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.