Lock N Lock voucher giveaway

Hello readers, I will be giving away a Lock N Lock voucher which is worth $50 and the voucher expires on September 28, 2012.

LNL carries some great cookware (both ceramic & stainless steel), glass, ceramic and BPA free plastic containers, cleaning products as well as utensils. They have a lot of deals going on, and I am sure this $50 will go a long way.

This giveaway will end on Sunday October 30, 2011 at 11.59 pm EST and the winner will be chosen on November 1, 2011.

How to enter the giveaway

Mandatory entry:

Leave a comment here telling me which other post in this blog do you like.


Bonus Entries:


To increase your chances of winning, do any of the following and then leave a comment on this post telling me what you did. Each comment is considered as one entry and so please make sure to leave a separate comment for every entry. Also, please make sure to leave your email in the comment, or have it available at your profile page.

1 Entry - Like us on Facebook
1 Entry - Follow us on twitter
1 Entry - Tweet about this giveaway, make sure to leave a direct link. Please come back and leave your twitter ID in the comment.
1 Entry - Post about this giveaway on facebook, make sure to leave a direct link. Please come back and leave your facebook ID in the comment.


Disclosure: The giveaway is open to US residents 18 years or older. The winner will be chosen via random.org and the winner will be notified by e-mail. Make sure to leave your email or have your contact available on your blogger profile. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, and if there is no response, another winner will be chosen.

Cabbage, Bell pepper Chutney

Cabbage is one vegetable not found frequently in our kitchen. I can't think of any varieties other than cabbage fry with some peas and carrot. I then tried this recipe just to see what else we can do with this vegetable. And it was an instant hit. My DH and friends really loved it. Lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1tsp

Oil - 1tbsp

Curry Leaves

For the actual recipe:

Half a small cabbage

Red bell pepper - 1 medium size

Tomatoes - 2 medium size

Green chillies - 10 (more/less depending on how spicy you would like it)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add finely chopped cabbage and fry it for 5 minutes. Then, add bell pepper and fry for 15 minutes on medium heat. All the raw smell should be gone. If not, fry for some more time.

3. Now, add tomatoes and green chillies.

4. Fry the tomatoes until they turn mushy. Now, grind this mixture into a coarse/fine paste (the way you like it).

5. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put chana dal, mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the cabbage, bell pepper, tomato paste and turn the stove off. Take this into a bowl and serve it with dosa/idli/rice.

Junnu

Junnu is an Indian (espcially made in southern part of India) sweet made from cow's lactating milk or junnu paalu. This milk is thick, yellowish and smells for the first few days. Back home, we collect this milk after a Cow gives birth to a calf and add regular milk to prepare this dessert.

The first person that comes to my mind when I think of "Junnu" is my brother. My mom's cousin has a dairy farm and she used to bring a lot of junnu paalu (cow's lactating milk) almost once in every month. My mom used to freeze this milk and made junnu when my brother came from boarding school. I used to hate this sweet when I was in India, as it made its presence 365 days in our home. But, when i got married and came to US, i really missed it. Not any more as I got this recipe from my friend. It will definitely satisfy all those Junnu lovers without the actual cow's lactating milk.

Ingredients:

Evaporated milk - 1 cup
Whole milk - 2 cups
Eggs - 2
Jaggery - 1 to 1 1/2 cup (according to your taste)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp

Note:  You can also use 2% milk instead of whole milk. If you want a little bit harder junnu, make it 3 eggs for each cup evaporated milk. Instead of using eggs, you can add 2 cups of yogurt for 1 cup evaporated milk. Also, if you want to serve this in individual cups, you can pour the mixture into individual cups and bake it in the oven instead of pressure cooking it. For this, pour enough water in a large oven safe tray and put the individual cups in that tray and bake it.

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients except cardamom and black pepper powder (make sure the eggs are beaten well before they are mixed with milk). Sieving this liquid mixture through any cloth would separate any impurities in jaggery.

2. Transfer this mixture into a stainless steel bowl which will fit in your pressure cooker. Sprinkle the cardamom and black pepper powder on the top of this mixture.
3. Pressure cook until you get 8 whistles. Now turn down the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes (If you like the junnu to be hard, cook until you get 15 whitles and cook for 20 minutes on low heat).
4. Wait until all the pressure is gone. Open the pressure cooker. Pull out the bowl and put it in a place where you will not disturb it. Wait for atleast 10 hours and then put it in the refrigerator. Thats it, this recipe is pretty straight forward and delicious. I hope you all will enjoy as our family does.

Chamadumpalu (Yam/Colocasia) fry

Chamadumpalu has always been one of my favorites. I love the pulusu that my mom makes. Chamadumpalu or Yam/Taro root as you can call it is available in any asian market or even your local grocery store. Sometimes you see sweet potatoes named as Yam in some stores. But the recipe here calls for those which appear black on the outside. Now the recipe:

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves

Oil - 1 tbsp

For the actual recipe:

Chamadumpalu - 6

Medium Onion - 1

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 8

Salt to Taste.

Method:

1. Pressure cook the yam and peel its skin. Cut them into 1 inch cubes.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put chana dal, mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds. Now add green chillies.
3. Add curry leaves and sliced onion. Add salt to sweat the onion. When it turns golden brown add turmeric.

4. Now, add the yam pieces and fry them on medium flame for five minutes. To add more flavor, you may put 1 tbsp pallilu karam/ Dhaniya karam/ Idli karampodi.

My Review- Cookplus SS cookware

Originally submitted at locknlockplace.com

Easy to clean and Safe for your health

By bnhmom from maryland. on 9/17/2011

4out of 5

Pros: Quality Materials, Easy To Use, Durable, Safety Features, Good Design
Cons: Heavy bulky
Best Uses: Outside, Inside, Gifts, Best to cook a meal for 2, Big Jobs, Small Jobs
Describe Yourself: Casual Do-It-Yourselfer

I have mostly used non stick cookware in the past. However, with all the health risks the non stick cookware is posing, I thought that it's time to get some stainless steel cookware. I have ordered this when it went on sale and am glad I did so. I think this is the best purchase that I have ever made. These are a few reasons why:

1. 18/10 stainless steel: Steel which is a combination of different metals like iron and carbon cannot be ideally used as cookware because it is not durable, rusting and corrosive. Hence 18% of chromium and 10%of nickel (sometimes 8% of nickel as in the case of 18/8 SS) are added to steel that is used to manufacture cookware. Hence 18/10 SS cookware is always high in quality. I have used one 18/10 sauce pan in the past to boil milk and cleaning was very easy (you know how difficult it is to clean the layer that forms at the bottom if you use a normal SS pan).

2. 3 layer bottom: The 3 layer bottom is a sandwich capsule made of 18/10 SS, Aluminium & 18/0 SS. Experts say that a SS cookware to be effective, it should have an aluminium or Copper base. This would enable quick and even distribution of heat. This reduces the hotspots and food will not stick easily. It will be even better if this 3 layer thickness is not just limited to the bottom.

3. Side rims: This cookware has a side/pouring rim which I think was better thought. When I have to transfer the cooked food (especially if it is liquidy), I can do so without any mess. I don't mind if these rims are little bit broader and smooth.

4. Glass lid: These lids are glass which helps me see the food cooking through it. I don't have to lift it up each time I want to check the status of the food. It also says that the lid is eco friendly and it can't get better. Also, I have noticed that the lids are tight enough to not let the steam escape. They are not too tight and hence you can lift it up easily. And the lid has a knob as opposed to some cookware which have a handle. My old cookware had a handle on it. My hand got caught in between the handle and the lid a few times which is not so comfortable especially when the lid gets hot.

5. Easy to clean handles:I used to get frustrated when I had to clean my old cookware especially the dark stains around the handles where the bolts are connected (sometimes food runs over and gets stuck around the bolts). But with my Cookplus, it IS easier to clean around the handles.

This cookware also has volume markings. I found it useful when I had to reduce the sauces or milk. I know exactly when they are reduced to half their volume or as desired.
However, I found that there is a discrepancy in what is shown in the website and the booklet that comes with the cookware. The website shows that I can use this cookware in the oven, but it didn't mention anything on up to how much temperature I can use the cookware. Hence I referred to the booklet. Surprisingly, the booklet doesn't say that this can be used in a conventional oven. I think that there should be some clarification on this. There is no warranty information either. So I didn't want to take any chances.
Even though this is dish washer safe, I usually hand wash it in hot soap water. And it is HEAVY. Because of its weight, it's tough for me to clean the cookware.For those people who use the dishwasher, this shouldn't be a problem.

The "Use and Care" guidelines provided were good. I suggest that you always cook food on medium heat. If in case the food sticks to the cookware, you can use the cream of tartar and vinegar paste.

I think that I have found a perfect cookware within my budget, easy to clean and safe for my health.

(legalese)

Green Papaya Curry

I have been wanting to post this recipe from the past 1 week. I always enjoy making this green papaya curry. There are not much spices used and hence it is very healthy too. Now off to the recipe:

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves

Oil - 1 tbsp

For the actual recipe:

Green papaya - Medium size - 1 (cut this into 1 inch cubes)

Onion - Medium size - 1

Tomatos - 2

Chana Dal - 1/4 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put chana dal, mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds and curry leaves.

2. Add the onions and turmeric powder (Tip: It is always good to put turmeric powder after onions, otherwise its nutritional values may be lost). Add salt to sweat the onions. Also, add the red chilli powder.

3. When the onions are golden brown color, add the tomatoes and fry them until they are mushy. And then, add the chana dal.

4. Pour enough water and pressure cook the papaya. You can serve this with rice or roti.

My Review - LNL Cookplus Ceramic Pan

Originally submitted at locknlockplace.com

Easy to clean

By Cooking4two from Boyds, MD on 9/2/2011

4out of 5

Pros: Easy To Use, Quality Materials
Cons: No lid
Best Uses: Big Jobs, Small Jobs, Gifts
Describe Yourself: Casual Do-It-Yourselfer

I have always used a stainless steel frying pan, mainly because of the fact that lot of other pans using PFOA coating. SS pan is good for your health, but not so easy on your hands. The cleaning is hardwork. So I have looked for a pan which doesn't use PFOA in its manufacturing. To speak the truth, there are a lot of other options out there. However, I would prefer Cookplus Ceramic over them because:

1. The Price: The other pans that I looked into would have cost me much much more than this one. This is a very reasonable price and with the deals that have been going on, its just an icing on the cake.
2. The Weight: I dont put my pans and pots in the dishwasher and usually hand wash them. This pan is incredibly low weight which makes it easy for me to handle it while cleaning. It is definitely a good feature that I appreciate.
3. Ceramic coating outside: I like to display the pots and pans that I have, in my kitchen. But this never happened because of all the stains that are caused on the outer side of the pans while cooking food (attaching a picture). As the Cookplus ceramic pans have ceramic coating outside, it has been very easy to maintain the pans.
4. Sturdy handle: Because of the long and sturdy handle, it is easy to hold the pan and toss the contents of the pan. And trust me, the handle ventialtion really (i mean really!)works.

And definitely, there is one thing that would make this one a much better pan. That is the lid.

Also, I use a lot of turmeric in my cooking. I have noticed that this pan (even after cleaning with soap water) has some stains left behind by the turmeric. This is not a big deal for me, as I have noticed that with lot of other pans (except for the Stainless Steel ones ofcourse!!!).

This stains on the outside of my old pan.

The slight discoloration because of turmeric.

(legalese)

Coconut Egg Fry

One of my friends invited us to dinner and made this Coconut, Egg fry. She served it with sambar. It was delicious and reminded me of the coconut, chana dal fry my mom used to make back home. Now, the recipe....

Ingredients:

For popu/tadka:

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves

Oil - 1 tbsp

For the actual recipe:

Eggs - 4

Grated coconut - 4 cups

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 10 (depends on how spicy you want it)

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil the eggs and peel the skin. While boiling eggs, you might want to put a drop of oil just to make the peeling easier).

2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put chana dal, mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds. Now add green chillies.The key to this recipe is a good popu/tadka and the chillies should be fried well.

3. Add curry leaves, grated coconut and turmeric. Don't put too much oil to fry. This will make the coconut crispy and it doesn't taste good. Try to fry the coconut with very less oil. I have used my Cookplus ceramic frying pan from Lock N Lock.

4. Fry the coconut untill the raw smell is gone and then add eggs. Fry for a couple of minutes on medium flame. Serve this with rice and sambar.

  

Note: If you are a vegetarian, replace eggs with pressure cooked chana dal.

Peach Cobbler

Last week, we went to the farm and got some peaches. When it comes to peaches, I can't think of anything else except "Peach Cobbler". And I always admired Paula Dean's "Peach Cobbler" recipe. You can get the recipe here. I recalculated all the ingredients as I wanted to make just 4 to 5 servings. I was really satisfied with the end product and my DH loved it. It was not too sweet, but i guess we can use little bit less butter than what the original recipe asks for. Here is a picture of what it looked like.