Karuvepillai/Curry leaves kuzhambu

Preparation time: 5mins
Makes 2 servings
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients:


To fry:
Red chilly - 7
Green chilly- 4
Onion - 1
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Ginger- 1" piece
Garlic - 1 pod
Cocunut - 2 tsp grated
Curry leaves -2 handful

Other :
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Tamrind paste - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil


Procedure:
1.Heat oil in a pan , add the ingredients under "To fry" .
2.Fry till golden brown, cool and grind to a paste.
3.Boil toor dal wid turmeric powder and asafotedia .Mash it.
4.Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
5.When they splutter, add the paste and saute till nice aroma comes out.
6.Now add tuvar dal, tamrind paste and salt.
7.Add enough water and boil for 2 mintues.

Serve hot with Steamed rice.

Sambhar

Pongal

Kadai Bhindi

Preparation Time : 15 mins
Cooking time : 20 mins
Serves 3

Ingredients :


Okra ( ladies finger ) - 20-25
Bell Pepper / Capsicum - 1/2 cup, chopped
Onion - 1 cup, chopped finely
Tomato - 2 medium, chopped
Green chilli - 2 nos. , chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder -1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Amchur ( mango powder ) - 3/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3-4 nos.
Cilantro
Salt
Oil - 2 tbsp
Oil to deep fry.

Procedure:

1. Wash the okra and pat them dry. Chop it into 1" pieces
2. You may either deep fry the okra or shallow fry with a little excess oil. Aim is to remove the stickiness. 
3. Do not let it fry for long time, you have to retain the green color. 
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai and fry cumin seeds. 
5. Crush the coriander seeds in a mortar and add it to the kadai along with the curry leaves. 
6. Add green chillies, chopped onion and a pinch of salt.
7. Saute for a couple of minutes and now add the ginger garlic paste. 
8. Fry till the raw smell goes away; add the chopped tomatoes.
9. Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and Mix well.
10. Let this cook till the tomatoes are mashed up and the oil separates. (that's about 3-5 minutes) 
11. Add the chopped bell pepper. Do not let this cook for a long time so that it remains crunchy.
12. Adjust salt as required.
13. After 5 minutes of cooking, add the fried okra. sprinkle the amchur powder and garam masala. 
14. Give it a good mix and cover & cook for about 5 mins. 
15. Switch off the stove and garnish it wit chopped cilantro. 

Makes a great side dish for Roti. :)

Idli-Dosa Batter

Preparing the perfect idli/dosa batter comes with experience & lots of trial & errors :). Although there are several methods followed by people, here is the most common tested and suceeded way of preparing this batter.


Ingredients:


Par-Boiled Rice or idli Rice : 3 cups
Aval (Poha) or cooked rice : 1 cup
Whole Urad dal : 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds or Vendayam : 1 tsp

Procedure:

• Wash and soak the rice for about 6-8 hrs or overnight. 
• Wash and soak the urad dal along with the fenugreek seeds for 2-4 hrs. 
• First grind the urad dal in the grinder to a smooth paste, adding water little by little. It usually takes about 20mins to half an hour. 
• Empty this into a fairly big container.
• Now grind the soaked rice adding water. 
• When it is half way done, add the cooked rice or aval ( soaked for a minute ).
• Add the rice batter to the urad dal batter in the vessel. 
• Mix it well with hands. 
• Cover & leave it to ferment overnight near a warm place.
• The next day , add salt & give it a good mix. The batter is ready for use. 

Notes :

• The rate of fermentation depends on the temperature of the surrounding. I usually keep it in the oven ( unheated, switched off ).You may also leave it near the stove. 
• Store the batter in a large container which gives it room to ferment and rise up.
• Its usually best for idli in the first two days & for dosa in the remaining days. 
• If the batter is refridgerated, keep it outside for 20 mins before using. 

Mattar Paneer

Preparation Time : 15 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Serves : 4


Ingredients :


Frozen Green Peas - 1 cup
Fried Paneer cubes - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 2, finely chopped
Tomato - 2 , pureed
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 1.5tsp
Cilantro
Oil
Salt


To Grind :


Onion - 1 big, thinly sliced
Clove - 1
Cinnamon - 1"
Cardamom - 1
Cumin Seeds - 1tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1.5 tsp


Procedure:

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai and add the following -  cumin seeds, clove, cinnamon, cardamom and onion. 
2. Fry till onion becomes soft and turns pinkish brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes away.
3. Add turmeric, chilli powder & coriander powder at this point and fry for 2-3 mins. 
4. Cool down this mixture and grind it with very little water. 
5. Meanwhile microwave the peas for about 4 mins with little water.
6. Again heat oil in a kadai and add the green chillies. 
7. Fry for a minute and now add the ground onion paste.
8. Saute this for couple of minutes and now add the tomato puree. 
9. Mix well and let it cook till the oil oozes out. Stir it occasionally to avoid burning at the bottom. 
10. Now add the cooked peas and give it a stir. 
11. Pour in the curd ,  mix well. Adjust salt.
12. Add the garam masala and curry powder ( optional ) 
13. Add some water according to the required consistency. 
14. Cover and cook for about 5 mins in medium flame. 
15. Lastly add the fried paneer, mix gently and let this cook for about 3 mins. 
16. Add lime juice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with Roti/Parantha or Pulav varieties. :) 

Potato Poriyal - II

Lemon Rice

Chakara Pongal

On the auspicious day of Pongal, celebrated as the "Harvest Festival" in Tamil Nadu, Chakara Pongal is a must-make dish for the festival. My husband is a big fan of any dish made with vellam(Jaggery) and as this is one easy-to-make food, I can make it in a jiffy. Here is the recipe for all the Jaggery lovers.

Preparation Time:20 mins ( rice and dal cooking time)

Cooking Time:20 mins

Ingredients:

• Jaggery - 2 big pieces or 8 small pieces (We get jaggery here in a box with about 16 pieces or so)
• Rice - 1 cup
• Moong Dal - 1/3 cup
• Ghee - as needed
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Cashews and Raisins - As needed

Procedure:

1. First wash the rice with water and keep it for 15 mins. Same with Moong dal too.
2. Pour water to the ratio of 2:1 rice and 1:1/3 ratio for moong dal.
3. Keep it in a pressure cook and electric cooker and let it get done.
4. While its near to getting done, boil water(1 cup) in a vessel. When it is boiling add Jaggery pieces and melt it. The jaggery should dissolve completely in the water and become of string consistency.
5. When the rice is done, mash it, and when the jaggery is also of the right texture, mix the rice-dal to the jaggery liquid.
6. Mix thoroughly. Add ghee to this as needed to get a better texture and taste.
7. Heat ghee in a small vessel, add cashews and raisins to this. When it tempers, add them to the final pongal.

Tips:

• For those calorie conscious people, you can use brown sugar instead of jaggery too .