Wednesday, January 19, 2011

carrot coriander soup

This recipe serves 4

Ingredients:
=========
  • Fresh carrots (delhi variety / normal variety) - 5 to 6,diced into cubes
  • Fresh coriander leaves - 2 small bunches,finely chopped
  • Salt - to taste
  • Pepper powder - for garnishing
  • Onion - 1 medium sized,chopped
  • Pepper corns - 15
  • bay leaf - 2
  • garlic cloves - 6 to 8
  • butter - 1 tbsp
Method:
======
  • Reserve the stems of coriander leaves.
  • Heat a tsp of butter and add bayleaf, pepper corns ,onion , garlic cloves .Saute for 3 min.
  • Add the carrot slices,coriander leaves and stems .Saute for another 3 to 5 min.

  • Add 5 cups of water and allow it to boil.
  • When the carrots are completely cooked,remove all the ingredients except bay leaf and set aside to cool.(Reserve the stock )

  • Grind in a blender to a smooth paste.

  • Add the ground paste into the stock and add water if necessary(as per the consistency).
  • Add salt and allow to boil.
  • When the soup reaches desired consistency(slightly thick).
  • Switch off the flame.
Serve hot with a pinch of butter on top(adjust salt and pepper as per taste)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Mooli/Raddish ka paratha


Ingredients:
=========
  • Raddish - 1 big
  • Omam/ajwain - 1 tsp
  • salt - 1 /2 tsp
  • turmeric powder - a pinch
  • coriander leaves - 1 handful,finely chopped
  • green chillies - very finely chopped
  • atta - 12 laddleful
Method:
======

  • Peel off the skin and grate the raddish.

  • Squeeze the water completely.Reserve the water for making the dough.
  • Make soft dough with the squeezed out water and set aside for 1 hour.
  • Add turmeric powder,ajwain,salt ,coriander leaves ,green chillies to the grated raddish and mix well.
  • Make round balls with the dough.
  • Spread into a small roti and keep 2 tsp of raddish filling inside.

  • Cover from all the sides and again roll into a roti.
  • Cook the paratha on a tava ,smearing little oil /ghee on both sides,till it turns golden brown.
Serve hot with curd and pickle.

Puzhuku - A traditional recipe - a side dish for kanji

This dish can be made only with whole green gram dal or mix of yam and raw banana.Here I have used a little of all the three.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:
=========
  • Green gram dal - 50 grams
  • raw banana - 1/2 or 1 small
  • yam - 100 grams
  • coconut,shredded - 1 handful
  • green chillies - 4 to 5
  • curry leaves - 3 sprigs
  • coconut oil - 2 tsp
  • salt - to taste
  • turmeric powder - a pinch
  • jaggery - 1 inch piece
Method:
======

  • Soak green gram dal for 3 hours.
  • Pressure cook the dal with chopped yam and raw banana slices . Add sufficient water so that the dal gets cooked to mashing consistency.
  • After steam gets released ,add salt ,jaggery and mash the mixture slightly.
  • Grind coconut and green chillies (just 1 or 2 pulse in a mixer will do).
  • Add the ground mixture to the cooked dal.
  • On a medium heat,allow it to boil.(Add water if its too thick)
  • When it starts to boil,switch off .
  • Garnish with curry leaves and coconut oil.
Serve with podi arisi kanji / rice and morekootan.


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Vadugapuli pickle(salt and hot variety)

Vadukapuli is a kind of lemon .It looks really big as shown in the picture.


It tastes excellent when made as a pickle.There are two varieties of it.The salt version and the hot chilly type.Here is the recipe for the salt version.

----------->Vadukapuli pieces sliced from half of the size shown in the picture .

Method:
======
  • Wash the vadukapuli well and dry with a towel completely.

  • Chop into small pieces as shown along with the skin.

  • Add the chopped pieces into an air-tight container.
  • Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt,finely chopped green chillies ,finely chopped ginger (optional) into the container.
  • Close the lid and shake well.
  • Set aside for a week , tossing once / twice everyday.

  • Keep in the refrigerator.
You can have with curd rice / kanji / rice and molagootal.
=====================================================================

Here is the recipe for the hot chilly type.

-------------->Vadukapuli pieces sliced from half of the size shown in the picture .
  • Heat 3 tsp of gingelly oil in a kadai.
  • Add the chopped vadukapuli pieces and saute for 3 to 5 minutes on a low flame.
  • Do not saute for a long time as it will taste bitter.

  • Switch off the flame.Add 4 tsp of red chilli powder ,1/2 tsp of asafoetida powder,3 tsp of salt.
  • Mix well and add 1/2 tsp of fenugreek (menthya ) powder .Add 2 tsp of gingelly oil on top.
  • Mix well and set aside for a week in an air tight container.Toss the container occasionally.

  • Then refrigerate.
Serve with curd rice.
The taste becomes more yummy with time.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sabhudhana/sago kichdi


Ingredients:
=========
  • Sago / javarisi(in tamil) - 1 cup
  • Red chillies - 3
  • green chillies - 4
  • Jeera - 2 tsp
  • mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  • chopped cilantro and shredded coconut - for gaarnishing
  • salt - 1 tsp
  • sugar - 1 tsp
  • lemon juice - extracted from 1 lemon
  • peanuts - 2 handful
  • ghee /oil - 3 to 4 tsp


method:
=======
  • Soak the sago in water over night.
  • Drain the excess water completely.
  • The sago should have puffed up really well.
  • Chop the potato into very small pieces.
  • Dry roast the peanuts and peel off the skin.
  • Grind together the roasted peaanuts,red and green chillies,salt,sugar into a coarse powder.
  • Add the coarse powder into sago and mix well thoroughly.

  • Heat a kadai,add ghee and mustard seeds, crushed jeera .
  • When it splutters,add the potato pieces with a pinch of turmeric powder.
  • Saute well sprinkling little water.Cook covered for 3 to 5 min till the potatoes get cooked.

  • Add the sago to it and keep mixing till it becomes tender.
  • Take care when you mix.Do not mash it ,at the same time do not let it get burnt as it sticks easily to the kadai.
  • Squeeze lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and shredded coconut.
Serve hot.You dont need any side dish for this kichdi.