Vendaikkai Poriyal/Okra Stir-fry/Ladies Finger Stir-fry

This is a quick and delicious stir-fry. I posted it long back, but now the pictures are missing in that post. Thought of updating the recipe with fresh pictures. :)

Ingredients

Vendaikkai/Okra/Ladies finger - 20

Chilly powder-2teaspoon(adjust to taste)

Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon

Salt

Oil

To Mince

Coconut-2tablespoons

Cumin seeds-1teaspoon

Onion-1

Method

Wash and pat-dry the okra/Vendaikkai. Trim the edges, slit them into 4 pieces.

Mince the items in a food processor/mixie to a coarse paste. 

Heat oil in a wide pan, temper with mustard seeds. 

Then add the okra pieces and sauté on medium heat.

 Once the veggie is half-way cooked, add the chilly powder-salt.

 Give it a quick stir, now add the coconut-cumin-onion paste.

 Toss it nicely till the raw smell of the onion has gone. Delicious stir fry is ready to serve.

Goes well with all kinds of rice and roti. 

Freezing Coconut Paste

Coconut paste is used in lot of kurma varieties and kuzhambu varieties in South Indian cooking. Making the coconut paste in bulk and freezing it will be handy. I used the cute ice cube trays to freeze the coconut.
Ingredients
Whole coconut/Freshly grated coconut
Very little water
Method
Wash the ice cube trays and keep it ready.
Break the coconut, and using a sharp knife, take the coconut, chop into small pieces. (If using freshly grated coconut, you can skip this step)
Take the coconut in a mixer/food processor and pulse it for 3-4 times.
Now add little water and grind it into a fine paste.

Fill the ice cube trays with the ground coconut and freeze it for 4-5 hours. 

Take the frozen coconut cubes and store it in a zip-lock bags.

Use them as needed in sambar-puli kuzhambu or korma/kuruma.

Methi Leaves Stir-fry/Vendhaya Keerai Poriyal

You might wonder cooking methi leaves alone will result in a bitter dish. But try this recipe, I bet you will love it. Its healthy, quick..more than that its delicious! :)
Ingredients
Methi leaves -1small bunch
Chopped onion-2tablespoons
Red chilies-2 (or) 3
Tomato-1 (small)
Grated coconut-1tablespoon
Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon
Channa dal & Urad dal-1/2teaspoon each
Sugar-1/4teaspoon
Salt
Oil
Method
Keep the onions-tomatoes-redchilly and other tempering ingredients ready.

Clean and wash methi leaves.

Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop-up. Add the channa & urad dal and fry till they turn golden.

Now add the chopped onion-broken red chillies and sauté for a minute. 

Meanwhile chop the methi leaves. (If the green is fresh and tender, you can use the stems of the methi too. I have added the stems as well.)

Add the chopped tomato and cook until its soft. Then add the methi leaves, sprinkle some water. Add the sugar and let it cook. 

Methi leaves get cooked fast, so add the coconut and enough salt to the stir-fry and put off the stove. 

Mix everything well and let the pan be on the stove for 2-3 minutes. By then stir fry would be dry and  ready. Enjoy it with your choice of rice dish or roti. 

I had it with Jeera rice and dhal. It tastes great with plain white rice or sambar rice, rasam rice. It will be perfect side for the roti too. 

Soya Puli Kuzhambu/Mealmaker in Tamarind Gravy

Ingredients

Meal maker/Soya chunks - 20

Onion-1

Green chilly-1

Tomato-1

Garlic-10cloves

Few curry leaves

Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon

Shakti Vatha kuzhambu podi-3teaspoons[can be replaced by 11/2teaspoons chili powder + 11/2teaspoons coriander powder]

Coconut milk powder-1tablespoon

Tamarind juice(thick) -1/4cup

Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon

Methi seeds-10

Salt

Sugar-1/2teaspoon

Gingely oil - 1tablespoon

Method

Wash and put the soya chunks in boiling water, cook for 3 minutes. Drain them and squeeze out the water and keep it aside. 

Chop the onion and garlic cloves, green chilly and tomato into big chunks.

Heat gingely oil/nallennai in a pan, add the mustard seed and let them pop-up.

Add the methi seeds followed by the onion-garlic-g.chilly and curry leaves(which I didn't add). 

Saute for a while then add the soya chunks and cook for couple of minutes. 

Now add the chopped tomatoes, tamarind water, masala powder  and salt.

Let this boil nicely till the raw smell of the tamarind has gone. Then add the coconut milk powder and adjust the water according to the desired consistency.

Cook for one boil, reduce the heat to low, add the sugar and let the kuzhambu simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Tangy and delicious kuzhambu is ready. Soya chunks will absorb the tamarind juice and will be soft and yummy!

Enjoy the meal maker puli kuzhambu with piping hot rice.

Recipe inspiration : HERE