Poondu Kozhambu/Garlic Kozhambu

                                                                         Poondu Kozhambu is a very common Tamarind Gravy in any Tamil home.Without any doubt, it is most people's favorite too! All of us love it in our house too ! There are so many ways of making this gravy but mine is quite simple. I make it on Sundays with a lot of garlic in it and make it with more of onions on weekdays. I am posting this especially for a friend !!
It tastes great along with hot rice and some gingelly oil and a roasted papad to go with it.It is easy to prepare and it goes well with idli or dosa too!!!

Kerala Parotta/Malabar Parotta

                                                                 
                                                                      Parathas are mainly made in  North India with wheat flour.When it travelled to the South, people started making it in Maida or all purpose flour.The Malabar Parotta is famous in Kerala.The speciality of this Oarotta is its layers.It requires lot of patience and hard work to make this one. Let's see how it's done..

Idli Upma

                                                             Left over Idlis can disappear in a few seconds when made in to this Idli Upma!!Lot of people prefer Idli Upma to normal Idlis. It does not require any chutney or accompaniment to go with.The crunchy Dal and the spicy chilli in the Upma make it really tasty.
When I have leftover idlis from breakfast I refrigerate it until next morning.It really becomes hard and easy to crumble in the mixer.If you are making Upma in the evening, with the morning idlis crumble it with your hands.
It becomes really soft when sauteed with the spices and onions.You can even sprinkle some idli chilli powder as an option.

Vegetable Momos

                                                                     I was not aware of Momos when I was a child, but the recent explosion of International cusines has exposed all of us to a lot of cuisines. Though Momos  is not one of my favourites, once in a while I would like to try these new recipes.When I was out for a sale at a hotel, they were selling freshly prepared momos at the entrance and I picked up a few for the kids. That's when I thought I should give it a try and it came out pretty well!
Momos are flour dumplings filled with vegetables and steamed. It is usually served with chilli garlic sauce or dip.It is very easy to make you can soak a few chillies in vinegar for ten minutes then grind it along with a few pods of garlic and add some salt and honey.I added one tomato too, which is purely optional.

Cucumber Raita the South Indian Way

                                                                   Cucumber raita called  Vellarikkai Thayir Pachidi in Tamil is nothing but chopped cucumber in yogurt with green chillies and salt. It is made in different ways in north and southern India.The North Indian version  is an accompaniment to Oulaos and Biryanis,but in the south it is an accompaniment for the south Indian gravies and it is part of most of the festival and wedding menus.

                                  You can either shred the cucumber or chop them into small pieces,remove the excess water and mix it with the yogurt and chillies. The traditional way of making is make a paste of scraped coconut and green chillies and mix it with yogurt and add the chopped cucumber and Temper with mustard seeds and garnish with coriander leaves.That is how i made it!!
When you make a spicy gravy this is a perfect accompaniment!!!Today being Thiruvadhirai I made the ezhukari Kozhambu which is really heavy so just made a raita to go with it!