Kadai vegetable

Ingredients:

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Vegetables of your choice....I used

• Carrots - 3
• Beans - 100 grams
• Potato - 1 big
• Cauliflower - 1/2
• Brinjal - 1
• Peas - 3 handful
• Corn - 3 handful

You can also use Lima beans,Baby corn or even cubes of fresh paneer.

• Tomato puree - from 4 tomatoes (Chop the tomatoes and grind it in a mixer).
• Onion puree - from 1 onion (Peel off the skin ,chop roughly and grind in a mixer with little water)

• Capsicum - 1, cut lengthwise
• Pearl onions - 1 handful (5 to 6)
• Cashews - 4 tsp , broken

• Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
• Red chilli powder - 2 to 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Garma masala powder - 2 tsp
• Curd - 3 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 2 tsp ,finely chopped (optional)
• oil - 4 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

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• Chop the vegetables into 1 inch long pieces and wash well in running water using a strainer.
• Add the veggies in a kadai with a pinch of turmeric powder.
• Sprinkle little water and cook covered till the vegetables become tender.
• Open the lid in between ,stir the vegetables and sprinkle some water if required.Do not add too much water as the veggies should not be over cooked.

• Meanwhile heat 1 tsp of oil in a tadka pan and saute the pearl onions with 1 tsp of red chilli powder and pepper powder.

• Set aside to cool.Grind them along with half of cashews and few curry leaves into a coarse paste.

• Heat 3 tsp of oil in the kadai,add paneer cubes and fry till they turn light brown.Add the onion puree,ginger garlic paste and saute well till the raw smell goes.
• Add 2 tsp of red chilli powder,dhania powder,jeera powder,garam masala powder,sugar and saute for 5 min.
• Add the tomato puree and salt and saute till raw smell goes off.
• Now add the cooked veggies and remaining cashews and mix well.Let it cook for 5 min on a medium flame.Stir occasionally.
• Add curd or fresh cream(if available) ,mix well and cook for another 5 min till the oil comes out.
• Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rotis.

Kerala Aviyal

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

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Vegetables are the main ingredients in Aviyal.You can use any number of vegetables.I am listing down the veggies I used with their measurement.

• Drumstick - 2
• Carrots - 2 medium sized
• Beans - 10
• Snake gourd - 1/4 of a lengthy one
• Ash gourd - 200 grams
• yam - 200 grams
• Raw banana - 1 medium sized
• Brinjal - 2
• Raw mango or Amchur powder- 1 medium sized / 2 tsp

Cut all the veggies into 1 or 2 inch slices as shown.Wash the chopped veggies well in running water.Cut Yam and Raw banana at the end to prevent discoloration.

To Grind:

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• Shredded coconut - 1 cup (from half of a big sized coconut)
• Green chillies - 4 to 6
• Pearl/Madras onions - 7
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Grind the above ingredients in a mixer with 3 tsp of curd and little water.The consistency should be very thick like a chutney.Do not grind it smoothly.Make it a coarse paste.

If you have a pestle and mortar,use it to pound the above ingredients in it.This tastes very nice than doing it in a mixer.

Preparation of Aviyal:

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• Add all the washed veggies except raw mango in a kadai.Add a pinch of turmeric powder and just 2 tumblers of water.
• Cook covered with a lid.

• Keep checking in between and stir it,till all the veggies become tender.Sprinkle little water if required.Do not add more water.

• When the veggies are 90 percent cooked,Add salt ,mango slices and cook covered again.
• When all the veggies become tender,add the ground paste to it.Mix well and cook covered for 5 min.
• Then remove the lid .Stir well and cook open for another 2 min.
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• Add 1 laddle full of thick curd and amchur powder(only if you are not using mango slices).Mix well and cook till all the water gets evaporated.Keep stirring continuously or it may stick to the kadai.
• When the water gets evaporated,switch off the flame.
• Add 3 sprigs of curry leaves and top it with 3 to 4 tsp of coconut oil.Mix well .At this stage you must be able to smell the nice aroma of Yummy aviyal.

Enjoy with rice and papad/ rice and sambar or Adai.

Home made Tomato vegetable soup

Ingredients:

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• Ripe tomatoes - 7
• Carrot - 2
• Beans - 100 grams
• Potato - 1 big
• Onions - 1 big
• Butter - 2 tsp
• Pepper powder - according to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 2 to 3 tsp

Method:

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• Chop the veggies (carrot,tomato,onion,beans and potato(peel off the skin)) .Add water such that all the veggies are just immersed in it.
• Pressure cook the veggies with a pinch of turmeric powder.(one whistle on a high flame and switch off after 10 min on a low flame).
• Set aside to cool and grind into a fine paste.
• Add little warm water ,mix well and strain the mixture using a strainer.
• Add the vegetable puree into a thick bottomed vessel,add salt,sugar and pepper powder to it.
• Mix well and allow to boil for 2 min.The consistency should be like a gravy.

Switch off and serve with a pinch of butter on top.Roast bread slices in a tbsp of ghee and serve along with the soup.

Sweet Appam-with leftover sugar syrup of Gulab jamun

Ingredients:

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• Left over sugar syrup of gulab jamun
• Rice flour - depends on the amount of sugar syrup
• Wheat flour/Atta - 2 tbsp
• Saunf/Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

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• In a wide open vessel,add the sugar syrup.
• Add wheat flour little by little and mix into a batter without any lumps.
• Add rice flour and saunf too and mix well.
• The consistency should be like idly batter.
• Heat the kuzhi paniyaram vessel with ghee/oil in each hole.(Add oil such that only 1/4 of the hole is filled)
• When the oil is hot,pour a small laddle of batter into each hole and cook on a low flame.
• The appam gets cooked very fast unlike a normal paniyaram.So do not leave it for long as it may get burnt.
• Turn over the appams and let it get cooked on other side too.
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Take it out and drain excess oil in a tissue paper.Serve medium hot.