Author Archive

Variety Rice – Curd Rice

Ingredients:

  • Raw Rice 1 cup
  • Milk half cup
  • Curd 1 cup
  • Asafetida – 2 pinch – fry in oil a small piece and crush to powder
  • Green chilli – 2 no- thinly sliced
  • Ginger 1 cm – thinly sliced
  • Asafetida – 2 pinch-Fry in oil and crush a small piece
  • Curry leaves 10 no
  • Coriander leaves – thin slices – 2 Tsp
  • Mustard seeds half tsp
  • Urad dhal – 1 Tsp
  • Cashew nuts 10 no – broken into two
  • Dry grapes – 10 no
  • Gingelly oil – 1 Tsp
  • Salt to taste

Proceedure:

  1. Wash rice, add 3.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 m/ whistles
    Pour the rice on a plate, add milk and crush well.
  2. Heat 1 Tsp of gingelly oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and let it splutter in medium flame, add Urad dhal, cashew nut pieces and dry grapes, fry till it turns golden brown, add green chilli and ginger slices, broken curry leaves and add to cooked rice.
  3. Add curd, salt to taste, coriander leaves, asafetida. Add additional salt, if needed.

Variety Rice – Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

  • Raw rice – 1 cup
  • Lemon 1 no – cut and extract juice
  • Turmeric powder 1 tsp
  • Asafetida – 2 pinch – fry in oil a small piece and crush to powder
  • Green chilli – 2 no- thinly sliced
  • Ginger 1 cm – thinly sliced
  • Curry leaves 10 no
  • Coriander leaves – thin slices – 2 Tps
  • Mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • Chana dhal – 1 Tsp
  • Cashews nuts 10 no – broken into two
  • Dry grapes – 10 no
  • Gingelly oil – 3 Tsp
  • Salt to taste

Proceedure:

  1. Wash rice, add 2.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 m/ whistles
    Pour the rice on a plate, sprinkle salt, turmeric powder and 1 Tsp of gingelly oil on hot rice and mix well.
  2. Heat 1 Tsp of gingelly oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and let it splutter in medium flame, add chana dhal and fry till it turns golden brown, add green chilli and ginger slices, broken curry leaves and add to cooked rice. Add lemon juice and mix well
  3. Add coriander leaves, asafetida and sprinkle 1 Tsp of gingelly oil. Fry cashew nut pieces and dry grapes in gingelly oil and mix it well with the rice. Add additional lemon juice or salt, if needed.

Variety Rice – Coconut Rice

  • Raw rice 1 cup
  • Shredded coconut 2 cups
  • Green chilli – 2 no- thinly sliced
  • Ginger 1 cm – thinly sliced
  • Asafetida – 2 pinch-Fry and crush a small piece
  • Curry leaves 10 no
  • Coriander leaves – thin slices – 2 Tps
  • Coconut oil – 4 Tsp
  • Ghee 1 Tsp
  • Mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • Chana dhal – 1 Tsp
  • Cashews nuts 10 no – broken into two
  • Dry grapes – 10 no
  • Salt to taste

Proceedure:

  1. Wash rice, add 2.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 m/ wistles
  2. Pour the rice on a plate, sprinkle 1 Tsp of coconut oil, salt and mix well
  3. Heat 2 Tsp of coconut oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and let it splutter in medium flame, add chana dhal and fry till it turns golden brown, add green chilli and ginger slices, broken curry leaves, shredded coconut, salt to taste and stir for 2 m till coconut turns light brown. Add cooked rice and asafetida, mix well and turn off the flame.
  4. Add coriander leaves and sprinkle 1 Tsp of Coconut oil. Fry cashew nut pieces and dry grapes in ghee and mix it well with the rice. Add additional salt, if needed.

Health Drink Powder

Ingredients:

Samba wheat 250

Ragi 250g

Friedgram 200g

Jowar (white cholam) 100g

Bajra-Pearl Millet (kampu) 100g

Foxtail millet (Thinai) 100g

Barley 100g

Whole greengram 200g

Boiled rice-fried 100g

Peanuts 100g

Almond 100g

Pista 50g

cuscus 50g

Cardamom 10 no

Procedure:

  1. Soak ragi in water for 8 hr, drain and spread thin on a cloth for two days till it sprouts and dries.
  2. Dry roast all the grains and nuts separately till smell emanates.
  3. Grind each separately with one tps of cuscus and one/two cardamom.
  4. Mix well and store in air-tight container.
  5. To prepare one glass of drink: (1) Add one tbs of the powder to 150ml of water and mix well, heat in medium flame for 2-3m with constant stirring till it starts boiling. Switch off the heat. Add milk and jaggery/honey for taste.

VARIETY RICES-SWEET PONGAL

Ingredients:

* Raw rice 1 cup

* Split Moong dhal half cup

* Crushed Jaggery 1.5 cup

* Ghee half cup

* Cashews 10 no

* Dry grapes 10 no

* Cardamom 4 no

* Green camphor (Pachai Karpooram) half pinch

Procedure:

1. Dry roast moong dhal in slow flame till it turns golden brown

2. Add to rice, wash with water and drain

3. Add five cups of water and pressure cook for five minutes.

4. Bring to boil one and half cups of water in a vessel, add jaggery. When fully melted, remove from heat, filter out any dust and continue to cook till it attains half string consistency.

5. Smash the rice gently, add the jaggery syrup and mix well

6. Heat quarter cup of ghee, roast cashews and grapes and add to the pongal and mix well.

7. Heat the pongal for 2 to 3 min, with constant stirring and remove from heat

8. Add crushed cardamom and powdered green camphor, and remaining ghee and mix well.

Masala Vadagam

Ingredients:

* 250g rice flour

* 25g sago

* small onion 100g

* green chili 3no

* curry leaves 10no

* sombu 2tsp

* cinnamon 1″

* salt to taste

* Lemon juice 10 drops


Procedure:

1) Wash and soak sago in water overnight.

2) Peel and cut onion into slices, cut green chili into half cm pieces, cut curry leaves, crush coarsely sombu and cinnamon.

3) Take rice flour In another vessel and add 250 ml water and salt to taste. Mix well to a thick batter.

4) In a thick bottomed vessel, bring half litre of water to boil, add soaked sago, stir often, and cook till it becomes a thin gravy.

5) Reduce to medium heat and slowly add rice batter with constant stirring for about 6-8min, add all spices, mix well and switch off heat.

6) Add ten drops of lemon juice and mix well.

7) While medium cool, split into smaller pieces and sun-dry for 2 or 3 days.

Note: For regular Vadagam follow the same procedure with the following variation in procedure 2) Grind green chili into paste, add 2 tsp asafoetida powder, 2 tsp jeera, 2 tsp ajwain. Use star murukku achchu to make regular vadagam.

Pongal Sambar

Ingredients:

* Pumpkin, Ash-gourd, Sweet potato, Potato, Carrot, Beans, Avarai, Mochai, Drumstick, Brinjal, Ridge-gourd – totally 1 kg – cleaned and diced.

* Door dhal -200g

* Red chili 10, Coriander 6 TBS, Bengal gram 2 TBS, Fenugreek 2 TBS, Pepper 1 TSP, Jeera 1 TSP, Snauf half TSP, raw rice 1 TSP, Asafoetida 1tsp.

* Small onion – whole, pealed – 200g

* Tomato 200g

* Green chillies – diced -4 no

* Curry leaves, coriander leaves for garnishing

* Oil 50ml, 2 TBS ghee, mustard seeds 2 TBS, Split urad dhal 1 TBS, red chili 4, Asafoetida 1 TSP for seasoning.

* Tamarind juice – 2 Tsp

Procedure:

  1. Pressure cook Door dhal with Asafoetida, turmeric powder and adequate water (4-5 whistles)
  2. Bring to boil two litres of water in a heavy bottomed vessel, add pinches of Asafoetida and turmeric powder, add diced vegetables. Add hard cooking vegetables first, after ten minutes, add the other vegetables and add salt 1 TBS, 1 TSP red chili powder, 2 TSP coriander powder. Cover with a lid and cook till the vegetables get fully cooked. If more water is needed, add only hot water. Add tamarind paste or juice.
  3. Dry roast channa dhal, coriander seeds, red chili, Fenugreek, pepper, Jeera, Snauf, raw rice, Asafoetida one by one in slow fire or adding one after the other in ten second intervels. Allow it to cool and powder it coarsely.
  4. Add cooked door dhal to the vegetables in step 2, continue to cook for two more minutes, add the ground masala powder, mix well add hot water for needed Sambar consistency. Check for salt level.
  5. Heat oil in a kadai, add split urad dhal, mustard seeds, Asafoetida, broken red chili, curry leaves till they splutter. Remove from heat and add ghee. Mix this seasoning to the Sambar mix, boil for one more minute, add the garnish and serve with white pongal, rice, idli or dosai.

Sweet mango pachadi

Ingredients:

  • Raw mango 300g
  • Jaggery 100g
  • Ghee 1 tbsp
  • Cardamom 2 no powdered (optional)
  • Red chilli 1 no, broken into two pieces
  • Curry leaves 10 no
  • Mustard seed 1 tsp
  • Oil 1 tbsp
  • Coconut grated 1/4 cup

Procedure:

1 Scrab out the skin and grate the mango into small pieces

2 Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and let it splutter

3 Add chilli pieces and curry leaves

4 Add water and bring it boil

5 Add mango pieces, cover it with a lid and simmer for 7m or till the gravy thickens

6 Add jaggery and continue cooking for 3m more or till gravy thickens

7 Remove from heat, add ghee, coconut and cardamom. Mix well and serve.

Schezwan sauce/chutney

Ingredients:

  • Dried Red chilli 2 cups
  • Oil 1/4 cup
  • Garlic finely chopped 1/4 cup
  • Ginger finely chopped 2 tbsp
  • Pepper powder 1/2 tsp
  • Vinegar 2 tbsp
  • Soy sauce 2 tbsp
  • Tomato sauce 2 tbsp
  • Sugar 1 tbsp
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

1 Soak red chilli in hot water for 30m, blend smoothly and keep aside

2 Heat oil in a kadai, add garlic, ginger and saute well

3 Add chilli paste and saute for 2m

4 Add 1/4 cup water and mix well

5 Cover with a lid and simmer for 15m or till oil separates

6 Add pepper powder, vinegar, soy sauce, tomato sauce, sugar and salt

7 Mix well and, when cool, store in a container 

Banana Fritters(Pazha vadai)

Ingredients:

  • Very ripe banana 4 no
  • Jaggery. 250g
  • Wheat flour 3 Tbs
  • All purpose flour (Maida) 2 Tbs
  • Rice flour/ Suji(Rava) 1 Tbs
  • Grated coconut 3 Tbsecure:
  • Ghee 3 Tbs
  • Cooking soda
  • Cardamom 4 no -crushed
  • oil for deep frying

Procedure:

  1. Pour 2 Tsb of ghee in a kadai, add grated and heat until it turns golden brown and keep aside.
  2. Put jaggery in a kadai, add 50 ml of water and boil for 3m. Filter the syrup to remove dust and keep aside
  3. Peel and mash the ripe bananas without any lumps, add cardamom, roasted coconut, cooking soda, jaggery syrup, 1 Tbs ghee and mix well.
  4. Add required quantity of wheat flour, maida and rice flour to banana paste to get vada consistency.
  5. Heat oil in a kadai in medium flame, take a handful of banana batter and drop it in oil as small balls. Fry in medium flame till they turn dark golden brown. Drain the oil and serve.