Parangikai puli kulambu/ Manjal poosanikai kuzhambu/ Yellow Pumpkin Vatha kuzhambu is a yummy South Indian kuzhambu recipe I learnt from my MIL. Whenever my MIL visits my place, I try to learn some new & traditional dish from her. When we were discussing about yellow pumpkin recipes, she suggested me to make this vatha kuzhambu adding pumpkin(Parangikai/Manjal poosanikai in Tamil). She also told me as easy method of doing this kulambu directly in a pressure cooker. I found it interesting and tried it for our lunch on the same day.
I prepared this gravy along with mixed vegetable kootu as side dish. It was a nice combination. Everybody loved its taste. As we are doing in a pressure cooker directly, time taken to cook this gravy is just 15 minutes. So bachelors and working women can The taste of pumpkin gives a natural sweetness to the gravy. So we don’t have to add jaggery to this puli kuzhambu unlike other vatha kuzhambu recipes. You can make this gravy thick or thin as you wish. It tastes good either ways. Adding Homemade sambar powder or Vatha kuzhambu powder gives the best taste. I don’t think you can make this puli kuzhambu with white pumpkin because it absorbs all the tanginess of the gravy. So friends, do try this yummy, easy, no grind parangikai puli kuzhambu and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Parangikai puli kuzhambu/Pumpkin vatha kuzhambu with step by step pictures.
Temper mustard, dals.Saute the onion,garlic,curry leaves adding salt.
Add tamarind extract, spice powders and pumpkin cubes.
Pressure cook for 2 whistles in low flame.
Remove and boil if needed.Serve hot with rice.
Parangikai Puli Kuzhambu - Step by step photos
Wash and chop pumpkin into big cubes as shown the picture below.Finely chop 2 small onions or quarter big onion and 2 garlic cloves, curry leaves and set aside.
Heat oil in a cooker base.Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds,urad dal, toor dal, cumin seeds, finely chopped onion, garlic and curry leaves. After it turns golden, add the remaining onion and whole garlic cloves. Saute till onion becomes transparent.
Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt.Then add pumpkin cubes.
Pressure cook for 2 whistles in low flame. Remove after the steam is released. Boil the gravy if thin and watery else mix well and serve with rice.
Notes
Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per the tanginess of tamarind.
For variations, you can add 1tbsp red chilli powder and 1tbsp coriander powder instead of sambar powder.
No need to use jaggery
As we are cooking directly in a pressure cooker, we don't need to add more water.
Chop pumpkin into big cubes else it will get mashed in the gravy.
Tomato rava upma recipe / Rava upma with tomatowith step by step pictures - Tomato rava upma is an yummy, instant, South Indian breakfast recipe with a nice variation from our regular rava upma. Usually I add tomato and vegetables only for rava kichadi but this morning I prepared rava upma with tomato just for a change. Basically I am a big fan of tomato based recipes. Even though I don’t like rava upma, I loved this tomato rava upma a lot. It tastes tangy and spicy as well just like rava kichadi. If you wish you can add green peas in this upma to make it look colorful.
I had some leftover upma for my dinner too. It was good and stayed soft. So you can pack it for lunch box as well. Friends, If you are bored of making rava upma, do try this tomato upma for your breakfast or dinner. It tastes good with coconut chutney as side dish. Try and let me know your feedback . My School moms friends make Karnataka style tomato rava bath. I will ask them and share that recipe later. Now lets see how to make this Tamil nadu style tomato upma recipe with step by step photos.
Heat oil, Temper mustard, dals.Saute the vegetables adding salt.
After tomato becomes mushy, add spice powders.
Mix well and add water. After water comes to boil, add rava.
Mix well, cover cook for 5 minutes.
Add coconut oil / ghee.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with coconut chutney.
Tomato Rava Upma Recipe - Step by step photos
Wash and chop the tomato, onion, chilli.Set aside.Dry roast rava for 7 minutes in medium flame without burning it.Keep in a plate.
Heat oil in a kadai.Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and curry leaves. After it turns golden, add finely chopped onion and slit green chilli.
After onion becomes transparent, add finely chopped tomato.Saute till tomato becomes mushy. Add salt to cook tomato quickly.
Add red chilli powder or sambar powder and turmeric powder. Mix well till raw smell goes off.Add water and let it roll boil.
Lower the flame completely.Add the roasted rava in a sprinkled way using one hand while stirring constantly with other hand. It helps to avoid lumps.Once all the rava is added, it absorbs the water and becomes thick. Cover it with a lid and cook for 5 minutes in low flame.Mix once in the middle.
Switch off the flame after rava is cooked soft. Add coconut oil or ghee. Garnish with coriander leaves.Mix well and serve hot with coconut chutney!
Notes
Adjust the quantity of chillies as per your taste.
For variations, you can add 1/2 tsp garam masala powder for masala flavor.
Remember to add rava in a sprinkled way to avoid lumps.
No need to add more water. Adding more water makes it like kichadi.
You can use wheat rava instead of semolina and make the same. But add 3 cups of water.
Color of this upma varies as per the chilli powder you use. Use Kashmiri chilli powder for bright red color.
Last year I shared traditional Kerala Varutharacha sambar recipe during Onam. Recently I came across this easy Onam sadya sambar without coconut using a pressure cooker in Anu’s kitchen YouTube Video. Its the simplified version of varutharacha sambar using Kerala sambar powder. I loved the idea and tried it with some modifications to make it even more easy. As I don’t have Kerala sambar powder, I used my homemade sambar powder, red chilli powder and coriander seeds powder. Still it tasted great with a nice flavor.
For Onam sadya, you may need to cook so many recipes for the feast. I am sure this easy sambar recipe will help you save lots of time when compared with varutharacha sambar with spices and coconut.
Ofcourse taste may not be equal to the traditional Kerala sambar still you can give a try. This sambar would be useful especially for bachelors and working women to make a quick & healthy recipe with the goodness of all the vegetables. You don’t need to make any side dish like thoran or mezhukupuratti if you add lots of vegetables.
Friends, do try this easy Kerala style Onam sadya sambar and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Onam sadya sambar recipe without coconut easily in a pressure cooker with step by step pictures and video !
Do check out my Kerala Ulli Sambar For Idli, Dosa.
Temper mustard, red chilli, spice powders in low flame.
Add to sambar, boil for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Kerala sambar recipe - Step by step photos
Soak tamarind in 1 cup water and take the extract. Take 1/2 cup of toor dal, small onion and slit green chilli in a cooker base. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp cooking oil in water.
Wash and chop the vegetables( I used yam, raw banana, carrot, ash gourd, broad beans, cluster beans, beans, lady's finger, drumstick - 5 pieces each). Chop tomato finely. Transfer the vegetables and tomato to a small bowl that fit inside the cooker. Add 1/4 cup water to it.
Place the bowl with vegetables inside the pressure cooker. Close and cook for 2 whistles in low flame.
Open the lid after the steam is released. Dal and vegetables would be cooked soft. Remove the veggies bowl and mash the dal nicely.
Add the cooked vegetables, tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt. Check for thickness and add 1/2 to 1 cup water if needed. Boil well for 5 minutes till nice aroma arises.
Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to crackle, lower the flame completely. Add sambar powder, red chilli powder, dhania powder, methi powder and hing. Mix quickly without burning. Add to the boiling sambar. Boil for a minute and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with plain rice adding ghee. You can also have with idli,dosa if you like.
Notes
Adjust the quantity of chillies as per your taste.
For variations, you can saute finely chopped onion, tomato and add to vegetables inside the cooker.
Sambar powder gives nice aroma to this sambar. To replace it, you should use 1 tbsp dhania powder, 1/4 tsp methi powder and 1.5 tbsp red chilli powder.
You can use any number of vegetables or you can make this sambar only with onions.
Easy Onam Sadya Sambar is ready ! I had with nendran chips !
White sauce pasta recipe with step by step pictures and video. My daughter loves penne pasta in creamy white sauce (bechamel sauce) than red sauce. So I made this Indian vegetarian, creamy garlic flavored white sauce pasta at home for our breakfast yesterday. Basic white sauce can be prepared with 3 major ingredients - butter, all purpose flour and milk. It makes the white sauce thick and rich without cream. Garlic and Oregano is used to give a nice Italian flavor. So never attempt this recipe without these ingredients. Original Italian white sauce pasta calls for using heavy cream instead of milk. But I used very simple and easily available ingredients in this recipe.
I referred the terrace kitchen YouTube video for this recipe. It came out really well. To make white sauce pasta more colorful and healthy, we can add vegetables like sweet corn, carrot, broccoli, mushroom etc. After trying this recipe, I learnt the knack of making white sauce without lumps. Yes, the secret is to add more butter and milk than maida. I have also used cheese slice to make the sauce more creamy. But adding cheese is optional. You can use it if your kids like it. Even though this dish is high in calories, its a tasty indulgence. You can make and enjoy it once in a while. If you want to make a low calorie version, you can use olive oil instead of butter and skip cheese.
Lets see how to make penne pasta in white sauce with step by step pictures and video.
Recently I got a herb grinder from FLINTSTOP online. You can find many useful and technologically advanced cool gadgets for the entire house. They also provide Corporate Gifting for different multinationals along with their company logo and customization as per the requirements. I used this herb grinder for garnishing pasta with oregano and dried basil. I loved this gadget. I am planning to use it in my South Indian cooking as well. You can find the picture of the herb grinder below.
In a wide bowl, boil 6 cups of water. Add cooking oil and salt. Chop the garlic and capsicum finely.
When the water starts to roll boil, simmer the flame and add the penne pasta. Stir well else it may stick to the bottom of bowl. Boil for 10 minutes stirring now and then. Cook al dente. Cover the bowl partially and cook for last 5 minutes. I do this to cook the pasta soft. Take one, break it and check for doneness.
Drain the cooked pasta in a colander, set aside. Wash with cold water and drain the water completely.
Heat 1 tbsp butter in a kadai and saute the finely chopped garlic till golden. Add capsicum, frozen sweet corn and saute for a minute. It should remain crunchy in taste. Remove in a plate.
In the same kadai, heat 3 tbsp butter. Add 2 tbsp maida and roast till its raw smell goes off. Lower the flame. Add milk in one hand while stirring with a whisk in other hand. This helps to avoid lump formation. So keep stirring with a whisk while you add the milk. Mix till there are no lumps.
Add sauteed vegetables, red chilli flakes, pepper powder and some salt. Let the sauce boil till thick. Lastly add the cooked pasta, mix well. Tear the cheese slice into small pieces. Add to the boiling sauce. Mix till it melts. Garnish with oregano, basil and other spices if you like. Remove and serve hot.
Notes
Adding oil in the water helps to cook the pasta non-sticky.
I like my pasta to be soft. So I cover & cook it for 5 minutes. But usually people won't do that.
Adding cheese is optional. But it makes the white sauce more creamy.
You can replace cheese slice with cheese cubes or grated cheese. Mozzarella or even cheddar cheese is fine.
Try this easy, yummy kids friendly white sauce pasta recipe at home and enjoy !
Avarakkai poriyal recipe (Broad beans curry for rice) is one of the easy South Indian poriyal recipes(stir fry) which I make very often in my kitchen. In tamil nadu, people make this avarakkai curry in different ways. I prepare broad beans poriyal with coconut directly in a pressure cooker just like my carrot beans stir fry. Its so easy to make and saves lot of time than stir frying it.
Actually there are two varieties of broad beans available in the market. In Tamil, we call it as patta avarakkai (broad ones) & sanna avarakkai( thin ones). You can find patta avarai very commonly in Tamil nadu. In Bangalore, I get only the thin variety near my house. But this poriyal suits for both. I learnt this recipe from my MIL. She usually make this poriyal with thick broad beans.
Once I saw my friend Megha adding peanut powder to this poriyal instead of coconut. She told its of Andhra style. So I too make this way sometimes as Sendhil loves to have peanut powder in broad beans curry. If you want to make this avarakkai poriyal without coconut, you can either add onions or peanut powder at the end as specified in this recipe. In this poriyal recipe, I used little coconut just for attraction.
Otherwise I don’t add it. This poriyal tastes the best with sambar rice. I served with Radish/Mullangi sambar and microwave roasted sago vadam. It was yummy ! Actually I was planning to make a post on sweet recipe or murukku today but I couldn’t do it as I am unwell. So I am posting this poriyal recipe which I scheduled for this weekend. I will try to share the sweet recipe tomorrow. Ok, Lets see how to make South Indian style broad beans poriyal with step by step photos.
Roasted peanut powder - 1.5 tbsp or Grated coconut – 1/4 cup
To Temper
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - Few
HOW TO MAKE BROAD BEANS PORIYAL
Wash and chop broad beans thinly.
In a cooker base, heat oil. Temper it.
Add chopped avarakkai, saute for a minute.
Add sambar powder, moong dal, salt and 1/2 cup water.
Pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles.
Boil & drain if excess water else add roasted peanut powder. Mix well and cook for a minute. Serve with rice.
AVARAKKAI PORIYAL RECIPE WITH STEP BY STEP PHOTOS
Wash and chop the broad beans thinly. If you are adding peanut powder, roast 1 tbsp peanuts in a microwave for 3 minutes in high power or dry roast in a kadai. Powder it with skin and set aside.
In a cooker base, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds.After it splutters, add curry leaves and chopped broad beans. Saute till it turns dark green in color. Keep the flame medium.
Add turmeric powder, sambar powder, moong dal and salt. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well. Pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles or till broad beans become soft.
Open the cooker after the steam is released. Mix well and check if there is excess water as shown in the picture below. If its there, cook in high flame for 2 minutes till all the water drains out.
Reduce the flame low to medium when the poriyal is becoming dry else it may burn at the bottom. Lastly add the grated coconut or peanut powder. Mix well and serve with sambar rice.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per your taste.
You can use red chilli powder instead of sambar powder. My mom does this way.
You can also saute finely chopped onions after tempering. In that case, you don’t have to use coconut.
You will like it . I used grated coconut just for garnishing.
I tried Andhra style raw banana curry/ Plantain curry (Aratikaya kura in Telugu) as side dish for rice for the first time. Being a South Indian, Poriyal / Dry curry is a must in our daily lunch menu. As I got bored of my Tamil nadu style vazhakkai poriyal, I wanted to try something different with raw banana. I found this curry recipe very simple and easy.This aratikaya koora has no masala or coconut, still it tasted great with rice. We loved it very much. Its taste reminded our vazhakkai podimas to me.
I tried this recipe referring Swasthi's recipes& Cooking from heart blogs.In South India, people make raw banana curry in different ways. Kerala style raw banana thoran and Tamil nadu’s Vazhakkai poriyal tastes great in its own ways.I am happy that I learnt this Andhra style raw banana curry.Soon I must try Kerala style thoran too. This recipe would be suitable for bachelors and working women as it has no grinding job. Friends, do try this plantain curry. I am sure you will love its taste and easy to cook steps. Lets see how to make Andhra style raw banana curry recipe with step by step photos.
Cook raw banana with skin in 3 cups of water till soft.
Prick a toothpick and check if its done.Peel the skin, chop into cubes.
In a kadai, heat oil. Temper all the ingredients.
Saute onion, green chilli, ginger till transparent.
Add turmeric powder, salt and raw banana pieces. Mash few banana pieces and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with rice.
Andhra raw banana curry / Plantain curry (Aratikaya kura) - Step by step pictures
Wash and cut the banana into two or three. Cook with skin in 3 cups of water. Cover cook for 8 to 10 minutes till banana becomes soft. Prick with a knife or toothpick and check if its done. Make sure you do not over cook the banana.You can also pressure cook it in high flame for 2 whistles.
Remove & keep the cooked banana in cold/plain water for 2 minutes. It helps to keep it firm yet soft. Peel the skin and chop into cubes.
Finely chop the onions,ginger. Slit the green chillies and curry leaves. Heat oil in a kadai and temper mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and cumin seeds.
Saute onion,curry leaves, green chilli and ginger pieces till onion becomes transparent.Add turmeric powder, salt and raw banana cubes.Mix well.
Mash few banana pieces and cook for 2 minutes in low flame. Switch off the flame, sprinkle lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves if desired.I did not add it.Remove and serve with rice.
Note:
Adjust the quantity of chillies as per your spice level.
Do not over cook the banana. Check with a toothpick whenever needed.
I prepared this gravy along with mixed vegetable kootu as side dish. It was a nice combination. Everybody loved its taste. As we are doing in a pressure cooker directly, time taken to cook this gravy is just 15 minutes. So bachelors and working women can The taste of pumpkin gives a natural sweetness to the gravy. So we don’t have to add jaggery to this puli kuzhambu unlike other vatha kuzhambu recipes. You can make this gravy thick or thin as you wish. It tastes good either ways. Adding Homemade sambar powder or Vatha kuzhambu powder gives the best taste. I don’t think you can make this puli kuzhambu with white pumpkin because it absorbs all the tanginess of the gravy. So friends, do try this yummy, easy, no grind parangikai puli kuzhambu and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Parangikai puli kuzhambu/Pumpkin vatha kuzhambu with step by step pictures. 
