CHILLY CUISINE

Keerai poriyal

2013-12-14T07:07:00.002-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Spinach – 1 bunch (Cleaned and chopped)

Onion – 1 small one (chopped)

Salt – as needed (*Always use little while cooking Spinach)

Olive Oil – 1tbsp

Grind:

Coconut pieces – 4 one inch pieces

Cumin seeds – 1/2tsp

Garlic pods - 4

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Urad dal – 1/2tsp

Red chillies – 2

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds, urad dal and broken red chillies when the oil is hot. Saute for a minute.

Add Spinach. Saute until half-cooked. Maintain medium heat.

Add chopped onion and salt. Mix well. Cook again for 7-8 minutes in low flame.

Finally add ground coconut, sauté for 5minutes and switch off the heat.

Poriyal is ready!

Cauliflower fry

2013-12-14T06:59:00.001-08:00

Serves: 4

You need:

Cauliflower – 2cups

Onion – 2 (sliced)

Tomatoes – 1 small one (cut into big pieces)

Turmeric powder – ¼tsp

Red Chilli powder – 1tsp

Coriander powder – 1tsp

Garam masala powder – ½tsp

Salt – as needed

Olive Oil – 3tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Parboil cauliflower florets with little salt and turmeric powder.

*This step is important. Do not overcook the florets.

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves when the oil is hot. Saute for a minute.

Add onions. Saute well till the onion is cooked.

Add parboiled cauliflower florets. Add all the powders and salt. Mix well.

Cook for about 5 minutes in medium flame.

Add tomatoes. Again cook for few minutes until dry.

Radish Sambar

2013-12-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Serves: 4

You need:

Shallots – 12

Tomatoes – 1

Radish – 1

Green chillies - 1

Toor dal – ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ¼tsp

Sambar powder – 1 ½tsp (Readymade powder - I personally prefer Shakthi sambar powder)

Tamarind – gooseberry sized

Salt – as needed

Hing – 2pinches

Water –about 2 cups

Oil – 3tbsp

Sesame oil – 1tsp (add while cooking dal)

Few coriander leaves

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – ½tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Pressure cook toor dal. Add sesame oil to the dal while cooking it. Mash well.

Prepare tamarind extract.

Cooking:

Heat oil.

Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the seeds crackle.

Fry shallots and green chillies.

Then add radish, sambar powder and turmeric powder. Saute for a minute. Add tomatoes. Saute for another 2 minutes.

Add water. Bring it to a boil. Then reduce the flame and let the vegetable cook.

Now add tamarind extract. Cook for about 5minutes.

Add mashed dal, hing and chopped coriander leaves. Add sufficient water to get the right consistency. Add salt.

In medium heat, cook for few minutes.

Serve with Rice!

Poondu kara kuzhambhu

2013-11-29T00:45:00.004-08:00

Serves: 4

You need:

Shallots – 12

Garlic pods - 15

Tomatoes – 1

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Kuzhambhu masala powder – 3tbsp

Tamarind – lemon sized

Water – as needed

Salt – as needed

Sesame Oil – ¼ cup

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Take thick extract from tamarind.

Cooking:

Heat sesame oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds and curry leaves when the oil is hot. Saute for a minute.

Fry sliced shallots and garlic pods.

Add tomatoes, kuzhambhu masala powder, turmeric powder and salt.

Add tamarind extract. Maintain medium heat. Let it boil for few minutes.

Reduce the flame and cook till oil floats on the top.

Kuzhambhu is now ready!

Cabbage poriyal

2013-11-29T00:35:00.003-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Cabbage – 250grams

Green gram dal/ Paasi parupu – 2tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼tsp

Grated coconut – 3tbsp

Salt – as needed

Olive Oil – 1tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Red chillies -2

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Chop cabbage and steam for 10minutes.

Soak green gram dal in water for 15minutes.

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Fry mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and urad dal.

Add cabbage. Add salt, soaked green gram dal and turmeric powder.

Saute for 10minutes in low heat.

Add grated coconut and switch off the heat.

Paruppu thovayal

2013-11-29T00:30:00.001-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Bengal gram dal/Kadala parupu – ¼ cup

Grated coconut – 3tbsp

Salt – as needed
water - as needed

Oil – 1tsp

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan. Fry Bengal gram dal till it turns brown.

Cool and grind it with grated coconut and little salt to coarse paste.
*While grinding, add water little by little to get the right consistency.

Serve with Kara kuzhambhu/Puli kuzhambhu.

Vada curry

2013-11-28T08:40:00.005-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Onion – 2 (chopped)

Tomatoes – 1 small one

Turmeric powder – ¼tsp

Kuzhambhu masala powder – 1 ½tbsp.

Salt – as needed

Water –2 cups

Oil – ¼ cup (Be generous)

Few coriander leaves

To grind:

Bengal gram dal/Kadala parupu – ½ cup

Green chillies – 1

Ginger – 1” inch piece

Garlic pods – 6

Salt

Spices:

Mustard seeds – ½tsp

Fennel seeds – 1tsp

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – 1” inch piece

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Soak Bengal gram dal/Kadala parupu for minimum 3hours.

Drain the water and grind the Bengal gram dal with ginger, garlic pods, green chillies and little salt to coarse paste. *Do not add water while grinding.

Shape them into small vadas.

Steam them for 15minutes.

Cool and crush them to pieces.

Cooking:

Heat oil.

Add all the spices and sauté for a minute.

Fry chopped onion. Then add tomatoes, turmeric powder and kuzhambhu masala powder. Saute for a minute.

Add water. Bring it to a boil.

Reduce the flame now and add broken vada pieces. Maintain low heat and cook for few minutes till oil oozes out.

Add chopped coriander leaves. Switch off the heat.

Serve with dosa/idli.

kuzhambhu masala powder

2013-11-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

You need:

Dry:

Red chillies – 150grams

Coriander seeds – 250grams

Dry roast one by one separately:

Bengal gram dal/Kadala parupu – ¼ cup

Toor dal – ¼ cup

Peppercorns – ¼ cup – 1tbsp

Cumin seeds – ¼ cup – 1tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1/8 cup

Fenugreek seeds – 1/8 cup

Raw rice – ¼ cup + 1tbsp

Few curry leaves

Grind them all together to fine powder.

Arisi paruppu sadham

2013-11-26T23:46:00.002-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Rice – 2/3cup

Toor dal – 1/3cup

Shallots – 15 (or) Onion – 1 (Shallots enhances the taste)

Tomatoes – 1

Turmeric powder – ¼tsp

Salt – as needed

Water –2 cups

Oil + Ghee – 1tbsp + ½tsp

To grind:

Red chillies – 2

Garlic pods – 5

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

*Do not add water while grinding

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Heat oil + ghee in a pressure cooker.

Add mustard seeds and curry leaves when the oil is hot.

Fry sliced shallots/onion till it cooks. Saute ground paste and washed rice + toor dal.

Add salt and turmeric powder. Saute till oil coats the rice. Add tomato and water.

Pressure cook for 3whistles.

Serve hot with pickle & curd.

Potato fry - 2

2013-11-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Potatoes – 4

Onion – 1

Tomatoes – ½

Kuzhambhu masala powder – 2tbsp

Salt – as needed

Olive Oil – 2tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Pressure cook potatoes for 3whistles.

Heat oil in a kadai (Use Iron kadai preferably)

Temper with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.

Fry onion. Add kuzhambhu masala powder and salt. Saute for a second – not more than that to avoid burning the masala powder.

Throw in cooked potatoes. Mix well. Add tomatoes. Maintain medium heat.

Fry until the potatoes are roasted evenly.

Sathumaavu Kanji

2013-11-26T07:24:00.001-08:00

KANJI POWDER

You need:

Ragi – 200grams

Corn/Cholam – 200grams

Whole wheat/Samba wheat – 200grams

Green gram dhal/Payatham parupu – 200grams

Red puttarisi/ Red rice – 200grams

Roasted gram/udaicha kadalai- 150grams

Peanuts – 150grams

Barley – 100grams

Almonds/Badam – 20

Cashews – 20

Cardamom – 5

Preparation:

Roast all the above given ingredients one by one except cashews, almonds and cardamom.

Grind them to fine powder in a mill. Store it in an airtight container.

Now to prepare KANJI,

Serves: 2

You need:

Kanji powder – 3 big spoons

Water – 1cup

Milk – 1cup or more (depends on the consistency you desire)

Sugar – 3tbsp

Cooking:

Mix kanji powder in water and heat this mixture in low fire. Keep stirring to avoid lumps formation.

When the kanji thickens, add sugar and milk.

*Milk quantity depends on your desired consistency. If you want thick porridge, reduce the milk quantity. If you want thin porridge, add more milk and dilute the kanji.

Drink when it is hot!

Curd rice

2013-11-25T09:39:00.001-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Rice – 1cup

Curd – 2tbsp

Milk – 2cups (High fat milk)

Butter – 1tsp (optional)

Salt – as needed

Few coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Water –2 ¼ cups (extra ¼ cup to cook rice softly)

Oil – 1tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – 1tsp (chopped)

Asafoetida – 2pinches

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Pressure cook rice for 3whistles.

Add curd, milk, salt and chopped coriander leaves to the hot rice. Mash the rice to mushy consistency.

Use butter if you like. I did not add since I already used high fat milk. That yields creamy curd.

Season it with the ingredients given above.

Keep this aside for 2hours to set.

Before serving, add little water and adjust its consistency.

Add grated carrot, finely chopped mango and pomegranate seeds – Optional

Sorakkai thatta payiru kuzhambhu

2013-11-23T09:03:00.004-08:00

Serves: 4

You need:

Bottle gourd/Surakkai– 1cup (cut into small cubes)

Karamani/thattai payiru/cow peas – 1/4cup

Onion – 1

Tomatoes – 1

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Red Chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tsp

Tamarind – lemon sized

Water – as needed

Salt – as needed

Sesame Oil – ¼ cup

To grind:

Grated coconut – 4tbsp

Garlic pods - 4

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Shallots – 6

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Peel the skin of the bottle gourd. Cut into two halves. Remove the white inner soft part of the veggie. Cut into small cubes.

Soak cow peas/karamani/thattai payiru overnight and pressure cook them with about 1.5cups of water for 3whistles. Save the water to be added to the kuzhambhu.

Take thick extract from tamarind.

Dry roast grated coconut and cumin seeds. Roast shallots and garlic pods in little oil. Grind everything together.

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves when the oil is hot. Saute for a minute.

Add chopped onions. Saute well till the onions are cooked.

Add bottle gourd cubes and salt. Cook until the veggie becomes soft.

Now add tomatoes and all the powders. Fry for a minute.

Add tamarind extract. Maintain medium heat. Let it boil for few minutes.

Now add cooked karamani/thatta payiru/cow peas along with the water and ground paste. Add water if the kuzhambhu is thick.

Reduce the flame and cook till oil floats on the top.

Kuzhambhu is ready!

Karamani poriyal

2013-11-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Serves: 4

You need:

Karamani – 250grams

Grated coconut – 3tbsp

Salt – as needed

Olive Oil – 1tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Red chillies -2

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Fry mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and urad dal.

Add chopped karamani. Add salt.

Cover and cook for approx. 10minutes in low heat. Stir in between to avoid burning. Sprinkle water if needed.

Add grated coconut when it is cooked and switch off the heat.

Bitter gourd fry/Pavakkai poriyal

2013-11-22T04:25:00.001-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Bitter gourd/Pavakkai – 2

Onion – 1 (chopped)

Grated coconut – 3tbsp

Red chilli powder – 3/4tsp

Coriander powder – 3/4tsp

Thin buttermilk – 1cup (optional)

Salt – as needed

Oil – 2tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Cut bitter gourd vertically into two halves. Remove the white portion inside. Chop them finely.

Soak them in thin buttermilk for 15minutes - You can skip this step.

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal.

Saute chopped onion. Add chopped bitter gourd.

Add the powders with salt.

Cover and cook for approx. 10minutes in low heat. Stir in between to avoid burning. Sprinkle water if needed.

Add grated coconut when it is cooked and sauté for another 2 minutes.

Dal (with Green gram dal)

2013-11-22T04:15:00.001-08:00

....also known as paasiparuppu kadayal.

Serves: 4

You need:

Green gram dhal/Paasi paruppu – 1/2cup

Onion – 1

Tomatoes – 1 big one

Garlic pods – 5

Turmeric powder – 1/4tsp

Green chillies – 1 (optional)

Salt – as needed

Water –2cups

Oil/Ghee – 1tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Red chillies – 2

Cumin seeds – 1/4tsp

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Pressure cook green gram dhal, onion, tomatoes, garlic pods with sufficient salt and turmeric powder for 4whistles. Add one green chilly if you prefer spicy dhal.

Heat oil/ghee. Temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add this to the dal.

Add another half cup of water if the dhal is too thick.

Mix and simmer for another 5minutes in low heat.

Palak pakora

2013-11-21T08:28:00.002-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Palak leaves – 1cup (tightly packed)

Onion – 1big one (sliced)

Bengal gram flour/besan – 1/2cup

Rice flour – 1/4cup

Red chilly powder – 1/2tsp

Salt – as needed

Oil – 1tsp (add while mixing)

Asafoetida – 2pinches

Cooking soda – 1pinch

Oil for deep frying

Cooking:

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle water and prepare the bhaji batter.

Do not add more water.

Heat oil. Deep fry the pakoras.

Serve hot with Tea! Heavenly combo!!!

Palak kadayal (Palak with dal)

2013-11-19T23:41:00.004-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Palak leaves– 1cup (tightly packed)

Onion – 1 small one

Tomatoes – 1 big one

Toor dal – 1/4cup

Garlic pods – 4

Red chillies – 2

Water – 1cup

Salt – as needed

Oil – 1tbsp

For seasoning:

Vadagam – 1tsp

(Or)

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Urad dal – 1/2tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/4tsp

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Wash and clean palak leaves. Remove the stem part.

Cooking:

Pressure cook toor dal, onion and tomatoes with little salt.

Heat oil in a pan. Saute red chillies, garlic pods and palak leaves for few minutes until cooked.

Cool and grind cooked palak leaves and cooked dal together with sufficient salt.

Finally temper with Vadagam or mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves in little oil or ghee. I prefer Vadagam for this recipe. It enhances the flavor and taste!

Potato fry - 1

2013-11-19T23:37:00.001-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Potatoes – 4 (medium sized chopped into small cubes)

Red Chilli powder – 3/4tsp

Coriander powder – 3/4tsp

Salt – as needed

Olive Oil – 2tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Urad dal – 1/2tsp

Few curry leaves

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal.

Add potatoes. Saute for a minute.

Then add red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt.

Cook for 10-12minutes in low flame.

When the potatoes are cooked, increase the heat and fry for another 2minutes to get the crispiness.

Lemon Rice

2013-11-19T02:41:00.002-08:00

Serves: 2

You need:

Rice – 1cup

Lemon – 1

Turmeric powder – 1/4tsp

Salt – as needed

Water -2cups to cook rice

Oil – 3tbsp

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tbsp

Bengal gram dal/chana dal – 1tbsp

Groundnuts/peanuts – 1tbsp

Green chillies - 2

Few curry leaves

Preparation:

Cook rice. Rice to water ratio is 1:2.

Squeeze lemon and take juice.

Add lime juice and salt to the cooked rice.

Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds and curry leaves when the oil is hot.

When it crackles, add urad dal, chana dal, peanuts and lastly green chillies.

Add turmeric powder when the dal turns brown. Switch off the heat.

Pour this over the rice. Mix and Serve!

Red aval upma

2012-02-28T08:10:00.001-08:00

Boil water [about 2cups]. Switch off the heat and Add red aval/poha [1cup] to the boiled water. Let this stay for 2minutes. Drain the water and spread the soaked aval/poha in a cotton cloth. Dry for an hour.

Heat oil [1tbs]. Throw in few mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dhal [1/2tsp].
Fry chopped shallots [10-12] and green chillies [2].
Add aval/poha and salt. Mix well.
In the end, add grated coconut [4-5tbs] and serve hot !

Chana curry

2012-01-04T00:39:00.000-08:00

Onion paste: Grind onions [1 big one], ginger [one inch piece] and garlic pods [3-4] to fine paste.
Tomato Puree: Boil tomatoes [2]. Peel the skin and grind to paste.
Soak chickpeas/chana [1/2cup] for at least 8hours in water. Pressure cook for 4-5whistles with little salt.

Heat oil [2tbs].
Saute cloves [3], cinnamon stick[1 inch piece] and fennel seeds [1tsp] for few seconds.
Add onion paste and fry well till the raw smell goes off.
Then add tomato puree and powders - chilli powder [3/4tsp], coriander powder [1½ tsp], garam masala powder [1/2tsp], cumin powder [1/2tsp] and amchoor powder [1/3tsp]. Add salt.
Cook the masala until oil oozes out.
Finally add cooked chick peas along with the stock. Cook for another few minutes.

Garnish with sliced onions and cilantro leaves.
Goes well with chapathi.

Samba rava upma

2012-01-04T00:26:00.001-08:00

Roast samba wheat rava [1cup] for 3-4minutes in medium flame - Enough if the color changes slightly.

Heat oil [3tbs].
Throw in mustard seeds [1/4tsp], urad dal [1/2tsp], few curry leaves and red chillies [2].
Fry sliced onions [1]. Add water [2.5cups], salt and let it boil.
--- Add chopped and steamed vegetables after frying onions --- OPTIONAL
Add roasted rava slowly and keep stirring.
Cook for few minutes until upma becomes dry.

Serve hot with peanut chutney.

Peas masala

2011-11-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

Soak green peas [1/3cup] for about 5-6hours. Boil the peas with little salt and keep it aside.

Heat oil [2tbs]. Throw in cumin seeds [1/2tsp], fennel seeds [1/2tsp] and sliced onions [2].
Add garlic pods [3], ginger piece [1 inch piece] and cut tomatoes[1].
Cook well and grind to paste.

Again heat oil [1tsp]. Saute cloves [2-3], slit green chillies [1 long one] and the ground masala.
Add few mint leaves for flavor (optional).
Add chilli powder [1/2tsp], coriander powder [1tsp], garam masala powder [1/3tsp], turmeric powder [1/4tsp] and salt. Cook until oil oozes out.
Add boiled peas and water [about one cup].
Cover and cook for about 10minutes (in medium flame)
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapathi/Puri

Wheat dosa (using left over dosa/idli batter)

2011-11-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Mix the following ingredients to get smooth batter :
[First use your hands to mix and then blend in a mixer grinder to get smooth batter]

Idli/Dosa batter [1cup]
Wheat flour [1cup]
Water [as required]
Salt

Before making dosa, add finely chopped onions [1], cumin seeds [1tsp] and chopped green chillies [1] to the batter. Heat the tava, rub some oil on the tava, pour about one ladle of batter, spread the batter, add oil to the sides, cook on both the sides for about a minute (in medium flame). Wheat dosas are ready!

Variation: You can also add powdered oats [1/4cup] to the dosa batter.