Vazhai poo poriyal (Plantain flower stir fry)

Vazhai poo poriyal

Valai poo/ Banana/ plantain flower is an excellent vegetable used in Indian cooking. It can be used to make vadai, fry, curry ,salad etc. Though it is a hard task to clean the plantain flower(Tamil-vazhai poo), but it is  worth doing it.
The banana flower should be used within 2 days you buy it.

Cleaning the flower:
First remove the red bracts. Take out the inner flowers. Remove the thick stamen in each flower. Remove the plastic-like portion in each flower.
You can chop the innermost bracts too.
wash them and chop them into fine pieces.
Immediately soak them in buttermilk solution.(1/2 cup buttermilk + 2 cups water)
If you want to know more about cleaning the flower, just read this page.
How to clean banana flower (vazhai poo)?
Also:
http://www.ganeshvilla.com/bananas/banana_flower_salad.htm

Ingredients:
Plantain flower- 1 (cleaned and chopped)
onion - 1
green chillies- 2
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
urid dhal- 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp.
salt - 1/4 tsp
cooking oil- 1 tsp

Method:
Heat a pan.Add oil , urid dhal and mustard seeds.
After the mustard seed pops, add chopped onion, green chillies , curry leaves.
After 30 seconds add the chopped plantain flowers.
Stir fry everything . Add salt and 1/4 cup water.
cover the pan with a lid.
After 10 minutes the plantain flower will get cooked.Switch off the flame.
Add shredded coconut and cumin seeds. Mix well and serve hot as a side dish with sambar rice.

Serving suggestions:
Serves for 3 people.
It can be served as a side dish for Sambar rice.

Nine grain Adai.(Nava dhanya Adai)

I am sure everybody is interested in making fiber rich recipes. Fiber plays a vital role in reducing body fat.Traditional Indian foods are always rich in fiber and less in carbohydrates. Here is a recipe for adai. Adai can best be served as breakfast or dinner.Since it is full of fiber , it takes a lot of time to digest. so people prefer to have adai fo breakfast or as an early dinner.Navadhanya means nine grains. Those grains are used in Hindu poojas and homams.

Ingredients:
black pepper- 1 tsp
red chilli - 2
red onion - 1
ginger - 2 inch long
garlic- 2 pearls
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 2 brig
Asafoetida- 1 pinch

Soak the following Navadhanya in water for 4 hours.
1.Bengal gram - 1/2 cup
2.rice - 1 cup
3.Red gram - 1/2 cup
4.Black gram (without skin)- 1/2 cup
5.sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
6.green gram - 1/2 cup
7.wheat - 1/4 cup
8.horse gram - 2 tbsp
9.Black eyed peas/cow peas - 1/4 cup

To grind:
Add the soaked navadhanya to the Indian mixer or grinder.
Add 1 tbsp salt.
Add all the ingredients except onion and curry leaves.
Grind them in to a coarse batter. store in refrigerator.

Method:
Heat a dosa tava / pancake pan.
coat the pan with sesame oil.
Add chopped onion and curry leaves to the batter.
Spread them into thick dosa/ pancakes.
with a spoon make a small hole in the center and add a drop of butter or oil.
Watch for a red color in the edges.
Turn it upside down with a spatula.
serve hot.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 25 Adai.
Onion chutney or coconut chutney can be served as dippings.
Refrigerate the remaining adai batter immediately. Do not use fermented adai batter, as it is harmful.

Look for Priya Madan's pages for meanings:
http://www.thezeal.com/cooking/ingredients_glossary.asp
(Tamil, Kannada,Telugu,English names for Navadhanya.)
http://www.vedagamasudha.org/GrihaPravesha.htm



English - Kannada - Telugu - Tamil

Wheat- Suji Godi- Godumulu- Goduma
Rice- Akki- Beeyamu - Arisi
Red Gram - Thogari Bele- Kandi Pappu - Thuvaram Paruppu
Green gram- Hesaru Bele - Peraru Pappu - Pasi Paruppu
Bengal gram- Kaddale - Senagalu - Kondai Kadala
Black eyed peas- Aura Bele- Chikudu Pappu- Thattam payaru
Sesame - Yeilu - Nuvullu - Yellu
Black gram - Uddina bele- Nalla Minumulu- Pappu Ulutham
Horse Gram- Hurli - Ullavalu- Kollu

Tomato Rasam.

Ingredients
Ripe tomatoes - 2
Tamarind extract - 2 teaspoon.
(from a gooseberry size ball of tamarind)
Red chillies - 2
black pepper - 1 teaspoon
cumin seed- 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 pearls.
turmeric- a pinch
asafoetida - a pinch.
Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) - 1/4 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
chopped coriander leaves - 1 tsp
water - 2 cups
jaggery - very small piece (1 tsp, if crushed)
salt - 1 tsp
oil (ghee)- 1 tbsp.

Method:
Add hot water to the tamarind and extract the juice. Keep it aside.
Chop the tomatoes finely.
coarsely grind the pepper, garlic and cumin seeds. Mix turmeric and asafoetida with it and keep aside.
In a pan add little oil/ ghee and put mustard seeds , methi seeds.
After hearing the crackling sound of mustard seeds add red chillies and curry leaves.
Immediately add the ground mixture to the pan and fry for 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes and stir it till the tomato gets half cooked.
Add the tamarind extract and the jaggery.
Add 2 cups of water
Switch off the flame as you see white bubbles or some froth gathering above.
Do not allow the Rasam to boil.
After switching off the flame , add salt and chopped coriander leaves.
Serving suggestions:
Makes 1/2 litre of Tomato Rasam.
Serve hot with rice after Sambar rice.
It can be served like clear soup after filtering (after dinner). It helps in digestion.

Note:
We can totally avoid that tamarind part , instead add juice from 1/4 lemon after switching off the flame.

Idli (Plain/ traditional)

Idli , sambar, vadai, coconut chutney

 

Idli with mutton leg paya kulambu

Ingredients:
Black gram dhal – 1 cup
Idly rice – 3  1/2cups
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tbsp
Salt (rock) – 3 tsp
(This measurement is for those who use Indian Mixer . If you use an Indian grinder take 4 cup Idly rice and 1 cup urad dhal, 1 tbsp fenugreek / methi seeds)

Method:

Soak rice separately for 8 hours. Dhal and fenugreek seeds need to be soaked together for about 3 hours. After that grind dhal till it becomes smooth. Add ice cold water while grinding to get soft idly. Rice should be ground separately.Don't add lot of water. The batter should be thick like softened butter. Add salt and mix the ground urad dhal with the rice mixture .

Store this in a large vessel so that there is enough space for batter to rise. Grinding and storing of batter should be done the previous day, preferably in the night so that the batter would be ready the next day. The batter should be allowed to ferment for about 15 – 18 hours. In India the room temperature is enough to ferment. But here, I usually keep warm the oven , switch off and keep inside overnight. Some people keep it inside microwave too. Both are good, the thing is we need to prevent cold air to come in contact, that's it. The next day,the batter will double. Mix the batter well and pour in to greased idli plates and steam for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker (without pressure valve).

Water should not be added the next day after it ferments. Dhal should be ground preferably in a grinder for at least 20 minutes and rice for 30 minutes.
The batter can also be made using an "Indian Mixer". It will take only 10 minutes.

Tips:
Adding a very little yeast solution will help in winter times (USA). I don't use yeast.
Before making idli on the first day,  mix gently and divide it in 3 small containers, if we want idly everyday.
From second day, adding 1/4 tsp baking soda to the batter will give very soft idli and dosa.

Serving suggestions:
Makes about 40 idlis, vary ingredients to reduce or increase number of Idlies.
If you want to make Idlies for 3 days, then just separate the batter in to three portions on the first morning itself and keep them refrigerated.
Serve hot steamed idlis with coconut chutney or Sambar.
See my recipes for coconut chutney and sambar here: Coconut Chutney.Idly sambar

Approximate cal:
1 Idly gives 60 Kcal.

Curd Rice.

My 'Mathu athai' taught me to make this heavenly curd rice.She is my Dad's sister. My Mathu athai is versatile in nature . She is a wonderful home maker , knowledgeable zoology Professor ,lovely mom , great aunt , obedient wife , my role model in caring for the husband , reliable person , my friend , good adviser , and i can't explain about her fully . Totally she is a treasure of our family. She taught me this when I was just 15 years old and after that I always follow her method to surprise my mom. Coming to her curd rice,it is a great summer lunch in our house. This kind of curd rice will be creamy and very rich in taste.My hubby loves it very much.


Ingredients:
2% Milk- 1/2 litre. (2 1/2 cups).
raw rice (or) Basmathi rice - 1 cup.
curd - 1/4 cup.
salt - 1/2 tsp
water - 3 cups.
oil - 1 tbsp.
mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
urid dhal - 1/2 tsp
ginger - 1 inch ( chopped )
green chillies - 2.
curry leaves - 1 brig.
cilantro- chopped ( 1 tbsp)
green grapes - 10 numbers (or) raisins - 15 number.

Method:
Wash and cook the rice with the given amount of water.
Mash it as soon as it is hot.(we cannot mash it properly ,if the rice gets cold.)
add salt.
Boil the milk and add it to the rice . Mash it again.
Keep it aside .
Heat a frying pan . Add oil.
Put the urid dhal and mustard seeds . After hearing the popping sound, add chopped curry leaves, cilantro, green chillies ,raisins and ginger.
If you are adding green grapes, then just add them fresh .(Don't fry them.)
If you need the curd rice for lunch , add the given curd just 3 hours before serving ,to the hot mashed rice.
If you need the curd rice by night, then cool the mashed rice completely and add the curd. then the curd rice will be ready by night.

Serving suggestions:
Serves 2 people as a main course.
If served as an additional meal along with any spicy rice, this is enough to serve 4 people.
It can be best served with mango pickles.

Pongal. (venn pongal)

Pongal also known as venn pongal (white pongal) is an authentic meal of India. Often it is served as a breakfast in Indian marriages. Mostly people prefer to have ulunthu vadai ,Idly-sambar and coconut chutney as side dish for pongal.

(you can see my menu card for their recipes too.)

Ingredients :
Raw Rice (pacha arisi or briyani rice) - 1 cup
Moong dal (green gram dhal) - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Ginger-1 inch piece (chopped)
salt - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper corns -2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig.
Asafoetida / hing -1/4 tsp
clarified Butter/Ghee/ butter- 4 tbsp
Water- 4 cups
milk - 1/2 cup (optional)
Cashews- 10 numbers.


Methods :
Heat a Pan .Dry roast rice and dhal, till we get a nice aroma of dhal.
Wash them .Add salt and water .
Keep it in a pressure cooker and allow 4 whistles.
(If you are cooking in a pan, cover it and have a look often. Because the dhal will rise up and overflow when hot.)
After cooking the rice and dhal tenderly, mash them mildly.(not like a paste, but gently.)
Heat a frying pan. Add the ghee.
Add Cumin , Ginger ,cashews, hing and whole pepper.
Immediately after the cashews turn golden in color, add them to pongal .
Serve hot.

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with coconut cutney, Idly-sambar, ulunthu(black gram) vadai.
Serves 3 people.
It can be served as both breakfast or dinner.

Note:
Always keep the pongal in a tight lided vessel to retain moisture.
If it gets hard, don't shy to add little milk and reheat before serving. 

Tirunelveli Idli sambar

This sambar is specifically made with greengram dhal (Payatham paruppu/ moong dhal) without sambar powder.
In Tamilnadu , almost all the hotels serve 'toor dal sambar' for Idly,dosa and pongal throughout the day. But in Tirunelveli, this paasi paruppu sambar is served especially for dinner (as moong dal is believed to be on the lighter side than the thoor dal).  This belongs to Tamil Saiva pillai cuisine and I learned it from my Rukmani aunty (appa's adopted sister , we say ☺).
Traditionally this sambar is made entirely in stove top (see my method below). The green gram in stove top needs little more attention as it tends to spill while boiling. Nowadays people do this in cooker also, but then the dal wouldn't show its texture, which is more important for this recipe (so cook this in stove top only..☺). The entire cooking time will be less than 20 minutes, if we keep everything ready.
So aunty would start making this sambar (with my assistance in preparations ☺) simultaneously while making idli or dosai ......and an extremely delicious piping hot sambar would be ready for dinner in minutes. My mom loved the way I learned aunty's recipes and used to appreciate my helps on weekends. Though mom would insist me on studying day and night like any other kid☺ she used to appreciate the surprise bed coffee and kitchen holidays I gave her on my vacations ☺. Now I consider myself lucky for learning those recipes as these are the most yummy and healthy homemade foods from my town and my hubby dear loves them very much.

Tirunelveli Idli sambar with sponge dosai . (paasi paruppu sambar) (updated on Jan 2016)

Idli sambar (green gram sambar)

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 3/4 cup.
Drumstick - 1 (cut into 2 inch size pieces)
Carrot- 1 (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
brinjal-1(cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
Potato -1 (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
Green chilies - 6
tomato - 2
onion - 1/2

garlic - 4 pieces
coriander powder - 1 tbsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
asafoetida / hing- a pinch
Salt for taste

For tempering/tadka/thalikka:
Oil - 2 tsp
Chopped onion(chopped) - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek (methi seeds) - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig

To garnish:
Chopped cilantro _ 1 tsp.


Method:
Rinse and clean the moong dal.
Add 2 cups of water and bring it to boil.Add turmeric, garlic, asafoetida . Cook till dal has doubled in size (10 min) and almost cooked . Then add all the vegetables except tomato.
Put a lid half closed and cook the dal completely.
Add the tomato and salt after the dhal gets cooked.(It takes 15 minutes to cook the dhal.)
Now add coriander powder.
In a tempering vessel heat the oil add mustard and methi seeds. Let the mustard splutter. Then add the onion , curry leaf , fry  till golden brown and add to the sambar.
Finally garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with idly.

Makes 500 ml of samber.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with idli, dosai.

To cook in Instant pot / pressure cooker (updated 2021 May):