Rasam powder

The secret behind a delicious rasam is a good home made rasam powder.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Dhaniya
1/4 cup Toor dal
1Tbsp channa dal
25 grams black pepper
25 grams jeera
1  dry haldi(virali manjal)
1/2 cup Red chillies
A handful of curry leaves(kadi patha).

Dry these in the sun for a two days.
Or else dry roast each ingredient separately till you get a  nice fried  aroma .
Kadi patha should crumble when touched.
Cool and grind  coarsely in mixie.
Store in an air tight bottle.

PS:  I have given these measures for 15 days use so that the powder remains fresh.

Tomato and paruppu rasam

Rasam is an integral  part of  the south Indian cuisine. No lunch is complete without the flavorful rasam. There are various types of rasam, and each has a unique flavor and taste of it's own.

I give below the recipe for a typical Tam Brahm Rasam. We Iyengars call it Sattamudhu.

Ingredients:
1 cup of tamarind water squeezed out of a marble sized ball.
1 tsp rock salt.
(I steep  the tamarind and salt  in water and microwave it  for 2 minutes so that  I get the full extract. The salt also helps.)
1/2 cup Toor dal, cooked and mashed nicely.
1 medium sized tomato, washed and diced to small pieces
3 tsps of Rasam powder.
1/2 inch ginger, skin scraped and grated.
1 pinch hing
A handful of fresh kadi patha (kauveppilai)

For Garnishing
 2 tsp ghee
1/2tsp mustard seeds(kadugu)
A sprinkle of hing powder.
A sprig of kadi patha
A handful of fresh coriander leaves, cut into small pieces.


1) In a vessel add the tamarind extract, tomato pieces (keep aside 1/4th of the pieces),ginger,  hing, rasam powder and kadi patha and let it boil till the tomatoes are soft and can be mashed.
2) Once the raw smell of the tamarind goes, add the mashed toor dal, and the balance tomato pieces.
3) At this stage, the Rasam should not boil too much. Swith off as soon as it starts to foam.
4) Heat the ghee, add the mustard, as soon as it starts spluttering , switch off, add the hing powder and kadi patha.
5) Add this to the rasam. Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve with hot rice and ghee.

KEERAI KOOTU

This is a favourite  dish in our house.
 It goes well with hot rice mixed with ghee, and roasted pappad.
This can be served as a  side dish for rasam rice  and also goes well with rotis/phulkas.

What goes into this dish:
For the Kootu
1 bunch Mulai keerai(known as Amaranth, Chaulai in Hindi,  and thottakura in Telugu)

Wash to remove sand particles and cut  the greens .

3 Tbsp moong dal
2 Tbsp Coconut grated
3 Red chillies
1/2 tspn jeera

To garnish
2 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp channa dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp jeera


1) Wash the moong dal and add the washed and cut greens in a vessel.
2) Add 1/4 cup water. (place the dal first and top with the greens).
3) Place in cooker cover and cook. Switch off after 3 whistles.
4) Meanwhile grind the coconut, red chillies and jeera to a smooth paste.
5) Open the cooker, and mix the dal and greens well.
6) Add the ground coconut paste and salt and cook for 5 minutes.
7) If the kootu is too thick, add a little water.
8) Check for salt and adjust.

Garnish
Heat the ghee  and add channa dal, urad dal and switch off as soon as the dals are light brown in color. Add jeera while the ghee is still hot.

Serve with hot  rice , ghee and pappad.

Jeera Rice with Paneer Butter Masala

Jeera Rice


This is a simple and flavorful rice, and can be made very easily  and quickly.
 Good lunch box choice. Goes very well with simple dal fry, or Dal Makhni. Today I made this with Paneer Butter Masala as side dish.

Ingredients.
1 cup  Basmati or long grained rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes and drained
1 Tej patta
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp jeera
2 green chillies,

Heat a pan, and add the butter, add the Tej patta and jeera seeds. once the seeds splutter, add the drained rice and fry till the rice is fried .
Add 2 cups water and salt to taste.
close the lid and leave for two whistles and switch off. once the pressure is down open and fluff the rice and serve hot with Paneer Butter Masala.

Paneer Butter Masala:-

Ingredients:
250 gms  fresh Paneer cut into cubes
2 medium size onions
3 Garlic pods
2 inches ginger
2 large or3 medium sized tomatoes
10 cashews
1/2 tsp khuskhus
2 green chillies
1 Tej patta
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
2tsp coriander powder
2 tsp kasuri methi
100 gms Butter
1/2 cup fresh milk
Salt to taste.

Grind  separately into a smooth paste.
1)Onion, garlic and ginger
2)cashews and khus khus
3)tomatoes.

Heat half the butter in a kadai.
Add the cubed paneer pieces and fry till they turn golden. remove them.
 Now add  the tej patta and onion garlic paste and fry for 5 minutes till a nice aroma comes. The paste will look  slightly golden brown.
slit the green chillies and add it to the past.
Add the chilly powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and kasuri methi
 and fry for a minute. Add the cashew paste and saute for 2 minutes.
check and add a little more butter if required
Now add the tomato paste and keep frying.
The butter will start to separate from the paste.
Pour the milk and  water if required to the paste for the right consistency.
Now add the paneer cubes and mix thoroughly.
Let it simmer for 12 minutes
Switch off and transfr toa serving dish.
Garnish with the rest of the butter and serve hot with  rotis or  pulao/ jeera Rice.

Podi potta Kovakkai

People generally don't like  kovakkai, aka Tindora, aka Ivy gourd.

 But this is a very fibrous vegetable , good for Diabetes and available all over India.

 I also understand that  it is available in  most Indian stores in the US.

 Since it was not a favourite in our household, one day I decided to make it differently and it was an instant hit .

Ingredients:

Kovakkai ---1/2 kg   washed and cut in round slices or in thin strips vertically

(Please remove those which are red inside as these may upset the stomach)

Oil --- 2 TBSP

Mustard seeds ---1/2 tsp

Channa dal 1/2 tsp

Urad dal 1/2 tsp

Hing powder--- a pinch

Turmeric powder---1/4 tsp.

For Podi:

Channa Dal --- 1 Tbsp

Dhania seeds --1 Tbsp

Red Chillies--- 5-6

Roast all the ingredients for Podi  one by one in a dry  pan, to golden brown color.

Cool and grind into  powder and keep aside. ( Since it is dry roasted, you can  double the portions and store it for future use)

 We at home prefer it to be coarse so that we can taste the channa dal.

In a pan add oil, let the mustards crackle, add channa and urad dal, hing and turmeric powder one by one.

Add the sliced Kovakkais,and  salt , mix well and  cook in low flame.

Stir the vegetable every 10 minutes.

Cooking Kovakkai takes time and you need to be patient.

 Fry till is almost done.

 Now add the roasted powder and  mix well.

Cook for a few minutes till the  powder coats all the slices and  switch off.

 PS. I do not add the powder in the beginning itself as it will burn and  taste bitter .

B for Bhindi.

Bharwa Bhindi

Today I will share the recipe for Bharwa Bhindi.
This is a very tasty  dish  and can be eaten as a  side dish for rotis, naans, and even south Indian vatha kuzhambu sadam.

I am happy to dedicate this dish to my eldest sister, Nirmala who made this for me first.

Ingredients.

One kilo fresh tender bhindi. washed and dried completely

1 tablespoon oil

Mix together for stuffing:-
One tablespoon Aamchur.
2 teaspoons dhaniya powder
3 teaspoons Mirchi powder
3 teaspoons Garam Masala
2 teaspoons Turmeric powder
2 teaspoons Salt

Slit the bhindis at both the ends for easy stuffing

Stuff the powder inside the bhindi

Ready for cooking

Grease a microwave bowl, add the stuffed bhindi, and drizzle oil on top. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, slightly turn over and microwave again for another 2 minutes. Repeat until bhindis are fried.

Serve hot with rotis, naans or steamed rice. 

A for Adai

Navadhanyam Adai

My son came home one evening, hungry enough to eat a whole horse and wanted a tasty tiffin. I thought hard and decided to make something special......  Navadhanyam Adai.

I had a cup of sprouted lobhia, wheat, moong, methi, horse gram, and black urad dal.

Along with this I soaked a quarter cup of toor dal and channa dal, half cup of idli rice and raw rice for half an hour

Once it was ready, I ground it along with 8 chillies, curry leaves and coriander stems and leaves. 

Spread the batter on a heated tawa, add oil and sprinkle a  few coriander leaves on it.

Once the adai is crisp on side, turn it on the other side.

For instant tomato onion chutney:

 Grind one big tomato, one medium size onion, two red chillies to paste. In a heated pan, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves, add the paste and salt.

Let it cook till the raw smell goes, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot adai.

Hot piping adai with instant tomato and onion chutney.