Citrusy Sunday...

Citrusy Sunday...

Yesterday, started as a beautiful sunny morning .. later turned out to be pretty hot afternoon! We have been to my parent's place as we usually visit them on Sundays. At my mom's place, there is a moderate size garden. We keep it organic. We have lemon tree, mango tree, sapota tree, guava tree, Nyctanthus (parijatham/pavazha malli) tree, moringa tree, nithya malli tree, couple of small curry leaf plants, henna plant, hibiscus plant, thulasi plant, karpoora valli plant, jasmine plant and mint plant.

This Sunday we harvested few lemons. It gives immense pleasure to pluck nice.. ripe ..fresh.. silky.. tiny spherical citrus bombs.. Each of them as cute as a small baby's face.

There are many health benefits of lemons that have been known for ages. The main benefit is that the lemons have antibacterial, antiviral and immune boosting properties. They aid weight loss because lemon juice is digestive aid and liver cleanser. Lemon juice also has limoline which promotes immunity and fight infection. Lemon is also rich in citric acid, calcium, magnesium, vitamin c and pectin.

As there are abundant lemon flowers in the tree right now... just waiting for the more fruits.. to prepare myself for the lemon pickle...

Pineapple-Pom-Mint Juice

Pineapple-Pomegranate-Mint Juice

I decided to give my daughter some fresh fruit juices or milk shakes or smoothies for her morning breakfast as she finds hard to drink her milk and eat solid break fast within a short gap of time. One morning, I just opened my fridge, took out the pomegranate (pom) and pineapple. Just took the required quantity of these to make a juice for my daughter. The juice came out good. I added palm sugar and mint for more goodness. I generally make juice with pom and the thin membrane which separates the pom fruits into sections. This is the healthiest part of pom which we usually ignore. This pom juice with palm sugar is very good for girls. The palm sugar is an excellent coolant. You can add honey too instead of palm sugar. OK.. now lets see how to make this health potion.

For more - Juices / Shakes

Pineapple-Pom-Mint Juice

Peerkankai Thol Thuvayal/Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

Peerkankai Thol Thuvayal/Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

When you make kootu or poriyal or kozhambu with peerkankai, do you throw away the peels? Please do not throw away next time. Because I used to throw away the peels until I saw this recipe in a tamil magazine. I knew that the ridge gourd peels definitely had bunch of nutritional values.. and since I had the recipe in my hand now.. I did not want to give any more excuses to throw away the peels. For this recipe, I used the peels of the ridge gourd of my previous recipe peerkankai poriyal/ridge gourd poriyal. Try this peerkankai thol thuvayal/ridge gourd peel chutney and I am sure you too wont waste the peels hereafter and the aroma which fills your kitchen when you saute the peels.. is BONUS!

Peerkankai thol thuvayal/Ridge gourd peel chutney

Peerkankai Curry / Ridge Gourd Curry

Peerkankai Curry / Ridge Gourd Curry

Peerkankai is called as ridge gourd in english, beerakai in telugu and torai in hindi. Its botanical name is Lufa acutangula. Ridge gourds are rich in water content like cucumber. They are rich in dietary fibre and low in cholesterol and saturated fat.. which makes it an excellent choice for weight watchers. The ridge gourd/peerkankai poriyal has few ingredient and has this subtle sweetness. Its a good choice for the morning time cooking as it takes less time to prepare. Lets get into the recipe of peerkankai poriyal. 

For more poriyal/curry recipes click here - Poriyal

You need not waste the ridge gourd peels. You can make chutney in that. For recipe click - Ridge gourd peel chutney.

Peerkankai / Ridge Gourd Poriyal

Egg Podimas/egg scramble

Egg Scramble / Egg Podimas

Egg podimas or the egg scramble is an all time favourite dish in our house. We make it as side dish for chapathi for dinner.. or an instant sidedish for rice and sambar. It makes an excellent sidedish for rasam rice on a tired day. We like it with more onions and sometimes even with bell peppers. It is also great to stuff in between bread for quick sandwich. Chapathi rolls made with this egg scramble makes a good lunch box item for kids.

For more poriyal recipes click here - Poriyal

Agathikeerai Poriyal/country food

Agathikeerai Poriyal (Sesbania grandiflora)

This agathikeerai plant is usual grown on the edges of the paddy farms as borders along with pulicha keerai or gongura plants. As the name denotes "agathu keerai".. that means it is good for your body. My grand mother used to make it with very few ingredients. It a typical country side recipe. Choose the fresh and tender greens from the shop. Avoid any bunch with ripe leaves or some leaves with some white lines on it. Remove the leaves from their main stalks. This is one of the greens which can be easily cleaned. Wash them just before cooking. Lets go to the recipe..

Coconut Milk Rice/Thengaai Paal Saadham

Coconut Milk Rice / Thengaai Paal Saadham

The first time I tasted this rice was when my mother-in-law made during my initial days of marriage. I became a fan of this rice the very first time I tasted it. She made in a Dabara.  But I make it in pressure cooker too. This is such a simple rice with minimal ingredients. The subtle flavour of coconut milk and the fewer spices makes it good for brunch or lunch or dinner. In this recipe, I prefer to to use diluted coconut milk (that is half of water and half coconut milk) than full coconut milk because the full coconut milk will make the meal heavy or rich and creamy. The use of abundant garlic pods.. them being cooked in coconut milk.. awesome experience for the taste buds! Worth giving it a try.

Coconut milk rice / Thengaai Paal Saadham

Semiya/Vermicelli Payasam

Payasam / Vermicelli Payasam / Semiya payasam

Paayaasam is an easy south indian dessert which looks simple yet divine in taste! The fewer the ingredients of the recipe.. the better we can feel the flavour of them in the dish. Payasam is one such dish with minimal ingredients and makes a heavenly dessert. When i talk about payasam.. the cashews and raisins which we add to this dessert are not only for garnish but also for taste.. i remember the days when we used to fish out the cashews and raisins from the main payasam bowl to our cups.. :). Its easy to make and good to eat.

For more festival foods click here - Festival Foods

For more Sweets/Desserts click here - Sweets