Puli vitta poricha Kuzhambu( Mixed vegetables sambar)

 This is my take on the traditional puli vitta poricha Kuzhambu. I have made some changes to the recipe to make it more interesting!!! So here it is...This is a dish I make when I have a little bit of many vegetables. It is a sambar with loads of veggies..just have it with steaming hot rice ..chips or appalam if you like!!

In today's recipe the vegetables I used are

Ash gourd 1/4 kg

Red pumpkin 1/4 kg

carrots 2

Broad beans/avarakkai 10 numbers

Bhindi (Okhra) 10 numbers

finely chopped coriander.  We also need...

1/4 tsp methi seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Tamarind.. a lemon sized ball

1 tsp Jaggery

Hing powder 1/4 tsp

2 tsp oil to roast masalas

1 tbsp coconut oil for tempering 

Tuvar dal /Moong dal . I have used tuvar dal but you can make it with moong dal too.

Salt to taste

To roast

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp chana dal

4 Kashmiri red chillies ( they give fantastic colour and are mildly spicy.) You may add regular red chillies too

1 inch piece cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp jeera

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp methi seeds

half a cup grated coconut/ desiccated coconut is fine too.

Preparation.

Soak the tuvar dal/moong dal with 1/4 tsp methi seeds ( adding methi to the dal gives amazing flavour and the sambar will not get spoilt even in hot weather conditions). Soak the lemon sized ball of tamarind ( You can use tamarind paste too) in hot water for 10 minutes. Extract the juice completely and keep aside. Wash and dice the vegetables. Cook the tuvar/moong dal in a pressure cooker for 4 to 5 whistles and keep aside. You can make this in a pressure pan or in a regular kadai. Cook the vegetables in the tamarind extract, turmeric and salt. In a kadai, pour two tbsp oil and roast channa dal, coriander seeds cinnamon,bay leaf, jeera, pepper , methi seeds. Roast it in medium flame and take care not to burn it. Add the grated coconut and stir it a couple of times. Cool it completely and blend it smooth in a mixie adding water . Once the vegetables are completely cooked, add the cooked and mashed dal to it and bring it to a boil. Add the blended masalas and let it simmer for a minute in low flame. Do not boil it too much. In a kadai, add some coconut oil and and put some mustard seeds, curry leaves and add it to the sambar. Garnish it generously with finely chopped coriander. You can serve this hot with rice.

 You can add potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas. Cauliflower, broccoli turns mushy and tastes weird..so you can avoid.

 

Strawberry thokku

Strawberry thokku? I am not joking!! When strawberries are very very sour, jams are not the only thing you can make. Here is a simple pickle...use it as a spread for sandwiches or pizzas too!

Strawberries 1/4 kg

Red chilli powder 2 tbsp

Hing powder 1/2 tsp

Oil 3 tbsp

mustard seeds 1 tsp

turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Wash and chop strawberries. If they are very sour, they will need more chilli powder. In a kadai, add 2 tbsp oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the chopped strawberries and sauté them. Add the salt, chilli powder , turmeric and hing powder  and cook on medium flame. Keep the kadai covered with a glass lid so it doesn't splatter everywhere and you can see how it is cooking. Take care not to let it stick to the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring it and add one teaspoon oil. Cook till oil separates. You can mash the strawberries with the ladle. You can serve this thokku as a pickle, or mix it with rice. It is also a good side-dish for puris, roti , idli or dosas!!

Comfort food 3- Broken Matta rice kanji

 This is my favourite comfort food when I feel like having something light !!

Broken Matta rice ( broken red rice) 1 cup

Jeera 1 tbsp

salt

Ghee 1/2 tsp

Wash and cook a cup of broken red rice in 4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Pressure cook it for 3 whistles. The rice becomes very soft. Add another cup of water. In a kadai, add half a tsp of ghee and add jeera. You may add curry leaves if you wish. Pour it into the watery rice kanji. This kanji tastes awesome with hot rasam or vegetables. Best for rainy days or when you feel under the weather!!!

Comfort food 2- Nellikkai thayir pachadi ( Amla raita

 This is an amazing side-dish that is extremely rich in Vitamin C and is an immunity booster!

Amla (gooseberry) 4 

One inch piece ginger

green chilli 2 (to taste)

Salt

curd 1 cup

1/2 tsp oil for tempering

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Udad dal 1/2 tsp

curry leaves

Wash and cut Amla, de-seed and blend it in the mixer along with ginger, green chilli and salt. Beat curds smooth and add the blended amla mix. Temper it with mustard, udad dal and curry leaves. Add the curds just before serving. This chill raita tastes awesome with any spicy pulao or rice. 

Comfort food- 1 Milagukshiyam

 Today I am posting recipes of my favourite comfort food for a rainy day!! They are extremely healthy and Sathvik. Milagukshiyam is made of traditional 'naattu kaaykaris' ( vegetables that are not from the west like carrots, cauliflower, peas etc) Also, unlike other koottu recipes, this does not involve any grinding of masalas. So let's get on with the recipes. Do try them and let me know if you enjoyed it. 

Milagukshiyam

Vegetables you can use..Ash gourd, red pumpkin, snake gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, broad beans(avarakkai) drumstick, Yam, sweet potato . Do not use beans, carrots, cauliflower etc as they change the flavour. In this recipe, I have used ash gourd, red pumpkin, broad beans, yam, sweet potato.

Yellow Moong dal one cup 

spices

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Pepper powder 1 tablespoon

Jeera 1 tbsp

salt to taste

Grated coconut 2 tablespoons

curry leaves for garnish

Coconut oil/ghee for tempering

Dice the vegetables, cut broad beans into small pieces. Cook them in a pan with a cup of yellow moong dal,  salt, turmeric powder and pepper powder. In a kadai add 1 tbsp jeera to 2 tbsp coconut oil/ghee ..once the jeera turns fragrant, add a sprig of curry leaves and two tablespoons of grated coconut. Stir it till the coconut turns golden brown. Add to the cooked vegetables and give it a boil. Serve hot with rice or Matta rice kanji. You can have it as a soup too!

Tomato Paneer Pulao with Carrot and cucumber raita

 Back to blogging after a long long time!!

Tomato Paneer pulao

Ingredients

Tomato 5 

Onion 3

Paneer 250 gas

Capsicum 2

Basmati rice 2 cups

Spices 

Cinnamon 1 inch piece

Bay leaf 1

cumin seeds 1 tbsp

Cardamom 2

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

coriander powder 1 tbsp

Jeera powder 1 tsp

chilli powder

curd 1/2 cup

oil for shallow frying

garam masala one pinch

Kasuri methi 2 tbsp

Fresh coriander for garnish

Wash and soak basmati rice for half an hour in 4 cups of water. Slit tomatoes and put in boiling water for about 3 minutes..remove the skin, cool and blend it in a mixer. Finely chop onions. In a kadai, take 2 tsp oil and add cinnamon, jeera, bay leaf, elaichi, add the onions and sauté till light brown. Add some kasuri methi . Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, chilli powder , salt , coriander powder and jeera powder and cook till oil separates.  Cut paneer into cubes and marinate it in a mixture of beaten curd with chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, jeera powder , salt and kasuri methi. After half an hour shallow fry the paneer cubes till light brown and keep aside. Take care not to break them. Sauté diced capsicum and keep aside.

When the rice is cooked 3/4th, add the tomato onion mixture and stir gently..cook in on a low flame till it is done. Add a spoon of ghee (optional) Garnish with fresh, finely cut coriander. Top it with the crisp paneer and serve hot with raita.

Carrot and Cucumber raita

Ingredients

Carrot 4 grated

Cucumber 4 diced into tiny pieces

Thick, fresh curd 2 cups

Salt to taste

Sugar 1/2 tsp

Coriander finely cut 2 tbsp

Oil 1 tsp

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

udad dal 1/2 tsp

Mix the grated carrots and cucumber. Temper the mustard and udad dal and add it to the vegetables. In a bowl whisk the thick curd with sugar and salt till smooth and add it to the vegetables. Garnish it with fresh coriander. Add the curds just before serving, otherwise the raita will get watery.