Baingan Bharta / Baingan Barta / Low fat , Healthy Style Baingan Bharta

Baingan Bharta / Baingan Barta / Low fat , Healthy Style Baingan Bharta

I have tasted different versions of Baingan Bharta so far but this one is unique and special. My Mother-in-law has been making this type of Baingan Bharta since ages and she learnt this version during her calcutta days. My husband is a core fan of this version and he loves to eat this dish with hot rotis. Recently, I made this Baingan dish using our home grown Eggplant and it turned out very well. To my surprise, my daughter loved this spicy baingan dish and requested me to make this often. Though I am not a big fan of this version, due to its simplicity and less oil  I love to enjoy this dish occasionally.

Ingredients

Eggplant - 1 Big or 2 Medium

Red Onion - 1 Medium ( I strongly prefer red onion )

Lime - 1/2

Green Chillies - 2 Big or 3

Salt - To Taste

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

For the Tadka / Tempering :

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Hing  Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 2 Medium

Curry Leaves - 2 or 3

Method

1. Shred the onion and green chillies into small pieces and keep them ready. Squeeze the lime juice and keep it ready. Wash and crush the coriander leaves into pieces and keep them ready.
2. Wash the eggplant ( Brinjal ) and wipe it off with the tissue. Poke 2 or 3 holes into the eggplant and roast the eggplant directly onto the flame using a suitable spatula. Rotate the eggplant in all directions till it turns black. The eggplant should shrink in all directions, get cooked inside completely and the skin of the eggplant should turn dark and lightly dry. This denotes the completion point and we could peel off the skin.
3. If its roasted fully, then it would be very easier to peel off the skin. After peeling the skin, mash the cooked Eggplant thoroughly either using hands or masher in a big mixing bowl.
4. Add the shredded onion, green chillies, lime juice, coriander leaves, required amount of salt into the mashed eggplant.
5. In a frying pan, add oil. When its heated, add all the ingredients for the tempering process one by one and pour them over the mixing bowl.
6. Mix everything well and finally garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy this oil free side dish with your hot rotis.

Tips / Variations

• Instead of directly roasting the eggplant, you can microwave the eggplant or broil the eggplant in the oven too. But I adopt this method as the directly roasting process enhances the taste of the Baingan Bharta.
• If the size of the Bharta is medium, its easier to roast than the big ones.

Aloo Palak / Palak Aloo / Spinach Potato Gravy

Aloo Palak / Palak Aloo / Spinach Potato Gravy

Aloo Palak is one of the quickest side dish for rotis and pulao and its easier to make it. I prepare aloo palak in two different ways. In the simpler version, to the cooked spinach and potato cubes the tadka would be added along with some spice powders. In this version, the preparation is little elaborate and tried in restaurant style. This version is best suited for special occasions whereas the first simpler version is for regular day cooking.

Ingredients 
Spinach Leaves - 10 to 12 Cups packed.
Potato - 2 Medium ( cut into medium cubes )
Green Chilli - 1 Medium ( shredded )
Oil - 1 tbsp
Melted Ghee - 2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Sticks - 1
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/4 tsp
Red Onion shredded - 1/2 cup
Ripe tomato - 1 big
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Dhana Jeera Powder / Coriander Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Sugar - 1 pinch
Water - As desired.

Method

• Wash the spinach and chop them nicely and keep ready. Cut the onion, tomato, potato, green chilli into desired size and keep them ready. Microwave the potato cubes and keep the cooked potato cubes ready.
• In the cooking pan / kadai, add oil and melted ghee. When its heated, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks followed by ginger garlic paste. Fry them till the raw smell goes off.
• Then add the onion, shredded green chilli, tomato and fry them till they get cooked and look mashy.
• Add the finely chopped spinach leaves into the pan and cook them till the quantity gets reduced considerably and cooked to your satisfaction. No need to water to the pan at this stage. Close the lid in the middle and allow the spinach to get cooked with the steam itself.
• Add all the powders into the pan now and mix them well.  Add the cooked potato cubes into the pan and mix them all.
• Add required amount of salt and a pinch of sugar into the pan and fry them for 2-3 minutes. If they get very thick, add little water and make the gravy consistency perfect.
• Switch off the flame and add a tsp of ghee or little butter on its top just before serving. Its totally optional and I generally do this topping if its made for a special occasion.

Variations / Tips

Potato cubes can be substituted with fried Tofu cubes to make it more healthier.

Vendaikkai Thayir Pachidi / Bendakaya Perugu Pachidi / Okra in Yogurt Gravy / Bindi in curd gravy

Vendaikkai Thayir Pachidi / Bendakaya Perugu Pachidi / Okra in Yogurt Gravy / Bindi in curd gravy

Okra / Bindi / Ladies Finger is always liked by all ages. Instead of making the regular Okra fry, I wanted to make this vendakkai Thayir Pachidi as its mostly preferable during summer. It goes well with any spicy, tangy Kuzhambu like Kara Kuzhambu, Vethakuzhambu, spicy tomato rice, or any mixed rice variety..

Decided to make use of my home grown Bindi / Okra, I had been collecting them since a week. Once it came upto a decent count, I finally made my favourite Vendakaya Thayir Pachidi.

Ingredients 

Okra Plant in our Home Garden

For Making Okra Fry 
Fresh Tender Okra - 25 to 30
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Sambar Powder - 3 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 4 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 Stem
Dry Red Chillies - 2 Medium

For the Curd Gravy
Fresh Curd / Plain Yogurt - 2 Cups
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Hing / Asafoetida - Little
Grounded Paste - Fully ( Make a paste of 1 medium size green chilli, 1 inch of Ginger, 1 tsp of cumin seeds / jeera in a mixer grinder and add it to the fresh curd ).

Method

• Wash the Okra / Ladies finger thoroughly and cut them into small size. In a kadai / frying pan, add the oil first and finish the tempering first by adding mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves. When its done, add the cut Okra into the pan along with all powders and required amount of salt. Mix them well and cover the lid for the Okra to get cooked with the steam inside. No need to add water while making Okra fry.
• During this time, make the curd gravy ready. Add all the required things to the fresh curd and whisk them properly and keep the curd gravy ready. Curd Gravy itself would taste good with a flavour of fresh ginger and jeera.
• When its cooked, open the lid and allow them to get fried on a medium flame slowly. Stir the Okra fry in the middle and let them get fried nicely. I prefer to use Non-Stick pan to fry the Okra with less oil. Its somehow easier for me, as it does not stick to the bottom and also it gets fried nicely with very less oil.
• Just before serving, add the Okra fry into the curd gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves on its top.

Tips / Variations

You can add some thick Buttermilk to dilute the curd gravy if the curd is too thick.

You can add a stem of fresh coriander leaves while grinding the paste for the Yogurt / curd gravy.

Instead of adding the powders to the curd gravy, I prefer to add to the Okra while frying as it gives a nice aroma.

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Black Eye Beans Masala / Black Eye Beans in Tomato Gravy

Black Eye Beans Masala / Black Eye Beans in Tomato Gravy

To go with the colourful green spinach parathas, I made this spicy, tangy Black Eye Beans Masala in tomato gravy. Its a very good combo with green and dark orange food items. I should have made this combo on our Independence day with a side of white raita too. Try this out in your kitchen and enjoy...

 

Ingredients

Black Eye Beans - 2 Cups

White Potato - 1 ( Optional )

Ripe Tomato - 4 or 5 Medium

Red Onion - 1 Medium

Green Chili - 1 Medium

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Kasoor Methi - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp

Dhana Jeera Powder - 1 tsp ( Coriander Cumin Powder )

Sugar - 1 pinch

Salt - To Taste

Water - As required for the gravy

Oil - 1 tbsp

Butter or melted ghee - 1 tsp ( OPTIONAL )

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Method

• Soak the Black Eye Beans in water for an hour and pressure cook them for 4-5 whistles. Peel the potato skin and cut them into medium size squares. Cook them in a microwave and keep the potato cubes ready too. Make the tomato puree by grinding five tomatoes and the green chili using a mixer grinder. Cut the onion into small pieces and keep them ready.
• In the frying pan / kadai, add oil first. When its heated, add the cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, onion into the pan. Fry them on a medium flame till the raw smell goes off.
• Add all the powders into the pan and fry them for a minute. Pour the tomato puree into the pan and mix everything well and allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes with the lid closed.
• Add some water if you notice thickness in the tomato gravy. Adjust the gravy consistency as you wish.
• Then, add the Black Eye Beans, cooked potato squares and the Kasoor methi into the pan along with salt and a pinch of sugar. Mix the contents thoroughly in the pan and allow them to set properly in the gravy by cooking them on a medium flame for another 3-4 minutes.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with your nutritious green parathas. Add a tsp of melted butter or ghee on its top just before serving.

Tips / Variations

Don't overcook the Black Eye Beans in the pressure cooker. It should be well cooked and visible separately.

Amaranth Kootu / Keerai Kootu

Amaranth Kootu / Keerai Kootu

Amaranth leaves, which are called as "Mulai Keerai" in Tamil seem to be rarely available here. I really miss all the green leafy vegetables like Siru Keerai, Manathakkali Keerai, Ponnanganni Keerai, etc., So, whenever I see these nutritious greens in the Indian stores, I grab atleast two bunches. Eating greens at least twice a week keeps us healthy and young and they fight against various diseases. In my childhood, my mom used to make two vegetables in a meal in the middle of her hectic schedule too. Out of that, Mulai Keerai Masiyal or Murungai Keerai curry or any other green varieties would definitely be there. I was fortunate to taste all these healthy greens frequently when  I was young whereas I could not get those right now except few varieties..

Amaranth / Mulai Keerai gives a wonderful flavour while cooking and its highly nutritious. We can do Masiyal, simple dal, curry or any other variety out of these tasty, healthy leaves. This time, I tried Keerai Kootu for a change and i added few cooked dal in my process. You can avoid the cooked dal while making this kootu and its optional. Generally while making this kootu, they don't add cooked dal but i added some to make it more healthy for my kids. Without dal too, it tastes excellent with the grounded paste.

Ingredients

Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai / Thandu Keerai - 1 Big Bunch

Cooked Toor Dal Paste - 2 tbsp

Hing - 1 Dash

Salt - As Required

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 pinch

For the Grounded Paste :

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 Medium or 1 Big

Ginger - 1 tiny square

For Tempering / Tadka :

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp

Kadalai Paruppu / Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1 big

Procedure :

• Wash the Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai and chop them. Meantime, grind the ingredients for the grounded paste and keep it ready.
• In a vessel, add all the chopped green leaves, turmeric powder, hing, pinch of sugar and some water and allow them to cook thoroughly on medium heat.
• Cook the toor dal / kandhi pappu / Thuvaram paruppu in a separate cooker and keep it ready too...
• When the amaranth leaves / toor dal is completely cooked, add the toor dal into the Keerai. Add some salt and the grounded paste into the vessel and allow them to cook for another 4-5 minutes/
• Finally add tadka into the keerai kootu and serve this healthy side dish in your thali or meals.

Sorakkai Tomato Kootu

Sorakkai Tomato Kootu

 Kootu is an authentic tamilian item almost served as a side dish in any Tamilian Thali, Weddings or during special occasions. We can make kootu with different kinds of vegetables but watery vegetables like Chayote ( Chow Chow ), Sorakai, White Pumpkin, Snake Gourd are best suited. The gravy base for the Kootu is mostly coconut based and an addition of cooked moong dal / Payatham Paruppu makes it more richer. I am a big Kootu fan and always have a tendency to include this in my regular menu itself. Also we could eat this Kootu ( if there's any leftover..) with hot chappathis too...

Ingredients

Sorakaya / Bottle Gourd - 1 Medium

Tomato - 1 Big

Moong Dal / Payatham Paruppu / Pesara Pappu - 1 Handful

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp

Salt - To Taste
Sugar - A small pinch

For the Gravy

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 2 tbsp

Green Chillies - 2 Medium

For the Tadka / Tempering

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Minna Pappu - 1 tsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 7 or 8

Method

• Peel the skin off and cut the Bottle Gourd into small cubes. Pressure cook the Sorakaya Pieces along with tomato pieces, Moong Dal, turmeric powder and little Hing for 2 whistles.
• Meantime, make the gravy by grinding the above mentioned ingredients and keep it ready.
• After the cooker cools down, add the gravy paste into the cooked kootu.
• Add required amount of salt and a pinch of sugar to the Kootu and allow to boil for few minutes.
• In a separate tadka pan, add oil and all the ingredients for the tempering and pour them on top of the Kootu.
• Serve this with hot rice or hot chappathis.

Brinjal Mor Kuzhambu ( Buttermilk Stew / Majjiga Pulusu ) / Mor Kuzhambu

Brinjal Mor Kuzhambu ( Buttermilk Stew / Majjiga Pulusu ) / Mor Kuzhambu

Mor Kuzhambu is one of the most important gravy in any South Indian Meal. Especially in Tamil Nadu, Mor Kuzhambu is widely seen during all special occasions.  We always prefer to have a side of Mor Kuzhambu in any form in our meal at home as its our alltime favourite. There are so many ways to make this Mor Kuzhambu/Buttermilk Stew/Majjiga Pulusu). You can add any vegetables like Brinjal, Drumsticks, White Pumpkin, Chow Chow ( or any watery vegetable), even zuccini, paruppu urundai,etc.,

Ingredients

Brinjals - 2 Medium

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp.

Hing ( Asafoetida ) - 1 tsp.

Thick Curd - 2 Cups.

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp.

Salt - To Taste.

For tempering

Mustard Seeds - 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tbsp

Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Channa Dal - 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6 ( if you have)

Red Chillies Dry - 2 Medium

For Grinding

Fresh Coconut - 1/2 Cup

Jeera - 2 tsp

Ginger - 1 small cube

Green Chillies - 3 Medium Ones
Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp

Method

1. Grind the ingredients as mentioned above with little curd and keep it aside.
2. Wash the brinjals and cut it into small pieces.
3. On a vessel, add the cut brinjals, turmeric powder, Hing ( Asafoetida ), little salt for the vegetables in water and let it cooks till its softer.
4. When its fully cooked, add the grounded mixture into the vessel. Add required amount of salt, remaining curd into the kuzhambu vessel.
5. Mix it properly. Check to see if there are any bubbles coming out on the top layer of the kuzhambu.
6. If you see those, immediately switch off the heat. Keep the Mor Kuzhambu vessel out of heat totally.
7. Meantime, add the ingredients for tempering. When tempering is done, pour them over the Kuzhambu.
8. Mix everything once again. Mor Kuzhambu is now ready for serving. It goes well with any Paruppu Usili, Mint Thogayal or any thogayals, any spicy powder rice.

Tips

Switch off the heat at the right time when you notice small bubbles coming out on the top layer. If you miss that, Mor Kuzhambu becomes watery in consistency and it spoils the yummy taste of it.

Sambar / Amma's Sambar / Regular Sambar

Sambar / Amma's Sambar / Regular Sambar

Sambar was one of the regular item in our daily meal since childhood. My mom never failed to make Sambar in her menu along with rasam. To me, every sambar has its unique flavour due to the addition of different vegetables into it. Taste and flavour of brinjal sambar is different from the taste of lady finger ( Okra ) Sambar. Out of all, small onion sambar scores more marks in all aspects.  If small onion sambar was made, our eyes would automatically roll around for baby potatoes fry. That combo is my all time favourite. In my perspective, white rice with simple sambar and a side of a vegetable curry or kootu is an excellent healthy meal for kids. It gives them good amount of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and energy equally.

I will soon post the Sambar Powder recipe as it determines the taste of the Sambar.

Ingredients

Brinjals - 2 medium size

Drumsticks - 6 or 7 cut into finger size

Toor Dal - 1 Cup

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sambar Powder - 1.5 tbsp

Sugar - 1 pinch

Salt - To Taste

Tamarind Juice - 1 Cup ( mild juice not very thick )

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds / Vendhayam / Menthilu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 stem

Dry Red chillies - 2 medium size

Method

1. Wash the vegetables and cut them into desired shapes. Keep the tamarind juice ready. Keep the ingredients ready on the side. Cook 1 cup of toor dal into a smooth paste and add little water to the cooked dal thereby making it into a semi solid state.
2. On a thick bottomed vessel, start making the sambar. First, add the oil and when its heated, add mustard seeds, hing, jeera, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves for tempering.
3. Add the cut brinjals, drumsticks into the oil and fry them for few seconds.
4. Then, add the turmeric powder, sambar powder, sugar and fry them with all the contents, veggies in the vessel. Veggies would get coated with the powders well.
5. Now add the extracted tamarind juice , required amount of salt and some water into the vessel.
6. Close the lid and allow the sambar to cook for 5-6 minutes.
7. You would get a nice aroma of the sambar throughout the kitchen. Check to see if the vegetables are cooked fully.
8. If its done, then add the semi solid dal paste into the sambar. Mix the sambar thoroughly without any dal lumps in it.
9. Allow the sambar to boil for just 1 or 2 minutes. Then switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with white rice and ghee.

Tips

• As this is a plain, simple sambar which we make on daily meal, I don't suggest any extra powders into it. This is just to enjoy the dal sambar with the real flavour of the sambar powder...
• Don't boil the sambar too much after adding the dal. Just switch off the heat at the right time. In this way, it retains the flavour and consistency well.
• Like this, you can make plain, simple sambar with different vegetables. ( Like Okra sambar, capsicum onion sambar, chow chow sambar, white pumpkin sambar , etc., )

Pappu Charu - Andhra Style

For so many days, I was quite confused about Pappu Charu, Sambar, Rasam. Atleast rasam would be easily differentiated with its watery nature. But I was unable to get the correct differentiation between the other two. Now I can clearly conclude by telling that Sambar is a thick version of lentils, sambar powder, veggies whereas Pappu charu is a thin version with lentil water, powders and veggies as I do both Sambar and charu regularly at home. We can add any vegetables in Pappu Charu and it can be well accompanied by any vegetable fry.  As I am a veggie freaker, I add lots of vegetables into the Pappu Charu.

Ingredients

Toor Dal -- 1/2 Cup

Tamarind Extract - 1 Cup

Jaggery - 2 tbsp full

Salt - To Taste

Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder - 3 tsp

Fenugreek Powder / Methi powder - 1/2 tsp

Tempering

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera - 2 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds / Menthilu / Vendhayam - 1/2 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Dry Red Chillies - 2 big

Curry Leaves - 1 stem

Vegetables

Okra / Ladyfinger / Vendaikai - 4  ( cut into finger size )

Carrot - 1 Small ( Sliced into smaller rounds )

White Raddish / Mullangi - 1 ( Sliced into smaller rounds )

Sorakai / BottleGourd - 1/2 Cup ( Cut into small squares )

Onion - 1 Small

Tomato - 1 Small ( cut into small pieces )

Brinjal - 2 ( Cut into small pieces )

Broad Beans/Avaraikai/ Chikkudukaya - 5 or 6 ( Cut into finger size)

Green Chillies - 4 ( Slit into Halves)

Method 

1. Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice and keep it handy.
2. Cook the toor dal / Thuvaram paruppu / Kandi Pappu in a pressure cooker to a fine paste. Add some water, mix and keep the dal water ready.
3. Wash and cut all the vegetables in desired form and keep it ready.
4. On a thick bottomed vessel, add all the vegetables, turmeric powder, little salt, hing/asafoetida, tamarind juice and little water and allow them to cook till the vegetables get mashy and softer.
5. Then, add the dal water into the vessel followed by salt, coriander powder, red chilli powder, fenugreek powder and jaggery. Mix them well and let the charu cooks and comes to a boil.
6. Add more water if you feel that the consistency of the charu is thick due to excess boiling.
7. On a separate tempering pan, add all the ingredients in order in Olive Oil and pour the tempered contents from the pan into the Pappu Charu.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and switch off the heat.
9. Enjoy the Pappu Charu with white rice and ghee.

Variations

You can add more green chillies to increase the spicyness of the charu.

You can add any vegetables of your choice into the Pappu Charu.

Tips

Dal water and tamarind juice are very important in this charu. So make these perfect and keep it ready.

If you add few drops of ghee during tempering, the whole pappu charu smells very good.

Adding drumsticks,small onions to the pappu charu gives an excellent flavour and taste.

Patiently wait till the vegetables get completely cooked. After its cooked fully, continue the process. Otherwise, your veggies would be little raw in the Pappu charu making it difficult for the kids to eat the veggies.

Spinach Tomato Dal \ Paalakura Tomato Pappu \ Keerai Thakkali Paruppu

Though there are so many varieties of greens we use in our cooking, spinach is very common and widely used in our Indian Cuisine.  Spinach like any other leafy greens is loaded with Calcium, folic acid, Vitamin K and iron. Undoubtedly, its a nutritional powerhouse and its wiser to consume this spinach atleast twice a week in our regular food. I made this Spinach Dal which is called as Paalakura pappu in andhra cuisine. It goes well with white rice and a side of any spicy fry or simple odiyallu ( Vadams ). 

Ingredients

Toor Dal \ Kandhi Pappu \ Thuvaram Paruppu -  1/2  Cup

Spinach - 1 Big Bunch

Tomato - 1 Medium

Tamarind Juice Extract - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Dry Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1 Pinch

Green chillies - 1 Medium

For Tempering

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal \ Minna Pappu \ Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp

Channa Dal \ Senaga pappu \ Kadalai paruppu  - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem

Dry red chillies - 2 big

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Method

• Wash and cook the Toor dal to a fine paste and keep the mashy toor dal in a separate cup.
• Wash and cut the spinach leaves , tomato into pieces. Slit the green chilli into halves.
• On a thick bottomed vessel, add the spinach leaves, tomato pieces, 1 tsp of jeera, 1 tsp of turmeric powder, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of hing and very little water and close the lid of the vessel. Allow the contents to cook for few minutes on medium heat. No need to add more water for cooking the spinach leaves.
• After they are completely cooked, add the mashed toor dal into the vessel. Add the tamarind extract juice also into the vessel.
• Mix them well and add required amount of salt and some amount of water to make the consistency of the dal into a semi solid state.
• Allow them to cook for 4-5 minutes till everything get blended together.
• In a tadka pan, add all the ingredients as mentioned above for tempering and pour the tempered contents over the spinach dal finally.
• Switch off the heat and serve the dal with white rice and ghee.

Variations

You can add one or more sour tomato and avoid using tamarind juice extract.

You can do the tempering with half of Olive oil and half of ghee if  you are making this Dal for a festival or for functions.

You can generously add 1 tbsp of ghee on top of the spinach Dal if its made for special functions.

You can add 1 more green chilli or more dry red chilli powder to increase the spicyness of the Dal.

Tips

Avoid cooking the spinach leaves along with the toor dal in a pressure cooker. Try to cook the Dal separately and steam cook the spinach outside. In this way, you can preserve the nutrients in spinach. Also, its not a best practice to add more water while cooking the spinach leaves. Try to add very little water and mostly steam cook the spinach.

I am not a big fan of  adding all the ingredients for the pappu at one shot in pressure cooker and cook them for few whistles and adding spicy tadka at the end.

Peerkangai Milagu Kootu / Beerakaya Kootu / Ridge Gourd in pepper coconut gravy

Peerkangai / Beerakaya / Ridge Gourd is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre, vitamin C and other elements in it. The nutritional value of this Ridge Gourd highly helps in maintaining optimum health and weight loss. Both the skin and the flesh inside the vegetable are used in making different dishes. Ridge Gourd can be made as a Dal, Curry or Poriyal , kootu, thogayal, etc., I wanted to make the Kootu variety with black pepper coconut gravy as I hear lots of cough and cold at home.

Ingredients

Fresh Ridge Gourd - 2 Medium Ones

Moong Dal / Payatham Paruppu / Pesara Pappu - 1/2 Cup

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1 Pinch

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 2 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem ( if you have )

For Grinding

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1/2 Cup

Black Pepper - 2 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Method

• Peel the skin of the Ridge Gourd and cut the flesh of the Ridge Gourd into small squares.
• Cook half a cup of Moong Dal in a pressure cooker.
• In a thick bottomed vessel, add the Ridge Gourd pieces first. To that, add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, Hing and a pinch of sugar and very little water and allow the vegetable to get steamed and cooked inside.
• Meantime, grind the ingredients in a mixer grinder with little water and keep the creamy black pepper coconut paste ready.
• Open the lid of the vessel and check whether the vegetable is completely cooked. If its done, add the cooked Moong Dal to the vegetable. Also, add the grounded paste and required amount of salt to the vessel.
• Mix everything together and close the lid of the vessel for the Kootu to get cooked and the gravy to get settled with the vegetable.
• When the rawness of the pepper coconut paste goes off, switch off the heat.
• On a tempering pan, add Olive oil first. When it gets heated, add Mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, curry leaves in order. When it sputters, then pour them over the Kootu and mix well.
• Now the Spicy Peerakangai Milagu Kootu is ready to be eaten with white rice, Rasam Rice or any other rice you like. It can also be eaten with a Roti or chappathi and it tastes very good too...

Variations

You can add more Black Pepper if you want to add more spicyness to the Kootu.

You can substitute Moong Dal with other dals like Toor Dal or Masoor dal in this Kootu.

Tips

Don't add more water while cooking the Ridge Gourd as the vegetable itself oozes out water while cooking.

Try to use fresh coconut in the grinding mixture as it tastes much better than the dry coconut flakes or powder.

Potato Kuruma

Plain potato kurma is our all time favourite and it goes well with chappathis, pulav very well. Made this creamy potato kurma for the vegetable pulav which i made yesterday. For parties, its preferable as its easier to make and its not time consuming also. I still remember the sunday morning breakfast in our hostel during our college days. I used to get up early mainly to taste the watery potato kuruma with hard dried rotis. Though the quality of those rotis were not that good, the watery potato kuruma was tasty. We tried to hunt all the potatoes hiding in that watery kuruma in our mess. That time, i did not even know that i would be making this potato kuruma by myself one day and eat. !!!!

Ingredients

Potatoes - 8-10 Medium Size

Onion - 1/2 Big or 1 Medium nicely cut into thin slices

Tomato - 1 Big One

Fresh Peas / Frozen Peas - 1 handful

Pudina / Mint Leaves - 2 tbsp chopped

Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Red Chilly Powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tbsp

For Tempering

Olive Oil - 3 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Fennel Seeds - 2 tsp

Cinnamon Sticks / Pattai - 2 Medium Ones

Lavang / Cloves - 4 or 5

Cardamom Seeds - 3

Bay Leaves - 2

Anashuppu / Anise Star Seed - 1

For Grinding

Fresh Coconut - 3/4th of a cup

Khus Khus - 1 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 1 handful

Sombu / fennel seeds - 2 tsp

Green Chilly - 2 medium

Method

1. Wash all the potatoes and cook them well. After its cooked, peel off the skin and keep it ready.
2. Grind the ingredients as mentioned above in a mixer grinder. Grind it to a smooth paste and keep it ready.
3. Cut the onions, tomatoes and keep them ready too. After these three processes, we can start heating the kadai.
4. On a thick bottomed vessel, add Olive Oil first. When its heated, add all the ingredients as mentioned under "Tempering" one by one. Make sure that the heat is on a medium flame only.
5. After tempering process is done, add the onions and fry them with a pinch of salt for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the ginger garlic paste next and fry them till the raw smell goes off.
7. Add the tomatoes next into the vessel and fry them till the tomatoes get mashy and softer. Then, add pudina and frozen peas or fresh peas into the kadai. Fry for a minutes.
8. Finally add all the powders to the mix in the kadai. Fry all of the contents in the kadai for 2-3 minutes.
9. Then, add the grounded mixture into the kadai. Add required amount of water into it.
10. Add salt to the mixture and mix everything thoroughly.
11. Close the lid and let the Kuruma gravy cooks well and let the raw smell completely goes off the gravy.
12. Open the lid and check to see whether the gravy becomes little thicker and if you feel the rawness in taste or in the texture of the gravy, allow the gravy to cook for some more time.
13. After the gravy is done completely, add the cooked, peeled potatoes into the kuruma gravy.
14. Let the kuruma cooks in open for 2-3 minutes. Then, switch off the flame and let the kurma cools and settles down.
15. Now the spicy, tasty potato kurma is ready to serve with roti, chappathi...

Variations

 You can add almonds instead of Cashew nuts in the grinding mixture.

 You can reduce the spicyness in the kurmua gravy by taking out the green chillies from the grinding mixture if its only for 

 the kids. 

Tips

 Allow the gravy to get cooked completely. If the rawness still remains in the gravy, then the kuruma wont taste very good.

 Add enough water in the beginning while making the gravy itself. If you add water at the end, after making the kuruma completely, then the kuruma's taste might change and it reduces the punch in the kuruma.

HOW TO COOK Simple Keerai Masiyal

Keerai Masiyal is a simple dish but with good taste and we used to have this keerai masiyal with plain pappu rice in our childhood. It's a very healthy meal for the kids. In this method, you can make Masiyal with different types of greens that are available in your place. I made this with Spinach that are abundant in our place.

Ingredients

Spinach Leaves - 1 full bunch ( Palak / Paala kura / pasalai keerai )

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Pinch

Jeera Seeds - 1 tbsp

Salt - 2 tsp

Sugar - 1 pinch

Thuvar Dal / Thuvaram Paruppu / Kandhi Pappu - Cooked 3 tbsp

For Tempering

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal / Mina Pappu / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3 medium ones

Method

• Wash the spinach leaves and cut into small pieces and put them into a thick bottomed vessel.
• Add 1 tbsp of jeera, little hing / asafoetida , turmeric powder, a pinch of sugar into the same vessel.
• Add very little water into the vessel and allow them to cook well.
• After its cooked, add 3 tbsp of cooked toor dal / thuvaram paruppu / kandhi pappu into the vessel and mash everything together as much as you can.
• Add 2 tsp of salt into the mixture and mix them thoroughly.
• Switch off the heat after a minute. Then, start the tempering process by adding the above ingredients. Pour them onto the keerai masiyal and mix well.
• Now, the healthy keerai masiyal is ready to be eaten with rice...

Variations

For more spicyness, add a green chilly slit into two halves along with the spinach leaves. And you can mash it with the spinach leaves after adding the cooked dal.

Tips

By adding a pinch of Sugar to the green leaves while cooking, you can retain the green colour in the dish even after its cooked.

For any diet menu plan, you can confidently include this keerai masiyal in your diet menu by omitting the tempering process.

HOW TO COOK Aviyal - Steamed Vegetables in Coconut Yogurt Creamy Gravy

Aviyal is a delightful mix of all vegetables in a creamy yogurt sauce. Its a very traditional dish and mostly served in many marriages in South India. This has been one of my favourites since childhood and I very often make this at home too.Though i made this Aviyal many times, I cannot even come nearer to the version which my mom makes it till today.!!! Its very easy to make this Aviyal with an excellent taste and flavour and its equally easier to spoil the aviyal as well. To my knowledge, if the grinding mixture is of correct consistency and the vegetables are steamed to the right level, then the Aviyal is heavenly with any rice. If any of the things get wrong in the middle, then the aviyal will not be as expected. Also, i prefer to make aviyal with fresh curd only and not with sour curd. I have not added Drumsticks to the aviyal today as I don't have it at home. But drumsticks contribute more to the aviyal flavour. So, try to add atleast few drumsticks to the aviyal if you have it in abundance.

Ingredients
For Grinding
Fresh Thick Curd - 1 Cup
Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1\2 cup
Jeera - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1 Small square
Green chillies - 4 Medium
Vegetables
Carrot - 1 Medium
Potato - 3 Medium
Chow Chow - 1 Medium
Zuccini - 1 Big
Raw Banana - 1 Big
Brinjal - 2 Big 
Broad Beans \ Avaraikai \ Chikkukai - 8 to 10
White Pumpkin - 1 Small portion
Tempering
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 stem
Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
Method

1. Grind the ingredients as mentioned above into a smooth creamy paste. While grinding, add little curd only to the mixture and keep the remaining curd aside which can be added to the aviyal at the end.
2. Wash all the vegetables first and cut them into desired shapes equally. Let the pieces be not too small.
3. On a thick bottomed vessel, first place the hard vegetables at the bottom and place the other watery vegetables on top one by one.
4. Add little water and little salt into it and let the vegetables get cooked and steamed for few minutes.
5. After its cooked fully, add the grounded mixture and required amount of salt into the vessel and mix them well. Let the aviyal cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Then, add oil in a tempering pan and add the ingredients as mentioned above to the heated oil. When it sputters, pour them over the Aviyal.
7. Add the remaining curd \ yogurt into the aviyal, mix them well and switch off the heat.

Variations

You can add few drops of coconut oil to the aviyal at the end.

You can add any vegetables of your choice in the aviyal.

You can add more green chillies to make the aviyal more spicy.

Tips

Don't overcook the vegetables and make it more pasty.

Don't add sour curd \ yogurt into the aviyal which adds more sourness to the aviyal.

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