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.

Mirchi Ka Salan

INGREDIENTS:

1.Green Capsicum/ Puebleno peppers-2 nos, cut into slivers
2.Onions- 1 small, chopped
3.Ginger garlic paste -1 tbsp
4.Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Masala Powder Ingredients:

1.Red Chillies-3
2.Coriander seeds- 1 tbsp
3.Cumin seeds-1 tsp
4.Fennel seeds-1 tsp
5.Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
6.Cloves-2 nos
7.Coconut powder- 1/2 cup
8.Roasted unsalted peanuts-1/2 cup
9.Sesame seeds- 1.5 tbsp
10.Tamarind paste- 1 tbsp
11.Jaggery-1 tbsp

PROCEDURE:

1.Dry Roast masala ingredients 1 through 9 and grind to fine powder.
2.In some oil, fry the capsicum till the skin is cooked and soft.
3.Now grind the peanuts with tamarind and keep aside.
4.In a pot, pour some oil and add the chopped onions and ginger garlic paste till golden brown.
5.Now add the masala ingredients, turmeric powder,salt and mix well.Add the roasted capsicum or peppers.
6.Add the ground peanut mixture and jaggery and pour water till you get a gravy consistency.
7.Allow to boil till thick.
8.Garnish with Cilantro.

9. Serve hot with chapathis,parathas,dosas and any kind of biriyani.

Paruppu urandai Kolambu

INGREDIENTS for KOLAMBU:

Onion-1 small, finely chopped
Tomatoes-4 small,peel skin by boiling in hot water and grind to a smooth paste
Garlic pods- 4 or 5 roughly chopped
Tamarind pulp- size of a golf ball,soaked in hot water and take the extract.
Turmeric powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder-2 tbsp
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Curry leaves-A few
Sesame oil-1/8 cup
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Asafoetida-2 puffs

INGREDIENTS for PARUPPU URANDAI(LENTIL BALLS):

Toor dal-1/2 cup
Channa dal-1/2 cup
Saunf(Fennel seeds)-1.5 to 2 tbsp
Onion-1/2 small,finely chopped
Red chillies-4

PROCEDURE for PARUPPU URANDAI(LENTIL BALLS):

1. Soak toor dal and channa dal for 1 -2 hours.
2. Remove water and grind toor dal,saunf,channa dal and red chillies to a fine paste.
3. In a pan with a drop of oil,saute onions till golden brown.
4. Now add the ground dal paste and fry till raw smell.
5. Let cool and make balls from the paste.

PROCEDURE for KOLAMBU:

1. In a pan with sesame oil,add mustard seeds,curry leaves,asafoetida and let splutter. Now add the onions,garlic and saute till golden brown.
2. Add the tomato paste that you have ground. Add all the spices.Mix well/
3. Now add the tamarind pulp extract.Allow to boil till the mixture reduces to half and oil separates.
4. Reduce the flame of the stove to minimum and add the paruppu urandai(Lenthil balls) and close the lid and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Switch off stove.
5. Serve hot with rice,idlies,dosas.

You can replace the lentil balls with pearl onions or baby brinjals or fish.

Aviyal

This is a very famous Kerala dish but made in Tamil Nadu as well quite often.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Carrots-1 big,cubed
2. Plantain-1 big,peeled and cubed
3. Drum stick-1 cubed
4. Cauliflower-Some pieces
5. Green beans-3 cubed
6. Butter beans or Soy beans- A handful
7. Cayote squash-1 small,cubed
8. Pumpkin-A few pieces,cubed
9. Yam or Potatoes-1 small, cubed
10. Raw Mango(if available)-1 side,cut into smaller pieces.
11. Coconut oil
12. Red chilli powder,Coriander seeds powder,Turmeric powder-1 tsp each

GRIND TO PASTE:

1. Coconut powder-1/2 cup
2. Yogurt or sour cream- 1 cup
3. Green chillies-3 serrano 
4. Cumin seeds-1 tsp

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pot filled with water,add some turmeric powder and all the vegetables and allow to cook till tender but not mushy.Drain and keep aside.
2. In a bigger pan,add coconut oil,add the vegetables,salt and masala powders and mix. 
3. Now add the ground paste.
4. Add the yogurt, mix once and switch off stove. Garnish with cilantro.
5. Serve with chapathis,rice,dosas,anything you like.

Note: You dont have to necessarily add all the vegetables.A few from the list is good enough.Raw mango gives a good twist for sure.

Thakkali Kurma(Tomato Kurma)

This dish literally takes not more than 15 minutes to make and you can eat with idlies/dosas/chapathis.

Ingredients:

1.Tomatoes-4 nos

2.Onions-1 small sliced

3.Turmeric powder-1/8 tsp

4.Sambar Powder-1 tbsp

5.Garam masala-1 tsp

6.Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp or more as per your taste

7.Curry leaves &  Cilantro-For garnish
8.Cumin seeds

To grind into a paste:

1.Coconut-1 tbsp

2.Sombu/Saunf/Fennel seeds-1/2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. In a pan, add oil,cumin seeds,onions,curry leaves,ginger garlic paste and saute till well done.Now add the tomatoes, masala powders and some water and allow to boil well and make sure the tomatoes are cooked well.
2. After the onion/tomato mixture has cooked well, add the ground paste and allow to come to a boil.
3. Turn off the stove and add cilantro.
4. Serve hot with idlies/dosas/chapathis. Yummo!

Easy Kadappa Recipe

This is a famous Thanjavur dish and they serve it in any celebrations or weddings and reminds me of home. Here is a very simple recipe that you will surely enjoy.



INGREDIENTS:

Moong dal-1 cup
Potatoes-1 or 2 big
Baby Carrot- 3 nos cut into small pieces
Green Chillies- 2 or 3 according to spice level
Onion-1 small, diced
Tomato-1 small, cubed
Bay leaf-1 nos
Cloves-5 nos
Ginger-1/4 inch grated or smashed
Garlic-7 nos diced

Saunf/Fennel seeds powder-1 tsp
Cinnamon-1 small stick
Coconut-1/4 cup
Cilantro-For garnish
PROCEDURE:

1.In a small pan, add oil, all spices, onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies,tomatoes and saute till done.
2.In a pressure cooker, add the moong dal after washing it well, 2.5 cups of water,coconut & the cooked vegetables from the pan and keep for 3 or 4 whistles.
3.Open cooker and see if the curry is too thick, add water and dilute. Let boil. Add cilantro for garnish.
4.Serve with Idiyappam,Appam,Idlies,Dosas or even chapathis.

Note:

If you wish, you can substitute coconut milk instead of grated coconut to thin the gravy out. Make sure you do not add too much coconut milk, then it may taste like Sodhi.

Saagu

Saagu is a vegetable curry sort of gravy. In Bangalore, it is commonly served with Set Dosa or Rava Idli or sometimes even with Poori's.

It is a great way to get your daily serving of vegetables when having dosa or rava idli instead of just the daily serving of potatoes ;-) It's one of the few south-Indian dishes that my hubby will gobble up and ask for more.

Here goes:
A few things:
- All vegetables are chopped small.. maybe a 1cmX1cm cube size
- All vegetables shopped to the same size will ensure that things cook evenly.
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped Chayote squash (Seeme badnekai in Kannada)
- 1 cup chopped potatoes
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped green beans / 1 cup chopped yellow squash/ 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 1 cup peas.
- 1 inch piece whole cinnamon
- 1.5 tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 2 cloves
- 2 black pepper corns
- 1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
- 1/4 cup fresh/frozen coconut(you could add more if you like it very coconut-y)
- 2 tbsp roasted channa daal (dalia)
- 2-3 green chillies (I say, more the merrier- if you can handle it)
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- Tamarind (paste or whole). I use whole tamarind, and end up taking a ball of inch diameter
For seasoning:
- 1 tbsp oil
- Black mustard seeds - 1tsp
- curry leaves - 10
- Asafoetida (optional) - a pinch

You can add almost any vegetable, I just make sure I add potatoes, 1 squash of any kind, peas, and bell peppers, the rest - feel free to substitute with whatever you want. - Its a great way of getting rid of that stray carrot or squash lurking at the back of your crisper.

Pressure cook all vegetables (except onion) with salt and a pinch of turmeric. 1 whistle is usually enough, remember, we are making saagu and not pav bhaji. On the bright side, if you do end up over cooking the vegetables to a mush.. there is always pav bhaji!


Now for the curry paste:

Dry roast the cinnamon, cloves, poppy seeds, pepper corns and whole coriander seeds until they are fragrant. Cool down.
Grind, coconut, green chillies, ginger, tamarind and roasted channa daal and the roasted spices with enough water to create a paste.

This curry paste will give you a green curry. Some people make a red curry. They use dried red chillies instead of green chillies. If you want to go that route, roast the red chillies with the rest of the dry spices. I think about 5 red chillies should be enough. Also, skip the dalia (roasted channa dal). Instead, roast about 2 tsbp of raw split channa daal until it starts turning brown, and grind this along with the rest of the ingredients.

Once the paste is ready and the vegetables are cooked, we are ready to bring it all together.

- Heat 1 tsbp oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add asafoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves.
- Add onions and cook until transparent.
- Then add the curry paste and heat it for a couple of minute stirring constantly.
- Now add the cooked vegetable.
- Add water if needed to bring it to a curry consistency.
- Now let this boil for 5-10 mins on low heat to allow the tamarind to cook and the flavors to blend.

When one, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Enjoy with dosa, set dosa, rava idli, poori or roti's.

More Kolambu-Tamil Nadu Style

Ingredients:
Soak:
1.Cumin seeds-1 tbsp
2.Toor dhal-1 tbsp
3.Channa dal- 1 tbsp
4.Ginger-a chunk
Other:
1.Buttermilk
2.Grated Coconut flakes
3.Red chillies-1 or 2
4.Coconut oil
5.Mustard seeds
6.Vegetable of your choice-Okra,white pumpkin,lauki or pakodas
7.Curry leaves and cilantro leaves
8.Turmeric powder,coriander seeds powder,chilli powder
9.Asafoetida
10.Onions-Thinly sliced is optional(hotels use them but traditionally not)
11.Green chillies-4 or 5
Procedure:
1.Grind coconut flakes and green chillies and the soaked ingredients to a smooth paste
2.In a pan with oil(I mix normal oil with coconut oil),add red chillies, mustard seeds,curry leaves,onions(optional),asafoetida,vegetables and fry well.
3.Once done,add the ground coconut-chilly paste we ground before.
4.Let it come to a boil. Add buttermilk and allow to boil a little bit. Do NOT overcook the kolambu,then the coconut taste is gone. All you need to check for is the ends of the pot/pan,the kolambu should come to a boil and bubbles should move to the center. Switch off immediately.
5.Pour coconut oil after cooking for extra flavor and garnish with very little cilantro leaves.

Note:I am not able to exactly give measurement of buttermilk and coconut since I always eyeball.Its equal parts.

Mirchi Salan

I love Hyderabadi gravies since they are a tad different from the typical onion-tomato gravies and go well with rotis and possibly with biryani and other rice dishes.
Serves 6 or more

4 anaheim peppers
4 bell peppers

Roast and Dry grind:
peanuts -1/4 - 1/2 cup
sesame seeds - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
 jeera - 1/4 cup

Wet grind:
onion - 1 large
tomato - 2 medium
coconut - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 piece
garlic - 3 cloves
tamarind - 1 marble - sized piece or 1-2 tsp of extract.

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
1 cumin seeds - 2 tsp
nigella seeds - 1 tsp
fenugreek (methi) seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil - depends on method of cooking

chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
chopped coriander - garnish

Chop the peppers into thick slices You can use all Anaheim peppers and skip the bell peppers or vice versa.

Dry roast peanuts cumin and sesame seeds and transfer to your spice grinder.
In as little or as much oil as you like, saute the peppers till they are cooked and have brown/white spots. (I have got this done with as little as 1 tsp of oil). This step is important. The peppers need to be cooked well at this stage.

Now comes a choice:
If you don't mind using an obscene amount of oil but want to cook traditionally, grind the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, tamarind and coconut together. Keep the peppers aside and in the same oil (or more) add the seasonings (cumin, mustard, nigella, fenugreek  seeds and curry leaves) to sputter.  Then cook the ground  mixture along with ground peanuts, sesame and cumin seeds, chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder with copious amounts of oil until you start to see oil leaking out of the paste and the raw smell is replaced by an aroma.

Else, if oil freaks you out, saute the onions, garlic and ginger followed by the tomatoes until cooked in a tsp of oil and then grind it with tamarind.
Add the seasonings (mustard, nigella, cumin, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves) in a tsp of oil followed by the dry ground and wet ground mixture, chilli and cumin-coriander powders and cook  till the mixture sputters (Since the ingredients are precooked this method does not need any additional oil)

Regardless of method used for above,
Add the sauteed peppers, salt and 2 cups of water and remove from flame once the dish boils a bit. Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro)

Taste differences between methods: Maybe the flavors blend a little better in the liberal oil method but am not sure the difference is significant enough to warrant the sinfulness) Try and let me know!

Kurma version 2

Ingredients:

Cloves,cinnamon sticks
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Green chillies- 4 sliced
Onions -1 medium sliced
Green peas
Cauliflower
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Chilli powder
Danya powder
Garma masala
Coconut flakes dessicated- 3 tbsp
Milk
Sour cream - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

In a pan add oil. Add cloves and cinnamon sticks.

After it splatter add cumin seeds. The add sliced onions and saute. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till golden brown.

Now add green peas,cauliflower and fry.Add all spices and salt.

Now add milk and sour cream. Add coconut flakes. Keep stirring till it boils.

After it boils well,add cilantro for garnishing.

Tip: Very good with paratha.

kurma version 1

This is a very hotel style tamil recipe.

Ingredients:

Coconut
Gaza gaza
cumin seeds
Green chillies
Onions-1 medium sliced
Tamarind paste or tomato- ur choice
Potatoes
cauilflower
peas
Cloves,cinnamon
Turmeric powder,little bit chilli powder,danya powder
Ginger garlic paste
Cilantro for seasoning
Saunf optional

Procedure:

Lightly fry coconut,gaza gaza and cumin and saunf and grind with 2 green chillies to a fine paste

In a pan add oil,cloves and cinnamon. After it pops add onions and 2 slit green chillies and all the veggies and ginger garlic paste and saute.

Then add all the spice powders and then the coconut paste.Let boil till it bubbles.

Keep it for 3-4 whistles and its done.

Garnish with cilantro

Tip 1: You can add cashews and pottu kadalai for nice texture.
Tip 2: You can also add butter beans. I love it.