Vazhakkai Podimass

Vazhakkai or Raw plantain is a good candidate for podimass curry and is one of the tamil specialities. Here is the recipe that my mom-in-law follows. Its very simple and retains the actual flavour of vazhakkai. Its our favourite.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Plantain/Vazhakkai: 3 Medium sized

Green Chillies: 5 nos.

Mustard seeds: 1tsp

Ginger (grated): 2tsp

Urad dal: 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric: a pinch

Hing: a few pinches

A sprig of curry leaves

Lemon juice and salt as per taste

Oil

METHOD:

Wash the vazhakkai and remove their tips. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and boil water. Cut the plantains into two (horizontal) and cook them in the pan by adding a little salt (you will be adding more salt later).

Once cooked, peel and grate the plantains, keep aside.

In a pan, heat a little oil, add mustard seeds and allow them to sputter. Add the turmeric, hing, urad dal, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Add the grated plantain, add salt and saute.

At the end add the lemon juice, mix well and serve with rice.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Vegetable Uthappam

Uthappam is one of the dosa varieties from south india thats ideal for a breakfast.

This is the best option when you have some idly batter leftover.

INGREDIENTS:

Idly Batter: 4 cups

Red Onion: 1 medium sized

Grated carrot: 1/2 cup (Optional)

Fresh/Frozen Peas: 1/2 cup (Optional)

Chopped tomatoes: 1/4 cup (Optional)

Chopped green chillies: 2 tblspn

Grated ginger: 2 tspn

Asafoetida (Hing): a few pinches

Chopped corriander leaves

Salt as per taste

Oil

METHOD:

Mix the batter adding onions, ginger, green chillies and salt.

Pour a ladle full of the batter onto a heated tava. Add oil and use a closed lid (since this is a thick one, closing lid will help in cooking of the insides). Once done, add the mixture of grated carrot, peas, tomatoes and corriander. Roast on both sides.

Serve with coconut or onion chutney.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Dosa and Idly batter

Here is the recipe for dosa and idly batter.

INGREDIENTS:

Boiled rice/Idly rice/Pulungarisi: 4 cups
Urad dal: 1 cup
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak the rice and dal seperately for about 6-8 hours. Grind them seperately into a smooth paste. Add salt and mix the two together well.

Allow to ferment overnight.

The same batter can be used for paper dosa, idlys and for uthappam.

However depending on your taste you can follow some variations for the dosa batter.

You can soak 1 1/2 tspn of methi seeds and add the same when grinding the batter.

If you like the dosas to be golden brown you can soak about 2 tblspn of channa dal and add the same when grinding the batter.

Note: Do not dilute the batter before fermentation. Also, do not forget to add the salt before fermentation :)

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Enne Kathrikka (Badnekai Ennegai)

Here comes the recipe for eNNe kathrikka (badnekai ennegai)

Preperation Time: 30-40 mins

INGREDIENTS:

Baby eggplants: 8-10 nos.

Corriander seeds (Dhania): 3 tblspn

Cumin seeds (Jeera): 1 1/2 tspn

Peanuts: 3 tspnSesame seeds: 3 tspn

Urad dal: 2 tspn

Channa dal: 2 tspn

Red chillies: 12-15 nos (as per taste)

Red onions: 2 medium sized

Tomato: 1 large

Grated coconut: 3/4 cup

Tamarind paste: 3/4 tspn (you can increase this if you want the dish to be more tangy)

Jaggery: 1 tspn (Optional)

Corriander leaves chopped: 1/4 cup

A sprig of curry leaves

Salt to taste

Oil

METHOD:

Dry roast the peanuts, dhania, jeera, sesame seeds, channa dal, urad dal and red chillies and keep aside.

Grind this roasted mixture along with coconut, jaggery, tamarind, onion, tomato and salt. Dont forget to add half the salt to the paste when grinding. Else there wont be salt in the stuffing later.

Wash and slit the brinjals into quarters without removing the stem. Stuff it with the above mixture and place it in a pan with generous amounts of oil. If you have additional ground paste, you can add it over the rest of the brinjals and cook with a closed lid.

Garnish with corriander and curry leaves and serve with any kind of roti.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Akki Rotti

Akki Rotti is a kannada delicacy. It takes about 30 mins to make these.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour: 4 cups

Poha/Avalakki/Aval (Soaked in water for about 15 mins): 1 Cup

Green Chillies: 7 nos.

Chopped Onion: 1 1/2 cup

Chopped Corriander: 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds (Jeera): 1 tsp (Optional)

Grated carrot: 1/2 cup (Optional)

Salt & Water: as required

Oil: 1 tblsp

METHOD:

Mix together all the ingredients. Add water and make dough with a consistency softer than the dough for chapathi. Use of poha makes the rotti soft on the inside but still crispy on the outside.

Pat them onto a greased tava or kadai and place on stove. Cook on medium flame, covered with a lid.

A variation in this is with cooked avarekaLu (mochai) and coconut instead of the onions and carrot.

I love to have these plain without any side dishes. However, the best side dish for these rottis is badnekai ennegai (enne kathrikka) a dish made with eggplants.

Will post the recipe for that soon.

Ciao till then...Have fun! Vidya.

PappaLi Kootu (Raw papaya in coconut gravy)

Called as the fruit of the angels, papaya is one of the fruits thats high in nutritional value and available throughout the year. Its a rich source of antioxidants, potassium, magnesium and fiber.

Several options and variations are possible with raw pappaya...Today I tried papaya kootu...one of my hubby's favourites...

Kootu is a South Indian delicacy which is vegetables in coconut gravy. Commonly, its made with either pumpkin, choyote squash (chow-chow/bengalur kathrikka), opo squash (Sorakka), zuccini or raw papaya and it takes about 20-30 mins to make this dish!

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Papaya: 1 Medium sized (Peeled, deseeded and diced)

Mustard: 1 tsp

Urad dal: 1 tsp

Curry Leaves: a stem

Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida (Hing): a pinch

Grated coconut: 1 cup

Cumin seeds (Jeera): 2 tsp

Dry red chillies: 3 nos.

Coconut oil: 1 tsp

Salt: as required

METHOD:

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Once they sputter add turmeric powder, hing, urad dal and curry leaves. Add the diced papaya pieces, salt and cook by covering with a lid.

Make sure that the papaya is not over cooked.

Grind together the coconut, jeera and the red chillies and add it to the cooked papaya.

Mix well for about a few minutes and the kootu is ready.

This serves as a great side dish with chapathis or with rice and rasam.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

Date and Nut Roll

Here is a sweet that doesnt use much of ghee or sugar!

So people who are health conscious would love this. Plus its so simple to make unlike many other sweets!

INGREDIENTS:

500 gms Dates pitted and chopped
200 gms unsalted almonds roughly chopped
200gms unsalted pistachios
1tsp poppy seeds1tbslp ghee/ butter

METHOD:

Heat a little ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and seperately roast the chopped almonds, pistachios and poppy seeds and keep them aside

Heat the remaining ghee and add the pitted and chopped dates and keep stirring under low flame until it melts. It will take about 10-15 mins

Add the roasted nuts and mix well

Cool the mixture slightly and then make chapathi-like layers out of it

Roll them into logs and roll them over the poppy seeds (to get an outer coverng of poppy seeds)

Refridgerate for about 45-60 mins

Cut them into slices and serve.

Hope you like it!

Ciao till next time...Have fun!! Vidya.

Vanakkam!

Hi all...

From quite some time I wanted to start a food blog. Though not a professional at this, I am passionate about cooking and trying new recipes.

All that I post here are those that come out well for me. Its just a compilation of all the recipes that I learn from various people.

So to start with, a sweet dish, my favourite, Gajar ka Halwa!! :)

Ingredients:

Fresh Shredded carrot - 2 cups

Milk - 1 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Ghee - 4 tablespoons
Khoa - 2 tablespoon

Cashews and raisins to garnish

Saffron (optional)

Method:

Roast the cashews and raisins with ghee and keep them aside.

In a pan, add 3 tblsp ghee and once it melts, add the carrot and saute for a few minutes till there is no raw smell of carrot.

Add milk and cover with a lid. Cook the carrot on a low-to-medium flame (for about 10 mins).

Once the carrot is well cooked add the sugar and saute.

When the sugar melts and the halwa starts leaving the sides, add the powdered cardamom, khoa, saffron dissolved in a little milk.

Garnish with the roasted cashews and raisins.

Khoa adds the flavour for this halwa. If it is not available, you can also use doodh peda! ;)

Ciao till next time! Have fun...Vidya!