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Chenna Kunni Gravy

Ingredients:

Chenna kunni- 1 cup.

  • Big onion- 2 nos-cut into fine pieces
  • Tomato- 2 nos -cut into fine pieces
  • Coconut powder/scrapings – 1 cup
  • sombu-2 tsp
  • chilli powder-2 tsp
  • coriander powder-3 tsp
  • turmeric powder-half tsp
  • salt to taste
  • curry leaves
  • oil 4 tsp

Prep:

o Pour water over chenna kunni and wash gently to remove dirt and sand. Collect the clean floating chenna kunni. Repeat the wash 2 or 3 times until the sand settles down in water.

o Grind coconut and sombu into a fine paste and make up 150ml with water.

METHOD:

  1. Add Chilli powder,  coriander powder, turmeric powder,  salt to taste, curry leaves to the coconut-sombu juice
  2. Heat oil in a kadai, when hot add onion and fry until light brown, add tomato pieces and fry for 2 minutes. Add chenna kunni and fry for 1 minute.
  3. Add kulambu mix (1) and cook for 10 minutes in medium fire until it thickens into gravy consistency.

Note: This gravy goes well with rice

Dried Fish Kulambu

Ingredients:

  1. Nethili/any dry fish-20 nos. Remove head and tail, dip in water for 5 minutes, rub with hands to remove scales and dust and drain out water.
  2. Tamarind-lemon size. Soak in water for 10 minutes, squeeze out juice and make up 3 tumblers of juice with water.
  3. Onion big size 1- cut into half inch cubes
  4. Garlic-5  gloves- smash thinly
  5. Pepper powder-1 tsp, Chili powder 3 tsp, coriander powder- 4 tsp, turmeric powder-half tsp, any one vegetable: 1 Drumstick/ 2 pieces of mango/ 2 no Brinjal/ 1 plantain – cut into small pieces.
  6. Fenugreek/karuvadagam -1 tsp
  7. Oil-4 tsp
  8. Salt to taste
  9. Curry leaves

METHOD:

  • Mix all items in (5) in tamarind juice.
  • Heat oil in a kadai, add fenugreek. When it splutters, add onion, garlic and  fish one after the other. Fry for 2 minutes in medium fire.
  • Pour the kulambu mix in (1) and cook for 10 minutes in medium fire until the vegetables get cooked and thick consistency is obtained
  • Remove from fire, add curry leaves.

Note: This dry fish gravy goes very well with rice and curd rice

Shrimp/Crab Gravy

Ingredients:

  • Prawn/crab
  • Coconut powder/scrapping – 1 cup with 2 tsp
  • Sombu 2 tsp
  • Fenugreek 1 tsp
  • Chili powder 4 tsp
  • Coriander powder 3 tsp
  • Turmeric powder half tsp
  • Salt to taste.
  • Big onion 2 – cut into small pieces
  • Tomato 1- cut into small pieces

Prep:

o Clean 500 gm prawn/crab pieces

o Grind coconut with  sombu and add  chili powder,  coriander powder,  turmeric and salt to taste.

o Chop 2 big onions and 1 tomato into fine pieces.

Method:

  1. Heat 6 tsp of oil in a kadai and add 1 tsp fenugreek and allow it to splutter. Add onion pieces and fry for a minute, add tomato pieces and fry for another 1 minute. Add prawn/crab pieces and fry in oil for 1 minute.
  2. Add coconut-masala paste, curry leaves, adequate water and cook for 10 minutes till raw smell disappears. Cook in slow fire till oil separates.

Note: It goes well with rice, idly or dosa.

Chicken Kulambu

Ingredients:

  • Chicken 500g (1 lb) cut into small pieces
  • garlic 6 cloves, crushed
  • ginger 2 inch piece, crushed
  • turmeric powder 1 tsp
  • coconut – 3/4 cup
  • pepper 3/4 tsp
  • fennel seeds (sombu) 1/2 tsp (for grinding with coconut)
  • cumin seeds (jeera) 1 tsp
  • fennel seeds (sombu) 1 tsp
  • cinnamon 1″
  • cardamom 4
  • cloves 4
  • chili powder 2 tsp
  • coriander powder 2.5 tsp
  • Pearl onions – 1 cup, cut into big pieces
  • Pearl onions – 1/4 cup, cut into thin, small pieces
  • tomato 1/2 cup – cut into fine pieces
  • curry leaves 1/2 cup

Prep:

o Grind coconut with pepper, fennel (1/2 tsp), cumin into fine paste with adequate water

Method:

  1. Boil 6 cups of water in a pot
  2. Add the chicken, the pearl onions that were chopped into big pieces, tomatoes, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, little bit of salt, half the crushed ginger
  3. Cook in medium flame till the chicken is cooked; about 10 minutes
  4. Add the rest of the crushed ginger and the rest of the salt
  5. Add the ground coconut-pepper-fennel-cumin paste
  6. Once the gravy starts to boil add the garnish (look below for garnish) and turn off the stove
    • Garnish:
      • Heat 6 tsp of oil in a pan (use half cooking oil and half sesame seed oil for better taste)
      • Add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, crushed fennel seeds, half the curry leaves to the oil and let it splutter
      • Add the finely chopped pearl onions and try till they start to turn light brown
      • Add the crushed garlic and rest of the curry leaves and pour into the gravy
  7. Once garnished boil the gravy for 2 minutes and then turn off the stove

Note: This dish goes well with rice, idly, dosa, Puri, chappathi, biriyani

Beans/Cabbage Porial

Ingredients:

  • Pasiparuppu (broken green-gram dhal)-2 tsp
  • beans/cabbage-250g-finely chopped
  • Green chilli 2 no – finely chopped
  • Coconut powder/scrapping – half cup
  • mustard 1 tsp
  • urad (blackgram) dhall –1tsp
  • curry leaves 10
  • turmeric powder half tsp
  • salt to taste

Method:

  1. Heat 150 ml water in a kadai. Wash pasiparuppu and add to boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add beans/cabbage, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Allow the water to boil off and remove from heat.
  2. Heat 2 tsp oil and roast mustard and urdu dhall till they splutter. Add green chilli and curry leaves. Add cooked vegetables and mix coconut powder. Througly mix and cook for a minute and remove from fire.

Chennai Mutton/Chicken/Vegetable Biriyani

Ingredients:

  • big onion 250g – cut into small square pieces
  • tomato 250g – cut into tiny square pieces
  • Mutton 500g
  • Basmati rice 500g
  • ginger 2″
  • garlic gloves 20
  • cinnamon 1″
  • cloves  4
  • cardamom 4
  • brinji leaves 2
  • green chilly 5 -split lengthwise
  • pudina leaves -50 g  cleaned
  • coriander leaves -50 g cleaned
  • chilli powder 2 tsp
  • turmeric powder 0.5 tsp
  • oil & ghee 150 ml
  • salt to taste

Prep:

o Soak cleaned mutton pieces in 1 cup of thick curd and half tsp turmeric powder for at least 30 minutes.

o  Clean  rice with water and drain the water

o  Grind ginger and  garlic into fine paste

METHOD:

  1. Pour 50 ml of oil in cooker and, when the oil is hot, saute cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, brinji leaves for 1 minute
  2. Put the onion pieces and fry till golden brown
  3. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 minute
  4. Add tomato pieces and fry well till it mashes and loses its wet flavor
  5. Add mutton-curd mix and fry for 5 minutes in cooker
  6. Add chili, coriander, turmeric powder, half of pudina and coriander leaves and saute for 2 minutes
  7. Add 1.5 vol of water for 1 vol of rice to the cooker and while boiling add rice, stir the contents, cover the cooker and put wait when steam steadily comes out
  8. After one whistle, reduce heat and sim for 10 minutes
  9. After the cooker cools, open the cooker and if water remains, turn the contents till the rice dries up and separates into individual pieces
  10. Garnish with fried-golden brown onion pieces, pudhina and coriander leaves.

Note: 1.The same procedure may be followed for making chicken/vegetable briyani with the following modifications: Marinate,  for at least 30m, 500g of cleaned chicken pieces with ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp chili powder, quarter tsp garam masala powder, quarter tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt. Fry the chicken pieces in oil till gloden brown in low heat.

For Vegetable Briyani cut into small pieces potato, beans, carrot, cauliflower & other suitable vegetables such as greenpeas.

Sunday Mutton\Chicken\Vegetables Kurma

Ingredients:

  • Mutton\Chicken\Mixed vegetables (beans, carrot, potato, green peas, cauliflower, knoolkol, etc)  -250g
  • Grated Coconut – 50 g
  • Green Chillies – 6
  • Sombu (aniseed) – 1 tbsp
  • Cuscus – 1 tbsp
  • onions 2- thinly sliced
  • tomato 2 -sliced
  • ginger 2″ – pounded
  • garlic paste 1 tsp
  • cinnamon 1″
  • cardamom 4 pieces
  • cloves 4 pieces
  • brinji leaves 4 pieces
  • chilli powder  half tsp
  • coriander powder half tsp
  • turmeric powder half tsp
  • salt to taste

Prep:

o Clean Mutton\Chicken\Mixed vegetables, cut into small pieces and boil with turmeric powder.

o Soak cuscus in warm water for 15m

Method:

*Fry green chillies in 2 tsp oil. Add coconut, sombu and cuscus to chillies and grind into fine paste.

*Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and fry in low heat cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, brinji leaves. When they splutter add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 30s.

*Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add tomato pieces and fry till it gets mashed.

* Mix chilli, coriander and turmeric powder and salt.
*Add boiled mutton/chicken/mixed vegetables and fry for 1 minute.
*Add coconut paste and sufficient water, curry leaves and boil for 5 minutes.

Note: This gravy goes well with Puri, Idiappam, Aappam, Idli and dosai.

Mogal Mutton Kurma (Salna)

Ingredients:

  • Mutton/chicken – 250 g
  • onion – 3 no – thinly sliced
  • tomato – 2 no -sliced
  • coriander leaves – 2 cups- finely chopped
  • green chilies – 3 – slitted lengthwise
  • ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp
  • cuscus – 2 tsp
  • sombu – 1 tsp
  • jeera – 1 tsp
  • curd 1 cup
  • red chili powder 4 tsp
  • coriander powder 3 tsp
  • turmeric powder half tsp
  • salt to taste
  • oil 6 tsp
  • coconut paste 3 tsp

Prep:

o Make a paste of cuscus, sombu and jeera

o Clean mutton pieces, add  cuscus paste and all other ingredients, except oil,coriander leaves and coconut paste and mix well.

Method:

  1. Heat 6 tsp oil in a kadai and pour the kurma mix into it. Fry for 3 m and add adequate water (6 cups). Cover it with a lid and cook in a very, very slow fire till mutton gets cooked completely.
  2. Add coconut paste, close the lid and cook for 5 m.
  3. Remove from heat, add coriander leaves and serve with idly, dosai, idiyappam, aappam, parotta

Adai-Alavanthipuram Special

Ingredients:

  • Boiled rice 1.5 cup
  • raw rice 0.5 cup
  • tuar dhal (red gram) 1 cup
  • channa dhal (Bengal gram) 0.25 cup
  • red chili 6
  • red chili powder 1 tsp
  • sombu (aniseed) 3 tsp
  • hing (asafetida) 1 pinch
  • small onion 2 cup-thinly sliced
  • ginger 1”-finely sliced
  • curry leaves 20 -broken
  • oil
  • salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Wash both rices and soak in water for 2-3 hr. Wash both dhals and soak in water for 2-3 hr.
  2. Grind red chilies, sombu, asafetida, salt into coarse paste. Add soaked rice and grind coarsely. Add soaked dhal and grind again coarsely with adequate water to make a thick batter.
  3. Add sliced red chili powder, small onion, ginger, curry leaves, mix well and keep aside for 1 hr.
  4. Heat a shallow pan; pour the batter into a thick, round layer, a little loosely by spreading it with a ladle. Add drops of oil and turn it when bottom side turns golden brown. When this side also turns golden brown, remove the adai and serve with jaggery/ sambar/coconut chutney.

Chettinadu Garlic Kolambu (Sauce)

Ingredients:

  • Big onion 1 (75g) cut into small pieces
  • tomato 1 (75g) cut into small pieces
  • garlic gloves 30
  • fenugreek 1 tsp
  • mustard 1 tsp
  • sombu (aniseed) 1 tsp
  • whole small onions 10 cleaned
  • chili powder 2 tsp
  • coriander powder 3 tsp
  • turmeric powder 1 pinch
  • jeera (cumin seeds) powder half tsp
  • tamarind paste 1 tsp
  • coconut milk 1 cup
  • cinnamon 1”
  • cloves 2
  • salt
  • oil

Procedure:

  1.  Heat oil in a pan. Add cinnamon, cloves, sombu, fenugreek, mustard. When they splutter add onion pieces and mix well.
  2. Add whole small onions and garlic gloves. Fry till they turn light brown. Add tomato pieces, turmeric powder, salt and cook for 5m.
  3. Add chili powder, jeera powder, coriander powder and mix well. When oil separates, add tamarind paste, adequate water and cook for 5m.
  4. Add coconut milk and when the sauce starts to boil again, remove from heat, add finely chopped coriander leaves.