Keerai Kuzhambu / Keerai Puli Kuzhambu, a spicy  and delicious tamarind based curry with spinach puree. It's one of my favourite curries and often make it for our lunch long with steamed rice and an accompaniment. 

This curry preparation is more or less similar to the puli kuzhambu/kara kuzhambu, but the addition of spinach puree gives a unique taste and it's indeed finger licking delicious.

 

In our home, ST is more fond of spicy masala food hence the keerai kootu and keerai kadaiyal are some of his least favourite dishes and claim them as very bland.  In general, most of the South Indian dishes made with spinach are very mild in terms of flavor and spices. 

So he prefers this keerai kuzhambu more than any other dishes made with spinach! if you're one of the person who likes your food as spicy and flavorful, then this curry is definitely for you !

Keerai Kuzhambu | Keerai Puli Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Keerai Kuzhambu,Spinach Puli Kuzhambu, Keerai Puli Kuzhambu Keerai Kuzhambu / Keerai Puli Kuzhambu, a spicy and delicious tamarind based curry with spinach puree.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Spinach - 1 cup (tightly packed)

Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Pearl onion - 4
Garlic - 8 pods
Tomato(small) - 1 
Curry leaves - few
Fenugreek Seed - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece

Procedure

First measure and take the spinach. Heat a pot of water and blanch the spinach. Just when it starts to shrink, remove from the hot water and run it under cool water & keep it aside.

Peel the onion & garlic and chop them roughly into pieces and also tomato into small pieces. Soak the tamarind in a 1/2 cup of water for 20 mins. Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan.

Add the fenugreek seed, mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, then add the onion, garlic and curry leaves.Saute till the onions become translucent.

Then add the tomatoes and give a quick stir. Next keep the flame in low and then add the spices(turmeric, red chili & sambar powder) and salt ,saute them in the oil for few mins.

Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into it. Cover it with lid and cook till the curry is little thick.

In the meantime, puree the blanched spinach and add it into the curry.

Mix it well and then finally add a piece of jaggery. Boil the curry till the oil separates on the sides.

Tasty Keerai Kuzhambu is ready ! Serve it with steamed rice and your favorite curry. We had it along with potato podimas, beetroot poriyal and tempered toor dal.

Related : How to make Keerai Kootu

Notes:

• Keep the flame in low when adding the spices, otherwise it will be burnt easily.
• Adding the spices in the oil gives enhanced flavor to the kuzhambu.
• Sambar powder that i have used here is home made and haven't had any chilies in it. If your sambar powder has chili in it, reduce the chili powder and adjust to your taste.
• Boil the curry till the consistency you prefer.

Continue Reading »

Red Radish Paratha | Pink Radish Paratha

Red Radish Paratha, a delicious and healthy paratha made from wheat flour & grated red/pink radish. Though i already have had the mooli paratha/radish paratha recipe here, today's recipe is quite different from the one that i had shared previously. In today's recipe, the grated radish is mixed with the dough instead of making it as stuffed paratha, so it's super easy to make and even beginners in cooking can try this without any difficulties. 

Usually i buy small red radish to make stir fry and it tastes great with South Indian meals. The idea of making red radish paratha was in mind for a while, so I gave it a try a few months ago and it turned out so pretty and tasted delicious. Even since i have been using small red radish for this paratha but regular red/white radish can also be used in the same way. 

It's been more than 10 days since i have posted a recipe here, though i had the photos for quite a few recipes in hand, somehow i didn't find any motivation to write the recipe and post here. It's easy to succumb to your misery/sadness and being idle without doing anything. 

But it doesn't make anything better, so choose happiness and try to see at least one good thing in the bad situation and move on. So when i woke up today, i was determined to set aside my excuses and post this recipe. Hurray !!!  Finally here it is !! Ok, thank you for reading my rant. Now let's check out how to make this healthy radish paratha.

Red Radish Paratha

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 10 
Recipe Category: Paratha | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Red Radish Paratha,Paratha,Radish Paratha, Easy Paratha Red Radish Paratha, a delicious and healthy paratha made from wheat flour & grated red radish.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Red Radish - 10 to 12(small)
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed

Procedure

First trim the edges of the radish and grate them finely. Next add wheat flour, radish, finely chopped coriander leaves, cumin seed & salt. Mix it well.

Then add the water and make a soft dough. Let it aside for 10 mins. Next make golf sized balls. Dust the flour with flour and roll into thin disc with the help of rolling pin.

Heat the tava, grease with oil and add the rolled dough. When you start seeing small bubbles on the top, flip it over and cook till brown spots appear on both sides. 

Tasty and healthy Red radish parathas are ready. Serve it with your favorite curry, we had it with chana masala.

For more roti & paratha recipes, check out here
Notes:

• Grate the radish finely so it blends well with the dough.
• If radish leaves lot of water after grating, squeeze the excess water and add into the flour.
• Mix the radish with flour well and then add water little by little to make soft dough.
• Don't keep the dough for longer hours, it starts to become soggy because of radish nature.
• I haven't added any spices in this roti, but if you want add 1/2 tsp of red chili powder.

Continue Reading »

Chinna Vengaya Sambar, a delicious sambar(lentil stew) made from toor dal and pearl onions. In tamil,  "Pearl onion" is known as "சின்ன வெங்காயம்/chinna vengayam ". Other varieties of onions don't give the same flavor and taste to the sambar like pearl onions. So if you haven't tried  this sambar before and wanna give it a try, i highly recommend to use pearl onions and it's usually available in all Indian stores across North America.

I make this sambar usually to pair with fish fry more than with veg curries. After nearly 3 months, last week we went to Indian store to buy some basic Indian groceries and picked a bunch of pearl onions also. The next day itself made this chinna vengaya sambar along with fish fry and relished to the core. 

Back home in India,  we use mostly pearl onions for all types of cooking and it's very rare to see the use of big onions(பல்லாரி) in daily cooking. Mostly the big onions are used for egg omelette and onion raita. After moving out of  India, initially I pestered ST to go to Indian Store at least once a week mainly to buy chinna vengayam and curry leaves.

Later the frequency of visit to Indian Stores got reduced and now i can replace pearl onions with big onions in any recipes without a second thought and kind of adjusted to the taste also. Also here in Canada, most local stores have the basic Indian produce and groceries, so the need to visit Indian stores is very rare now a days and it's quite manageable also.


Ok,now coming back to the recipe, as i said earlier, this sambar tastes great with both veg and non-veg side dishes. Personally i like it better with fish fry or chicken fry  and prefer my sambar to be a little watery/thin for non veg side dishes so usually i don't add coconut masala to this sambar. 

But if you prefer sambar with coconut, do check out this sambar recipe for coconut masala and use the same in this recipe. Now let's check out how to make the flavorful chinna vengaya sambar.

Chinna Vengaya Sambar | Onion Sambar

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
chinna vengaya sambar, onion sambar,sambar, tamilnadu sambar, ulli sambar Chinna Vengaya Sambar, a delicious sambar(lentil stew) made from toor dal and pearl onions.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Toor Dal- 1/2 cup

Pearl Onion/Shallots -15

Tomato -1(small)
Green chili - 2

Tamarind - small gooseberry size

Coriander leaves- few

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste(about 1 &1/2 tsp)

Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Water - to need

Oil - 1 tsp

To Temper 
Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal- 1/4 tsp
Red Chili - 2

Curry leaves - few

Procedure

Wash the dal and add it in a pressure cooker along with asafoetida powder and enough water. Pressure cook it for 3 whistle or until it's mushy.

Once the pressure from the cooker released naturally, open the lid and mash the dal well with the ladle and keep it aside. Soak the tamarind in a cup of water . Peel the onions, cut the tomatoes into small pieces and slit the green chilies and keep it ready.

In a kadai, heat a tsp of oil and then add the onions with a pinch of salt and saute till they are slightly transparent and then add the tomatoes and green chili.

Saute till the tomatoes are soft and then extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into the kadai along with spices(turmeric, red chili ,sambar powder) and salt.

Let it comes to boil and cover the kadai with lid. Cook till the onions are soft and the raw smell of the spices are gone.

Then add the mashed dal and water to adjust the consistency, let it simmer for 5 more mins. In the mean time, temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the sambar.

Flavorful and tasty onion sambar is ready.

For more curries and veggies, check out here

Notes:

• Make sure to cook the dal well, it should be like smooth puree 
• Adjust the red chili powder as per your liking.
• I have used home made sambar powder and it doesn't have much chili in it. If you're sambar powder has more spiciness, reduce the quantity as per your liking.
• Tempering at the last gives more flavor to the sambar.
• Instead of pearl onions, you can use shallots also.

Continue Reading »

South Indian Lunch Ideas | Lunch Menu Series (6-10)

In the continuation of lunch menu series, here is the another 5 set of lunch platter that we often make them at home. If you haven't check out the previous post here is the link, do check out, it has some awesome lunch platter too.

Lunch Menu - 6
Mullangi sambar has unique taste and flavor compared to other sambar varieties, so in our home, we make sambar only with mullangi(raddish) often. So i have included that in my lunch series.

• Rice with Mullangi(raddish) Sambar
• Vaizhaipoo Poriyal
• Potato and butter beans poriyal
• Mango Pachadi

 Lunch Menu -7
Another favorite lunch platter, vatha kuzhambu is our family favorite, not only it's tasty, it has medicinal properties that cures mild stomach disorders too.

• Rice
• Vatha Kuzhambu
• Paruppu(cooked toor dal with basic tempering)
• Mix veg Poriyal
• Mango Slice

 Lunch Menu - 8 
Another favorite combo(Yeah, i know, keep on saying this for every menu :-)), often prepare it for lunch box too.  Such a delicious combo from my native city,Tirunelveli

• Ulunthu Soru
• Idi Puli Kuzhambu
• Thakkali Pachadi
• Vathal & Vadagam

 Lunch Menu -9 
This combo is our go to menu for one day trip or any temple visit when we were in India. As the spices are all roasted and powdered fresh for this sambar, it stays good for longer time without get spoiled on high temperature too, so we often prefer this for road/train journey.Another typical Tirunelveli food.

• Rice 
• Nellai Idi Sambar
• Vathal & Vadagam
  

 Lunch Menu -10
Our typical ammavasai lunch menu. Appa has been observing this day ever since i have known and amma prepare this kind of lunch spread on every month without fail just like her MIL(my aachi). Usually it includes rice with puli/kara kulambu, katti paruppu, one poriyal, aviyal , one pachadi along with payasam and appalam.

• Rice with puli Kulambu
• Paruppu(cooked toor dal with basic tempering)
• Pudalangai poriyal
• Aviyal
• Vendakkai Pachadi
• Paruppu Payasam
• Appalam

Continue Reading »

South Indian Lunch Ideas | Lunch Menu Series (1-5)

Lunch Menu Series
Today, i have started this lunch menu series. In this series, i'm gonna share all types of lunch platter  ideas and the combination that works together well. In each post, i'm planning to share 5 lunch menu ideas, so without much stories, let's jump to the series.
Lunch Menu -1 
My favorite combo, often make them once in a week. Kootu Choru is such a healthy rice dish from Tiruneveli, with simple pachadi and/or vathal/appalam/Vadagam, it tastes absolutely delicious.

• Kootan Soru
• Thakkali Pachadi
• Vathal & Vadagam

 Lunch Menu - 2
Typical menu in our house, rice with sambar & any two side dishes and  sweet. 

• Rice with Mix veg Sambar
• Thakkali Pachadi
• Cauliflower fry
• Sakkarai Pongal
• Vathal & Vadagam 

Lunch Menu -3 
Another typical menu in our home, for puli kizhambu, we prefer either paruppu or kootu as one of the side dish with another simple poriyal. And also i love to make masala vadai for puli kuzhambu sapadu, the combination taste so good. Since i have taken this pic on summer, mango was included.

• Rice with Puli Kuzhambu
• Vendakkai Poriyal
• Chow chow Kootu
• Masala Vadai
• Mambazham/Mango Slice

Lunch Menu - 4 
Again this is another favorite menu in our house, we love these combination. 

• Ghee Rice
• Veg Kurma
• Sambol

Lunch Menu - 5
Rice with Rasam & Paruppu is the most comfort food and my favorite too. Guess i have picked all my favorite combo for the start of this series.

• Rice with rasam
• Paruppu(Cooked toor dal with basic tempering)
• Aviyal

Continue

Continue Reading »

Panini Sandwich is nothing but a grilled sandwich made from the bread that has light chewy texture like baguette, ciabatta, and michetta. When i had panini sandwich for the first time in the restaurant "Panera bread" along with tomato soup, immediately i fell in love with this sandwich and the combo. I really loved the chewy texture of this sandwich and with soup as sides, it was delicious.

Ever since, whenever i have prepared this sandwich at home, tomato soup also would be there.There are different varieties of panini sandwich based on the stuffing inside, but today i'm sharing my most favorite and simple but delicious panini sandwich "Tomato & mozzarella Panini Sandwich with Coriander pesto". 

Coriander Pesto Panini Sandwich | Veg Panini recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sandwich | Recipe Cuisine: International

Ingredients
Ciabatta bread roll - 1 
Tomato - 2(thinly sliced) 
Mozzarella cheese - as needed
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Walnut - 3 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1 pod
Green chili - 1
Salt - needed

Coriander Pesto Panini Sandwich, Panini Sandwich Panini Sandwich is nothing but a grilled sandwich made from the bread that has light chewy texture like baguette, ciabatta, and michetta.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Procedure

First let's make the coriander pesto, take walnut, garlic and green chili in a blender and grind into coarse mixture.

Then add the coriander leaves, olive oil, lemon juice & salt  into the blender.

Grind them into smooth paste and transfer into a bowl. Cut the bread into slices.

Take a slice, generously add the coriander pesto and apply it all over, then add the thinly sliced tomato and mozzarella slices.

Cover it with other slices and place it in the panini maker and cook it's nicely brown.

Tasty Veg Panini with Coriander Pesto is ready.

Related : How to make Chili Cheese Toast 

Notes:

• Ciabatta bread give nice chewy texture to this sandwich, but you can use any kind of bread,but make sure that it has nice chewy texture.
• If you don't have panini maker, use the normal pan to toast the sandwich.
• Add more or less of pesto as per your liking.
  

Continue Reading »