Whole brinjal curry (Ennai kathirikkai for briyani)

Regular ennai kathirkkai or whole stuffed brinjal curry is a tamarind based kulambu. This curry is a regional cuisine from my native place and it is a curry masala based one. I have seen this more popular in Islam cuisine there. If you are looking for a vegetarian side dish to go with briyani, then this spicy brinjal curry will be great.

Chicken briyani with brinjal curry....a combo, every briyani lover will cherish:)

The taste lies in the quantity of oil we add ....the more the merrier:). We may need a thick bottom wok to make this thick gravy. It may seem a long processs, but worth the try. It would be easier if we are preparing this along with briyani, as we will be preparing the same kind of base masala for this. I got this recipe long back from a neighbor in my home town and I thank her every time I make this. I am sure every one will love this curry like me:)

Stuffed brinjals getting fried.

stuffed brinjal curry.

ennai kathirikkai kulambu about to be served.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Small eggplant - 12
red onion - 1
Vine tomato - 3
(tomato puree - 1/2 cup)
Sesame / corn oil - 1/2 cup
cilantro + mint leaf - 1 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
salt - as per need

Stuffing:

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
water - few tbsp

Method:

Select fresh tender brinjal / eggplant with stem.
Wash the brinjal and make a few slits in the bottom, with the bracts (crown) remaining intact.
In a mixing bowl add everything given for stuffing using a few tsp of water.
Divide the stuffing into half and stuff the brinjal with one half.
Heat oil in a broad wok. Put the stuffed eggplants in single layer and fry them both sides for 2 minutes.
Move the fried brinjal to one side.
In the remaining oil add the finely chopped onion and fry till it gets golden.
If needed add a few tsp oil.
Then add ginger garlic paste, saute for few seconds and add the tomato puree.
(I have used canned tomato puree. If using fresh tomato, then boil the tomato separately with 1/4 cup water till tender and puree before using in this recipe. It avoids raw smell).
Cook covered for a few minutes without stirring.
Now add the remaining stuffing along with little water and required salt.
Cover tightly and cook till oil shows up (10 minutes in low heat).
Garnish with chopped mint and cilantro leaves.
Ennai kathirikkai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with briyani, kushka, chapati, sambar rice or curd rice.
Serve a cool raitha and lassi for this spicy brinjal curry+briyani combo.

Time taken (prep and cooking) - 40 minutes.

Semiya paal payasam

Milk kheer / paal payasam is a popular Indian dessert. The main ingredient is the milk in almost thick form. The variations are with basmati rice, semiya (vermicelli) payasam, Semiya javvarisi payasam, paal kolukkattai payasam. I have used MTR brand semiya in this recipe.

Dedicating this recipe for a good friend of mine who is blessed with a baby girl this week. Congrats Sheeba!

Also I am dedicating this yummy dessert for all my readers and friends celebrating 'Krishna Jayanthi' festival. Moreover I am happy to announce that this is my 500 th post and all praise goes to God. Happy celebrations and may everyday be a blessing for all!

Semiya paal paayasam

Ingredients:

Vermicelli / semiya - handful
Milk - 3 cup
condensed milk - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 8 tsp
Cashew nuts - 4
Raisins / dry grapes / kismis - 5
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom - 2
ghee - 1 1/2 tsp

Method:

Heat 1 tsp ghee and fry the cashews till golden brown. Take out and fry the raisins till they puff. Keep it aside along with cashews.
Add the remaining ghee and fry the semiya for a few seconds. keep aside.
Pour the milk and boil till it becomes 2 cup.
Then add the semiya and cook it to tender (3 minutes).
Now add the sugar, condensed milk (optional), powdered cardamom and mix well.
Switch off.
Garnish with fried nuts, raisin and saffron.
The consistency should be between thin and thick (easy to sip and drink).
Semiya paal payasam is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve hot /cold as dessert.
Cooking time : 10 minutes.

Sambar mini idly

Sambar mini idly / ghee idly / nei idly/ Saravana bhavan special 14 idly with sambar.

This is a special kind of idly dish served in popular Indian restaurants like Saravana bhavan of Tamilnadu, India. In saravana bhavan they serve 14 mini idlies in a bowl with their special Saravana bhavan sambar with a generous spoon of ghee (melted butter). With the popularity of this dish, the idly vessel makers started selling these cute mini idly stands and every mother would rely on this little angel to make their kids eat the idly:)  The batter I use is the same as the regular idly batter. I always make vengaya (shallot onion) sambar just like the Saravana bavan hotel to soak those cute fluffy idlies. But we can make any kind of sambar for that.

Sweet notes:

I bought a similar idly stand while in India especially for my hubby. In the beginning I had to make very unique attractive breakfast menus for him to bring him in to that 'never skip a breakfast schedule' :). Then I couldn't bring it here just like most of my kitchen gadgets and bought one 'mini idly maker' here:)

For mini idly:

Idly batter - 1 cup
ghee - 2 tbsp
mini idly stand
idly cooker or a pot to steam the idly.
vengaya sambar - a lot:)
soup bowls and spoon.

Method:

Grease the idly plates with very little ghee.
Pour the batter in the idly holes using small spoon.
Heat the pressure cooker (idly cooker if any) with 2 cups of water and place the idly stand carefully inside.
steam the idlies for 7 to 10 minutes without keeping the pressure valve.
Then let the idly loose the heat for 10 minutes and scoop out the idlies carefully using a spoon. Keep them warm and tightly closed in a casserole till we serve.
Just before serving place 14 idlies in each bowl.
Bring the sambar to 'piping hot' stage.
Pour the sambar over the idlies.
Add a generous tsp of ghee over each bowl.
Decorate with cilantro and serve hot.
Sambar mini idly is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as breakfast or any meal.

Double beans curry

One day I bought this can of 'large butter beans' to test run before buying a pack of dry ones. Overnight Soaking and pressure cooking the dry beans is my first choice. But the canned cooked ones comes handy too if we didn't plan the meal earlier. The beans tasted very good just like the double beans we used to buy from T.Nagar in Chennai, India. In India the street vendors would sell freshly shelled double beans by measuring them in cups or small heaps (kooru). Long back I tasted it for the first time in my aunt Sakuntala athai's house and started liking it very much. Athai makes it like a dry masala curry along with rasam rice or sambar and that is the best according to me. May be some other day I will ask her the recipe and post here:) I prepared this like a thick gravy and it tasted great with chapati.

Ingredients:

cooked double beans - 1 cup
Shallot onion - 4
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
fennel seeds (sombu)- 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
coriander powder - 2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
curry masala powder - 1/2 tsp
tomato - 1 (chopped)
salt - to taste

Procedure:

If using dry beans, soak them overnight and pressure cook for a whistle. Then reduce heat and switch off after 2 minutes . Don't cook after this 2 minutes. Release pressure and it would be cooked. If it needs a little more cooking, then do it in stove top , with careful observation.....otherwise the double beans turns mushy.
Otherwise use a can of cooked beans (remove that water and rinse twice before using).
Grind the shallot, coconut and cumin seeds together to a coarse paste.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the fennel seeds and let it become red. Then goes the curry leaves, chopped tomato. Saute till tomato gets mushy. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. The put the coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes with little water. Then add the cooked beans.
Then put the ground masala and keep stirring occasionally, till the koottu / curry becomes a gravy.
Large butter beans or double beans curry is ready.

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with chapathi, roti.

Almond Kulfi Ice cream

Some months ago I made this ice cream,when I bought this pack of almonds in sale in an Indian grocery store. Here in NJ, one can see even the grocery stores announcing Deepavali sale for the customers and it is the good time to stock up the pantry:) It is advisable to store the nuts in refrigerator to ensure the freshness. Nuts gives a satiety factor for the dieters.  Almonds are wonderful snacks if we pop them in microwave with a dash of salt . They turn crunchy while roasting and becomes flavorful, which can be served as a less spicy snack. But almonds part in desserts is more precious:)  One day I wanted to make some nutritious dessert with lesser calorie and got this ice cream. I have narrated two methods I tried. The one with condensed milk is very easy, while the other has very less calories but takes more time. Here is the dessert for the weekend.

While typing this post, I can see many getting prepared for Varalakshmi nonbu festival. I think it is apt to post a sweet today:)

Happy Varalakshmi Nonbu !

Ingredients:

Almond - 20
Milk (full fat) - 2.5 cups / 1/2 liter
custard powder - 2 tbsp (vanilla flavor)
sugar - 1/2 cup (or) 3/4 cup
condensed milk - 2 tbsp (optional)
butter - 2 tbsp

To soak and grind:

Almond - 20
cardamom seeds - 1 tsp
saffron - few strands
milk - to soak almonds

Method:

Soak the almonds overnight (or)Put it in boiling water, wait till it wrinkle, peel and grind immediately to a fine paste.
In a wok dry roast the remaining almonds and chop it to small pieces. Let it cool completely. Keep aside.
Bring to boil 2 cups of milk.
In the remaining 1/2 cup milk add sugar, condensed milk, vanilla, custard powder and mix well.
Add this mixture into the boiled milk.
Start heating in low fire. It will become somewhat thick. Take care not to burn it at bottom.
Switch off, add butter, almond paste mixture and let it cool.
Place it in freezer. Then after 30 minutes take out and beat it in the mixie for a minute or more.
Freeze it again for 30 minutes and beat for a minute in mixer.
Freeze again for 30 minutes and beat for a minute in a mixie.
Now add the chopped almonds and mix well.
Decorate with little saffron strands.
Then freeze it for 4 hours or till it sets completely..

                                                               Another method

To soak and grind:

Almond - 20
cardamom seeds - 1.5 tsp
saffron - 3 strands

Other ingredients:

Almond - 20
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz can (400 gm)
fat free Whipped Topping 8 oz (225 gm) - 2 packs

Preparation:

Soak the almonds overnight (or)Put it in boiling water, wait till it wrinkle, peel and grind immediately to a fine paste with saffron and cardamom (elachi).
In a wok dry roast the almonds and chop it to small pieces. Let it cool completely. Keep aside.

Method:

The whipped topping should be kept in refrigerator till we start using.
In a mixing bowl add the almond paste and Condensed milk . Mix well.
Then blend in the chopped almond.
Now add the whipped topping and mix gently (too much mixing will make the ice cream hard).
Immediately transfer them to a freezer-safe lidded container.
Cover and freeze for 3-4 hours.

Creamy rich almond kulfi ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert.
Before scooping, keep the ice cream in room temperature for 2 minutes to get it smoothly.

Vegetable Salna

Salna or chalna is a popular street food available as side dish for parotta or chapathi in Tamilnadu and Kerala, India. I make this salna very often and mix with chapathi, just like vegetable kothu parotta (scrambled chapati). This comes handy if we make it in a big batch and freeze in small portions for a week.

Vegetables:

Cauliflower - 1/4 of a flower
Beans - 20
fresh green peas - 1 cup
carrot - 1
potato - 2 (medium size)

Ingredients:

tomato - 2
Red onion - 1
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
coconut milk - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
curry masala powder- 1 tsp
salt - to taste
ghee / dalda / vanaspathy - 3 tbsp
cloves - 2
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
bay leaf - 1
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

to grind:

cardamom - 3
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
green chillies - 4
cashew nut - 4

Method:

Grind ginger and garlic together.
Grind the items mentioned to a fine paste.
Cut cauliflower into big pieces.
peel and cut other vegetables in to big pieces.
Heat ghee in a pan. fry some fennel seeds and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, green chillies ,curry leaves, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add ginger garlic paste and saute well.Then add the chopped tomato and fry till it is completely cooked.
Now add all the vegetables and mix well.
Add 2 cups of water,salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder , curry masala powder and stir well.
close the lid and cook all the vegetables to tender.Add the coconut masala and let it boil it gives a nice flavor.
Before switching off add the coconut milk.
Vegetable salna is ready!

Serving suggestions:

serve hot with parathas, parotta, chapati, roti or idly .

Event entries and re-posts.

Torview Toronto is hosting a nice event on  Know your flours: Millet theme , which is initiated by Jagruti's know your flour . Sending two of my millet recipes for her fabulous event.

1.Kambu dosai

2.Kambu kolukkattai

Happy hosting dear!

Priya is hosting an interesting event to celebrate Olympics with entries representing some country. I am sending a few from my collection for Priya's Olympic event started by Jagruti.

India:

Kadalai curry

Aappam with kadala curry.

Tandoori chicken

USA:

Sixteen bean soup

Whole roasted chicken

Italy:

Garden pizza

UK:

Christmas fruit cake

Happy hosting Priya!

Vendakkai Puli kulambu

Okra / vendakkai /ladies finger in tamarind curry.

Puli kuzhambu is always Xav's first choice with rice. Also okra is his favorite vegetable and I buy it just for him. Here is a flavorful curry with okra and tamarind.

Ingredients:

Okra - 150 gm
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
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
sambar powder - 1 tsp

To temper:
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil - 2 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch

Method:

Wash the okra and wipe well using a clean kitchen towel. Let it dry in air while we prepare the other items.

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 bring it to a boil. Simmer and let the raw smell go.
Grind coconut, onion, sambar powder and cumin seeds with little water. keep aside.

Remove the top and bottom of okra. Cut the okra into 1.5 inch pieces slantingly or in straight pieces.

In the same time heat oil in a separate pan.
Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida.
Then add the okra pieces and stir fry till they turn slightly crispy (almost cooked).

Add it to the tamarind mixture and bring it to a boil. Add the coconut paste and let it boil (for 1 minute). switch off.

Vendakkai puli kuzhambu is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with rice, appalam, greens, vegetable side dish or omelet.
Tastes good with chapati / dosa too.

Spinach cutlet

Last month I got a very big bunch of red spinach in a deal from the nearby stores. Red spinach is similar to the Indian amaranth (thandu keerai). After making a stir fry the first day, I wanted to try something different and here we got a cutlet.

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1/2 bunch
(any greens is good for this recipe)
fennel -1/2 tsp
boiled potato - 2
red onion - 1
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
salt - as per taste
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
besan flour- 1/4 cup
maida / AP flour - 2 tbsp
water - 1/4 cup
bread crumb - 1 cup
oil - 2 tbsp per batch.

Method:
Rinse and clean the spinach. Chop it finely.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide wok and add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds.
As fennel gets mild red, add the chopped onion, followed by ginger garlic paste.
Then add the spinach and stir fry for 2 minutes(semi cook).
Let it cool.
Mash the cooked potatoes by hand and add to the spinach.
Then add the salt, red chilly powder, garam masala powder, turmeric. Mix well.
If needed add besan flour little by little to get a soft dough consistency.

Prepare the bread crumbs and set aside on a wide plate. (I make my own breadcrumbs by powdering some bread and leaving them in hot oven / @ 200 F for 10 minutes).
Mix Ap flour with water and keep it in a wide dish.

Heat a pan / tawa with 2 tbsp oil.
Make lemon size ball with the prepared spinach dough, slightly flatten it.
Dip in Ap paste, then in breadcrumb , bring it to oval shape.
Shallow fry both sides in medium heat.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack or side dish.
Spinach cutlet with tomato sauce is a good combo.

Green gram salad / chaat

Here is another spicy snack for all of us who crave for a spicy snack in the evening and still want to reduce a few inches:)

Other names: Green gram salad / pachai payaru sundal / moong chaat.

Ingredients:

dry green gram - 1 cup
oil - 1 tsp
hing - a pinch
curry leaf - few
mustard - 1 tsp
cucumber - 1
onion - 1
carrot - 1
tomato - 1
lemon - 1/8 of a fruit
coconut slices - few
salt - to taste.

To grind:

coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
green chilly - 3

Method:

Soak the green gram for 5 hours and cook till tender (Add water just to immerse the green gram. Bring 1 whistle in a pressure cooker, reduce flame and cook in low flame for 5 minutes). (or) Sprout the soaked green gram overnight and cook in stove top for 10 minutes, till done.
Drain the water, take out the cooked green gram and add required salt.keep aside.
Grind the items given to a coarse mixture. Mix with the cooked green gram.
Heat oil in a small skillet. Let the mustard crackle, add the curry leaf, asafoetida (hing). Squeeze the lemon and pour the tempering over the green gram. Carefully mix.

Before serving finely chop the onion, cucumber, tomato, grated carrot, coconut and add to the green gram. Top with finely chopped cilantro.

Green gram salad is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack.
Makes 6 servings.

Kadalai curry

Chick peas in spicy kuruma / sivappu konda kadalai kulambu.

Kadala curry is more famous in Kerala, India. They serve kadala curry with aappam , idiappam and puttu as breakfast or dinner in their restaurants. This curry should be prepared with red channa dhal (black/red/ brown chick pea) only, to get a nice flavor. The dark channa has more nutrition and it is easy to sprout too. This Kerala kadala curry is different from Tamilnadu kadala kulambu and both tastes good. Some times I make this curry with rice, dosai, chapati also. Try this and enjoy!

Aappam with kadala curry.

Ingredients:

Red channa - 150 gm (1 cup)
thick coconut milk from can - 1/2 cup
(or) freshly shredded coconut - 1 cup
Red onion - 1
curry leaves - few
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
salt - to taste
coconut oil - 2 tbsp
bay leaf - 1
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

To grind:

Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
tomato - 2 (optional)
green chillies - 4
cumin - 1 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
cardamom - 4
cloves - 4
mace - a little bit
jathikkai (nutmeg) - a tiny bit
cinnamon - 1 inch
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Soak the channa for 5 hours in water. Keep it in a pressure cooker with enough water to immerse it. Add one more cup of water. bring it to one whistle and reduce flame, cook it for 10 minutes. We can cook it in stove top also, but it will take an hour.

In the mean time, heat 1 tsp oil in the kadai (wok). Add the cardamam, fennel, cumin, cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, poppy seed (1/2 tsp) and fry for a second and take out. Immediately add the shredded coconut and fry till it gets mild red.Add the chilly powder, coriander powder and fry till raw smell goes.
If we are adding tomato, then fry the finely chopped tomato along with the coconut+powders till every thing gets cooked. Let cool. Grind along with the fried spices and green chillies.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add bay leaf and fennel seeds.
Add the finely chopped onion,curry leaf, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add the cooked channa (It is believed that we have to use the channa alone and discard the water, but I add the water) salt and put the prepared masala. Bring it to a boil.

In the mean time extract milk from 1 cup shredded coconut by adding warm water. Squeeze the first milk (first thick extract) and reserve it. Add 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup water and extract twice. Add this thin milk to the boiling gravy and keep closed in low heat for 10 minutes. After that add the thick milk and and Switch off immediately. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

Kadalai curry is ready!

Serving suggestions:

serve hot with aappam, puttu, dosai, rice, chapati.

Note:
Originally they don't add any tomato in this recipe in my home. But I have added tomato here. Without tomatoes the curry tastes sweet and more delicious.
Cooking time: 1 hour
I suggest using some canned coconut milk or coconut milk powder to make it easy:)

Radish raita

Radish is one of our most favorite vegetables. With its low calorie count and innumerable health benefits it stays as a good choice for salads, fresh juice, South Indian mullangi sambar, stuffed paratha, stir fry and also this COOL raitha. Whenever hubby sees this beautiful bunch of fresh radishes he will involuntarily pick some, that too the big white ones are his favorite. Having the radish in mullangi sambar is our usual, but this raitha holds good for summer. Enjoy this delicious raita and stay cool!

Ingredients:

Daikon Radish (long white) -1
fat free Indian plain yogurt (curd) - 1 cup
coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
urid dhal (black gram lentil) - 1 tsp
curry leaf / cilantro - little
ginger - 1/2 inch
hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
salt - to taste

To grind:

Green chilly - 2
shredded coconut - 1 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Scrub and remove the skin of radish. Chop off the top and bottom, wash well. Shred it using the coarse teeth of a mandolin slicer (carrot shredder).
Heat oil in a wok. Let the mustard start splutter. Then add the urid dhal, hing, finely chopped ginger, curry leaf / cilantro (1 tsp) and saute till urid dhal gets mild red. Then add the shredded radish and saute for a few seconds. Sprinkle a tbsp of water and cook covered for 1 minute. The radish should be semi cooked.
Switch off and let it cool completely.
Grind the items mentioned above without water to a coarse paste.
Mix with the radish and add salt.
Then add the (very cold) plain desi yogurt and mix well.
Radish raitha is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish while serving any spicy hot curry with roti.

Note:

1.If we can get the radish with leaves, then saute both to make this raita.
Horse radish, daikon radish (Asian white radish), red radish can be used in this recipe. I have used daikon radish here.
2.Radish is a very good diuretic and rich in digestive enzymes.

Cabbage Vadai

Almost a generation back it was a culture to prepare some evening-snack along with coffee everyday. Nowadays with the availability of packaged snacks and nearby restaurants, that idea is slowly fading. Here is a vadai recipe my mom's sister shared with us long back. The basic batter is similar to the ulunthu vadai, with some vegetable touch. 'Adding some vegetables to the vadai batter' has always been in our tradition to stretch the quantity. May be our mom's had mastered this quick-fix techniques to cater a surprise guest. When I did this after marriage, it became my mother in law's favorite too.
Recipe source: My Gandhi chithi

Ingredients:

(For 18 medium size vadai)
Urid dhal (black gram lentil) - 1 cup
rice flour - 2 tbsp
corn Oil (for deep frying) - 200 ml
Cabbage (finely chopped) - 1 cup
green chilly - 4 (finely chopped)
ginger - 2 inch
cumin - 1 tsp
whole black pepper - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:

Wash the urid dhal thrice. Soak the urid dhal in cold water for 2 or 3 hours. (I suggest soaking it inside refrigerator, which makes the vadai to absorb less oil).
Grind it to a fine paste with salt and pepper. If needed add 1 or 2 tbsp water.

Take the batter in a mixing bowl. Taste and adjust the salt now.
Finely shred / chop the cabbage. Finely chop ginger, chillies too.
Mix the finely chopped cabbage, green chilly, curry leaf , cumin , rice flour with the batter.

Heat the oil in a wok. Wait till it reaches the hottest point. Reduce the flame to medium.

Wet a plastic sheet or banana leaf (small square). Take a small ball of batter , place it on the sheet, gently flatten it and make a small hole at the center.

Deep fry the vadai in medium to low heat till it gets the golden red color.

Drain the oil , take out and place on kitchen towel / multi holed basin to drain excess oil.

Cabbage vadai is ready!

Serving suggestions;

Serve with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup along with hot coffee or tea in the evening.
Also makes a good side dish with Idly, Venn pongal, sarkarai pongal etc.

Cauliflower masala fry.

Here is a cauliflower fry I usually make as side dish for chapati.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 (400 gm)
oil - 1/4 cup or little more
shallot onion - 4
garlic - 5 cloves
ginger - 1 inch
fennel seed(sombu)- 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
red chilly powder - 1  tsp
garam masal powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste

Direction:

Wash the cauliflower and cut it into small pieces.
Mince the onion, ginger and garlic in a chopper.
Heat oil in a thick bottom wok.
Add fennel seeds, cinnamon.
When the fennel turns red, add the minced onion, ginger, garlic and saute for a few seconds.
Then add the chopped cauliflower and stir well.

Then put all the powders mentioned above and salt.
Cook covered in low flame till the cauliflower shrinks and raw smell vanishes.
Cauliflower fry is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) before serving.
Serve as side dish with roti , chapathi , sambar rice or curd rice.

Note:

The oil and spices in the recipe may seem more, but it will make the chapati interesting.
If prepared as side dish with rice , we can reduce the spice and oil.
The left over cauliflower masala can be used as stuffing to make gobi paratha.

Chicken cutlet

Chicken cutlet is a very good way to make someone start liking chicken. I prepare this with curd rice most of the time. But after seeing some friends having cutlets and kabob with chapati, I too started making that combo. Believe me, this makes a good side dish for chapathi along with a raitha. Also we can make chicken-rolls out of the left overs the next day. Here is how I make the chicken cutlet.

Main Ingredients:

Boneless skinless thigh - 1 lb (or 1/2 kg)
fennel seed - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
----------
boiled potato - 3 (small)
shallot / onion - 10
green chilly - 4
cilantro - handful
mint leaf - 10 leaves
salt - as per taste

---------
other ingredients:
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
powdered puffed channa dhal  or besan flour- 1/4 cup
-------------
egg - 1
water - 1 tbsp
salt - little
--------------
bread crumb - 1 cup
--------------
oil - 1 tbsp per batch.

Method:
Rinse and clean the chicken. Cut into medium size pieces.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add fennel seeds.
As fennel gets mild red, add the chopped chicken with turmeric and salt.
Stir fry and cook till it gets tender (without moisture).
Let it cool.
Grind it with shallot, ginger, garlic, green chilly, cilantro, mint to a soft dough stage, without adding water.

Powder the puffed channna dhal (pottu kadalai) or just use the besan flour.
Cook the potato, peel and mash it finely by hand.

Prepare the bread crumbs and set aside on a wide plate. (I make my own breadcrumbs by powdering some bread and leaving them in hot oven / @ 200 F for 10 minutes).
Beat an egg with water and salt. Keep it in a wide bowl.

Mix the powders mentioned  above with dhal powder, ground chicken and mashed potato.

Heat a pan / tawa with 2 tbsp oil.
Make lemon size ball with the minced chicken, slightly flatten it.
Dip in egg, then in breadcrumb , bring it to oval shape.
Shallow fry both sides in medium heat.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack or side dish.
Chicken cutlet with tomato sauce is a good combo.

Makes 30 cutlets.
Preparation time: 30 minutes.
time taken to fry : 30 minutes.

Blueberry icecream

Last year we visited Maine, which is famous for its light house, harbor, cruise ride, whale and seal watching and beautiful scenery. Most of the novels by Stephen King are based on Maine, which is his native place and that makes me love this place more:) Also the Iron man novel / Iron giant movie and comics comes to our memory , as they involve few places here (That is one of my favorite comic book character till now). Blueberry ice cream is a popular dessert there, as the fruit grows abundant there. They make many dishes using blueberry.  After tasting their glorious antioxidant rich blueberry ice cream, I prepared the same and it tasted as good as the original.
Now I understand why I am raving more and more about Maine, here summer has started and every soul wants the cool weather to return soon:)
So here is my share of ice cream to soothe your eyes and cool the ambiance:)

Blueberry ice cream a special dessert in Maine.

Memory: Ice cream bowls bought on a garage sale for $5 (2011)...unopened box, very neat and cute. Love this!

Ingredients:

Blueberry - 2 cups
lemon - 1/4 fruit or strawberry - 4 number
condensed milk (sweetened 14 oz can) - 1 tin
whipped topping (8 oz pack) - 2

Method:

Wash the blueberries, strawberry (if any) pat dry. Coarsely puree them in a blender. Strawberry or lemon gives a tangy hint to the sweet blueberry, which I prefer personally. It is purely optional.

In a mixing bowl add the condensed milk, lemon juice (if used), 3/4 of the blueberry puree and fold in the whipped topping. Transfer to a lidded glass container suitable for freezing.
Add the left over blueberry puree little by little to give a swirl effect. Keep frozen for nearly 4 hours.
Garnish with some berries and serve.

Blueberry ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes nearly 15 big scoops.

Note:

1 large scoop will be less than 100 K cal (with low fat milk products).
Blueberry is an antioxidant rich fruit.
We can substitute frozen blueberries for fresh ones.

Home made Hot sauce

In our house, the spicy hot sauce is the best dipping sauce for any kabob or tandoori chicken. We both prefer the 'extra-hot' hot sauce over the original hot sauce, but that HOT version is not widely available. So I wanted to try my own. I got the hint of ingredients from the label and modified it according to my taste. It came out perfectly HOT and now this recipe is a keeper for me. Sharing this 'home made Xtra-hot hot sauce' recipe for all spice lovers.

Ingredients:

Red bell pepper - 1 (big)
Indian green chillies - 10
garlic - 4 cloves
onion - 1
oil - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder  - 2 tbsp
salt - 2 tbsp
white distilled vinegar  - 1 cup
brown sugar or sugar - 2 tbsp

Method:

Saute the sliced onion, garlic, green chillies, red bell pepper together till they wilt. Let it cool completely.
Grind with 1/4 cup pickled jalapeno (optional), red chilly powder (or whole dry red chilly), sauteed ingredients, salt, brown sugar.
Add vinegar at the end and grind to a very smooth  paste (in more liquid state).
If needed add  (1/4 cup) more vinegar.

Note:
Do the whole process in well ventilated room to avoid sneezing:)
I cover my nose with a scarf to avoid inhaling any hot fumes :)
Preparing the hot sauce at home is very easy and worth the effort.
If not having jalapeno, red bell pepper, then just prepare this hot sauce with Indian green chillies and more dry red chilly powder. It will taste the same. But the bell pepper, jalapeno and green chillies add a strong spicy hot flavor.

Serving suggestion:   

Serve as dip with baked chicken, tandoori, kabob.

Mixed dhal Dhokla

I learned this recipe from my neighbor, shukla Aunty. Mostly she prepares everything from scratch and would be more than happy to share her detailed recipes. I would immediately memorize and write down, while we swap our best dishes on weekends. On the other day she taught me to make dhokla from scratch. As I wanted to try on my own, she suggested using my 6 inch cake pan to steam this dhokla (as I wanted to try it first before buying a proper dhokla maker). Believe me this is a very easy one, just like idly. The dhoklas came out very soft and fluffy, but little bigger than the usual:) we can arrive at the correct thickness if using lesser batter or  a dhokla plate.

Ingredients:

Rice - 3/4 cup
Channa dhal - 1 cup
(Bengal gram)
urad dhal - 1/4 cup
(black gram lentil)
moong dhal - 1/4 cup
(green gram lentil)
salt - to taste
Indian plain yogurt - 1 cup
ginger - 1 inch
green chilly - 2

Garnish:

lemon - 1/2
sugar - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
sesame seed - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
cilantro (chopped)- 2 tbsp
green chilly - 3
asafoetida - a pinch
ENO fruit salt or baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Soak the dhals and rice together for 4 hours.
Grind together, add salt and curd / yogurt.
Let it ferment in room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.
Grind ginger + green chilly and mix with batter.
Keep refrigerated till we need.

Steaming the dokhla:

Take out 1 1/2 cups of batter in a separate vessel.
10 minutes before steaming the dokla, add the ENO or baking soda.
(I added ENO's fruit salt. Actually the authentic version won't call for ENO or baking soda. Just the plain fermented batter is enough).
Coat the dokhla pan or a small cake pan with a tsp of oil
Finely chop the chillies and mix few with the batter.
Pour into the pan.
Steam cook for 20 - 30 minutes or till a chop stick comes clean.
(see the photo for steaming technique. we can do it inside pressure cooker without placing the pressure valve also).

Garnish:

Take out the dhokla and place on a serving plate.

In a wok heat oil and let mustard splutter. Then switch off and immediately add sesame seeds,hing (asafoetida), finely chopped cilantro,curry leaf, chillies. Saute for a minute. Mix lemon juice, sugar, salt and add to garnish. Now pour it over the prepared dhokla. Slice and serve.

Alternatively, we can slice the dhokla and add to the fried seasoning.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack with tea.
Makes a good breakfast also.
Cilantro chutney is a good side dish.
The next day, I sauteed the left over dhokla like idly uppuma and that too tasted yummy with  a dash of idly podi:)

Note:
 In this recipe instead of the mixed dhals, we can just use channa dhal alone to get the traditional dhokla.
Very good dish for people looking for protein rich , less oily spicy snacks.

Ridgegourd greengram koottu

Instead of the regular green gram lentil ( paasi paruppu, moong dhal) I added some sprouted green gram to the ridge gourd koottu and it turned out great.

Here is an easy way to include more fiber to the regular ridge gourd poriyal.

Ingredients:

ridge gourd (peerkan kaai) - 250 gm
sprouted green gram - 1/2 cup

To grind:

shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
green chillies - 2
cumin - 1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
black gram lentil (urad dhal) - 1 tbsp
oil - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
onion - 1 (1/2 cup chopped)

Sprouting:

Wash the green gram and soak it for 6 hours. Drain the water now.
Choose a new cloth (thin small towel) and wash it with water.
Place the wet cloth over a colander and put the soaked green gram, tie the cloth using a thread. Place this bundle inside a vessel and keep closed for 24 hours.
Open the pack and now we can see the green gram sprouts. Rinse again and keep refrigerated till use.

Method:

Peel the skin of the ridge gourd. Chop it into small cubes.
Heat oil in a wok and add the mustard , urad dhal. After the mustard splutter put the curry leaf, finely chopped onion and let it wilt.
Add the sprouted green gram and cook for a few minutes. Now add the chopped ridge gourd and cook covered with a tbsp of water.
Add required salt.
Grind the items given and add to the vegetable.
Let it come to a boil and switch off.
Ridgegourd koottu is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as vegetarian side dish with any rice or chapati.

Note:

*This koottu can be prepared with / without sprouted green gram.
Dry green gram can be soaked for an hour and pressure cooked for 3 whistles to cook it. Add the cooked green gram to the koottu and do the same.
*Channa dal, green gram lentil can also be used instead. The regular version calls for green gram lentil (paasi paruppu).
* The skin of ridge gourd (peerkan kai thol / peel) can be used to make peerkan kai thol chutney.

Whole chicken fry (Indian style)

In India some popular non veg restaurants attract the customers by displaying this mouthwatering red colored crispy whole fried chicken or whole tandoori chicken by lunch and dinner time. I am always attracted by colorful foods and love to try at home than eating out. Instead of the deep frying technique they use in hotels, I make this by shallow frying.   Recently I made this whole chicken fry remembering my mom. Many years back, I learned this recipe from my mom and it is always handy for me. Mom was always praised for her newer cooking styles and hospitality. Happy cooking makes delicious meals and pleasant memories and it is true with us always. Passing on this for all the chicken lovers out there:)

Marination:
Whole chicken -  1.5 kg (3 lb)
lemon - 1
salt - 2 tbsp
red chilly powder - 2 tsp
black pepper powder - 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1 tsp
garam masal powder /curry powder - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
turmeric - 1 tsp
red food color - 2 pinch (optional but looks good)

Clean the chicken after removing the skin.  The wings can have some skin on.
Wash well. Prick all over using a fork.
Apply salt and lemon juice and keep aside.
In the mean time mix all the other ingredients for marination and rub over the chicken and insert some marination inside too.
Keep this marinated chicken for 1 hour or inside a zip lock pouch and keep refrigerated overnight. (I fried after 1 hour, didn't do overnight marination this time).

Frying the chicken:

Heat a heavy bottom wok with 1/2 cup oil. (Frying in ghee or butter is the best. Coconut oil also makes the chicken tastes good). Or use any frying oil.
First put the breast side down and fry in medium flame for 10 minutes.
Flip carefully and put a tight lid. Cook covered in low heat for 15 minutes.
Again flip and cook covered for 10 minutes.
Now take out  the lid and fry in medium heat both sides, till it is completely fried and becomes red.

Whole chicken fry is ready!

Note:
More care should be taken while flipping the chicken, if the wok is not heavy.
Keep the wok in the back burner and hold tightly while flipping.
Always fry the chicken in low to medium heat.
Cook covered and ensure if it is completely fried before serving.
Time taken : 40 minutes in low - medium heat.

Whole fried chicken served.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve hot with briyani or kushka or parotta and raitha.
Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the fried chicken before serving.