RAVA PONGAL WITH KARA CHUTNEY

RAVA PONGAL WITH KARA CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
2 cups rava roasted with little ghee until aromatic.
¼ cup moong dal, cooked thick until a bit mushy
2 tbs ghee
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ tsp black pepper crushed coarsely
1 tsp grated ginger
2 green chillies chopped
Salt to taste
3 cups of boiling water
10 cashew nuts fried in ghee.

Method:
Heat a wok with the ghee. Add in cumin seeds and let it splutter.
Add in the curry leaves, grated ginger, black pepper,
chopped green chillies and fry for a second.
Add in the cooked dal and salt. Fry for a minute.

Now add in the water, and let it come to a boil.
Slow the flame, add in the roasted rava and cook till it is cooked.
The pongal should not be very mushy.
Garnish with the fried cashew nuts, serve with kara chutney.

KARA CHUTNEY
Ingredients:
1 tbs channa dal
1 tbs urad dal
6 dried red chillies cut
1 big onion chopped
1 big tomato chopped
1 tsp tamarind paste
A peanut sized asafotida
Salt to taste
1 tbs oil
Method:

Heat a wok with the oil, add in the asafoetida piece.
Now add in the channa dal, urad dal and dried red chillie pieces.
Roast them well and remove.
Now in the same wok, add in the onions, tomatoes.
Add little oil if needed, fry till raw smell goes.
Now add in the tamarind paste and salt, remove.
Grind all the above ingredients to a fine paste, or a little coarse paste.
Serve wirh the rava pongal.

ZUCCHINI SALAD ( Kugan)

ZUCCHINI SALAD

Ingredients:
300 grms zucchini cut across and sliced.
2 green chillies chopped
2 dried chillies cut
1 tsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
Little asafotida
1 tbs lime juice or to taste
Little coriander leaves chopped
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.
Add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
Add in the asafoetida powder, dried red chillies and curry leaves.
Saute for a minute, add in the chopped green chillies.

Now add in the cut zucchini, salt and toss to cook for 2 minutes.
The zucchini should be still crunchy, not over cooked.
Off the stove, add in the lime juice and mix well.
Garnish with the cut coriander leaves.
Serve as a salad.

DRUM STICK KEERAI SAMBAR

DRUM STICK KEERAI SAMBAR

Ingredients:
100 grms toor dal
¼ tsp tumeric powder

2 tsp oil
¼ tsp asafoetida powder
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp funugreek seeds
2 dry red chillie broken
1 sprig curry leaves

6 small shallots cut into halves
2 small tomatoes quartered
2 tsp red chillie powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste

1 tbs tamarind thick juice
2 cups cleaned drum stick leaves
½ tbs sambar powder
2 cups of water

Method:
Pressure cook the dal and tumeric powder.

Heat a pot with the oil. Add in the asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin, funugreek,
dry red chillies and the curry leaves. Let the spices splutter.
Add in the shallots, and saute until lightly pink.
Add in the cut tomatoes, stir until cooked.

Now add in the red chillie powder, coriander powder and salt.
Stir well, add in the tamarind juice mix well.
Now add in drumstick leaves, and stir well.
Cook on low flame, add in the sambar powder, water.

Mix well, cover and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Now add in the cooked mashed dal, stir well.
Add more water if needed. Let it boil for about 5 minutes.
Remove and serve with steaming hot rice, or chapathi.

TOMATO ONION AVIYAL (SUVAI )

TOMATO ONION AVIYAL ( Suvai)

Suvai, here is the recipe you sent me.
It's tasty alright, I added carrots. Kugan98

Medium size tomatoes - 4
medium size onions - 2
green chillies - 4 or according to yr taste
grated coconut - 1/2 a cup
ginger small piece
curd 4 teaspoon..
manjal podi a pinch
salt to taste
for seasoning:
karuvepilai a few
cooking oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:
Cut tomatoes & onions into thin long pieces.
In a vessel, heat a little oil & fry the cut onions till they turn light brown.
Add the cut tomatoes, salt, manjal poidi.
(I think u can add some peas & carrots here) & let it cook for about 5 to 8 mins.
Meanwhile grind coconut, pachai milagai,along with curds to a smooth paste. add water or curds if needed.
Add this ground mixture the tomato onion mix
Mix well & let it cook for another couple of mins. Remove from fire.
Season with curry leaves & kadugu(mustard)
Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

MINT TOMATO CHUTNEY

MINT TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped
1 red tomato chopped
1 ½ tbs grated coconut
1 hand full mint leaves
A pinch of tumeric powder
Salt as needed
½ tsp oil

To Roast:
1 ½ tbs channa dal
6 dry red chillies, cut into pieces
½ tsp oil

To Temper:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 long red chillie cut into pieces
A pinch of asafoetida powder
1 tsp oil.

Method:
Heat a wok with ½ tsp of oil. Add the channa dal and red chillie.
Roast till the dal turns golden brown. Add in the mint leaves, saute well.
Remove and keep.

Add in ½ tsp oil, add in the onions, saute till transparent.
Add in the tomato and cook till soft. Remove and cool.
Now in a blender, add in the roasted ingredients and grind a bit.
Add in the cooked onion, tomato, coconut, tumeric and salt.

Grind to a smooth paste with water according to your desired consistency.
Heat a pan with 1 tsp of oil. Add in all the tempering ingredients.
Pour over the ground chutney, mix and serve with idli or dosai.

TOMATO RICE

TOMATO RICE

Ingredients:

1 cup basmathi rice, soak for 10 minutes, drain.
1 big onion sliced
4 red medium tomatoes chopped fine
6 pips garlic minced roughly
1 ½ tsp chillie powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
Little tumeric powder

3 tbs ghee
1 bay leaf
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
½ tsp aniseeds
2 green chillies, slit and cut across
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt per taste
Little coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:
Heat a wok with 1 tbs of ghee. Add in the bay leaf, cinnamon,
cardamom, cloves, and aniseeds. Let them splutter.
Add in the drained rice and fry gently till moisture disappears.
Transfer the contents to a rice cooker, add salt and 2 cups of water.
Cook and cool the rice, it should be like separate grains.

Heat a wok with the 2 tbs of ghee. Add in the minced garlic.
Saute for a second, add in the onions and fry till transparent.
Add in the chopped tomatoes, salt, chillie , garam masala and tumeric.
green chillies and curry leaves.

Fry till the tomatoes get mushy, and oil separates from the gravy.
Do not fry the gravy too dry.
Now mix this gravy with the cooked rice along with the chopped
coriander leaves, gently.

Give about 20 minutes for the rice to absorb the gravy.
Serve with raitha, fried potato wedges.

NOTE: you can add chopped carrots and green peas while cooking
the gravy if you like.

MIXED ONION RAITHA

MIXED ONION RAITHA

Ingredients:

2 cups thick curds
2 medium onions sliced, add little salt keep aside
1 small cucumber grated, squeeze out little juice
1 smal carrot grated
1 big tomato, discard the pulp, chop into small pieces
Little coriander leaves chopped
Salt to taste
A tinge of sugar

Method:
Beat the curds well with the salt and sugar.
Squeeze the onions, to remove the pungent taste.
Add it to the curds. Add the squeezed cucumber.
Add in the grated carrot, tomato, coriander leaves.
Mix well with the curds, chill and serve.

NOTE: She said you can add in a pinch of cumin powder if you like.