Unripe Tomato koottu

This is a simple koottu / curry / subzi,  common in parts of Tamilnadu. We can see a small kitchen garden in almost every home and tangy tomatoes grow abundant and succulent throughout the year in India. One need not wait to get all their tomatoes ripe, just pluck a few big green tomatoes...enjoy that fresh flavor arising from the leaves and stem, (if you have not before)....even our palm will smell like tomato for a few hours.....isn't it completely relaxing:)

Getting some unripe green tomato is extremely difficult here. Last summer I got a few (see the picture below). The curry should be more on the tangy side. So if you doubt the taste, then try adding one ripe tomato to it. We can make this curry with ripe tomatoes too, but it will be like a thakkali kulambu:) . This can be prepared with tomatillos (sodukku thakkali)also. Tomatillo can be bought in any local grocery store at any season and they are the best fit to make this koottu, next to our native thakkali kaai:)

Source: I got this recipe from my Rukmani aunty while she was preparing this years ago:)

Half ripe tomatoes, I got from store.  If possible get them all in green like the only one above:)

Thakkali kaai koottu / Green tomato curry.

Ingredients:

Unripe green tomato - 1/2 kg
Toor dhal (red gram)- 1/4 cup
channa dhal - 1/4 cup
garlic - 2 pearls
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida / hing - a pinch
Onion - 1
curry leaf - 2 sprig
mustard - 1 tsp
urad dhal (black gram)- 1 tsp
coconut oil - 1 tbsp

To fry and grind:

Channa dhal (bengal gram / kadalai paruppu)- 1 tbsp
dry red chilly - 4
cumin - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Pressure cook the dhals together with garlic, turmeric, little water, hing. Mash them together coarsely. keep aside.
Heat a tsp of oil in a wok and fry the channa dhal to red color, keep aside. Put the red chillies and take out immediately after it gets crispy. Then fry the coconut to get a nice smell. grind them all together to a coarse paste.

Now chop the tomatoes and onion into small pieces.
Heat oil in a wok and let the mustard splutter. Then goes the split urad dhal along with onion and curry leaves. Fry them for a minute and don't let them get red. Immediately add the tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup water, salt and cook covered for 5 minutes (not mushy). Then add the ground masala, cooked dhal and bring it to a boil. Switch off.

Thakkali kai koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with chapati, roti.
The best match is with plain rice and some appalam.

Tips:

It is more common to prepare this koottu without garlic and onion.
Total time taken less than 30 minutes.

Gobi channa masala

Gobi is the Hindi word for cauliflower and channa stands for chick peas.

Its my habit to include some protein in all the meals. So while making a simple cauliflower kuruma, I added the kondai kadalai (chick peas) and it turned out awesome.

Here goes a healthy side dish for chapathi.



Ingredients:
Chick peas / white channa - 1 cup
cauliflower (chopped) - 1 cup/200 gm
tomato - 2
Red onion - 1 (medium size)
green chillies - 4
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curd - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - a pich
MTR channa masala powder - 1 tsp (optional)
(We can use any garam masala too)
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tbsp
bay leaf - 1
cinnamon - 1 inch

Method:
Soak channa dal overnight and cook it to tender in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles.
After getting the first whistle ,I reduce the flame to the minimum and heat the cooker for another 10 minutes to cook this dal.

(But in this curry I used 1 cup cooked channa from can).

Grind ginger and garlic together.

Chop and cook the tomatoes. saute the onion in 1 tsp oil and let them cool.
Grind cooked tomato, curd and onion together. keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry some cinnamon and bay leaf.

Add the green chillies, cilantro and mint leaves. Then put the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Then add all the powders mentioned above along with the ground masala and cook till oil starts showing up.

Next add the chopped cauliflower , salt and cook covered.

After the cauliflower gets cooked put the cooked channa and stir well.

Gobi channa is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Garnish with minced cilantro, freshly chopped onion and a few drops of lemon juice on top.
Goes well with parathas ,poori , roti and naan .
Makes 3-4 cups of gravy.

Mushroom pepper curry - A village treat !

Mushrooms are always associated with rain . If you have lived in a country side , then you will think of  that spread of white mushrooms that bloom after a rain. (keep in mind that only a few mushrooms are edible and it needs some experience to identify them).
Mushrooms are my fantasies since childhood.I have always wondered and asked many people how these tiny soft umbrellas shoot up the next morning after a heavy rain. Our maid Lakshmi told me that the lightning brings the seeds of mushroom to earth (!) or it is the mysterious plant that live for a day indicating some fast life philosophy and a lot of stories....even thrillers too:)
I would get up in the morning after those lightning nights and run to our garden to see if any umbrella has sprung up. On seeing my love for them Lakshmi brought us a lot of mushrooms, which she collected in the woods. Mom, cooked it like a spicy curry as per Lakshmi's idea .Those were like treats to me. Nothing can beat the fragrance of those fresh hand picked mushrooms.
In course of time I learned that these are a kind of fungi that grows if the moisture / humidity reaches a saturation point along with some protein rich environment.Moreover all the mushrooms are not edible. Some are poisonous too.

Ok...Whatever the scientific fact it may be... even now I consider the mushrooms as tiny little gifts from heaven that travels through lightning:) I want it to remain that way only.

Mushroom pepper curry (village style):



Ingredients:
Button Mushroom - 20
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
garlic paste - 1 tsp
tomato - 1
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp
Red Onion - 1/2
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Green chilly - 2

To grind:
puffed channa dhal - 1 tbsp
Shallot onion - 4
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Put the mushroom in a wide vessel and wash it in water thrice to remove any impurities.
Drain the water completely. Pat dry it with paper towel.Don't squeeze it.
Chop it in lengthwise and keep aside.
Grind the items given.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seeds and let it get red in color.
Then add the chopped onion , curry leaf, green chilly and saute well.
Then add the garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Now put the finely chopped tomatoes and saute till the oil separates.
Then goes the mushroom along with all the powders , salt and ground mixture.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Mushroom pepper curry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with paratha, roti or any bread.
Goes very well with piping hot cooked rice too.

Facts:
The nutrient content is very high for all the edible mushrooms and they are considered as one of the natural medicines for cancer and heart disease.
Mushrooms helps in reducing our cholesterol level and boosts the immune system.
A Serving in alternate days will definitely help us keep a good health.
Cook the mushrooms as early as you buy bring them home. It will start to rot in one day after coming home.
There are some poisonous varieties also. So have a thorough knowledge before going for a mushroom pick-up.

An award:
Yesterday I received a cute award from Ramya of Simple vegetarian Recipes. I am speechless. Thanks Ramya ! Your award inspires me to do more.



The rules for this award are :
1. You must mention the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Well .. I don't know , if it will be interesting. Here are some facts about me.

1)We are living in USA and my mother tongue is Tamil. I love English movies, especially the documentary, cartoons and non-violent movies :)

2)Passionate to visit Churches . I am eager to know about all other religions too.

3)I love to learn different cultures and cuisines. Gardening and watching flowers , birds etc are my leisure time activities.

4)I like various hair cuts , exercise and keep myself updated.

5)My drawback is my fully developed taste buds that crave for all those fried items I see:)

6)I love blogging and the entire blogging community keeps me lively.

7)More concerned about ecology, environment , pollution, protecting fauna and flora of our Earth.

I want to pass this award to all, but as per the rules I have to select just 7 people....So passing these to the following friends .

1)Sashi of Sashi's Tasty bites.

2)SriLakshmi of AnnaPurna.

3)Ganga of My favorite foods.

4)Rebecca of Chow and chatter.

5)Suparna of Food Fascination.

6)Aysha of Life Today.

7) Kalyani of kalyani's kitchen.

Congrats Friends!