Nellikkai saadham/ Amla rice

Amla Rice is a very heart-warming, easy to do, delicious, nutritionally loaded rice that can be had as a meal with something as humble as a papad or raitha to a poricha kootu.

Ingredients:

Amla ( big ones)                                           7 nos
Brown Rice  or white rice                              2 cups (cooked)
Lemon / Lemon juice                                    1 nos / 2 tsp
Salt                                                              As needed


To temper

Oil                                                              1 tblspn
Mustard seeds                                              1/2 tsp
Curry leaves                                                 1 sprig
Kadalai paruppu/Chana dhal                           1 tsp
Green chillies                                                3 nos split into 2 pieces each


Method

1.) Grate amlas and discard the seeds. If using frozen amlas thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or keeping it at room temperature for a night.
2.) Take a large stir fry pan and heat. Add oil and mustard seeds to splutter.
3.) Add kadalai paruppu/Chana dhal and fry until golden borwn. Add green chillies and fry till change in colour. Add curry leaves to splutter.
4.) Add the amla gratings to fry it for a little longer than a minute. Add salt to it.
5.) Remove it from the stove and add juice from one full lemon or add a tsp of lemon juice.
6.) Add cooked rice and mix well. Leave it for 5 minutes for the flavours to infuse,

Nellikkai saadham/ Amla rice is ready. It is a quick to make and a tangy-yummy rice that can be had with just appalam, vadaam/vathal, or it makes an awesome combo with avarakkai poricha  kootu.

My special tip would be to request you to use brown sona masoori rice for this recipe, as the taste of this amla rice is great with brown rice and the white one.

For more information:

My experiments with brown rice Part 1

My experiments with brown rice - Part 2

My experiments with brown rice - Epilogue

My mom's special tomato chutney

This is the chutney that my mom used to make for our tiffen boxes when she is left with very little time in the morning rush-hour. We call it 'avasara chutney' - meaning  "Hurry-burry chutney" and tastes awesome! It has very few ingredients and has no prep-time at all!

Ingredients

Tomato                                5 nos
Red chillies                          5 nos
Salt                                      As needed

To temper

Oil                                     2 tblspns
Mustard seeds                     1/2 tsp
Asafoetida                           1 pinch


Method:

1. Grind tomatoes, red chillies and salt together with little water to a runny paste.
2. In a hot stir fry pan, add oil, mustard seeds to splutter and asafoetida. 
3. Add this runny paste, mix well and bring it to a boil. 
4. Let it simmer for 10-15 mins. Mix it well every few minutes to ensure even cooking and no burning.
5. Between the 10 and  15 minute mark, the oil begins to separate, the mixture will be thickened and the raw smell of tomatoes will be gone. That is when the chutney is ready.

This quick and easy chutney can be had with idlies, dosas, pongal, vadas and chappathis. 

Vazhaithandu thayir pachadi/ Banana stem raitha

This recipe of vazhaithandu thayir pachadi is from my mother in law. I have had both kari/poriyal and morkootu of vazhaithandu but never a thayir pachadi. It tasted as awesome as the other two. All of us know how amazing banana stem/vazhaithandu is, with regards to both taste (juicy and fibrous at the same time) and health. It is an arduous process to cut and clean it, but the procedure after it gets done under 5 minutes. So, let us indulge in one more recipe of this wonder stem.

Ingredients:

Vazhaithandu/Banana stem                                  1 nos
Plain natural Yogurt/Curd                                    1 cup
Salt                                                                    As needed

To temper

Oil                                                                    1 tsp
Mustard seeds                                                    1/2 tsp


Method

1. Clean, peel and cut banana stem/vazhaithandu. Cut it as shown in the video link, as small as you can. ( Ppl who do not speak or understand tamil, pls bear with me as I thought the video without audio is self-explanatory. If I find another material in english, I will provide the link here too).
2. Drain water in which we had cut vazhaithandu/banana stem. Add yogurt/curd and salt to it and mix well.
3. Heat iluppakarandi/small stir fry pan. Add oil and mustard seeds to splutter. Add this on top of raitha/thayir pachadi.

Vazhaithandu thayir pachadi is ready to be had with rasam and  sambhar rice.

Vathal kozhambhu/ Vethakozhambhu

Any tambram cooking blog is not complete without its vethakozhambhu/vathal kozhambhu recipe. I am combining three recipes to a single post as they are mild variations to the same basic recipe. The recipes that I am sharing here are Vethakozhambhu/ Vathal kozhambhu, Vendhaya kozhambhu and Pachai milagai ennai kozhambu. 

Vathal kozhambhu / Vetha kozhambu:

Ingredients:

Nallennai (Idhayam or til ka thel)                                                    - 2 tsps 

Mustard seeds                                                                               - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida Powder                                                                         - 1 pinch

Vathal (either vendaikkai or pagarkkai or sundaikkai or manathakkali) - 1.5 tsps

Tamarind                                                                                       - Big lemon sized ball

Sambar powder                                                                              - 1.5 tsps

Salt                                                                                               - as needed

Procedure:

1.) Soak tamarind pulp and make medium consistency syrup and keep it aside

2.) heat oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter

3.) Add asafoestida powder and vathal immediately next to each other. Let vathal get fried.

4.) Add tamarind syrup to this and sambhar powder. Mix well

5.) Reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. 

6.) Add salt and allow it to boil until the raw smell of tamarind syrup and sambhar powder goes off. It takes between 10-15 mins. Remove from heat and have it with rice.

Vendhaya kozhambhu or more colloquially mendhiya kozhambu:

It is only a slight variation from vathal kozhambu...

While tempering add half a teaspoon of vendhayam (methi seeds) and fry until golden brown. 

Instead of vathal add veggies . Veggies that are used here are vendaikkai, brinjal/eggplant, kothavarangai(guvar)/cluster beans, pagarkkai (karela)/ bitter gourd, onion (cut very fine), drumstick, parangikkai (red pumpkin). One can use only one veggie for a making. It makes vendakkai vendhaya kozhambu... like that. Let the veggie vadhangify/cook a  a little before you add tamarind syrup. Rest of the steps are the same.

Pacha milagai/ Green chili ennai kozhambhu:

Again this is a slight variation.

During tempering after adding vendhayam/methi seeds and making it brown, Add 5 to 6 green chillies broken/slit into 2.

Instead of adding 1.5 tsps of sambar powder add only 1 tsp as pachai milagai/ green chili already is hot.

This kozhambhu doesnt have any veggies. The flavor and kaaram (heat - not the temperature heat ... it is the taste that I refer to here.) of green chillies rule :) Rest of the steps are the same.

DO NOT TRY EATING THE CHILLIES. :) After mixing with rice, discard them

Beans paruppu usili

Sunday and paruppu usili just go with each other so well, as to ice-cream and indulgence. Any south indian vegetarian would devour paruppu usili which is a side dish preparation usually had with vethakozhambhu rice or morkozhambhu rice. This side-dish is not light on the tummy, so  we do not make any other side-dish along with it . We either deep fry appalams or vadaams/vathals to be had as luxury meals :) . In my husband's side of the family or my side of the family for that matter, we begin our meal by directly mixing this paruppu usili with rice/saadham and ghee (called paruppu usili saadham) and we will have vetha kozhambhu/morkozhambhu and appalam/vadaam/vathal as side dish for that. Then we proceed on to have vethakozhambhu rice/ morkozhambhu rice making this as the side dish.

Paruppu usili

Ingredients

Beans                                    250 gms
Toor dhal                               1 and 1/4 cup
Red chillies                            5 - 6 nos as per spice level
Salt                                        As needed
Asafoetida                              2-3  pinches
Curry leaves                           2 sprigs
Oil                                         3 - 4 tblspns
Mustard seeds                         1/2 tsp

Method

1. Soak toor dhal for 20 mins in water
2. Grind it along with red chillies, salt, asafoetida ( 1 pinch), curry leaves and a portioon of salt for paruppu usili to a coarse paste by adding  very little water.
3. Divide it into portions and fill it in idli plates.
4. Pressure cook it when you pressure cook rice and other stuff for that day's samayal.
5. Simultaneously wash and cut french beans as small as possible.
6. Take a stir fry pan, add 1.5 cups of water and add beans. Let it boil and cook for 10-15 mins until beans is cooked and soft. Add a portion of salt for beans.
7. Let it cook for 3-4 mins further and drain excess water.
8. Take the paruppu usili adais out of the idli plates and let it cool by cutting it to pieces. After it is cooled, semi-powder either in a mixie or by mashing it between your fingers.
9. Heat a stir fry pan, add 2 tblspns of oil, add mustard seeds to splutter. Bring heat to low. Add remaining asafoetida and the semi-powdered paruppu usili. Mix well uniformly. Bring the heat to medium. Leave it for 2 mins.
10. Mix well again and leave it for 2 mins. Add the cooked drained beans and mix well. At this point add another tblspn of oil and mix well and leave it on the stove for 5 mins, mixing well every minute.
11. Add another tblspn of oil ( only if necessary), mix well and let it cook for 5 more minutes, mixing well in-between.
12. Switch off the stove and beans paruppu usili is ready to  be served with vethakozhambhu rice or morkozhambu rice.

Ponnankanni keerai puli kuthi kootu

This puli kuthi kootu is my maternal grand-mom's special. She used to say this while making this kootu  "Ponnanganni la puli vitta pona kannum thirumbhi varum" meaning ... If ponnanganni keerai is cooked with tamarind and had, even blind can start seeing. It is such a powerful keerai. This preparation is so so yummy too.

Ponnanganni keerai photo courtesy indiamart

Ingredients:

Ponnanganni keerai             - 250 gms
Tamarind                           - 1 lemon sized ball
Toor dhal                           - 1/4 cup
Sambhar powder                - 1.5 tsps
Asafoetida                          - 1 pinch
Salt                                     - As needed
Turmeric powder               - 1/4 tsp
Ground nuts                      - A handful
Karuvadaam                        - 5 - 7 pieces ( optional) *

Masala Powder - to grind

Toor dhal                             - 1 tsp
Red chilli                             - 1 nos
Coriander seeds                   - 1 tsp
Coconut shredded /
Dessicated coconut powder - 1 tsp

To temper

Canola oil                            - 1 tsp + 1.5 tblspns for frying karuvadaam( if using) *
Mustard seeds                      - 1 tsp
Methi seeds/ Vendhayam    - 1 tsp
Asafoetida                           - 1 pinch



Method:

1.) Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder and enough water.
2.) Soak a handful of groundnuts in warm water just enough to immerse it, for 15 mins.
3.) Soak tamarind in lukewarm water and extract syrup as done while making sambhar
4.) Separate ponnanganni keerai from its stem and cut it as small as you can.
5.) Heat a saucepan in low- medium heat and add a tsp of oil.
6.) Add mustard seeds to splutter, add vendhayam/ methi seeds and fry till golden brown.
7.) Add asafoetida and then add cut ponnanganni keerai.
7.) Mix well and let it cook for 5 minutes in low heat mixing well every minute and then add soaked groundnuts along with its water.
8.) Add tamarind syrup, sambhar powder, asafoetida and stir well to mix everything.
9.) Let it come to a boil and allow it to simmer for 10- 15 mins until ponnanganni keerai is cooked, within which the raw flavour of sambhar powder and tamarind syrup would have been replaced by a wonderful cooked aroma.
10.) Add the desired amount of salt and let it simmer for 3 more minutes
11.) Add pressure cooked toor dhal and stir well. If there is not enough water, add very little to bring it to the consistency of a stew and let it boil for 5 minutes.
12.) In a small flat pan dry roast toor dhal, red chilli, coriander seeds until toor dhal turns glden brown. Bring the heat to low and add shredded coconut/ dessicated coconut powder. Fry till it turns golden brown. Grind this to a powder.
13.) Add this powder to the preparation and mix thoroughly. Let it come to a boil in low to medium heat,
14.) Add 1.5 tblspns of oil to a hot iluppa karandi or a  hot small stir fry pan. Heat oil. Add karuvadaams and fry till golden brown. Take the karuvadaams out of the oil. Drain excess oil and quickly add to  ponnanganni keerai puli kuthi kootu. Mix well. *

 Ponnanganni keerai puli kuthi kootu is ready.


It can be had with hot rice and potato/arbi (seppankizhangu)/ raw plantain (vazhakkai) fry.

Note

* Karuvadaam belongs to vadaam ( vathal) family and is made with just urad dhal (ulundhu) and  sun-dried. They are about a cm in diameter and add unique texture and flavour when fried and added to all puli kuthi kootu preparations. For me these puli kuthi kootu preparations are never complete without karuvadaams although it is completely optional and the kootu tastes out of the world without them too.

For curious readers and cooking enthusiasts, if you are interested in the making, I am planning to share the recipe of it in one of the future posts. I will link this recipe to that post too when I do it.

Nellikkai thogayal/ Amla coarse chutney

Nellikkai thogayal is a tangy thogayal that is very refreshing in its taste. One can't reiterate the nutritonal bonus that comes with nellikkai/Amla. It is very easy to make this thogayal.

Nellaikai thogayal

Ingredients:

Amla /Nellikkai                                  200 gms (big ones)

Red chillies                                        5-6 nos depending on the spice level

Thuvaram paruppu/Toor dhal               2 tblspns

Ulutham paruppu/ Urad dhal                3 tblspns

Kadalai paruppu/Chana dhal                 3 tblspns

Asafoetida                                          1 pinch

Salt                                                    As needed

Oil                                                     3 tsps

Method

1. Cut nellikkai/amla to small pieces and discard the seeds. If using frozen amla, place it in the fridge from freezer for a night to thaw and then it can be used . I have used frozen amla here.

Cut nellikkai/ Amla

2.  Take a stir fry pan , add oil in it, add all the dhals/paruppus and red chillies and asafoetida powder  and heat in medium flame .

Paruppus and milagai for thogayal

3.) Add cut nellikkai and mix well and let it cook until the dhals turn golden brown and nellikkai/amla is cooked soft ( but not too soft)

Everything together

4.  Grind everything together with salt to a coarse paste adding very little water as soon below. Nellikkai thogayal is ready.

Nellikkai thogayal

It can be had with hot rice mixing it with nallennai/sesame seed oil. It tastes great with any poricha kootu and appalam. 

Peerkangai puli masiyal / Mashed Ridge gourd and tamarind gravy

My mom used to make this awesome puli masiyal/ mashed gravy of ridge-gourd and I used to devour it. I thought she was the one who came up with this recipe. It was only in my early adulthood, I learnt that my paati (grand-mom) used to make it and she learnt it from her. This is one more dish that I am adding to the peerkangai/ridge-gourd recipes that is tantalizingly tasty.

Peerkangai/Ridgegourd

Ingredients

Ridgegourd                                                250 gms

Tamarind                                                   1 big lemon sized ball

Groundnuts                                                 handful

Sambhar powder                                          1 and 1/4 tsp

Salt                                                            As needed

To temper

Indian Sesame oil/ Til ka thel                       1 tblspn

Mustard seeds                                             1/2 tsp

Green chillies                                              2 nos slit

Vendhayam/Methi seeds                               1/2 tsp

Asafoetida                                                   1 pinch

Method

1. Soak groundnuts in  warm water (very little, just to immerse it) for 15 mins.
2. Simultaneously, peel peerkangai/ridge-gourd completely( none of the green peel should be left. We can save the peels for peerkangai thol thogayal/ Ridge-gourd peel chutney)and cut to tiny square pieces as we cut them for kootu.
3.  Soak tamarind in warm water and extract tamarind syrup.
4. Heat a saucepan in low to medium heat and add sesame oil. Add mustard seeds to splutter
5. Add methi seeds and fry till golden brown. Add slit green chillies and fry till it changes color.
6. Add asafoetida and let the powder fry. Add cut peerkangai/ridge-gourd and bring the heat to low. Mix thoroughly until all the tempered ingredients and peerkangai mixes well. Then bring the heat to medium-low. Ridge-gourd/peerkangai waters itself a little and cooks . Let it cook for 3-4 mins. Keep mixing occasionally and mash it a little. It should not become completely mushy. It should retain its shape a little and should be mashed a little. 
7. After half-cooking peerkangai/ridge-gourd, add soaked groundnuts along with its water and mix well. Leave it for a minute.
8. Now add the extracted tamarind syrup and  sambhar powder and mix well and let it come to a boil. Let the mixture boil thoroughly for 10- 15 more mins until the raw smell of sambhar powder changes to a nice aroma. 
9. Add salt, stir well and let it boil for 5 mins and switch off the stove.

Peerkangai puli masiyal / Mashed Ridge-gourd and tamarind gravy is ready to be had with hot rice and any vegetable side dish.  It goes very well with curd rice and dosas too as a side dish.

Kambu adai / Pearl millet adai / Bajra adai

Kambu/ Pearl millet/ Bajra is very rich in calcium and has a lot of protein too. My father always and always recommends me to use kambu in my kitchen often.  It helps in intestinal transit, it is rich in phosphorus and B vitamins , has a wider nutrient spectrum, obviously. I have always loved kambu/bajra a lot because of its unique taste and flavor. My grand-mom left many recipes of kambu to posterity. This is one among them.

Recipe 1 using wholegrain

Ingredients:

Kambu/ Pearl millet (wholegrain)                                 - 1 cup
Thuvaramparuppu/Toor dhal                                         - 1 and 1/4 cup
Kadalai paruppu/Chana dhal                                         - 1/4 cup
Pachaipayaru/Whole mung beans                                 -  1 cup
Payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal                                      -  1/2 cup
Ginger                                                                           -  2 inch piece
Red chillies                                                                   -  12 - 15 nos depending on one's spice level
Asafoetida                                                                    - 1/2 tsp
Salt                                                                               - As needed
Curry leaves                                                                 - 2 sprigs

Method:

1. Soak kambu/pearl millet, thuvaramparuppu, kadalai paruppu, pachaipayaru, payathamparuppu together for 2-3 hrs
2. Grind the soaked dhals and pearl millet along with ginger, red chillies, salt, curry leaves and asafoetida powder with water to a coarse batter like the one we grind for adai.
3. Heat tawa/griddle on stove and when the griddle is hot, pour a tsp spoon of oil, coat it fully and then pour a ladle full of batter and  spread it to make adais.

Recipe 2 to make with kambu flour/ pearl millet flour

Ingredients:

Kambu/ Pearl millet (flour)                                            - 1 cup

Thuvaramparuppu/Toor dhal                                         - 1 and 1/4 cup
Kadalai paruppu/Chana dhal                                         - 1/4 cup
Pachaipayaru/Whole mung beans                                 -  1 cup
Payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal                                      -  1/2 cup
Ginger                                                                           -  2 inch piece
Red chillies                                                                   -  12 - 15 nos depending on one's spice level
Asafoetida                                                                    - 1/2 tsp
Salt                                                                               - As needed
Curry leaves                                                                 - 2 sprigs

Method:

1. Soak  thuvaramparuppu, kadalai paruppu, pachaipayaru, payathamparuppu together for 2-3 hrs.
2. Mix 1 cup kambu maavu/flour/ pearl millet flour with water to make it to a thick batter. Let it rest like that for 2 -3 hrs.
3. Grind the soaked dhals along with ginger, red chillies, salt, curry leaves and asafoetida powder with water to a coarse batter like the one we grind for adai.
4. Mix the kambu/pearl millet batter with the ground mixture and let it rest for 30 mins. Mix well. 
5. Heat tawa/griddle on stove and when the griddle is hot, pour a tsp spoon of oil, coat it fully and then pour a ladle full of batter and  spread it to make adais.

Very tasty kambu adai is ready to be had with ghee/butter/plain natural yogurt/vethakozhambhu/aviyal /morkozhambhu/anything you would want to have adai with.

For a variation , dice onions as small as you can and add it to the adai batter and make adais for the mouth watering kambu vengaya adai/ Pearl millet onion adai. Pearl millet goes very well with onions. 

Ragi mini pooris/ Finger millet mini pooris

This is the snack that I concocted along the way as a super last minute way to manage sudden unannounced arrival (Haha...) of hunger and craving for a salt snack. I had some Ragi flour at home and it was the pre-evening (as Jim Parsons, enacting the character of Sheldon Cooper famously says in TBBT.) coffee time. My hubby and myself were planning for a quiet coffee during a weekend when this started. Not having anything to munch-on, I decided to make something. Finding Ragi flour in the pantry, I suddenly got an idea for this and made it. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and equally less time to deep fry.

Makes 10 mini-pooris for the quantity below.

Ingredients

Ragi flour/ Finger millet flour         1/2 cup
Salt                                                   As needed
Red chilli powder                            1 tsp
Asafoetida                                       A pinch
Oil                                                   To deep fry

Method

1. In a stir fry pan, take oil to deep fry and heat oil in medium heat.
2. Simultaneously, mix all the dry ingredients together, add a little water and make it to a tough dough like thattai maavu / poori dough.
3. Divide the dough to small balls (1 inch diameter) similar to the size that we make while making thattai. 
4. Grease the hand with little oil and grease a plastic sheet/ziploc. Flatten the balls on a greased ziploc to the size of a thattai (Hehe... now you got me... what I started to make and what I ended up with.... I forgot to make tiny holes on it for the first batch and everything just puffed-up gloriously to mini-pooris.)
5. Test if the oil is hot enough and drop them. They will puff up to pooris 

Have them as hot mini pooris. If, deciding to make some small holes with a toothpick and make it as thattai, please do not fry for long as it tastes a bit bitter. It tastes great as mini-pooris and thattais too. Ragi is rich in calcium. Enjoy this delicious evening snack! It just needs a coffee with it.

Maida cake

Maida burfi

This is second of the cakes/burfi syle sweet that I tried , the first one being mysorepak. Both turned out great the first time itself. I am generally not a sweet person, but, when I tried maida cake/burfi for the first time more than a decade ago, made by my m-i-l, I just fell head over heels in love with it. I had to! I had no other choice.  I had to try it out myself. I am sharing the recipe here.

Ingredients

Maida/ All purpose flour                                       1 cup

Sugar                                                                     2 cups

Ghee                                                                      1/2 cup

And that's about it! That is all you need for this melt-in-the-mouth madness!

Method

1. Heat ghee in a pan. Ghee should be hot enough to fry maida/all purpose flour, meaning when you sprinkle a pinch of maida in it, it should get fried immediately.
2. Add all the miaida in hot ghee and fry it for a good 2 - 3 mins. It emanates an intoxicating aroma. Switch off the stove and keep this aside.
3. Take a stir fry pan, add sugar and just enough water to immerse sugar, heat it and let the sugar syrup boil until it reaches the one-string consistency.
4. Switch off the stove and now everything done after this is off the stove and fire. Now transfer the fried maida mixture to this sugar syrup and keep mixing.
5. Within the next two to three  minutes, things will get solidified and will be felt in your hand while mixing and the mixture will come to a pourable consistency (leaving the sides ).
6. Pour the mixture on to a plate greased with a tsp of ghee and flatten it with a spatula. 
7. Cut it to pieces when it is still warm. Let it cool down.
8. Burfis are ready when it is completely cooled down to room temperature and it comes out of the plate just like that.

Vendakkai thayir pachadi/ Bhindi raitha

This simple easy to make yummy raitha /thayir pachadi is from my mother-in-law's cookbook.  This pachadi/raitha goes very well with Cauliflower saadham/Gobi Rice .

Ingredients:

Vendakkai/ Bhindi                                              100 gms
Thayir/Curd/Plain natural yogurt                        1 cup
Salt                                                                       As needed
Red chilli powder (optional)                                1/2 tsp


To temper

Canola/Vegetable/Sunflower refined oil             1 tblspn
Mustard seeds                                                       1/2 tsp


Method

1. Cut vendakkai/bhindi to rings as thin as possible, discarding the head and tail portions of it.
2. In a small stir fry pan, add oil, heat and add mustard seeds to splutter. Bring the heat to low.
3. Add cut vendakkai rings/bhindi rings to it , mix well , add salt and red chilli powder (if adding) and mix well to give it a uniform coating of oil, salt and red chilli powder. Turn the heat back to medium.
4. Cook these bhindi rings for 5 mins or until it gets roasted. 
5. Take a cup of yogurt/curd/thayir and beat it until smooth. Add these cooked vendakkai/bhindi rings to it. Mix well. Taste and add salt if needed.

Vendakkai thayir pachadi/bhindi raitha is ready to be had with the yummy Cauliflower rice/Gobi rice.  It goes very well with rasam rice too.

Cose milagu jeeraga kari/poriyal/ Cabbage milagu jeeraga poriyal/kari

This version of cabbage kari/poriyal was crafted by my father in law who had a genius palette. He used to direct my mother-in-law to cook certain vegetables a certain way. This super simple recipe was one of his contribution to this form of art, if u call it so :D

Ingredients

Cabbage                              1 whole big head
Milagu jeeraga podi            1.5 tsps
Salt                                      As needed

To temper

Canola oil                                    1 tblspn
Mustard seeds                              1/2 tsp
Ulutham paruppu                         1 tsp
Karuveppilai/ Curry leaves          1 sprig


Method

1. Cut cabbage to 1/2 inch square pieces.
2. In a heavy bottomed large stir fry pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds to splutter.
3. Add ulutham paruppu and fry till golden brown.
4. Add curry leaves to splutter.
5. Add cabbage and mix well with tempered ingredients.
6. Add salt. Mix well. Let it cook for couple of minutes in medium flame.
7. Add milagu jeeraga podi/pepper- jeera powder and mix well.
8. Let it cook in medium flame for 10- 15  mins until it is completely. Cabbage will shrink in volume when it cooks. Its completely okay. Mix well now and then to ensure even cooking.

Cabbage milagu jeeraga kari/poriyal is done and can be had with keerai /peas/carrot/ vendakkai sambhar and goes very well with any rasam and curd rice too. This is an interesting variation to the usual cabbage poriyal/ kari.

Cauliflower saadham/ Cauliflower rice/Gobi Rice

Cauliflower saadham/ Cauliflower rice/Gobi rice gets its direct entry pass to this blog from my m-i-l's kitchen. This is one of the heart-warming, easy on the tummy, rice preparation that she makes that is too tasty to pass.


Ingredients:

Cauliflower/Gobi                                    1 nos ( big)
Cooked Rice  (White/brown)                  4 cups      
Salt                                                          As needed

To temper

Canola oil                                               2 tblspns
Mustard seeds                                         1/2 tsp
Kadalai paruppu/ Chana dhal                 1 tsp
Cashew nuts (whole)                              5 nos
Green chillies                                         4 nos
Asafoetida                                              1 pinch

Method:

1. Cut cauliflower to bite sized florets. Break cashews to small pieces.
2. In a large heavy bottomed stir fry pan, add oil, heat, add mustard seeds to splutter.
3. Add chana dhal/kadalai paruppu and cashews together and  fry till they turn light brown.
4. Slit green chillies and add them . Fry them until they change colour.
5. Add asafoetida powder and add the cut cauliflower florets. Mix them well with the oil and tempered ingredients and then add the required salt.
6. Let it cook  for 10-15 mins, mixing it now and then until the cauliflower/gobi gets cooked completely.
7. Add rice and mix very well. Cover it at this point and bring the flame to low. Sprinkle some water if necessary, but take care for the rice and gobi mixture in not becoming mushy. 
8. Let it cook together for 10 minutes, for the flavor to infuse. Keep mixing now and then during this time with a very light hand.

Cauliflower rice is ready. This is generally had with vendakkai thayir pachadi/ bhindi raitha and appalam/papad.  Cauliflower rice  made with brown rice, is tastier than its white counterpart.
                                        

Manga vathal thayir pachadi

This recipe speaks of my paternal grandma's cooking legacy.
Ingredients


Manga vathal                               - 5 nos
Water                                           - 1/4 cup
Mor milagai                                 - 2 nos (deep fried already)
Curd/ Plain natural yogurt           - 1/2 cup
Salt                                               - if and as needed

To temper

Canola oil                                  -  1 tsp
Mustard seeds                           - 1/4 tsp


Method

1.) Boil water and add manga vathal to it. Close the pan and switch off the stove and leave it for about 15 mins until vathal becomes soft and can be mashed roughly using hands.
2.) Mash it roughly in the water. Do not drain the water
3.) Add curd/yogurt to it. Make sure that the yogurt is thick and not watery.
4.) Crush mor milagai and add to it and mix well.
5.) Taste the pachadi. If salt is needed add to suit taste.
6.) In iluppakarandi or a small stir fry pan, add oil, heat it and add mustard seeds to splutter.

This tangy pachadi can be mixed with  1 tsp of  indian sesame oil / nallennai and  hot rice and can be had with appalam for a delicious, hearty rainy day meal. It can also be a great side dish as any other raitha.

Jeeraga rasam/ Cumin seeds rasam

My mother in law makes the best Jeeraga Rasam in this planet! That is what I would say! When I got to know the recipe and the ridiculous easiness with which it can be made, my love for Jeeraga rasam  just shot sky high. I am just putting it down here for all of us lazy-bummed -long- tongued-losers.

Ingredients

Tamarind                                                       - 1 lemon sized ball
Payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal                      -  1.5 tsps
Cumin seeds                                                  - 1 tsp
Curry leaves                                                  - 1 sprig
Red chillies                                                   - 1 nos
Asafoetida                                                     - 1 pinch
Salt                                                                - As needed

To temper

Ghee                                                            - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds                                             - 1/2 tsp


Method

1.) Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 mins and extract tamarind syrup as done for any rasam.
2.) Simultaneously, soak payathamparuppu/mung dhal, cumin seeds, curry leaves and red chilli in hot water together for 15 mins and grind it to a  runny paste.
3.) In a saucepan pour the tamarind syrup, add  salt and asafoetida and bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 5 mins.
4.) Add the ground Jeeragam/ mung dhal runny paste and mix well and bring the heat to low and let the rasam froth.
5.) Simultaneously, in a small stir fry pan or iluppakarandi, add ghee for tempering and add mustard seeds to splutter.
6.) Pour it in the Jeeraga rasam and switch off the stove when the rasam is frothy enough.

This hot Jeeraga rasam is had with rice and made on days when we make paruppu usili (beans/kothavarangai/vazhaipoo etc.,). It goes ecxcellent with paruppu usili, appalam, vadaam.

Mung dhal (Maharashtrian Jain style)

I got this recipe from my friend when I was living in London. I tasted this dhal for the first time at his place and Ah! I became a fan of his cooking. He used to make great bhindi and everything I know he can cook.  I am sharing his home-style dhal recipe here for all. The fried masala powders in ghee  and pressure cooking mung dhal in pressure cooker with hing/asafoetida just gives a unique flavor and taste to this dhal. My kitchen just smells awesome after this dhal preparation each time and I never switch-on my vent fan to let the aroma linger .... LOL!

Ingredients

Split green mung beans/ Split green mung dhal                           - 1 cup
Turmeric powder                                                                          - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing                                                                          - 1 pinch
Water                                                                                            - 3.5 cups
Salt                                                                                                - To taste


To temper

Ghee/ Butter                                                                    - 1 tblspn
Mustard seeds                                                                  -  1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds                                                                     - 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder (Dry mango powder)                            - 1/2 tsp
Ginger                                                                             - 1 inch piece grated
Red chilli powder                                                           - 1 tsp
Green chillies                                                                  - 4 nos


Method

1.)Pressure cook split green mung dhal/beans adding turmeric powder, water, salt and hing to it for 3 whistles.
2.) Slit green chillies and grate the ginger piece.
3.) In a  hot stir fry pan add ghee/ butter and let it melt and get heated. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds to splutter.
4.) Add green chillies and ginger. Mix well and let it be for a minute.
5.) Add amchur powder (dry mango powder), red chilli powder, give it a quick mix and add the pressure cooked dhal to it and stir.
6.) Let it come to a boil and simmer it for 15 minutes.

The simple,  humble , delectable dhal is ready to be had with hot phulkas and rice.

Kothavarangai( Cluster beans) puli kuthi kootu/ Cluster beans, tamarind and lentil curry

I inherited this recipe from my maternal grandmother who is a great cook. My mom used to make it very well too. Kothavarangai/ Cluster beans is one of my favorite vegetables. I look forward to this puli kuthi kootu more than paruppu usili made out of kothavarangai. This kootu is that tasty for me.

Ingredients:

Kothavarangai/ Cluster beans - 150 gms
Tamarind                           - 1 lemon sized ball
Toor dhal                           - 1/4 cup
Sambhar powder                - 1.5 tsps
Asafoetida                          - 1 pinch
Salt                                     - As needed
Turmeric powder               - 1/4 tsp

Masala Powder - to grind

Toor dhal                             - 1 tsp
Red chilli                             - 1 nos
Coriander seeds                   - 1 tsp
Coconut shredded /
Dessicated coconut powder - 1 tsp
Karuvadaam                        - 5 - 7 pieces ( optional) *

To temper

Canola oil                            - 1 tsp + 1.5 tblspns for frying karuvadaam( if using) *
Mustard seeds                      - 1 tsp
Methi seeds/ Vendhayam    - 1 tsp
Asafoetida                           - 1 pinch



Method:

1.) Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder and enough water.
2.) Soak tamarind in lukewarm water and extract syrup as done while making sambhar
3.) Cut kothavarangai as small as you can like as we do for paruppu usili.
4.) Heat a saucepan in low- medium heat and add a tsp of oil.
5.) Add mustard seeds to splutter, add vendhayam/ methi seeds and fry till golden brown.
6.) Add asafoetida and then add cut kothavarangai/ cluster beans.
7.) Mix well and let it cook for 5 minutes in low heat mixing well every minute.
8.) Add tamarind syrup, sambhar powder, asafoetida and stir well to mix everything.
9.) Let it come to a boil and allow it to simmer for 10- 15 mins until kothavarangai/cluster beans is cooked, within which the raw flavour of sambhar powder and tamarind syrup would have been replaced by a wonderful cooked aroma.
10.) Add the desired amount of salt and let it simmer for 3 more minutes
11.) Add pressure cooked toor dhal and stir well. If there is not enough water, add very little to bring it to the consistency of a stew and let it boil for 5 minutes.
12.) In a small flat pan dry roast toor dhal, red chilli, coriander seeds until toor dhal turns glden brown. Bring the heat to low and add shredded coconut/ dessicated coconut powder. Fry till it turns golden brown. Grind this to a powder.
13.) Add this powder to the preparation and mix thoroughly. Let it come to a boil in low to medium heat,
14.) Add 1.5 tblspns of oil to a hot iluppa karandi or a  hot small stir fry pan. Heat oil. Add karuvadaams and fry till golden brown. Take the karuvadaams out of the oil. Drain excess oil and quickly add to  kothavarangai puli kuthi kootu. Mix well. *

 Kothavarangai puli kuthi kootu/ Cluster beans curry is ready.


It can be had with hot rice and potato/arbi (seppankizhangu)/ raw plantain (vazhakkai) fry.

Note

* Karuvadaam belongs to vadaam ( vathal) family and is made with just urad dhal (ulundhu) and  sun-dried. They are about a cm in diameter and add unique texture and flavour when fried and added to all puli kuthi kootu preparations. For me these puli kuthi kootu preparations are never complete without karuvadaams although it is completely optional and the kootu tastes out of the world without them too.

For curious readers and cooking enthusiasts, if you are interested in the making, I am planning to share the recipe of it in one of the future posts. I will link this recipe to that post too when I do it.

Karuveppilai (Curry leaves/ Khadi paththa) kozhambu

This is one of those familial age old recipes that has  enlivened  our lives and revived our taste buds. This kozhambhu gets ready within 20 mins and doesn't demand presence much. This is a variation from the wildly popular molagu kozhambhu.

Ingredients:

Curry leaves/ Karuveppilai                                           25 sprigs
Tamarind                                                                       1 big lemon sized round
Black Peppercorns                                                       1.5 tblspns
Red chillies                                                                    2 nos
Asafoetida                                                                      1 pinch
Salt                                                                                 As needed

To temper

Canola oil                                                                       1 tsp
Mustard seeds                                                                 1/2 tsp


Method

1.)  Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and extract tamarind syrup as we do for sambhar/rasam. *
2.) Grind curry leaves, black peppercorns, red chillies, asafoetida and salt in a blender adding just enough water to make it to a thick paste.
3.) Heat a saucepan in medium- low flame.  Add oil and mustard seeds to splutter.
4.) Add the ground paste to it adn mix well. Add tamarind syrup. Bring the heat to medium.
5.) Let the mixture come to a boil and let it simmer for 15 mins. It will get to the consistency of a thick kozhambu. Karuveppilai kozhambhu is ready.

Karuveppilai kozhambu can be had with hot rice. It goes very well with appalam (papad), vadaam(vathal), potato/arbi (seppankizhangu)/suran (senaikizhangu)/ raw plantain (kachcha khela/ vazhaikkai) fry and any vegetable poricha kootu.

Notes:

* If  hard pressed for time, or plain lethargic (like me),  to extract tamarind syrup from the pulp,  simply add the above mentioned quantity of tamarind to the blender  along with the other ingredients mentioned and make it to a paste and continue as mentioned above.

Aloo and Spinach pulav / Urulai keerai pulav

I am posting this recipe as part of easy cooking/ Travel cooking series. I will be posting recipes which can be made with minimal resources like with only a saucepan if you have an access to a stove or in an electric cooker if you have access to a plug point. There will be many recipes that I concocted along my way during my travel, when I had difficulty accessing vegetarian food or wanted to have the luxury of a home-cooked meal elsewhere. I will be using dry  powders a lot instead  of fresh ones as I will not have the resources to grate/shred etc., or will not have access to its availability. I have used butter instead of ghee. I always carry cumin seeds, red chilli powder and ginger powder with me as they r life savers. Rest I buy it from the local supermarket wherever I am.


Ingredients:

Basmathi rice                   - 1 cup
Potatoes (medium sized) - 2 nos
Spinach                           - 200 gms
Ginger powder                - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder           - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies                 - 4 nos slit
Cumin seeds                   - 1/2 tsp
Butter                             - 1 tbspn
Salt                                 - As needed


Method:

1.) Boil potatoes and keep it aside if you have the time and resources. Else, dice the potatoes to very small size and keep it aside. If boiled, mash slightly and keep it aside
2.) Add butter to the electric cooker/  a saucepan if you have access to a stove. Let it melt
3.) Add cumin seeds to splutter. Add split/ slit green chillies. Let it fry for a minute.
4.) Add spinach and let it shrink and cook for a couple of minutes. Add potaoes and mix. If boiled previously, let it cook together for a minute. If not, then leave it for a couple of more minutes mixing well occasionally.
5.) Add basmathi rice at this point, salt , ginger powder and  red chilli powder mix well. Add 2 cups of water and cook until the rice is soft.

This aloo/spinach pulav can be had with plain natural yogurt, chips and if you are lucky enough to have access to achar.  This recipe has an added advantage of metamorphosing into a scintillating soup for winter days by adding just extra water while cooking.

Parangikkai huli

Huli is a kannada word for  puli/tamarind in some parts of karnataka. It can also mean sour-tasting and can refer to a sambhar  or a tamarind and coconut based gravy that falls into the family of sambhar. This recipe is from my paati (both paternal and maternal grand-moms used to make it) and it tastes simply out of the world. For this recipe, parangikkai/ red pumpkin should be diced like as it is done for kootu varieties (small).

Ingredients:

Parangikkai/ red pumpkin -  200 gms
Tamarind                           - 1 lemon sized ball
Toor dhal                           - 1/4 cup
Sambhar powder                - 1.5 tsps
Asafoetida                          - 1 pinch
Salt                                     - As needed
Turmeric powder               - 1/4 tsp

Masala Powder - to grind

Toor dhal                             - 1 tsp
Red chilli                             - 1 nos
Coriander seeds                   - 1 tsp
Coconut shredded /
Dessicated coconut powder - 1 tsp

To temper

Canola oil                            - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds                      - 1 tsp
Methi seeds/ Vendhayam    - 1 tsp
Asafoetida                           - 1 pinch


Method:

1.) Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder and enough water.
2.) Soak tamarind in lukewarm water and extract syrup as done while making sambhar
3.) Dice parangikkai/ red pumpkin as small as you can without peeling its outer skin.
4.) Heat a saucepan in medium heat and add a tsp of oil.
5.) Add mustard seeds to splutter, add vendhayam/ methi seeds and fry till golden brown.
6.) Add asafoetida and then add  diced red pumpkin/parangikkai.
7.) Mix well and let it cook for a couple of minutes.
8.) Add tamarind syrup, sambhar powder, asafoetida and stir well to mix everything.
9.) Let it come to a boil and allow it to simmer for 10- 15 mins until parangikkai/ red pumpkin is cooked, within which the raw flavour of sambhar powder and tamarind syrup would have been replaced by a wonderful cooked aroma.
10.) Add the desired amount of salt and let it simmer for 2 more minutes
11.) Add pressure cooked toor dhal and stir well. If there is not enough water, add very little to bring it to the consistency of a stew and let it boil for 5 minutes.
12.) In a small flat pan dry roast toor dhal, red chilli, coriander seeds until toor dhal turns glden brown. Bring the heat to low and add shredded coconut/ dessicated coconut powder. Fry till it turns golden brown. Grind this to a powder

13.) Add this powder to the parangikkai huli and mix thoroughly. Let it come to a boil in low to medium heat, Parangikkai huli is ready.

It can be had with hot rice and potato/arbi (seppankizhangu)/ raw plantain (vazhakkai) fry.

Paruppu Urundai Rasam

From my paati's kitchen

Paruppu urundai rasam

Ingredients

For paruppu urundais or dhal balls 

Thuvaram paruppu/ Thoor dhal         3/4 cup

Red chillies                                         2 nos

Asafoetida powder                          2 pinches

For rasam

Tamarind/ tamarind paste     1 big lemon sized / 2tsps

Sambhar powder/ rasam powder     1.5 tsps

Asafoetida powder                        1 pinch

To powder for rasam

Thoor dhal                               1/2 tsp

Dhaniya (coriander seeds).       1 tsp

Red chillies                                1 nos

To temper

Ghee                                          1 tsp

Mustard seeds                            1/2 tsp

Method

1.) Soak thoor dhal/ thuvaram paruppu for 20 mins. 

2.) Soak tamarind in warm water to make a very watery tamarind syrup. If u have paste, dissolve it in 4-5 cups of warm water.

3.) Grind thoor dhal, red chillies, with asafoetida powder roughly without adding or just sprinkling water to a consistency ( dough) which is easy for us to make it into small balls (I know what you're thinking!! :D) . 

4.) Add tamarind syrup, asafoetida powder, sambhar/ rasam powder and salt to a large wide mouthed saucepan and let it come to a rolling boil in med- high heat.

5.) Simultaneously make small balls out of the ground thoor dhal dough and keep it aside.

Paruppu urundais/ Dhal balls 

6.) When rasam comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium and add the balls one by one not exceeding 4 at a time ( if there are too many, they hit each other and break while boiling) if it is a considerable sized saucepan. 

7.) Let it boil. DO NOT STIR! If stirred, the balls break.  It takes 10 - 12 mins for the balls to boil and come to the top. Until then let it do its own job. 

Paruppu urundais coming to a float

8.) When the balls come to the top and remain at the top for about a minute, take the first batch fully out onto a plate and keep it aside and then add the second batch in.  Repeat the process. When in process, if the rasam level reches to a point where the balls cannot float to the top, add water and let the level rise to a point where u think that the balls can float. Then let it keep simmering.

9.) Simultaneously dry roast the ingredients to be powdered and powder it and keep. 

Dry roasted ingredients

10.) When all the balls are done cooking and are out, add them all in again.

11.) Mix the ground powder in a cup of water, lower the stove heat to medium low and add it and mix well. As the balls have cooked already, they will not break. Let the rasam froth in medium low heat. 

12.) Heat a small stir fry pan. Add ghee and mustard seeds to splutter. Add it to rasam to temper it. 

Slurp! Slurrrrrrrppppp! Rasam :)

Piping hot spicy slurpy paruppu urundai rasam is ready and goes very well with rice and potato fry or drumstick vengaya kari. 

My experiements with brown rice - Epilogue

Part 1, Part 2


Not to drag on for much longer, I am trying and finding out brown rice to be more and more versatile  every day. It is proving great for thokku saadhams ( mangaai thokku saadham ( mango thokku rice) and nellikkai thokku saadham ( Indian Gooseberry thokku rice) are simply astounding!). Avakkai rice, thogayal rice (mint thogayal, coconut thogayal, peerkangai thogayal)  everything tastes  great!  Brown rice upma tastes great too.

The reason for me for writing this elaborate write-up (for some might have been boring too) was to say that brown rice is a very tasty option that is very healthy too. There might be people at different points in life for whom brown rice becomes compulsion than a choice. I have heard many say eating brown rice is an unfortunate circumstance, many placing brown rice inferior , many sniping it to be "healthy". I do not know why it has got such a reputation. But from my side, I would like to get the word around that brown rice is a superb gifted option, often surpassing the taste of its white counterpart and we all can gladly make a shift. Yes, it takes a few times before we cook the rice perfectly! But even the trial times are not bad! So happy Brown ricing!!!

My experiments with brown rice - Part 2

Epilogue, Part 1


Having bought the Sona-masoori version, I wanted to cook our regular South Indian meal. Rice with sambhar, rasam, kari (veggies !! not meat. I am a veggie), kootu, thayir pachadi. 

Brown Sona Masoori Rice

I am very used to quinoa.  So I guessed brown rice should be great with sambhar like quinoa and will make awesome sambhar saadham ( sambhar rice) . I was skeptical about rasam saadham ( rasam rice) and had good hopes on thayir saadham ( curd/yoghurt rice). Before seeing how it turned out, I want to narrate my experiences on cooking the rice, its texture and everything in that department.

Cooking brown rice is a bit different is what I would say. It needs more water and more cooking time as the husk is partially left on the grain, it has a tough coat. Thus the cooked rice is not as soft or spongy as white rice, but a bit tough(not uncooked) and rubbery. When you pressure cook, it is more soft, but still not as soft as white rice. It definitely has a different texture. This works great for basmathi rice as I use it only for making pulav and fried rice varieties. For south Indian dishes, I strictly use ponni raw/ sona masoori as I feel basmathi's flavour mightily clashes with sambhar, rasam or for the matter of fact any south indian stew/soup to give it a weird unoriginal taste. Okay, coming back to basmathi rice, white or brown, I cook it in a saucepan or electric cooker. The pulavs and fried rice just taste out of the world aided by the texture and the effect ghee and black pepper ( for fried rice) has over brown rice. 

I was a lot skeptical when thinking about south indian food though. The recipes call for the rice to be a lot more soft ( but not mushy). I put great faith in pressure cooking the rice, added more water had it in for 3-4 whistles and 10 mins on low heat before switching off when cooked along with toor dhal and other stuff in separate containers. Yes, it turned out a lot lot softer but still a bit rubbery. For sambar rice, it tasted great as expected, better than its white rice counterpart. When had as sambar rice, even the texture difference was not detectable. Rasam rice sucked :( . Curd rice had a very different unappealing look as I was used to the bright white color spongy buttery melting madness, it was brown-white, clearly textured, never melting but great tasting curd rice. Taste Wise we can never find fault but looks are sub-normal. Coming to the conclusion that looks don't matter as long as it tastes good, I started cooking brown rice on the days I made just sambar and on the days I made rasam, I had it with white rice. My husband, still said that brown rice with rasam is good too and I know that he has pretty high standards for taste. But I couldn't accept. The earthy taste clashed with rasam and kind of overpowered it for me. The rubbery texture of the rice was a rasam repellent!! That made things worse. 

What made sambhar cohesive but rasam to repel?? DHAL!! Yes! Dhal was the answer to solve a problem like Maria!!! That Was my EUREKA moment! The next day, I made some rasam. I mixed rice with dhal and ghee  as we do for the kids and then had rasam on top of it and I was in a state of trance until I finished a plateful and again I went for another serving.  And thus our family's marriage to brown rice happened and we are living happily ever after!