Kitchen Corner-Try It

Fruit and Nut Pinwheels Merry Christmas to all my friends and readers! Today's recipe is baked  fruit and nut pinwheel pastry. It is made with ready made puff pasty dough.You can also use yeast dough for this recipe instead of puff pasty( check recipe here ). This is a delicious treat of flaky pastry with slightly caramelized sugar and a simple  holiday treat.Serve this with a cup of tea and enjoy! Ingredients Puff pastry -2 sheet Granulated sugar- 1/2cup Cardamon powder- 3/4 tsp Salt- a pinch Fruits and nuts mix- I used glazed cherries, golden raisins, pistachios and cashew nuts. Thaw puff pasty as per package instruction.Pre heat the oven to 350 degree F.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry. Spread the sugar evenly on top and using a rolling pin gently roll on top so that the sugar so that it sticks on the dough. Leaving an inch on all sides spread the fruits and nut filling. Lifting the side close to you and roll the doug...

Ari Sharkara Payasam Do you like puddings with rice? Today's recipe is an old-fashioned delicious dessert/pudding with rice and jaggery. I love puddings with rice because it is a simple, homey dessert and is easy to make. Rice payasam with jaggery tastes delicious. Unlike refined sugar, jaggery is often used in traditional recipes as a sweetener to make snacks and desserts. Jaggery adds a rich molasses taste, and its color can vary from golden brown to dark brown. For this Ari sharkara payasam/ rice jaggery payasam, it is preferable to use the dark jaggery. Rice is a staple in South India, and pudding with rice is very common. Rice has a divine appeal to it, and rice payasam is a cherished offering of South Indian temples. Ari sharkara payasam is a quick and simple dessert/pudding. Rice, coconut milk, ghee, and jaggery/molasses together makes a unique and tasty dessert. It has a beautiful texture, soft and moist, and almost melting in ghee along with the creamy taste of coc...

Pavakka Kichadi Today's recipe is kichadi which is a yogurt-based side dish served with rice. Kichadi is also an integral part of Onam and Vishu Sadhya. I have posted other versions of kichadi with beetroot and okra. Kichadi with pavakka/bitter gourd is tasty and easy to make.  Bitter gourd is a staple vegetable in Indian cuisine. Bitter gourd or bitter melon as the name suggests is bitter. But there are some dishes with bitter gourd that you should give a shot before you write off this bitter vegetable completely. And the best part of pavakka kichadi is that does not taste bitter. Thinly sliced bitter gourd is deep-fried in good flavorful coconut oil, till crispy and then mixed into spiced yogurt. The spiced sour yogurt and the bitter pavakka mix in and combine to construct a flavor profile that makes your taste buds happy! I have always loved this vegetable and I should thank my mom and her endless list of recipes with bitter gourd. She makes pavakka theeyal, puli...

Skillet Chile Cheese Cornbread Baking partners challenge for this month is corn bread. When Swathi asked me to make and share this recipe, I thought it is a wonderful idea as it can be part of Thanksgiving menu . This is a southern style skillet cheese corn bread with a spicy kick and flavor of  jalapenos. It turned out moist and flavorful. The recipe is adapted fromWeight Watchers Light and Easy Cookbook ,Oxmoor house,1997 and from 1001 Great Recipes from around the World , Culinary Arts Institute, New York, 1981. Ingredients Yellow Cornmeal- 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour- 1 cup Baking powder- 2 tsp Salt- 1/4 tsp Brown sugar- 2-3 tbs Egg-2 Vegetable oil-1/4 cup Carrot shredded- 1/3 cup (optional) Green chilly  or Jalapenos- 3 ounce (or according to spice tolerance) Corn - 1/2 cup ( or cream style corn 1/2 can) Butter milk- 1 cup Milk- 1/2 cup Shredded mild Cheddar cheese- 1 cup Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and set aside. Pre heat ...

Baking partners challenge for this month is corn bread. When Swathi asked me to make and share this recipe, I immediately agreed . Making corn bread has always been in my wish list. It is  perfect for holiday meal.The first time I saw this recipe was in Shakers frugal cook book. It had very little ingredients and easy to put together. It can be served as a snack or part of a meal. Try this, you will surely love it. Recipe source: Dorling Kindersley, Classic Home Cooking,London, 1995. Ingredients Fine yellow cornmeal- 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour- 1 cup Dark brown sugar- 1/4 cup Sugar- 1 tbs Molasses- 1/2 cup Baking powder- 2 tsp Salt- 1/2 tsp Milk- 1 1/4 cup Egg-2 Melted butter- 4tbs Vegetable oil- 2 tsp Cinnamon - a pinch (optional) Lightly butter cake pan and set aside.Pre heat oven to 400 degree F. Mix corn meal, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat egg, melted butter,molasses, milk and oil till it is bu...

Fruits Varattiyathu Todays recipe is fruits varattiyathu/ fruit preserve  made in traditional Kerala style. Chakka varatti/jack fruit preserve is a popular in  Kerala which is made with fully ripe jack fruit bulbs. Along with chakka/jack fruit I have used pineapple, ripe plantain and ripe mango to make this fruits varattiyathu. It can be used as a jam or it can be served as halwa/dessert. You can also use this to make payasam, ila ada and steamed dumplings. Try this,you will surely love it Ingredients Ripe Jack fruit chopped- 15-18 bulbs Pineapple chopped- 1 cup Ripe plantain- 1 Mango medium sized- 1 Jaggery powdered- 2 1/2 cup Ghee- 1/3 cup Cardamon powder- 1 tsp Dry ginger powder- 1/2 tsp De-seed jack fruit bulbs and cut into small pieces. Chop the fruits and keep aside Boil jaggery with 2 cup of water till completely dissolved, strain and keep aside. Take a heavy bottom pan and cook the chopped fruits with one cup of water. When the fr...