Lady's finger Fry/ Vendakai Poriyal

 Whenever i buy lady's finger, i make this simple fry.It doesnt take much time and also its tasty.This simple Lady's finger fry goes well with rice .

Ingredients

Lady's finger - 15 nos

Onion- 1 medium size

Green Chill - 1 

Salt - to taste.

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Procedure

Cut lady's finger,onion & green chilli into small pieces and keep it ready.

Heat a non stick pan, first add oil , then add mustard and urad dal. Once it splutters add onion, curry leaves and green chili.

Saute the onion till transculent , then add lady's finger and salt. stir it continuously for 2-3 minutes.Initially when you saute the small thread is formed between them(Refer image below).Cook till it disappears.

At that time,the lady's finger become shiny and it oozes out the oil.

Simple Lady's finger fry is ready.

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Kara Chutney | Vengaya Chutney | Onion Chutney

Kara Chutney/Vengaya Chutney, a delicious and easy to make chutney with onions and tomatoes. Ever since i started cooking on my own, I have been making this chutney regularly for our breakfast/ dinner. It's one of our favorite chutney, goes well with idli,dosa and paniyaram varieties. 

Adding chana dal and a piece of carrot makes this chutney taste exactly like restaurant kara chutney. Chana dal gives thickness and smoothness to this chutney and it remains the same even after hours otherwise in general, onion chutney leaves lot of water when you keep it for longer hours. 

Next, the carrot give mild sweetness to the chutney and if don't like sweetness in your chutney, you can feel free to omit that. Now let's check out how to make this restaurant style kara chutney.

Kara Chutney | Vengaya Chutney

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Chutney | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kara Chutney, Vengaya Chutney, Vengaya Kara Chutney, Onion Chutney Kara Chutney/Vengaya Chutney, a delicious and easy to make chutney with onions and tomatoes.

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

Ingredients

Onion - 1 1/2 (medium)

Tomato - 1 (small)

Red chili - 3 

Garlic pods - 3 

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp
Carrot - a 1 inch piece

Gingelly Oil /Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

To Temper

Gingelly Oil /Sesame Oil - 1/2 tsp

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Asafoedita - pinch

Curry leaves - few

Procedure

Chop the onion and tomato roughly into pieces. Peel the garlic and keep it ready

Heat oil in the pan ,first add channa dal,roast till it becomes golden brown.

Next add the garlic and red chili,saute for a min, then add onion along with pinch of salt , saute till it become translucent.

Next add the tomatoes and  carrot(if you're using), saute till the tomato become mushy. Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.

Put it in blender ,along with required salt, grind into smooth paste (if needed add little water and make it smooth paste).Temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add it into chutney.

Tada,  Kara/Vengaya chutney is ready. Serve it with Idli or dosa or paniyaram.

Related : How to make Crispy Dosa 

Related : How to make Restaurant Style Mint Chutney 

Notes:

• The color  of the chutney depends upon the color of chili and tomato.
• Adding carrot give mild sweetness and bright color to the chutney.
• For the given quantity, the spice level is medium, you can add more or less as per your preference.
• Sesame oil gives great flavor to this chutney, highly recommend to use it.

Related : Chutney Collections

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Lemon Idiyappam/ Lemon sevai

Lemon Idiyappam or Lemon sevai is one of the dish prepared from left over idiyappam. Usually i made this as evening tiffin from the morning left over idiyappam .You can try this from store bought readymade idiyappam too.

 

Ingredients

Idiyappam - 3/4 cup crumbled

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal -1/4 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - pinch

Red chili -1

Lemon juice - from 1/4 lemon (approx 1 tsp)

Oil -1/ 4 tsp(i already added half salt in idiyappam)

Procedure

Heat the oil in the pan, then add mustard,urad dal and channa dal. Fry it well.Then  add red chili(missed to capture in photos) and fry.

Now add curry leaves ,Once curry leaves splutters, add turmeric powder, Mix it well in oil. Then add idiyappam and salt.

Mix it until everything blends well.

Finally squeeze the lemon and switch off the flame. Mix idiyappam with lemon juice well.

Serve it warm.I like as it is ,if you want serve it with any of your favorite chutneys. 

Note:

• If you want you can add any of nuts like peanut,cashew.

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Snake gourd Kootu/ Pudalangai Kootu

This  Snake gourd kootu doesnt neet any grinding, so i mostly prepare this dish when there is power outage in our area :-)  and also it's easy to prepare and its goes well with any spicy gravy. 

Ingredients

Snake gourd/Pudalangai - 1 1/2 cup chopped

Moong Dal - 3 tbsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Green chili - 1 chopped

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Coconut - 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves - few 

Salt - to taste

To Temper

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Oil - 1 tsp

Procedure

Heat the pan with enough water and add dal with asafoetida & chili.Cut the snake gourd finely.

Once the dal is half cooked, add the snake gourd, turmeric powderand salt

Once the snake gourd is cooked and the coconut and coriander leaves.

Finally temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into it.

Tasty Snake gourd Kootu is ready. 

Note:

• You can cook snake gourd and dal in pressure cooker too.
• Instead of green chili, you can add chili powder too along with turmeic.

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Kathirikai Puli Kuzhambu | Brinjal Tangy Gravy

Kathirikai Puli Kuzhambu / Brinjal Tamarind Kuzhambu, a delicious, tangy & spicy curry made with brinjal.  

Kathirikai Puli Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kathirikai Puli Kuzhambu, Kathirikai Kara Kuzhambu,Brinjal Kara Kuzhambu,Brinjal Puli Kuzhambu, Eggplant Tamarind Curry description.

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

Ingredients

Brinjal- 4

Pearl onion - 5 

Garlic - 6-7 pods

Tomato -1

Tamarind - a small gooseberry size

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek Seed - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

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

Red chili powder -1 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 1/2tsp 

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Water - to need.

Oil - 1 tsp

To grind

Grated coconut - 5 tbsp

Peal onion - 5 

Garlic pods- 4(small)

Cumin seed- 1 tsp

 

Procedure

Soak the tamarind in water .Peel the onion, cut the brinjal with "X" mark, dont cut the brinjal fully(Refer the pic). Cut the tomato into small pieces. Grind the ingredients listed under to "To grind"

Heat the pan, add oil and then mustard ,urad dal & fenugreek seed, once mustard splutters, add curry leaves,onion, garlic& brinjal  Saute it well.

Add tomato and the spices like turmeric,chili & corriander powder.Saute it for 2 mins. Then add the coconut paste and salt . Mix it well.

 

Finally add the tamarind extract and water and allow  the veggies to cook.

Once the Brinjal cooked and oil float on top. Switch off the flame.

Tangy & Spicy Brinjal Kuzhambu is ready. 

Note

• Fry the spices in oil for 2 mins without being burnt, that will make the gravy flavorful.
• Dont mix the gravy frequently, Otherwise the brinjal will break.

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Kootan choru/Kootan soru is a popular rice dish from the city Tirunelveli of  the South Tamilnadu. It's a  one pot rice recipe with mix vegetables and spices.

In my childhood days, relatives(periamma & athai family) nearby would come together to make this rice and also heard from elders in the family that this rice tastes great when made in large quantities. 

Nowadays, It's one of our favorite rice to make  for lunch/lunch box. If you have followed me on Instagram, you might knew that how often i have packed this for lunchbox. So simple to make and it's such a healthy and tasty rice recipe that you can make under 30 mins.

If you haven't tried this tiruneveli delicacy before, do give it a try.

What are the vegetables added in Kootan Choru?

Traditionally, all the country vegetables from South India are added in this rice like drumstick, brinjal, raw mango, raw banana. In addition, all the native root vegetables are also added like senai kizhangu, siru kizhangu & seppan kizhangu for great flavor and taste.

However, you can make this kootan choru with a few basic vegetables like potato, beans, carrot & peas also. It's such a versatile recipe that you can customize as per your preference and the vegetables available in your area.

But keep in mind that the flavors and taste greatly vary depending on the vegetables used in the recipe. 

Is bisibele bath and kootan choru the same ? 

No !! Though both are the one pot rice recipe with dal and vegetables, the flavor, taste and the consistency are quite different . Unlike bisibele bath, the spices are very less in kootan choru  but still the taste is awesome. 

Additionally, the bisi bele bath is in mushy texture whereas kootan choru is fluffy and tasty even when it's cooled down completely. 

As i grew up eating the kootan choru, i'm more inclined to kootan choru rather than bisi bele bath.

Kootan choru(here i have used palakottai(jackfruit seed) in addition to other vegetables) with thakkali pachadi & appalam

Related : How to boil Jackfruit Seeds

Kootan Choru | Kootan soru | Mixed vegetable Rice

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kootan Choru,Mix Vegetable Rice,Tirunelveli Kootan Choru,Kootan Soru,One pot rice,Quick meal Kootan choru/Kootan soru is a popular rice dish from the city Tirunelveli of the South Tamilnadu. It's a one pot rice recipe with mix vegetables and spices.

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

Ingredients

Toor Dal- 1/4 cup

Rice - 1/2 cup

Green Chili - 1

Mixed Vegetable - 2 cup(I used brinjal,drumstick.Raw banana, avarakkai,beans,potato,carrot, mochakottai,beetroot,Refer note section for other veggies)

Pearl onion - 5

Tomato -1

Tamarind - small gooseberry size

Drumstick leaves - 1/4 cup(tightly packed)

Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp

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

Red chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp

Water - 1 & 3/4 cup

To Temper

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few 

Procedure

Cut all vegetables in to medium size pieces.
Soak tamarind in 1/4 of water. Heat the pressure cooker with 2 1/4 cup of water. Once the water comes to boil, add toor dal with asafoetida and then add vegetables which take more time to cook like carrot,beans, potato,beetroot,mochaikotta &,avarakkai.

Cook it for 5 mins. Then add the turmeric, chili powder & salt.

Once the vegetables are half cooked, add the rice and other veggies like raw 

banana,drumstick,brinjal,tomato&onion and bring to boil, once the rice is half cooked ,add the tamarind extract.

Temper the item list under "To Temper"  and add it to rice . Finally add coconut and drumstick leaves.

Mix it well and then close the lid and put on weight. Cook it for 3 whistle.Tasty Kootanchoru/Kootan soru is ready.

Serve it with any of your favorite pachadi and papads. We had  it with Tomata Pachadi ,vathal and vadagam .

Related : How to make Thakkali Pachadi

Related : More Rice Recipes

Notes: 

• My mom prepares this rice only if the drumstick leaves are available, it gives super flavor to the rice. So i highly recommend to add the drumstick leaves if you have.
• You can add peas, butter beans, raw mango also if available.
• Avoid adding water vegetables like ash gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd.

  

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Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer | Payasam Recipe

Parrupu Payasam, a delicious jaggery based kheer prepared from moong dal and javvarisi/sago. It's one of my favorite payasam since childhood, Amma makes this often at our home while we grew up and in our home we like this payasam more than the semiya/paal payasam. 

Using moong dal/ Pasi Paruppu gives such a creamy consistency to this payasam and also adding ghee roasted coconut bits really enriches the payasam flavor. While having this payasam, bite of coconuts and nuts in betweens makes it totally scrumptious !!! 

In this Paruppu Payasam, Amma always add few ghee roasted peanuts in addition to the coconuts and cashews, don't know whether it's authentic or not, but we kind of liked it that way, so now a days, even i too prefer adding peanuts in this payasam. 

But if you are skeptical about adding peanuts in payasam, i totally understand that, you can skip that and make it. But trust me, the nutty taste from the peanuts goes really well with the dal,so give it a try once.

 

Paruppu Payasam | Moong Dal Kheer

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paruppu Payasam, Moong dal Kheer,Payasam, Javvarisi Paruppu Payasam Parrupu Payasam, a delicious jaggery based kheer prepared from moong dal and javvarisi/sago.

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

Ingredients

Moong dal/ Paasi Paruppu - 1/4 cup

Tapioca/Javvarisi -2 tbsp

Jaggery - 1/4 cup +2 tbsp 

Cardamom - 2

Cashew - 1 tsp

Peanuts - 1 tsp

Coconut  bits - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 1/2 tbsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Procedure

In a pressure cooker add dal and sado,wash it well then add water enough to cover them and pressure cook it for 2-3 whistle.

In a sauce pan, add the jaggery and water, put in on flame, let the jaggery melts completely, filter it once to remove the impurities and keep it ready.

Mix the cooked dal sago mixture with the jaggery syrup and again put it on flame and bring into boil for few mins, until all blends well.

Add the crushed cardamon into it and then add the boiled milk and give a good mix. Switch off the flame.

In a another pan, heat the ghee, add the cashew,peanuts and sliced coconut bits, roasted them till all are golden brown, remove from the flame and add into the payasam.

Scrumptious Paruppu Payasam is ready to serve. Serve it warm or cold as you wish. For more sweet recipe, check my sweet collections.

For quick video , check out this Paruppu Payasam IG Reel

Related : How to make Javvarisi Paal Payasam 

Notes:

• Dont over cook the moong dal.If it's too mushy, it won't taste good.
• You can add whatever nuts you want.
• I highly recommend to add coconut bits, it gives nice crunchiness to the payasam and also tastes great with moong dal.
• Add more or less of milk as per the consistency you like
  
  

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