Tomato Onion Dal

Dal with Tomato and with Onion.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
2. Tomato - 2 (Fully Ripe) Cut into big cubes
3. Onion cut into length wise - 2
4. Green Chillies - 2 (or according to taste)
5. Salt to taste
6. Turmeric Powder
7. Hing
8. Coconut Milk - 2 tablespoon
9. Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
10. Jeera (Cummin Seeds) - 1/4 tsp

Ingredients for Tempering:
1. Ghee 1 tsp/ Oil - 2 Tsp
2. Mustrad Seeds - 1/2 tsp
3. Curry leaves
4. Coriander leaves to garnish.

Method:
1. Fry dal in a tawa for few minutes, Wash and Cook in a separate vessel
by adding Turmeric and Jeera.
2. In a Kadai heat Oil / Ghee, temper ingredients and fry Onions till soft.
3. Now goes the Slit Green Chilli, Chillipowder and mix well.
4. Now add cubed Tomato pieces and turn 2 times without mashing the tomatoes.
5. Add Cooked dal, 1/4 cup water, cook for 5 minutes.
6. Before removing from fire add Coconut milk.


Serve the flavourful Dal with Rice or Roti.

Beauty of Kerala

God's Own Country - Kerala from my son's Camera

Elephant Quarters

Chinese Fishing Net in Cochin

View of Munar Tea Estates

Thekkady

Kerala Boat House

Kerala kalari Fight

kalkandu Pongal

Traditional Sweet Pongal.
This can be prepared as Neivedhyam due to the purity of Rock Sugar.
Milk Based Sweet Pongal.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Raw Rice - 3/4 cup (Roast for a minute)
2. Milk - 3 cups
3. Saffron - Little (This gives us rich colour)
4. Rock Sugar - Kalkandu 3/4 cup
5. Ghee - 3 tablespoons.
6. Cashew, Badam, Pista, Elaichi and Pachai Karporam (Edible Camphor) for garnishing.
Method:
1. Wash several times roasted Rice, add Milk, Saffron and cook in the pressure cooker till 2 whistles and sim for 10 minutes.
2. Make a thick syrup with Kalkandu.
3. Mash Cooked rice and add to the Kalkandu Syrup and keep on stirring till syrup mixes with the rice.(5 Mins.)
4. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee .
5. Fry garnishing items (Cashew, Pista and badam) in remaining ghee and pour over Pongal.
6. Garnish with Elaichi and Pachai karporam.
!-! Pongal O Pongal with Sweet Pongal. !-!

Happy Pongal, Happy Makara Sankranthi, Happy Lohri !

EriSeri

Traditional Keralite dish.
Tasty curry made with Suran (Yam) and Raw Banana (Vazhaikkai)

Ingredients Needed:
1. Yam (Suran) cut into cubes - 1 cup
2. Raw banana cut into cubes - 1/2 cup
3. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Hing
5. Salt to taste
6. Pepper Powder - 1 1/2 tsp (according to taste)
7. Water - 1/2 cup

Ingredients for Grinding:
1. Grated Coconut 3 to 4 tablespoons. [Can there be a Keralite dish without Coconut?]
2. Rice flour - 1 tsp

Ingredients for tempering:
1. Mustard Seeds
2. Curry leaves
3. Dried Red Chilli - 1
4. Grated Coconut - 3 tsp. (You can add more, if you like.)
5. Oil 2 tsp (preferably coconut oil)
[Here I used sunflower oil and before removing from stove I added few drops of Coconut oil.]

Method:
1. Wash Suran completely [atleast few times] and boil in 1/2 cup water by adding turmeric and pepper powder.
2. When it is 1/2 cooked add Raw banana pieces, Salt and Hing.
3. When fully cooked, add grinded paste and cook till gravy thickens.
4. Heat oil in kadai temper with mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves.
Now goes the grated coconut and fry till colour changes and pour over Curry.
5. Now add the Keralite touch, that is, Add few drops of coconut oil (Optional)


Go Kerala with Eriseri and Variety rice or Sambar rice.

New year Wishes

Wishing All Bloggers 'A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR'

Cabbage Vadai

Vadai with Vegetable.
No need to add Onions.
Great tea time snack.

Ingredients Needed: (Makes 16 to 18 vadais)
1. Urad dal 1 cup (Soak in water for 1 hour)
2. Rice flour 2 tsp
3. Gram flour 2 tsp (Kadalai Maavu)
4. Salt to taste
5. Ghee 1 tsp
6. Finely chopped green chillies 2 (according to taste)
7. Hing
8. Cumin seeds, (jeera) 1/2 tsp
9. Curry leaves
10. Finely chopped coriander leaves
11. Main ingredient of this vadai, Chopped Cabbage 1/2 cup
12. Oil to deep fry
13. Grated Ginger
Method:
1. Grind Urad dal with minimum water, till frothy.
2. Add Chopped Green chillies, Curryleaves, Coriander Leaves, Chopped Ginger, Cumin seeds, Salt, Cabbage, Rice flour and Gram flour to the Urad Dal Batter and Mix well.
3. Make Vadai and Deep Fry in oil till golden Brown.

Cabbage Vadai

** Cabbage Vada is an excellent Party dish.**

Kaasi Halwa with Gulkand

Halwa - Traditional Sweet Dish.
Ash Gourd Halwa.
Flavoured with Gulkand.

Ingredients Needed:
1. White Pumpkin Grated (1 cup) {measure after squeezing out the water from pumpkin. To remove water, tie the grated Pumpkin in a towel and squeeze.}
2. Sugar - 3/4 Cup + 2 tblsp
3. Gulkand - 3 tsp to 4 tsp. [Rose Petals Jam - Rose Petals, Dry fruits and Sugar.] [link:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulkand]
4. Ghee - 5 tsp.
5. Water - 1/2 cup to make sugar syrup
6. Cashew nuts (For garnishing) Fry and keep it aside.
Method:
1. Melt 1 tsp of Ghee in a pan and add grated white Pumpkin pieces.
2. Cook in slow flame to remove excess water and to remove raw smell.
3. Make sugar syrup to 1string consistency.
4. Pour this syrup to the cooked white pumpkin and keep on stirring.
5. When it sticks to the bottom add 2 tsps of ghee.
6. Halwa will leave on the sides, now goes the Gulkand and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Garnish with Cashew nuts, and enrich the Halwa by adding the remaining ghee.
Ash Gourd Halwa, deliciously flavoured with Gulkand is ready to be enjoyed.
Note:-
If you dont get Gulkand, and add Sugar in the ratio of 1 : 1, for every cup of grated Ash Gourd and add few drops of Red Colouring.
This is my Submission for Monthly Mingle Hosted by Meeta

Karthigai Deepam

Happy Karthigai!!!

Paruppu Urundai Kulambu/Morkulambu

Traditional South Indian Kulambu.
Full of Proteins.

Ingredients for making Urundai:
1. Toor dal 1 cup
2. Red chillies 3 (According to taste)
3. Hing
4. Salt to taste
5. Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
6. Curry leaves and Coriander Leaves.

Method:
1. Soak dal for 1 hour and grind it with other ingredients to coarse paste.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in kadai, splutter mustard seeds and fry this paste for 2 minutes, let it cool and make small balls and steam it.

With these Urundais can make both kulambu and Morkulambu.

Urundai Kulambu

Ingredients Needed:
1. Onion Medium size- 1 Chopped finely
2. Tomato - 1/2 chopped finely
3. Tamarind water 1 1/2 cups (Soak small gooseberry size tamarind and remove extract by adding 1 1/2 cups water)
4. Dhania Powder 1/2 tsp
5. Sambar Powder 2 tsp
6. Coconut Paste 2 tsp

Ingredients for Tempering:
1. Oil 2tsp
2. Curry leaves
3. Mustard Seeds
4. Methi Seeds
Method of Preparing Kulambu:

1. Heat oil in a kadai and add tempering ingredients.
2. Now add, chopped onion and fry till golden and add chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Now goes, coriander powder, sambar powder and Tamarind water.
4. Add salt and cook till raw smell goes.
5. Now add the steamed Urundais and cook for a minute and mix coconut extract.
6. Cook this kulambu till oil floats on top.
**Serve this with Hot Rice and Ghee.**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paruppu Urundai Morkulambu

Ingredients for paste:
1. Dhania 1 tsp
2. Grated Coconut 4 tsp
3. Methi seeds 1/4 tsp
4. Urad dal, channa dal each 1/2 tsp
5. Rice 3/4 tsp
6. Dry chillies according to taste
7. Jeera 1/4 tsp.
Soak everything for 30 mins. and grind into paste.

Ingredients for Kulambu:
1. Butter Milk (Thick ) 1 cup
2. Salt to taste
3. Grinded paste
4. Hing
Mix everything and keep it aside.
Ingredients for tempering:
1. Mustard Seeds
2. Oil 1tsp
3. Curry leaves, Coridander to Garnish.

Method:
1. Heat oil and Mustard seeds and Curryleaves and pour in the curd mixture.
2. Add prepared urundai and bring it to boil.(Not more than 3 minutes)
3. Garnish with coriander seeds.

Serve with Hot Rice.

The Kulambus can be prepared with no or less vegetables.

Pick your Choice of Kulambu, Make it and Enjoy !

This is my Submission for JFI (Toor Dal) Hosted by Linda

Palak Pulav

Pulav with a tasteful difference
Pulav that is Colourful and with lots of Vegetables.

Ingredients needed:
1. Basmati Rice 1 cup (I had used Jeeraga Samba Rice)
2. Cubed vegetables (Carrot, Cauliflower, Potatoes)
3. Palak - One bunch
4. Salt to taste
5. Lemon/Lime Juice 1 tsp
6. Pulav Masala ( 2Elaichi, 1Bay leaf, 1 inch Cinnamon, 3Cloves)
7. Garlic - 2 cloves
8. Fennel seeds (Sombu / Saunf) - 1/2 tsp
9. Green Chillies - 3 (according to taste)
10. Onion - 2. Sliced length wise
11. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
12. Oil 2 tablespoons + 1 Tablespoon Ghee
13. Water - 13/4 cup
Method:
1. Wash Rice, drain water and keep it aside for a good 1/2 hour.
2. Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a Pan, add washed Palak, Garlic, Green Chillies and Sombu. (Fennel seeds)
3. Fry this for about 3 minutes, Cool and Grind into paste adding little salt.
4. Heat Oil and Ghee in a pressure cooker, Add Pulav Masala and Cumin seeds.
5. Add Onions and fry till golden brown.
6. Now goes the Chopped vegetables. Fry for about 3 minutes and add the Palak Paste.
7. Fry till you get a nice aroma and add the washed Basmati Rice, Salt and lemon Juice.
8. Mix with water and Pressure cook till done.

Serve this Green and Delicious Pulav with any Raita.

Keerai Vadai

Spinach Vada.
Tea Time Snack or Party Snack.

Ingredients Needed: (Makes 16 -18 vadai)
1. Urad Dal - 3/4 cup
2. Tuar Dal - 1/4 cup
3. Raw Rice - 2 tsp
4. Dried Red chillies - 3 (according to taste)
5. Hing
6. Jeera (Cumin) or Fennel Seeds (Optional)
7. Ghee - 1 tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil to deep fry
10. Chopped Greens 1 cup (I used Amaranth)
Method:
1. Soak Urad dal and (Tuar dal and Rice ) separately for 1 hour.
2. Grind it along with Salt, Red Chillies and Hing.
3. Add Jeera or Fennel, Ghee and Chopped Greens to the Grounded paste
mix well.
4. Make vadas and Deep fry in hot oil till crisp.



Keerai Vadai - Crunchy and Tasty. Best had with Mint Chutney.

Semiya Biryani

Vermicili Biryani.
Quick and Easy dish.
Make a difference with this dish in Picnic and Parties.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Vermicili (Semiya) 1 cup
2. Cubed Vegetables (Carrot, Beans, Peas, Cauliflower, Potato, peas) 2 cups
3. Onion - Sliced lengthwise 1
4. Salt to taste
5. Water 1-3/4 cup
6. Ghee - 1 tsp
7. Oil - 3 tsp
8. Chopped Tomato - 1

Grind into Paste
1. Onion - 1/2
2. Ginger - 1inch Piece
3. Garlic Pods - 2
4. Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Green Chillies (According to taste)
6. Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
8. Grated Coconut - 2 tsps
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Grind the above items into paste.

Ingredients for Tempering
1. Bay leaf - 1
2. Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
3. Pepper - few

Method:
1. Heat Ghee in a pan and fry semiya till golden brown and keep it aside.
2. Heat Oil and add tempering Ingredients.
3. Fry Onions till golden brown.
4. Now goes the Paste, Cubed Vegetables and fry in slow fire for 5 minutes or till Oil floats on top.
5. Now add water and chopped tomatoes, let it boil.
6. Add Semiya and Cook till done.
Garnish with Coriander and Mint leaves

.:. Enjoy the Semiya Biryani with Raita. .:

Vellai Paniyaram

Another Chettinad Traditional, Diwali dish.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Rice 1 cup (Measure flat one cup)
2. Urad dal 2 tablespoons (Or add urad dal to make one full cup with rice)
(ie. One flat measure of rice and add remaining portion Urad dal to cover one full cup measurement)
3. Salt to taste
4. Milk
5. Sugar 1 tsp
6. Oil to deep fry.
Method:
1. Soak rice and Dal together for 2 hours and grind into fine paste.
(Without any granuals)
2. Add Salt, Sugar, Milk and Mix well like pouring consistency.
3. Heat Oil in a Kadai, pour one ladle of grinded paste in Oil and Cook in
slow flame.
4. Trun the other side and cook for a minute. (Should not be over fried.)
5. Drain well and keep it in a absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
6. Serve Hot with Onion Chutney or Tomato Chutney.

Happy Deepavali with these Chettinad dishes.

This is my submission for JFI Special Edition hosted by Vee

Kalkkandu vadai

Chettinad Diwali

Spicy Vadas are normal. How about a Sweet Vada?
Recipe from Chettinad.
Chettinad is famous for its Culture, Heritage, Mansions and of course its Cuisine.
Thanks to A, for this Recipe.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Urad Dal 1 cup
2. Sugar Candy 3/4 cup (Kalkandu) (Rock Sugar)
3. Grated Coconut 2 tablespoons (Optional)
4. Elaichi POwder
5. Pinch of Salt
6. Oil to deep fry
Method:
1. Soak Urad dal for 30 minutes, wash them and drain excess water.
2. Wipe soaked urad dal with a cloth and grind it along with the Sugar candy. (No Need to add water)
3. Now add grated Coconut, Elaichi Powder, Salt and Mix well.
4. Make small size vadas and deep fry in oil.
Note:
1. Vada should get immersed in Oil while frying.
2. While frying the vada will puff up.
3. Never use sugar for this vada.
4. If it is watery add 1 or 2 tsps of Maida.
5. This vada can be retained for 4 days.

This is my submission for Special Edition Jhiva hosted by Vee

Mixture

Snack that is a Mix of 4 to 5 items.
South Indian style Mixture is presented below.

For that you need:
1. Kara Boondhi - 2 cups [Method given below]
2. Oma Podi - 2 cups [Method given below]
3. Fried Thick Aval (Poha) - 2 cups
4. Ground Nuts - 1/2 cup
5. Chutney Dal - 1/2 cup (Pottukkadalai)
6. Cashew Nuts - 1/4 cup
7. Curry leaves - 2 Sprigs

Items for Mixture Masala.
1. Dry Red Chillies 6 to 7
2. Hing
3. Salt
4. Sugar
5. Ghee 1 tsp

Making of the Boondhi
1. Besan - 3/4 cup
2. Rice flour - 1 tsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Chilli Powder to taste
5. Oil tsp
6. Water

Method:
1. Sieve the flour and add Salt, Chilli Powder, Oil and make it to Bajji Batter Consistency with water.
2. Heat Oil in a Kadai, make Boondhi with Boondhi laddle.
3. Drain Oil and Keep it aside.
Boondhi Making refer here.
Making of the OmaPodi
1. Besan - 1 cup
2. Rice flour - 1/4 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. Chilli powder
5. Finely crushed Omum (Ajwain) or Omum Water
6. Water
7. Ghee or Hot Oil - 1 tsp

Method:
1. Mix everything Chappathi dough consistency.
2. In a Kadai squeeze Omapodi direct into the oil using Murukku or Omapodi press.
3. Drain and Keep it aside.

Making of the Mixture:-
1. Deep fry Aval (Thick poha) in Oil, drain and keep it aside.
2. Deep fry Cashew nuts, Ground nuts, Chutney dal and keep it aside.
3. In same Oil fry curry leaves. (be careful)

Mixture Masala:-
In small kadai or in same oil deep fry Red chilli and grind into powder along with
Salt, Hing and Sugar.

Mix everything in a Container or Paper and on top of it add mixture Masala .
On top of mixture Masala add one tsp of Hot Ghee and Mix with both hands.
Till masala coats to everything.

Store in an air tight container and you can use it for even a month.

Enjoy the festival time Snack with family and friends or even while watching TV.

Milagu Aval

Pepper and Jeera flavoured Aval - Poha.
Easy to make.

Ingredients Needed:
1. Rice Flakes - Poha or Aval - 2 cups
2. Salt to taste
3. Pepper 2 tsp
4. Cumin (Jeera) 3 tsp
5. Oil 2 tsp
6. Ghee 1 tsp
7. Curry leaves
8. Mustard Seeds
9. Urad Dal
10. Channa dal
11. Dry Red Chillies (Broken) 1

Method:
1. Make a coarse Powder of Pepper and Jeera.
2. Wash Aval and keep it aside.
3. Heat Oil in a Kadai. Add Mustard seeds, Urad dal, Channadal, Dry red Chillies and Curry leaves .
4. When Dal becomes Red, add Pepper Jeera Powder, Ghee and the Main ingredient Aval, Salt and Mix well.

Healthy and Tasty Milagu Aval is ready.

.::. Have this Hot on a Rainy Day with Morkuzhambu. .::.

Pongal - The Harvest Festival of Tamil Nadu

What is Pongal?

a) Is it the dish that tamilians have for breakfast?
b) Is it the 4 day Thanksgiving festival celebrated in the month of January in tamilnadu?
c) Does it mean "to boil?"
d) All of above
For those familiar, they would automatically pick the option" d".

Pongal is the quintessential harvest festival of Tamilnadu and a traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for celebrating the life cycles that give us grain.

A Tamil saying goes on that "Thai Piranthal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning that when the month of Thai dawns there will be way of love, peace, harmony, prosperity, joyness in everyone's life.
The first day is called 'Bhogi Pongal', the second day 'Surya Pongal' and the third day 'Mattu Pongal'. Bhogi Pongal is celebrated as a family festival. It is the day for spring cleaning. All old and unwanted things are thrown away or burnt.

The second day is dedicated to the sun (Surya) when Pongal is boiled by women and offered to the sun. Friends greet one another by asking Have you boiled the Rice?

Mattu Pongal, the third day is a day dedicated to the worship and veneration of the cattle. The cattle are bathed, decorated and their horns are painted in bright colours.

The Fourth day is known as Kanu or Kannum Pongal day. Its a day when the women prays for the prosperity of their family and of their brothers should prosper.

Pongal in other parts of India

Makar Sankranti
In the North Indian states of India, people celebrate this day as Makar Sankranti. The most exciting thing about this festival is the kite flying. People believe that the direction of the wind changes on that day, and so they all come out into the streets to fly colorful kites and capture as many as possible.

Kanumu
On Kaanum Pongal, elaborate powdered chalk designs of the sun god, Surya are drawn. As soon as the auspicious month of Thai is underway, Surya is worshipped.

Lohri
In Punjab, people celebrate Lohri in January on what they believe is the coldest day of the year. With the cold winds blowing they celebrate by dancing the bhangra around a fire, which is fed with sugarcane, rice and sesame seeds. People sing folk songs that tell of a good harvest, which is a blessing from the gods.

Bihu / Bohaggiyo Bhishu
This is the greatest festival of the Assamese people, who observe three Bihus. The three Bihus, constitute a festival complex and are celebrated at various stages of the cultivation of paddy, the principal crop of Assam.

Bhogi
The first day is Bhogi and is in honor of Indra the god of rain. There are many legends told about this day. The day begins with a til (sesame) oil bath and in the evening there is a bonfire in which all the rubbish in the house is burnt.

Hadaga Festival
The Hadaga festival in Maharashtra is to pray for a good monsoon and a good harvest. As Indra is the god of rain, people sing songs to Indra and pray for rain. Pictures of the elephant which is Indra's vehicle are drawn everywhere to invite the God.

Pongal Recipes

1. Venpongal
2.Sarkkarai Pongal
3.Puran Poli On Bohi Day

This is my submission for Viji's RCI Tamil Festival

ref:pongalfestival.org