Most of us make kheer/Payasam using fine vermicelli. Me too no exception. Recently I bought a big pack of fine vermicelli to make sheer korma during Ramadan festival. I had nearly 1/2 kg of fine vermicelli leftover in hand and I wanted to try some interesting and a different recipe with it. I asked our blogger friend Lubna Karim to suggest some fine vermicelli recipes. She shared Khara vermicelli masala upma recipe from her blog. I tried it for our breakfast and shared the picture in my Instagramand facebookpages too. After that, I have made this upma twice but I couldn’t make a post here. This morning I made it just for blogging sake. The list of ingredients may seem more. But its very easy to make and cooks faster than our regular vermicelli. So you can prepare this upma for breakfast or dinner in just 10 minutes. This dish is ideal for bachelors and working women. It tastes like semiya pulao and resembles Idiyappam(Rice noodles) with mild masala flavor. You can add mixed vegetables and make it more colorful and healthy. You can try this upma with thick vermicelli too. But water quantity varies.This upma stays soft for hours.So it can be packed for lunch box too. Kids would love it for sure. I liked it with coconut chutney as side dish whereas Sendhil & Raksha loved it with onion raita. Do try this masala upma with fine vermicelli and share your feedback. Soon I must try fine vermicelli kesari too. Also check out my Fine vermicelli Payasam Recipe.
NOTE : In Bangalore, you can find Fine vermicelli in Nilgiris, Jayanagar 4th block BDA complex Pooja materials shops, MK Ahmed stores.
Fine vermicelli Masala Upma Recipe
Vermicelli masala upma recipe - Easy and quick breakfast recipes
Mixed vegetables - 1/4 cup ( Carrot, peas, potato)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Ghee – 2 tsp
Coriander leaves – to garnish
Lemon juice - few drops (optional)
METHOD
I have tried this upma with & without vegetables.So the step by step pictures slightly differs from the main picture.
Wash and slice the onion, chop the tomato, slit the chilli and finely chopped vegetables ( If adding).
Heat a kadai with oil. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, Chana dal, Cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds. Saute and add sliced onion, green chilli and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well till the raw smell of g&g paste goes off.
Now add the chopped tomato pieces,mixed vegetables ( If using). Saute until tomato turns mushy and veggies are half cooked.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, required salt and mix well. Add 1.25 cups of water and cover the kadai. Let the vegetables cook for 2 minutes.
Break the fine vermicelli strands into two.Add them to the boiling water and mix well. You may feel water quantity is less for vermicelli. Don’t worry. As soon as you mix the vermicelli with the water, it will absorb all the water and becomes soft. So keep tossing and flipping it gently. If possible, use a fork like ladle to avoid vermicelli turning mushy. Keep the flame minimum and cover the kadai. Let it cook for 2 minutes. If you feel the vermicelli looks too dry and not cooked properly, you can add 1/4 cup of water at this stage and mix well. ( Water quantity is the key to get perfectly cooked,fluffy upma. If you add more water, it will turn to vermicelli khichdi. So please use less water and add more only if needed). This vermicelli turns fluffy and separate when it cools down. Lastly add 2 tsp of ghee and garnish with coriander leaves. Sprinkle some lemon juice if you like. Mix well and serve hot.
Enjoy with coconut chutney & onion raita !
Try this easy to cook, yummy fine vermicelli masala upma for breakfast/dinner. You will love it like me.
Aadi 18/ Aadi Perukku is a festival observed on the 18th day in Tamil month Aadi. It is also known as Pathinettam perukku or aadi perukku in Tamil. This year 2023, it falls on August 3rd, Thursday. Aadi perukku is a unique South Indian festival that marks the beginning of Tamil festivals in Tamil nadu. It is observed on the 18th day of Tamil month Aadi. In this post, I have shared the significance of Aadi 18, What to do on Aadi 18, its rituals, how to perform aadi pooja and how to celebrate this festival at home along with the list of Aadi 18 recipes lunch menu / Neivedyam recipes links and our celebration pictures in detail for your reference.
Last year I shared the celebration procedures for most of the important Hindu festivals to help beginners and to keep a record for my future reference. But I couldn’t make a post about our first festival, Aadi perukku celebration in a detailed manner. So this year I wanted to share it with my last year’s celebration pictures. Please go through them and have a happy aadi 18 celebration. Hope beginners would find this post useful.
Wish you all a very happy Aadi 18 !!
Disclaimer :All the pictures & celebration procedures I have shared is based on my family's tradition. It may vary from place to place. Beginners, please keep this as reference. Consult the elders in your family and follow it :)
SIGNIFICANCE OF AADI 18 Aadi 18/ Perukku is a festival observed on the 18th day in Tamil month Aadi. It is also known as Pathinettam perukku or aadi perukku. In Tamil, ‘perukku’ means ‘rising'. The rising here indicates the overflowing of Kaveri river due to the monsoon rains. It is celebrated near river basins, water tanks, lakes and wells of Tamil Nadu. Devotees take bath in the river & worship mother cauvery in the form of Amman.
I have heard about the grand Aadi 18 celebration in Kooduthurai, Bhavani. This festival is celebrated by farmers and people who depend on the rivers and monsoon rains for their life. Special prayers and puja are done in temples. People pray to River Cauvery and Rain God Varuna Bhagavan for a good harvest, constant supply of water and hassle free monsoon.
On this day, all the family members along with their friends and relatives make a trip to the riverbank by preparing a special lamp using rice flour and jaggery (maavilakku), mulaipari and several rice varieties ( Chitranna). Maavilakku is placed on mango leaves along with flowers, turmeric and a yellow thread. Then the lamp it is lit by the women and they float the lamps along with the mango leaves and other accompaniments in the river. The riverbank or seashore picnic is a major event in some districts of Tamil Nadu on this day. We call this as Vandi katti poradhu in Tamil :)
Some regions in Tamilnadu have the tradition of inviting the newly married couple to home and son-in-law is given gifts on the day. Some people also have the practice of adding a gold coin in the thali of bride. During Aadi month, the newly wed girl spends the month at her parent’s home for some scientific reasons.
Thread greased with turmeric powder( Yellow rope/Manjal kayiru)
Raw Rice & Jaggery
Coconut,betel leaves & nuts
Banana & Locally available Fruits
Blouse bit, new dress(Saree or any girls dress)
1 Mirror
Bangles, gold jewels, Kaatholai Karugamani ( Small black bangle, refer the above pic)
1 Lemon
Banana leaf for keeping neivedyam
Other pooja items like oil, ghee, camphor, incense stick and sambrani/Dhoop.
Ingredients for making Rice varieties like Ellu sadam, Tamarind rice, Sweet Pongal, Curd rice, coconut rice & Sundal.
Check out my in-laws blog “Learn Kolam”for kolam ideas. OUR CELEBRATION
Usually Aadi 18 is celebrated in River banks or near water bodies. So my MIL celebrates this festival near water tank in Salem house by drawing a square shaped box with sand ( We call it as “Manal veedu”). Make small Pillayar with sand, keep all the Pooja items in front of Pillayar and do the neivedyam. Refer the picture shared below from my in-laws blog "Learn Kolam". Then she drops the flowers, lemon, turmeric into the water tank. But I celebrate in my apartment in my pooja room in a simple manner as suggested by my MIL.
HOW TO CELEBRATE AADI PERUKKU / AADI 18 AT HOME
The previous day to the festival, wash all the lamps. Keep turmeric, kumkum dots, put oil, threads /wicks and keep the lamps ready. Clean the house. Wipe the doors, windows clean and keep turmeric, kumkum dots. Prepare Pulikachal / Puliogare paste, Ellu podi, coconut rice mix for making variety rice the next day. Draw Rangoli/Kolam at night. Draw with rice flour paste/ Arisi Maakolam or rangoli powder/Kolam maavu. Check out my in-laws blog “Learn Kolam”for kolam ideas.
The next day early morning around 5 am, take bath and get things ready for doing pooja. We should do the neivedyam before 6am or at least before 7am. You can also do in the auspicious time in morning as per the calender ( Nalla neram) or panchangam. Decorate the pooja room with flowers. For morning pooja, make 2 manjal pillayar ( One as Lord Ganesh and other one as Amman) and place it in a wooden plank, light two lamps on the sides. Keep this setup in front or inside your pooja room.
To make manjal pillayar, take 1 tbsp of turmeric powder, add little water and make 2 small cones. Keep a kumkum dot. In front of the manjal pillayar, place coconut, betel leaves, betel nuts, all fruits, flowers, Yellow rope in a plate or banana leaf. In another plate, keep turmeric, kumkum, sandal powder or tablet, one mirror, bangles, one lemon, your gold jewelries, one new blouse bit, a new dress ( saree or any girls dress) if you have in hand, Katholai karugamani( small black bangles, available in pooja stores). You can also keep some new dress and jewels ( new or used ones) if you have in hand. Please refer the below picture for reference.
In a bowl/Sombu, fill water till its brim ( Its considered as Kaveri water) & keep it. In a small bowl, mix raw rice and jaggery. This is for neivedyam. Light lamps and do the pooja by showing Dhoop, dheep and mangala harathi. After doing the pooja, tie the yellow rope around your neck by yourself. Tie the rope in hands for small girls at home. Take the manjal pillayar, mix with some water, put the katholai karugamani, lemon, flowers and pour everything in a plant pot or tree. After sometime, take the lemon after sometime & use it in your cooking. This is our morning pooja.
In the afternoon, in an auspicious time ( avoid rahu kalam & Yama gandam), do the pooja with 5 rice varieties and pepper vada/Milagu vadai. I make chana sundal too. AADI 18 LUNCH MENU / AADI PERUKKU LUNCH RECIPES
Every year I prepare Lemon rice, tamarind rice, Coconut rice, sweet pongal & curd rice. Sometimes we make payasam with jaggery instead of sweet pongal and make Ellu sadam or milagu jeeraga sadam to make a count of 5. My mom used to say we have to make 18 rice dishes for aadi 18 ;). I don’t know how far it is true & is it possible to make 18 rice varieties.
I have shared the links of all variety rice recipes , sweet pongal & payasam recipes & vadai ( two versions) below. Please check it. Making this aadi 18 lunch menu is very easy if you have prepared Pulikachal paste, ellu podi, lemon rice paste on the previous day. You can also grind the vada batter and refrigerate it till use. Please refer the video given below on how to prepare 5 rice varieties for Aadi 18 easily.
When we think about quick breakfast recipes, Rava & Poha comes to our mind ( Poha = Rice flakes in English, Poha in Hindi, Aval in Tamil, Avalakki in Kannada). Poha recipes are easy to cook & a very healthy option for diabetic people too. In my kitchen, Rava upma and poha upma makes its appearance at least twice in a week.
Sendhil loves Poha upma very much. So I keep making variations in poha upma like mixed vegetable poha upma, lemon poha, Kanda Poha, Batata Poha, Gujarati Poha, Karnataka Chitranna etc. When Sendhil went for an abroad trip, I packed homemade Instant Rava upma mix and poha mix for him. No soaking and chopping is needed. Just boil some water and cook. It will be ready to eat in few minutes just like noodles.
You can enjoy this mix as teatime snack like chivda/Poha mixture. This mix was very useful for him and he loved it too. So I started making Instant mix recipes very often in my home. I make use of this mix whenever I feel lazy to cook after coming back from a trip. For this recipe, I referred this & this blogs, made some additions and tried it.
Bachelors, working women and students who stay in hostel, PGs can try and keep this mix in bulk quantity. It will really help you to make quick, hassle free breakfast or dinner.Try this and share your feedback. You can try this upma mix with Red aval, Brown aval or even thin rice flakes. But cooking time and water quantity may vary slightly. See to it. Ok, lets see how to make Instant Poha upma mix recipe.
Clean the poha if needed but without washing in water. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, Urad dal, chana dal, pinched red chillies, curry leaves, hing and turmeric powder. Add poha, salt, sugar and pepper powder. Saute well until poha turns crispy. Keep the flame medium to high and roast patiently by staying nearby. Add roasted peanuts and mix it. Switch off the flame and let it cool in the kadai itself.
Once its cool, store in an air tight box or ziplock cover. No need to refrigerate. It stays good for weeks even without refrigeration.
To make poha upma with this mix, boil 1.5 cups of water. Add 1 cup of poha mix and keep mixing till it absorbs 3/4th of the water. Cover the kadai and let it cook in low flame for few minutes. Open the kadai and stir it once in the middle. After its cooked well, sprinkle some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot !!
For variations, Soak this mix in hot water for few minutes and then cook it with little water. You can saute one finely chopped big onion in 1 tbsp of oil and then add water. Add poha mix and follow the above procedure. You can add chopped and cooked potatoes along with onions like North Indian “Kanda batata poha” OR saute finely chopped vegetables along with onions, cook for few minutes and add poha mix. This makes the poha mix more healthy. You can even add some garam masala powder and make a twist from the usual upma.
NB: Add more chillies or chilli powder as per your taste buds. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon peel powder in this mix if you have in hand. I din’t use it. If you have potato flakes in hand.
Make your own instant poha upma mix at home and enjoy !
Ven pongalalso known as Khara pongal is one of the most important South Indian breakfast recipes which is very popular in Tamil nadu. I have already shared my MIL’s easy, Venn pongal recipein a pressure cookerwith a video. Today I have come up with my mom’s version of making ven pongal. My parents are with me in Bangalore and I am having a great time with them. I am enjoying my mom’s special recipes. This morning amma made ven pongal and coconut chutney for our breakfast.
Most of us avoid eating pepper corns if its added as whole ones. So my mom adds coarsely powdered pepper corns just like the ones served in some hotels. And she adds more quantity of moong dal to make the dish more healthy. It doesn't look like hotel style ghee dripping pongal but sure its tasty. Do try this version. You will love it. Ok, Lets see my mom’s style South Indian Ven pongal recipe for breakfast.
Ven pongal recipe
Ven pongal/Ghee pongal/Khara pongal - South Indian breakfast recipes
Water - 5 cups ( add more based on your desired consistency)
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Chopped ginger - 2 tsp
Asafetida/Hing - 2 pinches
Cashew nuts - few
Salt - as needed
HOW TO MAKE VEN PONGAL - METHOD
Heat 1 tsp ghee and roast moong dal in a kadai till nice aroma arises. Do it patiently without burning them. Remove in a plate. For variations, you can skip roasting the dal and wash it with rice.
Wash the rice and set aside. In a kadai, heat 2 tbsp of ghee and roast the pepper corns. Let it crackle. Remove half of them and powder it coarsely. If you want, you can powder all the roasted pepper corns. I powdered half & added the remaining as it is for photographic attraction. But my mom usually powders all the pepper corns.
Add cumin seeds to the remaining pepper corns and roast the jeera for few seconds without burning. Switch off the flame and set aside. In a cooker base, take the washed rice and roasted moong dal. Add 5 cups of water and required salt. Mix well and add the roasted pepper + cumin mixture, chopped curry leaves, ginger and hing. Mix everything and pressure cook in high flame for 7 to 9 whistles. Remove the weight valve after the steam is released.
Heat 1tbsp of ghee and roast cashew pieces till golden brown. Open the cooker and add the roasted cashews and powdered pepper corns. Mix well till mushy and add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee. Mix and serve.
Last week my friend Shalini was telling me about methi chaman gravy (Methi = Fenugreek leaves in English, Vendhaya keerai in Tamil, methi in Hindi, Menthe soppu in Kannada) she had in a restaurant. She told her family loved the gravy a lot and suggested me to give a try. She also shared me a link with a recipe close to the restaurant style methi chaman. Actually speaking, I have no idea about this recipe and its origin. So I browsed few more recipes to know its birth and came to know methi chaman is from Kashmir and it is very popular in Mumbai too. It is a mildly spicy curry/ gravy made using palak, fenugreek leaves/Methi leaves. It is popularly known as Hariyali Methi Chaman.Today I have shared Paneer methi chaman recipe. I am not sure this is the authentic recipe because I found many variations in this basic methi chaman recipe by adding paneer, Palak, sweet corn etc. In fact my friend Shalini tasted makai methi chaman in which sweet corn and methi leaves were the major ingredients. It is without paneer and palak. But its my first attempt for this recipe. So I blindly followed the recipe shared in the link. It came out finger licking good.Its a good side dish for roti, naan, kulcha, ghee rice and mild pulao varieties. I loved it like anything and found “Kitchen King Masala” is the star ingredient for this particular recipe. Friends, do buy a pack of kitchen king masala if you don’t have in your hand.It gives restaurant style taste and flavor to North Indian gravies. If you don’t have fenugreek leaves, you can use crushed kasuri methi ( Dried frenugreek leaves) too.Ok, lets see how to make methi chaman gravy with paneer.
Don't forget to check out my other paneer recipes in THIS LINK
Paneer methi chaman gravy recipe
Paneer methi chaman gravy recipe - Mildly spiced gravy with Indian cottage cheese & Fenugreek leaves- Side dish for roti,naan, kulcha and mild pulao varieties
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( Add more for spicy gravy)
Dhania powder - 2 tsp
Cumin powder/Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp
Kitchen king masala powder - 1 tsp ( I used Kwality brand)
Boiled Milk - 1/4 cup
Salt & water - as needed
METHOD
Cut paneer into cubes.Chop tomato, slice onions. Boil 2 cups of water till water starts to roll boil.Add the paneer cubes. Take fenugreek leaves ( methi leaves) & wash it thrice to remove the dust.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Crackle cumin seeds. Saute onion till transparent. Add ginger pieces,cashews. Then saute tomato till mushy adding some salt. Let the mixture cool down. Grind to a smooth paste adding required water.
Heat 1 cup of water & add 1/2 tsp sugar and the washed leaves. Boil for few minutes till the leaves cook well. Cook till all the water drains out. For variation, you can saute the leaves in oil instead of blanching to reduce the bitterness.Also you can grind the cooked leaves to a paste and add to the gravy. This gives green colored base to the gravy.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in the kadai. Saute the tomato-onion paste, 1/4 cup of water, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhania powder, kitchen king masala powder, required salt. Mix well till oil starts to ooze out.
To this add the blanched methi leaves and some water, mix well and let it boil.Check for taste and add more salt, spice powders if needed.
Add the paneer cubes, boiled milk and let the gravy boil for a minute. Check the consistency and switch off the flame. Add fresh cream if you like. Mix well and serve hot with roti/Pulao/Naan.
Enjoy !
Don't forget to check out my other paneer recipes in THIS LINK
Enjoy restaurant style Paneer methi chaman recipe with roti/naan !!
Basically I am a big dosa lover and love to try dosa varieties at home.I make them mostly for breakfast. But I couldn’t share all of them in my blog as I don’t get time to click the pictures in the busy morning hours.Today Sendhil is working from home. So I prepared this mixed vegetable uthappam for his breakfast and clicked it too. Onion uttapam and vegetable uthappam are our favorite among all the uthappam recipes in restaurant. So most of the time, this would be in our daily routine menu.
More than the restaurant ones, I love this dosa version from small road side dosa corner. I have tasted and seen the making of mixed vegetable dosa several times in road side 101 dosa varieties stalls in Salem and Bangalore as well.
Topped with the mixture of colorful, finely chopped vegetables & with lots of butter, this dosa tastes awesome with a watery coconut chutney, spicy Kara chutney and sambar served as a side dish. Literally I am drooling while writing this post and feel like running to a nearby dosa stall.
At home, we can make a low calorie version by using less oil/butter and more healthy by adding more quantity of vegetables than hotels.Do try this for breakfast & kids lunch box. They would love to eat this colorful dosa. Sprinkle some cheese & make it more attractive for kids.
Lets see how to make this yummy vegetable uthappam recipe with step by step photos.
Vegetable Uthappam Recipe
How to make mixed vegetable uttapam - Healthy dosa varieties for breakfast/dinner !
Wash and finely chop the carrot, onion, tomato, green chillies, capsicum and coriander leaves and mix everything together.Instead of fine chopping you can grate carrot. If you like ginger flavor, add a tsp of grated ginger.
In addition to this vegetables, you can add finely chopped cabbage, beans if you like. Heat a dosa tawa and pour a ladleful of dosa batter. Spread it slightly and make thick dosa if making uthappam.
If you want to make as a dosa, spread more. As soon as you see some holes on the top of the dosa, start sprinkling the mixed vegetables all over the dosa.
Drizzle 2 tsp of oil around it. By this time, the bottom portion of dosa would have cooked. Flip the dosa, press it lightly with the dosa flipper and cook the dosa in medium flame for 2-3 minutes. For variations cover and cook the dosa without flipping it.
Homemade idli sambar powder – Idli sambar can be prepared in many ways. But most of the people like hotel idli sambar ( restaurant style idli sambar) as it has got a special flavor.Usually my Mom & MIL makes Idli sambar adding freshly ground spices in addition to our usual Kuzhambu milagai thool/sambar powder just like hotels. My mom calls this powder “Mel podi” in Tamil. My MIL makes this sambar podi every time freshly whereas my mom makes this powder in bulk quantity and stock it for a week. She adds this powder to idli sambar and lunch sambar as well. Its a very simple recipe with just 5 ingredients. Sendhil loves hotel style idli sambar as it is more flavorful than the plain idli sambar. But most of the time especially during busy morning hours, I make a simple onion sambar for idli without adding mel podi. Recently my mom suggested me to grind and store this idli sambar powder and use it whenever needed. I gave a try and it really helped me for quick & easy cooking. Its smell & flavor lasted for more than 2 weeks even though I made in small quantity. If you have leftover lunch sambar in hand, you can add this powder to convert into idli sambar. Check out Notes section in this post. I have shared in detail.Friends, do try this idli sambar powder and make restaurant style sambar at home easily. Lets see how to make it.
Idli sambar powder - Hotel idli sambar podi
How to make idli sambar powder at home for making hotel style sambar
Red chilli - 5 nos ( I used byadge & guntur chillies for color & spiciness)
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
For variations you can few curry leaves while roasting. Dry grated coconut can be added while grinding but not more than 1 tsp.
METHOD
In a small kadai, heat oil. Add the methi seeds, when it starts to sizzle add the chana dal, pinched red chillies, cumin seeds and dhania seeds.Roast everything in low to medium flame. Make sure no dals or spices are burnt.
Let them cool down. Grind everything to a fine powder. Store in an air tight box and use it whenever needed. This sambar powder stays good for one week if stored in an air tight box.
Please refer my HOTEL IDLI SAMBARpost for the procedure of making sambar. In that recipe, I have shared the ingredients of spices to roast & grind. No need to make that powder. Instead add 1 tbsp of this sambar powder at the end.Give a boil.Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. If you have left over lunch sambar in hand, you can easily convert that into hotel style idli sambar. For that : Season mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves in ghee ( Add chopped small onions if needed). Add 1 tbsp of this idli powder in the ghee,saute for a second and add to the left over sambar. Dilute 1 tbsp of besan flour in 1/4 cup of water. Add to the sambar. Mix everything well. Let the sambar boil nicely. Check for taste and add more salt or sambar powder if needed.Enjoy !
Note : In this recipe, I have used less number of chillies. So I add either green chilli or add some sambar powder or red chilli powder for extra spiciness. So please add more chilli powder or chillies as per you need.
Try to prepare this sambar 1-2 hours before serving. This standing time helps for all the flavor to enhance while serving. You can use this powder for making sambar 3-4 times.
Try this homemade idli sambar powder and share your feedback with me.
Vermicelli masala upma recipe - Easy and quick breakfast recipes 
