Healthy Black Eye Beans Sundal \ Lobia \ Periya Vellai Karamani Sundal

Black Eye Beans are low in calories and rich in fiber which help to control cholesterol in our body. They are low in fat, low in sodium and a good source of folate, potassium, phosphorous and manganese. When combined with grains, they supply high amount of protein and it can be consumed as an alternative to animal meat. Due to its high potassium content and low sodium, it helps to reduce blood pressure also. So, to consume this highly nutrient Black eye beans, I made this healthy sundal on one of the Navarathri days..

Ingredients

Black Eyed beans / Lobhia -- 2 Cups

Oil - 1 tbsp for tempering

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Salt - To Taste

Mustard Seeds - 3 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem

Dry Red Chillies - 4 or 5

Green chillies - 1

Grated Ginger - 1 tsp

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1/2 Cup

Method

Soak the Black Eyed Beans for an hour in warm water. Then, pressure cook the beans with enough water to cook it for 2-3 whistles.Drain the excess water from the vessel. In the Kadai, add the oil and start adding Hing, Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal, Curry leaves, Dry red chillies, green chilli and grated ginger first. When the tempering is done, then add the black eyed beans into the kadai and add enough salt and mix it thoroughly. After 2-3 minutes, add the fresh coconut flakes and switch off the flame. Mix the sundal and coconut flakes without mashing the sundal. Now the sundal is ready for Neivedhyam.

Tips / Variations

Don't overcook the beans as the sundal would become pasty.

Instead of curry leaves or if its not available, you can add fresh coriander leaves at the end for garnishing.

To make it more spicy, you can add the grounded powder of coriander seeds and dry red chillies to the sundal after tempering.

Tamarind Rice Tamil Style \ Pulisadham \ Puliodharai

Tamarind Rice is one of the favourites in our household. I followed my mom's style while making the powder for the tamarind rice this time. She generally makes Pulikachal first and mixes the rice with the spicy, yummy Pulikachal..But I made a simple tamarind paste and made the tamarind rice with the tamarind paste and spicy powder..which is an easier method for me.Some people like to have this tamarind rice just with papads, appalams. In some household, they make Aviyal and tamarind rice as a combo..But the taste is unique in all ways.

Ingredients

Sona Masoori Rice - 2 Cups

Thick Tamarind juice - 4 Cups

Jaggery - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp for tempering.

Gingelly Oil / Nalla Yennai - 3 tbsp

Hing - 1 Big Dash

Salt - To Taste

Urad Dal / Mina Pappu / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Peanuts / Groundnuts / Kadalai - 2 Handful

Powder

Coriander Seeds - 2 tbsp

Vendhayam / Methi Seeds / Menthilu - 1 tsp

Black Pepper Seeds - 6 or 7 seeds

Dry Red Chillies - 5 or 6

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Method

• Cook the Sona Masoori Rice either in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles or in an electric cooker. Spread the rice over a big tray or vessel and put some oil into it just to make them separate. Let the rice cool down.
• Mean time, in a kadai, add the extracted tamarind juice of 4 cups, 2 tsp of oil, hing, 1 tsp of jaggery and make a paste like a kuzhambu without raw smell.
• For making the powder, fry the ingredients with little oil in a kadai and grind them into a fine powder. Keep it aside.
• For tempering, add Olive oil in a kadai. Add the ingredients for tempering and roast them in low flame.
• Let the channa dal, urad dal and groundnuts get roasted to golden brown.
• Transfer all the contents from the kadai on top of the rice in the tray or big vessel.
• Add the tamarind juice little by little. Add required amount of salt also and mix the tamarind rice uniformly without mashing the rice.
• Add the grounded spicy powder on the rice and mix them carefully in all directions up and down.
• Add gingelly oil into the tamarind rice too.
• Keep adding more tamarind paste and the spicy powder into the rice while mixing as required.
• After mixing all the contents thoroughly, the spicy and yummy tamarind rice is ready to eat. But its always a good idea to eat the tamarind rice at least an hour after its preparation. This is mainly for the spices, tamarind paste to blend together and settle down with the rice perfectly.
• Even on the next day, the leftover tamarind rice tastes very good. Its not required to store the leftover rice in the fridge.