VERMICELLI BIRYANI | SEMIYA BIRYANI RECIPE WITHOUT ONION GARLIC

Vermicelli biryani ( semiya biryani in Tamil) recipe is an yummy, kids friendly breakfast and dinner recipe. I got this semiya biryani recipe from my brahmin neighbour. She makes it without onion & garlic. But I used onions as per my liking. I have tried without onions too. I would say this recipe suits well for potluck as well as lunch box. Your guests would be amazed by its taste. They’ll sure ask you for the recipe. I had tried this recipe many times and it never disappointed me. Its very simple to prepare too.. I have used water to cook the semiya, u can also use coconut milk or water & coconut milk half n half to cook the vermicelli. It makes the dish very rich. Lets see how to make semiya biryani in detail.

Sorry for the poor picture. I will try to update it.

INGREDIENTS

Short Vermicelli / Semiya – 1 packet or 200gms ( Roasted would be much better. I used bambino roasted short vermicelli) Big onion –  1 no (slice cut , optional) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp (optional) Carrot – 2 nos Beans – 5 nos Green peas –  handful Potato – 1 no Water – 1.5 cups ( As mentioned in the packet) Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp (optional) To grind Grated coconut – 2 tbsp Green chillies – 2 nos ( use 3 for spicy taste) Ginger – 1 inch Cinnamon – 1 small piece Cloves – 2 nos Fennel – 1/2 tsp To temper Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Jeera – 1 tsp Coriander leaves – to garnish Lime juice – few drops Ghee – 1 tsp Cashews – to garnish (optional)

HOW TO MAKE VERMICELLI BIRYANI - METHOD

Cut all the vegetables into small cubes and add all the 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle. In a wide mouthed kadai , heat oil and add jeera.Then add the onion slices ( if using) and saute well. Add the ground coconut paste and mix well for few mins till raw smell emanates. Next add all the veggies along with the water and add the turmeric powder and required salt. Let it boil for few minutes. Finally add the roasted semiya and mix well. Cover & cook for sometime in low flame. Toss in between. Make sure the water is sufficient for the semiya to cook.. If not,  add more and mix well. Use a fork kind of ladle to mix the mixture so that the vermicelli wont break much. Finally add the lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Roast cashews in  a tsp of ghee and add it on top before serving ! Serve hot with simple onion raita!

TIPS

Here i’ve used green chillies for grinding. So use red chilly powder only if necessary. OR if u don’t want to use green chillies , use red chilly powder alone while sautéing onions. U can use garam masala powder at the end if necessary. Add all the water ( i.e the water needed for cooking vermicelli ) while cooking vegetables in the pressure cooker. No need to pressure cook after adding the vegetables. Just cover the kadai or cooker with the lid.Open in between and stir the mixture well to avoid over cooking or burnt smell. Add water if necessary. Usually vermicelli takes 10 mins to cook well. This biryani looks mushy after cooking. U may feel it dint come out well .. But it needs some time to become flaky. Make sure you add correct quantity of water & use a fork to stir the mixture. Please prepare this dish at least 1 hour before serving. Sooner you prepare better the taste would be. If you want, you can reheat it by sprinkling little water and serve hot.

Technorati Tags: Vermicelli pulao,vermicelli briyani,vermicelli biryani,semiya pulao,semiya briyani,semiya biryani,semiya recipes,vermicelli recipes..

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Avial Recipe - Tirunelveli Aviyal Recipe - Mixed Vegetable Curry

 

Avial is my mom’s signature dish. I am a big fan of this mixed vegetable curry. It tastes great with sambar rice. Its a famous recipe among South India especially in Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu and Kerala..We make this specially for guests. I think most of you make this at home. Every time when I try to make this, I never get it perfect like my mom.

 

Recently when my parents visited me, I told my mom to make it , I stood nearby and noted down all the steps which I should have done this before my marriage. I want to record this recipe in my blog with all the tips from my mom for my future reference. Hope it will help beginners like me. Friends, Do try this Tirunelveli style perfect avial recipe with simple tips I learnt from my mom. U’ll love it .

Avial recipe - Tiruneveli Avial recipe

Avial recipe - Tiruneveli Avial recipe / Mixed vegetable curry for rice

 

Cuisine: Tirunelveli

Category: Side dish

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

 

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Mixed vegetables ( carrot, beans, raw banana, Brinjal, Drumstick, Potato) - 2 cups Salt & water – As needed Turmeric powder - a pinch Curry leaves – a few Fresh curd –1 tbsp To grind Grated coconut – 1/2 cup Green chillies – 3  Small onion – 5-6 Jeera / cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp To temper (optional step) Cooking oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds– 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – few **Coconut oil – 1 tbsp

HOW TO MAKE AVIAL RECIPE

1. Wash and chop the vegetables of 1.5 inch size thick. Keep in water till use.
2. Grind all the items given under “to grind” to thick paste.
3. In a bowl, cook the carrot, beans and drumstick first.
4. After its half cooked, add remaining vegetables. Cook till soft.
5. Do not over cook. Vegetables should retain its shape.
6. Now add the ground coconut paste, turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves and coconut oil.
7. Mix gently and boil in low flame for 5 minutes. Lastly add the curd, mix gently and switch off the flame. Tempering is optional.

Serve with rice and sambar. Tastes great !

 METHOD - STEP BY STEP

1. Cut all the vegetables of 1.5 inch size. Put everything in water until use.
2. Grind all the items given under “to grind” with little water. First run the coconut & chillies together to make a paste. Then add the small onions & jeera and run the mixie once or twice to crush it.
3. In a wide mouthed bowl, take the carrot, drumstick and beans. Add water just for the vegetables to immerse and allow it to cook for sometime by covering the bowl with a lid.
4. After it is half cooked, add the potato, raw banana, brinjal. Make sure the vegetables are not over cooked. It should not be mushy. Total cooking time would be 20-25 minutes in medium flame.
5. Check the amount of water in between otherwise the veggies would be burnt.
6. After all the veggies are cooked, if there is remaining water allow it to drain by boiling well for few mins. If you are using pressure cooker, just cook all the vegetables in high flame for 2 whistles. (Tips: Add a pinch of sugar and turmeric powder to retain the colour of vegetables). Release the pressure immediately so that vegetables will be cooked perfectly.
   
   

   

   
   
7. Finally add the ground coconut paste, turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves & coconut oil. Toss gently and simmer the flame. Allow it to boil for 5 mins.
8. Before switching off the flame add the curd, use a fork like ladle to mix well and switch off the flame.
   
   
9. Temper the mustard seeds and add to avial.
10. Cover it with a lid to retain the flavor and aroma.
    
    Last but not the least ,when you make it for your guests and if the avial lefts over , you can use it the next day by making pazhang curry.

TIPS TO MAKE PERFECT AVIAL

As I mentioned in the method, just grind the small onions and jeera coarsely by running the mixie once or twice. This gives the nice flavor. Also add the small onions in the mentioned quantity. Please do not reduce it. Pinch the curry leaves and add it raw while adding the coconut paste. The vegetables should not be over cooked. Please take care while it cooks. my mom tells me to cook the vegetables one by one in a separate bowl . So the aviyal looks more like a dry curry as we see in marriages and hotels. All the veggies should be visible and separate. I have also tried pressure cooking the vegetables but cook in high flame for 2 whistles. Remove the whistle quickly by releasing the steam. Veggies would be cooked perfectly. Don’t forget to add the coconut oil. Its very important for the flavor. Tempering is purely optional. Even my mom does not do the tempering part always. But the tempered mustard seeds gives a unique, nice smell. So its better to temper I feel. If you have raw mango in hand, you can add it to the vegetables while cooking but add it at the end as it cooks fast. In that case, please do not add curd. It makes the avial sour. If you don’t use mango , you should add fresh curd. Curd should not be too sour. My mom never makes aviyal if there is no raw banana and drumstick. So please make sure to use those veggies when you make. I’ve mentioned the veggies as 2 cups roughly.. In specific, I used 2 small carrots, 1 big potato, 1 medium raw banana, 10 beans, 1 drumstick and 2 small brinjals.

Yummy, aromatic, flavorful avial is ready to enjoy with sambar rice..!!

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நீர் மாங்காய் | RAW MANGO PICKLE - NEER MANGAI OORUGAI

This is the easiest pickle which we can make in no time and enjoy with curd rice. Though it may take 2-3 days time for all the tastes to be incorporated, you can enjoy it instantly too. We can use the same method for making pickles with Vadu maangai ( Baby raw mango), Nellikai ( gooseberry)  & even strawberries. Try this, you’ll love its taste.

INGREDIENTS

Raw mango – 1 ( medium sized) Chilli powder – 1 tbsp or Red chillies (long) – 10 –12 nos ( grind coarse) Crystal salt – As needed ( table salt is also ok ) Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Hing/ Asafetida – 1/4 tsp **Roasted fenugreek seeds powder – 1/2 tsp Water – Just to immerse the mango pieces. ( around 2 - 2.5 cups) To temper Gingely oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1/2 tsp

METHOD

• Cut the raw mango into bite sized pieces.
• Take an air tight container or bottle in which you are going to store the pickle.
• Add all the mango pieces into it. Then put the chilli powder/coarsely powdered red chillies, turmeric powder, Roasted fenugreek seeds powder, Hing, required salt & water.  As I mentioned the water level should be little above the immersed mango pieces.
• Finally temper in gingely oil/Sesame oil and preserve it.

After the given soaking time, you’ll get a soft, juicy mango pieces ready to taste with curd rice !!

Tips :It stays good for long period when refrigerated. But please use a clean ladle every time to take the pickle. Also dont forget to stir the pickle everyday for all the powders to get mixed otherwise it will settle down and the taste won't get blended quickly. If you are patient enough, start using the pickle after 2-3 days of preparation.  Hing , roasted fenugreek seeds powder are the star ingredients. Please dont reduce the quantity or avoid it. They are the flavouring agents !! If you wish to make the same with gooseberries, just saute the gooseberries in little oil before adding. This makes quick absorption of water into gooseberries. We call this as “Neer nellikai” ..

.** For roasted fenugreek seeds powder, dry roast fenugreek seeds in a kadai and powder them nicely. Store it in a box and use it for future. U can use it in idly sambhar , pickles and even for  coffee while making decoction.

Technorati Tags: Mango pickle,Vadu mangai pickle,Neer nellikai,Neer maangai,Raw mango pickle for curd rice,Instant mango pickle,baby raw mango pickle,pickle for rice,easy pickles,easy pickle for curd rice

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Fruits And Vegetable Milkshake

Nowadays i see lots of posts like milkshakes, icecreams ,juices, lassi etc etc as summer specials. So i too tried a milkshake after watching a cookery show.Its a tasty , delicious , rich n healthy milkshake with the combination of fruits & vegetables. This is the first time i tried milkshake and we loved its taste.The next day i tried the same with mango alone for my guests. They too loved it..Do try it. I am sure u’ll like it a lot.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Ripe mango – 1 no (medium sized) Carrots – 2 nos (Small) Papaya – 1/4 cup ( I dint use it) Dates – 2 nos Sugar- 3-4 tsp Milk – 1 cup Water – 1/2 – 1 cup Condensed milk – 1 tbsp Milk powder – 1 tsp Elachi powder – 1/4 tsp (optional) Crushed ice cubes – few

METHOD

Slice the mangoes and remove the skin. Cut into pieces. Cook the carrots in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Cut the papaya into pieces removing the skin.. Take the blender and add all the fruits & veg pieces along with dates and grind with little water to make a pulp. Next add the condensed milk, sugar and milk powder. Run it twice. Finally add the milk and blend well. Check for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary. Refrigerate  & Serve it chilled Or u can add some ice cubes and serve immediately.

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Ragi Biscuits - Eggless, Butterless Finger Millet Cookies

Ragi biscuits with wheat flour & oats / eggless, butter less Ragi cookies (foxtail millet cookies) is my first post on baking recipes. Thanks a ton to my neighbor for teaching me this wonderful biscuit recipe. I had tried this so many times. It never flopped. Its a keeper recipe. Usually nankhatai is made with maida & vanaspathi/dalda in most of the Indian bakery. 

First time I too tried only with maida & ghee. It tasted great, just melted in my mouth. But we all know maida and dalda  are not advisable to eat.So I thought of using a combination of wheat flour, ragi flour , powdered oats and I replaced vanaspathi with cooking oil . It was excellent in taste. I couldn’t find any difference in the taste & texture. 

Do try this ragi, wheat flour nankhatai , I am sure you’ll love this. Its a fool proof recipe. I’ve tried to give the exact measurements. Please adjust the amount of oil if necessary. Also you can see the picture of the biscuit I made just with wheat flour and little maida.Try whichever u like :)

Ragi biscuits / Ragi cookies with wheat flour

Ragi, wheat flour, oats biscuits - I call it as multigrain cookies/ nankhatai

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Cookies Recipes

Serves: 15 to 20 nos

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Ragi flour – 1/2 cup Wheat flour – 1/2 cup Oats – 1/4 cup Maida – 1/8 cup (just for binding) (half of 1/4 cup) Plain Corn fakes – fistful (crush it and add ) (optional) Sugar – 1/2 cup + 2 - 3 tbsp ( usually flour & sugar ratio is 2:1) Elachi / cardamom seeds – 2 nos Cloves – 3 nos Cooking oil – 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

RAGI BISCUITS/NANKHATAI - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Powder the sugar in the mixer along with elachi seeds & cloves. Sieve and set aside. Powder the oats and mix all the flours together. Heat it in the oven for 1-2 minutes. This is the most important step . If you forget to roast the flours , you get a raw smell in the biscuit.   Now take the cooking oil in a wide bowl and add the baking powder. Whisk well with your hands for 10 mins. Then add the sugar mixture and flour. Crush the cornflakes with ur hands into small pieces and add it to the flours before kneading. ( This gives a crunchy taste here and there while eating. But this is optional. Mix it well and knead a soft , pliable, dough like chapathi dough. Dough should not be hard. It may crumble a little but no problem but if you knead well, it will be soft & it’ll be tight. Now take little dough and make small , flat balls out of it. If you have cookie cutters,shape it as you desire. Preheat the oven in convection mode at 180c.Arrange all the nankhatai in the baking tray and bake it for 20-25 mins in 180c convection mode..   The biscuits will raise slightly and the color turns. Give a standing time of 10 minutes inside the oven and take the biscuits out. Allow it to cool completely. Store in an air-tight box. Enjoy!

Note

Roast the flours together in oven for 1- 2 minutes in microwave mode. U’ll get a nice aroma. Mix well, break lumps if any and then add it to sugar. Adjust the baking time as per your oven. Mine took exactly 25 minutes. Keep an eye after 15 minutes of baking. Over baking may lead to hard , burnt biscuits. Also under baking  gives a raw , uncooked smell.It wont come out of the tray easily. It will break. In this condition, keep it for 5-10 more minutes. U’ll get it right.Little cracks may come, no problem. If you want to add ghee or vanaspathi , just replace the cooking oil with it. The  quantity would be the same ( may be little less). Usually in bakeries, they add vanaspathi/ Dalda. While kneading the dough , it shouldn’t be too crumble in nature. Add more oil if necessary. U should be able to make the flat balls without cracks. Roll it tight and make balls. (The procedure is the same as we make for gulab jamun.) Don’t forget to add cloves.This gives the bakery flavour. Adding cornflakes is purely optional . I have added oats .So you may feel the biscuits are too soft. If you want , skip the oats and use wheat & ragi flour with little maida. Store the biscuit in an air tight container.Its shelf life is 15 days.

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Filter Coffee / South Indian Filter Coffee With Step By Step Pictures

My mom used to make instant coffee with Bru. Its my favorite. I love it from my childhood days. I had a thought only Brahmins make filter coffee at home. So I used to call filter coffee as “ Brahmin’s coffee” / “Iyer coffee”.. But I changed my thoughts after marriage when I tasted superb filter coffee from my MIL’s hands. She use Coffee day, Indus Coffee powder & sometimes Cothas too. Everything tastes good. I should say Iam addicted to the taste & smell of it. Sometimes I feel giddy after having a strong coffee. So my husband tells me to avoid coffee/tea. He scolds me whenever he sees a cup of coffee in my hand. Though I try to refrain from drinking coffee, I cannot do it. I drink minimum of one cup per day. I know most of you love coffee like me. Do try this recipe with some tips i’ve given below. I am sure it helps. I have given “ How to make Bru instant coffee for beginners” from my mom. Please have a look at the end .. Also don't forget to read the tips section. I’ve given the explanation for “Degree coffee “ which I got from wikipedia. Its interesting!

Filter coffee

How to make south Indian filter coffee

Cuisine: Indian Category: Beverages Yields: Serves 1-2

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Total Time: 15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For decoction Coffee powder – 3 tbsp Roasted methi seeds powder – A big pinch (optional) Sugar – 1/4 tsp Water – As needed To make coffee Milk – 1 cup Sugar – 1.5 – 2 tsp **Coffee filter picture is given at the end of this post**

HOW TO MAKE FILTER COFFEE - METHOD

Take the coffee filter's percolator ( ie. the part with perforations/holes)sprinkle little sugar at the beginning before adding coffee powder.This helps for faster filtration of decoction.Add the coffee powder & roasted methi powder. Press it gently with ur fingers and then place the strainer.Add hot water till half of the filter.Tap it with the lid and close it immediately Wait for 10-30 mins for the first thick decoction.Reserve the first decoction in a tumbler.U can make coffee with the first thick decoction if u want strong coffee ( this is called first degree coffee,kumbakonam degree coffee). If u wanna light or medium strong coffee,then add little more water to the filter and wait for some more time to get the second thin decoction.Mix the first & second decoctions and add as per ur taste. My MIL says this method gives the best tasting coffee .. To make coffee for one person, boil the milk and add 1.5 – 2tsp of sugar to one cup of milk.Then add the decoction as per ur taste and swish it OR add sugar and decoction in the bottom of tumbler and add milk.It will come up with a nice color. Serve it frothy !! Piping hot frothy filter coffee is ready to enjoy with ur favorite snacks !! We usually serve in traditional “Davarah- tumbler” which u can c in the picture .. Enjoy !

Some interesting information and my notes

For methi powder : In a kadai,dry roast a fistful of fenugreek seeds and powder it in mixie.Add this powder to the coffee powder while making decoction.This gives additional bitterness & flavor.Its healthy too. Diabetes patients can give this a try. But its completely optional for others... I have used “Coffee day coffee powder “ with chicory.If u use INDUS or COTHAS or COFFEE DAY coffee powder without chicory add 2 tbsp instead of 1 tbsp..U can make 3 cups of coffee with the coffee powder quantity i’ve mentioned. I have used small size filter/ percolator. If you use bigger ones,increase the quantity of coffee powder twice or thrice. Please don’t use the same quantity for big filters. f you have left over decoction, you can keep it in a refrigerator and use it the next day. But please avoid keeping decoction for 3-4 days. It may become a poison.  If you feel the decoction is brewed very slowly, tap it once on the umbrella like strainer or show the filter over the flame for few secs before adding coffee powder. I’ve mentioned to add sugar before adding coffee powder This is also for quicker brewing.. A term often heard for high-quality coffee is degree coffee. Milk certified as pure with a lactometer was called degree milk owing to a mistaken association with the thermometer. Coffee prepared with degree milk became known as degree coffee.. Another explanation for degree coffee is that chicory beans were used to make the coffee. The South Indian pronunciation of chickory became chigory then digory and finally degree. :) Yet another explanation is that, when coffee is decocted for the first time, it is called as the first degree or simply as the "Degree Coffee". This has the strongest flavour and the necessary strength to mix with milk without watering down the taste. In less affluent households, in earlier days, coffee was decocted for a second or third time from the same initial load; this became the second degree coffee and naturally, is not as strong. Affluent households drank first degree or the famous "Degree Coffee" only. Interestingly, there is a Kannada name for coffee "Boondh Bisneeru". "Bisneeru" sounds a great deal like "bisi neeru," or "hot water," thus leading to speculation that the terms are connected. Although not used currently, this was used by ladies two generations ago. The Srilankan Tamil name for coffee is "Kottai Vadineer". For cleaning the filter , drop the bottom part in hot water for few mins. Also pierce the holes with a needle to clean it. In Hotels , they used to add hot water till half of the filter and after it drips down,they again add hot water for half filter.This way helps to extract the full essence of coffee powder and also the coffee tastes great. Also they keep heating the milk using double boiling technique with which milk is heated without burnt smell. They swish the milk till frothy and make coffee. This also matters for a good coffee :)

Here is the picture of coffee filter with its parts

**COFFEE FILTER / PERCOLATOR You'll need a traditional FILTER which is made of 4 parts. 1. The lid that comes on top of the percolator. 2. The percolator, you can also see the base is punched with holes 3. Strainer, this looks like an umbrella . 4. Collector, The fourth part forms the base which collects the strained decoction.

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT BRU COFFEE

My MIL says making instant coffee is also an art. She says, sugar should be just rite. Sometimes it may become too bitter or too sweet to taste. She also says my mom makes good instant coffee. So I got this ratio of sugar & coffee powder from my mom , tried it and posted for beginners.. Experts , please excuse me.

INGREDIENTS Boiled milk – 1 cup ( 200 ml ) Bru instant  powder – 1/2 tsp Sugar – 1-1.5 tsp Water – Add very little(say 1 tbsp) ( If milk is too thick. My mom said milk shouldn’t be too thick for good coffee..) METHOD Boil the milk  adding water and take one cup of it. Add sugar, coffee powder and froth it. Check for taste and add more coffee powder for strength and color if necessary. I love coffee to be mild, so I add very less coffee powder. Please adjust as per your taste. Frothy , hot instant bru coffee is ready to enjoy !! ** Please don’t add more sugar for the mentioned amount of Bru because you wont get the bitter taste and sweetness would be more. For 3 people , you can add 1 tsp of coffee powder.

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Simple Potato Poriyal - Urulaikilangu poriyal recipe | Aloo Curry

This is my mom’s style potato curry recipe. I make this twice a week for my daughter. She loves this curry a lot. Its very simple to prepare .Tastes the best with dal rice & rasam rice. I’ve given the quantity of chilly powder according to my doter’s taste. I make it less spicy. Please adjust as per your tastebuds .

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 4 nos ( If medium sized) Big onion -  1 no (finely chopped ) Ginger – 1/2 inch piece (-do-) Garlic cloves – 5  nos (-do-) Chilly powder – 1 tsp ( U can replace with sambar powder) Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp Salt – As needed Curry leaves – a few Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp Urad dal – 1/4tsp Jeera – 1/4 tsp Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Coriander leaves – to garnish Lime juice – a few drops.

METHOD

Pressure cook potatoes with little turmeric powder. Cut into bite sized pieces. In a kadai , heat oil and temper with mustard seeds , urad dal & jeera. Add the finely chopped onions , ginger & garlic pieces , curry leaves and saute for few mins. Then add the potato cubes , turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt. Toss well for few minutes and finally garnish with coriander leaves. Switch off the flame and add a few drops of lime juice.Mix well and serve. Serve with rice . It goes well with lemon rice too…

Note :My mom adds G&G paste. But we don’t like it. So I add pieces of G&G. If you want, you can add garam masala powder at the end to make it more flavourful. The same can be used as a stuffing for masala dosa, stuffed buns etc. It tastes good with roti..

Technorati Tags: Potato poriyal,potato curry,simple aloo curry,aloo dry curry,aloo poriyal,simple potato curry,Aloo fry,dry curry,Potato curry for kids,Masala dosa stuffing,Masala for masala dosa

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INSTANT RAW MANGO PICKLE RECIPE | மாங்காய் ஊறுகாய்

My mom makes this instant raw mango pickle for my dad . A very simple yet delicious pickle that goes well with curd rice & dal rice( paruppu sadam). I hope most of u make this kind of pickle at home . A simple , easy to make pickle for beginners.Here comes the recipe..

INGREDIENTS

Raw mango – 1 no (medium size) Red chilli powder – 1-1.5 tsp (adjust) Hing / Asafetida – 2 pinches Roasted & powdered methi seeds - 1/4 tsp (optional , I dont add) Salt – As needed To temper(optional) Sesame oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp Urad dal – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves -  few

METHOD

Chop mango into very small pieces.Add salt and hing. Mix well and allow to sit for 30 mins.. The mango and salt leaves water and it gets soaked well. Now add the red chilli powder ,mix well.. Finally temper with the above said ingredients if desired.Usually I do it. But this step is completely optional as my mom don't do the tempering every time.

NOTE

1. My MIL also makes an instant version in which she mixes finely chopped green chillies & salt along with raw mango pieces . Keep it for 10 mins , mix well and enjoy.. This also tastes equally good as the above said pickle. Try this too.

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Hotel Idli Sambar Recipe | Tamil nadu Tiffin Sambar - Side Dish For Idli Dosa Pongal

I think most of you would have tried varieties of Tamil nadu hotel style idli sambar recipes at home. Even I too posted an idli sambar with toor dal long time back which learnt from my MIL. It tastes similar to the hotel ones. But I should say this is the exact recipe for restaurant style sambar. I got this recipe from Aval vikatan’s supplementary.

Yesterday I tried this for my guests. My guests liked it so much, I was showered with compliments and they were asking for the recipe. Thanks to Mrs. Revathy shanmugam for this yummy hotel kind of recipe. It tastes mildly tangy with more of dal, less spicy and you can even drink this sambar.

 

You can use this as basic Tiffin sambar recipe for making sambar vada,Mini idli sambar etc. It’s a great side dish for Idli, dosa recipes. My friend Jayarani gave me a tip recently. She told me to add pumpkin instead of jaggery and she also suggested me to use drumstick.

 Yes, as she told adding pumpkin gave a mild sweetness and drumstick gave a nice flavour. I have updated the recipe adding them. Do try this, I am sure you’ll get the exact taste as in most of the restaurants. It goes well with idli , dosa , Venpongal and vada. 

Check out this recipe for another version of hotel sambar if interested.

Check out my MINI IDLI SAMBAR RECIPE too.

Hotel Idli Sambar Recipe

Hotel Idli Sambar Recipe - Restaurant style Tiffin Sambar Recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Toor dal OR Moong dal – 1/3 cup Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Cooking Oil – A drop Pumpkin – 4-6 pieces ( cube sized) Drumstick – 1 no ( Chop into small pieces) Vegetables ( Carrot & potato) – If needed. Tamarind – 2 seeds (approx. small gooseberry size) To roast and grind Cooking Oil - 1 tsp Dhania / Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp Chana dal – 2 tbsp Red chillies – 6 nos Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp To temper & saute Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal –1tsp Jeera / cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Red chillies – 2 nos (pinched) Curry leaves – a few Asafetida/Hing – few pinches Small onion - a cup Tomato – 1- 2 nos Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves – to garnish Jaggery – 1 tsp ( Add if you don’t use pumpkin) Ghee – 1 tbsp

HOW TO MAKE HOTEL IDLI SAMBAR - METHOD

Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and take the extract. Set aside. Peel the onions and chop the tomatoes. Pressure cook the dals with turmeric powder, pumpkin pieces and a drop of oil. Mash and set aside. Cook drumstick and other vegetables separately and set aside In a kadai roast all the above said ingredients and make it a fine powder.   In the same kadai , add oil and temper all the items in the same order. Now add the sambar onions and saute till transparent. Then add the tomatoes ( crush it with your hands before adding , this makes the sauting process faster ) and required salt. Saute till tomatoes turn mushy and juicy. Add the tamarind extract , raw pinched curry leaves , hing, sambar powder and turmeric powder. Allow to boil till the onions get cooked. Now add the mashed dal,cooked vegetables ( if using) and the ground powder. Mix well so that there are no lumps. Boil for few minutes. It will thicken. Add more water if necessary. Switch off the flame add garnish with coriander leaves. Last but not the least, don’t forget to add a tbsp of ghee & Cover it with a lid until you serve..  Enjoy with idli, dosa and pongal!

Note

U can use the combination of moong dal and toor dal in equal quantities and make this sambar. Adding pumpkin gives a sweetness to the sambar. So no need to add jaggery or sugar. If you don’t add pumpkin use either jaggery or sugar while sambar boils. Make this sambar atleast 3-4 hours before serving because all the tastes blends well. U can reheat it while serving. For variations, you can add a tbsp of grated coconut while roasting the powder ingredients and powder them. Tastes great the next day with full aroma !!

ENJOY THIS SAMBAR WITH SOFT IDLIES.CRISPY DOSA & VEN PONGAL !!

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Bhakri Recipe & Masala Dal - Ajwain Paratha

I saw this in jaya tv’s “Anitha vin samayal”. I found it simple and healthy.I gave a try. It was excellent in taste. We loved it. I have made it thrice so far. Thanks to Mrs.Anitha kuppusamy .  She used ghee in the actual recipe but i used oil..Please go through the recipe.

BHAKRI

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Wheat flour – 1 cup Jeera – 1 tsp (OPTIONAL) Ajwain – 1.5 tsp Salt & water – As needed. Oil – 1 tbsp ( She told to use 2 tbsp of ghee)

METHOD

• Take a broad bowl and mix all the ingredients given above.Knead well .
• Make rotis and cook on tawa drizzling little ghee or oil around it.
• Enjoy with masala dal or any kurma of ur choice !!

MASALA DAL

INGREDIENTS

 1 cup - 200ml

Toor dal –1/8 cup Masoor dal – 1/8 cup Moong dal – 1/8 cup Channa dal – 1/8 cup Black gram dal – 1/8 cup Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Salt & water- as redq To grind Coriander seeds -  1 tbsp Red chilly -  4 nos ( She told to use kashmiri red chilly for nice color.But i used normal ones) Jeera / cumin seeds – 1 tsp Ginger – one inch piece Garlic – 7 – 8 cloves or (replace with ginger garlic paste) Cinnamon – 1 small stick Cloves -  3 nos Pepper – 8 nos Saunf – !/2 tsp (optional) Water – as needed. To saute Oil – 1tbsp grated onion -  2 nos tomato – 2 nos Coriander leaves – to garnish

Method

• Pressure cook all the dals together with little turmeric powder and a drop of oil.
• Grind all the ingredients given under “ To grind” by adding little water to make a smooth paste.
• Heat oil/ghee in a kadai and  add the items given under saute.Saute till the tomato mushes. Then add the ground paste and saute till the raw smell emanates.
• Add the cooked and mashed dals and add enough water and salt.
• Let it boil for sometime. Please keep the medium flame and cover the kadai while it boils otherwise it splashes everywhere.
• Add water whenever needed. Allow it to boil for 5-10 mins.
• Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves

Serve hot with rotis /Phulka or paratha !!.

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