Few Minute Wonders

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.

The story of preparing rajma masala goes a log way.I remember the last time I had prepared Rajma I was not that big into cooking and I think I made a rajma that was not edible. Very embarrassed with the preparation, I decided to stay away from it. I have always looked at all posts that mentions rajma masala over the years and at last got an idea as to how this beans needed to treated. This recipe is my own understanding of rajma masala which I prepared for dinner last week. This time it got very good reviews and I decided to document for my reference.

Gadgets:

Pressure Cooker

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Cutting Board

Knife

Blender

Bowl

Ingredients:

Kashmiri Rajma - 2 cups soaked in water overnight

Onions - 2

Cherry Tomato - puree 2 cups

Garlic - 5 pods

Ginger - 2 inches

Cilantro - 1/2 cup chopped

Kasturi Methi - 2 tbsp crushed

Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Rajma Masla Powder - 3 Spoons

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Bay Leaves - 2

Black Cardamom - 4

Salt to Taste

Onion Slices - For Garnish

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook on medium heat, the soaked rajma with 4 cups of water, salt and 2 tsp rajma masala unto 3 whistles. When the pressure is released transfer the contents into a bowl.

3. Reheat the the pressure cook with 1 tbsp of oil. Add bay leaves and black cardamom in them and after 30 seconds add diced onions and cook until they turn golden brown. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a few more minutes.

4. Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well. Add cumin, coriander, rajma, chilli, gram masala powders to the tomato puree mix, cover and cook on low heat for 5-8 minutes until the raw smell leaves.

5. Add the rajma and the liquid and mix well. Add salt as per requirement and pressure cook on medium low for 2 whistles.

6. When the pressure is released, mix well and mush some of the rajma to get it to the right consistency. Add kasturi methi and cilantro. Mix well.

7. Garnish with onion rings and serve them hot.

A year or so ago, I had a request for some broccoli and oats based recipe from one of my blog readers. I was able to post one last year, but then I totally forgot about that request and though I make this recipe often I had not stopped to document it to post. Last week I got the opportunity to do just that. It was very delicious with rice and roti that I served for dinner . The whole trick in this recipe was to keep the color of broccoli green, so that the dish when served looks appetizing and colorful.

Gadgets:

Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Colander
Cutting Board
Knife
Bowl

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1 pound
Onions - 1 sliced
Tomato - 2 roughly chopped
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp ( add more for spice)
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup Plus extra for boiling broccoli
Oil - 1 tbsp
Kasturi Methi - 1 heaped tbsp crushes
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Preparation:

1. Heat the sauce pan with enough water. When it gets to a rolling boil, add the cut broccoli and allow it to cook until it gets half down.

2. Remove 1/2 cup of this water set aside and drain and add it to a bowl of cold water.

3. Heat the sauté pan with some oil. Add cumin seeds as soon as the oil is heated.

4. Add onions and cook them until they are transparent, add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the powders( turmeric, chilli powder, gram masala, cumin, coriander) and cook until all the masalas are fully incorporated

5. Add the reserved 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook the spices for a few minutes.

6. Add the drained broccoli, salt and mix it well with the broccoli. Cover and cook for a few minutes and garnish with kasturi methi and cilantro and serve them hot.

Manga inji resembles a ginger but tastes like a raw mango. Pickles are mainly prepared with this inji and sometimes served at weddings. It pairs very well with curd rice. I stumbled upon mango inji at the local Indian store and wanted to prepare the pickle. I like to make the pickle with the skin on the manga inji because I was once told by a wise person that ginger's skin has great medicinal properties. For dinner I enjoyed some curd rice with manga inji. Here is how I prepared it.

Gadgets:

Seasoning Ladle
Measuring Spoon and Cups
Mandolin
Bowl
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Manga Ingi/ Ginger - 3 cups sliced
Lemon Juice - from 3 lemons
Salt to taste
Green Chilies - 4 thinly sliced
Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Wash the manga inji and place a mandolin in a bowl and thinly slice the manga inji.

2. Squeeze some lemon juice and add salt to it.

3. Heat the seasoning ladle with oil. Add mustard seeds ( allow it to pop), asafoetida powder and green chilies and pour it over the manga ingi.

4. Mix and store in the fridge for a few days.

A month ago I had borrowed this very colorful cook book titled Ripe from our local library. I was so impressed with the idea of suggesting recipes based on the color of the produce. The pictures were so colorful and captivating that it made me want to try almost every recipe. Every year on Valentines day when most people take the loved ones to dinner, we always make dinner at home and enjoy. This year I decided to make the fennel orange salad, simply because I had all the ingredients and it was very simple to prepare the salad. What stunned me the most was the combination of ingredients. It tasted so awesome and fresh. I just could not have enough of it. The flavor of fennel in the salad blew me.

Gadgets:

A sharp knife

Mandoline

Plates

Colander

Cutting Board

Ingredients:

Oranges - 2

Fennel Bulb - 1

Red Onion - 1/2

Capers - 2 tbsp drained

Olive Oil - a small drizzle

Arugula - a hand full ( my own addition)

Walnuts - a few ( my addition for garnish)

Salt

Pepper

Preparation:

1. Using a very sharp knife, remove the skin along with the white pith of the oranges. Using a mandolin set to medium thickness slice the oranges and place them on a plate filled with a layer of arugula.

2. Set the mandolin to thin setting and slice the fennel bulb and onions. place them over the onions. Add the capers over the assembled salad, drizzle some oil and sprinkle the pepper and very little salt. Garnish with some walnuts (optional).

Among the various vegetables nature had provided us, bitter gourd is very unique because it has a bitter after taste. Not a popular one and is mostly associated as a medicinal vegetable. It might not be most sought after, but the whole plant has many uses. Adding it to our daily diet can help us fight diabetes and all issues associated with it. Common recipes with bitter gourd are chips, poriyal, in sambar or vathal. This pickle recipe is unique. It is delicious and one cannot find any bitterness in taste.This recipe was given by Pujashri Mathioli Saraswathi, affectionately referred to as Sri Amma. Having a small serving of this in your diet can do you a lot of good. It is almost like the raw mango pickle, only here the mango is replaced with karela. Yesterday for lunch had this pickle as a filling in my bagel and it tasted awesome.