Archive for the Category » Uncategorized «

Cabbage/chowchow/snake gourd-Moong Dhal Gravy

Ingredients:

  • Pasiparuppu (Moong Dhal/broken green-gram dhal)-1 cup-wash in water and drain
  • Cabbage/Chowchow/Snake-gourd – 250g-finely chopped
  • Green chilli 5 no/ more or less according to taste -1″ long & longitudinally split
  • Big Onion 1 no – cut into small pieces
  • Tomato – 1 no – cut into small pieces
  • Cumin (Jeera) seeds – 1 tsp
  • mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • oil – 3 tsp
  • curry leaves 10
  • turmeric powder half tsp
  • salt to taste
  • Coconut – grated 1 cup

Method:

  1. Heat 5 cups of water in a pan till it starts boiling
  2. Add the moong dhal and cook in open pan for 5 min
  3. Add onion, tomato, green chilli and cook for 10 min
  4. Add cabbage, turmeric powder, salt and cook for 5 min with the pan covered with a lid
  5. Heat oil in a small kadai add mustard seeds, while it splutters add cumin seeds and as it splutters add curry leaves
  6. Add the above to the Cabbage gravy and cook till done
  7. Remove from heat, add chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. Goes well with rice, chappathi, or dosa
  • Tips: While cooking the gravy add boiling water at any stage for desired consistency

Thick Red Chiili-Garlic Paste for Idli/dosa

Ingredients:

  • Red chilli – 10 no
  • Garlic gloves – 4 no
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Grind all the ingredients into thick paste. Add a little water to make a smooth paste.
  2. Before serving add one tbs gingelly/sesame oil to enhance the taste.

Thick Coconut-Red Chilli Chutney for idli/dosa

Ingredients:

  • Grated coconut – 1 cup
  • Red chilli – 3 no
  • Small onions – 3 no
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Grind all the ingredients into a thick paste. Add a little water and grind again to make a smooth paste.
  2. Before serving add one tbs of gingelly/sesame oil to the chutney to enhance its taste.

Thick Coconut-Green Chilli Chutney for idly/dosa

Ingredients:

  • Grated coconut – 1 cup
  • Green chilli – 3 no
  • Small onions – 3 no
  • Ginger – nail size
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Grind all the ingredients into a thick paste. Add a little water and grind again to make a smooth paste.
  2. Before serving add one tbs of gingelly/sesame oil to the chutney to enhance its taste.
  3. Add coriander leaves while grinding to have another variant of this chutney.

Ragi Porridge (Kelvaragu Koozh)

Ingredients:

  • Ragi Powder – 4 cups (250g)
  • Cooked rice – 1 cup
  • Curd – 2 cups
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Add 3 cups of water to ragi powder and mix well. Cover it and leave to ferment for 24 hours.
  2. Mix again with one cup of  water and boil on a thick bottomed vessel with constant stirring. Otherwise the bottom layer will get burned, stick to the vessel and turn black creating burnt smell.
  3. Add cooked rice and mix well.
  4. Continue to boil in medium fire with constant stirring to make a thick paste.
  5. Remove from heat. Wet your hand and touch the paste. If it is non-sticky then it is fully cooked. If it sticks, boil the paste further to get it cooked. Allow it to cool.
  6. Mix two cups of curd with salt. Add this to ragi paste and mix well.
  7. This porridge tastes well with raw small onions, fried puppets, thick dry fish kulambu/fry, vathal/garlic kulambu, any type of pickle.


Pongal Sambar

Ingredients:

  • Pumpkin (Parangi), Ash gourd (Poosani), Sweet Potato (sarkarai vallikkilangu), Potato, Beans, Brinjal, Raw banana (valaikkai), Broad/Fresh beans (avaraikkai/mochaikkai), Carrot, Colocasia (Seppankilangu), Green peas (pattani) –  each 50 g for four servimgs
  • Small onions – 100 g
  • Tomato 50 g
  • Green chillies – 4 no
  • Coriander leaves -finely chopped – half cup
  • Curry leaves – half cup
  • Toor gram dhal (Tuar dhal-thuvaram paruppu) – 100 g
  • Asafoedita Powder (Hing – Perungayam) – half tsp
  • Red chillies powder – 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder one & half tsp
  • Turmeric powder – half tsp
  • Salt – to taste
  • Broken black gram (Urad dhal) – 1 tsp
  • Oil & ghee – each 2  tsp
  1. Clean and cut all vegetables (1″ square wherever possible)
  2. Wash and slit green chillies
  3. Wash and drain toor gram dhal and soak in water for 10m
  4. Pour 6 cups of water in a pressure cooker and bring to boil
  5. Add toor dhal and turmeric powder and boil for 10 m in the open
  6. Add red chillies powder, coriander powder, , half tsp asafoedita, salt, close the lid
  7. Cover the cooker and pressure cook for 3 whistles and reduce heat to  sim mode for 3 m
  8. Remove from heat, release the pressure and open the cooker
  9. Heat 3 tsp oil in a kadai, add urad dhal, mustard seeds, curry leaves and half tsp asafoedita. When mustard seeds splutter, add the  sambar and continue to boil for 3 m. If needed add water for required consistency
  10. Add 2 tsp ghee and chopped coriander leaves