Cream Cheese Appetizer

For my daughter's birthday, My Sis In Law Bhairavi, assembled this wonderful appetizer.
She placed a bar of cream cheese on a flat platter and poured some cranberry glaze over that, and topped it with some crushed walnuts and some lemon rind.
She placed some wheat cracers to eat with it.
It is a very easy appetizer to make and very tasty too.

Chutneys for Chaat, Pani Puri Water

These recipes are all Mina's

When she makes the chutneys, she never adds water, instead she adds Lemon Juice so the chutneys last a long time.

All of these last two to three weeks in the fridge and nearly 6 months in the freezer.

But, if you take it out to thaw from the freezer, use it right away.

My friend Veena, makes the chutneys, fills them up in an ice cube tray and has bhel whenever she feels like it, That is a good idea, tooo!!

Green Chutney

Makes about 2 cups of thick chutney. To use, take a tablespoonful and add two to three tablespoons of water to make it thin and then use.

Coriander - 3 Cups (filled tightly in measuring cup)

(Cleaned, Washed, drained and dabbed with a paper towel to take out excess water

Raw Peanuts (Shelled) 2 Cups

Green Chillies - 12 Washed and dried (add more if you want spicier)

Lemons - 2 to 3 (squeeze out the juice and discard the seeds)

Salt - as needed for taste

Grind everything together, to form a smooth thick paste....

Sweet Chutney

This recipe makes 4 cups of Sweet Chutney!

Dates - about 3 cups (pressure cooked with 1/4 cup water)

Thick Tamarind water - about 1 cup

Jaggery or sugar - to taste

Salt - to taste

Chili Powder - roasted - 1 teaspoon

Jeera Powder - roasted- 1/2 teaspoon

Grind everything together, to form a smooth thick paste....

When you taste this, it should taste both sour and sweet at the same time (Khatta Meeta)

Garlic Chutney

Garlic - Cloves from 6 to 7 garlics

Red Chili - Equalling the amount of Garlic

Salt -as needed

Lime juice - to make it easier to grind

Dhania Jeera Powder - as needed

Again mix it all to make a smooth paste....

Just add a dab of this to your Chaat to experience the pungent taste

I don't have a picture of this, I will post the picture, when I make this next time)

Pani Puri Water (Look for this picture in Harshi;s Pani Puri Water Picture)

Pudina (Mint) leaves - 2 Cups (filled tightly in measuring cup)

(Cleaned, Washed, drained and dabbed with a paper towel to take out excess water

Green Chillies - 4 or more if you need this spicier

Lemon Juice - 3 or 4 tablespoons

Coriander - 1 cup (filled tightly in measuring cup)

(Cleaned, Washed, drained and dabbed with a paper towel to take out excess water

Black Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Grind everything together, to form a smooth thick paste....

When you taste this, it should taste kind of salty with an after taste

Again, this is very thick, you should just take a tablespoon of this paste and add up to 3 or 4 cups of ice cold water and then use it...

Instant Lemon Pickle (Another Version)

This is even easier way than this to make pickles.

Wash the lemons and dry them.

Cut in 8's and add Turmeric powder and salt and put it in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

When it is done, it will look like the pickle on the right. This tastes very good with plain curd rice.

If you add tadka to it it will look like the one on the left. This will not last lng since it is made this way so finish it fast.......

Please look to my this for all pickle spices measurements.

Lemon Sevai - Lemon flavored Home made Rice Noodles

Sevai is the tamil name for rice noodles.
I made rice sevai using my old sevai machine.
I have an updated version of the sevai machine (called Sevai Naazhi in Tamil), in Atlanta, so I gave the old one to my sister.
So Here is what you need
a Sevai Machine or the press used to make Thenkuzhal or mullu murukku
and
Idli Rice - 1 cup
Oil - 4 teaspoons
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Method
--->Soak the rice for about 2 hours
--->Grind to a thin soup consistency
--->In a kadai, add the oil and pour the batter, and add the salt, and keep stirring it, until it becomes a ball like dough.
--->Make small balls, and steam for 15 minutes
--->After it is steamed, put the balls one by one in the machine and make the sevai.
---->Once the sevai is done, make any flavor sevai that you like.
My childron love Lemon Sevai, so I usually make that.
Lemon Sevai is made just like Lemon Rice
You Need (to make 2 servings)
Lemon - 1
Turmeric powder-1/2 Teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil - 1 Teaspoon
Asafoetida- a pinch
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 Teaspoon
Channa Dal-1 Teaspoon
Red Chili - 1 broken in 2
Green Chili - 1, slit
Method
---> In a small pan, add the oil, after it gets hot, add the mustard seeds
--->Once the mustard seeds start to sputter, add the Channa Dal and the Chilies, and the Asafoetida
--->On the sevai add the turmeric powder, and pour the hot oil with the mustard seed and all the things on the Turmeric powder
--->Take the juice of 1 lemon, and pour on top of the sevai
--->Add the salt and mix well
This can be enjoyed at any time. I make this for my kids lunch.

A Comparison of the Sevai made at home and the store bought Rice noodles
---> tastes much much better.
--->It will not have the rubbery feeling that the store bought one has.
--->This absorbs the flavor
--->Involves Hard Work!
--->Worth the hard work!

Thidir Elumichangai (Instant Lemon Pickle)

Thidir means sudden in Tamil.
This pickle is generally made in weddings.
This lasts long in the fridge as long as you take care of it. ( By not using a wet spoon or accidentally dropping some water in it)


You will need
5 yellow lemons
Pickle chili powder (this is different from the red chili powder, since they use different kind of red chillies, if you don't have it, you can use red chili powder)
Hing
Oil
Red Chillies

Method
Wash the lemons, and put them in a vessel and cover them with water.
Let the water come to a boil and let it boil for a good 10 minutes.
now drain the water slowly and wait for the lemons to cool.
Take them out and cut them the way you want.
Save all the juice and put it all back in the vessel
now spread the mixture flat in the vessel and dived in 4 parts.
You will need chili powder as much as the 1/4th part of the lemon. and salt about 3/4th of the chili powder. Hing will be less than 1/4th of the salt.
(This is all done in proportions)
Lemon
3/4th of lemon = chili powder
3/4th of chili powder = salt
1/4th of Salt=hing
Now add the chili powder and salt and hing.
In a separate vessel heat up oil (enough to cover the lemons) and add the mustard and red chillies and once the mustard sputters, pour it over the mixture and mix immediately.
Make sure the lemon is completely soaked in oil.
One it cools, carefully store in a dry container and store in fridge.