Eggless Mayonnaise

Ingredients:
Sunflower oil - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Lemon juice - 3 drops
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Salt
Pepper powder - 1 pinch
Sugar - 1 pinch
Mustard seed (powdered) - 1 pinch

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together either by hand in a large mixing bowl or a mixer.

Podimas

Podimas can be made with either Potato or Vazhakka / raw banana. And there are 2 versions of Podimas - one with onion, other without onion.

I will share here both the recipes.

Serve with Onion Sambar.

Ingredients (for podimas with onion):

Potato - 1/2 kg

(or)

Raw banana / Vazhakka - 4 numbers

Onion - 1 medium

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal / uzhundu parippu - 1 tsp

Dry red chilly - 1, broken

Salt 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaf - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Pressure cook the potato / banana and peel the skin. 

Mash with some pieces as big chunks.

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard.

Add the urad dal and red chilly.

When the dal turns red, add the onions and curry leaf.

Reduce flame and stir well.

Fry till onion turns transparent.

Add the salt, turmeric powder.

Add the potato and mix well.

Cook covered on a low flame, mixing often for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaf.

Ingredients (for podimas without onion):

Potato - 1/2 kg

(or)

Raw banana / Vazhakka - 4 numbers

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal / uzhundu parippu - 1 tsp

Dry red chilly - 1, broken

Salt 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Green chilly - 1

Method:

Pressure cook the potato / banana and peel the skin. 

 Mash with some pieces as big chunks.

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard.

Add the urad dal and red chilly.

When the dal turns red, add the curry leaf.

Add the mashed banana / potato.

Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Grind the coconut and green chilly without any water
Add this to mashed banana / potato.

Mix well and cook covered on a low flame for 5 minutes.

Ratatouille

Since we saw the movie 'Ratatouille'; I have always wanted to make this colourful dish - a french vegetarian dish which reminded the food critic of his mom..I saw that the vegetables were layered around a thin sauce and then baked; but I had no recipe. I went into YouTube to see how the rat made ratatouille but it was not much help.
Internet provided so many recipes and almost all recipes had tomato and onion and garlic. Something like the Basic Italian Tomato sauce. All the vegetables had to be cut into perfect rounds...
But..... some invariably were not 'perfect'.
Some recipes said add these imperfect vegetable pieces to the sauce. I loved this!! I made a sauce with all the vegetables and tomato.
Never waste food!!

It came out so well....and so beautiful!

Preheat oven to 180 C for 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
Tomato - 1 kilo
Onion - 2 medium
Celery - 5 tbsp
Green Capsicum - 1 large
Carrot - 1 large
Garlic - 5 cloves
Salt
Pepper - 1 tsp
Dry Red chilli - 3
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Holy basil - 1 handful

To be cut into rounds
Yellow Zucchini - 1 large
Green Zucchini - 1 large (or)
Cucumber - 2 medium
Indian violet round brinjal / Long thin aubergine - 3
Potato - 4 medium
Red Capsicum - 2 large

Flavoured oil -mix together
Olive oil - 8 tbsp
Garlic - 4 cloves
Salt - 1 tsp
Thyme - 1 tsp
Basil - 1 tsp
Leek (optional) - 3 tbsp
Rosemary - 1 tsp
Red chilly flakes - 1 tsp

Method:
Cut the onions, garlic, carrots, green capsicum.
Chop all the tomatoes.
Heat olive oil and saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrot until onion becomes transparent.
Add all the other vegetables and cook covered on a low flame. Do not add any water.

Cut the zucchinis, potato, red capsicum, Cucumber (if using) and brinjal into thin rounds. Use a mandolin.
Store the brinjal and potato immersed in salted water under ready to use.

If any of the vegetables are looking less-than-perfect, chop them and add to the sauce mixture. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and red chilly. Continue cooking till all the vegetables are soft and well cooked.

Cool and puree.

Spread a 3 - 4 ladles of the sauce slightly thickly on the baking dish.

Arrange the vegetables on your dish - 1 slice each of potato, cucumber, brinjal, zucchini and red capsicum. Repeat.
If you think the vegetable slice is large, cut into half and use.
(I made this dish in 2 different vessels. It seems like a large portion, but it is better to make 2 portions!)

Pour the flavoured oil on top.
Cover with Aluminium foil and bake at 180 C for 40 minutes.

You can open the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes for caramelising the vegetables.
(I did not...as I did not see the 'rat' do it!!)

P.S.: If you wish, boil some pasta and mix with the vegetables and sauce. It tastes good too.

Strawberry Jam

Fresh Strawberry jam....homemade..

Ingredients:

Strawberry - 1 kg

Sugar - 600 gms

Lemon juice - 1/4 cup

Method:

Wash and clean the strawberry and dry on a clean cloth.

Puree and add to a thick bottomed large cooking vessel.

Add the sugar.

Add the lemon juice....

And start cooking on a low flame. Do NOT increase flame until all the sugar melts.

Once the sugar melts, increase flame and bring to a steady boil.

Sterilise the vessels to be used for storing the jam by boiling the vessel and lid in water for 10 minutes.

If you have a candy thermometer, the temperature at which jam sets is 220F or 105C.

Or else, keep a plate in the freezer and you will know if your jam is set, when it stops being runny on the frozen plate.

Too runny, not set..

Continue cooking...

And set!

Store in the sterilised jars and boil the filled jars for 10 minutes to prevent any moulds.