Lemon rice (elumichai sadam in Tamil) is my most favourite among all the variety rice recipes for lunch. Its a very simple and a healthy rice recipe that can be prepared quickly for lunch box. I can have a plateful of lemon rice without any side dish like thogayal or pickle. But my mom makes a thick chutney with coconut and fried gram dal ( pottukadalai) as a side dish for lemon rice. My dad never eats lemon rice without this chutney and a pickle. Once I tried this combo for my husband and he too liked it. Recently we went to Meenakshi amman temple in Bannergatta. We had lemon rice as prasadam and it tasted out of the world. I would say it is the best lemon rice I have ever tasted. It was mild yellow in color & I found they had used raw rice & added some coriander leaves along with dals & chillies.. Usually I use steamed rice for making lemon rice. But after tasting that prasadam , I too started using raw rice and added some coriander leaves.
As aadi 18 festival is nearing , I thought of posting this lemon rice recipe. This is one among the 5 rice varieties ( lemon rice , puliyodharai , coconut rice , sakkarai pongal and curd rice) we offer to God on aadi perukku along with pepper vada and payasam.. Do try this chutney & lemon rice combo , u will love it..
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 250ml
Raw rice – 1/2 cup (Good quality sona masoori) OR (steamed rice , basmati rice)
Big sized Lemon – 1 ( adjust based on the size & tanginess of lemon)
Salt – as needed
Hing / asafetida – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
To temper
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Chana dal – 1/2 tbsp
Peanuts – 1 tbsp (optional)
Red chillies – 2 nos
Green chillies – 2 nos
Curry leaves – few
Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp ( to garnish)
Gingely oil – 1 tbsp ( to add while mixing)
METHOD
Pressure cook raw rice adding 1: 2.5 cups of rice and water ratio. Add a drop of oil before cooking. Cook it separate & fluffy. Spread them in a plate & let it cool down.
In a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice by removing the seeds. Add salt , turmeric powder & hing. set aside.
In a kadai , heat oil and temper the mustard seeds. After it splutters completely , add the dals & peanuts. Fry till they turn golden brown. Then add the pinched red chillies & slitted green chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of hing.
Saute well , add the lemon juice , switch off the flame immediately & transfer to a bowl. Add 2 tsp of water in the kadai, give a swirl and add to the lemon juice mixture..
Add this mixture & gingely oil to the rice , mix well. Check for salt. Garnish with coriander leaves..Initially it tastes more tangy..But all the taste blends well when its rested for 30 mins to 1 hour before serving.
NOTE
The water quantity may differ based on the quality of rice..If u use basmati rice, use 1:2 cups of water..
u can add also add the lemon juice directly in the rice instead of adding to the tadka..
Addition of peanuts is optional. I dint use here. I dint add coriander leaves as it was out of stock. But addition of coriander leaves gives a nice taste..
Add gingely oil while mixing the rice.
POTTUKADALAI CHUTNEY / FRIED GRAM DAL CHUTNEY - SIDE DISH FOR LEMON RICE
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 250ml
Dalia/fried gram – 1/4 cup
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
Green chillies – 2 nos
Salt – As needed
Garlic cloves – 2-3 nos
METHOD
Grind all the above ingredients to a thick paste adding less water..Serve !
Poondu kulambu / Poondu kuzhambu recipe is an easy to make, flavouful side dish for rice.I tried this recipe from “ The Hindu ” Food safari magazine. As this garlic kuzhambu recipe was given by a chef, I tried it confidently. It came out very well and was finger-licking good. We all loved it. Bachelors can also try this recipe. U can store it for 2-3 days.The taste improves day-by-day. Sambar powder is not necessary for this kulambu. I have used more Small onion/ Chinna vengayam as given the original recipe. You can adjust it as per your preference. Friends, try this easy poondu kuzhambu recipe without coconut and share your feedback with me.
INGREDIENTS
To make puree
Tamarind – Small lemon size
Tomato – 1 no
To add in the puree
Red chilli powder – 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – As needed
Water – 2 cups
To saute in oil
Gingely oil – 2 -3 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Green chilli – 1 no
Red chilli – 2 nos
Curry leaves – few
Garlic cloves – 1/8 cup ( 20 cloves)
Small onion – 10 nos Or 1 big onion ( cube cut)
Grated Jaggery – 1 tsp ( to add in the end)
METHOD
Soak tamarind in little warm water & grind it along with a tomato. Make it a puree. To this puree , add salt , 2 cups of water , red chilli powder & turmeric powder.
In a kadai , heat oil and temper all the above said ingredients one by one in the same order. Then saute onions and garlic cloves till they change golden brown and emits a nice smell.
Now add the tamarind puree mixture , stir well and allow it to boil in medium flame till the gravy reduces to half & thickens. Lastly before switching off the flame , add the grated jaggery, add little more salt if necessary..
Switch off the flame, transfer to a serving bowl and close it with a lid.
Serve after 30 minutes..Tastes great with plain rice and papad !!
It thickens to a paste when it cools down.It tastes the best when served the next day. So you can make in large quantity , store in an air tight bottle , refrigerate it and enjoy for a week !
Mangalore bonda recipe is a famous Karnataka tea time snacks. It is also known as Goli baje & Mangalore bajji. Yesterday I wanted to try an Instant bonda for my daughter’s evening snacks. As I have already tried aloo bonda and mysore bonda , I thought of trying something different and interesting. So I quickly went through my cook books and tried this mangalore bonda recipe given by Mrs.Mallika badrinath. As the name says, Mangalore bonda is a famous tea time snacks recipe popular in Mangalore, udupi and South Canara region. Authentic Mangalore bonda version calls for resting the batter for 3 to 4 hours for proper fermentation. But I made an instant version by adding sour curd to the dough. It was very nice n crispy. Sendhil and Raksha loved it a lot. One thing you should keep in mind while making this bonda is “It should be served hot” to enjoy its actual taste ..Do try this instant snack in this weekend and let me know how it turned out .
Mix all the ingredients given above except cooking soda. Keep it closed for 30 minutes to 1 hour.. ( actual recipe called for 5 to 6 hours of soaking).. Do not add water while making the dough. If needed add 1 tbsp maximum.. Use only the curd to hold the dough..
After an hour , add cooking soda & mix well.. Heat oil , take a medium sized ball from the dough & deep fry them till golden brown..DO NOT OVER FRY, IT MAY CHANGE THE TASTE..
This is my favourite payasam.I made it yesterday for my birthday and i enjoyed every mouth to the core.. Its very easy and can be made in jiffy. Many variations can be made to this payasam recipe by adding finely chopped nuts or badam powder or saffron milk , condensed milk and it tastes more delicious. Its a simple but rich dessert.. I hope most of u have this post in ur blog. I do have this recipe in my Kerala Onam sadya post using milk.. Here i have shared the basic method .Do try n let me know ur feedback..
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 200ml
Vermicelli – 1/2 cup ( roasted or unroasted)
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Water – 2- 2.5 cups
Milk – 1 cup
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Elachi powder/ Rose essence – 1/4 tsp / Few drops
Cashewnuts - few
Adjust the quantity of milk from 1/2 to 1 cup based on the consistency u need as this payasam thicken when it cools down..
METHOD
Roast cashews in a tsp of ghee and set aside..Add the remaining 2 tsp ghee in a pan and roast the vermicelli till golden brown. ( I skipped this part as i used MTR Roasted vermicelli)
In a wide bowl , take the water and roasted vermicelli and allow it to cook for 10-15 minutes till it becomes soft to touch and breakable.There should be some water left with the semiya.
Now add the sugar and mix well till sugar dissolves completely.Let it boil in low flame for few seconds. Then add the elachi powder or rose essence and milk.Stir well , Give a boil an switch off the flame.
Usually I make aval payasam or moong dal payasam for friday pooja.Today being Aadi velli , i made this sweet pongal ( Chakkara pongal/sakkarai pongal in Tamil) in a pressure cooker easily. I usually make sakkarai pongal for aadi velli , aadi perukku & thai pongal. For the other occasions we make rice payasam mostly. I have already posted an authentic, traditional sakkarai/ sweet pongal about how to make sakkarai pongal in venkala paanai (pot). In this post , i have mentioned our usual method of making sweet pongal using pressure cooker. To make perfect sweet pongal, always use good quality raw rice & dark colored jaggery to get the best results in color & taste.Its very flavourful , tastes similar to Kovil pongal/temple pongal and u’ll love it for sure. Try this & let me know dearies . Check out the video too !
Sweet pongal/Sakkarai pongal - Video !
Sweet Pongal Recipe
Sweet Pongal recipe-Sakkarai pongal -How to make Temple style sweet pongal recipe at home using pressure cooker.
Cuisine:South Indian
Category:Sweet
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 200ml
To pressure cook
Raw rice – 1/2 cup
Yellow Moong dal – 1.5 tbsp ( add 2.5 tbsp for more dal flavor)
Water – 2.5- 3 cups(varies as per the quality of rice)
Salt – a pinch
For syrup
Jaggery – 3/4 cup ( use 1 cup for more sweetness)
Water – 1/2 cup
For Flavor
Ghee – 3 tbsp
Cardamom – 2 nos
Edible camphor – A pinch
Jaathikaai – A pinch
Cloves – 2 nos
Cashewnuts – 5-7 nos
Raisins – 5 nos (optional , i dint use)
METHOD
In a kadai , heat 2 tsp of ghee and roast the cashews , raisins, cloves & jaathikai. Powder the jathikkai and set aside.
In the same ghee , roast the moong dal till golden brown with a nice aroma.
In a pressure cooker base , take the washed rice & 3 cups of water. Add the roasted moong dal along with a pinch of salt. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles till rice & dal turns mushy.Open the cooker & mash the rice , dal very well with a ladle..
In the meanwhile , prepare jaggery syrup. In a wide bowl , take the jaggery with 1/2 cup of water and allow the jaggery to melt completely. Strain the impurities and again boil the syrup till it becomes frothy. Remove & add this syrup to the cooker.
Mix well and add 2 tsp of ghee to avoid the pongal sticking to the bottom.Stir very well for 4-5 minutes till all the syrup gets mixed.
Pongal will start to thicken and leave the sides of the cooker . At this stage add the remaining 2 tbsp of ghee and the roasted cloves , cardamom powder,edible camphor powder & roasted jaathikai powder..Mix well & switch off the stove. Initially it will look semi solid in consistency. But it will thicken as time proceeds.Before serving u can reheat it adding little milk or water.
If your pongal looks dry when warm , add little ghee & milk ,reheat it n serve ! It tastes divine !!Enjoy !
Note
Always add more ghee at the end for a nice flavour . It also makes the pongal soft & non sticky.
Use good quality ghee & rice for better flavour n taste.Adding jathikkai & cloves gives a superb smell.Don't skip it
Milk can be added if pongal looks dry or hard. But addition of milk reduces the shelf life , color will slightly change and also the sweetness gets reduced.. For the above recipe u can add 1/5 cup of milk to the max..
Use dark colored paagu vellam to get a nice color.
I have already posted urad dal vada with pepper in mixie. In that post I have mentioned the different methods used to shape vadas.By seeing that post many of my friends mailed & asked me to post a video on how to grind the vada batter using mixie & how to shape vada using a sheet and some easy tips to identify the consistency of batter..I was hesitant in the beginning whether I could do this and i wanted somebody to help me taking the video. Recently my in-laws visited my place and with the help of my MIL i took this video by keeping beginners in mind.The batter yield will not be good when we grind in mixie as compared to grinder.But i am sure u’ll get the taste & crispness equal to grinder batter…Please bear the mistakes in this video as this is my first attempt. I hope I can do it better in future & update here.I am also a beginner and i am still in the learning and experimenting phase.Most of us miss the batter consistency adding more water. So I have tried to give the exact water quantity I used .The quantity of water slightly differs as per the quality of urad dal.So keep this video as reference and adjust the water quantity.I have also given some tips in the “Note” section to adjust the consistency of batter if it is watery.Experts,please excuse and do share ur tips in the comments section.
Recently I had vada for breakfast in AAB. I found jeera , pepper corns , onions and curry leaves . So I too started making in that way as my husband loves pepper more than onions. Here i have mentioned pepper & jeera in the ingredients list. For poojas & festivals we add only pepper.. Add onions alone or both onion & pepper as per ur wish.But remember to add onions just before frying vada else onions will leave water and make the batter watery. Always keep the batter refrigerated till use.No problem if one or two tsp of water goes extra. Batter will thicken if u refrigerate it. If u find the batter too watery , add few tsp of rice flour to make it thick & to make a proper shaped vada . But u should serve it hot . Otherwise vadas won’t be crispy in room temperature.Also if u add less water to grind the batter , vada will be hard. If u add the correct water & grind the batter , vada will stay crispy even after it cools down . Vada won’t drink much of oil if the batter is right. My MIL used to add a tsp of toor dal while soaking urad dal to avoid oil absorption. Beginners can follow this method.Some people soak little raw rice along with urad dal or add a tsp of rice flour to the batter. All these are not necessary if u grind the batter in right consistency..
Ok friends , let me know ur comments if u try this method. Good luck.
Water – 1/3 cup + 1 tsp (adjust as per the quality of urad dal , start with 1/4 cup of water & increase gradually)
Rice flour - 1 tsp
To mix in the batter
Small onion/ Big onion – 15 nos / 2 nos
Curry leaves – Few
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Jeera – 1/4 tsp
Asafetida / hing – 2-3 generous pinches
Salt - as needed
METHOD
Wash and soak urad dal for 1 hour to 4 hours (maximum) and keep it inside the fridge( refrigerator).After soaking, drain all the water completely and keep in a bowl. Use this water for grinding the batter. Choose a bigger sized mixie jar to hold the urad dal batter.( jar should be double the size of batter).
First grind the green chillies , ginger piece without salt. Grind it coarsely without adding water.
Drain the ice water from soaked urad dal. Reserve it for grinding. Then add the urad dal without water and grind for few seconds till it becomes a coarse paste.
Now add 1/3 cup of ice water and grind for a minute till smooth. Open the jar , wipe the sides & check the batter. .
If it is slightly coarse , add 1 more tsp of water.( Always add in tsp or tbsp further).. Again grind & check the consistency. Batter should be thick, fluffy n smooth. When u drop the batter , it will slide slowly & it will form a stiff peak. One more tip is, drop a small quantity of batter in a bowl of water.It will float on top.Remove the batter to a bowl. Add some water to the jar, run the mixie once. Use this water for dipping your hands while you shape vada.
Refrigerate the batter If you fry later. If making vada immediately, add 1/2 tbsp of rice flour and beat the batter well for 5 minutes. Just before frying vadas , add the finely chopped onions , curry leaves and whole pepper corns & 1/2 tsp of jeera, salt. Mix well. Dip your fingers in the urad dal washed water , shape the vadas . Deep fry on both the sides till onion turns golden brown , remove , drain in a tissue paper & enjoy eating hot as evening snack with coffee !
Please watch the videos for better understanding .. Hope it is useful.
How to grind the vada batter for onion vada using mixie
VIDEO FOR SHAPING THE VADA USING A SHEET
How to shape the vada using a sheet
NOTE
Do not add salt while grinding the vada batter. Add salt, onion just before frying else it will make the batter watery.
1/4 cup is the minimum quantity of water needed to grind the batter. It differs based on the urad dal. But after adding 1/3 cup , add water in tsp and check the batter every now & then. Please don’t add too much of water.
If u add more water,vada will drink more oil.To avoid oil absorption,u can add 1/2 tsp of toor dal along with urad dal while soaking.
The quantity of batter may not be more as u get in grinder. In grinder, we get batter for 25 medium sized vadas .In mixie , u can make 12 vadas.
Vada will absorb more oil if u deep fry in low heat oil.Heat of the oil should be right. It should not be smoky. If u deep fry when the oil is too hot , vada will brown quickly but the inside portion will not be cooked .
For proper cooking , always check the heat of oil by dropping a bit of batter. If it rises immediately , oil is in the correct temperature.
Adjust the flame to high and medium high while deep frying.
Deep fry in medium low flame for long time to get crispier vadas.For onion vada , u should remove the vada when the onions turn golden brown.For pepper vada , remove it when the sound ceases & turns golden brown.
Shaping of vada comes only by practice. Start using a sheet or ladle for shaping. Then u can make it directly using ur hands.
I tried this brinjal kosumalli recipe from kumudham supplementary book. It is a good side dish for idiyappam , idli & dosa. It is one of the traditional Chettinad recipes. We relished with idli rava idlis. It was very tasty. My husband is not fond of brinjal recipes but he loved this kosamalli a lot. . Ok, Lets see how to make Chettinad special Kathirikai Kosumalli recipe with step by step pictures.
INGREDIENTS
Brinjal – 4 nos
Potato – 1 no
Tomato – 2 nos
Small onion – 20 nos
Tamarind – Berry size
Green chillies – 4 - 6 nos
To temper
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Red chillies – 2 nos
To garnish
Coriander leaves - few
METHOD
Slit brinjal into 4 pieces & cut the potato into two pieces. Pressure cook brinjal & potato for 2 whistles. Reserve the cooked water. Remove the skin of brinjal & potato and mash them well. Soak tamarind in warm water & take the extract. Set aside.
In a kadai , temper mustard seeds , urad dal , red chillies & curry leaves.Then saute onions , green chillies & tomato pieces. Saute for few minutes. Add the drained water from the vegetables & allow it to boil..
Now add the mashed vegetables & tamarind extract.Allow it to boil for few minutes.This gravy should be slightly watery.Garnish with plenty of coriander leaves.
..Do try this instant snack in this weekend and let me know how it turned out 
.
and i enjoyed every mouth to the core
.. Its very easy and can be made in jiffy. Many variations can be made to this payasam recipe by adding finely chopped nuts or badam powder or saffron milk , condensed milk and it tastes more delicious. Its a simple but rich dessert.. I hope most of u have this post in ur blog. I do have this recipe in my 
. Check out the video too !
. Ok, Lets see how to make Chettinad special Kathirikai Kosumalli recipe with step by step pictures.
