South Indian Lunch Menu Recipes For Amavasya -No Onion No Garlic Lunch Menu

I have been thinking to share our amavasai vazha ilai saapadu for years. But somehow I couldn’t do it.Yesterday I made this South Indian style No onion No garlic thali for No moon day/Amavasya (Mahalaya amavasya). 

Every month on No moon day my FIL used to do “Tharpanam” by keeping all these dishes in banana leaf. So we make Vadai and payasam along with Rice, Sambar, Kootu or curry, Pachadi, Paruppu, Rasam, Appalam and Pickle.Vada and Payasam/Kheer are optional. Some people make it every month.Vaikasi and Aadi amavasai are very special to us for which Vadai and payasam are compulsory.

Yesterday I prepared all these dishes especially for this post. I love cooking this Amavasai lunch menu as it is very easy to prepare with less chopping and grinding works. It takes just 45 minutes to make this platter if you don’t prepare Payasam and vada. I have shared the method of preparation and recipes with links. Please click them to view the particular recipe. I have also shared more ideas for cooking a no onion no garlic lunch menu. 

Hope this post would help the South Indian beginners who want to cook a No onion No garlic food for their lunch. Please check out my Tamil nadu lunch menu ideas – 1 , Lunch menu ideas – 2  and a complete South Indian thali for guest with a detailed serving procedure if interested !

As I told in my South Indian full meals post,I will share a North Indian Thali very soon. Stay tuned !!

Vegetables to be used for No moon day lunch menu

Lady’s finger, Broad beans, Cluster beans, Raw mango, Red pumpkin,White pumpkin, Chayote/chow chow, Raw banana, Sweet potato, Yam, Karunai kizhangu, Seppan kizhangu, Stem of greens ( Keerai thandu), Banana stem, Banana flower, Bitter gourd, Sundakkai/Turkey berry.

Vegetables to be avoided

Drumstick, Brinjal, Bottle gourd, Carrot, Beans, Potato, Onion, Garlic, Green leaves ( Keerai)

No onion No Garlic Lunch Menu

South Indian style No onion No Garlic Lunch Menu for No Moon Day/Amavasya

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Lunch menu

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 45 Minutes

Cook time: 40 Minutes

Total time: 85 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Rice/Sadam Paruppu/Dal Lady's Finger Sambar/Vendakkai sambar Rasam ( Skip Garlic and use Dal water) Raw banana curry/Vazhakkai poriyal Gooseberry Curd Pachadi/Nellikai thair pachadi Easy Mango thokku Cabbage vada Sago payasam/Javvarisi payasam Curd Appalam

How to prepare this amavasya lunch menu

Wash and soak Urad dal for 30-45 minutes for making vada. Refrigerate and soak it. Use the soaked ice water for grinding to get crispy vada. Within this soaking time,u can prepare this lunch menu if you follow the below steps. Soak the tamarind for sambar and rasam.Crush a tomato and add to tamarind soaked for rasam. Add some salt for quick soaking. You need to use 2 pressure cooker and 2 burner gas stove. Take one cooker, wash and pressure cook the rice till its done. In another cooker, take the toor dal for sambar and keep a small bowl inside the cooker. Place the moong dal needed for serving dal/paruppu. Pressure cook them in low flame for 15 minutes. This takes nearly 15 minutes for both the cooker to release the steam. In that 15 minutes, chop all the vegetables need for making sambar, poriyal, pachadi etc. For this menu, you have to chop Lady’s finger, Green chillies for sambar. Raw banana for poriyal and Gooseberry for pachadi. Grate 1/4 cup of coconut for Pachadi and poriyal. First grind coconut, green chilli, amla, salt and hing for pachadi. Mix the paste to curd and keep aside. Pachadi is ready. You can temper at the end. Now let's make sambar and rasam. Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated splutter mustard, methi seeds and saute the lady’s finger, green chilli, red chilli, curry leaves for making sambar. Add tamarind extract and boil well. When it is boiling, heat another kadai and temper with mustard seeds,jeera for making rasam. Prepare the rasam in this kadai. The steam would have released in the cooker. So remove the dal, mash it well and add to the boiling sambar and little dal water to the boiling rasa as well. Now sambar and rasam would be ready. Heat little oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds for topping the moong dal and thayir pachadi. Add this tempering to pachadi and dal. Add little water to adjust the consistency of dal and pachadi. Both are ready now. In the same kadai,roast the sago for making payasam. Roast till it becomes white and puffs up well. I used Nylon variety sago. If you are using big white ones, soak it for 30 minutes in hot water and then cook it. Add water and cook the sago by covering the kadai with a lid. Keep the flame medium. In another burner,cook the raw banana in a kadai adding sambar powder, a seed of tamarind, water and salt. Raw banana and sago takes almost the same time to cook. So keep an eye on both. Make sure nothing gets burnt. Raw Banana should not become mushy. It should be firm in shape. After the sago is cooked well, add crushed jaggery, cardamom to it. Boil well by adding some water. Lastly add some plain milk or coconut milk and switch off the flame immediately. Take the cooked raw banana and drain the excess water. Temper mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Put the raw banana pieces and saute well. Lastly add some grated coconut. All the dishes are ready now. Lets make vada. By this time, urad dal would have soaked well. Heat oil in a kadai to deep fry the vada.Keep the flame medium. Grind the dal adding pepper corns and hing in mixie. Add little water ( say few tbsp at a time) and grind a thick batter. To the ground batter, add salt, chopped curry leaves and mix well. Check the oil temperature and make vada. Lastly roast few papad if you wish and switch off the flame. Rice, sambar, rasam, Poriyal, Pachadi, Vada, appalam are ready to serve. I had already made and kept mango thokku. U can keep any pickle as you wish. Enjoy this no onion no garlic thali !

Please refer my

No Onion No Garlic Recipe collection for more ideas .

Other Options

You can replace Lady’s finger with Broad beans or cluster beans to make sambar. In that case, pressure cook the veggies along with dal. You can make the same poriyal using sweet potato or lady’s finger too. For Pachadi, you can make simple curd raita by grinding coconut+green chilli+ginger or Lady’s finger raita. You can also make masala vada instead of urad dal vada but do not add onions in the batter. Instead of Sago payasam, you can make moong dal payasam,Aval payasam or Vermicelli kheer too. Please go through my 15 payasam varieties for more ideas. Please refer my No Onion No Garlic Recipe Collection for more ideas .

Make this No onion No garlic lunch feast for occasions and celebrate the day !

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Sindhi Biryani Recipe-Pakistani Biryani-Sunday Lunch Recipes Series 19

Sindhi biryani is a very popular biryani recipe originated in Sindh province of Pakistan.It is usually made with mutton or chicken.I read from Wikipedia that this biryani is served in almost all the flights of Pakistan Airlines.I was looking forward to try Sindhi biryani recipe.Recently I came to know about Anisa,the owner of Zaiqa-The Spice store through my facebook friends.My friends suggested me to use Zaiqa masala saying it gives a nice restaurant touch to the recipes.I went through her website and amazed to see the wide range of masala products especially for Non-vegetarians.I chose Sindhi biryani masala,Chicken 65 masala and Chole masala powders and ordered them.I got the masala powders the next day through courier.I tried this biryani using Zaiqa’s Sindhi biryani masala.It tasted more like homemade masala powder.I followed the recipe given in the back of packet.Biryani came out really well. Now I am eager to try out Zaiqa's other products too.Friends,u can visit this website  & order online to buy Zaiqa products.I am sure these masala powders will take your recipes to the next level . Now lets see how to make Pakistani Sindhi Biryani Recipe.
Visit my other biryani and pulao recipes here

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Roasted Phool Makhana Recipe-Easy Evening Snacks Recipe

I started using Phool makhana (lotus seeds/Foxnut seeds in English) very recently. Nowadays I am making recipes like phool makhana curry, phool makhana kheer and masala roasted phool makhana very often in my kitchen. I will share the kheer recipe very soon. This roasted phool makhana is a very simple, quick, healthy and guilt free evening snack recipe which you can do in the next 10 minutes. Phool makhana has amazing health benefits and nutritional values. It helps in cardiac protection, good for digestion, helps to improve appetite and much more. Even though it is bit costlier, we can buy and consume it at least once or twice in a month to enjoy its health benefits. In Bangalore, you can find phool makhana in Nilgiris, Total, D- mart and Metro. Now lets see how to make this quick phool makhani recipe for evening teatime snacks.

Roasted phool makhana recipe

Roasted phool makhana recipe- Easy,healthy,guilt free evening snack

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snacks

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 2 Minutes

Cook time: 8 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 240ml

Oil  or ghee- 2 tsp + 1 tbsp Lotus seeds/Phool makhani -2 cups Red chilli powder or sambar powder - 1 tsp Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp Salt - as needed Curry leaves & curshed garlic - few(optional) Black salt- a pinch ( optional)

METHOD

In a pan, heat oil and roast the phool makhana in medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Make sure you don’t burn them. To check whether it is roasted well, take one in your finger and try to crush it or gobble a few. If it crushes well, it is roasted properly. If you feel it is soggy to press, you have to roast more. Similarly if you eat, it should be crunchy else roast for few more minutes.  After it is roasted well, transfer to a plate. Heat 1 tbsp oil or ghee in the same kadai. Lower the flame completely. Add red chilli powder,  salt and chaat masala or garam masala powder. Keep the flame low else spice powders would burn. Add the roasted makhana and coat the masala well in low flame.. Switch off the flame and let it cool in the kadai for 3-4 minutes. Now serve them in a bowl with hot tea. Tastes yummy and crunchy ! . NOTE You can replace chaat masala powder with garam masala powder. You can also add a pinch of aamchur powder for tangy taste. Adding curry leaves or garlic is optional. Ghee gives a nice flavor. So don’t skip it. You can add some crushed garlic cloves along with spice powders to get a nice garlic flavor.

Easy, healthy roasted masala phool makhana is ready to munch with hot tea !

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Aloo Paneer Bonda Recipe - Potato Paneer bonda - Snacks Recipes

I usually make aloo bonda/potato bonda at home. Recently when I was looking for some snacks recipes in my hand written cook book, I came across this aloo paneer bonda recipe shared by Mrs. Revathy Shanmugam mam in a cookery show. I made some changes in the actual recipe and tried this for my guests. They loved it a lot. Does any kid say no to a snacks with paneer and potato combo??.

Yeah, this potato paneer bonda recipe was a super hit among the kids and elders as well. Try this recipe for your kids in this evening when they are back from school.They would ask you more. It’s a good tea time snack. It can be relished with tomato sauce. You can make many variations in this recipe as per your wish. So let me share my recipe of making aloo paneer bonda recipe.

Don’t forget to check out my daughter’s favorite Instant mangalore bonda recipe, besan flour bonda & Onion bajji recipe.

Aloo paneer bonda recipe

Aloo Paneer Bonda Recipe - Kids friendly evening snacks

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snacks

Serves: 12

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For masala 1 cup = 250 ml Grated paneer - 1 cup Boiled potato - 2 nos ( medium size) Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Big onion - 1 no ( finely chopped) Ginger&garlic paste - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Coriander leaves - to garnish Lemon juice - few drops Salt - as needed For bonda batter Besan flour - 1/2 cup Rice flour - 3 tbsp Cooking soda - 1/8 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Ginger & Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Salt - as needed Water - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp more if needed  Cooking oil - to deep fry

HOW TO MAKE ALOO PANEER BONDA - METHOD

Pressure cook the potatoes and peel the skin. Mash it well. Set aside. Grate paneer. Chop the onions finely. Heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds. Add the onions and saute till transparent. Add g&g paste and saute till raw smell goes off. Now add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder. Add the grated paneer, mashed potato and mix well. No need to add water. Mix well so that masala is coated well. Lastly add the lemon juice and coriander leaves. Now allow the masala to cool down and make balls of small lemon size. For making bonda batter take the besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, g&g paste, salt, cooking soda and mix well. Add water to make a thick batter. The consistency of batter should not be too thick or too thin. It should fall like a thick ribbon. I used 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water. Take this as an approx measure. Heat oil to deep fry. Check the temperature of oil by dropping a pinch of batter. If it rises immediately, oil temperature is right. Now take a dough ball and dip in the bonda batter. Drop it in the oil immediately. Drop 3-4 balls in one batch. Cook until golden brown by turning the bonda whenever needed. Keep the flame medium. Drain the bonda in a tissue paper. Serve with coconut chutney or tomato sauce ! Enjoy !

Note

Do not add more rice flour. Usually besan and rice flour should be added in the ratio of 3:1 to get a thick coating. But here I used little more rice flour to maintain crispiness. You can follow the same batter recipe for making bajii too. Replace ginger&garlic paste with hing. Potato is used as a binding agent for the dough. You can skip adding potatoes and use little corn flour and maida to make the tight dough.

Try this kids friendly evening snack for your daughter and son after they are back from school. Enjoy your tea time !

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Kabuli Biryani Recipe-Hyderabadi Chana Dal(Qabooli) biryani-Sunday Lunch Recipes Series - 18

Sorry for this week's delayed post.My younger sister Radha was here for the past week.We had a great time together after years by spending most of the time in chatting,shopping etc.So i gave a small break to my blog posts.Today’s Sunday biryani recipe is Hyderabad’s most popular qabooli biryani made using chana dal.I made this for my sister and she loved it a lot.When I heard about the title of this biryani,I wondered how come a biryani can be made just by using chana dal.But when I prepared it,I was really amazed with the flavor and taste.For any biryani,it’s the whole garam masala and spice powders that matters the taste.Even if u add vegetables,meat or make plain biryani,the right amount of spices is the key.For this biryani,Curd chutney is the best side dish that is served in Hyderabad,Andhra.So I made perugu pachadi/Curd chutney(Dahi chutney) by referring Preeti’s blog.For this biryani recipe,I watched Vahchef’s video and referred preeti’s recipe too.Friends,do try this kabuli chana biryani with curd chutney for your Sunday Lunch.Relish it with your family.

Kabuli biryani recipe

Hyderabad popular qabooli biryani recipe using chana dal

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Lunch

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 50 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Basmati rice - 1 cup( India Gate) Water - 6 cups Salt - as needed Whole garam masala - 1 each (cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,bayleaf) For masala Chana dal - 1/4 cup Cooking oil – 2 tbsp Ghee – 1 tbsp Whole garam masala( Cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,kalpasi and bayleaf) – 1 each g&g paste - 1 tsp Big onion – 1 no ( sliced) Green chilli – 1 no (slit) Mint leaves – a handful Red chilli powder – 1 tsp Dhania powder – 1.5 tsp Curd – 1/2 cup Lemon juice – few drops Big onion – 1 no to caramelize CURD CHUTNEY FOR BIRYANI Fresh thick curd – 1 cup Finely chopped green chilli – 1-2 nos Mint+coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp Big onion – 1 no ( finely chopped) cumin powder- 1/8 tsp Salt – as needed

METHOD

Wash and soak the basmati rice and chana dal for 30 minutes. Slice the big onion and deep fry till it turns golden brown.Set aside. Boil 6 cups of water and some salt.Add the whole garam masala.Drain the excess water from the soaked rice.When the water comes to roll boil,add the rice and boil for 5-7 minutes in medium flame.Remove the rice when it is cooked till 90%.Let it cool.Do not drain the boiled water. In the same water,add the soaked chana dal and cook till its firm and soft.Drain the excess water and keep the cooked chana aside. Heat oil+ghee in a kadai and saute the whole garam masala.Now add the sliced onions,g&g paste and green chilli.Saute till onion turns transparent.Add mint leaves and mix well. Add the spice powders and salt one by one and mix well.Lastly add the curd and mix well.Add the cooked chana dal and give a nice boil till the gravy thickens a bit. Make sure there is little water and the gravy is not too dry. Once the gravy is done,layer the cooked rice and sprinkle some chopped mint leaves. Garnish with caramalized onions and add some lemon juice.Cover the kadai tightly with a lid and keep the flame low.Put in DUM for 15 minutes.Nice aroma will waft through.It shows your biryani is done.Remove and fluff it with a fork.Serve with curd chutney or mirchi ka salan.These two are meant to be the best side dish for this biryani. HOW TO MAKE CURD CHUTNEY Finely chop the green chilli,mint leaves,coriander leaves and onions.Take them in a bowl.Mix thick curd and salt.Beat well and serve. Enjoy !

Note

I saw some kabuli biryani using black chana. If you are using that,soak the chana overnight and then cook them in pressure cooker till done. Increase the quantity of green chilli for more spicy biryani.

Enjoy kabuli biryani with this simple curd chutney.It’s the best side dish !

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Ginger Cardamom Tea Recipe - Inji Elakkai Tea

Ginger Cardamom tea / Inji elakkai tea must be the favorite tea of many. The day of Indians never complete without a chai. Be it morning or evening, drinking a tea/chai makes us refreshing and energetic. Not just that, drinking tea has some health benefits too. In my family, my dad and FIL loves to have tea both in morning and evening. My mom always makes tea with cardamom. Whereas my MIL adds ginger with cardamom ( Inji, elakkai tea) to improve digestion. By watching my mom and MIL, I learnt how to make a good, flavorful tea. I love to attempt varieties of tea and shared Masala chai, Assam tea and ginger tea recipes already. In this post, I have shared a basic tea recipe adding ginger and cardamom for beginners. Hope it would be useful. Ok, Lets see how to make inji, elaichi tea now.

Indian Tea Recipe-Ginger Cardamom tea

How to make ginger,cardamom tea at home

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Cooking Basics

Serves: 1

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250 ml Boiled Milk - 3/4 cup ( Thick milk) Water - 4 tbsp Sugar - 1.25-1.5 tsp Tea powder - 1 tsp ( I use 3 roses brand) Ginger - 2 inch piece Cardamom - 1 no

HOW TO MAKE GINGER CARDAMOM TEA - METHOD

Wash and peel the skin of ginger. Crush it along with cardamom using a mortar & pestle. Keep aside. Take the boiled milk in a milk pan or bowl. Add little water. If you use thick full cream milk add 1/4 cup of water for 3/4 cup of milk. If using thin milk, add just 2 tbsp of water. To this add sugar and tea powder. Add the crushed ginger & cardamom seed. Keep the flame medium and boil the tea for 2 minutes. The essence of ginger and cardamom would be absorbed well. Remove the pan and strain the tea using a tea strainer or cloth filter. Serve in a glass or cup. Enjoy !

Note

Add more sugar based on your taste. My mom always adds less sugar because the sugar should not supress the taste and flavor of tea. You can make this tea by adding ginger or cardamom alone. Tea tastes good only if water is added to the milk. So a tea should not be thick. If you want strong and nice colored tea, add more tea powder and allow it to boil for more time.

Try this easy and flavorful tea. Enjoy your evening time !

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