Rasam Recipe

There are different methods of making rasam.I learnt this from my Chithi(Aunty).. She told this recipe as brahmin rasam. Thanks to my aunty.It came out well!!
Here is the rasam,

Ingredients

1 cup - 200ml

• Cooked toor dal – 1/8 cup
• Tamarind – Small gooseberry size
• Red chilli powder  - 1/2 - 1 tsp
• Pepper & Jeera/cumin seeds – 1 tsp each
• Tomato(Crush into small pieces) – 1 no
• Curry leaves – a few
• Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Asafetida/Hing – a pinch
• Coriander leaves/cilantro – to garnish
• Oil & Ghee – 1 tsp each
• Sugar – little to taste

Method

1. Roast pepper & jeera using 1tsp of ghee and coarse grind . keep it aside.
2. Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp.
3. Hand blend the cooked toor dal and dilute it.
4. Heat a kadai with 1tsp of oil and season with mustard , cumin seeds and curry leaves.
5. Add the crushed tomato , tamarind extract ,chilli powder & a pinch of hing.
6. Bring it to boil and then add the toor dhal water.
7. Boil for sometime.
8. Finally add the salt ,crushed pepper,jeera & little sugar.Boil till it froth. switch off the flame.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Delicious Rasam is ready!!!

Serve hot with plain rice and ghee!!

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Onion Green Chilli Chutney - Quick Onion Chutney Recipe

This is a super easy onion chilli chutney with just two ingredients. We call it as Pacha vengaya chutney as its a no cook recipe. We use raw onions and green chilli to make it. It tastes divine with idli & dosa. We do this chutney at least twice in a week & this is my most favourite side dish. In our family, we call it as “ Vengaya Molaapdi”. I learnt this from my MIL.The key for this recipe is you should keep the onions, chilli & salt in correct ratio otherwise it would taste very spicy or bitter :) If you are looking for super hot and spicy onion chutney, you must try this especially bachelors. U will love its simplicity and ofcourse its taste. This chutney tastes the best with sour dosa (pulicha maavu dosa) and hot idli .  Lets see how to make this easy,peasy South Indian/ Tamil nadu style onion chutney for idli dosa with a video !

Spicy onion chutney - video

Easy onion chilli chutney

Easy onion chilli chutney recipe with just 2 ingredients - Pacha vengaya chutney with pachai milagai. 

Cuisine: Indian

Category: chutney

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 2 Minutes

Total time: 7 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Small onions - 10 nos Green chillies - 4-5 nos ( small) Salt - as needed

METHOD

Peel the onions by soaking in water for 5 mins. Coarse grind all the ingredients in a mixie without adding water(Just run once or twice-use juice/inch option). Take care onions & chillies shouldn’t be grinded smooth. Transfer it to a small bowl and check for salt. Mix with gingely/sesame oil and serve with dosa!!

Note

U can replace small onions by big onions but tastes little sweetish.So add more chillies.Make sure u add correct quantity of salt.If salt is right,this chutney tastes great. For the above recipe,use 2 medium sized big onion. Some chillies may be less spicy and some may be more.So adjust accordingly.

Serve this chutney with idli & dosa adding lots of gingely oil.Tastes heavenly !

Technorati Tags: Easy onion chutney,Onion chutney recipes,Onion recipes,How to make onion chutney at home,Spicy onion chutney,Onion chutney indian,Onion chutney recipe,Side dish for idli dosa

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South Indian Vegetable Kurma For Chapathi - Mix Veg Kurma

This is a very simple South Indian style veg kurma recipe for Chapathi. I learnt this from my mom..Whenever I pack variety rice(lemon,tomato rice etc) as lunch for my husband, I do chapathi with this mixed veg kurma for dinner so that I get a satisfaction of including all the veggies in his diet. Usually I add more vegetables. If you wish, you can reduce it as per your taste.

Ingredients
1 cup - 250ml

1. Chopped Vegetables(Carrot,beans, potato,peas) – 1.5 cups
2. Big onion – 2 nos (Slice cut)
3. Ginger & garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
4. Tomato – 1 no (Big, Chopped)
5. Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

To Grind:

1. Grated Coconut – 3 tbsp
2. Green chilly – 2-3 nos or red chilly powder - 1 tsp
3. Fried Gram – 1 tsp 
4. Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

To temper:

1. Cinnamon – 1 small stick
2. Cloves – 2 nos
3. Cardamom – 1 no
4. Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – To garnish

Method

Step 1 : Heat a cooker base with 2 tbsp of oil and add the tempering  items  one by one. Add the onions and saute till golden brown., Add G&G paste & saute till raw smell leaves it..Add the tomatoes and cook for a minute till tomato turns mushy.
Step 2: Now add all the chopped vegetables and fry for a minute by adding the required salt.
Step 3: Add 1cup of water and pressure cook for 1 or 2 whistles. Meanwhile grind all the items given under “ to grind” to a smooth paste by adding water.
Step 4: Once the veggies get cooked , add the ground mixture to it. Let it boil for 5 – 6 mins in medium flame.Now add the Garam Masala powder and boil for another 5 mins.If the gravy is too thick, add some water.Check for salt.
Finally ,garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Chapathi.

Tastes good with dosa too..
Note: If u grind green chillies, color of the kurma will be greenish not red.. U shud add red chilli powder to get the above color .

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Besan Sambar - Kadalai Maavu Sambar - Tiffin Sambar Recipe

Besan sambar/ Kadalai maavu sambar is a very simple and tasty sambar recipe for idli & dosa. Ideal for bachelors and working women to prepare in busy mornings and lazy nights.We call this as Kadala maavu sambar in Tamil. Its a quick and no dal, no vegetable sambar for idli. You would have heard about Bombay chutney. This recipe is similar to that. It tastes good with chapathi too with slight variations.Check notes section for variations.

Besan sambar recipe/ Kadalai maavu sambar

Easy side dish for Idli dosa with besan flour

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish for idli dosa

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Besan – 1/4 cup Tamarind – Small gooseberry size or ripe tomato - 2 nos Green chilly – 4-5 nos ( slit ) or sambar powder - 1.5 tsp Big onion – 2 nos(finely chopped) To temper Cooking Oil – 1 tbsp Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1 tsp Asafetida/Hing – 1/4 tsp ( 1/8 + 1/8 tsp) Curry leaves –1 sprig Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Coriander leaves /Cilantro– 1/4 cup (finely chopped)

HOW TO MAKE BESAN SAMBAR - METHOD

Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp from it.Dilute the besan without lumps adding required water.Set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds.Once it starts spluttering add urad dal, a pinch of hing and curry leaves.Add finely chopped onions, slit green chillies ( Or add sambar powder along with tamarind extract) and saute till onions become transparent. Add some water and cover the kadai with a lid. Onions will get cooked nicely. Now add the besan water, tamarind extract, ( Sambar powder if using) with salt and 1/2 cup of water. Add 1/4 tsp of hing and turmeric powder. Bring it to boil.Gravy may become thick. So add some water in between. It should boil till the raw smell of besan leaves off completely. Check for taste and add more salt if needed. Finally, add the coriander leaves and serve hot!!

Note

This sambar should be watery.So add water whenever gravy becomes thick . We should add asafetida/hing, 1/8tsp while seasoning and 1/8 tsp during boiling!!This gives the flavor for the dish!! So I mentioned twice to add hing. If you use sambar powder instead of green chillies, color and flavor of this sambar will vary. Note: For chapathi, we follow the same procedure but instead of tamarind extract ,we use lemon juice or tomato pieces.Gravy should be thicker than this.We add lemon juice at the end i.e. after removing from the flame.

 Delicious sambar is ready to serve hot with idli & dosa adding sesame oil !

Technorati Tags: Besan recipes,Besan sambar recipe,Besan sambar for idli,dosa,Besan flour sambar,kadala maavu sambar,bombay sambar,bombay chutney

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Besan Ladoo Recipe / Besan Laddu - Kadalai Maavu Laddu - Diwali Sweets Recipes

Diwali is fast approaching. To begin with celebration, I prepared besan ke ladoo/Gram flour ladoo( Kadalai maavu urundai in Tamil) using 2 methods. Besan ladoo is a very easy recipe but bit tricky.Generally North Indians prepare this laddu for Ganesh chaturthi but we south Indians make ladoo for Diwali and other special occasions. Roasting the gram flour properly gives you the best ,flavourful laddu.I referred tarla dalal,Sanjeev kapoor’s recipes and even vahchef’s video.The ingredients and the quantity mentioned everywhere was more or less similar. So I followed them and slightly adjusted the sugar & ghee as per my family’s liking.When I browsed for besan ladoo, I found shiny ladoos as well as the  semi dry ones like we get in Haldirams and other sweet boxes.I tried both the versions using 1/2 cup of besan and shared the same here.There is no much difference in both the methods except the place of adding ghee.In first version, I used all the ghee for roasting the flour and it yielded shiny ladoos.For the second version,i followed my mom’s moong dal ladoo method and made it dry adding less ghee comparitively.I loved both but Sendhil’s vote is for the shiny ones.Whatever method u follow,roasting in very low flame for longer time is needed to make it perfect.Lets see how to prepare this yummy,easy besan ladoo/Gram flour laddu recipe using 2 methods.Enjoy making it for this Diwali and other festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi,Holi and of course for this Navratri too.Do read the do’s & don’ts before proceeding to the recipe.

DO’s & DON’Ts

Sieving gram flour before roasting is very important to avoid lumps. Roasting the gram flour in low to medium flame with constant stirring is most important to make perfect laddu.The color of gram flour should be golden brown and not dark brown.Keep smelling every now and then to find out whether the gram flour is roasted properly.(Ask your family members for the same).Roasting takes minimum  5-10 minutes in very low flame based on the quantity of gram flour you use.Stay nearby and roast it patiently. If u add all the ghee for roasting,roast till the besan starts to turn into a glossy paste leaving ghee in the kadai.Good non-stick kadai is necessary to find the besan leaving ghee. Also do not add the powdered sugar when the roasted gram flour is too hot.It will make the mixture goey and u won’t get properly shaped ladoo.So its better to add powdered sugar only after the gram flour cools completely or warm. There are two types of gram flour available in market.One is coarse besan and the other one is fine besan.Generally besan ladoos are made using coarse flour.But if u have fine flour,u can add a tsp of sooji/semolina while roasting the flour to get crunchy taste.Similarly Boora sugar/tegra is used instead of normal powdered sugar.But both works fine. Some people add a pinch of nutmeg powder along with cardamom powder.U can do if u like. Some recipes also suggest to use atta/wheat flour along with gram flour but i am not sure about the quantity. You can double this recipe for making in large quantities but just adjust sugar based on your need.

Besan ladoo recipe

Easy besan ladoo recipe for Diwali and other festivals- two versions

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Yields: 3-4 nos

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Method - 1 for shiny version Besan/Gram flour - 1/2 cup Powdered sugar - 1/3 cup(use 1/2 cup for more sweetness) Melted ghee - 2.5 tbsp Cardamom seeds - 2 nos Method -2 for dry version Gram flour/besan - 1/2 cup Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup Melted ghee - 2-3 tbsp Cardamom seeds - 2 nos

METHOD

Sieve the mentioned gram flour well by breaking the lumps.Powder the sugar nicely.Set aside.This step is common for both the method. METHOD – 1 Heat all the ghee in a non-stick kadai and roast the cashews in low flame. Remove roasted cashews in a plate. I used badam here. Add the sieved flour to the ghee and roast it well by keeping the flame very low to medium whenever required.Take care not to burn.Its better to keep the flame low and keep stirring constantly.It will turn to a paste & starts to leave the ghee.Keep roasting till u get it like a shiny whole mass as you see in the picture .The entire house smells with roasted flour n ghee.Switch off the flame and let it cool in the kadai itself.Mix once or twice in the middle. After the besan is cooled completely,add the powdered sugar & crushed cardamom powder. Mix well.Your hands would do a good job here.So don’t hesitate.Mix well.Mixture will become crumbly now. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Then make tight balls and arrange. Initially balls may be goey, and improper in shape & sticking to the plate. So arrange in a polythene sheet or butter paper. When it cools down completely,u can make the balls tight n perfectly round. METHOD-2,Roast the cashews in a tsp of ghee and in the same kadai,add the sieved gram flour.Roast in low flame till it changes its color to golden brown.Switch off the flame and let it become warm.Add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder.Mix well.Add hot melted ghee and mix the flour well with the ladle.When the mixture is warm,make tight balls and arrange in a plate. Try any based on your liking. Both tastes yummy !

Note

Make sure the besan is roasted well .Otherwise it would smell raw. If u r not able to make balls , add 1 tbsp of more ghee and make balls.. Adding less ghee than the mentioned quantity gives dry balls.Adding too much of ghee makes the balls shapeless.It wont be firm.U can also try adding little milk to make balls but shelf life gets reduced.. Adjust the sugar according to your taste buds. Before shaping the balls , just taste it and add more if u need..

Which one are you going to try,Shiny laddo OR Dry ones ??

Technorati Tags: Besan ladoo recipe,Besan ke ladoo,Besan laddu,Kadalai maavu laddu,gram flour laddoo,Ladoo recipes,Easy diwali sweets recipes,Diwali sweet recipes

Very good recipes Tags: Besan ladoo recipe, Besan ke ladoo, Besan laddu, Kadalai maavu laddu, gram flour laddoo, Ladoo recipes, Easy diwali sweets recipes, Diwali sweet recipes

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Puli Sundal | Puli Upma Recipe - Easy South Indian Dinner Recipes

Puli sundal is an easy one pot meal which we make for dinner usually. Many of you call this as puli upma but my MIL named this as puli sundal. It is an authentic dish that is made in Kumbakonam, Mayavaram areas of Tamil nadu. I learnt this recipe from my MIL. It tastes the best with chopped pearl onions/Sambar onions as side dish :) Also you should top it with gingely oil before eating. Tastes great. 

Bachelors & working women can try this recipe to make an easy dinner after coming home late from the office OR make this for lunch box during busy morning hours. You can finish the entire process within 15 minutes in a pressure cooker. Do try it and let me know how you liked it. 

Puli sundal recipe

Puli sundal-Easy one pot dinner/breakfast/lunch box recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Dinner

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Steamed Rice / Saapaatu arisi (Puzhungal rice used for lunch) – 1 cup  ( I used puzhungal arisi) Toor dal – 1.5 tbsp Water – 3 cups or less ( depending on your rice ) Tamarind - Small lemon size To temper Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1 tsp Asafetida /Hing – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – a sprig Red chillies – 3 to 4 nos Salt – to taste Gingely oil & Finely chopped sambar onions – to serve

METHOD

Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes. In the mean time, heat a kadai and dry roast toor dal till it turns light golden brown with a nice smell. Remove and keep in a plate. In the same hot kadai, dry roast the rice till it turns white and puffs up slightly. Remove and keep it with toor dal. Now wash the roasted rice and toor dal and keep it ready. Extract tamarind juice using 3 cups of water as mentioned above. Its not necessary that you should use all the 3 cups for extracting the juice. You can use how much ever you want. Remaining water you can add as it is. Total water should be 3 cups. In a pressure cooker base, heat oil and  splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, pinched red chillies, curry leaves & half of the hing. ( ie 1/4 tsp). Add the tamarind extract,turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves & remaining hing. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. It takes 12-15 minutes based on the size of cooker. Remove and serve by adding a tsp of gingely oil. Tastes the best with chopped small onions. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of water as per the rice you use. U can also try with raw rice but water quantity varies. Adjust the number of chillies based on spice level. The quantity I have given here gives medium spiciness. Hing/Asafetida is the star ingredient here. So don’t avoid it.

Hot , Yummy Puli Sundal is ready. U can eat this as it is!! If needed u can have this with coconut chutney!! But chopped pearl onions is the best side dish for this rice.  Pickle will also do !

Technorati Tags: Puli sundal recipe,Puli sundal,Puli upma,Puli upma recipe,Easy breakfast recipes,Easy dinner recipe,One pot meal,Lunch box recipes,puli sundal kumbakonam

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