Karuvepilai milagu kuzhambu

This  kuzhambu is  tasty, healthy and  easy to prepare too. When we are in recovery stage after some illness , we may have tasteless feeling , at that if we consume  this kuzhambu in hot rice with dallop of ghee and gingelly oil , we  will be feeling very comfortable. Also   during postnatal

 also we will be given this kuzhambu  , but we use only pepper  , not red chilly at that time. 

Ingredients for Making Karuvepilai Milagu Kuzhambu:-

Tamarind - big lemon sized
Pepper corn - 2 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 4 nos
Kothamalli virai - 2 tsp (usually some may not add this, but i add for the flav)
Thor dall - 1 tsp
Urid dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves -  1- 2  cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Gingelly Oil - 3 tbsp
Hing- 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice, add salt, hing powder and turmeric. In a kadai heat two tbsp of oil, add mustard and when it starts spluttering, , add the tamarind water.

Dry roast pepper corns, kothamalli varai, thor dal, u.dal, curry leaves. Grind this in a mixie smoothly adding little water.
Add this paste to the boiled tamarind water and let it boil for a few minutes till it thickens slightly. Add some gingelly oil on the top of the boiled kuzhambu with more curry leaves and switch off the stove.

This kuzhambu can be stored for 2 -3 days in room temperature and upto a week in the fridge.

Killu milaga rasam

This  is  easy  ,tasty  rasam with the flavour of  chillies  and  without  rasam powder/ sambar powder .
 We love  this   very much .
Ingredients:
Cooked  dal - 3 tsp add generous water
 Tamarind  - 1 small gooseberry size( take extract of  juice for  2  cups)
Salt  - to taste
 Tomato  - 1   chopped( I prefer tomatoes  for all the rasam - for flavour and colour)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 2 to 3  slitted
Hing  - a small  piece
Coriander leaves , curry leaves  - for garnishing
 Tadka:
Oil/ ghee  - 2 tsp
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 1
Jeera  - 1tsp
Methi seed- 1/2 ( optional--  i am not  using )

Method:
           Take  the tamarind juice  in a   vessel  with turmeric powder  , slit green chillies, salt , tomatoes , Hing powder , cook till the raw smell  vanishes . Then add the dal water  and  cook for  2 mins and add water for  the required consistancy  allow  to froth and  add the tadka , garnish with  fresh  coriander leaves , curry leaves . The aroma of  the rasam will fill the  whole  house .

Tomato rice .#OPOS

We all like variety rice very much . In my family all like tomato rice very much.I used to prepare whenever   we get tomatoes in less cost .This  is   very tasty  dish ,  very well goes with papad/ raithas   

Ingredients:

Rice  - 2  cup ( soak for 30 mins) 

 Red tomatoes-  6 to 7 ( ripen  with  bright red  colour  gives good colour for the rice)

 Onion  - 2  finely chopped

 Sambar powder - 2 tsp [ can add red chilly powder, dania powder, garam masala)

 Salt  - to taste

 Hing  - 1/2 tsp

 Turmeric  powder - 1 tsp

 Curry leaves  , Fresh dania  - for garnishing

 For  tadka :

  Mustard  - 1 tsp

 Urad  dal - 1 tsp

 chana  dal - 1/2 tsp

 Method :  In  a  3 L  cooker , add  3 tsp of oil and 3 tsp of water, In the  L2-  add   finely chopped onion and finely  chopped  tomatoes in bull's  eye . L3 add  the  soaked rice  L4- add the  spice powders ( turmeric powder, salt, red chilly powder, garam masala) [ but I prefer to add sambar powder only] .  and  in  the  final layer add the  tadka ,  Add  4  cup ( depending on your  rice quality - rice : water  1:2  I added) water side ways ,  close the lid and cook for 3  whistles . Open the lid and garnish with  curry leaves, coriander leaves .

   For  side   dish -- I prepared cucumber raitha ,

Thiruvadhirai Kali

Thiruvadhirai is  celebrated in the month of Margazhi, with full moon day and  the star thiruvadhirai falls.Early morning   in the  auspicious time  Kali and   seven thaan  kuzhambu is  prepared and   will do neivedhyam  to Lord Natarajar.I am going deep into the reason for  the celebration.

Ingredients :

Raw rice - 2 cups

 Moong dal -  25 gms

Chana dal  -  25 gms

Grated coconut-  1/2 cup

Jaggery - 2 1/2  cups

 cashew nut  - 50 gms

 Elakkai  -  8  to 10 (powdered)

 Ghee-   100 gms

Water -  1:2 1/2 [   flour:  water ]

Method:

         Dry roast rice ( golden colour  -- but  not charred -- sivakka varukkanum , theeyak koodaathu)

also dry  roast moong dal and chana dal till golden colour ( aroma will come).Then in mixie / mill grind them coarsely ( should neither  be nice powder nor  rava   stage ) .

        Pour  the water [  for  1 cup flour we add 2 1/2 cup water] in a  vessel ( adukku)  , add the powdered jaggery, allow to dissolve and  filter it.( to get clean jaggery water  without sand  or  mud )

    Take this jaggery water in a  vessel    add the  cardamom powder, grated coconut  and allow to boil  to get the  jaggery to  hot boiling level , then slowly add the rice-dal flour, mix  thoroughly  make  sure no lumps are  formed  Now  transfer this container in a cooker   (with 1 cup of water in the cooker ) , closethe cooker with the lid  put  the whistle  and cook  for 10 mins  in high flame . switch off and allow to settle the steam.Then open the cooker  and add the   ghee, roasted cashewnut  and mix gently.Now we get a  nice aroma filled udir udir  Thiruvadhirai kali , , we  prepare  seven veg kuzhambu along with this kali 

Banana stem and lobia (Karamani)vadai

When I  started to google for some recipies, I came across Chef Venkatesh Bhat's Lobia  banana stem vadai,found  very interesting and tried today , by soaking the Lobia yesterday night, came out   well , our sister--  in -laws family too enjoyed this healthy snack  very much .
Here  the ingredients:
 Lobia (karamani) - 250 gms - 1 cup soaked previous night ( nearly 8 to 10 hours) with 3 red chillies
 Banana stem - I cup   cut into  small cube size( soak in buttermilk to avoid  discoloration)
Onion -  2 , finely chopped
 Ginger - 1 inch - finely chopped
Green chillies 2  finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves -  1 cup  finely chopped
 Salt -  1 1/2 tsp( to taste)
 Asafoetida  - 1 tsp

Method:
          Grind the Lobia without adding water with redchillies   coarsely . Then add  the onion, banana stem , salt , green chillies, ginger , fresh coriander leaves , hing , mix  well. Then in hot oil  make  small  vadais  and   fry deeply . This is   fiber rich , protein rich  vadai., Very good  snack with hot  filter coffee.

Vaazhaikai Pitlai ( Vaazhaikai ) #OPOS

 We usually prepare Pitlai  with bitter gourd or   with Kathrikai . My  friend shared   this idea to prepare with vaazhaikai .

Raw banana ( Vaazhaikai )Pitlai

In a 3 L cooker, layer as below.

L1. 4tbsp water,1tbsp coconut oil.
L2.  banana cut into semi circles.
L3. 1/2C cooked dal (staple)  ,2tbsp tamarind paste  ,1 1/2tsp salt.
L 4. 1/2tsp each (turmeric, hing)
L 5. 1C roasted coconut ground with 2 tbsp sambar powder, 2sprigs of curry leaves.

Cook in high for 2whistles/6min. Open, mix, add 2C water and pre made tadka of mustard,methi and red chillies,and 1sprig of curry leaves. ( adding  water to our required consistancy )

Oats vadai ..

My friend   Sivapriya Gopalakrishnan  shared this recipe.I  tried  and found     excellent, easy to prepare , no   soaking,grinding,a healthy vadai in  5 mins  ready 

Ingredients :
2 cups of oats
2 spoons of rice flour
2 spoons of maida
1 big onion
1 piece of ginger
2 to 3 green chillies
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Take a pan add all the ingredients,pour some water and mix well.Keep it aside for 15 mins.
Now take a pan,pour oil,after oil gets heated put Vadai and deep fry it.
Kara kara Moru Moru Oats vada ready to eat with tomato sauce :-)