Assam 1860 tea review

Few days back I got a mail from Assam 1860 asking, if I would like to try a sample of their tea brand. On confirmation,I got a few sample packs of tea bags and a sample pack of tea powder.

To start with, the packaging was amazing..I loved the way the packs were labelled in a simple yet elegant way. The contrast of black background with striking leaf green colour font was quite attractive. The ziplock cover with tea leaves would definitely ensure freshness till the last spoon.

The tag line " tea as it should be" is so true and acceptable. The taste was quite good compared to what we have been having until now.

The tea gardens of Assam are a blessing for tea lovers. And here this brand is from a single origin and unblended. Since it uses the tea leaves from the family owned tea estate, it eliminates middlemen and also ensures best quality. This results in tasty, fresh and flavourful tea in every cup.

Allowing the tea to boil for some time gives a really strong flavour and we had it with milk and mild sugar. The aroma was quite appealing and tempting.

Overall it was quite a change from the usual tea and would definitely suggest tea lovers to give it a try.

This is not a paid review..For more information please visit the website assam1860.com  

Samba wheat kichadi

Ingredients

1/2 cup samba wheat rava

1/4 cup greengram dal

2 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp bengalgram dal

1 tsp blackgram dal

Few curry leaves

Some peanuts

Chopped carrots, potato, beans and if available peas

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 green chilli slit

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

This recipe makes a nice one pot meal and so is cooked directly in a small pressure cooker.

Heat the oil and add mustard seeds with the dal. Add peanuts and when it splutters, add the green chilli and curry leaves. Mix well and add the vegetables. After a minute add the samba wheat rava, dal and mix for a minute. Add 2 cups of water and then turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt. Mix well and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with some thick curds.

Foxtail millet adai

Ingredients

1/4 cup each of greengram dal, bengalgram dal, blackgram dal and redgram dal

1 cup of foxtail millet (thinai in tamil)

Salt to taste

2-3 red chillies

Bit of asafoetida

Few curry leaves

Oil as required

Soak the millet and dal combination seperately for 3-4 hours. Grind the dals to a coarse batter and add the millet with red chillies. Grind again for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, asafoetida and curry leaves. Leave it for sometime to slightly ferment- about 2-3 hours.

Heat tava and pour a big ladle of batter. Spread it to a round not very thick and not very thin. Pour a tsp of oil in the sides and allow it to cook. When it turns slightly brown, flip and cook for a minute.

Serve hot with some avial and curd.

Foxtail millet sakkarai pongal

Foxtail millet is thinai arisi in tamil and kangni in hindi.

Ingredients

1/2 cup foxtail millet

1/4 cup greengram dal

3/4 cup powdered jaggery

3 tbsp ghee

8-10 cashews

Some raisins

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of edible camphor (pacchai karpooram in tamil)

Cook the millet and dal with 3 times water. Soak the jaggery in little water and heat till it melts. Filter out any impurities and heat again till it gets sticky consistency. 

Add the cooked millet dal mix and stir well. Add half the ghee and cook on sim for five minutes. Mix in the cardamom powder and edible camphor. In a seperate pan heat the remaining ghee and add the cashews. Once lightly brown add in these cashews to the sakkarai pongal along with the raisins. Mix well and serve hot.

foxtail millet recipe, thinai recipes, healthy alternatives to rice, sweet recipes, healthy indian recipe, healthy desserts with jaggery

Kambu (Bajra/Pearl millet) rava idli

Ingredients

2 cups broken pearl millet

2 cups idli rava

1 cup blackgram dal

Salt to taste

1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

Soak the pearl millet and idli rava with water just enough to dip. Also soak the blackgram dal seperately for 45 minutes.

Grind the dal to a smooth paste with water as required. Add the soaked pearl millet and idli rava. Also add the pepper and cumin seeds and grind it for 2-3 minutes. Mix salt and allow this mix to ferment overnight.

Grease the idli plates with little oil and pour in the batter. Steam for 7-10 minutes and check if the idli is done. 

Serve hot with chutney and sambar. The addition of pepper and cumin seeds makes it taste a bit like Kanchipuram idlis.

** This version has equal portion of idli rava and broken pearl millet. For idlis with just broken pearl millet please refer to my earlier recipe by clicking here.

**The batter needs to be a slightly thinner than usual idli batter ..else the idli would be very dry.