Kitchen-Kollections

Fun facts about oranges

~ Clementines: the clementine is a seedless mandarin.
~ Kumquats: the kumquat is like a citrus fruit and has an edible skin. It is the most well known of the sort fortunella which is closely related to Citrus.
~ Mandarins: type of small orange with loose skin. The mandarin got its name because it was exploited by high-ranking government officials in China (mandarins).
~ Minneolas: are a crossing between a tangerine and a grapefruit and can be recognized by 
“the little nose”. Can be peeled manually. Is a type of Tangelo, a minneola is a specifically marketed tangelo.
~ Oranges: There are different types of oranges: navel oranges, Valencia oranges and blood oranges are the most cultivated races.
~ Tangelos: a tangelo is a crossing between a tangerine, a grapefruit and an orange. A specific kind of tangelo is the Ugli which is described further on this page.
~ Satsuma:is a very special seedling from Japan. Its skin is a bit tighter than the clementine and it doesn’t have seeds as well.
~ Tangerines: a tangerine is an orange-red mandarin with a particular citrus taste. Can be peeled manually.
Uglis: a specific kind of tangelo, easier to peel.  A crossing between a tangerine, a grapefruit and an orange. Looks really ugli and sometimes has brown spots. Can be peeled manually.

Other peculiar characteristics

• The calcium in fortified orange juice is better absorbed than the calcium in milk. A glass of milk (8 ounces) has 291 mg of calcium; of which 93 mg is absorbed (31%). Fortified orange juice (8 ounces) has 350 mg of calcium; of which 130 mg. is absorbed (37%). 
• One orange contains about 50 mg. vitamin C; this is about 2/3 of our daily need;
• Oranges are an acid and therefore a detoxifying fruit;
• Bitter oranges can’t be eaten raw and are used to make marmalades;
• Citrus fruit is never colored artificially.
• The orange colors orange under the influence of cold temperatures.

Ingredients 

1 cup – Methi leaves
1 cup – onions
4 or 5 chillies sliced
1 cup peas
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 cup fried paneer

4 or 5 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
Illiachi or cardamom
half cup – cashewnuts
oil and ghee(1 1/2 tsp each)
salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
3 cups basmati rice soaked in salt and 1 tsp ghee for 15 min

Method

Wash the methi leaves properly and grind them in a blender into a smooth paste. Now take a pan and add 2 tbs of oil and add bay leaves, peppercorns, cardamoms, cashewnuts and fry for a while. Add onions,ginger garlic paste and green chillies and fry till golden brown. Add peas and fry. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric and fry for a while. Now add the blended paste and cook for 10 minutes till the raw smell of the leaves is gone.

Now add the basmati rice and fry for a while and then add paneer pieces. Pour 6 cups of water and mix it well. Cover it with a lid and let it cook for another 25 min. Once ready, remove the lid and let it cool. Serve hot with curd raita or pickle.

This amazing and delicious sweet called Rava Kesari was made by my dear husband. Its all about a perfect blend of rava,sugar and ghee!! It was as sweet as my new born niece!!

Ingredients

1 cup semolina or rava
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
Roasted cashewnuts
1/4th cup coconut powder
1 tsp Cardamom powder
2 tbs ghee

Method
1. Take a pan and add 1 tsp of ghee and fry semolina till its light golden brown in color
2. Add two cups of water and mix it well so that no lumps are formed. You can add color at this point of time. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add cardamom powder and mix
4. Add one cup sugar and mix it well. At this time, some lumps will form and keep mixing slowly. Add roasted cashewnuts.
5. Top it off with shredded coconut or coconut powder.

Sweet rava kesari is ready!!

This is one of the amazing pickle of Andhra. I got this recipe from my dear mother in law! She is famous for her pickles!
 
Ingredients
 
4 green tomatoes
4 tsp Mustard powder (ava podi)
4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp Inguva or asefoetida
3 tsp oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
4 tbs water
Red chillies
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds

Method
 
Wipe and clean tomatoes and cut them into medium size pieces.Add salt, inguva,turmeric powder,red chilli powder, mustard powder and mix well. Add water and mix well. Now add a little oil in a pan and fry jeera, mustard seeds, inguva and red chillies and add this over the pickle and mix well. After it is cooled, transfer it into a tight container. Green tomato Pickle is ready.

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati’s not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline.

Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman – the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. It is a big event for the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it ‘Pedda Panduga’ meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. And chakkara pongali is one of the sweets which is made on this day! So here goes the recipe.

Chakkara pongali~~ 

Ingredients
 
1 cup rice
1/2 pesara pappu (Moong daal)
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup ghee
2 cups sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 tbls.cashews nut pieces
1 tbls.of raisins(kismis)
1/2 ts.cardamom powder 
 
Method

• Fry rice and pesara pappu without ghee/oil. Fry coconut pieces till brownish and keep aside. Fry cashews and kismis in 1 ts.ghee and keep aside.
• Cook rice and moong daal together in a pressure cooker pouring 2 cups milk and 2 cups water.Cook little more than the ordinary rice (4 whistles)
• After the rice is cooked properly, remove the pressue cooker lid and ddd fried coconut pieces,sugar and mix well. Start stirring otherwise it starts burning from the bottom. Keep adding ghee while stirring. 
• Add cardamom powder,raisins and cashews. Stir well and remove.
• Chakkara Pongali is ready to eat.

There is also another version of the pongali- the spicy one. Pressure cook rice and dal with four cups of water. Fry peppercorns, inguva, curry leaves, jeera and salt and add this popu in the cooked rice and dal and mix well. The spicy version is ready.

Ingredients

Collard Greens – 3/4 Th of a bunch , washed and chopped finely
Tur Dal – 1 cup
Tomato – 1 cup
Red onion – chopped finely
Green chilli – 2, chopped finely
Dried red chilli – 1
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1/4 tsp
Chana dal – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Red chilli powder – 1/4 th tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Coriandar leaves for garnishing

Method

1. Chop collard greens finely and pressure cook with washed toor dal, onion, green chilli and tomatoes.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds. When they start popping add cumin seeds, dried red chilli, green chillies, urad dal and chana dal.
3. Add curry leaves and add this whole mixture into the already cooked dal and greens. Mix it well. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and let it boil for 5 minutes
4. Garnish it with chopped coriandar leaves and serve hot with rice or chapatis