Carrot Raita

A very tasty and healthy accompaniment for any mixed rice or pulao or Briyani.It tastes good even with vatha khuzhambu.Generally it is done by grinding the carrot along with coconut and chilli but I prefer grated carrots as they give a nice texture to the raita.you can even add vadai to this raita and transform it into curd vadai or thayir vadai topped with boondi .

Preparation time:10 mins

Serves :2

Ingredients:

Grated carrots-2 small nos

Thick Curd(should not be sour)1 cup

Green chilli-1 no

Grated coconut -1 tbsp

Coriander leaves- few

Salt- to taste

Sugar-1/2 tsp 

Hing-1/2 tsp

Oil-2 tsp

To temper :

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Curry leaves -few

Procedure :

1.Grind coconut ,coriander leaves,green chilli to a paste.

2.Beat the curd and add the above step paste ,salt,hing,sugar and grated carrot.

3.Heat oil in a small kadai and add the tempering ingredients.once the mustard seeds splutter,add it to the curd and serve with any pulao or any mixed rice.

Thinai Adai ( Foxtail millet dosa)

With the increasing popularity of millets and it's health benefits,I try to include these millets in our regular dishes like Adai , kuzhakattai etc.One such tasty and healthy item is the Thinai Adai.In fact I made this Adai for karthigai deepam(festival of lights for lord Muruga) as the legend says lord muruga ate thaenum thinaimavum when he met valli.the adais were a little bit softer than the regular Adai we make with rice.But apart from the texture one cannot find the difference in taste between a normal Adai and Thinai Adai.

Preparation time:1 hour

Serves:3

Ingredients :

Thinai or foxtail millet- 1 cup

Gram dal  -1/3 cup

Toor dal -1/3 cup

Urad dal-1/3 cup

Red chillies-4 to 6 no s depending on the hotness of chillies and your spice level

Grated coconut-1/2 cup

Hing- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Very finely chopped big onion-1 no

Curry leaves- few 

Oil-few tsp

Procedure:

1.soak Thinai and all the dals in water for at least an hour.

2.grind the soaked Thinai and dal mixture along with grated coconut,red chillies,curry leaves ,salt and hing to a coarse batter .

3.pour a ladle of batter to a hot griddle and spread like a dosa but not very thin.pour a tsp of oil around the Adai.

4.spread finely chopped onions on top of it.let it cook in slow flame.

5.turn the Adai after one side is done and pour another tsp of oil around it.after both sides are done,remove from the tawa and serve hot with butter,jaggery and aviyal.it tastes good even with idli podi. 

Ammani kuzhakattai(Tiny Rice Flour dumplings)

There are some dishes which you crave to eat when you get home from work, which will make you feel light and fulfill your evening hunger. I always had it for my evening as a tiffen when me and my brother used to come home from school. As this involves some preparation, sometimes we are asked by our mom to help in rolling out these small tiny kuzhakattai's as it is time consuming when a single person does it for the entire family. In the process of rolling I would drop a few in to my mouth as well. They are so tasty and it is an authentic TamBrahm recipe.The smaller you roll,the better the appearance,texture and taste.This is one of my son's favorite dish as well. he just craves for this...

There are two ways of making it -one using the store brought rice flour and the other one is the original method where we grind the soaked raw rice and make the dough for dumplings.In this post ,I have given the second method i.e the traditional way of making it.In future posts,I will give the store brought rice flour method as well.

Preparation time:35 mins

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Raw rice-1 cup

water-1 1/2 cups

salt-to taste

coconut/sesame oil-2 tbsp

hing-1 tsp

Grated coconut-3 tbsp

To temper:

Mustard -1 tsp

Jeera-1/2 tsp

Chopped green chillies-2 to 3 nos

Curry leaves-few

Procedure:

1.Soak the raw rice for a minimum of 1 hour and grind it in a mixer along with 1 1/2 cups of water.It should be thinner than dosa batter.

2.Heat a kadai add a tbsp of oil and pour the raw rice batter into it.Add salt and hing immediately.Keep the flame simmer and keep stirring.

3.There will be lumps formed as you mix with a laddle but keep stirring continuously,until you get a ball of rice dough as given in the image.

4.Switch off the flame.Let the dough sit for a min minute.Then apply oil on your palms and knead the dough so that you are able to roll small balls out of it.

5.Make tiny balls,preferably the size of a small gooseberry or may be smaller than that.Grease your hands with oil frequently so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

6.Once all the balls are rolled,steam the balls in a steamer or idly cooker for 10 minutes until the balls turn glossy on the outside.

7.Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai(preferably coconut oil as it adds a unique and awesome flavor) and add the tempering ingredients.Once they splutter add the steamed ammani kuzhakattai's  and grated coconut to it and saute well.Switch off the flame and serve hot.

Tips:

*If you are doing it for the first time,use a non-stick pan to prepare the rice flour dough.

*Knead the dough properly before rolling it into small balls,as kneading increases the elasticity of the dough.

*You can also add chopped coconut pieces instead of grated coconut .But add it in step 2 itself along with hing and salt.

Gobhi Aloo Dum(slow cooked cauliflower and potato curry)

I was searching my recipe note to find a cauliflower recipe for chapathis as my cauliflower is in the fridge for the past 3 days. I got a nice recipe of Aloo Gobhi Dum. With tomato prices on the hike,this would be an ideal side dish for chapathi this season. The preparation is also very simple and easy.The dish has a beautiful aroma and taste as it is cooked on a slow flame for nearly 30 mins.

Preparation time:10 mins

Cooking time:30 mins

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets-from 1 medium size cauliflower 

Peeled and diced Potatoes-2 medium size

Salt- to taste

Oil-3 tbsp

Fresh coriander leaves- to garnish

To be grinded to a fine paste:

Big onions-2 no(medium size)

Garlic -5 cloves

Ginger- 1 inch

Coriander seeds or dhania-1 tsp

Red chillies-3(my chillies were hot.adjust according to your need)

Jeera-1/2 tsp

Poppy seeds-1 1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts-5 nos

Grated coconut-4 tbsp

Cinnamon-1 inch stick

Cardamom-1 no

Cloves-2 no

Peppercorns-1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Curd(optional)-1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Clean the cauliflower and put the florets in hot water with a tsp of salt for 10 mins.
2. In a bowl , add the cauliflower , diced potato and the ground paste. Add salt and marinate the cauliflower and potato with the ground mixture.
3. In a Kadai,add 3 tbsp of oil and place the marinated cauliflower and potatoes in it .Add half a cup of water and close the Kadai with a lid.
4. Slow the flame and let it cook on slow flame for nearly 30 minutes, till the vegetables are cooked and oil separates from the gravy.
5. Stir the gobhi and Aloo every 5 minutes so that they get cooked evenly and it doesn't get stuck to the Kadai. Use a non- stick Kadai for best results.
6. Once the oil separates from the gravy, switch off the flame. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with chapathi or naan or phulkha.

Instant whole wheat rava dosa

Whole Wheat Rava Dosa

After an exhausting and long day  roaming outside , I was too tired to cook a dinner .We also didn't want to eat outside as we were eating out the entire day and longed for a simple home food.I was running out of idli/dosa batter as well.So I landed up making this instant and healthy version of  normal rava dosa.The batter for this whole wheat rava dosa must be slightly thicker than that of rava dosa.It tastes great with any chutney or idli podi.

Preparation time:10 mins

Serves:3

Ingredients:

Whole wheat broken rava(samba rava)-1/2 cup

Whole wheat flour -1/2 cup

Chemba red rice puttu flour-1/2 cup(you can use normal rice flour also)

Water-2 cups( if batter is too thick add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup water )

Jeera-1 tsp

Crushed pepper(optional)-1 tsp

Chopped green chillies-2 nos

Chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves- few strings each

Finely chopped big onion- 1 no

Hing-1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- few tsp to prepare dosa

Procedure:

1. Mix all the above ingredients to a batter which is thinner than normal dosa batter and thicker than normal rava dosa batter.make sure no lumps are there in tha batter.

2.Leave a standing time of 10 mins for the batter.

3. Make dosas on a iron tawa or non-stick tawa with a tsp of oil.Don't make it too thin.

4.Turn it and let it be there for another min.Serve hot with chutney and sambar or idli podi.

Tips:
*You can substitute half a cup of water with sour curd or buttermilk.
*Adjust water level so that the batter is a little thicker than normal rava dosa batter.
*Please add jeera,hing,coriander and curry leaves and green chillies for  a nice flavour ,otherwise the smell of whole wheat flour will be overpowering.

Ennai Kathrikai Khuzhambu (Andhra style)-Stuffed Eggplants in a spicy gravy

I grew up eating Ennai Kathrikai at home which is a dry curry where the slit brinjals stuffed with Kari podi(dania,red chillies,urad dal and gram dal - roasted and grounded to a coarse powder)are shallow fried in oil. My mother makes it really good. I first tasted Ennai Kathrikai khuzhambu when I went for a holiday trip to masinagudi. I stayed in a resort where the cook prepared this siah. It tasted heavenly with both rice and chapathi. The dish made was spicy and made in Andhra style with peanuts and sesame paste.

I wanted to find this recipe for a long time.I did a lot of research on its ingredients and cooking specifications so as to make changes to fine tune the recipe. I was finally successful in preparing the khuzhambu which was almost same as that of the dish made by the cook in masinagudi. From that day, this khuzhambu is a regular one on our weekend menu at home whenever we get bored of the usual rasam and sambar. It tastes superb with hot rice and any vegetable curry. The curry can be refrigerated and used for the next day and quite interestingly I found that  it's taste increases with time, the more the brinjals are soaked in curry, the better they taste. I mean it tastes best after few hours of making it. Though the process is little bit long, it's worth every step.

Serves:3

Preparation time :35 mins

Ingredients:

Purple brinjals:6-8 nos ( please pick uniform sized brinjals)

Chopped big onion-1 no

Tamarind- 1 lemon size 

Chopped tomato-1 no

Small onions-10 nos

Garlic-5 cloves

Curry leaves- few bunch

Peanuts - 2 tbsp

Sesame seeds- 2 tsp

Poppy seeds-2 tsp

Red chillies-8 to 10 nos

Dhania seeds-2 tsp

Jeera and fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp each

Peppercorns-1 tsp

Grated coconut-2 tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Hing- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil - 5 tbsp

Jaggery-1 tsp( optional)

To temper:

Mustard -1 tsp

Fenugreek -1/2 tsp

Curry leaves -1 string

Red chilli-1

Procedure:

1. In a tbsp of oil , roast peanuts,dhania,red chillies ,peppercorns,jeera and fenugreek and keep it aside.Now in the same kadai add sesame and poppy seeds and roast them till they splutter and keep them aside with the above roasted ingredients.(below picture shows ingredients before roasting)

2.In the same kadai ,add small onion,garlic and curry leaves and sauté well. Then add tomatoes and mix well till they become soft.

3.Switch off  the flame and grind all the roasted ingredients in step 1 and 2 along with 2 tbsp of grated coconut to a fine paste.

4. Slit the brinjals lengthwise such that they don't fall apart completely. Make sure to remove the stalk of brinjals.

5. Take a spoon of the ground paste and carefully fill the slit brinjals.

6.In a non -stick kadai add 2 tbsp of oil and place all the stuffed brinjals in it and close the Kadai with a lid.

7.Reduce the flame as well. After few mins open the lid and carefully turn the brinjals so that they get roasted on the other side as well.

8. Once they are roasted ,completely switch off the flame.

9.In a separate kadai,add 2 tbsp oil and add the tempering ingredients.Then add chopped big onion and sauté well.

10.After the onions are done,add the tamarind extract,turmeric powder,hing and salt.

11.Once the mixture starts boiling ,add the ground peanut mixture Of step 3 and roasted brinjals.Reduce the flame and close the kadai with lid.Cook till oil separates.

12.Add jaggery and turn off the heat.Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Coriander Rice

A quick and an easy meal and can be prepared in a jiffy.It is an ideal lunchbox recipe as well.The coriander rice was so flavourful and we all relished it a lot. My son always likes pulao and because of him I used basmati rice and whole garam masala (cinnamon,clove,bay leaf and cardamom ) for tempering,so that it gives a pulao touch to this coriander rice. Otherwise it would taste great even without the whole garam masala or basmati rice.

You can use your normal boiled rice to make this dish.I added some peas also to compliment the color of the coriander rice.It tasted heavenly with a simple carrot raita.The same recipe can be prepared instantly with the green chutney I mentioned in my previous post. I have given below how to prepare from the green chutney (made at home and refrigerated)as well.

Preparation time : 15 mins

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Basmati rice-11/4 cup

Green peas-1/4 cup(optional ,I used frozen green peas)

Big onion -1(chopped)

Oil-2 tbsp

Salt- to taste 

To grind to a paste:

Fresh coriander leaves-1 small bunch

Mint leaves-15 to 20 leaves approximately

Green chillies-2(my green chillies were super spicy and hot.Adjust according to your need)

Tamarind-1 inch piece

Ginger-1 inch

Garlic-4 cloves 

For tempering:

Cinnamon stick 1 inch- 1 no

Cloves-2

Cardamom -2

Bay leaves-2

Procedure:

I)Normal method:

1.Soak the basmati rice in 2 cups of water for 20 mins.

2.Heat oil in a cooker and add the tempering ingredients and sauté till nice aroma arises.

3.Add chopped onions and salt and mix well till the onions turns transparent.

4.Add the ground paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.

5.Add green peas and soaked basmati rice along with the water and mix well and close the cooker lid and cook for 3 whistles and switch off.

6.Serve hot with carrot raita or potato curry .

II)Using green chutney method:

1.Follow first three steps from normal method.

2.Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and 4 tbsp to 5 tbsp of green chutney and sauté well till raw smell goes .

3.Add steps 5 and 6 from normal method.

Tips:

• For 1 cup basmati ,I always soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 20 mins.Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
• If you are using boiled rice,then the ratio of rice:water is 1:2 and no prior soaking is required.Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
• If you do not wish to use whole garam masala then you can add only jeera for tempering.