In this post, I have shared how to make ghee from store bought butter easily at home. I have used unsalted butter here. You can also use salted butter if you like. Procedure is the same. Before my marriage , I was not aware of making ghee at home. My mom used to buy ghee from a milk man who gives us fresh, flavourful ghee.
When I was young, I used to eat the residued curry leaves/ Drumstick leaves which he brings specially for me. After marriage, I saw my MIL making ghee from store bought unsalted butter. I was amazed ! I learnt from her and now I can confidently make ghee on my own.
Even beginners can try this ! It tastes & smells equal to the store bought ghee. Recently I found that adding jeera & red chilli gives a flavourful ghee & I tried it too. I usually make ghee very simply without adding them. But adding them sure enhances the flavour of ghee. This ghee won’t taste salty, you can use in sweets. Follow this if you like. Let’s see how to make ghee at home using unsalted butter with stepwise pictures and video!
How to make ghee from unsalted butter
How to make ghee at home using unsalted butter with stepwise pictures..
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Indian kitchen basics
Serves:500ml
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:20 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Unsalted Butter – 500 gms ( I use Nandini)
Buttermilk – 1/8 tsp / a drop
Crystal salt – 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves / Drumstick leaves – few
Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp (optional)
HOW TO MAKE GHEE FROM BUTTER - METHOD
Take the butter out and put it in a wide, big vessel .( I normally use an aluminium pan which is almost three times bigger because while melting the froth raises till the rim of the vessel). Switch on the flame and start melting the butter by placing a wooden ladle. Keep the flame high and keep on stirring till the butter melts completely .( by stirring continuously , you’ll get less residue at the end).
Now simmer the flame and mix well. It will boil and become frothy by producing big bubbles. It produces a hiss sound.
After few minutes, the bubbles will cease and the froth rises. (make sure the flame is low). Mix well and cook for sometime in low flame. It froths again and foams up. After a few seconds from rising, you’ll see tiny brown spots that appear on the top. As soon as you see a single brown spot, add little buttermilk & mix well. After you add the buttermilk, you’ll get a spluttering noise. Adding buttermilk is optional. Switch off the flame and mix well .U’ll see lot of brown spots. Remove the vessel from the stove.
Add few curry leaves/ drumstick leaves & pinch of methi seeds, jeera and red chilli if using.
After it cools down, the residue will settle down at the bottom and transfer the ghee alone to the desired bowl by straining it through a metal filter. Keep the bowl open for sometime. Then close it with a lid and use whenever required..
U can use the residue by mixing in plain rice or by adding in sambar or pongal. I usually do this.
Note
U can add jeera and one whole red chilly while making ghee. It never changes the taste of ghee. It just enhances the aroma. U can use this ghee for making sweets without any doubt. But adding them are optional. I don’t use it often.
Crystal salt is used for the residue to settle down easily.
Adding methi seeds is optional. If you wish, add along with curry leaves at the end . ie. before switching off the flame.
Drumstick leaves can also be added instead of curry leaves.
U should be more careful when the brown spots appear. Keep the lights on in your kitchen and keep watching at this stage.I add curd as soon as I see a single brown spot. I mix it and switch off the flame. But my MIL waits for more spots to come. Also she removes the vessel from the stove and keeps it in a plate of water to cool down quickly.
Yesterday my parents visited me after so many months. I had a great time with them.I was craving to eat my mom’s food for long time. So I told my mom to prepare this puli pachadi which is the best accompaniment for dal rice/paruppu sadam. Some people call this as Puli milagai thokku. I also had this by mixing in plain rice adding sesame oil. It tasted like puliodharai. I have tried this as a side dish for ven pongal too. Lovely combination it is!!.
When I was pregnant my mom had made this ‘n’ number of times for me as I wanted something tangy those days. Yesterday dal, pachadi , rasam & tindora fry was our lunch. It was yummy .Thank you amma. This pachadi can be stored for 3-4 days when refrigerated. Lets see Puli Milagai preparation below.
INGREDIENTS
For 2-3 people
Tamarind – Big gooseberry size
Green chillies – 3 –4 nos (increase if u want more spicy)
Sambar onion – 10 nos ( chop finely)
Hing/ asafetida – 2 generous pinches
Salt & water – as needed
To temper:
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – a few
METHOD
Soak tamarind in water for 15 mins. Take the extract and set aside.
Slit the green chillies and chop them into pieces. Chop the onions.
In a kadai , heat oil and temper with mustard , urad dal , curry leaves.
Now add the chopped onions and green chillies.
Saute well and then add the tamarind extract.
Add the required salt & hing. Let it boil for few mins.
When it gets thicken, switch off the flame and transfer to a serving bowl.
Enjoy with dal rice !!
NOTE
As the green chillies absorb all the tanginess, we usually eat it along with onions. So I chopped them finely and used here.
If you are making for kids, just slit the chillies, cook and remove while eating.
Please add more hing as it gives the flavour for this dish.
This is my first post on Indian mushroom recipes. I started with a simple and easy mushroom biryani recipe in pressure cooker. We call it as Kalan biryani in Tamil. When I was young , I used to think mushroom is a non-veg food. So I never thought of eating mushroom recipes. But after marriage , I tasted mushroom Manchurian in a vegetarian restaurant and loved it. I loved its softness. I tried the same for my daughter. She too liked it a lot. I’ll post that recipe later.
This time I wanted to try a rice variety with mushroom to pack for my husband’s lunch box. I googled so many recipes, got the idea and tried in my own way. It tasted great. My husband and his friends liked it a lot. I felt very happy that my first mushroom recipe is a huge success. Soon I will try to update this post with step by step pictures.
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 250ml
Mushroom – 5 nos (big)
Green peas – 1/4 cup (optional)
Cinnamon – 1 piece
Cloves – 2 nos
Cardamom – 1 no
Biryani leaf – 1 small
Big onion – 1 no
Tomato – 2 nos ( very small.. if big use one)
Ginger & garlic paste – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt - as needed
Basmati rice – 1/2 cup ( soak rice in required water for 10 mins)
Water – 1 cup
Cooking Oil & ghee – 1 tbsp each
To grind:
Coriander leaves – 1/8 cup
Mint leaves – 1/8 cup
Cashews – 4 nos
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
Lime juice – few drops
METHOD
Wash and clean the mushroom pieces by keeping little water in a bowl.
Take the pieces out and wipe it with a clean cloth.
Cut each mushroom into 3-4 pieces of medium size. Set aside..
Wash & Soak rice in the required water till use (1:2 ratio) ( say for 10 mins).
Grind all the items given under “to grind” to make a smooth paste.
In a cooker base heat oil and add cinnamon, cloves , cardamom and biryani leaf. Then saute onions , ginger & garlic paste till its raw smell disappears..
Now add the tomato pieces and saute till it turns mushy.
Add red chilli powder , salt and turmeric powder.
Add the mushroom pieces and the ground masala paste.
Mix well and finally add the soaked rice with the required water.
Cook for 1 whistle in low flame by adding a tbsp of ghee.
Fluffy , yummy biryani is ready to serve with a simple raita !!
NOTE
For variations , lime juice can be added at the end before serving instead of adding tomatoes.
U can also fry the basmati rice in ghee before soaking in water..
For cooking basmati rice , Rice and water quantity of 1:2 would be sufficient if you don't soak the rice for 30 minutes. I used 2.25 cups which made the rice little mushy. My husband likes that way. So I used more water.
If served for guests, add more ghee while sautéing.
Recently I came across this Punjabi Restaurant style palak paneer recipe from HERE. I have already tried Sindhi style palak paneer long back. As my husband doesn’t like paneer I don’t buy it often. I make paneer gravies very very rarely. Even if I want to try, I first browse for some recipes which are close to restaurant taste. I can make him eat by telling “Its restaurant style “. I tried PBM which was also a restaurant style recipe.
Recently when I was browsing for punjabi restaurant style palak paneer recipe, I got this one. By seeing the comment section, I prepared this dish very confidently.
Yes, this recipe is “Truly a restaurant style recipe in 10 mins..”. My husband loved it. Me too.
Please do not attempt this recipe without kasoori methi and garam masala. They are the star ingredients. As soon as I added kasoori methi and garam masala powder , the aroma that wafted through my house was awesome. I still remember that smell. I din't have fresh cream in my hand. So I used boiled milk with its skin which was also good in taste. Do try with fresh cream for your guests. They will be amazed!!
INGREDIENTS
Spinach/Palak leaves – 2 bunches (medium sized)
Vegetable oil /Cooking oil or butter - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds /jeera - 1 tsp
Ginger, crushed – 1 inch piece ( I used G&G paste – 1 tsp)
Garlic, crushed – 6 cloves
Big onion ( finely chopped) – 1
Finely Chopped tomatoes – 4 nos ( I used very small tomatoes, if big use 2)
Dried fenugreek leaves (or kasoori methi) – 1 tsp (crush it well before use)
Red chilli powder –3/4 - 1 tsp (adjust)
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Fresh thickened cream – 1 tbsp or Milk with skin / malai – 1.5 tbsp (less than 1/4 cup)
Salt to taste
Lemon juice – few drops ( add at the end , before serving)
HOW TO MAKE PALAK PANEER (RESTAURANT STYLE)
Remove spinach leaves from stems and wash it well.
Cook in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes & then refresh in cold water, drain, squeeze out excess water and puree until smooth. Reserve this water and add to gravy. Alternately, you can saute the palak leaves in little oil along with one green chilli and grind to a paste.
( add a tsp of sugar while it cooks which helps to retain its green color).
Chop tomatoes and onions.
Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add cumin seeds, ginger & garlic paste and onions and fry until golden brown.
Add tomatoes, salt and cook until they become soft and mushy. Add the red chilli powder.
Saute for sometime and then add the spinach puree.
( Keep the paneer cubes immersed in hot water till use)
Add the paneer cubes.
Stir well and add kasoori methi ( crush it with your hands and add), garam masala powder. Boil for few mins. Add water if necessary. Gravy should be little thick in consistency .
Add water accordingly as we are going to add milk skin/ malai in the next step.
Add milk/ malai at the end. Mix well, leave it for a minute and switch off the flame. If you use fresh cream, add it, mix well and switch off the flame. Add few drops of lemon juice if desired & Serve hot.
NOTE
Instead of blanching the leaves, you can also try sauteing them with little oil. Add sugar while you saute.
I used red chilli powder here. Green chillies can also be used for variation and to get a greener gravy. But in the original recipe it is not mentioned.
If you plan to add green chilly, saute it with leaves and then puree it along with the leaves.
U can also try adding a pinch of fennel seeds powder while adding kasoori methi to get additional flavour.
Boil some water in a bowl, switch off and put the paneer cubes till use. This keeps the paneer soft till end. No need to fry the cubes in oil. Its completely optional.
I make this Tamilnadu style paruppu rasam when I feel lazy to cook. It is different from the usual rasam in taste as well as texture. We add sambar powder instead of rasam powder and it would be thick in consistency. I add more crushed garlic which gives an excellent flavour. .I learnt this from my MIL. I make this in weekends along with a poriyal and thogayal. It makes a complete meal with a stir fry (poriyal) and appalam /papad as accompaniments..
Recently when I went to my in-laws place, my MIL gave me lots of Ponnanganni keerai (Dwarf copperleaf / joyweed/ Sessile joyweed – pink variety. Generally known as water amaranth) grown in our garden.. I made sambar and kootu but still I had some left in my fridge. Its been a long time I am planning to make masala vada with spinach. So I tried this vada for first time.It was super cripsy , flavourful and yet soft inside.. We loved it. My doter had 2 vadas. This shows the success of this recipe.
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 200ml
Ponnanganni keerai / Any greens– 1/2 cup
Chana dal – 1/2 cup
Red chillies – 3-4 nos
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Hing – 1/4 tsp
Small onion – 10-15 nos (chopped roughly)
Mint leaves – 1 handful
Coriander leaves – 1 handful
Curry leaves - few
Salt & water – as needed
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp (optional)
METHOD
Soak channa dal for 2 hours. Drain the water and grind along with red chillies,hing, salt & ,jeera and 2 tsp of water..
First run the chillies,salt and hing together.Then add the soaked channa dal and run once or twice.The dal should be coarsely ground.Some dal would be visible..
Wash and chop the greens finely..Set aside.
Mix the keerai , onions , mint leaves and coriander leaves,curry leaves in a bowl and check for salt. No need to add water.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan and add a tbsp of hot oil to the vada batter. This helps in making the shape of vada properly and gives crispiness to the vada.
Mix the batter and take a small ball shaped batter.
Keep in the center of palm and pat it little to make thick patties.
Deep fry in hot oil. To check the right temperature of oil , just drop a bit of batter. It raises immediately..
Now drop the vadas one by one and cook in simmer flame for even cooking.
Flip the vadas after a few mins and cook on the other side.
Make in batches..Remove the vadas and serve hot !
Enjoy
with tea or with rice as an accompaniment like we had!!
NOTE
If you are planning to make masala vada , just follow the same recipe except spinach.
Adding fennel seeds gives a nice flavour but I couldn't use as my hubby doesn’t like its taste..
I used pink variety keerai and I just ground the keerai once along with channa dal. So my vada was slighlty brownish yellow in color.
U can make this vada with any greens..The point is just chop it very finely..Mulai keerai, arai keerai , siru keerai , murungai keerai can be used here..
Usually we add channa, toor and urad dal for masala vada . We call tat as “MUPARUPPU VADA”..But my mom told me to make with channa dal alone.. Yes , adding channa dal alone gives a nice , crispy vadas..
As Onam is nearing, I see lot of posts featuring Kerala onam sadya 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!!..
In the above banana leaf, you can find Simple onam sadya dishes like Rice, Paruppu curry, Puli inji, Sambar, Mixed veg thoran, Kalan, Erissery, Mezhukkupuratti, Ash gourd pachadi, Semiya payasam, Elaneer payasam.
Pazham, pappadam and nendhran chips are missing in the banana leaf 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 Avialas 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.
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.
Salna is a spicy, delicious side dish served with parotta in roadside hotels of Tamil nadu (Kai endhi bhavan). It is very popular in Madurai. Empty Salna recipe is nothing but a plain, watery, tomato based spicy gravy packed with awesome flavour. But today I made vegetable salna recipe for parotta. Whenever I think about parotta, the side dish that immediately strikes my mind is Salna. This road side hotel gravy is my favorite more than vegetable kurma that is served in restaurants. Nothing can beat this combo.
Before marriage, my dad used to buy parotta salna almost twice in a month. We used to buy the parotta just for salna which tastes good for dosa, idli and chapathi as well. So we buy less parotta and ask for more salna ;). My mom makes idli /dosa additionally and we relish the salna with it. Even nowadays when I visit my mom’s place , my lovable dad never forgets to buy this for me.
Last week I bought frozen parotta for the first time just to prepare this salna. When I searched for the recipe, I got so many. Finally I made my own by combining all the recipes based on the salna I tasted. Usually in vegetarian salna , you can’t find any vegetables except onions, skin of tomato and a layer of oil floating on top and may be some pieces of cauliflower. I have also shared a plain tomato salna. But I added some vegetables just to make it healthy. We loved its taste. Its taste will surely remind road side hotels salna to you.
Lets see how to make parotta salna at home. Give a try and let me know how it turned out for you. Hope you will love it like me ;). If you have salna and parotta leftover in hand, you can make delicious kothu parotta too.
Mixed Vegetables ( carrot , beans , peas and potato, cauliflower) – 1/2 cup ( I add 1 cup)
Ginger – Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
Big onion –1 no (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 no (-do-)
Mint leaves – a few
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Bay leaf – 1 (optional)
Black stone flower – 1 (optional)
Salt & water - as needed
To grind:
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Tomato – 2 nos
Red chilli powder – 1.5 tsp (use 3/4 tsp for less spice)
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Jeera powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder OR Chicken masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon – 1 small stick
Cloves – 2-3 nos
Elachi / cardamom – 1 seed
Fennel seeds /soambu – 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut – 3 tbsp
Khus khus / Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts – 3 nos
Salt & water – as needed
HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE SALNA
Wash and Cut all the vegetables of small size uniformly.
In a kadai, heat oil and add the spices, ginger, garlic, onion, tomato and spice powders.
Mix well till tomato mushes. Then add the grated coconut, cashews, poppy seeds. Mix well and switch off the flame. After it cools down, add little water and grind to a smooth paste.
In a cooker base, add oil, bay leaf, black stone flower and Ginger garlic paste, onions, mint leaves and sauté till raw smell emanates. Now add the chopped tomato pieces and saute well till it turns mushy.
Now add the ground masala paste,required salt and all the vegetables. Add enough water and pressure cook for one whistle.
When you open the cooker, you’ll see a layer of oil floating on top and you get a nice aroma. If you feel the water is more, allow it to boil for sometime by simmering the flame which makes the oil separate more. Remove and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with Parotta, dosa, idli and biryani. Enjoy !
NOTE
If you want the salna to be watery, add little more water after opening the cooker and allow to boil.
U can also add coconut milk at the end instead of grinding coconut .
For variations, try adding all the masala while sauting instead of grinding part.
Adjust the amount of chilli powder according to your taste. You can even add it at the end and boil for sometime if required.