Tamarind Cilantro Chutney

This is my mother’s recipe and it’s very very simple to prepare. The best combination for this chutney is Raagi or plain dosa. This chutney is a regular at home for us. This chutney has to be seasoned with gingely oil else you won’t get the authentic taste.

Ingredients:

Tomato – 1 big
Green chillies – 2
Cilantro (coriander leaves) – 1 small bunch
Tamarind – 1 small lemon size ball
Coconut – 5 finger size pieces
Curry leaves – 1 strand
Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

Mustad seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Channa Dhal – 1 tsp
Red chillies – 1
Gingely Oil- 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 strand

Preparation:

Add all the mentioned ingredients to the mixer and blend them to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and get the seasoning ready and add it to the chutney. Mix well and serve with hot idlies, raagi or plain dosa.

Chilli Paneer / Spicy Cottage cheese

Chilli paneer is an Indo-chinese dish. This is also one of the popular appetizer in the  Indian restaurants. Although branded as an appetizer this makes a great combo with vegetable fried rice and vegetable pulav . The recipe is simple and I leant to make this from my aunt Mrs.Parvathy. Now lets take a look at the ingredients needed for making chilli panner.
Ingredients:
Paneer- 250 g

corn starch- 3 tbsp

all purpose flour- 2 tbsp

water- 5 tbsp

chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

oil for deep fry

Sauce

capsicum (bell pepper)-  1 cup chopped (green, red, yellow)
cabbage (chopped)- 1 cup
ginger- 1 tsp + 1tbsp
tomato sauce- 4 tsp
soy sauce 2 tsp + 1 tsp
chilli sauce- 1 tsp
water 1/4 cup
ajnamoto- 1 pinch
oil- 1 tbsp
salt to taste
asafoetida(hing) - a pinch


Method:

• In a bowl mix the corn starch, all purpose flour, chilli powder, pinch of salt, 1 tsp grated ginger and 5 tbsp of  water.
•  Cut the paneer in cubes of 1" size and marinate in the batter for 20 minutes. 
• In a deep pan heat some oil about one inch deep. Fry the panner until golden brown and drian them on a paper towel. The remaining batter can be used in making the sauce. 
• In a wok heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add 1 tbsp of grated ginger, chopped cabbage, bell pepper(capsicum) and a pinch of hing. 
• saute them until they become tender and add a tomato sauce, soy sauce, chilli sauce, a pinch of ajnamoto, the remaining batter, water, salt and cook for 2 minutes. 
• Now add the fried paneer and mix well and cook in low flame for 5 minutes.
• Turn down the heat and serve hot.

Parangikai Arachu Vitta Sambar / Spicy Yellow pumpkin Lentil soup

Sambar is a famous and common dish in South India especially Tamil Nadu. Sambar is a vegetable stew with broth made of tamarind and toor dal. Each state in south India adopts typical variations in preparing sambar. Sambar can be made with an instant spice mix called sambar powder or the spice mix can be fresh ground. The sambar made with fresh ground spice mix is called arachuvitta sambar in. I learnt to make this sambar from my motherin-law  Mrs.Jayalakshmi Narasimhan who specialises in authentic tamil cusines.  Sambar can be made with different vegetables like brinjal, carrot, tomato, potato, beans, drumstick, pumpkin, chayote squash, bell pepper (capsicum), okra (lady's finger) and so on. In this recipe I used the yellow pumpkins.

Ingredients:
Toor dal- 1/2 cup
tamarind- small lemon sized
turmeric- 1/4 tsp
asafoetida- 2 pinch
chopped tomatoes-  1
Yellow pumpkin- 1 1/2 cup (chopped, big cubes)
salt to taste

To grind
corriander seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
red chillis -10
chenna dal- 1 tbsp
cyrry leaves- a string
shredded coconut- 4 tbsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp

Seasoning
oil- 2 tsp
mustard seeds- 1 tsp
curry leaves- a string
asafoetida (hing)- 1 generous pinch

Method:

• Wash and cook the toor dal with the yellow pumpkin, turmeric and asafoetida.
• Soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water for 10 minutes to make an extract.
• Heat a wok and dry roast the ingredients to grind, on a medium flame until the chenna dal turns golden brown. Cool it and grind them into a smooth paste with 1/4 cup of water.
• Now boil the tamarind juice in a vessel with a cup water until its raw smell disappears and add the chopped tomatoes.
• Once the tomatoes become tender and cooked add the ground paste and salt.
• Mash the dal slightly( Make sure you dont mash the pumpkins) and add them to the boiling tamarind juice. 
• Allow them to boil for 10 mins and turn down the heat. Sambar is almost ready except for the seasoning.
• Heat some oil in a small wok, add mustard. When it cracks add asafoetida and curry leaves and season it on the sambar

Note: I made this sambar for rice and hence the consistency was little thick. In case if you want to use this same sambar as a side dish for dosas or idly add 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of crushed jaggery and boil them and garnish with cilantro leaves (coriander leaves). This would taste like the restaurant sambar.

Vazhakkai Poriyal (Raw Banana Stir fry)

Raw banana commonly know as Vazhakka in Tamil Nadu, India is a good source of dietry fibre, pottasium, magnesium, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. I usually make a simple stir fry with these raw bananas and not adding much spices. But I got bored with the routine recipe and tried to spice up the dish and the flavour was pretty good.

Ingredients:
Raw banana - 4
tomato (chopped)- 1
shredded coconut- 1 tbsp
ginger- 1"
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
corriander powder- 1 tsp
sambar powder- 1 tsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds (jeera)- 1 tsp
asafoetida(hing)- 1 pinch
curry leaves- 1 string
oil- 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and peel the raw banana. Cut them into cubes and put them in a dish with water and a pinch of turmeric to prevent them from turning black. Grind the shredded coconut with a piece of ginger without adding water. Boil water in a vessel and add the  turmeric powder. Strain the raw bananas and add them to the boiling water. Remove the raw bananas from the boiling water when they are half cooked. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard cracks add asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped tomatoes and saute them until the tomatoes become tender. Add the ground mixture and saute them. Now drop in the half cooked raw bananas, corriander powder, red chilli powder, salt and sambar powder. Stir them so that the spice gets mixed evenly on the raw banana. Sprinkle some water and cover it with lid and allow it to cook for 10 minutes in low medium flame and turn down the heat. This makes a great combo with rice and Vathal Kuzhambu.

Cauliflower in tomato sauce (Ekadhasi recipe)

On the austerity of Ekadhasi - every time I think what to prepare differently .. I tried this cauliflower recipe for the buckwheat dosa it turned out really good. A combination of tomato with few ingredients transform this simple vegetable dish into a delight for the senses.

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 1 whole ( i used small size)
Tomatoes - 5-6
Green chili - 1
Ginger - 1 inch
Cashew nuts - 15 whole
cilantro - 2 tbs
water - 1/cup
salt - as required
oil
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - few strands

Method

In a blender add tomato ,green chili,ginger,cashew, cilantro and process it well. Make it into a smooth paste.
In a wok add oil ,cumin seeds once it started crackle add the curry leaves. Immediately pour the blended gravy in the wok and add water to it.let it boil for sometime. Once the raw smell of the tomato goes add the cauliflower florets in the tomato gravy and salt. let it boil till the cauliflower is cooked. Once the gravy thickens ,sprinkle cilantro and serve it with hot Dosa.

Cauliflower

Spicy Chole/ Spicy Chick Peas

This is a dish that i saw on tarla dalal's recipe index and tried it. It looked yummy on the net and tasted the same when made. Its simple to make and goes well with chappatis. And this was one of the jain recipes posted. I made this as it is. Do try this out sometime.

Ingredients:

Chick peas (chana) 2 cups

Bottle Gourd (Lauki) 1 cup

Cumin Seeds (jeera) 2 tsp

Bayleaf (tejpatta) 1

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Ginger

Chopped coriander

Milk 4 tbsp

Tomatoes 2 medium

Oil

Salt to taste

To be dry roasted and powdered

Cumin seeds (jeera) 2 tsp

Coriander seeds (dhania) 4 tsp

Dry red chillies 4

Cloves (laung) 4

Peppercorns 5

Cardamom 3

Cinnamon (dalchini) 2"

Pomegranate seeds (anardana) 3 tsp

Metohd:

1. Pressure cook chick peas with bottle gourd for 6-7 whistles and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in pan and add oil. Add cumin seeds and bayleaf to it.

3. As they crackle, add the ground masala powder, chilli powder, ginger, coriander leaves and salt.

4. Mix well and add boiled chick peas pumpkin along with the water.

5. Simmer and cook for some time.

6. Add milk, mix well, simmer and cook for some more time.

7. Once cooked, add sliced tomatoes, mix well and remove from flame.

Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves. You can even add some lime juice to it depending upon individual taste.

Gobi Manchurian/ Indo-Chinese Cauliflower fritters

Gobi Manchurian is a famous Indo-Chinese dish. They are Cauliflower Fritters in spicy Sauce. This dish can be either dry or wet based. Dry Gobi Manchurian can be served as starters or a wet one as a side dish for Rice. And I must say,this is the only dish I’ve tried umpteen times to get a satisfactory sign from my husband.I’ve followed many recipes,tried adding different ingredients and finally came out with a recipe that suits our taste.Try this absolutely delicious recipe!

Ingredients

To deep Fry and For the batter:

Cauliflower – 1 whole ( cut into medium size florets)
All-purpose Flour – 8 tbsp
Rice Flour- 3 tbsp
Corn Starch – 3 tbsp
Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder -1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste
Water – for the batter as required
Oil – for deep frying

For the sauce

Oil – 1tbsp for tempering
Bell pepper - 2 ( finely chopped)
Green Chilies – 2 cut diagonally
Tomato Sauce /Ketchup – 5 tbsp
Red Chili Sauce – 4 tbsp or to taste
Soy Sauce – 6 tsp
Vinegar – 4 tsp

Method

Prepare a batter with the given ingredinets adding necessary water.Batter should be made a little thick,otherwise it doesn’t coat well on the cauliflower florets.Heat oil in a big wok,dip each floret in the batter and gently put it into the oil.Do not overcrowd the wok while frying.Do it in 2 or 3 steps as needed.Fry it until it turns golden brown in color.Drain into a tissue paper and keep them aside and allow it to cool.

Heat Oil in a medium non-stick pan.Add bell pepper,green chilies and cook until bell peppers are slight brown. Add Ketchup and Red Chili Sauce and cook until Oil starts to separate from mixture. Add Soy Sauce and Vinegar and mix well.cook till the raw smell is turned into nice aroma from the sauces..Keep the sauce aside.

Finish frying all of the Cauliflower and add it to the pan with the sauce. Toss well to coat Cauliflower completely.

Suggestions :If you want to make it a gravy,add 1 tsp cornflour mixed in 1 cup luke warm water and simmer it for few minutes.

Chettinad style Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu / Lentil Dumplings in Tangy Gravy

Chettinad is a region in southern Tamil Nadu, with Karaikudi as its capital. It is well know for its spicy culinary delicacies. Chettinad food, now is one of many reasons why people get to know about chettinad. Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu means lentil dumplings cooked in a gravy. This recipe has different versions. When I usually make this paruppu urndai kuzhambu I used to follow my mom's recipe. My huband motivated me to try the Chettinad style and briefed me what are the modifications that has to be made from my usual style. I tried and it came out really well.

Ingredient:
For the dumplings:
Chenna dal- 1cup
Toor dal- 1/4 cup
red chillies- 3
Green chillies- 1
hing- 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
curry leaves- 2 string
fennel seeds- 1 tsp

For gravy
Coconut(shredded)- 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds- 1 tsp
Ginger- 1 inch
sambar powder- 1 tbsp
red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
tamarind- small lemon sized
tomato- 1 (medium sized)
turmeric- 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
curry leaves- 1 string
mustard seeds- 1 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
hing- a generous pinch
oil- 1 tbsp

Method:
Making the dumplings:
Wash and soak the chenna dal and toor dal for 2 hours. Strain the dals and grind them coarsely along with red chilliies, curry leaves, green chillies without adding water. Add salt, hing and 1 tsp fennel seeds to the coarsely ground paste and mix well. Make small balls out of it and steam them in a pressure cooker for 5 minutes or until the dumplings are half cooked. Do not cook it fully or over cook the dumplings. This might prevent the dumplings to get fully soaked in the gravy.
Making Gravy
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water for 10 minutres and make an extract. Finely chop the tomatoes. Grind the coconut, poppy seeds, ginger, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds. When the mustard crack add hing, curry leaves, chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and saute them until the tomatoes become tender. Add the tamarind extract, ground paste, chilli powder, sambar powder, salt, 1 cup water and allow it to boil. Drop in the dumplings and cook in a medium to low flame for 15- 20 minutes. If the gravy is too thin then break two of the dumplings in the gravy and mix well to get the right consistency for the gravy. Serve hot with rice.

Baby Corn Potato Fry

This is my husband's favorite item and incidentally he is the one who invented this recipe. This is very easy to make with minimum ingredients. This goes well with roti,curd rice, rasam rice etc. I bet Baby Corn Potato Fry is a loved one by all working women as it is really easy to cook.At home during weekends when we need to go out the whole morning,I get up early and make just this fry and rice and offer it to Krishna. In that way when we are done with all the work we just rush home for curd rice and baby corn potatoe fry prasadam and not look for options to eat out. 

Ingredients:

Potato – 1 large
Baby Corn – 15 -20 pieces
Sambhar powder – 3 tsps
Salt – As per taste
Oil – 2–3 tbsps
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Urad Dhal – 1 tsp

Method:

1.Peal the potato skin and cut the potato and baby corn (Half finger length and a little thinner than what we cut for French Fries).

2.Add the cut baby corn to water and allow it to boil for 7-8 mins. Drain the water and keep it aside.

3.Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and wait till they burst and add the urad dhal.

4.Next add the cut potato and allow it to fry. Keep stirring and mixing the potato with the oil. Reduce the flame and allow the potato to fry. Keep stirring once in 5 mins to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

5.When you feel the potato is half fried add the baby corn and mix well.

6.When both are cooked three forth add the sambhar powder and salt. Mix well and allow it to fry.

7.When the ingredients have become roasted, stop the flame. The Baby Corn potato Fry is now ready. In case we don’t get baby corn we can substitute it with Gobi also.

Gatthe kee Sabji/ chickpea sticks in curd based gravy

This is a recipe that is made out of besan (chick pea flour) in a gravy of curd. It is mainly a marwaadi dish that i borrowed from a marwaadi friend. I tried it as this is my husbands favourite and is very simple and easy to make. It tastes good with roti and paranthas.

Ingredients:

BESAN (Chick pea flour) 1 cup

Oil 5-6 tbsp

Red chilli powder- 2 tsp

Salt to taste

water (very little to make dough)

Curd 1 cup

Hing (Asafoetida) 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp

Dhania (coriander) powder 1 tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Method:

1. Make a dough of chick pea flour, 1 tsp chilli powder, salt with oil and very little water. Knead well and make long rolls (just like soup sticks).

2. Boil water in a vessel and dip these sticks and boil for 10-15 minutes. This is called gattha.

3. Take out the sticks and allow them to cool a little and cut them into small pieces.

4. Take a pan and heat 1-2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida.

Add 1tsp red chilli powder immediately followed by 1 cup curd and mix well.

5. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt and stir till the oil separates.

6. Add the boiled gatthas in to the gravy and cook for 3-4 minutes.

7. Add water if the gravy is too thick.

serve hot with rotis or paranthas

Sending this post for the "Holi Aye re" event Hosted by Vatsala of Show and Tell

Chettinad Masala

Chettinad Masala

This is a recipe i saw on some website (i dont really remember which one) and liked it. So i made a few modifications of my own and the outcome was good (i think so). Hence, i am sharing it here. Its simple to make and tastes yummy with hot paranthas, phulkas, and naan.

Ingredients:

For Chettinad Masala:

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

1 tsp dhania (coriander seeds)

1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

2 whole dry red chillies

3 cardamom (elaichi)

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

3 cloves (laung)

1" cinnamon (dalchini)

1 tbsp oil

Other Ingredients:

1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus)

1 tbsp cashewnuts broken

ginger

6 cloves

3 tbsp oil

3 tomatoes (medium) blanched and grated

1/2 tsp turneric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

4-5 curry leaves

3 cups boiled mixed vegetables

1/2 cup coconut milk

salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak poppy seeds and cashews in little hot water for five minutes.

2. Roast the masala ingredients till the aroma arises and grind them to a fine paste along with poppy seeds and cashews and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger, and grated tomotoes and add turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder and cook till tomatoes are well blended and oil begins to seperate.

4. Add ground masala paste to this tomato mixture, add curry leaves and saute for two minutes.

5. Add 1 cup water, boiled vegetables and cook covered for a few minutes till the grave thickens.

6. Finally add coconut milk, mix well, and simmer for two to three minutes.

serve hot with chappatis or phulkas.

Gujarati Kadhi/ Spicy yogurt curry

Kadhi is a yogurt based gravy which often contains chickpea flour and vegetable flitters called pakoras-Kadhi Pakodi. It is usually served in combination with Khichri. Although Kadhi is made in different parts of India, it differs in its flavour, taste and consistency. Gujarati and Rajastani Kadhi differs from the that made in north India. Traditionally it is sweeter and thinner than the northern varieties and is eaten without pakoras. Variations can be made on this basic dish by including vegetables like okra(lady's finger). The recipe that I made is from my mom. She often makes kadhi at home which makes an combo with rice and rotis.

Ingredients
Yogurt(curd)- 2 cups
Water- 3 cups
Besan(chickpea flour)- 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar- 1 tsp(optional)
Kasoori Methi(dry fenugreek leaves)- 1 tsp
Coriander(cilantro) leaves- 2 tbsp
Seasoning
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Ajwain- 1/4 tsp
asafoetida- 2 pinch
Green chillies- 2
ginger(chopped)- 1 tbsp
Red chillies- 2
Curry leaves- 1 string
oil/ ghee- 2 tsp

Method:
Mix the yogurt, water, beasan, salt and turmeric powder in a bowl. Heat oil/ ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain, red chillies. When the mustard cracks, add green chillies., ginger, asafoetida, curry leaves and saute them for 20 seconds. Now add the yogurt-besan mixture and allow it to cook on a medium flame for few minutes. Finally add sugar(optional) and  turn off the flame. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Corn Capsicum Tava Masala (Corn Bell Pepper Stir Fry)

Corn Capsicum Tava masala is dish from the North Indian cusine. You could find a restaurant style Corn capsicum masala in the recipe index posted by Gokulanandhini which is more of a gravy type.  Tawa masala usually refers to veggies sauted on a tava(skillet) and flavoured with different spices. I found this intersting dish on Sanjeev Kapoor's "Khana Khazana", an Indian cookery show and tried to experiment it with my ideas. The outcome was pretty good.

Ingredients
Green capsicum (green bell pepper)- 3
Corn kernnel- 1 cup
corriander powder- 1 tsp
cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
garam masala- 1 tsp
Tava fry masala (MDH brand)- 1/2 tsp
yogurt- 2 tbsp
red chilli powder- 1 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
cilantro (corriander leaves)- to Garnish
sugar- 1tp (optional)
oil 3 tbsp
salt to taste

To grind
tomatoes- 3 medium sized
cashews- 10 (soaked in warm water for 15 mins)
green chillies- 2

Grind the above ingredients into smooth paste.

Method:
Chop the capsicum into big pieces. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add capsicum and corn kernnels and fry them until golden brown but the capsicum should be slightly crisp and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard, jeera. When the mustard cracks add a pinch of asafoetida and the ground paste. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala and saute them for 10 mins. Add the fried capsicum and corn and stir them well. Add salt and cook for 5-1o mins. Finally add the yogurt, sugar(optional) and tawa fry masala and cook for 2 mins. Turn down the heat and garnish with cilantro leaves(corriander leaves).

Suggestions: This makes an awesome side dish for rotis, nan, parathas and vegetable pulav.

Vathal Kozhambu (Spicy Dried Vegetable Gravy)

Vathal Kozhambu is a  traditional spicy South Indian Brahmin recipe. Vathal is a sun dried vegetable and kozhambu refers to the spicy gravy. In my recipe I have used black night shade. Fresh vegetables like drumstick, potato, brinjal(eggplant) can also be add in the gravy along the dry ones. The other dry vegetable that could be used is turkey berry.

Ingredients:
Tamarind- small lemon sized
Sambar powder- 2 tsp
Corriander powder- 1 tsp
Tomato- 1
Manathakkali Vathal (Dried Black Night shade)- 1 tbsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)
salt to taste
ghee- 1 tsp


Seasoning
Gingely oil(sesame oil)- 4 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp
Chenna dal- 1/2 tsp
Asefotida- 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- 1 string


Method:
Soak the tamarind in 3 cups of warm water for 10 minutes. Get a thick extract from the tamarind pulp. Chop the tomato finely. Heat a pan and add gingely oil(sesame oil), mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, chenna dal. When the mustard seeds cracks add asafoetida, curry leaves and the chopped tomato. Add sambar powder and corriander powder and fry them until the tomato becomes tender. Now pour the tamarind extract. Add chilli powder and salt and allow it to boil. Then simmer the flame and cook until the oil gets separated from the gravy. Heat one tsp of ghee in a small wok and  fry the manathakali vatal until brown and add it to the spicy gravy. This goes well with white rice and ghee/sesame oil.


Note:  Adding fried papad to the gravy also gives a nice taste.

Potato Stew

This is a Kerala based dish mainly because the main ingredient here is the coconut milk. Very simple and easy to cook. This dish can be made real quick if the coconut milk is ready. Do not use the ready to use coconut milk available in the market. This dish will turn out good only if we make the coconut milk fresh at home. This is a best combination with hot idlies.


Ingredients
Potatoes – 2
Coconut – 1 (medium size)
Ginger – 1 finger size
Green chillies – 6 (You can add more based on your need)
Salt - According to taste
Gram flour (kadalai mavau) - 2 tsp

Method
First we need to make the coconut milk. For that break and cut the full coconut into small pieces and put it in the mixer and grind it first without adding water till all the coconut becomes as though it was grated, then add 2 cups of water and grind it completely till you feel all the juice from the coconut is out. Next drain the liquid alone using a strainer. This is the first milk and it will be thick. Again with the coconut that is drained add 2 cups of water and follow the similar procedure to take the second milk. Once this is done mince the ginger, slit the green chillies into two halves vertically, boil the potatoes fully and break them into small pieces with your hand after peeling the skin. Next add the potato pieces, ginger, green chillies and the second milk into a pan and allow it to boil till the water in the second milk separates and the green chillies and ginger are cooked and have become tender. This takes about 15 minutes. Next after that add the first milk, salt and mix the gram flour in little water and add it to the stew. After adding the first milk do not allow it to boil for more than 5 minutes. At this stage the stew will be a thick white gravy. The potato stew is now ready. This can be served with hot idlis, dosas or appam. We can minus the gram flour and use it for ekadhesi.

Tomato Red Capsicum( Bell pepper) chutney

Chutney is a class of spicy preparation which is usually served as an accompaniment with the main course. Its usually wet have a coarse to fine texture. There are a wide varieties of chutney available in Indian cusine. I tried making chutney with tomatoes and red bell pepper (capsicum).
Ingredients:
Tomatoes- 4
Red capsicum( bell pepper)- 1/2
ginder- 1 inch
green chillies- 2
peanusts- 1 tbsp
cilantro (coriander leaves)- 3 tbsp
cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
oil- 1 tsp
hing/ asafoetida- a pinch
salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. add cumin sedds. when it cracks add a pinch of hing and peanusts and fry them. then add chopped ginger and green chillies and fry them for a minute. Then add chopped tomatoes and red capsicum( bell pepper). Add salt. Fry them until they become tender. Turn of the heat and allow it to cool. Blend them and serve with Buckwheat dosa.

Note: Since I made this chutney on ekadhasi I have not done the seasoning. On non ekadhasi days I used to tamper the chutney with mustad seeds, urad dal a pinch of hing (asafoetida) and curry leaves. This chutney goes well with any kind of dosas or idly.

Cilantro Powder/ Kothamalli podi

It's been a long time that me and Swarnavalli were not blogging .. Now, we are in action again :-)..
Spices podis have always been a favorite one with me. Spiced powders or Gun powders are common terms for podi. There are varieties like Kothamalli podi (Coriander powder), Pudina podi (Pudina powder) ,Tenga Podi (Coconut powder). These are usually had as an accompaniment to our daily meals, idli, yogurt Rice, Plain white rice or Roti. Here is the recipe for kothamalli podi .Coriander (Kothamalli/ Dhania), also known as Cilantro is an annual herb whose leaves, stems and seeds are edible.

Ingredients

Cilantro - 3 bunches
Red Chillies - 3
Tamarind - Tiny marble size (dry)
Salt
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Gingerly Oil - 1 tbs

Method

Wash the coriander leaves and also the stems, if they are tender, and spread on a cloth to dry, preferably overnight
I used only the leaves with little stem ( if you want you can use the entire stem ).
Dry roast the red chillies . Once coll down , blend red chillies with salt.
Grind the dried cilantro, dry tamarind , powdered red chillies and salt into a paste. Ensure there is no water in the blender ..
In a hot pan add oil , followed by mustard seeds, asafoetida.When mustard seeds splutter, add the blended cilantro masala and fry it often so that it doesn't stick to the pan. Turn off the fire after 10 mins..
Store in a air tight container and refrigerate it.

Keerai Kulambu/Spinach Gravy

Keera kulambu is the healthy south Indian dish served with rice. Keerai/Spinach is cooked with dal & Indian seasonings. This is my mom’s signature dish. This taste great with potato fry, beetroot poriyal and papad / Appalam. Cooking is just as creative and imaginative activity. Cooking requires the real passion rather than exact measurements.


Ingredients
Spinach / Keerai – A bunch - Separate the leaves and wash well.
Toor Dal – ½ cup
Green chilies – 2
Tomato - 1 (if its small use 2 tomatoes) finely chopped
Salt to taste
Mustard – ¼ tsp
Hing/Asafetida – 2 pinch
Cumin Seeds – ¼ tsp
Red chilies – 2
Water – 1 cup
Oil/ghee

Method
In a pressure cooker, put toor dal, green chilies, Tomato, spinach, salt and water. After three to four whistles turn off the fire and let it cool down. By using hand blender smash the cooked ingredients in the pressure cooker. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin seeds, hing, red chilies and add it in the Pressure cooker/cooked spinach.




Note : Serve with rice...more of this spinach gravy and less amount of rice.

Palak Paneer/ Cottage cheese in Spinach sauce

A rich and healthy delicacy goes well with any kind of roti. Palak Paneer is also known as saag paneer. If paneer is not on hand and you want a diary free option you can also use Tofu or veggies like potato/Cauliflower. Spinach is one of the good sources of vitamins and also the most nutrient-dense vegetable. Palak Paneer is absolutely wonderful with naan / Basmati Rice.


Ingredients
Spinach /Palak - one large packet/ 3 bunches
Tomatoes - 3 large tomatoes ( finely chopped tomatoes)
Paneer - 10 - 15 cubes
Green Chilies - one ( slit length wise)
Ginger - Finely chopped
Nutmeg Powder - A pinch ( Optional )
Coriander powder - 2 1/2tsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Fenu greek Leaves-1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 3 pinch
Cumin Seeds- 1/4 tsp
Whipping cream - 1/2 tbsp (Optional)
Salt to taste
Oil

Method
Wash the spinach and put in boiling water. Let it boil for 4 mins and turn off the heat. Wait few minutes to cool and put them in the blender. In a hot oil pan add cumin seeds, ginger, chillies, and tomatoes. Fry it for 2 mins . Now add coriander powder,cumin powder, Chili powder, Turmeric, Garam masala and salt. Cook it on a medium flame till the tomatoes cooked / mashed well. Then add fenugreek leaves, nutmeg powder and blended spinach into the tomato sauce pan. Saute till the masala and spinach cooked/ cook it on low flame till 10 - 15 mins. Add the paneer cubes at the end. Let it simmer for 2 - 3 mins and turn off the heat. Add little cream to the palak paneer and give slight stir.




Note: Lightly sauté paneer cubes in one teaspoon of ghee till they are golden brown. (This is optional; you can add paneer cubes just as they are.)

Malai Muttar Paneer / Creamy cottage cheese curry

Malai Muttar Paneer is a delicious dish from the Punjabi cuisine. Malai  means cream, muttar refers to green peas and paneer is Indian cottage cheese. This paneer dish is very rich and creamy and there are high chances that you get addicted to it. This is not a very complex recipe and is relatively easy to cook, but does not compromise on its quality and taste. When I learnt about this recipe I was just amazed how such simple recipe could taste so great.

Ingredients

Paneer- 200 gms

Peas- 1 cup

tomatoes( chopped)- 2 (medium size)

ginger- 1 inch (grated)

cabbage (chopped)- 1/4 cup

whole cashews- 10

broken cacshews- 5

blanched almonds- 5 (chopped)

raisins- 6-7

fresh cream/ whipping cream- 1 cup

milk- 1/2 cup

coriander powder- 1 tsp

cuminpowder- 1/2 tsp

red chilli powder- 1 tsp

garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)- 1 tbsp

cardamon powder- 1/4 tsp

hing/ asafotida- 1 pinch

butter- 2 tbsp

cilantro (coriander) leaves to garnish

Preparation:

Grate the paneer. Soak the whole cashews for half an hour. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a pan. Add the chopped cabbage witha pinch of hing until golden brown and then add the chopped tomatoes and ginger and fry them until they become tender. Allow it to cool and grind them along with the soaked cashews into a fine paste. Now heat 1 tbsp of butter and add the broken cashews, blanched almonds, Kasoori methi and cardamom powder and fry them until golden brown. add the raisins, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and fry them for a minute in medium heat and then add the ground paste. Add required water so that the paste doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and also to get a perfect gravy consistancy. Add green peas, grated paneer and salt and allow them to cook for 5 minutes. Then add milk and cream and cook for 5- 10 minutes. Remove from heat and granish with cilantro leaves.

Note: Malai paneer can be served as a main course with roti, naan, pulav for lunch and dinner. It is also party favourite.