Soraikai/Bottle Gourd Porucha Kozhambu

Porucha Kozhambi is one of my favourites. It is almost like a kottu but not a kottu. It is usually served with rice and could be used as a side dish for roti or as a replacement to sambar. Its very healthy and tasty and is my entry to VOW:Bottle Gourd hosted by My Creative Ideas for the month of July.

Gadgets:

Pressure pan

Bowl to place inside

Cooking pan
Mixing spoon
Cutting board
Knife
Peeler

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd peeled and cut into cubes - 2 cups

Moong Dhal- 1/4 cup

Thoor Dhal - 1/4 cup

Channa Dhal - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Udad dhal - 3 tbsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Dry chillis - 3

Cilantro- a few strands for garnish

Coconut - 2 tsp

Salt

Turmeric

Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp

Water

Oil

Asafoedita - a few shakes

Curry leaves

Preparation:

1.In a pressure pan add 2 cups of water.

2. In a bowl that fits into the pressure pan. Add all the dhal except for udad dhal and then add some water for the dhal to cook.

3. Add the Bottle Gourd, salt, jeera, sambar powder and cook for 1 whistle.

4. Turn the heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.

5. Turn off the heat.

6. Meanwhile, in a wok add some oil udad dhal, dry chillis and jeera and roast till the udad gets golden brown. Add cooconut and mix it well and turn off the heat.

7. Allow it to cool and grind them into a powder.

8. In the same wok add oil, asafodita, udad dhal, 1 red dry chilli and curry leaves and then add the cooked veggies and mix well. Add the powder and allow it to cook for a few minutes and serve hot.

Mint Balls/Podhina Urandai

Traditionally these are made with cilantro/kothamalli. I decided to experiment with mint to see if it tastes as good as cilantro. This belongs to the pickle family and goes well with curd/yogurt rice. One note on this herb is that it is very good for your blood.It purifies it and makes it healthy. I know this from my friends mother who used to ask me to have lots of mint chutney every time I used to donate blood. So those of you who are anemic please have some mint in some form and you would get your health back. My entry to Herb Mania for the month of July hosted by Ammalu's Kitchen.

Gadgets:

Mixie/Food processor
Bowl

Colander

Wok

Mixing Spoon

Ingredients:

Mint leaves - 2 cups
Cilantro - 1 cup

Tamarind - dime size ball

Udad dhal- 3 tbsp

Channa Dhal - 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp

Dry chillis - 3 ( or more for spice)

Asafoedita - a few pieces fired

Oil

Preparation:

1. Wash the mint and cilantro leaves and dry them to let the water disappear with a dry towel. Very important step to make the urandai/balls last longer.

2. In a wok add some oil.When that heats up add asafeodita,mustard seeds, udad dhal, channa dhal, dry chillis and roast until the udad dhal turns golden brown.

3. Turn off the flame and add the mint and cilantro leaves.

4. Add all these ingredients to the food processor/mixie and the tamarind.

5. Keep buzzing until the ingredients come together. This must not resemble a powder but a very coarse mix.

6. Add salt and make small balls out of them. Store them in an air tight container and serve it with curd rice.

Mango Fruit Salad

Summer is a month I used to look forward to as a child. The air smelt different, the weather got warm, schools were closed, my cousins were there to play with and wherever one turned you would see carts or baskets of Mangoes. The sweet smell used to me make want to eat it for breakfast, dinner and lunch. I could not wait to finish my curd rice to get my share of the mangoes.

This month there are a lot of food events focusing on summer and seasonal fruits. I am sending in my mango fruit salad that can be served as an elegant summer desert at the end of a meal, at breakfast or a snack to cool off at any time. Takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is one healthy salad. My entry to Mango Mania hosted by What's For Lunch Honey ,Sweet Series- Cool Deserts by Paajaka and Summer Feast hosted by Monsoon Spices for the month of July.

Gadgets:




Cutting Board
Peeler
Knife
Bowl
Mixing Spoon


Ingredients:

Ripe Mangoes cut into cubes - 1 cup
Green Grapes cut - 1/4 cup
Apple - 1/4 cup
Sour Cream /yogurt - 1/2 cup (please use thick or store bought yougurt)
Salt a pinch or two
Honey - 1 tbsp
Walnuts - 1/2 cup lightly toasted




Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and cut the mangoes, apples and the grapes.

2. Add the sour cream or yogurt, salt and honey into a bowl and mix well.

3. Add the fruits and nuts and coat them with the wet mix.

4. Serve them cold or at room temperature.

Murali's Chinese Fried Rice

One good chef in my family is my cousin Murali. He is extremely creative in his food preparations and whenever we meet we always spend quality time talking about new recipes. When I recently met him, my Amma asked me to get his recipe for his ever famous fried rice which she enjoys always. Indo-Chinese food is my favourite when tasted in India. Don't know what happens there the flavours are so different and takes it to a different level. Sending Murali's Fried Rice to A.W.E.D : Chinese for the month of July hosted by DK's Culinary Bazaar.

Gadgets:

Pressure Cooker

Bowl for the pressure cooker

Cutting Board

Knife

Mixing Bowl

Grater

Measuring Cup

Ingredients:

Jeera Champa Rice - 1 cup ( I used long grain rice and basmathi can be used too)Water - 1 1/2 cups

Beans/Carrot/Cauliflower/Peas - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 3 cloves

Pepper and Salt to taste

Soy sauce

Ghee- 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the rice with the ghee. Put it in a bowl and place in pressure cooker.

2. Pressure cook rice to one whistle and turn off the heat and set aside.

3. Remove the rice from the cooker and add some oil in the pressure cooker and add onions and cook. Add the veggies and grate the ginger and garlic on it. Add the cooked rice to it and mix.

4. Add soy sauce and serve it hot.

5. Garnish with spring onions (my addition)

Grilled Makka Cholam/Corn

Makka Cholam/Corn is very much in season in the U.S right now, but I remember having them at Kodaikanal during my summer vacation. The road side vendors make it so perfect by coating the grilled corn with lemon, salt and chilli powder. This caused a perfect blend of sweetness of the corn with some salt and spice. It was a wonderful comfort food in the cool hill station that whispered summer to me. For nostalgic memories it is my entry to Eating with the Season Event Hosted by Mania's: Food Matter for the month of July.

Gadgets:

Gas stove/ Grill

Plates
Knife
Cutting board

Ingredients:

Fresh Corn - 2
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (add more for spice)
Salt - 1 tsp
Olive Oil-1 Tbsp
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Lime- 1/2 of a lime

Preparation:

1. Remove the husk from the corn.

2. Brush it with a little of the oil and place it on the fire.

3. Keep turning it from time to time so that the whole corn is roasted.

4. Apply little butter if you can indulge else cut a fresh lime and dab it in the mix of salt and chilli powder and smear it on the corn.

5. Eat it hot.