Posts Tagged ‘Black Pepper’

The month Margazhi is fast approaching.  After singing thirupavai it is usual to to do Venpongal as naivedyam to Aundal. Here I am giving you the method of doing the ven pongal.

Ingredients

Raw rice – 1 cup

Moong Dhal – 1/2 cup

For Seasoning

Black Pepper – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Fresh Curry leaves – 15-20 nos

Ginger – 1/2 inch (cut into small pieces)

Cashew nuts – 10 to 15 nos ( break it into half)

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Procedure

-Soak the rice and dhal for half an hour.

-Pressure cook them by adding 3 1/2 cups of water.  Allow 4 whistles in high flames and simmer  it for 10 minutes.

- In a thick bottomed pan apply 1 tsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts till they are golden brown.  To uniformly fry the cashew nuts break it into 2 halves and then fry.

-Again add 1 tsp of ghee and fry jeera and pepper one by one and atlast add curry leaves and  ginger and fry them too.

-Take 1/2 a cup of milk (hot) and add hing and allow it to dissolve.

-Soon after the cooker gets released add all the fried ingredients and then the milk with hing and the required amount of salt and mix it such a way that the rice – dhal mix is well smashed.

Tasty ven pongal is ready for serve.  For each and every serve you can add melted ghee to enhance the taste.

Chutney,  sambar,  gotsu, paringikai- mochaikottai pulikuzhambu and thalaga kuzhambu are the best side dishes for this ven pongal.

if you want the flavor of hing to be heavy, then add the hing to the rice -dhal mix and pressure cook it.

This is a very tasty and nutritious kuzhambu.

Ingredients

Tamarind – lemon size

Vegetables – 1 cup ( diced)

The vegetables usually used for this kuzhambu are chow-chow,  ash gourd (pooshanikai), parangikai or chakarai pooshinikai, or brinhal cut into small pieces.

Soaked Chenna dhal or peanuts – 1 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Turmeric pdr – 1/4 tsp

To fry and grind

Urud dhal – 1 tsp

Chenna dhal – 1 tsp

Grated coconut – 1 table spoon

Red chillies – 7-8

Black pepper – 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida(hing or perungayam) – 1/2 tsp

Fry all the above ingredients except coconut and asafoetida  in a pan with 1 tsp of oil, till they are golden brown.

Allow it to cool and make it into  a paste ( neither too coarse nor too smooth) and set aside.

Procedure

-Pressure cook the soaked chenna or peanuts by adding salt.

-Strain the tamarind by adding 2 cup of water.

-Now add the diced vegetable, salt and turmeric powder and cook the vegetables untill they are soft.

-Add the cooked chenna or peanuts , the prepared paste and allow it to froth.

-Season it with mustard and fresh curry leaves. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

It can be served with dosa, idili, pongal as well as hot white rice.

Each and every time we cannot do arraithuvitta sambar because it carries lots of coconut in it.  In order to get the same flavor try with this podi.

Ingredients

Coriander seeds  – 21/2 cups

Red chillies – 4 cups

Chenna Dahal – 1 cup

Black pepper – 1/4 cup

Methi seeds – 1/2 of black pepper

Procedure

Dry fry all the above ingredients except the chillies, till the aroma comes.

Warm the chillies and make it into a fine powder.  Using this podi gives the taste of arraithuvitta sambar taste.

While preparing this sambar if you prefer you can just season 1 tsp of coconut and add to the tamarind water along with the vegetables.

Hotel Sambar

Ingredients

Thoor Dhal – 1 cup
big Onion – 2 Nos
Sambar Vegetables – 1 cup
Tomato – 4 Nos Salt – 1tsp
Tamarind – small size lemon
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10 to 15 leaves
finely chopped coriander – 2tsp
Asfoetida (perungayam) – 1/2 tsp

To fry and grind

Red Chillies – 6 nos
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) -1 1/2 Table spoon
Chenna dhal – 1Table spoon
Methi Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Cumin’s seeds (jeera) – 1tsp
Curry leaves – 1 hand full

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Sambar procedure

-Pressure cook thoor dhal with little turmeric powder
- Cut the sambar vegetables in small pieces. Also chop onion and tomato longitudinally .
- Apply some oil in the kadai and fry the things to be grounded. Let it cool and make it into a fine powder.
-Again apply some oil in the kadai season the mustard seeds , broken urud dhal and onion. When the onion gets fried little add the Sambar vegetables. Saute it and then add the chopped tomato and the required amount of salt. Saute for few about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In the mean time stain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Add it to the seasoned vegetables
- Allow the mixture to boil till the raw smell vanishes and all the vegetables are well cooked
- Now add the well smashed thoor dhal and the prepared powder to the mixture. Mix it well and allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
- Add few curry leaves and chopped coriander.

A very tasty hotel sambar is ready to be served with hot hot dosas.

Parrupu podi

Ingredients

Channa Dhal – 1 cup

Thoor Dhal – 1 Cup

Red Chilies – 10 nos

Black pepper – 1 TSp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1tsp

Curry leaves – 10-15 leaves

Oil – 1 tsp

Ads By CbproAds

Procedure

-Dry fry Channa Dhal and thoor dhal till they are golden brown.

-Again Dry fry pepper. Once it starts spluttering just put the chilies and fry it for two minutes.

-Now wash the curry leaves and spread it on a dry cloth. Allow it to dry. Apply 1 tsp of oil in the pan and fry it untill it turns dark green in colour.

-Grind the dhal which you have fried along with pepper and asafoetida into a fine powder along with salt.

-Finally add the fried curry leaves.

This podi is very tasty when taken with hot rice with one spoon of ghee. This podi can be stored for at least a period of month, since we don’t add any oil to it , it will remain fresh for a longer period.

GARLIC POWDER

The procedure and ingredients is same as that of paruppu podi. The only addition we make is 10-15 flakes of garlic.

Fry the garlic in 1 tsp of oil in a pan untill it is golden brown and starts giving out aroma.

After making the paruppu podi finally add the garlic flakes and once again powder it.

Mysore Rasam

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lemon size
Tomato – 1 big in size
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 tsp along with water

To fry and grind

Coriander seeds – 2 tsp, Thoordhal – 1 tsp, ChennaDhal – 1 tsp, Red Chilies – 4 (or 6, if u need a spicy rasam)Nos, Black pepper – 1/2 tsp, Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp, Asafoetida -1/4 tsp. Roast the above in a spoon of ghee or oil. Add 1/2 tsp of jeera and Coconut – 1 Tbl spoon, grind it to a smoot powder.

Ads By CbproAds

For Seasoning

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Fresh Curry leaves – 10-15 nos

Procedure

-Strain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Instead of putting the tomato as pieces you grind the tomato and add the puree. This will enhance the color of the rasam.

-Add turmeric powder and salt and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of tamarind vanishes. Now add the powder you prepared.

-Smash the cooked thoor dhal and add it along with its water & allow the rasam to boil just for a minute.

-Add coriander leaves, saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

Lime Mysore Rasam

Instead of adding the tamarind in the beginning add the lime juice at last, as you did for the lime rasam.

Brinjal Mysore Rasam

Slit the small brinjals into four without fully cutting them.

Cook the brinjal in tamarind water and repeat the same procedure.

Serves 6 Hands-On Time: 20m Total Time: 1hr 00m

Lentils, kale (borecole), sweet potatoes and canned tomatoes blend to make a hearty soup that’s full of fiber and antioxidant vitamins A and C. Kale adds Vitamin K and, surprisingly, calcium to the mix.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 4 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons
* 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
* 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and leaves cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
* 1/2 cup brown lentils
* 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (ajwain or omam)
* Kosher salt (rock salt) and black pepper
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (cheese) (1 ounce; optional)

Ads By CbproAds

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, breaking them up with a spoon, for 5 minutes.

2. Add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sweet potatoes, kale, lentils, thyme, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Spoon into bowls and top with the Parmesan, if using.

* This recipe is the courtesy of Mrs Hema Sridhar, my cousin residing at US.

Traditional Iyengar’s feast is always accompanied with puliyodarai. It is not only tasty but very easy to prepare once its basic paste pulikaichal is ready in hand. Pulikaichal is a preserve of spicy tamarind paste, which stays for a few months in the fridge. This when mixed with rice is called Puliyodarai or puliyogare.

Let me first tell you the preparation of pulikaichal.

Ingredients

Tamarind – 200 gms (app x size of a mango)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tps
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp (increase or decrease the quantity according to taste)

For Seasoning

Mustard seeds – 2 tbl spoon
Red Chillies – 25-30 Nos , broken into pieces (If you don’t want the pulikaichal to be very hot while making the chillies into 2 pieces remove the seeds)
Chenna Dhal – 1 Tbl spoon
Urud Dhal – 1 Tbl Spoon
Curry leaves – Fresh and dried (20 to 30 Nos)
Gingly oil (Nallennai-til oil)- 250 ml

If you are going to store for a longer period then it better to add less quantity of dhal at the time of preparation . Fry and add the required quantity of dhal at the time of mixing pliyodarai.

For Powdering

Methi seeds – heap of 1 tsp
Hing ( Asafoetida or perungayam) – 1 small piece or 1/2 tsp

Dry fry the methi seeds till they are deep brown. Add one teaspoon of gingly oil and fry the hing. It is better to use the solid hing for this preparation because this is the main flavouring agent. Allow it to cool and make it into a fine powder.

Note:- Some of them add 1tsp of dhaniya and 1/2 tsp of black pepper along with methi seeds and hing and powder it. These additions are optional.

Procedure

-Strain the tamarind into a thick pulp mix it with turmeric powder and salt and set aside.

- Take a thick bottom pan and add the gingly oil. Keep it on medium flame. Once the oil starts fuming add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter completely. Only when the mustard seeds splutters completely the shelf life of pulikaichal will last long.

- Then add the red chillies and the dhal and fry till the dhal is golden brown. Add the curry leaves and allow them get fried completely i.e, till all the water content in the curry leaf evaporates.

-Pour 1/2 a cup tamarind mix and when it starts to boil add the rest. Add a small piece of jaggery for added taste.

-When the pulp gets thick, oil will come up on the sides & the gravy will get deposited at the bottom. This indicates that pulikaichal is done. Switch off the stove and add the prepared methi-hing powder, mix it well and transfer it to another vessel to avoid further thickening.

Preparation of Puliyodarai

In general raw rice is used for this preparation.

1.Just pressure cook 1 cup of raw rice.

2.Take a vessel. Add 1 Tbl spoon of gingely oil and put the cooked rice over the oil.

3.If you are preparing the puliyodharai on the day when you make pulikaichal no additions are required.

Approximately for 1 cup of rice (i.e,200 gms of rice) we need 3 tbl spoon full of pulikaichal.

4.Mix it with the rice using a flat laddle so that the rice will not get smashed.

If you are going to refrigerate and prepare puliyodharai once in a while then , in just 1 tsp of gingly oil fry, 2 broken green chillies, fresh curry leaves, 1pinch of trumeirc powder and 1/4 hing and add to the rice. Add pulikaichal according to the quantity of rice.

If you like your puliyodharai to be crunchy, you can add fried peanuts and cashew nuts.

Note :- For the puliyodarai to taste good preferably use gingly oil. Usually we fry cashews in ghee. But for this preparation it is better to use gingly oil.

Refrigerate it in an air tight container.

While mixing puliyodharai try to use a flat laddle ( Here I mean Dosa Thudupu) so that the rice will not be smashed.

Hotel Sambar

Ingredients

Thoor Dhal – 1 cup
big Onion – 2 Nos
Sambar Vegetables – 1 cup
Tomato – 4 Nos Salt – 1tsp
Tamarind – small size lemon
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10 to 15 leaves
finely chopped coriander – 2tsp
Asfoetida (perungayam) – 1/2 tsp

To fry and grind

Red Chillies – 6 nos
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) -1 1/2 Table spoon
Chenna dhal – 1Table spoon
Methi Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Cumin’s seeds (jeera) – 1tsp
Curry leaves – 1 hand full

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Sambar procedure

-Pressure cook thoor dhal with little turmeric powder
- Cut the sambar vegetables in small pieces. Also chop onion and tomato longitudinally .
- Apply some oil in the kadai and fry the things to be grounded. Let it cool and make it into a fine powder.
-Again apply some oil in the kadai season the mustard seeds , broken urud dhal and onion. When the onion gets fried little add the Sambar vegetables. Saute it and then add the chopped tomato and the required amount of salt. Saute for few about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In the mean time strain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Add it to the seasoned vegetables
- Allow the mixture to boil till the raw smell vanishes and all the vegetables are well cooked
- Now add the well smashed thoor dhal and the prepared powder to the mixture. Mix it well and allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
- Add few curry leaves and chopped coriander.

A very tasty hotel sambar is ready to be served. It can be had with raw rice, idli, dosa etc.

.

Now I am going to tell you how to prepare different varieties of podi .

We can make these podi varieties and have it with rice. This preparation will stay for many days and it is very useful for bachelors.

1 cup = 150 gms

Parrupu podi

Ingredients

Channa Dhal – 1 cup

Thoor Dhal – 1 Cup

Red Chilies – 10 nos

Black pepper – 1 TSp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1tsp

Curry leaves – 10-15 leaves

Oil – 1 tsp

Procedure

-Dry fry Channa Dhal and thoor dhal till they are golden brown.

-Again Dry fry pepper. Once it starts spluttering just put the chilies and fry it for two minutes.

-Now wash the curry leaves and spread it on a dry cloth. Allow it to dry. Apply 1 tsp of oil in the pan and fry it untill it turns dark green in colour.

-Grind the dhal which you have fried along with pepper and asafoetida into a fine powder along with salt.

-Finally add the fried curry leaves.

This podi is very tasty when taken with hot rice with one spoon of ghee. This podi can be stored for at least a period of month, since we don’t add any oil to it , it will remain fresh for a longer period.

GARLIC POWDER

The procedure and ingredients is same as that of paruppu podi. The only addition we make is 10-15 flakes of garlic.

Fry the garlic in 1 tsp of oil in a pan untill it is golden brown and starts giving out aroma.

After making the paruppu podi finally add the garlic flakes and once again powder it.

KOLLU PODI OR HORSE GRAM POWDER

Kollu is an excellent cholesterol reducer. It brings down the LDL level in our blood. But many of us don’t include it in our day to day life. It can be consumed as sundal, rasam and podi. Let me tell you how to prepare kollu powder.

Ingredients

Kollu – 2 cups

Red Chilies – 10 nos – 15 nos

Black pepper – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1tsp

Curry leaves – 10-15 leaves

Oil – 1 tsp

Procedure

-Dry fry Kollu till the fried smell comes.

-Again Dry fry pepper and jeera. Once it starts spluttering just put the chilies and fry it for two minutes.

-Now wash the curry leaves and spread it on a dry cloth. Allow it to dry. Apply 1 tsp of oil in the pan and fry it untill it turns dark green in colour.

-Grind the dhal which you have fried along with pepper and asafoetida into a fine powder along with salt.

-Finally add the fried curry leaves.

COCONUT POWDER OR THENGAI PODI

This is another podi preparation done with coconut.

Ingredients

Grated coconut – 2 cup

Chenna Dhal – 1/2 cup

Urud dhal – 1/2 cup

Red Chilies – 15-20 ( Depending upon how hot you need the powder)

Dhaniya – 2 tsp

Tamarind – size of 1 small lemon

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt -1 tsp

Oil – for frying these ingredients

Procedure

-Apply 1 tsp of oil and fry the chilies so that all of them are oil polished evenly. Apply another spoon of oil and fry the tamarind for about 2 minutes.

- First fry dhaniya for about 30 seconds and then add Chenna dhal and Urud dhal to dhaniya and fry it un till they are golden brown. This is done done again with just one tsp of oil.

-Now in the same kadai you can fry the coconut without applying oil till it is golden brown.

- Allow all the ingredients to cool. First grind tamarind along with the chilies along with the salt. Once it is powdered then grind the fried dhal and make it into a little bit coarse powder. Finally add the coconut and grind it in such a consistency, that it is little bit coarse.

If the coconut is not sweet in nature then add a pinch of jaggery. This will enhance the taste of podi.

CURRY LEAF POWDER

Curry leaf powder or karuveppilai podi is a healthy substitute for those who lack iron.

Ingredients

Fresh cleaned dried curry leaves – 2 cups

Chenna Dhal – 1/2 cup

Urud dhal – 1/2 cup

Red Chilies – 10-15 ( Depending upon how hot you need the powder)

Tamarind – size of 1 goose berry

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt -3/4 tsp

Oil – for frying these ingredients

Procedure

-Apply 1 tsp of oil and fry the chilies so that all of them are oil polished evenly. Apply another spoon of oil and fry the tamarind for about 2 minutes.

- Fry Chenna dhal and Urud dhal untill it is golden brown with just one tsp of oil.

-Now in the same kadai you can fry the dried curry leaves by applying 1 tsp of oil until they are dark green in colour or the nice flavour of curry leaves comes out.

- Allow all the ingredients to cool. First grind tamarind and chilies along with the salt. Once it is powdered then grind the curry leaves along with asafoetida. Once it is powdered add the fried dhal and make it into a powder.

Since this is dry powder if the dhal is little bit coarse it will give a crunchy taste if it is grounded coarse.

Add a pinch of jaggery. This will enhance the taste of the powder.

The same procedure can be repeated for doing PUDHINA PODI.

The ingredients remain the same. Instead of using curry leaves use mint leaves.

I don’t know how many of us have heard about Thoodhuvalai. It is an excellent medicine for cough and cold. When taken for 1 mandalam i.e 48 days it completely cures allergic cough.

This Thoodhuvalai podi can be prepared in the same way as that of curry leaf powder.