Senaikizhangu Kuzhambu ( A gravy with yam)

Ingredients

senaikizhangu (elephant yam)- chopped into cubes ,1 cup

onions- 2 chopped finely

oil-2tbsp

To grind

ginger- 1" piece

garlic- 3-4 cloves

green chilli-1

cashews-5

khuskhus- 3/4 tsp

coriander seeds- 2 tsp

cumin seeds-1 tsp

coconut(grated)- 3 tsp

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste

garam masala powder-1/2 tsp

salt to taste

For garnishing

corainder and mint leaves- a few chopped finely

Method

Wash, peel the yam and chop it into cubes. (Elephant yam is not available in our area and so I buy it frozen, in which the vegetable has been already chopped into cubes). Grind all the above ingredients to a very fine paste by adding water.

Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions( Using chopped sambar onions or shallots gives more taste). Fry for some time till the onions become transparent and add the ground masala and the vegetable. Saute for a minute and add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water. simmer the flame and partly cover the pan with a lid. cook till the vegetable is cooked and the gravy becomes thick and oil comes on top . Garnish with very finely chopped coriander and mint leaves. Serve hot with rice.

note:

You can cook this using chicken , mutton or soya chunks(meal maker) too.

Ulli Theeyal

'Ulli' means onion in malayalam and 'Theeyal' means burnt food. The coconut should be fried well until brown in this dish. Theeyal is almost similar to Tamilnadu's kaara kuzhambu. We don't fry the coconut for kaara kuzhambu and we add vegetables like brinjal and drumsticks to it.
This is my contribution to the RCI: Kerala hosted by Jyothsna of Currybazaar and JFI:Onions hosted by Radhika of Radhi's Kitchen.

Ingredients

pearl onions- 30 -35 peeled and sliced
coconut- 1/2 cup
tomato- 1 small
coriander seeds- 2 tsp
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
chilli powder- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp or acc to taste
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
tamarind- lemon sized
oil-2 tbsp
salt to taste
For seasoning
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
split bengal gram- 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- a few
red chilli -1
methi seeds- slightly less than 1/4 tsp

Method

Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice out of it.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add coriander seeds, cumin, 10 - 15 onions and coconut one by one and fry for a couple of minutes.
When cooled add this along with turmeric powder, chilli powder , tomato and grind to a fine paste.
Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the seasonings one by one.Then add the rest of the sliced pearl/sambar onions and fry till it turns transparent.
Now add the ground paste and the tamarind juice. Add 1 cup of water to it and when it boils simmer the flame and close partly with a lid. Keep on flame for 15 to 20 minutes till the gravy thickens and oil seperates.
Serve hot with rice.

Note
U can add coriander powder and cumin powder too instead of seeds.
U can add brinjals and bittergourd instead of onions.
Check Anita's Ulli theeyal too.

Vazhaipoo kuzhambu (Banana flower/blossom curry)

This is a simple and easy to prepare kuzhambu prepared with banana blossom ,which is a very healthy vegetable and has lots of medicinal properties too. This is my MIL's recipe and I love to share this with you all.

Ingredients

Vazhaipoo(banana flower/blossom)-1

onions- 2 medium sized

green chilli -1 slitted

coconut milk- 3/4 cup( If using canned coconut milk just use 4 tbsp)

chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste

coriander powder- 1 tsp

jeera powder- 2 tsp

oil- 4-5 tsp

salt to taste

Method

Wash the whole blossom in water and start peeling the outer purple layers and the flowers inside them.

Keep on peeling the layers. The color of the purple cover will change to a pale hue and the flowers will become more tender as you reach the inner part.

Collect these tender flowers and keep peeling the layers till whole blossom becomes small enough to hold in ur palm.

Slit the blossom vertically into two.

Soak the blossom and the flowers in yogurt water to pervent it from turning brown.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker/pan and fry the chopped onions and green chilli. When the onions turn transparent add chilli,coriander and jeera powders. Fry for a minute and add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water to it.

When the coconut milk boils add the banana blossom along with the tender flowers. Check salt and pressure cook for one whistle.

Serve hot with rice.

Note

Cleaning the flower takes time and will make ur nails dirty. Apply yogurt or cooking oil or wear gloves in ur hands and clean them.

The peeled flowers before the tender stage can be used to make poriyal.

You can make mushroom and cauliflower kuzhambu too by follwing the same method.

Spinach Dal

In Tamilnadu , we cook toordal with turmeric powder,do the normal seasoning and have it with ghee and rice. ..just plain dal without any veggies and we call this ' parupu saadham'. I have had paruppu only like this in my house. But after marriage, I came to know that dal can be cooked with veggies like spinach ,methi, mangoes etc.. thru my telugu friends. I found that interesting and different and started cooking toordal with veggies. Loved Indira's mango dal too. This is a simple ,yet tasty recipe of spinach dal which is one among my favourites. Its my entry to JFI event :toordal ,hosted by Linda of 'out of the garden'.

Ingredients

Toor dal- 1 cup

spinach- a small bunch

bell pepper- 1 medium chopped into cubes

onion- 1 medium chopped finely

tomato- 1 medium chopped finely

green chillies- 3 slitted

brinjal- 1 medium chopped into cubes

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

tamarind water- little

salt to taste

seasoning

Oil- 1 tbsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

jeera- 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

red chilli-1

Asafoetida- a pinch

Method

Wash the spinach well and chop it ..

Heat oil in a pressure pan/cooker and add the seasoning ingredients one by one. Then add the onions and green chillies and fry for a minute. When the onions turn transparent add the tomatoes , fry for some time and then add the chopped bell pepper ,brinjal pieces and spinach.

Fry for some time and then add toor dal and turmeric powder. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook this for 15 minutes.

Add salt and little tamarind juice to dal , boil it for a couple of minutes and serve hot with rice.

Mor kuzhambu

Morkuzhambu,A dish from Tamil nadu is sure a comfort food when u have plenty of curds.Easy to prepare and one of our favourite foods. Try this recipe and u will surely love it. This is my another entry to "RCI - Tamil cuisine event" hosted by Lakshmik and "A- Z of indian vegetables" hosted by Nupur .

Ingredients

Thick buttermilk/curd- 4 cups
rice- 1tsp

channa dal- 1 tsp
toor dal- 1 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
green chillies- 4
ginger- a small piece
garlic- 2 to 3 cloves
coconut grated-3 - 4tsp
salt to taste
Any veggies (like pumpkin, okra, ashgourd, cucumber,carrot, beans, potato)U can add any one or two vegetables of ur choice.)chopped- 1/2 cup
For Tempering
coconut oil/cooking oil- 1 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
red chillies- 1
curry leaves- a few
pearl onions- 3 chopped finely
Asafoetida- a pinch

Method

Soak rice, and the dals together for 15 to 20 minutes.
Whisk/beat the buttermilk/curd with turmeric powder and keep aside.
Grind green chillies, ginger, garlic, coconut with the soaked rice and dal to a fine paste.
In a pan add 1/2 cup of water and the veggies and cook the for some time. When they are half cooked add the ground paste and salt to it . simmer the flame and add little water to it so that the veggies are cooked fully and the raw smell of the paste disappears. Add the buttermilk/ curd to it.
Heat coconut oil/cooking oil in a frying pan and add the ingredients for tempering one by one and fry for a minute. finally pour that to the curd mixture. Morkuzhambu is ready to be served with rice.

Note

U can do a simple morkuzhambu without the veggies too.
Beat the buttermilk/curd well to avoid the curdling.

Vatral Kuzhambu

Vatral kuzhambu is a famous dish in Tamilnadu. The word 'Vatral' means sun dried vegetable. Some veggies like brinjal, sundakkai,manathakkali and clusterbeans can be sundried.U can make this kuzhambu with any one of these vatrals .Vatral kuzhambu with rice , papad and keerai is a wonderful combination. I have tried vatral kuzhambu in different methods, many of them turned out watery, without much gravy.... this one was very good and so I thought I would share it with u all.

Ingredients

Sundakkai vatral or any type of vatral-1/4 cup
Tamarind - golf ball sized
Sambar powder/Vatral kuzhambu powder- 1- 1½ tsp(I used sakthi sambar powder)
Onion- 1 small cut tinto strips
Shallots /pearl onions- 6
Garlic- 6-8 cloves
Oil - 4 to 5 tsp
Coconut grated-little, approx 2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Methi powder-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Peal and cut the pearl onions to chunks. Soak the tamarind in water and get the juice. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add the pearl onions and fry till it turns transparent. Remove from fire. When cooled grind this with sambar powder and coconut into a fine paste.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and when it is hot add the vatrals and fry till it turns brown. Then add the onions , curryleaves and garlic. Fry for sometime and then add the tamarind juice. When it boils add the ground paste. Add ½ cup of water,methi powder and salt , simmer the flame and partly close it with a lid. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes till the oil separates on top.
Serve hot with rice and papad.

Dosa, Sambar and Strawberry Cheese Cups

These are my entries for this month's AFAM(strawberry cheese cups) by Maheshwari and Pooja's valentine's special. You may wonder what Dosa and Sambar has to do with Strawberry cheese cups...Yes this is what I made specially for my husband. Dosa and sambar is my husband's all time favourite. He can have it without any complaints for breakfast,dinner and even lunch. He doesn't like many desserts... doesn't eat icecream ,almost all sweets ... I had made these strawberry cheese cups before and he liked it . As I wanted to make a really nice dessert for him, I chose this one. Though the menu sounds extreme, I wanted to make only this because this is SPECIALLY FOR HIM!!!!!

Dosa

Ingredients
Idly rice- 4 cups
Urad dal- 1 cup
Methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
Method
Wash and soak rice and Dal+methi seeds seperately. soak for atleast 4 hours. Grind dal in to a fine past by adding water little by little . Then grind rice into a fine paste and mix it with dal .Add salt to taste and ferment it for abt 8 hours or overnight.(It may take a longer time in winter)
Sambar


Ingredients
For sambar powder
Red chillies- 2 to 2 1/2 cups
Coriander seeds- 2 cups
Bengal gram dal- 1/4 cup
Thoor dal- 1/4 cup
Pepper- 3 tsp
Fenugreek- 2 tsp
Jeera- 3 tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Dry roast all these seperately and powder.
Thoor dal- 1 cup
green chillies- 5 sliced
garlic- 5 cloves
tomato- 1 chopped
pearl onions- a few( u can use one chopped big onion too)
methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Hing- little
Tamarind juice- from small lime sized ball
Veggies of ur choice- (carrots, brinjal, drumsticks... etc)1/2 cup
For Seasoning
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
red chillies-1
hing- little
jeera-1/4 tsp
pepper- 4 to 5
methi seeds- less than 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- a few
coriander leaves- a few
Oil - 3 tsp
salt to taste
Method
Wash 1 cup of dal and add greenchillies, garlic,turmeric powder, hing, methi seeds, tomatoes in one bowl and the veggies in another bowl and pressure cook this .
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds , when it splutters add the other ingredients for seasoning and then the onions . Saute till the onions are transparent . Add the tamarind juice and 1 to 2 tsp of sambar powder. now add the cooked dal (mash it well with a ladle) and the cooked vegetables. Add enough water and salt to it.simmer it and close it with a lid for 10 mins. garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Sambar is ready. Serve hot with dosa,idly or rice.

note

Sometimes when I grind sambar powder I was not able to get good colour cos of the red chillies. so I reduced the amt of chillies (10 ) and prepare powder. Then when making sambar I add 1 tsp of readymade sambar powder(i use shakti masala) and 1 tsp of the sambar powder which I made.By this way I get good colour for sambar.

Strawberry cheese cups

Actually I found this recipe for the cups, in the Pepperidgefarm puff,pastry sheet packet . They had printed a recipe for choc peanut butter cups and I replaced it with creamcheese filling.. Crispy puff and creamcheese was real Yumm!!
Ingredients
pepperidge farm's puff pastry sheets
cream cheese-1/2 cup
powdered sugar-1/4 cup or to taste
heavy cream- 2 tbsp
strawberries- a few(slitted half)
Method
Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat the oven to 400F.Unfold the pastry on the lightly floured surface , roll it and cut into 4" squares approx.Press the squares in the muffin pans. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix sugar, creamcheese and cream together and beat well till u get a smooth texture.
Place the cream in the puff cups and then a piece of strawberry on top.

About Valentines day... Though we knew what is valentine's day in our schooldays we didn't celebrate it or bother about it much.There was an 'Archie's gallery' opposite to my college and it used to sell wonderful valentine cards. That's how I got a better picture of valentine's day . Me and my husband had exchanged valentine cards only in the first year of marriage as feb 14 was only one week after our wedding. After that we don't care much for V'day because I feel that if u want to epress ur love to someone u can do it anytime, not only on v' day.

And now about my Husband.. His Name is Sundar.. He is a person who doesn't talk much while on the other hand I talk a lot...(I think in these 7 yrs it has reduced a bit ). He is a very patient guy while Iam not.Though we are chalk and cheese in some aspects there are a lot of other aspects where we have similar tastes too, and all these makes life interesting... He has stood beside me during some of the hard times in my life and I can never forget that. In short, He is a real gem of a person(My Husband who sitting near me ,reading this gave a big,broad smile )Happy Valentine's day!!!

Tomato Rasam

This is a very simple , and easy to make rasam.Sometimes when I feel lazy I prepare this Rasam. I read this recipe somewhere in the internet, a couple of months before, and tried it . We loved it so much that it has become one of our regular menu now.
Try this out and you will love this too …



Ingredients

Tomatoes-( red ripe ) 4 medium sized
Coriander leaves- 3 tsp finely chopped
Sambar powder- ¾ tsp or acc to ur taste.( I use sakthi masala)
Tamarind juice- 3 tsp
Pepper powder- ¼ tsp
Jeera powder- ¼ tsp
Garlic- 4 cloves mashed.
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard seeds- few
Jeera- ¼ tsp
Red chilli- 1
Asafoetida- a pinch
Curry leaves- a few
Oil – 2tsp

Method

In a pan add the tomatoes and fry for sometime till they turn mushy add the coriander leaves , sambar powder, salt, pepper, jeera ,turmeric powders and garlic.Fry for a minute and add a cup of water( I make this medium thick and if you want thin, you can add a 1/2 cup more water too, according to your taste.) to this and let it boil. Now add the tamarind juice to it. Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one. Add this to the rasam. Serve hot with rice.

There are lots of varieties rasam. Shaheen of Malabar spices had asked me to link the different varieties of rasam.. Check out these interesting rasams..

melting pot Rasam by Saffron Hut
Menu today has posted 4 to 5 varieties of rasam recipes in her Index.
Pomegranate rasam by Saffrontrail
Mysore Rasam by Mika
Black eyed beans Rasam by Chandrika
Kollu Rasam by Indosungod
Pepper Rasam by Priya Bhaskaran
Tomato Rasam by Sumitha
Paruppu Urundai Rasam by Krithika

Avial

Avial is a famous dish in Kerala. There are many ways of making this avial but this is the one I make which I found somewhere in the net. I liked this dish mainly because of the variety of vegetables in it.

Ingredients

Drumstick- 5 pieces of 3” slit into half
Yam(senai kizhangu)- 1 small piece
Beans- 8
Carrot- 1 medium sized
Brinjal- 2 small
Raw banana- 1
Potato- 1
Curry leaves- a few
Curd- ½ cup
Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut oil- 3 tsp

To grind

Coconut- 4 to 5 tsp
Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
Green chillies- 3 or acc to taste
Pepper- ¼ tsp

Method

Cut yam ,carrots, beans, brinjal , raw banana and potato of same length- 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces.
In a kadai add ½ cup of water and add a few curry leaves and drumsticks. Close with a lid and cook for 2 mins. Add all the other vegetables, turmeric powder and salt. Cook in a medium flame till the vegetables are cooked ,without adding much water.
Add the ground paste and cook for 2 minutes. Beat the curd well and then add it.
Finally add coconut oil and a few curry leaves and mix it.
Avial is ready and serve it with hot rice.

Note

U can add many other vegetables like pumpkin, snake gourd, cucumbers, peas, raw mango etc… acc to ur taste.

Kadalai Kuzhambu

Chickpeas are good source of protein. So I make it a point to include it in our diet more often. I learnt this from one of my friends and this has become our favourite kuzhambu now.U can try this with any other payaru instead of chick peas.

Ingredients

Channa(chick peas)- ¾ cup
Onions- 2 (if large or 3 if medium) chopped finely
Tomatoes- 1 ½ chopped finely
Green chilli-1 slit into two
Oil- 4 tsp
Tamarind- small lime size
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Fenugreek- ¼ tsp
Salt to

To grind

Coconut- 4 tsp
Pearl onions- 5
Jeera- ½ tsp
Pepper- ¼ tsp
Tomato – ½
Chilli powder- ½ tsp
Coriander seeds- 1 tsp
Sambar powder- ½ tsp

Grind all this to a very fine paste.

Indredients ground to a fine paste
Method

Soak the channa overnight. Pressure cook that and keep it aside. soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the juice out of it. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves,fenugreek seeds, onions and green chilli. Saute for some time till the onions become transparent and then add the cut tomatoes. Saute for some time till the tomatoes become mushy and then add the ground paste.
Add the channa , tamarind water and salt to taste. Add 1 cup of water to it. Cover it partly with a lid and keep in a medium flame. Remove from fire when oil floats on top.
Serve hot with rice .

Note: If u are in a hurry u can straight away do it in the pressure cooker itself. In that case u dont need to pressure cook the channa seperately.

Tomato kuzhambu

Kuzhambu is more used in Tamilnadu. It is not always dal based .It literally means thick liquid that has more than one ingredient. It is usually served with plain white rice. We in tamilnadu need a kuzhambu to mix it with plain rice. Here is one type of kuzhambu that u will love...



Ingredients

Ripe red tomatoes-4 chopped finely
Onions-1 cut into thin strips
Green chillie-1
Potato – 1 small cut into medium pieces
Drumstick- 3 small pieces(3 inches length) slit half
Curry leaves- a few
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Coconut milk- 4 to 5 tsp
To grind
Coconut-3 tsp
Red chillies-2 if long or acc to taste
Ginger- 1 small piece
Khus khus- ½ to 1 tsp
Jeera-1/2 to 1tsp
Coriander seeds-1 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add onions, green chillie& curryleaves. Saute till the onions become transparent and add the tomatoes. Saute till it becomes soft and add the ground masala. Add 1 glass of water . when it boils add the potato pieces and drumstick pieces. Cook in a medium flame covered. After 5 mins add the coconut milk. Cook till the vegetables are cooked and the oil seperates. Serve hot with rice.

Note: the kuzhambu should be in a loose gravy consistency. So if it becomes very thick add water to it.