Simple beans carrot poriyal

Simple stirfries (AKA Poriyal in Tamil) , is  a handy recipe for any Tamil family. Poriyals are made with a simple tadka (tempering) and suits the spicy South Indian curries with rice (whereas the North Indian stir fries would be better with some masalas, as they are used as dippings for roti. Yes, that is one basic difference IMO :).
Mostly I suggest using extra virgin coconut oil in my blog, as per my family's taste. But any cooking oil would do good.
Here is one more interesting way to include beans and carrots in our dish, 'the carrot beans poriyal'.

Carrot beans stir fry

Ingredients:
Carrot - 2 (small)
green beans - 20 (numbers)
shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste.
To Temper:
onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
green chilli - 2
mustard - 1/2 tsp
urid dal - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil / olive oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Chop the carrots into small cubes. Cut the beans into small pieces.
Slit the green chilli into two (or) chop finely.
Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard, urid dal and let the mustard crack.
Then add the chopped onion and saute till it gets tender.
Then add the chopped chillies, beans, carrots. Saute well.
Sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered.
Then add required salt.
It will get cooked in almost 10 minutes in medium heat.
Then add the shredded coconut, cumin and stir well for a  minute.
Switch off.
Carrot beans poriyal is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with rice and any curry like sambar, puli kuzhambu.

Eggplant fry and kitchen garden

Gardening is one of my favorite hobby from childhood. After coming to US, I couldn't understand this weather for a few years and planted only mint, herbs and some flowering plants. Bringing the plants indoor for cold weather and maintaining them is equally interesting but needs more space and knowledge. Then I wanted to grow some seasonal plants (annuals) as if it is a typical kitchen garden. This summer (by June) we bought 3 eggplant seedlings and one tomato plant from the local grocery shop. The apartment has allowed the residents to have some garden space. We planted them in our garden space in downstairs and the plants started growing very fast. I watered them regularly and fed them with home made fertilizer. My neighbors are already much enthusiastic gardeners and hence I started enjoying gardening again with them all. Within 6 weeks we could harvest huge eggplants (18 till now and still coming up) and I made many dishes with that. Also I shared the brinjals with my neighbors and got back some green chillies, long hot pepper (bajji milagai), tomato, spring onion. Our eggplant tastes very good, just like butter (am I boasting now:)). Totally we all enjoyed that buttery creamy delicious home grown brinjals:)
Here is the simple varuval (fry) I made using the second brinjal .... the first one....i picked before it got big, as I didn't realize how big it will grow: )

Eggplant varuval / fry.

Eggplant started showing up and growing.

Eggplants in cluster.

fully grown eggplant shrub.

see the small seeds inside...buttery eggplant.

I weighed each and every brinjal and noted down for fun. The biggest one weighed 584 gm :)

Ingredients: 
Eggplant (big brinjal) - 1 (300 gm)
oil - 2 tbsp
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
onion - 1
garlic - 5 cloves
curry leaf - 1 sprig
red chilly powder - 1.5 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste

Method:
Cut the eggplant into small cubes. Heat oil in a wok and add the fennel. After it gets mild red, add the chopped onion and fry till it gets golden brown. Add the crushed garlic, curry leaf and fry for 10 seconds. Then add the chopped eggplant and stir well. Cook covered with a tbsp of water and low heat till it is well done. Add the chilly powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt and cook covered in low heat for a few minutes.
Switch off before it gets mushy.
Eggplant varuval is ready!

 Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with chapati or any rice.

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.

Potato fry

Potato is a must for us at least once in a week:) Here is my amma's (mom) favorite potato fry, which she would make along with sambar or lemon rice often. She would always use coconut oil in most of the cooking like tempering, that would take this usual potato fry to the next level. I too love the coconut oil flavor in this fry. Try this and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Potato - 4 (200 gm)
red onion - 1
coconut oil - 2 tbsp
fennel - 1 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste

Method:

Peel and cut the potato and onion into small cubes.
Heat oil in a thick bottom wok and add fennel.
After it starts becoming mild red, add the onion and saute till it wilts.
Then add the potato and fry for 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat, add salt and cook covered.
After it is cooked and starts turning little crispy , add the chilly powder and masala powder. Again stir till raw smell vanishes.
Switch off.
Potato fry is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve hot with sambar rice, curd rice, lemon rice or chapathi.
Makes a good side dish for lemon rice for picnics.

Side dish for chapathi - Part 5

Here comes the fifth part of the Vegetarian side dish for Chapathi event. My heartfelt thanks for my friends who made this event a great success by their delicious entries and nice comments . Enjoy !

Besan curry from Saritha of My kitchen's aroma.
Cabbage curry Saritha of My kitchen's aroma

Thanks Saritha.

Sashi of Sashi's recipes presents the following.
Kadai Paneer
Kadai Okra
Channa Masala
Potato Peas Masala

Thanks Sashi.

Alu Channa Tarkari from Shaista Tabrez of Mix calculations.

Shalini Venkatesh has emailed me these yummy recipes. I posted them in my blog on behalf of her.
Aachari Bindhi
Mixed dhal

Thanks Shalini.

The below recipes are from Shama of Easy 2 cook recipes.
Capsicum Tofu masala
cabbage kurma
Baby cabbage gravy

Thanks Shama.
Not only the above, next slide is completely dedicated to Shama's cuisines.

The following entries are also from Shama of Easy 2 cook recipes.
Cauliflower manchurian
Paneer cashew masala
Mushroom masala
spicy potato curry
Paneer potato masala
Coconut milk potato apple gravy
Cauliflower Kurma
Red channa dhal kurma
Tomato kurma
Corn Kurma
Mixed vegetable kurma
Kadala curry

Thanks Shama !

Dry curry from Shanthi Krishnakumar's cook book.

Thanks Shanthi mam.

Paneer Burji from Sheba of Art Food and Travel chronicles.

Thanks Sheba.

Aloo Dum from Shoba Shrinivasan of Anubhavati - Tastes from my kitchen.

Thanks Shoba.

Sireesha of Mom's recipes has presented us the following entries.
Kadhai Bhindi
Matki Chi usal /Moth Beans curry
Navaratna Kurma

Thanks Sireesha.

Sonal Parsai of khane ke shaukeen has sent us the below dishes.
Dum Aloo Kashmiri
Gobi Korma
Sweet and Sour Bitter Melon / karela Fry
Moong Ka Mogar/ Stir Fried Moong Dal

Thanks Sonal.

Dal makhani from Sowmya of Creative saga

Thanks Sowmya.

Sreevalli of Ammaji Recipes has sent the following entries.
Cream Tofu Gravy
Pindi Miriyam

Thanks SreeValli.

SriLakshmi of Annapurna has made the event more gracious with the below entries.
Vegetable Sagu
Chole
Stuffed Capsicum
Shahi Paneer
Methi Aloo
Low Cal Malai Kofta
Kadai Paneer
Capsicum Masala
Baingan Bharta
Potato Curry

Thanks Sri Lakshmi.

Sudha of Malaysian Delicacies presents the following yummy entries.
Cream lentils
Vegetable Dalca
Amritsari Style Dal

Thanks Sudha.

Shahi Paneer from Sunanda of Sunandha's Kitchen.

Thanks Sunanda.

The following dishes are from Supriya of Queen of my kitchen
Bharli Vangi (Maharashtrian style)
Moong Dal Kofta curry

Thanks Supriya.

Sushma Mallya of Authentic Food delights presents the following delicacies.
Paneer Tikka Masala
Rich & Creamy Jain Paneer Makhani
Jatpat subzi

Thanks Sushma.

Trendsetters of Palates and Palettes have sent us the below entries.
Dal Makhani
Ennai Kathirikkai (Stuffed eggplant curry)

Thank you Trendsetters.

Medley Masala Curry from Uma of Telugu Ruchi.

Thanks Uma.

The below entries are from Usha nandhini of Usha Nandhini's recipes.
Stir-fried Cauliflower and Spinach
Tender Coconut Curry
Dal Fry
Paneer Kurma
Lauki Kofta
Muttar Paneer Kheema

Thanks Usha.


Next comes the entries from Vidhas of Appetizing recipes.

Potato Kurma
Double beans gravy
Roti and Rajma
Okhra subzi
kadhi Pakodi
Peanut masala
Mix veg kurma
Baingain ka Bhartha
Tinda Subzi
Jack fruit subzi

Cabbage and Peas curry from Valarmathi of Simple and Yummy recipes.

Vidhya Iyer has presented the following entries.

Channa masala.
Bengan Bartha.
Mattar paneer masala.
Green peas masala
Palak paneer.
Dhum aloo
Dhal

Thanks Vidhya.

Next comes the entries from me, Viki of Viki's kitchen.

Green gram curry
Pattani kurma
Mushroom pepper curry
Channa masala
Poori kilangu masala

Thank you all of you for devoting your precious time to participate in the Side dish for chapathi event. You all made it success.

Happy cooking friends. Enjoy blogging!

White kuruma (vegetarian)

White kuruma is a different variety of kuruma cherished by coconut lovers.
Even though the cooking process won't allow a perfect white color to the kuruma , we call it by the name. My kuruma got a yellow tint from the carrots:) So we can avoid using carrots here to get a more white color.
The coconut and green chillies along with the poppy seeds gives a gorgeous creamy touch to the normal vegetable kuruma. This can be a perfect treat for any person who loves a lesser spicy side dish.

Vellai Kuruma / vegetarian white kuruma:



Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 100 gms (1/4 flower)
Beans - 50 gms (10 number)
carrot - 1
potato - 2 (medium size)
Red onion - 2 (medium size)
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
curd - 1/2 cup
bay leaf - 1
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

paste 1:
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 4 pods

paste 2:
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
green chillies - 6
cashew nut - 5
poppy seed - 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
cardamom - 3
cloves - 5
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch

Method:
Grind ginger and garlic together.

Dry roast the poppy seeds till they make a popping sound.
Grind everything given under paste 2 and keep aside.

Wash peel and cut the vegetables into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan. fry some fennel seeds and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, curry leaves, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add all the vegetables and mix well.
Add 2 cups of water, salt and cook covered till the vegetables become soft.

Then add the paste 2 , curd and mix well.Boil it for one minute and Switch off immediately.
Vellai kuruma is ready!


Serving suggestions:
serve hot with parathas / roti / naan / rice/ pulav .

Kale leaf Stir fry (keerai poriyal)

Drumstick leaves ('Murungai Ilai' in Tamil) happen to be a staple green in most of the houses of Indian villages. People in my native place make it in a unique way by adding powdered rice and fennel seeds (Sombu).Though I do not get the drumstick leaves here, I wanted to record that recipe. The recipe needs a firm green like drumstick leaf. So I replaced it with my favorite kale leaf and it turned out very successful and resembled much like our drumstick leaves.
Here goes a simple stir fry using Kale leaves.




To dry roast and powder:
Any uncooked rice - 1 tbsp
Fennel seed (sombu in tamil) - 1/2 tsp

Heat a wok. Dry roast the rice and fennel till the rice becomes white and puffy.
Let it cool. Make a fine powder out of it in a blender.

Other Ingredients:
Drumstick leaves / kale leaf - a bunch (1/4 kg)
Garlic - 10 pods
red chili - 2
Fresh shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
Shallot - 4
Mustard seed - 1 tsp
Curry leaf - a brig
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp

Method:
1.Take out the leaves leaving the stem.
Wash and clean the leaf very well.
If using kale leaf, chop it in to medium size pieces.
(If drumstick leaves are used, then no need to chop the individual leaves).

2. Heat Oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Then add the chopped shallot onion , curry leaf, broken red chilly , garlic and fry well till the onion turns soft.

3. Now put the greens and fry till the leaf reduce in volume.
Sprinkle some water and cook covered.

4.As soon as the greens get cooked add salt , powdered rice + fennel, shredded coconut and fry really well till all the water gets evaporated.

Kale leaf stir fry is ready!
(Use the same procedure to make drumstick leaves too).

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with any rice.
The above said quantity will be enough for 2 people.
Cooking time : 15 minutes.

Events:
It took just 15 minutes to get the entire dish done. So I am eager to end this kale leaf stir fry to the 15 minutes cooking event hosted by Mahima of Mahimaa's kitchen's.

Also the kale leaf stir fry goes to the SWC - cooking with greens event hosted by Sowmya of creative saga.

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.,