Potato Tamarind Salad

This is a very simple salad. Got this receipe from a magazine that I browsed through sometime ago. It can be made for Ekadesi also.

Ingredients :

Tamarind Pulp - 11/2 tbsp
Brown Sugar - 75 gm
Cumin - 1 tbsp (ground)
Ginger - Thumbsize Piece, chopped
Baby potatoes- 1 kg
Yoghurt - 3 tbsp
Corriander Leaves - 4 tbsp chopped

Method :

To make the dressing, put the tamarind pulp in a small pan,pour 75 ml boiling water and add the sugar, cumin and ginger. Add salt according to taste.
Simmer, without a lid, until the dressing thickens and becomes syrupy, about 10 - 15 minutes. It should have a pleasant tang. Add extra sugar if needed.
While the tamarind is cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to boil and add the potatoes. Return to boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender.
Drain, then cool slightly before halving them.
Transfer to a big mixing bowl and spoon over the dressing, gently stirring to make sure the potatoes are well coated.
Drizzle over the beaten yoghurt and corriander. Serve warm or at room temparature.

Chettinad Tomato soup

Chettinad refers to the southern part of Tamil Nadu, India. Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and aromatic cuisine of India. I gathered information from a couple of food blogs regarding this soup and have presented my own 'no onion no garlic' version.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, ripe- 2
green chilli - 1
toor dal- 1tablespoon
Mung dal- 1 tablespoon
curry leaves- a string
fennel seeds- 1 teaspoon
cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
black pepper, whole- 1 teaspoon
bay leaf- 2
cinnamon stick- 1
turmeric powder- a pinch
asafoetida- a pinch
salt to taste
corriander leaves- to garnish

Method:
Heat some oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf .

When the cumin cracks, add green chilli, chopped tomatoes, toor & mung dal, asafoetida, tumeric powder, curry leaves and saute them for a minute.

 Add salt and 2 cups of water and steam them for atleast 3 whistles.

 Turn off the heat and wait until the pressure releases.

Then pour them in a strainer and strain them to get a clear soup.

If possibble, squeeze out the tomatoes and dal by handor a potato masher.

Garnish the spicy clear soup with corriander leaves .

Add black pepper powser if required.

Serve hot.