Rasam

Tags

Bachelor recipe, easy rasam, Rasam, rasam for cold, Rasam without rasam powder, simple rasam recipe, South Indian Recipe, South Indian Style Rasam, Village Rasam

Happy New Year 2018 everyone, though a week late 🙂

As promised I thought I will make at least one post every month.

So today it is Rasam, one most favorite recipe in Tamil household. Easy to make.

Ingredients:

• Tamarind Juice – 1.5 cups(soak a big lemon size tamarind and get juice)
• Salt — according to taste.
• to grind
  • Garlic — 6 to 7 pods
  • Tomato – 1/2 large
  • Corriander seeds — 1 tablespoon
  • Toor daal — 1.5 tablespoon
  • Black Pepper — 1/2 table spoon
  • Cumin Seeds/ Jeera — 1/2 tablespoon
• to temper — oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Oil — 1 tablespoon
  • Mustard – 1 teaspoon
  • Urad daal – 1 teaspoon
  • Curry Leaves — few
  • Cumin Seeds/Jeera – 1 teaspoon.
  • onion — 1/2(optional)
• to garnish
  • Cilantro leaves — few

Method:

1. Have tamarind juice ready.
2. In a pan dry roast toor daal, corriander , black pepper, cumin seeds separately and allow it to cool.
3. Chop tomato, and garlic. Add the above roasted items aling with this and grind it to smooth paste.
4. Heat oil in a pan, once hot add items in to temper.
5. If adding onion saute well, add the ground paste.
6. mix well and then add tamarind water and salt.
7. Check if froth starts coming up. If so stop cooking. Add cilantro leaves and garnish. Serve with rice.

Advertisement

Vazhaipoo thugayal/Banana Flower petal chutney

Tags

Banana Flower Chutney, banana flower petal chutney, chutney recipes, Vazhai poo thugayal, Vazhaipoo chutney, vazhaipoo thokku

Hello friends,

Been really long, absolutely no time to check my blog. Have been thinking of posting, ain’t got time to write down a post. Have some pictures taken and been there in the memory card. Little one is growing fast and I am going around her where ever she crawls. This gets the mommy tired 🙂 Anyways lets get to this recipe. This is a recipe from my dear friend PM’s mom. When she told me that is she going to make this thugayal, I got fascinated and loved the recipe. I wanted to try immediately and absolutely loved the taste. This recipe is one of the treasured recipes from her mom.

PM this is dedicated to your mom 🙂

Here it goes, remove the banana flowers and when you get to the stage you can remove anymore, just cut it in half. Use the petals which are soft. Discard those which has more fiber and can’t cut.

Ingredients:

Banana Flower and petals of medium size

Tamarind : a small piece

Salt : 1/4 teaspoon

Oil : 3 to 4 table spoons

Red Chili : 2 to 3

Asafoetida/Hing: 1/8 teaspoon

Urad dal :1/4 teaspoon

Garlic : 20 pods

Mustard seeds : 1/4 teaspoon

Water : as needed

Curry Leaves: Few

Method:

• Throw the banana flower and the petals in a pressure cooker, add salt, tamarind and some water and cook for 3 whistles.
• In a small pan, heat some oil, add urad dal, red chili, hing. Once it cracks, let it cool.
• Take out the pressure cooked flower, petals, add the above and grind it to a fine paste.
• Next heat the remaining oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Add garlic once they start to brown, add the paste and mix well.
• Cook in low flame until it thickens.

Serve with idli/dosa.

My friend told me that , they prepare it for ladies who delivered babies. This helps cure the internal injury in new moms. As you know Banana flower is full of iron content. Though it is a little long process, it is absolutely worth it. This tastes so good. Do give it a try. You can store it for a week as we have loads of oil. Use it as thokku.

Cranberry thokku

Tags

Cranberry Indian Recipe, Cranberry Indian style pickle, Cranberry Indian Style recipe, Cranberry Thokku, easy thokku recipe

I wanted to make this thokku last year itself but missed it. Cranberries are easily found during Thanksgiving season. When I went to Walmart before Thanksgiving this year, I got a pack of cranberries for $1.68. Last year this time I was pregnant and had urinary infection, which is very common during pregnancy. Cranberry helps a lot in reducing UTI. I used to make juice with apple. But it was too bitter and I gave up fresh cranberries lol. So I used to make dry fruits bar/energy bar with dried cranberries. This year again I got so tempted by seeing the price. Finally made this thokku. It is way better than juice, so you can try it ☺

This is not my own recipe, adapted from here. I have never found these beauties in India.

Ingredients:

Cranberries: 2 cups
Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder: 2 teaspoon (adjust according to your taste)
Salt : 1 teaspoon
Oil: 2 tablespoons
Tamarind juice: 2 tablespoons

Method:

• Wash cranberries and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large pan. When hot add the cranberries. It would start popping, just be careful.
• When they bubble up and get cooked. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and give it a nice mix.
• After 2 to 3 mins, add tamarind juice and mix well.
• Let it cook and oil gets separated on the edges of the pan.
• Now stop and cool. Store in a mason jar in refrigerator for 2 weeks.

It goes well with idli, dosa, chappathi and with rice.

Optionally you can make tadka with little oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves. I didn’t want to add more oil, so didn’t do this step.

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.

Keerai Molagootal/Spinach coconut Gravy

Tags

Keerai Molagootal, Molagootal recipe, Palakkad style molagootal recipe, Spinach coconut gravy, Spinach Gravy, Spinach Indian style gravy

This recipe was introduced by my friend, she said you must definitely try it. I absolutely loved this recipe. When I found it the first time I felt it was a very lengthy process. But I could make it within half hour. This has the goodness of both spinach and coconut along with dal. Do give it a try. This is adapted from Palakkad Chamayal blog.

Ingredients:

Spinach : 2 cups packed

Toor Dal : 4 tablespoons

Grated coconut : 3/4 cup

Urad dal : 1 teaspoon

Red Chili :1

Cumin seeds : 1 teaspoons

Mustard Seeds : 1 teaspoon

Oil : 1 teaspoon

Salt : 3/4 teaspoon

Asafoetida : a generous pinch

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal for 4 to 5 whistles and leave it for the pressure to subside.
• Clean spinach and roughly chop. Boil the spinach leaves with very little water for 3 to 4 mins in high. Allow it to cool.
• Next in a blender make it a fine paste. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, when hot add cumin seeds, red chili and urad dal. When urad dal turns little brownish, stop and cool down.
• Now add the above with coconut and grind to a fine paste.
• Now open the pressure cooker and mash the cooked dal well. Add the coconut paste with urad dal.  Boil for few mins, add salt and mix well.
• Now add spinach and boil for just 2 mins and stop.(do not over boil)
• Heat another teaspoon of oil and add mustard seeds, asafoetida. When they splutter, stop and mix with the above.

Tasty molagootal is ready, serve with either rice or roti.

Tofu Palak/Tofu Spinach and Kale Gravy

Tags

Palak Tofu, Palak Tofu Recipe, Spinach and Tofu Recipe, Tofu Indian Recipes, Tofu Kale recipe, Tofu Recipe, Tofu Spinach Recipe

We are very used to Palak Paneer and my hubby loves it. This time I decided to make it with Tofu instead of Paneer. Since I had the combo of both Spinach and Kale ,so tried with this combo and it turned out very yummy 🙂 You can use only Spinach for this.

Ingredients:

Extra Firm Tofu : 3/4 of a pack

Spinach and Kale mix : 1 cup each

Onion : 1/2 of large

Tomato : 1 medium

Red Chili Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Salt : 1 teaspoon

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 teaspoon

To Temper:

Oil : 2 tablespoons

Cumin Seeds : 1/2 teaspoons

Fennel Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Cardamom Piece : 1 small

Method:

• Remove water from the Tofu packet, and squeeze of the water. Place in tissue paper for 5 mins.
• Wash Spinach and Kale. Add water about 1 and a half cup over it and boil for 3 to 4 mins until it shrinks.
• Cool down and blend to a fine paste.
• Chop onions , tomato. After 5 mins squeeze excess water and cut it to cubes. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the tofu cubes and saute til golden color and set aside.
• Heat the other tablespoon of oil, when hot add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom piece.
• When they crackle, add onions. Let it turn golden brown, add ginger garlic paste. Saute for 3 to 4 mins.
• Now add tomato and saute till it gets smashed well.. Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and mix well.
• Now add the kale and spinach paste. Let it boil for 5 mins.
• When it is boils well, add the Tofu cubes with this and let it simmer for few more mins.
• Stop and serve with any roti, paratha 🙂

I served with Gobi Paratha.

Brussels Sprout tomato gravy (Oil free version)

Tags

Brussels Sprout, Brussels Sprout Indian Style gravy, Brussels Sprout Tomato Gravy, Brussels Sprouts, Brussels Sprouts Gravy, Brussels Sprouts Gravy for Phulkha, Oil Free Brussels Sprout

Brussels sprout is something that I never knew what to do with. These are not quite common in my place, so I came across only when I moved to USA. Have seen lot of co bloggers inducing Indian style dishes with these. Now its my turn 🙂 and it is going to be zero oil 🙂 It is a very simple dish and tastes yummy with phulkha’s , I didn’t feel that oil was missing.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

Brussels Sprout : 5 to 6 large sized(cut in to half)

Tomato : 2 medium

Onion : 1/4 of a large

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder : a generous pinch

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chili Powder : 1/4 teaspoon

Garam Masala Powder : 1 teaspoon

Water : 2 cups

Cilantro : Few (to garnish)

Method:

• Roughly chop tomato, onion and blend it to a fine paste.
• In a pan heat this paste, add ginger garlic paste and heat for 5 mins.
• While heating my tomatoes turned little extra red 😛
• Add Brussels sprouts and heat. Cover with a lid for 5 mins.
• Next add red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt and mix well.
• Add 2 cups of water and let it boil to a nice gravy. It took around 15 minutes to get to the gravy consistency and the brussels sprouts to get cooked well.
• Stop and garnish with cilantro leaves 🙂
• Serve with Phulkha, it works well with rice as well (South Indian like me loves with rice 😛 )

Notes:

If you would like to have the oil version, then heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and when they splutter add the tomato paste and proceed the same way above mentioned.

Methi Dhal/Fenugreek Leaves Lentil Gravy

Tags

Andhra Pappu, Andhra style pappu recipe, Daal recipe, Fenugreek leaves, Methi Daal, Methi Daal recipe, Methi Dhal, Methi Recipe

Methi leaves/Fenugreek leaves is a must in my grocery list when I visit Indian grocery. I got to learn this recipe from my room mate. She is from Rajamundry of Andhra Pradesh. I love Andhra food( I guess most of us in South India loves 🙂 ) and specially the pappu which is served in their menu is just awesome. Vegetarians like me used to have 2 to 3 rounds of this pappu and rice 😉

I used to get methi, pluck it from the stalks and wait for my roomie to prepare this pappu. She is quite a busy bee , an alumni of BITS Pilani!! Now you can understand how work alcoholic this lady is. But I have never got such a wonderful room mate ever, she is the best. It is usually me who cooks and what ever blunder I prepare, she never used to complain 😛 so sweet of her 😀 Once she taught me how to prepare this dish, but somehow when I prepared it, I couldn’t get the same taste as how she prepares it. When I asked her, she told me that I might have reduced the tamarind size and yes, she was right. Tamarind in this dish gives it an excellent taste. So here is the Andhra style recipe 🙂

Ingredients:

Methi Leaves/Fenugreek Leaves : 2 bunches ( 3/4 cups)

Toor Dhal/Pigeon Pea : 1/2 cup

Green Chili : 2

Turmeric Powder : 1/8 teaspoon

Tamarind : 1 Lemon size (make juice out of it measure this as well along with water)

Water : Just to cover till it fills the top of all above

Onion: 1/2 of large

Garlic : 5 to 6 large pods

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

To Temper:

Oil: 1 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida : 1/4 teaspoon

Red Chili : 1 to 2

Method:

• Wash Fenugreek Leaves thoroughly and roughly chop them.
• Next wash toor dal and drain of water. Add the fenugreek leaves, tamarind juice with water, green chili and turmeric powder with the toor dal and pressure cook it for 6 whistles.
• Let it cool down. Once done mash them totally and add salt.(I didn’t mash it well :P) Now mix it well.
• Heat oil in a pan, when hot add mustard seeds, urad dal, Cumin seeds, asafoetida and broken red chili. When it crackles add the chopped onions and garlic and mix well. When garlic turns a little golden color , add this tadka to the dal/lentil cooked above.

Serve with rice or roti 🙂

Simple and easy recipe. It takes time to remove the leaves from stalk, only this is time consuming. We both used to have it with Rice, pickle and papad 🙂 yum!! I missing those days badly…. I am not sure if she has time to read this post as now she is totally busy in her new office at UK 🙂 , I dedicate it to her 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed Vegetable Gravy

Tags

Fast and quick Indian Recipes, Healthy gravy, Indian Style gravy, Indian style side dish, Mixed Vegetable Gravy, Mixed Vegetables, Mixed Vegetables curry

Lots of my friends have been asking for simple and quick recipes lately. So today I am bringing another quick recipe with mixed vegetables. This gravy can be eaten with roti/chappathi or with rice as well. Sometime back I prepared this as a side dish for Quinoa 🙂 As we get the mixed frozen vegetables , it makes life easier. I use Goya’s pack which has a mix of carrot, beans, corn,peas and Lima beans. You can use any vegetable of your choice. If it is fresh its better. But for quick purpose frozen is what we can use 🙂

Ingredients:

Mixed Vegetables Frozen/ fresh : 3/4 cup (mentioned above)

Onion : 1/2 of large

Tomato : 2 medium

Ginger : 1/2 inch piece

Garlic : 1 pod

Red Chili Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder : 1/8 teaspoon

Garam Masala : 1/2 teaspoon

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Oil : 1 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

Cilantro : Few strands

Method:

• Chop onion and tomato roughly, add ginger and garlic with these and blend it to a paste.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds. When they crackle add curry leaves. Next add all the mixed vegetables and saute for 2 to 3 mins.
• Now add the onion, tomato paste to the vegetables. Let it heat for 5 mins.
• Then add red chili powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix well.
• Tomatoes might splutter. So cover with a lid and cook.
• In 6 to 7 mins, check if the vegetables are cooked and the raw smell leaves off. Then stop and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Quick and easy which goes well with anything like rice, idli, dosa, roti, chappathi, paratha. It might take around 15 mins to complete this. I am sure this would be helpful for working people 🙂 Hope you enjoy it friends 🙂

Mushroom curry

Tags

mushroom, Mushroom Curry, Mushroom Indian Style Curry, Mushroom Masala, Mushroom Yogurt Curry, Mushroom Yogurt Gravy

For the past few days I have been trying out few recipes and nothing has been working out sadly 😛 So I decided to get to the safer zone of my regular Indian cooking. Here is a recipe with mushroom and yogurt. I love both of them separately and this is a combination of both 🙂 this goes well with roti/chapathi as well rice.

Ingredients:

Mushroom : 250 gms

Onion : 1/2 of large

Tomato : 1

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 teaspoon

Yogurt : 3 tablespoons

Turmeric Powder : 1/4 teaspoon

Red Chili Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander Powder : 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala : 1 teaspoon

Salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Oil : 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

Cilantro Leaves : Few

Method:

• Chop mushroom, onion and tomato to pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan, when hot add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves.
• Add onion, ginger garlic paste and saute till translucent.
• Add turmeric powder and mix well.
• Next add tomato and saute till soft.
• Next add the chopped mushroom, mix and cook for 5 mins.
• When the mushroom oozes water content, add the red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and mix.
• Cook for 10 mins. When the mushroom’s are cooked 75%, add yogurt and salt.
• Mix well and cook for 10 more mins.
• When mushroom are cooked well, stop and garnish with cilantro leaves.
• Serve with hot roti 🙂