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.

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.

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.

Vegetable Biryani

Vegetable Biriyani is a spicy rice based food made with different kinds of spices and vegetables. The word biryani is derived from Persian word called beryan which means fried or roasted. Biryani was brought to the Indian sub-continent by the muslim travelers and merchants. There are many versions of making biryani.
I made this vegetable biryani without  onion and garlic.  I got some tips in making this biryani from my aunt Mrs.Parvathy Dharmarajan and my mom Mrs.Geetha Sundaram. This my husband's favourite dish.

Ingredients
Basmati rice 1 1/2 cup
Ghee- 4-5 table tsp
carrot- 1
beans- 7
potato- 1
cabbage- 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
tomato- 4
paneer- 1/2 cup (small cubes)
green peas- 1/2 cup
cauliflower- 10-15 florets
green chillies- 2 ( adjust according to taste)
ginger- 1 inch
mint leaves- 1/2 a bunch
cilantro- 1 cup (finely chopped)
yogurt- 1/2 cup
corriander powder- 1 tsp
red chilli powder- 1 tsp (adjust according to taste)
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
garam masala 1 tsp
shahi jeera- 1/2 tsp
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
cinamon stick - 1 (1 inch)
cloves- 2
cardamom- 3
hing- a pinch
food colour (orange)- a pinch
cashews- 15
Bread slices- 2

Preparation:
Wash and soak the rice for 20 mins. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker with 1 1/2 cup of water and 1 tsp of ghee.
Transfer the cooked rice in to a wide bowl and work on it slowly so the rice doesnt break. Chop carrot and potatoes length wise and evenly. Grind the tomatoes, cinamon stick, cardamom, cloves, green chillies and ginger in a blender to a paste. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in  a wok. Add shahi jeera, fennel seeds. When it cracks add hing and chopped cabbage and fry them till golden brown. Now add the ground paste along with a cup of water. Add the garam masala, turmeric powder, corriander powder, red chilli powder and allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Add the other veggies and salt and allow it to cook for 5-7 minutes. When the veggies are cooked add yogurt and paneer and finely chopped mint leaves and saute them for 2-3 minutes until the water gets absorbed and becomes a thick vegetable curry. Mix the food colur in a tablespoon of water and add it to the rice and mix gently. Take a large vessel and put half of the rice. Then layer it with the vegetable curry. Add the remaining rice and layer it with the remaining vegetable curry. Close the vessel with a lid and shake it nicely upwads and downwards and sideways so that the contents get mixed well. Open the lid and stir it gently. Make sure the rice doesn't break and the veggies doen't get smashed. Pre-heat the over for 10 minutes and keep the biryani in the oven for 10 minutes. Now heat 1 tsp of ghee and roast the cashews. To make bread croutons , cut the bread in to small cubes.  Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a pan and fry them until golden brown. Remove the biryani from the oven. Garnish the biryani with cilantro leaves, roasted cashews and bread croutons. Spicy vegetable biryani is ready. This can be served with any kind of raita.

Note: Normally basmati rice requires 1: 1 1/2 cup of water for cooking. But for the kind of basmati rice I'm using it requires only 1:1 cup of water.

Cabbage Cauliflower Masala

This is one of my favorite recipe and extremely easy to make, equally delicious and presentable.Couple of days back there was an unexpected guest so I quickly planned a recipe and it turned out good.

Ingredients

Cabbage - 500gms ( finely chopped

Cauliflower - 5 - 6 big florets( make into tiny pieces)

Carrot - 1 grated

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp

Madras Curry powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur powder - a pinch ( optional)

Pepper powder - a pinch ( optional )

Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 2 pinch

Cashews - 10 ( garnishing - optional )

Cilantro - 2tbs( finely chopped )

salt - as per taste

oil

Method

Heat a pan ,add oil followed by cumin seeds, fennel seeds, asafoetida, cabbage,salt, all powdered ingredients,carrot , fry them for 8 minutes then add finely chopped cauliflower. Mix it well add little water (may be 1tbsp) and cilantro. Now reduce the flame to medium and stir it occasionally. Optionally fried cashews can be added along with fresh cilantro leaves. This can be served as a side dish for Roti or for Rice and also can be used a puff stuffing.

Note : I used MDH madras curry powder. The Prefect consistency for the masala is when the oil separates. Alternate with peas, corn, beans as per your choice.

Spicy Pasta - Indian style

Pasta is an Italian food which is usually served with a sauce which contains italian spices like basil, oregano. I have experimented my pasta with Indian spices.

Ingredients:
Pasta - 1/2 pound

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1 tsp
Maggi seasoning - 2 drops (optional)
black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
oil - 2 tbsp
water - 5 cups

Preparation:

Boil 5 cups of water in a pan and and add pasta. Boil it for 11 mins. Strain the pasta and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add the boiled pasta, tomato sauce, Maggi seasoning, Pav Bhaji masala, black pepper, salt and saute it for 3 minutes and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Suggestion: 

To make it more healthy you can add vegetables like cabbage, capsicum, green peas and sweet corn. Instead of Pav bhajji masala even garam masala can be used.