Bellpepper Raitha

I always have a 'thing' for raitha. For some people it is the 'rasam' that gives the zing, but for me it is the raitha 😀😀😀. So I make it quite often. Some raitha like onion raitha are very simple, just chop onion and mix with yogurt and salt, you got it ! (We can jazz it up with some more steps too). Still I love 💕 it anyways !

For people who may not know what a raitha is ? Raitha is an Indian yogurt based side dish, accompanied with rice or roti.

Raithas tastes better when made using, thick whole milk Indian plain yogurt, aka curd (தயிர்). But I use a fat free milk only to prepare curd.  This bell pepper raitha needs a tempering and some cooking time along with fresh ground masala too. So it's a special one in my dictionary.
We can use any bell pepper for this. For more Indian flavor use a green one. A tiny capsicum is more than enough to give that punch. I have used orange capsicum, as I had that from that colorful big pack of peppers from Costco Instacart that week. I was finding all possible ways to incorporate them in my cooking 😀. So feel free to use any variety you get. It will surely taste great. Bell pepper and Capsicum are same (as far as I know, 👋 I am not a botanist, still in love with Botany 😍). 
I am typing this in Tamil too, as per some of my friend's request.  There may be many versions for this, but this is recipe is my creation.

Capsicum raitha

Capsicum raitha, chicken koftha, chapathi 

Ingredients:
Any color Bellpepper (capsicum குடைமிளகாய் ) - 1
onion -(நறுக்கிய வெங்காயம் ) - 2 tbsp
Indian yogurt (தயிர்) - 1 cup
salt - to taste
To grind:
shredded coconut (துருவிய தேங்காய் )- 2 tbsp
cumin (சீரகம்)- 1/2 tsp
ginger (இஞ்சி)- 1/2 inch
green chili (பச்சைமிளகாய் )- 1
turmeric powder (மஞ்சள் தூள் ) - 1/4 tsp
To temper:
coconut oil / any oil (தேங்காய்எண்ணெய் ) - 1 tbsp
mustard , urid dal (கடுகு, உளுந்தம்பருப்பு  ) - each 1 tsp
hing (asafetida) - a pinch
curry leaf (கறிவேப்பிலை)- few
cilantro (மல்லித்தழை)- few

Method:
Chop the onion, bell pepper into 1/4 inch cubes (tiny). Keep aside.
Heat oil in wok. Add mustard, urid dal and let mustard splutter.
Then add hing, Curry leaf, cilantro and then add the chopped capsicum, onion and cook closed with a lid on , till it gets half cooked.
Let it cool a bit. Keep it in a serving bowl.
Grind together everything said above.
Mix with the sautéed items and add salt, plain yogurt. Mix well.
Keep refrigerated or serve immediately.
Garnish with karaboondhi (காராபூந்தி ) , if desired.

Serving suggestions:
Serve along with any chapathi or rice.
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செய்முறை:
வெங்காயம் , குடைமிளகாயை பொடியாக நறுக்கவும்.
வாணலியை சூடாக்கி, எண்ணெய் கடுகு , உளுந்தம்பருப்பு சேர்க்கவும் .
கடுகு பொரிந்தவுடன் கறிவேப்பிலை , மல்லி தழை, நறுக்கிய வெங்காயம், குடைமிளகாய் சேர்த்து வதக்கவும்.
மூடி போட்டு சிறிது வேக விடவும். அரைப்பதம் வெந்தால் போதும்.
தீயை அணைத்து, வதக்கியவற்றை ஒரு பரிமாறும் கிண்ணத்தில் மாற்றி வைக்கவும்.
அரைக்க வேண்டியவற்றை அரைத்து சேர்க்கவும்.
தயிர், உப்பு சேர்த்து பரிமாறவும்
விருப்பப்பட்டால் காரபூந்தி யை தூவி அலங்கரித்து பரிமாறவும்.
இந்த குடைமிளகாய் ராய்தா,  சப்பாத்தி, சாதம் உடன் பொருத்தமாக இருக்கும்.

Bottle gourd - curd curry (surai kaai thayir pachadi)

Bottle gourd is a popular Indian vegetable .Village people believe that it has some property to reduce our body fat.
The Tamil meaning of Bottle gourd is surai kaai. Koottu means a watery side dish .

Bottle gourd is a watery vegetable and tastes somewhat similar to white pumpkin or cucumber. Mostly it is used in making sambar , dhal or a watery side dish called koottu . The most common way is to cook it with Thoor dhal or green gram dhal.
Cooking it with Curd belongs to South TamilNadu cuisine.

In Tamil nadu a grand vegetarian feast should be served on a Banana leaf (gently cut with its tip). The rice must be accompanied by a koottu (watery side dish), a poriyal (cooked and tempered vegetables with shredded coconut) , a varuval (deep or shallow fried vegetable ), a curry (a spicy side dish with some dry gravy), sambar (dhal based stew), vatha kulambu (tamarind based stew), more kulambu (curd based stew), rasam (a soup poured on rice.. good for digestion), Payasam (a rice or vermicelli based sweet ) and at last the Buttermilk on rice. The other dishes are a an appalam, vadai , some sweet. Oh , my God ...What an elaborate lunch menu .Isn't it?.Believe me , we people cannot take every day like this . But the very thought makes us nostalgic. Right?

Just because of my love for our native cuisines , I am eagerly collecting as many recipes as possible . And this curd based recipe is my favorite koottu .




Surai kaai Thayir pachadi koottu / bottle gourd - yogurt curry.

Ingredients:
Bottle gourd - 1/2 kg (1 small)
curd - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 (small)
olive oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste.
To grind:
ginger - 1 inch
green chilli - 3
channa dhal - 2 tbsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Soak the channa dhal for 30 minutes.
Peel the skin of the bottle gourd. Chop it into small cubes. Donot discard the seeds. Tender seeds tastes good.
Heat 1 cup of water and add the chopped bottle gourd, salt, turmeric powder and cook it .
Grind together the items given .
Pour the ground masala to the cooked bottle gourd.
Let it come to boil.
Now add the curd and switch off flame. Check for salt.
Heat oil in a separate pan. Add the mustard seeds , after it crackles , add the chopped onion, curry leaves and fry till the onion becomes red.
Add this tempering to the cooked bottle gourd.
Mix well.
Bottle gourd thayir koottu is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with plain rice or rice and sambar or with chapathi.