Murungakkai Porichakootu (Drumstick Dal)

 Drumstick has a unique aroma which makes any dish to which it is added very scrumptious and flavorful .We have a drumstick tree at my mom's place and every trip of mine to Coimbatore ensures a big bundle of drumsticks parceled back to Chennai.So the following fortnight in my house has a lot of dishes which includes drumsticks .One such delectable and succulent dish is this murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal. There are two versions of this recipe and the one here is my mother in law's version and it is my hubby's favourite too.

It is very simple yet delicious and goes well with a bowl of hot plain rice and a spoon of ghee.Soon I will give my mom's version too.

Preparation time:30 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Drumsticks cut to 2 inch pieces -3 nos

Cooked Toor dal or pigeon peas -1 cup

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Hing or asafetida-1/2 tsp

Salt -to taste

Oil(coconut oil or sesame oil)-1 tbsp

Fresh coriander leaves-few to garnish 

To be grind to a fine paste:

Grated coconut-5 tbsp

Red chillies-3(increase or decrease according to your spice level)

Green chillies-1(optional)

Jeera or cumin -1 tsp

To temper :

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Jeera or cumin-1/2 tsp

Urad dal -1 tsp

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Grind the items given above for grinding to a fine paste.

2.Boil the drumsticks in a wok with 2 cups of water along with hing,turmeric powder and salt.

3.Once the drumsticks are soft and succulent add the cooked and mashed toor dal and the ground coconut paste.

4.Keep the fame low and let the kootu boil for 8-10 mins.Then switch off the flame and add the ingredients given for tempering in oil .After the mustard splutter add it to the murungaikai porichakootu or drumstick dal.

5.Serve hot with plain rice and papad or it tastes good even with rotis.

Tips:

*Do not cook the drumsticks in pressure cooker as it looses texture.

*You can add snake gourd(pudalangai) or avaraikkai(Lima beans) to this poricha kootu along with drumstick.
*You can increase or decrease the red chillies based on your spice level and as they are the only source  which gives some heat to this dish.

Falafel

I have never had falafel until I had it in the cream centre restaurant.Cream centre remains our family's favourite and I have almost tried their every item on their menu and that was when I had falafel with pita bread and hummus.yum!!! I could still think how delicious it was !! As a food blogger the next primary concern was to replicate it at home and went through several blogs and got the recipe from here and here.If you make the hummus and the pita bread dough a day ahead then it is very easy to assemble and makes a complete meal.Nothing can beat the taste of fresh falafels prepared at home with pita bread ,hummus and a salad.It serves as a delicious snack and can work wonders with the guests if you are going to host a party.My kiddo loved it just like that and had it like a cutlet.The recipe for pita bread and hummus will be posted shortly.So here goes the falafel recipe !

Serves:4

Preparation time:30 minutes 

Ingredients:

Boiled chickpeas-2 cups

Finely chopped onion-1 no

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Crushed garlic -4 pods

Chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley -1/4 cup

Cumin powder-1 tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Freshly ground pepper powder-1 tsp

All purpose flour/Maida-3 tbsp

Salt -to taste

Oil-for deep frying 

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the boiled chickpeas,onion,coriander powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,pepper powder and coriander leaves.

2.Mash the chickpeas well with the powders and make a dough to form patties or falafel.

Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to this dough.In a small bowl make a thick paste of 1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida.Make round patties of the falafel dough and dip them in this maida paste and deep fry them in medium flame till they are golden brown .

 3.Hot and crispy falafels are ready to be served with pita bread and hummus.It tastes delicious even with a simple tomato ketchup.

Tips:

*The addition of all purpose flour or maida helps as a binding agent and the

 paste helps in keeping the falafel together while frying in oil.

* Make sure the chickpeas is cooked till soft otherwise it will be tough to mash them .

Cucumber Canapes/Cucumber Chat/Cucumber Discs

Back after a nice vacation with family and friends at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.We had  great fun and got an opportunity to see few wild animals in its natural habitat.Its been a while since I posted on my blog and finally here I am.Summer calls for vegetables like cucumber and onion.I usually make raita or salad with cucumber.So this time I wanted to make something different and after a lot of browsing and reading I got an idea to make canapes which can be a perfect starter or snack in any party.The use of hung curd and fresh mint makes it more suitable for this summer. You can add fried sev or mixture to the topping when serving for kids and they will love it.These cucumber canapes can also be prepared in a jiffy if you have hung curd or cream cheese ready in your house.

Preparation time:10 minutes

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Hing curd-1/2 cup

Roundly sliced (1 inch thickness)cucumber-1 no

Finely chopped onion-1 small

Red chilli powder -1 tsp

Cumin powder-1 /2 tsp

Chat masala- 1 tsp 

Mint leaves-10 approximately

Sev or mixture (optional)-for topping

Salt-to taste

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the hung curd(or cream cheese),salt,red chilli powder,cumin powder and chat masala and mix well.

2.Take the cucumber slices and top it with hung curd and sprinkle chopped onion and a mint leaf.You can also add sev or mixture.

3.serve immediately as a snack or starter.Yummy cucumber canapes are ready.

Tips:

*You can also add grated carrot or pomegranate as a topping along with onion.

*Optionally you can get creative and add sweet chutney or green chutney as toppings.Then add sev on top to make cucumber chat.