Bhel poori

Bhel poori / puri is a famous chaat item served in Indian cities. I think Chaat foods and India are inseparable. Its a kind of Indian salad with loads of flavor. North Indians make a wide variety of chaat foods. One can easily learn a chaat recipe if they happen to buy chaat snack in India, as the vendor would make it right in front of the customer. Though it may need a lot of ingredients, there won't be any actual physical work if we manage to get a pack of bhel mix and some chutnies from store. I have narrated the way to make our own bhel mix also. We can make the chutnies ahead and keep them refrigerated for a week.

Ingredients: (for 6 large serving)

Boiled potato - 2 (big)
cooked chickpeas (white channa) - 1 cup
bhel mix - 1/2 pack
green chutney - 1/4 cup
red chutney - 1/4 cup
cucumber - 1 (big)
tomato - 1 (big)
raw mango - 1/2 cup
onion - 1/2 cup
tamarind water - 1 cup
sev (fine omapodi mix) - 6 tbsp (to garnish)
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
chaat masala - 1 tsp

Home made bhel mix:

paani puri / chaapt puri - 15 (or) home made crispy poori- 5
fine sev (store bought omapodi mix) - 1 cup (to garnish)
puffed channa dhal - 1/4 cup
salt - to need
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
puffed rice / pori - 2 cup
oil - 2 tbsp
chaat masala - 2 tsp

Microwave the pori / puffed rice for 1 minute. Mix the red chilly powder, chaat masal, salt with oil. Mix them with crispy pori, sev. Crush the poori to get big pieces and mix every thing. (We can use left over pooris after microwaving them to get more crispy). Keep aside.We can make this ahead and it will be fresh for a week, if stored in zip lock cover / air tight container.
This is how I make my bhel mix sometimes.

green chutney:

cilantro - 10 stems
mint leaf - 1/2 cup
green chilly - 2
salt - to taste
lemon - 1/8
wash and clean the leaves. Grind them finely together along with green chilly, salt and some water to get a cup of chutney. Squeeze the lemon to get a balanced chutney taste. Keep it in a serving bowl with a spoon.

red chutney:

tomato sauce - 4 tbsp
jaggery solution - 1/2 cup
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
salt - to need
Mix everything and use as hot and sweet chutney.

Tamarind water:

tamarind - a small lemon size
Water - 2 cup
jaggery - 3 tbsp
salt - 1/4 tsp
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
chaat masala - 1/4 tsp
cilantro - a few leaves
dates / raisin - 1/2 cup
Soak the tamarind and extract the juice. Soak dates / raisin and puree .Mix all the above to get a sweetish tangy water.

others:

Cook the potato and remove the skin. Mash it gently along with some salt, cumin powder (1/4 tsp). keep aside.
chop the onions finely , cucumber, tomato finely and keep them aside.
Soak the channa overnight. cook the dhal with enough water for 5 whistles, take out and add some saly. (or) Directly use a can of chickpeas / garbanzo beans after draining the water.

Serving the bhel poori chaat:

Always start mixing when we are about to serve.
Put the chopped vegetables,mashed potato, chickpeas, chutnies, bhel mix , pooris in a big mixing bowl.
Mix well with a spatula.
Divide them in serving bowls.
Garnish with a dash of red chilly powder, chaat masala, chopped cilantro and sev.

Bhel poori chaat is ready!

Vadai more kulambu (lentil balls in buttermilk gravy)

vadai - lentil dumplings; More / moru / mor - buttermilk; kulambu / curry - gravy.

Usually I make this kulambu with fried vadas, but here I have baked them before adding to the gravy.. It is also known by the name , 'Paruppu urundai mor kulambu'. Vadai can be either fried / steam cooked / baked, according to our convenience.
Also click to see my Paruppu urundai kuruma kulambu, with garam masala. 
and urundai kulambu in puli kulambuTry this for a dinner along with piping hot rice and lemme know  how you liked it:)

To make the paruppu urundai /Dal balls /lentil dumplings:

Ingredients:

Channa dhal (kadalai paruppu)/ Bengal gram lentil - 1 cup.
salt - to taste (1 tsp)

onion - 1/2 cup
curry leaves- 1 sprig
coriander leaves (chopped)- 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 3
* cooking oil-250 ml. for frying (If we are making the balls by frying. We can steam cook or bake to get a healthy version) *

Method:

Wash and soak the dhal for 1 hour in water.
Drain the water.
Grind it in to a coarse mixture with red chillies, salt. Put it in a mixing bowl.
Wash the mixer / grinder with 1/2 cup of water and keep aside. This water can be used to thicken the curry. Keep 2 tbsp of batter aside. Mix this batter with the water we reserved from washing the mixer / blender.
Chop the onion,cilantro and curry leaves and mix them with the dhal mixture.
Make small balls out of the mixture (in the size of a lemon).
Place them over cookie sheet lined with greased aluminum sheet and bake in oven at 375 c for 8 minutes. Flip and bake for 2 minutes. Don't worry about cooking completely, just let it get a firm shape. Vadai will get completely cooked afterwards in the curry.

Vadai is ready now!

To make more kulambu:

Ingredients:

Thick curd (Plain Desi Yogurt) - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 2 inch
green chilli - 2
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chilli - 2
curry leaves - 1 sprig
water - 2 cups

Method:

Remember we got some left over vadai batter in the mixer. Grind ginger , green chillies along with that batter to a fine paste and keep aside.
Pour it along with the liquids to a wok. Add turmeric powder, salt and boil with frequent stirring for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Put the baked vadai and cook covered in low heat for 5 more minutes. Cook till the vada gets completely cooked. Switch off.
Beat the curd with and add it to the boiling masala.
Heat oil in a pan.
Crackle some mustard seeds and add chopped dry red chillies with curry leaves.Add this tempering to the above.Garnish with chopped cilantro.

'Paruppu urundai more kulambu' is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 12 vadai / lentil balls.
Serve hot over cooked rice. There is no need to make any extra dish, as we can have these yummy urundais soaking in the yogurt sauce as side dish.

Vazhai poo puli kulambu (Banana flower in tamarind gravy).

Vaazhai poo / valai poo - plantain flower /banana blossom.

I have heard that this kulambu / gravy is a native dish of Sivakasi of Tamilnadu, India. Mom used to say that, they serve this kulambu by the name, 'Vegetarian ayira meen kulambu' (Ayira meen - very tiny fresh water fish) because of the appearance. They have to keep a tablespoon of this gravy along with other side-dishes in their weddings. But it is not so popular in other regions of Tamilnadu. The base is similar to a puli kulambu, and the banana blossom makes it much flavorful.

Banana flower in tamarind gravy.

Ingredients:

Banana blossom - 1 (small)
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Red chilli powder - 1.5 tbsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp (to taste)

To grind:

shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
shallot onion - 10
cumin seeds - 1 tsp

To temper:

mustard - 1 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil - 2 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch


Method:
Clean the banana flower. See the link 'How to clean banana flower?'.
Wash once and drain water. Cut the large flowers into half. keep the tiny flowers without chopping. So that every flower is in 3 inch length (approx). Preserve them in thin buttermilk solution to prevent darkening.
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice thrice with 2 cups of water.
Add the chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt to the tamarind extract and keep aside.
Grind coconut, onion and cumin seeds with little water. keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan.
Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida.
Then add the banana flowers and discard the buttermilk.
Fry well in high flame for 2 minutes till the banana flowers wilt and smells good.
Pour the tamarind extract mixture and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Then add the ground masala , reduce flame to medium and close tightly with a lid. Let it boil for 5 minutes and switch off. The valai poo kulambu should be like thick gravy.

Serving suggestions:
Serves 5 people as main gravy.
Serve hot with rice and any vegetable side dish or with chapathi.

Sweet Oats porridge

While our weekend breakfast menu always overwhelm with Indian delicacies,  I can make simple breakfasts only for weekdays.  Oats porridge is my favorite and I like it better than any cereal. Starting the day with a healthy and sweet breakfast makes one's day productive. Apple and bananas go well with oats. we can use either one or both to get that fruity flavor.  Oats is similar to the poha (Indian rice flakes / aval), so it gets cooked in stove top or MW. Just boiling or  microwaving is enough.

Sweet oats porridge with fruits.

Ingredients: (for 2 serving)

Old fashioned oats - 1/2 cup
milk - 1 cup
water - 1/2 cup
cinnamon powder - 2 pinches
brown sugar - 4 tsp
apple - 1
banana - 1
raisins - 10
almond - 2

Method:

Peel, core and finely chop the apple . Likewise chop the banana too.
Microwave the oats with water for 2 minutes. Take out and keep aside for 2 minutes.
Again microwave for 3 minutes along with milk, finely chopped banana and apple.
Divide it in 2 bowls.
Top each with some raisins, a dash of cinnamon, slivered almond.
It would be a nice idea to keep some apple sauce in refrigerator, to avoid chopping the apples. But fresh apples taste better.

Serve warm with an omelet as side.

Mohanthal

Hope you all are doing well. Recently I started to learn sewing. Though I can do embroidery and some basic stitching, I have never attempted any realistic dresses. And that's what I am doing now:) Its very enthusiastic to see our own curtains and nighties :)

Here is a sweet dish to start this month. Mohandhal is a Gujarathi sweet/ gram flour fudge. My mom used to make this very often and we call this as her signature dish. I don't know who taught her this recipe, but she had left this hand written recipe in her note book. I remember her spending lot of hours and energy in making this sweet before Deepavali. I like that taste very much .But her method was very elaborate and difficult. She would do it from scratch, starting from home made milk kova (paal kova), which I can never imagine. She has a lot of patience and perseverance to do stuff like this. I can never stand that much long before a hot wok. All my favorite recipes will require just 15 minutes. So I searched the net and got Manjula madam's Mohandhal video. It was so easy and more like a reverse calculation in arithmetic....once you know the result , you will definitely arrive at the ingredients / question...isn't it :).  . I am noting down mom's method as well. Mom's mohanthal recipe is a treasure to me, but still feeling lazy to try that:) May be some one with patience like her will try that or may be one day I will try that myself:)

Mohanthal.

Mom's recipe: (makes 15 big slices)
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 1 cup
cashew nut - 1 cup + 15 (garnish)
whole Milk - 4 cup
Sugar - twice of flour
ghee - 1/2 the quantity of flour + 2 tbsp
Pachai karpuram (edible camphor) - a tiny pinch for a cup of flour
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Soak the cashew nut in milk (1 cup) for 2 hours or more and grind it to a very fine paste. Keep aside.
Heat 1.5 tbsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts to golden brown. Keep aside.
Grease a plate with 1/2 tbsp ghee and let it wait.
Add the gram flour to the same wok and fry till it becomes mild brown and flavorful. Don't take it out till it turns fluffy and smells good. Keep aside.
In the same wok add the remaining milk and boil till it evaporates and get thick like gova / goya.
Then add the sugar + cashews and heat them in low heat. The sugar will melt in the moisture from cashew and milk. Put the fried gram flour and stir without rest in low heat.
Add the ghee slowly, whenever required and do this till bubbles start appearing in the whole mass.Now add the edible campbor and cardamom, mix well. Care should be taken not to brown the bottom.
Pour this bubbling (almost semi solid) mixture on the well greased plate. Let it stand for 15 minutes. When it is almost set and warm, draw slanting lines to get rhombus shape (diamond shape). Fix one cashew for each slice. Cool completely and store in air tight container.

-----------------------------------------

Easy method:
Click to see Manjula madam's video.

(The following one is from Manjula madam only , except for few of my variations. She recommended to add heavy cream . But I have used condensed milk instead).

Ingredients:

Besan flour - 2 cups
Unsalted butter - 6 tbsp
warm milk - 1 tbsp
sweetened condensed milk - 200 gm (1/2 tin or 3/4 cup)
milk powder - 1 cup
cardamom powder- 1 tsp
sugar - 3/4 cup
water - 1/2 cup
almond - 5

Method:

Mix the butter with besan flour by rubbing between both palms to get a sandy texture. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
Microwave the milk and let it be warm. Add the milk and rub the mixture again between your palms.

Add the condensed milk and milk powder in a wok and cook it till it rolls to form a soft dough. Switch off and keep aside.

Then add the dough we got with the besan flour and stir fry in low heat till it turns mild brown and aromatic. Fry till it becomes powder / sandy.
Let it cool and add cardamom powder.

In another wok, add the sugar and water and heat till we get double thread consistency (225 deg F in a candy thermometer).

Then switch off and add the flour mixture and mix well. Pour on a greased plate before it starts setting (still hot). Strew finely sliced almond.

Make small slices when it is still warm and let it cool completely.

Mohanthal is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack or dessert.

White pumpkin raitha

Raitha - Indian salad with yogurt as base.

I like white pumpkin (ash gourd) very much. Basically it has no significant taste and resembles a cucumber or bottle gourd. But will definitely enhance the taste of sambar or mor kulambu. Thadiyangai (Tamil) is the other name of white pumpkin. Nowadays we both are more towards vegetarian foods (lent days, as well as my personal wish. But I will continue preparing NV for my friends and family...) and I enjoy playing with different vegetables:)  I love to make different raithas along with sambar, rice and other side dishes during weekends and here is a raitha recipe using this white pumpkin.

Recipe source: I figured out how they made, while tasting it in a marriage.

A bowl of white pumpkin raitha. We can make cucumber raitha also like this.

A large slice of winter melon / white pumpkin (kalyana poosanikai).

Ingredients:

White pumpkin - 1 small slice (150 gm)
Indian dahi /plain yogurt /curd (thick) - 1 cup
white / red onion - 1 (small)
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
salt - to taste.
cilantro - few leaves.

To grind:

green chilli - 2
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Wash the ash gourd and remove the skin , seeds.
Cut it into small cubes (1/2 inch).
Heat oil in a wok and add urad dal,mustard splutter. As soon as the mustard seeds stop crackling, add the curry leaves and fry for a second. Immediately add the chopped white pumpkin. Stir well and cook covered (just add salt and cook without water - 3 minutes only). Let it cool completely.
Coarsely grind the items given to grind without water.
Add the ground paste, yogurt, freshly chopped onion and mix well.
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro leaves.
White pumpkin raitha is ready!

Note:

1.We can cook the white pumpkin separately in water, drain excess water and then temper it. But that will lead to loss of important minerals and vitamins. So I follow the above method, which is not common.
2.Use whole milk curd for this recipe to get a delicious raitha.
3.we can make this raitha without adding the ground masala also, but add finely chopped green chillies. (see picture below)

Raitha without adding the ground-masala.

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with any rice or with chapathi.
Consume these kind of raithas during summer (any season is good) for a healthy life style.

Kaara pori (Spicy puffed rice)

Many a days I was wondering if I could get an 'oil-less spicy-snack recipe' till I came across this tasty snack in Tasty traditions .  Thanks to the blogging world and the author, now I can snack on this quick, guilt-free spicy snack along with a cup of coffee every evening:)

Serving this kara pori and a  banana with an evening coffee is very common in Tamilnadu villages.

Ingredients:

Puffed rice (arisi pori) - 4 cup
groundnut - 1 cup
puffed channa dhal (pottu kadalai)- 1/2 cup
thin beaten rice (aval/poha) - 1/2 cup
oil - 1 tbsp
garlic - 2 cloves
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing (perungayam) - few shakes
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
salt - to taste

Method:

Microwave the pori in a big bowl for 1 minute or till it turns crispy (another 30 seconds).
Heat oil in a wok. Fry the groundnut and take out.
In the same wok roast the puffed channa dhal, till it turns crispy.
Add the beaten rice (thin poha) and fry together till both gets crispy (not red).
In a blender crush together the chilly powder or dry red chillies, curry leaf, hing, garlic, salt. Let it be a coarse mixture.
Heat a tsp of oil in the wok and fry the crushes ingredients.
Then switch off flame and add the fried peanut, pottu kadalai, puffed rice, beaten rice, fried groundnut and mix well.
Mix very evenly, so that every piece gets coated with the spices.
Let them cool well (otherwise they will get soggy by their own steam) and store in airtight container.

Serving suggestions:

Serve as snack with coffee or tea in the evening.
It can be used to garnish over Indian salads, curries and raitha.

Tips:

Fresh garlic can be replaced by garlic powder to avoid crushing.
Instead of microwaving the puffed rice, we can dry roast it for 5 minutes in low heat.

Pidi kozhukkattai (sweet dumplings)

Kozhukkattai (kolukkattai), is usually made during pooja days and Hindu festivals. It is the favorite food of Lord Ganesha and there are many beautiful Puranas associated with Him.
South Indians make these kolukkattai as a healthy snack because of no oil content. Hence it is liked by elders also.

Pidi kozhukkattai

Ingredients:

raw Rice / rice flour - 1 cup
(raw rice means pacharisi/ unboiled rice. we can use basmati also)
crushed jaggery (vellam) - 3/4 Cup
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
sesame - 2 tbsp
dry ginger powder - 1 tsp
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
moong dhal (pasi paruppu) - 1 tbsp

Method:

If using rice flour: dry roast it till it turns mild red and flavorful.

If using rice: then wash, soak for 1 hour. Remove water, pat dry in kitchen towel, dry in air for 30 minutes and powder it finely.

Then dry roast the obtained flour to mild red and flavorful finish. Keep aside.
Dry roast the sesame till it starts popping. Cover the pan and switch off when it starts to pop , to avoid wastage. The sesame will get roasted in  that stage.
Dry roast the moong dhal to mild red color and aromatic stage. keep aside.
Using a tsp of oil , fry the coconut to get a nice flavor and mild red color. (Using cut coconut pieces is authentic here). Keep aside.

Dissolve jaggery in 1 cup water by heating. Strain and remove any impurities.
Mix this jaggery solution with the roasted rice powder, ginger powder, roasted sesame, moong dhal, coconut, cardamom powder and mix well. If needed add some hot boiling water.

Let it cool, shape them with palms to an oblong shape, with some visible finger impressions.

Steam cook these dumplings in Idly cooker for 10 minutes. (After the steam comes in high pressure, reduce to medium heat and let it stay for 10 minutes).

Sweet pidi kozhukkattai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as snack.
Makes 15 dumplings, depending on size.
The same base mix can be folded inside palm leaves,tied,  steam cooked and served as panai olai kolukkattai during Karthigai festival.

Garlic bread (short cut)

 Here the local 'Garden farm market' sells these rolls in a much lesser price (say, 4 big rolls for a dollar - '2010 ). Moreover one cannot pass by that aisle ignoring those fresh rolls. So whenever we go to that shop I will stock up some rolls in various shapes and flavors. While trying to utilize the left over rolls, I found an interesting garlic bread recipe all over the web.  Though Baguette (French bread) is highly recommended for this recipe, this too works fine for me. Try and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Bread rolls / French bread - 1/2 foot long
unsalted butter - 2 tbsp (or more)
powdered dry garlic - 1 tsp
Italian seasoning (dried) - 1 tsp
salt - to taste

We can use fresh garlic also. But microwave / cook the garlic before mashing to avoid a strong odor. Nowadays I prefer garlic powder for this recipe.  If needed mix some olive oil to butter to get a healthier version.

Method:

Cut the bread diagonally and make thick long slices.
(If using fresh garlic, microwave the fresh garlic cloves with a tsp of water and mash well).
Soften the butter and mix the garlic powder, Italian herbs, salt and mix well.
Coat both sides of the bread slice with this mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 deg C.
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
Spray some oil.
Place the bread slices and bake till the crust turns golden / mildly crispy in outside (8-10 minutes approximately).
Garlic bread is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve warm as snack or sides with pizza, pasta.

Amaranth stem sambar (keerai thandu sambar).

If you are a person insisting on a 'no waste kitchen', then here is a recipe. Amaranth is a tasty green included in most of the Asian cuisines. In my home town, the keerai (greens) vendor, generally  the local farmer's wife, would bring many kinds of fresh greens early morning in a big basket. If we want to buy amaranth, then she would give it like a whole plant only, as they harvest that greens like that. Also we can get very young and tender amaranths by the name 'MuLai keerai' (முளை கீரை ) in cute little bunches . MuLai keerai can be used completely without rejecting the stems, but the stem of the normal amaranth are thicker. While buying the bigger amaranth plants, mom would make a stir fry using the leaves one day and save the stems for the sambar or any curry the next day. The stems can be refrigerated for a week and used in many dishes. I like the way we utilize everything from that beautiful amaranth plant.

other names: Chinese spinach stem sambar/ red spinach stem dhal/ Keerai thandu sambar

Amaranth (thandu keerai / thandankeerai - Tamil). Amaranth is a kind of greens like spinach, but with more medicinal value. Some tribes claim that it increases the life span , if consumed regularly. Click to read more from Wikipedia.

keerai thandu sambar

Ingredients:

Amaranth stem (chopped) - 1 cup
tamarind - small gooseberry size
tomato - 1
sambar powder - 2 tsp
oil / ghee - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
shallot - 2
cilantro - few
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek / methi seed - 1/2 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

To pressure cook:

thuvaram paruppu (thoor dhal/red gram)- 1/2 cup
water - 2 cup
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
onion - 1/2
garlic - 4 cloves

Method:

Wash and soak the dhal for 30 minutes. Discard the water.
Pressure cook the dhal with 2 cups of water, hing, turmeric powder, garlic, onion for 3 whistles. Switch off and wait for the pressure to reduce. Take out and mash the dhal with 1/2 tsp cumin.

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup water and extract juice (thrice).

Peel the skin of Amaranth stem, if any. Chop the stem into 1 inch pieces and keep aside. Heat a tsp oil in a wok and slide in mustard, fenugreek. After the mustard crackles, put the curry leaves and chopped shallot. Then goes  the finely chopped tomato and cook till it gets mushy.
Add the chopped amaranth stem and stir for 10 seconds.
Then add the tamarind extract and let it come to a boil. Heat till the raw smell vanishes (5 minutes). Add the mashed dhal to boiling tamarind. Put the sambar powder and bring it to a boil again.
Add required salt, finely chopped cilantro and switch off.
Amaranth stem sambar is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Makes 4 generous servings.
Serve over hot rice or as side dish with idly, dosa, venn pongal etc.

Potato spicy curry (Urulai kilangu kara curry)

It is an extremely spicy hot curry popular among Indians. Potato curry won't need much of an intro to any Indian. Every mom would have a recipe of their own for this simple dish. It is a Tamil tradition to make this curry along with sambar rice for vegetarian guests. Also the urulai kilangu kara curry is a must during festive days and weddings. Almost an year back, I read an interview with a Tirunelveli chef in a Tamil magazine about his proficiency in this curry. Though I too do the same way, I like the way the chef explained it.  Hope you all enjoy it.

Potato spicy curry / Urulai kizhangu kaara curry.

Ingredients:

Potato -  4 (big)
(Red potato in USA tastes more like Indian potatoes)
tomato - 2 (optional)
Red Onion - 1 (100 gm)
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
curry leaf - 1 sprig
Coriander Leaves to garnish - as required

Method:

Wash the potatoes and put them in enough water. Bring to boil and cook covered till the potatoes are soft.
Peel and chop the potatoes into big chunks. Mash a few pieces. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds, cinnamon. As the fennel turns red , add the chopped onion, curry leaf and fry till it becomes golden.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 5 seconds.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute till oil starts showing up.

Add required salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, Turmeric powder, Garam masala powder with handful of water and cook for 1 minute.

Then add the cubed potatoes and mix well till the masala gets absorbed by the potato and the curry becomes semi-dry. Sprinkle more chilli powder if needed, as this curry should be very hot and spicy.

Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

Spicy Potato curry is ready!

Serving Suggestions:

Serves 4 people.
Serve as side dish for chapathi, Sambar rice, rasam rice,coconut rice, curd rice etc.

Note:

If you are not using tomato here, then sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice after switching off.

Karuppatti aappam

Karuppatti - palm jaggery / panai vellam. Palm jaggery is a kind of sweetener used in South India. In my native place, palm jaggery extraction is a well known cottage industry. It is used in preparing many Indian medicines especially the Tamil medicines and healthy food. When mixed with tamarind extract and dry ginger, it is believed to treat UTI and kidney stones. It is also believed to be a healthy and less calorific sugar for everyone. From the root to the top, the whole tree can be used for one purpose or another. Some of the useful things we get from palm tree are, palm root (panan kilangu), thavun (germinating seed), panan kuruthu (tender edible leaves), fuel from leaves and trunk, strong wood for construction, neera / pathaneer (palmira juice), palm leaf fan and some crafts, nongu/nungu (unripe palm fruit), a very sweet palm fruit and of course the palm jaggery also. The best part is this tree won't need much irrigation or attention, so it can be cultivated in hot arid conditions also. As the whole tree serves the humans in many ways, they call it as karpaga virutcham (a mythical tree that can give whatever we wish for). The coffee made with this karipotti, will taste great even without milk. Because of lesser awareness and negligence the palmyra trees are fast vanishing from our farms. Moreover the Tamilnadu government's policies on palm products,  export,  license etc made this farming extremely difficult, which ultimately resulted in high price tags on this otherwise cheaper palm jaggery.

Last month I got a pack of Gur, (a Bangladeshi palm sugar made from date palm) from an Indian grocery stores. It resembles the South Indian palm jaggery, but the one I am talking about tastes more like a caramel syrup. Apart from eating it raw as snack, I prepared some palm jaggery aappam and started drenching in those memories:)

Here are some links on palm trees.
news , uses,

Karuppatti appam served with coconut milk.

Palm jaggery is prepared by pouring hot (pathaneer) palm syrup in coconut shells.

Gur, I got in Indian stores.

Appam making pan.

Vellai appam batter and karupatti appam batter.

Appam batter after fermentation.

I have already posted the recipe for a traditional karuppatti aappam when I started blogging. But I didn't have any images then. Click here to see the recipe.

Here is an alternative / short cut method to prepare aappam using left over dosa batter.

Ingredients:

Sour dosa batter - 1 cup
rice flour - 1 cup
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
yeast - 1 tsp
(optional if you don't have it. But yeast makes the aappam tasty)
salt - 1/2 tsp,
baking soda - 1/4 tsp.
Palm jaggery / Karupatti (in tamil)- 1/2 (150 gms)

Preparation:

Grind the coconut and add it to the dosa batter, rice flour, yeast, salt and add very little water to make a thick batter. Keep it closed and place in a warm place for 6-8 hours or Let it ferment overnight.
( I make this batter at night by 9 pm and leave it inside the oven (warm but turned off). The next day morning when I take it out my kitchen will be filled with a nice aroma).

There will be bubbles on the surface and the batter would have risen and become more watery.
Now take 1/2 - 1 cup of water and add the palm jaggery . Heat it until the jaggery gets dissolved.Allow it to cool. Then take the top layer jaggery solution leaving behind the sandy bottom.
Add this mixture to the aappam batter. Add the baking soda, mix well  and now we are ready to make aappam.

Method:

We may need a special aappam pan for this. But can also be done with a curved bottom non stick pan, with lid.
Heat the aappam pan and wipe a drop of coconut oil all over the pan by using a clean cloth.
Check the thickness of aappam batter now. It should be have a thin consistency than that of dosa batter.If not so add some water.
Pour a big ladle over the pan and shake the pan in a circular motion so that the flour spreads and expands along the edges, so that the aappam is thick at the center and very thin along the sides. (The cooked batter forms a layer of 'lace' around the thicker center portion). Cover tightly, reduce flame and let it cook in it's own steam. (I wait to hear a mild "dropping/ cracking" sound of water) .Now we can be sure that the aapam is cooked.Open the lid.Then by using a dosa spatula gently take out the aapam.

Aappam is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Extract some coconut milk. First place the hot aappam on the dinner plate and drizzle a few tsp of white sugar over it. Then pour a ladle of coconut milk over it.
Enjoy the karuppatti aappam soaked in coconut milk.

Makes nearly 15 number of aapam.
We can store the rest of the aapam batter in fridge and use it later if you dont need this much number of aapams.
If you don't have palm jaggery , then skip that step and prepare white aappam without any sweetener, which can be served with any spicy kuruma.

Spinach sambar

A simple sambar recipe that helps me to include greens in one form or other:)

Amaranth (thandu keerai - Tamil) or any kind of spinach can be used to make this healthy sambar. Taking greens is a must for all, that too more important for those with non-veg diet. Greens have the capacity to keep our intestines healthy and clean apart from their vitamin benefits. So a non veg day should be followed by a day full of fibrous diet and keerai is a must then. We can see the fish meals accompanied with spinach in many Indian houses, but not with chicken or lamb. So the next day would be a keerai day:) This is a common dish in some parts of Tamilnadu, India.

Ingredients:

Amaranth (or) spinach leaves- 2 handful
tamarind - small gooseberry size
tomato - 1
sambar powder - 2 tsp
oil - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - few
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

To pressure cook:

thuvaram paruppu (thoor dhal/red gram)- 1/2 cup

water - 2 cup
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
onion - 1/2
garlic - 4 cloves

Method:

Pressure cook the dhal with 2 cups of water, hing, turmeric powder, garlic, onion.
Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup water and extract juice (thrice).
Finely chop the spinach and keep aside.
Heat a tsp oil in a wok and slide in mustard, fenugreek. After the mustard crackles, add the finely chopped tomato and cook till it gets mushy.
Then add the chopped spinach and stir for less than a minute.
Add the tamarind extract and let it come to a boil. Heat till the raw smell vanishes (5 minutes). Mash the cooked dhal with a tsp of cumin and add it to boiling tamarind. Put the sambar powder and bring it to a boil.
Add required salt, finely chopped cilantro and switch off.
Spinach sambar is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Makes 4 generous servings.
Serve over hot rice or as side dish with idly, dosa, venn pongal etc.

Vazhaikkai roast

This roasted plantain is one my favorite. For the first time I tasted it long back from my friend Usha's tiffin box. Then I learned that it was prepared by her sister . Just like most us, I too have the habit of formulating the recipe after tasting a good food. So I kept that taste in mind and prepared it for my mom. From then on it became a regular in our house and we call it as a best alternative for fish fry:)

Ingredients:
unripe banana - 2
oil - 2 tbsp

To grind:

onion - 1/4
garlic - 2 cloves
fennel - 1 tsp
garam masal powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric - a big pinch
salt - to taste
besan flour or maida flour- 1 tsp

Method:

Cut and remove the head and tail of unripe raw banana. Peel a thin layer of skin from plantain (optional).
Bring to boil enough water to immerse the plantain.
Cook the bananas completely.
Check by piercing a sharp knife and see if it gets through without much effort.
Switch off. Let it cool. Cut it into 3/4 an inch thick rounds.

Grind the ingredients mentioned above to a fine paste.
Apply this paste all over the plantain pieces. Keep aside.
Heat a flat pan and apply a thin coating of oil (few drops).
Then place all the pieces flat.
Reduce flame. Sprinkle 1 tbsp oil over the pieces.
Let them cook for few minutes (2 minutes) and flip once. Again sprinkle a tbsp of oil all over. Cook till they get dark red color.

Take out and enjoy.

Serving suggestions:

Makes a good side dish with curd rice or any 'dhal / sambar over rice'.

Makes an attractive party food.

Simple breakfast - Aval /poha

Here is a very simple and common breakfast using Aval (Tamil). Aval is called beaten rice or Indian rice flakes (English) or poha (Hindi). Even before the Kellogs finds its way to Tamilnadu, many women find their solace in this 'no-cook breakfast' and I am one among them :) All you need is a few tbsp of freshly shredded coconut, sugar and optionally a banana along with this poha.
Hope many won't need a recipe for this. But just recording it for people like me:)

Aval - mix and enjoy!

Ingredients:

thick poha - 1 cup
sugar - 2 tbsp (for each plate)
freshly shredded coconut - 2 tbsp (for each plate)
banana - 1 (for each plate)

Method:

Wash and soak the poha (see note), till its soft. Drain the excess water and keep aside.
 Mix with sugar, banana, shredded coconut  and enjoy!
 We can serve the sugar, poha, coconut and banana separately for adults.
Mix everything and make small balls for children, so that they enjoy well.
The ripe banana should be placed along the side and the guest has to mash the banana, mix everything and devour.

Note:

We may need 1/2 cup poha for 1 person.
Thick or thin poha can be used for this recipe.
Thick poha will need 1 hour to soak, while the thin poha will soak in 5 minutes.
But the most healthy one is the red thick poha (sivappu samba aval).
Makes a very healthy breakfast.
Some times it can be served as a quick and mild dinner also.

Anchovy fish curry

Nethili meen kulambu (meaning - anchovy fish curry) is a heart healthy dish preferred by those who can't take fatty fishes like king fish. Anchovies are recommended for their property to reduce bad fat. In villages, they won't temper this kind of meen kulambu. I like the taste of small fishes like sardines (salai meen) ,anchovies (nethili) better than the larger varieties. Chinese people, who know the medicinal value of these fishes, buy the anchovies in dried form to prepare soup. Enjoy!

Nethili meen kulambu waiting in the dining table:)

Items required: (To make 4 cups of thick gravy)
Anchovy - 1 lb (or)1/2 kg
sesame oil - 2 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1 tsp
fenugreek seeds (methi)- 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
Red chilly powder -1 tbsp
coriander powder- 3 tbsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
tomato - 2
green chillies - 2
curry leaves- 2 sprigs.

To grind:

shredded coconut - 3/4 cup
shallot - 8
cumin seeds - 1 tsp

How to clean the anchovy fish?

First put all the fishes in a basin of water and rinse the anchovies to remove any sand or impurities.
Then remove or retain the head as per taste. (If you are frying them, then the head will taste great, for this curry we can remove them. But I prefer to keep the head on). Cut and remove the tail. Slit gently in the boneless stomach side and remove the (greenish) digestive tract.
Wash once again.
Apply little turmeric powder over the fish and keep aside.
Anchovies are ready for cooking now:)

Curry preparation:

Extract juice from tamarind and add chilli powder, coriander powder, pinch of turmeric powder, salt and mix well.Keep aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a thick bottom vessel. (Fish curry prepared in earthen vessel tastes good).Add mustard and fenugreek seeds. After the mustard seeds crackle add the curry leaves .

Then add the finely chopped tomato and saute till becomes mushy.
Add tamarind juice mixture and let it boil for 5 minutes.
Then add the finely ground coconut-onion paste.
Immediately after this starts boiling add the cleaned anchovies.
cover the vessel and simmer the heat.
Cook it in very little flame for 15 minutes.
DO NOT stir the curry after adding the fish, otherwise you may end up with broken pieces.
Then put off fire. If needed garnish with chopped green chillies and curry leaves.

Note:

Serve hot with rice, chapathi or Idly or dosai .
We may not need any side dish if we are adding more anchovies.
The left over meen kulambu will taste heavenly the next day along with idly for breakfast.

FYI:
I have read somewhere that this idly and fish curry combination is the most favorite for Tamilnadu's former  Chief Minister (MGR), (late) Mr. M.G.Ramachandran :) Recently I started watching his movies and found them very stylish and lively. Never thought I would enjoy them like this:)

Pomegranate Ice cream

Valentine's day is for flowers and cakes and ice cream. I prepared Gulabjamun and Turkey biryani as a special treat for hubby. As I have posted the recipes for above earlier, I thought of giving out some healthy as well as a romantic post during this day. How about some sparkling ruby red pomegranates in your ice cream? Here is an ice cream made of pomegranate. Enjoy! Happy Valentine's day!

Pomegranate fruit split open. Always buy pomegranates that weigh heavy.

The pomegranate juice is extracted now.

Pomegranate ice cream before freezing.

Pomegranate ice cream.

Ingredients:

pomegranate - 2 (big)
sugar - 2 tbsp
condensed milk (sweetened 14 oz can) - 1 1/4 can
whipped topping (8 oz pack) - 2
rose essence - 3 drops

Method:

Wash the pomegranate. Slit it and open. Carefully gather the plump seeds in a bowl. Keep a handful of them aside for garnishing. Apply 2 tbsp sugar and squeeze the juice out of it by hand. Don't use mixer or blender, as it will grind the hard seeds also. Remove the seeds. If necessary apply a tsp of sugar to the left over seeds and extract as much juice as possible.
We may need a cup of pomegranate juice.

In a mixing bowl add the condensed milk, rose essence, 3/4 of the juice and fold in the whipped topping. Transfer to a lidded container suitable for freezing.
Add the left over pomegranate juice little by little to give a swirl effect. Keep frozen for nearly 4 hours.
Garnish with some un-squeezed pomegranate before serving.

Pomegranate ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes nearly 15 big scoops.
This ice cream will be very fluffy and easy to handle.

Note:

1 large scoop will be less than 100 K cal.
We can use bottled pomegranate juice also, but I will recommend the freshly squeezed ones only to get the fluffy ice cream.
The hard seeds that we get (after extracting the juice) can be dried and used in cooking.
The hard skin of the pomegranate can be dried and powdered for medicinal purposes.
I formulated this pomegranate ice cream recipe after some iterations.
In USA the season for pomegranates is during October November and December.

Bottlegourd koottu

This is the recipe for a koottu (side dish) I make with bottlegourd. Any watery vegetable like white pumpkin, ridge gourd can also be used.

suraikkai koottu

Ingredients:

Bottlegourd (suraikkai) - 300 gms
channa dhal - 1/2 cup

To grind:

shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
green chillies - 3
cumin - 1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
sesame oil - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
onion - 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash the channa dhal and cook it with some water.
Peel the skin of the bottle gourd. Chop it into small cubes. Donot discard the seeds. Tender seeds tastes good.
Grind the items given and keep aside.
After the dhal is almost cooked add the chopped bottle gourd and cook covered. As soon as it is cooked add salt and the ground masala.
Heat oil in another wok and let the mustard splutter. Then add the curry leaf, finely chopped onion and let them wilt. Pour this over the cooked curry.
Check for salt and switch off.
Bottle gourd koottu is ready!

Serving suggesetion:

Makes more than 4 or 5 servings.
Serve as side dish with any rice or roti.

Note:

*Normally a small bottle gourd will weigh more than 1/2 kg. But we may get a lot of koottu by this recipe. So cut 3/4 th of the bottlegourd and make the koottu and use the other portion to make pachadi or sambar.
*Fresh Bottle gourd salad or semi cooked one (pachadi) has the property to reduce body fat. I am not sure of this fact, but they believe so in Tamilnadu villages.

Sweet potato ladoo

Sweet potato is otherwise called sweet yam in some places. The Tamil meaning or translation is Seeni kilangu or sarkarai valli kizhangu.
The Indian sweet yams are more sweeter,flavorful, fibrous and starchy. We can distinguish them by their irregular shape and mild pink skin. They come as white or yellow yam depending on the inner color. We can use all kinds of sweet yam in this recipe.

My mom used to simply boil these yams during their peak availability and it is a guilt free snack too. But can we just satisfy ourselves with that natural yam? So one day she made some sweet balls out of it and the whole family started demanding her for this instead of the plain cooked yam:) But I like the boiled yam better than this ladoo, while as usual hubby dear started liking this one and now I have to make a few ladoos for him:)

Sweet potato ladoo along with some boiled ones.

Ingredients:

Sweet potato / Indian sweet yam - 1/2 lb
Freshly shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
sugar - 3 tbsp

Method:

Scrub and wash the yam to remove the sand.
Pressure cook or boil them in water.
If pressure cooking, halve the yam and cook them in 2 cups of water. After getting a whistle , reduce the flame and cook it in medium flame for 5 minutes. Then release the pressure and take it out.
Check by piercing a knife. It should pass freely.
Let it cool and remove the outer skin.
Mash the yam with hand and mix with coconut and sugar.
Shape into tennis ball size laddu (balls) and serve as snack.

Seeni kilangu ladoo is ready!

Kheema kuruma for poori

Weekend breakfasts are always a special in many houses. Hubby dear likes to start his weekends very early in the morning with his Netflix movies and will expect something nice to eat:) Here is a visual treat of the poori and kothu curry kuzhambu I prepared:)

Mutton kheema curry with poori.

Ingredients:

Lamb kheema - 150 gm
tomato - 2 (50 gm)
Potato - 3 (200 gm)
Red onion- 1 (5o gm)
curry leaves- 1 sprig
cilantro- 1 handful
mint leaves - 1 handful
cooking oil- 2 tbsp
chilli powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
sakthi garam masal powder - 1 tsp
green chilli- 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
cinnamon- 1 inch
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Bay leaf (brinji) - 2
coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Method:

Wash the meat and keep aside.
Take a thick bottom vessel with tight lid.
Heat the oil and add fennel, cinnamon. After they start getting red, add the chopped onion and saute till it get golden brown. Then put the ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell vanishes.
Then add the finely chopped tomato, curry leaf, cilantro, mint, green chillies and saute till oil oozes out.
Peel the potato and cut it into small cubes. Put the potato and meat in that wok and saute well.
Add 2 cups of water , turmeric, garam masala and all powders.Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Check if the meat and potato are cooked well. Then add salt and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and switch off.
The curry should be between thick and thin consistency, so that it pairs well with poori.
Kheema kurma is ready!

Serving suggestions:

This will be enough for 4 people.
Serve as side dish with puri / poori, chapathi , idly , dosa , parotta etc.

Note:

*The calorie need of men and women are different. Men need more calories than women.So calculate and serve accordingly.
*Lamb meat is very good for health during winter.
*As poori itself being a heavy breakfast, we may not need much fatty side dish. We may need as little as 150 gm of kheema and it will be difficult to buy that quantity, So while preparing any other kheema dishes, reserve some in freezer for this kuruma.
*Vegetarians can add scrambled paneer instead of meat in this kuruma.

Mutton koftha (kola urundai)

Kola urundai (Tamil)  can be equated to 'deep fried meat balls'. Mutton kola urundai is more famous in Tamilnadu than the chicken counterpart. Nowadays we are conveniently getting kheema from the shops but some decades ago, they used  to grind the lamb meat at home in ammi (grinding stone). That will yield a very soft kofta with crispy crust. After getting adapted to that taste, mom used to grind the already minced meat in the mixie to get a very spongy kola urundai. We can use the minced meat directly also. But I have explained my mom's method , as my younger brother is eagerly looking for this recipe:)

Ingredients:
Minced lamb meat - 250 gms
(kothu kari / mutton kheema)
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 4 pods (optional)
onion - 1
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp (optional)
fennel - 1 tbsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
green chilly - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - a handful
mint leaf - few

others:

Puffed channa dhal - 1 cup
(pottu kadalai / pori kadalai)
oil - to deep fry

Method:
Place a fresh cloth over colander. Wash the meat and drain water in a colander till there is no water. A fresh cloth over colander can remove all the water without wastage. But some people say they can use the meat directly, which is also correct if you can get clean meat.

Grind the puffed channa dhal to a fine powder, when the mixer is dry.
Grind the minced meat in a mixie along with ginger, garlic, fennel and salt to a very fine stage without any water.
Chop the onion, green chilly, cilantro, mint, curry leaf to a very fine stage.

Mix the ground meat and chopped items with red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masal powder. Add the powdered dhal little by little to get a soft dough like consistency.

Take a small lemon size ball and shape neatly. Deep fry in hot oil.
Take out and serve hot.

Serving suggestions:

Serve as snack or side dish with rice.
In my home town, they make 'yelumbu kulambu' (a thin curry with lamb ribs) and  rice along with this kofta during festive days.
Yields 20 kofthas (approximately).

Note:

Some suggest to use the minced meat directly without grinding to a fine stage, that is also correct. But I have given my mom's method here.
We can make chicken koftha also like this.
Vegetarians can use the drumstick (murungakkai) 's inner flesh instead of meat, which will be equally tasty.
Chicken kheema can be used directly without washing and grinding. But lamb meat needs more care.
Fry a ball and check for salt and adjust the taste.

An award:
When I was about to publish this post, I received a beautiful award from Ambreen of 'Simply Sweet 'n' Savory'. Thank you dear. I am honored.

Her post is on Koftay salan and it is much perfectly prepared and cooked in the curry itself. I have never tried like this, as I simply drop the fried meat balls in the gravy. It has come out nicely for her. I thought it would be apt to mention her's here. Hope you all like her method too.

I am sharing this award with all those who visit this post. Enjoy!

Brinjal whole fry

This is a very simple recipe I tried after preparing the stuffed masala egg. I thought of replacing the eggs with eggplant and the result was awesome. We can serve it along with ghee rice, as the masala we get at the end will be very tasty to go with anything. Try this and enjoy.

Stuffed brinjal fry.

Ingredients:

Brinjal (small)- 6
oil - 1/4 cup
(sesame oil or EVOO)
onion - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
salt - little

Stuffing / Filling:

Garam masala - 1 tsp
(I used sakthi biryani masala powder)
chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - a pinch
lemon juice - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Slit the brinjal longitudinally without completely splitting.
Mix the filling with a tbsp of water and stuff inside the brinjal.
Keep the remaining masala aside.

Heat oil in a thick bottom wok.
Place the brinjals and let them fry for a minute. Turn and do the same for a minute.
In the mean time, chop the onions into thin long pieces and add to the frying brinjals.
Add ginger garlic paste, little salt and left over masalas to that. Close tightly and cook well in low heat. Stir gently once in a while.

Nearly after 15 minutes, we can see the oil separating from the brinjal masala.
Switch off.

Stuffed brinjal fry is ready.

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with chapthi, roti or any paratha.
Makes a great combo with ghee rice or coconut milk rice.
Also tastes good with curd rice.

Spinach rice (Keerai saatham)

Spinach and Asian food are inseparable. I am sure each Indian lunch box can tell a different recipe for this humble spinach. I mix rice and the spinach to make a kind of 'variety rice'.  I like this recipe very much because of its simplicity and lesser time consumption.  Here goes the recipe.

Keerai saatham served with cauliflower  stir fry.

Ingredients:

Rice - 3/4 cup
Any greens / Spinach - 1 small bunch.
(Any keerai like thandu keerai, mulai keerai, muringa keerai, pasali keerai,ponnan kanni keerai, arakeerai, sirukeerai etc)
Green chilly - 2
onion - 1/2 cup
garlic - 2 cloves
cumin - 1/2 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp (optional)
mustard - 1/2 tsp
sesame oil - 1 tsp
ghee - 1/2 tsp (optional)
salt - to taste

Rice:

Take the rice lesser than we normally consume, as the spinach makes a good filler in this recipe.
Bring to boil some 3 cups of water. Wash and add the rice to the boiling water. Put a pinch of salt and reduce the flame. Let it cook. After the rice gets cooked, strain and remove the water.
Keep the cooked rice aside. We can cook the rice in pressure cooker or rice cooker also. But I prefer the above method to prepare any 'variety rice', as it will yield very separate grains.

Method:

Carefully clean the greens and put them in a broad vessel. Wash thrice or more times to remove all dirt. Drain water and chop finely.
Heat oil in a wok. Let the mustard crackle. Then add the chopped onion, chilly, garlic and fry till the onion becomes soft.
Then add the finely chopped greens and stir fry. Don't close the vessel. Sprinkle a little water if necessary. After it gets cooked and almost dry (in 5 minutes), Switch off, add the salt, shredded coconut and cumin seeds. Mix this with the cooked rice along with a tsp of ghee.
Mix well and serve.

Serving suggestion:

This can be prepared for lunch box. Don't add coconut during hot weather in packed foods.
Serve with any spicy side dish like brinjal fry or cauliflower fry.
Serves 2.

Peanut chutney

Peanut chutney is a famous chutney among South Indians. Some call it as 'sivappu chatney' or 'kara chutney' that means 'red or hot chutney'. My dad loves this very much and after a long time I made it along with idly. It has to be made with more dry red chillies and tamarind to make it super hot. Here goes the recipe.

Groundnut chutney.

Ingredients:

peanut - 1/2 cup
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
dry red chillies - 10
tamarind - an amla size
salt - to taste

To temper:

oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
urid dhal - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf- 1 sprig

Method:

Dry roast the peanut and let it cool.
(If using roasted peanuts, then skip the above step).
Remove its skin by gently rubbing. Keep aside.
Now add a drop of oil in a wok and roast the dry red chillies till they smell good and turns crispy.
Grind all items given in ingredient list along with the roasted peanut and fried chillies.
Add some water (less than 1 cup) to get a thick and somewhat runny consistency.
Again heat a tsp of oil in a wok and crackle the mustard seeds, immediately add the urad dhal and curry leaves. Fry till the dhal turns red, pour over the prepared chutney.

Verkadalai chutney is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Makes a great combo with idly or dosai.
Serves 4.

Other info:

As some are allergic or hesitant to peanut, don't try this chutney for a get-together.
Some get giddiness , if they take lot of peanut. In that case give them a chunk of jaggery  immediately. May be it is a home remedy for people who can't take much peanut.

Reposts for events

I am re-posting the following fried snacks for Radhika's Deep fried snacks event.

1.Thengai paal murukku.

2.Masaal vadai.


3.Vazhai kaai bajji.

Who won't love a plate of deep fried snacks in this cold weather? Hope she gets a lot of entries. Happy hosting dear!