup of rice batter while grinding maavu for idli or dosai and use it for the preparation of lemon koozh.

Preparation time             : 5 mins

Cooking Time                 : 10 - 15 mins

Quantity is just enough for three persons.

Ingredients :
1/2 Cup	Rice flour
1	Lemon
1 - 2	Green chilly, chop finely [ adjust ]
1 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped
1/2 Tsp	Turmeric tuber finely chopped*
10 - 15	Curry leaves
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seed
1/2 Tsp	Black gram split
1 Tsp	Gram dal [ chick pea ]
2 Tsp	Ground nut [ pea nut ] slightly pound
Small piece	Asafoetida
4 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Sesame/Til oil ]**

* If turmeric tuber is not available then take 1/4 Tsp of turmeric powder.

**Take oil according to your taste and availability.

Method :

Combine rice flour and 1 cup of water in a vessel. Mix well and set aside.

Heat an iron kadai on a stove over medium flame with oil.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts smoking.

Next add asafoetida and black gram split. Fry for a few seconds.

Then add gram dal and ground nuts. Keep stirring till lentils turn golden color.

Reduce the flame to SIM position.

Now add finely chopped green chilly and teared curry leaves. Stir for half a minute.

Next add finely chopped ginger and turmeric tuber. Keep stirring for a few seconds.

Add rice flour mixture and salt. Keep stirring continuously otherwise it might stick to the bottom and loses its uniformity.

After few minutes the water mixture slowly changes to porridge consistency.

Then it starts thickening and at this point add lemon juice. Mix well and check salt and sourness.

Stir till the mixture in the kadai starts leaving the side and rolls as a single mass.

Transfer on to a clean and dry plate and sprinkle few drops of oil over the surface of the prepared lemon koozh.

Spread it flat and make it smooth with the help of a flat spoon.

 

Spicy n tangy Lemon koozh is ready to relish.

Scoop out a portion and serve hot with coffee or tea.

If Lemon koozh - Elumichai koozh is allowed to cool down to room temperature then it can be cut into pieces just like cake.

Hot or cold Lemon koozh tastes very good!

You might also like to try

Puli koozh [ Spicy Tamarind cake ]	More koozh [ Buttermilk Rice cake ]	Samai Arisi Thaengai Payasam
Browntop millet Bread	Quinoa Conjee	Samai Methy Pancake [ Little millet methy pancake ]

For other Recipes

Recipe Index

Samai-spicy-masala-Bread

#SamaiSpicyMasalaBread - #LittleMilletSpicyMasalaBread :

Scientific name : Panicum miliare

Tamil name       : #Samai or #SamaiArisi

Kannada name  : Same

Malayalam        : Chama

English name    : Little Millet

Hindi name        : Kutki

#Samai - #LittleMillet is gluten free and non acid forming cereal just like any other millet. It is rich in minerals like Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc and the fiber content is considerably higher than that of Rice and Wheat.

The nutritional composition per 100 gm of #Samai { #LittleMillet ] is as follows
Protein 7.7 g, Fiber 7.6 g, Iron 9.3 mg and Calcium 17.0 mg

The millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap the health benefits fully. And also soaking the millet before cooking helps the body to absorb its nutrients well.

The dough has to be allowed to stand for a minimum of 6 - 8 hours to ferment. So pre-planning is necessary and the process has to begin well in advance.

There are four stages involved in the making of spicy masala bread

1. Soaking and grinding :

#Samai [ #LittleMillet ] has to be soaked for two hours. A small quantity of cooked samai is required to make batter. The soaked samai and cooked samai are ground together using a mixer grinder into a smooth batter. The batter should be thick just like idli maavu consistency and transferred into a vessel. 

2. Fermentation of the batter :

Sugar, curd and salt are mixed with the batter and allowed to stand for 6 - 8 hours or the whole night. 

3. Preparation of vegetable masala.

4. Combining fermented batter and masala to make dough. Then steam cooking in an idli maker.

Kindly keep in mind the time involved before beginning to make samai spicy masala bread:

Soaking Time          : 2 hours

Fermentation Time  : 6 - 8 hours

Masala preparation  : 15 mins

Steam cooking time  : 10 - 15 mins

Ingredients :
1 cup	Samai [ Little millet ]
3 Tbsp	Cooked Samai [ cooked Little millet ]
1/2 Tsp	Salt
5 Tsp	Sugar [ adjust ]
2 - 3 drops	Curd
1/4 Tsp	Baking soda
For Masala :
1/4 Cup	Cabbage chopped finely
1/4 Cup	Carrot grated
1	Onion chopped nicely
10 - 15	Curry leaves
1 Tsp	Oil
1/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
To Grind coarsely :
10 - 12	Black pepper
1 - 2	Green chilly
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1 Tsp	Fennel seeds [ saunf ]
1/2 Tsp	Coriander seeds
8 - 10	Curry leaf
2 - 3 Tsp	Coriander leaf chopped
10 - 12	Pudina [ Mint ]
2 - 3 pods	Garlic
1/2 inch	ginger
1/4 inch	turmeric tuber

Gingelly oil [ sesame/til oil ]/ghee to apply

Method :

Suppose the plan is to make Samai spicy bread for breakfast,

then the preparation has to begin the previous day evening itself.

In other words, the actual preparation has to be done 8 - 10 hours before

Previous day Evening :

Take 1 cup of samai in a vessel and rinse with water.
Add 2 cups of water and soak for 2 hours.

In the meantime pressure cook 1/4 cup of samai [ Add double the amount of water to the amount of samai taken ] in a cooker, just the same way as the rice is being cooked. 

After two hours combine soaked samai and cooked samai in a mixer grinder jar.

Grind into a smooth batter adding little water.

The batter should be of idli maavu consistency.

Transfer into a big vessel. 

There should be enough space above the surface of the batter 

as the volume would increase due to fermentation.

Add sugar, salt and curd. 

Mix well and close the vessel with a lid. 

Keep the vessel at a warm place in the kitchen to aid the fermentation.

The next day morning :

The batter has raised up and the upper surface seems to be slightly curved like a ball. This is due to fermentation.

Also when the batter is gently stirred with a ladle, lots of air bubbles are visible. This shows that the batter has fermented well.

Masala Preparation :

Coarsely grind all the ingredients given under 'To grind coarsely' using a mixie.

Set aside.

Heat a kadai with a teaspoon of oil.

Crackle cumin seeds once oil starts fuming.

Immediately add onion and saute for half a minute.

Then add chopped cabbage and 2 pinches of salt.

Stir well and close the kadai with a lid to cook cabbage soft.

After the cabbage becomes soft add coarsely ground masala mix and salt.

Stir well till its raw smell goes off.

Finally add grated carrot and mix well.

Transfer into a bowl and let the prepared masala cool down to room temperature.

Steam cooking :

Grease shallow plates/bowls with oil and set aside.

Heat Idli maker with 3 cups of water on a stove over high flame. Place the steamer plate inside the idli maker.

Now combine the fermented batter and masala mix together adding baking powder. Mix well. 

Pour the prepared dough into the oil greased plate till 3/4th of its height.

Tap the plate gently to evenly spread the dough.

Like this keep the plates/bowls ready with prepared dough.

Arrange them over the steamer plate once the water starts boiling in the idli maker.

Close the idli maker and cook for 12 - 15 minutes.

After 12 minutes insert a clean and dry knife from the top through the bread. If the knife comes out clean then the bread is ready.

Take the plate out from the idli maker.

If the knife comes out with dough sticking to it then cook for another 3 - 5 minutes.

The time taken to cook the dough depends on the volume of the dough filled in the plate/bowl.

In the same way steam cook rest of the dough in batches.

Apply 2 -3 drops of ghee/gingelly oil over the surface of the bread to avoid drying up.

Wait for five minutes to cool down considerably.

Loosen the sides using a clean and dry knife.

Then gently remove the bread from the plate and place it on another clean & dry plate.

Cut into pieces.

Tasty N spicy Samai masala bread is ready to relish.

No need of any side dish or chutney.

It can be enjoyed either hot or cold as an evening snack with hot coffee.

It can also be relished for breakfast.

You might also like to try

Samai Arisi Pongal [ Little millet Pongal ]	Samai Arisi Upma [ Little millet Upma ]	Samai Arisi Thaengai Payasam
Kuthiraivaali Sundal [ Barnyard millet Sundal ]	Samai Mudakathan dosai [ Little millet mudakathan dosai ]	Samai Methy Pancake [ Little millet methy pancake ]

For other Samai Recipes

Samai [ Little Millet ] Recipes

For spicy accompaniments

Chutney Recipes

Ideas for breakfast and dinner

Tiffin Recipes

For different varieties of Appam

Appam Varieties

Quinoa-Pongal

 #QuinoaPongal #QuinuaPongal :

#Quinoa is a pseudocereal just like #Buckwheat. It is called pseudocereal because the edible seeds are obtained from a flowering plant and not from grass. Quinoa, a flowering plant belongs to amaranth family. The scientific name is Chenopodium quinoa.

Quinoa is high in protein and gluten free.

A cup of quinoa gives twice the amount of protein and 5 g more fiber than the same amount of Rice.

It is rich in Vitamin B, dietary minerals and dietary fiber.

100 gms of uncooked Quinoa contains 14.1 gms of protein [ 20% of daily value DV ], folate 184 ug [ 46 % of DV and higher amount of dietary minerals like Magnesium 197 mg [ 55% ], Manganese 2 mg [ 95 % ], Zinc 3.1 mg [ 33 % ], and Phosphorus 457 mg [ 65 % ].

100 gms of cooked Quinoa is rich source of Manganese and Phosphorus [ 30 % and 22 % respectively ], moderate source of dietary fiber [10 - 19 %], folate, Iron and Zinc [ 11% of DV each ].

To know more on Quinoa

As usual I prepared pongal from quinoa [ quinua ] also.

Preparation Time          : 5 mins

Cooking Time               : 15 mins

Quantity prepare           : 2 1/2 Cup approx.

Ingredients :
3/4 Cup	Quinoa [ quinua ]
1/4 Cup	Green gram split
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek [ optional ]
1 Tsp	Black Pepper
1 1/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped
1 Tsp	Turmeric tuber finely chopped *
10 - 15	Curry leaves
4 - 5 cloves	Garlic, chop nicely
1	Green chilly slit lengthwise [ optional ]
3/4 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
To Temper :
5 - 6	Cashew nuts, break into pieces
1 Tsp	Cumin seeds
8 - 10	Black pepper
10 - 12	Curry leaves
3 -4 Tsp	Ghee

* Turmeric tuber can be replaced with 1/4 Tsp of turmeric powder.

Method :

Take a pressure cooker and put quinoa, green gram and fenugreek [ venthayam ].

Rinse well with water.

Add cumin seeds, slightly crushed black pepper, finely chopped ginger, turmeric tuber, garlic, slit green chilli, salt and curry leaves.

 Now add 3 cups of water and mix well.

Close the pressure cooker with its lid and put the weight on.

Pressure cook on HIGH flame for a whistle and then cook for 8 mins on SIM.

Turn off the stove and wait till the steam goes off.

It will take approximately 10 mins to run out of steam.

Open the cooker.

Heat a kadai with ghee on a stove over medium heat.

Crackle cumin seeds and then add black pepper.

Fry till black pepper starts spluttering and emanates aroma.

At this stage add curry leaves and pour on to the hot ponagal in the cooker.

Again keep the kadai on the stove and fry broken pieces of cashews adding a tsp of ghee.

Transfer once the cashew pieces turn golden brown in color.

Add rest of the ghee also into the cooker and mix well.

Serve hot quinoa pongal on a plate, add plenty of ghee over it.

Relish along with an apt accompaniment.

The first choice being Pongal thuvaiyal [ Coconut Thuvaiyal ] and

the second choice would be vadava thuvaiyal.

Quinoa [ quinua ] pongal also goes well with coconut chutney or 

citron pickle or Pudina Sauce.

You might like to try :

Quinoa Paruppu Payasam

Quinoa Conjee [ Quinoa soup ]

Pesarattu

Idli from Pesarattu dough

Green gram vada

Buckwheat Pongal

For other tiffin varieties

Breakfast and Dinner ideas


For Accompaniments

Chutney Varieties

Ideas for dishes from Edible seeds

Edible seeds Recipes