Muttai puli kuzhambu/ Poached egg gravy with tamarind

Ingredients

Egg- 2

Onion-1

Green chilly-1

Chilly powder-1teaspoon

Coriander powder-1teaspoon

Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon

Coconut milk powder -2teaspoons

Tamarind juice-1/4cup

Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon

Cumin seed-1/2teaspoon

Few curry leaves

Salt

Sugar-1/2teaspoon

Oil

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, let them pop up, then add cumin seeds and curry leaves, let them sizzle. 

Add the chopped onion, green chilly and sauté them.

Once he onion turns pink, add the chilly powder- coriander powder and turmeric powder.

Add the tamarind juice and required amount of water, salt and let it boil nicely.

After the raw smell has gone, reduce the heat  and add the coconut milk powder and sugar..mix it well.

Now break the eggs and add them with the gravy.

Mix it gently and cook for a few minutes or until the eggs are done.

Enjoy the quick and delicious kuzhambu with piping hot rice.

Shrikhand

Ingredients
Greek yogurt (or) Strained Yogurt - 1 cup (see notes)
Powdered Sugar-1/4cup
Elaichi-1
Few drops of food color (purely optional, see notes)

Method
Gather all the ingredients. Powder the elaichi and keep it ready.

Take the curd and beat it with a hand whisk.

Whisk the yogurt just until creamy..Don't beat too much.

Add the powdered sugar/ icing sugar and mix it.

Add in the cardamom powder, food color and give a stir.

Transfer it to another bowl and refrigerate overnight or 5-6 hours.

Creamy n yummy shrikhand is ready.

Enjoy !

Notes

Adding food color is purely optional. You can add a few strands of saffron soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk. 

To strain the yogurt, pour the yogurt in a cheese cloth / cotton cloth, tie it as a bundle, keep it in a strainer placed on a bowl. keep this in fridge for around 8 hours. All the water would have been strained n you get nice n thick yogurt. This tastes way better than the greek yogurt. The Greek yogurt had some water content too, which I didn't know initially. 

Murukku/Chakli - புழுங்கலரிசி முறுக்கு/பொட்டுக்கடலை முறுக்கு

Ingredients
Boiled rice - 1 cup
Pottukadalai/Daliya -little more than 1/2cup
Ajwain-/2 teaspoon
Black sesame seeds-1teaspoon
Butter-1tablespoon
Salt
Oil - to deep fry

Method
Wash and soak the rice for 4-5 hours. Grind it with little water to a smooth paste.
Powder the pottukadalai/daliya in a mixer and sieve it.

Combine all the ingredients, except oil, and knead it to a smooth ball.

Take some dough in the murukku press/chakli press and press it into spirals. Meanwhile heat the oil on medium heat.

Carefully drop 4-5 murukkus in hot oil, fry them until the sizzling sound of the oil settles down.

Remove and strain the excess oil in  a paper towel.

Crunchy and delicious snack is ready. 

Raitha with Mint Powder / Dry Mint -Cucumber -Onion Raitha

Tasty and aromatic raitha to go with Biriyani & Parathas... I added some dry mint leaves to the raitha and it turned out delicious. As I grow mint in my patio I don't buy them from stores. But once DH went to shopping and came home with a big bunch of mint leaves. I didn't wanna waste them so tried drying it up and preserved it. Got the idea from one of my North Indian friend here and tasted this raitha first at her place. :)  

Here are some pictures of the mint leaves I preserved..

Clean the mint, wash it well. Remove the leaves from the stalk.

Arrange them on a large baking tray and keep the tray on the kitchen counter. No need to dry them in sunlight. It dries up nicely in 4-5 days. Transfer the dried mint leaves carefully to a zip-lock bag and keep it. I keep it in the fridge, I dried up these mint leaves in last year July, still they are good! :) 

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Ingredients

Curd-1cup

Chopped onion -1 tablespoon

Chopped cucumber-1 (small)

Dried mint leaves/Mint powder- 1teaspoon [Crush the leaves between your palms. its that easy!:)]

Sugar-1/4teaspoon

Salt

Method

Mix all the above in a bowl and serve immediately as a side dish for Biriyani / Paratha.