Coriander mint chutney - Green chutney / Kothamalli pudhina chutney

This is the green chutney that we have it with idli, dosas, pongal and vadas. Please do not confuse it with the chutney that we make for chats. The below recipe yields an awesome green chutney, that will become a staple.

Ingredients

Channa dhal / Kadalai paruppu                                   2 tsp
Urad dhal/ Ulutham paruppu                                      2 tsp
Canola oil                                                                   1tsp
Mint leaves                                                                  20 nos
Cilantro                                                                        1/4 bunch
Fresh shredded coconut ( i used frozen -thawed and brought to room temp from deep brand)   1 cup
Salt                                                                              as needed
Green chillies                                                              4-5 nos depending on ur spice level

Method

1. In a small pan, heat oil and roast channa and urad dal until golden brown.

2. Add mint leaves and cilantro to it and mix well for a minute. Switch off the stove and cool this to room temp

3. Grind the roasted ingredients, 1 cup shredded coconut, green chillies and salt to a coarse chutney by adding little water.

Green chutney is ready!

Appalam vendhaya kozhambhu

This is my mom's favorite recipe.  We used to make it when we have a lazy day and/or when we do not have the necessary veggie to make a vendhaya kozhambu and have a hearty meal. But this reminds me more of the lazy afternoons. :)

Appalam vendhaya kozhambu

Ingredients

Tamarind                                                                                       1 lemon sized ball

Sambhar powder                                                                             1.5 tsps

Asafoetida                                                                                      1 pinch

Salt                                                                                                To taste

Ulundhu appalam/ urad dhal papad (with just cumin seeds only)           1 nos

To temper

Canola/ Sunflower oil                                                                       3 tblspns

Mustard seeds                                                                                 1/2 tsp

Vendhayam/ Methi seeds                                                                    1/2 tsp

Method

1. Heat a stir fry pan and add oil. Break the papad to small pieces and keep aside.

2.  Add mustard seeds to splutter, vendhayam/ methi seeds to turn golden brown and add the broken papad to deep fry.

3.) Simultaneously soak tamarind in hot water for 15 mins and extract syrup from it. 

4.) Add asafoetida to the oil and add the extracted tamarind syrup. Add sambhar powder to it and mix well. Let it come to a boil.

5.) Simmer it for 5 mins in medium heat, add salt and mix well. Let it simmer for 5  more mins. It will reach the consistency as shown below.

Appalam vendhaya kozhambhu is done and had be had with hot rice and any vegetable kari/poriyal.

Kathirikkai thayir pachadi/ Eggplant raitha/ Aubergine yoghurt dip/ Aubergine raitha

This thayir pachadi is usually done and had with both sambhar saadham (sambhar rice) and rasam saadham (rasam rice).  It can also be had with plain tortilla chips as a dip or can be made into a fantastic taco along with some bean rice or cilantro rice to give it an Indo-mexican twist. It is a very simple pachadi/raitha/dip to make and takes very little time. Now to ingredients

Ingredients:

Kathirikkai or Eggplant / Aubergine                                 1-2 nos/ quarter aubergine
Salt                                                                                To taste
Red chilli powder                                                            To taste
Curd/ Natural yoghurt                                                      1 cup whisked

To temper

Canola/ Sunflower Oil                                                     2 tsps
Mustard seeds                                                                 1/2 tsp


Method

1. Dice kathirikkai or eggplant/aubergine as small as you can
2. Heat a flat pan on stove and add oil. Add mustard seeds to splutter
3. Add diced eggplant or kathirikkai/ aubergine to it  and mix well.
4. Add salt and red chilli powder and keep mixing. Leave it on the stove for 4-5mins or so to get roasted and cooked , mixing it occasionally in-between.
5. Add this to the whisked curd or dahi/ natural yoghurt and mix well. Add additional salt if needed after tasting. 

Kathirikkai thayir pachadi/ Eggplant raitha/ Aubergine yoghurt dip is ready to be had with sambhar saadham, rasam saadham or with tortilla chips or as tacos with bean rice or cilantro rice.

Channa pulav/ Fataafat channa pulav/ Easy channa pulav/ Easy garbanzo beans rice (pilaf)

This recipe will fall under the travel cooking/easy cooking series. I enjoy travelling a lot. being a vegetarian, all these self-concocted recipes tried on spot and was an instant success come in hand to enjoy a hearty meal without missing home. These recipes require very little ingredients and resources to make it happen and will have very less or zero prep time. It will involve an electric cooker  and a spatula and that's about it. Now to the ingredients to make channa pulav/  garbanzo beans rice

Prep time :

1 min


Ingredients:

Canned garbanzo beans/ Channa                       1 can (400-500gms)
Canola oil/ vegetable oil                                   1 tsp
Salt                                                                 To taste
Black pepper powder                                        1 tblspn (or according to one's spice level...                                                                                      minimum 1.5 tsps)
Basmati rice                                                     1.5 cups


Preparation:

Open the can of garbanzo beans and rinse it in water.


Method

1. Heat oil in the electric cooker.
2. When oil is hot add the rinsed garbanzo beans/Channa and mix well with a spatula. Add 5 cups water and let it come to a rolling boil
3. Add salt and black pepper powder and mix it well. Add basmati rice, mix well and leave it to cook until done and the switch in the electric cooker trips off.

Garbanzo beans rice is ready to have it by itself or with a pod of  natural yogurt and/or  salted potato chips. It becomes a satiating, filling meal with wholesome goodness. Yes, I have used canned garbanzo beans here as I cannot soak and boil beans while travelling , but still a self-made meal is the most hygienic and nutritious meal that can ever exist for me, as we know/can control what exactly goes in it.

Noi upma

Noi is nothing but rice that is broken( while removing the husk and processing )and not whole. They segregate this while processing and sell it separately and call it as noi in tamil. My mom and grand-moms make upma with it which has a unique flavour and does not taste or smell anything like arisi upma. I have it by itself without any side-dish and it would taste out of the world, but it can be had with maagaali kezhangu oorugai (best and recommended) or vethakozhambhu. But the latter would kill the originality of upma is what I felt. This upma is a very quick upma that can be made on tiring days when we feel hungry and exhausted to make something on our own. This needs zero preparation and hence no prep time. It is so easy on the tummy, that it can be had on days when we do not feel upto the mark. Now, to the ingredients...

Ingredients:


Noi/ Broken rice                                                        1.5 cups
Coconut oil                                                                1 tsp
Ghee                                                                          1 tsp
Salt                                                                           To taste
Water                                                                         5 cups


To Temper

Coconut oil                                                              1.5 tsps
Mustard seeds                                                          1/2 tsp
Vendhayam/methi seeds                                             1/2 tsp
Red chillies                                                              2 nos broken into 2 pieces each
Asafoetida                                                                1 pinch
Curry leaves                                                             1 sprig


Method

1. Take a large stir fry pan and heat it on the stove.  Add 1.5 tsp of coconut oil and add mustard seeds to splutter.
2.  Add vendhayam/methi seeds and mix until it becomes golden brown. Add red chillies, curry leaves  and asafoetida and mix for another 30 seconds. Bring the heat to low.
3. Now add 5 cups of water to it  and bring the heat to medium. Let this mixture come to a rolling boil. Add required amount of salt and let it boil vigorously for a minute.
4. Now add noi/broken rice to it and stir well. Close a lid on top and let it cook for 15 mins or so or until noi/broken rice is fully cooked. At this time. it will be soft but not mushy and will retain its shape. 
5. Now add a tsp of coconut oil and ghee to top it off,  mix well, close the lid and switch off the stove. Leave it like that for 15 mins for the flavours to incorporate. I bet this will be the toughest 15 minutes of one's life as the kitchen will smell divine and we will still have to wait for the dish to complete. This 15 minutes is crucial for the taste and flavour to settle and is not optional

Serve this finished noi upma with maagaali kezhangu oorugai or vethakozhambu or best, have it by itself!

Cheat code - I live outside India and I do not get noi here, so I take raw rice and spin it in the mixie for just 5 seconds to make it as noi (broken rice)  ;)

Mor upma

This upma is my mother-in-law's original recipe. She makes it with arisi maavu/ Rice flour. I tried it with wheat flour/ godhumai maavu/ atta and it tasted great too.

Ingredients:

Rice flour/ Arisi maavu                                                 1 cup
Curd/ Natural plain yogurt                                              Just enough to make it to a stiff dough
Green chillies                                                               3 nos
Salt                                                                              As needed

To temper

Oil                                                                              5 tblspns
Mustard seeds                                                              1/2 tsp
Urad dal/ Uluthamparuppu                                             1 tsp


Method

1. In a mixing bowl, add rice flour/arisi maavu, salt, green chillies cut to very thin rings.
2. Add curd/ natural plain yoghurt little by little and make it to a stiff dough.
3. Heat a stir fry pan and add oil, mustard seeds to splutter, add uluthamparuppu/urad dhal and fry until golden brown. 
4. Add the dough and start cutting it to small pieces with the mixing spatula. Soon after adding the dough turn the flame to low and proceed. Roughly cut to 4-6 pieces at first and mix so that the oil has coated the surface. 
5. After coating the cut pieces with oil, increase the heat to medium so let it cook for 2 mins like that. Now start cutting it to small pieces. People who are familiar with tamil cooking will know about paruppu usili. The upma just becomes like a crumble and will resemble like a paruppu usili if the process is continued. 
6. Let it get roasted to golden brown. Switch off the stove and serve it hot. 

Usually this upma can be had as such without any side dish as yogurt provides enough sourness and green chillies enough heat. 

Now the same upma with the wheat flour/ Godhumai maavu/ Atta version

This version of upma just takes half the amount of oil and half the amount of time to cook, as wheat cooks in very fast and in very less oil for the same resultant output. 

Ingredients:

Wheat flour/ Godhumai maavu                                      1 cup
Curd/ Natural plain yogurt                                              Just enough to make it to a stiff dough
Green chillies                                                               3 nos
Salt                                                                              As needed

To temper

Oil                                                                              2.5 tblspns
Mustard seeds                                                              1/2 tsp
Urad dal/ Uluthamparuppu                                             1 tsp


Method

1. In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour/godhumai maavu, salt, green chillies cut to very thin rings.
2. Add curd/ natural plain yoghurt little by little and make it to a stiff dough.
3. Heat a stir fry pan and add oil, mustard seeds to splutter, add uluthamparuppu/urad dhal and fry until golden brown. 
4. Add the dough and start cutting it to small pieces with the mixing spatula. Soon after adding the dough turn the flame to low and proceed. Roughly cut to 4-6 pieces at first and mix so that the oil has coated the surface. 
5. After coating the cut pieces with oil, increase the heat to medium so let it cook for 2 mins like that. Now start cutting it to small pieces. People who are familiar with tamil cooking will know about paruppu usili. The upma just becomes like a crumble and will resemble like a paruppu usili if the process is continued. 
6. Let it get roasted to golden brown. Switch off the stove and serve it hot. 

Usually this upma can be had as such without any side dish as yogurt provides enough sourness and green chillies enough heat. 

The wheat version of upma is a little bit moist and gets roasted very fine too. So if one tries the rice flour version and finds it too dry for their palette, the wheat version is the greatest alternative. It is roast and crumbly while being moist, and to me has a great flavor than the rice flour version.

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.