Dal Kichidi

I tried this recipe after having in a restaurant called "Sukh Sagar". Whenever I go there, I will order for it. That became my fav dish. Even though it is like having Dhal rice, but I liked it the way they make it. So, I started making it at my home also. Even a 2 years kid can have this. Instead of moong dhal, toor dhal can also be used. It will have different taste. Its a simple and easy dish to make within 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

Moong Dhal - Boiled and Mashed - 1 cup
Oil / Ghee - 1 Tbsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger - small piece finely chopped
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Cooked Rice - 1 cup.

Method:

1. Heat oil or Ghee in a pan, add jeera, ginger, green chillies.
2. Add boiled and mashed dhal, stir fry for few seconds and add water to it. Let it boil for few mins.
3. Add required amount of salt, turmeric powder, some finely chopped coriander leaves.
4. Finally add cooked rice and saute well till the rice nicely mixes with the dhal.
5. Add some ghee on the top and mix again, to enrich the taste.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with papad.

Cabbage Kootu

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1 large cup (Chopped)
Moong dhal - 1 cup boiled

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt to taste

Dried red chillies - 2

Green chillies - 1

Oil - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - a strip

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, boil and cook the dhal well with a tsp of turmeric powder. Keep it aside. 

2. Boil cabbage as well. But I cooked dhal in cooker and cabbage in a pan separately, cos cabbage can be cooked easily.

3. In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, asafoetida, curry leaves, red chillies or green chillies or both can be used. Add chopped cabbage, mix well and close the lid. Let it cook for sometime. Just check in between cos cabbage will be cooked very fast. See to that cabbage is not over cooked.

4. Add cooked moong dhal.

5. Finally add salt to taste.

6. Garnish it with corainder leaves. Serve hot with rice or chapathi. 

I cooked cabbage separately in a pan adding water to it, and add dhal to it. Allow it to cook for sometime, until the kootu becomes thick and finally it can be tempered with mustard seeds, jeera...etc.

White Pumpkin Masiyal / Kootu

Ingredients:

White Pumpkin - 1 cup chopped
Toor Dhal - 1 cup boiled
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt to taste
Dried red chillies - 2
Green chillies - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a strip
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. In a pressure cooker, boil and cook the dhal well with a tsp of turmeric powder. Moong dhal can also be used. Keep it aside. Boil white pumpkin as well. (Pumpkin can be boiled with dhal also... but see to that both should not be mashed).
2. In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, asafoetida, curry leaves, red chillies or green chillies or both can be used.
3. Add boiled white pumpkin to it. Mix well.
4. Add cooked toor dhal or moong dhal.
5. Finally add salt to taste.
6. Garnish it with corainder leaves. Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Anjarai Petti Kuzhambu

I havent heard of this name before my marriage. This kuzhambu is all time favourite for my mother-in-law, I should say, and its been now for me too. I was wondering why this name came to this recipe???? Then she told me, all ingredients used in this kuzhambu, which are there in that Anjarai petti(Spices Box)... This Kuzhambu can be prepared within 10 minutes, if all the ground powders kept ready. U can make powders and keep it in fresh airtight containers. Speciality of this kuzhambu is, no need of tempering or tadka, u can simply make without it and no need of any vegetables also. If u want, u can add small onions, as per ur wish. This Kuzhambu tastes yummy on the second day...( keep it inside fridge, as we have used all dhals in it).

This recipe, I learnt it from my Mother-in-laws's mother... I simply love it... Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Pepper - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Channa dhal - 1 tsp
Toor Dhal - 1tsp
Urad dhal - 1tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1tsp
Red Chillies - 5-8
Asafoetida - a pinch
Tamarind - 1 lemon sized
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strip
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Dry roast the mustard seeds and the fenugreek, and crush it in a crusher or in a mixer.
2. Dry roast other ingredients, like toor dhal, urad dhal, coriander seeds, red chillies, channa dhal, pepper, jeera or cumin seeds, asafoetida(solid one- a small piece) or u can use powdered asafoetida also separately in another pan, one by one and grind it in a mixer and keep it separately.
3. Now, squeeze out the tamarind and make tamarind water and keep it separately.
4. In a kadai or a pan, heat oil, if u add gingely oil, taste will be great. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, tamarind water, salt, turmeric powder. Let it boil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Then add the ground powders, mix it well. Let it cook till the kuzhambu gets somewhat thick.
6. Serve hot with rice.

Bitter Gourd Raita

Ingredients:

Yoghurt - 1 cup
Dried Bottle Gourd - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Asafoetida - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Mix yoghurt, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder and asafoetida into a bowl and keep aside.
2. Fry the dried bottle gourd in oil, till it becomes crisp like how we fry papads.
3. Mix fried bottle gourd chips into that yoghurt mix, let it soak for sometime till becomes soft.
Finally I garnished with coriander leaves.

Yummy raita is ready. I learnt this recipe from my friend here. It tastes great with no bitter taste. It is very good for health, especially for Diabetic people.

Protein Salad

Generally, Salads are very easy to make, very low in calories, rich in Proteins, easily digestable, used to reduce our body weights.... Now, winter is approaching, here we get a lot of fresh green vegetables and fresh fruits, that too protein salads are really helping me daily, keeping me very light and energetic...

I saw this Protein salad in one of the TV channels, I liked it. So, I jus tried at home... And now, regularly making and having it.

Ingredients:

Kabuli Channa

Black Channa  Moong Sprouts

Kidney beans or Rajma

Sweet corn

Skimmed Curd

Salt to taste

Freshly Crushed Pepper - as required.

Measurements: All in equal measures. I had 1 tbsp of each.

Method:

1. Soak all the Kabuli channa, Black channa, Kidney beans separately overnight.

2. Wash the moong and sack the moong in a muslin cloth and keep it in airtight container. So that it will be sprouted long the next morning.

3. Boil all the channas, kidney beans, in a pressure cooker. Boil the sweet corn separately.

4. Strain the water, mix all the boiled channas, kidney beans, sweet corn in a salad bowl.

5. Add skimmed curd, salt and crushed pepper. Mix well and serve.

You can have some moderation as well. I jus saw this recipe in Tv and shared here. I add grated carrot, grated cucmber, lettuce leaves, chopped onions, boiled and chopped potatoes, roasted peanuts and fresh lime juice to it and have. This gives extra nutrients and healthy too. This is a perfect protein salad and tummy filling recipe.

Poha / Seasoned Rice Flakes

Ingredients:

Poha - 2 cups
Onions - 2 nos.
Roasted Peanuts - 1 cup
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Boiled Potato - 1
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 2 or 3 tsp
Coriander Leaves to garnish
Curry Leaves - few

Method:

1. Wash the poha under running water for 2 mins and keep it in a strainer to strain the water.
2. Finely chop the onions, chop green chillies and cut the potatoes into a small pieces, and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera. After it splutters, add chopped green chillies, curry leaves, roasted peanuts, chopped onions, saute it for a minute.
4. Add boiled, peeled, and chopped potatoes, then add salt, turmeric powder, mix well. Cook for a while.
5. Add strained poha, which will be very soft like a boiled rice. Saute it for a minute and switch off the flame.
6. Adjust salt if you want. Sprinkle Lime juice finally and mix well.
7. Garnish it with Corainder leaves. (If you want, you can garnish with Sev also).
8. Crunchy and soft poha is ready to serve.

Mambazha Pulisery

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 piece
Jeera or cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Yoghurt or curd - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Oil
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 strips
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Grind grated coconut, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, ginger into a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds.
3. When the mustard seeds splutters, add cumin seed or jeera, add chopped green chillies, and saute.
4. Add a little amount of water, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and boil till the raw smell disappears..
5. Add cut mangoes and cook again.
6. Add the ground paste, salt to taste and bring to boil.
7. Add curds and mix well.
8. Garnish it with curry leaves, mix well and serve.

Sorakkai (Bottle Gaurd) Masiyal/Kootu Recipe

Ingredients:

Bottle Gaurd - 1
Moong Dhal - 1 cup

For tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 1
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil the Chopped Bottle gaurd and moong dhal together in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.
2. In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves, green chillies. Let mustard seeds splutter and then add the remaining.
3. Now add the boiled bottle gaurd with dhal. Mix well, add salt to taste.
4. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice, chapathi.

Milagu Rasam - Method 2

Ingredients: 

Tamarind – 1 small lemon size

Salt – 2 tsps

Asafoetida – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – a few

For the Powder:

Coarsely grind the following into a powder. No roasting is required.

Pepper – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Bengal gram dal – 1 tbsp

For the Seasoning:

Ghee – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice.

2. Add salt, asafoetida and curry leaves.

3. Boil until the raw smell disappears.

4. Grind the four ingredients into a slightly coarse powder.

5. Add the powder and add water immediately to make one litre of rasam.

6. Let the rasam be on low flame.

7. Cover it with a lid to preserve flavour.

8. Keep watch by sliding the lid now and then.

9. Switch off flame when the rasam is just about to boil.

10.Heat ghee and add mustard seeds, and add the seasoning when the mustard splutters.

Vazhakai Chukka

Ingredients:

Plantain - 2
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 Tbsp
Maida flour / All purpose flour - 2 Tbsp
Ginger paste - 1 Tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Fresh cream - 4 tbsp
Lime juice - 5 drops
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Peel off the Plantain skin, and slice the plantain in 1 inch gap. i.e., the slices should be thick.
2. Soak it in water for sometime, in the mean time, can prepare the marination, so that all the masala goes into the plantain.
3. For Preparing the marination, take a bowl, mix turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder, garam masala powder,
coriander powder, add all purpose flour for binding.
4. Add ginger paste and garlic paste to it. Mix well. Pour 4-5 drops of lime juice, add 50ml of fresh cream. If the paste is too thick, can sprinkle some water to it.
5. Add all the sliced plantain to this paste for marinating.
6. Soak the plantain in that masala for sometime.
7. Heat or apply oil on the grill, if grill is not available, can use flat tava also.
8. Place the marinated plantain on the grill.
9. Let it cook on both sides, for every 2 mins, check whether the plantains are cooked. Turn it over the other side, if it is cooked on one side.
10. Apply oil for the other side to get cooked. Let it cook for another 2-3 mins.
11. When it is cooked, can serve hot with tomato ketchup or chilli sauce.

Sambar Powder

Its a very easy and quick recipe which u can make it. There is a secret code, which can be easily remembered... Lets see the ingredients and their ratios...

Ingredients:

Dhaniya/Coriander Seeds - 3 Tbsp
Milagai/ Dried Red chillies - 1 Tbsp (will come around 5-8 nos.)
Kadalai paruppu/Channa dhal - 3 Tbsp

Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 strip

Asafoetida powder/ Asafoetida (solid form) - 1/4 tsp.
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tbsp

*Note: To remember the ingredients and their ratios very easily, the code is DMK-313 resply.

Method:

1. Heat a tsp of oil and roast the ingredients one by one.
2. After it gets cool, grind the mixture into a powder.

Sambar powder is ready. This measurement u can have it for 1 week. Keep and store it in airtight, so that the aroma doesnt goes out...

Vadagam Recipe

Ingredients:

Onion - 1
Mustard seeds - 1 Tbsp
Urad dhal - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 6 pods
Jeera - 1 Tbsp
Gingely oil

Method:
Fry all the ingredients one by one in little amount of gingely oil and keep under the hot sun for 2 or 3 days, then store it in bottles or air tight containers.
U can use this for all the recipes like sambar, rasam, kootu... etc. This recipe is used... instead of putting mustard seeds, urad dhal... one by one., we can use this for tempering.

Pachai Payaru Kanji / Green Moong Dhal Kanji

Ingredients:

Green Moong Dhal - Dry roasted and Powdered - 4-5 tbsp
Urad dhal - Dry roasted and powdered - 2 tbsp

For Tempering:

Curry leaves
Finely chopped Ginger - 1 tbsp
Oil
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 4-5 pods

Method:
1. Heat oil in a saucepan, crackle jeera, add garlic, fry garlic until turns golden brown colour.
2. Add curry leaves, chopped ginger, saute it for few mins.
3. Add powdered urad dhal and stir for few seconds.
4. Add powdered green moong dhal for few mins, until the raw smell goes off.
5. Add turmerric powder, salt.
6. Pour water, mix well, so that lumps are not formed. Let it boil for 5 minutes to thick consistency.
7. Kanji is ready to serve.

Potato Cheese Balls

Ingredients:
Boiled Potatoes - 1 big
Cheddar or mozzarella cheese - 1Tbsp
Salt to taste
Crushed pepper - 1tsp
Bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Boil and mash the potatoes, add cheddar or mozzarella cheese, salt, maida flour, crushed pepper .
2. Make balls, coat it with bread crumbs and deep fry it.
3. Serve with tomato sauce.

Milagu Kozhambu

Ingredients:

Whole Black Pepper - 2 tbsp
Urad dhal - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dried Red Chilli - 3-4
Curry leaves - 3-4 strips
Asafoetida - 1tsp
Tamarind - 2 lemon sized
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Gingely / Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Fry Black pepper, urad dhal, red chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida one by one in 1tsp of ghee.
2. Squeeze the tamarind and make tamarind water out of it.
3. In a pan, heat oil, cracle mustard seeds, curry leaves, add tamarind water, turmeric powder, sal to taste. Let it boil for sometime.
4. Add the ground masala powder to that.
5.  Let it boil for few mins till the bubbles comes. Add a little amount of jaggery to enrich the taste.
6. Finally add 1 or 2 tbsp of oil to it, so that you can have that kozhambu for more than a week.

Carrot Halwa / Gajar ka halwa

Ingredients:

Grated carrot - 2 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter/ghee - 4 tbsp
Cashews and raisins for garnishing

Method:

1. Fry the cashews and raisins in a little ghee and keep it aside.
2. Boil the milk until it gets reduced to half. Keep the flame in medium heat for 10 mins. Stir it occasionally so that it does not stick to the pan.
3. Melt the butter in a pan, and stir fry the grated carrot on medium heat for 5 mins so that the carrots leave the raw smell and slightly change the colour. See to that the carrots do not get burnt.
4. Add the boiled milk and cook for about 10 mins until the milk gets completely absorbed by the carrots.
5. Add sugar and stir well. Cook for few mins and add the cardamom powder and cook till the ghee starts oozing out from the halwa.
6. Garnish with the fried cashews and raisins.

Bisi Bela Bhath

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup
Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
Chana Dhal - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 small stick
Dried red chillies - 5
Asafoetida - a pinch
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Mixed vegetables ( Potatoes, Carrots, Beans, Cauliflower, Capsicum, drumsticks... etc) - can add any kind of vegetables as your wish. Otherwise we can have only small onions.
Salt to taste
Tamarind - lemon sized
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashews and Raisins for garnishing

Method:

1. For making bisi bele bhath masala: In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil, roast Chana dhal, Coriander seeds, Cloves, Cinnamon, Fenugreek, Dried red chilli, asafoetida. Grind it to a fine powder with grated coconut.
2. Cook rice and toor dhal in a pressure cooker.
3. Half boil all the vegtables and keep aside.
4. In another pan, heat oil, mustard seeds, urad dhal, asafoetida, tamarind water, salt, turmeric powder, bisi bele bhat masala powder, which we have made. Let it boil for sometime till the raw smell goes.
5. Add half boiled vegetables, cook for few mins, till the vegetables are cooked well. Make sure that the vegetables are not over cooked, cos it will get mashed up.
6. Add cooked rice, and pour some 2-3 tbsp of ghee.
7. Add fried cashews and raisins to the rice and mix well.

*Note: If the rice is mashed well, taste will be great.

Palappam Recipe

This Recipe I learnt from my neighbour here. She is a keralite and make lovely palappam... I tried at my home.. It really came out well.

Ingredients:

White Rice - 1 cup
Yeast - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Cooked Rice - 1 tbsp
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Salt - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the white rice for 4-6 hours and grind it to a batter like dosa batter.
2. Pour water to the yeast and mix well.
3. Add the yeast liquid to the batter.
4. Add sugar also. Mix well. Keep the batter aside overnight. Let it ferment well.
5. Add coconut milk and salt before preparing Palappam to make the batter consistency less thinner than the dosa batter.
6. Now the batter is ready to make palappams.
7. In a appam wok, pour the batter, and roll out so the batter makes a bowl like shape.
8. Cover it with a lid for few mins.
9. Serve hot with kadalai curry(chick peas curry) or with some kurma.

Dhal Fry

Ingredients:

Moong Dhal/Toor Dhal - 3/4 cup
Onions - 2
Tomato - 1
Green chilli - 2
Curry Leaves - a strip
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Jeera or Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garlic - 1 pod
Salt to taste
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Pressure cook the dhal and keep it aside.
2. In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, urad dhal, jeera, asafoetida, chopped green chillies, curry leaves, chopped garlic, onions chopped in lengths. Saute it for a minute.
3. Add a pinch of salt for onions to get cooked easily and fast.
4. Add tomatoes, let it cook for a while, till the tomatoes get cooked.
5. Add the boiled dhal, and add salt to the dhal, add chilli powder. Simmer the stove for few mins.
6. Garnish it with Coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice or chapathi.