Tanjavur style poricha koottu

Yay yay Yippee Yippe Yay Yay!!

Today is the last day of this month's mega marathon and I am so happy. The reason being this is the first mega-marathon where I am completing my posts ahead in time. Though there was a bit of delays in between; yet my start and finish were perfect I believe. As the last recipe in this protein-rich marathon I am presenting a simple kootu recipe with a mix of toor dal and moong dal.

I learnt this recipe from the blogging world and have tried it 2-3 times now. I am presenting todays recipe with chow-chow as the vegetable but this kootu can be made with many other traditional vegetables like snake-gourd, bottle-gourd, ash-gourd etc.. This is a bit different from the molagootal recipe and I like this because of the spiciness from the pepper.

Ingredients:

chow chow- 1 cup (chopped into small cubes)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

toor dhall - little less than 1/2 cup

Moong dhall - 2 or 3 tbsp (just fill the less than1/2 cup toor dhall with moong dhall)

For Grinding:

Chann dhall - 2 tsp

Urad dhall - 2 tsp

Black pepper - 1/2 tsp(according to taste)

Coconut - 2 tbsp(can also use more)

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Red chillies - 1 or 2 (acc to taste)

For Seasoning:

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

urad dhall - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Red chillies - 1 (optional)

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal, moong dal and chow chow adding the turmeric powder, upto one whistle. 
• In the mean time, fry the ingredients given for grinding to golden brown. 
• Let it cool and grind it into a fine paste. 
• Pre heat a pan, put the cooked dal + vegetable mixture, grounded coconut paste and salt and let it boil nicely. 
• Add water if necessary to get the required consistency. 
• Turn off the stove when you get the required consistency. 
• In a kadai heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add urad dal, curry leaves and red chillies and fry it till it becomes golden brown 
• Pour it on top of poricha kootu. Garnish it with curry leaves. 

Enjoy this with rice or chapathi!!

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Malabar style koottu kari

The next in-line with lentils as sub-theme is the malabar style koottu kari. This is a must-have item in the onam sadhya at H's place. This time too we made it but I couldn't click some good pics. I had taken some pics in my cell phone as soon as we had made all dishes. And I am posting those pics now. I didn't get an opportunity to repeat the recipe and click pics. Probably I will update good pics later.

Sadya /Feast is an unavoidable part of any celebration in Kerala. There is saying in malayalam “kandam vitum sadya unnanam” which means that “You have to eat sadya/feast even if you have to sell your property for that”. This should give you an idea about the importance of sadya in malayalees mind. Kootu means mingling or a combination, so as the name implies; it is a mixture of black chickpeas or chana dal and combination of vegetables like ash gourd /winter melon, raw plantain/kaya, elephant yam /chena with ground coconut and spices.This is prepared in different styles in different parts of Kerala and it’s semi dry preparation. Some use chana dal /kadala parippu instead of chick peas/kadala. I am posting this recipe exactly as we make it every year for the onam sadya.

Ingredients:

Vellari / Kani Vellari - 100 grams

Raw plantain / Nendra kaaya - 150 grams

Yam / Chena - 150 grams

Kadala paruppu - 75 grams

Turmeric powder : 3/4 tsp

Red chilly powder : 1 1/2 to 2 tsp

Sharkara/Jaggery : 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

For Grinding:

Grated coconut : 3/4 cup

Cumin seeds : 1tsp

For Seasoning:

Grated coconut : 3/4 cup 

Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp 

Dry red chillies : 2 – 3 

Curry leaves : 1 sprig 

Cooking oil : 1tbsp ( For authentic taste use Coconut oil )

Method:

• Soak kadala paruppu for 2 hours and pressure cook adding enough water and salt.
• Grind together grated coconut and cumin to a smooth paste with little water and keep it aside.
• Cook the vegetables, raw banana, vellari and yam cubes along with 1 cup of water until they vegetables are almost cooked and 95 % of the water is evaporated.
• Now add salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and jaggery. Mix well until the jaggery is dissolved.
• Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked vegetables and mix well. 
• Adjust the salt and cook for a few minutes or until the raw taste of coconut is gone. 
• Add the cooked kadala paruppu to the above mixture. Mix well and cook for couple of minutes. Remove from the fire and set it aside.
• In small frying pan add oil and splutter mustard seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves and grated coconut and roast it until  golden brown color. 
• Add this over the kootu-kari and mix well. 
• Serve with rice and Enjoy!

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Vengaya thal Vazhaithandu koottu | a gravy with plantain stem and spring onions

Next in line is a simple koottu recipe with toor dal as the main ingredient. This koottu recipe is similar to the molagoottal that kerala-brahmins make. I used plantain stem / vazhaithandu and spring onions as the main ingredients. I had some spring onions growing in my backyard and wanted to try some traditional recipe with it. This koottu was a super-hit at home. Both plantain stem and spring onions have many health benefits. Spring onions are rich in vitamins including Vitamin C, Vitamin B2 and thiamine. They also contain Vitamin A and Vitamin K. In addition, these are good sources of copper, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, chromium, manganese and fiber. And the best benefit of plantain stem is that it helps in fighting constipation problems. So do try this at your home.

Ingredients:

Plantain stem / Vazhaithandu / Unni kambu - 250 grams

Spring onions (leaves) - a bunch

Toor dal - 100 grams

Coconut (grated) - 4 tbsp

Jeera / jeeragam - 1 tsp

Dry red chillies - 1

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Method:

• Pressure cook the toor dal with salt and turmeric powder and keep it aside.
• Chop the plantain stem and spring onion leaves into very fine pieces.
• Cook the plantain stem with enough water and salt. You can also pressure cook it for one whistle.
• Grind the coconut, jeeragam and dry red chilly into a smooth paste.
• In a kadai, add oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard and curry leaves.
• Add the chopped spring onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add the cooked toor dal, cooked plantain stem and coconut paste.
• Mix well, check for salt.
• Let the gravy boil for about 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with rice and spicy pickle.

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Kothavarakkai Paruppu Usli

As I have been saying vegetarians include a lot of lentils in their day-to-day cuisine. This paruppu usli is a signature dish of the Iyengars down south. I have seen this paruppu usli made often in many of my friend's house; but my mom never used to make it. I have learnt it from my friend's mom and have been often making it. This is a very good side-dish for rasam and rice. I love to have it just with rice and some papad.

Paruppu usli can be made with any vegetable. That too green vegetables are the best. I have made this with beans, long yard beans, kovakkai (tindora), cabbage and the latest with kothavarakkai. In paruppu usli the main ingredient is channa dal. This is gound, steamed and added to the vegetable. We can also use a combination of dals here like a mixture of toor dal, moong dal and channa dal. Onions are optional here. I have made it the typical Iyengar way - so onion and no garlic is used here.

Ingredients:

Kothavarakkai / cluster beans - 250 grams

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Coconut (grated) - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

To grind:

Toor dal - 1/4 cup

Channa dal - 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies - 2 nos

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak the toor dal and channa dal for about an hour.
• Grind the dals along with other ingredients listed under "To grind" without adding water to a coarse paste.
• Make small balls of the grounded paste and steam cook for 7-8minutes in a idli cooker. 
• Remove the cooked dal balls. One cool, smash them, keep aside.
• In a kadi, add oil. Once the oil is hot add mustard.
• Once mustard splutters, add the urad dal and curry leaves.
• Add the chopped kothavarakkai, salt and turmeric powder.
• Sprinkle some water; cover and cook until the kothavarakkai is cooked well.
• Add the smashed dal, and grated coconut. Mix well and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the dal is blended well..

Serve with rice!

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Chilly Paneer

Last month we had been on a trekking trip in the Uttarakhand state of India. In this state majority of the people living are vegetarians and they largely depend on milk products for their sustainability. I particularly enjoyed the paneer and curd that is served over here. The paneer was so soft and kind of melting in the mouth. We tasted many dishes made of paneer over there. But the taste of this chilly paneer was kind of long lasting. I had decided then and there that I would try this recipe at home.

I made this chilly paneer dry and served it as a starter. H enjoyed it almost like a full meal. I believe this chilly paneer recipe as an Indo-chinese version. We can even roll these chilly paneer in a chapathi and make it into a wrap - should be interesting for kids. But this chilly paneer tastes best when taken hot.

Ingredients:

For making crispy paneer

10 pieces paneer/cottage cheese, cubed or home made paneer

1 tsp corn flour

¼ tsp black pepper, crushed

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil, for frying

other ingredients:

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 green chilli, slit lengthwise

¼ green capsicum, cubed

½ onion, cubed

1 tsp chilli sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

¾ tsp sugar

salt to taste

2 tsp corn flour

¼ cup water

¼ tsp black pepper, crushed

Method:

• Cut the paneer to cubes.
• Sprinkle some crushed pepper and salt.
• Coat the paneer with flour well.
• Now fry the coated paneer with some oil.
• Flip over so that it gets nice golden brown on low-medium flame.
• Drain them on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
• To the remaining oil add chopped ginger-garlic, chilli and chopped onions.
• Saute them on high flame for 40 seconds.
• Add cubed green capsicum and saute for another minute.
• Add chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soy sauce.
• Also add salt and sugar.
• Now add corn flour paste and give a quick stir.
• Stir till the corn flour paste turn translucent.
• Add fried paneer and add crushed black pepper.
• Mix well such that all paneer pieces are coated with the mixture.

Serve hot!!

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Nadan Mutta Curry

Nadan mutta curry is the malayalam name given to the kerala cuisine special egg curry which is served in almost all the restaurants. Nadan mutta curry translates to native egg curry. Kerala cuisisnes ofcourse will have lot of spices and coconut.

Eggs are very high source of protein. Actually I have seen many people avoiding egg yolks thinking it is full of fat. But the point to note is that you require fat to digest protein. Please remember that protein cannot digest on its own in our body. The egg yolks are known to be have almost all the nutrients and fats in it. However, in addition to these nutrients, the yolk also contains up to about half of the protein content of the egg. Eggs are low in calories but they are quite filling. So hard boiled eggs make an ideal breakfast menu.

In this recipe the main ingredient is coconut milk. I rarely make this curry because of my laziness to make coconut milk. I don't like store bought instant coconut milk. I always feel it tastes very artificial. I served this nadan mutta curry alongwith instant rice sevai and we all loved it.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 6

Onion (chopped finely) - 2

Tomato (chopped) - 3

Green chillies (slit opened) - 2

Ginger-garlic paste - 1tbsp 

Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4tsp 

Coriander powder - 2tbsp 

Red chilly powder - 1tsp 

Fennel seeds - 1tsp 

Bay leaf - 1

Thick coconut milk - 1/2cup 

Thin coconut milk - 1cup 

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Hard boil the eggs and keep them aside. Once the eggs are boiled, put the eggs in cold water. I find this easier to remove the crust later.
• Add little warm water to the grated coconut and take out 1st coconut (thick) milk and 2nd coconut (thin) milk.
• Heat the oil, fry the bay leaf and fennel seeds until they turn brown.
• Add the chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute until the onions turns light brown. Add salt while frying onions.
• Add the green chillies, chopped tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes turns mushy.
• Now add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilly powder and salt. Saute for few minutes.
• Switch off the stove and allow the mixture to cool.
• Grind this mixture to a smooth paste.
• In the kadai add this smooth paste, 2nd coconut (thin) milk and the hard boiled eggs.
• Cook for few minutes until the gravy boils and thickens.
• Add the thick coconut milk, mix well and switch off the stove when the mixture is about to boil. Don't boil the thick coconut milk since it will curdle.

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Mughalai Paneer

Mughalai Paneer Korma recipe was in my to-do list for long time.So I tried it last week for dineer along with plain parathas. Actually I was looking for a easy paneer recipe to make a quick dinner. I found this recipe with curd,cashews & coconut masala in Mughlai style and with a long list of ingredients. I found it interesting and prepared it by making small changes in the actual recipe to suit our taste buds. It came out really well with a restaurant touch.This gravy also goes well for Pulao & ghee rice.

The most important thing in this curry is that curd should be fresh & not sour at all else it will spoil the taste of this gravy. So friends,if you have fresh curd & paneer in hand,go ahead with this recipe.It tastes yum. This is one of the best mughalai curries that I have prepared. I will definitely be repeating this.

Ingredients:

Paneer - 1 cup ( 100gms cut into small cubes)

Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

Bayleaf - 1 no

Cinnamon – 1 inch

Cloves – 2 no

Cardamom - 1 no

Pepper corns - 1/8 tsp

Big onion - 1 no

Red chilli powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp ( add 1 tsp for spicy taste)

Dhania powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/8 tsp

Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt and water - as needed

Sugar - 1/2 to 1 tsp

To grind:

Grated coconut -1/4 cup

Fresh curd - 1/3 cup ( Should use fresh curd)

Cashew nuts - 8 nos

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Poppy seeds/Khus khus -1 tsp

Green chilli – 1 no

Method:

• Cut the paneer into small cubes or strips and keep them immersed in hot water till use. 
• Grind all the ingredients given under “ To grind” to a smooth paste. Add water to grind if needed. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and saute Cinnamon, cloves, bayleaf, cardamom and pepper corns.Add big onions and saute until transparent.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, dhania powder, sugar and salt.Mix for few seconds without burning the masala.
• Now add the ground coconut paste and saute well. Lastly add garam masala powder and mix well.
• Add 1 cup of water and boil for few minutes.
• Check for taste. Add more spice powders if needed. 
• Lastly add the paneer cubes. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves if  you wish. Enjoy with roti and pulao !

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Paruppu Rasam | with garlic

Paruppu Rasam (South Indian Dal Rasam) is a variant of most widely prepared rasams in South India. Rasam is an integral part of the South Indian Cuisine.  It is also considered as a good digestive to be included in any South Indian meal. Infact, every South Indian household has their own special recipe for Rasam. This rasam is prepared using Toor dal and has a perfect mix of spice and tang. Since toor dal and tomato is the main ingredient here, this is also called as tomato rasam.

Rasam is prepared almost everyday in our house. We prepare many types of rasam like pepper rasam, jeera rasam, mysore rasam etc. Recently I got to know that Rasam is prepared using various vegetables / fruits to give it a very distinctive flavour. For me, rasam should include garlic and coriander leaves, at least one of the above should be there... Otherwise I find it difficult to take it. H loves to have rasam like soup rather than having it with rice. 

Ingredients:

Thuvaram paruppu,Cooked (toor dal) - 1/2 cup

Rasam powder - 1 tsp

Tamarind - 1 small goose berry sized

Tomato - 1

garlic - 10 flakes(I used big variety)

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

salt - As needed

Coriander leaves - few

To temper:

Mustard- 1 tsp

cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp

red chilies - 2 

curry leaves - 1 sprig

Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

• Pressure cook dal,mash it.Add lots of water and keep it aside.
• Soak tamarind in hot water and extract tamarind juice.
• Heat a heavy bottomed pan and temper with the tempering items given followed by crushed garlic
• Fry for 30 seconds and then add the tomatoes cut into big cubes.
• Fry for a minute or two and add the tamarind juice, turmeric powder, rasam powder and salt.
• Once the tomatoes are cooked add the water from cooked mashed dal. mix well
• When it just starts to boil and becomes frothy, transfer the rasam to the serving bowl 
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and close immediately.
• Stir before serving , so that the dal mixes well. This rasam is meant not to be clear. So mix well before you serve each time!

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Mixed Lentils Paddu

We are in the last week of this blogging marathon and I have selected lentils as the sub-theme for this week. In Indian cuisine, be it south-Indian or North-Indian a lot of importance is given to lentils in the meal. Also for vegetarians; most of the proteins are served from lentils.

I got introduced to this paddu term in Bangalore. It is basically same as the kuzhi-paniyarams made in TN. Usually paniyarams are made with left over idli / dosa batter. Recently I got a non-stick paniyaram tawa; so I am now searching for new recipes so as to use the tawa more often. I saw Archana's recipe of making a paddu with moong dal and urad dal. From there I got the idea of making this mixed lentils paddu. I served it with tomato thokku and this was a very healthy breakfast.

Ingredients:

Split moong dal - 1/4 cup

Split green moong - 1/5 cup

Split black urad dal - 1/4 cup

Split toor dal - 2 tbsp

Split masoor dal - 2 tbsp

Split bengal gram dal - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Small onions (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Oil - 4 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak all the dals together for 3-4 hours.
• Grind the dals to a coarse paste along with ginger and red chilly.
• Add salt, chopped onions and curry leaves to the batter and mix well. The batter should be little thick (unlike dosa batter).
• Grease the non-stick paniyaram pan on a medium flame with little oil in all the moulds.
• Pour the batter into each mould till 3/4 full cover and cook on a medium flame.
• Close the paniyaram pan with a lid and cook in medium flame.
• When the edges of the become golden brown turn each paddu upside down using the small spatula provided with the pan.
• Cook for another 5-6 minutes.
• Remove to serving plate and serve immediately.

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Tawa Pulao with Chicken

Tawa pulao is a very famous street side food in Mumbai. I often make this pulao when I have left over rice that too particularly for dinner. So this time when I had some chicken pices left and left-over rice, I tried tawa pulao for dinner with chicken pieces and it was an instant hit.

The name tawa pulai is because in the street sides this pulao is made on a large tawa, a griddle in which usually the paav-bhaji is made. To make this,  cooked rice is mixed with cooked vegetables and paav-bhaji masala. I have used butter in the recipe to make it same as the paav-bhaji vendors make. But for health reasons you can use oil instead. 

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 1 cup

Chicken pieces - 1/2 cup

Onion finely chopped - 1 cup heaped

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Tomato - 3/4 cup chopped

Capsicum - 1/2 cup chopped

Boiled vegetables (peas, carrot, beans) - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli paste - 1 1/2 tbsp or as needed

Pav Bhaji masala - 2-3 tsp (available ready made)

Salt as needed

For the seasoning 

Oil - 1 tbsp

Butter - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

• Boil the vegetables with little salt and keep it aside.
• Cook the chicken pieces in micorwave high for about 6-7 minutes. After cooking, separate the meat pieces from the bones and discard the bones.
• Soak 8-10 red chillies in hot water for 1 hours after removing the seeds. Grind it to a smooth paste. Our red chilli paste is ready.
• Heat oil + butter in a kadai, add cumin seeds, when it splutters, add finely chopped onions and saute until onions turn light brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes or until the raw flavor goes.
• Add finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and saute until tomatoes become soft and well cooked.
• Add chopped capsicum, sprinkle water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add boiled vegetables, cooked chicken meat pieces and mix it well.
• Add chilli paste, pav bhaji masala, salt needed, 2 tbsp of water and cook for a few more minutes. 
• Add the cooked rice, and mix well until the rice is well coated with the masala. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until everything gets blended well.
• Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with raita or papads or salad.

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