Lemon_Pickle - Vadu_maanga_style

 Lemon Pickle - Vadu maanga style [ Lemon in Brine ] :

I didn't know this method of preserving lemon until I made it myself just like the way vadu maanga [ baby mango in brine ] has been done.

We are having three lemon trees in my garden. They are giving a steady supply of lemons throughout the year. We used to get plenty of lemons during the peak season from June to August.

I have preserved lemons in different ways. I have made spicy mouth watering Lemon pickle, squeezed juice from these fruits and stored in the refrigerator, after squeezing out juice, discarded the white inner skins & dried those yellow skins [ rinds ], dried lemon slices in the Sun for tea.

I got the idea of making this pickle when a local person from Chittranjan,West Bengal told me that they would pickle the whole lemon after rubbing the lemon on a rough surface to remove the outer yellow/green skin.  

I washed the lemons in water and then pat dried with a clean kitchen towel. I pricked the skin with a sharp toothpick here and there. Then I arranged salt and lemon in alternate layers inside a clean and dry glass bottle.  I kept the bottle on the dining table after closing it tightly with its lid. The juice oozed out from the fruits and dissolved the salt present around them. Day by day the amount of salt water [ brine ] increased. Daily the bottle was gently rotated to wet all the lemons with brine.

Ingredients :
10 - 15	Lemon
3/4 Cup	Sea Salt [ kal uppu/crstal salt ]
1 or 2	Glass bottle or Porcelain jar

Wash the lemons in running water. 

Pat dry with a clean & dry cotton cloth/kitchen towel.

Prick holes here and there over the skin using a sharp tool or toothpick.

Spread a tablespoon full of sea salt as a first layer in the bottle.

Now arrange 4 - 5 lemons over the salt layer.

Again add a tablespoon full of salt.

Then arrange the next layer of lemons.

Follow the procedure till all the lemons are being arranged.

Put salt finally as the top layer.

Close the glass bottle/porcelain jar with a tight lid.

Save the bottle/jar in a place without disturbance.

Slowly the salt melts in the water that oozes out from lemon and thus the brine level steadily goes up as the days pass.

Daily rotate the bottle gently so that the lemons which are present above the level of brine become wet.

In the figure below, the bottle on the left is freshly arranged lemons and salt & the other one is one week old pickled lemon. It takes around 20 days to a month to completely dissolve the salt and get pickled lemon.

We have to wait nearly 20 days to one month to taste soft pickled Lemon.

A very good accompaniment for Kanji.

Spicy Lemon pickle can be prepared from Lemon-in-brine. But we don't have to add salt at all as it is already salted and also we don't have to steam cook lemons.

Finely chopped pieces of these soft lemons can be added in salads.

Here I have presented a crunchy Mixed vegetable pickle using these soft salty lemons.

A few days back I shared a mixed vegetable pickle where fresh lemons were used. The pickle has to be allowed to stand for 3 - 4 days as lemon rinds take some days to get cured.

But here pickled lemon has been used and the crunchy mixed vegetable pickle can be relished as soon as it is made.

Mixed Vegetable Lemon Pickle :

Ingredients :
2	Pickled Lemon
1/4 Cup	Carrot finely chopped
1/4 Cup	Radish finely chopped
1 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped
1 Tsp	Turmeric tuber finely chopped
4 - 5	Green chilly finely chopped
1 Tsp	Mustard seeds
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida powder
1 Tsp	Mustard powder
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek powder
4 - 5 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ sesame/til oil ]

Method :

Chop carrot, radish, ginger, turmeric tuber and green chilly.

Transfer all the chopped items into a porcelain or glass bowl.

Take two pickled lemons from the bottle and chop nicely.

Transfer finely chopped pieces of pickled lemon into the bowl containing other ingredients.

Add mustard powder and fenugreek powder.

Now heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium heat.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming and then add asafoetida powder.

Turn off the stove immediately.

Cool down to room temperature.

Then pour the tempered mustard seeds with oil over the chopped ingredients in the bowl.

Combine well using clean and dry spoon.

Mm... Ah! crunchy mixed vegetable lemon pickle is ready to relish.

Store in a clean and dry glass bottle. It will be good for three to four days at room temperature.

If the mixed vegetable pickle is saved in a fridge, it will be good for a week to 10 days.

The pickle loses its crunchiness as the day passes.

It is advisable to consume the pickle within a week.

Other pickle recipes you might like to try

Maangai thokku [ Mango pickle ]

Avakkai - mystyle

Kothamalli thokku -Coriander Pickle

Thakkali thokku - Tomato Pickle

Nellikkai urugai - Amla Pickle

Ponderosa Lemon Pickle [ Citron pickle ]

Recipe Index

Varagu_Spicy_Bread

 #VaraguSpicyBread  #KodoMilletSpicyBread :

#Varagu Or #Varagarisi is called #KodoMillet in English.

It is called #Arka in Kannada and #Kodon or Kodri in Hindi.

The scientific name is Paspalum scrobiculatum.

#Varagu is gluten free and non acid forming food just like any other millet.

The nutrients present in 100 gm of varagu is as follows :

Protein 8.3 g, Fiber 9.0 g, minerals 2.6 g, Iron 0.5 mg and Calcium 27 mg.

To know further go to Kodo Millet.

Previously I have used onion and prepared spicy masala by sauteing the ingredients in a kadai.

Here I have just made a masala mix by combining all the ingredients in a blender and added it to make the dough.

The millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap the complete health benefits. 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 three stages involved in the making of spicy bread

1. Soaking and grinding :

#Varagu [ #KodoMillet ] has to be soaked for two hours. A small quantity of cooked varagu is required to make batter. The soaked varagu and cooked varagu 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. Combining fermented batter and ground masala to make the dough. Then steam cooking it in an idli pot.

Kindly keep in mind the time involved before beginning to make varagu [ Kodo millet ] spicy bread:

Soaking Time          : 2 hours

Fermentation Time  : 6 - 8 hours

Masala preparation  : 5 mins

Steam cooking time  : 15 - 18 mins

Ingredients :
1 cup	Varagu or Varagarisi [ Kodo millet ]
3 Tbsp	Cooked Varagu [ Kodo millet ]
1/2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
5 Tsp	Sugar [ adjust ]
2 - 3 drops	Curd
1/4 Tsp	Baking soda
1/4 Cup	Carrot grated
1/4 Cup	Green gram sprouts [ optional ]
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
1/4 in. piece	Cinnamon
1	Star Anise
3	Cloves
8 - 10	Curry leaf
2 - 3 Tsp	Coriander leaf chopped
1 Tsp	Pudina dried [ Mint dried ]
1/4 Cup	Karpooravalli
2 - 3 pods	Garlic
1/2 inch	ginger
1/4 inch	turmeric tuber*

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

* If Turmeric tuber is not available then 1/4 Tsp of turmeric powder can be used.

The amount of curry leaf, coriander leaf, pudina and karpooravalli can be adjusted according to availability.

Method :

If I have planned to make spicy bread for breakfast, then I have to start the preparation the previous day evening itself.

 Previous Day Evening :

Take 1 cup of Varagu [ Kodo millet ]  in a big vessel. Rinse once with water and then add enough water to soak it.

Take 1 Tbsp of Varagu [ Kodo millet ] in a small cup and rinse once. Add 2 Tbsp of water.

Allow to stand for 1 hour. After an hour pressure cook using a cooker over high flame for a whistle and then reduce the heat and cook for 7 minutes. Open the cooker only after it ran out of steam.

After two hours combine soaked Varagu [ Kodo millet ] and 

cooked Varagu [ Kodo millet ] 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 :

In the morning the batter would have fermented and raised up in volume.

Take all the ingredients necessary to make spicy masala in a mixie jar.

Grind coarsely and transfer into the vessel containing varagu batter.

Add grated carrot and green gram sprouts also into the vessel.

Mix well and adjust salt.

Add baking soda and crushed black pepper. Mix well.

Steam cooking :

Grease shallow plate/container with oil.

Pour in prepared dough into the greased plate/container till 3/4 of its height and tap gently to evenly spread the dough.

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

Place the plate containing dough over the steamer plate inside the idli pot.

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

After 14 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 out the plate from the idli pot.

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/container.

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.

Cut into pieces.

Tasty N spicy Varagu spicy bread is ready to relish.

Enjoy your breakfast!!

No need of any side dish or chutney.

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

Note :

Heat a kadai with a teaspoon of gingelly oil [ til/sesame oil ].

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming and add teared curry leaves, immediately turn off the stove.

Pour the tempering over the prepared varagu spicy bread to enhance its flavor a little bit more!!

You might also like to try

Samai spicy masala bread [ Little millet spicy masala bread ]	Kuthiraivaali sweet bread [ Barnyard millet sweet bread ]	Samai Arisi Thaengai Payasam
Kuthiraivaali Spicy bread [ Barnyard millet bread ]	Kuthiraivaali pasalai adai [ Barnyard millet spinach pancake ]	Samai Methy Pancake [ Little millet methy pancake ]

For other Varagu Recipes

Varagu - Kodo Millet Recipes

For spicy accompaniments

Chutney Recipes

Ideas for breakfast and dinner

Tiffin Recipes

Browntop_Millet_Paruppu_Payasam

 #BrowntopMilletParuppuPayasam :

#The other name of #BrowntopMillet is #AmericanMillet.

It is called #KulaSamai or Palapul in Thamizh.

#BrownTopMillet is scientifically known as Brachiaria ramosa or Urochloa ramosa. 

It is called 

Pedda sama or korle in Kannada

The nutritional value of brown top millet from a table depicting nutritional value of millet in Indian Institute of Millet Research website is given below :
per 100 gm of Brown top millet contains

11.5 g Protein, 12.5 g fiber, 4.2 g minerals, 0.65 mg iron and 0.01 mg calcium. 

The fiber in brown top millet is the highest among millet. Also compared to rice and wheat the fiber content is far far higher in brown top millet. So this millet roots out problems in digestive system.

Browntop millet has a distinct aroma and tastier than normal rice.

Millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap full nutritional benefit.

For more details

Browntop Millet [ Kulasamai ]

Split green gram has to be roasted in a kadai till golden brown. Then soaked browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] and roasted green gram have to be cooked in a pressure cooker. The cooked browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] and lentil, ground coconut mixture and jaggery are combined together and cooked over slow fire till it attains porridge consistency.

Preparation time                     : 5 minutes
Pressure Cooking time           : 10 minutes
Cooking time for payasam     : 10 - 15 minutes
Quantity                                 : 2 cups approx.

Ingredients :
1/4 Cup	Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ]
1 Tbsp	Split green gram [ Moong dal ]
1/2 Tsp	Bengal gram [ optional ]
1/3 Cup	Jaggery
1 pinch	Salt
Ingredients To Grind :
2 Tbsp	Coconut scrapings
3	Cashew nut
2	Almond
1/2 Tsp	Khus khus [ poppy seed ]
2	Cardamom
1	Clove
small piece	Nutmeg

1 Tsp of Sara paruppu [ Chironji /charoli ] and almond pieces to garnish

If sara paruppu is not available, then almond shavings or ghee fried cashew nuts or ghee fried dried grapes [ kismis ] can be used for garnishing.

Method :
Take browntop millet in a small vessel and rinse once.

Add 1/2 cup of water and soak for two hours.

Heat a kadai on a stove over slow flame.
Dry roast split green gram and bengal gram [ chick pea ] till golden color. Turn off the stove.

Take roasted lentils in a small bowl and add 2 1/2 Tbsp of water.

Now keep the bowls containing soaked browntop millet and roasted green gram one over the other in a pressure cooker and cook on HIGH flame for a whistle. Then reduce the flame and cook for 8 minutes.

Wait till the cooker ran out of steam.

[ Note : The soaked browntop millet and roasted lentils can also be pressure cooked together. ]

Meanwhile combine all the ingredients to grind in a mixie jar.
Grind into a smooth paste adding enough water.
Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Dissolve jaggery in 1/2 cup of hot water.
Strain through a tea filter to remove impurities.
Set aside.

Take cooked browntop millet and lentil in a big vessel. Add 3/4 cup of water and a pinch of salt and heat over medium flame. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Then add coconut paste and mix well and let it be on slow flame for 3 minutes.
Now add jaggery water and stir well.
Allow to simmer until payasam attains poriidge consistency.
Turn off the stove and add garnishing.

Pour into serving bowls and enjoy hot & flavorful tasty payasam with any savory!!

Other recipes you may like to try

Browntop millet sweet bread	Amaranth - Buckwheat Payasam	Quinoa Conjee [ Quinoa porridge ]
Kuthiraivaali spicy bread	Samai sweet bread [ Little millet sweet bread ]	Yellow pumpkin flower in cooking

For yummy desserts

Dessert Recipes

For snacks and savories

Savory Recipes

Browntop_Millet_Sweet_Bread

#BrowntopMilletSweetBread :

#BrowmntopMillet is also called #AmericanMillet.

It is known as #Kulasamai or Palapul in Thamizh.

It is called #Peddasamai or #korle in Kannada.

The nutritional value of brown top millet from a table depicting nutritional value of millet in Indian Institute of Millet Research website is given below :
per 100 gm of Brown top millet contains

11.5 g Protein, 12.5 g fiber, 4.2 g minerals, 0.65 mg iron and 0.01 mg calcium. 

The fiber in brown top millet is the highest among millet. Also compared to rice and wheat the fiber content is far far higher in brown top millet. So this millet roots out problems in digestive system.

Browntop millet has a distinct aroma and tastier than normal rice.

Millet has to be soaked for a minimum of two hours before cooking to reap full nutritional benefit.

To know more on Browntop millet

Browntop millet

To know more on 

Other Millet varieties

Here I am presenting another sweet bread recipe from Browntop millet.

The preparation involves two stages

• Soaking and grinding
• Steam cooking the prepared dough

Soaking Time                   : 2 hours

Preparation Time             : 15 - 20 mins

Steam cooking Time       : 15 - 18 mins

Ingredients :
1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp	Browntop millet [ American Millet ]
1/3 Cup	Coconut scrapings
1/4 Cup	Jaggery [ adjust ]
1/4 Tsp	Salt
5 - 6	Dried Dates [ Raisins ]
5 - 6	Almond [ optional ]
2 Tsp	Chironji [ Sara paruppu ]
8 - 10	Dried grapes [ kismis ]
2 - 3	Cardamom
a small piece	Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp	Cinnamon powder [ optional ]
1 Tsp	Fennel [ Sounf ]
1 Sachet [ 5 g ]	Eno Fruit salt

1/2 Tsp of ghee to grease the steaming vessel/pan.

Method :

Soaking and Grinding :

Take 1/2 cup of Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] in a vessel and wash once with water.

Soak in water for two hours.

Take 1 Tbsp of Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] in a small bowl and rinse it with water once. Soak it with 2 Tbsp of water for 1 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours pressure cook in a cooker for a whistle at HIGH and then reduce the flame to SIM and cook for 7 minutes.

Take out the cooked Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] after the pressure cooker ran out of steam. Let it cool down to room temperature.

Heat 2 - 3 teaspoon of water in a vessel on slow flame and put in smashed jaggery and dissolve. Turn off once jaggery completely gets dissolved and Strain through a filter to remove impurities. Allow to cool down to normal temperature.

Take soaked Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] and 2 tablespoon of cooked Browntop millet [ Kulasamai ] in a mixie jar.

Blend together adding jaggery dissolved water [ Jaggery syrup ].

Grind into a coarse batter. Transfer into a big vessel. Add 1 - 2 Tsp of water into the mixie jar and clean to get the batter sticking on the inner surface of the jar. Add washed water also into the vessel containing batter. The batter should be of idli maavu [ Idli batter ] consistency { There is no problem even if the batter becomes slightly watery also }.

Add salt & Mix well.

Preparation of Dough :

Grease a flat bottomed shallow vessel/pan with ghee/oil and keep aside.

Finely chop dried dates [ raisins ] and set aside.

Take 1 Tsp of sugar, cardamom and nutmeg in a mortar and pound into a smooth powder with pestle.

Now add fennel, cardamom-nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder [ optional ].

Keep aside a small amount of chopped dried dates to decorate at the top. Add rest of them into the batter.

Keep aside chironji [ sara paruppu ] & Almond pieces to sprinkle over the top of the dough.

Next put in coconut scraping and Mix well.

The dough should be of idli maavu [ Idli batter ] consistency.

Finally add Eno fruit salt and mix well. The fruit salt produces lots of air bubbles in the dough and the volume of the dough slightly increases.

Steam Cooking the dough :

Heat an idli pot with three cups of water on a stove over high flame. Place the steamer plate in the slot inside the idli pot.

Pour the prepared dough into the greased vessel and tap gently to spread out evenly.

Sprinkle chopped dates, broken pieces of Almond, kismis and chironji over the batter.

Place the vessel/pan with dough over the steamer plate once the water starts boiling in the idli pot.

Close the idli pot with its lid and cook for 15 minutes on HIGH flame.

After 15 minutes open the lid.

Now insert a clean and dry knife or toothpick into the bread.

If it comes out clean then the bread is ready and remove the vessel from the idli pot.

If not, steam cook for another 2 - 3 minutes.

Remove the steamed bread from the idli pot.

Keep over the kitchen platform or on a table to cool down. Allow to stand for ten minutes.

After ten minutes slice the prepared bread with a clean and dry knife.

Tasty and yummy browntop millet sweet bread is ready to relish. Enjoy!!

The pieces can be stored in an airtight container after cooling down to room temperature.

The bread remains good for a day.

Note :

Add only two tablespoon of cooked browntop millet while grinding batter in the mixie. Otherwise the bread would become sticky. If some left over cooked browntop millet is there then consume it with sambar, rasam or curd.

The bread can be prepared without adding coconut scrapings also. The same measurement of ingredients holds good.

Steam cooking time depends on the volume of the dough. 

You might also like to try

Browntop millet Pongal	Broken Wheat Idli [ dalia Idli ]	Kuthiraivaali spicy bread [ Barnyard millet bread ]
Samai spicy masala Bread [ Little millet Bread ]	Browntop millet Bread	Samai Methy Pancake [ Little millet methy pancake ]

Recipe Index