"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. 

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.

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.

Sorakkai Kootu / Bottle Gourd Dhall

Sorakkai Kootu / Bottle Gourd Dhall

The health benefits of the sorakkai / bottle gourd or fondly called as Lagenaria siceraria by botanists.. are that it promotes weight loss, helps digestion, treats constipation, provides cooling effect, replenishes loss of water content, keeps the heart and liver healthy, blah blah.. and lot more. But the main reason I like to use sorakkai is because.. its easily available and cooks quickly. Sorakkai kootu is a one pot dish.

Sorakkai  is such a polite vegetable, it does not have any intense flavour so it compliments  any other ingredient you add with it. There is one dish which my ammamma and mom makes - sorakkai-shrimp (prawns) curry, where the sorakai takes up this shrimp flavour and the whole dish tastes shrimp-licious !

Pongal/Venn Pongal

Pongal/Venn Pongal

Venn pongal is a must in any south Indian breakfast menu. Go to any muhurtham or graha pravesham or pre-wedding nalungu or nichayathaartham or any other functions in the mornings which calls for breakfast, definitely it will have venn pongal in the menu along with idli, vadai, poori, iddiyappam or rava kichadi. Nobody has ever had the resistance to plan a breakfast menu for a South Indian function or a festival without pongal. There is another funny quote which goes like "if you want to have a sound sleep.. you can either have a sleeping pill or a plate of pongal with sambar chutney".😝

For more breakfast recipes click here - Breakfast

Venn Pongal

Sarkkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal

Sarkkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal

Sarkkarai pongal - I love making this divine dessert. When the jaggery boils, it fills the house with the festival mood. This smell of boiling jaggery is so very nostalgic. It kindles all the beautiful memories of my childhood when I used to wait for my mother to finish her cooking and start the pooja. I just cant wait to feast on the banana leaf. We use banana leaf only during festivals which is hardly 3 to 4 times a year. So, its worth waiting.

For more festival foods click here - Festival Foods

For more Sweets/Desserts click here - Sweets

Sarkarai pongal