Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Okra stir fry with peanuts | Vendakkai Verkadalai Poriyal

Okra fry with peanuts, an easy to make delicious stir fry that goes well as accompaniment for any Indian meal.  

Usually i prepare this simple vendakkai fry along with sambar for our lunch.But during our last month blogging marathon, i got this wonderful idea of adding peanuts into okra from fellow bloggers.By reading that recipe itself, i knew i'm gonna make this soon. 

Adding peanuts into this poriyal give nice crunchiness and totally elevates the taste of the okra poriyal. Don't underestimate the taste of this poriyal by looking at how simple the ingredients and the preparation are! This is one of the recipe where less is more and tastes awesome !

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious crunchy okra stir fry ! 







Okra fry with peanuts

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Okra Stir Fry, Crunchy Okra Stir Fry,Okra stir fry with peanuts,Vendakkai Verkadalai Poriyal Okra fry with peanuts, an easy to make delicious stir fry that goes well as accompaniment for any Indian meal.
Ingredients
Okra/ Vendakkai - 12
Onion(small) - 1/2
Roasted Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp(optional)
Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
To Temper
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Procedure
First chop the onions & okra into small pieces and heat the pan with oil and add mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, then add the onions and saute till it becomes brown & then add the  chopped okra.
Next add the spices(turmeric,red chili powder & sambar powder) & salt and saute till okra is cooked well. Then crush the roasted  peanuts roughly in the hand motor & pestle and add into okra along with coconut(if you're using). Give a good mix and switch off the flame.
That's it, Tasty Crunchy Okra stir fry is ready.

Related: How to make Vendakkai Thayir Pachadi / Okra Raita

Notes:
  • Add more or less of peanuts & coconut as per your liking.
  • Instead of sambar powder, you can also use garam masala powder for different flavor. 
  • You can also powder the peanut and use it in this recipe.
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Monday, January 30, 2017

Mushroom Capsicum Masala | Mushroom Masala

Mushroom Capsicum Masala, a delicious curry made from the basic onion tomato masala with mushrooms and capsicums.It tastes good with all type of indian flat breads like roti, chapathi,naan and so on. As i had promised earlier in my previous post, here is the recipe for  the mushroom capsicum curry using basic onion tomato masala. Mushroom and capsicum are match made in food heaven, they taste so good together and also it's such a easy recipe to make with readily available ingredients in your pantry.Now let's check out on how to make this yummy curry. 


Mushroom Capsicum Masala

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mushroom Capsicum masala, mushroom capsicum curry, mushroom capsicum gravy,Mushroom Curry,Mushroom Gravy,Mushroom Masala,Mushroom Bellpepper Masala,Mushroom Bellpepper Curry,Mushroom Capsicum Curry for Chapathi,Mushroom Capsicum Curry for roti, Mushroom Capsicum Masala, a delicious curry made from onion tomato masala with mushrooms and capsicums.It tastes good with all type of indian flat breads like roti, chapathi,naan and so on.
Ingredients
Mushroom(diced) - 1 cup
Capsicum(diced) - 1/2 cup 
Onion(large) - 1
Tomato(medium) - 2
Garlic - 5 pods
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp
Cashew - 5
Oil - 2 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 2 
Cardamom - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste 

Procedure
First peel the onions,garlic & ginger and chop them along with tomato roughly into pieces. Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil, add the cumin & fennel seed let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the onions, ginger & garlic along with 1/4 tsp of  salt and saute till the onions become translucent.Then add the cashews and tomato and saute till the tomato becomes mushy.Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.Put the onion & tomato masala into mixie/blender jar and grind them into smooth paste. Heat the pan with remaining oil and add the whole spices(cinnamon, cloves and cardamom),let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the masala paste and spice powder(turmeric, red chili & coriander powder) and salt.If needed add some water and cover the pan with lid and cook for 8-10 mins in medium flame. By the time, the raw smell of the masala is gone,open the lid and keep in low flame until the oil separates on the top. Finally add the garam masala & mix well and switch off the flame.That's Onion Tomato masala is ready. You can use it immediately or store in refrigerator and use whenever you needed.In the another pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil, add the mushroom & capsicum along with little salt and saute until the mushroom is cooked & the capsicum becomes soft.Then add the sauteed veggies into masala, give a good mix and finally garnish with some coriander leaves.Tasty & colorful Mushroom Capsicum masala is ready.
Notes:
  • Adding cashews give creaminess & richness to the gravy.
  • Here i used red & green capsicum.
  • If the tomato has more tart taste, add 1/2 tsp of sugar to balance the gravy.
  • To make the gravy even more richer, add 2 tbsp of cream at the end.
  • The color of gravy depends on red chili powder and the tomato, so to get bright red color, always use well ripe tomato & good quality red chili powder.
  • Add more or less water to the gravy as per your consistency  liking.
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Friday, January 27, 2017

Basic Onion Tomato Masala | Base Masala for Indian Curries

Onion Tomato Masala, is the base gravy for many indian dishes,you can make paneer butter masala, mushroom masala ,aloo curry & many more with this one base gravy. When we were in bangalore, i had a chance to sneak peek into the kitchen of the restaurant where we usually brought the north indian curries. They had the large vessel of some gravy, so depends on the order, they sauted the veggies and add the already prepared gravy & some spices. That's it ,pipping hot gravy is ready to serve. And even you can see the same procedure in any road side food stalls in India. 

This gravy idea is totally inspired from those restaurants & stalls. After so many trials, i'm able to achieve what i'm looking for.This gravy is so versatile, just play around with the spices as per your liking. You can prepared this gravy ahead and store in refrigerator for weeks, when you need some gravy,reheat the gravy & saute the veggies or panner and add into gravy. Stay tuned,will share soon, how i prepared mushroom masala with this gravy.

Onion Tomato Masala

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Onion(large) - 1
Tomato(medium) - 2
Garlic - 5 pods
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp
Cashew - 5
Oil - 2 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 2 
Cardamom - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste 

Procedure
First peel the onions,garlic & ginger and chop them along with tomato roughly into pieces. Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil, add the cumin & fennel seed let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the onions, ginger & garlic along with 1/4 tsp of  salt and saute till the onions become translucent.Then add the cashews and tomato and saute till the tomato becomes mushy.Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.Put the onion & tomato masala into mixie/blender jar and grind them into smooth paste. Heat the pan with remaining oil and add the whole spices(cinnamon, cloves and cardamom),let it fry in oil for 30 secs.Then add the masala paste and spice powder(turmeric, red chili & coriander powder) and salt.If needed add some water and cover the pan with lid and cook for 8-10 mins in medium flame. By the time, the raw smell of the masala is gone,open the lid and keep in low flame until the oil separates on the top. Finally add the garam masala & mix well and switch off the flame.That's it, Basic Onion Tomato masala for indian curry is ready.
Notes:
  • Adding cashews give creaminess & richness to the gravy.
  • If the tomato has more tart taste, add 1/2 tsp of sugar to balance the gravy.
  • To make the gravy even more richer, add 2 tbsp of cream at the end.
  • The color of gravy depends on red chili powder and the tomato, so to get bright red color, always use well ripe tomato & good quality red chili powder.


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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Coconut Rice | Thengai Satham | Variety Rice

Coconut rice, an another simple yet flavorful rice that you can be prepared in a jiffy. Though i prepare this rice atleast once in a week, few weeks back only i had noticed that i didn't post this recipe in my blog ,so on the next day itself i prepared this rice, clicked & saved this post to post on this month BM. As i said in previous post, lot of variety rice are prepared during Kannum pongal festival and this rice is one among them and it's my favorite rice among all the variety rice.For this rice, always use freshly grated coconut to increase the self life of this rice,though frozen coconut works, you have to finish it within few hours after making,if you keep it for longer hours especially when you live in hot places of the world, you get that spoiled smell from the coconut within few hours if you use frozen coconut.  

Coconut Rice

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Cooked Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup(heaped)
Pearl onion - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Green chili - 2
Curry leaves - few
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Peanut - 11/2 tsp

Procedure
First peal the pearl onions  & ginger & chop them into small pieces.Slit the green chilies and keep it ready.Heat the pan with coconut oil,add the mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, then add the chana dal & peanuts & saute it becomes golden brown.Then add the onions & green chilies, saute till the onions becomes translucent. Then add the coconut and saute till the coconut starts to change its color.Now add the cooked rice and salt and switch off the flame. Gently mix the rice well with coconut masala without breaking the rice grains.Tasty & flavorful Coconut Rice is ready.

Notes:
  • Add cashews along with peanuts for extra richness.
  • Coconut oil & ginger gives great flavor to this rich, so dont skip that.
  • You can make this rice with leftover cooked rice also.
  • For Vrat days, you can skip onions.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Ellu Satham | Sesame Rice | Sesame Seed Rice

The fourth & last day of pongal is celebrated as "Kaanum Pongal".Kaanum means "Visit",on this day, people used to visit relatives house or any nearby tourist place.So usually they pack different types of  variety rice for their one day trip and now it's became  a habit in our home, whether we go out or not, the menu on that day would be different types of variety rice. So for this year kaanum pongal, i had prepared this  ellu satham along with coconut rice and curd rice.
When i finished cooking and started to click on kaanum pongal day, the sky was very cloudy and i couldn't get single decent picture, so few days back, again i prepared the same menu,just for blogging sake 😉  .This time, i included vadai & cabbage poriyal and we had a hearty meal.This rice is so easy to make yet it's so tasty & healthy.So even you can prepare this rice as lunch box recipe for your kids.



Ellu Satham/Sesame Rice

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Cooked Rice - 11/2 cup
Sesame Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste

To Roast & Grind
Sesame Seed - 1 tbsp(heaped)
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 3
Sesame oil - 1/4 tsp

Procedure
Heat a pan with 1/4 tsp of sesame oil and then add the red chili & urad dal, roast till the urad dal turns golden brown color.Keep it aside.In the same pan, add the sesame seed and roast, once the seeds starts to pop, switch off the flame and continue roasting in the pan heat till nice aroma comes from it. Let it cool and then put in the mixie/blender jar along with chilies and urad dal and grind into coarse powder.Now heat 1 tsp of sesame oil in the pan and add the mustard,urad dal & curry leaves, let the  mustard splutter.Then add the grounded powder, give a good mix and switch off the flame.Now add the cooked rice & salt.Mix it gently without breaking the rice.
That's it, Tasty & aromatic Sesame Rice /Ellu Sadam is ready to serve.
Notes:
  • I have used black sesame seed , but you can white one also.
  • Sesame oil gives great flavor to the rice, so i highly recommend to use that.
  • Once the sesame seed starts to pop, switch off the flame, otherwise there is a chance of burning the seeds.
  • Adjust the red chilies according to your taste.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Tricolor Idly | Variety Idly

For this week BM, i have chose the theme as "Festival Recipe" in this month. As India is celebrating its 68th republic day on Jan 26,i have tried this tricolor idly to celebrate the occasion.Not only these idlis are looking cute, it's more healthy and tasty than the regular idlis. Here i have used carrot to get the saffron color and coriander leaves for green color. But you can use any greens(just blanch them & use) in this recipe.

Tricolor Idli

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsMakes :
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Idli Batter - 2 cups
Carrot - 1
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Pearl onion -1
Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch
Green chili - 1
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Procedure
Grate the carrot and then finely chopped the ginger and pearl onion. Heat a pan with oil, add the onions & ginger ,saute till onions becomes translucent.Then add carrot along with salt and saute till the raw smell leaves.Let it cool completely. Divide the batter into 3 equal parts and add the carrot mixture into one of those and mix well.In a mixie/blender jar, add the coriander leaves,green chili & salt and grind into coarse mixture(without adding water) and add into the idly batter and mix well.Now pour the batter into the idly mould.Steam it for 8-10 mins.That's tasty Tricolor idly is ready.Serve it with Chutney or Sambar.
Notes:
  • Sauteing the carrot helps to remove the raw flavor of carrot.
  • After sauteing, if you want, puree the carrot and add into idly batter.
  • Add more or less of carrot or coriander leaves as per your liking.
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