DIY laundry detergent - Environment and Pocket friendly

In my quest for all things natural and toxic free, I came across many laundry detergents that were digging a hole through the pockets (only figuratively, some of them were really good). This was a recipe that seemed easiest to make and is safe for cloth diapers too. This is not my own recipe , I learned this from eco crazy mom blog and  made a few tweaks here and there to suit my Indian clothes. This mix washes very well leaving the clothes with a clean fresh odor.

Ingredients :

1. Washing soda - 55 oz box ( I used arm & hammer)
2. Borax - 76 oz - 1 box
3. Baking soda - 4 lbs
4. Oxygenated bleach - 32 oz (  I used biokleen)
5. Dr.Bronners soap - 3 bars ( I used lavender,tea tree and orange)
6. 15 drops tea tree essential oil
7. 15 drops lavender essential oil.

the total cost of all these ingredients is around 40$ and this batch lasted me for a year.

METHOD :

1. Mix the first four ingredients in a big bucket
2. Grate the soap in a carrot grater and add to the above mix.
3. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients with a large spoon or spatula.
4. Add the essential oils and mix again.
5. Store in a air tight container.

TIP :  U can opt out of using the essential  oil  or use only half the amount if it seems not cost effective.







 

Iniya arambam - Pongalo Pongal Sakkarai Pongal

The Pongal 2014 that went by inspired me to start with Sakkarai Pongal.Though a routine recipe its some thing that I love when made perfectly and is a version that is so easy,it takes just 20 minutes to make :)

Ingredients:

1. Ponni raw rice - 1 cup
2. mung dhal ( பா சி  ப ரு ப் பு )- 1/2 cup
3. jaggery powdered - 1 cup or 1.5 cups based on sweet ness
4. ghee 3 tbsp.+ 2 tbsp.
5. scraped or dry coconut powder - 2 tbsp.
6.cashews and raisins - 2 tbsp.
7. salt- 1/2 tsp.
METHOD:

1. Pressure cook rice and dhal with 3 cups of water, I let it go for 4 to 5 whistles
2. Switch of and let it stand on burner wait till pressure releases completely
3. Open lid and add powdered jaggery, ghee and salt and mix well till all the jaggery is incorporated.
4. In a separate skillet heat ghee add cashews first and once it turns golden add raisins and remove from the stove .
5. Add fried nuts to the pongal
6. I usually sprinkle coconut just before serving.

TIP : If you are planning to keep the pongal till evening best not to add coconut at all or add it to each individual serving like decoration.

I'm still new at this, hoping to add pics/ pictorial representations to my future blogs :)