Tips on Indian Cooking and Some Recipes

Wheat Rawa (Dhalia) Kichadi

2010-06-18T08:19:00.001+05:30

Dhalia is the whole-wheat version of sooji or rawa and so, preferable as a healthier choice. This version is easy to make and a meal in itself, ideal for breakfast or light supper.
Ingredients:
1 cup Dhalia
100gm French Beans, 1 carrot, 1 potato- all diced into cubes after peeling.
Shelled Green Peas, 1 tbsp
1 inch piece Ginger, grated
2 green chillis, slit
1 pod of garlic, peeled and sliced
a few curry leaves

1 onion, sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste (about 3/4 tsp)
To season:
1 inch cinnamon, 1 bayleaf, 1 clove and 1 tsp cuminseeds
2 tsp vegetable oil

Method:
Heat oil in a pressure pan. Put in all the seasoning ingredients.
When they crackle add the curry leaves, green chillis, ginger and garlic, in that order.
Add the sliced onions. Saute till transparent.
Add the dhalia and cubed vegetables and mix well.
Add two cups of boiling water.
Add the salt and turmeric.
Close the lid and pressure cook for one whistle to speed up process. Or let it cook slowly on low heat for 10 minutes with just the lid on and no pressure.
When it is done, (If pressurecooking, cool for 5 minutes) open the lid.
Add the green peas and close the lid after stirring the kichadi and patting it to be uniformly spread on the pan.
Close the lid and keep on simmer for 5 minutes till the peas are also cooked.

Garnish with fried cashewnuts (optional) and coriander leaves.
Serve hot with onion raitha (curd pachadi).

Kara Kuzhi Paniyaram

2010-06-10T10:20:00.000+05:30

When you are bored of making idlis and dosas make this with the same idli batter:

Kara Kuzhi Paniyaram:

In a pan, heat 2 tsp of oil.
Put in 1 tsp of mustrad and when they splutter add 1 tsp of white urad dal and 1 tbsp of channa dal.
Fry them till golden on low fire for one minute.
Put in a pinch of hing (perungayam), 1 red chilli ,broken into 3 pieces and a few chopped curry leaves.
Add 2 big onion chopped finely and saute till transparent. Take it off the heat.
When it is cooling, grind 1 inch piece of peeled ginger and 1 green chilli coarsely and add it.
Add one tbsp of chopped coriander.
Add all this to 2 cups of the idli batter. Mix well and keep aside for ten minutes.
Use this batter in a kuzhipaniyaram pan and make kara kuzhipaniyaram.
Serve hot with any type of coonut chutney.

Onion oothappam

2010-06-10T10:08:00.000+05:30

When you are bored of making idlis and dosas make this with the same idli batter:

Onion Oothappam:
Keep ready finely chopped onion.
On hot flat pan, pour two ladleful batter and describe a thick round dosa.
Sprinkle the onion over the top of the dosa evenly to form a uniform layer.
Pour 1 tsp of oil around the edge.
Cover with a lid and lower heat.
After three minutes, raise the heat and open the lid.
Flip the oothappam over with a longhandled flat spoon (dosai thiruppi) and cook the other side, again lowering the heat after a minute.
As a variation, sprinkle some idli podi over the oothappam, along with the onions, to make podi oothappam.
When done (3 minutes), serve hot with idli sambar and coconut chutney.

Javvarisi vadai

2010-06-09T09:40:00.000+05:30

Wash 1/2 cup of Sabudhana (the round variety) and soak in just enough water to cover it.
After 3 hours, drain any excess water.
Add:
1 boiled, peeled and mashed potato and 2 tbsp rice flour.
1 tbsp peanuts pounded coarsely.
1 tbsp of coconut, cut into very small pieces.
1 green chilli and 1/4 inch piece of ginger ground to a coarse paste
Salt to taste (1 tsp)

Mix all the ingredients together till it forms a uniform dough.

Heat oil to deepfry the vadas. Cook on medium fire. Follow the same method as for medhu vadai for frying.

Serve hot while it is crisp, with coconut chutney or with tomato sauce.

Vella pidi Kozhukkattai

2010-05-14T10:33:00.000+05:30

1 cup idiyappa mavu

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup jaggery

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup grated coconut

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:

Heat the water in a deep pan and dissolve the jaggery in it. Strain it to remove the dirt from jaggery.
Again bring it to a boil in a deep pan.
Put in the coconut gratings, cardamom powder and salt.
When it starts boiling, add the flour stirring continuously.
When it is cooked and leaves the sides, cool it.
Make pidi kozhukkattai and steam it in an idli maker.
Serve as a healthy snack.

pidi kozhukkattai

2010-05-14T10:26:00.000+05:30

1 cup idiyappa mavu

2 cups water

1 tsp salt

To season: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp urad dal, a pinch of heeng (perungayam), 2 red chillis split into 4 pieces and a few curry leaves.

Method:

Heat the oil in a deep pan. Put in the seasoning ingredients, with mustard first, follwed by the others in the order specified above.
Pour in the water and salt.
When it boils add the flour little by little, stirring the contents continuously.
When it is cooked and the doulgh leaves the sides of the pan, take it off heat.
Cool it and take a lemon sized ball of the dough in a wet hand and press it to make a 'pidi kozhukkattai'. Put it in a idli maker.
Finish all the dough likewise and steam it in the idli cooker for ten minutes.
Take it off the heat and serve with coocnut chutney.

How to prepare Idiyappa Mavu

2010-05-14T10:14:00.001+05:30

How to prepare Idiyappa mavu:

Clean and wash 1 kg of raw rice. Drain it.
Dry it on a towel on the counter indoors till water is evaporated.
Give it for grinding in a flour mill.
Cool it on a paper, spreading it flat.
Pour it into a tall cooker vessel.
Put it in a pressure cooker and cover it.
Pressure cook for 20 minutes.
Take it out and cool it on a paper using a fork to spread the hot flour.
Sieve it through a fine sieve and dry it indoors till it is completely dry.
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for future use.

Some people dry roast the ground rice flour little by little but this pressurecooking method is easier by comparison with the same result.

If you find this process too cumbersome just use the readymade raw rice flour available in the market instead of washing and grinding raw rice.

If even this step is too much, just use the readymade idiyappam flour for recipes calling for idiyappa mavu.

Mor Kuzhambu

2010-04-19T07:34:00.004+05:30

1 cup of slightly sour curds, beaten smoothly

Grind to a paste:
1/4 cup of grated coconut
1 clove of garlic peeled
1/4 inch of ginger, peeled
1 green chilli
1tsp of cumin seeds

Add the paste to the beaten curd along with 1 tsp of turmeric and 2 tsp of salt. Keep aside.

Cook a few pieces of vegetables in water, adding a pinch of turmeric and 1/2 tsp of salt, if you want to add them to the morkuzhambu. Keep aside.

1.Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai.

2. Add 1/2 tsp of mustard. When they pop, add a red chilli broken in half and a few curry leaves, along with a pinch of heeng (perungayam). Add cooked vegetables like poosanikai or ladies' finger at this stage, if you have prepared it by cooking in turmeric and salt mixed water.

3. Lower the heat and add the curd mixture. Let it come to near boiling point with the kuzhambu foaming at the sides. Don't let it boil but take it off the heat before it does. (If it boils curd breaks into water and particles, instead of being a smooth sauce.)

4. You can add masal vadai at this stage instead of vegetables.

5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Prawns Masala

2010-04-19T07:13:00.004+05:30

1/4 kg prawns, shelled and deveined

2 onions, chopped fine

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped(about 1/2 pod)

1/2 inch piece ginger, finely chopped

1 big tomato, finely chopped

1/4 cup coconut, ground to a fine paste with 1 tsp of saunf (aniseeds)

1/4 cup tamarind juice, made from marble sized ball of tamarind

1. Wash the prawns well three times in running water. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp butter milk in 2 cups of water and let the prawns soak in it for a few minutes. Drain. (This step helps get rid of the unwanted smell from the prawns.) Add 2 tsp of chilli powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 tsp of salt and mix well. Keep aside.

2. Heat 2 tsp of sesame oil (or any other veg oil) in a thick-bottomed pan. Add 1tsp of mustard and 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds. When they pop, add a few curry leaves. Add the chopped garlic, ginger and onion. Saute till golden on a low flame.

3.Add the chopped tomato and saute further adding a tsp of salt and sprinkling a little water to help mash it o low heat. Add the washed prawns and stir well. Cover it and let it cook on medium heat. Stir every few minutes and check if it sticks to the pan. Prawns get cooked very quickly. Check for soft-cooked prawns. Add 1/4 cup of tamarind water after a few (made from marble sized ball of tamarind-more if you like a tangier taste).

4. When it comes to boil add the ground coconut paste and stir well. Add the water used to wash the mixer clean, to bring the gravy to a thick sauce-like consistency. Simmer for a few minutes and take it off the heat.

Prawns should not be cooked for a long time as they turn hard and rubbery if overcooked. So, be on your toes and cook this gravy at one go, keeping all the ingredients ready by your side!

Moong dal Sprouts Masala

2010-02-09T09:48:00.004+05:30

To make greengram sprouts:

Wash and soak 1 cup of whole greengram early in the morning (7 am). After 12 hours or so,(7pm) drain and place it in a wet cloth. Fold it loosely and put it in a casserole hotpack dish (which we use to keep dishes hot). Cover it with the heatproof lid. Let it stand overnight. It would have sprouted in the morning in the damp container. (You could use the commercial sprouter dish if you have one but this method uses what is available already in your home.)

You can use the sprouted greengram in salads. Or you can make a curry for rotis or dosa.

Sprouts masala:

Wash the sprouts and cover it enough water to immerse it in a deep pan. Boil the sprouted greengram with a pinch of turmeric and 1 tsp of salt till soft, (around 10 minutes on high heat, no need to pressurecook). Keep aside.

Grind 1/2 cup coconut, 1 tbsp fried gram, 1/2 cup coriander leaves, 1 green chilli, 1 clove of garlic and a small piece of ginger using as little water as possible. Keep aside. (In place of coconut you could use dessicated coconut too.)

In a deep thick pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Put in a 1"piece of cinnamon and 2 cloves. When they splutter, add a few curry leaves. Add 1 big onion (chopped finely). Saute the onion till transparent. Add the ground masala paste and stir well till it gets cooked lightly and the colour changes. Add 1 tsp of garam masala and 2 tsp of coriander powder. Saute lightly for one minute.

Add the cooked sprouts along with the water, stirring continuously so as no lumps are formed. Add one finely chopped tomato. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Take it off the stove and serve hot with rotis and green salad. Goes well with dosas too.

Sweet Pongal

2010-01-14T20:40:00.002+05:30

Raw rice 1 cup

Channa dal 1/4 cup

Wash both together, add 4 cups of water and pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Heat 1/2 cup of water and dissolve 1 cup of jaggery in it. Strain and heat again.

Mash the cooked rice in a deep non-stick pan with a ladle and add the heated jaggery liquid. Stir well and heat on the stove on low heat, stirring all the time.

Powder 3 cardamoms with 2 tsp of sugar in the mixie, after removing the peel. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee on low heat. Fry 8-10 cashewnuts and 1/2 tbsp of raisins. Pour it over the pongal and add the powdered cardamoms. Mix well and serve hot or warm.

Venn Pongal

2010-01-14T20:11:00.005+05:30

1 cup raw rice, washed

1/2 cup split moong dal, washed and lightly fried in 2 tsp of ghee.

Put both together and add 4 cups of water and a tsp of salt.

Pressurecook for 10 minutes till it is very welldone.

Mash the rice mix with a long spoon and temper it with the following:

In a small kadai, heat (Low heat) 3 tsp of ghee (or more), for a minute. Fry 4-5 cashew nuts till golden, on very low heat. Keep aside.

Bring the ghee to higher heat (medium) now. Put in 1 tsp of coarsely ground pepper, 1 tsp jeera, 1 tsp grated ginger and 1 tbsp of grated coconut (optional) and a few curry leaves. Stir for a 30 seconds and when they splutter, pour it on to the pongal rice and mix well.

Garnish with the cashew nuts fried in ghee.

Serve hot with medhu vadai, coconut chutney and idli sambar.

Easy Idli Sambar

2010-01-05T20:45:00.004+05:30

Wash 1/2 cup of moong dal twice in water. Add 3 cups of water, 1 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp of til or any veg oil (to prevent the moong Dal from boiling over from the pot while cooking.)

Add:

Whole sambar onions, 1/2 cup peeled
1 Potato and 1 carrot, peeled and cubed into medium-sized pieces
Any other vegtable (like brinjal or chow chow) available, cubed

Cook in a pan or pressure cooker (5 minutes pressure time) till soft.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1/2 tsp mustard and a small pinch of hing. When it starts spluttering add 1/2 tsp urad dal and 2 dry red chillis. Keep stirring and add a few curry leaves and 1green chilli split lengthwise. Stir and lower heat. Add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and 3 tsp of dhania powder. Saute quickly and add the boiled dal-vegetable mixture with salt to taste (about 2 tsp). Add 1 cup hot water if it is too thick. Bring it to boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes stirring now and then.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves (cilantro).

Special Idli Podi

2009-12-22T07:41:00.005+05:30

Ingredients:
2 tbsp channa dal

2 tbsp Urad Dal

1/2 tbsp white til

1/4 tbsp whole coriander seeds

4 red chillis (or to taste)

1/2 tsp of asofaetida (or use the thick gum variety, the flavour is better)

1 tbsp dried curry leaves

salt to taste (1/2 tsp)

Method:

Dry roast channa dal on a hot kadai, keep aside on a flat plate to cool.Similarly, dry roast the urad dal, keep aside on top of the channa dal. Put in half a tsp of til oil and fry the red chillis on low flame (not very hot) and halfway through(1/2 minute later) add the coriander seeds and continue frying. After 1 minute, add the white til when the coriander seeds are about to start browning. In a minute, when it starts to splutter, add the curry leaves, asofaetida and salt in quick succession and turn off the heat. Empty the contents on to the channa-urad dal dish. Let it cool to room temperature.

Use the mixie jar to grind the podi to a coarse consistency. Check for salt and chillis halfway through. (You can dry roast another chilli or two and add after grinding it in a small jar or add salt, if needed.) Mix again and store in an airtight jar for use. Keeps well upto a month.

Serve with hot idlis. You can add 1 tsp sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil or flax seed oil, as per your taste, with a tsp of idli podi and use as an accompaniment to the usual chutneys. Even without chutneys this podi is a winner on its own! Sprinkle on top of dosa, just before you flip it on the pan, to make podi dosai.

Coconut Chutney Varieties

2009-07-31T17:35:00.012+05:30

Chutney accompanies idlis, dosas or curd rice.

How to make chutney:

Grind to a paste all the ingredients listed in each recipe in a small mixer jar. Start grinding only the dry items at first. Add just enough water to immerse the blades. Grind again till you get a paste -not too coarse nor too smooth. Put it in a bowl. Wash the chutney jar with a few teaspoons of water and add to the bowl, if served with dosa or idlis. Keep it in a semi solid state if you serve the chutney with rice (Thuvaiyal form). Season it with mustard seeds and curry leaves tempered in 1 tsp hot oil in a small pan.

Basic coconut chutney

1 cup of grated coconut

1 or 2 green chillis (the more the hotter, if you like)

1/4 inch piece of peeled ginger

Salt to taste (1/2 tsp)

Coconut pottukadalai chutney

1/2 cup of grated coconut

1/2 cup fried gram (pottukadalai)

1 or 2 green chillis (the more the hotter, if you like)

1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger

Salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp)

coconut coriander leaves chutney

1 cup of grated coconut

1 green chilli

2 garlic cloves

1 cup of cleaned and washed coriander leaves (cilantro)

1/4 tsp cumminseeds (optional)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of lemon juice

coconut garlic chutney (hot)

1 cup of grated coconut

1 or 2 red chillis

6 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp salt

coconut onion chutney

1 cup of grated coconut

1 or 2 green chillis

1 cup sambar onions

Marble size of tamarind

1 tsp of salt

A variety is made by sauteing the onions before grinding

coconut red chilli chutney

1 cup of grated coconut

2 or 3 red chillis

a pea sized-piece of asofetida fried in a drop of oil

1 tsp salt

Make this a bit watery. Goes well with dosas.

Coconut Thuvaiyal

1 cup of grated coconut

1 or 2 red chillis

Marble sized Tamarind

Salt to taste (1/2 tsp)

Grind to a coarse paste with as little water as possible. Goes well with curd rice.

Ginger Chutney, Inji Thuvaiyal

3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled washed and sliced.

2 tbsp of urad dal

1/2 red chilli

1/2 marble size ball of tamarind

1 tbsp of grated coconut

salt to taste ( 1/2 to 1 tsp)

Shallow fry the red chilli, urad dal in 1/2 tsp of oil. Add the hing powder and the ginger pieces and saute it till dry (2 minutes). Add the tamarind and coconut. Saute for 1 more minute. When cool, grind it with salt to taste with very little water. Good for digestion at the end of a heavy meal, as an accompaniment to curd rice.

Salad without oil

2009-06-08T17:56:00.002+05:30

Chop finely:

1 onion

1 tomato

1 cucumber

1 carrot

1 apple

Mix with a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Add a handful of dry fruits and nuts and toss well. You can add a dash of lemon juice for extra tang.

Kariveppilai Kuzhambu, Curry Leaves Sauce

2009-05-11T14:04:00.003+05:30

Grind a handful of washed curry leaves (kariveppilai) into a paste. Soak a lemon size ball of tamarind and squeeze out the juice. Mix the curry leaves paste in this. Add a tsp of turemric powder and salt to taste (2-3 tsp).

Heat 1 tbsp of til oil (or any vegetable oil) in a thick pan. Put in a tsp of mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds. When they splutter, add a pinch of asofetida powder and a few curry leaves. Add 10 pearl onions or sambar onions (whole and peeled) and 10 cloves of peeled garlic (Keep them whole without chopping). Saute them till transparent. Lower heat and add 2 tsp of chilli powder and 3 tsp of coriander powder. Pour in the tamarind water and curry leaves-paste mixture. Let it come to boil and simmer for 10 minutes till the raw smell goes off.

Dry roast 2 tsp of tur dal and 2 tsp of raw rice. Powder it in the small mixie jar. When the kuzhabmu is ready, add this powder, stir well and bring it to boil on low heat. When the whole mixture starts boiling, take it off the heat. Serve hot with rice.

Pudhina Chutney (South Indian Style)

2009-01-30T07:33:00.007+05:30

Clean and remove the stems from 1/2 bunch of pudhina (mint) and wash the leaves thoroughly, at least three times till all dirt washes off. Drain and keep aside to dry on a paper towel.

Heat a pan with 1 tsp of oil. Put in 2 tsp of urad dal. When it is golden brown, add 1 whole red chilli (more chillis if you like the chutney hotter) and 2 pinches of hing and stir once quickly. Put in the drained pudhina leaves and saute for a few minutes. Add a marble sized ball of tamarind (and 1 tbsp grated coocnut , if available) and stir once. Take it off the heat and cool it.

Grind it in the mixie to a fine paste with salt to taste and 1/4 cup of water. (Above picture)

This is the basic recipe for most of the vegetable chutneys and thugaiyals. Substitute coriander leaves or curry leaves for 'kothamalli chutney' and 'karuveppilai chutney'. If it is ground to a thick paste, it is called 'thugaiyal' or 'thuvaiyal'. Thuvaiyal is served as side dish for varitey rice and curd rice and can be prepared in a few minutes.

You make it into a chutney by adding water to make it into a thick pouring consistency. You can serve chutneys as a side dish for dosais, idlis, vadai and even rotis. Optionally, you can season chutneys, before serving, with 1/2 tsp of mustard, 1/2 tsp of urad dal and a few curry leaves spluttered in a tsp of hot oil.

Poondu Kuzhambu

2009-01-29T11:00:00.003+05:30

Prepare the ingredients:

Peel a pod of garlic. Keep the cloves whole.

Peel a handful of sambar onions. Cut them into two halves breadthwise.

Cut a big tomato into very small pieces.

Squeeze out juice from a half-lemon sized tamarind ball. Add half tsp of turmeric powder to it.

Method:

Heat a tbsp of sesame oil.

Put in half tsp of fenugreek (vendhyam) seeds and hald tsp of mustard seeds.

When they splutter, put in a few curry leaves. Then add the peeled garlic and sambar onions.

Fry them till the onions turn transparent. Now add 1 tsp of chilli powder (you can add 1 tsp of AAchi kuzhambu masala instead. It tastes very good!), 2 tsp coriander powder and stir well. Add the tomato pieces and 2 tsp of salt. Saute well till the tomato pieces are mashed. Oil will separate now. Add the tamarind water and bring it to boil. You can add a few vegetables or vathals at this stage. (If you add vathals, it becomes vathal kuzhambu. Fry manathakkali vathal when you fry curry leaves and proceed with the recipe as above.)

Drumstick and brinjal smell good. You can add raw banana pieces too. If you add ladies finger pieces, saute them in oil separately beforehand (to remove the stickiness) and add at this stage.

When the vegetable is cooked, the raw smell of tamarind would be gone too. Now add a tsp of pepper powder and simmer for a few minutes. You can add a quarter cup of coconut milk with the pepper powder, for a richer taste.

Ragi Dosai

2009-01-23T07:37:00.007+05:30

You can use idli batter for making some more dishes out of it.

For Ragi dosai, take 1 cup of ragi flour and 2 tbsp of idli batter. Mix well. Add 1 tsp of jeera, 1 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp each of chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves and salt to taste. Add enough water to make a pouring consistency.

(If you don't have idli batter, substitute 1/2 cup of rice flour, 1 tbsp of maida and 1 tbsp of sour curds.)

Make dosas using the method followed for adai.

Idli

2009-01-23T07:19:00.003+05:30

If you are grinding in a wet grinder this is the proportion:

Parboiled rice: 6 cups (soaked for 3 hours separately after washing the rice 2 times)

Urad Dal : 1 cup (Take the dal 2 hours after soaking the rice and methi seeds. Wash 3 times and soak just for 1 hour. Don't wash again.)

Vendhayam (Methi) seeds (optional): 1 tsp. (soaked for 3 hours in a bowl separately, after washing thrice)

Method:

Drain the urad dal and vendhayam. Save the water for use while grinding. Put in the dal and vendhayam together and start the grinding process. Add the water now and then and grind till it is light fluffy. It should take about 40 minutes to incorporate enough air for soft idlis.

Rest the grinder for 15 minutes. Wash rice thoroughly again. Grind it in the machine adding water now and then, till it is of a smooth but slightly grainy consistency.

Mix the two pastes together with 2 tablespoons of salt. Wash the grinder with 1 cup of water and add this too. The batter should be of easily pouring consistency but not too thick like cake batter or too thin like adai batter.

Leave it to ferment which should take 5-7 hours in a warm climate. Keep it in the fridge after it had risen. Stir well before use. Make idlis using the idli moulds and steam for 7-10 minutes.

If you are using a mixer:

For 3 cups of parboiled rice, use 1 cup of urad dal.

Venn Pongal

2009-01-08T07:36:00.005+05:30

Take 3/4 cup raw rice and 1/4 cup of split greengram (payathamparuppu). Wash it well. Add 3 cups of water and a tsp of salt (or to taste). Pressurecook it for 10 minutes.

Let it cool. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Put in 1 tsp of crushed pepper and 1 tsp jeera. When it splutters add 1/2 inch piece of ginger chopped into pieces, a few curry leaves and 1 inch piece of coconut chopped into very small pieces (coconut optional). Pour it into the cooked rice and mix well.

Serve hot. Pongal is usually accompanied by medhu vadai , sambar and coconut chutney.

Onion curd raitha

2008-10-29T20:25:00.003+05:30

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

1 cup thick fresh curd or plain yogurt

1 tsp salt

1 green chilli

1 tsp chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

Method:

Cut one onion into thin slices. Slit a green chilli lengthwise. Mix these with a tsp of salt and keep covered till serving.

Just before serving, drain the excess water from the onion. Add a cup of thick fresh curd (or plain yogurt) and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves (optional).

Time management in cooking an elaborate Indian Non-veg Dinner/Lunch

2008-10-29T07:31:00.015+05:30

Our menu is:
Mutton Biryani
Mutton Kozhambu
Chicken Fry
Curd Rice
Onion Curd Pachadi
Potato Chips (You can buy the readymade chips)

Method:

Wash and marinate the chicken for chicken fry.
Set the cooker with mutton as per the recipe for mutton kozhambu in the bottom vessel, mutton for biryani in the middle vessel and rice for curd rice in the top vessel. Pressure cook for 20 minutes as per mutton kozhambu recipe.
This time is used for preparing the other items on the menu.
Prepare the seasoning for curd rice and pour it in a vessel, to be used for curd rice as per recipe.
When mutton is cooked and steam is let off, mash the rice for curd rice. Keep aside and when it is cooler, add the seasoning and mash some more without lumps. Mix the fresh and thick curd when it is cool.
Start cooking the chicken in the pressure cooker as per chicken fry recipe. Use the back burner for this.

Now, to use the front burners:

Start cooking the biryani on one front stove, using the top stock of the mutton for the biryani.
The mutton and some stock would be left in the vessel. Use this for mutton kozhambu using the other front stove for this.
When these two items are cooking and left to simmer, put them on the back burner. Now use the time for finishing curd rice preparation.
Chicken would be ready by now and you can start the finishing process in the meantime on the front burner. The mutton for biryani can be cooked on the other front burner.

If you cook this way, you can finish cooking all the items managing time optimally. It needs a juggling act but with practice you would get used to planning and preparing everything in the right sequence.

You can serve bread or chappathi, as the first course, if you want to impress your guests with one more item in the menu. Biryani and curd rice are served after this first course. Chicken fry, mutton kozhambu, onion raitha and potato chips are the side dishes.

Masal Vadai

2008-09-03T22:41:00.003+05:30

Masal Vadai:

Channa Dal 1 cup (soaked for one hour and washed)

garlics 2 cloves

ginger 1/2 inch piece

soaked red chillies 2 (or more if you like it hotter) or 1 tsp of red chilli powder

Sombu (aniseeds) 1tsp

salt to taste

Grind the above in a mixie using the whipper button. It takes just a minute to grind it coarsely.
Now mix the following ingredients:

chopped Curry leaves 1tsp
chopped green chilli 1 (optional)
chopped coriander leaves
1 chopped onion

Mix well. Make small balls and keep on a plate

Heat oil for deep frying. When it is hot, lower the heat.

Press the balls of dough loosely into vada shape and slide into the oil.

Add as many vadas as could be fried in the given amount of oil.

Increase the heat and fry on medium heat till they are cooked on one side.

Turn them over and cook on the other side till they are golden brown.

Take them out with the holed ladle and drain the oil.

Serve hot.

You can use a handful each of channa dal, moong dal and tur dal in the above recipe and name it 'paruppu vadai.' You can substitute heeng (asofoetida) for sombu to make it differently flavoured.

Medhu Vadai

2008-09-03T22:24:00.006+05:30

Soak 1 cup of urad dal in water,( after washing it thoroughly) till soft (about 1-2 hours). Wash in water 3 times. Drain and grind the dal in a mixie, adding a few drops of water now and then to make into a fine paste. Put in a pinch of asofoetida and 1 tsp of salt and mix well. Finely chop 1 green chilli and 1 inch piece of peeled ginger (or grind in a mixie). Chop 1 tbsp of coriander leaves and a few curry leaves. Mix all with the dough. You can add finely chopped onion too, if you like the taste.

Heat vegetable oil in a thick bottomed kadai(wok), enough to deep fry.

Wet your hands. (This helps the dough not to stick onto your hand). Take a lemon sized portion of the dough and flatten it on one palm. Make a hole in the centre. Slide this vadai into the hot oil gently. (Take care not to splash the hot oil by dropping the dough from a height! Your hand should go as near the pan as possible without toughing the hot pan or oil). Make 2 or more vadais like this (as much as the oil holds) and fry them on medium heat. Turn them gently with a holed ladle and continue frying. Let them cook for a few more minutes till the vadais are golden and crisp. Drain the oil using the holed ladle and place them on a paper towel.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Vegetable cutlet

2008-09-03T22:09:00.005+05:30

2 large potatoes cooked, peeled and mashed

1 tbsp of boiled green peas

1 tbsp of grated carrot

2 green chilli (or 1 tsp chilli powder)and 1/2 inch piece of ginger, chopped finely

1 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped finely.

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Mix all the above ingredients together, make into lemon sized balls, flatten them and keep ready.

For coating:

Mix 2 tbsp of cornflour, 1 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. Make a thin batter with 2 tbsp of water

(Alternate batter is to mix 1 beaten egg instead of cornflour-it tastes yummier!)

Dip the balls of cutlets in this batter, coating them all around.

Keep ready a plateful of breadcrumbs (or powdered corn flakes, if you want less oily cutlets).

Roll the batter-coated cutlet pieces in the crumbs gently and deep-fry the cutlets in vegetable oil on medium heat till golden in colour (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve hot with tomato sauce and a few pieces of onions, carrot, tomato and cucumber on the side.

Chicken Korma

2008-08-18T22:09:00.009+05:30

Ingredients in the order of cooking:

1/2 kilo chicken

1 onion, sliced into pieces,
1 tomato chopped
1 1/2 tsp of chilli powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder

2 tsp of oil
1 piece of cinnamon
1 piece of clove
2 tsp of aniseeds
curry leaves
5 cloves of garlic+ 1 onion, both chopped fine
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 finely chopped tomato
2 tsp of salt

1 tbsp of grated coconut or dessicated coconut (optional)
3 tsp of fried gram (pottukadalai)
tsp of aniseeds
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of cumminseeds
1 clove
1 small piece of cinnamon
2 tsp chopped coriander leaves (Cilantro)

Wash and drain 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into medium pieces. Cook it with 1 onion, sliced into pieces, 1 tomato chopped, 1 1/2 tsp of chilli powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder and 1 tsp of turmeric pwder and 2 cups of water, in a pressure cooker for 7-10 minutes.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan and put in 1 piece of cinnamon, 1 piece of clove and 1/2 tsp of aniseeds. Add a few curry leaves and in quick succession, 5 cloves of garlic and 1 onion, both chopped finely. Saute for five minutes on medium flame till golden and add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder. Saute and add 1 finely chopped tomato and 2 tsp of salt. Fry on low flame, till it is mashed and oil separates.

Pour in the cooked chicken along with the water and bring to boil. Let it simmer till the raw slell goes off.

Grind 1 tbsp of grated coconut, (If coconut is not available, substitute dessicated coconut -or you can skip it altogether, adding another tsp of fried gram instead) 3 tsp of fried gram (pottukadalai) and 1 tsp of aniseeds, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of cumminseeds, 1 clove and 1 small piece of cinnamon finely in the mixie using a little water.

Add to the simmering korma and stir well with no lumps on a low flame. Add 1/4 cup of water used for washing out the mixie jar. Check for salt and add some(1/2 tsp or so), if needed. Simmer for a few minutes and take it off the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with biryani, rice or rotis.

Mutton Biryani

2008-07-23T05:14:00.010+05:30

Clean and wash 1/4 kg mutton cut into medium pieces. Pressure cook in 6 cups of water mixed with 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 medium onion diced, 1 medium tomato diced and 1/2 inch piece of ginger crushed. When the whistle sounds lower the heat and cook on pressure for 20 minutes as mutton takes that much time to cook. Take it off heat then and keep aside for the pressure to reduce.

When the mutton is cooking you can keep ready all the ingredients needed:

Whole Masala:

1 inch piece of cinnamon 2

cloves 3

Bay leaf 2

Pepper corns 1 tsp

Cumminseeds 1 tsp

To be ground into a fine paste:

2 inch piece of ginger cut into pieces

12 cloves of garlic

Method:

Wash and soak 2 cups of long grained rice in water for half an hour. (If you start these preparations after mutton has been set to cook, it will be fine.)

Slice 1 big onion into thin slices.

Chop and keep ready 1 tbsp each of coriander leaves and pudhina (mint)leaves.
Cut a tomato (round juicy variety is better rather than fleshy roma tomotoes) into 8 pieces.

Slit lengthwise 3 Green chillis.

1/2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of thick curds.

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

When mutton is taken off the heat, keep a big non-stick pot large enough to cook the biryani on the stove. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil (Mix ghee only if you want the tastier but not-so-healthy version) and fry the sliced onions to a golden brown colour. Drain and keep aside for use as garnish later.

Take 4 cups of water from the cooked mutton and keep aside.

In the same pot add another tbsp of oil. Put in the whole masala in the list above. When it crackles, put in the chopped coriander and pudhina. When it is fried, add the ground masala paste and slit green chillis, cook it further till the raw smell goes off.

Put in the chopped tomatoes, curds, turmeric, chilli powder and lemon juice and saute till oil starts separating.

Drain the soaked and washed rice. Add to the pot and fry till the water evaporates.

Measure 4 cups of the mutton stock and add it to the pot, (instead of water), to cook the rice. Add salt to taste and when it starts boiling, mix well and keep on low heat with the lid tightly covered. Stir now and then without breaking the grains.

In the meantime, prepare the mutton for Biryani:

Grind 1 tsp aniseeds, 1 clove, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 onion, 1 tomato and 4 cloves of garlic to a fine paste. In a kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil and fry this paste, along with 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp dhania powder and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, till oil separates. Now pour in the remaining mutton stock with the mutton pieces, adding salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, till oil separates and the gravy is coated on the mutton pieces. Keep aside.

Now back to the Biryani pot. It is almost done now. Sprinkle half the fried onions and the whole of the prepared mutton. Stir lightly and keep on 'dum' (dry heat) for 10 minutes. You can keep in the oven, or on the same pot on the stove, with lid tightly closed.

Serve hot, garnishing with the other half of fried onion slices. You can use boiled eggs, cashew and kismis (dry grapes) fried in ghee, etc., for garnishing, if you want the biryani to be richer in look and calories!

Serve hot with onion raitha (vengaya pachadi).

Mutton Gola Urundai-Fried kebab

2008-07-23T04:56:00.009+05:30

This is a superb starter for a non-veg dinner.

Method:

Minced Goat Meat (Mutton) 1/4 kg. Wash, drain and keep in the fridge to drain the water further for 15 minutes.

Grind to a fine powder:

Red Chilis 4

aniseeds 2 tsp

Clove 1

Cinnamom stick 1/2 inch

Fried Gram (pottukadalai, porikadalai) 1/2 cup

Grind to a paste:

1 Medium sized Onion, chopped into big pieces

1/2 pod of garlic, peeled

1/2 inch piece of ginger

1/2 cup grated coconut

Method:

Take out the minced mutton from the fridge. Put it into the mixer to grind it into a paste, adding a pinch of turmeric and a tsp of coriander powder. Put in the ground paste and 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste) and blend it in the mixie for a few seconds. Take it out and add the powdered masala and a tablespoon of finely chopped corainder leaves and curry leaves.

Mix well into a dough and roll them into small marble sized balls. Deep fry in vegetable oil on medium heat till golden brown, gently turning them to brown and cook evenly. Drain the oil and place them on paper towel to take the excess oil.

Serve hot as starters. In our house, they all disappear as soon as they are placed on the plate!

Paneer Matar

2008-02-02T10:17:00.001+05:30

Cut 100 gm paneer (cottage cheese) into small cubes.

Fry it lightly in veg oil till lightly browned and put them in warm water to keep them becoming hard. Keep aside.

Heat 2 tsp veg oil (you can use the leftover from the above procedure. Add more and/or ghee too, if you want a richer look and taste).

When it is hot, crackle a tsp of jeera in it.

Add 2 finely chopped onions and 1 slit green chilli Saute till golden brown. Add 1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste and saute further till raw smell goes off.

Add 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 tsp garam masala. Saute on low heat for one minute.

Add 2 big tomatoes, pureed (or add 2 tb sp readymade tomato puree) and 1 cup of fresh green peas.

Stir well till the oil separates.

Add 1 cup of hot water and simmer till peas are almost cooked, for a few minutes.

Add the fried paneer cubes after draining the warm water.

Simmer for one more minute and take it off the heat.

Some people add 2 tbsp of fresh beaten cream as garnish at this stage, to give the yummy taste kids like. But skip this if you want to save yourself from ingesting unwanted calories! Without cream also the curry tastes nice.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Urulaikizhangu (Potato) Masala

2008-01-31T13:41:00.001+05:30

Pressurecook two potatoes.

Cool, peel and mash them.

Mix two cups of water, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Keep aside.

Potatoes should be mashed and a few pieces can be left as small pieces to provide texture to the dish.

Heat 2 tsp of any veg oil. Crackle in quick succession, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp channa dal. When the dals are golden, put in 7-8 curry leaves, 1 inch piece of ginger sliced into thin strips, 3 green chillis slit lengthwise and 2 medium sized onions, sliced.

Saute well till onions are transparent (not brown). Pour in the potato mixture. Let it come to boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes till all are blended.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with Dosas (for masala dosa) or with puris (for Puri-kizhangu).

Easy Chicken Masala

2008-01-22T18:34:00.004+05:30

For making chicken masal from 1/2 kg Chicken.

Cut the chicken into medium pieces. Wash and drain.

Apply a paste of

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp salt

Shallow fry the following ingredients adding them to the pan in the same order, in 2 tsp of oil in a pan.

(a) 1tsp pepper corns, 1 tsp Aniseeds, 1 inch piece cinnamon, 2 cloves

(b) 10 cloves of garlic and 2 medium onions, sliced

(c) 3 medium sized tomatoes cut into pieces+ 1 tsp salt

Saute all the above till the tomatoes are done. Cool and grind into a paste.

Apply this on the marinating chicken and mix well.

Cook the mixture in a pressure cooker till it is done.

Take it off the heat, bring down the pressure and open the lid. Simmer for five minutes on low heat, with the lid open. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

With almost no oil, this is a healthy variation of the Indian chicken curry.

Fish Fry

2008-01-22T18:16:00.013+05:30

For frying 4 medium slices of fish (king fish):

Mix the following:

2 tsp of chilli powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

Salt to taste

2 tsp of vinegar (or 1 tsp of thick tamarind juice or juice of half lemon)

Clean, wash and dry fish slices and apply the above paste on both sides of the fillets. Keep aside to marinate for sometime.

**You can add this paste for a variation. It makes the fish fry without giving off 'fishy' smell.

(Optional) Grind to a paste: A handful of small (sambar) onions 1 tsp Jeera (cumminseed) 1 Tablespoon of coconut gratings (or 3 cloves of garlic and 1/4 inch piece of ginger) . Add to the above spice mix.

**You can use the lemon pepper ready spice mix available in USA. Just apply it on both sides (checking for salt to your taste), spray cooking oil on both sides and grill the fish. Totally oil free method of preparing any fish! (Shown in the picture)

Marinate for 1-2 hours.

To use less oil, follow this method to fry the fish.(Usually people deepfry fish.)

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick flatbottomed pan. When hot, slide in the pieces of fish onto the oil and cover with a lid. Keep on high heat for for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, turn over the pieces and cook again for 2 minutes on high heat, with the lid again in place. Remove lid and turn the pieces gently over again to brown them further (one minute).

When golden brown, keep it on a paper towel for the excess oil to be absorbed.

Microwave Fish Fry
If you want a still healthier option, cook it in a microwave oven for three minutes and later brown it on a skillet with less oil (one or two tsp, just enough to provide the fried look).

Adai-Our family's special recipe

2008-01-04T11:07:00.001+05:30

The usual adai you eat in the hotels is different from this one.

Wash and soak 1 cup of parboiled (idli rice) rice separately. Wash and soak in water, 1/3 cup of Channa Dal, 1/3 cup of Tur Dal, 1/3 cup of Moong Dal and 1 tsp of Urad dal, in another vessel.

After an hour or two (when the rice and dals are soft), wash them again. Take the rice, 3 dried red chillies, 1 tsp of aniseeds, 1 clove and 1 inch piece of cinnamon and grind in a mixer until it is a coarse paste. Now put in the washed dal also into the mixer and grind them all till the mix is still coarse but a little finer than before.

Add salt to taste, 1 very finely chopped onion, 1 tb sp of chopped coriander leaves and a few curry leaves, chopped finely. Blend well with enough water to make it a pouring consistency (like for rava Dosa).

Heat a dosa tava (flat pan) with a tsp of oil coated on the surface to medium heat. Pour a ladle ful of the batter into a circle, starting from the edge so that it flows into the centre and forms a dosa. Fill in the in-between spaces also with the batter. Pour a tsp of oil around the edges. Lower the heat and cook till it is done on one side (about two minutes) and turn it over. Turn the heat to medium again. Cook till the other side is also done. Now one adai is ready and the pan will be heated for the next one.

The adai will be golden in colour, thin and crisp. Serve hot with any coconut or green chutney or table butter.

Mutton Kozhambu

2008-01-03T10:46:00.006+05:30

Mutton Korma

Take 1/2 kg of mutton , cut into 1 inch pieces. Wash it thoroughly in running water and drain it.
Apply 1 tsp of chilli powder, 2 tsp of coriander powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and salt to taste.
Let it marinate for half an hour.
Cook it in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water, 1 sliced onion, 1 chopped tomato and 1/2 inch piece of ginger for 20 minutes.
Cool it. In the meantime, heat a pan with 2 tsp of oil. Put in one piece of cinnamon, 2 pieces of cloves and 1 tsp of aniseeds, powdered coarsely. In quick succession, put in a few curry leaves, 6 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 finely chopped onion (Tip-use Madras sambar onion for this, if available) and saute well till golden brown.
Add one chopped tomato (country tomato, if available) and fry till oil separates. (Tip- Add 1/2 tsp of salt here to soften the tomato and it will get cooked into a paste soon).
Now pour the cooked mutton into the pan and let it come to boil. Simmer it till it is thicker.
Grind 1/4 cup of coconut (If coconut is not available, substitute 2 tbsp of dessicated coconut or another 2 tsp of fried gram), 2 tsp of fried gram and 1 tsp of aniseeds to a fine paste with very litle water.
Add it to the simmering gravy and stir well till it is absorbed into the gravy. Simmer for 5 more minutes on low heat and take it off the heat.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or rice.

Variation from our hometown:

Mutton Kozhambu

Measurement of all ingredients as above. Tamarind will be an additional ingredient.
Pressurecook the mutton with turmeric powder, 1 cup of peeled shallot (sambar onion), 1 chopped country tomato and 1 inch piece of crushed ginger. Cool and add the juice of half lemon-sized tamarind and salt to taste. Keep aside.
Heat 2 tsp of oil. Put in 1 tsp of crushed aniseed, 1 piece of star anise and 1/2 tsp of 'kadal paasi' (optional).
Keep stirring on low heat while you do the next steps in cooking.
Put in a few curry leaves. Add 6 cloves of chopped garlic and 1/2 chopped onion. Stir and add 2 tsp of chilli powder and 2 tsp of coriander powder. Add the cooked mutton mix with the stock and bring it to boil. You can add vegetables like brinjal, drumstick, potatoes or radish (all cut into medium sized pieces) and let it simmer on medium heat, till the veggies are cooked. Stir now and then and keep the vessle covered with a small part uncovered for the steam to escape.
Add a paste of 2 inch piece of coconut (optional), 3 tsp of fried gram, 1 tsp of aniseeds, 1 clove and 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon. Bring it to boil on medium heat, stirring it for about 3 minutes and take it off the heat when it starts to boil. Serve hot with rice.

Chicken Fry

2008-01-03T10:23:00.001+05:30

Ingredients are given in red colouring as the recipe goes.

Take 1/2 kilo of chicken cut into medium sized pieces. Trim and throw away skin and the accompanying fatty portions.

Wash the chicken two times and drain it at once. (Cooking Tip-Always wash meat one or two times in running water and don't let it soak in water as meat absorbs water and retains it).

Pwder 1 inch piece of cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of cummin seeds and 1 tsp of aniseeds. Grind 2 onions (cut into pieces), 6 cloves of garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 tomato-quartered and a few sprigs of coriander leaves. Mix both these with 1 tsp chilli powder, 3 tsp Dhania powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste.

Apply it onto the chicken and let it marinate for 2-3 hours.

Pressure cook it for 10 minutes. Let it cool. Or you can cook it in the microwave oven, covered.

Healthier version without oil:

Put it into a heavy boottomed pan (or use the pressure pan if you had used one) and let it reduce to a thick gravy and the oil separates. (Tip-If the chicken is already over cooked, take out the pieces and keep them in a dish. You can add the pieces to the pan when the gravy is thicker and almost done.)

For kids, tastier version:-)
Take out the chicken pieces and fry them lightly in any veg based-oil and add them to the gravy when it is thick. To make it healthier you can roast them in an oven with a spray of oil and then add them to the dish.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Vegetable Biryani

2007-08-14T10:11:00.001+05:30

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice 1 cup, cleaned in water and soaked for 15 minutes

Beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1/4 cup
Carrot, diced 1/4 cup
Green Peas, shelled 1/4 cup

Ginger and garlic, ground to a fine paste 2 tsp

Green chillis, slit 2

Coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 cup
Mint Leaves, chopped 1/4 cup

Cinnamon, 1 inch piece
cardamom, 2
Cloves, 2
Bay Leaf, 1

curd: 1/4 cup
Juice of half a lemon
Tomato 1, slit into 4 pieces
Onion, sliced into thin pieces, 1

cashewnuts,to garnish, 4-5 pices roasted

oil or ghee, 2 tbsp
Method:

Heat oil in a flat bottomed non stick vessel which has a wellfitting lid. Fry the onions to a golden brown colour, drain and keep aside for garnish along with the cashewnuts.

In the same oil put in the dry spices of cinnamon cardamom, bayleaf and cloves.

After 10 seconds, put in the coriander leaves and mint leaves, along with slit green chillis.

Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till oil separates.

Now add the vegetables, curd, lemon juice and tomato. Saute on high heat till water evaporates.

Add the washed and drained rice and mix gently with a wooden ladle. Add 2 cups of boiling water, salt to taste, (a tsp of chilli powder if you like a spicier version).

Cover with the lid and when it is boiling bring down the heat and simmer till the rice is cooked, turning it gently once or twice to help it cook uniformly well.

Spread in a serving dish, garnish with cashew, fried onion and corander leaves.

Serve hot with Onion pachadi (sliced onions mixed with a cup of curds and salt to taste).

Curd Rice, Making curds

2007-07-20T09:43:00.001+05:30

How to prepare curds at home (for beginners):

For setting curds, warm milk slightly and pour into a earthern or ceramic bowl. Mix in a tsp of plain yoghurt, stir with a spoon, cover and keep in a warm place to ferment into curds. If you live in very cold regions you can keep this inside a hotpack vessel. Or cover it with a teacosy. The idea is to keep it warm enough to ferment. When it is solidly set, keep it inside the fridge. Now you can start making curds the next day onwards using a tsp of the curds you made with yoghurt at first. Remember to make it a routine to set curds when you boil milk for coffee in the morning. This way you have a constant supply of curds to be eaten with your South Indian Meal (or even to make Raitha with a North Indian Meal). Curds is very good for health as a source of calcium in your daily meals. The helpful bacteria in the curds (Yes, there are bacteria which are friendly and live in your stomach all the time!) helps digest your meals properly. Milk might not suit some people but curds overcomes this disadvantage as it is actually predigested in the fermentation process. It is the Indian equivalent of yoghurt, which can be prepared at home.

To make curd rice, first cook 1 cup of rice in 3 cups of water for more time than you cook for ordinary rice, say 10 minutes of pressure cooking instead of the 6 minutes needed for ordinary rice.

Take out the rice and in a vessel mash it when it is still hot with a broad spoon. Add a teaspoon of salt and mash further. Add cold water, about half a cup, to make it a soft, to a paste-like consistency.

To season:

Heat a tsp of cooking oil in a small pan. Splutter a tsp of mustard, 2 green chillis-slit lengthwise, a few curryleaves and a few slivers of ginger. Add a pinch of asofaetida after taking it off the heat. Pour this into the rice paste and mix well.

When rice is cool, add a big cup of thick fresh curd and mix well. There should be no lumps.

Add a few pieces of carrot and cucumber, cut into small cubes to garnish the rice. You can add seedless fresh green or black grapes too for special occasions.

Now curd rice is ready!

Semiya Payasam

2007-04-16T17:27:00.001+05:30

Payasam

There are lots of sweet dishes prepared under this name. Payasam in TamilNadu meals is somewhat similar to the 'kheer' in North India.

Basically, you add sugar or jaggery to well-cooked rice or dal or any pasta, (usually cooked in milk or coconut milk for added rich taste). Let it blend into the payasam on slow heat. Then garnish it with pieces of nuts and dry fruits fried in ghee.

So the recipe is limited only to your imagination. All the recipes that appear here are what I have evolved from my mother's recipes and improved over time with tips from various people.

You can make Semiya payasam in a jiffy. Here is the recipe:

Semiya (vermicili- Thin sticks of pasta) 1/2 cup, broken into small pieces (or you can use the ready made Bambino broken semiya)

Sugar 1 cup

Milk 1 litre

cardamom powder 1/2 tsp

Ghee to roast the semiya

Cashewnuts and raisins (broken and roasted )

Method:

Mix 1 tsp of ghee with the semiya in a microwave vessel. Cook on high for 1 minute to roast it slightly.

Mix half the hot milk with it and cook further for 6 minutes or till the semiya is tender.

Add the sugar and cook till it is dissolved.

Add the rest of the milk and cook till it is thick.

Flavour with cardamom powder

Garnish with roasted cashewnuts and raisins.

Alternatively you can add milkmaid at the end instead of boiling the milk. Adjust the amount of sugar for this.

For semiya you could substitute sabudhana. You can cook rice or puffed rice (poha) also instead of semiya. You can use channa dal or moong dal too. In case you use dals, add jaggery instead of sugar, and coocnut milk instead of ordinary milk, to make it more delicious and differntly flavoured.

Preparing a Meal for Two

2006-12-09T07:24:00.003+05:30

Our menu is this:

Rice

Drumstick sambar

Tomato Rasam

Potato kari

Cabbage Poriyal

Curds

How to start your cooking:

Rice: Two cups (or one cup if you eat very little rice)

Tur Dal : 1 cup

Moong Dal:1/4 cup

Vegetables:
One drumstick, two tomatoes, a handful of small sambar onions, one big onion, 1/4 kg of cabbage, 1/4 kg of potatoes, 3 green chillis, 1 tsp of coconut(optional) Curry leaves, coriander leaves

Setting the Pressure cooker:
First you have to set the pressure cooker. Before you do it, soak the tamarind in a small vessel with enough water.

Wash the rice, add two and a half cups of water for each cup of rice you use. Keep in the bottom container.

Next wash the tur dal and add 3 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric powder, half tsp of jeer(cumminseeds) and a tsp of oil (for the dal not to overflow the vessel). Keep this in the middle container of the cooker set.

Next place washed potatoes on the top container (without water).

Pour water in the pressure cooker till the trivet at the bottom is covered in three centimetres of water.

Slide the cooker vessels set of three containers prepared as above, into the cooker. Cover the pressure cooker, put the weight on and when it whistles twice, reduce the heat to minimum. Wait for 8 minutes and switch off the heat. When you wait for this;

Prepare the Vegetables:

Wash all the vegetables. Shred cabbage into fine pieces. Peel sambar onions and slit them lengthwise, if they are big. Slit two green chillis. Chop the tomatoes and onion. Cut the drumstick (or any other sambar vegetable) into one and a half inch pieces.

Start cooking:

Poriyal:
Keep the cabbage in the microwave, or steam it, with half a cup of water till done. When it is hald done stir in half tsp of salt and a pinch of turmeric.

Keep a pan on the stove. Put in a tsp of oil. Put in half tsp mustard, half tsp of urad dal and hald tsp of channa dal. When they turn brown, lower the heat and put in a few curry leaves and a red chilli (or green chilli, if the vegetable is red in colour, like carrot) slit in the middle. Stir for 10 seconds and add the chopped big onion. Saute till transparent and add the cooked vegetable (here, cabbage) along with any leftover water from cooking it. Stir fry till the water is absorbed. Check for salt and add if you need more. Stir in a tsp of grated coconut and take it off the heat.
Cabbage Poriyal is ready.

Getting the pressure-cooked items ready:

By now pressure cooker would have cooled. Remove the vent weight and open the cooker. Take the containers ot. Put the potatoes under cold water to cool them enough. Peel them, cut them into small cubes and keep aside.

Take the Tur dal and pour the exces water on top and a tsp of the cooked dal into a small vessel for use in the preparation of Rasam. Mash the rest of the dal for using in sambar.

Take the rice vessel out. Spoon it into a microwave dish, spread with a fork and let it cool. (Otherwise the rice would stick to each other in the hot steel vessel.) You can reheat it in the microwave at the time of eating.

Alternate choice is to cook the rice just before mealtime. Then you can use it straight from the cooker vessel. You can do this when you have guests and you use the cooker later at the end of preapring all the dishes, to prepare only rice in large quntity. For a small family meal, you need not use the pressure cooker twice.

Sambar:

Squeeze the tamarind in the water and strain it through your hand to keep only the juice. Add some more water and squeeze the juice out fully.

Pour one fourth of it into the rasam vessel. Keep aside for preparing rasam.

Add the mashed tur dal to the rest of the tamarind water and mix well.

Heat a pan with 2 tsp of cooking oil. Splutter half tsp mustard, half tsp urad dal, half tsp cumminseeds, a pinch of asofoetida, a sprig of curry leaves in quick succession.

Put in the slit green chillis, chopped sambar onions, 1 tsp red chilli powder (or 2 tsp sambar powder, if you have it), 3 tsp dhania powder and saute for a minute on low heat. Add one chopped tomato and a tsp of salt. Saute well on low heat;the tomato would get mashed with salt.
Add two cups of water and when it boils add the cut drumstick pieces (or any other vegetable like brinjal, carrot or broad beans). Keep on high heat till the vegetable is half cooked and the raw smell goes off.

Now add the tamarind+tur dal mix with enough water into the pan. Check for salt and add if needed. When it starts to boil, simmer it till the vegetable is cooked and the sambar is ready. Take it off heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Rasam:

Take the rasam vessel and add a tomato to it. Squeeze it into the rasam waterbase. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt as needed. Keep aside.

Grind 1 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of cumminseeds coarsely. Adda single clove of chopped garlic.

Heat 3/4 of oil in a small pan. Splutter half tsp of mustard , a slit green chilli (or red chilli), a pinch of asofoetida and a sprig of curry leaves in this. Pour in the rasam water into this. Let it come to boil.

Put the ground pepper mixture and a few chopped coriander leaves in the serving bowl. When rasam starts to boil take it off the heat and pour into the serving bowl. Rasam is ready.

Potato Curry:

Sprinkle 1 tsp of chilli powder, 1tsp of coriander powder, a pinch of turmeric and 1 tsp of salt on to the cooled and chopped potatoes.

Heat a pan with 2 tsp of oil. Splutter 1 tsp of mustard and a few curry leaves. Lower the heat. Put in a pinch of asofoetida. Now add the prepared potato pieces. Slowly saute the mixture over medium heat till the pieces are roasted, turning them once every few minutes. Take it off the heat when golden brown.

Now all the items in our menu are done. Of course you have set the curds the previous night as per the instructions in the last post.

If you want you can fry some appalams too to make it a special meal. If you add payasam and vadai and a pachadi to the menu, it becomes a feast!

Our South Indian Meal is ready!

An Introduction to South Indian Meals

2006-12-04T18:07:00.002+05:30

South India is famous for its paddy fields and people eat rice as the staple diet. In today's health-conscious era, we can make rice-eating a healthy habit. Make sure you prepare food made out of different kinds of cereals like wheat, ragi, millet, oats etc., at least for two mealtimes. The remaining main meal can be made with rice and Southies cam simply relish their staple food without feeling guilty! Rather than using raw rice, buy parboiled rice as it has more nutrients. Brown rice is even more nutritious.

In a South Indian Meal, cooked rice is mixed with curries of different consistencies and eaten with an accompaniment of vegetables. The first course is eaten with Sambar or any Kozhambu(curry). Then you mix it with Rasam and eat it as the next course. The third and final course is rice mixed with curds. This is the daily meal pattern for most of us. On special occasions, some more varieties of kuzhambu (curry)may be served before sambar. There are also the 'podi' varieties which can be had with rice before Sambar.

The side dishes of vegetables can be prepared in any number of forms such as koottu, kari, poriyal, pachadi, thuvaiyal, sweet pachadi, pickles etc.,

Let us assume you want to cook a South Indian vegetarian Meal for two. The menu is usually Rice, Sambar, Rasam and curds with side dishes of vegetables numbering anything from one to ten, depending on the occasion. (For Ekadasi festival some prepare 21 varieties of vegetables!) Preparation of vadai and payasam along with this menu makes this meal a 'virundhu saappadu', i.e., special gourmet meal for special occasions like festivals, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations or simply entertaining guests.

However, let us see how we prepare daily meals for two. You need a pressure cooker or rice cooker to save time and energy. Remember to keep all the ingredients needed at hand. Prepare the vegetables beforehand and keep them ready before switching on the stove.

The side dishes can be prepared out of any vegetables available locally. Certain basic metods of preparation suit certain vegetables better. For example, cabbage can be made into poriyal or kootu. Potat can be made into dry stir-fry (kari) or pasty paal kootu(milk curry). The most common methods of preparing the side dishes is kari, koottu and poriyal. You choose your menu adjusting for the tastes of your family and also for the balanced nutritive value of the entire meal.

Remember to make one kari, one poryal and one koottu in a meal. This way the combination tastes better. If you are preparing only two vegetables, make one kari and either one koottu or one poriyal to make the combination of the tastes more interesting.

Generally you need these items in your kitchen shelf, to start with:
(You can add more items if you start cooking more complicated dishes as you become an expert in cooking)
Rice (Parboiled or raw)

Tur Dal
Channa Dal
Moong Dal
Urad Dal
Tamarind

Spices and Condiments:

Sambar podi

Coriander powder

Turmeric Powder

Chilli Powder

Rasam Powder

Pepper Cummin seeds powder

Asafoetida(Heeng or Perungayam)

Mustard seeds

Methi seeds

Cummin Seeds

Pepper

Aniseeds
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom

Red chillis

Any vegetable oil (use Safflower or canola oil or gingelly oil or peanut oil -except cocnut oil, any would do- for added health benefit but rotate the choice of oil every week to include variety as research says variety is better!)

Now that you have stocked your kitchen shelves, shop for vegetables on a weekly or better still, daily basis to keep them fresh for your cooking. Some staple itms you should have handy are:
Onions
Sambar Onions
Tomatoes
Green Chillis
Lemon
Curry Leaves
Coriander Leaves
Ginger

Because you may need one or more of the above every day. Other vegetables can be bought according to the menu you decide from day to day.

Now you are ready to start! In the next post we'll start cooking!