Peas Pulao

                                                               This is the most simplest pulao i have made.I bet it is a Favourite dish in any party menu. This is the season where you get lot of fresh green peas so decided to make it today.I added a little mint leaves for additional flavour.You can have it with any kind of Dal.

Karunaikizhangu Masiyal

Moong Dhal Sambar/Tiffin Sambar

This moong dhal sambhar is made as an accompaniment for idlis,dosas and pongal.They make it mostly in the south Indian weddings.I love it when they serve hot idlis and this sambhar is banana leaf.It tastes heavenly!!!That is why my chittappa usually calls it "Kalyana gothsu".It is a little different from the usual sambar.I think it is in between gothsu and sambar.

 

Mango Thokku

                                                                 I have already posted one recipe for Mango thokku.This is another way of making it.I keep making this often in our house.It is an all time favourite and all of us love it. we eat it with bread,dosa and of course with curd rice.

Sprouts Salad

                                                     I like to include sprouts in a lot of dishes because it is"very healthy".This salad is a simple one and it becomes part of our menu at least few times a week.

Diwali Legiyam|Marundu|Diwali Recipes

                                                     We have seen so many sweet and savoury recipes for Diwali now it is time to make this yummy medicinal legiyam.In our house we use to call it Marundu which means medicine in Tamil.After all the sweets our stomach should not go for a Toss so that is why this was invented i guess.
                                                      It is quite simple with most of the ingredients at home except the Knadathipilli and sukku(dry ginger)which you get in Nattu marundu kadai.There is one famous Dabba chetty kadai in kutchery road mylapore or Salam stores in Pondy bazar.You even get the powder ready made in these shops.

Beet Root Halwa

All of us love beet root in our family starting from my grandfather to my daughters and nieces.We enjoy beet root in any form curry,sambar,kootu,salad and of course beet root halwa.This is my nieces favourite sweet every time she comes in summer for holidays my mother always used to make it for her.It is quiet similar to carrot halwa preparation but i have not added milk in this for a change.

Dhokla

                                                                   Few of my friends requested me to post some after school snack recipes for children so i thought let me give it a try and this is the first one.Dhokla is a Gujarati snack somewhat like the south Indian idly.It is quiet simple and healthy because it is steamed.Have a look!!

Sweet and Sour Vegetables

This is quiet an easy and simple Chinese vegetable.You have it with Noodles or rice.I have used my own choice of vegetables you can choose yours and if you like pineapple you can add!it gives a little sweet and sour taste to the dish.

Arisi Vella Puttu/Navarathri (Friday)Recipes

                                                        This is a very traditional recipe made especially on fridays of the navrathri.It is quiet a difficult  and a long process one.There aren't many recipes for puttu(made this way)on the net too.My aunt is too good at this and i took the recipe from her and of course brushed up with Meenakshi ammal's books.

Curry Leaves Thogayal/Chutney

                                                                    Once in a while i like to make a gravy or a chutney with curry or mint leaves.Today i decided to make curry leaves thogayal(which is my daughter's favourite).My mom always used to say it was very good for health(hair especially) and it has lot of iron.
It is quiet simple to make and we usually have it with steaming hot rice and with a spoon of ghee or oil on top of it with some fried pappads.Traditionally they use to grind it in the Ammi(Indian grinding stone) but i ground it  in the mixer.I saw this ammi(in the picture)in a shop.I loved it so much!!!! i  just bought it to crush garlic or ginger!!!

Aloo Palak/Spiced Potatoes in Spinach Puree

                                                                          I think i have already posted few palak recipes and that is how health freak i am.yes this is another subzi or gravy (accompaniment)for rotis(Indian breads).Basically you boil the potatoes,dice and saute them with all the spices and simmer in palak or spinach puree.

Chidambaram Gothsu/Sutta kathirikkai Gothsu

                                                                This is also another traditional recipe from Chidambaram.There are quiet a few versions to it.but my mother used to make it in this way so i just follow it.Even though my kids are not a big fan of brinjal they eat it and my hubby loves it with "arisi upma".

Vella Aval/Sweetened Rice flakes

                                           .My mother used to make this when we were small...Later when we grew up our taste buds changed and kind of forgotten these (traditional)simple recipes.Now  I want to record these kind of traditional recipes here.

Paneer Makhani

                                                                          I have been wanting try this Recipe in a long time since i knew how to make only paneer butter masala with paneer.I found this recipe in the following link.And i have posted it today (Tuesday ) to submit for bookmarked Recipes of US masala.
This is quiet simple and fast if you have paneer and creme at home.

Paruppu Urundai Mor kozhambu

               
                                                     Paruppu urundai morkozhambu is a speciality dish.It is made in two different gravies my mom makes it in mor kozhambu gravy and my mil makes it in tamarind gravy( i will soon post the other one too).I made the mor kozhambu simple because of the paruupu urundai's in them they are quiet heavy.Some people use tur dhal and some make it with channa dal(kadalai paruppu)to make the urudais.You can even use both.

Semiya Payasam/Kheer/Vermicelli milk pudding

                                                                  This Payasam or kheer or pudding  is the most simple,fast and easiest one to make.Now that you get Roasted Vermicelli in the stores it becomes even more easier.

Calzone

                                                                            Calzone originates from Italy.It is made of Ingredients similar to pizza folded over and shaped like a crescent.Usually these are stuffed with Tomatoes and mozzarella but i just modified according to my kids taste.
My daughter wanted to have Pizza today so i thought being Friday  let me try out something new and that tastes like pizza and while i was browsing found this recipe (I tried from US masala blog)gave it a try and made it little more healthy by adding a lot of wheat flour.My kids were extremely thrilled to see such a new recipe and that tasted like Pizza which they love anyways!!!!

Ada Pradaman/Onam Recipes

                                                                Pradaman is payasam in Malayalam.Tomorrow being Onam I thought let me try out this recipe.I bought the ready made Ada that is available in stores and boiled it and mixed with jaggery and coconut milk and garnished with cardamom powder and edible camphor.

Idiyappam

                                                                       Idiyappams are rice noodles which are very soft on the stomach(considered safe food) even when you have a fever.I bought the Idiyappam flour in the store and made it at home.let us see how i made it.

Spicy peanut sundal/Navrathri Recipes

                                                                   My mother used to make this sundal slightly different than the usual. It is usually tempered with mustard seeds and coconut but she used to add this curry powder which used to make it different,spicy and more tasty.so everyone who came to my house for kolu used to love this!!

Murukku

                                                                         After seeing all the posts for krishna jayanthy i got too tempted to make Murukku.I saw this ready made flour in the shop so just got it and made it immediately.Let us see how i made it.

Aloo ghobi mattar

 

Manglore Bonda(karnataka special)

                                                              Manglore Bonda is a karnataka style tea time Fried Snack.It is quiet simple and easy to make with simple ingredients available at home.It is a special one in Woodlands restaurant in Chennai.My father used to buy it whenever he drops in and it is one of his favourite too!!!

APPALAM KOZHAMBU/THIRUNELVELI STYLE

                                                                This is a kind of Vathakozhambu or some call it the Venthaya kozhambu with appalam.I had never heard about it until i got married.Instead of the vegetable we use broken appalam fried in gingelly oil along with mustard seeds,tur dhal and red chillies and most importantly some fenugreek seeds and then cooked in tamarind water and the powders.

Pal khoa/Thirattipal/Gokulashtami Recipes

                                                         This Gokulashtami(lord krishna's birthday) i decided to make some milk sweet that is Krishna's favourite and it happened to be my hubby's favourite too!!!Let us see how i made it.

Dhal fry and Vegetable Kohlapuri

                                                         I decided to try something different today so looked for recipes in Tarla dala's book and looked at Maharashtrian Recipes and decided on Vegetable kohlapuri.The ingredients were different slightly so decided to make a dhal fry along with it in case the kids do not like it(it was a back up).Let me give you the Recipe for both.

GOTHUMA RAWA UPMA

                                                                This upma is a welcome change for south Indians eating rotis everyday for health reasons.It is quiet similar to rawa upma (except that you don't need to roast the rawa in the begining)just that it  has lot of vegetables and it is very  helathy!!!!!!You can refer to rawa upma for stpewise pictures

Vegetable au gratin

                                                               Once in a while i try different recipes like this.Au gratin is a french dish.Of course i have modified it a little.I have combined vegetables with macaroni in white sauce and baked it with cheese.It is a side dish usually served with garlic bread.

KASI HALWA/POOSHANIKKAI HALWA

STUFFED TOMATOES

                                                               This is one of my favourite subzi's.whenever we go to a restaurant we order since it is not very simple one to make often at home.But once in a while you need to cook such exoticdishes too so i decided to make it today.

KANDATHIPILLI RASAM

                                                                 This is one more rare type of rasam in the sense it is not made regularly.You can even call it a medicinal rasam.It is made in south Indian homes when you have body ache,sore throat and a common cold.In this rasam we fry two different types of herbs Kandathipilli and Arisithipili along with pepper and red chillies and boil in tamarind water.

You will Need

• Big marble sized ball of Tamarind
• 3/4tsp of Black Pepper
• 2-4 Red chillies
• One tbs of Channa Dal
• One tsp of Coriander seeds
• One tsp of Cumin seeds
• Few Curry leaves
• Four sticks of Kandathippilli
• Four sticks of Arisithippilli
• Two cups of Tur Dal water
• Salt to Taste
• Ghee for tempering

How To

1. Soak Tamarind in hot water for half an hour and extract juice three times and keep aside.
2. In a pan heat a tsp of ghee and roast pepper,chillies,coriander seeds and two thippilllis.
3. Cool the roasted ingredients and grind it along with cumin seeds and curry leaves in to a smooth paste or powder.
4. In a pan heat ghee again and crackle mustard seeds and add tamarind water.
5. When the raw smell of the tamarind goes add the ground paste and salt.
6. Add some Dal water to subside the spice in the rasam.

Variation

• You can make this with garlic also.When you crackle mustard seeds add peeled garlic and fry.
• Allow it to boil along with tamarind water and later add the ground paste.
• In this case you may not add Dal water.You can use one tomato if you like.
• I did use otherwise it would become too medicinal.

ONION PICKLE/VENGAYA THOKKU

This yummy thokku is all time favourite in my house.It goes well with hot rice,chapatti,idlis,dosas and bread too.It can be stored in the refrigerator for a month.

You will Need

• 250gms of sambar onions
• 10 to 12 Red chillies
• Marble sized ball of Tamarind
• Half a cup of Gingelly oil
• One tsp of Mustard seeds
• Salt to taste

How To

1. Heat one tbs of of oil in a thick pan and saute the onions(peeled).
2. Cool it.Grind it along with the chillies,tamarind and salt into a paste.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan crackle mustard seeds.
4. Add the ground paste and heat it till oil separates stirring on and off.

Tips

• The more you cook it stays longer.
• Adjust chillies according to your taste.
• It stays for one month if refrigerated.

MASALA FRITTERS(BAJJI) WITH MANGO SAUCE

Bajji or fritters is a very popular south indian fried snack.It is made with a mixture of Bengal gram flour,rice flour,salt chilli powder etc mixed with water.Sliced vegetables and dipped in the batter and deep fried.

This is a variation from the normal one just to make it more yummy and aromatic.

You will Need(for the bajji)

• One cup gram flour
• Two tbs of rice flour
• Salt to taste

Masala ground into fine paste

• Two green chillies
• One tsp of fennel seeds
• Handful of Coriander leaves
• One small piece of ginger
• Two pods of garlic

How to

1. Mix gram flour,rice flour salt and the ground masala in a wide bowl and make a batter adding a little more water.

    2.Slice the vegetables of your choice like carrots,potatoes,onions dip it in the batter and deep fry.

For the Mango sauce you will Need

• One Small Raw mango
• One green chilli
• Two cloves
• One cardamom
• Cinnamon stick
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste

How to

   1.In a white cloth tie green chilli,cloves,cardamom,cinnamon stick.Slice the mangoes in to big pieces without the skin.Boil it along with the tied masalas.

  2.Take out the tied masalas and throw it away.Once the mango is cooked mash it into a thick pulp,add sugar and salt and heat it up further to make it thick sauce.

Tips

• You can adjust the amount of chillies in both the sauce and the bajji according to your taste.

I am pleased to send this Recipe to this event.

http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/announcing-serve-it-series-serve-it.html

KOTHAMALLI SADAM

                                                                   This is one way of making kothamalli sadam.I saw this recipe in jaya TV by revathy shanmugam.I like her recipes and the way she cooks.I thought i will make kothamalli sadam for kids lunch box.It came out pretty well.I usually cook the rice separately and mix the paste but in this Revathy shanmugam has used coconut milk which adds a rich taste and flavour to the rice.

You will Need

• One cup of Basmati Rice
• One  small bunch of Coriander leaves
• Tow onions chopped lenghtwise
• One cup of Coconut milk
• Few tsp of Oil
• About four cloves
• Four cardamom
• Two pieces of cinnamon sticks
• One small piece of Ginger
• Two pods of Garlic
• Two green chillies
• Salt to taste.

How To
1.Grind the coconut adding  little water.

 2.Extract the milk.Repeat it three times and keep the milk aside.

3.Gather the ingredients for grinding in to a mixer.Add a little water.

 4.Grind in to smooth paste.

 5.Heat oil in a pan crackle saunf,cardamom,cloves and cinnamon.

 6.Add chopped onion and fry till it becomes light brown.

 7.Add the ground paste and fry for two minutes

 8.Add two cups water,salt and allow it to boil.

 9.Add the washed rice and mix well.

 10.Let it be on high flame till the water evaporates.Lower the flame and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

 11.Once the rice is cooked add few tsp of ghee if you prefer check for salt.

Notes

• You can add some more ghee to make it more rich.
• You can add some fried cashew nuts.
• You can soak the rice for half an hour before cooking.
• cook basmati rice in 1:13/4 or maximum 2 cups water.