THAYIR SADAM

 

Thayir sadam is the easiest rice preparation and is very good for lunch boxes.It stays fresh for hours and can be packed for long distance travels too.

INGREDIENTS

1. Cooked rice (Raw rice/ Basmati rice/Jeerakasala rice) - 2 cups ( best if a little over cooked)
2. Salt

3.Curd - 1 cup ( 1/2 cup curd and 1/2 cup boiled and cooled milk if planning to eat after 6-7 hours)

4. Oil - 1 table spoon (use sesame oil if packing for long distance travel)

5. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon

6. Urad dal - 1 tea spoon

7. Red chilli/thayir mulaku (mulaku kondattam) - 1 or 2

8. Asafoetida - 1 pinch

9. Green chilli chopped - 1

10. Ginger finely chopped - 1/2 tea spoon (optional)

11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig (optional)

12. Butter - 1/2 tea spoon (optional)

PREPARATION

1.Mix rice, curd, milk, salt and butter

2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry urad dal and dry red chilli/thayir mulaku.

3. Add green chilli, ginger and curry leaves and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add asafoetida and remove from fire. Pour over the rice and mix.

KADALA CURRY (FOR PUTTU)

INGREDIENTS

1. Black chana – 1 cup

2. Coconut chopped – 2 table spoon

3. Salt

4. Coconut oil – 1 ½ table spoon

5. Small onion/ sawala chopped – ¼ cup

6. Coriander powder – 1 tea spoon

7. Red chilly powder – 1 tea spoon

8. Garam masala powder – 1 tea spoon

9. Mustard seeds – ½ tea spoon

10. Red chilly whole – 2

11. Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

METHOD

1. Soak black chana for 8-10 hours. Pressure cook with chopped coconut for 10 minutes. Add salt.

2. Heat 1 table spoon oil in a pan. Saute the onion till it is brown. Reduce heat and add the powders. Stir for a minute and switch off stove. Allow to cool and grind to a fine paste in the  mixie with 10-12 cooked chana.

3. Transfer the ground masala paste and chana to the pan. Add enough water and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes.

4. Heat the remaining oil , splutter mustard seeds and fry whole red chillis and curry leaves . Pour this over the curry.

VAZHAIPOO VADAI (VAZHACHUNDU VADA)

I heard about vazhaipoo (banana flower/kudappan/vazha chundu) vadai for the first time in the movie "Kandukondin Kandukondein"and wanted to give it a try. I used to make cutlet with vazhappo, but vada was something new and turned out to be tastier than cutlet.

INGREDIENTS

1. Split peas dal(peas parippu) - 1/2 cup

2. Vazhaipoo - 1/2 cup (chopped and washed in butter milk, then in turmeric water and 3-4 times in water )

3. Green chilli chopped - 1

4. Curry leaves chopped - 7-8 leaves

5. Garlic chopped - 1 clove

6. Ginger chopped - 1 tea spoon

7. Onion chopped - 2 table spoon

8. Garam masala or fennel powder - 1 pinch

9. Salt

10. Oil - for frying

METHOD

1. Soak the dal for 2 hours and allow the water to drain.

2. Cook the vazhaipoo in microwave high for 1 minute after mixing with a pinch of salt and 1/4 tea spoon oil.

3. Grind the dal coarsely with salt and garam masala powder. Add  vazhaipoo, onion, chilli, garlic , ginger and curry leaves and mix.

4. Heat oil in a pan (medium high). Take a lemon sized ball of vazhaipoo - dal mixture and shape like parippu vada. Deep fry in oil and drain on paper towel.

POKODAM (RIBBON PAKODA)

This is a snack item which is very easy to make and the recipe is one which can never go wrong.

INGREDIENTS

1. Besan flour (kadala mavu) - 2 cups
2. Rice flour - 1/2 cup
3. Urad dal powder (uzhunnu podi) - 1/4 cup
4. Chilli powder - 1 table spoon
5. Salt
6. Asafoetida - 1/2 tea spoon
7. Butter - 2 tea spoon
8. Water - 3/4 cup
9. Oil - for frying

PREPARATION

1. Make a dough with items 1-8 adding butter towards the end.

2. Heat oil in a big pan or uruli. Fill the seva nazhi (with the "chillu" for ribbon pakoda) with the dough and press holding it above hot oil and moving in a circle. When one side of the circular layer is done flip using a slotted spoon. When the other side is done take out and drain on paper towel. Break into pieces.

NELLIKKA (GOOSEBERRY) THOKKU

This pickle is similar to manga thokku but hotter. Some days back I got some fresh gooseberries and thought of making thokku at home. I had no idea about the exact recipe and did a search keeping in mind the colour and consistency of nellikkai thokku made by Bhagyam maami,my SIL's mother. I got the recipe from

 http://www.myindiarecipes.com/recipedetail/42/295/Amla-Nellikai-Thokku/ 

and tried it after slightly adjusting the amount of chillis and oil aand omitting turmeric powder.

Nellikka thokku can be used to  make a special "nellikkai sadam" too.

INGREDIENTS

1. Nellikka - 15-20 (1 cup when grated)

2. red chillis - 8

3. Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

4. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tea spoon

5. Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tea spoon

6. Salt

7. Sesame oil - 1/4 cup

METHOD

1. Dry roast and grind chillis, fenugreek and 1/2 tea spoon mustard seeds.

2. Grate gooseberry. Mix it with salt, asafoetida and the chilli-mustard-fenugreek powder.

3. Heat oil in a pan and splutter 1/2 tea spoon mustard seeds. To this add the gooseberry till the colour is dark brown and a semi solid consistency is obtained. Cool and refrigerate. It will stay fresh for weeks.

To make nellikkai sadam

Heat 1 tea spoon sesame oil, add 1 table spoon thokku followed by 1/2 cup cooked rice and mix. Tasty nellikkai sadam is ready.

MINT - POMEGRANATE MOCKTAIL (DD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Pomegranate - 1 (big)
2. Mint leaves (pudina) - 8-10
3. Ginger - 1/2" cube
4. Soda water - 1/2 cup
5. Lime juice - 1 table spoon
6. Sugar - 1 table spoon
(4,5 and 6 can be replaced with 1/2 a cup of Sprite or Seven Up)

METHOD

1. Cut pomegranate and keep 1 table spoon of arils aside. Extract juice from the rest.

2. Crush ginger and extract juice. Crush the mint leaves gently.

3. In a tall glass mix the juices, sugar, soda, pomegranate arils and mint leaves

PAVAKKA KICHADI

Pavakka (bitter gourd) kichadi can be made with fresh pavakka or pavakka kondattam. I have used "Grandma's Pavakka kondattam" in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1. Pavakka kondattam - 12-15
2. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
3. Curd - 1/4 cup
4. Green chilli - 1
5. Cumin seeds - 1 pinch
6. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon + 1 pinch
7. Coconut oil - 2 table spoon
8. Red chilli - 1 (break into 3 )
9. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
10. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tea spoon

METHOD

1. Grind the coconut to a fine paste with cumin seeds and green chilli. Crush a pinch of mustard seeds and add to the paste.

2. Fry the kondattam in coconut oil. Keep only 1 table spoon oil in the pan and discard the rest.

3. Heat the pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add fenugreek seeds, red chilli pieces and curry leaves and fry. Switch off stove and add the coconut paste. Stir well.

4. Add curd and salt and mix well.

5. Finally add the fried pavakka and mix.