KEERAI MASIYAL (SPINACH WITH SEASONING)

KEERAI MASIYAL (SPINACH WITH SEASONING)
Keerai Masiyal is the simplest spinach dish ever but tastes awesome especially if the keerai is fresh. The cooking process is not lengthy. It’s fast to cook and very good for health. After moving to Singapore and seeing how the Chinese cook their spinach by sautéing and not using much spices. I had a renewed respect for our very own Keerai Masiyal.

This can be made with different types of greens that are available in whichever place you’ll are located. I made this with Bombay Paalak Spinach which is my favorite. I am lucky to get this here in Singapore at Mustafa. I love the Paalak Spinach as it has a strong green color and taste unmatched to any greens in the world.

My grandma used to always cook this in a kallu chatti –“kallu” means stone in Tamil and “chatti” means a pot. The “kallu”pots are made of soap stone which is a soft stone and hence has to be handled very delicately. My grandma used to mash the keerai with a wooden “maththu” (a wooden churner used to blend and mash). She used to say that this enhances the taste of the keerai. Since getting these vessels has become rare, you can alternatively blend the keerai in a blender, but I don’t like to do that as it gets mashed into a fine paste or you can mash it with your hand(once it cools down) or with a ladle or a big spoon.

Ingredients:

Spinach – 1 Bunch
Asafetida (Hing) - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Split white lentil (Udad dal) – 1 tsp
Red chilly – 2
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Salt as per taste
Coconut Oil – 2 tbsps

Method:
Wash the spinach leaves and cut into small pieces and put them into a thick bottomed vessel. Add,  turmeric powder, asafetida and salt and let it cook. Add very little water into the vessel as the spinach will release its own water. Allow the spinach to cook until its soft. It hardle takes 10-15 minutes for the spinach to get cooked. Now turn off the gas and let the spinach rest for a while. After this mash the spinach well.
Then, starts the tempering process, Take 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or any cooking oil, add the mustard seeds, Udad dal and Red chilly. When the mustard starts to splutter and the udad dal starts to get pink, pour them onto the keerai masiyal and mix well.
The Keerai masiyal is a wonderful side dish and can be eaten with any dish. Keerai masiyal is given as a post partum dish as its good for health and very light on the stomach. It is also usually given to people who are recovering from illnesses.
Kids are given this with their favorite, “Paruppu chaadam” lentil and rice combo.
Try to add more greens to your daily food intake.
Try this simple recipe and enjoy.
Tips
By adding a pinch of Sugar to the green leaves while cooking, you can retain the green color in the dish even after it’s cooked.

KATHRIKKAI KOOTU (AUBERGINE COOKED IN A LENTIL AND COCONUT SPICED GRAVY)

KATHRIKKAI KOOTU (AUBERGINE COOKED IN A LENTIL AND COCONUT SPICED GRAVY)

We call this Katrikkai kootu at home. The keralaiyers back home call it Katrikkai Puliyitta Kootu and in Tamilnadu they call it Katrikkai Puli kootu. Some call it Rasavangi.

Basically it’s the kootu with tamarind in it and instead of the coconut being ground with spices as in a normal kootu, here we garnish it with roasted coconut which adds a whole new dynamics to the dish. Do try this dish and enjoy this delicacy.

Ingredients:

Aubergine / Brinjal / Eggplant– 5-6

Toor Dal (Yellow Pigeon peas) – ½ cup

Tamarind- Lemon size ball

Sambhar powder – 2 tbsps

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Asafetida (Hing) - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Curry leaves – 8-10

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Split white lentil (Udad dal) – 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp

Red chilly - 2

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Salt as per taste

Oil – 2 tbsps

Method:

Soak the tamarind in hot water. Alternatively, you can use tamarind paste.

Cut the brinjals into chunks. Soak the pieces in water with some turmeric and salt.

Wash the toor daal and add 1 ½ cups of water to it. Cook it in a pressure cooker. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, udad dal, fenugreek seeds and red chilly. When the mustard seeds start to splutter and the udad dal becomes light pink. Add in the brinjal pieces and curry leaves and fry for a minute.

Now add the salt, sambhar powder, Asafetida and fry for a minute.

Add the tamarind juice, and allow the brinjal to cook.

Brinjal is very fast to cook. Once cooked, add in the cooked toor dal, mix well.

Now add 1½ cups of water to this. Let it boil together for 10 minutes.

Now in a pan add in the ½ cup grated coconut and roast until it is pink in color. The lovely aroma of the coconut emanates and fills the whole kitchen. Add this to the Sambhar and let it boil for another 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rice topped with a dollop of ghee, and vegetables of your choice or papads.

PEERKANGAI THOGAYAL (RIDGE GOURD CHUTNEY)

PEERKANGAI THOGAYAL (RIDGE GOURD CHUTNEY)

Thogyal’s are an integral part of “Tambram”(Tamil Brahmin) cuisine. Life without thogayals would be life without spice for a south indian.

Thogayals add that extra zest to a bland meal, an extra flavor and an extra zing to your palate.

Thogayals are made using different vegetables, but ridge gourd is one of the very popular vegetables added to the conventional thogayal.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd – 1

Skinless split Black gram (Udad dal) - 2 tbsps

Bengal gram (Chana dal) – 1 tbsps

Dried red chillies -2-3

Tamarind – small lemon size

Asafetida (Hing) - ½  tsp

Curry Leaves – 8

Salt as per taste

Method

Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the udad dal, chana dal and the red chillies and roast until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate.

Now add the coconut, salt, curry leaves and asafetida and roast until the coconut is light pink in color and a lovely aroma is emanating, allow this to cool down as well.

Now, run the roasted dal mixture in the dry mill of your blender to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.

Then run the coconut mix and keep aside.

De-skin the ridge gourd (you can add the skin as well provided it’s not very sharp and stringy). Chop the peeled ridge gourd. Meanwhile in the same wok, add some oil, once it’s hot, add the chopped ridge gourd pieces and the ridge gourd skin as well incase you are using and a pinch of salt.

You will notice that the ridge gourd mixture becomes watery, sauté until all the water evaporates. Keep aside.

Once it cools down, run in the blender. Then add this paste with the blended coarse dal and coconut powders.

Check for the salt, if required, add at this stage Run once more in the blender with some water (about 4-5 tablespoonful), this time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough. Just remember, don’t make it a fine powder. The mix should be coarse. 

This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine.

If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty.

All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately.

The best way to grind it is always using a stone manual grinder and if not you can achieve the similar taste if you grind in the wet/dry automated grinder which we use nowadays to grind idly/ dosa batter.

OLAN (ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY)

I love revisits and I would like to revisit this post of mine posted on the 4th of July 2006. I love this dish, its simple, not too spicy and nutritious. Enjoy this post with new pictures.

OLAN (ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY)

Olan is the one of the simplest dishes of Kerala. I think this dish is very unique to Kerala. The speciality of this dish is it has no spices at all except a little green chillies to add some punch to this otherwise bland dish.

The dish is made with Pumpkins and black eyed beans in coconut milk gravy and the seasoning of curry leaves in coconut oil gives it a totally Kerala feel to the dish.

The dish is extremely nutritious and healthy, it is supposed to be very easy to digest and light on the stomach. This dish is low in calories.

The Brahmins usually eat a lot of Pumpkins as they believe it is good for the brain.

The White Pumpkin is rich in calcium and vitamins B and C and has a high fibre content. The Orange Pumpkin is rich in Vitamins A and B, protein and calcium

The Black eyed Beans (Lobia) though a high calorie food is rich in protein, calcium and vitamins A and B.

Olan is prepared by Kerala Iyers in their weddings, Upanayanam (thread ceremony), for festivals, It could be easily said that no Saddhi (Feast) is said to be complete without the olan.

It is a must try dish, the aroma of the coconut milk and the taste will make u crave for more. Below is the recipe of this “tasty” health food.

Ingredients
1 cup Black-eyed beans (Lobia or Van Payaru)
1 cup White pumpkin / Ash Gourd (Elavan)
1 cup Orange Pumpkin (Matthan)
3-4 nos. Green chillies (preferably slit)
11/2 cups Coconut milk (refer to tip)
5-6 nos. Curry leaves
1 tablespoon Oil (preferably coconut oil)
Salt

Method
Soak the Black eyed beans overnight. Pressure cook it the next day till 3/4th done. Don’t cook it completely else it will get mashed in the olan.
Remove the skin of the White Pumpkin and Orange Pumpkin (the skin of the orange pumpkin can be retained as it gets cooked, provided the skin is tender, if very tough to cut then please de-skin it) and cut it into small square pieces. The chopping of the vegetables is also very important in Olan. It has to be cut into square pieces only.
Cook the vegetables and the half done black eyed beans with salt and the slit green chillies in a little water. When the pumpkins and the beans are completely cooked (don’t overcook the pumpkins, take in a spoon and see if it is soft, that means it is done, don’t cook it to the level that it gets mashed), To the cooked pumpkins and beans add 1cup coconut milk i.e. your second milk (refer to tip) and boil. When it thickens well, add ¼ cup of your first coconut milk.
Bring this to a boil and remove from fire.
Season it by frying curry leaves in 1tbs coconut oil.
Mix well and serve hot.

Tip : Grate ½ a coconut. Squeeze out 1/4cup of the milk from the coconut without adding water, this is known as the first milk which is very concentrated. Grind in a mixie with little water and take one more cup of milk from the coconut.

Nowadays, we can buy coconut milk in a tetra pack, even the ready coconut milk can be used, but incase of using the ready coconut milk, no need to follow the first and second milk etc. just add the coconut milk as per the measure given and follow the method.

**Olan can be prepared with just one type of pumpkin also, that is either the White Pumpkin or the Orange Pumpkin.

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, after Diwali I am looking to cook foods that are bland, not so colorful and light. So I decided to make cabbage and green peas thuvaran with some molaghu rasam. I love the combo of cabbage and green peas. Its absolutely delightful.

Close up for Muttakose pattani thuvaran

Ingredients

Cabbage - 1 medium size

Green peas – 1 ½ cup (fresh or frozen)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Green chillies – 1-2

Grated ginger / ginger paste – 1 tsp

Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch

Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (Prefer coconut oil)

Salt as per taste.

CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY

Method

Chop the cabbage & rinse well under running water in a colander. Rinse the green peas as well and keep aside.

In a Kadhai (wok), Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and udad dal, when it begins to crackle, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green chillies and grated ginger and fry well, Add the green peas and sauté for 2-3 minutes, after this add the chopped cabbage. Add asafetida and salt and stir well. Close with the lid and cook on low flame till it is cooked. Stir well, wait until the water drains completely and then add in the freshly grated coconut and stir fry till everything is mixed well. Serve hot with Rice and Rasam.

Tips :-

• You can add turmeric powder for some color, but after all the colors of Diwali I wanted it plain and bland.
• Instead  of green chilly you can add red chilly
• You can avoid coconut for health reasons.

TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS

TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS

Every Diwali in my house and in my mother’s house, one permanent bhakshanam(savory snack dish) is the Tenkuzhal, we call this Tengozhal at home. The reason that everyone used to like this savory snack is because it’s not spicy. Children used to absolutely love this crispy, crunchy snack. Here in Singapore almost all my Indian and non-Indian friends love this snack and request me to bring some for them and Diwali is one such time where we share sweets and savories with our near and dear ones and what better way to share what is prepared at home with love.

TENGOZHAL

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 2 Cups

White lentil/(Black gram skinless)/Udad dal or ready Udad flour - 2 Tablespoon

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp(I love this in the tengozhal so I put more, you can put 1 tsp

Asafetida - a pinch

Butter - 2 tablespoons

Salt as per taste

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp (for the palakkad iyer / keralaiyer touch)(optional)

Oil for frying

You need the Tengozhal press nazhi and you have to use the plate with holes (bigger holes to be precise)

Method

Dry roast the udad dal in a pan and grind it in a blender to make a fine powder. I used the ready flour easily available in the market nowadays.

Dry roast the cumin seeds and when it pops remove, cool it and grind it for one spin in the blender. Don't make it into a fine powder. We are putting it in the blender so that it breaks into half and the aroma comes out.

In a big bowl, Add rice flour, udad flour, broken cumin seeds, sesame seeds, salt as per taste, butter and asafetida. Mix well so that you know everything has blended well. Now add water slowly and make a dough. The dough resembles the dough we make for chapatti / roti. At this stage add the coconut oil and knead well for another 5 minutes, palakkad iyers usually fry the bhakshanams in coconut oil which gives it a very unique and flavorful taste, to remind me of that I added the coconut oil, this is optional and if you want you can avoid it.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, and when the oil is hot add a little piece of dough to check, if the dough rises immediately then the oil is ready for frying.

Now stuff the dough in the nazhi(press) and close the mould. Squeeze it through the mould in big circles or smaller circles. Mind you, keep your hand a bit far once you drop as the steam will hit your hand. Deep fry the Tengozhal in low flame till it is crisp. I like my Tengozhal white and crisp. If your rice flour is good your tengozhal will come out white as mine in the picture and if not you will have to fry till its done to an almost golden brown color. Remove and place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Once cool, store it in a air tight container. Indulge in this crunchy delight as and when you want it.

MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)

MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)

The Savory Indian doughnut is what my non-Indian friends call our Medhu vadai in Singapore and I tell you they love it to the last bite.

Nothing can beat the crunch of the outside to the softness & puffiness of the inside. It’s bland but when it combines with sambhar or coconut chutney or yogurt, it turns into something else.

I have been trying to make the perfect Medhu vadais since the year 2001 when I got married and moved to Singapore but always ended up making mysore bondas (dropping the medhu vada batter into round balls instead). The taste is the same but the look is different. I wanted it to look like the ones we buy in the hotel. Until one day my friend Vidya who hails from Trichy got me some perfectly shaped doughnut like vadas, crispy on the outside and soft and well cooked on the inside. I asked her for the recipe and she told me that it is difficult to grind in the Blender (mixie) and she usually grinds for the vada batter in the wet grinder. She also told me that you should add water along the way an Urad / Udad dal should be ground into fine bouncy paste. Once I bought my little Premier Wet grinder, I decided to attempt Medhu Vadais with Vidya’s recipe. Now mind you Vidya’s mother is a fabulous cook and a perfectionist. Her mother had given her a tip of adding toor dal while soaking the Urad / Udad dal. This not only makes the vada crispy but also keeps the batter be bound together and makes it easy to make the doughnuts with the batter.

Medhu Vada

Ingredients

Skinless Black gram / Urad Dal – 2 cups

Yellow split Pea / Toor dal - 2 tablespoons

Green Chillies – 4-6 nos

Ginger – ½ inch (optional)

Onion – 1(optional)

Salt – 3/4 tsp

Asafetida (Hing or perungayam) - ½ tsp

Curry leaves – A sprig

Oil- for frying

Method

Soak the Urad dal and toor dal in water for 2-3 hours. Grind the soaked urad dal along with chillies, ginger and salt into a fine paste i.e. when you take the batter in your fingers you should not feel the grains. While grinding like I mentioned before kindly add water slowly, you can sprinkle water. Ensure that the batter doesn’t become watery. The batter should be thick and not like the dosa batter which flows down when dropped from a spoon.

Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your hands in water. Take the batter of the size of a small ball in your palm or a plantain leaf or a polythene sheet and pat it to form a circle. Dip your index finger in water and make a hole in the patted batter in the center. I prefer to do it on my palm as it is easy to maneuver the batter.

Fry the vadas in oil till golden brown on both sides.

Medhu Vadai

Different Types of Vadai

Coriander Leaves and Curry Leaves - You can add curry leaves and finely chopped coriander to the batter.

Spinach Vadai (Keerai Vadai)

You can add any green leafy vegetables like Palak keerai, Arai Keerai, Mullai Keerai, Murunga Elai(drumstick leaves),

Onion Vadai

You can add finely chopped onions,

Cabbage Vadai

You can add finely chopped cabbage,

Potato Ulundhu Vadai

You can add grated potato into the batter

You can use all or any of the permutation and combinations and still have a wholesome and nutritious snack which is very delectable.

RASAM VADA

Soak the vada in Rasam.

Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the rasam will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.

While serving the Rasam vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

SAMBHAR VADA

Soak the vada in Sambhar.

The sambhar should not be very thick. Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the sambhar will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.

While serving the Sambhar vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

DAHI VADA

Soak the vada in Dahi.

Kindly click on the link to follow the recipe. In my recipe replace the moong vada with the Urad vada and follow the method as per the link.

Tips

I have already given you the tip of adding Toor dal alongwith urad dal while soaking.

Here are some more tips :-

- You can add a pinch of baking soda just before making the vada, this makes the vada  

   crisp

- Add a boiled and mashed potato to the batter and mix it well. By adding boiled potato

   the vada will remain crisp and puffy for a long time

- If the batter is watery it will not freely drop into the oil. It will break half way through  

   the journey from your  hand to the oil. If it is like that don’t worry. Add some Rice   

   flour to the vada batter.

- To check if the Vada is cooked fully wash the tip     

  of a knife and pierce the vada. If no batter sticks on the knife then the vada is fully

  cooked or else it needs more cooking.

Neivedyam to the lord.

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI (Raddish with leaves and Fenugreek leaves dry curry)

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI (Raddish with leaves and Fenugreek leaves dry curry)

Here is a recipe created by me. Fusion of fusions and a lot of confusions, presenting the Mooli aur Methi ki Sabzi with a twist.

I haven’t heard of Radish along with it’s leaves cooked combined with Fenugreek leaves and I decided to try this combo just for fun and lo and behold it turns out to be too good and everyone likes it including my friends with whom I shared it proudly. I am sure Archimedes must have felt the same way when he discovered the laws of buoyancy the way I felt tasting my invention. It was extremely exciting and I am thinking of creating a whole new topic on my blog dedicated to the new things that I am going to try. Ain’t that going to be fun.

Without further ado…let’s go on to read the recipe of a dry curry made with Radish along with its leaves and Fenugreek leaves.

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI

Ingredients

Radish with leaves - 3-4 (use small radish)

Fenugreek – 1 cup

Onion – 1 (optional)

Besan (Chickpea flour / Bengal gram flour) - ½ cup

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Black gram dal (Udad dal) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Red chili powder - ½ tsp

Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil

Method

Roast the chick pea flour (besan) until golden brown, keep this aside. Wash and peel the radish and chop them into small squarish pieces and keep aside. Separate the radish leaves, rinse them thoroughly and chop them finely and keep aside. Sort the methi leaves(de-stem), rinse well under running water in a colander and chop them. Keep this aside too.

Now in a wok, add one 1teaspoon of oil, once the oil is hot, add the mustard and udad dal and when it splutters add in the chopped radish,

If you are using onions kindly add finely chopped onions before adding the radish and sauté until transparent only then add the radish.

After this add in the radish leaves and fenugreek leaves. Also add in the turmeric, asafetida, red chilly powder and salt as per taste and stir well.

Cover the wok with a lid and let it cook in its own juices. Don’t add any water as once you add the salt the radish, its leaves and the fenugreek leaves will release its own water and it should cook in that only. After about 15 minutes you will notice that the radish is soft and can be easily mashed by hand and the water has dried completely and the vegetable has become dry. At this stage add in the roasted chickpea flour and mix well. Check for salt, you can add some more salt in this stage. Mix it well and cook until dry as you see in the picture.

Serve this unusual concoction of mine with fulkas/parathas or dal and rice or sambhar/rasam and rice. It’s a fusion recipe and can go with any cuisine.

VERMICELLI UPPUMA (SEMIA UPPUMA)

VERMICELLI UPPUMA (SEMIA UPPUMA)

Its vacation time here in Singapore. Here is a special snack that kids and adults will enjoy. It is nutritious too. Vermicelli is made from semolina, It’s a much healthier option compared to the All purpose flour noodles that kids like to eat these days. Because it appears like noodles, kids absolutely love this dish. You can add vegetables and make it too. I have just showcased the traditional south Indian style of preparation that I learnt from my friend’s mother which was so delightful that it remained etched in my memory forever.

Delicious Vermicelli uppuma served on a platter

Ingredients

Vermicelli – 2 cups

Onions – 1

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – a small piece

Curry Leaves – A sprig

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – 1tsp

Curry leaves – A sprig

Asafetida (hing) - a pinch

Freshly grated coconut – 2 tbsps

Salt as per taste

Method

In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil, Now add the mustard, cumin and Bengal gram, when the mustard starts to crackle and the Bengal gram turns a light golden, add Green chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and asafetida. Fry till the chilly becomes a light green, now add the onions and fry until transparent. Now add 2 cups of vermicelli, add salt as per taste and roast it along with all the ingredients until the vermicelli is a light pink in color. Ensure that it doesn’t get black, you have to stand and monitor this and keep sautéing. When you see the vermicelli become a light pink in color, add steaming hot water till you see the vermicelli immersed. The water shouldn’t drown it completely otherwise the vermicelli will become soggy and sticky. Now just mix everything well and cover the wok with a lid and keep the gas on sim (low flame).

After 5 minutes open and check, give it a good stir and close the lid again. After another 5 minutes you will notice that the Semolina has absorbed all the water and is looking transparent and fluffy, give it one more stir and add the 2 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut, stir and cook covered for 2 minutes, after this put off the gas and let the vermicelli rest with the lid on the wok for about 5 minutes so that all the flavors can be absorbed in. Then open the lid and serve hot. Kids love this uppuma.

Tip : You can add in Cashews while seasoning, if you want.

Vermicelli Uppuma close-up

MORU APPAM / KUZHI PANIYARAM (BUTTERMILK FRITTERS)

MORU APPAM / KUZHI PANIYARAM (BUTTERMILK FRITTERS)

This is a snack I absolutely adore, soft and spongy on the inside and crisp and crusty on the outside. This dish gets its name because sour buttermilk (moru) is used in the batter. It is known as Moru Appam in Kerala but in Tamilnadu it is known as Kuzhi Paniyaaram.

One evening when I was pondering over what to make for tiffin (evening snack), I raided my fridge and found a big bowlful of Dosa batter, the batter was slightly sour. Sometimes inspite of refrigerating the dosa batter, it becomes sour. Once, the batter becomes sour the dosa doesn’t taste so good. I thought of putting it to good use by making moru appams. It’s like making the best out of something that would go waste.

Traditionally Moru Appam is made by soaking raw rice and Udad dal in the 3:1 consistency (3cups of raw rice and 1cup Udad dal) just as we do for the dosa batter and then adding on the other ingredients as mentioned below.

I made the Moru Appams with the leftover dosa batter. I would say it is the easier, faster and tastier way to make this dish.

Moru Appams are traditionally made in a vessel called the Appa Kaarai / Paniyaram vessel which has holes in it (like a muffin tray). You drop the oil in the holes and when the oil is hot, you can drop the appam batter into it. But for those who don’t have this vessel, you can deep fry in the frying pan as well.

MORU APPAM / BUTTERMILK FRITTERS

Ingredients

Left over dosa batter – 12-15 ladleful

Rice flour – 2 tbsps

All purpose flour(Maida) – 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 2 small finely chopped

Ginger - ½ inch piece grated

Toasted Cumin seeds (Jeera) - ½ tsp (Optional)

Asafetida (Hing) – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 6-7

Fresh Coriander - 1 tbsp

Chopped coconut slices – 2 tsps (Optional)

Buttermilk (Moru) - ½ cup (Optional)

Salt as per taste

Method

In a big bowl, add 15 ladlefuls of left over dosa batter, add the 2 tbsps of rice flour, 1 tbsp of Maida, 2 finely chopped green chillies, ½ inch ginger grated finely, Toasted jeera if you like, ½ tsp of Asafetida, curry leaves 6-7 torn and put into this mix, fresh coriander leaves chopped finely and added to this. I haven’t added the coconut slices to my mix here, but if you like the coconutty flavor go ahead and add it. Add the buttermilk and mix everything into a batter. The consistency should be like the dosa batter. Allow this to rest for about half an hour till the batter soaks in all the flavors added into it.

After this, heat the appa karai with some oil in all the holes, once the oil is nice hot pour the batter to ¾ level of each hole, the oil will be bubbly and frothy, wait for a minute or two and then with the help of a chopstick prick the appam and turn it around so that it can cook it on the other side too. Do this gently with a light hand, else the oil can splash and burn you. When you see that both sides are Golden brown as in the picture, remove them from the appa karai. Then fry the next batch. If needed pour some oil in the holes, wait for it to be heated and fry the next batch.

Enjoy the golden brown Moru Appams, soft inside and crisp and crusty outside with some white coconut chutney.

Tips

·        In case you are using the sour leftover dosa batter then you can skip the sour buttermilk, otherwise, the mor appams will be too sour.

·        Some people add a tablespoon of Maida(all purpose flour) for it to come out non sticky, porous and floating in shape like a ball in the oil but once we put the maida the Mor appams become oily (they soak in more oil). You will have to dab it well in a serviette before serving to remove the excess oil.

·        If you don’t want to put finely chopped green chillies and grated ginger, you can grind them into a paste and add into the batter.

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY (MASHED SPICY POTATO CURRY(DRY)

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY (MASHED SPICY POTATO CURRY(DRY)

This is absolutely on the top of my “Comfort foods” list. This curry can never stop exciting me to have my grub. Hot rice, a small dollop of ghee (thanks to weight watching) mixed with rasam and the hot and spicy urulakizhangu kaara curry, simply lip smackingly awesome.

Urulakizhangu means potato in Tamil, Kaaram means spicy, Curry means a dry curry (it can also mean something with gravy), but this recipe is a dry curry recipe.

On a boring day when you have run out of ideas as to what to cook and feel totally uninspired and feel like nothing could be as laborious and cumbersome like cooking, this would be the dish that would totally cheer you up. Simple, yet delicious. Hardly takes any time to cook. Ready in a jiffy. You can even have this with Yogurt and rice.

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY

Ingredients

Potatoes – 5-6

Red chillies - 1

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Sambhar powder – 1tsp

Pickle Masala(Achar Masala) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – pinch

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard -1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a sprig

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Wash, boil and peel the potatoes. Mash them and keep it aside. Don’t mash the potatoes into a paste, just crumble them. If you are not good at mashing well, just dice them into chunky cubes. It works both ways.

In a Kadhai (wok), heat some oil add mustard, when the mustard begins to crackle add the cumin and break the red chilly into 2 pieces and let it fry. Keep the gas on sim and then add all the masala powders, asafetida, curry leaves, and salt as per taste and then add the mashed potatoes. Mix well, check for salt, if less add now and mix. While mixing don’t mash the potato just turn it gently. Let this cook for a few minutes.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot with Poori/ chappati or hot rice and sambhar/rasam/dal

Tips :-

If you don’t get the pickle masala, dry roast, 1 tsp of mustard seeds and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds and grind into a fine powder.

SWEET AVAL / VELLA AVAL / SWEET POHA (SWEETENED BEATEN RICE FLAKES)

BEATEN RICE 

Flattened rice (also called beaten rice) is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. These flakes of rice swell when added to liquid, whether hot or cold, as they absorb water, milk or any other liquids. The thicknesses of these flakes vary between almost translucently thin (the more expensive varieties) to nearly four times thicker than a normal rice grain.

This easily digestible form of raw rice is very popular across Nepal, North East India and Bangladesh, and is normally used to prepare snacks or light and easy fast food in a variety of Indian cuisine styles, some even for long-term consumption of a week or more. It is known by a variety of names: Poha or Pauwa in Hindi, Baji in Newari, Pohe in Marathi, Chindé in Bengali, Chira in Assamese, Phovu in Konkani, Chudaa in Oriya and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, Atukulu in Telugu, Bajeel or Bajil in Tulu, Chudwey in Urdu(Dakkani), Aval in Malayalam and Tamil, Avalakki in Kannada, Pauaa/Paunva in Gujarati, and Chiura in Nepali, Bhojpuri and Chhattisgarhi.

Flattened rice is also a convenience food and very similar to instant mashed potatoes in uses and spirit.

(Info courtesy – Wikipedia)

SWEET AVAL / VELLA AVAL / SWEET POHA (SWEETENED BEATEN RICE FLAKES)

This dish is usually prepared for Krishna Jayanti as Lord Krishna loves Aval (Beaten rice) and Vellam(Jaggery). Since my daughter has a sweet tooth and keeps asking for something sweet once in a while I decided to make the Vella Aval. Personally Iam partial to the savory versions of Aval.

Close up of the Sweet Aval

Ingredients

Poha (Beaten Rice flakes) – 1 ½ cup

Jaggery – 1 cup or 6-7 cubes

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Freshly grated Coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp, grated

Ghee - 1 tsp (optional)

Method

I have used the thick slightly reddish Aval in my recipe. Check for husks or stones if any and remove them from the Aval. Put the Aval in a colander and rinse it thoroughly. Let it rest for about 15-20 minutes. The aval becomes soft, keep aside.

Meanwhile crush the jaggery with a mortar and pestle. In a wok, add the crushed jaggery and ½ cup of water. You will notice theat the jaggery starts to melt. Add the cardamom powder to the jaggery and when the jaggery completely melts and starts to froth. Add the aval to the jaggery mixture and mix the aval with it properly. Add a teaspoon of ghee. Close with a lid and cook on a low flame. The steam that builds up slowly aids in cooking the aval further. Cook for about 10 minutes on a low flame. Keep opening the lid and stirring every now and then so that it doesn’t get burnt. Finally add the freshly grated coconut. Switch off the gas. Put the lid on the wok and keep closed for 5 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy the sweet Aval.

I am sending the Sweet Aval to Priya Suresh’s Celebrate Sweets – Sweets with rice event. This event was originally started by Nivedita from Nivedita's Kitchen

I would also like to send this to Srivalli's Breakfast Mela

BHARVA BHINDI (STUFFED OKRA/LADIES FINGER)

BHARVA BHINDI (STUFFED OKRA/LADIES FINGER)

I would like to apologize to all the people who visit my blog regularly as I am not able to blog these days although blogging is one of my favorite hobbies or pass time as you may call it.. Partly due to work and family pressures and partly due to Facebook which has slowly but surely taken a lot of my leisure time. I promise myself that I would atleast retain the habit of posting one recipe a month. Here is a recipe everyone in my house loves. I could call this version of Bharva Bhindi a more south indianized version or a fusion between south and north Indian. Do try this recipe and enjoy the bharva bhindis.

BHARVA BHINDI WITH A DIFFERENCE

Ingredients

Okra / Bhindi -1/2 kilo

Cumin seeds – 2 tsps

For stuffing:

Coriander powder – 1tbsp

Cumin powder – ½ tbsp

Amchoor ½ tbsp

Red Chilly powder – 1 tbsp

Bengal gram / Chana dal -2 tbsp

Black gram dal /White lentil /Udad dal – 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds – 1tbsp

Salt as per taste

Method

Dry roast the Chana dal and udad dal and make a coarse powder. Dry roast the sesame seeds and when it starts to splutter, allow it to cool down and make a coarse powder in the mixie. Mix the above 2 powders and all the other ingredients (cumin powder, coriander powder, amchoor powder, red chilly powder and salt as per taste). Keep it aside.

Now rinse, wipe and make a slit on each okra/ bhindi and set side. Stuff the powdered masala into the slit in the okra. If the masala is not enough, make more, if remaining keep aside.

Heat 3 tbsps of cooking oil. Add the cumin seeds and when they splutter. Add the stuffed okra pieces. Place them in the wok in such a way that all get the heat. Sprinkle some water and a bit of salt, the remaining masala powder and cook covered on a low flame for about 30 minutes, being careful not to burn them in the process. Keep turning the okra occasionally.

When it is soft and done, remove from the fire and serve hot with Fulkas / chappatis ot Rice and dal.

Tips : - 

• You can add some roasted coconut as well to the masala powder mixture and stuff in the okras. This gives a   very nice and fresh coconutty flavor to the okras.
• You can also add some onions sautéed in oil to the powder mix.
• Okra is a very delicate and fast to cook vegetable so please ensure that while cooking on the gas stove you keep the flame low.

MICROWAVE VERSION

This recipe comes out nicer in a microwave as the okra get cooked evenly and there is no stickiness too.

If you are using a microwave oven, please keep the okras on a plate and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Open the microwave after 5-7 minutes and turn the okras. Check if done, if not keep for another 5 minutes. 

And serve as above.

I would like to send this recipe to Charitha’s C- for Colourful Curry’s event that she is hosting in her blog Woman’s Era 2008.

TOMATO THOKKU / THAKKALI THOKKU

TOMATO THOKKU / THAKKALI THOKKU
I had bought a kilo of tomatoes accidentally not knowing that there was huge bag of tomatoes lying in my fridge already. Since I had so many tomatoes and I knew that they surely would spoil. I sorted them and picked out the red ripe tomatoes and decided to make this awesome Thokku. (Read all about thokku in this link). Thakkali thokku tastes awesome with curd rice, bread, dosas, chappatis or absolutely anything
The cooking of the tomatoes takes time but the thokku has a shelf life of weeks and you can enjoy it everyday. I have used to 10-12 tomatoes which gives me about 300gms of thokku. If you want more use more tomatoes.

Ingredients
Tomato – 10 - 12
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp
Fenugreek powder – 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Red chilly powder – 1½ tbsp
Mustard seeds for seasoning – 2 tsps
Sesame (Til) oil – 8-10 tbsps
Method
Wash and wipe the tomatoes. Chop them and grind them in a blender along with 1 tablespoon of the tamarind paste. Blend into a puree.
Now in a wok heat 8-10 tablespoons of oil, Add in the mustard seeds and when it crackles, add in the fenugreek powder, red chilly powder, asafetida(referred to as masala hereon) and salt and fry for a few seconds. Be careful and don’t let it get black.
Now, add the Tomato puree and cook until the water evaporates. Check for salt. If required you can add some more at this point.
Cook covered as the water in the tomato starts to splutter.
Cook until you see the tomato puree starts to leave the sides of the pan and the oil starts separating from the mixture.
This indicates that the thokku is done. Turn off the heat and let the thokku come to room temperature, after which you can store it in an air tight container and enjoy as a condiment with any of the dishes mentioned above.
Yo(my husband) was eating it with bread and saying that it tastes great and my mom has it with her curd rice. You can even add some to plain hot rice, mix well, add some oil if you want and eat it plain with papad. "Thokkun chaadam"(Thokku rice)
This can be stored in the refrigerator for many weeks like any other pickle.

(Above picture - A closer look at the tomato thokku)
Tips
• I had readymade fenugreek powder, for those who don’t have it. Dry roast a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds and powder it to use in the thokku. Make it fresh, it tastes better.

• Once the mustard splutters, the temperature of the oil will be very high, so reduce the flame of the gas to sim and add in the powders and when you see them froth just wait for about 10-12 seconds, be careful don’t let the masala get black. Frying the masala imparts great taste to the thokku. If you are not confident, then you can add the masalas later to the puree.
• For those who like garlic, you can add 4-5 pods of garlic (4-5 for Indian garlic which is small in size), if using the bigger sized ones that we get abroad, make it half of the said quantity. Fry the garlic well after the mustard splutters and then add in the masala. If you want you can use garlic paste as well, but ensure to fry it well else the thokku won’t be aromatic.

• You can add chinna vengayam(madras vengayam/shallots/ mini onions), but always fry them once the mustard splutters.

• My mom usually adds green chillies . If you are using green chillies reduce the amount of red chilly powder, else your thokku will be very spicy.

• My grandmom used to add a bit of ginger. When you are adding ginger, make a paste and fry well after the mustard splutters.

You can try any variation that you desire and enjoy this awesome finger licking thokku.

GLIMPSES OF NAVARATRI IN SINGAPORE & KONDAI KADALAI SUNDAL

GLIMPSES OF NAVARATRI IN SINGAPORE & KONDAI KADALAI SUNDAL

from me to all my readers with love....

Glimpses of Navaratri Festival in Singapore....

The temple at my home

Beautiful Marapaachi dolls, wooden dolls decorated by me. Please click on link wooden dolls to learn how I decorated it @ my blog Sukanya's hobbies and crafts.

Beautiful ombodhu padhi(9 steps) golu at Siva Durga Temple @ Potong Pasir, Singapore.

Dandiya Raas at the Swimming complex, organized by the Gujarati mandal, Singapore

KONDA KADALAI SUNDAL

Konda Kadalai Sundal gets its name because it has a dome on top representing a kondai(a knot). Every chana or kadalai should have distinctive name so this was equated to a hair knot tied by women. It is made during the Navaratri festival. It is also distributed as Prasad in temples.

Ingredients

Konda Kadalai - 250 grams

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Green chillies – 3-4

Red chillies – 1-2 broken into 2 halves

Turmeric -1/4 tsp

Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch

Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Salt as per taste.

Curry leaves – a sprig

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Soak the Konda Kadalai in water overnight. In the morning rinse out well, add some turmeric powder and a cup of water and pressure cook it for about 3-4 whistles. Don’t throw the water in which the chana has been boiled as it contains a lot of nutrients. Keep the boiled chana aside.

In a Kadhai (wok), Add oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and when they begin to crackle, Add udad dal and the red chillies, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green chillies and the curry leaves and fry well, now add in the boiled Konda kadalai and turmeric, asafetida and salt. Mix well. Cover the kadhai with a lid. Don’t add water, The boiled chana already has some water, so let it cook. Once all the water is soaked up Add freshly grated coconut and some coriander leaves and mix well.

Serve hot with Rice and Rasam or enjoy it as it is.