Sambar Rice

Sambar satham - Rice cooked in lentil soup and sambar powder.

Tamilnadu cuisine has a lot of 'variety-rice' like lemon rice, tamarind rice, pongal, coconut rice, tomato rice and the list goes on. One among them is this sambar rice. We can't just mix sambar and rice to make this rice. The procedure involves cooking the dhal (lentil), veggies and rice together to get this flavorful rice. We can get a similar food by the name sambar soup / dhal soup in some canteens in NJ. It tastes almost like our sambar satham, but in a more soupy consistency, less spices and more butter to suit the International palettes. Here I have given the authentic Indian sambar saatham recipe. This is a one pot meal and my most favorite comfort dish. Just an appalam (pappad) or thogayal (chutney) will make this homely meal more pleasant.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Red gram (toor dhal) - 3/4 cup
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
garlic - 5 cloves
shallot / red onion - 1/2 cup
tamarind - 1 gooseberry size
salt - to taste

To grind:

shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
sambar powder - 1.5 tsp

To temper:

ghee - 2 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
whole black pepper - 1 tbsp
fenugreek (venthayam) - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - handful

Mixed vegetables : (cut into 1 inch length pieces)
beans / avarakkai (hyacinth bean)- 10 , fresh green peas - 1/2 cup, carrot-1, tomato - 1 , brinjal - 2,cauliflower - few pieces, green chilly - 2, drumstick - 1

Method:

Rinse the dhal and add 3 times water. Soak for 30 minutes in hot water (makes it easy to cook). Pour it in a thick bottom vessel (like cooking rice). Add hing, turmeric, finely chopped garlic, onion and cook in stove top.
When the dal is almost cooked (after 15 minutes) add the washed rice, cook till dhal is completely cooked. If needed add some more water. Now add the chopped vegetables,salt, tamarind extract and cook covered till every thing gets cooked.
Grind the coconut and sambar powder with some water and add to the boiling sambar rice. Heat a separate wok and fry the items given under tempering and pour over the sambar satham. Switch off! Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve.

Sambar satham is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as main course in lunch / brunch or dinner.
Appalam (papad), vadagam (fryum), potato fry can be served as side dish with sambar saatham.

Southern chicken curry

South Indian foods are famous for their spice level and my typical down south dishes can be ranked as highest. Non-veg dishes in my native place are very popular and it is one of the attraction for the tourists there:)One among them is the 'Nellai chicken curry'. We can get this kind of gravy like oily chicken fries in any parotta stall (street side restaurant) in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. The serving would be in a very small cup and it would definitely make the customer crave:) Mom used to make this with sambar and rice because this gravy would be very thick and tasty that it won't be enough to cover everyone's rice:) This is almost the first dish I prepared for hubby dear along with sambar and rice and it is one of his favorites too.

Here is that Spicy 'Tirunelveli kozhi curry varuval' from my kitchen to yours !

To marinate:

Chicken - 3/4 kg
(thighs is best. No white meat for this recipe please, as it will turn rubbery)
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
Salt - 2 tsp
curd (plain yogurt) - 1 cup

Ginger garlic paste:

Ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 1 whole

other ingredients:

any frying oil - 1/2 cup
Red onion - 2
Tomato - 3
curry leaf - 1 sprig
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 2 inch long

Method:

Wash and clean the chicken. Remove skin and fat.
Cut it into small pieces.
Add all the items given for marination and keep aside for 1 to 2  hours.

Finely chop the onion and tomato. Keep them separately.

Grind the peeled ginger and garlic to a fine paste.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the fennel, cinnamon , curry leaf and let the fennel become red.
Then add the finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Now put the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add the finely chopped tomato and fry till oil separates.

Now add the chicken pieces along with marinade. Stir a few times and sprinkle 1/2 cup water. Cook tightly covered in VERY LOW HEAT for 45 minutes. stir once in 10 minutes. Switch off after the oil starts showing up.

Tirunelveli chicken curry is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with plain white rice + sambar or rasam.
Also tastes great with any Indian breads like chapati, naan, parotta, pav buns.
If it seems too spicy, serve with ghee rice and lots of raitha.

Garlic chutney

Poondu chutney or garlic chutney I describe here is a raw chutney. It is a native dish in my home town and it is different from the most popular garlic chutney that includes tomato. I have heard that this raw garlic chutney is very healthy for everyone and I used to make this for my dad more often. It is a custom in my home town to take an evening bath also after coming home from office. At that time we can see the mom or wife of that person starting to steam the idlies for dinner. Those were the days we used to take idly or dosa for dinner as well as breakfast, but now it has changed to oat meal for breakfast and chapati for dinner:) In my native we make many kinds of chutneys. One among them is this garlic chutney. It is the most spicy hot dish I have ever tasted. One should not generously dip the food in this chutney because of the spice level, but it will do many good things to our body if we include this dish at least once in a while.

We got a bunch of fresh garlic from hubby's friend Mr.Raynor. Thanks to him I generously added the fresh garlic in many of our dishes:)

I served this spicy garlic chutney with adai.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 1
dry red chilly - 4
cumin - 1/4 tsp
tamarind - gooseberry size
salt - to taste (1/2 tsp)

To temper:

mustard - 1/2 tsp
sesame oil - 1 tbsp
hing / asafoetida - a pinch
curry leaf - few

Method:

Heat one drop of oil in a wok. Fry the red chillies and grind everything under ingredients. Don't add any water. Grind as finely as possible.
Now heat the wok again with 1 tbsp sesame oil and let the mustard crackle. Cover the vessel to prevent the mustard jumping all over the kitchen:)
Add the curry leaves, hing and immediately switch off.
Mix the chutney paste to this tempering.
Raw garlic chutney is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with idly, dosa,chapati, adai or curd rice.
If it is very spicy, add a few drops of sesame oil while serving.

Note:
This medicinal chutney helps in digestion and cholesterol control.
To control the garlicky breadth, chew 1/4 tsp fennel seeds after meals (again good for digestion and reduces water weight). 

EID greetings !

Eid greetings to my readers and friends !
Love,
Viki

Thanks to the image source.

Home made Garam masala powder

Difference between curry masala powder and garam masala: 

Curry masala powder contains - Turmeric, coriander seed, red chili powder.

 Indian curry powder / garam masala powder is a very important ingredient in Indian recipes. It is a must to make briyani, tandoori, kebab, curries and fries. I am sure every family has its own version. Indian foods varies with the ratio of the ingredients in this powder. That's why we can see different tastes for a same recipe in Indian cooking. Many people call it as garam masala powder and it is the popular name. But in my house we call it as curry masala powder. Amma (mom) used to make her own in the below ratio but in a larger quantity. She would sun-dry the ingredients and would ask a helping lady to grind it in a nearby mill. I like the way it smells all through the day when she prepared it. After marriage I rarely prepared my own curry masala powder, as I relayed on shakthi briyani powder or masal powders. From last year I started to make my own curry masala powder, so that I remember mom's. Though buying a readymade masala is very easy, nowadays I like to make mom's curry masala powder to bring out the same flavor. Xav prefers home made ingredients in everything and now I too feel happy that I am making my own curry powder:)

Ingredients:

fennel seed  - 1  1/2 cup
*coriander seed - 1 cup *
cumin - 1/4 cup
black pepper - 1/4 cup
bay leaf (brinji ilai) - 4
cinnamon (pattai) - 3 long pieces
(choose the curly long cinnamon - pencil pattai)
cardamom (yelakkai) - 1/4 cup
cloves - 2 tbsp
mace (jathi patiri) -3
nutmeg (jathikkai) - 1/2 of a seed
star aniseed - 3
kal pasi - 1/2 cup
dry rose bud (roja mottu) - 5
(I haven't used it here, but gives a nice flavor)
Cashew nuts - 10 (optional)
poppy seed - 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Dry roast everything one by one in mild heat till they turn crispy (never red or color change) (or) sun dry everything except cashew and poppy seeds (they need to be dry roasted).
Let them cool. Powder them together. The powder should be somewhere between fine and coarse.
Cool completely and store in airtight container.
Portion and pack the curry masala powder in zip lock covers and store in freezer for extra freshness.
Storing in freezer is not mandatory.

Uses of curry masala powder:

I use it as my briyani  masala powder, egg curry masala powder, kuruma, salna and wherever there is a need for a garam masala powder.

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In Tamil :

தேவையானவை:

பெருஞ்சீரகம் சோம்பு  - 1  1 /2  கப்
தனியா / விதை கொத்தமல்லி  - 1 கப்
சீரகம்  - 1/4 cup
மிளகு  - 1/4 cup
பிரிஞ்சி இலை - 4
பட்டை  - 3 நீள சுருள்கள்
ஏலக்காய்  - 1/4 cup
லவங்கம் / கிராம்பு  - 2 tbsp
ஜாதி பத்திரி  - 3
ஜாதிக்காய்  -  1/2 கொட்டை
அன்னாசி பூ   - 3
கல்பாசி - 1/2 cup
உலர்ந்த ரோஜா மொட்டு  - 5
முந்திரி  - 10
கசகசா - 2 tbsp

செய்முறை:

முந்திரியை வாணலியில் வறுக்கவும்.  மேற்சொன்னவற்றில் முந்திரி தவிர அனைத்தையும் ஒரு நாள் முழுக்க வெயிலில் காய வைத்து மெசினில் / மிக்சி யில் நைசாக திரிக்கவும்.  (அல்லது) அனைத்தையும் வெறும் வாணலியில் சிறு தீயிலும் வறுக்கலாம்.
பொடி செய்யும் முன் நன்றாக ஆற விடவும். அரைத்த பின்னும் நன்கு ஆற வைத்து காற்று-புகா பாத்திரத்தில் சேமிக்கவும்.
நைசாக திரிக்காமல் கொஞ்சம் பரபர வென திரித்தால் ரொம்ப நாள் வாசனை குறையாது.
பிரிட்ஜ் இல் இந்த பொடியை வைத்தால் அதிக நாள் புதிது போல் இருக்கும்.

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* No need to grind coriander seeds if we want to add coriander powder separately. My mom won't add coriander seeds in this recipe, as she use it mainly as briyani powder. But I add it sometimes.
** Kal pasi / kadal paasi (Tamil) - It is a dry flower,used as a spice in all Chettinad preparations. It can be used as whole spice while preparing veg and non veg kurma. (source)
ENGLISH - Black stone flower
HINDI - Jeevanti
TAMIL - Kalpasi
TELUGU - Kallupachi

Happy celebrations !

Hi friends, Here I have three celebrations in one day.

Today is Solemnity of the 'Assumption of Mother Mary' day and it is celebrated all over the world by Christians. We celebrated an early morning mass in our nearby church.

Today is Indian Independence day. While growing up, I used to look forward for this day with lot of expectations. Though that day is a holiday in India, we used to gather for dance parties in school in beautiful dresses , enjoy the flag hoisting and share sweets. Happy memories, as always:) Wishing all a very happy Independence day!

Image courtesy : click here

Viki's kitchen has reached ONE MILLION hits today. I am sure it is possible only by the grace of God, as I know myself very well:).Just like most other bloggers, this blog means a lot to hubby and me. I love my blog as if she is a little child and pour out all our happy memories through her:) I started this blog to record my mom's recipes to remember her and to pass on the heritage. Also I record the delicious recipes I got from the people I love and admire. Hubby dear reads all my posts from the beginning and suggests me something always.  Xav's food reviews makes me cook and blog with more enthusiasm. I owe a lot to my hubby, readers, friends and family for your valuable suggestions and love. Thanks for all your well wishes, comments, suggestions and encouragement to keep me writing. Please keep visiting and let's see that billion counts too:)

Have a nice day!

Love,
Viki

Whole brinjal curry (Ennai kathirikkai for briyani)

Regular ennai kathirkkai or whole stuffed brinjal curry is a tamarind based kulambu. This curry is a regional cuisine from my native place and it is a curry masala based one. I have seen this more popular in Islam cuisine there. If you are looking for a vegetarian side dish to go with briyani, then this spicy brinjal curry will be great.

Chicken briyani with brinjal curry....a combo, every briyani lover will cherish:)

The taste lies in the quantity of oil we add ....the more the merrier:). We may need a thick bottom wok to make this thick gravy. It may seem a long processs, but worth the try. It would be easier if we are preparing this along with briyani, as we will be preparing the same kind of base masala for this. I got this recipe long back from a neighbor in my home town and I thank her every time I make this. I am sure every one will love this curry like me:)

Stuffed brinjals getting fried.

stuffed brinjal curry.

ennai kathirikkai kulambu about to be served.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Small eggplant - 12
red onion - 1
Vine tomato - 3
(tomato puree - 1/2 cup)
Sesame / corn oil - 1/2 cup
cilantro + mint leaf - 1 tbsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
salt - as per need

Stuffing:

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
water - few tbsp

Method:

Select fresh tender brinjal / eggplant with stem.
Wash the brinjal and make a few slits in the bottom, with the bracts (crown) remaining intact.
In a mixing bowl add everything given for stuffing using a few tsp of water.
Divide the stuffing into half and stuff the brinjal with one half.
Heat oil in a broad wok. Put the stuffed eggplants in single layer and fry them both sides for 2 minutes.
Move the fried brinjal to one side.
In the remaining oil add the finely chopped onion and fry till it gets golden.
If needed add a few tsp oil.
Then add ginger garlic paste, saute for few seconds and add the tomato puree.
(I have used canned tomato puree. If using fresh tomato, then boil the tomato separately with 1/4 cup water till tender and puree before using in this recipe. It avoids raw smell).
Cook covered for a few minutes without stirring.
Now add the remaining stuffing along with little water and required salt.
Cover tightly and cook till oil shows up (10 minutes in low heat).
Garnish with chopped mint and cilantro leaves.
Ennai kathirikkai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with briyani, kushka, chapati, sambar rice or curd rice.
Serve a cool raitha and lassi for this spicy brinjal curry+briyani combo.

Time taken (prep and cooking) - 40 minutes.