Eeya sombu rasam .... tomato paruppu rasam

Rasam   an easily digestable , healthy  one ,  can  drink like soup . It is  staple food for  small kids  to old people , sick people ,recovery  from illness , post delivery ......
 Foreigners  using  soups, in our country  we are using variety of rasams .
Our  food will not completed  if we are not taking rasam in our food. My  grandma  used to tell , if you are a  good cook then you have to excel in preparing rasam .... Rasam  is the great measurement  for a good cook, the aroma  when we open the vessel will  spread in the whole house .

Ingredients :
 Tamarind  juice - 1 cup ( extracting from a big  gooseberry size tamarind)
Tomato  - 1  big / 2 small
Thur dal  - 4 tsp
 moong dal - 2 tsp 
 green chilly  = 1  slit
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp 
 rasam powder / sambar powder   --  1/2 - 3/4  tsp ( a/c to the taste )
 salt -  to taste  ( 1  tsp)
 Hing -  little
Temper :
 Oil / ghee - 1 tsp 
 Kadugu - 1 tsp
 Jeeragam --   1/2 tsp
 Curry leaves , fresh dania  for garnishing
Method:
           Take a vessel  cook the dals  together with turmeric powder.   In another vessel   take tamarind juice  , tomatoes  sliced ,   slit  green chillies  , salt , hing , rasam  / sambar powder  cook  for  10 / 15 minutes till the raw smell  of tamarind   goes . Then add the  mashed cooked dal  and cook  for  2 minutes   then add the required  water  and allow  to get  froth . ( not  to  allow  boil).Temper   kadugu
, jeeragam , curry leaves  in ghee , garnish with fresh   coriander leaves  and close the vessel with a lid .
 If you use  eeya sombu , you can  smell  good aroma of  rasam with fresh  coriander leaves .Enjoy the rasam in hot rice.

Ladies finger puli pachadi

We like  ladies  finger very much, since  it is taught  in the  young ages that if  you eat vendikai  you will get  lots of brain  !!!! Same we  tell to our children too , in any form  the veggie prepared we liked very much , be it as fry / sambar/ vathakuzhamu/ puli pachadi/ mor kottu  ,It has  lots of health benefits, the studies  show it is  good  for diabetes,  weight loss ,.......I googled  and found  these and wondered too ....
Helps control diabetes: Okra is packed with dietary fibre that helps stabilisation of blood sugar levels by regulation of the rate of absorption of sugar from the digestive tract. The anti-diabetic property of okra is also attributed to its ability of inhibition of enzymes metabolising carbohydrates, enhancement of production of insulin, regeneration of beta cell of the pancreas and increased secretion of insulin

2. It prevents heart diseases: People are often affected with heart disease due to high levels of cholesterol in their blood. Pectin, a soluble fibre present in lady’s finger helps lower this cholesterol and thus is helpful in preventing heart disease. Okra is also fairly rich in antioxidant compounds like polyphenols. These compounds, especially quercetin, helps prevent oxidation of cholesterol and blocking of arteries, preventing heart disease development

3. It helps you lose weight: People who aspire to lose weight can eat lady’s finger to facilitate weight loss. The vegetable is extremely low in calories, with a 100g serving containing just 33 calories.


4. It improves your immunity: Lady’s finger is rich in vitamin C with a 100g serving meeting approximately 38% of your daily requirement of the nutrient. Vitamin C is a vital nutrient that helps improves your immunity and protects you from several diseases and infections. Alternatively, you could also eat orange and amla to boost your vitamin C intake as both of them are extremely rich sources of the nutrient.
5. It improves your mental function: Folate or Vitamin B9 is another critical nutrient present in lady’s finger. This nutrient is required by your brain to function properly as it aids in the production of several important compounds.
6. It is good for pregnant women: Women who are pregnant will benefit from the consumption of lady’s finger as it contains Vitamin B9 or folic acid which can help prevent neurological birth defects in their newborn. 
7. It prevents cancer: According to a research published in Nutrition Journal, lady’s finger has a higher concentration of antioxidants than most vegetables. These antioxidants prevent damage to your cells from free radicals, and inhibit the growth of cancer cells in your body.  Additionally, it contains some amount of insoluble fibre which promotes a healthy digestive tract and lowers your risk of colorectal cancer. Pectin present in the vegetable has been shown to prevent proliferation of melanoma cells in vitro
Here  goes  my recipe  which  easy to prepare and  no oil  recipe tpp except for tadka ..
Ingredients:
Ladies Finger - 1/4  kg --   2cups  thinly cut
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
 Tamarind juice  -  1/2 cup ( juice taken from 1 gooseberry size tamarind  soaked  and  strained )
Salt        - as per taste
 Thur dal  - cooked ( killu padham -  should cooked , not mashable consistancy )
 green chilly   = 3  slit  
For Tadka/ tempering
 Oil  -  2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves   - 4/5
Red chilly  -  1

 This  is killu padham of thur dal .

Method:  Wash  and  wipe the ladies finger and   cut  very thin slices . First  soak the thurdal for   1/2 hour and cook with a tsp of oil , so that  we get killu padham ( which my mom do ), dal  should be cooked , not to get the mashy consistancy , Then only we have crunchy  feel when we eat the pachadi.
Soak one gooseberry size  tamarind and extract the juice for 1/2 cup
 Take a  wok put 1 tsp of oil and fry the  ladies finger for a minute and pour the tamarind juice, slit green chillies , salt , turmeric powder   and cook (for 10 minutes ) till the veggies become soft , then add the cooked dal and   boil for a minute to get the  required consistancy. Add the  tempering  with kadugu, urad(option) curry leaves , curry leaves . Now  we can enjoy the tasty pulipachadi  with  thogayals, podi sadham , sambar sadham, rasam sadham .


 

Ragi Halwa with a twist # OPOS

Ragi is  Nutritionally, when ragi is used as a whole grain, it is higher in protein and minerals in comparison . with all other cereals and millets. It is a remarkable source of protein, making it perfect for vegetarian diets.
 Ragi is a great source of iron making it beneficial for individuals with low hemoglobin levels, the richest source of calcium among plant foods. Calcium along with vitamin D help strengthen bones. It is an excellent source of natural calcium for children and aging people.
  Ragi contains an amino acid, Tryptophan which reduces appetite. It has a much higher amount of dietary fiber compared to white rice and other grains. It is also a low fat cereal and most of the fats are in the unsaturated form. This makes it the best choice in  grains for people trying to lose weight. The bulkiness of the fibers and the slower digestion rate makes one feel fuller on fewer calories and therefore helps prevent excess caloric consumption.
I should thank my Friend Vijaya Venkatesh for this  recipe, She introduced  me  so many millet   dishes .
Here  goes ::

 Ingredients :
Ragi  -   1 small cup
Ghee  -   4 tsp + 1 tsp
 Jaggery  - 2/3 cup(heaped) The same cup which we use for measuring the flour ]
Water   - 2 cups
 Cardamom  -  2 pinches
  Cashew  - 1
 In a pan  take   4 tsp of ghee , cashew nut , ragi flour  make a dry roast ( just  roux  it)
 Roast the  ragi flour in sim   till  the cashew  turns  little browish in colour.
In a   2 L   Pressure cooker , add the water , jaggery  powder , cardamom powder  and the remaining 1 tsp of ghee,
Cook for  a  whistle. Carefully remove the pressure  using a spoon  and  pour  the roasted ragi flour into the boiling water and  mix it quickly ( without lumps).Close the lid of the cooker , place the  weight again and let it remain for  another15 ,the  Gas stove remains OFF only . Then open the  cooker and  we can enjoy the healthy Ragi halwa .
No turning / burning/  watching . Just making the Halwa in a relax mood.

Payathang Kanji - Paruppu thooththam

 This porridge   is very delicious , healthy , cool,  very light  food  during  the  vrat times, sick days , recovering times , as baby food ...We  like this very  much . I prepared this  many times for  my grand father( Father in Law's Father ) .He  wanted  light food only at the same healthy and delicious .For healthy version I use  Jaggery ,   for  baby food we  use pepper and jeera very little  to make  the porridge .Yesternight  I prepared this  for light  food in the night time for us .
No ghee / no oil  healthy  light food 

Ingredients:
   Moong dal  - 1 cup ( slightly   dry roasted  -- upto   warm .. till the aroma comes  not  brown level)
  Jaggery       -  1/2 cup -- to taste
  Water   - 1 1/2 cups 
 Salt -  a pinch
Cardomom powder  - a pinch 
Boiled  Milk   - 1/2  to 1  cup   for the consistancy

 Method :   Dry roast  dal ( till the  good aroma comes , not to golden yellow ), then wash and  add    1 1/2   cups of water   in a container .In  the pressure  cooker  take   1/2 cup ( according  to taste ) jaggery and pour some water and allow to  dissolve , then strain the jaggery water in the cooker(to remove the sand particles from the jaggery)  and  place the container which has moong dal  with lid . Now pressure  cook for  2 to 3  whistles  .Allow the pressure to settle down ,  remove the  cooked  dal  mash well  and , mix  well with the jaggery water  which boiled already in the bottom of the cooker and add the boiled  milk  to your required consistancy ,  keep it in the cooker for 5 min( no need to on the cooker ). Then add some cardomom powder . Yes now   delicious  payatham Kanji  / Paruppu Thooththam is  ready to consume and enjoy.

Banana Stem mor koottu

 We  know the benefits of vaazhaithandu  very well.
Today I made vaazhaithandu mor koottu  which   is very tasty,  I perfer to use fresh  banana stem  whenever I come across,Yesterday I bought  fresh thandu , I used  some for   thandu juice( noor mor with vaazhai thandu ) and  remaining for  mor koottu .

 
Ingredients :
 Fresh  banana stem --  1 cup
 green chilly    -  3
 cumin seed  -= 1/2 tsp
 salt  - to taste
 curd    - 1/2 cup
  grated coconut    - 1/2 cup
Temper:
  Oil  -  2 tsp
 mustard  seeds-  1 tsp
Curry leaves  

 Method :  Clean the vaazhai thandu  , cut  round  round, then remove the fibre inbetween them and cut into small cubes  put in butter milk , otherwise it will get decoloured . Cook the cut banana thandu cubes  with  buttermilk and salt , In the meanwhile grind grated coconut, green chilly , cumin seeds nicely  little very little water. Add this  mixer  with the cooked   stem  and mix well .Now add  thick curd and  temper  the koottu with mustard seed, curry leaves in oil  and pour it on the koottu .
This will go well  with milagu kuzhambu , vatha kuzhambu ., thogayals.