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Hi friends,

I am sure everyone has great plans for Christmas. Along with the Christmas decorations, Church schedules,  and shopping comes the cooking plan. We all wonder and think of many many recipes, but still the family's vote goes for our usual successful recipes ☺ That too native recipes stay in our menu forever. As we both are from Tirunelveli, our town's recipes comes to our minds first. Every year Xavier gives me a long wish list ☺ Here is that list ! Enjoy !

Merry Christmas !

Christmas plum cake (Indian style)

Plain vanilla cake

 Butter biscuit (Sooji berry biscuit / benne biscuit) :

Gingerbread cookies:

Orange butter cookies:

Susiyam:

Athirasam:

 Munthiri kothu

Porikadalai laddu:

Pineapple Kesari

Spicy snacks:

Butter Murukku

Coconut milk murukku

Thattai

Oma podi (sev)

Kara sev:

Ulunthu vadai

Paruppu vadai

Breakfast:

Aappam (rice pancake)

Lunch:

Turkey biriyani

whole fried chicken

Dindigul chicken biriyani (in cooker)

Tirunelveli mutton varuval

Egg kuruma (Tirunelveli style)

Stuffed egg (keeru muttai)

Dessert : (Paruppu Payasam)

Merry Christmas !

I adore healthy (whole grain, oil-free) muffins for an easy breakfast or satisfying mid-day snack, but I’m especially drawn lately to these little guys, because they bring savory to the occasion, as opposed to the usual sweet.

I love the colors and the texture trio of crispy, creamy, and chewy. But it’s the zippy flavor from sautéed onions, jalapeño, and corn, along with wilted spinach and salsa that keep me coming back for more. Outstanding with a bowl of hot soup or chili, too.

They are lovely to serve for brunch, or bring to tailgates, barbecues, and picnics. Extras freeze well, and can be warmed up later in the week.

Made with a mixture of polenta and oats, they’re naturally gluten free, too. Hope you like them as much as we do.

SAVORY POLENTA MUFFINS

Makes 12 muffins

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

pinch of salt

dash of Creole Seasoning

1 cup uncooked polenta or cornmeal

1 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

1 cup salsa

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with parchment paper liners or have a silicone muffin pan available.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the onion, and dry sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Sprinkle a little bit of water as needed to prevent sticking to the pan. Add jalapeño and frozen corn and continue to sauté vegetables until soft. Turn off heat. Stir in spinach and allow it to wilt. Season with dash of salt and creole seasoning, and set aside.

Into a large mixing bowl, combine polenta, oats, baking soda, soy milk, and salsa. Stir in sautéed vegetables, and mix ingredients until just combined.

Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, and bake about 28 minutes, or until tops are golden and firm to the touch. Remove muffins from the oven, and place on cooling racks.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: https://annarborvegankitchen.com/2018/05/16/savory-polenta-muffins/

The Christmas tree came down today. Oh, my friends, it makes me sad, but I’m grateful for the time we had together. And I’m especially grateful that my husband let me keep it up as long as we possibly could (considering the holiday tree garbage pick up schedule and all).

In years past he’s been known to take down decorations the day after Christmas, and I’ll never let him forget that he landed in the ER that day he slipped on the Christmas bins in the garage, and how the entire ER staff basically told him it served him right for being a Scrooge. I think it left an impression on him. Either that or he’s been super sweet because he knows how much it means to me to keep the tree up as long as possible.

But I do know that once the ornaments and garland are stowed away until next year, and the house returned to normal, that I will breathe a sigh of relief. As much as I love Christmas, it will be good to get things back to normal again.

Normal. Who’s ready for that? Before we say farewell to another year, we need a toast, and why not one that still sneaks in some holiday red and green? We’ve been loving this Cranberry Pomegranate Mojito during this holiday break, and if you feel toasting with something different than bubbly for the New Year, I’d say this holiday cocktail is festive and ready for fun!

I raise my glass to you, another wonderful year together, and to an exciting year ahead. May 2019 bring you joy!

Source: https://kitchenconfidante.com/cranberry-pomegranate-mojito-cocktail

A smaller and dark-skinned cousin of chickpeas, black chickpeas have a denser texture and stronger, earthier aroma and taste. Black chickpeas should be soaked for at least 12 hours before cooking. Black chickpeas are cooked with other strong flavors and featured in thick and hearty curries. The important thing is to make sure they are boiled well until soft. They tend to take longer than yellow chickpeas. I don't eat them very often, and I'm not sure why, because they are very enjoyable with a pleasant texture.

From Jagruti, we learn that this is a classic curry recipe of Gujrat. It is made without onion or garlic and has sweet, tangy flavours from the addition of tamarind and tomato and it's nice and spicy too, without being overpowering. It's also dairy-free, high in fiber, and goes especially well with Indian flatbreads, such as roti, and some steaming hot basmati rice. It's also easy to prepare with staples you likely have on hand if you have a well-stocked pantry as I do.

Gujarati Black Chickpea Curry

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey Cuisine: North Indian Published on June 6, 2018 An earthy north Indian curry made with flavorful brown chickpeas simmered in a thick, rich and spicy aromatic tomato gravy Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup dried black (brown) chickpeas (kala channa) 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, preferably seedless (*see note) 3 to 4 tablespoons ghee or oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds 4 small whole cloves 1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon stick 1/4 teaspoon asafetida small handful of dried curry leaves, crumbled 2 fresh red or green chilies, seeded and minced 1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced or grated 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 2 teaspoons Kashmiri or other chili powder 1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 medium tomato, finely chopped 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 1/2 cups water 1 tablespoon jaggery or coconut sugar (optional) 1/2 teaspoon garam masala sea salt to taste handful of fresh cilantro or parsley, trimmed and chopped Instructions: Rinse the chickpeas and cover with water. Let the chickpeas soak for at least 10 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse, transfer to a large saucepan, and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender — about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, soak the tamarind pulp in 2/3 cup of hot water for 30 minutes. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and transfer both the tamarind and soaking water to the strainer. Push as much tamarind as you can through the strainer and scrape the bottom of the strainer to get any tamarind residue into the bowl. Discard the rough fibers and any seeds that remain in the strainer. Set aside. Heat the ghee or oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. Fry for 30 to 60 seconds or until the mustard seeds begin to splutter and pop. Toss in the asafetida, curry leaves, chilies and ginger, and stir for a few minutes. Now add the turmeric, chili powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and paprika, and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the tomato and tomato paste and simmer for another few minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas to the pan and pour in 1 1/2 cups water. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. When the gravy begins to thicken, stir in the tamarind water, jaggery or coconut sugar if using, and garam masala, and simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Add more water if necessary, but the goal here is to aim for a nice thick gravy. Remove from heat, discard the cloves and cinnamon stick, and stir in salt to taste. Serve hot garnished with fresh chopped cilantro or parsley. This dish goes well with fresh cooked white rice or your favorite Indian flat breads and a vegetable side. Note: If you don't have tamarind, then add a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice along with a 1/2 teaspoon of amchoor powder instead, but you won't quite get the same sweet tart flavor that is unique to tamarind. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Other recipes featuring black chickpeas from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Chickpeas, Kidney Beans and Lentils with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Black and Yellow Chickpeas in a Sweet and Spicy Sauce

Black and Yellow Chickpeas with a Coconut Chili Sauce

Black Chickpeas with Roasted Coconut and Fragrant Spices

On the top of the reading stack: Blind Date (Kosinski, Jerzy)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/oembed?format=xml&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8jq8KJBsRU8