BL - 4

Friday Samyal, today I would even call it an experimental samayal. Today's menu was a bit lengthy. Time taken (including the fusion payasam) was only 1 hour and 30 mins. Now back to the menu then to the recipies. Aloo Methi ( Spicier Version), Palakai Poriyal ( Green Jack Fruit Curry), Cabbage and Carrot Poriyal, Drumstick Sambar.

Tried all these in a totally different way:

Drumstick Sambar:

Let me not go by the ingredients and the method seperately, it goes hand in hand today for this receipe like my samayal itself ;)

Boil 1 inch drumstick(10 Nos), Big Chunks of Onion(1), Chopped Tomatoes (2) with sambar podi and salt. When 3/4th done add tamarind paste and let it boil for 3 mins then add the mashed thuvar dhall and remove from fire in 5 mins. Tadka if needed, it tastes good even without that. Dont forget add some ghee if you like it.

Aloo Methi:

Ingredients:

Aloo - 4
Methi Leaves - 2 bunches
Onions - 1 big (sliced)
Sambar Podi - 1 Spoon
Salt - To taste
Oil - To saute

Method:

Wash and chop the methi leaves. In a kadai heat some oil / ghee and add the onions and saute till transparent, now add the chopped methi leaves and the potatoes ( I used them with the skins) I had cut one potato into 4 pieces. Add the sambar powder and salt and some water and close it. When done remove the lid and saute for some more time for the raw smell to go. The Spicy Aloo Methi is done!



Palakai Poriyal( Green Jack Fruit Poriyal)

Ingredients:

Palakai - 1
Sambar Podi - 2 Tbs
Garlic - 1 pod
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Salt to taste
Oil to saute

Method:

Almost same like Aloo methi, instead of onions first fry the crushed ginger and garlic and then add the green jack fruit. Add water in plenty when compared to the aloo methi. Dont cook with the lid. When dry its done!

Cabbage Carrot Poriyal:

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1/4 Kilo
Carrot - 1
Salt - to taste
Oil,Mustard, for Tadka
Red Chillies(Dry)

Method:

Tadka and add the very thinly sliced cabbage and carrot and saute for while, then add salt and saute. Sprinkle water if required, else just saute it. Remove form fire when half done.

All of them served with steaming rice is an awesome combo! Do try and let me know...

Pasta Payasam - Fusion Cooking

Pasta Payasam:






I was thinking for a while and thought that I would contribute this Pasta Payasam for Hooked on Heat's Fusion Cooking.


Ingredients:

Shell Shaped Pasta - 1 Cup
Milk - 2 Cups
Water - 1 Cup
Sugar - 3 Spoons
Badam Mix(Any Brand) - 2 Spoons
Badam - To Garnish


The Pasta I used:






Method:

Boil the pastas in 1 cup of water and when half done add the milk and sugar and keep stirrig it. Add the Badam Mix and stir for a while and remove from fire. Transfer it into a serving bowl and garnish it with badam.

This simple payasam can be made in a jiffy and tastes very different than our ususal paysams with the taste of Badam milk.

Badams are rich in Calcium and is supposed to be the healthiest in the Nuts Family.
I did not use cashews or ghee and consider this to be one of the healthiest paysams I've ever created!


Can be served hot or cold.

PS: Will take sometime to take good photographs!

BL - 3

Parrupu Urundai Kulambu one of my fav. kulambu but I had always thought it was a very time consuming kulambu and never tried it. Today i got up a little early than the usual and was bored with regular sambars and kulambus and wanted to make this for a change. Wow what a surprise, it consumes lesser time than any other kulambu!...
Made vendakkai kari to accompany the kulambu and a rasam as usual.

Parrupu Urundai Kulambu:

Ingredients:

Thoor Dhall - 2 Cups
Dry Red Chillies - 7-8 pods
Tamarind Paste - 3 Tbs
Sambar Podi - 2 Tbs
Salt - To taste

Method:

Soak the dhall for abt half an hour and grind them with the red chillies, remember not to add water. While the dhall is being soaked, boil the tamarind paste with 4 cups of water, add sambar podi and salt. Now check whether the raw smell of sambar podi has gone, but the kulambu got to be thinner. Make small balls out of the ground dhall and slowly put it in the kulambu. Now simmer and cover it with a lid. Remove from fire in abt 5 to 7 mins. Parrupu urundai kulambu is ready.

Update: The dhall should be ground coarsely. The kulambu should be boiling when u add the urundai. Else it will break.

Vendakkai Curry / Poriyal:

Ingredients:
Ladies Finger - 1/4 Kilo
Small Onions - 4 pods
Garlic( Optional) - 1 Pod
Dry Red Chillies - 3 Pods
Oil, Mustard - for tadka
Salt to Taste
Curd - 1 Tbs

Method:

Slit the okra into two and chop it finely. Chop the small onions too. After tempering add the red chillies, onions and crushed garlic, once done add the chopped okra and fry till half done. Now add salt and just before removing add a spoon of thick curd.

Tips that I follow while making this poriyal:

# Wash the Okra and dry with a towel before cutting.
# Adding the salt when half done.
# Adding a dash of curd at the end.
# Not stirring it too often.

All these to make the Okra not be kula kulapa...;)

Though this combo was not deadly, it was Ok...

Now on Parrupu Urundai Kulambu will be made quite often. This is quite and easy one ,t hough mom's recipie is a detailed one and a delicious one too... may be will post it on sometime later.

QCM 2

Yesterday I got up a little late than the usual and wanted to cook something in no time and carry it for lunch... i remembered the parrupu sadham that mom used to pack for me, which will have thakkali, garlic etc., but today i thot i wanted something else with the same kind of taste... then i got into this spicy parupu sadham.

Ingredients:
Rice : 1 Cup
Thoor Dhall : 1/2 Cup
Small Onions : 5 to 6
Sambar Podi : 1 Tbs
Salt : As required
Ghee : For frying onions and to add after cooking

Method:

Wash the rice and dhall and keep it aside. Saute the onions till translucent and add the sambar podi and salt and fry for a min and then add the washed rice and dhall and pressure cook it till done. Add a dollop of ghee and your done...

Can be eaten as it is without anything or can be served with plain curds.

Trust me it was just awesome!

a quick combo meal - 1

these are basically kalandha sadhams... saves u, if u dont have time for an elaborate cooking.

you can count the people on earth who wouldnt like potato...and here goes my potato sadham as the first QCM...

Uralikilangu Sadham ( Potato Rice) and Pudhina - Ground nut Raitha is my combo today.

Now goes the recipie

Potato Rice:
Rice: 400 gms
Potato : 300 gms
Chilly Powder : 3/4 tbs
Coriander Powder: 1 tbs
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tbs
Ginger : 1 inch
Garlic Pods(peeled):10
Onion : 1
Green Chilly: 1
Salt to taste
Ghee : 50 gms

Method:

1.Grind Ginger, garlic and the green chilly. Add some water and strain it in a colander.
2.Slice onions into length wise. Saute it in ghee till crisp.
3.Add cubed potatoes fry slightly in ghee and keep it aside.
4.In the same ghee, add all the powders and the washed rice. Add the potatoes and salt and add water( also the chilly ginger garlic).
5. Remove from fire when it is done. ( Can you use cooker also).
6. Add the oninons before serving.

Raitha:

Ground Nut: 50 Gms
Mint Leaves: 1 Bunch
Black Pepper Corns: 5
Curd / Yoghurt: 2 Cups
Salt to tast

Method:
Roast the groundnut, de skin it and coarsely powder it. Grind the pepper and mint leaves with salt and add to the beaten thick curd. Add the ground nut powder also.
This is a great accompaniment with the potato rice.

A Great Lunch on tiffin box for school going kids too...

Breakfast - 1

Rava Puli Pongal

Upma is not a favourite of many though personally I like it... @ home there is always a big no to Upma...

Here is a pongal version of Upma...this also is known as pulima...

Ingredients:

Rava - 1/2 Kilo
Red chillies ( Dry)- 4
Green Chillies - 4
Tamarind - a small golf ball size
Oil - 3 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 1 String
Salt - To taste
Mustard, Hing - For seasoning

Method:

1. Sligtly roast the rava.
2. Tadka with the mustard and chillies and add the tamarind water ( six glasses) mised with hing and curry leaves.
3.Add salt and rava. stir continuosly. When has reached a upma consitency remove from fire.

Variations:
#Crushed black peppers can be added.
# Gratings of coconut can be added.

Tastes great with Coconut chutney.

Coconut Chutney:

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut : 1 Cup
Green chilly : 4
Gram dhall : 2 tbsp
Raw Mango : 1 Piece ( optional)
Salt to taste

Method:

Grind all ingredients and tadka with mustard and curry leaves.

Sambar Podi

I've been mentioning about sambar podi in all my recipies. So, here is how I make my sambar podi...(mom's way of course)

Ingredients:

Red Chillies ( Dry) - 1 Kilo
Bengal gram - 250 gms
Thoor Dhall - 250 gms
Urad Dhall - 250 gms
Raw Rice - 250 gms
Black Pepper - 50 gms
Turmeric (Long Ones) - 100 gms
Dhania - 1/2 Kilo
Jeera - 50 gms
Curry Leaves (Dried)- 25 gms

Dry roast all the ingredients seperately except the turmeric and grind them to a fine powder.

basic samayal 2

another easy recipe for a meal... of course for four

menu and cooking time
kothai varanga poricha kulambu 20 mins
suraikai kootu 7 mins
capsicum poriyal 10 mins
lemon rasam 6 mins

for poricha kulambu:
ingredients:
thoor dhall - 1 cup
kothavaranga - 1 bunch
urad dhal - 2 tbsp
red chillies - 7 to 8 pod
sambar powder - 2 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1 pinch
hing - 1 pinch
mustard - for tadka
curry leaves - 1 string
coconut( grated)- 1/2 cup
salt to taste

Boil the kothai varangai with sambar powder, pinch of turmeric powder and salt.
dry fry urad dhal,red chillies, and some coconut,grind them and add it to the boiling veggies. Add cooked and mashed thoor dhall to this mixture and let it boil for some time. Season it with mustard, hing and curry leaves. Remove it from fire serve it with rice.

Capsicum Poriyal:
Capsicum - 4
Chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp
mustard, curry
leaves,red chilly - for tadka
salt to taste

chop the capsicum into small pieces. Tadka the mustard and curry leaves with oil add the capsicum saute for few mins add chilly powder. Saute and simmer the stove with the lid.Remove from fire when the capsicums are tender and still with the shape.

Surakai Kootu:
Surakai - 1 cup
Moon dhall- 3/4 cup
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Same Tadka as poricha kulambu.
Boil the vegetable and dhall in the pressure cooker along with rice and dhall for kulambu. Remove from cooker tadka it with the mentioned things, pourit on the wok and let the water evaporate over. Remove from fire tranfer it into a serving dish.

Lemon Rasam:
Dhall water - 2 Cups
Tomato - 1
Green chillies -5 nos
Lemon - 1 1/2
Salt to taste
Fenugreek, Mustard,
Ghee, Curry Leaves - For Tadka
Coriander Leaves - For Garnishing

Chop Tomatoes and green chillies and add it to the dhall water with salt. Let it boil. Remove from fire and add the lemon juice. Tadka and sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves.

PS: In this recipe, the tomatoes are used only in the rasam, and no onions or tamarind is used. A great recipie on any day.