Paruppu Urundai Kuzambu

Preparation : 20 minutes 

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Number of serves : 6

Ingredients.

For dumplings (Urundai)

1. Gram dal (chickpea lentil) - 3/4 cup

2. Toor dal (yellow lentil) - 1/4 cup

3. Chopped onions - 2 (medium sized)

4. Garlic - 5 pods

5. Curry leaves - 1sprig

6, Dry red chillies - 5

7. Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

8. Cooking soda - 1/4 teaspoon 

9. Salt - to taste 

For Gravy.

1 Chopped onions - 2 (medium sized)

2. Chopped tomatoes -2

3. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

4. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon 

5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig (chopped)

6. Crushed garlic - 5 pods

7. Tamarind extract 2 tablespoons

8. Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon 

9. Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons

10. Pepper corns - 1/4 teaspoon 

11. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

12. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

13. Oil - 2 tablespoons

14. Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons

15. Salt - to taste

16. Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tablespoon 

Preparation.

Dumplings (Urundai).

1. Soak toor dal and gram dal together for about 1 hour.

2. Drain water and transfer into the blender. To this add red chillies,garlic pods, fennel seeds and salt. Add required amount of water and grind to a coarse paste. Transfer into a deep vessel.

3. To this mixture, add chopped curry leaves, chopped onions, cooking soda, salt and mix thoroughly.

4. Make lemon sized balls and steam them in water bath.

Gravy.

1. Grind grated coconut, pepper pods and cumin seeds in blender to a fine paste.

2. Heat a deep pan or kadai, and add 2 tablespoons of oil.

3. When oil becomes hot, add mustard and fenugreek seeds and allow to crackle.

4. Add crushed garlic and curry leaves and sauté till garlic becomes light brown in colour.

5. Add chopped onions, and sauté till they turn translucent.

6. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes till the mixture becomes mushy.

7. Then add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and tamarind extract, one after another. Sauté for a few minutes till the masalas blend with the mixture.

8. Add ground coconut paste and salt and mix thoroughly.

9. Add enough water to the whole mixture to make the gravy watery. 

10. Cover the pan with lid and allow the gravy to boil for about 10 minutes on low flame.

11. Open lid after 10 minutes and add the dumplings. Once again cover the pan and allow to cook for 5 more minutes so that the dumplings are fully soaked in the gravy.

12. Transfer into a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

13. Serve hot with plain or  fried rice.

Homemade Wheat Crackers

Type Of Recipe : Tea time snack

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Number Of Serves : 6


Ingredients.

1. Wheat flour - 2 cups

2. Black gram - 1/2 cup

3. Sesame seeds - 1 table spoon

4. Ground pepper - 2 teaspoons

5. Asafodita powder - 1/4 teaspoon

6. Butter for rubbing into the dough - 1 teaspoon

7. Oil - for deep frying

8. Salt - to taste

9. Water - enough for mixing the dough


Method.

1. Dry roast black gram in a pan, cool and grind to a fine powder.

2. In a deep bowl, add wheat flour, black gram flour, sesame seeds, black pepper, asafodita powder and salt.

3. To this mixture, add butter and mix thoroughly. 

4. Add enough water to the above mixture to make a dough like that of  chapati dough.

5. Take a lemon sized ball of the dough and roll out on a chapati maker with the help of a rolling pin. Then cut into diamond shapes with the help of a knife.

6. Place a frying pan on medium flame, and fry the diamond shapes till they turn golden brown.

7. It is a healthy evening snack for school going children.

Kanjeevaram Idli

Cooking time : 20 minutes 

Number of Serves : 6


Ingredients.

1. Broken parboiled rice - 2 cups

2. Black gram (urad dal) - 3/4 cup

3. Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

4. Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

5. Pepper corns - 1/2 teaspoon (coarsely crushed)

6. Dry red chillies - 4 (each broken into 3 or 4 pieces)

7. Coarsely grated coconut - 2 tablespoons

8. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

9. Broken Cashew nuts - handful

10. Dry ginger powder : 1/4 teaspoon

11. Oil for seasoning : 1 tablespoon

12.. Salt - to taste


Procedure.

1.Soak broken rice and black gram in water separately for 2 hours.

2. Drain water from broken rice and keep aside.

3. Drain water from black gram, and grind using a mixer grinder till the batter becomes fluffy. Transfer into a deep bowl.

4. To the batter, add soaked broken rice. 

5. Add salt and dry ginger powder and mix thoroughly. Allow the batter to ferment for 8 hours.

6. Place a seasoning pan on medium flame, and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When oil becomes hot, add mustard and allow it to crackle. Then add cumin, black pepper, coarsely grated coconut, curry leaves, broken cashew nuts and asafodita powder one after the other and saute till they start releasing their aroma. Pour the seasoning into the batter and mix thoroughly. Now the batter is ready for making idlis. 

7. Place an idli steamer on medium flame and add 2 cups of water. Place a trivet inside the idli cooker.

8. Water tumblers can be used instead of the regular idli mould to steam the idlis. Smear the insides of the tumblers with oil. Fill 3/4th of the tumblers with idli batter, and place them inside the steamer on the trivet. Cover the idli cooker with lid and steam the idlis for about 20 minutes. 

9. When idlis are done, open the lid of cooker, remove the tumblers and allow the idlis to cool for at least 15 minutes.

10. Slowly scrape idlis out of the tumblers with a knife and place them on a plate. Slice the idlis and serve with coconut chutney.

Cooked Rice Pakoras

Preparation time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Number of serves : 6

Ingredients :

1. Cooked rice - 1 cup ( mashed )

2. Chickpea flour - 1/2 cup

3. Ginger garlic paste : 1 tablespoon

4. Finely chopped onions - 2 ( medium sized )

5. Finely chopped cabbage - 1/4 cup

6. Finely chopped spinach leaves : 1/4 cup

7. Finely chopped coriander leaves : 1/4 cup

8. Finely chopped green chillies : 2

9. Tomato ketchup : 1 tablespoon 

10. Salt - to taste

11. Oil - for deep frying

Method :

1. In a mixing bowl, add all the above ingredients except oil.

2. Mix thoroughly and let it rest for about 30 minute. Cabbage and greens will start releasing their water.

3. After 30 minutes test the consistency of the batter. If the batter is not good enough to be shaped into lemon sized balls, and little more water and adjust the consistency.

4. Make lemon sized balls and keep aside.

5. Heat a frying pan on medium flame, and pour enough oil for deep frying. When oil becomes hot, fry a few balls at a time till they turn golden brown. Repeat the procedure for rest of the balls.

6. Transfer the fried rice balls into a serving dish and serve with tomato ketchup.

Murungai Keerai Porial ( Drumstick Leaves Stir Fry)

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Number of servings : 6

Ingredients.  

1. Picked leaves of drumstick from twigs - 2 cups

2. Chopped onions - 2 

3. Garlic pods - 10 ( crushed )

4. Toor dal - 1/2 cup

5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

6. Broken urad dal - 1 tsp

7. Red chillies - 3 

8. Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

10. Oil - 1 tbsp

11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

12. Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

13. Salt - to taste

Method :

1.Wash drumstick leaves thoroughly and rest it in a sieve to remove excess water.

2.Pressure cook toor dal with a quarter tsp of turmeric powder and half tsp of oil. Do not over cook the dal. 

3. Place a kadai on medium flame and add oil.

4. When oil becomes hot, add seasoning ingredients such as mustard, broken urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves. Allow mustard to crackle.

5. Add onions and crushed garlic and sauté till onions become slightly brown. Add chilli powder and sauté for a few seconds.

6. Then add drumstick leaves and sauté.

7 Add salt, sprinkle little water and mix.

8.Cover the kadai with a lid and cook till the greens are tender and water evaporates completely. Avoid over cooking ( over cooking will give a bitter taste )

9. Open the lid, add grated coconut and mix well.

10. Transfer into a serving dish and serve with sambar or curd rice.

Note :

    

A pinch of sugar can be added to enhance the taste. (Optional)

                       

Sabudana Vada ( Sago Vada )

Preparation Time : Approximately 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Number of Serves : 15


Ingredients.

1. Sabudana (sago) - 2 cups

2. Boiled and mashed potatoes - 4 (large)

3. Roasted peanuts - 1/2 cup (crushed)

4. Finely chopped onions - 5 (medium sized)

5. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (medium sized)

6. Finely chopped green chillies - 6

7. Grated ginger - 1 table spoon

8. Salt - To taste

9. Oil - For deep frying


Method.

1. Soak sabudana (sago) in water for 2 hours.

2. Boil potatoes, peel the skin and mash.

3. When sago becomes soft, sqeeze out water thoroughly and transfer into a deep bowl.

4. To sago add mashed potatoes, chopped onions, chopped green chillies, grated ginger, chopped coriander leaves, roasted and crushed peanuts and salt.

5. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

6. Place a deep frying pan on medium flame and pour oil into it.

7. When oil becomes hot, take a lemon sized ball of the batter, flatten it and slowly immerse in oil from the side of the pan. Repeat the procedure for a few more balls of the batter. At a time, only a few vadas should be fried. The number of vadas fried should be in proportion with the oil used for deep frying.

8. Fry vadas on both sides until they turn golden brown.

9. Remove from oil, and place them on tissue paper.

10. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the vada batter.

11. Serve hot with mint chutney.

Milagu Thattai (peppered rice crackers)

Preparation time : 45 minutes

Cooking time : 45 minutes

Number of serve : 15

Ingredients :

1. Raw rice - 4 cups

2. Whole urad dal (ulundu) - 1/2 cup

3. Roasted chickpeas (pottu kadalai) - 1/2 cup

4. Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons

5. Pepper corns -  1 tablespoon (crushed with mortar and pestle)

6. Sesame seeds (white variety) - 2 teaspoons

7. Asafodita powder - 1/2 teaspoon

8. Oil - (a) For mixing the flour - 3 table spoons

            (b) For deep frying

9. Salt - to taste

10. Hot water - enough for mixing

Method :

1. Soak raw rice in water for about an hour. Drain and dry rice on a cloth under shade. When rice becomes dry, grind it in a mixer to a fine powder. If the rice flour is coarse in texture, sieve once or twice until the final product is a fine powder

2. Place a thick bottomed pan on medium fire and add rice flour. Fry lightly so that the flour becomes dry and devoid of moisture content. Transfer flour into a big plate and cool. Now this flour is ready for making the thattais.

3. Heat the pan once again and dry roast urad dal stirring continuously. When lightly brown, transfer into another plate and cool. Then grind it in a mixer grinder to a fine powder and keep aside.

4. Grind roasted chickpeas to a fine powder and keep aside.

5. In a bowl, add 4 cups of rice flour, 1/2 a cup of urad dal powder and 1/2 a cup of chickpea flour.

6. To this add sesame seeds, cumin seeds, crushed peppercorns, asafodita powder and salt.

7. Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a pan and add it to the flour.

8. Mix all the ingredients throughly.

9. Boil approximately 3 cups of water in a vessel. When hot, add it to flour and mix with a ladle to make a thick dough. 

10. Take a small portion of the dough and make into lemon sized ball.

11. Flatten the ball by pressing with fingers to give it a round shape.

12. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough.

13. Place a kadai/pan on the fire and add enough oil for deep frying.

14. When hot, transfer 4 or 5 rounds of dough into oil. When one side becomes brown, flip and cook till the other side also becomes brown. 

15. When fully done, remove from oil. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough. Do not fry more than 4 or 5 at a time.

16. Now thattais are ready to be served.

Karamani kathirikkai kuzambu (cowpea and eggplant curry)

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Cooking time : 30 minutes

Number of servings : 4

Ingredients :  

1.  Karamani/ cow peas - 1 cup

2.  Kathirikkai/eggpant - 5 (each sliced into 4 long pieces)

3.  Onion (medium) - 1 ( finely chopped)

4.  Tomatoes - 2 (finely chopped)

5. Garlic - 6 pods (finely chopped)

6.  Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon ( for tempering)

7.  Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon (for tempering)

8.  Curry leaves - 1 sprig

9.  Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

10. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

11. Coriander powder - 11/2 teaspoons

12. Tamarind pulp - 1 tablespoon

13. Coconut extract - 1/2 cup (from half of medium sized coconut)

14. Oil - 3 teaspoons

15. Salt - to taste

Method.

1.  Soak a cup of cowpeas in water overnight.

2.  Pressure cook cowpeas in the same water till they become soft.

3.  Heat a pan and add 3 teaspoons of oil. When oil is hot, add mustard and fenugreek seeds and allow them to crackle. 

4.  Add curry leaves and chopped garlic and saute for few seconds.

5.   Add chopped onions and saute till they become translucent.

6.  Add finely chopped tomatoes and keep stirring till the mixture becomes pulpy.

7.  Then add sliced eggplant and mix with the onion tomatoe pulp. 

8. Add the dry masalas such as chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder one after the other and mix well.

9. Add salt, sprinkle about half a cup of water and cover the pan with a lid and cook the mixture till the vegetable is half done.

10. Open the lid and add tamarind paste and mix well. Cook till the vegetable becomes soft.

11. Again open the lid, and add coconut extract and mix. Cook for just a minute and a half. Avoid over cooking after the addition of coconut extract.

12. Add pressure cooked cowpeas to the mixture along with stock and bring the mixture to the curry consistency. 

13. Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with curry leaves. 

14. Serve hot with plain cooked rice.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients .

1. Gram flour - 4 cups.

2. Rice flour - 1 cup.

3.  Hot oil for rubbing into the flour - 2 tablespoons

4.  Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons

5. Asafodita  powder - 1/2 teaspoon

6. Carom seeds ( ajwain / omam) - 1 teaspoon powdered )

7. Salt - to taste.

8. Water - for mixing the dough.

9. Oil - for deep frying.

Method .

     
1. In a bowl mix gram and rice flour.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small pan and add to the flour and mix well.

3. Add chilli powder, carom seeds, asafodita powder and salt to the flour and mix thoroughly.

4 . Add water to the flour and make a soft dough.

5. Pour oil in a frying pan and place it on medium flame.

6. Take a small portion of the dough and put it inside the ribbon pakoda mould and press it above the hot oil while rotating the hands, so that the dough falls into the oil in ribbon shape. 

7. Fry on both sides till golden brown.

8. Repeat the procedure for rest of the dough and store in air tight container.

Ragi Adai (Finger millet pancake)

Time for preparation : 15 minutes

Time for cooking : 3 minutes


Ingredients :

1. Ragi flour - 1 cup

2. Tuvar dal (split red gram) - 1/2 cup

3. Dry red chillies - 3 numbers

4. Garlic - 4 pods

5. Ginger (grated) - 1 teaspoon

6. Mint leaves - 1/4 cup (chopped)

7. Coriander leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs (finely chopped)

8. Chopped onions - 1/2 cup

9. Salt - to taste

10. oil - for making adais


Method :

1. Wash and soak tuvar dal in water for 1/2 an hour along with red chillies.

2. Drain water and grind dal in a blender along with red chillies, ginger and garlic to a coarse paste. Transfer into a deep bowl.

3. To the batter, add ragi flour, chopped onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves and salt. Mix with enough water to make the batter into pouring consistency.

4. Heat a skillet and pour a ladle of batter. Spread evenly to give it a round shape. Add a teaspoon of oil all around and cover with a lid.

5. When the lower portion turns brown, flip and add another teaspoon of oil and cook till the other side also turns brown.

6.  When fully cooked, transfer into a serving plate and serve hot with coconut chutney.