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