Plain Muringhakkayi (Drumstick) Sambhar

Sambhar is prepared atleast 2-3 times a week in my kitchen..for idli, dosa....
Easy to make and goes with every course of the day...LOL...


Gravy preparation:

Cook the sambhar paruppu (say 1 cup) in a pressure cooker with required water.
Cut drumstick into pieces of ½ inch length. To the cooked sambhar paruppu add the chopped drumstick, chopped onions, 2 ripe tomatoes chopped , 2 green chilies slitted, and some curry leaves. Allow the vegetables to be cooked. Add the tamarind ( a small lemon size) soaked water. (depends on how much tanginess one wants). Let it to boil. After sometime, add 1 tbsp of Kashmir chilly powder, 2 tbsp of malli (Coriander seed) powder, 1 tbsp of ready-made Sāmbhar powder, salt to taste, 1 pinch of turmeric powder and mix it thoroughly and let it boil. Before you take out from the stove, sprinkle some asafetida powder and coriander leaves. Close with a lid so that the aroma does not leave.

(photo taken before seasoning and granishing)

For seasoning
In the kadai, pour some oil and when it gets hot, splutter some mustard seeds, some jeerakam seeds, 1-2 dry broken red chilly. Also add some more curry leaves.

Add the seasoning to the above gravy


One can enjoy aromatic sambhar with Chappathi, Plain white rice, Idli, Hot Dosa…

Tomato Rasam

Remember i was telling that one of my DH's classmate visited us and I prepared katti sambhar, Tomato rasam and wheat seva payasam.

Here is how i prepared tomato rasam:

Ingredients:

1. Jeerakam seeds - 1 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
3. curry leaves for seasoning, coriander leaves for garnishing
4. Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
5. turmeric powder - little
6. tamarind - little
7. 2 chopped tomatoes
8. Resam powder - 1 tbsp
9. Asefodia - little
10. fenugreek - little
11. Chilli powder/pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp

Method of preparation:

1. Take 2 cup of plain water. In that squeeze the tomatoes with hand. Add turmeric powder, salt to taste, the soaked tamarind water/1 tbsp of ready made tamarind puree, chili powder/pepper powder.

2. In a heavy bottom kadai, pour some cooking oil and when it is heated, splutter some mustard seeds, jeerakam seeds, few fenugreek seeds, asefodia (small piece), 2-3dry chilli. Add lotsa of curry leaves too. Then add the water liquid mentioned above to this.

3. Allow it to boil. Add 1 tbsp of Readymade resam powder, some coriander leaves and mix it well. simmer for 1 minute. Then throw some asefodia powder in it and close it with a lid so that the aroma does not escape.

Emh!!! Resam is in the air...

Enjoy with plain white rice and pappad and pickle...

Katti Sambhar

How to make Katti Sambhar:

Cook Sāmbhar paruppu (say 1 ½ cup) in a pressure cooker with required water.
Cut drumstick into pieces of 1 ½ inch length. Cook drumstick in sufficient water separately with a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.
Chop 2 onions, 2 ripe tomatoes and slit 2 green chilies, 2-3 broken red chilly. Some curry leaves and few coriander leaves to give the aroma for seasoning..
In the kadai, pour some oil and when it gets hot, splutter some mustard seeds, some jeerakam seeds. When it is done, Add chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilly, some curry leaves to the above mix. When it has become soggy, add 1 tbsp of Kashmir chilly powder, 2 tbsp of malli (Coriander seed) powder, 1 tbsp of ready-made Sāmbhar powder, salt to taste, 1 pinch of turmeric powder if one want more yellow color. Mix it thoroughly. When the raw smell of the powder is gone, add the cooked Sāmbhar paruppu and the cooked drumstick and mix it well. Add the tamarind ( a small lemon size) soaked water. (depends on how much tanginess one wants). Let it to boil. Sprinkle some salt to taste.

Before you take out from the stove, sprinkle some asafetida powder and coriander leaves. Close with a lid so that the aroma does not leave.

By katti , I mean the gray should come out with thick consistency. Not the usual watery sambhar…




One can enjoy this katti sambhar with Chappathi, Plain white rice, Idli, Hot Dosa

Meen Kuttan/Fish curry

How to make fish curry:


Ingredients:

1. Cleaned fish pieces
2. Tumeric powder - 1 tbsp
3. Chilly powder - 2 tbsp
4. Coriander powder - 3 tbsp
5. Koda puli - 3-4 pieces nicely soaked in water for 10- 15 minutes /Tamarind - 1/2 lemon sized
6. curry leaves
7. chopped ginger pieces, chopped onions
8. Tomatoes - 1 (optional)
9. Cocunut milk - 1 cup (keep seperately the first milk, the second milk)
10. Finely chopped small onions ( 1 handful)

Method of preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients mentioned above except the finely chopped small onions in a heavy bottom kadai/mudpot with required water and also the second milk so that the fish remains inside the gravy. Fish curry tastes authentic when cooked in mudpot..and tastes divine after 1 day...


2. Bring the whole content to boil. Reduce the burner and cook for another 5-7 mintues. Ensure that the fish is cooked. Check can be done by removing a part of the fish and tasting it...By the time, the fish is done, pls don't exhaust the fish pieces in the pretext of testing..LOL..When it is almost done, add the first cocunut milk and simmer it for a minute or two.



3. In another small kadai, throw some oil and add the chopped small onions and deep fry it till it becomes dark brown. I also add curry leaves here.

4. Then just pour out the fried onions on top of the meen curry..Emh!!!!!!



You can relish it with hot plain rice