Vegetable Pulav

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice.............1 cup
• Water.......................2 cups
• Cumin Seeds............1 tsp
• Bay Leaves..............1
• Clove.......................4
• Cardamom...............4
• Potato......................1
• Carrot......................1
• Peas........................1/4 cup
• Beans......................10
• Bell Pepper............1/2
• Ginger Grated...........1 tsp
• Garam Masala...........1 tsp
• Green Chili.................2
• Coriander Leaves......few
• Cashew Nuts..............few
• Salt to taste

 

Method

Vegetable Pulav

• Chop the vegetables.
• Cut the potato into small cubes.
• Heat a pan with oil add cloves, cardamom, bay leaves and cumin seeds.
• When it is done add the rice and add all the vegetables and fry a little add the rice and fry 5 more minutes.
• Add water, salt and  garam masala.
• Cover the pan and cook.
• When the rice is done sprinkle the roasted cashew nuts and coriander leaves.

Muringakai Elai Dosa(Drumstick leaves Dosa)

Muringakai Elai Dosa

Ingredients

• Muringakai Elai.........1 cup
• Raw Rice......................2 cups
• Grated Coconut.........1/2 cup
• Salt to Taste

Method

Mutingakai elai Dosa

• Soak the rice for 3 hours and grind with coconut to a nice paste. 
• Add salt and the washed leaves. heat a pan , apply oil and make dosas.
• Serve this very tasty dosas with coconut chutney.

Ellu Thogayal/Sesame Chutney

Ellu Thogayal

Ingredients

• Ellu(Sesame Seeds)…1 cup
• Red Chili……………..4
• Tamarind…………….1/2 tsp
• Salt to Taste 

Method

• Fry the sesame seeds with out oil. 
• Grind all together with salt adding little water.

Parippu Vada

Dhal Vada

Ingredients

Parippu Vada

Chana Dhal...................1 cup

Tur Dhal.......................1/2 cup

Urad Dhal.....................1/4 cup

Red Chilies....................5

Asafoetida......................1 tsp Salt to taste

Curry Leaves.................few

Coriander Leaves.............few

Onions...........................1

Method

Chop the onion into very small pieces.

Soak all the dhal for about 2 hours and Grind the dhal, chili,asafoetida, salt without adding water coarsely.

Mix the onion, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Heat a pan with oil take little dough make a round shape and drop the vadas into the hot oil and fry them until they are golden

Serve with chutney

South Indian Poli

Puran Poli

Ingredients

Chana Dhal........................1 cup

Sugar.................................1 cup

Cardamom Powder...........1 tsp

Ghee..................................2 tbsp

Wheat Flour........................1cup

Salt....Little

Oil ..................................2 tbsp

Method

Make a soft dough with flour ,salt,water and oil .

Knead nicely and make big sizes balls and keep.

Soak the chana dhal for an hour and cook it.

Remove the water and make a paste with sugar.

Heat a pan with little ghee, add the paste and mix it well. .(stir continuously). 

When it becomes thick remove from the flame and let it cool.Make lemon sized  balls.

Take a dough roll it into 4' round and place the sweet ball at the center and  cover the middle part along with the ends. 

With the help of flour make  5" round.(like chapathi)

Heat a tawa and place the poli and cook it and turn the other side add ghee and cook.

Serve hot with ghee.

Ven Pongal ( Kichadi)

January 15 th is Pongal./Makara Sankranthi. We make venpongal, chutney and Sarkarai pongal for this festival.

Ven Pongal

Ingredients

Raw Rice...................1 cup

Split Moong Dhal.........1 cup

Pepper.....................1 tsp

Cashew Nuts..............10.

Chopped Ginger.........1 tsp

Curry Leaves..............few

Ghee...........................2 tbsp

Pepper Powder...........2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Heat pan and roast the moong dhal until roasted aroma released.

Wash the rice ,add the dhal with four cups of water in pressure cooker.

Heat a pan with ghee ,add cumin seed. pepper corns, ginger and curry leaves. 

Add the cooked rice salt and pepper powder.

Roast the cashew nuts add to the pongal. Mix well. 

Add little more ghee.

Ellu Orundai( Tilache Ladu )

Ellu Orundai(Tilache Ladu)

Maharashtrian  specially make this ladus on Makara Sankranthi Day.

Ellu Orundai (  Sweet Sesame Balls )

Sesame Seeds…………………..2 cups

Peanuts………………………..¼ cup

Powdered Jaggery………………..¾ cup

Ghee………………………………1 tbsp

Method

Roast the sesame seeds and peanuts separately. 

He at a pan with little water. 

When the syrup is one thread consistency add the peanuts and sesame seeds. 

Add the ghee and allow to cool. Shape it into small balls by applying little ghee on hands.

Pazha Pradhaman

Pazha Pradhaman

Onam Sadya is not complete without payasam/pradhaman

This is Kerala's specialty sweet dish.We use  netranpazham with jaggery and coconut milk to prepare this pradhaman

Ingredients

• Netranpazham.........................2
• Powdered jaggery...................2cups
• Coconut..................................1
• Cardamom Powder.................1tsp
• Thin coconut pieces.................1/4 cup
• Ghee.......................................1tbsp

Method

• Steam the netranpazham, remove the skin and mash them.
• Grate the coconut and extract  the cream without adding water.
• Add one cup of  water and extract the  first cup of milk  . .
• Add one  more cup water  and extract  the second milk and keep.
• 
  
• Heat a thick tawa, add ghee netranpazham and jaggery.
• Cook stirring till the mix come away from its sides.
• Keep in low flame add the second of coconut milk and stir.
• Slowly add the first extract of coconut milk.
• Lastly add the cream and remove from the flame.
• It should not boil.Fry the coconut pieces in ghee till brown.Add to the pradhaman.
• Sprinkle the cardamom powder..

Puttu and Kadala Curry

This is the popular breakfast of Kerala people. 
Ingredients

Rice Flour...............1 cup
Grated Coconut.........1 cup
Warm Water.............1/2 cup
Salt to Taste

Puttu and Kadala Curry

Method

Roast the rice flour for 5 minutes.Mix rice flour and salt by sprinkling warm water keep mixing with hands.
The entire flour has to be wet.
( you can get ready made puttu rice flour at Indian stores)

Keep water in the bottom of puttu vessel.Take the puttu mould add 1 tsp of coconut first followed by4 tsp of rice flour then again 2 tsp of coconut. Keep layering to fill the mould.Close the lid

Keep the vessel on the gas . When the water boils the steam goes inside and cook the flour. Keep up to 4 minutes.take the vessel in hand . Use a skewer(it comes with the vessel) and push the dish out of the mould.
Eat the puttu hot with kadala curry.

Kadala curry 

Brown Chick peas.......1 cup
Tamarind Paste............1 tsp
Coconut......................3 tbsp
Red Chili.......................3
Coriander Seeds...........2 tsp
Chana Dhal......................1tsp
Turmeric Powder......1/2 tsp
Curry leaves..............few
Tomato ....................1
Onion .........................1
Salt to taste

Method

Soak the chick peas over night.Chop the tomato and onion. 

Fry the chili, coriander seeds and chana dal.Grind this with coconut and keep.

Cook the chick peas with salt .Add turmeric powder, tamarind paste,tomato and onion, 

Let it boil. When everything is cooked add the ground paste and curry leaves,
Eat hot puttu with this kadala curry.

Thalakam for Thiruvathira Kali

Thiruvathira Festival

(On 22nd Decmber 2010)

Thalakam

This  thalakam is a unique combination of sweet upma and spicy  sambar like one gravy with lots of vegetables. My mother makes this combination on Thiruv

Lord Shiva

athira Day.(Arudra Darshan).

Devotees go to the Shiva temple early in the morning 

Ingredients

• Yellow Pumpkin.......................................100 gms
• Chenai(yam)............................................50 gms
• Cheppangkizhangu(colacassia roots) ........6
• Avarakkai................................................50 gms
• White Pumpkin........................................50 gms
• Yellow Pumpkin.......................................100 gms
• Sweet Potato ..........................................2
• Drum Stick..............................................1
• Vendakkai/Okra......................................50 gms
• Carrot.....................................................1
• Tamarind.................................................1 lemon size
• Powdered Jaggery...................................3 tsp
• Mustard Seeds........................................1 tsp
• Urad dhal................................................2 tsp
• Salt to Taste
•  

Thiruvathira Kali

Thalakam

Method

• Masala
• Red Chili......... .............6
• Urad Dhal.....................3 tsp
• Tur Dhal........................3 tsp
• Raw Rice.......................3 tsp
• Chana Dhal (spiltgram)...3 tsp
• Sesame Seeds ...............2 tsp
• Grated Coconut..............1cup
• Curry leaves...................few
• Oil ..............................3 tsp

• 
  
• Fry the above ingredients with oil till they become red in colour.
• Roast the sesame seeds with out oil.
• Grind all together into a thick paste.

Method

• Cut the vegetables into big pieces. 
• Soak the tamarind in water and remove the tamarind juice. 
• Boil the vegetables with tamarind water, turmeric powder and salt.
• When the vegetables are cooked add the ground paste , jaggeryand mix well.