Tomato Chutney

This is a very simple chutney to go with Idlies,Dosas,Adais and what not.

INGREDIENTS:

Roma tomatoes- 1.5 nos, cut coursely and ground into a paste
Onion-1/2 cubed finely
Green chillies- 4 nos, slit
Mustard seeds, urad dal-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 to 2 tsp depending on your spice level
Curry leaves and Cilantro- For garnish

PROCEDURE:

1. Grind the tomatoes into a smooth paste.
2. In a pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida(optional) and allow to splatter.
3. Now add the cubed onions, green chillies till golden brown.
4. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder,salt and mix well.
5. Add the tomato paste and cook for 3-4 mins until the color changes to dark red and raw smell goes.
6. Serve hot with idlies, dosas,adai.

Zucchini Masala-Nivi Style

This dish is a mix of kootu and poriyal but I can assure you that you will absolutely love it.

INGREDIENTS:

Zucchini- 3 nos, cubed into small pieces
Urad dal-1 tsp
Mustard Seeds-1 tsp
Green chillies- 1 cut into pieces
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Curry leaves-1 spring
Coconut powder- 3-4 tbsp
Asafoetida-2 puffs
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilli powder-1/2 tsp(optional)
Salt- To taste
Cilantro- For garnish


PROCEDURE:

1. In boiling water, add turmeric powder and the cubed zucchini. Allow it to boil for 15 minutes approximately until tender
2. In a separate pan, add oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds,urad dal, curry leaves,asafoetida and allow it to splatter.
3. Now add the boiled zucchini and stir fry.Add salt.You can add a pinch of chilli powder if you want.
4. Grind coconut powder and green chillies into a smooth paste and add it to the zucchini fry and mix until done.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
6. Serve with hot rice along with any curry of your choice.Enjoy!

Vazhakkai Poriyal (Plantain Side dish)

Atlhough,this is a very popular South Indian dish and quite simple too, I still decided to blog this for my friends who are not aware of this dish. This side dish is good with any South Indian Curry with rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Vazhakkai(Plantain)- 2 nos
Green Chilies- 3 nos,slit and cut into small pieces
Red Chillies-2 nos
Onion-1/2 a medium,cubed
Curry Leaves
Mustard Seeds-1 tsp
Split Urad dal-1 tsp
Asafoetida-2 puffs

Turmeric powder-1/8 tsp
Sambar Powder-1/2 tsp
Saunf Powder-1 tsp
Salt-To Taste
Grated Coconut-1 to 2 tbsp

PROCEDURE:

1. Peel the skin of the plantain, cut into small cubes and add in boiling water. Now add a pinch of turmeric powder and chilli powder(optional) in the boiling water and boil for about 10-15 minutes until the plantain cubes are soft to touch.Drain water and keep aside.
2. In another pan,add a little bit of oil, red chillies, mustard seeds,urad dal,curry leaves,asafoetida and let it splutter. Now add the onions and green chillies and saute until golden brown.
3. Now add the sambar powder and saunf powder and mix well. Add the boiled plantain cubes and fry until you feel the raw smell of the masala is gone.
4. Turn off stove and add the grated coconut and mix well. You can add some cilantro for garnish. 
5. Serve hot with rice and curry. Yum!

Pesarattu Recipe

Although I knew pesarattu was really healthy, I never knew it was this easy to make. In Andhra, pesarattu with rava upma is really famous. Its quite filling, so I simply tried the pesarattu with coconut chutney last night and it was really yum. Vig is not a huge fan of Adai but seemed to love pesarattu last night and gobbled them up.

INGREDIENTS:

Green gram(Green Moong dal)- 2 cups

Raw rice or Rice flour- 2 tbsp

Ginger-1/8 of an inch

Green Chillies- 5 nos

Salt

PROCEDURE:

1. Soak the green gram with the raw rice for 6 hours or better for a whole night. You can also soak them enough to let them sprout.
2. In a mixie or blender, add the green moong dal, ginger, green chillies,soaked rice or rice flour, salt to taste and grind to a smoothe paste bringing to a consistency of dosa batter.
3. Pour on tava and serve hot with rava upma or any chutney/pickle.Enjoy!

Aapam

INGREDIENTS:


Ponni rice-1 cup
Long grain rice-1 cup
Fennel seeds-1/2 tbsp
Urad dal-2 tbsp
Coconut-3 tbsp
Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

1. Soak the above ingredients except coconut in water for 4-5 hours.
2. Grind till smoothe.
3. Pour in aapam pan and cook till done.
4. Serve hot with sweetened coconut milk(coconut milk, cardamom powder and sweet) or coconut chutney.

Puli kachal recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Tamarind Pulp- Qty equal to a golf ball, soaked in hot water and juice extracted

Temper:
Sesame Oil-1/8 cup
Asafoetida- 1 puff
Curry leaves- A handful
Mustard Seeds-1 tsp
Urad dal-1tsp
Peanuts-2 tbsp
Red chillies-4 or more according to spice level

Grind to Powder:
Coriander seeds- 2 tbsp appr( A palm full)
Pepper corns-1/2 tsp
Red chillies-2
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-Few(optional)



PROCEDURE:

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
2.In a pan with no or little oil, add ingredients under Grind to powder and saute till the raw smell goes.Make sure you dont burn them. Cool and grind to fine powder.
3.Now in a deep pot,add the sesame oil, add the ingredients under Temper section and after they splatter add the tamarind extract.
4.Allow the mixture to come to a boil and become thick.
5.At this stage add the ground powder and allow to boil till thick and done.
6.Allow to cool.
7.Mix with rice and eat or serve with hot idlies/dosas.