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.

Paruppu Boli (dhal stuffed sweet parathas)

Boli is a south Indian sweet similar to a sweet stuffed paratha.
I got introduced to this boli in the train journeys from Chennai to Tirunelveli. The total traveling time may consume around 12 to 14 hours. Usually we board the train in the late evening and will reach Tirunelveli for breakfast:)
But before an hour to reach the destination, we have to halt in a station called 'vanchi Maniyachi' . It is the memorial spot for the Indian freedom fighter Mr. Vanchi Nathan. The train usually stops there for nearly 20 minutes , as it is a jucnction and also to get signal. But it will be a good time for the street vendors to sell their homely Boli, vadai ,Murukku, coffee, tea and Idly. The famous dishes are Murukku and boli.You know what, this stop will be my long waited one to get my favorite 'Boli'. I love to finish off my breakfast there with these yummy bolis alone. One more place famous for boli is Kadamboor in that area. My taste buds always crave to taste and compare them in different places. The differences I found were, the Maniyachi Bolis are thinner and made with sesame oil, while in other places they use ghee on the thicker version of boli.
Still it gives a native taste and I love it very much. I tried it last month and it came out very well.   Here is the recipe and you can try it this weekend:)


Paruppu Boli/ Maniyachi Boli / Sweet paratha.

outer layer:
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
baking soda - a pinch
salt - a pinch
Sesame oil - 1/2 cup

Mix the flour, salt , baking soda, Turmeric powder and mix well.
Add water little by little to get a thick chapathi dough like consistency.
Coat it with little sesame oil and cover it with a wet cloth.
Leave it for 4 - 6 hours . Mom used to make this dough in the morning and use it in the evening by 3 pm, so that we could have it with tea.(This setting time makes the dough very flexible and manageable. In the mean time prepare the stuffing or pooranam).
After that divide the whole dough into 15 equal portions.
Shape them in to balls. Keep aside.

stuffing:
Channa dhal (Bengal gram) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
cardamom - 3
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup

Soak the dhal for 2 hours. cook the channa dhal completely and drain water.
(We can use the water to make rasam / soup).
Mash the dhal to fine paste using a mixie / a spatula.
Heat 1/4 cup water and dissolve the jaggery in it. Then filter any dust / sand present.
Mix the jaggery solution with mashed dhal and heat it in a wok.
Add coconut and powdered cardamom now.
Let it loose all the moisture and become a thick mass.
Switch off stove and let it cool.
Divide it in to 15 equal size balls.

Method:
Take one 'all purpose flour ball'.Apply oil to it. Using a rolling pin flatten it to a circle. Do not use flour to spread the circle. Instead apply oil generously to spread it.
Take one 'stuffing ball'. Place it on the center of the circle.
Now fold it with the covering dough closely , so that no stuffing can be seen from outside.
Now again apply some oil and carefully spread it to a thin circular shape (approximate diameter should be 5 - 6 inch). Don't worry if you see some pooranam from inside in this stage, as it will become fine after frying.
Heat a dosa tawa. Evenly apply sesame oil on the tawa .Reduce flame and fry the bolis on both sides till we see some brown dots all over.
Again increase the heat, apply oil, reduce heat and fry the bolis in lesser heat.
Take out and store in a container.
Like wise proceed with the rest of the dough.
Paruppu Boli is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as dessert or evening snack.
Makes 15 Bolis .
The leftover boli (if any) can be wrapped in ziplock covers and kept refrigerated for a week.

Note:
Like wise we can make numerous verieties of sweet stuffed bolis like, coconut boli , date fruit boli, sesame boli, fruits boli, ghee boli, Jeera boli (boli soaked in sugar solution) etc. I have tasted some varieties in the sweet stalls of KK nagar , Chennai,India :) . You can experiment any thing with it and will become a fan of bolis soon:)

Sending this boli to Purva's Holi haii ! event.

Vangi Badth (Eggplant rice)

Vangi badth (Eggplant rice) is a Karnataka special. It needs a special powder called 'Vangi badth powder' and if you have it handy , then it is a very easy job.
I prepare this powder in a small batch and keep it refrigerated for further use.
It can be served as a complete meal , as we do not need any side dish or curry. It tastes great with appalam or potato chips.


Vangi badth powder: (Just enough to serve 2 people once)
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Channa dhall - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 2
Cardamom - 1
Cloves - 2
Cashews / almond - 2
Coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp



Vangi Badth / Brinjal rice / egg plant rice / kathirikkai satham

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Brinjal - 200 gms
onion - 1
tamarind - 1 inch
mustard - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
ghee - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tsp

Method :
1. Heat a wok with 1 tsp oil. Roast the ingredients given for the vangi badth powder, till the channa dhal turns red.
Grind it to a coarse powder using a mixer.

2. Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup water. Extract the juice out of it.

3. Cook the rice with little salt and 2 cups of water (twice the quantity of rice).
Spread the rice and cool it a little.

4. Heat another tsp oil in the wok. Add mustard seed and let it splutter.
Then add chopped onion , curry leaf and saute till it becomes tender. Then add the brinjal and turmeric powder , fry a little. Sprinkle the tamarind juice and cook it covered. After it gets cooked , add the vangi badth powder and check for salt.

5. Mix it with the cooked rice. If desired mix 1 tsp of ghee .Reheat and serve hot.

Vangi badth is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serves as main course meal for 2 people.
Potato chips or Appalam / pappadam can be served as side dish.