Pineapple rasam

   With few pineapple slices, left over, I settled at this recipe , found at Chef Damodharan's cookbook.  The recipe was very simple, though I twisted the rasam masala with few curry leaves and green chillies addition.  The result was delicate, sweet and sour peppery rasam.  Kids would love it because of an different, 'sweet' quotient into them.  And, elders would welcome an new change.

So, do try and let us know.  Moving on to the recipe.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients required

For the rasam masala

• 21/2 tsp whole cumin seeds/ jeera
• 1 tsp whole peppercorn
• 6-8 tiny garlic pods
• 3/4 tsp finely chopped green chillies
• 8-10 whole curry leaves

Others

• 1 tbspn of oil
• 3/4 tsp of mustard seeds
• Pinch of hing/asafoetida
• Pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped pineapple 
• 1/4 cup of finley chopped tomatos
•  1/4 cup of tuvar dal
• Salt, to taste

Method

Coarsely grind all, under rasam masala, without adding water, keep aside.  Soak tuvar dal for atleast twenty minutes and pressure cook them for two whistles with half cup of water.  Blend them , and keep aside.   

Heat oil.  Add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.

Now, add in hing and turmeric.  Finally add corase paste of rasam masala.  Saute them for an minute.  

Add in pineapple and tomato pieces.  Saute for five to ten minutes, till they turn soft.  

Finally add in mashed tuvar dal, and add salt to taste.  

Let the rasam froth towards the edges.  Switch off the flame and serve hot.  

Enjoy with hot rice  :)

Happy cooking :)

Linking this to Srivalli's CCC Challenge

Verkadalai chutney - Peanut chutney

   Back at Chennai, my mother used to prepare fabulous chutney, depending on the available ingredients.  Everytime, it was different - ranging from onion chutney, mint chutney, peerkankai chutney, dal chutney, verkadalai chutney etc.  Yes, I am still drooling here thinking of her exotic chutneys :D

     For us, it would be always coconut chutney, but for an change, I tried my mother's recipe for verkadalai chutney.  I must say, it resembled an spicy desi version of ' Peanut butter'.  Chutney was soo smooth, soo buttery to have with every bite of dosa.

The next day, I called mom and thanked her for such an unique and tasty chutney.  Bored of regular chutney, please do give them an chance...  :D

Tiffin sambhar / Moong dal sambhar

We plan a lot for our life, isn't it?  Physical work-out, an brisk morning walk, gardening, trying out new interiors or exotic classes like Yoga, embriodery... my list goes on :)  But, time constraint hardly cuts down our options to one out of ten.  Though we plan an lot to do, plenty of our time goes into kitchen, thus sparing none.  Yes, this dish is dedicated to such constraints.... an sambhar, which is more delecious (than traditional) and more easy to make within little time is all I can start with... :P

This sambhar, is my hubby's favourite.  Using moong dal (instead of tuvar dal), tunes up the taste and also reduces the time of cooking.  This sambhar does not need pre-soaking of tamarind, since we are using country tomatos to achieve the same.  They can be aptly prepared for breakfast and served piping hot with idly/dosa.  Well, my husband grew an lot fond of it, that he wants them to replace the normal sambhar made for lunch.  Does that doubt? Well, try for yourself and be surprised with an overwhelming response.

Sambhar

    Hi all.... back from my short vacation.  And since my daughter leaves to her summer camp, my routine life is almost back... Filling up my refrigerator with freshly brought veggies and fruits, cleaning up my partially-messed home, ... list goes on.  Going on vacation sounds much easier, but when it comes to post-vacation work, I always save an huge 'sigh' :/   Yesterday, day went quite interesting watching over election results.  Victory was predicted, as usual, but winning by 1:6 ratio (Congress: BJP) was quite an 'whooping result'.  Similarly goes with Tamilnadu where ADMK gained 37 out of 39 available seats.  Fabulous, isn't it?  Let us see if this decision solves our stagnating economy and deals with the price rise as well....

   Yes and coming back to our post, born and brought up at Chennai, I could'nt miss this special SAMBHAR prepared by my mom.  Infact, this is my favourite and same with my husband too.  Sambhar is south-indian dal preparation, mostly tuvar dal (yellow pigeon peas), with sambhar powder (an aromatic powder made out of chana dal, dried red chillies, curry leaves, whole cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, asafoetida, few peppercorn etc), tamarind, assorted set of vegetables (like brinjal, drumstick, snakegourd, pumpkin etc), finished with an sweet touch of jaggery.

The trick in preparing an perfect sambhar lies in perfect balance of spice-sour and an sweet taste.  As an first-try, I have messed up by adding more sourness (more amount of imly/tamarind) into my sambhar.  So, I strongly recommend you to add only half of prescribed tamarind during cooking, other half you can wait till you complete the cooking, check the sambhar and add accordingly.  Also, kindly note that this 'sour' factor depends on tomatos you are adding.  Since, I have added hybrid tomatos, I have included tamarind.  In case, I am going with country tomatos ,(which has an higher sour content) I would prefer not to add tamarind as the former itself gives out required 'sour' effect.

Kathrikkai kara kuzhambu

   If anybody asks me what cuisine/which country's food you love, my only answer is Indian food, especially south-Indian food.  A one shot of  hot kara kulambu with appalam would drool my tongue and I can firmly say that it won't be equal to McD's Burgers or KFC chicken. :P  :P

 

When I came across karakulambu from Swathi Iyer's blog, I could hardly resist than giving this godly curry, an try.  You can view her post here.  She has prepared an mixed vegetable curry, since I am an brinjal-freak I prepared kulambu with brinjals.  I must say that I fell in love with them.  Thanks to Swathi Iyer, for introducing this godly curry to me :) 

Idiyappam - Step by step tutorial from store bought riceflour

   Idiyappam, is commonly found dish in South (Tamilnadu, Kerala, coastal parts of Karnataka) India.  The rice flour paste (or wheat flour/ragi flour) is pressed to noodles, steam-cooked and had.  While sweet ones, are done by dusting  with sugar and coconut flakes, savoury-lovers are free to have them with a dip of any spicy curry.  You can opt for Kadalai curry, Meen kolambu, Chettinadu kozhi kolambu.  Also am having minced meat curry on my draft and will post them soon :D

This dish is highly made by preparing rice flour at home, that is why I presume the name goes, Idi-'appam (Idi meaning 'to crush' in tamil.  'appam' meaning pancake) Here selected rice is soaked, drained and is dried.  They are then crushed to yield very fine rice flour and the process continues.  What happens here is that, I have made them with store-bought riceflour.  Store bought ones may not be suitable if used directly.  The trick is to roast them till they get an fine texture.  Later they are sieved to yield uniform sized and textured rice flour.  Thanks all goes to my, Keralite neighbor who shared this with me :D  Thank you aunty :)

Kollu dosai/ Horsegram flavoured dosa

    This is my second post with respect to kollu/Horsegram.  The very idea was given by my aunty when I asked her how to incorporate horsegram in our regular cooking.  The basic principle is replacing half the quantity of rice used with horsegram, for example if you are using four cups of rice, two cups of rice can be replaced by horsegram.  Similarly, kollu idly can also be prepared.

The difference between regular dosa batter and kollu dosa is that kollu dosa batter gets fermented quickly than former one. So preparing them on small batches are advisable.

Ingredients required

• 1 cup raw rice
• 1 cup idly rice
• 2 cup kollu/horsegram 
• Handful of chana dal
• 1/2 cup of urad dal
• 2 tsp of methi seeds/venthayam
• Salt, as required

Soak the abovesaid ingredients in water for about three to four hours.  Grind them into fine paste and leave to ferment for six hours, till bubbles are seen on top and little rising of batter is observed. 

Mix in salt, and pour an ladle over pre-heated tawa, drizzling in oil over the sides.  Serve hot with side-dish of your choice. 

Kollu rasam

   One of my aunty at chennai used to prepare this kollu rasam, in fact she used to prepare or inculcate a lot of herbal spices in her daily routine cooking which I admire.  That is why I couldn't resist myself buying horse gram when found in a super-market shelf (though it was an kilo pack!)  I asked her for the recipe, and prepared it my way.  The rasam came out super-delecious and I could still smell the flavours of it.  

Kollu/Horse gram was generally regarded as an cattle feed, but here in South India kollu has found extensive culinery use.  Kollu rasam, chutney, idly/dosa, poriyal are common form of its existence.  This horse gram is proven beneficial in numerous ways.  Since they form a major source of fibre, they can also aid in weight-reducing.  They are also found as an preventive for winter chill , as they have tendency to heat up the body.  Researchers have also found that unprocessed horse gram seed coats produce excellant antioxidants for diabetic patients.  So, why wait guys?  Do grab your pack in nearby markets.....

Baked doodhi pakoda

      Pakodas... hmm... the word itself makes one mouthwater, carving for an deep-fried appetizer had along with evening tea or just as an snack.  The best thing about pakodas are that they can be combined with any sort of vegetable or mixed vegetable and establish themselves accordingly.  Onion pakodas are one of the famous snack item in chettinadu cuisine.  The easy-peasy ingredients readily available on any Indian kitchen had made this dish dominant.

    Though these are done on rainy or chill seasons, they can also be had in summer.  I had bottlegourd left in refrigerator, and decided to make use of it in pakodas.  And yes, baked my pakodas due to diet concern :) lolzzzzzz   But, what surprised me was that the  baking did show the same crispiness obtained on deep-fried concept.  So, why don't we put hands together and join to do an healthy, evening snack

Nethilli meen kozhambu

  Nethili fish or Anchovy fish is my all-time-favourite.  But as these create an heavy response, you gotta run onto fish market early to get them.  Recently, bought them and enjoyed having them..

Ingredients required

To be roasted and powdered

• 1/2 tsp raw rice
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole peppercorn
• 1/4 tsp methi seeds
• 3-4 broken dry red chillies
• 1 tsp whole dhanya
• 1 tsp tamarind piece

kozhi kolambu

    Generally preparing traditional chicken curries require lot of time becoz of complex marination and unavailable unique garam masalas or other spices.  But, this south-Indian kozhambu styled chicken calls for easy peasy ingredients with lesser time leading to more flavourful and tasty product.  So, just try it guys....

Ingredients required

• Chicken (with bones) - 1/2 kg

For marination

• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 6 pods
• Poppy seeds/khus khus - 2 tsp
• Peppercorn - 2 tsp
• Saunf/sombu - 1 tsp
• Whole jeera/cumin - 1 tsp

To temper

• 5 tsp oil
• 1 tsp saunf/sombu
• A bunch of curry leaves
• Fresh slit red chilly - 2

Puliogare rice

Puliogare rice is my all-time-favourite.  Making this is not quite easy,  needs correct composition of spices in its masala and also the imli added should be reduced to its proper paste-like consistency.  But with practice and patience, I assure, u guys, can make excellant puliogare.

Ingredients required

• Cooked rice two cups
• Puliogare powder-1/4 cup
• Salt- 1 tsp
• 1/2 cup of tamarind extract (Made out of lemon-sized tamarind ball)
• Haldi/turmeric powder-1/2 tsp 

To temper

• 7-8 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp rai/mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp chana dal
• 1/2 tsp split urad dal
• 10-12 broken cashewnuts
• Few sprigs of curry leaves
• 3-4 broken dry red chillies

Method

Heat oil in kadaai, add ingredients for temper one by one.

Then, add in tamarind water.  Tune on moderate to high heat such that tamarind water evaportes and becomes thick paste-like consistency, drizzling oil at top.  This will take time for ten to fifteen minutes.

When imli reduces as shown below pic, add turmeric powder and salt.. cook for two minutes.  Switch off the flame

Add in puliogare powder and adjust salt accordingly.  Add in cooked rice.  It is to be noted that either rice or puliogare paste should be cool/room temperature.  If both rice and paste are hot, then puliogare rice will turn wet and soggy.  One gentle advice is that in such cases, bring them both straight under ceiling fan for twenty minutes and then mix them.  This can really help in creating right rice texture..

Wowieeee puliogare rice was very yummy, I myself finished it all!!!

Guys, do give a try and let me know.....

Lemon rice

Ingredients required

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 3-4 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp haldi/tumeric powder
• 1 tsp salt

To temper

• 4 tsp oil
• 1 tsp rai/mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1/2 tsp chana dal
• Few curry leaves
• 3-4 tsp cashewnuts,broken
• 3-4 green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions

Method

Heat oil and add ingredients for temper one by one.

Add in turmeric powder and salt.  Now, SWITCH OFF THE FLAME and add lime juice.  Add in cooked rice too, mix well and serve hot

To acheive best results, add 1 tsp of sesame oil/gingelly oil/nallennai over the rice before mixing

Vangi Kothsu Recipe | South Indian Eggplant Kothsu

Vangi Kothsu is a delicious South Indian side dish made with brinjal (eggplant), moong dal, onions, tomatoes, and tamarind. This flavourful and mildly tangy accompaniment pairs wonderfully with idli, dosa, pongal, and even steamed rice.

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Ingredients Required

• 150 g brinjal (eggplant), cut into small pieces
• 100 g onions, finely chopped
• 100 g tomatoes, finely chopped
• ¼ cup moong dal
• 2–3 green chillies
• 3 teaspoons oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
• 3 teaspoons finely chopped onions
• 1 dried red chilli, broken into pieces
• 4–5 curry leaves
• 4 teaspoons thick tamarind extract
• ½ teaspoon sambar powder
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves, for garnish

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Method

1. Wash and soak the moong dal for about 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
2. In a pressure cooker, combine the soaked moong dal, chopped onions, tomatoes, brinjal pieces, and green chillies. Add enough water and pressure cook for 2–3 whistles.
3. Allow the pressure to release naturally. Mash the cooked mixture gently using a dal masher.
4. Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
5. Add the broken red chilli, curry leaves, and finely chopped onions. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
6. Add the mashed brinjal-dal mixture to the tempering.
7. Stir in the tamarind extract, sambar powder, and salt to taste.
8. Simmer for about 10 minutes, allowing the flavours to blend well.
9. Switch off the flame and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with idli, dosa, pongal, or steamed rice.