All about EGGS

Here are a few tricks and tips on eggs:
1. HEALTHY SALAD
For a lighter egg salad, replace mayonnaise with plain low-fat yogurt. You could also spice it up with a spoonful of Dijon mustard, freshly ground black pepper and chopped fresh herbs. Use only as much dressing as needed to bind the chopped eggs together.
For an easy and colourful brunch, lunch or spring dinner, first scoop out the flesh from a big ripe tomato, place it on a bed of lettuce on a plate and fill with a salad made with two eggs per serving. Garnish with a few asparagus tips and serve with crusty whole wheat bread.
2. GARNISHING WITH EGGS
If you have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge, you can use them to make a nutritious garnish. Simply chop finely and sprinkle over soups, salads, pasta dishes such as macaroni and cheese, and cooked vegetables. A chopped egg garnish is particularly good with asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower.
Add one of the following ingredients to your favourite egg salad recipe for filling sandwiches, spreading on crackers, or stuffing celery sticks: crumbled cooked bacon and chives; well-drained crushed pineapple; grated carrots and chopped nuts; salad shrimps and chopped green pepper or chives; curry powder and diced celery.
3. FUNNY SANDVICHES FOR KIDS
Use egg salad to make funny face sandwiches for the children. Spread egg salad on a slice of bread or a toasted English muffin half. Use alfalfa sprouts or grated carrots to make hair. For the eyes, use halved cherry tomatoes or radish slices. A piece of cucumber or a baby carrot will make a fine nose and, for the mouth, a tomato wedge or a piece of carrot or celery will be just dandy.
4. STORING EGGS
In the refrigerator, keep your eggs in their original container which holds them more securely and protects from absorbing odours. Eggs should be stored large end up to help the yolk remain well-centered and keep eggs fresher longer.
When you plan on bringing egg salad, egg sandwiches, or hard-boiled eggs to work or school for lunch, remember that eggs are perishable and should be handled with care. Prepare salads, sandwiches or hard-boiled eggs in a sanitary environment. Carefully wrap food in plastic wrap or put in plastic bags or recyclable air-tight containers and place in the refrigerator. When it's time to go, put a box of frozen juice or an ice pack in the lunch box to keep eggs cool till lunchtime.
Egg-based dishes (quiches, soufflés, omelettes, etc.) and hard-boiled eggs must be refrigerated as soon as possible and used within 3 to 4 days after cooking.
Eggs and mayonnaise sandwich fillings and spreads can be made the day before and refrigerated.
5. EGG FRESHNESS
There are two very simple ways to check eggs for freshness. The first is to shake the egg close to your ear: if it makes no noise, it's fresh. The second way is to place the egg in water. If the egg sinks and remains on the bottom, it's fresh; if it floats, it has lost some freshness. In that case, check the "best before" date on the carton. Did you know that at room temperature, eggs deteriorate as fast in one day as eggs kept in the refrigerator do in a week?
6. EGG FLAVOURING
It's easy to give eggs a deliciously different taste. Simply wrap fresh eggs in aluminum foil with tarragon, thyme or laurel leaves. Leave in the refrigerator from 24 to 48 hours then cook as usual.
7. HARD-BOILED EGGS
Cooking eggs in salted water will make your hard-boiled eggs even more delicious. And salt also helps keep shells from cracking.
Using older eggs to make hard-boiled eggs will make them easier to shell.
8. POACHED EGGS
To poach eggs, fill a saucepan two-third full with water. Add 15 mL (1 tbsp) vinegar for each litre of water and bring to a boil. Make sure the eggs you use are fresh: fresh egg whites will spread easily and will not cling to the yolk. Gently simmer 4 to 5 eggs at a time from 3 ½ to 4 minutes, then drain.
9. SCRAMBLED EGGS
To make light and foamy scrambled eggs, separate the whites from the yolks. Whip the whites until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat the yolks with a fork. Fold the beaten yolks into the whites and cook as usual.
10. OMELETTE
There's something irresistible about a good omelette. We recommend that you beat the eggs just before cooking. If you let the eggs rest before cooking, even briefly, your omelette won't be as deliciously spongy.
11. Bubble Bath
Whisk two egg yolks with six tablespoons of baby shampoo. Pour this mixture under the tap while filling the bath. Source: Filles: Clin d'œil, March 2006

Tomato Pickle 1

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 1 Kg
Turmeric powder - 1 tspn
Vinegar - 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

For paste:
Ginger - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 1/2 cup
Dry Red Chillies - 15-20 Nos.

For Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves few
Red chillies - 2 nos.
Sesame Oil - 1/4 cup

Preparation:
Cut the tomatoes put it in a bowl along with turmeric, 1 cup of vinegar and salt. Let it soak for 2 hrs. Meanwhile make a paste with ginger, garlic and redchillies. Now take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, redchillies, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, add in the paste, saute it for a while then add in soaked tomato mixture and rest of the vinegar. Cook it till it achieves a thick paste kind of consistency and oil floats on top. Store it in a jar. This one goes well with Dosas, Idlies, Pongal, Chappatties, Curd rice, any kind of roties.

Food Facts File

Iam opening this file to give out information more about food rather than just to satisfy our taste buds. Food is the source of energy, safe guards our immune system, provides us to stay healthy in the long run. Apart from that, it gives us healthy skin, hair even healthy mind. It beautfies us from inside out. So, I want every one to know We are what We eat - Healthy body, Healthy Mind and Healthy Living. And so you can modify your eating habits, and see to that you get a balanced diet by feeding each and every cell of yours with good nutrition. For this reason I keep collecting lots of information from various sources and giving it here.

Tomatoes:
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, which helps to flush out free radicals in our body. These lycopene also fights against several types of cancers.
Cooked tomatoes are richer than raw ones. Cooking tomatoes in oilive oil allows your body to absorb the lycopene better. They are rich in potassium and conatins niacin, vitamin B6, and folate, which are great for the heart. Tomatoes are rich in two antiageing free-radicals lycopene and beta carotene. While picking up tomatoes make sure you choose the ones that come in the brightest shades of red as these have high amounts of betacarotene and lycopene.
Since they contain lots of fibre and are low in calories, tomatoes are a great food to include in your diet if you're keen on losing some weight. Beta carotene gets converted into vitamin A once you eat it. Vitamin A helps in the development of healthy skin, hair and aids vision and development of bones and teeth.

Cabbage Poriyal

This is an simple yet healthy cobination of vegetable with dal and coconut. Easy to prepare and healthy as well as tasty combination with your meal.
Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1/2 kg (serves 4-5)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves - few
Green chillies - 1-2 nos.
Channa Dhal / Moong Dal - 2 tbspn (Soaked for 10 mins.)
(its an variation either one you can use. Taste differs with each one)
Coconut grated - 2 tblspn.
Oil - 2 tblspns.

Preparation:
Wash and chop the cabbage finely. Heat oil in a kadai add mustard seeds, when it spultters add slit green chilles, curry leaves and goes the soaked dhal with some water. Let it boil for a while till dhal is almost cooked add in the cabbage, salt mix it and cover it with a lid. When the vegetables are cooked and still crunchy sprinkle grated coconut and some chopped coriander leaves mix it and serve.

Ripe Mango Curry

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango - 2 nos. (cut in to pieces)

turmeric - little

Salt little

Curd - 2 cups

For masala paste:

Coconut grated - 1 cup

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 3-4 nos. (according to your spice requirement)

Cumin seeds - 1 tbspn

Ginger - little (optional)

For tadka:

Oil - 2 tblspn

mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tspn

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Dry red chillies - 2 nos.

Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

Boil the mangoes with some water, little turmeric and little salt. Boil it till its well cooked and slightly mash some pieces. mean while prepare the masala paste, beat the curd mix it with the masala paste. Now add this curd and masala mixture to the boiling mangoes. Don't let the mixture boil. Take it off the flame when it is about to boil. Make the tempering and pour it over the curry. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Tomato Kulambu

Ingredients:

1. Onion (big) - 1 no
2. Tomatoes - 5 nos.
3. Vegetable: 2 nos(Drumstick / potatoes)
4. Garlic - 7 pods
5. Ginger - 1 inch piece (chopped)
6. Tamarind - Gooseberry size (soak and extract the juice
7. Kulambu milagai podi - 2 teaspoon
8. Green chillies - 2 nos. slit
9. Coconut milk - 1 cup
10. Salt to taste

For the masala paste:

1. Coconut - 2 tablespoon
2. poppy seeds - 1 table spoon
3. fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

for tempering:

1. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
2. Urad Dhal broken - 1/2 teaspoon
3. Channa Dhal - 1 teaspoon
4. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Garnishing : Coriander leaves chopped

Preparation:

Wash and cut the drumstick in to 11/2 inch pieces. For potatoes peel the skin and cut into 1 inch cubes. Chop the onions length wise. Chop 3 tomatoes length wise and 2 cubed. Heat oil in a pan, add ingredients for tempering . When the mustard seeds splutters, add garlic, ginger, onions and greenchillies fry for a while then add in vegetables, fry for a minute, then goes the tomatoes, fry for a while, then add in kulambu chilly powder and salt fry for a minute or two. Now add the tamarind water and let the vegetables get cooked. Now add in the ground paste and coconut milk, little water, let the gravy come to a boil then garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot. you can also make this gravy without the vegetables.

Masala Egg Fry

Ingredients:

1. Hard boiled Eggs - 4 Nos.
2. Red Chilli Powder - 2 teaspoon
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Coriander powder - 2 teaspoon
5. pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Black salt - 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
8. Thick Curd - 1 Table spoon
9. Oil - 1 tablespoon + for frying
10. Salt to taste

Preparation:

Shell the eggs and cut it in to halves. Take a plate, put all the powders, Salt, curd and oil mix it all well into a paste, adjusting curd and oil if it is too thick. You can also use lemon instead of curd. Coat each piece with the masala mixture nicely. Keep it aside and let it marinate for some time. Now heat a pan with little oil spread over it, place all the pieces, pouring over the remaining masalas over the eggs. Drizzle some oil over all the pieces, fry on both the sides and take it out. Decorate it with some chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.