Keeraithandu puli kuthi kootu

This belongs to the puli kuthi kootu series recipes. Both my paternal and maternal grand-moms make a variety of puli kuthi kootus and this is one such nutritious, out-of the box, delicious recipe to enjoy for everyone. I bet that this will become a regular in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

Amaranth stems/ Keeraithandu - 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 amaranth stems/keerai thandu to small thin rings (less than half centimeter thickness)

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 keerai thandu/amaranth stems.
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 amaranth stems/keerai thandu is cooked, within which the raw flavour of sambhar powder and tamarind syrup would have been replaced by a wonderful cooked aroma.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  keeraithandu puli kuthi kootu. Mix well. *

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.

Usili upma

Usili upma is an unimaginably easy and a super delicious upma that can be made on tiresome days when one doesn't want to slog in the kitchen. Both my paatis used to make it and I inherited this recipe from my mom.

Ingredients

Rice ( white/brown sona masoori or raw rice)          - 1-1/4 cup

Payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal                                 -1-1/4 cup

Onion                                                                   -1 large or 2 medium sized

Salt                                                                       as needed

Oil                                                                       - 1 tblspn

Mustard seeds                                                       - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies                                                           - 3 nos

Asafoetida                                                            - 1 pinch

Method

1. Dice onions as small as one can. 
2.  In a pressure cooker, add a tblspn of oil, heat it, add mustard seeds to splutter , break red chillies to two and add. Add a pinch of asafoetida and add the diced onions.
3. Saute until onions are translucent. Now add rice, payathamparuppu/Mung dhal and enough water one would add for pongal (if one likes a little mashy consistency)  and salt to taste. 
4. Close the lid and cook it as one would for pongal (for mashy consistency ) or like rice if not. 
5.  Open the pressure cooker and  mix well as the onions would have come to the top and keep on mixing if to achieve a slightly mashy consistency and have it with anything from lemon oorugai, mangai thokku, molaga chutney to vethakozhambu etc., etc.,

Irupuli kozhambhu / Thengai (coconut) kozhambhu

This ambrosial recipe is from my sister-in-law. When I visited her in Mumbai a couple of years back, her mother-in-law made this for us. I tasted and told her that it tastes somewhat like a combination of vethakozhambu and morekozhambu. I asked her for the recipe and made the mistake of not noting it down, eventually completely forgetting about it.  A month back I remembered it and asked my sister-in-law for the recipe and tried making it. The  result was so wonderful that it earned a place here.

Iru-puli here refers to tamarind and curd (natural plain yogurt). This  kozhambu is also called as thengai kozhambu because we use a considerable quantity of thengai (coconut) and it kind of forms the base consistency of this kozhambhu.

Ingredients:

Puli/ Tamarind                                             1 lemon sized ball
Curd/ Natural plain yogurt                             1 cup
Thengai thuruval/ Coconut shreddings            3/4 cup
Vendakkai /Okra                                           5 nos
Vendhayam/ Methi seeds                                1 tsp
Red chillies                                                   6 nos
Salt                                                               To taste
Mustard seeds                                                1 tsp
Oil                                                                2 tsp
Curry leaves                                                   1 sprig
Asafoetida                                                      1 pinch


Method:

1. Soak tamarind in lukewarm water for 10-15 mins and extract tamarind syrup from the pulp
2. Cut vendakkai/okra as we cut it for sambhar.
3. In a medium sized saucepan, heat oil, add mustard seeds to splutter. Add curry leaves to splutter and add a pinch of asafoetida.  Add tamarind syrup and cut okra and let it come to a boil. Simmer it until the okra gets cooked and then add salt to it.
4. In a flat pan, dry roast vendhayam/methi seeds and red chillies separately until vendhayam turns golden brown.
5. In a blender, add the coconut gratings/ thengai thuruval, dry roasted vendhayam, red chillies and curd and grind it to a thick paste.
6. Add this paste to the mixture boiling in the saucepan and mix well. Reduce the heat to medium low. Let the mixture simmer for 5-6 minutes. Switch off the stove and remove from the stove

Irupuli kozhambhu is ready and can be served with hot rice and potato/seppankezhangu//vazhakkai fry or kathrikkai podi potta kari.  This kozhambhu can be made with onions or drumsticks or potatoes other than vendakkai/okra. It is equally good when made with them too.

Ragi adai / Finger millet adai

Ragi adai is slurrrrppyyy and yummy like all adais are. Adai is my favorite tiffen . So adai and any version of it gets full marks from me all the time. I do not like ragi in sweets and as in kanji maavu as I generally don't like sweets and I wanted to infuse it in salty sour-ey form owing to its rich nutritional spectrum and for it being so rich in calcium. I came up with a few ideas and one such was to make adais.

Recipe 1 using wholegrain

Ingredients:

Ragi/ Finger 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 Ragi/ Finger millet, thuvaramparuppu, kadalai paruppu, pachaipayaru, payathamparuppu together for 2-3 hrs
2. Grind the soaked dhals and finger 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 of oil, coat it fully and then pour a ladle full of batter and  spread it to make adais.

Recipe 2 to make with ragi flour/ finger millet flour

Ingredients:

Ragi/ Finger 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 Ragi flour/ finger 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 ragi/finger 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.

Ragi adai is ready to be served hot with avial, morekozhambu, morekootu, vethakozhambhu, sambhar or whichever combination that one may like.  It is deadly when cut  onion is added to the batter while making adais. There can be various versions to it by adding different veggies. 

Keerai thandu molagootal /Amaranth stem molagootal

Keeraithandu molagootal is my f-i-l's most favorite. This is a very delicious recipe that I learnt from my mother in law. Enough cannot be stressed about how nutritious and healthy keeraithandu/ amaranthus stem is. It is highly fibrous and has ultra low glycemic load. This recipe is one among the wealth of ridiculously tasty preparations that can be made with keeraithandu.

Ingredients:

Thandu keerai/Amaranthus caudatus                    1 huge bunch

Payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal                             3/4 cup
Turmeric powder                                               1/2 tsp
Salt                                                                   As needed

To powder

Black peppercorns                                                                                  1 tsp
Fresh coconut gratingsor shreddings/  dessicated coconut powder                1 tblspn / 1 tsp
Urad dhal whole / Uluthamparuppu                                                           1 tsp
Curry leaves                                                                                            1 sprig
Cumin seeds                                                                                            1/2 tsp


Method

1. Separate the stem (keerai thandu) from the spinach leaves. Use the leaves for making spinach kootu or sambhar or in many other recipes that can be made with it. This recipe uses only the stem part of thandu keerai/ amaranthus caudatus.
2. Cut the stem into thin rings. In a saucepan add the cut amaranth stems/ keeraithandu and add just enough water to immerse it. Let it come to a boil.
   
   
3. Let it simmer until keeraithandu is cooked. Simultaneously pressure cook payathamparuppu/ Mung dhal with turmeric powder and water to a mashy consistency.
4. Add the pressure cooked mung dhal /payathamparuppu to cooked keeraithandu/amaranth stems. Mix well. Let it come to a boil
5. Dry roast black peppercorns, cumin seeds, urad dhal/uluthamparuppu, curry leaves together until urad dhal is light brown in color and emanates an intoxicating aroma.
6. Grind the dry roasted ingredients along with coconut to a powder and then add water just enough to make it to a thick paste.
7. Add salt to the boiling mixture and let it boil for 3-5 mins. At this stage if the mixture is too thick, add a little water to bring it to the consistency of a gravy. Take care it doesn't get burnt.
8. Add the ground paste and mix well. Bring the heat to medium low and let the mixture come to a boil. Switch off the stove and keeraithandu molaggotal is ready to be served.
   

Keerai thandu molagootal goes very well along with rice, seppankezhangu (arbi)/potato/vazhakkai (raw plantain) roast. It goes very well as a side dish to rasam rice. 

Vazhaipoo poriyal/kari

This is a wonderfully juicy poriyal/kari. Although cleaning and cutting banana flower/vazhaipoo is very elaborate and labour intensive, the process after that is very easy.

Ingredients

Vazhaipoo/ Banana flower/ Banana blossom                                     1 nos
Grated coconut shredding                                                               1/2 cup
Salt                                                                                                1 tsp or to taste


To temper

Oil                                                                    1 tsp
Mustard seeds                                                    1/2 tsp


Method

1.  For cleaning and cutting vazhaipoo ( banana flower/ banana blossom ) please refer here
2.  Cut the florets as said above . Take  a stir fry pan add cut florets and add just enough water to immerse it.
3. Let it boil until the florets are cooked. This usually takes 10 mins. Add salt at this stage and let it boil for 3-5 more mins. Drain excess water.
4.  Heat stir fry pan again and let all moisture evaporate. Now add a tsp of oil. Add mustard seeds to splutter.
5. Add the cooked and drained florets and mix well.
6. Add freshly grated coconut shreds and mix well. Switch off the stove to serve it with sambhar, rasam and curd rice.

This is a very healthy, tummy softening poriyal/kari.  Add to it the mind blowing nutritional spectrum of vazhaipoo/banana blossom. Nothing can beat it!