Vadakari

I had been looking for Vadakari recipe when I came across this recipe in AskChitvish iPad app. I bookmarked it and was looking for an opportunity to make it. One Sunday evening the snack turned out to be masala vadas. I saved few of those vadas to make Vadakari. The original recipe asked for mint leaves and gave specific instructions on making tomato puree. But me being lazy, decided to skip few steps. Of course it turned out to be my take on Vadakari but nevertheless it turned out to be super delicious. The proof being there were no leftovers.

Ingredients

For making vadas

Chana dal/ Gram dal - 1 cup
Red chillies - 3
Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)
Saunf - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Onion - 1 chopped finely
Coriander/Cilantro - 2 tbsp
Oil - for deep frying

For making gravy

Tomatoes - 2
Onion - 1 chopped finely
Garlic - 1 clove chopped finely/mashed/grated
Saunf - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil
Water - 2 cups
Coriander/Cilantro - 1 tbsp for garnish

Preparation

Soak chana dal in water for 2 hours. Coarsely grind soaked chana dal with red chillies, garlic, saunf and salt in a mixer. Add chopped onions and cilantro to the ground mixture. Shape into small balls and deep fry in hot oil. I remove them on seeing nice light brown color on the balls. Allow the balls to cool down completely. Crumble the balls/vadas.

Puree tomatoes in a mixer. (You can also use ready made tomato puree). Heat oil. Add saunf. Add onion and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes till you see a nice golden color on the onions. Add tomato puree. Add turmeric powder. Add water and salt. Allow it to boil. Once it is boiling vigorously, reduce to medium heat. Add crumbled vadas and allow the mixture to come to a boil. If the mixture is too thick add hot water. Garnish with cilantro.

Vadakari is ready and yummy!

Vadakari pairs well with idli, dosa and aapam. 

Recipe Source: Ask Chitvish iPad app. www.askchitvish.com

Pineapple Puliserri

No water, no gas, flight delay, no seats summarizes my last two week experience. Though it left me frantically calling customer care, I found it very amusing. When I called my friends / relatives to check if they had any solution, all of them found it even more amusing since they had never experienced gas and water problems in the 10 odd years that they had been living here. The main plus point was I was able to contact emergency customer care and reach out to them easily even in the midnight which would not have been possible in India. But then nothing is comparable to India. India is the best.

Coming back to the recipe, I had about half a pineapple left. None of us could have it since it left an itchy feeling in the mouth. I did not have the heart to throw it out. I was thinking of making pineapple based desserts and had been searching foodbuzz.com and foodnetwork.com. I have never heard of pineapple pulisseri and when I saw this recipe in foodbuzz, I wanted to immediately try it. I picked the recipe from here. This dish was similar to Aviyal minus the vegetables. 

I wanted the dish to be solid without much of gravy. Here is my version:

Ingredients

Pineapple - 1/2 of medium sized pineapple cut into chunks

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as per taste

For grinding to a paste

Coconut - 3 tbsp (I used frozen)

Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp

Red dry chillies - 2 (increase as per taste)

Yogurt - 1 cup

For seasoning
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3 (I did not have them so did not use them)

Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation

Cook the pineapple with salt and turmeric powder in about 1/2 cup of water on medium heat till the pineapple pieces turn really soft. Lower the heat and add the finely ground paste. (Since I used a blender, I could not grind the ingredients to a fine paste). Mix well and turn off the heat immediately. Heat oil and add the seasoning. Add to puliserri.

Pineapple puliserri is ready and yummy!!!

I found this to be a meal by itself after having a cup of only puliserri.


~ Ramya

Green Gram Dhall Sabji - No Pre-Soaking

I just cant believe how quickly time flies. It has been almost a month since I added a new post even though there were couple of drafts. I have been very busy with the packing and it has been a month of running around things. Finally we have shifted from Pune to Chennai. One more week down here and off we fly. But before that is the visa interview scheduled for this Monday. With all the hype given for the interview, it appears scary.  Well இதையும் கடந்து செல்லுவோம்.

In between the madness I made Green Gram Dhall Sabji..first time for me. I did not soak it even a little bit but it turned out to be pretty good with just the right level of softness to the dhal. Here we go with the recipe:

Ingredients

Group 1

Green Gram Dhal (Patchai Payiru) - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 2
Green Chillies (slit in the middle) - 2
Bay Leaf - 1
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as per taste


Group 2

Onion (finely chopped) - 2
Cinnamon - 1 small stick
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Dhania Powder - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Corriander Leaves - for garnish

Preparation

Pressure cook group 1 ingredients. Put the weight, cook in low heat for 10-15 minutes and switch off. Meanwhile heat oil. Add cinammon and onions. Fry till onions turn light brown. Add chilli powder and dhania powder. Add the pressure cooked ingredients and allow to simmer for 6-7 minutes. Garnish with corriander leaves.

Green Gram Dhal Sabji is ready and yummy!!!

Punjabi Black Channa Masala - No Overnight Soaking

Channa Masala is always a favorite in our house provided it is the White Channa. Black Channa is only prepared during Saraswathi Pooja. I don't know what I had in mind when I picked up 1/2 kilo of Black Channa last month. One of my neighbor is a Punjabi and she prepared some Black Channa Masala. That was truly yummy!!! I decided to try it. The best part of the recipe is - you do NOT need to soak the channa the previous night. Today I tried it and this is one recipe which is sure to stay. Surprising I could not find a similar recipe on the internet. So here we go with the true Punjabi Channa Masala recipe:

Ingredients

Part 1

Black Channa - 1.5 cups

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Part 2

Tomato - 3

Onion - 4

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 - 2 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya Powder - 1 tbsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Channa Masala - 1 tsp

Green Chillies (slit into two) - 2

Butter - 1 tsp (Optional)

Corriander - For Garnish

Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation

Cook Part 1 ingredients in a pressure cooker for one whistle. Remove it from the stove top and keep it aside for 1.5 - 2 hours. Do not open the lid or remove the whistle. This is the actual soaking time.

Grind tomatoes to a fine paste. Deep fry the onions in oil till golden brown. Remove the onions and grind them to a fine paste.  In the same oil, add ginger garlic paste, tomato puree, onion puree, turmeric powder, dhania powder, chilli powder, garam masala, channa masala and green chillies. While adding salt keep in mind the salt added in the channa. Keep stirring this mixture. The mixture will come together and it is done when oil starts to come to the top.

After 2 hours of keeping the pressurized channa aside, open the cooker. Add the mixture and mix it thoroughly. Add butter to enhance the taste. Once again pressurize the entire channa + mixture. After 1 whistle, keep the stove in low / sim for 30 minutes. Switch the stove off after 30 minutes. When you open the cooker once steam has been released you will notice oil settled in the top. If you want you can remove it. Otherwise you can mix the entire mixture. Garnish with corriander leaves.

Punjabi Black Channa Masala is ready and yummy!!!

Thakkali Thokku - Brahmin Style

I am married to a Non-Brahmin...obviously love marriage. After lot of struggles I finally got married in 2007. But then my people were hesitant to accept my marriage so I could not go to my native. Over the past 2 years, seeing me pretty happy with my married life, my relatives started accepting the marriage and finally called me to my native. We took a 10 day break from our daily life schedules and decided to go to my native, his native and then complete the visit by going to temples.

I finally made it to my native which is near Trichy and I had never felt so happy before. But boy, after living in Pune for the past 2 years, Tamil Nadu was pretty hot. In spite of that we did manage to have a great time and returned back to Pune just when Navarathiri started. It was time to set the Golu. As and when I opened each carton, I prayed to God that none of the idols should have broken (since we shifted our house using Packers & Movers). To my joy everything was intact and I set my Golu.

Golu set, sundals prepared, people visited, boxes and manjal kungumam given...navarathiri was soon over. I had to get back to Chennai for office work during a long weekend which we once again combined to have a good visit to Chennai. Ended up going to City Centre, Ninaithale Inikkum and Eeram movie. Eeram movie was good as it not have the typical storyline.

I was back again in the first week of October when the Diwali sweets planning started. Since I am a novice in cooking, I decided to order them from an excellent cook. Ended up ordering athirasam, ribbon pakoda, badam cake, mixture and ladoo. Of course inji marundhu was a complement. Everything was sent via Professional Courier which of course invariably delayed it and we ended up getting the sweets after Diwali. But then I was not complaining much since I ended up going on my 3rd Honeymoon to Thailand (Bangkok & Pattaya) during the Diwali weekend.

After 2 months of dilly dallying with cooking, I finally started getting into my regular schedule. I was searching for Thakkali Thokku - Brahmin style. I was not satisfied with the search results, so I decided to ask my Patti for the original style. Finally here we go with the recipe:

Ingredients

Tomato - 1/2 kg
Tamarind - 1 small amla or nellikai size
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Chilli Powder - as per taste
Jaggery - a little bit (optional)

Preparation

Grind the tomatoes along with the tamarind in a mixer (This is easier rather than cutting it into small pieces). Heat the oil, add mustard. Once it splutters, add the ground mixture, turmeric, salt, chilli powder and jaggery. Once the water evaporates, the mixture will start leaving the sides. The thokku is done when the oil starts oozing out.

Thakkali Thokku is ready and yummy!!! This will stay on for 15 days if refrigerated.

~ Ramya

Vazhaipoo (Banana Flower) Kootu

My MIL had brought 3 vazhaipoo's from her native. I had done both the vadai and curry and I still had one more to go. I searched in the internet for vazhaipoo kootu recipe but I couldnt find one. I then asked my grandmother and she gave me this wonderful recipe. The result was delicious. Here we go with the recipe:

Ingredients

Vazhaipoo or Banana Flower - 1 (cut)
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil
Curry Leaves & Coriander Leaves - for garnish
Red Chili - 1
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

For the seasoning
Red Chilli - 3
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Bengal Gram Dal - 1 tbsp
Coriander Seeds (Dhania) - 1 tbsp

Preparation

Roast the seasoning ingredients with little bit of oil till it becomes light brown and make a fine paste.

Boil dal and banana flower separately. In a pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it starts to sputter, add red chilli. Add the cooked banana flower and stir it once. Add dal. Add turmeric powder and salt. As soon as it starts boiling add the seasoning paste. Allow it to boil for 1 minute. For garnishing add curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Vazhaipoo (Banana Flower) Kootu is ready and Yummy!!!

Stuffed Brinjal

Ingredients

Brinjals - 4 Stems trimmed, each slit lengthwise into 4 pieces joined together at the stem
Cloves - 3
Pepper - 4
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Dhania or Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Tamarind Pulp - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Potatoes - 3 potatoes, Cut (lengthwise) into 4 pieces
Onions - 2 medium (Sliced)
Onions - 2 medium (Chopped finely)
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil

Preparation

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add cloves, peppercorns, coriander seeds. Fry till it becomes light brown. Add sliced onion. Fry till it becomes golden brown. Add coconut. Fry till it becomes light brown. Grind the mixture to a fine paste.

To this paste, add all powders, tamarind pulp, chopped onion, sugar and salt. Stuff this mixture into the brinjal's and mix the potatoes with the remaining mixture.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pressure pan. Arrange brinjals and potatoes around, add 3/4 cup of water and cook under pressure for 10 minutes. (I used a pressure cooker. Added the weight once it started steaming. After adding weight, kept the gas in low flame.)

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Stuffed Brinjal is ready and Yummy!!!

Potato Fry

Ingredients

Potato - 4 big ones
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Curry Leaves - 4 or 5
Garlic - 1 piece (optional)
Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation

Boil and peel the potatoes. Cut into small pieces. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix thoroughly taking care not to mash the small pieces.

Heat oil in a kadaai. Add the potatoes. Keep the gas in low flame. Do not stir it. Cover the kadai. Add curry leaves and garlic. Leave it for 10 minutes.

Potato Fry is ready and Yummy!!!

Okra Fry

Ingredients

Lady's finger / Bhindi / Okra - 1/2 kilo
Ginger Paste - 1tsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Dhania Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt - To taste
Tomato - 2
Onion - 1
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - pinch

Preparation


Cut the okra's vertically making 2 pieces of each okra. Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and when they start to splutter, add asafoetida. Add onions and fry them till they are light brown. Add tomatoes and ginger paste. Fry till the raw smell goes. Add the okra's. Add chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala, salt and stir it once. Close the kadai and keep the gas on sim for 10 minutes (or till the okra's are cooked). Add lemon juice after removing from gas.

Nita Mehta suggests doing this recipe in a microwave.

For microwave recipe:

Spray Pam or sprinkle oil over the cut okra's and microwave in a combination mode (micro+grill) for 10-12 minutes or till the okra's are cooked and crisp.

Prepare the masala using the other ingredients just as you would usually do. Mix both together and serve.

Okra Fry is ready and Yummy!!!