Avarakkai Muttai Poriyal / Hyacinth Beans &Egg

Avarakkai alias Hyacinth beans....hmmm quite a name for simple veggie /beans huh... I never the knew the English name of avarakkai until now... I am so glad I found out. This recipe is from my mom, which simple yet tasty!!!! If u wanna know what is avarakkai checkout the picture below!!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup cleaned chopped Avarakkai

1-2 eggs

1/2 onion

1 tomato

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 tsp redchilli powder

salt to taste

Seasoning: oil, Mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds.

Preparation:

Cleaning the avarakai is time consuming process in this recipe. U can see sharp ends on either side of the beans. All u have to do is pull this strings in the opposite direction. That's it... just chop finely.

Heat oil in pan and do the seasoning. Add crushed garlic cloves. Saute till the aroma comes out of garlic. Add onion and fry till translucent. Add chopped tomato and fry till mushy. Add chopped beans to the mixture. Add 3/4 cup of water. cover and let it cook. The beans should be soft once its done. It might take up to 15 mts in medium heat. Let all the water evaporate. Finally break the egg into the mixture and cook till Burji consistency. Remove from heat.

Serve hot with sambar or rasam rice!!!!!

Vazhaipoo vadai/ banana flower vadai

Vazhaipoo alias banana flower, not sure of actual name... I am a great fan of vazhaipoo. I love vazhaipoo kootu and vadai. In India, my mom used to make kootu which tastes heavenly. Vazhai poo vadai will be very crispy and tasty, if u have seen the movie Kandukondean Kandukondean u will know what i am taking about B-)

Once, I found vazhaipoo in Indian grocery shop. I was lucky, coz there was only one left. I grabbed it immediately. It needs some hard work before u get to eat the tasty vadas.. I think its worth it...




Ingredients:

1 banana flower
1 small onion
2 cups channa dal
2 cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
green chillies / red chillies
coriander leaves
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Preparation:

Soak channa dal for 6 hrs. Peel the outer skin from the banana flower. Remove the small white flowers inside and also remove the long stem inside each flower along with the outer feather. Cut them into small pieces and immediately place them in the turmeric water. Make sure u wear apron or some dark clothes coz vazahipoo will stain ur clothes badly!!!

Add green chillies, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander, salt and channa dal in a mixer jar. grind to a coarse paste. Transfer the contents in a bowl. Add onions and squeezed cut banana flower. Mix well. Make small vadai shapes and deep fry in oil. When vadai becomes golden brown, remove from heat .... serve hot!!!!

Adai

Adai is another form of dosa filled with nutrients. It has such a wonderful flavour that everyone will love it.. This is one of my favourites since childhood. Adai is a combo of rice and lentils and needs no fermentation.. a sigh of relief...U can make adai immediately after grinding.

Ingredients:

1 cup Idli rice
1/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 cup channa dal
A handful whole moong (optional)
a small piece of ginger
Red chillies
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 grated coconut
hing/Asafoetida
salt to taste
curry leaves

Preparation:

Soak Rice, dals and red chillies over nite. Drain about 3/4 th of the water before grinding. Grind with curry leaves, ginger and red chillies to a coarse paste. U can add dals at different stages to make more crunchier adai.Adjust salt. Add grated coconut to the batter.

Use a dosa pan, pour a ladle full of batter and spread it evenly. Add oil to the corners, wait till the crisp up. Turn sides to make sure its fully cooked. Serve hot with Avial...

Thengai Manga Pattani Sundal!!!!!

Thengai Mangai Pattani sundal / Coconut mango peas sundal is a must have when u go to marina beach...U can see grown up kids selling sundal all over the beach... U will never admire the beauty of beach without these noises in the surrounding... Man! they wont leave u alone untill u buy a packet of sundal.. I love the taste of sundal with mango, it wont be mushy but it has a grainy texture..I tried recreating the same old magic, voila!!! perfect sundal.. Though we dont have beach nearby, I sat in my balcony cherishing our pool view....

Ingredients:

1 cup green peas (cooked till soft)

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup shredded mango (UN ripe)

green chilies and red chillies

salt to taste

Seasoning: oil, mustard seeds, urad and channa dal

Preparation:

Soak green peas over nite and cook till soft...Heat oil in a pan do the seasoning.. U can use curry leaves too. Add chopped green chillies and red chillies. Adjust according to ur spice level. Add cooked peas. Stir for a minute. Add coconut and mango, stir for couple more mts.. Remove from heat..Serve hot!!!

Cracked wheat pongal

Cracked wheat upma was prominent dish in our menu... after some point we got bored....I tried many recipes like pulao in cracked wheat , cracked wheat lemon flavour and what not!!!! Finally I made this cracked wheat pongal..voila... it was so tasty.. this is an inspired dish from my fellow blogger site esp Sailu's...

Ingredients:

1 cup cracked wheat

1/2 cup moong dal

1/2 cup spinach

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

1" ginger

cashewnuts

1 tbsp ghee and oil

curry leaves

Preparation:

Heat ghee and oil in a cooker. Add pepper, cumin & grated ginger and fry for few minutes.. the kitchen will filled with pongal aroma!!!!..Add cashew nuts, saute till golden brown. Add moong dal, cracked wheat and spinach with 4 cups of water. Add salt. Cover and cook for two whistles. Remove from heat. Let it cool. Open the cooker, serve hot with coconut chutney!!!

Lemon sevai

Lemon sevai is a quick fix meal for any time.. It can be prepared in a jiffy...It will be a nice change from regular upma and semiya. I use 777 brand ready made Rice sevai from Indian grocers..If u dont find them, u can use vermicelli...





Ingredients:


1 cup rice sevai/ vermiceli
2 green chillies
1 lemon juice
1" ginger
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa dal and urad dal
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
peanuts/ cashew nuts
coriander leaves to garnish



Preparation:


Cook sevai according to packet instruction. Strain all the water and reserve. Heat oil in a pan, do the seasoning with mustard, Channa and urad dal. Add finely chopped ginger. Saute for 2 mts. Add green chillies, turmeric and peanuts. Fry till the raw smell of turmeric vanishes in med- low heat. Remove from heat. After 5 mts, add squeezed lemon juice. Keep aside for 10 mts, so that the flavours will mix together. Add this mixture to lemon sevai and mix thoroughly. Adjust lemon juice and salt if necessary.. Lemon sevai is ready!!!!

Black chickpeas sundal

I kind of had a short break from blogging.. Its been a long time since i took from everything in my life... this was a short and sweet break... did nothing but watching TV and cooking..hehehe.. that was fun... Good news from weight machine...I have lost 5 pounds so far with my strict diet and exercises..If u have read my post about Indian food calories... u will know what i am talking about...

Black chick pea sundal is one of my favorite evening snack/ meal before i head to gym. Black chick peas has 8.8gms of protein, 7.6 gms of fibre and zero saturated fat.. Even though it is high in carbs, provides great energy.. Little carbs are needed for metabolism to run properly...

Ingredients:

1 cup Kala channa

1 onion

1 tsp each mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal

3 green chillies

3 redcillies

salt to taste

1 tsp oil

Preparation:

Soak kala channa overnight. Add excess water and salt and cook in the cooker for 1 whistle. Strain the water and reserve channa. Heat oil in pan. Do the seasoning with mustard , channa and urad dal. Add finely chopped onion, green chillies and red chillies. Saute' till the onions become translucent. Add channa and fry for few minutes. Adjust salt. Remove from heat.. Serve hot!!!

Thattai & Awards

Thattai is my favourite snack. I luv the spicy and crispy flavour of thattai. I can munch on several of these at a time. Store bought ones never tastes good as the homemade ones. This is my first trial. I had few probs, I think i added more water than needed. When I deep fried them, it was kind of chewy in some places. Another problem was the thickness of thattai. If it was too thin, it was too crispy..if it was too thick, it was soft. I had to add more flour to overcome the water.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup water
3/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tbsps channa dal (soak in water for an hour and drain)

1 tbsp roasted dalia
1 tsp ghee or butter (optional)
roughly torn few curry leaves (optional)
oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Mix all the above ingredients to form a pliable dough. Add water slowly,the mixture should be crumbly. Make small balls of the dough and flatten to form a thin circle of diameter 2 cm . You could use a thick plastic sheet or wax paper to make the thattai. Rub your hands with oil which helps in easier flattening of the balls. Make sure to prick them with the help of a fork which helps it to stop puffing up when frying. Once gthe color changes to golden, remove from heat.

Thattai is ready!!!

Awards Time....

Lavi of Home cooked recipes has passed me 360 DEGREE FOODIE award.. Thank you so much for ur appreciation Lavi....

Shanti Kumar of Shanti's cook book and Sarah Naveen of Vazhayila has passed me an Honest scrap award... Thank you guys .. I appreciate it!!! This award comes with certain rules...

Requirements:-

1.I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link i

t2.I must list 10 honest things about myself

3.I must put a copy of Honest Scrap logo on my blog

4.I must select at least 7 other worthy blogger and list their links

5.I must notify the blogger of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

10 HONEST THINGS abt me...

1. I love cooking and eating!!!

2. I am a closed book to everyone except my close ones

3. I have a possessive nature towards my loved ones

4. I hate doing household chores.

5. I hate selfish people and people who takes me for granted.

6. I love shopping..

7. I am totally in Love with Kamal haasan ( thats 125% honest answer:))

8. I Luv travel..

9. I will never try anything without knowing the ingredient in it..

10. I love to be alone in solitude...

Its time to pass on to seven other friends..

Chitra of Ratatouille

Sadana & Muskan of A2z vegetarian

Poornima of Tasty treats

Lubna of Kitchen Flavours

Akal of Akal's saapadu

Pooja of My experience with cooking

Pratibha of The chef and Her Kitchen

Vinayagar Chathurthi Celebration In Indian Cooking Challenge

I have come a long way in trying out new recipes.. but trying our traditional recipes are real challenge. I have seen my periyamma making pidi kozhukattai amd uppu urundai.. I absolutely adore the taste..I am always hesitant to try these recipes coz what if the magic doesnt happen:(.. I took it as a challenge and tried these recipes for Indian cooking challenge created by srivalli... Thanks to srivalli for organising wonderful event... I would have never tried these recipes...To my surprise, everything turned out to be perfect and tasty!!!





I made Sesame Ladoo and Modak for Indian cooking challenge as per the instruction...I also made Pidi kozhukaatai , sundal and Uppu Urundai For Lord Ganesha :)


Modak from Mints

Modak is traditional Marathi sweet offered for ganesha. Tamil version is called Modagam with slightly different filling..



Stuffing -
2 cups freshly grated coconut (can use frozen unsweetened coconut)
1 cup jaggery (grated)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp cardamom powder
one pinch nutmeg (optional)
2 tbsp water (mom uses milk)

Cover -
1 cup rice flour
1.25 cup water
pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil

Preparation for Stuffing -
Roast poppy seeds in a small skillet and let it cool down. Grind it coarsely and keep it aside.
In a heavy bottom kadhai mix all the ingredients for stuffing except poppy seed powder and let it sit for 15 min. Now start heating the mixture over medium heat. In about 10-12 minutes, the mixture starts boiling and stuffing will turn yellowish brown and will be sticky. Take the kadhai off the heat, add poppy seeds powder and mix well. Set it aside to cool down.


Preparation for cover -
Take vessel that has tight fitting cover. Start boiling water in that vessel, add salt and oil. When water starts boiling, lower the heat and slowly add rice flour. Please do now dump everything at once. Start mixing vigorously with a heavy spoon. Now close the lid and take the pot off the heat. Let the covered pot cool down for 15 minutes or so. Then with wet hands, mix the dough properly. It will warm so be careful and use cold water to keep your hands from burning but do not use too much water. if you think the dough is little sticky, I will suggest add 1-2 tbsp maida to it and make the dough.

Making Modak (Final Product) -
Start boiling water in a large vessel that can fit a steamer. I use a stainless steel steamer that fits on a pressure cooker and water doesnt touch the steamer and use stainless steel plate to cover it. Oil the steamer and set it aside.
Make about 20 balls of the dough and 20 parts of the stuffing. Start making small puri with the dough ball on a oiled paper/aluminum foil. Keep one part of stuffing in the middle of the puri and gather the puri gently to make shape like modak. . You will have to handle the dough very gently. Follow the step to make remaining modaks. Now dip each modak in cold water and put it in the steamer. Put the steamer on boiling water and cover it. Let the modaks steam for 20 minutes on medium to high heat. Take the steamer off the vessel and let it sit for 5 minutes before removing moodakd from steamer.

Traditionally, modaks are served with ghee but it can be served with coconut milk.

Modagam Stuffing:

Our traditional filling is made of grated coconut, Jaggery and cardamom powder. Heat 2 tbsp water, add 1/4 cup jaggery. Once it starts melting, add 1/4 cup coconut and 1/2 tsp cardamom powder. Keep stirring in low heat. The stuffing will become sticky in 10 mts. Remove from heat. Follow the rest of the procedure given for modak....


Sesame Ladoo

Sesame ladoo/ Ellu urundai is made in different ways. This is Andhra version of ellu urundai from srivalli. Ellu urundai was little bit tricky.. I added too much jaggery to the sesame seeds, I added Peanut powder to subside the sweetness. My MIL said, she would add Dalia powder to sesame ladoo...



Ingredients:

1 ½ cup White sesame seeds, roasted till brown
1 cup Jaggery, cut in pieces
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 cup peanut powder
A pinch of salt

Preparation:

Dry roast sesame in a tawa and let them cool. Once they are cool, take powdered jaggery, cardamom and run in a mixie. The amount of jaggery normally depends on the formation of laddoo. When you make a laddoo, it should stay in shape. Then you know the amount is enough. Also it depends on the fineness of the sesame powder. When you run in mixer, it becomes little oily which will help in holding the ladoo shape. I also added peanut powder to over come the sweetness.. It tasted really good..Store in airtight container.

I will post Uppu urundai and pidi kozhukattai recipe later!!!!

Chicken soup

Chicken soup is available in many versions... All time favourite is home- made spicy chicken soup. This is considered as best remedy for cold. The soup will be in watery consistency rather than the thicker versions available in Chinese cuisine.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb chicken

1 onion finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

salt to taste

Pepper powder

oil

Preparation:

I always use chicken with bones to enhance the taste of soup. Combine all the ingredients in pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water. Cover and cook for 1 whistle. Remove from stove top. let it cool down. Open the cooker, the chicken should be fully cooked. Use a strainer and strain all the liquid from cooker. If u prefer, add few cooked chicken pieces. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with Garlic bread!!!!

Semiya Payasam/ Vermicelli dessert

Semiya payasam is traditional south Indian dessert, prepared for all occasions. It is easy to cook with minimal ingredients.

Ingredients:

Semiya (Vermicelli) : 1 Fistful

Milk: 1 gallon

Sugar: 1/2 cup

Ghee: 2 tbsp.

Cashew nuts

Raisins

Cardamom powder: 1 tsp

condensed milk 2tbsp (Optional)

Preparation:

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Fry cashews in the ghee to a golden color, remove. Add the raisins fry them until they are fluffy, remove. Add the remaining ghee and fry the vermicelli to a golden brown. Add ½ gallon of milk and boil, stir occasionally so that the milk doesnt get burnt a the bottom. When the vermicelli has absorbed all the milk, add some more milk and allow the vermicelli to cook well. It will take approximately 15 minutes. When the vermicelli is fully cooked , add the sugar and remaining milk. Boil for some more time until the payasam is thickened.Add the cardamom powder and condensed milk. Stir for 1 mt. Remove from heat. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins..

Note:

Dont add more vermicelli, Once the payasam cools down it will become thick. U have to keep adding milk to thin it out. Lesser semiya better payasam!!!!

I am sending this Red and Green picture to CLICK : BI-COLOR hosted by Jugalbandi.

Thakkali/ Tomato Dosa

Dosa can be made in 1000 different ways!!! I learnt this from fellow blogger who blog about different varieties of dosas in their blog. I was thinking of making Tomato dosa as variation to normal dosa for long time. Finally I made it and to my surprise it tasted really good. My hubby also appreciated my effort for trying new things.








Ingredients:
1 cup raw boiled ponni rice
¼ cup urad dal
4 ripe tomatoes
4-6 red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
5-6 curry leaves
salt to taste

Preparation:
Soak rice and urad dal separately overnite or minimum 6 hrs. Start grinding urad dal until soft. Add tomatoes, cumin seeds, curry leaves. Grind to smooth paste. Remove and reserve. Grind rice to a fine paste. Remove and mix with urad dal mixture. Add salt. Mix it with ur hand. No need for fermentation. Make dosas immediately and serve hot with chutney of ur choice!!!!

This is on its way to Dosa corner hosted by Padma's recipes...

Few more entries....

Tomato Uthappam




Paper Dosa

Drumstick channa kurma and Paruppu rasam

Hello everyone

I had problem with my internet connections, couldnt blog and comment on ur blogs... from tommorow i will visit ur blogs to drop a note..(Yesterday post was a scheduled one!!!)

Lets get to business...

This recipe is from Dr. Damodaran’s cooking recipes. His recipes always have a traditional touch to any recipe. He always cooks in mud pots, which enhances the taste of the dish. This recipe was totally new to me; I would have never tried this combo in million years. It tasted too good….This goes very well with Idli, dosa and Rice...





Ingredients:
5 Drumstick (frozen, cut into 3” pieces)
½ cup Channa dal
1 onion
2 tomatoes
3 greenchillies
2 tsp redchilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp g&g paste
2 Cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sombu
small lemon size tamarind ( Soak and extract water)
¼ cup grated coconut
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Preparation:
Grind grated coconut to a fine paste.
Soak channa dal for 30 mts.
Heat oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala (Cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds). Add onion and sauté till translucent. Add g&g paste, green chilies and tomatoes. Let the tomatoes turn mushy. Add channa dal and drumstick. If u are using frozen drumstick, defrost them and add to the curry. Add red chili, coriander and turmeric powder. Sauté for 2 mts. Add 1 cup of water. Add salt and let it boil. The gravy will be thick. Once the dal is cooked (should be soft, don’t overcook), add coconut paste. Cover and let it boil. Finally add thick tamarind water. Mix well and let it boil for 1 mt. Remove from heat, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot!!!!



Paruppu rasam

Its one of my favorite version of rasam. If u try this rasam, u will never go back to normal rasam. Dal is the magical ingredient and it makes all the difference to the taste of the rasam.


Cook ½ cup of toor dal with 2 ½ cups of water (or more). Once the toor dal is cooked, strain the water from dal and mash the dal with mathu or masher. Grind 2 tomatoes and ¼ cup of coriander leave to coarse paste. Heat extracted dal water and paste in a pan. Add turmeric powder and salt and let it boil. Extract juice from lemon sized tamarind. Add the tamarind water to the pan. Let it boil for 5 mts. Remove from heat. Add Rasam powder, mashed Dal and adjust salt.
Heat 1 tbsp of ghee and 1 tbsp of oil in a pan for seasoning. Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add curry leaves, Asofoetida and 3 red chillies. Finally add mashed Garlic and sauté for 5 mts. Add the seasoning to rasam and transfer the pan to stove. Let it come to one boil. Remove from heat. Garnish with coriander. Paruppu rasam is ready!!!!

Cauliflower 65

Cauliflower 65 would be every one's favourite..handsdown..Its easy to make and taste so good. One of the favourite party foods as well as kids pleaser.

Ingredients:

1 whole Cauliflower floret

1 tbsp red chili powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

1 tbsp g& g paste

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp rice flour

1 tsp besan

1 tbsp Chicken 65 powder ( optional)

food color

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Separate cauliflower florets and clean. Marinate it with corn flour, besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, lemon juice, g& g paste, garam masala , food color and egg. Leave it for 30mts to 1hr.

Heat oil for deep frying. Once hot, add cauliflower one by one. Fry till golden brown. Remove from heat. Remove excess oil with paper towel. Serve hot!!!!

Chick peas sundal

Chick pea/ Konda kadala (tamil) sundal is usually given as prasadam for Navratri Gollu. This sundal is usually made during festival seasons like Ganesh chathurthi, saraswathi pooja ...etc.. I usually make it for evening snacks.

Ingredients:

1 cup chick peas

1 onion

3 green chillies

2 red chillies

1/4 tsp grated ginger (optional)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp channa dal

1 tsp urad dal

salt to taste

oil

curry leaves

Preparation:

Soak chick peas overnight. Add enough water and salt in pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle. Remove from heat. Let it cool down. Strain the water and reserve.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal. Saute for couple of minutes. Add curry leaves. Add finely chopped green chillies, red chillies and grated ginger. Saute for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and stir for 5 more mts. Adjust salt. Remove from heat and serve hot!!!

Chick peas sundal is on its way to Sunday snacks- Spill the beans hosted by Priya of Akshayapatram.

Potato Masala and Keerai kozhumbu/ Spinach dal curry

Potato masala and keerai kozhumbu from my MIL's kitchen... Its such a simple recipe but tastes out of the world. As i already mentioned, I luv spinach and my hubby doesn't object it... it has permanent place in week day menu. This is another way of cooking spinach curry. Potato masala looks colorful, am sure would be a kids pleaser.

Potato Masala:

Ingredients:

2 potatoes

1/2 onion chopped

1 tbsp g& g paste

1 tbsp fennel seeds powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

Preparation:

Cut the potatoes into 4 pieces and cook them till they are almost soft(3/4 done). Peel the skin and cur into small pieces. Marinate it with salt, turmeric and rec chilli powder for 30 mts. Heat oil in a pan, do the seasoning with mustard seeds and fennel seeds powder. Add onion an Fry till translucent. Add g&g paste. saute for 5 mts. Finally add the marinated potatoes and fry till golden brown Add oil if necessary. Potatoes will be crispy if u add more oil. Remove from heat.. Ready to serve....

Keerai kozhumbu/ Spinach curry

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach

1/2 cup toor dal

1/2 onion

3 tomatoes

1 tbsp sambar powder

3 tbsp shredded coconut

salt to taste

Preparation:

Cook toor dal separately and mash it.. Grind coconut to a fine paste. Add sliced onions, tomatoes and salt to mashed dal and cook for 10 mts/ or till the onions and tomatoes are cooked. Add sambar powder, chopped spinach and ground coconut to the dhal gravy and cook till the spinach wilts and the masala should be cooked by 10 mts. Remove from heat. Do the seasoning separately and add to spinach dal mixture. Spinach gravy is ready!!!!

Black chick peas curry/ Senagalu Pulusu and Kattu Rasam

Black chick peas/ Kala Channa adds nutrition like fiber and proteins to our diet. I usually make puli kozhumbu/ Kara kozhumbu with kala channa. This is one of MIL's recipe, Senagalu pulusu thats what they call it... The gravy looked colorful and tasted heavenly. She also taught me how to use the boiled channa water to make rasam known as Kattu rasam. The taste of rasam was different but very tasty. It is very nutritious meal from start to finish....

Senagalu pulusu/ Kala Channa curry





Ingredients:

1 big onion
2 tomatoes
1 cup kala channa
4 pods of garlic
5 tbsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Lemon sized tamarind (squeeze and take extract)
salt to taste

Paste:

8- 10 redchillies (adjust to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp raw rice
3 tbsp grated coconut

Preparation:

Soak channa overnight. In a pressure cooker, add excess amount of water to cook channa. Cover and cook for 1 whistle. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Use strainer to separate water from the channa. Keep them separately.

Grind the mentioned ingredients to a fine paste.

In a pan, add chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic, ground paste, coriander powder, turmeric powder and half of the channa water. Cover and cook for 10 mts or until the raw smell of masala vanishes. Add boiled chaana to the gravy. Let it cook for 5 mts. Adjust salt. Finally add tamarind water according to ur taste. Let it boil for another 1o mts. Remove from heat. Season it with oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves.


Senagalu pulusu is ready....





Kattu rasam:




Use Remaining channa water to make rasam( don't add water)... Check out Rasam recipe!!!!

Iyengar Puliyotharai/ Tamarind Rice

Puliyotharai/ Puliyogare..whatever it is known as... is a south Indian speciality. In temples, puliyotharai prasadam is famous all over Tamilnadu. the sauce is called pulli kachal which can be stored upto 5 days. Puliyotharai is very good picnic food. Iyengar style puliyotharai is made with a spice powder where as the home made puliyotharai is made with just tamarind and basic ingredients. I luv both methods. U can use left over rice and make wonder puli sadam.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
Tamarind – size of 2 Lemons (squeeze the pulp)
Sesame seeds – 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds – 1/4 cup
Channa Dhal – 1/4cup
Red Chillies – 8-10
Methi seeds –1 tbsp
Salt to taste
sesame Oil – 1 cup
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

seasoning
Mustard, Urad Dhal, Red Chillies ,Asafoetida / Hing,Curry Leaves and ½ cup Ground nuts.

Preparation:

Spice powder:Heat the kadai and add the Sesame seeds, allow it to splutter. Keep it aside. Add the Coriander seeds, Channa Dhal and Redchillies and roast till they become brown. Keep it aside. Add Methi seeds and fry till they become light brown. All the above should be roasted without any oil. Grind them to a coarse powder. Spice mix is ready..

Pulikachal:Heat oil in a kadai and add the red chillies (according to urspice level)and once they turn dark brown, add the mustard, urad dhal, asafoetida. Add the thick tamarind pulp and allow it to boil for 15 mins till it becomes thick gravy( Ucan see the oil sperating at the corners). At this stage, add salt, turmeric powder and the ground powder and stir well. Fry ground nuts and curry leaves separately and add to the above mixture. Allow the sauce to cool and store it in a clean, dry container.

How to make Puliyotharai?

Spread rice is a wide vessel. Add sesame oil, and required amount of pulikachal. Mix thoroughly. Adjust salt. Puliyotharai is ready!!!

Note: To make home- made puli sadam, dont add spice mix. Puli sadam is ready!!

Keerai Kozhumbu/ Spinach curry

Spinach is widely used in my cooking coz its available all time of year and easily available in grocery stores. In India, we get different variety of greens all through the year. My favourite is Arai Keerai (not sure of english name). Keerai Kozhumbu is usually made with Siru keerai, Mola keerai, Pasala keerai ( none other than spinach). Greens are always nutritious in any form..so i make sure to cook them at least once a week.


Preparation:

Cook 3 cups of finely chopped spinach in ½ cup of milk with ½ tsp cumin seeds and a green chilli. Mash the spinach finely using mathu/ blend it in mixie. Soak a small lime-sized tamarind for 1 hour and then extract its juice. In a sp of ghee fry 3 red chillies, 1tsp coriander seeds, 1tsp Bengal gram,4tsp shredded coconut , 1 small piece of asafoetida, 1tsp black gram and ½t tsp peppercorns to a golden brown color and then powder them finely. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil becomes hot add 1tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter add ¼ cup of chopped onions and fry for a few seconds. Then add ½ cup of chopped tomatoes and 1tsp turmeric powder. Cook well until the tomatoes are well mashed. Add the tamarind extract and the powder with enough salt. Let the kuzhambu simmer for some minutes. Then add the mashed spinach and allow it to simmer for only a few minutes.

Serve hot with Rice and potato fry...

Beetroom Kurma and An Award!!!

Beetroot has slight sweet flavour, we have to make it spicy to contemplate with sweet flavor. This kurma recipe does this magic... The gravy will have slight sweet and more spicy flavour... It goes great with Idli too...

Ingredients:
2-beetroots (medium size)
1-cup green peas (Frozen)
1 cup Soya Chunks
Salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons)
Hand full of green coriander leaves.
5-6 tablespoons of oil

Paste:
2-onions
2-tomatoes
7-8-cloves of garlic
½ inch ginger
4-green chillies
½ cup grated coconut
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon Coriander seeds
1-teaspoon Fennel seeds
½ inch Cinnamon
2 cloves
½ teaspoon poppy seed
2-cardamoms

Preparation:
Peel beet root. Cut them into small cubes. Cook with peas by adding enough water .Grind all the Ingredients to a thick paste.In a non-stick pan pour 5-6 tablespoons of oil and cook the masala paste for few minutes. Add salt and also the cooked beetroot and peas. Stir it thoroughly. Lower the flame. Cook for few more minutes. Finally add soya chunks. Cover and cook for 5mts.Season the kurma with mustard and curry leaves. Garnish it with green coriander leaves.

Serve with hot chapattis or parotas.

Yesterday I received " one lovely Blog" award from Sailaja of sailaja's kitchen.... Thank you so much for passing on this award to me...

I would like to pass this award to the fellow blogger who follow me!!! Check out my side bar!!!!