Coriander Rice \ Kothamalli Sadam - With Onions

Coriander Rice \ Kothamalli Sadam - With Onions

Ingredients:
Sona Masoori Rice - 2 Cups
Fresh Coriander Leaves - 1 Bunch
Tomato - 1 medium Size.
Onion - 1/2 medium size finely chopped
Green chillies - 1 Medium
Garlic - 4 big Ones finely crushed and pasted
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Peas - 1/4 cup
Salt - To taste
Sugar - 1 small pinch. ( To enhance the taste ).
Olive Oil - 4 tbsp.
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Procedure :

First grind the washed coriander leaves, 1 green chilli, 1 tomato into a fine paste and keep it separately.( I added few pudina leaves too as it was in my fridge for more time.)

On the kadai, add olive oil first. Add mustard seeds, jeera, asafoetida, urad dal one by one. After it starts spluttering, add crushed garlic. Fry properly so that the raw smell of garlic completely goes off. Then, add onion and fry for 2 minutes.

Add the coriander paste from the mixie jar now to the kadai. Mix everything and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then, finally start adding the powders, salt, sugar. Mix everything and add the washed sona masoori rice into the kadai and mix everything together. Transfer it to a big rice cooker if you have. For 2 cups of rice, add 4.5 cups of water. If the coriander paste is too watery, then the coriander rice will be too pasty. So, add water accordingly. Keep it on the stove for 2 whistles. Let it cool down completely.

Open it after it cools down completely. Serve it with raita and little potato chips.

There are so many methods to prepare coriander rice. You can add a powder made out of 1 red chilli, coriander seeds, little coconut, channa dal to the rice finally and cook it with that powder, this in turn will make the rice little more spicy. This method is purely easier and no extra powders are added. In my next recipe, i will write down how to make coriander pulav.

Tips : Dont make the coriander paste too watery. Add water appropriately so that the rice comes out separately and not pasty.

Spicy Tomato Rasam / Chaaru

Spicy Tomato Rasam / Chaaru

In winter, most of the time we try to have this Spicy tomato rasam in our meal. Flavour of ripe tomatoes with the mix of spices gives us a special treat to the throat and makes us stay away from unnecessary cold.
During my childhood, no meal was complete without rasam in the menu.

Ingredients
Cooked Toor Dal - 4 tbsp.
Tamarind Juice - 1/2 Cup.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp.
Asafoetida - 1 tsp ( for excellent flavour).
Salt - 1 tbsp.( Add to your taste, i generally add little less in my dishes.)
Sugar - 1 pinch.
Sambar Powder - 1.5 tbsp
(I have a luxury of getting this sambar powder from my mom from India).
Good Ripe Tomatoes - 2 medium sized.
Coriander Leaves - Little to spread it on top of rasam.

For grinding :
Black Pepper Seeds - 1.5 tbsp.
Jeera - 2 tbsp.
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp.
Red Chilly - 1 Medium size.

For Tadka :
Mustard Seeds - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - Little
Curry Leaves - 5 or 6.
Red Chilly - 1.

Method :
1. Cook the toor dal, mash it and keep it separately.
2. On a thick bottomed vessel, add the tamarind juice extract without any dust or pieces.
3. Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, sambar powder, salt, sugar to the juice.
4. Add some water to this mixture and cover it.
5. Let it boil for sometime till the rawness of tamarind goes away.
6. Add the cut tomatoes into the mixute and also the add the grinded powder.
7. Let it cook on a medium flame for five minutes.
7. Add the cooked dal water into the rasam mixture.
8. Close the lid and reduce the flame greatly so that a layer of foam forms at the top layer of the rasam.
9. Switch it off and add the tadka to the rasam mixture.
10. Finally add the crushed coriander leaves into the rasam.

It can be given in a small glass as an appetizer in get-togethers, parties.

Tips 
My Mom always says that the rasam has to be taken out of the stove after a complete layer of foam is formed. It tastes great with that and I experienced that personally.