Diwali Wishes!

Wish you All a Very Happy Diwali!! 

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Brinjal fry / Eggplant fry

Ingredients
Big Eggplant - 1
Chilly powder -1teaspoon
Coriander powder- 2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder -1/4teaspoon
Sambar powder-1teaspoon
Sesame seeds -1 teaspoon
Besan/Kadalaimaavu -2tablespoons
Salt
Oil

Method
Wash, pat dry and cut the brinjal into thick roundels.
Mix the spice powders with besan.
Dip the brinjal pieces in the spice powder on both sides. Take care the powder coats well on both sides. Arrange them in a wide plate and keep it aside for 45 minutes to an hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan, slowly shallow fry the brinjals on both sides. Crispy and yummy brinjal fry is ready to serve. Tastes good with Sambar rice, rasam rice.

Recipe Inspiration - Here..thank you Mullai 

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Aaloo Paneer Paratha

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 2cups

Boiled potato (medium size )-1

Grated Paneer -1/2cup 

Chilli powder-1teaspoon 

Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon 

Garam Masala powder -1/2teaspoon 

Curd- 2 tablespoons 

Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon

Salt

Water 

Oil /Ghee 

Method 

Mash the boiled potato..combine it with grated paneer, curd, spice powders and salt. 

Mix the whole wheat flour, add enough water and make a dough. Smear it with a teaspoon of oil, cover it with wet cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes to one hour. 

 Make lemon sized balls, roll them into circles, add few drops of ghee, gather it again to balls (this step is purely optional) Flatten them as round disks.
Put them on griddle, drizzle oil/ghee and make the parathas.

 Serve hot with plain curd or pickles.

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Little Millet Pongal / Saamai Pongal

After more than an year, I am trying to get hold of my blogs again!! ...to start with, a quick and yummy meal. :)

Ingredients 
Little millet / Saamai - 1/2cup
Yellow Moong dal / Paasi paruppu - Little less than 1/2cup
Crushed cumin seeds -1teaspoon
crushed pepper corns - 1teaspoon
Chopped ginger - 2teaspoons
Ghee - 2 teaspoons
Few curry leaves
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4teaspoon

Method 
Wash and soak the little millet and moong dal to gather for 30 minutes.
In a pressure cooker, add the soaked millet and dal (without water) and add 2.5 cups of water and half cup of milk.
Add in the crushed cumin-pepper, ginger, curry leaves, ghee, hing along with enough salt.
Close the cooker and cook for 4 to 5 whistles. Let pressure settle down, open the cooker, add ghee roasted cashews (optional, i didn't add) and serve hot with your favorite side dishes like chutney, gothsu or sambar.

Reference : HERE

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Quinoa Vegetable Kichadi

Its always a pleasure to cook, click and compose a post for my blog. As I had another bigger pleasure  which needs almost all my attention in the first week of February, this space was quiet and inactive for quiet some time!! :) 

 Yup..we are blessed with our second darling Daughter in February. :) :D 

I am trying to bounce back to the old routine, which has been not so easy or not easy as I thought!! Meanwhile, here is a quick fix from my kitchen to yours. Quinoa vegetable kichadi! 

Ingredients 

Quinoa -1 cup

Moong dal - Little less than 1/2cup 

Water - 3 cups

Vegetables - 1 cup (Carrot, beans, potato, peas, color capsicums, cubed in equal size) 

Onion -1(medium size)

Tomato -1 

Green chilly - 3 (adjust to your spice level) 

Turmeric powder - 1/4teaspoon

Cinnamon stick - 2

Cloves -2

Bay leaf - 1

Ginger garlic (freshly crushed) - 2teaspoons 

Salt 

Ghee - 2 tablespoons (or more!! ;)) 

To temper 

Oil - 2 tablespoons 

Red chilly -1

Pepper corns - 8

Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon 

Method

Wash and soak the moong dal & quinoa for 20 minutes.

Cut the vegetables into equal size cubes and keep it aside.

Chop the onions, tomato, green chilly. 

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds and pepper corns and sauté for few seconds. Add the onions, green chilly saute, then add the crushed ginger and garlic. Once the raw smell has gone, add the chopped tomato and cook until it becomes mushy. 

Now add the cubed vegetables along with the bay leaf. Give a brief saute, then add the quinoa and dal along with enough salt and turmeric powder. Mix well, add 3 cups of water, close the pressure cooker.

Cook in medium flame for 3 whistles. 

Open the cooker once the pressure cooker cools down, add ghee mix it well and serve hot.

Tastes good as such, we don't need any side dishes..but you can always have some roasted papad and kadi, which is the traditional combo of kichadi. 

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Broccoli Stir fry

Last fall, we set up a raised bed garden and started growing some winter vegetables, one of which is broccoli!! we had 6 plants and shared half of the broccoli sprouts with our `neighborhood squirrels. :D 

Ingredients

Broccoli (washed and chopped into small florets) - 11/2cup

Chopped onion - 3tablespoon 

Tomato - 1 (chopped) 

Garlic - 4 fat cloves (crushed) 

Green chilly -1

Masala powder - 11/2 teaspoon (Here Ive used Sakthi Vatha kuzhambu powder. You can use sambar powder or just chill powder according to your preference) 

Desiccated coconut -2 tablespoons 

Salt

Oil 

Cumin seeds -1teaspoon 

Pinch of Sugar 

Method 

Heat some oil in a wide pan. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. 

Then add the chopped onion, green chilly and crushed garlic. 

Saute for a few minutes then add the chopped tomato. Cook until the tomatoes turn soft. Add the   broccoli florets, toss them well.

Now add the masala powder, salt and a big pinch of sugar. Sprinkle little water, close the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat.
Open the pan, stir the veggie once, add the desiccated coconut and put off the pan.
Quick and delicious Broccoli stir fry is ready. Goes well with all rice items or with roti. 

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Paneer Capsicum Do Pyaza - Holiday Special! :)

Ingredients

Paneer (cubed) - 11/2cup 

Half & Half - 1/2cup 

Capsicum -1 

Onion -2

Green chilly -2

Tomato -3

Ginger garlic paste - 2teaspoons 

Cumin seeds -1teaspoon 

Chilli powder -2teaspoons

Coriander powder -2teaspoons

Turmeric powder -1/4teaspoon

Kasoori Methi -1teaspoon 

Butter - 1teaspoon 

Oil 

Salt

Water 

Method 

Finely chop one of the 2 onions. 

Chop another onion and capsicum into big chunks and keep it separate. 

Finely chop the green chillies and tomatoes too.  

Heat  oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle.
Now add the finely chopped onion. Sauté for few minutes and add ginger garlic paste..saute until the raw smell is gone.

Add the finely chopped tomatoes with enough salt and keep cooking. 

Once the tomatoes are soft and mushy, add the chilly - coriander and turmeric powders. 

Mix it well and add the capsicum and onion chunks in the masala. 

Saute on medium heat for few minutes, adding a teaspoon of butter. 

Now add about a cup of water and let it cook for 4-5 minutes.

 Reduce the heat to low and add the half & half mil.
Once the milk is mixed with the masala add the cubed paneer.
Let the curry cook for few more minutes in low heat and put off the stove, garnish with Kasoori methi and serve.

Goes well with roti/phulka/ pulao/Jeera rice and Biriyani items. 

Note 

The dish was cooked  and clicked by my dear hubby..I just did the typing and enjoyed the curry with hot roties..of course! ;) :D :) Holiday Special! 

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Beans Paruppu Usili

Ingredients

Beans - 11/4 cup (washed,  edges trimmed and chopped into desired shape) 

Channa dal - 1/4cup 

Red chillies - 3 (adjust to taste)

Asafetida /hing - 1/4teaspoon 

Salt 

To temper

Oil 

Mustard seeds - 1/2teaspoon

Ural dal - 1teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4teaspoon 

Method

Soak the channa dal for at least 11/2 hours. 

Wash, trim the edges of the beans, cut them into desired shape. (I am bored of regular cutting, so tried some different shape! :))

Microwave the beans with enough water and salt for 6-7 minutes, stopping the microwave few time, and mixing the veggie. Once beans are cooked, filter the excess water and keep it aside. 

Now take the soaked dal, red chillies, hing and salt (just enough for the dal) and grind it into a coarse paste. 

Transfer the dal paste into a greased microwavable dish, flatten it. Microwave it for 4-5 minutes or until the dal is well cooked. (alternatively, you can steam the dal paste in idli pot too)

Once the dal paste cools down, put it into a mixer and pulse it.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, let them pop up. Then add the urad dal, fry until it turns golden in color. Add the curry leaves and turmeric powder.

Now add the pulsed cooked dal mixture and stir it.

Add the cooked beans to the dal after few minutes and mix it gently.

Cook on medium flame until the dal mixture and the veggie gets combined. Check for the salt and put off the flame.

Yummy beans paruppu usili is ready to serve. Goes well with mor kuzhambu/ vat kuzhambu etc.

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Seppankizhangu Fry / Arbi Fry

Ingredients

Seppankizhangu / Arbi - 6  

Garlic - 8cloves

Few curry leaves

Mustard seeds - 1/2teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/8teaspoon

Chilly powder - 11/2teaspoons

Salt

Oil 

Method

Wash and cook the seppankizhangu / arbi root in a steamer or pressure cooker. Take care not to cook it mushy. The root should be soft but should not be mushy. 

Let it cool, peel the skin and chop them into big chunks. 

 Heat oil in a wide pan, add the mustard seeds. Let them pop up, then add the cooked and chopped seppankizhangu/ arbi.

Toss it well and cook for 4-5 minutes. Don't use any spoon to mix, just gently toss the pan so that the kizhangu gets roasted on all sides evenly.

Meanwhile, take your garlic and crush them with mortar and pestle.

Once the arbi is nicely roasted, add the turmeric - chilly powders, enough salt, curry leaves and crushed garlic.

 Reduce the heat and toss it nicely so that the raw smell of the spices and garlic are gone. Sprinkle little more oil during the process if you like. :)

 Quick and spicy arbi fry is ready to serve...goes well as a side dish with rice varieties.

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Vendaikkai Morkuzhambu / Okra in Yogurt gravy

Ingredients
Vendaikkai/ Okra / Ladies finger - 6
Sour Buttermilk - 1 cup
Turmeric powder -1/8teaspoon
Few curry leaves
Mustard seeds -1/2teaspoon
To grind
Coconut - 1/4cup
Cumin seeds -1teaspoon
Coriander seeds-  1/2teaspoon
Ginger - small piece
Green chillies -2 (adjust to spice level)

Method
Wash, pat dry and cut the vendaikkai/okra into 2 inch pieces.
Heat little oil in a pan, sauté the vendaikkai until the sliminess is gone and its half cooked, keep it aside.

Take the items given under "To grind" in a small mixie jar, add little water and make it into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, let them pop-up. Then add the curry leaves, the ground paste.. add 1/4 cup of water, turmeric powder and enough salt. let it boil.

In the mean time, keep the buttermilk ready. As I have used yogurt here, I added little water to the yogurt and pulsed it in mixie. 

Now, reduce the heat to low, add the beaten buttermilk to the coconut gravy. Mix it gently until you see nice froth forming up. 

Add the sautéed  vendaikkai/ okra and switch off the flame. Let the kuzhambu sit for 10-15 minutes and serve as an accompaniment of white rice and some spicy vegetable curry. I had it with seppankizhangu / Arbi fry. 

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Paruppu Podi

I always keep idli pedi / Gun powder ready..though chutneys are prepared, my better half loves these podi's. This podi is little different from the one I usually make. This one tastes good with hot rice and ghee as well as idli-dosa too. 

Ingredients 

Thoor Dal / Thuvaram paruppu - 1/4cup

Channa Dal / Kadalai paruppu - 1/4cup

Urad Dal / Ulunthu paruppu - 1/2 tablespoon

White Sesame seeds / Ellu - 1/2 tablespoon 

Pepper corn -1/2 teaspoon 

Red chilly -2

Hing/ Perungayam - 1/4teaspoon 

Method 

Dry roast the dals one by one until they turn golden in color and nice aroma comes. Do it patiently on low medium heat, taking care not to burn the dals. 

Similarly roast the sesame seeds, pepper corns-red chili and let everything cool down.

Grind them coarsely adding enough salt, hing and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

Store it in airtight container. Serve as a side dish with gingelly oil or ghee to idli-dosa-rice.

Recipe Source : HERE

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Peerkkangai poriyal - Karnataka style / Heerekayi Palya / Ridge gourd stir-fry, Karnataka style

Ingredients

Peerkkangai - 1 (peeled and chopped , about a cup) 

Mustard seeds - 1/2teas[ppm 

Turmeric powder -1/8teaspoon 

Curry leaves - few

Salt 

Oil

To dry roast

Cumin seeds -1/2 teaspoon 

Red chilly -1

Bydagi chilly -1

Coconut - 3 tablespoons grated 

Method

Dry roast the chillies and cumin seeds, let it cool. 

Heat oil in  a pan, add the mustard seeds and let them pop-up. 

Add curry leaves, turmeric powder followed by the chopped ridge gourd pieces. 

Sprinkle little water and let it cook.

Meanwhile, grind the coconut along with roasted cumin seeds and chillies.
Add it to the veggie when is almost done.
Give it a stir and cook until the the masala blends with the veggie and put off the flame.
Quick and yummy Heerekayi palya / Peerkkangai poriyal is ready to serve. It goes well with roti and rice varieties.
Recipe Source - HERE

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