Avakkai - super spicy mango pickle

Avvaka has always been something that I've thought of as best left to the expert hands of mothers and grandmothers. That is, until I tried making it myself. Armed with my aunt R's fool proof recipe, I discovered just how easy it is to come up with a pickle that tastes better than any that you can buy at a store.
There is a special variety of mango called avakka manga which is used just to make this pickle. However, you can use any sour,firm, fully matured unripe mango. It has to be cut in a special way.....usually the person who sells these mangoes will cut them for you if you ask....they usually cut it in such a way that the shell surrounding the seed is retained.

Here's the recipe:
Cut mango - 5 cups
Red chilli powder - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a few heaped teaspoonfuls
Salt - 1 cup
Gingely oil - 1 cup
Mustard powder - 1/4 cup (powder mustard in the small jar of your mixie and use it)

What to do:
Spread the cut mango on a clean white towel. Wash the mangoes before you get them cut, not after. Wipe dry. Rub the part around the shell well and remove the thin layer resembling plastic that you'll be able to see. Not all mango pieces will have this, but most of them do, and it is important to remove this.
Mix all the ingredients together. Stir well. Cover properly and set aside. Stir once a day for the next few days until the oil rises to the top. This usually takes about three to four days. Store in a glass container or a bharani (see first pic). If you are using a bharani, set aside a small quantity of the pickle in a bottle for daily use and then tie the mouth of the bharani with a clean white muslin cloth and close it.
Following this recipe exactly will give you a super hot and spicy pickle which is best enjoyed with curd rice. If you cannot tolerate high spice levels, modify the amount of red chilli powder used.This is my entry to Srivalli's Mango Mela.

Three years of blogging

I have learned that moving from one home to another is easy compared to the work involved in getting basic services shifted to the new apartment. It has taken me a little over a month to get my phone and broadband shifted to the new address. So now you know my break was not intentional. I have learned that if BSNL promises you that something will be done in two working days....they mean...well, they just don't mean it. Also, if your cooking gas company promises you that shifting your gas connection is a "five minute process, madam".......remember that it means you'll probably have only five minutes in a day to actually sit down and put your foot up....what with running around to get vouchers signed, addresses proved and identity established.
That said, Iam back.....I finally have my broadband up and running.....will be back to posting recipes soon.
My third bloggiversary went by without so much as a post from me, thanks to BSNL. When I started blogging, I never thought I'd be interested in it for so long. I still remember how I stumbled on to some food blogs and thought, Hey....I should do this too. That's it......there was no thinking twice....I started typing in a recipe....and that's how this blog was born. To use an age old cliche, three years have gone by really fast and I look forward to making lots of blog friends in my fourth year.

Rediscovered pleasures

Eating a moovandan mambazham (a variety of mango that grows abundantly in Kerala) whole....juices dripping down my fingers

Plucking fresh vegetables from the garden

No cooking

Waking up la....te (I do that often), but it's a nice and welcome change when u wake up and find that your daughter has already had her teeth brushed and drunk her glass of milk.

Teaching the little girl to drink honey from a thechi poo....I have no idea what it is called in English, and am just too lazy to google it.....so here's a picture.

Just my kind of recipe - S.I.M.P.L.E & G.O.O.D

Sometimes, things just click....you are not in the mood to cook, but you have to eat....so you throw in a few things that you have on hand and come up with something that tastes really good. This is something that came out of just such a situation. The prep work required is minimal....you don't even have to chop onions. Doesn't get simpler than that, does it??? There are no measurements 'coz I just used up whatever I had on hand.

Here's what I did:
Boil some potatoes, peel them and dice them.
Grind together some tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
Heat some oil. Add some jeera to it and then the ground paste. Boil for a few minutes until the raw smell goes away, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and a little bit of sugar. Stir well, add some water if needed and then add in the diced potatoes and heat for a minute or two.
There....that's it.....you're done.
Didn't I tell you it was simple???

Why I hate Government offices

• Unbearably lo....ng queues. It's almost as if there's a queue of people who are waiting to get into queue.
• Several hot, sweaty bodies crammed into an unbearably hot place......People could make a killing by marketing deodorants in these places.
  
• Rude officers - Now, this is a big one with me. I think that if you are in a position of power, you should not abuse it. There was this loud-voice "gentle"man at the office today who kept yelling at people and making fun of them for the most ridiculous things. Most of the people who were there were young college kids who really didn't say anything back. I was almost hoping he'd say something to me, just so I could ask him to shut up. No such luck, though....
• Lack of clear instructions and basic facilities. When someone is trying to test your eyesight and they point in the general direction of a door and ask you to read, you tend to look for something that's supposed to test your vision, right??? Well, not if you go into a govt. office. You just look carefully to see if anyone has scribbled anything on the door....maybe if you are lucky enough, the officer would have pointed to the door that has a tiny handwritten sign above it that says "Record Verification" or something similar. Oh....and don't even think of asking what you should be reading......just follow the instructions....it's fine even if you read something that's written on the T-shirt of someone that's standing in that area.
• You go in for an online test....stand in the queue for more than three hours.....and then find that none of the computers are working. What do you do??? Come back home and rant on your blog, of course.....
  

Vishu memories

Vishu is a festival celebrated by the people of Kerala during the first day of the Malayalam month Medam. Contrary to what most people think, this is not the Malyali New Year 'coz the Malayalam calendar begins in the month of Chingam.
To me, Vishu is an incredibly beautiful festival which is made even more beautiful by the memories that I've carried with me since childhood.
The vishukkani is something that is set up in the puja room on the previous night. The colour yellow plays a very important role in the kani. Fruits and vegetables that are usually abundant in this season are used. A brass tray or an uruli is placed on a kolam in front of Krishna's picture. Ripe mangoes, kani vellari (a kind of golden orange coloured cucumber), ripe bananas, and jackfruit are placed in it. In addition to these, I added some non-traditional fruits and veggies like apple, orange and padavalanga (snake gourd) to my vishukkani.Rice and uncooked parippu (dal) are also placed in front of the deity. A small silver cup is filled with coins (increasingly being replaced with notes) and placed in the kani as well. A large mirror is placed behind the arrangement so that the entire kani is reflected in it. Gold, usually in the form of a necklace or bangles is also part of the kani. The whole arrangement is then bordered by the beautiful vishu konna flowers (yellow flowers). In the morning, a lamp is lit, casting its golden glow on this simple, yet beautiful arrangement.
The predominant memory that I have of Vishu is that of being woken up at a really early hour and being led with my eyes closed, by my mother, to see the kani. The belief is that if you wake up seeing the kani, the rest of the year will be good for you.
Vishu kaineetam is an inseparable part of Vishu. The elders in the family give money (it used to be coins, but that has now been replaced by notes) to the younger ones. It was a good way to supplement pocket money, and I used to visit lots of relatives on Vishu just to receive kaineettam. Kaineettam is given not just to kids - any person can give kaineettam to someone who is younger than them.
No Indian festival is complete without food, and no mention of a festival in Kerala is complete without the traditional sadya. Check out my sadya pics here, and here. Sambar, rasam, thoran, pachadi, olan, koottu curry, avial, papadum, payasam and manga kari are usually made for the Vishu sadya.
Now, in our family of three, it is my turn to lead my daughter to the kani in the morning. We had fun setting up the kani together at night, with her wanting to eat all the fruits right then and there.
Here's wishing all those who are reading this a very happy and prosperous Vishu.

Karuveppila podi (curry leaves powder)

I love podis of all kinds. The reason is very simple....once they are made, they can be stored forever(well....maybe not forever, but you get the idea, don't u??) and whenever I feel lazy, we can always fall back on the podi...mix it with some rice and ghee and along with a thoran and papadum, that's a decent meal. The storekeeper at the place where I usually buy my veggies always gives me a lot (seriously people, it is a LOT) of curry leaves for free. Iam never able to use it all up before it starts turning black and loses its odour (there, that sounds better than rotten, doesn't it?). This time round, I decided to turn it into a podi (powder).

Here's what you need: Curry leaves - 3 cups (heaped)

Red chilli - 8
Black peppercorns - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - a handful (roughly 1/4 cup)
Channa dal - a handful (roughly 1/4 cup)
Salt

Wash the curry leaves and spread on a newspaper or cloth until it is completely dry.
Heat the two dals in the microwave for 2 minutes or until the dal starts turning reddish. Heat the red chillies and pepper for 30 seconds and then the curry leaves for 2 minutes or until it loses all its moisture.
Add salt and grind to a powder.
This does not need to be refrigerated and stays good for quite a while.This is my entry to :
Lakshmi's Meals on Wheels
Easy's WYF Side dish event

Thakkali thokku - a spicy 'n tangy tomato pickle

The trimurtis (three presiding deities) of my kitchen are onions, potatoes and tomatoes. Without these three ingredients, I'd be lost.....not knowing what to cook.
Like the original holy trinity of Indian mythology, these ingredients too are involved in Srishti (creation of exciting new dishes), and Sthithi (maintenance of our health). Luckily, there has been no Samharam (casualty/death) so far. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we???
The price of tomatoes in my part of the world has touched rock bottom at rupees 4. Not a small drop, considering that a few months back it was being sold for close to Rs 30. So, with a price drop like that, I couldn't resist picking up some at the local market.
Tangy, spicy tomato thokku is something that I love. Though making it takes up some time, it is quite a simple process and most of the ingredients are readily available in an Indian kitchen.What you need:

Juicy, ripe red tomatoes - 12, medium sized - pureed
Gingely oil - 9 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 2 or 3, minced fine
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - to taste
Salt - to taste

Heat 7 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the minced green chillies, mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, and fenugreek seeds. When the mustard seeds sputter, add the pureed tomatoes. Stir well. Add turmeric powder, red chilli pwder and salt. Let it come to a rolling boil. Now reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let it simmer stirring occasionally. It will take close to an hour for all the moisture to evaporate. When it is almost done, add the remaining two tsp of oil. Once it loses all moisture, switch off the heat and let it cool completely.
Store in a clean, airtight jar.
This can be refrigerated and will stay good for upto a fortnight.
It can be used as an accompaniment to a variety of foods including, but not limited to, rice, idli, dosa, roti,and bread.

Notes:

• If you'd like, you can blanch the tomatoes in hot water first, remove the skin and then puree it.
• Instead of pureeing you can chop the tomatoes into tiny pieces and then follow the same recipe.
• A little bit of tamarind paste can be added if the tomatoes are not sour.
• You can also add some asafoetida along with the tempering ingredients.

This month, Sanghi who is celebrating her 50th post on her blog has asked us to Fall in Love with Tomatoes.....and that's exactly what I've done. This entry goes to her.

Tasty Jones - not so tasty

After reading several rave reviews on Tasty Jones, we decided to go there for lunch today. The place is just opposite the GRT hotel in Pondy Bazaar, Chennai.
Done up entirely in red and white, the interior looks clean and nice. That's where the nice part of the restaurant begins and ends, though. Nothing else is worth writing about. The waiter wasn't able to help me choose something non-spicy for my daughter. We ordered fries, a veggie burger and a vegetable club sandwich. The fries was too oily. I mean, you could literally squeeze the oil out of those potatoes. When we got the rest of our order, to our surprise, each order had some fries on the side. Now, why the heck didn't that waiter tell us that we'd be getting fries with our main order?
As for the burger and the sandwich, the less said, the better. The sandwich was three dry-as-dust slices of bread stuffed with sliced tomatoes and cucumber. My daughter was not even able to chew those slices properly. She opened up the slices and was content with munching on a slice of raw tomato. Our burgers were, well, unlike any that we'd eaten anywhere. Instead of a patty, there were slices of tofu in it.....and it tasted...ummm.....not good.
I ended up paying 350 Rs. for the most unsatisfying meal of my life.
Will I go there again??? That's a big resounding definite NO!!!

Cooking with leftovers - idli manchurian

Has anyone perfected the art of cooking just enough for two people? Let me in on your secret, will you??? I am never able to cook just the right amount. When it is just the two of us, the leftovers are manageable as in they last only for a few servings for the next meal. When I have guests though, I end up cooking much more than is needed. Somehow, I have this weird thing about it being better to have more of a thing that to fall short of it when there are guests.
This morning, I made idlis for breakfast and none of us (that includes the little girl 'coz she's fond of idli) ate any 'coz we just weren't hungry. Here's something that I came up with to use up those idlis. It's close to midnight and my brain refuses to come up with a name for the dish , so let's just call it idli manchurian.There are no set measurements. I just threw in a little bit of whatever I had.

Tear the idlis into little bite sized pieces. Deep fry in hot oil until lightly browned and crisp. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, heat some oil. Add some minced green chillies and a finely chopped onion and saute until the onion starts browning. Stir in a chopped tomato and fry for a few minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in some soya sauce, red chilli sauce and tomato ketchup. When the sauce thickens, add the fried idli pieces and stir well. You don't need to add salt 'coz the salt in the sauces and the idli will be sufficient. Switch off the heat and garnish with freshly chopped corriander leaves.
Serve hot.

This is off to Pallavi's Sunday Snacks - Grab 'n Go event.

I call it kurma

So, what's the difference between a kurma and a korma??? If you are like me, you just overlook the difference in the spelling and set about making it knowing that you can throw in a little bit of everything that you have and come out with a satisfying and tasty dish.

What you need:
Chopped veggies - 1 cup (I used carrot, beans, & potato. Other veggies that can be used are capsicum, cauliflower, beets, peas...)
Tomato - 2 large, ripe ones
Onion - 1 large
Ginger - a fairly large piece
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Red chilli - 2 or 3
Cashew - a handful
Cardamom - 4 or 5 pods
Clove - 4
Star anise - 1
Cinnamon - a small piece
Corrainder - a handful for grinding and some chopped for garnishing
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Did you know there's a really, really easy way to peel garlic esp when u have to peel a lot of it? Just pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds and see how easily the peel comes off.
Also, make a few cuts on an onion and microwave it for 30 seconds to get rid of the raw smell and to escape watering eyes. This is especially useful in recipes like this one where the onion is ground without sauteing it first.
Cook the veggies with enough water in a microwave/stove top. Grind together all the other ingredients except turmeric powder and salt to a smooth mixture. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add some cumin seeds to it. When the seeds sputter, pour in the ground mixture, reduce heat and stir for a few minutes until the raw smell goes away. Now add in the turmeric powder, salt and cooked veggies. Let it boil for few minutes until the flavours blend together well. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves.

Manga inji (Mango ginger) pickle

We're already more than half way through the first month of a new year. 2009 has so far been a year of change for me. After lots and lots and then some more thought, I am finally back to work. That's what's kept me away from blogging for the last few weeks. So, here's wishing all my blogger buddies a Very belated but Happy New Year.
My first post of this year is something very, very simple to make if you have the ingredients handy and every bite will bring with it a burst of flavours from the ingredients. Two of the ingredients that I've used here - the mango ginger and the peppercorns are from my parents' garden. Manga inji or mango ginger, for those who are not familiar with it is a rhizome that looks like ginger but smells like raw mangoes when you cut it.

What you need:
Mango ginger -1/2 cups,washed, skinned and chopped into small pieces
Green pepper corns - 1 tbsp washed, dried and destalked
Lemon - 1 , cut into small pieces or juice of a lemon
Salt
(The quantities are approximate and can be adjusted according to your taste)
Mix all the ingredients together. See, didn't I say it is easy???

It can be eaten immediately and if refrigerated, stays good for upto 2 weeks.

This pickle is my entry to Andrea's Grow Your Own event.

Vegetable Fried Rice

If I were to list out my top ten favourite foods, fried rice would definitely figure quite high on that list. Special favourites like this and ulli sambar were usually made by my mother on Sundays so that we could all sit together and enjoy the food. I usually end up making it when I am stumped for ideas on what to make or low on time and high on hunger.

What you need:
Basmati rice - 1 cup (washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes)
Cardamom - 4 pods
Clove - 5
Cinnamon - a small piece
Star anise - 2
Pepper corns - 1/4 tsp
Chopped vegetables - 3/4 cup (use a mix of beans, carrot, cauliflower, peas, potato and beets)
Green chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste), minced
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 6 tsp

Heat a tsp of ghee and fry all the spices in it until fragrant. Let it cool and then grind to a fine powder.
Drain water from the rice and then fry it in a tsp of ghee until it loses all the moisture and turns creamish in colour.
Heat the rest of the ghee, add the powdered spices, green chillies,chopped veggies, and turmeric powder. Stir fry for a few minutes. Transfer all the ingredients to a pressure cooker, add 1.5 cups of water, required amount of salt and cook until one whistle.
Enjoy with raita and papad.

Karthigai pori

What you need:
Pori (puffed rice flakes) - 4 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Thin slivers of fresh coconut - 1/3 cup

Remove the husk, if any, from the pori. Take jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add water and heat over a medium flame until completely melted and then stir intermittently until it reaches a soft ball consistency. To check if it has reached this consistency, drop a little bit of the jaggery into a bowl of water. You should be able to gather it between your fingers and form a soft ball.
Switch off the heat. Quickly stir in all the ingredients and whisk briskly for a few minutes until it is well mixed together. Store in an airtight container once it is completely cooled.

Cabbage thogayal

Thogayal was standard fare while I was growing up, but there were only two kinds of thogayal that we made - coconut and mango. Needless to say, those are my top two favourite thogayals. However, once I started wielding the ladle, true to the name of this blog, I started experimenting with different ingredients and now make thogayals with almost any veggie. The basic recipe is almost always the same.

What you need:
Cabbage - chopped into large chunks - 1.5 cups
Red chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste)
Urad dal - 3 tsp
Tamarind - a small gooseberry sized piece soaked for 5 minutes in just enough water to cover it
Salt
Asafoetida - a little (optional)
Curry leaves - a few sprigs
Oil - 1 tsp

Take the red chillies, curry leaves and dal in a microwaveable bowl. Pour oil over it and heat on high for 2 minutes or until the dal turns reddish. Stir in the cabbage and heat for another 4 minutes. Let it cool completely. Add the other ingredients and blend adding as little water as you possibly can to a coarse paste.This goes best with rice, but can also be enjoyed with dosa/idli.

Corn pulao

What is it with schools that ask you for personal info like your monthly salary??? The application form of one of the top rated schools here asks for my husbands' and my monthly salaries, and also whether the child will reach school by car/auto/two wheeler or walk. Why does that matter? Will saying my child will walk hamper her chances of getting into that school or will they think that we are an environment friendly family??? The application process is tiring to say the least. Looking at all the children running out of their classrooms when the bell rang for their break reminded me so much of Pavlov's experiment. Is this what we hope to achieve through education??? Masses of young people trained to think alike and to obey without question??? I could go on and on, but I've already done that on my other blog.
So, let's get on with what this blog does and talk food. More specifically, let's talk about a very simple pulao that I cooked. This pulao is different from most others in that it is not heavy on spices. It uses very few ingredients and yet is satisfyingly flavourful.What you need:
Rice - 1 cup, washed and soaked in water for 10 - 15 minutes
Onion - 1 large, chopped fine
Garlic - 7 or 8 cloves
Green chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste)
Corn kernels - 1.5 cups
Salt
Turmeric powder
Ghee/oil - a few tsp

Grind chillies and garlic without adding any water.
Heat oil in your pressure cooker. Add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Stir in the onions and fry until translucent. Now add all the other ingredients along with sufficient water and cook until two whistles.
Serve with raita, pickle and papad on the side.

This is my second entry to Valli's Rice Mela.

Vella payaru

There are some dishes that I associate with my childhood. Eating the dish, or even the aromas that waft out of the kitchen while it is being made take me back to another time and place. Vella payaru (black eyed beans or karamani cooked with jaggery) is one such dish. This often made an appearance whenever we were hungry and wanted something in the evenings and during navaratri. Children usually love this because it is sweet (my daughter is an exception) and filling.

What you need:
Black eyed beans - 1 cup (There are two kinds of black eyed beans - white and reddish brown. I prefer the red one and that's what I've used)
Jaggery - 1/3 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 4 or 5 pods, coarsely crushed

Soak the beans in plenty of water for 2 hours. Pressure cook until two whistles or until it is cooked through but not mushy. Drain off excess water.
Take the jaggery in a pan. Add a little bit of water to it and heat until the jaggery melts completely. Stir in the cooked beans and heat for a minute or two until all the moisture evaporates. Switch off the heat and mix in the grated coconut and crushed cardamom. Stir well. Serve hot or cold.

This goes to Madhavi who is hosting the Childrens Day edition of the Festive Foods event.
It is also my second entry to the 5th helping of MLLA hosted by Simona and begun by Susan.
A helping of this is also being sent to Aparna's birthday party.

Rajma methi

The first time I tasted rajma was in Delhi. It was served with rice and tasted absolutely, positively divine. I am yet to find a recipe that I like to eat with rice, but whenever I make rotis and want to serve rajma curry, this is the recipe that I follow. The methi leaves are a last minute addition intended to save them from going directly from the refrigerator to the dustbin.

What you need:
Rajma (Red kidney beans) - 1 cup, soaked in plenty of water overnight and cooked
Onion - 1, large, chopped
Tomato - 2, chopped
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger - a small piece, chopped
Garlic - a few cloves
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Sugar - a little (optional)
Chopped methi(fenugreek) leaves - 1/2 cup or a small bunch
Oil/ghee - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp
Kalonji seeds - 1/2 tsp

Heat oil/ghee. Add the cumin and kalonji seeds and toast for a few seconds. Stir in the chopped green chillies, ginger, garlic and onion. Saute until onions start to brown. Add the tomatoes and heat until mushy. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, sugar, garam masala and stir well to mix. Add the cooked rajma along with the water in which it was cooked. Boil for a few minutes until the gravy thickens. Add chopped methi leaves and simmer until the leaves wilt and soften. The addition of methi leaves will make the curry bitter. So skip this step if you don't like anything that tastes bitter.
Serve hot with roti/puri.

This goes to Simona who is hosting the 5th edition of My Legume Love Affair. MLLA was started by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook.

Aval dosa (Rice flakes dosa)

What do you do when you've picked up a pack of rice flakes from the store and then, while putting away the groceries, you notice another pack that's somehow gotten lost amidst all the things in the kitchen and has been unnoticed until then???
Well, what I did is try out this recipe. It certainly has not made a dent in my rice flakes stash, but hey, the dosas turned out to be really nice, hole-y and soft. If, like me, you are under the impression that you need to use urad dal to get soft dosas, try this out and you'll definitely change your mind about that.
What you need:
Raw rice - 3 cups
Rice flakes - 1 cup (I used matta rice flakes - the reddish brown Kerala rice flakes)
Sour curd - 1 cup
Salt

Soak rice in plenty of water for 6-8 hours. Soak rice flakes in the curd for 3-4 hours. Grind both together. Add salt and let it ferment. This gets fermented much faster than normal dosa batter does.
Heat a dosa tawa. Pour a ladleful of batter. Spread it a little thick (the thickness should be somewhere between that of a regular dosa and an uttappam). Drizzle some oil over it. Turn over and cook both sides.
Serve hot with chutney/sambar.

Recipe source : Mallika Badrinath's Tiffin Varieties.
This is my entry to Valli's Rice Mela.

Keera molagootal

This is the quintessential Kerala Iyer comfort food. I make keera molagootal so often that my blog feels incomplete without giving it a mention. Stated very simply, it is a gravy that is made by combining cooked spinach with a mildly spiced coconut-chilli mix and tuar dal. It is almost always served as an accompaniment to rice, though some people(including yours truly) also serve it with rotis.
What you need:
Spinach - any kind - 1 bunch (Iam partial to red spinach) - chopped fine
Tuar dal - 1 cup, cooked
To grind :
Red chilli - 3
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Fresh grated coconut - 3/4 cup

Heat a tsp of oil. Fry the urad dal and red chilli in it until reddish brown. Let it cool and then grind it to a smooth paste along with the coconut.
Take the chopped spinach in a kadai. Add sufficient water, turmeric powder and salt. Let it boil until the spinach is well cooked and soft. Mash it a little with a masher or the back of a ladle at this point. Stir in the ground mixture and let it boil for 5-6 minutes or until the raw smell goes away. Add the cooked tuar dal and heat for a minute or two.
Heat a tsp of coconut oil. Season it with some urad dal and mustard seeds. When the seeds sputter, pour it over the molagootal.
Molagootal is usually served with rice. Since it is not too spicy and has no tamarind to add tanginess, it is accompanied by either a tangy rasam or spicy thogayal or pachadi. I like my molagootal to be paired with spicy mango pickle.
Molagootal can also be made using other vegetables like ash gourd, snake gourd, carrot, potato and cabbage. The difference between keera molagootal and molagootal made with other veggies lies in the ingredients that are ground together. One of my earlier posts on cabbage molagootal has the recipe that can be followed while using other veggies.

This goes to Sra who is hosting the 4th helping of My Legume Love Affair which was started by Susan.
It also goes to Suganya's Vegan Ventures, Round 2.

From Chitra Amma's kitchen to mine

Have you ever seen something and then craved it so badly that you set out to make it even though you do not have enough of the main ingredient?

That's what happened to me once I saw Dibs' recipe for Bournvita fudge. The fact that I had only a teeny weeny bit of maida in the pantry did nothing to deter me from trying it out. I used half a cup of maida and half a cup of besan and proceeded with the recipe. This is an absolutely fantastic dish which is guaranteed to disappear even before it is completely cooled. I heated it a little longer than Dibs suggests because I wanted it to be of burfi consistency. Despite using the tiniest glass in my home to measure out the ingredients, I was able to turn out a decent number of fudge squares.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you Dibs.

Rambling and some soup

It is finally goodbye to hot, humid days in Chennai. The weather has taken a turn for the better. I love the rains despite the water logged roads and the exorbitant rates that the auto drivers charge citing that as an excuse. My daughter and I love the puddles of water that collect outside our apartment. She screeches in joy and jumps wholeheartedly into those puddles while I, being the adult in the relationship, have to be content with just looking on and wishing I could jump up and down without having the other apartment dwellers think that I've gone completely nuts. As it is, I get enough gyan from onlookers about how unhealthy it is to let my little girl play with natural resources. But that's the subject of another lo....ng post and I do enough of that on my other blog.
So, let's talk about a warm, comforting bowl of sweet corn soup that's just perfect for the kind of weather that we Chennaites are enjoying right now.

What you need:
Sweet corn - 2 cups, cooked
Salt
Milk - half a cup(optional)
Water
Garlic - a few cloves

Keep aside some of the corn and then grind all the other ingredients together. Add in the corn that you'd set aside, let everything simmer on low heat for a few minutes and serve hot.

I don't have one decent pic of this soup to share. All that I have are five blurs of white light ranging from bright to not so bright. Does anybody have any tried and tested pointers on shooting reasonably good pictures of liquids???

Oh....and here's some more cool news for Chennaites. There's now a website where you can make restaurant reservations and order food online. For details, check out cityfoods.in

I am extremely late in acknowledging some awards that have been sent my way by fellow bloggers. Am thankful to Madhavi for the Good job award, and Sowmya for the Butterfly Award.

Saam Savera

I recently had this dish called Saam Savera at a Gujarati restaurant and absolutely loved it. So much so that I wanted to recreate it at home. This is an original recipe to the extent that I tasted the curry, guessed what went into it and then a week later, trusted my memory to remember that taste and set about making it. The result is a non-oily yet delicious curry that goes well with rotis.

What you need:
Spinach - 1 bunch, washed and blanched/microwaved on high for 4 minutes
Onion - 1, chopped
Tomato -1, chopped
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves, chopped
Green chilli - 1, minced (optional)
Ginger - a small piece
Carrot - 1, chopped fine and cooked
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup

Heat a tsp of oil. Roast the cumin and corriander seeds until lightly browned. Add in the chilli, garlic, ginger, onion and tomato and fry for a few minutes until the raw smell is gone. Let it cool and then grind it along with the blanched spinach and milk to a smooth paste.
Transfer the gravy to a kadai. Add the cooked carrots, salt, turmeric powder and garam masala. Let it simmer on low heat for a few minutes.Njoy!!!

Navaratri - 9 days of celebration - Day 1

I love navaratri. The memories associated with it are precious to me. As a child, I used to go around to other houses that had a golu (arrangement of dolls depicting Gods) with my friends, sing a song and come back home with some tasty chundal. At the end of the day, the plastic bags in our hands would be filled and we'd come back home, sort through chundals made of the same beans, combine them and share them. I like Navaratri in Chennai for the music concerts in its temples, the festive look that its crowded shopping streets wear, the several beautiful bommais (dolls) that line the streets of Mylapore, and for the little girls and mamis all dressed up in their best. I have set up a small golu this year at home and though to many, it is not a big feat, Iam busy patting myself on the back. Here's a pic of my golu.

Golu at our home

Neivedyam on Day 1 - Rava Kesari

Restaurant review - Azulia

Where???
At the GRT Grand
120, Thyagaraya rd,
T Nagar, Chennai.
Phone : 28150500

What???
Mediterranean food

Would I go back there???
That's a definite, loud YES!!!
Their menu is extensive and is presented well with details on what goes into each dish. The waiters (atleast the one who waited on us) was quite informative about the dishes. They don't have a choice as far as soups go - there's only the Veg/non-veg soup of the day. On the day I went, there was Fava bean soup and it tasted awesome. There's a whole lot of starters (hot and cold mezze) on the menu and I'd love to go back and try out more of those. What I did try was called Bourak bel jibneh and it was a kind of crisp cigar shaped roll stuffed with veggies. The french bread and pickled brinjals that they start you off with are finger licking good. For the main course, I tried a dish with couscous, the name of which I can't remember. What I do remember is the taste. All the dishes were only mildly spicy - nothing like our hot, spicy Indian dishes, but it definitely scored high on the taste meter.
You should go in expecting to spend about Rs. 1000 per person. The portions are small as in they are not meant for sharing. It is just right for one person. Service, as it always is at GRT, is fantastic. The waitstaff are all dressed in Mediterranean costumes. It would be good if the interior was also done up in keeping with that theme.
Oh....and I love the fact that as I was leaving the restaurant, the lady at the reception came up to me and gave me a little paper bag with an Azulia apron in it :-))

Ona sadya

From top left :Puli inji, kalan, thair pachadi, vendakka mezhukkupuratti (Okra stir-fry), aviyal, sarkkara upperi, chips, papadam, rice, muringakka sambar, chakka pradhaman

My Ona sadya this year was spread over two days to accomodate the schedules of different family members. This spread is from the second day. The first day had olan, rasam and moru kari instead of sambar.

Am sending this to Festive Foods - Onam which is being hosted at Asankhana.
For more info on the cuisine of the four states of South India, check out Karuna's post.

Happy Onam

Have a wonderful Onam. Regardless of whether you celebrate Onam or not, I hope you have good food and good luck today and on the days to come.

Muthira(Horse gram) puzhukku

Sometimes, the simplest dishes are the best tasting. If you look at the cooking styles of your mothers and grandmothers, you will see how they make good use of locally available ingredients and with minimum fuss, come up with dishes that make you go in for second and third helpings. This muthira (horse gram) puzhukku is one such dish that my mother makes and which I tried out today after calling her at work for the recipe.
What you need:
Horsegram - 1 cup (soaked in plenty of water overnight)
Raw plantain - 1, peeled and sliced into medium sized pieces (Other vegetables that can be used are yam and pumpkin or a combination of these)
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli - 2, roughly torn into pieces
Black peppercorns- 5 or 6, crushed slightly
Fresh grated coconut - 1/3 cup
Coconut oil - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few sprigs

Add turmeric powder, salt, red chillies, plantain and pepper to the horsegram, add enough water and cook in a pressure cooker until 8 or 10 whistles. I know that sounds like a lot of time, but horsegram takes a while to get cooked. Once the pressure goes down, transfer the cooked contents to a heavy kadai and boil for a few minutes until most of the liquid evaporates (It should still retain some liquid). Add the grated coconut and curry leaves. Mix well. Switch off the heat and mix in the coconut oil.
Serve with rice and a papadam on the side.
This goes to Nags who is hosting the Saas, Bahu aur Sensex contest.
Saas Bahu aur Sensex is a movie that is being released by Warner Bros on the 19th of this month and it celebrates women who handle different roles in life with great aplomb. Specifically, it is about a few housewives who watch saas-bahu serials and also invest in the stock market and reap rich dividends from their investments.
This also goes to Lucinda who is guest hosting My Legume Love Affair which was started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

This post of mine had a few people writing to me and asking me which my top choices for dining-out are. I thought the question was quite an interesting one and would now like to pose it to you, my readers. If you live in Chennai or have ever lived in Chennai or have anything at all to do with Chennai, please do let me know your top 5 restaurant choices in the city.

Edited to add :
Oops...I forgot to list out my favourites. Here goes:
Benjarong on TTK road for Thai food.
Osteria in Royapettah for Italian
Cholayil Sanjeevanam for healthy, ayurveda based food,
For North Indian food - The Dhaba (Mylapore), Dhaba Express,and Rangoli (Saravana Bhavan's exclusive Gujarati Restaurant)
For South Indian food - Murugan idli kadai , Ratna cafe
Barbeque Nation

Kasi halwa

I was not familiar with this sweet until a few months back. I had it at a feast, loved it and have been wanting to try it out ever since. As always, Mallika Badrinath has once again come to my rescue with her book on Sweets. I have modified the recipe slightly to suit my taste.

What you need:
Ash gourd(peeled, deseeded and grated) - a small one
Sugar - 1 cup
Red food colour - a pinch
Ghee - 4 tsp
Semolina/rava - 2 tsp
Microwave ashgourd without adding any water for 8 minutes on high heat. Let it cool completely. Measure the pulp. I got a little more than 1.5 cups of pulp and used 1 cup of sugar for it. Adjust sugar depending on how much pulp you have left after cooking the gourd.
Combine the cooked gourd, sugar and food colour and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Add 2 tsp of ghee and mix well. Heat for another 6 minutes, checking every now and then to make sure it doesn't become too hard. Roast rava until golden brown in 2 tsp of ghee. Add this to the halwa and heat for one minute. Garnish with sliced cashews or almonds.

Kanjeevaram idli

This recipe is adapted from Mallika Badrinath's Tiffin Varieties.

What you need:

Idli rice/parboiled rice - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1 cup
Salt
Black peppercorns - 1 tsp, heaped and crushed lightly
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp, heaped and crushed lightly
Sour, thick curd - 1 - 1.5 cups
Ghee - 2 tsp
Sesame oil - 3 tsp

Soak the rice and dal together in plenty of water for 3 hours. Drain all the water and grind to a thick, rawa consistency. Let it ferment overnight. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.
Just before steaming, add in all the other ingredients and mix well. Steam in an idli mould.
Serve with sambar/chutney/ molaga podi.

What I think of this recipe:
It is very soft - softer than regular idlis, most probably because of the curd and oil added to it. The texture is somewhere between that of rawa idli and regular idli. Taste wise, the only difference between this and a regular idli is the spiciness that comes from the pepper and the mild flavour and smell from the cumin.
What my little girl thinks of this recipe:
"Amma, don't make idli with this mavu (batter). Make it with white mavu."
That said, she ate it without further comment. For now, Iam content with that.

Vathal koottan/kozhambu

The chundakka vathal that I blogged about yesterday is most commonly used in vathal kozhambu. To me, curd rice served with some spicy and tangy vathal kozhambu is heaven on a plate.
Here's what you need to make vathal kozhambu:
Tamarind - a lemon sized ball
Sambar powder - 1.5 - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Gingely/Sesame oil - 2 tsp
Chundakka vathal - a handful
Shallots - 7 or 8, peeled and halved (optional)
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Soak the tamarind in two cups of warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze to extract tamarind juice and set it aside.
Heat gingely oil in a kadai. Add in the channa and urad dal, methi and mustard seeds, and a pinch of asafoetida. When the mustard seeds pop, stir in the chundakka vathal and fry for a minute. Add the sliced shallots and fry till translucent. Pour in the tamarind extract. Add some more water if needed. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Boil until the raw smell of tamarind is gone. Just before removing from the stove, mix a tsp of rice flour with a tbsp of water and stir this into the kozhambu. Garnish with fresh curry leaves. Serve hot or cold. This tastes great with curd rice.
As a child, I remember me and my cousins sitting in a circle around my maternal grandma while she used to place little balls of curd rice in our palms. We used to make a hole in the middle of the rice ball, pour vathal koottan into it and then proceed to gobble it up at a pace which today, is amazing even to me. Iam sure if polishing off a bowl of curd rice and vathal koottan had been an Olympic sport at that time, we'd have carried home the gold.

Summer goodies #4 -Chundakka vathal

I made these in summer and the post has been languishing in my draft for a really long time. Chundakka (Kerala tamil) or Sundakka (Tamil) is used in sambar and thoran in the fresh form. Very often, it is sun dried and turned into vathals so that it can be preserved for a longer period of time and used as and when needed. To see what fresh chundakka looks like, click here.

What you need:
Chundakka - 1 cup
Urad dal - 2 tsp, heaped
Red chillies - 2
Salt
Sour buttermilk - enough to cover and soak the chundakka completely

Grind the urad dal and red chillies to a smooth paste.
Soak the chundakka in plenty of water for 10-15 minutes. Wash well and then crush slightly with a heavy pestle or stone. Add the buttermilk, salt, and ground paste to the chundakka. Mix well. Cover and set aside overnight. In the morning, take the chundakka out with a slotted spoon and dry it on a plastic sheet in direct sunlight. In the evening, soak it again in the buttermilk mixture. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk is absorbed. Dry for 2 or 3 more days in the sun and then store in an airtight container. If properly dried and stored, this will stay good for over a year.

Check out my other posts in this series:
Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam
Summer goodies #2 - Microwave mango thokku
Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

This post goes to Roma's Long live the Shelf event.

Guess......

......where these pictures were taken???

Maaladu

Crumble-at-the-touch maaladus have always been a favourite of mine. This sweet treat is something that can be made quickly and without too much of a hassle.What you need:

Pottukadalai/ roasted bengal gram dal - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - as much as required to shape the flour into balls
Cashews - a handful, roasted in ghee (optional)
Raisins - a few, roasted in ghee (optional)

Powder the gram dal finely in a mixie. Powder the sugar as well and mix both the powders and the cashews and raisins together. Now add in warm ghee and shape into balls.
Njoy!!!

Restaurant review - Cholayil Sanjeevanam, Nungambakkam, Chennai

Where???
97, Nungambakkam High Road,
Nungambakkam, Chennai.
Phone:044-64508427

What???
Healthy, vegetarian food.

Would I go back there?
I've been to Cholayil a few times now but it is only today that I got to taste their "Rajakeeyam meal" which is basically a South Indian vegetarian thali that serves healthy food. The food is served in a certain order and you are expected to eat it in the same order. First, there's a small bowl with cut up nenthrapazham(ripe plantain) and grated coconut, followed by a colourful array of juices (dates, nut milk, haritha buttermilk, vegetable juice and rice bran water). Once you down all of these, you are served four kinds each of uncooked veggies, semi-cooked veggies and fully cooked veggies in that order. You are not given water even if you ask for it, because they say that water fills up the stomach and hampers digestion. It is given to you only at the end. Once you are done with all of these, you are almost full. That's when red rice and parippu (dal) make an appearance. Then comes white rice with sambar, rasam, morkozhambu and buttermilk.
This is followed by payasam. The meal ends with a spoonful of honey poured into your hand.
The meal leaves you pleasantly full and it is nice to sit down and eat in an orderly fashion once in a while. There is no cloying sense of oil or fat that you leave with at the end of the meal.
At Rs. 120 a meal, it is good value for the money too.
However, if you do not like to be told that you should eat in the order that they ask you to, this restaurant is not for you. For me, it was a pleasant experience and I enjoyed the food.

Tell me honestly, do all you food bloggers out there love to cook all the time? I know there has to be a decent amount of liking towards cooking (and of course, eating) most of the time. But aren't there days when you just don't want to lift a finger, days when you get somebody else to dial in a pizza for you???

Pazham Nurukku

An integral part of a traditional Onam Sadya, this dish has now also become a part of most festivals celebrated in the Thrissur district of Kerala. For us, no sadya (feast) is complete without some pazhanurukku. Making this is really easy. Restricting yourself to eating just a few pieces is not so easy.

Here's how you make pazhanurukku:

Cut 4 large, ripe plantains into thick, finger length pieces. Do not remove the skin. Take 3/4 glass of water in a large vessel. Add four or five pieces of jaggery to it. Also add the cut plantain pieces. Let it boil on low heat, stirring every now and then, until the plantains are cooked through.

Oh....and remember, this dish HAS TO BE made using nenthrapazham which is a special variety found in Kerala.

This goes to Priyanka who is hosting Festive Foods-Onam.

Simple potato curry

What you need:
Potatoes - 2 large, skinned and cut into medium sized pieces
Tomato - 4, cut into largish pieces
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder or red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Take potatoes with about 1.5 cups of water in a pan and boil until cooked, but not mushy. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt and tomatoes. Boil until everything gets blended together well. The tomatoes should not turn mushy.
This is a really simple curry that goes well with rotis.

My morning bowl of goodness

Cooked chick peas, tomatoes, onions,carrots, curry leaves and a dash of salt.

Microwave baingan bhartha

I have always loved the microwave. I can put something in to cook, set the timer, go out for a stroll and come back to find it cooked just right. That said, I have always resorted to the old fashioned method of roasting a brinjal over an open flame to make baingan bhartha.. This time, though, I had a brainwave (yes - I do get one of those now and then) and decided to stick the eggplant in the microwave. The rest, as they say, is history.

What you need:
Eggplant/Brinjal/Aubergine - 1 large
Onion - 2, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Garlic - 4 or 5 pods, chopped
Groundnuts - a handful (optional)
Tomatoes - 2 or 3 large juicy, ripe ones, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala -3/4 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
Corriander leaves - a few, to garnish

Spread some oil all over the brinjal. Prick the skin on all sides with a knife and then microwave on high heat for 14 minutes or until the skin shrivels up and the brinjal gets cooked.Let it cool. Remove the skin and mash the brinjal.
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a microwave safe bowl. Add a tsp of jeera and the groundnuts to it and heat for 45 seconds. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and heat for 3-4 minutes. Now add in the tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, sugar(optional) and the mashed brinjals. Stir well. Add some water if necessary and cook for 5 minutes.
Garnish with freshly chopped corriander leaves.This my entry to Fresh Produce of the Month featuring eggplant this month and hosted by Simona.

This also goes to Sunshine Mom's Food in colours - Red and to Srivalli's MEC-Potluck.

Tried and Tasted - Urad dal pooris and potato curry

Jugalbandi - a blog that I go to not just for recipes, but also for their anecdotes and fantastic pictures. When I came to know that T&T features them this month, I bookmarked a couple of recipes. I've religiously done this for the last 3 T&Ts but didn't get around to the cooking part of it. This time around, I did try out and taste the jugalbandits' urad dal pooris and potato masala. Here's the result.I made no changes at all to the puris. J&B are absolutely right when they say that these taste much better than regular puris. Next time around, I might add in some garam masala and amchur to the dough, though. To the potato masala, I added more green chillies and skipped the red chilli powder. Oh...and did I tell you these puris are so much prettier than the regular ones?
Thank you, Jai & B.

Needless to say, this goes to Zlamushka for her Tried and Tasted event.

Restaurant review - Bombay Blue

Where???
45, College Road,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai.

What???
A hotch-potch of cuisines - Italian, Mexican, Lebanese and Indian

Would I go there again???
I went in expecting to find a lot of Bombay-ish stuff like chaats and street food, but found a menu that boasted food from four different parts of the world. The food is OK - not the kind that will have you raving about it, but not bad either. One of their specialities is the wide selection of sizzlers they offer. You will notice the smell of smoke almost as soon as you enter the restaurant. This is because nearly all the people who go in order a sizzler. We did too, and while I was not displeased with the way the sizzler tasted, I was not very excited about it either.
The soup that we ordered tasted more Indian than Italian, but it was good. The falafel and the sandwiches were good too. Again, nothing to rave about, but no rants either.
So, to answer my question - I wouldn't mind going back, but Bombay Blue is definitely not going to be my first choice if somebody were to ask me where I'd like to go.

Happy birthday

He's the first guy I lost my heart to and it's his birthday. To see what I made, click here.

Palak pulao

I love making pulao. Not for its taste, aroma, flavour or any of those things that often find a mention when you talk about pulao. All that is only of secondary importance to me. The numero uno reason why I love this dish is because it is so E.A.S.Y to make. Take some rice in a cooker, throw in veggies of your choice, spices.....fry it in some ghee, add water, salt and pressure cook. Doesn't get simpler than that, does it? You don't even have to cook up a fancy curry to go with it. Just pair it with some papad and raita/curd and you have a complete meal and just one pot to wash.
The palak pulao that Iam blogging about today is adapted from Tarla Dalal's Iron Rich Recipes. The original recipe calls for sweet corn. Having none, I substituted that with carrots.
What you need:
Spinach/palak - 1 bunch, washed and chopped fine
Carrots - 3, chopped
Onion - 1 large, chopped
Green chilli - 2 or 3
Black peppercorns - a few
Cinnamon - a small piece
Clove - 4
Cardamom - 4 pods
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2.5 cups

Wash rice, drain water completely and set aside. Heat 2 tsp of ghee/oil. Add cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and peppercorns. Stir until fragrant. Now add in the green chilli, and onions. Fry until onions become translucent. Add the spinach and carrots. Fry for a few minutes. Then add the rice, water and salt. Mix well and pressure cook until one whistle.
If you can get somebody to chop the veggies and clean up after, that will make it all the better :-)