SAMBAR SADAM | SAMBAR RICE RECIPE – LUNCH RECIPES

I wanted to post one pot sambar sadam recipe ( Sambar rice in a pressure cooker) after tasting in hotels. Saravana bhavan sambar sadam is very popular in Tamil nadu. I usually make rice and sambar separately and mix them. Every week I used to watch Podhigai channel’s Asathal suvai if it is hosted by “ Mrs.Revathy shanmugam”. Last week she gave the recipe for sambar rice. I tried it the next day.It was a huge success at home.We loved its flavor and taste. I have not used any garam masala here. So It tastes like our Tamil nadu hotel style sambar sadam. It has a goey texture when hot and thickens after it cools down. It tasted great when hot as well as cold. Addition of ghee is a must here. It gives a nice aroma. :) I have updated this recipe with a full video. Please watch it below.

Do check out my Karnataka style Bisi bele bath recipe using homemade bisi bele bath powder.
Here is my Curd rice recipe.

Sambar sadam/ Sambar rice recipe

How to make sambar sadam - Tamil nadu style sambar rice in one pot

Cuisine:  South Indian

Category: Lunch Recipes

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml To pressure cook Raw rice – 1 cup OR steamed rice - 1 cup Toor dal – 1/2 cup Water – 6 –7 cups Carrot – 2 nos Peas – 1/4 cup Beans - 5 nos Drumstick – 2 nos (chop into finger size) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Hing /Asafetida – 1/4 tsp Salt – As needed To soak in water Tamarind – Lemon size ball To roast & grind Cooking oil – 1 tsp Red chillies – 8 nos ( use 6 if spicy chilli) Chana dal – 2.5 tbsp Dhania – 2 tbsp Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp Grated coconut – 2 tsp (optional) Hing – 2 pinches To saute Cooking oil + ghee – 1tbsp + 2 tsp Small onion /sambar onion – 15 nos Tomato – 3 nos Sambar powder -1/2 tsp Curry leaves – few To temper Oil + ghee – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (to garnish) Ghee – 2 tbsp

HOW TO MAKE SAMBAR RICE - METHOD

Pressure cook drumstick separately. Remove the flesh & keep aside Wash and pressure cook rice. Wash & pressure cook rice n dal along with chopped carrots ,beans , peas ,turmeric powder , salt & hing. Add 6 cups of water & Cook for 2-3 whistles till rice n dal turns mushy. Open the cooker & mash it well. Set aside. In a pan , add a tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients given under “to roast & grind” . Powder them nicely and set aside. In the same pan, heat oil + ghee and saute the onions, chopped tomatoes & curry leaves. Saute till tomato turns mushy. Then add 1 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder , hing & salt if required. Let it boil for sometime till onion gets cooked. If you want , you can directly add the tamarind extract, sauteed onion, tomato mixture to the cooked rice and dal & proceed. Now add this mixture to the cooked rice . Add the masala powder, drumstick flesh and mix well.Simmer the flame and allow it to boil well for 10 minutes . All the flavour gets into the rice.Stir once or twice in the middle. Add ghee to avoid rice sticking to the bottom of pan. Mix well. Lastly temper the mustard seeds & add. Garnish with coriander leaves.. Serve hot  drizzled with little ghee & papad !! !

Note

For variations , u can use steamed rice instead of raw rice. Add water according to the quality of rice. I used byadge chillies in this recipe. It gave a nice color to the rice and less spicy too. If you use spicy chillies, use 5-6 as per your taste buds. Adding coconut is purely optional. If you add it, add more chillies to compensate.

Delicious sambar sadam, creamy curd rice, crispy fryums and spicy pickle, mor milagai is ready to enjoy !

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TAMILNADU LUNCH MENU 2 - SOUTH INDIAN LUNCH MENU IDEAS

In my attempt in posting other state recipes, I have successfully tried & posted Andhra , kerala and punjabi , Kongu lunch recipes. It will be unfair if I don’t post my own state lunch recipes.. So here is a platter of Tamilnadu lunch recipes I made for my parents and bro. Everything came out really well & tasty. Like you all , we tamilians prepare varieties of recipes either for occasions or for guests. Serving in banana leaf is a must for us which is considered as a way of showing our respect and gratitude to our guests. But here I dint present them in banana leaf as I couldn’t get it . 

Very soon i’ll post another set of Tamilnadu lunch recipes served in banana leaf with authentic serving order.In the above plate u can see ( Left to right) Rice , Dal , Avial , Morkuzhambu , Mullangi Sambar , Rasam , Vendakkai mangai kathrikai pachadi , Instant mango pickle along with papad , Urad dal vada , Rice vadam, Spiced buttermilk ( Neer mor) & water. I have posted all the above recipes except dal and Pachadi. So I have shared them in this post. Sorry I couldn’t post step by step pictures as I was hurry in making recipes on time.

Do check out my Tamilnadu lunch recipes post which I made some years ago if  you are interested !

DAL FOR RICE / PARUPPU

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Toor dal OR moong dal – 1/2 cup Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Water & salt – As needed Cooking oil – Few drops To temper Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1 tsp Hing – 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - few Ghee – to add while serving

METHOD

Pressure cook dal adding turmeric powder & required water and a drop of oil in low flame for 1-2 whistles. Now open the cooker & mash the dal nicely with a ladle.Temper all the ingredients given under”to temper” and add to the dal. Mix well , add salt and serve with hot rice adding a tsp of ghee.. It tastes great with a papad , pachadi and potato poriyal.

VENDAKKAI MANGAI KATHRIKAI PACHADI / OKRA RAW MANGO BRINJAL PACHADI

This is my mom’s recipe.This pachadi will surely make its appearance in our home during mango season.It’s a sweet pachadi variety . So we add less salt..Our guests love this pachadi a lot..It tastes great with paruppu sadam /Dal rice. 

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Cooked toor dal – 1/4 cup Ladies finger / okra - 10 nos Brinjal – 5 nos (small) Raw mango – 1 no (Small, cut into cubes) Grated Jaggery - 1/8 – 1/4 cup Hing – 1/4 tsp Salt & water  - as needed To grind Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Green chilli -  2-3 nos Small onion - 4 nos Jeera / cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp To temper Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad dal - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal, mash & set aside. Cut okra into tiny pieces , peel the mango skin and cut into small slices . Cut brinjal into very small pieces and keep immersed in water to avoid discoloration. Grind all the ingredients given under”to grind” and make a smooth paste. In a kadai , heat oil and saute the okra pieces for few minutes. Pressure cook mango , brinjal and okra pieces together adding required water & salt. After the steam is released add the cooked & mashed toor dal , ground coconut paste and hing. Mix well and allow it to boil for few minutes. Finally add the grated jaggery. Give a boil and check for salt & sweetness. Add more jaggery if u want more sweet. Finally temper all the ingredients given under “to temper” and add to the pachadi. Tastes best with dal rice and rasam rice.

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PUNJABI LUNCH MENU | NORTH INDIAN VEGETARIAN THALI RECIPES

Its been a long time I posted other state lunch recipes in my blog. So I tried this Punjabi lunch menu last weekend. After trying this Punjabi platter , I got tempted to try more North Indian vegetarian thali recipes as we loved this platter a lot. In this post, I have given the recipes of Amritsari aloo kulcha , dahi kadhi , Punjabi chole, jeera rice , restaurant style dal tadka and sweet lassi.. Everything came out very well even though its my first attempt. I forgot to keep a papad and pickle which makes it a complete punjabi lunch. Aloo kulcha tasted very soft and its the best kulcha I have ever had. Thanks to “The Hindu” food safari section from where I took this recipe. It was awesome in taste. For Punjabi chole and dal tadka, I referred veg recipes of india blog. For jeera rice, dahi kadhi and sweet lassi, I referred many blogs and made with some combinations. Its a very lengthy post, please excuse me.. I have given step by step pictures for some recipes. Please click on the title below to view a specific recipe.. Hope you’ll read , try and enjoy these recipes…

Amritsari aloo kulcha Dal tadka Punjabi chole Dahi kadhi Jeera rice Sweet lassi

AMRITSARI STUFFED ALOO KULCHA

I took this recipe from “The Hindu” food safari section and this is a fool proof recipe. Actually kulchas look very thick and round. I have made it thin to suit my husband’s taste. It was very soft and delicious when served hot. I dint follow tandoori cooking. I just used my tawa to cook this kulcha. Cook the kulchas till golden brown and brush it with butter.

INGREDIENTS 2 cups maida (All purpose flour) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 3 tbsp oil 1/4 cup yogurt 1/4 cup warm milk 1/4 cup Warm Water Butter – 2 tbsp ( for brushing the kulcha b4 serving) For potato stuffing 1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes ( use 3 potatoes) 1 finely chopped green chilli 1 finely chopped onion 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp garam masala masala 1/2 tsp crushed kasoori methi 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves METHOD Sieve the maida and then mix it with the baking soda, baking powder, oil, yogurt, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the warm milk and knead into soft dough. Make sure to add the milk gradually.Mix well & add water slowly.Do not make the batter sticky.Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for an hour minimum. For the Filling: Take mashed potatoes, chopped onions and green chillies, red chilly powder, cumin powder,garam masala masala , kasuri methi and coriander leaves in a bowl, mix everything and make medium sized balls and set aside. Take out the dough, make a medium sized ball, flatten it and place the potato filling ball in the centre. Fold this ball again into a ball, with the filling at its centre, and dust the dough with flour. With a rolling pin, flatten this ball out into a thick disc. Heat few drops of oil in a deep frying pan, and gently drop the flattened kulcha in the hot oil. Cook on both sides until the kulcha turns golden brown. The kulchas are ready to serve!!.Brush it well with butter …It can be served with raita & pickle or punjabi chole. But serve it hot !!

JEERA RICE

INGREDIENTS 1 cup basmati/ jeera rice 1 tsp shahjeera or caraway seeds (black jeera) 1 green cardamom 1 no star anise 2-3 black peppercorns 2 cloves 1 no biryani leaf 1 inch cinnamon 1 tbsp ghee 2 cups water METHOD Soak basmati or jeera  rice for 30 minutes. In a pan , heat a tbsp of ghee , add the cinnamon , cardamom , cloves , mace biryani leaf , pepper corns and shah jeera.. Roast them well and add to rice along with 2 cups of water and the required salt. Serve hot with dal !

PUNJABI CHOLE

Punjabi chole should be dry , I made it slightly watery to suit our taste.  Please adjust the consistency as per ur wish. I used amchur powder instead of anardana powder. I heard adding anardana powder gives the exact flavour of chole. Try with anardana/ pomegranate seeds powder if you have it.

INGREDIENTS 1 cup chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans, Kabuli Chana .I used white chana..) Tea bag - 1 no 1 no cardamom 1 no cinnamon 2 medium sized onions chopped 4 medium sized tomatoes chopped 1 tsp ginger paste or coarsely ground ginger 1/2 tsp garam masala powder   1 tsp chilly powder 1 tsp amchur powder/dry mango powder OR anardana/pomegranate seeds powder 2 slit green chillies 1 tbsp oil Salt & water – as needed Spices for the punjabi chole masala 3-4 black cardamoms 1 inch cinnamon 5-6 peppercorns 3 cloves 1 bay leaf 3/4 tsp tsp cumin seeds (jeera) 1 and half tsp coriander seeds (dhania) 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf) 2 red chillies METHOD Wash and soak the chickpeas  with a pinch of cooking soda in enough water overnight or 8 hours.In a pressure cooker take the soaked chickpeas, enough water, salt, tea bag , 1 elachi , 1 small cinnamon and pressure cook for 5-6 whistles till the chick peas soft..Remove the tea bag , elachi and cinnamon.Drain the excess water which is called broth..set aside. In a pan, dry roast all the spices mentioned above till brown. On a slow or moderate flame you can roast the spices. Keep on tossing it otherwise they may get burnt.Once they are cooled, grind them into a fine powder. In the same pan, add oil. Once the oil becomes hot, add the chopped onions. Fry till they become transparent.Now add the crushed ginger paste.Once the raw smell of the ginger disappears, add the chopped tomatoes and saute till tomato turns mushy.. Add little salt so that the tomatoes gets cooked fast. Add the powdered spices to the mixture. Saute for a minute.Now add the boiled chickpeas with a little quantity of cooked water. You can add more broth if you want more gravy. Check for salt and simmer the gravy for 10 minutes..Finally, add the amchur powder.Garnish with chopped onions and cilantro leaves. Serve punjabi chole with rice,kulchas, bhaturas & rotis along with sliced onions and lime.

PUNJABI DAL TADKA

INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup toor dal 1/4 cup moong dal  OR masoor dal 1 or 2 green chillies, chopped 1 medium sized onion, chopped 2 medium size tomatoes, chopped 1 tsp finely chopped ginger 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp garam masala powder (optional, i used it) A pinch of asafoetida/hing 3 cups water 1 tsp crushed kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves salt as required To temper 2 tbsp ghee or oil 1 tsp cumin 5-6 garlic cloves crushed 2-3 pinched red chillies 1/2 tsp red chilli powder a generous pinch of hing To garnish Few chopped coriander leaves METHOD In a pressure cooker base take all the ingredients given above and cook it till the dal turns mushy.Open the cooker and mash everything well..Check for salt. Now temper all the ingredients given under “ To temper” .. Add to dal. Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve hot topped with ghee !

PUNJABI DAHI KADHI

I couldnt take step by step pictures for kadhi. I’ll update it soon..Its very easy to make. It tasted yummy..

INGREDIENTS For the onion pakoras 1 cup of besan /gram flour 1/2 cup water 2 medium sized onions( sliced ) 1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp garam masala powder a big pinch of asafoetida/hing Salt For kadhi 2 cups of sour curd / yoghurt ( more sour curd , more tasty kadhi) 1/4 cup besan/gram flour 4 cups water 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp garam masala powder salt to taste For tempering 2 tbsp cooking oil 1 tsp mustard seeds (optional) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/4 tsp methi seeds 1 big onion (finely chopped) 2 tsp crushed ginger and garlic pieces 1 sprig curry leaves 1 green chilli  ( slit) 1 pinched red chillies Big pinch of asafoetida Coriander leaves – to garnish METHOD Beat the sour curd well with a whisk and all the ingredients given under “ for kadhi” to make a mixture. Add salt and water.. Now temper all the ingredients given under “ to temper” and saute well.. Then add the curd mixture and allow it to boil well. Be careful it will spill while boiling , so choose a big bowl and also simmer the flame. stand nearby and stir now and then. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until gravy becomes thick. Adjust the water if the gravy is thicker.. In the meantime , mix all the ingredients for pakoras and make a thick mixture. Deep fry them in batches and drop them in the dahi mixture. Boil for a few seconds and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice topped with ghee !

PUNJABI SWEET LASSI

INGREDIENTS Fresh thick chilled curd – 1 cup Sugar – 1 tbsp (adjust) Rose water or cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp Malai or fresh cream – 1/2 tbsp (optional , i dint use) METHOD Take all the ingredients except malai and whip it well.. U’ll get a thick , frothy lassi. Serve it chilled adding malai on top !!. Garnish with saffron and nuts if necessary .. Note: Add 1/4 cup of water , if u want to make the lassi slightly thin

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KONGU CUISINE– KONGUNADU LUNCH RECIPES

Kongu Nadu is the most industrialised and prosperous region in Tamil Nadu. The Kongu region comprises of places right from Ooty to Dharapuram which includes Coimbatore, Salem and its a big list.  I worked in Kongu engineering college, Perundurai before my marriage. I have tasted some of their foods during my stay in Perundurai, Erode. 

As I have an interest to try other area foods, Kongu recipes were in my try list for a long time. I have bookmarked some recipes from different blogs and I gave a try. Kongu foods has more of coconut and pulses in many dishes and most of the recipes were made using freshly ground spices.. So it has a nice aroma and taste. The best thing is they use very less oil in their recipes. 

For non-veg lovers, there are a lot more recipes to try. As a vegetarian, I found these recipes are simple to try and makes a perfect meal. The most popular recipe among these is arisi paruppu sadam. I saw different versions in many blogs and long back I tried it with just sambar powder but somehow we dint like that taste. May be their sambar powder is different from mine and I missed the aroma. So this time I tried it from valarmathi’s blog in which she suggested to use freshly ground spices. It was very nice and had a nice flavour. 

Also I tried poondu kuzhambu from her blog which is very easy to prepare. We loved its taste. In addition to this, I tried potato fry from ramya’s blog and paruppu keerai from plantain leaf. To complete the meal, I made ilaneer payasam. This time I dint add condensed milk. Still there is a big list of recipes like kollu masiyal, kootu etc to try.  I’ll make one by one and post here.

ARISI PARUPPU SADAM

My mom makes Tirunelveli special thuvaram paruppu sadam. The taste of arisi paruppu sadam reminded my mom’s recipe..We  enjoyed this rice with vadagam/vathal & potato fry..

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Rice – 1/2 cup ( steamed rice/ boiled rice / puzhungal arisi) Water – 1.5 cups ( add as per your rice) ( I used 1:3 ratio, please use the ratio you follow in your daily cooking ) Toor Dhal  - 1/8 cup i.e. 2 tbsp Onion – 1 no (medium , slice cut) Tomato – 1/2 no (finely chopped) Coriander leaves – few ( to garnish) Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp Cashew nuts - few (optional) To temper: Oil –1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp To grind Garlic - 3 cloves Dry Red Chilli – 2-3 nos Curry leaves – few Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Corns - 1/4 tsp

METHOD

Grind the ingredients said above to a coarse paste adding water and keep aside. Wash Rice and dal. Soak for 15 mins. Heat oil in a pressure cooker & add mustard seeds to it and allow it to splutter. Then add the onions and fry until golden brown. Now add chopped tomatoes to it and fry till the tomatoes are mushy.Then add the ground paste to it and fry till the raw smell goes. Now add rice and dal to it and add water. Now add turmeric powder, coriander leaves and salt. Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistles. Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add to the rice and serve.

As valarmathi suggested, I enjoyed this rice with vathal/appalam and potato fry.. This rice tastes good with potato chips too..

POONDU KUZHAMBU/ GARLIC GRAVY

Its very easy to prepare and a simple recipe.!! Thank you so much valar.

INGREDIENTS

Garlic cloves – 1/4 cup Big or small Onion, chopped – few pieces Tomato – 1 no ( small, chopped ) Tamarind – Big gooseberry sized Red Chillies – 2 nos Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp Coriander leaves – few ( optional) Jaggery –a pinch (optional) Oil – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Salt & water – as needed

METHOD

Soak tamarind in water and extract a cup of tamarind juice from it and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to it, after it splutters add pinched red chillies to it. Add the chopped onions and garlic fry till they are golden brown. Then add tomatoes and fry till they become soft. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder to it and mix well. Then add tamarind juice, water and salt to it. Add  jaggery if you use. Cook the gravy till it becomes thick and garlic are soft. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve !!

PARUPPU KEERAI

It tasted more like dal palak. It was a nice combo for poondu kuzhambu..

INGREDIENTS

Greens / Spinach – 1 cup chopped  ( I used arai keerai) Toor dal  – 1/3 cup (you can use split pigeon peas or yellow lentils) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Oil – a drop Onion – 1 no (medium chopped) Garlic --- 6 cloves ( chopped) Green chillies – 2 nos (slit) Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Salt to taste For seasoning Oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp Asafetida – 1/8 tsp Curry leaves – few

METHOD

Pressure cook dal adding turmeric powder & oil. Mash the dal and set aside. In a kadai, temper all the ingredients and add the chopped onion, garlic cloves. green chillies and saute well. Now add the washed & chopped green and saute for sometime. Add water and cover cook till the greens are cooked well. Then add pepper powder, cooked dal and required water, salt. Allow it to boil for few seconds, remove & serve hot !

POTATO BRINJAL FRY

For this recipe, Ramya used brinjal & potato.  As my hubby doesn't like brinjal , I used potatoes alone. I din't use much oil , first I roasted potatoes in little oil and I added little water to cook them.. It was not much oily and was tasty too..

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 3 nos (medium sized , cut into pieces) Brinjal - 1 (chop into small cubes) Big onion – 1 no, chopped ( original recipe used small onions ) Sambar powder – 1-2 tsp Grated coconut / dry coconut – 2 tsp Salt – as per taste To temper Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Channa dhal – 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 no( finely chopped.) coriander leaves for garnishing.

METHOD

Heat oil in a pan and once its hot, add the mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the chana dal. Saute until it turns light brown in color and then add onions. Fry till transparent. Add the chilli, curry leaves and turmeric powder and saute well. Now add the potato pieces and sambar powder /red chilli powder and the salt needed and cook it covered until the potatoes are cooked by sprinkling little water ( If you don’t want to add water, add more oil and allow it to roast and cook in oil itself) Just before turning off the flame, add the grated coconut and gently stir. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot.

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Simple Onam Sadya Recipes - Kerala Onam Dishes

As Onam is nearing, I see lot of posts featuring Kerala onam recipes in blogosphere. After trying the andhra lunch thali successfully, I wanted to try a simple and easy Kerala lunch menu keeping onam festival in mind. When I was thinking about it, my neighbour showed me “Vanitha” magazine which was flooded with onam special recipes of “Pazhayidam Mohanan Namboothiri”. There were many ideas for onam sadya dishes including payasam. As the recipes were given by a popular chef, I tried everything confidently. 

My neighbour Mrs. Prema read all the recipes and translated everything patiently. Thanks a ton to her. Among those recipes, I picked some easy to make, simple dishes and prepared it. I reduced the given quantity as per my need and tried them. So I have mentioned the quantity what I used. We had a great onam lunch. Now after having my preparation, I really want to taste the authentic Onam sadya in Kerala..Wish I could get a chance. When you want to prepare onam special dishes, the choices are endless. My neighbour told they serve nearly 60 side dishes. Wow..!!.I started drooling!!..

Do check out my Onam sadya menu - 2 

I wanted to fill the banana leaf but I couldn’t. I should have kept Pazham, pappadam and nendhran chips which are the highlight in their menu. I was not able to do it. As this is my first Onam sadya post, I am not aware of the serving order. So I kept the dishes as I wished. Please excuse me. I dint prepare Avial as we used to make it regularly. U can see the recipe here. I wanted to try popular dishes which are new to me.They were really awesome in taste.. We loved it. 

Coconut oil and coconut are used as the main ingredients in their food. Even then the food was easily digestible .Yesterday my kitchen was filled with nice aroma of coconut oil. I have bookmarked some more recipes from that book. I’ll try everything and post it soon.
Coming to the recipes ,let me start with the sweet dishes.

SEMIYA PAYASAM

This Kerala style semiya payasam is very simple to make. The taste was excellent. My hubby who doesn’t like this payasam loved it a lot.. It can be served hot or cold. For variations, you can add badam powder at the end to give a kheer taste..

INGREDIENTS (1 cup - 250ml)

For 2- 3 people Semiya / Vermicelli – 1/4 cup Sugar – 4 tbsp  ( adjust) Milk – 1/2 ltr Water – 1/2 cup Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp(optional) Ghee – 1 tbsp Cashews and dry grapes - few

METHOD

In a wide mouthed Kadai , add half tbsp of ghee and roast the vermicelli till it turns golden brown with a nice aroma. In a pressure cooker base , take the milk and water . Let it boil till it reduces to half in quantity.. Then add the roasted vermicelli and close the cooker. Leave it for a whistle and the semiya gets cooked well. (Semiya should not be mushy) Open the lid and add the sugar. Mix well. Add more milk if its too thick.Check for taste and add more sugar if required. Finally add the cardamom powder.. Boil for sometime. In a small kadai , take the remaining ghee and roast the cashews and dry grapes. Add on top of the payasam and garnish !! Serve hot or cold !

NOTE:

Cardamom powder is optional. It is not given in the actual recipe but I used it. U can add saffron threads soaked in warm milk which gives a nice color too.. My neighbour adds instant badam mix at the end which also tastes the best..

ELANEER PAYASAM / TENDER COCONUT PAYASAM

This elaneer should be watery in consistency. Usually the pulp of tender coconut should be grinded coarsely along with its water and prepared. But I just cut the pulp into small pieces as given in the book . I also added jaggery instead of sugar as mentioned in the book. But please add very less jaggery as we are adding condensed milk, honey and coconut milk at the end.

INGREDIENTS

Tender coconut -  2 nos ( take the pulp and water) Jaggery –  2-3 tbsp ( please add lesser quantity) Grated coconut – 1/2 cup ( to extract milk) Condensed milk – 2 tsp Honey – 1 tsp (optional)  ( i added a tsp) Water – Little Cardamom powder – A pinch (optional)

METHOD

Take the jaggery and melt to make a syrup by adding water just to cover it. Strain and remove the impurities. After it starts to boil, add the pulp of tender coconut ( I cut into bite sized pieces.. U can also use by grinding it coarsely).. U can even cook the pulp separately and add to jaggery. Let it boil for sometime. In the mean time , grind the grated coconut with water to extract the first milk. Set aside. Similarly take the second and third milk. Now add the third milk to the boiling jaggery mixture. After few seconds, add the second milk. Give a boil. Switch off the flame and add the first thick coconut milk. Mix well and allow it to cool down completely. Finally add the condensed milk and honey. Mix well and enjoy..

Note:

The color of this payasam varies according to the jaggery color. Mine was white in color as my jaggery was light yellow in color. Always add jaggery in lesser quantity. If sweet is less, you can add more syrup later. Condensed milk and honey should be added after the mixture cools down completely.

MEZHUKKUPURATTI / MIXED VEG STIR FRY

Mezhukkupuratti is a simple stir fry which can be made in minutes yet tastes delicious.

INGREDIENTS

Yam – 1/4 cup Plantain / Raw banana – 1/ 4 cup Carrot – 1/4 cup Turmeric powder – 1 Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – few Red chillies – 2 nos Green chillies – 2nos Salt & water – As needed

METHOD

Cut all the veggies uniformly of small square shaped pieces. Cook yam in pressure cooker.cook plantain and carrot together. Make sure everything is not over cooked and mushy. Now in a kadai , take the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds , cut chillies and few curry leaves. Add the veggies finally and toss well by adding the required salt.

MIXED VEGETABLE THORAN

INGREDIENTS

Grated Cabbage – 1/4 cup Carrot – 1/4 cup Big onion – 1 no Half cooked toor dal – 1/4 cup Ginger – 1/2 inch piece Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Salt – as needed Grated coconut – 3 tbsp To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Green chilly – 1 no ( slit cut) Urad dal – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – few

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal for one whistle by keeping high flame. The dals gets half cooked. Grate the cabbage and cut carrot into small pieces. In a kadai, heat the coconut oil and temper with mustard seeds and urad dal. Then add the onion pieces. Saute well and add the ginger pieces , green chilly and curry leaves. Now add the cut vegetables , toor dal and mix well. Add all the powders one by one and mix well. Sprinkle little water and cover cook for sometime. Run the grated coconut once in mixie and add it at the end. Mix well and serve hot !!

PULI INJI / INJI CURRY

Among all these dishes, Puli inji secures the first rank.. We loved it a lot. It was very tasty. One can have a plate full of Dal rice or curd rice with this puli inji. Usually its very thick in consistency. But I made it little thin to suit our taste.  Please make it according to ur taste buds. But in the book, it was mentioned to make it thick. It stays good for more than a week. Use a clean spatula every time.

INGREDIENTS

Tamarind – A big gooseberry size Ginger – 2 finger size ( chop finely) Jaggery – 1 tbsp ( add more if reqd) Salt & water – as needed.. Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Hing – 1/4 tsp To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Pinched red chilly – 1 no Green chilly – 1 no (finely chopped ) Curry leaves – a few To dry roast & grind: Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp

METHOD

Soak tamarind in warm water for take the extract. Add chilli powder , jaggery and give a boil till it reduces to half in  quantity. In a kadai , add coconut oil and temper the items given above.. Add the finely chopped ginger pieces and saute well for few mins. U’ll get a nice aroma, Finally add everything to the tamarind mixture and allow it to roll boil . **In the mean time , dry roast methi seeds and powder it. When the tamarind mixture starts to thicken , switch off the flame and add the methi powder. Mix well & Close it with a lid Serve with dal rice / curd rice.. !

NOTE

• Puli inji is a spicy accompaniment. A tsp of it is sufficient for a plate of meals. It also aids digestion. Make sure this puli inji is in your menu if you plan to make kerala food..

KALAN

Kaalan tasted similar to mor kuzhambu. We mixed it in plain rice and enjoyed it.

INGREDIENTS

Sour curd – 1 cup Pepper powder – 1 tsp Yam – 1/4 cup ( chopped roughly) Green chilly –2 nos Curry leaves – a few Ghee – a tsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp **Dry roasted methi powder – 1/2 tsp Salt & water – as needed To grind: Grated coconut – 1/4 cup Green chillies – 2 no Jeera – 1/2 tsp To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Pinched red chilly – 1 no

METHOD

In  a pressure cooker , add the yam pieces, pepper powder, green chilly pieces and a tsp of ghee. Cook well. After opening the cooker, add the whipped curd, turmeric powder and salt. Let it boil. In the mean time, grind the items under “ to grind” to make a paste by adding little water. When the mixture reduces to half, add the ground paste. Boil well. Temper the mentioned items and mix to kalan. Switch off the flame and add the methi powder finally. It would be in the consistency of kootu / aviyal. Mix well and close with a lid to retain the aroma.

ASH GOURD KHICHDI / POOSANIKAI THAYIR PACHADI

Ashgourd pachadi simple and tasty accompaniment for dal rice.

INGREDIENTS

Ash gourd – 1/ 4 cup ( chop finely) Salt & water  - as needed Thick fresh curd – 1/2 cup To grind Grated coconut – 2 tsbp Green chillies – 2 nos To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp Urad dal – 1/4 tsp Hing – a pinch Pinched red chilly – 1 no Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Cook the ash gourd pieces with the required water and squeeze them well to remove its water content.Set aside Now in a kadai , temper all the items given above. Grind the coconut & green chillies to make a paste. In a bowl , take the ground coconut paste , tempered items , squeezed ash gourd pieces and the required salt. Mix well .. add the fresh , thich curd just before serving . Enjoy with paruppu sadam ..

ERISSERY

 Erissery is a semi dry , rice accompaniment which has lots of coconut. Adding more coconut gives a nice flavour for this dish. 

INGREDIENTS

Yam/ Chena – 1/4 cup Raw banana – 1/4 cup Pepper powder – 1 / 2 tsp Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Salt & water – as needed. To grind Grated coconut – 1/4 cup Jeera – 1 / 2 tsp To temper: Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Urad dal –1/2 tsp Jeera – 1/2 tsp Grated coconut – 1/2 cup Curry leaves - few

Please note I have put grated coconut twice here. Use accordingly..

METHOD

Chop & cook the yam and banana pieces separately. Heat oil in a a kadai and shallow fry the cooked vegetables. Grind the items given above with little water to make a paste. After shallow frying the veggies , add the ground paste followed by chilli, pepper and turmeric powders. Mix well and allow it to boil sometime. In a kadai , heat coconut oil and temper with urad dal, jeera , curry leaves and grated coconut. Roast them well and add it to the boiling mixture. Mix well and switch off the flame..Enjoy !

KERALA SAMBAR / MIXED VEG SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS

Toor dal – 1/2 cup Potato – 1no Big onion – 1 /2 no Lady’s finger – 1/4 cup Drum stick – 1 no Turmeric powder – 1 / 4 tsp Chilli powder – 1.5 tsp Coriander seeds powder – 2 tsp Salt –  as needed Tamarind –  Small lemon size Dry roasted methi seeds powder – 1/2 tsp To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Pinched red chilly – 1 no coriander leaves – to garnish

METHOD

Pressure cook dal and potato. Set aside.. Reserve the dal water for making rasam.. Soak tamarind in water and take the extract. In a kadai , heat coconut oil and saute the lady’s finger and drum stick pieces. Add all the powders.Saute quickly without burning. Immediately add tamarind extract, Cover and cook well. After the veggies are cooked add the cooked dal and boil well for few mins. Finally temper the items and add the methi powder. switch off the flame.. Garnish with coriander leaves.. In the serving bowl , place a banana leaf and pour the sambar. Close for sometime and then serve. This is the additional tip given in the book..

KERALA RASAM

INGREDIENTS

Cooked toor dal water – 1 cup Tamarind extract – 1 tsp Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Hing – 1/4 tsp Water – 1/4 cup Jeera – 1/4 tsp Methi seeds –1 / 4 tsp Tomato – 2 nos Curry leaves – few To dry roast and powder Dhania – 1 tsp Pepper corns – 1 tsp to temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Pinched red chilly – 1 no Coriander leaves – to garnish

METHOD

In a kadai , dry roast dhania and pepper corns & powder them. Take the tamarind extract , chilli powder , 1 tomato ( crushed) , jeera , hing and methi seeds along with little water. Boil everything till it reduces to half. Then add the dal water , remaining 1 tomato(finely chopped) , rasam powder and the required salt. Boil for few mins. Remove and temper with mustard seeds and pinched red chillies. Garnish with coriander leaves..

KERALA PARIPPU CURRY

INGREDIENTS

Moong dal – 1/2 cup Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Red chilly – 1 no ( pinched ) Water & salt –as needed To grind Grated coconut – 2 tbsp Jeera – 1/4 tsp Green chilli - 1 no To temper Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds –1 /2 tsp & ginger pieces ( optional ) Pinched red chilly – 1 no Curry leaves – few

METHOD

Roast dal till raw smell emanates. Pressure cook the roasted dal with water , turmeric powder and a pinched red chilly.. Grind the coconut,chilli and jeera to make a paste. Mix it to the cooked dal and boil till it thickens. Remove and temper with the above items. Serve adding ghee !!

AVIAL

Please click on the picture to see the recipe for avial.

Do check out my Onam sadya menu - 2 

Easy Chakka pradhaman recipe

Kerala Paal payasam recipe

HAPPY ONAM TO ALL MY BLOGGERS AND FRIENDS. DO TRY THESE RECIPES AND HAVE A GREAT CELEBRATION !!

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