Sep 30, 2008

Spicy apple curry

We had been to temple yesterday and gurukkal gave two apples to my girls'. Even if the apples are sweet, my girls' will not eat, but those apples were sour. No body wants to eat those apples (including me!). Just took a small piece as prasadham. I was looking for some apple pickle in the internet. Even though I got few recipes, I didn't want to do it. So I tried this curry by myself and it came out really well.

Ingredients:-
  1. apple - 2 cups (cut it into small cubes)
  2. Onion - 1
  3. Tomato - 1
  4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  5. Red chillies powder - 1/2 tsp
  6. Salt to taste
  7. Oil - 2 tsp
  8. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  9. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
  10. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  11. Garam masala powder - a pinch

Pre heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds, add onion and tomato and stir it for a minute. Now add the apple pieces, add turmeric powder, red chillies powder and salt. Add required amount of water to let the ingredients cook. It will take 10 mts to cook apple pieces. When it is fully cooked, add the garam masala powder and mix it well. Saute for another two minutes. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Its really good to eat with rice and chapathi.

Sep 29, 2008

Fried Idly

I had this fried Idly in Saravana Bhavan a few weeks back. I wanted to try fried idly this time. I used the left over idllies for making this fried idly. Since I just wanted to try this recipe, I used a little amount of ingredients. Here is the recipe for making fried idly

Ingredients:-
  1. Idly - 3
  2. Tomato - 1/2 (chopped)
  3. Onion - 1/2 (chopped)
  4. Green chillies - 1
  5. Salt to taste (only for onion and tomato)
  6. Turmeric powder - a pinch
  7. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  8. Mustard seeds - little less than 1/4 tsp
  9. Cumin seeds - little less than 1/4 tsp
  10. Tomato ketchup - 1/2 tsp
  11. Coriander leaves to garnish.
  12. Oil - to fry idllies

First cut idllies into small cubes. Pre heat oil and fry the idllies to golden brown. Keep it aside. Pre heat a drop of oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds, add asafoetida powder. Now add onions and fry it till it becomes transparent. Now add tomato to it , add turmeric powder, salt and cook it for another 5 mts. Add a little bit of water to it, so that tomato and onion cooks nicely. It will become like a paste or like thokku. Now add the ketchup to it and mix it well. Now add the fried idlies to it and mix it well. Garnish it with corinader leaves. Serve it hot with onion raita. We can also add a pinch of garam masala powder to the tomato onion thokku.

Sep 26, 2008

Kids friendly Chapathi & Awards!

My girls are very picky eaters and I have to think something or the other to make them eat veggies and now a days, I have to pack their lunch box. This is something which is shared by one of my aunt. I tried this with my girls' and they are eating this chapathi really well. Best part of this chapathi is, it is filled with veggies. The quantity I have used here is very less. Increase the quantity accordingly.

Ingredients:-
  1. Wheat flour - 1 small cup
  2. Salt - a pinch
  3. Sesame oil - 1 tsp
  4. Potato - 1 (if it is small or 1/2 if it is big)
  5. Carrot - 2 ( I used baby carrots)
  6. Raddish - a small piece

First pressure cook potato, carrot and raddish. Mash the veggies and add it to the wheat flour, add salt, sesame oil and required amount of water and make it soft dough like chapathi dough. Here we don't have to add more water, since the water in veggies will help us to knead the dough soft. Keep it aside for 10 mts. Make small chapathis ( I use small yogurt box lid size) and cook it on hot stove. Serve it hot to kids adding a teaspoon of melted ghee on top of it. Tomato ketchup can be a good sidedish.

Sripriya has passed me this wonderful award. Thanks Sripriya.
I Would like to pass this award to Jaishree, Sireesha, Priti, and Dershana.

Shama has passed me the wonderful friendship coffee cups which I have posted it here.


I would like to pass this particular award to all the fellow bloggers who visit my blog every day.

Sep 25, 2008

Mattar-Paneer Masala

This is something I tried to make after looking at the recipe from www.showmethecurry.com. They some lots of wonderful simple recipes and videos. Since this is the first time I am trying, I only made smaller quantity. Also I made few modifications. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Paneer - 15 pieces (cut into small cubes)
  2. Peas - 1 small cup ( I used frozen peas)
  3. Onion -1
  4. Tomato - 3/4 ( I used 4 cherry tomatoes)
  5. Green chillies - 2 (acc to taste)
  6. Red chillies powder - 3/4 tsp
  7. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Garlic - a small pieces
  10. Ginger - a small piece
  11. Oil - 3 tsp
First pre heat a pan with a tsp of oil and fry the paneer cubes to golden brown. Keep it aside and let it cool. After few minutes soak the cold paneer pieces in room temperature water. Microwave peas to 3 mts (adjust the time accordingly) and keep it aside. In the same pan, add chopped onion, tomato, garlic, green chillies and ginger and saute till it becomes golden brown. Let it cool and grind it into a fine paste. Now heat the remaining oil, add the grounded paste, add water to adjust the consistency, add turmeric powder, red chillies powder and salt and let it boil for 2 mts. Now add the cooked peas to it and cook it for another 3 mts. Now fully drain the paneer pieces and add it to the boiling ingredients. Let everything cook for another 3 mts. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with chapathis.

Sep 24, 2008

Green Tomato Kootu

Thakkalikai kootu - This is how we call this kootu. We can make this kootu with green tomatoes or raw tomatoes. This is very simple to make and really yummy and it goes well with rice, chapathis and pooris.

Ingredients:-
  1. Green tomatoes - 7 (medium sized)
  2. Moong dhall - 1 medium sized cup
  3. tumeric powder -1/2 tsp
  4. Salt to taste
  5. OIl - 1/4 tsp
  6. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  7. Urad dhall - 1/2 tsp
  8. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  9. Curry leaves - few
To grind:-
  1. Channa dhall - 2 tsp
  2. Urad dhall - 1 tsp
  3. Red chillies - 1
  4. Black pepper - 1 tsp (acc to taste)
  5. Coconut - 2 tsp (optional)

First pressure cook moong dhall with a pinch of turmeric powder and keep it aside. Wash the tomatoes and cut it into 4 pieces, if its too big then make it 8 pieces. Take a pan, put the tomatoes, add required amount of water, turmeric powder and salt and let the tomatoes cook. In the mean time, fry channa dhall, urad dhall, red chillies, black pepper and coconut, to golden brown and let it cool and grind it into a fine paste. when the tomato is half done, (half cooked) add the grounded paste and let it boil for another 3 to 5 mts. Now add the cooked dhall to it and add water to adjust the consistency. Let it boil for another 5 mts. By the time, tomatoes will be fully cooked. Make sure tomatoes are not mashed while doing these processes. Now pre heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, when it is done, add urad dhall and asafoetida powder and fry it till golden brown. Pour it on top of kootu. Garnish it with curry leaves. Enjoy with white rice or with chapthis or pooris.

Sep 23, 2008

Gooseberry Pickle

I bought the whole packet of frozen gooseberries to make this pickle. But somehow or the other I didn't get time to start this and I started using few gooseberries for making pachadi or arachukalakki etc. This time I wanted to make this pickle without fail and I started making this yesterday night around 9 PM. It came out well and it tastes really good(I wanted to have this pickle as side dish for yesterday's dinner).

Ingredients:-
  1. Gooseberries - 1 cup
  2. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  3. Red chillies powder - 1 tsp (acc to taste)
  4. Salt to taste
  5. Sesame OIl - 4 tbsp
  6. Jaggery - 1 tsp (optional)
  7. Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 tsp
  8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  9. Asafoetida powder - few pinches
First cut the gooseberries and take out the seed. Put it in a microwave safe bowl, add water and cook it for 4 to 5 mts. Make sure its only 3/4th cooked. Take out the berries and drain it. Keep it aside. Now take a pan, pre heat oil, splutter mustard seeds **, add fenugreek seeds ** and asafoetida powder and saute' for about a minute. Now add turmeric powder, red chillies powder and salt to it and fry it till raw smell goes out. Now add 3/4th cooked berries to it and mix everything well. It take 2 mts to mix. Turn off the stove and sprinkle the jaggery powder on top of it. Mix it well. Transfer it to a air tight container and enjoy it for more than 10 days.


** - My MIL asked me to make powder from mustard and fenugreek seeds and sprinkle it. Since I started doing this at night I didn't want to make powder. I just used it. If you wish to make powder, just fry mustard and fenugreek in a dry pan, let it cool and grind it into a fine powder (can grind separately).

This pickle goes to Vani's AFAM event.

Sep 22, 2008

Kalathu Podi

This is another podi which my patti usually makes. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Toor dhall - 1 cup
  2. Horse Gram - 1 cup
  3. Channa dhall - 2 tsp
  4. Urad dhall - 1 tsp
  5. Black pepper - 2 tbsp (acc to taste) or Red chillies - 5 (acc to taste)
  6. Salt to taste
Take a dry pan, fry all the ingredients one by one to golden brown and let it cool. Grind it into a fine powder. Keep it int a air tight container. Can use it for more than a week to 10 days. Mix a teaspoon with a cup of white rice and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Enjoy.

Sep 21, 2008

Bread Bajji

I have tasted this bajji once in our friend's place. Yesterday I tried this and I came out very well. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
  2. Besan flour - 1 cup
  3. Salt to taste
  4. Bread slices - 2 (cut the edges)
  5. Red chillies powder - 1/2 tsp (acc to taste)
  6. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  7. Oil - 1 tsp
  8. Oil - to deep fry.
Mix the dry ingredients rice flour, besan flour, salt, red chillies powder, asafoetida powder and a teaspoon of oil and make a smooth batter. Cut the bread slices into triangle and dip it in the batter. Deep fry it to golden brown and enjoy it with tomato ketchup.

Sep 20, 2008

Karuvepillai Podi (Curry Leaves podi)

Karuvepillai podi is something I used to eat most of the days in a week. From my childhood, when I was like 6 to 7 years old, my mom started this ritual (!) in order to keep my curly and thick hair healthy. Till now I am following the same even though my hair has reduced to thin because of child birth, change in water etc,. I make this podi in my mom's way every week in smaller quantity to keep it fresh. Here is the method.

Ingredients:-

  1. Curry leaves - 1 packet ( used to get in Indian store here in Calif.)
  2. Channa dhall - 2 tbsp
  3. Urad dhall - 1 tbsp
  4. Asafoetida powder - 2 or 3 pinches
  5. Red chillies - 2
  6. Black pepper - 2 tsp
  7. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp (optional)
  8. Salt to taste

First microwave the curry leaves for 2 mts. It will become crispier, accordingly you adjust the time. Then in a dry pan, fry all the other ingredients one by one to golden brown and let it cool. Grind it into a fine powder along with the curry leaves. Enjoy this podi with white rice and a tsp of sesame oil.

Ellu Podi (sesame Seeds Podi)

My grandma lived in a Agraharam near a siva temple. She used to make Ellu rice every saturday as nivedhanam to Saneeswaran. This is the recipe she follows to make ellu podi

Ingredients:-
  1. Channa dhall - 2 tsp
  2. Urad dhall - 2 tsp
  3. Sesame seeds (ellu) - 1/4 cup
  4. Salt to taste
  5. Red chillies - 3 (acc to taste
  6. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Fry all the ingredients one by one to golden brown. Let it cool and grind it into a fine powder.

Sep 18, 2008

Angaaya Podi and an award

This podi has medicinal value. After delivery, my MIL asked me to eat this podi with rice for the next 45 days without fail. It helps to reduce the inflammation and infection (if any) in our utreus after delivery. This podi doesn't taste good but its good to eat:)

Ingredients:-
  1. Toor dhall - 2 tsp
  2. Channa dhall - 2 tsp
  3. Urad dhall - 1/2 tsp
  4. Sundakkai (Turkey Berry) - 4 tsp
  5. Manathakkali - 4 tsp
  6. Vepampoo - 4 tsp
  7. Black pepper - 1 tsp (acc to taste)
  8. Salt to taste
Fry all the ingredients one by one to golden brown. Let it cool and grind it into a fine powder. Try to eat this podi once a week without fail which is very good for health. This goes well with white rice and a teaspoon of melted ghee.

Dershana has passed me this wonderful award of friendship. Thanks Dershana. I have alread posted this award here. This time I would like to pass this to Sireesha, Jaishree, Sripriya

Sep 17, 2008

Bread Upma

I tried this bread upma suddenly and it took just 10 mts. to finish. Here is the recipe I followed.

Ingredients:-
  1. Bread slice - 1
  2. tomato - 1/4
  3. Onion - 1/4
  4. Turmeric powder - little less than 1/4 tsp
  5. Red chillies powder - little less than 1/4 tsp
  6. Salt to taste
  7. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  8. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
  9. Tomato ketchup - 1/2 tsp
  10. Oil - 1/2 tsp
  11. Coriander leaves - to garnish

First cut the bread into small cubes and keep it in the oven for 5 mts. It will become crispier. In the mean time, pre heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds, add onion, tomato and fry it till it becomes golden brown. Add a little water, turmeric powder, salt, red chillies powder, salt and let it cook for few mts. It will become like a thick paste (thokku). Now add the ketchup to it and mix it well. Now put the crispy bread pieces to it and mix it well. Garnish it well with coriander leaves.

Sep 16, 2008

Oats Dosai

This is something very new to me. I came across this website from one of my co-blogger and also in a magazine. But I was not sure whether this will taste good or not. So I tried this dosai yesterday using small cups for measurement. Here is the recipe I followed.

Ingredients:-
  1. Oats - 1 cup
  2. Buttermilk - 2 cups
  3. Besan Flour - 1/4 cup
  4. Sooji -1/4 cup
  5. Salt to taste
  6. Green chillies - 2 (acc to taste)
  7. Onion - 1 finely chopped
  8. Curry leaves and coriander leaves - few
  9. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  10. Cashews - few
  11. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  12. Oil - 2 tsp

First grind the oats into very fine powder. Keep it aside. Now take the buttermilk add oats powder, besan flour, sooji and salt and mix it well. Keep it aside for half an hour. In the mean time, preheat a drop of oil, splutter mustard seeds, when its done add cashews, onion, asafoetida powder and green chillies and fry it till it becomes golden brown. Now add curry leaves and coriander leaves to it and saute' for a moment and pour it on top of the batter. Mix it well. Pre heat a dosa skillet, pour a laddle full of batter and spread it into a circle, pour a teaspoon of oil and let it cook under low flame (because it becomes very dark). When it is done flip it over and pour the remaining oil and cook it. Serve it hot with some chutney or sambar. This tastes really good and it tastes more like rava dosa.

Sep 15, 2008

Thenga Podi - Dry coconut podi

This is something my patti used to make whenever we have excess coconut. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Dry coconut shredded - 1 cup (basically half coconut
  2. Red chillies - 4 (acc to taste)
  3. Urad dhall - 2 tbsp
  4. Salt to taste
  5. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Take a dry pan, fry urad dhall, red chillies to golden brown. Also fry coconut to golden brown. Also fry salt for a minute. Let everything cool and grind it into a fine powder. Add asafoetida powder to it. Store it in a air tight container. Refrigerate it and use it for 2 to 3 days. After that it won't be good.

Sep 14, 2008

Vaazhapoo vadai

Vaazhapoo vadai is traditional tiffin which my mom used to make every week without fail. Because vaazhapoo (banana blossom) is very good to strengthen the utreus. Here is the recipe I followed to make this vadai.

Ingredients:-
  1. Channa dhall - 1/2 cup
  2. Urad dhall - little less than 1/4 cup
  3. Rice - 1 tsp
  4. Red chillies -3 to 4 (acc to taste)
  5. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  6. Vaazhapoo (banana blossom) - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
  7. Curry leaves - few
  8. Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
  9. Salt to taste.
  10. Oil - to deep fry
Soak channa dhall, urad dhall, rice and red chillies for 2 hours. Drain it after two hours and grind it coarsely adding red chillies, and salt, without adding water. Now add vaazhapoo, coriander leaves, curry leaves and asafoetida powder and mix it well. If necessary sprinkle little bit water. Make small patties out of the batter and deep fry it. Serve it hot with tomato sauce.

Sep 13, 2008

Peas Pulao

My girls' love to eat peas at any time. Since they have started going to school full time, I need to think something or the other to pack their lunch box. I used some of Jujubs lunch box ideas. I wanted to try our Indian food too to pack their lunch box. So I tried this peas pulao and I followed the recipe from Bhawana's Taste of India. I didn't make much changes. I used unsalted butter instead of Oil. I added peas to the rice while frying it in butter along with other masala ingredients.

Paruppu Podi

This is my favorite podi and this recipe is my MIL's recipe. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Toor dhall - 1 small cup
  2. Channa dhall - 1 small cup
  3. Urad dhall - 1 tsp
  4. Pepper - 1 tsp
  5. Red chillies - 2
  6. Sesame seeds (white or black) - 2 tsp
  7. Salt to taste
  8. Dry ginger - a small piece.
  9. Asafoetida powder - a pinch.
Fry all the ingredients one by one to golden brown. Grind it into a fine powder and store it in a air tight container.

Sep 12, 2008

Orange Rice

This is another rice for which I got the recipe from a magazine. I have never tried variety rice with orange. So just wanted to try this time. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Basmati rice - 1 cup
  2. Orange - 1 or 2 (we need 1 3/4 cup of juice; accordingly take orange)
  3. Salt to taste
  4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  5. Onion - 1 (chopped)
  6. Green chillies - 2
  7. Ginger - a small piece (chopped)
  8. Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
  9. channa dhall - 1 1/2 tsp
  10. Red chillies - 2 (acc to taste)
  11. Cardamom - 1
  12. Cloves - 1
  13. Bay leaves - 1
  14. Orange skin or zest - 1 tsp
  15. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
  16. Unsalted butter - 3 tbsp
  17. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  18. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

First wash and soak rice for 10 mts. After 10 mts., drain it completely and keep it aside. Squeeze out juice from oranges for about 1 3/4 cups and keep it aside. In the mean time, fry coriander seeds, red chillies, channa dhall, cardamom, cloves, to golden brown and grind it into a fine powder. Take a pressure cooker, pre heat butter and splutter mustard and cumin seeds. When its done, add onion, orange skin(zest) and green chillies and fry it till it becomes golden brown. In between add bay leaf to it. Now add the drained rice, orange juice, salt, a pinch of sugar, turmeric powder and the grounded masala powder to it and mix it well. Pressure cook it upto 2 whistles. When the pressure is released, open the cooker and garnish the rice with coriander leaves. This rice tastes really good and onion raita can be used as a side dish for this rice.

Sep 11, 2008

Bell Pepper Rice

I have never tried this bell pepper (capsicum) rice before. Bought all the three colors bell peppers this weekend and wanted to try this one. Here is the recipe I followed to make this rice.

Ingredients:-
  1. Bell Pepper (green, yellow and red) - 1 cup (finely chopped)
  2. Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
  3. Garlic - 1 (finely chopped)
  4. Green chillies - 2 (finely chopped)
  5. Ginger - a small Piece (finely chopped)
  6. Unsalted butter - 2 tsp
  7. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  8. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  9. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
  10. Cashews - 1 tsp
  11. Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
  12. Basmati Rice - 1 cup
  13. Salt to taste
First wash and soak rice for 10 mts. After 10 mts drain it fully and keep it aside. Now take a pan, pre heat unsalted butter, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add asafoetida powder and cashews. Fry it till golden brown. Now add chopped green chillies, ginger, garlic and onion one by one and fry it till it becomes transparent. Now add the bell peppers and stir it for another 5 to 7 mts. Now add the drained rice and saute for couple of minutes. Now transfer these ingredients to a pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water (1:2 ratio), required amount of salt and pressure cook it upto 2 whistles. Open the cooker when the pressure is released and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with onion raita.

Priti has tagged me for a meme which I have already posted it here.

Sep 10, 2008

Bengan Bartha (Brinjal Sabji)

I am not sure whether, this is the traditional recipe for making bengan bartha, but I named it so, because it is made out of brinjal(!) I used the left over brinjal masala curry to make this recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Masala Brinjal curry - 1 cup
  2. Tomato - 1
  3. Onion - 1/2
  4. Green chillies - 2
  5. Salt - required amount for ingredients 2,3 and 4.
  6. Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp
  7. Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

First grind, tomato, onion and green chillies adding required amount of salt into a fine paste. Now add the the masala curry to it and grind it again so that everything mix well. Pre heat unsalted butter in a pan, add the grounded paste and cook it well for 5 to 7 mts adding required amount of water. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

We can also add a handfull of peas to it. First cook the peas and add it to the grounded paste while cooking with butter.

Sep 9, 2008

Brinjal Curry 2

My MIL usually make brinjal curry with some seasoning on it. This is something very traditional in Iyer family and they call it "Podi idicha curry". I tried the same podi idicha curry with some more spices in it. It was really good as a side dish and as a main dish with rice. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Brinjal - 3 cups (sliced into 1"sized)
  2. Onion - 1 (chop it accordingly)
  3. Coriander Seeds - 1 1/2 tbsp
  4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  5. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
  6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  7. Channa dhall - 1 tsp
  8. Garlic cloves - 2
  9. Red chillies - 2
  10. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  11. Coconut - 1 tsp
  12. Cardamom - 1
  13. Cloves - 2
  14. White Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
  15. Oil - 1 tbsp
  16. Salt to taste

First fry, coriander seeds, channa dhall, garlic, red chillies, asafoetida powder, coconut, cardamom, cloves, white sesame seeds to golden brown and let it cool and grind it into a fine powder. In the mean time, heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let it splutter. Now add onion and fry it for a minute, add brinjal pieces, turmeric powder and salt and add required amount of water and let the veggies cook nicely. Do not mash the veggies. when it is half cooked, add the grounded powder and mix it well. Cook it for another 7 mts under low flame. Now transfer the ingredients to a baking sheet. Bake it in the 350 degress pre heated oven for 7 to 10 mts. If possible, spray the sheet with cooking oil, before putting brinjal. This process will make brinjal more crispier than regular brinjal curry. I made this as side dish with raddish sambar for lunch. I had some more left over in the evening which I converted into bengan bartha which is my next post.

Sep 8, 2008

Gongura Thokku

I love this gongura thokku. My patti make this thokku very nicely. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Gongura Leaves - 1 cup
  2. Tamarind - a small piece
  3. Red chillies - 1 (acc to taste)
  4. Sesame Oil - 2 tsp
  5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  6. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  7. Salt to taste
  8. Green chillies -1
Preheat a drop of oil in a pan, fry red chillies to golden brown. In the same pan, cook gongura till it becomes tender. Let it cool. Now grind gongura leaves, red chillies, tamarind and salt into a fine paste. Now pre heat remaining oil, splutter mustard seeds, fry green chillies and asafoetida powder and add the grounded paste and fry it till nice aroma comes out. Store it in a air tight container. Can be used for more than a week if refrigerated.



Dershana has passed me this wonderful award. Thanks Dershana!!

I would like to pass this award to Bhawana, Priti and Vani

Sep 6, 2008

Gooseberry Pachadi

This is my favorite pachadi. During gooseberry season in chennai, my patti used to make this and its very good to eat with plain white rice and a teaspoon of melted ghee. I am sending this recipe to Vani's AFAM (A Fruit A month) event. Here is the recipe.


Ingredients:-
  1. Gooseberry(nellikka) - 10
  2. Green chillies - 2
  3. Coconut- 1 tbsp
  4. Curd - 1 cup
  5. Salt to taste
  6. Oil - 1/2 tsp
  7. mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
  8. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  9. Curry leaves - few

First cut the goose berry into two and take out the seeds from it. Now put the goose berries in a microwave safe vessel and add 1/4 cup of water and microwave it for 2 mts. The gooseberries become tender now. Let it cool. Grind, the cooked gooseberries+green chillies+coconut into a fine paste. Add it to curd and mix required amount of salt to it. Take a pan, preheat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add curry leaves and asafoetida powder to it and fry it till golden brown. Pour it on top of gooseberry-curd mixture. Now goose berry pachadi is ready to serve. We even call this gooseberry arachukalakki.

Sep 5, 2008

Brinjal Thogayal - Sutta kathirikkai thogayal

I have eaten this thogayal in one of our friend's place and I wanted to try this. Here is the recipe I followed to make this.

Ingredients:-
  1. Brinjal (eggplant) - 1 (medium sized)
  2. Oil -1 tsp
  3. Coconut - 2 tbsp
  4. Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
  5. Urad dhall - 1 tbsp
  6. Red chillies - 2 (acc to taste)
  7. Tamarind - a tiny piece
  8. Salt to taste.
First cook brinjal on stove top or microwave it for 3 to 5 mts. The skin from brinjal will come out automatically. Take out the skin and mash the brinjal. In the mean time, pre heat oil, fry mustard seeds, urad dhall, coconut and red chillies to golden brown adding a pinch of asafoetida powder to it. Let it cool. Grind it adding the mashed brinjal, required amount of salt and tamarind piece, into a fine paste. This can be eaten with white rice. It tastes really good.

Sep 4, 2008

Masala Vadai

Opposite to my mom's place, a Kerala guy was running tea stall and he used to make masala vadai everyday. This recipe is from that guy.

Ingredients:-
  1. Channa dhall - 3/4 cup
  2. Toor dhall - 1/4 cup
  3. Urad dhall - 2 tbsp
  4. Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
  5. Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
  6. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  7. Milk - 1/4 cup
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Red chillies - 3 (acc to taste)
  10. Curry leaves - few
  11. OIl - to deep fry
Soak Dhall for an hour to two with red chillies in it. After two hours, drain it completely, grind it coarsely without adding water. Mix chopped onion, salt, fennel seeds, curry leaves and milk with the grounded paste. Add milk little by little so that you add the required amount. Add water if necessary. Make small patties and deep fry it until golden brown. Serve it hot with coconut chutney.

Sep 3, 2008

Polla vadai (rice flour vadai)

This is a snack item, which my patti used to make and the side dish for this is a cup of coffee. We usually dip this vadai in coffee and eat it. It will be really good to eat it with coffee.

Ingredients:-
  1. Channa dhall - 1/4 cup
  2. toor dhall - 1/2 cup
  3. urad dhall - 1/4 cup
  4. Rice flour - 1 cup
  5. Red chillies - 2
  6. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  7. curry leaves - few
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Oil - to deep fry
Soak three dhall in water for half an hour to one hour adding red chillies to it. After an hour, grind it into a very fine paste adding red chillies, curry leaves and salt. Now add rice flour and asafoetida powder and mix it well. Add water to adjust the consistency. Make small patties out of the batter, deep fry it and enjoy. Fry it one by one in order to get it in better form.

Sep 2, 2008

Mixed Vegetable Pickle

This is something I used to buy from grocery store. This time I just wanted to try by myself with a handful of veggies. Since I am the only person here in my house who eat pickle very often, I just tried with a little quantity of veggies.Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-
  1. Carrot - 3/4 (chop it into 1" size)
  2. Lime - 1 (small - chop it into tiny pieces)
  3. Lemon - 1 (small - chop it into tiny pieces)
  4. Mango - 3 tbsp (chop into 1" size)
  5. Bittergourd - 1/2 (chop it into 1"size)
  6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  7. Red chillies powder - 1 tsp (acc to taste)
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Sesame Oil - 4 tbsp
  10. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  11. Asafoetida powder - a pinch
  12. Asafoetida powder - 1 tsp

There are two ways of making this pickle. First one is microwave the Veggies, lemon and lime for 3 mts. till it 3/4th cooked and season it. But I didn't microwave the veggies, I cooked it on stove top. Take a pan, pre heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add asafoetida powder and add all the veggies and saute' for a minute. Now add turmeric powder, red chillies and salt and sprinkle a hand full of water and let it cook. When the veggies are fully cooked, add asafoetida powder and mix it well. Do not mash the veggies and do not over cook the veggies. This can be a wonderful side dish for curd rice.