Oven baked Pasta

Inspired by the restaurants and advertisements I made my very own version of 'Oven baked Pasta' with lesser cheese, lots of vegetables and rotini pasta . (Rotini is a type of helix- or corkscrew-shaped pasta made with AP flour or whole wheat). This recipe calls for a slow baking process, through which the pasta gets well soaked in the pasta sauce, that makes it more juicy and delicious.
Here is the step by step procedure.

Before baking:


After baking:

Cooking the pasta:
Rotini Pasta (any big size pasta) - 2 cups (uncooked)
Water - 6 cups
First bring the water to boil and add the pasta and cook as per directions.
Drain water and run it under cold water.


Preparing the vegetables:
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Kale leaf - 1 cup (chopped)
Black olive fruits - 10 (cut in circles)
yellow bell pepper - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Green bell pepper - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1 (cut into 2 inch sticks)
Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
Red pepper flakes - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Heat oil in a wok. The add the crushed garlic followed by the onion and kale leaf.
Then add the chopped carrot and saute well.
Then add all above except olives and stir well.
Switch off flame .Now add the olives along with cooked pasta.

Preparation of Pasta sauce:
Tomato sauce - 5 tbsp
Dried mixed Italian herbs - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/6 cup
Sour cream (I used plain yogurt)- 2 tbsp
shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese - 1 tbsp
All purpose flour - 1 tsp (for thickening)
Mix the flour with milk. Then add everything above and mix well.
Low fat Pasta sauce is ready.

Baking the pasta:
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup (1 cup if u want)
Low fat Ranch dressing - 2 tbsp (optional)

1.Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. Mix the prepared pasta sauce with the cooked pasta with vegetables.
2.Spray a 9 inch dia' baking dish with olive oil.
3.Transfer the mixed pasta to baking dish. Drizzle some ranch dressing and top it with the mozzarella cheese . Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese starts bubbling.

Oven baked pasta is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as main course lunch / dinner.
Garlic bread or Texas toast can be served as side along with a drink . I love it with coke:)
Serves 3.

Event:
Sending this oven baked pasta to Poornima's (Tasty treats) My Favorite things: cheese event which is a brain child of Bindiya .
Hope this suits the event.

Potato peas masal curry

Other Names: Aloo matar / Aloo mutter / Potato peas masala curry / urulai kilangu pattani curry (Tamil)
(Hindi: Aloo means Potato , Matar means green peas)

Aloo matar is a dry curry prepared with a lot of spices . It can be the most common curry prepared all over India.
The curry made with potato and peas can be a very back-up plan for every person, who tries to fix a side dish without much effort. Still the curry has its own commanding flavor that makes it a more suitable side dish for Sambar and rice.
Most of the Fridays my mom used to make this curry as a routine along with Sambar and rice. Hope many of you too have the same habit:)



Ingredients:
Potato - 4 (150 gms)
Fresh Green Peas - 1 Cup (I used canned peas)
Red Onions - 1 (small)
Tomato - 1
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder / crushed cumin - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
Coriander Leaves to garnish - as required

Method:
1.Bring 4 cups of water to boil.
Wash the potatoes and put them into the boiling water.
Cook them covered till the potatoes are completely cooked.
Peel and chop the potatoes into big chunks. Keep aside.

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

3. Add the peas , salt, chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, Turmeric powder, Garam masala powder with handful of water and cook well.

4. Then add the cubed potatoes and mix well till the masala gets absorbed by the potato and the curry becomes dry.

Potato peas masala curry is ready!
Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot

Serving Suggestions:
Serves 4 people.
Aloo mattar can be served as a best side dish for chapathi, Naan , Sambar rice , curd rice etc.,

Pepper Chicken

Just like all the girls who change their cooking style after marriage, I too did many things. No..no don't imagine me as a vegan who married a meat-o-holic, its 'topsy turvy' gals:)
I should say my culinary journey started even before marriage as my brothers are true lovers of NVs:) But after marriage I reduced cooking the non veg items because of hubby's lesser appetite for NV, though all of my inlaws excel each other in having them .
Before hand I used to make different varieties of chicken for my younger brother Venkatesh. Being a great chicken-holic person, he inspires me to learn more and more dishes.Almost every day he would love to have a different dish , preferably a NV in his tiffin box:) So I started trying many varieties and here is a pepper chicken .
Dedicating this recipe to all my brothers (two from my mom's and 3 from my Inlaws side)who love chicken in anything.





Ingredients:
Chicken (with or without bones)- 1/4 kg
(I made it with bones)
Red onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
sesame oil - 4 tbsp
To powder :
Black pepper - 3 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 2
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Apply some turmeric all over and rinse again .
Cut it into medium size pieces and keep aside.
Chop the onion and tomato separately.
Grind 1 inch ginger and 3 garlic pods to a fine paste.

Heat the oil in a wok , add the fennel seeds and let it become red.
Then add the curry leaves, chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Now put the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.

Now add the chicken pieces and fry for a while till it becomes a white.
Then add the salt, Turmeric powder, powdered masala and cook covered with a handful of water.
Stir frequently to avoid charing.
Cook for nearly 30 minutes in very low flame.
Then put off fire after the oil starts showing and the meat is done.
Pepper chicken is ready.

Serving suggestion:
Take the chicken fry out leaving behind the oil and place on a serving bowl.
Sprinkle a tablespoon of black pepper all over the chicken .
Fry some curry leaves in the left out oil in the pan and garnish the chicken with it for a homely touch.
Serve as side dish with sambar rice or rasam rice or even with curd rice.
The chicken pieces will loose moisture and shrink a lot. So it will be enough for just 2 people.

Unripe banana koottu

Usually we make fries or chips with raw / unripe green banana. But generally we reserve the fries for the cold winter . Also it is a custom to bring out a lesser oily version for each and every vegetable for the hot summer lunch in India.
My love for the koottu is endless and here is a koottu again with valai kai (Un ripe banana) which tastes fine with sambar and rasam rice.
I used the raw banana along with the skin and I hope that the skin adds a lovely flavor and fiber to our diet. That's how the banana has to be cooked , if following a traditional way. Guess , globally our ancestors were pretty sure to include all the possible fiber content to our diet by insisting so.

Unripe banana cubed with skin:


Unripe Banana (vaazhai kai) koottu:


Ingredients:
Unripe Indian banana (valai kai) - 2
Channa Dhal - a handful
Asafoetida powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Shredded coconut 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
chopped onion - 2 tbsp
Urid Dhal- 1 tsp
Dry red chillies- 2
Curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak the channa dhal for 15 minutes.

Scrub and Wash the bananas. Remove the stem and tip on both ends.
Retain the skin.
Chop banana in to small cubes along with its skin on.
Immediately put it in the cooking pot along with water. Keep the pieces immersed to prevent oxidation (blackening).

Add soaked channa dhal, Turmeric, sambar powder, and asafoetida.
Cook till the channa dhal and banana gets cooked. Then add salt.

For tempering heat a 1 tbsp of oil , add mustard seeds.
After it crackles add urid dhal ,chopped onion, dry chillies and curry leaves.
Add the tempering to the cooked vegetable .
Mix shredded coconut and cumin . Stir well in heat to get a thick consistency.
Valai kai koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity would be enough for 3 - 4 people depending on the size of the banana.
Serve as side dish with any Indian bread or sambar & rice or rasam & rice.

Event:
Sending this 'Unripe banana koottu' to EC's 'Side dish Event' a fabulous way to bring out the best side dishes from many bloggers. Hope this 'koottu' suits the event.

Semiya Javvarisi Paal Paayasam

Semiya is an Indian style noodles mostly made of wheat. Javvarisi / sabudana are pearl like balls made of tapioca flour like sago. Whereas Paal means Milk and Paayasam means a Kheer (Hindi) or a rich pudding .
Payasam could be the typical dessert served with any Indian style full meals. We can make the paal payasam with milk and nuts alone with or without semiya . But the addition of Javvarisi gives a pearl like texture all over the dessert and it gives a sumptuous feeling too.
Javvarisi takes more time to cook than the semiya. So we should cook the Javvarisi first and then add the semiya.
Here goes the reccipe for the Semiya Javvarisi Paal payasam.




Semiya Javvarisi paal payasam / vermicelli kheer / milk payesh

Ingredients
Vermicelli / semiya - 150 gms
Javvarisi / sago /sabudana - 3/4 cup
2 % Milk - 2 cup
condensed milk - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Cashew nuts - 10
Raisins / dry grapes / kismis - 15
almond - 10
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom - 4
ghee - 1 + 1 Tbsp
Water - 3 cup

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the vermicelli till light brown.
(If we are using double roasted semiya, then proceed without roasting).
Boil 2 cups of water and add the Javvarisi (sago / sabudana) ,reduce flame, stir occasionally and cook covered till it becomes transparent.
Then add the semiya and cook it to tender.
Now add the sugar and continue to stir.
Put the saffron in the milk and dissolve it, add this milk to the semiya.
Powder the cardamom and add it to the mixture. (Store the skin of cardamom for tea).
Add the condensed milk and mix well.
Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add them to the boiling semiya.
Put off fire immediately.
The consistency should be between thin and thick (easy to sip and drink).
Semiya Javvarisi paal payasam is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Pour the paal payasam into serving bowls and serve with spoon.
Chop the almonds into thin slices and sprinkle them over the hot payasam.
Serve as hot / cold dessert.
Makes nearly 6 cups (1 cup = 200 ml)of payasam.
Cooking time : 30 minutes.

Mysore Rasam

Happy Earth day!
Earth day has nothing to do with the Rasam but the greeting is to keep us more focused on our environment:)

Rasam (Tamil) can be called a comfort food for many. Rasam is a South Indian soup eaten taken with rice or alone.
I love to prepare / have rasam along with 'thalli' meal (full spread of Indian dinner). Moreover a generous serving of fresh Rasam on hot mushy cooked rice with 'paruppu thovaiyal' means a heavenly food for me.
Generally the rasam served with an elaborate dinner / lunch helps in digestion. Also the quality of the rasam can testify the nativity and passion of the cook as there are many ways to make a rasam.
Mysore Rasam occupies a top rank among all the rasams. It is always termed as the 'rich rasam' because of its ingredients. It differs from the other varieties by the addition of coconut and a lot of lentils. Mostly Mysore Rasam would be served during festive times or feasts .
The special tag 'Mysore' adds a kick to the foods like, Mysore Bonda, Mysore masal dosai, Mysore Bah , Mysore Rasam etc:) .
Whenever I hear the word Mysore, the things flash in my mind are my mom's favorite green color Mysore silk saree, the Brindavanam, her Mysore sandol soap and her tall tales on her passion / collection of the Mysore silk sarees:)
Here goes the authentic way to make the rich 'Mysore Rasam'.

Other names: Tamil - Rasam/ Kannada - Saaru / Telugu - Chaaru /Malayalam - Rasam / Tulu - Resa .



Ingredients:
Thoor dhal - 4 Tbsp
Tomato - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
Tamarind - a small lemon size
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
oil / ghee - 2 tsp.
asafoetida - a pinch
Rasam Powder:
Thoor dhal - 1 tbsp
methi seed /fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2
Coriander seed - 4 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
To dry roast and grind:
Shredded coconut -1/4 cup

Method:

Cook the thoor dhal with Turmeric powder.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok and roast 1 tbsp Thoor dhal, dry red chilly ,methi seed (venthayam), coriander seeds, Pepper and cumin till the dhal becomes red.
Let it cool and powder it.

Dry roast the shredded coconut to mild red color and powder it . Take one tsp of powder and keep it separate to garnish the rasam.

Extract juice from tamarind. Add 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil along with cooked dhal.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add the mustard and little cumin seeds. After the mustard gets crackle add the curry leaf and chopped tomato (chopped lengthwise) and fry a little (not completely mushy).

Then add the boiling tamarind extract , prepared rasam powder, powdered coconut to it the fried tomato and mix well.
Add more water to make it thin like soup.

Start heating it. As soon as the rasam forms froth in the top switch off the stove. Do not allow it to boil , as it will give a bitter taste to the rasam.

After switching off , add the salt and sprinkle a tsp of powdered coconut that was kept reserved.
Mysore Rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Makes 1 liter of rasam.
Serve on plain cooked rice after the guest finishes with the sambar /More kulambu / vatral kulambu or serve in a tumbler for drinking.

Mochai Kottai Kulambu

Mochai kottai is a tasty bean prevalently used in villages of TamilNadu. It is a variety of bean just like Toor dhal or snow peas with an enormous growth rate.
We can see the fresh pods in and around bazaars of Madurai, Tuticorin and Kovilpatti (TN, India) during the summer season . commercially the val dhal is removed from the pods and dried for the storage purpose so that there would be an year round supply. It is supposed to be sold at a lesser price because of its ample supply but an excellent source of protein like all dals.
People of TamilNadu make a tangy curry called Mochai kottai kulambu along with tamarind paste.
Festival associated with the Kulambu:
Though the Mochai kottai kulambu is famous all over South India, I have tasted it with dry fish and great taste in the villages near Madras and Madurai.
I am narrating about the curry made in a village in India and the the festival associated with it .
It is a custom to make this curry with brinjal , drumstick vegetable, tomato and dried fish during the Tamil month of Aadi (mid July - mid August).
During that month we can see a lot of functions in the Temple.
On Sundays of the Aadi month , they prepare the 'Mochai kottai kulambu' with dry fish as 'karuvattu kulambu' along with a porridge called 'koozh' (read as kooll) and offer it for the Goddess Amman in various forms. Then they distribute it to all those who visit them and will have great meals together.
In Madras , my neighbors used to make the dishes in huge volume with fervent love for the Goddess Amman and any one who go to their house would be encouraged to have the meal . Myself being the pet of the area, won't even think of cooking on those days as i would get a Lion's share always:) I love that festival very much as there would be a lot of activities in my neighborhood like 'poo kuzhi , walking on hot charcoal' and many events. Moreover I love that koozh and dry fish curry combination very much.

Otherwise in ordinary days people make a vegetarian version also.
I wished to bring back a closer cousin of that kulambu called Mochai kottai kulambu, the vegetarian version.
It turned out so good and here goes the recipe for it.

Translations for Mochai kottai:
Hindi - Val dal / English - Hyacinth bean or field bean / Tamil - Mochai payeru or mochai kai or mochai kottai / Telugu - Anapa kayalu or Ginjalu
Kindly comment me if you know the translation for val dal in your language.


Mochai kottai puli kulambu / Mochai kai kara kulambu:

Ingredients:
Mochai kottai / val dhal - 1 cup
Baby Brinjal - 4
Drumstick (vegetable) - 1
Tomato - 2
Tamarind - small lime size
Red onion - 1 (chopped)
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
sambar powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp

Preparation:
(If you are using the fresh beans then just start from the method.
otherwise go for pre soaking.)
Dry roast the mochai kottai, till u see dark spots on the outer layer and a nice aroma.
Then rinse it with water twice. Add water till it gets well immersed. Soak overnight or an hour.
Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
(we can cook it in stove top also, but it will take an hour).

Method:
Cut drumstick into 2 inch pieces and make a small slit in each piece.
Cut the eggplant / brinjal into small pieces.
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract juice using 2 cups of water.
Heat oil in a pan.
Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida.
Add the cut chopped onion and fry till it becomes mild red.
Then add the chopped tomato and fry till becomes mushy.
Then add the tamarind juice ,salt, the chilly powder, Turmeric , coriander powder and Sambar powder.
Let it boil till the raw smell of tamarind vanishes.
Now add the cut vegetables with 2 cups water (use drained water from the cooked dal) and cook till the vegetables become tender.
Then add the cooked val dhal (mochai kottai) and bring it to a boil.
Some people love to add some ground coconut paste in this stage. But even without coconut this kulambu will be great.
switch off and serve hot.
Mochai kottai kulambu is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 500 ml of Puli kulambu.
It can be served for 5 people.
Serve hot with steamed rice and and any vegetable side dish or with egg omlete.

Awards:
I am very much excited when two of my friends Pryia of Priya's Sourashtrian kitchen and Shama of Easy2cook recipes passed me this beautiful award.

Thank you friends. I feel honored.
I think it is appropriate to pass on this award to all who visit me. Feel free to pick it up , buddies.
Enjoy!

Event:
Sending this 'Mochai kottai kulambu' to Shama's 'Village special' (Giramathu kaimanam), an innovative way to bring out the best from our native places. Hope this suits the event. My hearty wishes to Shama to conduct the event successfully.

Rava Kesari

Yellow color rava kesari is my favorite.

Rava kesari is the classic Indian dessert appreciated along with breakfast.
Moreover we can classify the 'Rava kesari' as the trade mark of TamilNadu's weddings and auspicious occasions. (I am not sure , if it is a must in other parts of India / if it is called by other name...). We can tell it as a dessert served along with breakfast or with fried items like bajji, sojji, vadai and filter coffee in the evening. .
The very sight of the server coming with a big vessel filled with 'ghee flavored' Rava kesari would make many lips to bloom.
Then only all will turn their attention towards the fluffy Idlies, the ghee smeared Venn Pongal and Uthappam served with piping hot sambar and chutney , on the tender banana leaf.
Traditionally it is made in saffron color by adding the food color.
But many make it in yellow color also.
It is the tradition to serve the sweet before all the items. (But the guests would be waiting to get the meal served completely before tasting).
Guests should be encouraged a lot to go for more and more servings while not asking so points out the lack of care for the guests, as the Indian tradition emphasizes treating the guest like God , irrespective of anything.

There is a poem / kural in Tamil from the famous Thirukkural written by Thiru Valluvar (virudhombal 10)
"Moppak kuzhiyum anichham;mugamthirindhu
Nokkak kuzhaiyum virundhu"
This kural (poem) compares the delicate nature of the guests with the rare and tender flower called 'anicham' which will wilt even when we smell it.
How nice . right. So it is the Indian culture to serve the guests even before they ask for more:)

Anyway the lingering taste of kesari will bring back the memories of so many unforgettable weddings and occasions to us.
Have a sweet weekend!

Special Note:
I got this recipe from a small scale but successful caterer in Tirunelveli,TN, India. If you want to make a fool proof one , just read the highlighted lines carefully. This recipe has helped me a lot while making bulk quantities, as it will not demand any muscle work like the home made version:)

Using bright orange food color in kesari is more traditional.

Rava kesari to celebrate Baby Jesus' Birthday, the Christmas, 2011

Ingredients:

Ravai / rava / semolina / sooji - 1/2 cup
water - 1.5  cups (thrice that of rava)
sugar - 1 cup (twice that of rava)
cashewnuts - 10
raisins - 15
ghee - 2 tsp
orange / yellow food color - 1/8 tsp
Cardamom - 4
(Powder the cardamom and discard the skin. (I put the skin in to the tea).)

Method:

Heat a thick wok / pan , which has a proper tight lid.

Then heat a tsp of ghee and fry the broken cashews , raisins one by one and keep aside.

Take out.

In the same pan add 1 more tsp ghee. 

Add ravai.

Dry roast the rava till a very few (not every particle)turns a mild red with a nice aroma.
Transfer it to a dry plate.

Add 3 cups of water in the same pan and let it come to a boil.

Add sugar.
Then add the food color and mix well.

As the water starts bubbling , reduce the flame (almost near switch off point).

Now add the rava in a wide spread manner . Do not put as lump in one place . 

Add it slowly without stirring and cover it tightly with a lid.

Add the fried cashews and raisins and cardamom powder.

Cook Covered in LOW HEAT.

Allow the rava to be cooked in that low heat .

Do not stir the kesari now, as it may create lumps.

After 5 minutes open and check if all the water has been absorbed by the rava.

 

Mix gently.

Perfect Rava kesari is ready !

 Rava kesari starts leaving the sides of the wok.  The end product should not be dry but somewhat sticky.
Rava kesari is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert along with breakfast or evening tea and spicy snacks.

Serves 6 people.

Indian style deep fried Chicken .

This is an authentic recipe for deep fried chicken. Long before the chicken 65 and kebabs starts showing up, this old version has been decorating the festive platters in India. There is an interesting story behind it also.
I heard this from my mom's aunt, my grandma who lived in Tuticorin, TN, India. She was an out spoken lady , blessed with great hospitality too. No one would return hungry / sad from her house and that was her motto also.
While preparing this fry, she told us how the women in lesser fortunate families prepared this fry. It occupied my mind and always wonder how they sustained a healthy relationship with such a big family. Lot to know:)
Coming to the story.....
In those days people lived in joint families or had a lot of kids. So ladies would secure some nice eatables and preserve them for the hubby who comes late after many have finished dinner and gone to bed. (Some 60-70 years back, people would prefer to sleep by sunset... funny.huh!).
While making the Kozhi kulambu , the lady of the house would drop all the chicken pieces in to the kulambu. Later on she would pick up a few pieces and preserve them for her hubby . Even though the elders knew it, they would pretend as they didn't watch them:) Good in-laws and lucky DIL ! As soon as the man arrived / takes bath , she would brush the cooked chicken pieces with the masalas and deep fry them to win over her his love. The man would have dinner in the vast kitchen itself and would leave a share for the wife .
You may ask about the others in the family , but the story ends here depicting the poverty and joint family culture at that time.
What a romantic citation . Right. .
Though these kind of stories may seem funny , we can understand the cravings of common people when hotels and restaurants were rare.
Here goes the recipe...



Ingredients:
Chicken drumstick - 4
Lemon juice / vinegar / curd - 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly garlic paste - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 cup

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken drumsticks with some Turmeric powder.
Cut a few small slits on it or prick it with fork.
Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the chicken along with ginger garlic paste, Turmeric powder, salt and cook till the meat becomes tender.
Filter and reserve the soup for any other purpose or discard.
In a large mixing bowl add all the other ingredients except oil and mix well.
After the chicken pieces get cooled, add it to the masala prepared.
Heat oil in a wok.
After it reaches the smoking point, reduce flame and carefully slip the chicken pieces one or two at a time.
Fry till the outer layer turns red.
Then take it out using a slotted spatula and drain oil on paper towels.
Indian style deep fried chicken drumsticks is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with any rice + non veg kulambu / rice + sambar / or as starter with Indian breads.

Short cut:
We can just drop the cleaned drumsticks while making a chicken curry and take them out after 10 minutes. Then let it cool , mix with the masala in the bowl and deep fry. In this way we can reduce the wastage of soup and minimise the effort to make a ginger garlic paste separately.

Kozhi kulambu.

Kozhi (pronounce as koli) is the Tamil translation for chicken. Before the arrival of the broiler chickens in India, the home grown chickens would sense a tough time during the festival days .Yes , it is true, there was a time when people would not get chicken from grocery stores. Instead the lady of the house should have a strong mind to process the bird. My mom being a fragile lady, used to instruct the maid to finish all the processing outside our gate and to bring the cut pieces. So having chicken curry would be a distant dream for those chicken hearted people in that period. But getting goat meat was not that difficult, as there would be ample shops selling them.
Nowadays we are very lucky to have chicken in any time of the year.
But definitely we miss the native style 'kozhi kulambu' prepared with country chicken (Nattu Kozhi). Any way I tried to make the most of what I get to bring back those memories.
I prepared this Kulambu for Easter dinner along with rice and deep fried drumsticks.




Ingredients:
Chicken (with bone) - 1/2 kg (1 lb)
salt - to taste / 2 tsp
water - 5 cups
oil - 4 tbsp
Fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp

To chop separately:
Red onion - 2 (100 gms)
Roma tomato / vine tomato - 4
curry leaves - 1 brig
cilantro - 1 handful
mint leaves - 1 handful

To Dry roast and powder: 
(we can add 1 tbsp garam masal powder instead of this step)
Pepper corn - 1/2 tsp

coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
Cardamom (Elakkai) - 2
Cloves (Kirambu) - 4
Cashew - 10


To wet grind:
Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 4 pearls

To grind(optional)::
coconut - 1 long piece (1/2 cup shredded)
cumin - 1 tsp




Powders :
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken pieces in running water.Apply some turmeric powder and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a deep pan and add 1 tsp fennel seeds (sombu).
After it turns red , add the curry leaf ,chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomato, green chilli, cilantro , mint leaves, curry leaves and cook till they becomes mushy with oil starts showing up.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and stir it well for 30 seconds.
(Adding the ginger garlic paste after the tomato is a good idea to prevent charring of ginger-garlic paste).
Now put the chicken pieces and stir it for 2 minutes.
Grind the roasted spices along with coconut (optional). We can do this without coconut also. But coconut removes the strong chicken flavor and imparts a sweet smell.
Add water along with the powders, salt.
Then cook the chicken till it becomes tender (simply in a tightly closed vessel).
Check for salt.
The chicken kulambu should be thinner than the chicken gravy .
Kozhi kulambu is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot as side dish with paratha /Idly / aapam / thicker dosa / ghee rice / coconut milk rice / plain rice.
Serves 6 people.

Happy New Year

Today is the traditional New Year for Tamil people. Many are trying to celebrate it on Pongal day. I am cherishing my memories , when people had elaborate festivities in Temples on those days and finished preparing Idly , sarkarai pongal, sambar and a koottu. Any way my hearty wishes for a Happy New Year for those who celebrate it.

The Lent season and Easter.

Hi friends,

Wish to brief a bit about the Lent days and the Easter we celebrated.
The Lenten season started with Ash Wednesday . Many people choose to remain vegetarians throughout the season. Actually I planned for a more silent Lent season with meditation and prayer. I had a theme called Sufferings of Jesus. Surprisingly I was able to concentrate more on the 'Stations of Cross' (the Fourteen stages from which Jesus was accused , suffered and crucified) on those days.
This 'Stations of cross' prayer has a lot of meaning , recommended for people who wish to view the worldly things with a good perspective.

The holy week started with the Palm Sunday (on 04-05-2009).
We got some palm leaves as a symbol of greeting and welcoming Jesus. It is a custom to make crosses out of them to keep inside the house for an year.
The next year we have to return them to the Church, where the dried leaves are burnt to make ashes to distribute on Ash Wednesday.


The day before Good Friday is called the 'Maundy Thursday' and it refers to Holy Thursday, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist (holy bread and wine representing the body and blood of Jesus) at the last supper, and also commemorates the washing of the Apostles feet, the word Maundy comes from the Latin word Mandatum which means commandment,Jesus said to His Apostles `A new commandment I give you,Love one another as I have loved you`.

On Good Friday, we had fasting till afternoon and had simple meals after that.
I prepared 'Koottan Choru' (a one pot meal) and Paruppu thovaiyal (fried dhal chutney).
Then we went for a small drive and I bought the marshmallow candies shaped like chicken along with Jelly bean eggs and marshmallow bunny to decorate the Easter cake.
Then attended the Good friday Mass with 'Stations of cross', a procedure / representation staged by the school children of St.Cecelia Church. That was a wonderful presentation by the kids. Everyone applauded the troop.
The we came home by 10 Pm , had mild dinner and slept.

The Saturday is the day of expectation and to bless the food in Church. In India we won't go for a blessing of food. I ran very late on cake decoration and cooking. I was not able to finish cooking 11Am . So we didn't take it for a blessing. Simply Prayed with the prepared food in our house itself.
The menu was chicken kulambu, authentic Chiken fry, raitha, rice and carrot cake. other recipes will be coming soon:)
Thanks to Premy's cake for her wonderful cake decoration ideas. They were very useful for me.


In the night , we attended the grand Easter Mass in the St. Cecelia Church of Iselin. That was a lovely Mass and the church was decorated with white flowers and the resurrected Jesus. There was a Baptism ceremony in the pond , while everyone of us confirmed the faith again. Then we returned very late at night.

The next day , that is on the Easter day we visited the orchid show in the Botanical garden, Bronx, NY. The travel was very tiresome , had to take 3 trains and a bus to reach the show. Car parking , toll and traffic were enormous .so we chose to travel by public transit. It was a very worthy journey ,as I was able to relax and enjoy the views:)
Reached the show by noon. It was very very spectacular one, a rare show and a must to see. I have never seen such a vast collection of orchid flowers in one place. The garden was so big and the freezing breeze restricted us to explore other places.
Yet enjoyed the Easter day in the NY and came home for a goodnight sleep.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

Moghlai Kichidi (Green gram rice)

While searching for a rice recipe with green gram , I came across this wonderful kichidi from the web.
I was blown over by the title Moghlai Kichidi and I am sure no one can deny the delicious pulaos and kichidis from Moghlai recipes. Surprisingly the end result resembled much like a biryani to me .
In the original recipe they soaked the Basmati rice and green gram for 2 hours before cooking. I used brown Basmati rice (soaked for 2 hours) and sprouted green gram. Brown Basmati rice has a lot of fiber content and so it can be used as a best substitute for white rice.
Here goes the recipe.



Ingredients:
Organic Brown Basmati Rice - 1 cup
sprouted green gram - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 (chopped)
green chillis - 4 (slitted)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 3 pods
cilantro , mint leaf - a handful
Bay leaf - 2
salt - to taste
oil - 2 tbsp
To powder:
shahi Jeera - 1/2 tsp
cloves - 3
cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
To temper:
curry leaves - 1 brig
cashew nuts - 10
ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
1. Wash and soak rice for 1 hour.
Soak green gram overnight.

2. Make a powder of the items given.
Chop onion, tomato and green chilli.
Make a coarse paste of cilantro, mint leaf, ginger and garlic. Keep aside.

3.Heat oil in a pan, put the bay leaf. Then add onion and green chillies till they become soft.
Then add the tomato and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and bay leaf.

4. Fry till the raw smell goes. Add the spices powder and mix.

5. To this, add the soaked rice and green gram. Add the salt and fry till the rice turns a bit white.
Then add water just enough to immerse everything. Cover and cook in very low flame till done.
If all the water is sucked add little more water if necessary.

6. Garnish with cashew nuts and curry leaves fried in ghee.

Moghlai kichidi is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Cooking time : 1 hour.
Serves 2.
Enjoy with any raitha.

Moghlai Kichidi goes to Trupti's CFK - Rice event. Cooking for Kids event is a master mind of Sharmi of Neivedyam. This kichidi full of fiber is good to overcome obesity and other related problems. Hope all the kids like my Brown Basmati - Moghlai Kichidi.

Simple Tomato koottu (Thakkali koottu)

Many may be very familiar with a side dish made with tomato. Just posting this for the new chefs and for my record.
This is one of the most simple but delicious dishes made by my mom. I always consider this koottu as my mom's signature dish. Though the version seems so simple, I have never achieved the mom's touch in this koottu.
Whenever my mom ran out of any vegetables in her fridge, then she used to make a simple dhal and this thakkali koottu along with rice. I always love these kind of quick to fix recipes, as they won't demand me to stay in the hot stove for long hours. Just a gentle serving on plain steamed rice can do the magic. Good for a lazy cook. huh:)
A very simple dish but surely a mouthwatering one.

Thakkali koottu.

Ingredients:
Ripen Tomato - 4 (250 gms)
Green chilli - 4
Shallot onion - 6
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig.

Method:
Chop the onion and tomato very finely and keep separate.
Heat oil in a wok.
Put the mustard seeds and after they crackle add the chopped onion, slitted green chillies, curry leaf . Fry till the onion gets soft. (Not red).
Then add the chopped tomato , 1/2 cup water, salt and cook covered, till the tomato turns mushy.
After the tomato gets cooked completely, add the cumin seeds, shredded coconut and heat for a minute. The consistency should be like a thick curry.
Switch off flame.
Tomato koottu is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Goes well with chapathi , plain rice , curd rice, any sambar rice.
Serves 4 people.
Time taken : 15 minutes.

Note:
The Vine tomato, Indian country tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes add more taste to this koottu.
But the Bangalore tomato or Roma tomato won't bring the real flavor.

Green peas Masala

If you have some frozen peas lying in your freezer and you want to fix something jazzy for the dinner, then here is a peas masala curry in just 10 minutes. It is one of my favorite curries because of its simplicity and lingering taste.
If planned properly, this dish can be done by soaking (5-6 hrs) the dried peas also.
But cooking the dry peas may take a lot of time:(
It tastes great if prepared with fresh peas with pods. I love buying them with pods because i think it is really a fun to remove the crunchy pods:) and to see the green pearl like peas inside.

Green peas masala curry / pachai pattani curry (Tamil)/ Sweet peas masal.



Ingredients:
Green peas (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
chopped onion - a handful
curry leaf - 1 brig.
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomato - 1
oil - 1 tbsp
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
water - 1/4 cup

Method:
Remove the pods and collect the green peas. (If frozen peas are used, then defrost them in running water).Wash them in running water.
Heat oil in a kadai.
Add a tsp of fennel seeds. After it turns red, add the chopped onions and curry leaves.
Fry till the onion becomes tender. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Then goes the chopped tomato and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now put the green peas ,salt, chilli powder,cumin, coriander powder, turmeric and 1/4 cup water.
Cook covered until done.
In just 10 minutes Green peas masala is ready.
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Serving suggestions:
Serves 2 people.
Good to go with chapathi, naan, vegetable pulao, any rice dish.

Pasta Soup

After posting a lot of authentic Indian dishes , I felt like giving something easy like a one pot meal with Pasta. We can make innumerable dishes with Pasta, but this soup is my very own invention:). No need to add any cheese / cream / ranch .The vegetables, nutrition makes it a whole meal and ofcourse a mild dinner after a generous evening snack.
So here goes a pasta dish, Just for a change.



Ingredients:
Pasta (whole wheat) - 1/2 cup (sea shell or Conchiglie Pasta)
Corn (frozen) - 2 tbsp
Frozen peas - 2 tbsp
Shredded cabbage - 1/2 cup
Minced Onion - 2 tbsp
Carrot (shredded) - 1/2 cup
water - 4 cups
Corn flour / All purpose flour - 1 tsp
Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp
To grind:
garlic - 2 pods
Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Bring to boil 4 cups of water. Then add the pasta , cook it for 10 minutes. Then add the ground items and vegetables given above.
Cook till the pasta becomes soft.
Then goes the tomato sauce.Add salt to taste.
Dissolve the corn flour in 1/4 cup water and add it to the soup.
Bring to a boil and switch off immediately.

Serving suggestions:
Serves 2 adults.
Serve with a dash of freshly ground Black pepper.

Paruppu Urundai Kulambu (Lentil dumpling curry)

Happy Ugadi to all of you my friends!

'Paruppu Urundai kulambu'(Tamil) is an authentic South Indian recipe , with a lot of lentils and flavor. There are many versions. Basically we need to make a masal vadai batter and it is common in all the recipes. But the base curry can be a sambar like gravy or a spicy kuruma or a tamarind based curry or even a curd based curry (More kulambu) .
Also click to see my Paruppu urundai kuruma kulambu, with garam masala. 
and vadai more kulambu / paruppu urundai more kulambu
Moreover making the Urundai / ball also varies by region . Some people fry / steam cook the batter balls and add it to the curry , while the experts simply drop the raw balls in the boiling curry to cook it in that gravy itself.
I do not prefer dropping the raw balls in to the gravy, as it may not be successful always. The safest way is to steam cook the balls before adding to the curry.

All the above versions are unique and will taste great in its own way.
I am narrating here a tamarind based curry with steam cooked dhal balls.



To make the puli kulambu / Tamarind curry:
Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1 small key-lime size
red onion - 1
Tomato - 1
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
oil - 1 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
sambar powder - 1 tsp (optional)
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a pan.
Crackle the mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves, cumin and asafoetida.
Add the chopped onion and fry till it becomes soft.
Then add the chopped tomato and cook till it becomes mushy.
Then pour the tamarind extract.
As soon as it starts boiling , add 2 cups water , chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder ,salt and close tightly with a lid.
Cook till the raw smell goes.The curry should be thin like rasam in this stage.
Put off fire and keep aside.

To make the paruppu urundai /Dal balls /lentil dumplings:
Ingredients:
Channa dhal/ Bengal gram lentil - 1 1/2 cup.
salt - to taste (1 tsp full)
ginger - 1 inch
onion - 1/2 cup
curry leaves- 1 brig
coriander leaves (chopped)- 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 3
cooking oil-250 ml. for frying (If we are making the balls by frying. I steam cooked)

Method:
Soak the dhal for 1 hour in water.
Drain the water.
Grind it in to a coarse mixture with red chillies, salt. Put it in a mixing bowl.
Wash the mixer / grinder with 1/2 cup of water and keep aside. This water will thicken the curry.
Chop the onion, ginger, cilantro and curry leaves and mix them with the dhal mixture.
Make small balls out of the mixture (in the size of a lemon). Keep 2 tbsp of batter without cooking. Mix this batter with the water we reserved from washing the mixer / blender.
Steam boil them in Idly baking style. (or) Deep fry them in oil (or) Bake in oven at 375 c for 30 minutes.

Now bring the base curry we made to a boil, add the batter paste we got.Add the steamed lentil balls . After the curry starts becoming thick put off fire. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Paruppu urundai kulambu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Makes 15 big size lentil balls.
Can be served for 5 people.
Serve hot over cooked rice. There is no need to make any extra dish, as we already have the yummy urundais soaking in the curry as side dish.

Sukku (Dry ginger ) Kulambu - (veg)

Dry ginger (sukku in Tamil)in Kulambu can be very new to many, but it has a lot of curative properties in digestive ailements.We can call this as a native Indian kulambu.Dried ginger is one of the best ingredients that can be included in our cooking for the sake of our family's health.
It is also used as a medicine for people suffering from low body temperatures (chilling in hand and feet), body pain, laziness, common cold (not fever) etc.
Basically people add brinjal or boiled egg or fish to this gravy.
But I am presenting the basic sukku kulambu.
My mom used to make this kulambu atleast once in a month during rainy season and I love it very much while my brothers keep a long face:). This is her recipe and may be passed on from many generations back.

Marunthu kulambu / Medicinal kulambu /Sukku kulambu/ Dry ginger gravy.



Ingredients:
Dry ginger - 1 piece (index finger length)
or Dry ginger powder - 2 tbsp
(soak the dry ginger in hot water for an hour before grinding. I used the ginger powder sold in Indian stores).
Shredded coconut - 1 tbsp (a must)

To roast and grind:
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
fenugreek / methi seed - 1/2 tsp
fennel/ sombu - 1/2 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper corn - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 brig

To temper:
Black pepper corn - 1 tsp
curry leaf - few
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup

other ingredients:
Shallot Onion - 10
Garlic - 10 pods
Tamarind - 2 inch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
asafoetida / hing - a pinch
salt - to taste

Method:
1.Heat a wok without oil.Dry roast the given items till the curry leaf becomes crispy. Cool them.
Grind them along with soaked dry ginger and coconut into a fine paste with little water.

2.chop the skinned onion and garlic . keep them separately.
Extract juice from tamarind.

3.Heat oil in a wok.
Add the curry leaves and pepper. Pepper may crack, so carefully stand a few steps back:). After the curry leaf becomes crispy, add the onion , asafoetida and saute till the onion turns red.

4.Then add the garlic and saute for a while. Then add the tamarind extract, Turmeric powder, salt .

5.After the raw smell of tamarind goes , add the masala paste and cook covered in very low flame.
(In this stage , we can add brinjal / fish / egg. But I have made a plain sukku kulambu).

6.After the gravy becomes thick and oil starts showing up in the edges, put off the flame.
Sukku kulambu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The kulambu will have a very mild bitter taste in the end, but that will change after one hour of settling time.
The above said quantity yielded me 16 oz/ 450 ml / 2 cup of kulambu approximately.
Good to go with plain cooked rice or chapathi / dosa / idly.
We can make some extra quantity and can be safely refrigerated for 1 week.
I love it with chapathi:)

Bottlegourd sambar

This is another variety of sambar prepared without sambar powder or Red chillies.It is something similar to my another post 'village paruppu kulambu'.Indian medicine prescribes people suffering from arthritis , menorrhagia and few other problems to avoid tamarind for a certain length of time (or) while taking Indian medicines .
But many of the Indian dishes are based on tamarind only. So our ancestors used to prepare these kind of curry (kulambu) as 'pathiya kulambu ' (meaning - the diet curry) without tamarind and spices. Many a times people have to sacrifice the sour taste completely to get cured in such cases. They never prefered tempering also:)
But my version is a tasty but mild sambar.


Bottle gourd Sambar / Surai kai Sambar / Surai kai puli Illatha sambar / Sambar without tamarind and red chilly



Ingredients:
Bottle gourd - 1 (350 gm)
Thoor dhal (Red gram)- 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1
Green chilly - 5
Tomato - 2 (50 gms)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 pods
asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste - 1 brig
curry leaf
Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Method:
1.Wash and clean the red gram (Toor dhal). Pressure cook the dhal with chopped onion, garlic, green chilly, Turmeric powder and asafoetida to 5 whistles.

2.Wash the bottle gourd. Slice it in to rounds. Remove the skin and chop them into small cubes. Add 2 cups of water and cook it covered.

3.Microwave the tomatoes with skin On. (Or)Put the tomatoes on boiling water.Remove the skin.
Mash the cooked tomatoes and add it to the cooked bottle gourd.

4.Mash the cooked dhal along with cumin seeds and add it to the cooked vegetables.
Add salt to taste.

5.Tempering:
Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. After it starts crackling add 1 brig curry leaves and a handful of chopped onion.
Fry real good , till you get a nice aroma and red color in the onions.
Run it over the cooked dhal + vegetables and bring to boil.
Immediately switch off the flame after it starts to boil.

Bottle gourd sambar is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Good to go with Idly , dosa, roti or on cooked rice.
Makes nearly 1 liter of sambar.
cooking time : 30 minutes.

Brinjal serwa

Being a lover of nature (just call me crazy, ha ha) , I have the habit of googling the images of many flowers and vegetables:). Lets say that is my only one way to quench my thirst. While doing so , I bumped into an interesting article about 'Mullu kathirikai',(meaning - brinjal with few tender thorn like attachment) a native brinjal grown in Vellore of TamilNadu. Guess it would be the most yummiest brinjal one can ever taste. I am also one among those luckiest people who had the chance to taste it, while I was in Chennai. That is a unique variety of brinjal with few thorns in its outer skin. But unlike all other brinjal , it will never show any bitter taste. After cooking we can compare the taste like that of a butter melting in the mouth:)
Then I googled again if I can find an authentic recipe with it. Interestingly the first link showed up belonged to Malar of Kitchen Tantra. The name of the recipe is 'Kathirikai serwa' and we can get this dish as a side dish along with Ambur / vellore / kushka biriyani in Madras. I have tasted it in restaurants but never knew the exact recipe. The end result was so good, that my hubby couldn't control himself on seeing his favorite dish.




The whole recipe belongs to Malar and here is the link for the original Vellore serwa recipe from her. She has a vast collection of unique Indian dishes. If you are a great Non-veg fan or looking for some authentic south Indian dishes , then I strongly recommend you to visit her blog.
(Original recipe Posted by Malar Gandhi at Sunday, April 27, 2008 )

Ingredients:
To Grind:
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 4 pods
Scallions - 2
Country tomato - 4 (1/2 lb)

To Powder:
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
(I added 1 tsp sesame seeds because I ran out of sesame oil. But if you are using the sesame oil, you can leave the seeds).

For Tempering:
Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Cumin - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup

For Serwa:
Indian Eggplants - 1/2 lb .
Green chilies - 3 slitted
onion - 1 sliced
Salt
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
tamarind extract - 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and clean the brinjal. Remove the stem, but retain the bracts.
slice them legthwise along with bracts (crown).

Dry roast the items given to powder and make a fine powder.
Grind the ginger, garlic , tomato , chopped onion (2 tbsp) together.

In an iron wok, heat up oil. Add tempering spices, followed by chillies and onions. Fry real good till onions turn golden. Add salt to hasten the process.

Now add ground ingredients and fry till raw odour leaves the pan.

Followed by sliced eggplants. Mix well.

Add Turmeric ,tamarind , salt and chilli powders . Cover and cook till the vegetables become tender and oil shows up on sides.

Then add powdered spices and bring to one boil, remove from heat. Care should be taken not to break the brinjal while cooking.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with biriyani , any rice or rotis.
Makes nearly 500 ml of thick gravy.
serves 5 generous helpings.
Time taken for the entire process: 30 minutes.

Curry leaf chutney (dipping )

Happy St.Patrick's Day!
I am very glad to post something green on this day.
I wish to make a post on some herb for Weekend Herb Blogging event started by Kalyn and now conducted by Halo . This week it is hosted by Yasmeen of Health Nut. Congrats dear!
The herb I have chosen is the curry leaf (Botanical name: murraya koenigi).
Hope this curry leaf chutney suits the event.

(courtesy : google images)
The curry leaf plant belongs to shrub variety and is a native of India ,Sri Lanka in Asia.
Where to find it? In all Indian stores. Globally they call it as curry leaf in English.
What is the price? Up to my knowledge , we can get a small pack of curry leaf (just enough to make this chutney) for one dollar in USA.
How to select them? Choose fresh and tender leaves.
Medicinal value:
It is used to treat kidney disorders, digestive disorders, premature grey hair, premature aged look, skin problems, nausea, vision disorders etc.
In case of a digestive upset, buttermilk enriched with the paste of curry leaves, common salt and cumin seed powder is recommended.

But the most popular dish recommended for diabetic patients, weight loss stimulant, beauty therapy is to make chutney / dipping out of it.
Because the curry leaves just like any other herb will tend to loose its medicinal value on overheating. Moreover each and every ingredient in this chutney will help our body to absorb the nutrients from the curry leaf.

Here is the recipe.

Curry leaf chutney / curry leaf dipping.

Ingredients:
Curry leaf - 15 sprigs (1 pack)
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
Tamarind extract - 1/2 tsp
green chilly - 3
cilantro leaf - a handful
garlic - 1 pod
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Remove the center stem in each brig and take the curry leaves alone.
Wash the cilantro and curry leaves in running water.
Remove the skin of garlic.
In a blender / mixer add all the above and grind them to a fine thick paste with very little water.
Curry leaf chutney is ready!

Notes: Do not temper the chutney as it may reduce the medicinal values.
We can add 3 drops of lime instead of tamarind juice.
Cilantro can be omitted , but it enhances the flavor.
Shredded coconut can be substituted by coconut milk, if you are using it as a dipping. But authentic chutney will have shredded coconut as the thickening agent.
Fresh garlic and cumin helps in absorption of the nutrients from the curry leaf.
Reduce the green chilly to suit your taste buds.

Serving suggestions:
In India it is Served as side dish / dipping for Idly , dosa, rice, roti.
It can also be used as spread on sandwiches and pizzas.
we can make it in advance and mix a pinch with buttermilk for a healthy drink.

If you want to know more about curry leaves , here are some links:
Medicinal values of curry leaf.
Curry leaf in Ayurveda.
curry leaf - other names.

Unripe Papaya koottu

Hope even now every house in an Indian village will be blessed with a curry leaf ,papaya and drumstick tree in the backyard.
No one can deny the health aspects we derive from a kitchen garden and the amount of satisfaction we get from the home-grown vegetables. Personally I believe a lot that having some plants in our garden / indoor pots will boost our energy level and balance the ecosystem soon. So if you wish to leave a healthy world to our future generation, kindly introduce the gardening skills to the kids.
That is why our elders could have educated us to worship the main tree in the Hindu temples (sthala virutcham).Lovely way to appreciate the Mother Nature. Isn't it!

I remember the days when guests visit my dad's house surprisingly in odd hours.
(Those were the days when people considered comforting the guests as service to God.
But unfortunately, they won't be having enough vegetables in stock or any restaurants nearby like us. So they will try to find a quick fix meal to serve the guest within half an hour.)
Immediately my mom would serve them a tall glass of cool butter milk flavored with curry leaf and sea salt / hot tea according to the outside weather.
Then while our dad / grandpa talking with them and we (the kids...that time ..ha ha) digging into their gifts , mom would run to the backyard to reach out some drumsticks and an unripe papaya.
Then what? mom could have finished an entire array of piping hot rice with ghee, vatral kulambu or green gram sambar , papaya koottu with some appalam / egg.
What could be more pleasing than this simple home made meal for our surprise guest!!
Hope every one likes this koottu:)

Unripe Papaya koottu / Papali kaai koottu




Ingredients:
Unripe papaya - 1 (350 gms)
Channa dhal (Bengal gram)- 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste
To grind:
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
green chilly - 2
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
To temper:
oil - 1 tsp
Chopped onion - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Soak the channa dhal for 30 minutes.

2.Select a matured but unripe papaya.
Wash and clean the papaya.
Quarter it and remove the seeds along with its hairy fiber.
Remove the skin with a knife and wash the pieces again, so as to remove any milk like fluid from the outer layer.
Chop the papaya in to small cubes.

3.Pressure cook the channa dhal along with papaya, a cup of water and Turmeric powder to 3 whistles.
Put off flame and wait till the pressure gets released.

4.Grind coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds together.

5.Take a vessel with lid. Add the cooked papaya + dhal and ground mixture.
Bring them to a boil.Add salt to taste.

6. In the same time, heat oil in a wok.
Splutter the mustard seeds, then add the curry leaf and finely chopped onion.
Fry them till the onion turns red and crispy.
Add this tempering to the boiling papaya and put off flame.

Unripe papaya koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Good to go as side dish with any roti or paratha or south Indian rice dishes.

Note:
1.Green papaya is believed to be harmful for pregnant women.
2.A small piece of green papaya added to the meat will make it tender and the meat will get cooked very fast. So it can be used as a meat tenderiser.

Coconut milk rice

I am very sure this is a well known dish to many. But posting it just to recollect my favorite rice recipe.
I got introduced to this coconut milk rice from my mom's friend, Mrs.Noohu. She lived in another town called kayalpattinam (TN, India), some miles away from my dad's house. Mom told me that , the aunt used to stay with and comfort my mom when she conceived us. During Ramzan and other other festival days she would not be able to travel so far to share her amazing dishes. So whenever she visits us, she would love to cook /teach so many fabulous dishes for my mom. Mom took note of those recipes and preserved them as treasure. The following rice is also one among them.
We call it as 'thengai paal choru ' that means 'rice cooked in Coconut milk'. Just like the ghee rice, they serve it along with any spicy non veg curry during the special occasions.
Here goes the recipe for the 'Thengai paal choru'.



Thengai paal choru/ coconut milk rice/ Thangai pal saatham

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice / Jeeraga samba unboiled rice - 2 cup
Shredded coconut - 1 cup
(or) canned thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup
water - 3 cups
water measurement for open vessel cooking and rice cooker :(number of cups of rice x 2) - 1 = (2x2)-1 = 3
Onion- 1 (or) Shallot - 10
cloves - 2
cardamom - 1
cinnamon - 1 inch
Bay leaf - 2
cashew nut - a handful or more
oil - 1 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Method:
Step 1:
Measure the rice using a cup. Wash and clean it. Drain water and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Step 2:
Measure water using the same cup.  Use this water to extract milk from shredded coconut.

Step 3:
Take a big vessel with lid.
Heat it with a tbsp of oil / ghee. Roast the soaked rice till it becomes fragrant (not red). Add the coconut milk and bring to boil .
Add 1/2 tsp salt for every cup of rice and swich off flame.

Step 4:
Chop the onion into thin long slices
In the mean time, heat ghee in a wok.
Fry the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamon .
Then add the cashews and fry them to golden color.
Put the chopped onion and saute them to golden color.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Care should be taken, not to char the mixture.
(otherwise we cannot get a white rice in the end)

Step 6:
Add the fried items to the rice . Cook in very low flame till all the water gets absorbed.
Switch off flame.
Garnish with a handful of chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
Coconut milk rice is ready!

Note:
The rice grains may seem sticky at first .But after an hour of settling time, the oil in the coconut milk will make the grains remain separate and we will get a perfect thengai paal satham.

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity will be comfortably enough for 3-4 people, as we feel very full to have the rice cooked in coconut milk.
Serve hot with any vegetarian or non vegetarian spicy curries.

Alternate method:
Bring water to boil. The quantity of the water should be more than that required to immerse the rice. Add the rice , salt and coconut milk. Cook till the rice gets cooked 90% . Drain the water and garnish like the above said way.

Turkey curry (vaan Kozhli kulambu)

Main Ingredient:
Turkey thighs - 2 lb

To temper:
Onion - 1 (big)
curry leaf - 1 brig
cilantro , mint leaf - a handful
tomato - 2
fennel seeds - 1 tsp

To grind :
Paste 1.
fresh / dry Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 4 pods

Paste 2.
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
poppy seeds - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 2
cloves - 4
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1 tsp

others:
chilly powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Step 1:
Choose Turkey thighs for making a kulambu / gravy. Drumsticks and boneless meat do not taste that good for this preparation.
Wash and clean the turkey . Chop it into big chunks. If possible break the bone into two, so that the curry becomes more soupy.
Place it in a pressure pan.Add water just to immerse the meat.
Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder.
Pressure cook it for 1 whistle, then reduce flame and keep it in low flame for 5 minutes.

Step 2:
Remove the skin of ginger and garlic and grind them to a fine paste.
(If dry ginger is used, soak it 1 for hour before grinding.) Keep aside.
Separately grind the other items given to grind in 2. keep aside.

Step 3:
Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. After it becomes red, add the chopped onion and fry well till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry well.
Then add the cooked turkey pieces along with its soup (water added becomes a soupy liquid).

Step 4:
Now add the Paste 2. Add all the powders mentioned above.
Let it boil till the raw smell vanishes. Check for salt and turn off heat.

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with roti, chapathi or cooked rice.

Kushka

Kushka is a kind of biriyani popular in Madras / Chennai. It is served without the meat / chicken pieces .It is something different from the ghee rice. Mainly the chicken / mutton broth will act as the the flavor enhancer here. Instead of Basmati rice , it is usually made with a rice called 'Jeeraga samba unboiled rice', which is a short grain rice with the flavor of basmati rice. This variety of rice easily absorbs the broth and makes the biriyani more juicy and aromatic. In the restaurants of Chennai, they use the chicken pieces instead of broth and retain the pieces to sell with the chicken biriyani in the end:). I used chicken broth to make this kuska biriyani.
Hubby used to buy this for me weekly once from a typical Biriyani shop. Actually it was a very small business place but famous for its authentic chef and non veg menus:)
The 'dham' style recipe I have narrated below belongs to that chef.
It is my favorite biriyani as I am not much interested in the chicken pieces in biriyani :) . Hi! Don't under-estimate my taste buds.ok. I love well marinated pieces :). So we can count this as a comfort food for people like me.

To make broth:
Chicken - 1/4 kg (with bones)
water - 2 cups
turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Wash and clean the chicken pieces. Pressure cook the chicken with water and turmeric to 5 whistles. Filter the chicken soup alone leaving behind the pieces. We can use the left over pieces to make kuruma along with some potatoes.
Otherwise use a store bought 'clear' broth (Its ok to use , if some vegetable soups are also added). But be sure that it does not contain any flour / carbohydrates in the broth, as it will make the briyani mushy.


Kushka / Kuska briyani / Plain Biriyani



Main Ingredients:
Jeeraga samba raw rice - 1 1/2 cup
Chicken / mutton Broth - 2 cups

Other Ingredients:
Red onion - 2 (medium size)
Tomato - 2
cilantro- 1 handful.
mint leaf -1 handful.
curry leaf - 1 brig
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 5 pods
green chillis - 8 (uncut).
Briyani powder / curry masala powder - 2 tsp
Lemon - 1/4
Fennel - 1 tsp
bay leaves - 2
star aniseed - 1,
cinnamom stick - 2 inch
cardamom - 2
cloves - 4
ghee - 3 tbsp
vegetable oil - 3 tbsp
salt - to taste
pepper powder - 1 tsp

Method:
Step 1:
Wash the rice, drain the water. Leave it for 1/2 an hour on the sieve.

Step 2:
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a broad vessel.
Add fennel ,star aniseed , cinnamon stick,cardamom ,cloves, bay leaf .
And saute a little.
Then goes the chopped onion , green chillies . Fry till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Now add the chopped tomato and cook till the oil oozes out of it.

Step 3:
Now add the rice to the masala prepared and roast it till the rice gets heated .
If it needs some more oil, add the ghee now.
Add the briyani masala / curry masal powder.
Now we can see the rice trying to get fried.

Step 4:
Add the broth and let it come to boil.
Now put the required salt and lemon juice.
Spread finely chopped cilantro, mint leaf, curry leaf , pepper powder and few whole green chillies over the rice.

Ste 5:
Cover it tightly with a lid . Heat a dosa tawa and place the vessel over the tawa.
Bring to boil 10 cups of water in a vessel and place it over the lid.
(In the restaurants they add burning charcoals over the lid, to make 'dhum')
This kind of heating from top and bottom cooks the kushka evenly.
Cook it in slow fire for 90 minutes or till the biryani flavor fills the house:)

Kushka biryani is ready!

Serving suggestions:
The above said quantity can be enough for 2 people.
Serve it with chicken curry and onion raitha.

Note:
Calculate and increase the broth and rice quantity simulatuosly to make for more people.
If you are making this kushka in a bulk quantity, then you cannot measure the rice in cups. So add broth to the roasted rice, so that rice gets completely immersed in the broth and masala. Then proceed as described above.

Bunches of Awards.

Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra has passed me this cute award. Thanks for choosing me dear.


The award states that: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement (? big word, lol). Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Just picking up only eight is a tough job.My friends list is growing like anything. So I randomly choose 8 among them and pass this award.

Asha of Foodie's Hope
Deepa of Simple Home cooking
Gita of Gita's Kitchen
Purva Desai of Purva's Daawat
Solai of Solai's True chettinad Kitchen
Sandhya: Everyday Musings
Vij of A foodie anf her cooking hat
Shyamala Ramanathan Edwards of Food in the Main..
Congrats friends! Enjoy.

Vasha of willow the wisp and Divz of yum world have tagged me to write 25 facts about me. I have to explore me a lot to write this . So I will take some time and write it in course of time friends:) so kindly bear with me. ok?

Chitra of Ratatouille has passed me the following awards. Oh! You are so generous and Thanks a lot my dear.

I am speechless to see your love , my friends. Thanks and hugs to all of you dear.