Karuvepillai Kuzhambhu/ Curry Leaves gravy(Chettinad style)

Tags

Chettinad style karuvepillai kuzhambhu recipe, Curry Leaves gravy, Curry Leaves Recipe, Karuvepillai Kuzhambhu, Kuzhambhu recipe

Karuvepillai kuzhambhu is a speciality in chettinad cuisine. Curry leaves are great source of vitamin and mineral. High in iron content. Here in the US just few strands of curry leaves cost a dollar. I just use them for garnish. Recently there was an Indian friends get together. One family have got this tree at their house. They had to chop it off. So they distributed it in the party. I was overwhelmed seeing so much of curry leaves lol. Immediately called grandma to get kuzhambhu recipe. They were simply fresh and had awesome smell. After making this kuzhambhu my house was smelling divine 🙂

Here it is….

Ingredients:
To grind
Curry leaves/ Karuvepillai: 1 cup tightly packed
Fennel seeds: 1 teaspoon
Grated coconut: 1 tablespoon

Tamarind juice : 1.5 cups
Sambar powder: 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder: a generous pinch
Salt : as needed

Oil: 1 tablespoon ( I prefer sesame oil)
Mustard seeds: 1/4 teaspoon
Fennel Seeds :1/4 teaspoon
Urad dal: 1/4 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

• Wash curry leaves, add fennel seeds, grated coconut and grind it to a fine paste. Set aside.
• Add tamarind juice, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt in a bowl. Now mix the above ground paste.
• Check if salt and spice is fine, if needed adjust.
• In a large pan, add oil heat in medium flame.
• When hot add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds.
• When it splutters, add the add mixed items and let it get cooked.
• It takes around 20 mins. When oil oozes a bit, then it is done.
• Stop and serve with either rice, idli or dosa.

This can be stored for around a week.

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Milagai Chutney/Red Chili Chutney

Tags

Chettinad dangar chutney, Chettinad style chutney, Milagai Chutney, Red Chili Chutney

As I mentioned earlier in Vellai Paniyaram post, they are always accompanied with red chili chutney. As paniyaram is just made with rice and a bit of urad dal , it is quite bland and requires something spicy to be accompanied 🙂

Ingredients:

Small Onion/Red Pearl onions : 20 to 25 (You can use shallots or red onions as well)

Tomato : 1/2 of a large

Garlic : 2 pods

Red Chili : 3 ( normally we add around 6, you can reduce it to 2 as well)

Oil : 1 tablespoon (normally we add more than 2 tablespoons, I have reduced it)

Mustard seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1/4 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

Salt : as needed

Water : as needed

Method:

• Chop red pearl onions, tomato, garlic. Add red chili with these. Grind it to a fine or coarse paste with required water.
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and urad dal when hot.
• When it crackles, add curry leaves.
• Now pour the ground paste.
• Add salt to it and let it get cooked.
• It might splutter, so cover it with lid.
• Cook till all the water content gets dehydrated. It takes around 30 mins to dehydrate.

Serve with paniayaram , idli or dosa.

Vellai Paniyaram — Chettinad Special (200th Post)

Tags

Chettinad Palaharam, chettinad recipe, Paniayaram recipe, tips for vellai paniyaram, Vellai Paniyaram

Here comes my 200th post, with the chettinad special dish vellai paniyaram. In any chettinad house this dish is inevitable. This is served in all of the chettinad functions. You will find this as one of the breakfast items in marriages.

It is a very simple recipe, but needs some practice. I have tried it a few times and never got it right. Finally I could nail it 🙂 It is always accompanied with the spicy millagai chutney (Red Chili Chutney) , recipe in the next post.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice/Pachai arisi : 1 cup ( measure exactly up to rim)

Urad Dal/Ulunthu : 1 1/2 tablespoon/make a gopuram over rice ( urad dal, we get in US is poor in quality, so I use 1/4 cup which gives better result)

Water : as needed to grind

Salt : as needed

Milk : 1 tablespoon( optional)

Oil : to deep fry

Method:

• Soak rice and urad dal in water for 2 hours.
• Grind it to a smooth batter with salt, just like dosa batter.
• This batter needs to be a little extra watery than dosa batter. So you can add extra milk and bring it to that consistency.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
• Take a ladle which is not at all deep.( In Tamil we say kuli illatha karandi)
• When the oil is hot enough, in the ladle take the batter and make sure the bottom of the ladle doe not have any batter. And pour it in one place.
• With another ladle, pour oil on the top of the paniyaram.
• Let it get cooked for a minute. Now turn the sides and cook around 30 sec.
• Drain oil and place it in a paper towel to drain extra oil.

Tips:

• This paniayaram should be thin and not thick, you can see the last picture on how it looks when cooked. Once the first is cooked , tear it and see if the center is cooked well, if not then cook for some more time.
• This paniyaram has to be cooked one at a time and not more than one.
• Do not over cook once the side is turned. They must look white and not brown, hence the name vellai paniyaram.
• This batter can be prepared and stored for later in fridge. Make sure to have a little watery consistency than dosa batter.
• In case urad dal is very good quality, these paniyaram might come out very thick and like a ball.
• In this case adding little milk or water helps(I have tried this option). You can also add rice flour and adjust( I haven’t tried this)
• In case Urad dal is too less, then paniyaram becomes very thin and rubbery. In this case you can add some urad dal flour and adjust.
• The sides of this paniayaram will form a flower shape which is the exact shape of this paniyaram.
• Final tip my grandma gives me is, when you don’t get it right make uthappam with this batter 🙂

Paruppu Payasam/Moong Dal Kheer — Happy Tamil New Year and Vishu

Tags

Coconut milk, Dal Kheer, easy vegan desserts, gluten free dessert, Milagu Kuzhambhu, Moong dal kheer, Paruppu Payasam, payasam recipe, Payatham Paruppu Payasam, Vegan desserts, vegan Indian desserts, Vegan Paruppu Payasam, Vendhaya Dosai

I am a little late in wishing everyone a very Happy Tamil New Year and Vishu. Anyways never late, here is an authentic payasam recipe for the celebration 🙂 As a tradition we make arusuvai unnavu on this special day, which mean all the six taste is incorporated in food specially. I made few and adjusted a few 🙂 here is what I made on this special day.

Inipu/Sweet — Paruppu Payasam(dal kheer)

Pulippu/Sour — Maa vathal khuzhambhu(Mango preserve kuzhambhu)

Kasappu/Bitter — Vendhaya Dosai (methi dosa)

Thuvarpu/Astringent — Madulai / Served some pomegranate

Kaarpu/Spicy — Milagu Kuzhambhu(Pepper corn gravy)

Oovarpu/Salty– Any uppu poriyal will do, so I made prangikkai uppu poriyal(yellow pumpkin stir fry)

Recipe for Maa vathal Kuzhambhu, Vendhaya dosai, milagu kuzhambhu is coming soon….

Here is a sneak peak of my platter, excluding vendhaya dosai 🙂

I made a vegan version of this recipe for the first time and turned out well.

Ingredients:

Pasi Paruppu/Moong Dal : 1/2 cup

Water : 1 1/2 cup

Turmeric Powder : a generous pinch

Coconut Milk : 1 1/2 cup to 2 cups(replace by milk if not vegan)

Jaggery : 1/2 cup (adjust according to your taste buds)

Coconut Oil : 1 tablespoon (replace by ghee, if not vegan)

Cashews : Few

Raisins : Few

Method:

• Pressure cook pasi paruppu/moong dal with water and turmeric powder for 3 to 4 whistles.
• Let it cool. When pressure subsides open the cooker and make sure dal is cooked well.
• Now add coconut milk and let it come to boiling stage.
• Heat jaggery with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. When it starts melting and heating, pour the mix through a filter over the cooking dal and coconut milk.
• Let it heat for another 3 to 4 mins.
• In a small pan heat coconut oil, when hot add cashews.
• When they turn slight golden brown, add raisins let them pop.
• Once popped add it to the payasam.
• Stop and serve either hot or cold.

White Pumpkin Sambar/Poosanikai Sambar — Bloggivessary Post

Tags

Chettinad style poosanikai sambar, chettinad style sambar, podi munikina poosanikai sambar, Poosanikai Sambar, pumpkin sambar, sambar recipe, south Indian sambar recipe, white pumpkin sambar

OK, this is going to be a little long post. Feb 26th is the first anniversary for Malar’s Kitchen. I never thought I would blog on for a year. It is already a year and I can’t believe it myself. I started it just like a kid and to document all recipes. To share some Chettinad recipes. I never felt I would be blogging so seriously. Blog world has given me wonderful friends. Though sometimes I did go stressed with the blog post, blogging is always fun, addictive and enjoyable.

I hope and guess have given some healthy recipes, some traditional recipes. Till date there is 182 published post in my blog. Sigh!!! Did I do that? I wonder myself 🙂 I should give credits to my husband who did bare my cooking 😉 yeah sometimes when I try out a recipe and if doesn’t work…he has to manage with it 😛 He is always supportive.  He is as well a blogger, who encouraged me all these days. In case you are interested do check his blog @ Known is a drop, Unknown is an ocean Thanks to all my blog followers, friends who follow in Facebook, friends who have subscribed via email. A big Thanks to everyone who have supported me and let me go on.

I never knew that food photography existed in the first few months while I started blogging. After seeing some wonderful pictures from co bloggers, I thought I should change my way and did few things. Till date I have just taken baby steps to learn.  Hope my pictures look a bit better now.

So for the first anniversary I have chosen my grandma’s recipe, who is everything for me in this world. Instead of a sweet, I have chosen a savory food 🙂 Why not a sweet, read on…

This sambar holds a very special place in my heart, a recipe of my grandma. Whenever she prepares this sambar, I eat lot more 😀 She makes it really spicy and everyone at my home loves it so much. She calls it Podi munukina poosanikai sambar. I have tried it many times and couldn’t get her results 😦 So I called again last week and said amma(I call her amma(mother) rather than grandma as she was the one who grew me up 🙂 ) give me the exact measurements. She always tells me add a bit of this, a bit of that and I miss the correct proportion which spoils the sambar. So this time I got the perfect measurement from her and YAY, I got it perfect 😀 I was so happy and jumped in joy 🙂 I wanted to document it and share with my blog reader, hope everyone would love it as much as I do 🙂

Ingredients:

White Pumpkin/Poosanikai : 1 1/2 cup chopped (skin peeled)

Onion : 1/4 of a large

Tomato : 1/2 of a large

Turmeric Powder : generous pinch

Tamarind : 1 teaspoon

Water : as needed

Salt : as needed

To temper:

Oil : 1 1/2 tablespoon(reduce it if desired)

Mustard seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1/2 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

To grind :

Red Chili : 2 large (I have reduced from 4 to 2, if you like it more spicy can increase to 4)

Fennel Seeds/Sombu : 1 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek Seeds/Vendhayam: 1/4 teaspoon

Channa Dal/Kadalai Paruppu : 1 tablespoon

Raw Rice/Pachai arisi : 1 1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida/Hing : 1/8 teaspoon

Method:

• In a pan, dry roast each ingredient in to grind separately , make sure not to burn and let it cool. When cool, grind it to a coarse powder( I made it  to a fine powder).
• Heat oil of 1 tablespoon in a medium pan. When hot add onion, saute for 2 mins.
• Next add the chopped pumpkins, saute for 3 to 4 mins.
• Next add tomato and saute till it mashes well. Add turmeric powder, salt and mix well.
• Now add around 1 1/2 cups of water and let it boil for 6 to 7 mins. Close pan with lid.
• Check if the pumpkin is 60 to 70% cooked. Now add the ground powder. Mix well.
• Sambar would start getting thicker. Add 1/2 cup of water more and mix.
• You can adjust water , so that it has the consistency of sambar. Make sure it is not too thick or not too watery.
• Check for salt and adjust it as well.
• Boil for another 10 mins. Now add tamarind juice and mix.
• Boil for 5 mins. Finally check if the pumpkins are fully cooked with flavors.
• Now heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal, hing. When they crackle, add curry leaves. When it splutters add it to the sambar.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with rice.

Once again heart felt Thanks to all followers and supporters.

Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambhu/Okra Yogurt Gravy

Tags

butter milk, chettinad style more kuzhambhu recipe, how to make vendakkai more kuzhambhu, Mor Kuzhambhu, more kuzhambhu recipe, More Kuzhambu, Vendakkai More Kuzhambu, Yogurt

Mor Kuzhambhu is a south Indian yogurt based gravy similar to khadi in north India. Everyone absolutely loves this dish, I am no exception to it. I learnt it from my grandma. Buttermilk made with yogurt cools down the body temperature, is used in this gravy. I usually prepare this when I have some left out okra in the fridge. Never bothered to take pictures 🙂 Then I thought I should include it in my blog too. So here it is.

This recipe is what my mom and grandma uses, which is a little different from others. This is my 175th post, I am very happy to share my family recipe here 🙂

 

Ingredients:

Vendakkai/Okra/Ladies Finger : 6 to 7 (medium sized)

Onion : 1/4 of a large

Yogurt/Curd : 1/2 cup

Water : as needed

Salt : as needed

oil : 1 teaspoon

Red Chili : 1

Mustard seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

To grind:

Cumin Seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Channa dal : 1/2 teaspoon

Green Chili : 2

Ginger : 1 inch piece

Grated Coconut: 2 tablespoon

Raw rice/Pachai arisi : 1 teaspoon

Method:

• Soak all the items in to grind for 15 to 20 mins.
• Meanwhile wash okra, pat it dry in a cloth and remove the water. Chop them to pieces.
• Chop onion.
• Grind all the items which are soaked to a fine paste after 15 to 20 mins.
• Heat oil in a pan, when hot add mustard seeds, red chili. When it splutters, add curry leaves.
• Then add onions saute for 2 mins.
• Next add the chopped okra. Saute till the slimness goes off the okra. Make sure to stir in between.
• When the slimness goes off, add the ground paste above with required salt to the okra. Add one cup water.
• Cover the pan with lid and cook for 10 mins.
• Now the gravy thickens, so make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Meantime, add curd/yogurt with 1/2 cup water and blend it to a watery liquid(butter milk)
• Check if the okra’s are well cooked, if not add some water and cook.
• When the okra’s are well cooked, add the butter milk and heat for just 2 mins.
• If you heat more, then it would turn curdled. Chop few cilantro leaves and garnish.

This goes great with rice. ( As we take brown rice for everyday use, my picture has it 🙂 )

Any veggies of your choice can be used.

Curd / Yogurt should not be very sour.

You can add a pinch of turmeric as well. I like it in the whitish color 😉

 

Vengaya Kose/Onion Tomato with coconut gravy

Tags

chettinad recipe, Chettinad side dish, gravy for dosa, simple gravy for idli, South Indian breakfast recipe, South Indian Recipe, Vengaya Kose, Vengaya Kose recipe

Vengaya kose is a very common Chettinad side dish for idli/dosa. When I have to prepare something which is of Chettinad style, I usually get recipe from my grandma or mom. These days both of them are really busy with their work. So got this recipe from Solai Achi website , here we can find most of the chettinad special recipes.

Ingredients:

Onion : 1/2 of a large

Tomato : 1/2 of a large

Potato : 2 small

Cinnamon stick : 1 small

Cloves : 2

Oil : 1 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seeds : 1 teaspoon

Salt : as needed

Water : as needed

To grind:

Grated coconut : 2 tablespoons

Roasted gram/pottukadalai : 1 tablespoon

Garlic : 2 pods

Fennel seeds : 1 teaspoon

Red Chili : 2

Method:

• Chop onions length wise, chop tomato and potato to small pieces
• Add all the items in to grind and with little water to make a fine paste. Set aside.
• In a pan heat oil. When hot add cinnamon sticks, cloves, fennel seeds.
• When it crackles, add onion. Saute for 2 mins.
• Then add the potato and saute till half done.
• Next add tomato and saute till they are mashed well. Add salt and mix.
• Now add water to cover just a bit above the veggie layer.
• Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 5 mins.
• Now check if the potato are 90% done, then add the ground paste.
• Simmer for 5 mins and cook.
• Finally add cilantro leaves and garnish.

This goes well with any idli/Dosa/Chappati.

Sakkarai Pongal

Tags

CHettinad sakkari pongal, chettinad style of pongal celebration, pongal, pongal celebrations, Pongal in pongal paanai, pongal recipe, Sakkarai Pongal, Sarkarai Pongal, Traditional way of preparing sakkarai pongal

This has been the most delayed post from me. I wanted to do it last week itself but after pongal celebrations, I was totally tired and I am still having migraine headache from last week. Here is the traditional method of preparing pongal in pot(pongal panai). My pics are not so great this time 🙂

Also I got organic jaggery this time, it was absolutely tasty. Never got the sugary feeling in this pongal. So the end result was totally tasty 🙂

Ingredients:

Raw Rice/Pachai arisi : 1 cup

Moong Dal/Pasiparuppu : 1/4 cup

Jaggery : 1 cup

Milk : 1 cup (I used around 1 1/2 cup to make it rich)

Water : 3 to 4 cups (as required)

Ghee : 3 to 4 tablespoons(adjust according to your need)

Cashews : 2 tablespoons

Raisins : 1 tablespoon

Method:

• Wash raw rice with 1 cup of water and save the water in another vessel. If you find any impurities filter it.
• Set aside the rice.
• Heat 1 cup washed water+1 1/2 cup milk+1 cup normal water in the pot/pongal panai.
• When the milk boils and comes up to the rim of the pot/panai, we usually say “Pongal o Pongal ” and drizzle a bit of water over it.
• When it subsides, add the rice, moong dal and let it cook.
• In between keep checking if water is needed, in case it is needed we can add more.
• This rice has to be cooked more than the normal rice like a little mashed.
• When it is 95% done, in another pan heat jaggery powder with enough water to form a fine paste.
• Now filter it over the rice and mix well.
• Another small pan heat ghee and add cashews when it starts turning golden brown add raisins. When raisins pops, add this to the rice.
• By now the rice is fully ready and can be served.

This is how we celebrated pongal 🙂

Happy Pongal — Non food post

Tags

Chettinad nadu veetu kolam, Chettinad pongal kolam, Chettinad style pongal, Chettinad style pongal celebration, how to put nadu veetu kolam, nadu veetu kolam, pongal celebration, pongal kolam, pongal preparation in open space

Happy Pongal/Makara Sankranthi/Lohri to everyone. For Tamilians pongal is another major festival. I love this time of the year, never missed being at home with grandparents for pongal. For the past 2 years after marriage , I am away from them and miss them badly. Pongal brings us lots of excitement, starting with pongal kolam, preparation of pongal, offering to sun god, etc etc…. There is a slight difference in the way pongal celebration is done in my in laws place and my mom’s place. From my mom’s side it is quite hectic and in- laws way of celebration is a little simpler. I have to follow my inlaws way of celebration 🙂

One work that I totally love is the pongal kolam/rangoli that we put in the front yard of our home. This is the way we chettiars prepare pongal. This kolam is not done with the regular rangoli powder, instead we use raw rice paste. It stays for a week, if we don’t disturb it. Me and my grandma we used to do this on the evening of the day before pongal. Some pictures from my archive on how we do it at my hometown. Pongal is usually done in pongal panai in both my in laws and my mom’s place and not in pressure cooker. I follow that method. Will post this way of preparation soon.

In my in laws place, we make Sakkarai pongal, velai pongal. Kathirikai puli kuzhambhu, paruppu masiyal. Then we have parangikai, vazhakkai, avarakkai, sakaravali kizhanghu uppu poriyal.

In my mom’s place, we make sakkarai pongal, velai pongal. Kathirikai puli kuzhambhu, paruppu masiyal, palakai kootu, karunaikizhangu kuzhambhu. Then parangikai, vazhakkai, avarakai, sakarvali kizhanghu proiyal.

Usually at my hometown, after preparing all these, we make an offering to the sun god. Which is usually done at the front yard where we have some space. Then bring it to the pooja room and there we have one more kolam called nadu veetu kolam. We place these offerings on top of this kolam and pray. Then we happily eat them 🙂

Since we don’t have open space and it’s all carpet in my apartments here in US, I have planned to just do the nadu veetu kolam in our coffee table 😉 and do the offering to god. This is how it is.

Here is my preparation for tomorrow’s pongal 🙂

 

Thirattupaal/Paalkova (Chettinad Style)

Tags

authentic thirattupaal, Chettinad Desserts, Chettinad Foods, Chettinad Palaharam, Chettinad style thirattupaal, healthy paalkova, karupatti, paalkova, pillaiyar nombu, Thirattupaal, Thirattupaal recipe

Diwali nearing and list of sweets lining up 🙂 Thirattupaal is a very common sweet in my place. This is the Chettinad style thirattupaal. Only difference in this style is that instead of sugar we use palm candy(karupatti) And that taste is a little different from normal paalkova. And this is quite healthy and better than normal refined sugar. Gur/Jaggery can be replaced instead of palm candy(karupatti) This is as well a healthy option.

Ingredients:

Milk : 1 liter (whole milk works best)

Palm Candy/Karupatti : 3/4 cup ( can be replaced by Jaggery/Sugar)

Lemon Juice : 1 teaspoon

Salt : a pinch

Method:

• Take a heavy bottomed pan, pour milk and boil it.
• Keep boiling in medium heat.
• Break down karupatti to pieces. In another small pan, heat karupatti with very little water and let it boil. Then filter out for any impurities.
• When milk simmer add the above karupatti liquid or directly add jaggery powder/sugar.
• Keep stirring for a while. If karupatti is used then milk will curdle automatically. (somehow mine did not curdle, so I used lemon juice to make it curdle)
• If jaggery or sugar is added, then lemon juice needs to be added in few mins after adding them.
• Make sure to keep stirring and add a pinch of salt. At one stage all the water content would evaporate and become thick. Then stop and cool.
• This is a fabulous dessert 🙂

Optional Elaichi powder can be added for a bit of flavor. This whole process takes around 45 mins to one hour.