Payaru dosa…

I’ve tried this receipe for the first time in my life and I’m happy that it came out very well and my DH liked it very well.

I found the payaru koottan still not finished by my family. I don’t wanna to throw it away either. If I reheat it and serve it the next day, I know for sure my kids don’t touch it or my DH will return a frown look.

So to relish my creative juice, I grinded the payaru koottan and mixed it with plain rice dough.

I poured this payaru rice dough in a nonstick pan as a dosa. Pour little oil on top of the dosa to get nice and crispy.

Enjoy this with coconut chutney/tomato chutney.

Besibellabath/Sambhar rice

This mixed rice is something I dread when I was a little child. It was really spicy then.

Now I love to have a big serving of it in one sitting..such a yummy fab delicious dish…with lotsa of veggies in it…nice and glossy…

Ingredients:

1. Vegetables – Drumstick, brinjal, carrot, cauliflower, potato, long beans, green peas (1 of each)
2. finely chopped onions - 2
3. finely chopped tomatoes – 2
4. Soaked rice – 2 cup
5. Sambhar paruppu – 1 cup
6. Asafodiea powder – ½ tbsp
7. malli (coriander ) seeds – 1 tbsp
8. jeerakham seeds – 1 tbsp
9. dry red chilli – 1-2
10. turmeric powder – a pinch
11. salt to taste
12. 1 handful of grated coconut/coppara

Method of preparation:

1. Soak the rice and sambhar paruppu (already washed) in 7 cup of water for 10-15 mintues
2. in a kadai, fry deeply the grated coconut/coppara, coriander seeds,red dry chilli, jeerakham seeds, Asafodiea powder, 1-2 pearl onions, 1 strand of curry leaves with little oil.
3. Grind the above mix and keep it aside
4. in a deep bottom kadai, pour some oil and fry the chopped vegetables mentioned above with little salt and pinch of turmeric powder.
5. Add the ground paste to the above fried vegetables and just cook for 5 minutes
6. Now in a pressure cooker, mix the soaked rice and sambhar paruppu with the water to the above mix and cook it till 3 whistles.

It should come out like a nice, over cooked rice….something like sticky sticky consistency.


Mix the whole stuff well and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Adjust the salt after tasting it.

Enjoy with pappadam/pappad, mixture, potato chips.....

Ven (No..Yellow) Pongal

Ven pongal is something special dish in Tamil nadu. One get this dish as a prasadam in many temple after the drashan. It tastes like ambrosia.

In my home, I prepare this for the breakfast mostly once in a week.

So let us go first with the ingredients:

1. Rice – 1 cup
2. Pongal paruppu/Seruparuppu/deskinned pasiparruppu – ¾ to 1 cup
3. salt to taste
4. ghee for seasoning
5. pepper seeds – 1 tbsp
6. jeerakam seeds – 1 tbsp
7. green chilli – 1-2 slitted
8. curry leaves

Method of preparation:

1. Mix the washed rice and pongal paruppu and add salt to taste and 1 pinch of turmeric powder (optional) to give a nice yellow colour and add 3 and ½ cup of water to it. Pressure cook it till 3 whistles.


For seasoning:
• In a pan, heat little ghee and splutter the pepper seeds, jeerakham seeds, dry broken red chilli/green chilli and curry leaves.

Pour out the seasoning to the cooked rice/pongal and mix it well.



Enjoy this with cocunut chutney and sambhar.

Egg burji/Egg podimas

Any recipe which can be prepared in a minute or two is one and only egg burji.

Mix 2-3 egg, finely chopped onions, salt to taste, curry leaves, 2 pinch of turmeric powder (optional), 1-2 chopped green chilli and 1 tbsp pepper powder in a big bowl very well.

In a heated tawa, pour the above mix and stir it with a spatula continuously till the egg is done.

Avarakkaya (Flattened beans) poriyal/thoran

Here is another vegetable side dish to be prepared for lunch/dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of mustard seeds
• cooking oil – 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp – uzhundhu dhal seeds
• 1 tbsp – kadala paruppu
• chopped Avarakkaya (Flattened beans)
• salt to taste
• 2 pinch of turmeric powder
• curry leaves
• 1 – finely chopped onion
• 1- finely chopped tomatoes
• 1-2 green chillies slited
• 1-2 dry red chilli

Method of preparation:

• Mix well all the chopped Avarakkaya, finely chopped onions and tomatoes, green chilli, turmeric powder, salt, to taste, curry leaves in a big bowl.
• In a heavy bottom pan, pour out some cooking oil and throw the above mixed stuff.
• Sprinkle some water over the veggies and close it with a lid and allow it to cook. Frequently, give it a stir.
For seasoning:
• In another pan, heat little cooking oil and splutter the mustard seeds, urud dhal seeds, kadala paruppu, dry broken red chilli, curry leaves and fry it till it changes to light brown color.
• Pour out the seasoning to the cooked veggies and mix it well.

Kovakkaya poriyal/thoran

To talk about this kovakkaya (I don't know what this is called in English), I've never seen this one till I came to Chennai 9 (at the age of 23 or so)!!! It was initially hard for me to digest the fact that people cook whatever they say it is a vegetable...

Some say that this veggie is good for people suffering from hypertension..Not sure about this..

so lets get rocking here once again...with the ingredients.....

Ingredients:

1. 1 tbsp of mustard seeds
2. cooking oil – 1 tbsp
3. 1 tbsp – uzhundhu dhal seeds
4. 1 tbsp – kadala paruppu
5. chopped kovakkaya
6. salt to taste
7. 2 pinch of turmeric powder
8. curry leaves
9. 1 – finely chopped onion
10. 1- finely chopped tomatoes
11. 1-2 green chillies slited
12. 1-2 dry red chilli

Method of preparation:

1. In a heavy bottom pan, heat the cooking oil and splutter the mustard seeds, urud dhal seeds, kadala paruppu, dry broken red chilli and fry it till it changes to light brown color.
2. To this add the finely chopped onions and tomatoes and mix and continue to fry it till it becomes nice and glossy and soggy.
3. To this, add green chilli, turmeric powder, salt to taste and later the chopped kovakkaya and mix it well.
4. Sprinkle some water over the veggies and close it with a lid and allow it to cook. Frequently, give it a stir.


The veg now become glossy, soggy and yum to taste.

Red capsicum thoran/poriyal

I got a pack of green capsicum from market. I forgot about it. It was hiding itself from me..LOL...and after a week or so, i was wondering why my DH has got red capsicum from the market....I was scratching my head when i get to realise what is the reality..My green capsicum has ripened!!!..Before it changes to some other color, i thought i do something about it and ended up doing a side dish with it...ROFL...

The result was more picturesque..with red, rose and green.....


Ingredients:

1. Chopped Red capsicum - a pack (3-4)
2. Chopped onions - 1
3. Chopped tomatoes - 1
4. slit green chillies - 1/2
5. Curry leaves
6. Mustard seeds, jeeram seeds, urudhu dal seeds, kadala paruppu for seasoning

Method of preparation:

1. In a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp uzhudu dhal seed, 1 tbsp of kadala paruppu.

2. Add chopped onions , chopped tomatoes, slitted green chilies and fry it until they are done/ soggy.

3. Add curry leaves and stir fry, a pinch of turmeric powder, 1/2 tbsp of chilli powder and mix it well.

4. Add the chopped capsicum to it and saute it too. Sprinkle some water and close the lid and allow it to cook for some time. Occasionally, give a stir.

5. When it is done 3/4th, add 1/2 tbsp of garam masala and mix it well and allow it to cook.

You can enjoy this side dish with chappathi, plain hot rice.

Dosa with cocunut chutney/lady's finger sambhar - Vendakhaiya sambar - Another couple

Any part of South Indian if you visit, the typical breakfast that one get in any house, restuarant or road side shop...(thattu kada...)...is the one and only plain dosa/dosa roast/ ghee roast/ triangle dosa ...it is comes in all variety and flavour (Dosa kept in the form of Pyramid ..it is folded into a cone shape ...my son loves the presentation)..........

Which reminds me of an instance which happened long way back...(Flash back)

We were in pondicherry to attend a friend's marriage and we reached pondicherry early evening after a long car travel from chennai and we were all exhausted and were waiting to grab something in the restuarant...as usual my DH ordered plain dosa for my DChildren. The server brought the dosa and placed it in front of my son. He studied the plate. And "Enda acchey, sambhar dosadey mozhil uzhalladu?...njaan plain dosa elley choichadu...sambhar venda acchey"...(Why daddy,why Sambhar is on the top of the dosa? I asked only for "PLAIN" dosa, i don't want sambhar)...The manager was observing this conversation....He called the server and questioned him "Avunga "PLAIN" dosa thaney kettangha...ne en sambhar pottu konduvanthey..poyi "PLAIN" dosa konduva "...(He asked only for plain dosa...why did you pour sambhar on top of it...go bring another plain dosa)..The server brought another plate of just "PLAIN" dosa......HAHAHA... We had a hearty laugh and he became the whole attraction in the restuarant....all the Servers stood around our table to have a peek at my son..What a brainy chap!!!!

So back to our ingredients section:

You can see the ingredients of cocunut chutney here


You can see how a podi dosa is made here. A plain dosa is one minus the podi (the powder that i had spread on top of the dosa).

For Lady's finger (Vendakhaiya) sambhar, you may follow the same procedure given here Only difference is replace mango slices and drumstick with lady's finger. If you still need the method, i'll try and post it seperately.

Chappathi and Dhal curry - A fabulous couple

Most of the time, our family dinner comprises of Chappathi and a gravy to go with it and of course, some other dry vegetarian side dish.

But chappathi always goes yum with Dhal...If you go to any parts of North India, you get this combo in any restuarant, home, dhabba....

My husband loves it..He is happy when this couple is prepared for any time of the day/ any course for that matter..So easy to make and simply uncomplicated.."why complicate life?"...that is my motto....

OK !! Enough of rattling and back to business...

Ingredients:

1. 2 cup of dhal (Sambhar paruppu)
2. 1-2 slit green chilli
3. mustard seeds, jeeram seeds for seasoning
4. salt to taste
5. 1/2 tbsp of turmeric powder
6. lots of curry leaves
7. corainder leaves for seasoning
8. Ghee
9. 1- chopped tomato
10. onions - 1 cup

Method of preparation of dhal gravy:

1. Cook the dhal in the pressure cooker till 2-3 whistles.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, add chopped onions and tomatoes, slit 2 green chilies and fry it until they are done.
3. Add curry leaves and stir fry.
4. Add turmeric powder to this and throw in the cooked dhal and add salt to our requirement.
5. Mix well and when it gets boiled, add 1/2 tbsp of ghee (optional)
6. Remove from the stove and garnish with coriander leaves

Emh!!! the aroma fills the stomach too.....

Chappathi:

1. To one cup of wheat flour, add little by little water (add 1 tbsp of milk too and a pinch of salt - though optional) and knead to a not-so-tough consistency. It should not be sticky nor watery.
2. Take a small ball out of the dough.
3. Sprinkle some dry wheat flour on the slab, press down this small ball and flatten it using a chappathi roller to a thin sheet.
4. In a preheated tawa, greese some oil/ghee (optional). Slip this thin sheet on to the top and allow it to cook for 1/2 minute. Then turn over and cook the other side for another 1/2 minute. Toss around and press at various places so that it bulges out.

Nice and hot chappathi is ready..


So C'mon lets grab the chappathi and enjoy with dhal.

Mixed vegetable fried rice - A fusion

It's a fusion between mixed vegetable rice and fried rice..It is my own receipe so beware...LOL..I think it is a confusion, rather...throwed in all the items that i got in my hand and there we go once again...

Ingredients:
1. 1 chopped carrot
2. 2 chopped onions
3. few beans
4. ginger and garlic - small pieces
5. somphu, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, badam – few of each
6. turmeric powder – ½ tbsp
7. chilli powder – ½ tbsp
8. garam masala powder – 1 tbsp
9. cooking oil - 1 tbsp
10. soaked 1 cup of rice for ½ hour

Method of preparation:

In a heavy bottom kadai, heat 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil and splutter some somphu seeds. After that add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, badam and fry it till fragrant.
Add chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces/ ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell leaves.
Add all the chopped onions and fry it till it becomes brown color.
Add all the chopped veggies to it and sauté it.
Add chilli powder/gram masala powder and lotsa of curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and mix it well and allow it to cook for sometime.
Now add the soaked rice with 2 glass of water and mix the whole contents well and pressure cook it till 3 whistles.



Garnish it with coriander leaves (if available)…

It came out very well. It looked colorful and tasted yum...

Raddish paratta/ Parantha

I tried this for my DH who avoids potato and other sweet items for known reasons ;-)

When the whole family enjoys aloo paratta, i tried a different stuffing for my DH...
It came out ok...

Let's go for the ingredients:

1. finely chopped Raddish - 1
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder
7. Green chillies chopped
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the finely chopped raddish with a pinch of salt and mash it using the matthu/spatula. (I could have used my mixie)
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil and when hot, splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.
5. Add the mashed raddish to this and mix well

To make paratta:

Mix 2 cup of wheat flour with required water to make it as a dough for making chapathi's.

Take a big ball of wheat dough and first flatten it into a small circle. Then take a small ball of the stuffing and keep it in the center of the flattened wheat dough and cover this stuffing by making a small pouch of the wheat dough. Then once again press it down and flatten it into a chappathi size circle


In a preheated tawa, pour some ghee and then place the flattened paratta and allow it to cook for some time. Then toss it over.


Enjoy this yum preparation with curd and pickle..

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…

Thaliccha idli

I grind for idli every weekend and it covers the breakfast and dinner for atleast 3 days. First day, it would be idli. Next day also idli..and the next few days the rest of the dough will be used for dosa...My son would say .."Enda ma, daily idli"...and DH would give me a sidelook with a sarcastic smile...So i thought let me try something different ..both in the looks and taste..and here we go with the ingredients:

1. Nicely chopped onions - 1
2. finely sieved carrot - 1
3. curry leaves
4. Dry chilli - 1-2
5. Idli dough

Method of preparation:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp uzhudu dhal seed, 1 tbsp of kadala paruppu and few groundnuts and few pottu (chutney) kadalai (optional..but it taste well and children would like the bite of groundnut here and there). Sim the burner so that these seeds do not get charred.

Add chopped onions, 1-2 broken red chilly and fry it until they are done. Add curry leaves and stir fry.

Add the above mix into the Idli dough and mix it well.

Pour the above dough in the idli maker and steam it till it is done.

The idli will not only tastes divine but also gives a picturesque look.

So how is the new look????? LOL


Enjoy with some spicy tomato chutney/cocunut chutney...

Tomato rice

How to make tomato rice:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp mustard seeds
few urud dhal seeds
few kadala paruppu seeds
1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp garam masala powder
salt to taste
4-5 ripe tomatoes chopped
1-2 onions
coriander leaves
curry leaves
jeeram seeds

soaked rice - 2 cups (1/2 hour)


Method of preparation:

In a kadai, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil and splutter some mustard seeds, add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and sauté it till fragrant. Add the ginger garlic paste to this and sauté it till the raw smell leaves. Add chopped onions, curry leaves and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
Add chopped tomatoes to this and let it cook till it becomes soggy and fragrant. Add 1 tbsp of chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and mix it well.
Garnish it with corriander leaves. Then add the 2 cup of soaked rice to this and 4 cup of water and mix it well and pressure cook it till 3 whistles.

Kappa story continues...Kappa dosa

HAHAHA...

Even if the kappa (tapioca) thoran/poriyal is still left out, here is one more chance of finishing it up.


The kappa dosa:

Pour rice dough and make a perfect dosa...

then apply the kappa thoran on top of the dosa and smear some ghee or cooking oil.

Allow it to cook for sometime. Then close the dosa into half so that it comes as a semi circle shapped one.



Smear ghee/cooking oil and cook for some more time...



Lotsa of kappa dosa....enjoy

Podi dosai

Nothing great about it..

Just pour rice dough on the tawa like the typical dosa you prepare and sprinkle some idli podi that you get from the market and pour some ghee/cooking oil on top of it. Turn over and cook for 1 minute.

Voila..podi dosai...enjoy with cocunut chutney, tomato chutney..or apadiye sapadalam..;-)

Mixed vegetable rice

When i came back from office, i found that the rice which had been cooked for lunch remained untouched. I decided to make a quick vegetable rice. This is one way by which i can forcefully make my children eat all the veggie's...

I used microwave for this.

Here is how i made:

Ingredients
1. 2 chopped carrot
2. 2 chopped onions
3. few beans
4. 1 chopped potatoes
5. 1 chopped capisicum
6. ginger and garlic - small pieces
7. somphu, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves - little
8. cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Method of preparation:

1. Steam the already cooked rice with a pressure cooker/ outside to make it hot.

2. In a microwave safe bowl, pour some oil and put the onions, somphu, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and cook it for 2 - 3 minutes. stir the contents in between.

3. Added the chopped vegetables, salt to taste, 1/2 tbsp of gram masala powder. Mix it well and cook for 6-7 minutes.

4. I transferred the whole content to a mudpot and also added the already warmed rice to it and mix the whole content and cook for another 5-6 minutes.


It came out very well. It looked colorful and tasted yum...



My daughter tasted and said "Emh...Delicious"..and my children finished the whole plate...Not bad....

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

Masala dosa

This is an item which is easy to make and my children loves to have.

How to make Masala dosa:

Ingredients for making the masala:

1. Potato - 3 to 4 chopped
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 to 2 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder (optional)..I have not put as children will reject it saying "Spicy"
7. Green chillies chopped ..(optional ...same reason as above)
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil and heat it. Splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.
5. After this, add the smashed boiled potatoes to this and mix it throughly. Garnish it with corriander leaves.



Pour the rice dough
on the tawa and make it to spread in a circle shape. This is called Dosa.


Apply the masala on top of this Dosa. I pour some oil/ghee on top of it. Then fold it into half to give a semi circle shape.


Emh...delicious masala dosa....