Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Thengai/Coconut Bun



Ingredients

For bun
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Yeast - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Water

For filling
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cashews & raisins - 1/8 cup
Crushed cardamom - 3
Ghee -2 tbsp


Procedure 

Mix the yeast,salt & sugar in lukewarm water and leave it aside for 5 minutes or until it become frothy

Now make the dough by mixing the flour with yeast mixture and keep it aside for 2 hours.

After 2 hours,dough double in its size.Punch the dough to escape the air.

In the mean time roast the cashews & raisins in the ghee and add it into the coconut along with crushed cardamom.

Now divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each parts into desired shape by using rolling pin.

Keep the first layer in the baking tray , spread the filling on it ,then keep the next layer on top of the filling .Seal the edges tightly.

Brush the top with butter.Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake for 25-30 mins or until the top turns golden brown.

Yummy Thengai Bun is ready.  Thengai bun is hard when u take out from the oven,allow it to cool completely,so that you will get soft thengai bun



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Friday, January 27, 2012

Uzhuntha Vadai | Ulunthu Vadai | Medhu Vadai

Uzhuntha Vadai / Medhu Vadai, a Indian savory donuts made from the urad dal batter. It's one of the famous tea time snack across South India. It's absolutely delicious with crispy outside & soft inside
More than a snacks, we(South Indians) serve this vada as a accompaniment for breakfast, lunch meals when there is a festival and on all important occasions in the family.  This vadai is so good on its own and you don't need any sauce /chutney for this.

But in some restaurants this vada is served with coconut chutney and/or sambar, so if you like that, you can serve like that too. With a cup of chai, this vadai tastes divine on rainy days ! 
Urad Dal Vadai

How to make crispy outside and soft inside medhu vadai

  • The key to make delicious vadai is the batter consistency. Once you get that right, everything else will be so easy !
  • Make sure to use good quality urad dal batter.
  • Make sure the urad dal is well soaked before grinding.
  • If you have wet grinder, use that to grind the urad dal batter. Without much efforts, you can get the fluffy batter.
  • If you're using the mixie/blender, make sure to use the ice cold water for grinding the batter. The ice water helps to avoid the batter & jar get heated while grinding and helps to get fluffy batter.
  • While grinding, add water little by little for smooth fluffy batter. If you add all the water in the beginning, then the batter would be watery instead of fluffy.
Medhu Vadai

How to make vadai absorbs less oil ?



  • Don't add too much water while grinding the vadai batter.
  • Add water little by little to make fluffy batter. 
  • Add the onions right before making the vada. Onions releases water over the time and make the batter water if you keep it for longer time.
  • If the batter is watery then add a couple of tsp of rice flour, it will helps to absorb less oil while frying and also helps to hold the vada shape well.
Related : How to make Masala Vadai
Uluntha vadai

How to make round Vada/ Vadai? 

  • If you're a beginner, then i would recommend to use any polythene sheets or banana leaf to flatten the batter before adding into hot oil  . 
  • I have seen videos of shaping vadai using tea stainer. Dip the back of the metal tea strainer in the water and then take a small amount of batter and place it on back of the strainer and make a hole in the center and then drop it in the oil. 
  • By practise, you can easily shape the vada using single hand like i did. 
Related : How to make Thayir Vadai / Curd Vadai
Urad Dal Vada

Uzhuntha vadai | Medhu Vada

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 20 minsMakes : 12 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Urad dal Vada, Uluntha vadai, Uzhuntha vadai,Medhu Vadai Uzhuntha Vadai / Medhu Vadai, a Indian savory donuts made from the urad dal batter.
Ingredients
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Onion(small) - 1
Green chili - 1 
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying




Medhu Vadai


Procedure
Soak the urad dal for 2 hrs. In the meantime, chop the onions, chili into small pieces and keep aside. Drain the water from urad dal and add into the mixie/blender jar.
Add ice cold water little by little into urad dal and grind into thick batter. Take the batter in a bowl and add the chopped onions, chilies curry leaves & salt into it.
Mix it well and now the batter is ready to make vada. Heat the oil for deep frying. Deep your hand in water and take a small amount of batter.
Make a hole in the center of the batter with your thumb.
Gently drop into the hot oil and cook on both sides until it becomes crispy and golden brown on both sides. Remove it from oil and put it on tissue paper. Do the same for the remaining batter.
Crispy Uzhuntha Vadai/ Medhu Vada is ready. Serve it with chutney and / or sambar.

Related : How to make Coconut Chutney

Stack of urad dal vada

Related : How to make Urad dal Egg Bonda


stack of urad dal vadai
Notes:
  • Use good amount of curry leaves, it gives nice flavor to the vada.
  • If you're not comfortable in making shape in hand, then use the polythene sheets/banana leaf to make the round shape.
  • Use good quality urad dal for fluffy batter.
  • Add water little by little while making the batter.
  • If you can't shape the batter, then add few tsp of rice flour & mix well.
  • Ice cold water is must to get fluffy batter if you grind it in mixie/blender.
    uzhuntha vadai


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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Gobi/Cauliflower manchurian



Ingredients
Cauliflower - 1/2
Capsicum - 1/2
Onion - 1/2
Garlic - 3 pods.
Tomato ketchup - 6-7 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1 tbsp(adjust to your taste)
Oil - for frying + 2 tbsp
Salt 

For batter
Maida - 5 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Salt
Water

Procedure
Cut the cauliflower in to small florets and put it in hot water along with little salt for 30 mins.

Mix the ingredients listed under "For batter" in to paste consistency(like bajji batter).

Heat oil in a pan, dip the cauliflower in the batter and fry it slightly(no need to change colour) and place it on tissue paper.

In a wide pan heat 2 tbsp oil add finely chopped garlic and then add capsicum & onion(cut the onion & capsicum in to cubes).

Add very little salt required for onion & capsicum and fry it for 5 mins , then add fried cauliflower,tomato ketchup,soy sauce.

Mix it well and keep it in flame for 3 mins.Finally add pepper powder, mix well and switch off the flame.

Serve this as starter or evening snacks.


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Peas Pulav & Moong dal

Peas Pulav is very simple dish and also very tasty.

Ingredients
Basumathi Rice - 1 cup
Frozen Peas - 3/4 cup
Onion(chopped) - 1
Ginger garlic paste  - 1 tbsp
Green chili(slit) - 2 (adjust to your taste )
Mint & Coriander leaves - handful
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Cloves - 2 nos
Cinnamon - small piece
Cardamom - 1 no
Ghee  - 3 tbsp
Water - 11/2 cup
Salt

Procedure 
Soak the rice for 30 mins.Heat the ghee in a cooker and add cloves,cinnamon ,cardamom & saute for 30 sec

Then add onions & slitted green chili,once onion become translucent add ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 min.

After that add peas(if you use the regular one,soak it overnight) and saute it and then add rice and mix it well.

Then add water,coriander & mint leaves, salt & garam masala.Mix it well and close the lid.

Cook it for 3 whistle.Peas Pulav is ready.

Moog Dal Recipe

Ingredients

Moong Dal - 100gms
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Green chili(slit) -1
Pearl Onion - 5 nos(chopped roughly)
Tomato - 1(medium,chopped)
Turmeric powder - pinch
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt
To Temper
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves -few

Procedure

Put dal, chili,asafoetida,onion, tomato in a pressure cooker . Add enough water and cook it for 3 whistle.

In a sauce pan tempering the ingredients listed under "To Temper" , then add the cooked dal.

Once it comes to boil add the tumeric,chili powder and salt.

After the raw smell goes off,add the coriander leaves and switch off the flame.

Simple but tasty dal is ready.Serve this Moog Dal as the side dish for peas pulav,dosa,idly or even chapathi.



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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Paruppu Sadam



Ingredients  

Rice - 200gms
Toor Dal - 75 gms
Asafedita - pinch
Tamarind - 1 cm ball size
Grated coconut - 5 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - pinch
Red chili powder - 11/4 tsp
Water - 500 ml (approx)
Salt

To Temper
Mustard & urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure
Soak the tamarind in water for 1/2 hr and make paste from it .

In a pressure cooker add the toor dal, asafedita and water and allow the dal to half -cooked.

Once the dal is half cooked add the rice and water(500 ml).Once the water comes to boil add the turmeric,red chili powder and salt.

After that tempering the ingredients listed under "To Temper"  and add it into the rice.

Finally add the coconut and tamarind paste . Mix well and close it with lid.

Cook it for 3 whistle and switch off the flame.This rice burnt at the bottom easily so mix it well before put the lid.

Serve this rice with pachadi and papad.  

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Thakkali Pachadi | Tomato Pachadi | Accompaniment for rice

Thakkali Pachadi , an easy & delicious accompaniment for rice with sambar or with any south indian one pot meal. Thakkali pachadi is the must accompaniment for kootan soru, ulunthu soru or paruppu soru in our home and it's my favorite pachadi. 

In my schooldays, i love to have parappu soru with this pachadi in my lunch box and all my friends also very fond of this pachadi, so i used to pack some extra pachadi for all of them. 

Thakkali Pachadi

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Thakkali Pachadi, Tomato Pachadi, Pachadi recipe Thakkali Pachadi , an easy & delicious accompaniment for rice with sambar or with any south indian one pot meal.
Ingredients
Tomato - 2 (well ripen)
Pearl Onion - 4 
Turmeric powder - pinch
Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves -few
Salt
To grind
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 1 pod(small)
Pearl onion - 1 

Procedure 
Cut the onions and tomatoes into small pieces.Heat oil in a pan ,add mustard once it splutters add urad dal.
After that add onion and saute till it  become translucent, add tomatoes  & saute it till it's mushy.
Add  turmeric,chili powder and salt.Mix it well.Grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" into fine paste and add the coconut paste into the tomatoes and mix well.
Now add 1/4 cup of water & bring it to boil & keep it in medium flame.Once the raw smell goes off , add the coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Tasty Tomato pachadi is ready. Serve this as the  accompaniment for rice.

Related : How to make Vendakkai / Okra Pachadi

Notes:
  • Adjust the water according to your preferred consistency.
  • Adjust the chili powder according to the sourness of the tomato.
  • If you're tomato have more sourness, you may need more chili powder than i mentioned here.
  • Don't add more coconut than i mentioned here, it will spoil the taste and the pachadi will be bland.




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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu | Urundai Kulambu

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu or Urundai kuzhambu ,a delicious tamarind based gravy with vegan balls made from split chana dal.It's one of the famous curry from south Tamilnadu region and also it's less known to outside of this region. It's one of our favorite curries to have it with steamed rice, so I often prepare this for lunch.  While making this curry, there is a slight chance of balls disintegrating in to the curry ,so if you're a beginner or making this curry for the first time please check out the notes section below where i have mentioned all the tips to take care of. Now let's check out the recipe.




Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 25 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paruppu Urundai Kulambu,Urundai Kulambu,Tirunelveli Urundai Kuzhambu,Indian curry Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu or Urundai kuzhambu ,a delicious tamarind based gravy with vegan balls made from split chana dal..
Ingredients
For Paruppu urundai
Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2(finely chopped)
Green chili - 2 (chopped,Optional) 
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
For Gravy 
Tamarind - 1 inch round ball size(approx)
Pearl onion - 8 nos(chopped)
Tomato - 1(chopped)
Turmeric powder - pinch
Red chili powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt
To grind
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 small pods
Pearl onion - 2 nos

Procedure 
Soak the channa dal for minimum 1 hr and then grind the dal into fine paste,If needed add few tbsp water.
Soak the tamarind for gravy and heat oil in a pan and then add onions .
Once the onion become translucent, add the dal paste & salt ,mix well until the moisture evaporates and it becomes a single mass , switch off the flame.
Keep the dal mixture in the same pan . When the mixture comes to hand bearable temperature, make small balls and keep it aside. And then chop the onions and tomato for gravy into fine pieces.
Heat oil in the pan ,add mustard and urad dal, let the mustard splutter, add onion and fry it , once onion become translucent add tomatoes and fry it for 2 mins
Then add tamarind juice extract from soaked tamarind and enough water.
Than add all the spices (tumeric & Chili powder) and salt , bring it to boil. In the mean time grind the ingredients under "To grind "  in to fine paste .
Once the tamarind water comes to boil, add the coconut paste, and bring to boil.
Once the raw smell goes off, add the paruppu urundai  in the gravy and dont stir it for 5 mins (make sure that the gravy should be in boiling stage,otherwise paruppu urundai disintegrate in gravy).Keep the flame in medium for 10 mins  and then add coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Now the delicious Paruppu urundai kuzhambu is ready.Serve this gravy with steamed rice. For more curries and veggies recipe, check my collections here

Notes:
  • Make balls from dal when it's warm, if it cools completely, it's difficult to make balls, and also the paruppu urundai easily  disintegrates into kuzhambu when you add it in gravy.
  • When you add the paruppu urundai into the curry, make sure the curry is a little bit watery than you prefer. Once the paruppu urundai gets cooked it will absorb water and then the gravy will come to the right consistency.
  • Grind the dal into fine paste. 
  • Make sure that the curry is boiling, when you add the paruppu urundai(balls) into it.
  • After added the paruppu urundai(balls), don't stir immediately.




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Vegetable Kuruma



Ingredients

Boiled Vegetables - 1 cup(carrot,peas,beans,potato,cauliflower)
Onion - 1 (medium size)
Tomato - 1 (medium size)
Ginger garlic paste  - 1 tbsp
Green chili - 2(slit)
Turmeric powder - pinch
Cloves - 2 nos
Cinnamon - small piece
Cardamom - 1 no
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt

To grind

Grated coconut - 6-7 tbsp
Green Chili - 4(adjust to your taste)
Cashews - 5 nos
Cloves - 2 nos
Cinnamon - small piece
Cardamom - 1 no

Procedure
Chop the onion into length wise and tomato into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and add cloves,cinnamon & cardamom and fry for 10 sec. Then add onion and fry until it become translucent.

Now add ginger-garlic paste and fry it for 30 sec and then add tomatoes & green chili,fry it for 2 mins and then add enough water.

Once it comes to boil add the vegetables,turmeric powder & salt . In the mean time grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" in to fine paste.

Add the coconut paste into the vegetables and cook until the raw smell goes off.

Finally add coriander leaves and switch off the flame.

Serve this kuruma with chapathi or pulav.







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