PIDI KARUNAIKIZHANGU CHOPS / YAM FRY

I love chops made with vazhakkai and senaikizhangu ( Elephant yam ).Recently I bought small sized black colored pidi karunai kizhangu from my native.I heard its a good remedy for piles. We usually make vatral kulambu by adding this kizhangu. This time i tried chops by searching the recipe.I got from a discussion forum hub. It was very nice and aromatic with the perfect blend of spices. The original recipe was named as 'Karunai kizhangu kola ' and it was told to deep fry. But i followed the same recipe and made in dosa tawa instead of deep frying. I would say this recipe is apt for making with elephant yam and raw banana. My doter loved it very much.We enjoyed with sambhar  and curd rice !!
                                                             
INGREDIENTS

Pidi karunai - 4 nos TO GRIND: Pottukadalai/ Fried gram dal/ Dalia - 3 tbsp Tamarind paste - 1/2 tbsp Turmeric powder - A pinch Cloves - 2 nos Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Fennel seeds/ Soambu - 1 tsp Garlic cloves - 4 nos Red chillies - 5 - 7 nos Shredded coconut - 1 tbsp Ginger - 1 small piece Salt & water - As needed. Lime juice - Optional Coriander leaves - To  garnish.

METHOD

1. Wash & soak the kizhangu in abundant water for sometime to remove all the mud.
   
2. Pressure cook in high flame for 1 whistle.It should be half done.(Skin should be hard to touch)
   
3. Now grind all the items given above adding required salt & water to make a smooth paste.
   
4. Remove the skin of the kizhangu and chop it round.
   
5. Now mix the paste ans marinate for sometime. The  kizhangu should be fully coated with the paste.
   
6. Now heat the dosa tawa and sprinkle some oil. Cover Cook the marinated pieces for sometime.Keep the flame low for even cooking. flip the pieces to cook the other side and do the same.
   
7. I Wanted a brown layer to be formed so i kept for a longer time.
   
8. Finally garnish with coriander leaves and add lime juice if necessary.
   
9. Karunai kizhangu Chops is ready !!

NOTE:

• If u want to try kolas , just cook the kizhangu well till it mashes.Mash it with ur hands and add the paste.Mix well. Add finely chopped onions and coriander leaves . Make small balls and deep fry them in batches.
  
• If u wish to try the same with senai / elephant yam , add little more tamarind paste by avoid the irritation in tongue.Add less tamarind paste to make the same with raw banana.

 I am glad in sending this recipe to priya's event..

KITCHEN CLINIC

Description These tender and tropical perennials grow up to a height of 12-18inches (around 30-45cm) in a spacing of 24-36inches (around 60-90cm). The leaves are around 50 cm in length and consist of many oval leaflets. These plants bloom around spring producing mauve or magenta colored flowers with fragrance. 3-4 years are generally required for the corms to be harvested. These evergreen plants can be grown in container as well if the soil is acidic. Elephant yam is an edible tuber. It is one of the oldest plants known to provide food. It is so called because of its huge size and resemblance with the elephant foot. It is widely consumed as a food crop, usually boiled or baked. Buying tips It is preferred to buy elephant yam from the markets where it is available is a fresh condition. It is preferable to wear gloves while handling the elephant yam as the sap of these plants causes skin irritation. Culinary usage Karunai Kilangu (elephant foot yam) can be consumed in many ways safely only after removal of its toxic materials. In scarcity of different staple foods, yam is used. So it is also sometimes referred to as a 'famine food'.  Before cooking, the wild forms must be soaked in water and boiled for a long time to remove bitterness. The outer brown skin of Karunai is thoroughly washed and removed. Then they are generally cut into small cubes. It can be boiled in clean water as well as with a pinch of turmeric in water. Delicious recipes are available for cooking elephant yam. Elephant yam can be cooked in tangy sauce. Using minimal oil and by shallow frying yam kabab can be made. Deep frying half boiled Karunai in red chilli and turmeric powder can make a nice side dish. Adding paste made of coconut, snuf and jeera to the deep fried Karunai, it can be roasted and served as a delicious dish. Boiled Karunai can be also consumed by mixing it with lemon-juice, mustard paste and salt. Green chillies can also be added to the preparation for enhancing its taste. Yum pulusu ia a dish made of elephant yam. It is made by cooking it in nice tangy and spicy tamarind sauce. Yam can also be eaten as a supplement of cereals. Storage For planting purposes only the fully matured, cured and graded tubers are used for storage. Cool and well ventilated places are used for storing. Generally the tubers are stored in single layer. If there is insufficiency is storage space, then the tubers can be stored in two layers as well. But storing the tubers in a heap should be avoided. In seed bank vaults, the dried and packed seeds are stored at a sub zero temperature. The seeds resemble a flat lens. The light brown, apical seeds of diameter 5mm have membranous wings which are usually 10mm long and about 7mm wide. Medicinal values It has been proved that Karunai Kilangu (elephant foot yam) has many medical benefits as its root is highly stomachic, restorative, carminative and tonic. The cooling effect of Karunai Kilangu can be a cure for Hypertension. It is often use as a treatment for piles. Yam helps to reduce cholesterol levels in blood. It can even act as an anticoagulant. Elephant yam can be safely consumed by diabetic people. Karunai Kilangu helps to maintain the hormonal balance by increasing the estrogen level in women. It can relieve the women from pre-menstrual syndrome as well. Hemorrhoids patients are also prescribed to have elephant yam. Powerful antioxidant Vitamin C is present which delays aging. It is also provided as a medicine for treatment to patients suffering from acute rheumatism. Irregular bowel movements and constipation can also be cured with its intake. However, it should be borne in mind that elephant yam is a cooling food. Hence patients suffering from cold, sinus infection or asthma should avoid its intake. Where to buy the vegetable in US This plant is grown mostly in tropical regions like Florida. Altamonte Springs, Brooksville, Cape Coral, Fernandina Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Lakeland, North Fort Myers, St. Augustine, Tampa, Winter Haven are the places in Florida where the plant grows. Clayton and Sacramento in California, Kenner in Louisiana, Portland in Oregon, Reynoldsville in Pennsylvania, Puyallup in Washington and Cabin Creek in West Virginia are also known for growing this plant. Nutritional and dietary information Karunai Kilangu (elephant foot yam) has a rich nutritional profile. It provides energy about 330KJ/100g (approximately). Potassium, Phosphorous and Magnesium are the key minerals found in elephant yam. It also contains trace minerals like zinc, copper and selenium. It also contains Calcium. 50-56mg/100g of its contents is Calcium. Its 18-24% is carbohydrate content. About 0.8% is fibre. Its water content is about 72-79% 1.7-5.0% of its content is protein. It has omega-3 fatty acids. Diosgenin, a molecular hormone which has potential anticancer effects, is found in yam. Elephant foot yam is high on vitamin B6 content. It also contains Vitamin C and Vitamin A. From its wide medicinal benefits and nutritional profile we can hereby conclude that elephant yam is very potent source of nutrition. So its consumption will prove beneficial to health. It can also be consumed by people looking for weight reduction as it is low on fat content (0.2-0.4%).

Technorati Tags: KARUNAI KILANZHU CHOPS,KARUNAI KIZHANGU VARUVAL,kArunai Kizhangu poriyal,Pidi karunai fry,pidi karunai dry curry,pidi karunai poriyal.

California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil

California is producing some very good extra virgin olive oil, some using old European varieties of olives, harvested the old fashioned way, and--some high quality extra virgin olive oil harvested in a very modern way, for a fraction of the price. So how is possible to get high quality extra virgin olive oil at a low price? Last week I visited California Olive Ranch, the largest California olive oil producer, and learned just how they do it.


It all comes down to freshness and quantity. California Olive Ranch plants three varieties, arbequina, arbosana from Spain and koroneiki from Greece. Their olive orchards look nothing like what you may have seen in Europe. The olive trees are pruned into a hedge shape that is harvested mechanically, using a harvester specially developed for shaking the trees to get the olives off without damaging them. Less damage means better quality oil.

Here are some numbers for California Olive Ranch:

Their olive trees grow 6-8 feet high

Trees are planted 5 feet apart

There is 13 feet between each row

There are about 675 trees planted per acre

Each tree yields 7-12 pounds of olives

Only 20% of the olive is oil, 55% is water

12 harvesters run 24 hours a day during harvest season

5,000 acres are owned by the company

5,000 acres are managed by 67 farmers who have long term leases

Each truck holds 66,000 pounds of olives

Each truck is unloaded in 35 minutes


Some more facts:

The tree trimmings are mulched

The ground pits and olives, called pomace, is fed to cattle

California Olive Ranch is using bird boxes and buffer zones to minimize the use of pesticides and tests each batch of olives, and has test plots for organic olives


If you ever get a chance to ride a harvester and see the olives jiggle off the trees I highly recommend it! That I got to share the experience with blogging friends Chef John from Food Wishes, Chrystal Baker from The Duo Dishes, Aleta Watson from The Skillet Chronicles, and Jane Bonacci from The Heritage Cook made it all the more sweet!


Speaking of sweet, all exra virgin olive oil should be a balance of fruity, bitter and pungent. The best way to find your favorite, is to taste them...however...California Olive Ranch uses descriptors like intense and bold and mild to help you find one to your taste.


* If you want the freshest olive oil, known as 'olio nuovo in Italy, sign up to buy California Olive Ranch's Limited Reserve.

* If you like a buttery mild oil without too much bite, look for their basic extra virgin olive oil

* If you like a fruitier variety, try the Arbequina

* The Arbosana is most complex

* The Miller's blend is bold and balanced (and a favorite of some bloggers, food writers and chefs too.)

My thanks to California Olive Ranch for inviting me up to visit during harvest and letting me sample their fresh oils!

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION! ©2011 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may NOT be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you are reading this post somewhere other than Cooking with Amy, the Oyster Local blog or Gather.com, then the site where you found this post is illegally publishing copyrighted material.

Chicken and Salad from Jamie Oliver

I received 'Jamie's America' for Christmas - just a beautiful book. The photos of not only the food but also the places visited are spectacular. I haven't spent a lot of time with this book yet, but 2 recipes jumped out at me and demanded to be made- Southern Pecan and Apple Salad, and Competition Chicken.

I have a weakness for bbq - good bbq, real(ish) bbq, and this chicken is definitely the best bbq chicken I've made. That didn't use a bbq.

Southern Pecan and Apple Salad

So delicious. I was really pleased with this. Super easy and very tasty. And if you click this link here, you can see the nutritional info courtesy of Health.com (although they've scaled it down to 6 servings and in the book it's 4).

Bargain Shopping at Grocery Outlet

I love a good deal, so you'll frequently find me perusing the wares at garage sales, thrift shops and outlet stores (not to mention sale racks!). Bargain hunting might as well be called 'treasure hunting,' as far as I'm concerned. Nothing beats the thrill of finding a long out-of-print copy of Better Than Store Bought cookbook, a discarded Moulinex meat grinder, or Santander chocolate priced to move (all things I've scored). Actually, the thrill is in just the possibility of finding something, which is exactly why I like shopping at Grocery Outlet.

Grocery Outlet buys closeouts and discontinued items so you never know what they will have. Unlike similar stores, they focus on quality brands and they have just about everything you'd find at a regular supermarket, including some organic produce. Sometimes you can figure it out why the product ended up there, because the size or the packaging gives it away. It might be something that was packaged for food service or a big box store. Or it might have been a seasonal promotion or flavor.

As you can imagine, each product has a story to tell, on an insider tour I learned why a terrific wine ended up being sold at a bargain price (a bank note was due and the winery needed cash) why an expensive beauty product ended up being discounted (the packaging changed and they needed to reduce inventory), why some fancy imported cookies were available (an order was cancelled after the shipment had already left Germany for the US) and why an adorable stuffed toy was being cleared out (a typo on the label). Prices vary but are often discounted 50% or more.

I also learned that Grocery Outlet is a third generation family owned company and that each store is independently operated and very involved in the local community. Employees even participated in a 'hunger challenge' style effort to experience what it was like to live on a food stamps budget.

Here are some the excellent finds from my most recent shopping trip:


Ok, so clearly this is NOT Baby Romaine! But who cares? It's an organic salad mix for an unbeatable price.


Greek yogurt. This stuff normally sells for $1.65 each at my local supermarket, and here it was 2 for a dollar!


Thomas' English Muffins really are the best you can find at any supermarket as far as I'm concerned, and $2.49 a pack is a steal.


I am crazy about Numi's puerh tea! Even with a coupon I can't get it this cheap.


Not on my usual shopping list, but how could I resist Terra Chips with Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic and Parmesan and for only $1.99 a bag? They are delicious by the way.


I'm guessing the new name 'mascarpone fresca' is what caused this to end up discounted from what the regular price $5.49 to only $1.99 (is it just me or does mascarpone sounds like the name of an Italian crime syndicate?) All that really matters is that the price is amazing for this luscious ingredient necessary for tiramisu. It's not on my regular shopping list, but like I say, I can't resist a bargain...

My thanks to Grocery Outlet for giving me a tour, introducing me to your buyers, sharing your stories and for giving me a gift card. (It will probably come as no surprise that I spent much more of my own money because I found so many good deals!)

What's the best closeout you've found or store where do you routinely find them?

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION! ©2011 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may NOT be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you are reading this post somewhere other than Cooking with Amy, the Oyster Local blog or Gather.com, then the site where you found this post is illegally publishing copyrighted material.

Braised chicory with Roquefort

Having spent the last 10 days in France it's struck me again what a mystery it is that you can't order more vegetable-based dishes in French restaurants. It's not that they don't have the produce. Down in the Languedoc they have gorgeous leeks right now and great bagfuls of chicory which is something you rarely find in the UK - or not at a reasonable price. Yet the only greenery most restaurants seem to offer - and have done for the past umpteen years - is salade de chèvre chaud (grilled goats' cheese salad).

Anyway I took advantage of some very good prices (about €2.50 a kilo) to buy 5 heads of chicory to make a side dish to go with yesterday's roast chicken. This is roughly the recipe.

Braised chicory with Roquefort
Serves 4-6
5-6 heads of chicory
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
About 125ml chicken or vegetable stock
50g Roquefort or other blue cheese. Or almost any leftover cheese for that matter - Comté would be good.

Cut the heads of chicory in half lengthwise and remove any damaged outer leaves. Fill a large shallow pan with water, bring to the boil and add the lemon juice to stop the chicory discolouring. Add the chicory, reduce to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon.

Discard the water from the pan, add the oil and then the butter. Once melted lay the halved chicory heads in the pan and fry until well browned, turning them carefully halfway through so as not to break them up. Lay them cut side upwards in a shallow baking dish, pour over the stock and crumble over the cheese. Cook alongside whatever roast you're cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned and the stock pretty well evaporated.

I also made a dish of leeks vinaigrette for which I posted a recipe on the blog a couple of years ago. Good to be reminded how good it is though and leeks are very tasty at the moment.

VAZHAITHANDU /BANANA STEM JUICE - SWEET AND SALT VERSION

I really got bored of making thogayal, pachadi and poriyal with vazhaithandu.My husband hates to eat vazhaithandu just becoz it takes so much time to chew n eat ;). I heard drinking vazhaithandu juice in empty stomach is one of the healthiest way to include in our diet. Its a hassle free job too.Last month when i went to my native ,we tasted this juice in a famous restaurant. We loved it.It was mild in sweet and served chilled.We couldn't find out its the juice of vazhaithandu .I wanted to try the same at home.I tried sweet and salt versions. Both were excellent. I dint serve it cold , i made at room temperature.So its ur choice  !!

 

SWEET JUICE

Plantain stem /Vazhaithandu - 1 /2 no (medium size) Boiled Milk - 1/2 cup (adjust) Sugar - 2 tbsp Water- If necessary

 

Method

Remove the outer layer of vazhaithandu till core ( At this point u dont have layers to remove). Cut into rings while removing the fibre simultaneously that comes between the rings . Chop into small pieces .Grind with sugar and milk.Add more milk & sugar if necessary. Strain in a double cloth filter.Pour in a serving glass. Serve it chilled or at room temperature !!

 

SALT VERSION

INGREDIENTS

Vazhaithandu - 1/2 no (medium size) Sour curd - 2tbsp Salt & water - As needed Pepper powder - 2 pinches (optional) Coriander leaves - To garnish

METHOD

Repeat steps 1 and 2 given in the above version and cut the stem into pieces and immerse in buttermilk to avoid color change. Grind the pieces along with curd and salt. Add more water , whisk and strain in a double cloth filter. Pour in a serving glass and  garnish with little coriander leaves serve chill!!

 

NOTE

1. Drinking vazhathandu juice alone doesnot help u to shed ur weight. U have to carry on the other things like diet .excercise etc.
2. U can prepare the juice in another way .

• Grind the Banana stem with salt , pepper powder and lime juice. Filter and enjoy !! Hope this method sounds easier.

KITCHEN CLINIC

PLANTAIN STEM / VAZHAITHANDU A potassium rich food with high fiber content and it has many other amazing health benefits.       Most people include banana in their daily diet, but very few have ever thought of including banana stem. The banana stem has many nutritive and health benefits. The stem is usually thrown away once the fruit is cut from the plant. So next time if you happen to find one, think of including it in your menu. Here are some good health reasons why banana stem must be part and parcel of your diet at least on occasions. Banana stem is rich in fiber and helps weight loss.  Due to rich content, it helps body to feel full faster.  The intake of food gets reduced by including banana stem to diet.  It can be taken in the form of juice, but eating it as a whole provides more benefits. Including it once or twice a week can help people looking for ways to cut down extra pounds. Like banana, banana stem is also rich in potassium and vitamin B6.  Vitamin B6 helps production of chemicals such as hemoglobin and insulin. Again, it improves the ability of body to fight against infection. Potassium helps effective functioning of muscles including cardiac muscles, prevents high blood pressure, helps nerve impulses and maintains fluid balance within the body. It is a diuretic and helps detoxify the body. Some believe that banana stem can prevent and treat kidney stones. This is fact under study and the effectiveness has not been proven by the western world. It can be taken as a laxative for constipation. Again, the rich fiber content prevents constipation. It cools the body. So overall, banana stem does wonders to our body. How to include them in diet? Very tender ones can be used in salads and not so tender ones can be added to soups or as a steamed vegetable.   Slicing banana stem for dishes might be hard work, but it provides unmatchable health benefits.Its a cooling agent to our body , so use it weekly twice is recommended.

Technorati Tags: Banana stem,plantain stem juice,Vazhathandu juice,Banana stem benefits,plantain stem benefits.

Bread Baking Babes Buddies - Hamburger Buns

Thank you thank you to all the Babes and now our Buddies that joined me in baking the bread I chose for July, Hamburger Buns from Williams Sonoma.  I am so happy that you enjoyed them so much.  It's definitely a recipe I will make again.

girlichef

Bread Experience

Judy's Gross Eats

My apology to Rita at Soep Kipje, I can't get a photo of her delicious buns to download.

A Messy Kitchen

Thanks again Ladies! Y'all are the best looking Bread Baking Buddies I've ever seen!

(If I missed anyone, a million apologies. Please email me again. If you are a late comer, let me know and I'll add you too!)