Posts Tagged ‘Coriander’

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.

Ver kadalai sundal is not only nutritious, but it is also very filling and I am sure kids will relish it if done in a different manner.

INGREDIENTS

Ver Kadalai – 1 cup (200 gms)

Grated coconut – 1 table spoon

Oil – 1 table spoon

Green chillies – 3-4 nos (To taste)

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Fresh curry leaves – 10-15 nos

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp (perungayam / hing)

PROCEDURE

- Soak the kadalai for about 3 to 4 hours.

- Pressure cook adding enough salt and water .  As I already mentioned in kondaikadalai sundal for cooking any pulses and legumes it should be fully immersed in water.  Drain the excess water. Now the cooked groundnut is ready.

For Neivedyam purpose

- Add 1 table spoon of oil to the pan.  Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.  Add the green chillies and curry leaves and 1/2 tsp of  hing.

-Then add the cooked peanuts and season it for 5 minutes then add the freshly grated coconut.  Season it for 2 more minutes.

Neivedyam sundal is ready.

If the sundal has to be stored for more than 5 hours,  then  after the mustard seeds splutter,  add the coconut along with green chillies and curry leaves.  Season it for 2 to 3 minutes so that water in the coconut dries up , then add the cookded groundnut.

Mini Chat

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/4 cup finely chopped tomato

1 table spoon finely chopped coriander

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup cooked peanuts

1/2- 1  tsp chat masala (to taste)

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients,  garnish it with sliced onion, tomato, radish and cilantro leaves (should not be chopped finely) .  I am sure children will defenitely prefer this.  It is very nutritious mini snack without a drop of oil.

If your going to serve the same for navarathri purpose then just remove onion and chat masala.  Instead add 1/2 tsp red chilly powder.  Garnish it with slices of tomato , cucumber and  cilantro before serving.

Navarathri is fast approaching and I am sure every one will will offer different variety of sundal to Goddess Lalithadevi on all 9 days. To start with let me tell you how to make kondaikadalai sundal in different ways.

You can use both variety of Kondai kadalai – both white and black.

- Soak the chenna dhal over night or atleast for 8 hours.

- Pressure cook the soaked CHENNA adding the required amount of salt and water . Let two whistles come and simmer it for 5 minutes.

( Say for 1 cup (200 gms) of dhal , 1/2 heap of salt and the chenna should submerge in water) You can also add 1 pinch of turmeric powder to give an appealing color.

-After the pressure cooker releases, drain the excess water and allow it to cool.

- In a pan add 1 table spoon of oil . Add mustard , let it splutter add 4 split green chillies and a red chilly along with fresh curry leaves, and add 1/4 tsp of hing (perungayam) and then add the cooked chenna.

- Season for 5 minutes till the water in the chenna dries up and add 1 table spoon of freshly grated coconut. Season it for another 2 to 3 minutes.

This is the basic procedure for doing the kondaikadalai sundal.

We can also modify this a little bit. The first three steps remains the same. Those who don’t prefer to use much coconut do it this way.

-After draining water from chenna just add 2 tsp of oil to the pan. Add 2 red chillies, 2 green chillies, one teaspoon of grated ginger & add the chenna and season it for 5 minutes. Then add small pieces of coconut amount to 1 tsp. Season for 2 to 3 minutes. Let it cool down little, then add 1/2 tsp of lime juice and garnish it with coriander.

My last post was roti. So I thought of posting the all time favourite side dish “GOBI MANCHURIAN”

Ingredients

Gobi (cauliflower )  – 1 medium size

Maida (all purpose flour) – 3/4 cup

Corn flour – 1 tbl spoon

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Vinegar 1/2 tsp

Chopped green chillies – 1tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbl spoon

finely chopped onion and bell pepper – 1 cup

Ajinomoto – 1/4 tsp

Soya sauce – 2 tbl spoon

Tomato sauce – 2-3 tbl spoon

Oil- for deep frying gobi

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Procedure

-Cut Gobi into small petals .  soak it in salt water for 10 minutes.  Drain the water and half cook the gobi by adding a small amount of water and salt.

-Make a thick paste using maida, corn flour, salt, 1/2 tbl spoon ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp viniger, 1 tsp chilli powder.  Toss the gobi in the paste and deep fry.  Drain the oil and set aside.

- Now in a pan   apply 2 tbl spoon of oil.  Saute chopped onion, capsicum, ginger garlic paste for few minutes.  Once the onion becomes tender add 2-3 tbl spoon tomato sauce, 2 tbl spoon soya sauce and ajinomoto.

-Now add the fried gobi and saute it for few minutes till it becomes dry.  Garnish it with coriander  and spring onions.

If you are going to make it in large quantities,  keep the fried gobi  separate and the gravy portion separate.  Just saute it before serving.  This the preparation I do at home which gives the typical taste as that of hotel.

This is another variety of vada which involves three types of dhal.

Ingredients

Chenna Dhal}

Thoor Daal } together 1 cup

Urud dhal }

Take all the three dhals in equal quantities to make up 1 cup full ( appx 200 gms)

Red Chillies – 4 Nos

Green Chillies – 4 Nos

Salt – 3/4 tsp

Ginger -1/2 inch

Hing 1/2 tsp

The above mentioned ingredients are meant for grinding and preparing the batter.

Onion – 1/2 cup finely chopped

Curry leaves – 15-20

Croiander – 2 tsp finely chopped

Sonuf – 1/4 tsp (just crush it and add to the batter)

Procedure

-Soak the dhal for about 1 hour.

-Grind it into a coarse batter along with salt, chillies and ginger.

- Mix the finely chopped onion, curry leaves, chopped coriander and crushed sonuf and pinch of baking soda with the batter.

-Heat the oil in the kadai. Take a small ball of batter in your hands. Either you can flatten it in your hands or use a plantain leaf or polythene sheet, drop it into oil and fry till it is golden brown. Depending upon the quantity of the frying oio you can make upto 5-6 vada at a time

-Pierce a knife into one vada to see if it is cooked. If the batter sticks then it needs more cooking.

Serve it hot with chutney and sambar. Even the tomato ketchup is a good combination.

Along with finely chopped onion you can also add finely chopped cabbage and grated potato.

Medhu vada is one of the most favorite snacks every one likes. It is whole urud dhal preparation.

Ingredients

Urad Dhal – 1 cup (app 200 gms)
Red chillies – 4 nos
Green Chillies – 4 nos
Ginger – half an inch
Salt – 3/4 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp (Hing or perungayam)
Oil- for frying

Procedure

-Soak urad dhal in water for 1 hours.

-Grind the soaked urad dhal along with chillies, ginger and salt into a fine paste i.e. when you take the batter in your fingers you should not feel the grains (Add water to the batter little by little so that the batter doesn’t go watery). The batter should be thick. It should not flow freely from the spoon when you pour it down.

-You can either make plain vada just by adding curry leaves and finely chopped coriander to the batter or you can add the following vegetables.

Finely chopped onion, finely chopped cabbage, grated potato, leafy greens (keerai) such as arai keerai, mulai keerai, murungai keerai etc.

-To make the vada crisp you can add a pinch of baking soda just before making it or just mash a boiled potato to the batter and mix it well. By adding boiled potato the vada will remain crisp and puffy for a long time

-Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your hands in water. Take the batter of the size of a small ball in your palm or plantain leaf or a polythene sheet and pat it to form a circle. Dip your index finger in water and make a hole in the patted batter in the center.

-Fry the patted batter in oil till golden brown on both sides. Soft and puffy Vadas are ready to be served with any chutney. It tastes good with coconut chutney or pudina chutney.

-While taking the batter in hand dip your palm in water so that after patting the batter, you can drop it in the oil. If the batter is watery it will not freely drop into the oil. To check if the Vada is cooked fully wash the tip of a knife and pierce the vada. If no batter sticks on the knife then the vada is fully cooked or else it needs more cooking.

DHAGI VADA

The procedure to prepare the vadai remains the same. The only thing we have to do is soak the vada in the curd after deep frying it.

Instead of soaking the vada in the seasoned plain curd let us make the curd little bit spicy by making the following alterations.

Ingredients to grind and mix with the curd:- Green chillies – 2 Nos, Coconut – 1 tbl spoon, Ginger -1/4 inch, Finely chopped coriander - 2 tsp, Hing – 1/2 tsp, Salt – 1/2 tsp

Grind all the above mentioned ingredients and mix it with the curd. Season it with mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves.

or

Just add little bit of salt to the curd and mix it well. Soak the Vada and Garnish it with grated carrot, finely chopped coriander, finely chopped green chillies , karaboondhi and thin omapodi. If you prefer you can add 1 pinch of chat masala.

But remember one thing . The garnishing should be done only at the time of serving the curd vada. Otherwise the garnish will get soaked in dhagi and it will loose its fresh taste

SAMBAR VADA

The procedure to prepare the vadai remains the same.

Instead of soaking it in dhagi you have soak the vada in hot and spicy sambar. For this the sambar should not be very thick. Soak the vada atleat for half an hour before serving. Only then the sambar will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.

If it is soaked for a very long time there is a chance for the vadai to get dissolved in the sambar. Everthing will become together and will not be good to taste. So even if there is going to be a delay for serving the vada, remove it from the sambar and keep it aside and while serving it add the sambar, garnish it with finely chopped corinader andthen serve.

MYSORE BONDA

Ingredients

Urad Dhal – 1 cup (app 200 gms)

Green Chillies – 4 nos

Ginger – half an inch

Grated coconut – 1 Tbl spoon

Raw rice powder – 1 Tbl spoon

Salt – 3/4 tsp

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp (Hing or perungayam)

Oil- for frying

Procedure

-Soak urad dhal in water for 1 hours.

-Grind the soaked urad dhal into a fine paste along with salt( i.e. when you take the batter in your fingers you should not feel the grains (Add water to the batter little by little so that the batter doesn’t go watery). The batter should be thick. It should not flow freely from the spoon when you pour it down.

-Finely grate the chillies and ginger and add to the batter along with coconut and hing. Season it with 1/2 tsp of mustard.

-You can either make plain bonda just by adding curry leaves and finely chopped coriander to the batter or you can add the following finely chopped onion or carrot. Either you can grate to coconut or make into small pieces and add to the batter.

-Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your hands in water. Unlike vada you need not pat it to form a circle. You can drop it into the oil just in the form of a ball itself.

-Fry the batter in oil till golden brown. Soft and puffy Vadas are ready to be served with any chutney. It tastes good with coconut chutney and sambar.

-While taking the batter in hand dip your palm in water. If the batter is watery it will not freely drop into the oil. To check if the bonda is cooked as you did for vada fully wash the tip of a knife and pierce the vada. If no batter sticks on the knife then the bonda is fully cooked or else it needs more cooking.

As I already told rasam is one of the delicious south Indian soups. Here I have explained the preparation of rasam, and small tips to make it all the more tasty.

Ordinary Dhal Rasam

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lime size
Tomato – big one
Rasam Powder – 1 tsp ti 1 1/2 tsp ( depending upon the strength of the rasam powder)
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp

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 the rasam powder, turmeric powder and salt and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes

-Now 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 add it to rasam. Finally, after the whole procedure is over add asafoetida and immediately close it at least for 10minutes so that the flavour is not lost.

Tasty yummy rasam is ready.

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Lime Rasam

Ingredients

Tomato – 2 big one
Rasam Powder – 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies – 2 Nos
Ginger – a small piece about 1″
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp
Lime – 1 in nos

Procedure

-Finely chop the tomatoes. Slit the green chilies longitudinally and chop the ginger into small pieces.

-Mix the chopped tomatoes, ginger, chillies rasam powder, turmeric powder and salt in 1 1/2 cups of water and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes.

-Now 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.

-Remove the rasam form the fire and then add the juice of one lime and serve.

-Lime should be added only after removing rasam form the fire. Lime juice will turn soar when cooked.

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Pineapple Rasam

Pine Apple Rasam Variety
Pineapple rasam is the delicacy of SouthIndia.

The procedure is same as that of doing lime rasam.

The only difference is you have to reduce the quantity of lime juice to half and add a cup full of chopped pineapple. You can also extract the juice of the pineapple and add to it.

After rasam is done , garnish it with ripe pineapples.

Orange Rasam

The same procedure can be followed in preparing orange rasam .
Add orange juice instead of pineapple juice.

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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.

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.

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Pepper – Jeera Rasam

Already in my previous post I have explained to you about the preparation of pepper – jeera rasam powder. Always keep it handy.
This can be done with or with out tomatoes.

Ingredients

Tamarind – size of small lemon if you are using tomato
size of a big lime if tomato is not used.
Rasam Powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water

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 the rasam powder, salt and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes.

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

-Saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

For this rasam asafoetida & coriander are not required. Instead just crush few fresh curry leaves with a pinch of salt and garnish the rasam.

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Poricha Rasam

This rasam is done without tamarind. But it is very tasty.

Ingredients

poricharasam variety
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 – 2 Nos, Black pepper – 1/2 tsp, Asafoetida -1/4 tsp. Roast the above in a spoon of ghee or oil. Allow it to cool and grind the ingredients with 1 Tbl spoon of fresh coconut.

For Seasoning

Cumin’s seeds – 1/2 tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Fresh Curry leaves – 10-15 nos

Procedure

-Grind the tomato and boil it just for 2 to3 minutes by adding little water, so that its raw flavour will vanish.

-Fry the things given above and make it into a paste. Mix the paste with the boiling tomatoes.

- Let it forth. Switch of the stove. This rasam need not be boiled for a very long time like other rasams because all the ingredients are already cooked.

-Saute cumin’s seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

- Garnish the rasam with chopped coriander and finely chopped ripped tomatoes.

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Garlic Rasam

This rasam can be prepared in 2 ways

I METHOD

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lemon size
Red Chillies- 2 nos
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Dhania – 1 tsp
Thoor Dhal -1 tsp
Chenna Dhal – 1 tsp
Garlic – 6 flakes

Procedure

-Fry all the above ingredients except tamarind till they are golden brown. While frying add garlic only when the dhal is golden brown in colour colour. Since garlic has water content if you add it first itself, it will get cooked faster and the remaining things will not get fried.

-After adding garlic you should fry till nice aroma comes.

- Grind all these into a smooth paste by adding sufficient water.

-Strain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes after adding salt to it.

-Add the ground mixture to the boiling rasam and again allow it to boil for about 2 minutes.

-If the rasam is strong dilute it with water. Saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

METHOD II

Garlic Rasam Variety
Prepare pepper – jeera rasam as I have explained above.

Saute mustard in ghee & add 10 flakes of garlic, roast it well and add it to rasam. Close the vessel.

As the garlic gets soaked in the rasam, it will give a rich flavour and taste.

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Gottu Rasam or Bachelor’s rasam

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lime size
Tomato – big one
Rasam Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Raw Thoor Dhal – 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp

For Seasoning

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

Procedure

- Cut tomato into small pieces. You don’t need cooked thoor dhal for this rasam.

-Add tamarind, tomato pieces rasam powder, turmeric powder, raw thoor dhal and salt and allow it to boil till the thoor dhal is cooked ( Killu padam i.e you must be able to break the cooked dhal in a single pinch).

- Add water and dilute the rasam to the required quantity.

-Add coriander leaves,saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves add it to rasam. Finally after the whole procedure is over add asafoetida and immediately close it atleast for 10minutes so that the flavour is not lost.

This is very simple but delicious rasam.
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Butter Milk Rasam

You can call it as emergency rasam. Can be done in two methods.

Method I

Ingredients

Butter Milk -2 cups
Red chillies – 4
Thoor Dhal – 1 tsp
ChennaDhal – 1 tsp
Dhaniya- 1 tsp
Methi seeds -1/4 tsp
Coconut -2 tsp
Trumeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/4 spoon

Procedure

- Fry Red chillies ,Thoor Dhal ,ChennaDhal ,Dhaniya and Methi seeds till the dhal is golden brown in colour

-Allow it to cool and make it into a fine paste by adding coconut and asafoetida.

- Mix it with the butter milk and add required amount of salt.

-Saute mustard along with curry leaves and 1 pinch of turmeric powder in 1 tsp of coconut oil (preferable) and add it to rasam. Garnish it with coriander leaves

Method II

Keep 2 cups of butter milk ready.

Add 2 tsp of coconut or cooking oil to the pan. Pre heat the oil.
Add mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering, add 2 tsp rasam powder, 1 pinch methi powder, 1 pinch turmeric powder, 1/4 asafoetida and finally curry leaves and add it to butter milk.
Garnish it with chopped coriander and 1 tsp of freshly grated coconut.

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As I already told rasam is one of the delicious south Indian soups. Here I have explained the preparation of rasam, and small tips to make it all the more tasty.

Ordinary Dhal Rasam

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lime size
Tomato – big one
Rasam Powder – 1 tsp ti 1 1/2 tsp ( depending upon the strength of the rasam powder)
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp

For Seasoning

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

Procedure
-Stain 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 colour of the rasam.

-Add the rasam powder, turmeric powder and salt and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes

-Now 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 add it to rasam. Finally, after the whole procedure is over add asafoetida and immediately close it at least for 10minutes so that the flavour is not lost.

Tasty yummy rasam is ready.

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Lime Rasam

Ingredients

Tomato – 2 big one
Rasam Powder – 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies – 2 Nos
Ginger – a small piece about 1″
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp
Lime – 1 in nos

Procedure

-Finely chop the tomatoes. Slit the green chilies longitudinally and chop the ginger into small pieces.

-Mix the chopped tomatoes, ginger, chillies rasam powder, turmeric powder and salt in 1 1/2 cups of water and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes.

-Now 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.

-Remove the rasam form the fire and then add the juice of one lime and serve.

-Lime should be added only after removing rasam form the fire. Lime juice will turn soar when cooked.
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Pineapple Rasam

Pineapple rasam is the delicasy of SouthIndia.

The procedure is same as that of doing lime rasam.

The only difference is you have to reduce the quantity of lime juice to half and add a cup full of chopped pineapple. You can also extract the juice of the pineapple and add to it.

After rasam is done , garnish it with ripe pineapples.

Orange Rasam

The same procedure can be followed in preparing orange rasam .
Add orange juice instead of pineapple juice.

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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.

For Seasoning

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

Procedure
Stain 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 colour 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 begining 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.
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Pepper – Jeera Rasam

Already in y previous post I have explained to you about the preparation of pepper – jeera rasam powder. Always keep it handy.
This can be done with or with out tomatoes.

Ingredients
Tamarind – size of small lemon if you are using tomato
size of a big lime if tomato is not used.
Rasam Powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Cooked Thoor Dhal – 1 Tbs with its water

Procedure
Stain 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 the rasam powder, salt and allow it to boil for about 5 to seven minutes till the raw smell of the rasam powder vanishes.

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

-Saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

For this rasam asafoetida &
coriander are not required. Instead just crush few fresh curry leaves with a pinch of salt and garnish the rasam.
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Poricha Rasam

This rasam is done without tamarind. But it is very tasty.

Ingredients

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 – 2 Nos, Black pepper – 1/2 tsp, Asafoetida -1/4 tsp. Roast the above in a spoon of ghee or oil. Allow it to cool and grind the ingredients with 1 Tbl spoon of fresh coconut.

For Seasoning

Cumin’s seeds – 1/2 tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Fresh Curry leaves – 10-15 nos

Procedure

-Grind the tomato and boil it just for 2 to3 minutes by adding little water, so that its raw flavour will vanish.

-Fry the things given above and make it into a paste. Mix the paste with the boiling tomatoes.

- Let it forth. Switch of the stove. This rasam need not be boiled for a very long time like other rasams because all the ingredients are already cooked.

-Saute cumin’s seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

- Garnish the rasam with chopped coriander and finely chopped ripped tomatoes.
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Garlic Rasam

This rasam can be prepared in 2 ways

I METHOD

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lemon size
Red Chillies- 2 nos
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Dhania – 1 tsp
Thoor Dhal -1 tsp
Chenna Dhal – 1 tsp
Garlic – 6 flakes

Procedure

-Fry all the above ingredients except tamarind till they are golden brown. While frying add garlic only when the dhal is golden brown in colour colour. Since garlic has water content if you add it first itself, it will get cooked faster and the remaining things will not get fried.

-After adding garlic you should fry till nice aroma comes.

- Grind all these into a smooth paste by adding sufficient water.

-Stain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes after adding salt to it.

-Add the ground mixture to the boiling rasam and again allow it to boil for about 2 minutes.

-If the rasam is strong dilute it with water. Saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves and add it to rasam.

METHOD II

Prepare pepper – jeera rasam as I have explained above.

Saute mustard in ghee & add 10 flakes of garlic, roast it well and add it to rasam. Close the vessel.

As the garlic gets soaked in the rasam, it will give a rich flavour and taste.
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Gottu Rasam or Bachelor’s rasam

Ingredients

Tamarind – small lime size
Tomato – big one
Rasam Powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Raw Thoor Dhal – 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder -1/2 tsp

For Seasoning

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

Procedure
- Cut tomato into small pieces. You don’t need cooked thoor dhal for this rasam.

-Add tamarind, tomato pieces rasam powder, turmeric powder, raw thoor dhal and salt and allow it to boil till the thoor dhal is cooked ( Killu padam i.e you must be able to break the cooked dhal in a single pinch).

- Add water and dilute the rasam to the required quantity.

-Add coriander leaves,saute mustard seeds in ghee along with fresh curry leaves add it to rasam. Finally after the whole procedure is over add asafoetida and immediately close it atleast for 10minutes so that the flavour is not lost.

This is very simple but delicious rasam.
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Butter Milk Rasam

You can call it as emergency rasam. Can be done in two methods.

Method I

Ingredients

Butter Milk -2 cups
Red chillies – 4
Thoor Dhal – 1 tsp
ChennaDhal – 1 tsp
Dhaniya- 1 tsp
Methi seeds -1/4 tsp
Coconut -2 tsp
Trumeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/4 spoon

Procedure

- Fry Red chillies ,Thoor Dhal ,ChennaDhal ,Dhaniya and Methi seeds till the dhal is golden brown in colour

-Allow it to cool and make it into a fine paste by adding coconut and asafoetida.

- Mix it with the butter milk and add required amount of salt.

-Saute mustard along with curry leaves and 1 pinch of turmeric powder in 1 tsp of coconut oil (preferable) and add it to rasam. Garnish it with coriander leaves

Method II

Keep 2 cups of butter milk ready.

Add 2 tsp of coconut or cooking oil to the pan. Pre heat the oil.
Add mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering, add 2 tsp rasam powder, 1 pinch methi powder, 1 pinch turmeric powder, 1/4 asafoetida and finally curry leaves and add it to butter milk.
Garnish it with chopped coriander and 1 tsp of freshly grated coconut.
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South Indian recipes are rich in taste and nutrition . There are umpteen varieties of breakfast. Begin the day by making a nice and tasty breakfast, make all the family members happy , then the whole day is going to be yours.

Rava Kichidi or Uppuma
A very simple but delicious breakfast. Can be made healthier and wholesome by adding vegetables. It is advisable to take at least 4 to 5 servings of vegetables in a day. So try to include veggies in almost all your preparation.

Ingredients

Roasted rava – 1 cup (dry roast till it is light golden brown in colour)
(it can even be roasted in ghee
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (carrot, onion , peas, capsicum, curry beans, potato, tomato cut into small pieces uniformly)
finely chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Chopped coriander – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 4 in nos (either cut longitudinally or into small pieces)

For seasoning

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

Procedure

- Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown.

- Now add the curry leaves and cut vegetables and fry for about 5 minutes. In the mean time boil 2 cups of water .

- Add the roasted rava to the vegetables and again fry the mix for about 2 minutes also add the required amount of salt.

- Now pour the boiling water into the kadai and uniformly so there are no rava lumps. Close the kadai with a lid and let it get cooked for about 10 minutes. Finally garnish it with coriander.

The best side dish for rava kichidi is coconut chutney, mangai thokku
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ARISI UPPUMA

One of the favourite morning breakfast of South India is Arisi Uppuma

Ingredients

• Rice – 1 cup
• Toor Dhall – 3 tsp
• Pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seed
• Regular Oil – 2 tsp
• Coconut oil – 2 tsp (Optional . You can increase the quantity of regular oil)
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urud dhall – 1/2 tsp
• Channa dhall – 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Red chillies -4
• Fresh coconut – 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves – 10- 15 leaves finely chopped

- Wash the rice thoroughly and stain the water dry it by spreading it in a cloth.

- Grind the dried rice , thoor dhal, pepper and cumin seeds coarsely.

- Take a wide pan and preheat the oil. Add mustard seeds , once it splutters add urud dhal, chenna dhal and red chillies and fry till golden brown.

- Add 2 ½ cup of water to the pan. Bring it to boil. Now add coconut, curry leaves
and the required salt allow it to boil for ½ a minute and add asafoetida.

- Now add the rice powder and mix it thoroughly with out any lumps. Close the
pan with the lid and allow it to cook until the rice and the dhal cooks. It will
approximately take around 10 to 15 minutes to cool.

You can also pressure cook this uppuma. Reduce the quantity of oil to 2 tsp. After mixing with the rice powder transfer the same to pressure cooker. Allow the cooker to be on high fire til 2 whistles come. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Release it and serve it with green chutney or coconut chutney or kathirikai gotsu
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Semiya Uppuma

Ingredients

Roasted Semiya – 1 cup (dry roast till it is light golden brown in colour)
(it can even be roasted in ghee
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (carrot, onion , peas, capsicum, curry beans, potato, tomato cut into small pieces uniformly)
finely chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Chopped coriander – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 4 in nos (either cut longitudinally or into small pieces)

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
cumins seeds- 1/2 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Procedure

- Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown.

- Now add the curry leaves and cut vegetables and fry for about 5 minutes. In the mean time boil 1 1/2 cups of water .

- Add the roasted semiya to the vegetables and again fry the mix for about 2 minutes also add the required amount of salt.

- Now pour the boiling water into the kadai and mix uniformly. Close the kadai with a lid and let it get cooked for about 10 minutes. Finally garnish it with coriander.

The best side dish for semiya kichidi is coconut chutney, mangai thokku, tomato ketchup.
The picture given is with mangai thokku.

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AVAL UPPUMA

Ingredients

Aval or rice flakes – 1 cup
grated coconut – 1/2 cup
red chillies – 2 nos
green chillies- 2 nos

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon
curry leaves – 10 to 15 nos
asafoetida – 1/ tsp
trumeirc powder – 1/4 tsp

Procedure

-Wash the aval in water and drain it thoroughly. If it is thin variety then it is enough if you wash it. But if it belongs to thick variety (getti aval) then soak with a ladle of wat
er for1/2 an hour.

-Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds . After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown along with the chillies and curry leaves.

-Now mix the soaked aval . Just season it for 2 minutes by adding the grated coconut. I you cook it for a longer period then the aval will get smashed. Granish it with coriander.

If you like to add onion to it, then fry the onion before adding aval to it. You can also add roasted cashews. It is very simple and nutritious.

PULI AVAL

Ingredients

Aval or rice flakes – 1 cup
tamarind – lemon size
red chillies – 4 nos
green chillies- 2 nos
methi powder – 1/4 tsp

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon
curry leaves – 10 to 15 nos
asafoetida – 1/ tsp
trumeirc powder – 1/4 tsp

Procedure

-Wash the aval in water and drain it thoroughly. Try to make it with (getti aval). Soak the aval for about 20 minutes in a in little bit thick tamarind extract. Also add salt

-Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds . After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown along with the chillies, methi powder and curry leaves.

-Now mix the soaked aval . Just season it till the raw smell of the tamarind vanishes. Granish it with coriander.

This will have the taste of puliyodharai. If you like peanuts then add it while seasoning the other dhals. While adding cashews, fry them in ghee and add atlast. Peanuts will stay crisp for a longer period than cashews. Avoid adding fried cashews during cooing for any dish for that matter.
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Adai is one of the favourite south Indian recipes which is rich in carbohydrate and proteins. It can also be made more nutritious by adding vegetables.

Adai -Procedure
Ingredients

Boiled rice - 1 cup
Chenna Dhal – 1/2 cup
Thoor Dhal – 1/4 cup
Urud dhal – 1/4 cup
Red chillies – 16 Nos (green chillies can also be used)
Salt – 2 tsp
Asofoetida – 1/2 tsp
Coconut, ginger – 1 cup, 1 inch long ( optional)
Curry leaves
Procedure

- Soak the boiled rice for 3 hours and the all the dhal for 2 hour separately.
- Drain the water and grind the dhal coarsely. Also grind the rice not into a very smooth batter but little bit coarse along with chillies , asafoetida, coconut and ginger. Only then you will get a very crispy adai.

- Heat a tava(griddle) and grease it generously. Now, pour one ladleful of batter on the tava(griddle) and roast both sides till it becomes golden in color.

In general many people like to add finely chopped onion and coriander to the batter. This makes the adai more tasty.

It is better to add ginger because adai preparation involves more usage of dhal.

if you are a vegetable lover then you can even add finely chopped cabbage, grated potatoes, murungai keerai (drumstick leaves) to the batter.

PARANGI ADAI

I devote this preparation to my grandmother from whom I learnt .

All you have to do is prepare the adai batter. Finely chop the Illam parangikai (yellow pumpkin) . Mix with the batter and make the adai dosa. It is will be very tasty.

Adai can be served with pure coconut chutney , tomato ketchup, jaggery and butter ( butter must be fresh) or any pickle like Mangai thokku or tomato thokku. But of all the best combination for adai is aviyal ( made from mixed vegetables ).

Command your kitchen by providing variety but healthy food to your family.