Sakkaravalli Kizhangu/Sweet potato in English is one of the most important vegetables every South Indian would buy during Pongal festival. Actually I should have made this post immediately after Pongal. But sorry, I am posting this recipe in sweet potato off season.
Actually I had scheduled to share Paneer tikka recipe today. But I couldn’t do it as I had an important personal work. Due to time constraint, I am posting this recipe which was lying in my drafts for months. This poriyal recipe is very easy to make as it has no grinding job. Bachelors and working women can make it easily during busy morning hours. I learnt recipe this from my MIL.
Usually we make sweet potato poriyal in two ways. One using freshly ground masala like this recipe. Another one is this easy version by just using sambar powder. The combination of sweet and spicy taste goes very well with Sambar and more kuzhambu sadam. So lets check how to make this yummy Indian sweet potato curry recipe using few ingredients. Check out my brahmin’s style easy potato curry recipetoo !
Wash and pressure cook the sweet potato for one whistle in low flame. Peel the skin and chop the cooked potatoes into cubes. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds,urad dal and jeera. Add big onions, curry leaves and hing. Saute till onion turns transparent.
Now add the cooked potato cubes, turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Mix well and saute in medium flame. Let it roast well till raw smell of sambar powder emanates. Toss it once or twice in the middle. Garnish with coriander leaves if you wish. Serve with sambar rice.Enjoy !
Note
You can replace sweet potatoes with potato and make the same way.
For variations, you can grind 1/4 cup of coconut + 1 big onions+ 1/2 tsp of jeera to a coarse paste and coat the cooked potatoes along with sambar powder. Then you can temper and roast it as mentioned above.
You can also add few drops of lemon juice if desired.
Try this yummy sweet potato poriyal and enjoy with sambar sadam.
This is a very simple n easy vendakkai poriyal recipe/Okra stir fry which many of u make in your kitchen regularly.I have been making this vendakkai poriyal for years but i wonder why i have not shared it here.Its an easy side dish recipe for bachelors and working women who has very less time to spend in the kitchen.Next to brinjal,vendakkai/Okra is my favourite vegetable.I love Vendakkai recipes a lot be it sambar,poriyal,fry,masala gravies and even thayir pachadi too.I love it to the core if its properly cooked,ie It should be cooked non-sticky & dry.As u all know,the biggest trouble we face while cooking lady’s finger is that sticky thread like thing(we say Nola nola/kola kolappu in tamil) that comes out from it.When i was new to cooking, I have tried several techniques like adding curd,lemon juice etc. But nothing worked for me. Finally I found by practice that the stickiness of lady’s finger would go off if we keep sauting in high flame continuously. Use a good non-stick pan too. Its a simple trick and it gives great result too.I love to have this poriyal with sambar and rasam sadam.Here I have served it with morkuzhambu and Yam chips.Some poeple used to have this curry as a side dish for chapati too! Soon i will try to share some North Indian style recipes with okra/Bhindi.Lets see how to make this yummy South Indian vendakkai poriyal recipe!
Check out my vendakkai sambar recipe here !
Vendakkai poriyal recipe
Easy okra stir fry recipe without tomato & tamarind
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:Serves 2
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Okra/Bhindi/Lady's finger/Vendakkai-25 nos
Big onion - 1 no
Sambar powder - 1.5 tsp ( use 1 tsp for less spice) OR Finely chopped green chillies-2 nos
Curry leaves - few
Sugar - 1/2 tsp ( to maintain the color)
Grated coconut – 3 tbsp (optional)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt - as needed
Water- very little
To temper
Cooking oil - 1.5 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Hing/Asafetida - a pinch
METHOD
Wash and pat the lady’s finger in a kitchen towel to dry it.
Chop in into small roundels and set aside.Heat oil in a good non stick kadai and splutter mustard seeds,urad dal & chana dal.Add finely chopped onions and curry leaves.Saute till onions turns transparent.
Now add the chopped lady’s finger pieces along with sambar powder,salt and sugar.
Keep the flame medium and saute well.When it starts to become sticky to the pan,turn the flame to high and keep sauting till it becomes non-sticky and dry.Stay nearby and keep on mixing. If the kadai is smoking hot, reduce the flame to medium. Wipe the ladle in the kadai whenever needed because the masala might stick to it.
After they become non-sticky,reduce the flame to low & sprinkle very little water say 1tbsp.Mix well and cover the kadai.Let it cook in low flame for few minutes.Stir it once in the middle.
Check for taste and add more salt if needed.Once the lady’s finger is cooked till soft,add grated coconut,mix well & switch off the flame.Add lemon juice if needed.Mix well and serve with rice!
Note
For variations,u can use finely chopped green chillies instead of sambar powder.
You can also add one finely chopped tomato pieces instead of lemon juice.But u should saute tomatoes till it turns mushy.
For a good masala flavor,u can add finely chopped ginger& garlic or g&g paste.
Yesterday I posted a simple brinji rice recipein my Sunday lunch recipes series. When I shared the picture of brinji along with brinjal gravy as side dish, I got so many requests in my facebook page and emails asking me to share the recipe of brinjal gravy for biryani. I was very happy to see so many brinjal fans like me. So without any delay, I am posting the recipe of most popular biryani brinjal curry for you all.
Basically this brinjal curry/gravy is served as a side dish for biryani in muslim marriages and in restaurants. Be it a veg or non-veg biryani, this kathirikai curry serves as a great side dish. Some people call it as “Brinjal pachadi”too. You can find many variations for this recipe.You can make it as a thick curry or a thin gravy as you wish. I came across few simple recipes without grinding part and some with freshly ground masala. But I chose the recipe from a Tamil magazine “Kumudham Snegidhi” (Thanks to Edwin edy of food-fun-friends(Facebook group) for sharing a clip from magazine and from Mye’s blog which was very close to the one given in the magazine. The procedure may look lengthy but its sure a worthy try.
You will get awesome, mouthwatering, flavorful brinjal gravy. Even a brinjal hater would like to taste a small piece of it. In my house, both Sendhil & Raksha hates brinjal recipes. But when I was making this gravy, Sendhil came inside the kitchen by smelling the nice aroma and asked me what I prepare. That yummy aroma made him eat the gravy along with brinji. He loved the combo a lot and took two servings!!
Friends, do try this gravy as a side dish for biryani for your guests and parties/get together. I am sure, this will become a super hit recipe ! Ok, lets see how to make this delectable brinjal gravy for biryani with stepwise pictures !
Brinjal curry for biryani
Brinjal curry for biryani- Yummy side dish for biryani !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:2
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Brinjal - 5 nos ( small)
Tomato - 2 no ( small)
Big onion - 1no ( big, use 2 if medium or small )
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp ( use 1 tbsp for more spice)
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
To roast and grind
Peanuts - 1.5 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp ( I used black)
Khus khus/Poppy seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Tamarind - Small gooseberry size
Dry Coconut or freshly grated - 1 tbsp ( optional)
To temper
Gingely oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 3 nos
Cardamom - 1 no
METHOD
Grind the onion to a paste and set aside. Grind tomatoes to a puree. Keep aside.Soak tamarind in little water.
Heat a kadai and roast the peanuts. When the peanuts get half roasted, add the sesame seeds and khus khus. Roast them till it splutter and switch off the flame. Let it roast in the heat of kadai. Grind the roasted ingredients along with tamarind to a smooth paste adding enough water. Make it thick because u have to stuff the brinjal.
Wash and slit the brinjal into 4 pieces without removing the stem. Stuff it with ground masala paste. Keep the remaining masala aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds. Then add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add pepper corns and saute for a minute. Then add onion paste, ginger garlic paste. Saute well for sometime. Then add the tomato puree and saute till raw smell went off. Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Now add the stuffed brinjals and the remaining ground masala. Saute for sometime till the mixture becomes thick.Add some water and close the kadai. Cover cook till brinjal cooks well. If you want to make a thick curry, boil and evaporate all the water by boiling it OR add some water and bring it to thin consistency. Serve as a gravy with biryani !
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the consistency of the dish as you wish. I made it as a semi gravy.
Add more red chilli powder if you want the gravy to be more spicy.
U can garnish the gravy with coriander leaves at the end.
You can also add garam masala powder for extra punch.
This brinjal gravy is a yummy side dish for biryani and it tastes good with plain rice too. Try n let me know!
Palakura pappu/Spinach dal is an Andhra based, simple and easy one pot recipe. It can be made under 15 minutes and its a super healthy dish packed with the nutrition of dal & palak leaves. I had tasted this once in Jayanagar, Nagarjuna restaurant. Long back, I shared this Palakoora pappu recipe tried from Sailu’s food in my Andhra Lunch Menu post.
This time I tried it by getting the recipe from my friend Megha & I modified it slightly as per our taste. As her in-laws belong to Andhra, she makes this palak dal very often. Nowadays I make this for Sendhil’s lunch box whenever I don’t have enough time to prepare in busy mornings. Its a great recipe for Bachelors and working women. You can prepare this recipe at least once in a week and have a simple and healthy lunch.
My friend made it spicy but I had reduced the chillies as per my family’s taste. Also Megha told me to add little tamarind extract at the end but I used tomato here. But I read in readers comments in Vahchef's site that palak & tomato should be not be used together. I don't know the actual reason for it. So I am planning to use tamarind extract or lemon juice in place of tomato from next time. Please enlighten me if you know the correct reason. Try this easy palak dal recipe for rice and enjoy !
Palakura pappu recipe
Andhra style dal palak - Palakura pappu
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Lunch
Serves:Serves 4
Prep time:5 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
Palak/Spinach - 2 cups ( 1 big bunch)
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind or Tomato OR lemon juice - Berry size or 1 no (Do not chop the tomato)/ few drops
Salt & water - as needed
Big onion - 1 no
Green chillies – 4 nos ( I used 2)
Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar – a pinch
Oil - a drop
To temper
Cooking oil or ghee - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 5 nos ( crushed with skin)
Red chillies - 2 nos ( I used guntur chilli)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Hing/Asafetida - a big pinch
METHOD
Wash and chop the palak leaves finely.In a pressure cooker base, take the toor dal and add 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Add turmeric powder,roughly chopped big onion, one full tomato(optional) slitted green chillies ginger, ,salt, sugar and chopped palak leaves.{Here I used one tomato.But I read its not good to add palak & tomato together. So If uou don’t want to use tomato, use 1 tsp tamarind extract after cooking the dal and boil well}
Let it pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.After the steam is released,open the cooker and mash everything well using a thick ladle or whisk. Boil it to bring its right consistency.( If you don’t want to use tomato, add tamarind extract after opening the cooker now and boil the mixture for a minute)
In a kadai, heat ghee or oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, red chilli and crushed garlic cloves. Saute well for a minute and add them to the boiling dal.
Add tamarind extract if uing. Boil for a minute. After the dal becomes slightly thick and pourable, remove it and serve hot with rice adding a drop of ghee. Enjoy ! (Note : You can also add few drops of lemon juice instead of tomato or tamarind).
Note
I read in Vahchef’s site by readers that palak & tomato should not be cooked together. I am not sure about the reason. So if you want to skip tomato, add thick tamarind extract only after cooking the dal palak mixture. You can also use lemon juice instead of tomato or tamarind.
If using tomato, do not chop it and add to dal. Dal won’t be cooked well n mushy. So add it as whole tomato.
Make sure the dal is mashed well after cooking else the mixture will look watery and separate.
You can replace toor dal with moong dal too.
This palakura pappu can be done in another way.ie. Heat oil in a cooker. Temper all the spices given above and then add onions, green chillies, ginger. Saute them for a while and now add the moong dal and washed palak leaves. Add required water and salt. Pressure cook everything for one whistle in low flame.
Easy, healthy Palakura Pappu is ready to relish with hot rice n ghee !
Last week when I went to Reliance fresh to buy vegetables, I took a big sized brinjal / Kathirikai to try Baingan bharta recipe. But I couldn’t make it. I had completely forgotten about it. Yesterday I was running short of vegetables and all I had was this brinjal. As I had already tried ennai kathirikai poriyal , Bengali begun bhaja and some more curries, I wanted to try out something new. I googled for brinjal chops and I found this brinjal fry recipe in Nalini’s blogwhich was similar to my expectation. Basically I love the flavor of fennel seeds in masala. So I tried this recipe by making it little more spicy for myself as I am the only person who eats brinjal in my house. I had it with mysore rasam.It was a delectable combo and I took two servings of it. After a long time, I made a spicy lunch menu and ate it happily. If you are a brinjal and fennel seeds combo lover, then this recipe is for you. Check out mysore rasam recipe too. Friends, try this spicy, South Indian brinjal fry for Rasam or More kuzhambu. It takes very less time to prepare in busy mornings and you can pack it for your lunch box as well. I am sure your friends will ask the recipe. Lets see how to make this Tamil nadu style big brinjal masala fry recipe with step by step pictures.
Lemon juice – few drops
Coriander leaves – to garnish
METHOD
Take all the ingredients given under “ to grind” in a mixie jar.First grind it to a powder. Then add the required water and grind it to a smooth paste. No problem if the mixture is slightly watery but it should be a smooth paste.
Wash and chop the brinjals into medium thick round slices. Do not slice very thinly because they will mash it up while cooking. If you use normal purple brinjal, just slit them into 4 pieces .Immerse in water till use to prevent discoloration.
Now heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard, urad dal, jeera and curry leaves. Add the brinjal and saute for few minutes. Add salt & ground masala paste. Mix well and coat the brinjals.
Keep the flame medium and cover cook the brinjals for 4-5 minutes. Flip it once in the middle. Check whether they are cooked properly. Add some lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with sambar rice, rasam or simply with dal. Tastes yum!
Enjoy !
Note
The brinjal should be cooked in masala paste & oil. No need to add water. If you feel the mixture is too dry, you can sprinkle little water to cook the brinjals.
For proper cooking of brinjals, always keep the flame medium & cover it with a lid.
Please reduce the quantity of sambar powder as per your taste. The quantity I have mentioned here makes a spicy brinjal fry.
Adding lemon juice helps to balance the spicy taste as well as helps to absorb the iron content of brinjal in the body.
Enjoy this hot n spicy brinjal masala fry with rice.Tastes gr8 !
This is my favourite potato curry recipe next to my mom’s easy version.Its a pure South Indian style potato poriyal recipe for rice.I learnt this from my MIL.I usually make this poriyal & Aviyalfor my guest.All my guest like this curry very much & ask the recipe from me.This is my daughter’s favourite too.Its a best side dish for Sambar,rasam & More kuzhambu.Try it and let me know how u liked it.I make it less spicy for my family.Please adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per your spice buds.Soon i will share an easy potato curry recipe for bachelors.
Check out my brahmin’s style easy potato curry recipe too !
Potato curry recipe
Potato curry recipe/Urulaikizhangu poriyal - One of the best side dishes for Sambar & Rasam
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:15 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Medium sized Potatoes - 3 nos
Salt & water - as needed
To grind
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp ( I use 1/2 tsp)
Big onion - 1 no ( medium size)
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp
To temper
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Lemon juice - Few drops (optional)
METHOD
Wash and pressure cook the potatoes.Peel the skin and cut them into bite sized cubes.Set aside.Chop the onions into chunks for grinding.Chop another big onion finely for sautéing.
In a mixer,take the grated coconut,chopped big onion & jeera,sambar powder & turmeric powder.Pulse it once or twice.Onions should be coarsely ground.
Now take the potato cubes and mix it with the ground paste. Add the required salt & check for taste.Adjust the sambar powder & salt.
Heat a kadai with oil and temper mustard seeds,cumin seeds & urad dal.Add curry leaves & hing.After the dal turns golden brown,saute the onions till transparent.
Then add the masala coated potato cubes.Saute in low to medium flame till u get nice aroma from it and potato gets roasted nicely.Add 1/2 tbsp of oil the middle while roasting if u feel the mixture is dry.Do not cover n roast it.
Remove the roasted potato & squeeze some lemon juice if needed.Serve with sambar,rasam or more kuzhambu.
Enjoy !
Note
For variations,u can use raw banana or brinjal in place of potato but cook them in prior without losing its shape.
U can also 3 cloves of garlic along with onions while grinding.That gives a nice masala smell.
You can also garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves & squeeze lemon juice if u wish.
Make this yummy potato curry for rice & enjoy with sambar or rasam.Tastes great!
Cluster beans curry / Kothavarangai poriyal is an easy poriyal recipe that can be made under 15 minutes. As it has no grinding job, bachelors can also try this recipe. Cluster beans poriyal can be made with or without onion. It tastes good in either ways. It goes well with more kuzhambu & sambar sadam. My Father-in-law is fond of cluster beans sambar. So he used to buy kothavarangai/cluster beans very often. My MIL used to make kothavarangai sambar and poriyal with it. This is my MIL's style recipe. Ok, Lets see how to make this easy kothavarangai poriyal recipe for rice.
Kothavarangai poriyal/Cluster beans curry recipe
Kothavarangai poriyal/Cluster beans curry recipe-Tastes the best with More kuzhambu and sambar !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dishes
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Cluster beans/kothavarangai – 1 cup ( finely chopped)
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Yellow moong dal - 1 tbsp
Big onion - 1 no
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut – 1/4 cup
Tamarind – a big pinch
Salt & water - as needed
To temper
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
METHOD
Wash the cluster beans.Discard the head and tail portions and chop it finely. In a kadai,heat 1/2 tbsp of oil and saute the cluster beans for a minute.Then transfer this to a pressure cooker base and add yellow moong dal,tamarind,sambar powder,salt and little water( I kept in a small tiffin box and cooked it along with dal in pressure cooker).
Pressure cook in high flame for 2-3 whistles.Tamarind will be cooked well and mashed with vegetable.Open the cooker and drain excess water if any ( if u don’t want to discard the excess water,let it be with cluster beans). Heat a kadai with oil and temper mustard seeds,urad dal and cumin seeds.Add onions and saute till transparent.
Now add the cooked cluster beans( if adding with excess water,allow it to boil well and drain) and boil well for minute.After the poriyal becomes dry,add sugar and mix well.Lastly add grated coconut,mix well and switch off the flame.Serve with rice,gravy/kuzhambu and papad !
Enjoy !
Note
Adding onions is optional here.If we make this poriyal on no moon day/Ammavaasai,we make it without onions.It tastes good in either ways !
Adding little tamarind helps to overcome the mild bitterness of cluster beans.
Try this yummy kothavarangai poriyal and serve with rice n gravy !I served it with broad beans sambar
Indian sweet potato curry/Sakkaravalli kizhangu poriyal recipe 
.I make it less spicy for my family.Please adjust the quantity of 
