Amla pickle

Amla is a medicinal fruit used on daily basis by Indians. Our elders would suggest it for many health issues like diabetes, improving hemoglobin content etc. So its a habit to prepare some pickle or jam or amla gulabjamun with this amla whenever we get it abundant. Fresh amla can be made into juice or made into amla buttermilk as a health drink. It is also proved that the medicinal value of the amla fruit will not diminish with preservative methods. Here is my version of Amla pickle, that can last long in room temperature.

Other names: Gooseberry pickles , Nellikkai urugai, Periya nellikkai oorukai.

Ingredients:

Amla - 25 (I used frozen)
gingelly oil - 1/2 cup
Vinegar (white) - 1/2 cup
red chilly powder - 1/2 cup
salt - 1/2 cup (per taste)
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida (kayam / hing) - 1/4 tsp

To dry roast and grind:

mustard seed (kadugu)- 1 tbsp
fenugreek (venthayam) - 1 tsp

Method:

Wash the amla, pat dry with a clean kitchen towel and let dry in shade for an hour.
If using frozen ones, then just de-freeze them by keeping in room temperature.
Dry roast the items given and make a fine powder.

In a wok, pour the oil and let a tsp of mustard to crackle.
Then slide in the amla along with hing, turmeric and fry till it starts turning pale. Then add the red chilly powder , powdered masala, salt and fry well to get rid of the raw smell.

Let it cool completely. Then add the vinegar and mix well. Store it in a dry glass bottle / porcelain pickle jar.

Note:

*We can add lemon juice also , but I am not sure of the shelf-life.
*I have seen my mom preparing this pickle without vinegar or lemon. But it will need a good sun-drying process, lesser oil, great hygiene and little more salt. By prolonged sun-drying, that pickle can stay for an year or more in the cupboard.

Updated on Jan 24, 2013:

I made this bottle of amla pickle (approximately) on Oct 31 2012. All those 6 days till we get power back, We both entertained ourselves with cooking , eating and talking and talking.

Arbi (Seppankilangu) cutlet

One day I tried to make some poriyal with arbi instead of my usual arbi fry. But that poriyal became so loose and dry (due to that variety). So I wanted to make something edible out of it without wastage. To my surprise the cutlet tasted as good as a potato cutlet and this is the story behind my unusual cutlet:)

Seppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English), Arbi (Hindi).

Arbi cutlet.

Ingredients:

Arbi - 200 gm
onion - 1
green chillies - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
fennel - 1 tsp
curry leaf, cilantro, mint leaf (together) - finely chopped 2 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
garam masal powder - 1 tsp
lime juice from 1/4 fruit
salt to taste
bread crumbs - 1 cup
all purpose flour - 1/4 cup
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
oil - to shallow fry

Cooking the arbi:

Remove the skin and wash the arbi. Cut it into big chunks.
Heat a tbsp oil in a wok and add fennel. Then goes the finely chopped onion, chillies. Immediately add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell vanishes.
Then add the chopped arbi and stir well. Add the garam masal powder, chilly powder, turmeric, salt, 1/4 cup water and cook covered till done.
Mash it to a fine paste and add finely chopped cilantro, curry leaf, mint leaf, lemon juice and check if it tastes really good.

Prepare the bread crumbs at home or simply buy it.
Spread the bread crumbs on a broad plate.

Prepare a dipping batter using all purpose flour (maida), water. The batter should be thick like a pan cake mix (or dosa batter).

Frying the cutlet:

Heat some oil in a broad-shallow pan.
Now take a lemon size ball from the prepared arbi mixture. Flatten it to get a oval or circular shape with 3/4 inch thickness.
Dip that in maida batter and roll it bread crumbs.
Bring it to a perfect shape. Shallow fry it both sides. Drain oil and serve hot.
Proceed with all the balls and add oil whenever necessary.
Arbi cutlet is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as evening snack or along with rice as side dish.
Arbi cutlet goes well with tomato sauce.

Tips:

Bread crumbs can be prepared at home using few bread slices. Just leave them in a hot oven for a few minutes and powder it using a mixie.
Left over arbi poriyal can also be made into this cutlet.
If you cannot bring good shape to the cutlet, then try adding  a few tsp of besan flour or home made puffed channa dal flour.

Pearl millet candy (Kambu urundai)

This candy might have been the power bar / cereal bar for the farmers of  India before this commercial era. Not only Indian farmers, each and every working community all over the world would have had their own recipe before industrialization. While growing up I never cared much for these village recipes as they were readily available to me on daily basis. But after tasting all kinds of store bought power bars and realizing the benefits of home-cooking, I wanted to try my own using the traditional recipe. In my native we used to make a lot of this kind of candies / cereal bars using various combinations. These candies have loads of fiber and nutrition , hence they can be served as after work-out food, evening snack, break fast with milk, dessert etc. We can adjust and make them within 150 K Cal (each).

I have heard people calling it as Kambu kozhukkattai, but I tell it as kambu urundai (candy) as it is prepared without steaming.
Kambu - pearl millet (bajira - Hindi), kolukkattai / kozhukkattai - steamed sweet dumbling, urundai - ball (here it means candy).

Ingredients:

Kambu (bajira) - 1 cup
sesame - 1/4 cup
groundnut - 1/2 cup
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
jaggery - 1 cup
rice flour - 2 tbsp

Method:

Dry roast the kambu till it smells good and powder it.
(If we can't get whole kambu, then use the powdered version here after roasting).
Dry roast the sesame and groundnut separately.
Remove the skin of groundnut by scrubbing gently.
Coarsely grind the sesame and groundnut, so that groundnut remains as big pieces.
Melt the jaggery and remove any impurities. Bring it to rolling boil (2 string consistency).
Mix the powdered kambu, crushed sesame, crushed groundnut, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and make small spherical balls (palm size). If needed add a tbsp rice flour to facilitate the rolling process.

Kambu urundai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve just like protein bars
It can be had as healthy snack, after work-out meal, breakfast etc.

Batham palkova (Almond kova)

Other names: Almond milk halwa, Bathaam palkova, almond fudge.

I don't know , if there exists a sweet dish in this name. But it will be a good choice when we want to make something similar to almond halwa with very little almonds and lesser time. With all these sweet ingredients, we will definitely arrive at a wonderful result.  As expected, this newer sweet was so delicious and became our comfort zone for that weekend. Enjoy this sweet on a special occasion and let me know how it turned out:)

Batham paal kova.

Ingredients:

Almond - 15
milk - 1/2 cup
milk powder - 4 tbsp
Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 oz / 396 gm)
Butter – 2 tbsp
cardamom powder - a pinch
Saffron – few strands

Method:

Bring 1 cup water to boil and put the almonds. Let them be in that heat till they swell and show wrinkles. Switch off and put them in cold water for 10 minutes. The skin will come off. (We can soak them overnight too). Peel the skin and grind them to a coarse paste along with the milk.

Now put everything above on a thick bottom wok and start heating in a medium flame. Stir continuously. Don't leave it unattended for a second. If necessary reduce the flame to the lowest. After 5 minutes bubbles will start appearing all over. It will be very hot, so take care. If doing in a big bulk, wear a gloves for safety.

Within 8 - 10 minutes, the kova will thicken and start leaving the sides. It is the best stage. If we want to make slices, then go ahead and stir for few more minutes. Add cardamom powder before switching off.
I wanted mine in halwa stage and so stopped there.

Almond kova is ready!

Another version: (updated 2011, Oct 25)

Almond - 1 1/4 cup
sweetened condensed milk - 300 gm (12 oz / 80 % of a 386 gm tin / 3/4 cup )
milk powder - 3/4 cup
(instead of condensed milk and milk powder we can use equal weight of sweetened milk khova - says the old recipe )
cardamom - 5
saffron - few strands
yellow color
ghee - 2 tbsp

Soak almond overnight. Remove skin and grind coarsely with 1/4 cup milk.
Fry the almond paste in ghee in medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add the milk khova and stir well. Do this in medium heat for another 10 minutes,
Add color, cardamom.
Garnish with finely chopped alomond, saffron.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot or cold as dessert.

Bittergourd curry

Translation : Pakarkkai - bittergourd / bitter melon.

In my childhood, the bittergourd we get nowadays were a hybrid and not available in local shops. We were buying a smaller version of them called 'mithi pagal':), those used to be very tiny and not bitter like the ones we get nowadays. Moreover that mithi pagal plant, root, fruits everything can be made into a juice and drank for obesity and diabetes. Then came the longer version and one day we saw them in our Vivekanandan uncle's house and were amazed at that yield. They were gathering them in big baskets and no one was there to buy them as they couldn't find a better way to cook them without that bitterness. Mom showed them a way using more oil and chilly powder and it was so excellent. Yes, my Mom used to make very good fried curries with this bittergourd and call it as pakarkkai varuval along with paruppu kulambu. At that time I have also consumed that but after I started cooking, I could neither take that bitter flavor nor add oil like my mom. So bittergourd became a rare commodity in my kitchen and I prepared it sometime ago and with chapathi for supper and packed it with lentil rice the next day. Anyways everybody liked it and I am just noting it down because of the way I added very minimal oil.

Myth: Bittergourd curry is a big no no in my native , while inviting guests:)

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd - 2 (150 gm)
tomato - 3 (100 gm)
onion - 1
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
fennel - 1/2  tsp

Method:

Finely chop the vegetables. Remove the seeds of bittergourd.
Heat oil in a wok and add fennel. After they get red, add the sliced onion, curry leaves and fry till they wilt. Then put the tomato and cook till they get mushy.
Now add the bittergourd along with salt and other masala powders mentioned above.
Stir well and after a minute sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered till the bittergourd is cooked well.
Switch off.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with roti or any rice.
If you still find the bitterness unacceptable, then try adding a few drops of lemon or tamarind extract.

Thakkali kuruma (Type 2)

Meaning: Thakkali -  tomato, Kuruma - a kind of Indian stew served with rice, breakfast or roti.

Earlier I posted another version for tomato kuruma (type 1) long back and that was quite different from my usual. The kuruma recipe which I am narrating now is a common one in Tirunelveli and its kind of a quickie too. Whenever we got bored of the usual coconut chutney for idly , mom used to make this tomato kuruma. But nowadays idlies are becoming obsolete in most of our houses as we all want to wake up in front of that oats bowl or bread-omelet:) Lunch is the only time to have some rice and writing them and recording is the best way to remember my native kulambu names in these years:) Hubby dear prefers only veggie foods for his lunch box and for me this recipe comes handy only after my sambar:)

Ingredients:

Ripe tomato - 4 (250 gm)
Red onion- 1/2 cup
green chilly - 2
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
oil - 2 tbsp
fennel - 1 tsp
cinnamon - a small piece
Bay leaves - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig

To grind:

shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin - 1/2 tsp
fennel - 1 tsp

Method:

Choose country tomato (vine tomato, the juicier ones).
Finely chop the tomatoes and put in a lidded vessel.
Cook the tomato with required salt, 2 cups water, red chilly powder, coriander powder.
After the tomato gets cooked (15 minutes), mash with a ladle.
Heat another wok with a tsp of oil and fry the fennel, bay leaf and cinnamon for 10 seconds. Then add the chopped onion , green chillies, curry leaf till the onion gets golden brown. Then put the ginger garlic paste and stir well. Pour over the cooked tomato. Add the ground masala and bring it to a boil. Switch off.

Tomato kuruma is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 4 cups of Thakkali kuruma.
Serve as a side dish for rice, Idly ,dosai or chapathi.
If served with rice, beans fry, appalam or omelet can be made as side dish.

Kozhi Rasam

Kozhi(koli) - Chicken ; Rasam - Indian soup.

Rasam made of non veg items is not a common one. But this kind of rasam is prepared in Tamilnadu villages. They generally use a small chicken weighing 1/4 kg for a big family. But for a small family, just use the ribs or the drumsticks in the regular chicken. I prepared this during last winter and it was so good with piping hot rice.
It is a good remedy for body aches, cold, cough and for convalescent period.

Ingredients:
Chicken (with bones)- 100 gm
water - 5 cups
Tomato - 3 (200 gm)
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - few leaves
dry red chilly - 2
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
asafoetida / hing - 1 pinch

To coarsely grind:

garlic - 5 pieces
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1 tbsp

Method:
Choose a very tender small chicken portion with bones.Wash it with water. Cut it into small pieces and smash the bones with the back side of the butcher's knife.
(Generally they used to crush the pieces in a big mortar).

Put the chicken, salt in a large vessel. Add enough water (5 cups) to cover it. Add the finely chopped tomato, turmeric and cook covered till done. (We can pressure cook it too).

Heat a wok with a tbsp of oil. Add methi, mustard seeds and let the mustard crackle. Put a pinch of hing and curry leaves, dry red chillies. Then add the crushed garlic,pepper, cumin and stir well for 20 seconds.

Pour the cooked chicken along with that soup and bring it to a boil. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and switch off. Close tightly and let all the flavor remains intact.

Chicken rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve with piping hot rice and fried chicken or egg.
It can also be served as soup.

Paal kozhukkattai (Type 2)

Paal kolukkattai is a famous payasam / kheer in my home town. I have never seen it being served in any restaurant. so I guess it is a regional dessert. It can be made using white sugar or jaggery. Click to see my milky white paal kolukkattai. The whiter one is more popular and made of cow's milk. But the jaggery based one has more native flavor and made with coconut milk.This version is my hubby's most favorite and he started asking me once more on seeing this :)

Paal kolukattai in jaggery and coconut milk payasam.

For kozhukkattai:

Rice flour - 3/4 cup
hot water - 1/2 cup
salt - a pinch

To make kolukkattai:

Bring 1/4 cup water to boil along with a pinch of salt.
Add this to the rice flour slowly till it reaches chapati dough consistency.

Divide the dough into two equal portions.
Make small balls of 1/2 inch diameter from one half of dough and elongated spheres of 1 inch length (Hemispherical cylinder) from another half.
Lets call them both as 'kolukkattai'. (While preparing big batches, they place the kolukkattai over a new wet cotton cloth spread on a large plate called thambalam and cover with the same cloth).

Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add handful of the kolukkattai to it.
Add them in smaller batches with some interval, otherwise all will get dissolved.
Wait till all the dumplings get cooked and water gets reduced to the minimum.

For payasam base:

Jaggery (crushed) - 3/4 cup
coconut - 1/2 (or) 1.5 cup extract
ghee - 1 tsp
cashew - 4
almond - 2
raisin - 10
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Method:

Shred the coconut and add 1/2 cup warm water to it. Squeeze the milk. repeat the same thrice to get all the coconut milk. Keep aside.
Add 2 cups of water to the jaggery and bring it to a boil.
Remove any dirt by filter. Pour this to the prepared kolukkattai and bring to a boil.
Now switch off and add the coconut milk, cardamom powder.

Fry the nuts, raisin in ghee and pour over the payasam. Decorate with freshly shredded coconut.

Paal kolukkattai payasam is ready.

Serving suggestions:

serve warm as dessert.

Brinjal puli pachadi

Katharikkai - Brinjal / eggplant , puli - tamarind , pachadi - less cooked curry / salad.
other names: Sutta kathirikkai puli mandi, eggplant tamarind chutney.

Ingredients:

brinjal - 1 (100 gm)
green chilly - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig
shallot - 3
asafoetida / hing - a pinch
red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
cumin - few seeds
salt - to taste
tamarind - 3 inch strip

Method:

Wash the brinjal and pat dry. Apply few drops of sesame oil allover the brinjal and rub well. Pierce a metal skewer (vadai kambi) into the brinjal and start broiling it over medium flame. (In olden days they place these brinjals over hot charcoal, after cooking rice and let them get broiled themselves).

After sometime we may see the skin of the brinjal getting char and it will start smelling great. It will take around 5 minutes in low heat to get it cooked completely. I broiled chinese eggplant, that was long and slender.

Place it over a plate and let it cool. Then peel and discard the skin. Mash the brinjal coarsely with hand. Chop the onion, chilly, curry leaf and add them to the brinjal. Extract the tamarind juice with very little water and pour it to the mixture. Add all the powders, salt, cumin and mix well.

Brinjal puli pachadi is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with any rice.
The tamarind taste and spice level should be dominating in this pachadi.

Roasted cashew (Indian style)

Some years ago, there were myths about these innocent cashews and weight conscious people stayed away from them. Gone are those days and now everyone recommends them to stay fit:). Anyways if you are more particular about weight loss, then roast the cashews in oven without butter or oil. But recently I prepared this Indian style spicy roasted cashews for our road trip. This is how my mom used to do occasionally and I am glad that we found a good snack for the weekends. Should I say, Xav likes it very much and he has promised me that he will avoid store-bought snacks (!).

Ingredients:

Cashews(raw and whole) - 20
ghee / butter - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
pepper - 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/8 tsp (optional)

Method:

Heat the ghee and fry the cashews in very low flame. It will take almost 5 minutes in that low heat. Switch off and take out the nuts. Drain the excess butter using a paper towel.
(If you need to roast more cashews, then add another tbsp of ghee and fry them 20 by 20. Don't crowd them).
Wipe the wok and put the cashews, salt, pepper, chilly powder, garam masala and mix well. Let them cool completely.
After cooling the nuts will turn more crispy.
Store in an air tight container.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with coffee or tea as snack.

Facts:
Consume them moderately. Cashews can be roasted in oven also.
Oven fried cashews (5) with less salt can be consumed 30 minutes before meal to achieve the satiety factor.
Microwaving the cashews: It may take less than 3 minutes to get it roasted.
Oven: Spread 2 cups of cashews over a cookie sheet, in single layer. Temperature 375 deg F and time 15 - 20 minutes with constant stirring. Coat them with a tbsp of butter and salt before taking out.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

Dum aloo is a famous Indian dish available in almost every Indian restaurant. The baby potatoes soaking in that sauce looks so beautiful and I absolutely enjoy preparing this cute curry:) The regular dum aloo has a spicy finish while the Kashmiri version should be on the sweeter side (as per my knowledge).  Originally, they deep fry the potatoes and slow cook them in the gravy overnight. But I did a less calories version on my own to get closer to that restaurant taste. Try this and enjoy:)

Aloo - potato.

Dum / dham / tham - Anything (biryani, vegetables, non veg) closed tightly and cooked in its own vapor in low heat for hours to get a much flavorful and juicy food.

Dum aloo served.

Baby potatoes getting par boiled.

Ingredients:

Baby potato - 15 (1 lb)
bay leaf - 2
oil / butter - 2 tbsp
Tomato puree - 1/2 cup
ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 cloves
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Plain Indian yogurt (thick) - 1/2 cup
dry methi leaves - 1 tbsp

To dry roast:

Cardamom - 3
cloves- 4
cinnamon - 1 inch
nutmeg - a tiny shaving
shahi jeera - 1/4 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
fennel - 1 tbsp
dry red chilly - 6
coriander seed - 2 tbsp

For gravy:

cashew(soaked) - 10
almond(soaked) - 5
raisin - 10
dates - 2
mint leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - 2 sprig
milk - 1 cup

Method:

Soak the nuts, dry fruits in warm milk for 4 hours or overnight (in water).

Choose very small potatoes or buy a baby potato pack.Wash the potatoes.
Put them in boiling water and cook for just 5 minutes (1/2 boil).
Put in cold water and gently peel the skin using a knife.
Then make a few holes all over the potatoes using a fork.

Dry roast the items given. Grind them together with those mentioned above.

Heat 2 tbsp butter / oil in a wok and shallow fry the potatoes till they get a mild red color outside. Keep aside.

In the remaining oil (we won't get much left out, but it will be enough) add the bay leaves, crushed garlic and fry for a few seconds. Then add the tomato puree and fry for a minute. Immediately add the ground masala and bring to a boil. Then add the turmeric, beaten yogurt, salt and mix well.  Put the baby potatoes and reduce the flame. If needed add some milk. Slow cook it for 30 minutes and switch off.
Sprinkle some crushed methi leaves.

Dum aloo is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with paratha, chapathi, jeera pulav or plain rice.

Kambu kolukkattai

Kambu - pearl millet (bajira - Hindi), kolukkattai / kozhukkattai - steamed sweet dumbling

Few generations ago this must have been a staple snack / breakfast among the village people of Tamilnadu. I have read about this in Tamil folk tales and tasted a few times.Then I tried to bring out that ancient snack and here goes the recipe :)

Ingredients:

Kambu - 1 cup
rice - 2 tbsp
coconut (shredded) - 1/2 cup (optional)
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
jaggery (crushed) - 3/4 cup (or lesser)

Method:

Dry roast the kambu, rice till the kambu smells good.
Let it cool and powder it.
Add 1/2 cup water to jaggery and dissolve it by heating.
Filter and remove any impurities.
Pour the hot solution to a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cardamom powder and kambu flour. Mix well to get something like hard chapathi dough. Take a ball and press well inside the palm to get a rough oval shape. Grease an idly mold with very little sesame oil and place the dumplings. Cook in idly cooker for 5 minutes (full steam).

Kambu kolukkattai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot / cold as healthy breakfast or snack.
Palm jaggery can also be used instead of the cane jaggery.

Potato bajji (Urulai kilangu bajji)

Bajji (Tamil) - Vegetable slices coated with spicy gram flour paste and deep fried. (Whereas in hindi , baji means a spicy curry served roti).

We can get this snack in almost all the tea shops of Tamilnadu, India. The valaikkai bajji prepared with unripe banana is more common and claimed as the standard version when served with thick coconut chutney (ketti chutney). But I have seen mom utilizing various vegetables like Potato, onion, cauliflower, unripe plantain (valaikkai), brinjal, unripe tomato, capsicum. Also bajji can be made using boiled egg, fish, bread, appalam (pappad). As it is a simple snack, that can be prepared within 10 minutes, bajji comes handy for me whenever we get surprise visitors, especially during winter evenings.

Memories :I will always remember the 'bajji treat' made by my friend Archana's mom....It was a pleasant surprise for us to see almost all the varieties of bajjis in one place, that too made in front of us , while we were enjoying her tea and waiting to roam(!) around that pool. Thank you Nalini aunty! whenever I make bajji, your treat goes as the main topic in our home :).

Urulai kilangu bajji served with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients (for 10 pieces) :

Potato (big and round) - 1
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 3/4 cup
dosa batter - 1/4 cup
(or) rice flour - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
hing (asafoetida)- 1/8 tsp
baking soda - 1/10 tsp
garlic - 2 pieces (finely ground)
red food color - a pinch (optional)
oil - to deep fry (200 ml)

Method:

Wash the potato, scrub and remove the skin. Slice it into thin (2mm approx) round pieces, using a knife and cutting board. Don't use a chips maker, if it has nonadjustable blades. We may need the slices to be more thick than the potato chips.

Mix all the above with 1/4 cup water to a thick batter. Add more water if needed, but keep the batter like idly batter ,otherwise the bajjis will absorb more oil.

Heat oil in a wok. As it gets smoky hot, reduce flame and keep in medium flame.

Dip the potato slices in the batter and put it on the hot oil. Flip and fry both sides. Drain oil and take out.

Potato bajji is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot as snack along with hot coffee or tea during rainy / winter season.
Coconut chutney or tomato ketchup are good side dishes for these fries.

Cabbage carrot poriyal

A big ball of cabbage sitting in the refrigerator is a great comfort for me when that week's grocery shopping got postponed unavoidably. Cabbage side dishes are plenty in my draft and here is one.

Recipe courtesy / memories: My sulochana aachi . I remember her telling mom to prepare this cabbage poriyal, whenever they both arrange for some family get-together.  Indian ThaLi meal (platter) may need  'n' number of side dishes.  So if we can prepare a delicious cabbage poriyal, then it will become an inexhaustible side dish resource for that day, even if you run out of a few dishes :) I like her views,  social skills, home management techniques very much. So no wonder, her favorite cabbage became my favorite too:)

Ingredients:

cabbage  - 150 gm
carrot (1) - 50 gm
channa dhal - 2 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
onion - 1/2
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tsp
cumin- 1/2 tsp
freshly shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
green chilly - 1
ginger - 1/2 inch

Method:

Soak the channa dhal for sometime and cook it by putting in boiling water.
(or) Microwave it for 2 minutes along with 1/4 cup water.
Finely chop the onion, chilly, ginger, curry leaf and keep aside.
Finely chop the cabbage and carrot (tiny squares). Keep aside.
Heat a wok with a tsp of oil and let the mustard crackle. Then add the chopped onion, chilly, ginger, curry leaf and stir well. Let the onion wilt (1 minute).Immediately add the finely chopped cabbage, carrot and stir well. Add the cooked channa dhal along with any left over water(not much) and cook covered (3 minutes). Don't let it brown. Let all the water evaporate. Finally add required salt, cumin, shredded coconut, mix well and switch off.

Cabbage carrot poriyal is ready!

Serving suggestions:

serve as side dish with sambar rice or any rice or roti.
Serves 3 people.

Ghee rice

Nei choru / Neychoru or ghee rice is the Indian form of fried rice served during special occasions, when one cannot prepare the traditional biryani. Ghee rice is a much flavorful and non-spicy variety rice, always accompanied by some spicy curry like dum aloo or paneer masala for vegetarians and Mutton / chicken masala fry for non vegetarians. It is a common dish / one of the main courses in 'Tamil, Kerala and Islam' cuisine.

Neychoru served with lamb curry and onion pachadi.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 2 cup
(3/4 cup for 1 adult )
water - 3 cups
water measurement for open vessel cooking and rice cooker :(number of cups of rice x 2) - 1 = (2x2)-1 = 3
ghee - 3 tbsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

spices:

bay leaf - 2
clove - 4
cardamom - 2
cinnamon - 1 inch
star aniseed - 1
nutmeg (jathi kai) - a small shaving
mace (jathi pathiri) - a small piece

garnish:

onion (thinly sliced)- 1 cup
ghee / oil - 2 tbsp
cashew - 10
raisin - 10
mint leaf - a handful
cilantro - few sprigs

Preparation:

Wash the rice thrice and drain excess water. Let it remain for 10 minutes.
Slice the onions into thin long pieces.
In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil / ghee and fry the onion till they get golden brown. Keep aside. In the remaining ghee sticking to the pan, add the cashew , raisins and fry separately.Take them out and keep aside.
Finely chop the mint leaf + cilantro and keep everything for garnishing.

Procedure:

Start boiling some water in a separate pan.
Heat the remaining ghee in a wok and add the spices listed above.
After a few seconds, add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
If needed add one more tbsp of ghee.
To this add the soaked, drained rice and saute well till it starts puffing.
Add salt and pour the boiling water just to completely immerse the rice.
Cover with a tight lid and keep the flame in minimum.
Now we will see small holes all over the rice. Continue cooking in low heat. If needed sprinkle a handful of hot water and stir once very carefully without breaking the rice.
After the rice gets cooked (but should be stiff, straight and long.....not mushy), switch off, keep closed and leave for 10 minutes.
Add the fried onions, chopped cilantro, mint leaves, cashew, raisins and mix once.

Ghee rice is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot as main course with any spicy curry.
If needed reheat by microwave or by placing over a hot tawa.
While measuring the rice, consider taking more rice for this kind of ghee rice, as we won't cook the rice completely like the regular day and we may need more quantity to serve.

Jeera Poori

Jeera poori - a sugary fried snack.

I tasted it long back in a canteen in Tuticorin and learned that they do some make-over on their leftover pooris and sell as delicious dessert with evening tea. I have never heard of such a thing before....may be it was/is a local snack or an invention to attract the crowd.  All the workers would rush to get this sugary poori and it will be sold even before the tea break begins:) My colleague Ambika akka, would drag me there to get our quota from our friendly waiter, who would sneak some for our table as per plan:) Recently I prepared poori with kilangu (yellow potato masal) on a Saturday and made these jeera poori with afternoon tea to surprise my hubby. Though it is nothing but sugar and oil, it will definitely brighten up a lazy weekend. Try this and enjoy!

Poori:

All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
oil - 200 ml (deep fry)
salt - a pinch
water - to knead.

jeera / syrup:

Sugar - 1/2 cup
water 1/2 cup
orange food color - a pinch
cardamom powder - a pinch
rose essence - a drop
almond / cashew - 3

Method:
Mix salt, baking soda, maida well. Add water little by little to get a thick smooth dough. Flatten them into small circles using chapthi rolling pin and base.
Deep fry them till crispy, drain oil and keep aside.

(We can use left over wheat poori too)

In a separate vessel mix sugar and water and bring to a boil. Let it give a lot of bubbles and reach a 'single thread consistency'.Add cardamom powder, rose essence and switch off.

Arrange the pooris on a large plate and drizzle the sugar syrup over the pooris.
After some time flip and sprinkle more syrup. Sprinkle finely chopped nuts and let it soak for 10 minutes or more.

Jeera poori is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve hot / cold as dessert or snack.

Kambu dosai

Kambu (Tamil) - Pearl millet, bajira ,Bajari, Bhajira

Ingredients:

Kambu - 1 cup
idly rice - 2 cup
black gram (ulunthu) - 3/4 cup
fenugreek (methi / venthayam) - 1 tbsp
salt - 2 tsp (adjust as per taste)

To make 1 dosa:
gingelly oil - 1/4 tsp

Batter preparation:

(i)Wash and soak the idly rice + kambu overnight.
Soak the urad dhal + fenugreek seed for 4 hours and grind it to a fine paste with little water.
Grind the rice+kambu to a fine paste with little water.
Mix both and add enough salt. Let the batter ferment overnight.

(ii) Alternatively soak 1/2 cup kambu overnight and grind to a fine paste. Mix with leftover dosa batter and use immediately.

(iii)Dry roast the required kambu till it gives a nice smell, powder it and add to sour dosa batter or buttermilk+ dosa batter to make instant kambu dosa.

Dosa:

Mix the batter well before using.
Heat a dosa tawa, sprinkle a few drops of sesame oil. Using a clean cloth wipe and spread the oil uniformly allover the tawa.
Pour a ladle of batter and spread into thin crepe.
After one side starts getting red, flip and cook the other side too.

Kambu dosa is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve with some spicy chutney.
Makes a healthy breakfast or dinner.

Dal makhani

Some years ago I tasted this dal makhani and jeera pulav , in a restaurant in NJ and since then tried to figure out the recipe. But I couldn't get the exact taste. Then decided to try from Deepa's 'Hamare Rasoi', which I admire more often. I like her dedication in explaining the recipes with utmost care and details. The curry came out just like the restaurant version and no wonder it became our favorite:) The following recipe belongs to Deepa and recording the notes for my future reference only. Click to see the original recipe. I am sure you all  will  like that. Thank you Deepa dear, I learned a popular recipe from you:)

Dal:

Black gram / urad dhal (with skin) - 1/2 cup
rajma - a handful
channa dhal - a handful

Method:
Soak the dhals in water overnight. Pressure cook them for one whistle, reduce flame and keep for 20 minutes. Then mash gently without breaking much dal, add salt , 1/2 cup milk and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a wok. Add finely chopped onion (2 tbsp) and let it get golden brown. Then add finely chopped ginger- 1 inch, garlic - 4, green chillies - 2 and saute well. Pour 1/2 cup tomato puree and saute till raw smell vanishes. Add 1 tsp red chilly powder, 3 tsp coriander powder, garam masala, curd 1/2 cup and saute well.

Pour the cooked dhal and bring it to boil.

Tadka:

Heat 2 tbsp butter in a separate wok, add bay leaves -2 , cumin - 1/2 tsp and pour over the dhal. Crush 1/2 tbsp kasoori methi and sprinkle all over. Garnish with some chat masala, few tsp fresh cream, finely chopped cilantro.

serving suggestion:

Serve with a dollop of butter over the dhal makahni.
Serve as side dish with chapathi, naan, jeera pulao etc.

Amla buttermilk

Today I read in a Tamil E-newspaper about an Indian festival associated with Amla, Goddess Lakshmi, a golden amla rain, gold buying tradition and more importantly CHARITY. It is called Akshaya trityai. So I wanted to make a post on the Amla, which Indians consider as a holy fruit. The festival comes around the peak of Indian summer and it will definitely remind us to take more amla, which can make people fit for the weather. Amla (Indian gooseberry / nellikkai), has innumerable medicinal benefits. Click this link to read the medicinal value of Amla. I prepare this buttermilk often with breakfast during summers. Enjoy this drink at any time to get more healthy, beautiful and of course wealthy too, as per the belief.

Ingredients: (2 cups)
amla - 4
fat free buttermilk - 1 cup
water 1 cup
cumin - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - few.
salt - 2 pinches

Method:

De-freeze the amla or wash and clean the fresh gooseberries.
Remove the seed and slice the amla. Pulse it in a blender along with little water and extract juice. Repeat extraction thrice.
Mix the juice with buttermilk, salt, cumin and chopped curry leaves.
Amla more is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as healthy drink with breakfast or at any time.

Pomegranate pulav

Pomegranate pulav is more famous among people who cannot take spicy hot dishes. This pulav goes well with any spicy non veg curry or paneer makhani. This is more like a 'sweetish ghee rice' topped with pomegranate or Kashmiri pulav . After tasting it in a restaurant I tried it at home to bring back that taste. This is a very forgiving dish and anyways we will get an amazing pulav. I am pleased with the outcome and we both enjoyed it to the core. Hope you all like it too. Enjoy :)

Pomegranate pulav served with lamb curry and onion raitha.

Ingredients:

(for 2 people)
Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cup
ghee / butter - 3 tbsp (1 tbsp for 1/2 cup rice)
pomegranate fruit - 1/2 cup
cashew nut - 10 (halved)
almond - 4 (thinly sliced)
onion - 1/2 cup
(thinly sliced lengthwise)
green chilly - 2 (halved)
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
cilantro + mint leaf - a handful

saffron - few strands.
milk - 1 tbsp

Spices:

cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 2
cardamom - 2
star aniseed - 1
fennel - 1 tsp
bay leaf - 2

Method:

Wash the rice thrice. Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Cook it with more water (5 cups)and 1 tsp salt , till it is 3/4 th done (cooked but very firm).
Immediately pour over a strainer / colander and remove the water.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashews + slivered almond till they turn golden. Keep aside. Add the remaining ghee and put all the spices except the saffron. Immediately add the finely sliced onion, little salt + sugar (1/4 tsp each) and saute till it turns mild red.
Then put the ginger garlic paste, chillies and saute for 30 seconds.

Add the rice and mix without breaking the rice. Soak the saffron in milk while cooking.  Garnish with soaked saffron + milk , finely chopped cilantro+mint, fried nuts.  Reduce the heat and cook covered for a few minutes .Keep aside.

Choose a very ripe seedless pomegranate.
Take out the red fruits (fleshy seeds) alone and keep aside.

Before serving, bring the pulav to piping hot by microwaving or dum process (placing over a hot tawa). Remove from heat and add the pomegranate, mix well.

Pomegranate pulav is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Pomegranate pulao can be served with spicy Indian lamb curry (mutton kulambu) or mutton sukka varuval or kheema curry or simply with a raitha.
A glass of mango lassie with this combination is common.
The pulav should be tasty all by itself, but not spicy hot.
Avoid reheating after adding pomegranate, as it will affect the pulav's color.

Lemon pickle

I never thought of preparing a big batch of pickle at home, as hubby always buys many kinds of pickles from the Indian grocery stores and moreover I am not a big fan of store bought pickles. I used to prepare a small quantity of lemon pickle and finish off soon. I was kind of afraid to make that big batch of lemon pickles at home because of lesser Sunlight.
Then one fine day, I prepared this lemon pickle last year after talking with a friend (Mrs.Aruna Satya). She said that her mom made it for her without sun-drying and I got that clue and wanted to try immediately. I couldn't follow her recipe, as I wanted to prepare my mother's special oil-less Lemon pickle recipe, which I had enjoyed so much. Mom used to make this lemon pickle using our home grown lemons. We had a big 'Malta lime' tree in the backyard and that tree would yield sacks of bigger lemon and we would enjoy them as lemonade, lemon rice, leaf podi and pickles along with our neighbors. At that time mom would make extremely big batches of these pickles for our aunts and family friends. I tried her recipe while living in Madras and it was so good. Here I added a few drops of vinegar to the same as I need to keep them for a long time. It was a wonderful process and I enjoyed that fresh lemon smell all over the house for days together. I am more delighted to see my hubby checking it everyday, if it has soaked or not, just like a kid:) From then on, hubby stopped buying pickles from the stores and I am happy with the oil-less home made pickle:)

Ingredients: (see the process for measurement)
Lemon -

sea salt (கல் உப்பு) -

red chilly powder -
mustard / kadugu- 1 tbsp (for 5 lemons)
fenugreek / methi/ venthayam - 1/2 tbsp (for 5 lemons)
green chillies - 2 chillies for 1 lemon

Method:

Wash the lemons, green chillies and pat dry.  Do this in the evening and let it dry overnight. Then in the morning, cut the lemon into 1.5 inch size triangular pieces or squares and slit the chillies.

Measure the  pieces using a dry tumbler / cup. Add salt to the lemon. (sea salt: lemon - 1:4), (1:6 for fine table salt: lemon). Mix the lemon, salt, chillies by shaking well. Keep the mixture in a porcelain jar (china clay jaadi). keep it under hot sun for from morning to evening, without closing the lid. Take care that no sand or dirt falls on it. we can place a mesh cover or tie a fine muslin cloth over the vessel too. In the evening shake it well and bring inside home and keep it closed after it cools down.
Repeat placing under hot sun for 2 more days.
Now the pickles could have turned a little pale and started soaking.

Take dry red chilly powder in ratio, chilly powder: lemon measure= 1 : 5.

On the 4th day dry roast the mustard till it cracks. Dry roast the fenugreek (venthayam / methi) till it turns red and flavorful. Powder them together.
Add the chilly powder, mustard, methi powder to the soaked pickle and mix well with a clean dry spatula. Keep in sunlight for the whole day . Close the lid portion by tying a muslin cloth (prevents drying of pickle) and place the porcelain lid over it . Then store it in a clean dry shelf. Never touch the pickles by hand, as we may need to keep the pickle safely for an year.

How to make the lemon pickle in colder countries?

As we can't allow the pickle to soak under Sun in colder countries, add 1/2 tsp of vinegar to every cup of chopped lemon and place the container open inside the house. Let them soak for 2 days and on the 3rd day add the powders and keep them open for 2 more days. Stir every evening and on the 4 th day , store it in an air tight container and preserve safely as instructed above.

Serving suggestions:

This pickle will remain good in the room temperature for many years, if handled with care.
Adding green chillies is optional only.
This pickle can be used without tempering also. But if needed, take the required amount of pickle for a week and keep aside. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in a dry wok and splutter a tsp of mustard seeds, the add a tbsp of channa dhal, curry leaves and pour over the pickle.
Serve with any rice or roti.

Chicken Tikka masala

Chicken Tikka masala is an Indian dish much favored by all who can't take the heat of other Indian dishes. In restaurants they make it with a little sweetish touch to satisfy the customers. I have narrated a basic Indian Tikka recipe here. This recipe is a good option for dieters who are eager to reduce the frying process and looking for some 'side dish for chapathi'.

Chicken tikka.

chicken tikka - Indian grilled chicken

Tikka masala - Chicken tikka in gravy.

Ingredients:

(For Tikka)

Boneless chicken - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
salt - 1 tbsp
thick Indian yogurt - 1/2 cup
oil / butter - 2 tbsp  (optional)
turmeric - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

(Gravy / Masala)

Tomato - 5
(or) tomato puree - 1 cup
onion (chopped)- 1 cup
bay leaf - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch
garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
cumin powder - 1 tsp
cashew / almond - 5
oil / butter - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
salt - as per taste.

Method:

Wash and clean the meat. Cut chicken into 1.5 inch size cubes.
Blend the masalas listed under Tikka together in a mixing bowl.
Keep the chicken pieces marinated in that masala for 1 hour (room temp.) or overnight inside the refrigerator.

Soak the bamboo skewers in water more than 1 hour.

Thread the pieces in the skewer with a little spacing. Bake them in oven at 350 deg C for 20 mins one side. Then flip and bake for 10 mins. Then broil it both sides.
(Instead the pieces can be grilled or deep fried also).

Take out and remove from skewers. Keep aside.

Chicken tikka is ready!

We can serve them simply as a snack or side dish or stuffing inside chapati rolls,  without the gravy.

Tikka masala:

Saute the onion in very little oil till it gets golden brown. Keep aside.
(We can mw or boil the onions in 1/4 cup of water instead).
Boil the chopped tomatoes with 1/4 cup water.
Let them cool and grind along with cashews.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Put the bay leaves, cinnamon stick . Then add the ginger garlic paste, stir well and add the ground masala. Add any left over marination too.
Put the red chilly powder, garam masala, salt, cumin powder, turmeric powder and close with a lid. Let them boil in minimum heat till the raw smell vanishes.
Then finally add the chicken tikka and mix well. Switch off after the gravy gets thick.
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro + mint leaves.

Chicken tikka masala is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with chapathi / roti/ parotta.
Goes well with cumin rice or any pulav.

Note:

We can reduce the oil content in this recipe and we won't see much difference.
We can add a tbsp of sugar to the masala and reduce the chilly powder, if the guest can't take the hot chilly taste.

Easter Greetings !

Wishing all my readers and friends a blessed Holy week and a Joyful Easter.

(Image courtesy : 'Graphics fairy'. Thank you my fairy! ).

May all the prayers be answered
and everyone feels the Lord's presence
on Easter and always
Wishing all a Peaceful and Blessed Easter.

Enjoy and have lots of fun!

Thengai paal payasam (coconut milk kheer)

Wishing all my friends and readers a bright and prosperous , Happy Tamil New year! The Tamil month Chithirai starts on April 14 and it is celebrated by Tamil people as the beginning of Tamil New year. The name of this new year is 'Kara' year.

Let's start the new year with a milky white payasam made of coconut.

We have some coconut trees in my  father's house. I cannot remember us buying coconut from shops in those days. Mom would arrange a man to pluck all the matured coconuts in a regular time interval and the tender coconuts go as snack for us:) One fine day, mom's friend Mrs.Noohu aunty visited us and she taught us to make coconut kheer. Aunty used to say it as 'paachoru' (paal choru means milk+rice). Our maid scrapped lot of coconuts and we made a big batch of this kheer for all of us (Ours , Aunty's, my friend's and maid's family). It was so delicious that I have never tasted anything like that before:) Now we need not struggle much....just open a can of coconut milk and ta...da...the kheer is ready! I tried to bring out her's and it was 90% success. My rice started to get cooked, but her's was firm and bit chewy, which is the correct stage. Anyways recording the recipe for my future reference.

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1 (small)
(or) coconut milk - 1 cup thick + 1 cup thin.
basmati rice - 1 cup
sugar - 1 cup
rose essence - 2 drops
almond, cashew - few.

Method:

Extract milk from coconut using 2 cups of water. Shred the coconut. Divide the water into 3 parts and extract thrice. Keep the first extract (thick milk) separate. keep the thin milks together.
Wash the basmati rice and drain water completely.
Boil sugar to get a 2 string consistency. Add the rice and stir carefully. After a few minutes add the thin milk and cook the rice. The rice will get cooked and become chewy but not mushy, because of the sugar syrup. This is the correct stage. At the same time it may become thick and start leaving the edges. Put the chopped cashew, slivered almonds and mix well. Pour the thick milk and stir again to get a thicker consistency, and switch off before the rice gets soft.
After switching off add a drop of rose essence.
coconut milk payasam is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve warm or chilled as dessert.
Prepare 1/5 of the above quantity for 2 people.

Awards and a me-me:)

Deepa of Hamaree Rasoi and Sonali Pradhan of Only fish recipes have presented me the following awards. Thank you friends!. I am excited to get these bunch of awards and I am honored.

That lovely package includes a me-me too. I have to say seven facts about me. Click here to read more about me.

7 facts about me:

1.Basically I am a happy person. I thank God for everything I get and thoroughly enjoy whatever I do i.e., from vegetable chopping to laundry:) I strongly believe in God's protection and respect all others beliefs too.

2.Talking with my relatives over phone is a great entertainment / moral support for me. I like to get updates from my entire family frequently. I consider each and every person I meet as a book and try to learn something good from them. This helps me a lot.

3.I get satisfied with simple foods. But this blog is helping me to cook more varieties.  Though I have been enjoying the culinary art from my early teens, my skills got polished only after starting this blog and by my audience's comments. I enjoy reading other food blogger's anecdotes / story behind that recipe.

4.I like to cook colorful foods like Hyderabadi biryani, chaat items,  raitha (Indian yogurt salad) etc. Traditional Indian cooking fascinates me much. Buying cook-books, cooking utensils / tools is my favorite.

5.I like listening to melodies and Tamil movie songs. I prefer hearing the songs than watching the videos. Walking 1 hour a day is a must for me. Sewing is my new craze.

6. I love perfumes,room freshener, agarbathis, potpourris that smells like roses or sandal or flowery. Roses, jasmine, blue hydrangeas, Lilly, lotus (there is a long list) are my favorite flowers:) Recently I bought a dry flower art/ painting and I adore it. Even watching the flower 'images' in Google makes me high:)

7.Friday nights are my best favorite time. Mostly We enjoy our weekends sitting inside our house:) with some English movies along with pizza, popcorn, coke:)

I am happy to share my awards with the following friends.
Divya, Ciccia,Bhuvaneshwari Ramanathan, Jaleela Kamal, Swathi, Priya, Tina, Chitra Sendhil, Panchpakwan, Kala , Valar Siva.

Friends! Please accept this and I am eagerly waiting to read about you all. Thank You!

Congrats dearies!

Others bloggers or not : If you have some interesting facts to share about you, please feel free  and start writing about you (in your blog or in my comment section). I will publish it for you.  Anyways blog is where we can enjoy writing all about us and here is me waiting to hear from you:)

Urulai kilangu Podimass

Indian style mashed potato / Urulai kizhangu puttu / podimass.

Most of my foods carry a lot of happy memories and I think I am reeling with those pleasant memories to make  the food more homely:)
Till few years ago in my native, relatives and friends were encouraged to drop by any time, day or night, without any prior information. The lady of the house and the kids never shy to welcome them. While the hostess getting busy with cooking, the kids engaging the visitor's children, the man of the house would prepare the bed for them to take rest after that tiring travel. Those scenes are becoming history nowadays. Thanks to the Television and media, normal human interaction is vanishing even from the face of Indian villages. People have to call even before knocking the next door :)  Anyways changes are also good, as many like it this way, because of the over stressed life style. Nowadays we people are blessed with so many Instant foods, refrigerator and restaurants. So we  need not panic if at all we get some guests. But a generation ago they have to keep some non perishables vegetables handy to cater the surprise guests. Potato is one among them. They sit fresh for a week....We can boil it in minutes....a quick sambar, piping hot rice along with some fried papads and this potato podimass would be a great treat to late night guests.
Here are two varieties of potato podimass / potato puttu, which mom used to fix for surprise guests.

Potato red podimass:

Ingredients:

Potato - 200 gm (3)
onion (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
oil - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
cumin - 1/2 tsp
ginger (chopped) - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
split urid dhal - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig.

Method:

Boil / pressure cook (3 whistle), the potato and put them in cold water.
Peel the skin and mash with salt, red chilly powder, cumin. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok.Add the mustard and urid dhal. After the mustard crackles, add the chopped onion, ginger , curry leaf and stir for a minute. No need to brown the onion. Immediately add the mashed potato and stir well for 2 minutes.
Switch off. Urulai kilangu puttu / podimas is ready!

                                           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Potato white podimass:

Ingredients:

Potato - 200 gm (3)
onion (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
oil - 1 tbsp
green chilly (finely chopped) - 3
salt - to taste
cumin - 1/2 tsp
ginger (chopped) - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
split urid dhal - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig.
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Method:

Boil / pressure cook (3 whistle), the potato and put them in cold water.
Peel the skin and mash with salt, cumin. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok.Add the mustard and urid dhal. After the mustard crackles, add the chopped onion, ginger, curry leaf, green chillies and stir for a minute. No need to brown the onion.
Immediately add the mashed potato and stir well for 2 minutes, so that we get a fine scrambled effect. Add freshly shredded coconut and mix well.
Switch off. Urulai kilangu puttu / podimas is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 4 servings.
Serve as side dish with any rice or roti.
The left over can be used as stuffing in masala dosa , aloo paratha, samosa, chaat items etc (with little seasoning).

Sarkkarai Pongal (Rich)

I am always curious to know how they make that 'ghee dripping sweet pongal' in Hindu Temples, that are so glossy. This is the major dish prepared for Indian Pongal festival (farmer's harvest festival) and for thanking cows (mattu pongal).Then I learned from my friends that they do it with LOADS of milk + ghee and its different from the usual sarkkarai pongal I do for Pongal. Mom used to do a closer version with lots of milk. But after marriage, my friend Sundari's mom sent me a big pack of this pongal wrapped in banana leaf .....dripping in ghee on a Pongal day. Those days were golden....It was almost like a halwa and I can always remember  that taste. I took it as a baseline and tried to create that 'creamy rich ghee dripping sweet pongal' in our house with the tips from her mom. This will give a closer taste to 'Kovil chakkara pongal'.  I remember Sundari's mom's pongal  and those festivals whenever I make this dish and thank her silently for this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

Raw rice / Basmati rice - 3/4 cup
(Raw rice - Pacharisi in tamil)
green gram lentil (paasi paruppu)- 1/4 cup
condensed milk - 6 tbsp
whole milk - 3/4 liter
jaggery (Indian brown sugar ) - 1/2 cup
sugar crystals (kalkandu) - 1/2 cup
ghee - 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
cashew - 15
raisins - 15
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
edible camphor (pachai karpooram) - a tiny pinch

Method:
Dry roast the green gram till it turns mild red and gives nice flavor. Take out.
Dry roast the rice to get it little puffy and bright white.
Put them both together and wash thoroughly thrice.

Put the rice+dhal in a thick bottom vessel(vengala paanai) . (I used my thick bottom deep kadai). Add enough milk to immerse the contents and start cooking. Go on adding milk till the rice and dhal get mushy.
(We can cook it in pressure cooker also. But I am not sure of that)

Dissolve the jaggery and bring to a boil with 1/2 cup water. Strain and remove impurities. Add the jaggery solution to the boiling mixture.
Put required sugar crystals and start stirring, so that the bottom won't darken. Keep it in medium flame.
(We can do the entire pongal with jaggery alone. But sometimes the old jaggeries, that we get normally will impart a salty taste and dark color. If we can get a light color new jaggery, then we can add it without sugar crystals/ sugar).

Then add the condensed milk, cardamom powder, ghee and stir till the pudding/ pongal starts slightly thicker and it will resemble halwa. The pudding will start leaving the edges.
(If condensed milk is not available then use 1.5 liters of milk or few tbsp of milk powder and cook everything till the pongal gets thick....the idea is to include loads of milk:)  ).

In a separate wok, heat a tbsp of ghee. Fry and add the cashews and raisins.  Before switching off add the pachai karpooram and give it a good stir. Switch off.
Place a plantain leaf in a container and pour the pongal over it to get that authentic flavor. Sakkarai pongal is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert in small cups.
Serve this 'creamy rich sakkarai pongal' piping hot on small plantain leaves.