Strawberry Yogurt Parfait

I made this Strawberry and Yogurt Parfait specially for my friend and sending this to her event "Strawberry Preservation Fundas".I wanted to make it simple and healthy and din't add any cream.The recipe is versatile,you can mix and match the ingredients and make your own version.Crushed digestive biscuits mixed with little butter can also be used in place of the granola.

Ingredients:

For the Parfait:

Yogurt	1 cup
Strawberry	1 cup
Granola	½ cup
Vanilla essence(optional)	few drops
Sugar	1 tblsp

For the Granola:

Oats	1 cup
Sugar	2 tblsp
Honey	1 tblsp
Butter	1 tblsp
Nuts(I used Almond and Walnut)	as needed
Dry fruits (I used raisins)	as needed
Vanilla essence	1/2 tsp

Method:

Granola preparation:

• Take the sugar,honey and butter in a sauce pan and let it simmer for 2 mins.(I used demerara sugar and you can also try it with brown sugar or regular sugar)
• Add vanilla essence to it and mix well.
• Take the oats in a bowl and add the chopped nuts.Pour the sugar mixture and mix well so that it coats evenly with the oats.
• Spread this evenly on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 º C for about 10 mins.
• The granola is ready when it turns golden brown and nice aroma comes.
• Remove the tray from the oven and once it is cooled add the dry fruits you are using and store in an airtight container.

Parfait Preparation:

• Blend 2-3 strawberries with 1 tblsp sugar and make a puree.
• Add this strawberry puree,few drops of vanilla essence to the yogurt and mix well.Yogurt layer is ready.
• Chop the remaining strawberries finely.Add a tsp of sugar,mix well and keep aside.
• Take a bowl and add 2 tblsp of granola,top it with yogurt followed by chopped strawberries.Repeat with another layer of granola,yogurt and strawberries.Drizzle some honey on the top,chill for some time and serve.

Note:

• Use thick fresh yogurt for this recipe.
• You can add some more sugar to the yogurt if you want it more sweet.
• You can use store bought granola too and proceed with the recipe.

Tutti Frutti Loaf Cake

A simple orange flavoured loaf cake with Tutti frutti makes a great snack.I adapted this recipe from Tarla dalal and made few changes.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour	1 ¼ cup
Sugar	2 tblsp
Baking powder	1 ½ tsp
Baking soda	½ tsp
Sweetened condensed milk	½ tin
Butter melted or oil	¼ cup
Tutti frutti	1/3 cup
Orange juice	¼ cup
Milk or water	1/3 cup
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Orange zest	1 tsp
white vinegar	1 tsp

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 º C.
• Sift the flour,baking powder,baking soda and keep aside.Add the tutti frutti and mix well.
• Take the condensed milk,butter,sugar,orange juice,orange zest,vanilla essence and milk in a mixing bowl and mix well with a whisk.Add the vinegar and mix well.Now add the sifted flour little by little and mix till there are no lumps.Adjust the consistency by adding water if needed.
• Transfer the batter to a greased and floured loaf pan.Top it with some more tutti frutti and bake at 180 º C for about 35 mins or till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Allow to cool,slice and serve.

Note:

• I added tutti frutti to the wet batter directly and hence it got settled at the bottom.Mixing the tutti frutti with flour helps in even distribution.
• Adding vinegar is optional.

Pavakkai (Bittergourd) Pitlai

Bittergourd/Pavakkai Pitlai is one of my favourite bittergourd recipes.It is prepared in a tamarind base with freshly ground spices and tastes great with rice.I have added some cooked chickpeas too the pitlai. 

Ingredients:

Bittergourd chopped	1 1 /2 cups
Chickpeas	1/4  cup
Toor dhal	½ cup
Tamarind	Small lime size
Salt	As needed
Jaggery	Small piece
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Oil	2 tsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	few
To roast and grind
Coriander seeds	2 tsp
Channa dhal	1 tsp
Urad dhal	1/2 tsp
Red chilli	2-3
Pepper	5-6
Coconut grated	4 tblsp

Method:

• Soak chickpeas overnight and Pressure cook the chickpeas and toor dhal seperately.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and roast all the ingredients in "To roast and grind" table except coconut to golden colour.Transfer to a plate and cool.Roast coconut seperately and keep aside.Grind the roasted ingredients first to a fine powder adding roasted coconut at the end and grind them together.
• Take the chopped Bittergourd in a vessel and add enough water and a pinch of salt.Boil for 3-4 mins and now drain the bittergourd in a colander and rinse with water( You can skip this rinsing step if the bittergourd is not too bitter).
• Extract 2 cups of tamarind water from the tamarind.
• Now take the tamarind water,turmeric powder,jaggery piece and the bittergourd in a vessel,add  salt and boil well till the raw smell of tamarind goes off and bittergourd is fully cooked.
• Now add the chickpeas,mashed toor dhal and the prepared spice powder.Adjust the consistency by adding required water and boil for 3-4 mins .
• Heat a pan with oil,add mustard seeds followed by curry leaves and add to the pitlai.

Idiyappam with Vegetable Stew

Idiyappam is a healthy steamed dish made from rice flour.It pairs well with vegetable stew or sweetened coconut milk.Lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Idiyappam:

Idiyappam flour(I used Nirapara brand)	1 ½ cups
Water( see note below)	2 cups
Salt	a pinch
Oil	1 tsp

For the vegetable stew:

Mixed vegetables(potato,carrot,peas,beans)	1 ½ cups
Green chilli	1
Red chilli powder	as needed
Garam masala powder	¼ tsp
Onion	1
Tomato	1
Curry leaves	as needed
Salt	as needed
Coconut milk powder(see note below)	3 tblsp
Oil	2 tsp

Method:

Idiyappam preparation:

• Take the Idiyappam flour in a bowl.
• Bring water to a rolling boil in a pan.Add salt and oil and add little by little to the idiyappam flour and mix with a ladle.It will form a slightly sticky dough.
• When the dough forms a mass and is hot enough to handle with hands,make a smooth ball of the dough.Place it in a idiyappam press and make small rounds of idiyappam on a idli plate greased with little oil.
• Steam for about 12 minutes.

Vegetable stew Preparation:

• Boil the mixed vegetables in water till they are cooked.
• Heat a kadai with oil and add slit green chilli and curry leaves.
• Add finely chopped onion and fry till it turns translucent.Now ad dthe tomatoes and fry till they turn mushy.Add salt and red chilli powder and garam masala powder and fry well.
• Make coconut milk by adding 3 tblsp coconut milk powder to 1 cup of water.
• Now add the boiled vegetables and the prepared coconut milk.
• Adjust the consistency of the stew by adding little water if required.
• Boil for 2-3 mins and serve.

Note:

• Add hot water little by little till you get right consistency.And always cover the dough with a wet cloth to prevent it from drying.If the dough is very stiff it will be difficult to press.Check if your idiyappam flour has salt added in it.Skip salt if already added.
• For the stew,the vegetables can be of your choice.I have used coconut milk powder(store bought) to make coconut milk.You can also extract coconut milk from fresh coconut and use.