Kathirikkai-Murungakai Sambar - Namma Sambar !!

Kathirikkai & Murungakai Sambar - My Style.

Sambar.. in my house was never like the restaurant style or like any of you would guess. It is close-to-my-heart dish. This sambar will be plain without any heavy spice. May be that is the reason why I was initially very very fond of hotel-sambar. once I learnt to make the hotel-sambar I started making it quiet often. But then

Mysore Pak - Deepavali Is Just Around the Corner !

Mysore Pak - Melting Ghee-licious South Indian Sweet

Mysore pak - I was not a very big fan of Mysore pak during my childhood days. But I saw people going crazy for this simple not-so-soft or not-very-flavourful south Indian sweet. Especially my father. I remember, this Mysore pak used to be an important sweet in the wedding sweets ("Kalyana seer palakaram" list along with boondhi laddoo and badusha).

Kanchipuram Idli (Kovil Idli) - Idli with a Flavour

Kanchipuram Idli - Idli with a Flavour

Kanchipuram idli is fondly known as "kovil idli". Kovil means temple in Tamil.

Udacha Kadalai Laddu / Fried Gram Laddu

Udacha Kadalai Laddu or Pottu Kadalai Laddu or Fried Gram Laddu

If there is any laddu recipe which is easy to make, healthy and good to eat.. then it is this pottu kadalai or udacha kadalai laddu.

Our people used to call it as udacha kadalai and many of my friends call it as pottu kadalai or chutney paruppu. Its a very healthy pulse variety. It is extremely rich in iron content. Excellent snack for kids.

Vendakkai / Bhindi / Okra Biryani

Vendakkai / Okra / Bhindi Biryani

The okra's on the rice in the picture were not mixed with masala. I kept it separately to use for decoration only.

This Bhindi biryani is an inspiration from a paneer biryani recipe from a free recipe booklet for "Snehidhi" women's Tamil magazine. 

Okra is my daughters favourite vegetable. i used make fun of her.. saying that she is so fond of okra that.. if we write "okra" in a paper.. she would eat that too! 😅😆. my daughter is happy with this okra biryani. 

Kathirikkai Kadayal - Brinjal Gravy

Kathirikkai Kadayal - Brinjal gravy - Country Food

When I sit to write about this recipe, I am recollecting the image of my grand mother eating white rice with this brinjal gravy. She eats rice with this gravy in a peculiar way. She takes white rice in the plate. She pours this kathirikkai kadayal beside it. She takes some white rice in her hand and makes a small ball of the size of her fist. Then, she will dip it in that kuzhambu like a dumpling and eat it. She says that it is feels more satisfying than it sounds 😇. 

Chennai Hotel Style Coconut Chutney

Chennai Hotel Style Coconut Chutney

Aahhaaa.. is there anything better than hotel chutney! Such a simple and polite accompaniment with idli/dosai. Eventhough sambar is the hero.. it is so very incomplete without a coconut chutney.

Chow-Chow Poriyal / Chayote Curry

Chow-Chow Poriyal / Chayote Curry

I wonder how many of you like the chow-chow or chayote. Those who don't like this vegetable.. try this recipe. You will start liking it. Actually I never knew how to cook it tastefully. I used to make kootu/dhal with it. That's all. This recipe, I came across in an monthly women's Tamil magazine. First time I tried this recipe as side dish with kara kuzhambu. It was such a great balance of taste with kara kuzhambu. You all too should try this poriyal and tell me how did it come out.

Potato & Peas Kurma

Potato & Peas Kurma - For Poori/Chapathi/Ildi/Dosa/Iddiyappam/Appam

This potato & peas kurma is a versatile kurma which goes well with any of the following - poori, chapathi, parotta, idli, dosai, iddiyappam, appam and even with light rice like jeera or ghee rice.

Mango Lemonade - Use the Season

Mango Lemonade - Use the Season

Lemonade is everyone's favourite on a hot day. And how about mango flavoured lemonade / lemon flavoured mango juice? Lemon is refreshing.. mango is.. a sweetheart. Mixing both is a beautiful duet of flavours.

Black and White - Very Colourful !

I felt that this picture looked beautiful in B/W. The b/w picture expresses the shape of the container better, which I missed to notice in the colour picture. It's mango lemonade.

Chicken Biryani - Madras / Home Style

Chicken Biryani - Madras or Home Style

There are many versions of biryani - Hyderabad biryani, Ambur biryani, Dindugal biryani, Thalapakatti biryani, Mughal biryani and many more. 

Mango Pudding - Use the Season

Mango Pudding - With Coconut Milk

Mango pudding is the new dish I tried with mango fruits this season. I used flavourful Banganapalli mangoes. 

Tomato Soup - Kids Favourite

Tomato Soup - Kids Favourite

Tomato soup - is the only soup my daughter asks as the first item in any restaurant. We would advice her that there are many more soup varieties in this world which she can try. But we never won her decision in this soup matter. 

Mushroom Biryani (With Coconut Milk)

Mushroom Biryani Cooked With Coconut Milk

Mushroom biryani is another variety rice recipe which is a good choice for any potlucks or for any get-together. One of my best buddy P makes the best mushroom biryani. My daughter likes her mushroom biryani. Hence, I have to make mushroom biryani equally good as my friend's.

Simple Tomato & Onion Chutney

Simple Tomato & Onion Chutney - For Idli/Dosa/Poori/Chapathi

This is one of my childhood favourite side dish which my mom used to make for poori or chapathi. Sometimes my mother makes it in a gravy consistency to go with idli/dosai/paniyaram and more watery to go with venn pongal. In my home we call this as "thakkali chutney".

Mango Lassi - Use the Season

Mango Lassi - The 2nd Best Way of Consuming a Mango

You all might be wondering then what is THE best way to consume a mango. Well.. just take a nice.. ripe.. native variety mango from fridge..

Green Mango Rice - Use the Season

Green Mango Rice - Use the Season

Another rice variety for the season - raw mango rice - if not now, then when. It is my daughter who keeps asking me to make the mango rice. But i do just once a season. I find boring to grate the mango. So I start to do the rice on one deal with my daughter.

Bajji Bites - Easy for the Lazy

Bajji Bites - Easy for the Lazy

Not always.. but most of the times i am lazy!😌. But never lazy to munch. imagine.. one lazy evening.. someone serving you.. nice hot and crunchy home made onion bajjis with two spoons of coconut chutney beside the bajjis.

"Black night shade" Dhal / Manathakkali Keerai Kootu

Manathakkali Keerai Kootu - One Pot Dish

Manathakkali keerai  (Solanum nigrum), usually know as night shade plant has many medicinal values. It is very commonly used in south Indian cuisines. 

Perungayam or Asafoetida or Hing - In My Kitchen

Asafoetida

Katti perungayam or the compound (hard) type asafoetida is the resin of a plant  Ferula assafoetida. This compound form is more flavourful than

Avakkai - Use the Season - Awesome Mango Pickle

Avakkai - Easy yet Awesome Mango Pickle

Again, I am going to my college days when I think about this avakkai pickle. Until then I was not a big fan of pickles and used to wonder how in the world people ever ate pickles. My mother used to drool at pickles. My father was happy to, infact preferred to eat previous night's rice in water and pickle for break fast. Many of my friends were happy to eat curd rice and pickle everyday and survive! I was always detached from all these peoples' love for pickle and was looking at them like a bottled specimen in the zoology lab.

Nature Watch - Mango Mania!

Nature Watch - Mango Mania!

 It's end of May.. summer is in its peak. Nature never let us hate summer all together. It gave us mangoes and jack fruits to anticipate summer. Because of the heat, we really are waiting for the summer to go away as fast as possible. But that will take away mangoes too with it..!! And along with it goes jack fruit.

Ulundhu Kali ( Urad Dhal Halwa ) - Healthy Traditional Food

Ulundhu Kali - Healthy Traditional Food

Ulundham/Ulundhu kali is a healthy food traditionally cooked in Tamil Nadu with black whole urad dhal and palm jaggery. These are the two main ingredients plus water. That is all..! you can also do this with whole white urad dhal. But whole black urad dhal is more nutritive and has more fibre and above all more flavour than the whole white urad dhal.

Since I did not have whole black urad dhal today, I used whole white urad dhal.

Gala-gala (Kalakala) - Gala Time Snack !

Gala-gala (Kalakala)

Galagala is another snack with my childhood memories. I very well remember.. that day.. Jurassic Park movie was released. My uncle took us kids to the movie in a nearby theatre at a walk-able distance (Muralikrishna Theatre, Shenoy Nagar, Chennai. The theatre is now demolished and been built into a wedding hall). We enjoyed the movie. When we returned home, my auntie made this gala-gala and kept ready for us to munch.

"செம்மை" Murungai keerai & Vaazhaipoo Rasam (Soup)

"செம்மை " Murungaikeerai & Vaazhaipoo Rasam / Moringa Leaves & Banana Blossom Soup

"Semmai" murungai & vaazhaipoo rasam is the healthy soup recipe which I learnt in the வாழ்வியல் மருத்துவம் - seminar by Semmai Vaazhviyal (செம்மை வாழ்வியல்). Rasam (ரசம்) means soup. They recommend different soup varieties with base as moringa leaves and other vegetable or greens of your choice being any one of - plantain stem, banana blossoms, drumstick, முடக்கத்தான் கீரை (balloon plant) etc. They recommend us to have any one of this soup in the evenings around 4 to 6 pm. Depending on your medical requirements you can choose these greens or vegetables for soup.

Sesame Seeds Balls - Keep it Simple, Keep it Healthy.

Sesame Seeds balls - Healthy and Easy Snack

Sesame seeds jaggery balls is a sweet laddu which is easy to make and good to eat. I remember my grandmother making it.. pounding the roasted sesame seeds manually with jaggery. But now.. all the hard work is saved. Use a mixer or blender. But taste - I can say we have compromised. The taste and flavour we get by manually pounding the sesame seeds and jaggery is incomparable. But now we cannot think about traditional manual gadgets. We have lost them! But, something is better than nothing. Use a mixer. That is all 😁.

Garlic / Poondu Kadayal - Healthy Country Food

Poondu Kadayal - Healthy Country Food

Poondu or garlic kadayal is a thick gravy or sauteed garlic mash which is famous in my grandparents village. My grandmother used to peal lots of garlic.. for almost half a day.. half-a-kilo garlic for the next days' poondu kadayal.

Kothamalli Chutney / Coriander Leaves Chutney - Flavoursome

Coriander Leaves / Kothamalli Chutney

Coriander is considered both an herb and spice since both its leaves and seeds are used as a seasoning condiment. Coriander leaves contain powerful detoxifying abilities. Happy to be born in a world where coriander grows. 😁

Maangaai Pachadi / Green Mango Pachadi - Use the Season - Summer's Sweet-Sour-Spicy

Green Mango Pachadi - Sweet-Sour-Spicy

This green mango sweet-sour-spicy pachadi is the seasonal dish. Summer comes.. mango comes.. this mangaai pachadi also comes!! Maangaai pachadi has sweetness from jaggery, sourness for mango, and spiciness is contributed by chilli powder.

Vaazhaithandu Koottu / Plantain Stem Dhal

Vaazhaithandu Koottu / Plantain Stem Dhal

Vaazhai thandu kootu or the plantain stem dhal is a tasty and easy way to consume the vaazhaithandu. It is one of the cheapest item available in any vegetable shop and yet it possesses amazing goodness.

Kovakkai Varuval / Tindora Roast

Kovakkai / Tindora Roast

I tasted kovaikkai fry when I was doing my post graduation. (believe me.. till then i haven't tried kovakkai at all).

Chola Poori / Bhatoora

Chola Poori / Bhatoora

Chola poori is most of our favourites. When we were kids.. we used to eat this poori in exihibitions. The poori master used to make big flat dough, flips it in the air and this dough goes as high as 1 meter in the air above his head and then coolly slides into the hot oil in the big kadai in front of him. We used to watch this with our mouth open..

 

Vaazhaithandu Poriyal / Plantain Stem Stirfry.

Vaazhaithandu Poriyal / Plantain Stem Stirfry

Vaazhai thandu poriyal is another simple dish made with vaazhai thandu (means plantain stem).

vaazhai thandu can be added in sambar, or with dhal as kootu. But this vaazhai thandu poriyal is a dish where you can feel the actual astringent taste of the vaazhai thandu. We keep this poriyal light and mild and end it up with a fist full of coconut grating.

Paruppu Keerai Kootu/Dhal

Paruppu Keerai Kootu

Paruppu keerai kootu is another simple dish with dhal and paruppu keerai. It is made in the same way as other keerai kootu. 

I always keep this kootu varieties very simple and one pot dish. Put everything in the small cooker, cook it and temper in the end.

Pineapple Minty-Lemonade - Beat the Heat !

Pineapple Minty-Lemonade - Beat the Heat !

Here is another juice for summer. Lemonades are always a hit during summers. And if it is with mint.. its a super hit. And how about another awesome flavour along with the citrus flavour? I thought of mixing pineapple with the regular lemonade. Pineapple is already the king of tropical fruits. Mixing it with the other two flavour bombs.. mint and lemon. You have to try it to find the medley of flavours.

Aval Paayasam / Poha Kheer - TAMIL NEW YEAR Special

Aval Paayasam / Poha Kheer - No Added Sugar

I Wish all my friends very Happy Tamil New Year 2018. This aval paayasam is this new year's special in our house.

Paneer-Peas Pulav - Simple and Sapid.

Paneer - Peas Pulav

Paneer-peas pulav is an easy rice recipe which is very handy for dinners. it doesnt take much time as other veg pulavs. 

Mullangi Keerai Poriyal / Radish and its Greens Stirfry

Mullangi Keerai Poriyal

Mullangi keerai or radish leaves/greens has a very unique astringent taste. In Tamil the taste is called as "துவர்ப்பு". 

I tried to find an English word equivalent to this Tamil word "துவர்ப்பு", but then i came to know that the English has 5 tastes only excluding துவர்ப்பு. On further search i was able to the find the word "astringent taste" whose meaning was close to  துவர்ப்பு. 

Tiffin Sambar for Idli/Dosa - Hotel Style

Tiffin Sambar - Hotel Style

This hotel style tiffin sambar is very easy and tasty and goes very well with idli, dosai or any tiffin items. this sambar needs a little masala paste to be prepared and after that the sambar is a super hit.

Uppu Urundai (or) Kara Kozhukattai - 100th Post

Uppu Urundai - Light Breakfast or Dinner

Uppu urundai is an traditional South Indian food item made with idli-rice.

Hyderabad Chicken Biryani - Delectable Dum Biryani

Hyderabad Chicken Biryani - Dum Biryani

Grape and Pom Juice

Grape and Pom Juice

This is a simple juice which I came up with the fruits I had in my fridge. I had some nice fresh panneer grapes (native variety with seeds) and one Pomegranate. Just want to finish it on one summer afternoon. So just blended both with little palm sugar and a pinch of salt. Fresh mocktail ready to beat the summer with the goodness of our native panneer grapes and pom. 

Kesar Peda (Indian dessert with Khoya)

Kesar Peda - made with Khoya

I got this recipe from a cook book. I tried this kesar peda. It is made with khoya which I bought from shop. We can use khoya made at home too. These pedas tasted awesome and has this great saffron and cardamom flavour in it.

Paneer Butter Masala.. Say Paneer.....!

Paneer Butter Masala - Creamy Buttery Paneer Masala

Paneer butter masala is another easy and favourite dish in our house. it is as simple as you saute everything, make a paste of it and throw the paneer in it. drop a dollop of butter in it - this completes the dish.

Lemon Rasam - Lime and Lemony.. Rasam !

Lemon Rasam

My moms lemon tree was happy and so were we. as a result we had surplus lemons at home. as we were wondering what to do with the lemons, my mom shared with her friends, i shared few with my friends, made pickle for my mom, made lemon juice, lemon rice, again lemon juice, again lemon rice, again sharing, again lemon juice.. again and again..

Murungai Keerai / Moringa Leaves Sambar

Murungai Keerai / Moringa Leaves Sambar

Murungai keerai sambar is yet another recipe which kindles my nostalgia memories. I remember my mom making this from my childhood days. 

Adai - Kara Dosai

Adai - Kara Dosai

Adai became one of my favourite dish only after my marriage. Before that it was in the not-my favourite list. Adai is such a balanced dish for breakfast or dinner. It has the right amount of cereals and pulses and above all coconut! coconut freshens any dish.