With Amma visiting, we always start making very healthy and traditional recipes. Amma always loves medicinal vegetables and makes sure that it is incorporated into the diet. Some months ago my sister called me to find out the easy version of the karuvapillai kozhambu that Amma used to make. I told her I had no clue and she told me that I need to blog it next time because it very delicious. So this time my Amma helped me make this kozhambu and I loved it. It was super easy and I loved the saucy texture of the kozhambu. It paired very well with moong and channa dhal paruppu thogayal. 

Gadgets:

Blender

Wok

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Ingredients:

Curry Leaves = a big fist full

Whole Black Pepper = 1 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind - 1 small lemon size

Dry Red Chillies - 1 

Asafoetida - a small bit

Water - 1 1/2 cup

Salt

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Ginjili Oil - 2 tbsp

Jaggery - a pinch

Preparation:

1. Add curry leaves, pepper, chilies, tamarind, asafoetida and water in a blender and make into a fine paste.

2. Heat the wok with oil. Add mustard and fenugreek seeds, as soon as the mustard seeds pop add the paste along with some salt.

3. Bring the sauce to a boil and you will see it thicken in a few minutes, add jaggery and mix well. Serve it over hot rice. 

For a change for dinner instead of making the same old chapathi , I decided to make dosti roti. Dosti roti is made by rolling two portions of dough, stacking it one on top of the other with a thin layer of ghee in-between and rolling it out into a single roti. When the roti gets cooked on both sides it gets puffs up and roti can be easily pulled apart into two individual rotis that are super think. I found that it was best when eaten hot off the taw a with some delicious side dish.

Gadgets:

Rolling Pin
Bowl
Tawa
Spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Four/ Atta - 1 cup
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp
Warm Water - Enough to make a soft dough
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Divide each of this portion into two equal parts.

2. Roll out two portions into a 4 inch circle. Spread some ghee on one roti and place the other roti on top of it. Roll the dough into a 8 inch circle.

3. Heat the tawa and place the roti and cook evenly on both sides.

4. Remove from heat, separate the rotis into two equal parts, spreading some ghee keeps it moist and flavorful.

Serve it hot with your favorite side dish. 

A very fast dish to serve or carry to any potluck is puli sevai. It gets done under 15 minutes and is always popular among adults and kids. With ready made rice sticks available in our grocery stores, it becomes very easy to prepare it in a jiffy. Sometimes, when we travel and we do not store vegetables at home for use on our return, these rice sticks become very handy. For dinner I made puliyodharai sevai  as per my daughters request. 

Gadgets:

Stock Pot with a lid
Spatula
Colander
Measuring Cups and Spoons

Ingredients:

Gingelly Oil - 2 tbsp
Peanuts - 1/2 cup
777 Puliyodhari Paste - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - a few
Water - 1/2 stock pot
Rice Sticks - 1/2 packet

Preparation:

1. Bring water to a rolling boil in the stock pot. Add salt and the rice sticks. Allow it to boil for a few minute. Turn the heat off and cover the pot with a tight lid. Drain after 5 minutes.

2. Heat the saucepan with oil. Fry the peanuts and add the curry leaves.

3. Add the puliyodhar paste and mix well. Turn the heat off and add the rice sticks and mix well, serve hot with some yogurt or raita.

I was looking through my cook books and I found my diary of recipes. I had some of these recipes copied from my sister in law,Renu Manni. She always made interesting food and it always inspired me to learn from her. She let me have some of her recipes and this is one of them. I used to like this peas masala a lot and decided to make it for dinner. I served it over quinoa and bhindi fry which was very comforting. It goes well with roti's, naan and any rice preparation.

Gadgets:

Blender
Cutting Board
Knife
Frying Pan
Spatula

Ingredients:

Green Peas - 2 cups Soaked overnight and Pressure cooked with salt and water to 1 whistle.
Onions - 2 onion chopped
Tomatoes - 2 roughly chopped
Ginger - 1 inch grated
Garlic - 3 pods finely minced
Tamarind - small lime soaked in 2 cups of water
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Sticks - 2 inch sticks
Cloves - 3
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 thsp
Cilantro

Preparation:

1. Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil. Add coriander seeds, cloves, cumin seeds, cinnamon and told until you smell the flavors from the spices and seeds. Add the 1 onion and cook before adding the coconut. Blend to a paste.

2. Heat the pan again and add 2 tsp of oil and add the onions, ginger and garlic. Cook until it starts to brown. Add the blended paste, along with chili and turmeric powder and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes covered.

3. Add the mix to the peas in the pressure cooker. Add salt and tomatoes, cover and pressure cook on medium low to a whistle.

4. Garnish with cilantro to garnish and serve it hot.

A new year is born and the festivities include making some traditional food items to celebrate the new year. Apart from the traditional payasam and vadai, a manga pachadi with vepampoo is made to make us realize that life can be sweet, salty, spicy and bitter and we need to accept all in life. This recipe is super special to me because it was given to me last new year by a very special person. It is very important for me to have this documented and shared in my blog for everyone to prepare and enjoy.

                                         Happy( Jaya) New Year!

Gadgets:

Mandolin

Sauce Pan

Seasoning Wok

Measuring Spoons and Cups

Spatula

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 1

Water - 2 Cups

Jaggery -  1 1/2  cups

Salt

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1

Dried Neem Flower - 2 Tbsp

Preparation:

1. Cut the mango into wedges. Using a mandolin thinly slice the mango into slices. Add water , a little salt and allow it to cook. 

2. When the mango slices start to disintegrate, add powdered jaggery ( sediment free kind) and cook for a few minutes. The sauce will start to thicken. Remove from heat.

3. Heat the seasoning wok with oil. Add mustard seeds and chillies allow it to crackle. Add dry neem flowers, allow it to get dark brown and add it to the pachadi.

Though it is spring time here, the weather has suddenly turned very hot. It feels like summer almost and I wanted to have yogurt rice with a pickle for dinner. My daughter wanted some pickle and since I was out of all pickles. I happen to borrow a cookbook from my sister in law a week ago called "Ellorum Sappada Vanga". It contains a lot of traditional south Indian recipes of Mrs. Jayalakshmi Ramachandran that is very well documented in Tamil by Pujashri Mathioli Saraswathi. I happen to look through the recipes and I liked the idea of carrot thokku. Decided to make it for my daughter. Super easy to make and absolutely delicious. I had it mixed with rice and also with curd rice. Loved the natural sweetness from the organic carrots, the heat from all the spices and salty nature of the pickle.

Gadgets:

Blender
Wok
Spatula
Measuring Spoons and Cups
Grater

Ingredients:

Organic Carrots - 3 grated ( Use fine grater, it works better I think than the one I used)

Gingily Oil - 3 tbsp

Asafoetida - a penny size 

Fenugreek Seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp ( add more if you can handle more spice)

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Tamarind - lemon size soaked in 2 cups of water. I used Joy tamarind pulp - 4 tsp in water.

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and powder. 

2. Heat the wok with oil, mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add the grated carrots, salt, turmeric powder, salt and chilli powder. Mix well and cook the carrot well. 

3. Add the tamarind water and cook until all the water disappears and the carrots all gets mushed up and get to a thooku consistency. 

4. Add the powdered asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and mix well. The oil will start to leave the carrot. Remove from heat, allow to cool and store in a bottle for a few days.

If there is one thing that I will enjoy everyday, its rasam. Its is very comforting to mix rasam with rice on any given day. I think if you can make a good rasam you have comforted many people and the taste will always linger in their memory. I make rasam often but I have not been able to document for blogging. A good rasam recipe is something to treasure. On Monday for dinner I made lemon rasam and I was able to at last document it for blogging. The perfect season to make lemon rasam as you can find some awesome lemons and limes in the market. A great thing to have when you have a stuffy nose or when your sinus flares up. Also you need not have rasam powder or tamarind to make this rasam.

Gadgets:

Saucepan
Seasoning Ladle
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Lemon/Lime - juice of 1 ( might need more if the lemons are not tart enough)
Green Chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 tbsp finely chopped
Tomato - 2 chopped into chunks
Cilantro - 2 tbsp minced
Curry Leaves - a few
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp for seasoning and 2 tsp finely powdered
Pepper - 2 tsp whole finely powered
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup cooked
Water - 4 cups
Jaggery - a pinch

Preparation:

1. Heat the saucepan with 2 tsp of ghee. Add green chillies, curry leaves and ginger. Add turmeric powder and chopped tomatoes give it a mix. Add water and bring it to a boil of medium heat.

2. Add cumin and pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of asafetida powder, salt and allow it to cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the moong dhal and cook until it starts to froth. Add lemon juice, and jaggery.


4. Check to see if the lemon/ lime juice is tangy enough or else add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of juice.

5. Heat the seasoning ladle with the remaining ghee. Add asafetida, mustard seeds, allow them to pop and then add cumin seeds. Remove and add it to the rasam. Add cilantro for garnish and serve hot with rice or as an appetizer.