Methi leaf - Tamarind curry

Puli kulambu or Tamarind curry is a basic curry served with rice in South India. These kind of tamarind based spicy curries are the comfort food for many people in Madras.
Last week , I got a fresh bunch of methi leaves and long green brinjals. So made this curry immediately and it tasted great with rice. May be it is my innovation with methi leaf and tamarind curry. It tasted like vatha-Kulambu..no bitterness.
Here goes the recipe.



(Methi leaf tamarind curry / Venthaya keerai Puli kulambu / fenugreek leaf stew)

Ingredients:
Methi leaf (only leaves) - 1 cup / 2 handful
tamarind - a key lime size
Eggplant / brinjal - 100 gms (2)
garlic - 5 pods
shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
red onion - 1/2
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
gingelly oil - 1 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp

Method:
Chop the eggplant into small pieces.
Grind coconut, onion and cumin seeds with little water.
Heat oil in a pan. Extract juice from the tamarind.
Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida.
Add the chopped methi leaves and fry till you get a nice smell.
Now add the brinjal pieces, peeled garlic, tamarind paste , 2 cups water , chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and close tightly with a lid.
After the vegetables are cooked add the coconut - onion paste and switch off after it starts boiling.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 2 cups of venthaya keerai Puli kulambu.
It can be served for 5 people.
Serve hot with steamed rice and and any vegetable side dish or with egg omelet.

A humble request.

Dear Friends ,
I came to know that many of the Catholic Churches in USA are collecting grocery items for the food pantry . I have never seen a concept like this before. But I think it is a good mission during this recession period. They request the people to come and leave the new grocery items in the church every Sunday. They distribute the collected items to the needy.
If you are interested , please inquire the nearby RC Church and help them in their mission. You can just google 'Catholic church , zip code' and find their address , phone number.
The most needed items are Cereals,oats, canned - soup, tuna, fruits,vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, coffee,milk powder, cake mix, oil, biscuits, dry fruits, sugar, All purpose flour etc.
Even a single pack of cereal can help a family .
Please kindly bring new and unopened grocery items with valid shelf life.
Why don't we think of the needy atleast once in a month?
This is my personal request and not an advertisement from any organisation.
If you feel it appropriate , then please pass on this word to those who want to help others.
Lets spread the happiness through our blogs.
Thanks a lot,
VikiXavier.


Matthew 25: 35-40 "‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
"Whatsoever you do for the least of My people,
That you do unto Me"

Green beans koottu

Green beans is the most common vegetable that is available in all seasons globally.
Just another koottu (boiled lentil based side-dish) for the people who long to have a variation for the beans fry .



Beans koottu (side dish):
Green beans - 1/4 kg
green gram dhal - 1/2 cup
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
To fry and grind:
oil - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seed - 1 tbsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
pepper - 1/2 tsp
red chilly - 3
coconut - 2 tbsp
To temper:
oil - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/4 tsp
Bengal gram / channa dhal - 1 tbsp
chopped onion - 1 tbsp
Red chilly - 1
garlic - 1
curry leaf - brig

Method:

1.Wash and soak the moong dhal (green gram dhal for 1/2 an hour).
Clean and chop the beans into small pieces.
Half cook the dhal. Add the chopped green beans, asafoetida, turmeric and cook completely.

2.Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan. Fry all the items given.
Let it cool. Then grind it with little water into a thick paste.
Add this masala to the cooked beans and let it come to a boil.
Add salt to taste.

3.Heat oil in a pan. Add the channa dhal and mustard.
After the mustard seeds Crackle , add the chopped onion, chopped garlic, curry leaf, red chilli and fry till the onion becomes red.
Mix it with the boiling koottu and switch off flame.

Green beans koottu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Yields a lot of koottu. Serves 6 people.
Serve as side dish with any rice / roti.

Idly Uppuma (scrambled Idly)

Here is a quiz for you my friends:)
1.What will you do if you have a lot of left over Idlies?
2.What will you do if your 'Jasmine like Idlies' turned out into hard rocks due to improper batter?
3.How can you feed Idlies to a kid who hates it like anything?
The most probable answer to all the above questions will be an easy but delectable dish called 'Idly Uppuma'.

I got introduced to this Idly Uppuma by my Rukmani aunt. She cooks everything with a lot of care and passion. She insisted me to use Sesame oil for this Idly Uppuma and then I found that the oil gives a unique taste to the dish.
I will reveal her lovely vegetarian dishes in course of time.
Here goes the recipe.

Idly Uppuma / Idli Upma:



Ingredients:
Idli - 6
Urid dhal - 1 tbsp
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
Onion (chopped)- 1 cup
Green chilly - 3
sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp for 4 Idlies

Method:
While calculating the number of Idlies required, just minus one Idly per head.
Because we have to add a handful of onion for every 3 Idly we use and that will increase the volume of the end product.
Scramble the Idlies with your hand into small pieces. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add urad dhal and mustard seeds.Let the mustard seed crackle.
Then add the chopped onion, finely chopped green chilly, curry leaves and salt.
Saute well till the onion becomes transparent.
Add the scrambled idlies and stir well.
Switch off the stove after a minute.
Idly Uppuma is ready.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve as dinner / breakfast with 'Idly podi' or any chutney of your choice.
The Picture shows Idly Upma served with onion chutney.
Serves 2 adults.

Some sweet memories:
My hubby told me that he became a fan of this Idly uppuma after seeing this dish in a movie called 'Surya Vamsam' (a Tamil Movie). In that movie , the heroin (Ms.Devayani) and the hero (hubby's favorite actor - Mr.SarathKumar) prefer to serve this Idly uppuma for an unexpected guest as a quick fix meal . Actually that is a touching scene in the movie to show the hospitality of the couple even in the midst of poverty. Whenever I prepare this Idly Uppuma , I make fun of this scene to see his blushing smile:)

Yasmeen of health nut has passed me a sweet note . See the picture below. Thanks Yasmeen.You are so sweet dear !!

Potato roast

First I should admit that , this potato roast may be a well known recipe for many. Because the simple but elegant potato curry could be the first for any beginner.
Who can deny a hearty serving of roasted potatoes along with the piping hot sambar and rice?
While browsing through my blog , I found that some potato roast is missing and immediately started posting this recipe.
I modified the well known original version with some marination (just like any non-veg roast).
(The original version do not call for any curd or marination. But doing so enhances the flavor)
We can enjoy each step in this cooking process , because of its flavor:)
I prefer to do this roast in a heavy iron wok ('Irumbu chatti' in Tamil). If we cannot find such a robust wok, we can get satisfied with a thick bottomed non stick vessel. Use the Indian store-bought potato for this dish. Because we cannot be sure of the original touch with other potatoes. If you know any other variety of potato that tastes like Indian potato, kindly let me know.



Ingredients:
Potato - 4 (1/4 kg)
onion - 1 (chopped 1 cup)
Turmeric - a pinch
curd - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 brig
cilantro , mint - a handful
salt - to taste.
Dry roast and grind:
Cinnamom - a bit
cumin - 1/2 tsp
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
cloves - 2
coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Method:
Scrub and peel the potato skin. Wash and clean it.
Cut each potato into 4 - 6 big pieces.
Dry roast and grind the items given. This is the masala powder.
Mix curd, salt, Red chilly powder, turmeric , ginger garlic paste, prepared masala powder and marinate it for an hour or more.
Heat oil in a thick bottom vessel.
Fry the fennel seeds to red color.
Add the chopped onion, cilantro, mint leaf, curry leaf and fry for a while.
As the onion turns transparent , add the marinated potato mixture.
Stir well. Reduce the flame, cover it and cook with occasional stirring.
This roast should be cooked in very low flame.. Do not hasten the process, as it may char the dish.
If the curry starts sticking to the bottom, sprinkle little water and then cook it covered.
The masala will be slowly absorbed by the potato while the outer side becoming crispy.
Using a spatula gently check if the potatoes are done. Then check for salt .
Potato roast is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Mostly people serve it as a side dish for sambar & rice or rasam & rice.
Goes fine with roti also.
The consistency should be like a dry curry.
Serves four.

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.

Omelet

Omelet / Omelette / Muttai adai.

Just a very simple egg omelet. This is my mom's method. I love to make it with coconut oil only.As its flavor will fill the entire house with grace.
This oil is my secret ingredient for a successful omelet. But nowadays my health conscious brain dictates me to use olive oil instead:( Still the omelet stays good.
In my dad's house we prefer to have it with fish curry and plain steamed rice.

Ingredients:
Egg - 1
Red onion (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp
green chilli (finely chopped)- 1
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
coconut oil - 1 tbsp (any oil)
salt- 1/8 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Take a bowl and fork.
Break and pour the egg in to the bowl.
Chop the onion and green chilly very finely.
Add salt and cumin seeds to the egg and beat well.
Now add the chopped onion and chilly. Beat till the egg doubles its volume:)
Heat a tbsp of coconut oil in a pancake pan / dosa tawa / chapathi tawa . (I keep the omelet pan as separate and donot use it for other cooking. As it will emit an unwanted smell while cooking other recipes).
Pour the well beaten egg on the pan.
Reduce heat. Flip the omelet. Be more attentive, so that the omelet do not get charred.
Take it out.
Place on a serving saucer. sprinkle some freshly ground pepper over the omelet.
Egg omelet is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot either as breakfast or as side dish.

Sweet memories:
My 'packi anna - periyamma' and 'cook - Gnanamani' call it as Muttai adai in pure Tamil.