Palak Paneer

Ingredients

Palak Panneer

• Palak.............................2 bunches
• Onion.............................2
• Green Chili......................2
• Cumin Seeds...................1 tsp
• Paneer............................1 cup
• Tomatoes........................2
• Chili Powder...................1tsp
• Coriander Seed Powder...1tsp
• Garam Masala.................1/2tsp
• Fresh Cream...................2tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

• Wash and chop the palak.Cook the palak with little water.
• Remove the water and keep.
• Slice the onion and tomatoes.Heat pan with oil add onion and tomatoes and fry.
• Grind all together with palak.
• Heat a pan with oil add cumin seed(you can use garlic too),slit red chili,chopped onion and fry them.
• Add chili powder ,salt, coriander seed powder and garam masala .When fired add ground paste, add the palak water into the mixture.Allow it to boil.
• Mix the paneer cubes..
• Remove from the fir add cream.(add grated cheese too) .Serve with rice/chapathi.

Mudira Chutney (Horsegram Chutney)

Mudira is very good for health. we make mudira puzhukku for kanji. Here I am giving the mudira chutney.

Ingredients

• Mudira.........................1/4 cup
• Red Chili......................6
• Urad Dhal....................2 tsp
• Asafoetida...................1/4 tsp
• Tamarind Paste............1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds............1 tsp
• Curry Leaves...............few
• Grated Coconut.........1 cup

Method

• Roast the mudira till it becomes brown. Fry the chili and  dhal.Grind mudira ,dhal and chili. 
• Then add tamarind, curry leaves salt, asafoetida and coconut. 
• Mix well and transfer to a bowl.Heat  a pan with oil add mustard seeds.
• When it splutters add to the chutney. 
• This mudira chutney goes with rice, dosa,idli and chapathi

Badusha ( Diwali Sweet)

Ingredients

Badusha

• Maida......................1/2 kg
• Dalda/Ghee..............200 gm
• Yogurt.....................50 gm
• Sugar.....................1 and 1/2 kg
• Baking powder.......1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

• Mix maida,baking powder, yogurt,ghee, salt and make a thick dough.
• Cover and keep the dough in fridge for about 2 hours.
• Heat oil or ghee to fry. Take little ball sized dough roll in the hand and flatten little and press at the center by the thumb.
• Drop them  in the hot oil and fry them till they are golden.
• Heat a pan with little water add the sugar and boil till it turns into one consistency.
• Drop the cooled badushas one by one.
• Keep in syrup about 15 minutes.
• Then take them out and keep them in a tray
• .You can see that all the badushas are coated by the sugar syrup.

Oats Pongal ( Oats Kichadi)

Oats Pongal.
My husband takes oats everyday.I want to try different varieties. This  time I tried with pasiparippu and it came out very well. My husband loved it.

Ingredients

• Oats...........................................1 cup
• Pasi parippu(Split Moong Dhal)...1 cup
• Pepper/Cumin Seed Powder.....1tsp
• Cashew Nuts.........................few
• Cumin Seeds........................1tsp
• Ghee.....................................1 tbsp
• Chopped Ginger...................1tsp
• Chopped Green Chili...............1 tsp

Method

• Roast the dhal and oats for about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pressure cook them with enough water, salt and pepper/cumin seed powder.
• Heat a pan with ghee add cumin seed powder,cashew nuts, curry leaves,ginger and green chili. 
• When it fried add to the pongal.
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• ( Roast both dhal and oats separately and cook only moong dhal first and then add the oats and boil few more minutes).

Lemon Pickle

Ingredients

Lemons.................10

Chili Powder.........4 tbsp

Asafoetida.............1 tsp

Sesame Oil..............3 tbsp

Methi  Powder........1tsp  

Mustard Seeds.........1tsp 

Salt to Taste



Lemon Pickle

Method

Take the lemon juice from five lemons. 

Cut the lemons into pieces.

Add salt, lemon juice, chili powder, asafoetida and methi powder and mix well. 

Heat a pan and add mustard seeds and oil. 

When it splutters add to the pickle...Mix well and keep in a airtight bottle.

Medu Vada

Medu Vada

Medu Vada

Ingredients

• Urad Dhal............................2 cups
• Rice.....................................2 tbsp
• Chopped Curry Leaves..........few
• Asafoetida.............................1 tsp
• Pepper Corns.........................1 tsp
• Chopped Ginger ....................1 stsp
• Salt to Taste

Method

• Soak the dhal and rice for about 5 hours. 
• Drain all the water grind it with pepper  and salt in food processor or wet grinder.
• If needed add very little water.The dough should be fluffy.
• Dip your hand in water, take little dough, spread it, and make a hole in the middle and drop them into the hot oil. let it fry one side and turn the other side.
• You can add chopped onions and coconut pieces in the batter and make vada.

Ulundhu Kozhakattai

Ulundu Kozhakattai

Ingredients

Urad Dhal…………….. 1 cup

Green Chilies………….3

Grated Coconut………. half cup

Ginger………………. 1 piece

Curry Leaves…………. few

Mustard Seeds……… 1tsp

Rice Flour………… ..1 cup

Water………………..1/2 cup

Oil ………………… 1 tsp

Salt ………………….1 tsp

Asafoetida……………half tsp

Green Chili...................2

Method

Ulundhu Kozhakattai

Soak the dhal for an hour and grind coarsely with chili and salt. 

Steam this mixture for 10 minutes.

Heat a pan with oil add mustard seeds,curry leaves,chopped ginger asafoetida and when mustard crackle add the steamed mixture and stir well.. 

Add coconut,chili and curry leaves and make small balls and keep. 

Boil the water in a pan and add oil, salt and rice flour,. 

Stir well with out forming lumps. 

When it becomes thick dough,cover and keep.

Knead the dough with little oil till it becomes smooth.

Make cups and place this dhal pournam and cover them. 

Steam all the kozhakattais for 10 minutes.

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.
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• 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.