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

Ingredients:

1. Nethili 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 -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

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.

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

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.

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 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

Ingredients:

• Chicken legs 6
• Cinnamon 1 inch
• Cloves 3
• Cardamoms 2
• Fennel 1 tsp
• Cumin 1 tsp
• Black pepper 1 tsp
• Onion 3
• Tomato 3
• Garlic 10 cloves
• Ginger 1 inch piece
• Chili powder 2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder ½ tsp
• Curry leaves
• Cilantro finely chopped
• Corn powder 2 tsp
• Salt

Procedure:

1. Grind the cinnamon, cloves, cardamons, fennel, cumin, and pepper into a fine powder
2. Grind the onions, tomato, garlic, and ginger into fine paste
3. Mix the paste and powder with the chicken paste
4. Add the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, and curry leaves to the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes
5. Add half a cup water to the marinated chicken and pressure cook for five minutes
6. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and add the cooked chicken with the gravy and cook in low heat till the gravy thickens
7. Add the cilantro and remove from fire