ANDHRA THALI | ANDHRA LUNCH MENU | ANDHRA VEG MEALS

Its been my long time wish to try other state foods. I really got bored of making my usual sambar, vathakulambu etc.. So with my hubby’s acceptance and guidance, I tried Andhra meals / Andhra lunch menu as a first step. He had tasted andhra food in some restaurants like Nandini, Nagarjuna. So he told me the names of dishes they serve in the platter. I googled and found good recipes from some of the blogs. They came out very well. 

My hubby thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes I made. I too loved it. My daughter who is a fussy eater loved the food. I was very happy that my first attempt in andhra food was a big success at home. While cooking I found some ingredients, they use commonly in almost all the recipes. They use Red chillies , Ginger & Garlic paste , Hing and ajwain. I think these ingredients gives the aroma and spiciness in their food. My house was filled with nice aroma when I prepare all these dishes. People who love spicy foods must try Andhra food. Ok, coming to the platter.

In the above picture you can see Andhra Sambar , Tomato Rasam , Mamdikaya cauliflower pachadi , Ivygourd poriyal  ( Tindora curry) , Palakura pappu . I tried Andhra style paruppu podi /Kandi podi too but I forgot to mention in the thali. I will make a seperate post for it. 

PALAKURA PAPPU / DAL PALAK

My hubby told this recipe tasted exactly like the one he had in restaurants. Thanks a lot sailu’s food .

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Toor dal/red gram dal/kandi pappu – 2 handfuls or 1/4 cup Palakura/palak/spinach leaves –2 small bunches ( washed and finely chopped) Big onion – 1 no ( chopped) Turmeric powder -  a pinch Green chillies – 2-3 nos ( slit lengthwise) Ginger – 1/2 inch piece ( chopped) Thick Tamarind extract – a tsp ( soak berry sized tamarind and add the extract) Salt & water – as needed For seasoning (Use a tsp of ghee) Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds/jeera – 1/2 tsp Urad dal- 1/2 tsp Garlic cloves, crushed – 3-4 Red chillies – 2 nos (pinched ) Curry leaves – few

METHOD

In a pressure cooker, place dal, washed and finely chopped palak leaves, onions, green chillies, ginger and turmeric powder. Add 1 to 2 cups of water and pressure cook upto 2 whistles. Heat ghee in a kadai, add mustards seeds and after they start to dance , add cumin seeds, urad dal,  crushed garlic, pinched red chillies and curry leaves and fry for half a minute. Add this to the pressure cooked dal along with salt and combine. Add the tamarind extract and cook on slow to medium flame for 5-7 mts without lid or till you get the consistency of your choice.Add water if necessary Enjoy mixing with plain white rice and ghee !!

NOTE

1. For variations u can try sauting the onions , green chilles , palak leaves in little oil before pressure cooking with dal.
2. Always do the seasoning in the end.
3. If you want, you can do the seasoning using oil and add little ghee on top of the dal.
4. Give a standing time of at least half an hour before serving for all the tastes to blend.

  ANDHRA SAMBAR

I got the following recipes from here. If you want to try varieties of Andhra thali, you must visit this blog to get a good idea. She has given a nice collection of recipes. Thanks Srinithya.

INGREDIENTS

Carrot,potato – 1 no each Drumstick- 1 no Tomato  - 1 no (chopped) Big onion –1 no ( chopped) Toordal- 1/2 cup Gooseberry sized tamarind – soak in warm water. Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Madras sambar masala / any sambhar powder – 1 tsp Poppy seeds/gasalu-1 tsp Coconut dry / kobbari –2tsp Ginger garlic paste- 3/4 tsp Oil-2 tbsp To temper Mustard seeds -1 tsp Jeera / cumin seeds –1 tsp Hing -2 pinches Red chillies – 1 no ( pinched to two)

coriander leaves – to garnish.

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal and the vegetables . Set aside. Dry roast poppy seeds, grated coconut and grind it to make a paste along with sambhar powder. keep aside. In a wide mouthed kadai , add oil and temper the mustard seeds , jeera , hing and turmeric. Add the G&G paste and saute well. Add the chopped onion and tomato pieces. Saute till tomato turns mushy. Add the tamarind extract and salt , few curry leaves.Allow it to boil for few mins. Now add the cooked dal and veggies along with ground poppy seeds paste. Boil for 10 mins in medium flame. Remove and add coriander leaves. Serve with hot , plain white rice adding little ghee !!

NOTE

1. The vegetables should not be over cooked.
2. As per the original recipe , madras sambar masala is used . But I used my home made sambar powder.
3. I also used red chillies while tempering and i tempered at the end.

MAMDIKAYA CAULIFLOWER PACHADI | RAW MANGO CAULIFLOWER PACHADI

Thought she has given varieties of pachadi in her blog, I chose this one just becoz of this combination. I wanted to try this combo and as it sounded unique and different. I’ve got an yummy raw mango dish to add in my mango recipes list.

INGREDIENTS

Green Raw mango pieces  - 1 no ( medium sized) Grated cauliflower florets -1/2 cup Garlic cloves – 5-6 nos ( chopped) Red chilli powder –  1 to 2  tsp Roasted cumin fenugreek powder - 1/8 tsp Turmeric powder -1/8 tsp Chopped garlic pods-3 tbsp Salt- to taste Water – As needed. To temper Oil-1 tbsp Mustard seeds-1 tsp Jeera – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves chopped – few Hing-2 pinches

METHOD

Peel the skin of raw mango and chop it finely. (Its better if you grate it ) Remove the cauliflower florets and add in boiling water along with little turmeric powder and salt. Remove and grate it. Set aside. Heat oil in a pan add mustard, jeera , curry leaves and hing Add garlic and fry till brown.Now add veggies and fry for 2 seconds and close lid and cook till soft,stir in middle to avoid burning. Add little water if necessary. Add chilli  powder , turmeric powder and salt. Mix and cook for sometime. Serve with rice as a side dish !!

TINDORA TOMATO CURRY | IVYGOURD TOMATO STIR FRY

I have never used tindora in my cooking. For a change, I tried this curry . My husband who hates tindora loved this a lot. 

INGREDIENTS

Dondakaya/ivy guard chopped length wise-1 cup Chopped tomato –1 no Chopped big onion – 1no G&G paste – 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder- 2 tsp Salt-to taste Curry powder-2 tsp ( i used garam masala powder) Dry coconut powder-1tsp ( i used grated coconut) Turmeric-1/8 tsp Oil-3 tbsp To temper Mustard seeds-1 tsp Jeera  - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves- few Coriander leaves- few to garnish

METHOD

Pressure cook ivy guard pieces till done, drain excess water and set aside. Fry the pieces in 1 tbsp of oil until crisp and set a side Heat oil in a pan and  temper all the above ingredients. Add onion  , ginger garlic paste and fry for 5 minutes till raw smell emanates. Then add tomatoes and cook till soft. Add all the powders, salt and ivy guard pieces. Fry for 5 more minutes. Add coriander leaves and serve. It smells and tastes gr8 with rice as well as roti. !!

NOTE

1. I dint deep fry the tindora pieces instead I shallow fried it for sometime and proceeded the recipe.
2. Make sure the tindora is not overcooked while pressure cooking.

TOMATO DAL  RASAM

I made slight changes in the actual recipe to suit my hubby’s taste. It tasted excellent and flavourful the next day. I reheated the rasam and used the same for two days.

INGREDIENTS

Finely chopped tomatoes-3 nos Berry sized Tamarind Cooked tuvar dal -1/4 cup Ajwain/vamu /carom seeds/omam-1/2 tsp Hing-2 pinches Crushed garlic- 4 cloves salt-to taste Red chillies-2 nos Turmeric powder -2 pinches Black pepper powder – 1 tsp To temper Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Jeera – 1 tsp Curry leaves – few Coriander leaves – to garnish.

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal with little turmeric powder till mushy and set aside. In a cooking bowl,  add water, tomatoes and tamarind. Cook till soft and reserve the boiled water.  Grind the tomatoes and tamarind to make a paste. Crush ajwain with hands and set a side. Heat oil in a pan add cumin, mustard, hing, ajwain and dry chillies. Fry well and add garlic pieces.saute till golden brown. Now add mashed dal, tomato paste, water, crushed ajwain, pinched red chillies, salt and pepper powder. Boil for sometime. I added little sugar while boiling. Garnish with coriander leaves.  Serve hot !!

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Carrot Sambar Recipe For Idli - South Indian Carrot Sambar

I started to make this carrot sambar recipe for my daughter when she was a kid. Its a great way to make my daughter eat this vegetable. I make it less spicy as per my baby’s taste. Its a good side dish for Idli, dosa with a nice aroma and mild sweetness of carrot. This sambar can be served for rice if you add little more tamarind. You can make it as a no onion no garlic version by skipping onion, garlic in this recipe. I have shared those points in Notes section.Try this for your family .I am sure they will love it. Lets see how to make this healthy carrot sambar recipe for Idli ,dosa.
Check out my other Idli Sambar Recipes HERE.
42 Chutney varieties
15 Idli varieties

Carrot Sambar Recipe

Healthy Carrot sambar for Idli dosa

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 2-3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 200ml Carrot – 2 nos Toor dal + Moong dal – 1/2 cup Sambar onion – 10 nos OR Big onion – 1 no Sambar powder – 1.5 tsp ( add less based on kids taste) Tamarind – Small gooseberry size Asafetida / Hing – 2 pinches Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Salt & water – As needed. To Temper Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp Tomato – 1 no Garlic flakes – 5 nos Curry leaves – A few To garnish Coriander leaves - few

METHOD

Wash & peel the skin of carrot. Chop into slices.Chop the big onions into small cubes. If using small onions, peel the skin and set aside.In a pressure cooker, take dal, few curry leaves, a tsp of ghee and turmeric powder adding 2 cups of water. Take the sliced carrots in a small bowl, no need to add water.Place it inside the cooker. Cook for one whistle in low flame. Open the cooker & mash the dal.Remove the carrot bowl.  Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , season with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves. Add onion, garlic cloves and saute until it turns transparent. Add tomato pieces and saute until mushy. Add the tamarind extract, hing, salt, sambar powder , turmeric powder and salt.Boil well for few minutes. Add cooked carrot slices and dal. Mix well and roll boil for 2 minutes.Adjust the consistency of sambar by adding required water. Garnish with coriander leaves.Transfer the sambar to a vessel and add a tbsp of ghee. Enjoy with hot Idli, dosa !!

Note

To make this sambar for rice, add medium gooseberry sized tamarind and use 1 slitted green chillies along with onions.Do not add more tamarind. Sambar will become too sour. SKIP onion garlic and make it for festivals.  You can also add potato cubes along with carrot slices. For variations, skip tamarind and use 3-4 tomatoes. You can use either toor dal or moong dal alone.

  Enjoy this healthy, yummy sambar with Idli, dosa !

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Very good recipes Tags: carrot sambar, carrot sambar recipe, how to make carrot sambar, sambar recipes, sambar recipe, side dish for idli dosa, kids recipes, sambar for kids, healthy sambar, healthy side dish recipes

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MILAGU KUZHAMBU | PEPPER KUZHAMBU

My hubby loves this milagu kuzhambu a lot. He always used to say that  Iam good in making this. Thanks to the supplementary issue of “Aval Vikatan” . It is the source for this kuzhambu. But I made some modifications according to our taste buds!! Whenever I get up late in the morning and when I run short of time to prepare lunch for my husband, I always do this. Its very easy to do. Lets see how to make this easy pepper kuzhambu for rice with simple ingredients.

Ingredients 

To dry roast and grind

• Pepper corns – 1 tbsp
• Jeera/Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

To saute:

• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Small onions – 5-7 nos ( finely chopped)
• Garlic -  10 flakes (finely chopped)
• Curry leaves – a sprig
• Tomato – 1 no (finely chopped)
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Cooking Oil or gingely oil – 2 tbsp
• Salt and water - as needed

Other ingredients:

• Tamarind – Medium gooseberry size ( 2 to 3 tsp extract)

HOW TO MAKE MILAGU KULAMBU - Method 

• Dry roast pepper and Jeera together just for 1 min in a hot kadai. U’ll get a nice aroma.(Note:Jeera should not be turned black) Grind it slightly coarse.
• Soak tamarind in hot water for 5 –10 mins and extract juice from it. Take 1 cup of juice from it. Add the pepper, jeera powder to the extract. Keep it aside.
• Now heat a wok/pan with 2 tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds. Once it pops, add the methi seeds. Fry..
• Add the finely chopped onions and garlic pieces along with curry leaves. Saute till they become translucent.
• Now add the tomato and cook till it becomes mushy.
• Add the turmeric powder and tamarind extract along with the required salt.
• Let it boil for 10 to 15 mins in medium flame till its raw smell goes off. Add water in the middle if necessary. You can make it thick or thin as you like. Check for taste and add some raw pepper powder if needed. 
• Now switch off the flame and garnish with  fresh curry leaves and 2 tsp of gingely oil. Cover and rest before you serve. 

If you need it more spicy , you can add the raw pepper powder on top of the gravy. No need to boil. That gives a special flavor to this Kuzhambu. I always do this at the end:)

Yummy ,Spicy Milagu Kuzhambu is ready to serve with plain rice and ghee!! It tastes great when crispy potato poriyal or  simple sorakkai poriyal is served as a side dish!!

My MIL’s Tips:

1.     For initial stages of cold: U can try this kashaayam.

Take 1 tbsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin /jeera and 1 inch size ginger in a blender and crush it into one or two. Boil a glass of water . Add this mixture to it. Boil till it gets reduced into quarter glass. Drink this by adding honey or jaggery.
2. For loss of appetite and Indigestion:
Grind 1 tsp of pepper ,1 tsp of Jeera with salt. Make it a coarse powder by adding a pod of garlic at the end. Mix it with ghee and hot plain rice and have it for 2 days. It improves the loss of appetite.
3.For dry cough: Roast 5 –7 peppers in 2 tsp of ghee till it splutters. Now remove the roasted pepper and eat it as it is. Drink the hot ghee (throat bearable heat).
We usually do all the above remedies at our home and are really beneficial:)

For Weight Loss:
If you drink pepper rasam(without rice) around 11 in the morning regularly, sure you will reduce your weight by at least 1 to 2 kg per month(no dieting is necessary). But please don't add too much of pepper . It may lead to stomach ulcer. Just normal amount of pepper as we use for rasam is sufficient!!

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BISIBELEBATH RECIPE

We do this rice dish in the weekend.U all know this is Karnataka's special dish.We make sambar and rice separately & mix them..Here is the recipe,
Check out my latest Karnataka style Bisi bele bath recipe

  Ingredients 

Vegetables – ALL or ANY(Carrot,beans,potato,peas,raddish,brinjal,chow-chow,raw banana,drumstick,broad beans etc)	2 cups
Rice	1/2 cup
Water	4 cups
Toor dal	1/3 cup
Tamarind	A big gooseberry size
Oil	1 tbsp + 2 tsp (to roast)
Sambar powder	1/2 tsp
Jaggery	A Small piece

To Roast & Grind

Dhania/Dry Coriander seeds	2 tsp
Fenugreek	1/2 tsp
Chana dal	1 tbsp
Red chilly	6 – 8 nos (adjust)
Asafetida/Hing	a pinch
Cinnamon	1 small stick
Cloves	2 nos
Grated Coconut	2 tbsp

To temper

Mustard seeds	1/4 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds	1/4 tsp
Sambar onions/Pearl onions	1/4 cup
Green chilly	1 no
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Oil	1 tsp
Coriander leaves	to garnish
Cashew nuts	a few

  Method

1. Wash and Pressure cook rice with required water.Keep it for 2 –3 whistles and till it is overcooked & mushy.Set aside.Cut all the vegetables for 1 inch size.
2. Then pressure cook toor dhal with a drop of oil and a pinch of turmeric powder.Keep it for 2 whistles. Hand blend it. Mix well to become mushy.Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp from it.
3. Heat a kadai with 1 tsp of oil and roast all the items given under “To roast & grind” table and lastly add the grated coconut , roast it well and grind in a powdered form.Keep it aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan,add the tempering items,sambar onions and green chilly.Saute till they are transparent.Add the tamarind extract, all the raw vegetables and a pinch of asafetida.Close the pan with a lid .It should boil till the vegetables get cooked.
5. Now add the cooked toor dal and sprinkle the ground powder. Mix well to avoid lumps.
6. Let it come to a boil. Finally,add the curry leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Delicious SAMBAR IS READY !!!
8. Now take the rice in a big vessel and add the required amount of sambar to it with ghee.Mix it well.
9. Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot with Papad or Vadaam!!!

NOTE:

1. As we prepare the sambar separately,u can use the same for dinner too!!.It tastes excellent with idly,Pongal & dosa!!So no need to prepare any side dish for dinner.U can take rest and enjoy the weekend!! 
2. I’ve mentioned 2 cups of vegetables for just 1/2 cup of rice because this is the easiest way to make the children to eat vegetables :).Please reduce the amount of vegetables based on ur wish..
3. In karnataka, they add cloves and cinnamon while grinding the spices but i don’t add. I make it in our style .So if u need the authentic bisibelebath , roast the cinnamon and cloves along with spices , Powder them and add..
4. Add more sambar while u mix with rice because the rice absorbs all the sambar by the time u eat. Keep some sambar in reserve.I always mix the rice & sambar just before eating and serve hot..
5. At last, add little ghee to enhance the taste and flavour.

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