Bindi Masala (I call it as Yummy masala ;) ) / Okra Masala / வெண்டைக்காய் மசாலா

Its my favourite recipe. Easy to prepare - Medium spicy - very tasty dish. Goes well with chappathi, Sambar rice or Plain rice. Kids may like it very much.

Ingredients:
1. Vendaikka / Bindi / Okra - 1/2 kg or 1 pack
2. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1/2 tbs
4. Curry leaves - 5 nos
5. Big Onion - 1 no - chopped
6. Tomato - 1 - chopped
7. Garam masala - 2 tbs
8. Dhania / Coriander powder - 2 tbs
9. Red chili powder - 1 tbs
10. Salt to taste
11. Cashew nuts - 6 to 8 nos
12. Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 handful

Method:
1. Soak cashew nuts in warm water. Do this as a first step of preparing the dish.
2. Wash whole Okras, dry & cut them into small pieces. Usually i used to wash the vegetable and spread it on a newspaper overnight. If you are using a frozen okra pack, keep the washed vegetable in air for atleast 30 mins.
3. Heat 2 tbs oil in a non stick pan and saute the okra till the sticky liquid from it vanishes. Keep this aside. (you dont have to stir the vegetable continously for this. Once in every 5 mins gently stir).
4. Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds + urad dal, Curry leaves and onion @ 30 sec interval. Cook till onion turns transparent. Now add chopped tomato and cook till its smashed. Now add sauted okra and add all powders + salt. Cook in medium flame for 10 mins.
5. Grind the soaked cashew nuts and grated coconut together into a fine paste. Add 2 tbs of water if required. Add this paste to okra and cook for 10 more mins.
Serve hot.

Spinach - scrambled egg masala

Medium spicy side dish, goes well with chappathi, Toasted Bread, Sambhar rice and plain rice. For those who dont like spinach dal, can try this one.

Ingredients:
1. Egg - 2 nos
2. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1/2 tbs
4. Saunf / Sombu - 1/4 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos
6. Onion - chopped - 1 handful
7. Tomato - chopped - 1/2 handful
8. Turmeric powder - pinch
9. Red chili powder - 1 tbs
10. Garam masala - 1 tbs
11. Salt to taste
12. Spinach - Washed and finely chopped (amount - as you wish)
13. Lemon juice - 1 tbs (optional)

Method:
1. Heat cooking oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, saunf, curry leaves, onion @ 30 sec interval in the same order. Saute the onion till its transparent. Now add the chopped spinach and saute well till the green smell goes off.
2. Once the spinach reduces 3/4th of its volume add chopped tomato and saute till its smashed. Now add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala and cook till the gravy boils.
3. At this point break the eggs one by one and pour into the gravy. Add salt at this stage & stir well. In medium flame cook till the gravy thickens. Switch off the stove and sprinkle the lemon juice. Serve hot with chappathi or Bread Toast.

Note: - I have prepared this dish very thick. If you are planning to serve with plain rice add some more water and stop cooking when the dish is in gravy consistency.

Healthy rava idli (ரவா இட்லி)/ Semolina-vegetable steamed cake

Rava idli - one of my hubby's favourite. I would say its a healthy breakfast especially for kids.For those who doesnt under the term idli , dont miss to click the link.

Ingredients:
To saute:
1. Rava/semolina - 1 1/2 cups (this holds good for 2 people)
2. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
3. Perungayam / Hing / Asafoetida - pinch
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1/2 tbs
5. Green chilli - 2 nos - finely chopped
6. Ginger - small piece - finely chopped
7. Curry leaves - 6 nos
8. Peanuts / Cashew nuts - 1/2 handful (optional)
To cook:
1. Yogurt / Curd - 1 cup
2. Baking powder - a pinch
3. Grated carrot - 1/2 cup (you can use ur choice of grated vegetables cabbage, chopped - half cooked brocolli or cauliflower) - make sure vegetables quantity doesnt exceed 1/2 of the quantity of semolina.
4. Cilantro - chopped
5. Salt and water - as required
To Garnish
1. Sliced tomato
2. Chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Heat cooking oil in a pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal, hing, nuts, curry leaves, chilli, ginger one by one (dont change this order). Once the nuts are golden brown add rava / semolina and saute till nice aroma comes. Allow this to cool down.
2. Batter preparation- To the sauted rava add all the ingredients mentioned under To cook together, mix and keep this batter aside for 30-40 mins. If required add water while soaking. Make sure no excess liquid remains on top. Beat the batter well after 30 mins.

3. Grease the idli plate with a drop of cooking oil, place the garnishing and pour the idli batter into the mould (as shown above). Cook the idli in steam for 10 - 15 mins (Rava idli takes bit more time to get cook).
4. Serve hot with chuttney / sambar / idli podi. Enjoy!!!!

Modhakam - Ganesha chadhurthi special

Ganesha chadhurthi - Birthday of Lord Vinayaka.

Modhakam - Considered to be the favourite dish of Lord Ganesha. Hope kids will like this dish very much...

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1 cup

2. Channa dal / Kadala paruppu - 1/2 cup

3. Finely chopped fresh coconut - 1/2 cup

4. Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup

5. Ghee - 1/2 tbs

6. Salt - as required

7. Cardomom powder - pinch

Method:

1. Wash & soak the channa dal in water for 30 mins and half cook it in 1 cup of water. Drain water completely & Use this drained water for making the dough later. Grind the half cooked channa with a pinch of cardamom powder & keep this aside.

2. Heat 1/2 tbs ghee in a pan and saute the chopped coconut in it.

3. Now add all the ingredients together and make a soft dough out of it. Use the water drained from channa for making the dough.

4. Make small balls from the dough and cook in steam (idly maker) for 10 mins. Serve hot.

Rava paniyaram / Semolina deep fried sweet bread

Its Gokulastami today - Birthday of lord krishna.

This is a sweet recipe. Maximum cooking time is 30 mins. Can be served as a snack. I used to prepare this recipe for Gokulastami.

Ingredients:

1. Semolina / Rava - 1 cup

2. Maida / All purpose flour - 1/2 cup

3. Baking soda - pinch

4. Jaggery - 3/4 cup (can use powdered sugar also)

5. Cardamom powder - pinch

6. Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Soak all the ingredients with 1 cup water for 20 mins (there should be no excess water after soaking).

2. Beat well the soaked ingredients into a thick batter shown below.

3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Scoop up the batter and pour into the oil one by one. Fry till all sides are golden brown. Serve hot :P

I am back ;)

Sorry for not blogging for a long time. I was busy with relocation and my friends & relatives were keeping me busy so far. Just found time to resume my blogging. Thanks for all the readers and ur comments.

Chilli chicken

Sorry for a long gap.
Chilli chicken - yummy chicken recipe of south india. Goes well with rasam rice, curd rice.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken meat (boneless is prefered) - 1/2 kg
2. Fresh lemon juice - 4 tbs
3. Oil for deep frying

For marination:

1. Turmeric powder - pinch
2. Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbs
3. Chilli powder - 2 tbs
4. Garam masala - 1 tbs
5.Maida / all purpose flour - 5 tbs
6. Thick curd - 4 tbs
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil - 1 tbs
9. Mint coriander paste - 1/2 tbs

For garnishing

1. Big brown onion - 1 (sliced into circles)
2. Chopped mint and coriander leaves
3. Lemon juice - 1/2 tbs

Method:

1. Wash well and cut the chicken meat into equal cubes. Press the chicken meat with hand and squeeze out the excess water. Immediately add fresh lemon juice to chicken and mix well so that lemon juice sticks around the chicken pieces. Keep this aside for 5 mins. Adding lemon juice makes the meat tender so that the marination penetrates well into the chicken.
2. Add together and mix well the ingredients mentioned below for marination. If the mix looks watery (becoz of loose curd) add one more tbs of maida. Now marinate the chicken in this mix for atleast 3 hours.
3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and drop the chicken pieces. Fry well in medium flame till the chicken is coated with a crispy layer. Store the fried chicken on a tissue paper to remove excess oil. Fry the remaining chicken in batches.
4. When the chicken is hot sprinkle the lemon juice and garnish with onion and coriander leaves.
Serve hot!!!

Pattani kuzhambhu / Green peas gravy

Medium spicy recipe, goes well with hot steamed rice / chappathi. Both Channa dal (chick pea) and Green peas can be used for preparing this dish. Cooking this recipe using channa dal tastes like lamb !

Ingredients:

1. Green peas - 1 cup (soak the peas overnight in water)
2. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
4. Curry leaves - 4 nos
5. Big brown onion - 2 tbs (sliced)
6. Tomato - 1 no (chopped)
7. Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup
8. Sambhar powder or any masala powder - 3 tbs
9. Salt to taste
10. Chopped cilantro for garnishing

To grind

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 (sliced) or small onion - 10 nos (small onions are prefered for this dish)
2. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbs
3. Khaskhas / Opium poppy (கசகசா) - 1/2 tbs
4. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and cook pattani / green peas in a pressure cooker. Pour enough water till peas get immersed (but not soaked) for cooking. Keep this aside.
2. Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan and saute the ingredients mentioned under to grind except coconut. Saute till onion turns trasparent. Once the sauted ingredients cooles down grind them into a fine paste (dont forget to add coconut while grinding). Keep this aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in the pressure cooker, add mustard seeds, urad dal. Once it pops add curry leaves and onion. Once onion turns trasparent, add tomato and cook till it gets smashed.
4. Now add grinded ingredients, cooked peas, sambhar powder, tamarind juice, salt, 1 cup water (if required) and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook in medium flame for 10 mins.
5. Garnish the recipe with chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rice / chappathi.

Tip:- If the gravy wants to be very thick do not add water other than used for cooking peas.

Peerkangai koottu (பீர்கங்காய் கூட்டு) / Luffa or Ridge gourd dal

Spiceless recipe. Goes well with sambhar rice / rasam rice / curd rice.
Easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Peerkangai / Ridge gourd - 1 no (if it is big).
2. Mung dal - roughly 1/2 handful
3. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (whote lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos
6. Big brown onion - 1/2 no (finely chopped)
7. Green chilies - 2 nos (slited)
8. Salt to taste
9. Asafoetida / Hing - pinch

Method:

1. Wash and cut the ridge gourd. Click here to see how to clean and cut the vegetable.
2. Wash the dal in a pan and add ridge gourd to it. Add water till the dal and vegetable gets immersed. Add salt and cook this in medium flame. Cook till the dal gets soften.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once it pops add curry leaves and hing. Add green chilli and onion. Cook till onion turns golden brown.
4. Add this to cooked vegetable + dal, mix well. Serve hot with rice.

Ennai kathrikaai (எண்ண கத்திரிக்காய்) / Stuffed brinjal curry

Very delicious dish. Can be served with hot white rice or sambhar rice.
My hubby hate brinjal whereas i like this vegetable. Tried 2 other recipes using brinjal to make him eat and finally this recipe grabbed his attention.

Ingredients:

1. Violet brinjal - 6 nos
2. Cooking oil - 3 tbs
3. Gingelly / Sesame oil - 3 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Finely chopped onion - 2 tbs
6. Finely chopped tomato - 2 tbs
7. Curry leaves - 4 nos
8. Salt to taste

To grind

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 roughly chopped
2. Grated / shredded coconut - 3/4 cup
3. Red chilli (big & dried) - 5 nos (no other spice will be added to the dish, based on ur taste adjust the red chilli nos)
4. Ginger - 2 nos small
5. Garlic - 2 nos small
6. Peanut (dry roasted) - roughly 1 handful
7. Turmeric powder - pinch
8. Mint & cilantro - 1/2 handful (optional)
9. Sesame seeds - 1 1/2 tbs (if u dont have sesame seeds, can use sesame oil instead)
10. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbs sesame oil in a pan and saute the ingredients mentioned under to grind. Grind well the sauted ingredients into a fine paste. Keep this aside.
2. Wash and slit the brinjal at the centre (cut the brinjal from top like spliting it into 2 halfs but do not complete the cut. Stop at half inch above the bottom. Do similarly, perpendicular to the above cut) as shown below and stuff the brinjal with grinded paste.

3. Heat cooking oil + remaining sesame oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad daal + curry leaves. Once mustard seed pops add chopped onion and tomato. Cook till the tomato gets smashed.

4. Add 1 cup of water to the remaining grinded paste and add it to sauted tomato. Add little salt and wait till the gravy boils. Now place the stuffed brinjal inside it carefully and close the pan with a lid.

5. Cook the dish completely in medium flame. For every 2 mins open the lid and stir well without disturbing the brinjal. If required, sprinkle oil consiously.

6. Cook till oil seperates out. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Tip:- Place the cut brinjal inside water before stuffing.

Paruppu soup / Chettinad dal soup / Indian lentil stew

Famous soup recipe of karaikudi. Can be eaten as conventional soups by adding salt & pepper. Can be served for hot steamed rice also. In case of serving with rice, any spicy side dish could be the best combination. Healthy recipe and a good appetizer.


Ingredients:

1. Ghee - 1 1/2 tbs
2. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
3. Bay leaves - 1
4. Cinnamon stick - 2 small
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
6. Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1/2tbs
7. Curry leaves - 5 nos
8. Turmeric powder - pinch
9. Big brown onion - 1/2 sliced
10. Tomato - 1 sliced
11. Splited green chilies - 3 nos
12. Tuvar daal / red gram - 1 handful
13. Moong daal / splited pigeon peas - 1 handful
14. Cilantro / coriander leaves - 1/2 handful (need not chop)
15. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the daal (lentil) & Soak in water for 20 mins.
2. Heat oil + ghee in a pressure cooker and add the ingredient nos from 3 to 8 together and wait till mustard seeds pops.
3. Add chopped onion + green chilies and cook till onion is trasparent. Now add tomato & saute for a min. The tomato need not get smashed.
4. Strain water completely from daal and add it into the pressure cooker. Saute well the daal in medium flame for 7 - 9 min. Stir consiously for every 2 mins. Now add the cilantro.
5. Add 3 1/2 cups of water + salt. The soup should be very watery before cooking. After the daal gets cooked, the soup will come to a eatable consistency.
6. Close the cooker lid with whistle and cook in medium flame for excatly 10 mins. The cooker need not whistle. Switch off the stove and remove from fire.
7. Open the cooker lid after the pressure goes off and sprinkle some more cilantro leaves and boil in medium flame for 2 mins.
Thats it. Delicious soup ready. Serve hot.

Vellapoondu pulikulambhu (பூண்டு புளி குழம்பு) / Garlic sour gravy

Goes well with hot steamed rice.

Ingredients:

Main ingredient
Garlic pods - 8 to 10 nos

1. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
2. Gingelly oil / Sesame oil - 3 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 2 tbs
4. Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 tbs
6. Big brown onion - 1/2 chopped or small onions - 10 nos chopped
7. Tomato - 1 chopped
8. Tamarind juice - 3/4 cup
9. Red chilli powder - 2 tbs
10. Coriander powder - 2 tbs
11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbs
12. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat sesame and cooking oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + fenugreek seeds. Once mustard pops, add curry leaves.
2. After few sec add chopped onion & garlic pods and cook till onion is transparent.
3. Add tomato and cook till its smashed.
4. Add tamarind juice, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, 2 1/2 cups of water together and mix well.
5. Cook till the gravy gets thicken.
Serve hot with hot steamed rice. Pappad could be the best combination for this.

Tip:- If u dont like sour taste, use 1/2 cup of tamarind juice.
Cooking the dish completely in sesame oil will enhance the taste.

Rava kesari / Suji halwa

Kesari - tooks place in almost all the indian festivals. Easy to prepare indian sweet.

Click here for the recipe. Just replace vermicelli by semolina / rava. Others measurements and procedure are same.

Egg Biryani

My hubby's favorite, hope the readers also will try the recipe and enjoy.

Ingredients:

To cook

1. Basmathi / sona masoori rice - 2 cups (soak rice in water as the first step of preparing the dish)
2. Big brown onion - 1 (sliced thin)
3. Tomato - 1 (sliced thin)
4. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbs
5. Salt to taste

To marinate

1. Curd / yogurt - 6 tbs
2. Coriander / Cilantro - 1 handful (washed and finely chopped)
3. Mint - 1 handful (washed and finely chopped)
4. Garam masala - 1 1/2 tbs
5. Red chili powder + coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbs each (or) any chicken masala powder - 3 tbs
6. Salt - 1/2 tbs
7. Eggs - hard boiled - 3 nos

- mix all the ingredients mentioned above with hand and marinate the unshelled egg in it for 15 mins. Slit slightly on the sides of the egg before marinating.

To saute

1. Cooking oil - 7 tbs
2. Jeera / cumin seeds - 1/2 tbs
3. Sombu / Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 5 nos

Method:

1. Wash the soaked rice 2-3 times and drain water completely and keep this aside.
2. Heat 4 tbs oil in a pressure cooker and add the ingredients mentioned under to saute one by one in 30 sec interval. Add chopped onion and cook till its transparent. Add chopped tomato and saute well. Now add ginger garlic paste and saute till the green smell of it goes off and it blends with tomato.
3. Remove eggs from marination and keep it aside. Add the marination paste to tomato and cook it in medium flame for 15 mins.
4. In the meantime, heat remaining oil in another pan and add the rice. Saute it well it the rice turns golden brown. Add this to tomao paste in the cooker. Add salt, add 4 cups of water (for 1 cups of rice add 2 cups of water. not more than that) and Mix well. Place the eggs on top of it and close the cooker lid without whistle.
5. Wait till gas comes out of the vent, then put the whistle. Cook the biryani in medium flame for 15 mins. No need to wait till the cooker whistles. Switch off the stove.
Serve hot with Raitha.

Arachuvitta sambhar (அரச்சுவிட்ட சாம்பார்) / Sambhar with coconut garnishing

This is one more version of sambhar (indian vegetable lentil stew). I learned this recipe from my friend. Thanks to my friend V... The dish is simple to cook. Can go well with hot steamed rice, Idli, Dosa. If this dish is prepared in a thick consistency, then its a tastier combination for paratha and chappathi.

Ingredients:

to cook

1. Thuvaram paruppu / tuvar dal - 3/4 cup
2.Turmeric powder - pinch
3. Tomato - 1 (do not cut the tomato, squeeze with hand while adding to the dish)
4. Big brown onion - 1 roughly chopped
5. Any vegetable of ur choice (optional)
6. Cilantro / coriander leaves - 1/2 handful
7. Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup
8. Sambhar powder - 3 tbs
9. Salt to taste

to grind (grind with 1/4 cup of water into a fine paste)

1. Fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
2. Jeera / cumin seeds - 3/4 tbs
3. Saunf - 3/4 tbs
4. Dried red chili - 3 nos
5. Garlic pods - 2 nos

to saute

1. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
2. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
3. Hing / Asafoetida - pinch
4. Curry leaves - 4 nos

Method:

1. Wash and cook tuvar dal in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water & for 2 whistles. Keep this aside.
2. Once the gas goes off open the cooker lid and add all the ingredients mentioned under to cook and the grinded paste (mentioned under to grind) + 1/2 cup of water. Mix well, check salt and cook again in the same pressure cooker for 4 whistles.
3. Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal, hing, curry leaves. Saute for a minute and garnish the recipe with this.

Serve hot with rice or paratha or chappathi.

Frozen Okra

Okra - favaourite vegetables for kids. Few days back when i was cooking a frozen okra pack clicked this fume coated power green vegetable. Looks like okras went for a walk in a foggy morning... !!!

Strawberry milkshake

Healthy recipe, more suitable for kids.

Ingrediants:

1. Strawberry
2. Fresh milk
3. Powdered sugar

Method:

1. Remove the stem and wash strawberry.
2. Put it inside a blender / mixi and pour milk till the fruit gets immersed. Add 2 tbs powdered sugar (for 3 strawberry's 1 tbs of sugar). Grind well and serve as a dessert.

Ribbon pakoda

South indian snack recipe in the shape of ribbon. Crispy and medium spicy. This dish very famous in my hometown karaikudi. Quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Kadalai mavu / Gram flour / Besan flour - 1/2 cup
3. Perungayam / Hing /Asafoetida - 2 pinch
4. Butter - 1/2 tbs
5. Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbs (adjust as per ur choice)
6. Salt to taste
7. Cooking oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients together except oil and make a soft dough out of it by sprinkling water.
2. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Take a small ball of dough and sqeeze it using a idiyappam press (use ribbon pakoda mould instead of idiyappam mould) into the oil for deep frying. Flip and cook the pokada for 2 mins on each side (the cooking time is totally 4 mins only). Remove from oil and store on a tissue paper to remove excess oil sticking to it.
3. Complete the remaining dough in the same way in batches.
Serve hot.

Aval laddoo / Poha laddoo / Flattened rice laddoo

Laddoo is a common sweet recipe of india prepared to celebrate festivals. It can be made of basen flour (gram flour), Semolina (sooji). This version is made of poha (flattened rice) and its very crispy inside like wafers. Very simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Aval / Poha /Flattened rice - 2 cups
2. Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (the recipe requires very less sugar even 1/4 cup is also enough)
3. Dry graphes - roughly 1 handful
4. Ghee - 3 tbs
5. Hot milk - 5 tbs

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbs of ghee in a pan and add 2 cups of poha. Saute till it turns golden brown colour. Coarsely powder the sauted poha using a mixer or blender. Keep this aside.
2. Heat 1 tbs of ghee and saute the dry fruit. Add this to powdered poha.
3. Add sugar and hot milk to poha and mix well. Make small balls out of this when the mixture is hot. Cool down the laddoo and serve. Tip:- Arrange the laddoo in a air tight container and can be kept in the fridge upto 10 days. In that case before serving, heat for 10 sec.

Vegetable pulav

Medium spicy steamed rice recipe. I was thinking that this recipe is hard to prepare so i was ordering it from hotels. One day tried just like that and it was good. The preparation time takes 15 mins and cooking time is 20 mins.

Ingredients:

To cook

1. Basmathi rice - 1 1/2 cups (soak the rice in water for 30 mins. Do soak the rice as the first step of preparing the dish)
2. Carrot - 3 nos chopped into lengthy pieces
3. Frozen peas - 1 cup
4. Spring onion - 4 nos chopped into lengthy pieces
(choose your choice of vegetables - cauliflower, mushroom etc.,)
5. Salt to taste

To saute

1. Bay leave - 2 nos
2. Cinnamon - 3 small pieces
3. Sombhu / Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Jeera - 1/2 tbs
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
6. Curry leaves - 3 nos
7. Big brown onion - 1 finely chopped
8. Coriander leaves / Cilantro - 1/2 handful finely chopped
9. Mint leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped
8. Cooking oil - 4 tbs

To grind

1. Ginger - 3 small pieces
2. Garlic - 3 small pieces equal to ginger
3. Green chilli - 2 nos

For seasoning

1. Ghee - 1 tbs
2. Dry graphes - 1 tbs
3. Cashew nuts - 1 tbs

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbs oil in a pan, add the ingredient nos 1 to 5 mentioned under To saute without any time interval. Wait till the mustard seeds pops. Add curry leaves and onion. Saute the ingredients till onion turns transparent. Add the grinded ingredients and saute till green smell of garlic goes off. Add the chopped mint and cilantro and saute for a min.
2. Add all the vegetables to sauted ingredients mentioned in the above step and mix thoroughly. Put this mixture into a cooker.
3. Wash the soaked rice and strain the water completely. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pan and add the rice. Saute the rice till it turns porous. Add this sauted rice into the cooker. Add 3 cups of water (for 1 cup of rice : 2 cups of water) and salt to the rice & mix well from bottom.
4. Close the cooker lid without whistle. Once the gas comes out of the vent put the whistle and cook in medium flame for 10 mins. Switch off the stove.
5. Heat ghee in a pan and add dry fruits & cashews and season the recipe with this.

6. Serve hot with raitha or curd (yogurt) or potato chips.

Bread vadai / Spicy bread fry

What to do with excess leftover bread ??? Here comes a delicious masal vadai recipe.
An indian recipe using excess bread.

Ingredients:

1. Bread slices
2. Splited chick peas - roughly 1 handful (for 1 loaf of bread 2 handful of splited peas)
3. Big brown onion - 1 finely chopped
4. Green chilli - 4 nos (finely chopped)
5. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tbs
6. Curry leaves - 5 nos finely chopped
7. Hot water - 3 cups
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Soak the spilted peas in water for 45 mins.
2. Dip a bread slice into the hot water for 2 seconds (should not be more than 2 seconds) and slightly wring it, keep it aside. Similarly dip & wring all the bread slices.
3. Drain water completely from soaked splited peas and coarsely grind in a blender / mixie. Add it to the wringed bread slices.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bread and mix well. Make into a soft dough.
5. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Make small balls out of the bread dough, flatten it and frying it. Flip the vadai till it is coated with a brown color in all the sides.
6. Store the fried vadai on a tissue paper to remove excess oil and serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Chilli Gobi / Cauliflower kootu / Spicy Cauliflower

Whenever i buy cauliflower i was trying a portion of it to prepare a spicy side dish. I tried many recipes but only this dish grabbed our attention a lot. Tastes good, easy to cook. Goes well with sambhar rice, curd rice and rasam rice.

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower - 1 - cut into small florets
2. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
4. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos
6. Dries red chillies - 4 nos (roughly broke into small pieces)
7. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
8. Tomato - 1 finely chopped
9. Kadalai paruppu /Splited channa daal / Splited peas - roughly 1 handful (soaked in water for 30 mins)
10.Turmeric powder - pinch
11. Coriander powder - 1/2 tbs (optional)
12. Red chilli powder - 1 tbs
13. Salt to taste
14. Coriander leaves for dressing

Method:

1. Soak the cauliflower florets in hot water for 10 mins, drain the water completely and keep it aside.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan, add mustard seeds + urad daal, once it splatters add cumin seeds, then curry leaves. After 10 sec add dried red chilli and saute for 30 sec. Now add chopped onion and cook till its transparent. Add tomato and saute till its smashed. Drain water from soaked splited peas and add it to the tomato gravy, saute for a min. Add cauliflower, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and mix well. Close the pan with a lid and cook the cauliflower in medium flame.
3. Remove the lid after 20 mins and check whether peas get cooked. Else stir and close the lid. Once peas is cooked sprinkle cilantro leaves and remove from flame.
Serve hot with rice.

Chettinad kaara koli(kozhi) kulambhu / Chettinad spicy chicken gravy

Starting a sunday with a sumptuous breakfast 'Idli - chicken gravy' is delightful. Last sunday for no reason i woke up bit early and surprised my hubby with this breakfast combination. He didnt think of lunch till 2 00 o'clock afternoon ( :P).... In my hometown this chicken gravy is served for idiyappam (rice hoppers) or appam (bowl shapped indian pancake). Spicy recipe, Non veg lovers may like this taste very much.

Ingredients:

To saute

1. Cooking oil - 5 tbs
2. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
3. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/ tbs
4. Suanf / Sombu - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 6 nos
6. Big brown onion - 1 finely chopped
7. Tomato - 1 finely chopped
8. Cilantro - 1/2 handful (finely chopped)
9. Mint - 1/2 handful (finely chopped)
10. Ginger galic paste - 1 1/2 tbs
11. Turmeric powder - pinch
12. Butter (optional) - 1 tbs

To cook

1. Chicken meat - 1/4 kg (cut into cube shapes, wash well and drain the water completely)
2. Any chicken masala powder or sambhar powder - 4 tbs or chili powder + coriander powder + garam masala powder - each 1 1/2 tbs
3. Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, heat the cooking oil and add one by one the ingredient numbers 2 to 5 mentioned below to saute at 30 sec interval.
2. Add chopped onion and cook till it is transparent. Add the chopped tomatos and cook till its smashed. Add chopped cilantro, mint, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and chicken masala or sambhar powder or masala powder (ingredient no 2 of to cook )together and mix well with tomato gravy. Cook this gravy in medium flame for 5 mins. Now add the chicken pieces and salt, mix well so that tomato gravy coats the chicken. Cook the chicken in medium flame for 7 mins. Add butter and stir consiously.
3. Add 3 cups of water to the chicken, close the pressure cooker lid without cooker whistle. Cook in little higher flame than medium. Once the steam comes out of the vent put the cooker whistle and cook for 4 whistles. Serve hot with Idli / dosa / cooked rice / idiyappam / appam.

Tip:- In step 2, cooking the chicken in medium flame in the tomato gravy will increase the taste of the recipe. Becoz at that stage, chicken oozes out water and tomato gravy penetrates into the chicken.

Kara chutney / Bell pepper chutney

Colourful spicy chutney goes well with Idli / Dosa. Easy to prepare, more apt for dinner.

Ingredients:

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 roughly chopped
2. Tomato - 1 roughly chopped
3. Cilantro - 1/2 handful
4. Garlic pod - 1
5. Ginger - small piece equal to the garlic pod
6. Red chili - 2 nos
7. Bell pepper - 1 roughly chopped
8. Curry leaves - 4 nos
9. Salt to taste
10. Cooking oil - 2 tbs

Method:

1. Heat a pan and add all the ingredients except salt. Saute the mixture for 2 mins without adding oil. Then add 2 tbs of cooking oil and saute the mixture till the tomatos gets smashed. Add salt and remove from fire.
2. Cool down the sauted mixture for 10 mins. Put this in a blender / mixie and grind well. If u like season the recipe with mustard seeds else serve with hot idli / dosa.

Other: The bell pepper adds a nice aroma to the dish and offcourse very colourful.

Chicken 65

Chicken 65 mmmm :P mouth watering deep fried spicy chicken recipe of south india. All the NV peoples of india must have tried this dish once in their life time. Well it carries lot and lots of stories.... some say the dish is prepared from 65 days old chicken.... some say 65 no of days marinating... some say year of invention of this recipe is 1965... in olden days the recipe was made with 65 different spices, this is one another story... and the final story is, the dish was prepared first in a millitary canteen where the recipe number is 65.. uff.
Delicious dish of south india, easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

For marinating

1. Chicken meat (white meat or red meat or with bones or bonesless) - 1/2 kg
2. Red chili powder - 2 1/2 tbs
3. Lemon juice - 5 tbs
4. Salt to taste
5. Thick Curd / yogurt - 5 tbs
6. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
7. All purpose flour (to observe the excess water from chicken and yogurt)/ maida - 4 tbs

For seasoning

1. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
2. Cumin seeds / jeera - 1/2 tbs
3. Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Big brown Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbs
7. Chopped cilantro - one handful
8. Salt to taste

For frying

1. Cooking oil for deep frying chicken

Method:

1. Cut the chicken into cubes and wash & strain the water completely. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken pieces, mix well and keep it aside. After 1 min add all other ingredients mentioned below for marinating and mix well. Marinate the chicken for 2-3 hours.
2. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and fry the marinated chicken in batches. Store the fried chicken on a tissue paper to remove the excess oil.
3. Heat oil in a pan for seasoning, and add all the ingredients mentioned below for seasoning one by one at 30 sec interval (for ginger - garlic paste saute for 1 min extra). Add the fried chicken to this seasoning and stir for a minute.
4. Serve hot with biriyani / curd rice. Can be served as a snack also.

Crispy ulundu vadai / Urad daal vada / Crispy indian donuts

Vadai is a most popular & healthy snack recipe of south india. Usually served with breakfast (Idli / pongal / Dosa). Coconut chutney or sambhar could be a prefect combination for this recipe. Can be served with yogurt and spices, then it is called dahi vada. Perfect winter comfort food and simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Ulundhu / Urad daal (whole white lentil) - 1 cup

2. Big brown onion - 3/4 finely chopped

3. Green chili - 3 nos finely chopped

4. Cilantro / coriander leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped

5. Asafeotida / hing - pinch

6. Salt to taste

7. Curry leaves - 6 nos finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and soak the urad daal for 3 hours (1 - 1 1/2 hours is also enough). Wash the soaked urad daal and strain water completely. Grind the urad daal with salt & hing into a tight batter. Add 2 tbs of water for ease of grinding. Do not add water more than that.

2. To the batter add onion, green chili, cilantro and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Drop small balls of batter into the oil. Stir with a slotted laddle so that the batter ball will be coated with golden brown color in all the sides. Intially while dropping the ball the oil bubbles, cook till it settles. Once the bubble settles, take out the vada with a slotted laddle. Store the vada on a tissue paper for few seconds to strain the oil. Serve hot with chutney or ketch up or sambhar.

Tip:- Make the batter into donut shapes instead of balls. That is the traditional way. I am bit lazy... so made into balls... :P

Thakali sadham / Tomato rice

This is a simple lunch box recipe and my all time favorite. The lovely colour of this dish flashes in my mind whenever i think of having something tasty.... Yummy rice recipe doesn't need any side dishes. Can be served with rice wafers or any pickle or raitha.

Ingredients:

1. Cooking oil - 3 tbs

2. Sesame oil / Gingelly oil - 3 tbs

3. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs

4. Splited chick peas / Kadalai paruppu - 1 tbs

5. Turmeric powder - pinch

6. Green chili - splited vertically - 3 or 4 nos

7. Big brown onion - 3/4 finely chopped

8. Tomato - 3 nos

9. Salt to taste

10. Rice - Sona masoori / basmati - 1 1/2 cups

11. Mint + Cilantro - 1/2 handful (washed and chopped)

Method :

1. Wash & cook the rice in 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker / rice cooker.

2. In the meantime, Soak the whole tomato in hot water for 15 mins. Peel off the skin and mash thoroughly with hand. Keep this aside.

3. Heat cooking + sesame oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds + urad daal + chick peas. Once mustard seeds splatters add green chili and turmeric powder. After 30 sec add chopped onion & cook till it turns transparent. Add the mashed tomato and stir to blend with onion. Add 1/2 cup if water and salt to this and cook till it comes to a gravy consistency. Remove from fire.

4. By this time the rice could be cooked. Trasfer the rice to another container which should be big enough for mixing. Let the rice to cool down for 10 mins. Now add the tomato gravy to the rice and mix slowly & completely. Garnish with chopped mint & cilantro. Serve hot.....

Paal kolukattai / Traditional steamed rice balls in coconut milk

Kolukattai is a traditional indian recipe and it is believed that lord Ganesha loves this dish. Usually rice balls will be stuffed with jaggery coconut mix, but this variety of kolukattai is more popular in chettinad (south india). Simple to prepare and more apt & healthy dish for kids.

Ingredients:

-for dough

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Salt - a pinch
3. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
4. Crushed cardamom - 2 nos

- to cook

1. Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
2. Luke warm water - 2 1/2 cups
3. Milk - 1/2 cup
4. Powdered sugar - 3 tbs

Method

1. Mix everything mentioned below for dough with half cup of luke warm water and make a soft dough. Make small balls out of this dough and keep aside.
2. Boil the remaining water in a pan and drop the rice balls. Cook in medium flame. Cook till the outer layer of rice balls are trasparent (1st pic in 2nd row). This takes 4 mins.
3. Mix 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water which is used for steaming rice balls together and bring them to boil. Drop the cooked rice balls from step 2 to this boiled mixture and add sugar immediately. Cook this mixture for 2 mins in medium flame and remove from fire. Serve hot.

Paruppu urundai kulambu / Spicy gravy out of splited chick pea balls / Channa ball spicy gravy

This is a healthy-spicy recipe goes well with hot cooked rice. Chettinad special dish - pappad could be the best combination for this recipe.

Ingredients:

-to saute

1. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
2. Sesame / gingelly oil - 3 tbs
3. Vendhayam /Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos

- to cook

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
2. Tomato - 1 1/2 finely chopped
3. Tamarind pulp - 1 small lemon size ball (soaked in 1 cup of water for 30 mins, squeeze the juice and discard the husk) or tamarind juice - 6 tbs
4. Red chili powder - 1 1/2 tbs
5. Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbs
6. Salt to taste

- for chick pea balls

1. Kadalai paruppu / Spilted chick pea / channa daal - 1 cup (soak in water for 45 mins)
2. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
3. Green chili - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Jeera / cumin seeds / Seeragam - 1 tbs
5. Salt to taste
6. 1/2 handful of cilantro - washed and finely chopped
7. Hing / Asafoetida - pinch


Method:

1. Wash the soaked chick pea and drain the water completely. Add salt & hing to it and grind coursely. Add 1/4 cup of water while grinding !!! do not add more than 1/4 cup water, the batter will be watery and cant make balls !!!
2. Add the remaining ingredients mentioned below for chick pea balls and blend with chick pea batter (pic 2 of row 1). Make them into small balls and steam in a idli cooker or rice cooker (1st n 2nd pic of row 2) for 20 mins. Keep the cooked balls aside.
3. Heat cooking + gingelly oil in a pan and add the ingredients one by one mentioned under to saute in 30 sec interval. Add chopped onion to this and saute till it onion turns transparent. Then add chopped tomato and cook till it gets mashed. Then add tamarind juice, chili powder, coriander powder, salt, 3 cups water. Mix them well and cook in medium flame.
4. Once the above mixture (mentioned in step 3) boils drop the chick pea balls one by one. Cook the chick pea balls in spicy gravy for 20 mins and remove from flame.
Serve hot with cooked rice.

Easy sambhar / Quick indian lentil stew

At times when i do late cooking this recipe immediately flashes in my mind bcoz the cooking + preparation time is 20 mins only.
We call this as Idli sambhar. Quick Moong daal recipe (south indian paasi paruppu sambhar) goes well with Idli / Dosa / Ven Pongal / Cooked rice.

Ingredients:

-to saute

1. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
2. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
3. Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
4. Curry leaves - 4 nos
5. Hing / Asafeotida - pinch

- to cook

1. Moong daal / Pasiparuppu - 1/2 cup
2. Toovar daal / Red gram - 1/4 cup
3. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Tomato - 3/4 finely chopped
5. Cilantro - 1/2 handful (washed and chopped)
6. Turmeric powder - pinch
7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbs
8. Green chili - 1/2 (splited)
9. Salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash Moong daal + Toovar daal in a pressure cooker and strain the water. To this add all the ingredients under to cook + pour water till the ingredients gets immersed and mix well.
2. Heat oil in a small pan and add all the ingredients under to saute one by one at 15 sec interval and add the saute to the pressure cooker.
3. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 4 whistles. Open the cooker lid after the gas goes off. Thats it. Serve hot with Idli / Dosa / Rice.

Egg pepper masala

Tasty recipe, goes well with Chappathi, Naan, Curd rice, Biriyani....

Ingredients:

-to cook
1. Egg - 3 nos
2. Small onion (prefered) - 10 nos finely chopped (or) 1/2 big brown onion finely chopped
3. Salt and pepper - as required
4. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs

- to grind
1. Grated coconut - 5 tbs
2. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tbs
3. Saunf / sombhu - 1 tbs
4. Cilantro / Coriander leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped
5. Garlic pods - 1 no
6. Green chili - 1 no

Method:

1. Boil the eggs seperately and keep it aside.
2. Grind everything under grind and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad daal. Once it splatters add chopped onion and cook till it turns transparent.
4. Add the grinded paste + salt and saute well. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook. Stir consiously. At one stage the paste gets cooked well and oil separates out from it. At this stage add splited egg + pepper powder and stir for a minute. Remove from fire and serve hot.

Indian spicy vegetable noodles (Chinese Schezwan style)

This is a medium spicy recipe suitable for both breakfast and dinner.

Ingredients:

-to cook
1. Plain noodles - 1 pocket
2. Carrot - 1 finely chopped
3. Frozen peas - 1 cup (choose ur choice vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, mushroom etc)
(wash all the vegetables together and cook in microwave for 5 mins in one cup of water)
4. Lemon - 1/2
5. Salt to taste

-to grind
1. Garlic clove - 1
2. Red chilli - 1 big
(grind these ingredients with 1/4 cup of water and keep it aside)

-to saute
1. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1 tbs (optional )
2. Brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
3. Tomato - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Turmeric powder - pinch
5. Cooking oil - 4 tbs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a big pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once it splatters add chopped onion and cook till it is transparent. Then add tomato and cook till it is smashed. Add turmeric powder at this stage and saute for a minute.
2. Add the garlic-chilli paste to this and cook till the green smell of garlic goes off.
3. Add the cooked vegetables and saute for 5 mins. Add 1 1/2 cups of water + salt to the vegetables and bring it to boil (for 1 pocket noodles : 1 1/2 cups of water). Then drop the uncooked noodles into it, mix well.
4. Cook the noodles for 15 mins then sqeeze a lemon over it, remove from fire.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Dosa / Indian pancake

Dosa - Fabulous indian breakfast!!!! Most popular Indian breakfast/Dinner recipe available everywhere in south india. Goes well with sambar or any chutney.

Ingredients:

1. Idli rice / preboiled rice / long grain rice - 5 1/2 cups
2. Skinned urad daal (black lentil) - 1 1/2 cups
3. Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 4 tbs
4. Salt 3 tbs
5. Ghee / cooking oil


Method:

To prepare the batter

1. Soak rice +skinned urad bean + methi seeds overnight.
2. Next day, wash the mixture 2-3 times and drain the water. Grind the washed rice to a smooth consistent batter (if the blender is small, grind in batches). For 2 handful of rice mixture add one cup of water. Test the batter with fingers, you should feel the creamed urad daal. Grind till that consistency.
3. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Left the batter to ferment overnight. If you are living in a cold place, warm the oven for 10 mins and keep the batter inside the oven with a plate at the bottom (1st pic in 2nd row).
4. The fermented batter will be a pale yellow color (2nd pic in 2nd row).

This batter can be kept in fridge upto 15 days. Just before preparing dosa take out the batter from fridge.

To prepare dosa

1. Before preparing dosa each time, mix the batter well from bottom with a ladle.
2. Spread a ladle full of batter into thin circles on a preheated skillet. Then sprinkle some oil / ghee onto it. Cook till the dosa is golden brown and remove from fire.
3. Serve hot with sambhar or chutneys.

Cabbage poriyal / Indian cabbage curry

Cabbage poriyal - The vegetable need not be cabbage, carrot or beetroot or spinach can be prepared in the same way. Easy to cook and a tasty dish.

Ingredients

1. Cabbage - 1/2 Kg finely chopped
2. Green chilli - 1 roughly chopped
3. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
4. Salt to taste
5. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
6. Brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
7. Cooking oil - 3 tbs


Method:

1. Wash the cabbage and cook it on top of rice cooker (this saves lot of time) else cook in a separate pan with 1 cup of water for 10 mins.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once mustard seeds splatters add chopped green chilli and then onion. Cook till onion is transparent. Then add cooked cabbage + salt to it, saute well. After 10 mins sprinkle the grated coconut and remove from fire.

Tip:- Best side dish for sambar rice and a healthy food.