ADA

Whenever I go to Lulu Center I buy a roll of banana leaves . (5 banana leaves rolled and covered in cling film).  I dont look at the price tag because if I do I wont be able to make ada or kumbilappam with peace of mind.

My mother used to make ada in two ways. The easier way is to steam them  in an "appachembu". The second method is by heating the ada in a thick pan. Ada made by this method has a special name, "ottada"

INGREDIENTS

1. Roasted fine rice flour - 1 cup (pathiri podi is fine)

2. Boiling water - 1 1/4 cup

3. salt - 1 pinch

4. Coconut oil - 1 tea spoon

5. Jaggery - 1/2 cup

6. Grated coconut - 1 cup

7. Crushed cardamom - 2

8. Banana leaf

METHOD

1. Mix the rice flour and salt. Add boiling water and mix with a spoon . Allow to cool a little and knead well,  Add coconut oil and knead again to get a soft dough.

2. The jaggery can either be grated or heated with 2 table spoons of water to get a thick solution. Mix this with coconut and cardamom

3. Boil water in the steamer or appachembu.

4.Cut and clean the banana leaf. Wipe with a cloth.

5. Divide the dough into 4.  Spread each  portion on a piece of leaf using the index,middle  and ring fingers only. If the dough is sticky dip the fingers in water.

6. Spread 1/4 of the poornam (coconut- jaggery mixture) on one half portion of the ada and fold.

7. When all 4 adas are ready, steam them  for 10-15 minutes.

COLESLAW SALAD

This is a kid friendly salad. It is sweet and crunchy and can be packed with lunch.

I took the KFC coleslaw recipe from topsecretrecipes.com and improvised a little to make this.

INGREDIENTS

1. Cabbage grated - 2 cups green and 1/2 cup violet
2. Grated carrot - 2 table spoon
3. Chopped onion - 2 table spoon
4. Mayonnaise - 2 table spoon
5. Buttermilk - 1/4 cup
6. Milk - 1/2 cup
7. Vinegar - 1 table spoon
8. Lime juice - 1 tea spoon
9. Sugar - 11/2 tables spoon
10. Salt - 1/2 tea spoon
11. Pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon

METHOD

1. Mix cabbage, carrot and onion in a big bowl

2.Whisk together  ingredients 4 - 11 in a small bowl. Pour into the cabbage carrot onion mix. Toss well.

TOMATO RASAM

This rasam is made with pureed tomato. To get the real taste of tomato make sure the tomatoes are sour enough so that you dont have to add tamarind or lime juice to adjust the taste.

INGREDIENTS

1. Ripe tomatoes (thakkaali) - 250 gm
2. Rasam powder - 2 tea spoon
3. Turmeric powder 1/4 tea spoon
4. Asafoetida - 1/4 tea spoon
5. Garlic - 1 clove crushed (optional)
6. Crushed black peppercorns - 5-6
7. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
8. salt
9. Coconut oil - 1 table spoon
10. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
11. Red chillis - 2 (break each into 3)
12. Corriander leaves - 1 table spoon

METHOD

1. Cut the tomatoes into 2 or 4. Cook this with a cup of water till the skin gets peeled on its own. Allow to cool, remove skin and run in a mixie for 8-10 seconds.

2. Mix the pureed tomato and items 2-8 in the same vessel in which the tomato was cooked. Add 1 more cup of water. heat on medium flame. When it starts frothing stir well and allow to cook for 5 more minutes on low flame. Switch off stove and add corriander leaves.

3. Heat oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds and fry the red chillis. Pour into the rasam.

THENGA CHAMMANTHI PODI

Eventhough thenga chammanthippodi is usually made by grinding fried coconut and other ingredients using the traditional "ural and ulakka"it is possible to make it in  a mixie too. The fried mixture is ground in an "ural" while still hot whereas the mixture needs to be cooled before grinding in  a mixie.

INGREDIENTS

1. Grated coconut - 2 cups

2. Ginger - 1 "cube

3. Red chillis - 8

4. Small onions - 8-10

5. Curry leaves - 1/4 cup

6. Black pepper corns - 15-20

7. Coconut oil - 1 table spoon

8. Tamarind - 1 table spoon

9. Salt


PREPARATION

1. Heat 1 table spoon oil in a kadai and fry items 1-7 stirring continuously.  The heat should be low

2. Add salt and grind for 10-15 seconds. Add tamarind and grind again to get a coarse powder.



POTATO STEW

We call this "Ceylon Stew". I learned it from my mother in law who got the recipe from one of her relatives settled in Srilanka. This is good with chapathi, rice or even idli.

INGREDIENTS

1. Potato - 2
2. Big onion - 1
3. Green chillis - 3 or 4
4. Ladies Finger (vendakka/bindi) chopped - 2 table spoon
5. Tamarind juice - 1 table spoon
6. Lime juice - 1 table spoon
7. Thin coconut milk - 1 cup
8. Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
9. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
10. Salt

PREPARATION

1. Cook the ladies finger with tarmarind juice, salt and a little water.

2. Cube the potatoes. Dice th onion and split the chillis. Combine these three in a pan. Add 1 cup of water and cook till the potato is soft.

3. Add  thin coconut milk, salt  and curry leaves and cook again.

4. Add the ladies finger , stir and add thick coconut milk followed by lime juice.

5. Allow the curry to boil for 2-3 minutes. The coconut milk should curdle. Stir well and remove from fire.

MADAKK SAN

Madakk san or madakkichuruttu (or love letter) is a type of pan cake with coconut filling. It is usually made with a batter containing egg and milk. My mom used to make the eggless variety as a snack or even breakfast item.

INGREDIENTS

1. Maida / wheat flour - 1 cup

2. Salt

3. Cardamom - 1

4. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

5. Sugar - 1 table spoon

6. Ghee/dalda/oil

7. Milk/Water

METHOD

1. Mix maida, salt and enough milk/water to get a loose batter

2. Crush the cardamom. Mix it with the coconut and sugar

3. Heat a thava and smear some ghee using a cloth. Spread some batter on the thava. Sprinkle some ghee and allow to cook for a minute. Flip, wait for 5 seconds and flip again.

4. Reduce heat and spread some coconut in the middle portion. Fold from both sides, press with a spatula and flip carefully. Wait for 5-10 seconds and transfer to a plate

MIXTURE

Making mixture is easy eventhough it takes a lot of time. It is better to keep all the ingredients ready before starting the actual cooking. Different types of mixtures can be prepared by changing the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

1. Kadalamavu (besan flour) - 21/2 cups
2. Ajwain - 1 tea spoon (optional)
3. Asafoetida - 1/2 tea spoon
4. Chilli powder - 3 tea spoon
5. Butter/Dalda - 1 tea spoon
6. Rice powder - 2 table spoon
7. Potato - 1 medium
8. Cashewnut - 1/4 cup
9. Ground nut - 1/4 cup
10. Pottu kadala - 1/4 cup
11. Thick aval (poha) - 1/4 cup
12. Curry leaves
13. Oil
14. salt

METHOD

1. To make boondi

 Mix 1/2 cup besan with water to get a loose batter

2. Omappodi/sev

Mix 2 cups besan flour, rice powder, powdered ajwain (optional), 1 tea spoon chilli powder,salt and butter. Add a little water and knead to get a uniform dough. (not toohard or too soft). Fill this in a sevanazhi.

I(f no ajwain is  used add 1/4 tea spoon asafoetida)

3. Skin and slice the potato. The pieces should be thin and medium sized.

4. Heat oil in a wide pan. Check whether the oil is hot enough by putting 1 drop of the boondi batter in it If the boondi comes up immediately the oil is ready.

5. A kannaappa (slotted spoon) is required to make boondi. Usually a special kannappa called "laadoo kannaappa" is used to make boondis. The normal slotted spoon is also fine.

Place the slotted spoon above the hot oil and place some boondi batter on it. Spread it with a spoon. Drops of the batter will fall into the oil. Fry them and transfer to a kitchen towel using another slotted spoon

6. Hold the sevanazhi (with the sev dough) above the oil.Squeeze the sev till it fills the whole oil. Fry it for some time and flip. When both sides are done transfer to a kitchen towel. Repeat the process till all the dough is used up.

7. Break the sev into small pieces and transfer to a big bowl along with the boondi 

8. Fry the potato, cashewnut, groundnut, pottukadala, aval and curry leaves one by one . Allow the oil to drain and add to the sev.

9. Add the remaining salt, chilli powder and asafoetida. Toss well and mix.

FILTER COFFEE

Fiter coffee is made using a coffee filter. It is the old version of today's coffee meachine. In earlier days dried coffe beans were roasted and powdered just before making  coffee. I skip one step and buy roasted coffee beans from the super market and powder in a coffee mill, 1 or 2 table spoons at a time. Whenever I visit India I remember to buy  "Bru  Green Label Roasted and Ground coffe" from there. This is also very good for making filter coffee.  

INGREDIENTS

1. Coffee powder - 2 table spoons

2. Hot Milk - 1/2 cup

3. sugar - 1 tea spoon

4. Boiling water

PREPARATION

1. Add coffee powder into the upper compartment of the filter.  Pour 1 cup of boiling water over it. Close with the lid and wait for five minutes. Strong coffee  is collected in the lower compartment. This process is called decoction.

2. Mix  hot milk, sugar, and enough hot water and coffee in a steel tumbler. Mix it well by pouring into a steel "davara" and back 2-3 times.

3. Refrigerate the  remaining coffe for using next time.

SEVA

There are different varieties of seva and the ones I make frequently are lemon seva and plain seva. My husband loves lemon seva whereas my daughter prefers plain seva with mor kuzhambu and pickle. Whenever I want to try seva I make both versions. Lemon seva is good with pappadam, coconut chutney or even sugar.

INGREDIENTS

1. Matta rice - 1 cup

2. Coconut oil - 1 tea spoon

3. Salt

For plain seva

1. Coconut oil - 1 table spoon

2. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon

3.Chana dal -1 tea spoon

4. Urad dal - 1 tea spoon

5. red chilli - 1

6. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

7. Green chilli - 1 (chopped ) 

For lemon seva

1. Coconut oil - 1 table spoon

2. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon

3.Chana dal - 1 tea spoon

4. Urad dal - 1 tea spoon

5. red chilli - 1

6. Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

7. Green chilli - 1 (chopped ) 

8. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon

9. Lemon juice - 1 table spoon

10. Asafoetida - 1 pinch

PREPARATION

1. Soak the rice for 6-8 hours. Grind to a fine paste. Add salt and 1 tea spoon oil.

2. Heat the rice paste in a kadai stirring continuously to get a soft dough.

3. Squeeze the dough through a "seva nazhi" on to the perforated plate available with "appa chembu".( or in to an idli thattu ) Steam this for 5-6 minutes.

4. Allow the seva to cool and break into small pieces.

Plain seva

1. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add dals, red chilli (broken in to 2 or 3), curry leaves and fry. Add green chilli and saute for 10 seconds.

2. Add half the seva and mix well.

3. serve with mor kuzhambu, pickle and fried pappadam

Lemon seva 

1. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add dals, red chilli (broken in to 2 or 3), curry leaves and fry.

2. Add green chilli and saute for 10 seconds.

3. Add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Stir and switch off the heat. Add lemon juice , a pinch of salt (if needed) and mix. To this add the remaining seva and mix well Heat on low flame for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously.

4. Serve with coconut chutney or sugar.

(I did something with my camera and the first few pics came out like stills from a period movie)