Chakkarappayar / Red Cow Peas Jaggery Snack

Ingredients and Method
Unakka payar/ Red cow peas 1 cup cooked well
Jaggery 1 block
coconut grated 2 table spoons

Pound or chop jaggery.
Mix everything together. Should mix very well. You have to add little salt while cooking dry red beans. You can make this with cherupayar / Moong Gram also. This is a highly nutritious and a very simple snack.

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Rava Uppumavu / Upma

Ingredients and method
rava / semolina 1 cup
water 2 cups
onion 1
ginger 1/2 inch piece
green chilly 1
red chilly dried 1
curry leaves few chopped
black gram dal or uzhunnu parippu 1 tea spoon
mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
coconut oil 1 table spoon
ghee 2 tea spoons
salt



Dry roast rawa, for few seconds. Boil water and keep aside.

Heat oil, add ghee into it. Add uzhunnu parippu. when it turns red,add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Cut dried red chilly into pieces and add and sute.Add chopped onion and saute for a while. Then saute chopped ginger, green chilly and curry leaves. When the aroma comes out, add previously boiled water. Put enough salt, let it boil again. Then add rawa into this. Keep stirring on low heat. When the water is completely absorbed, remove from fire and keep the lid closed.
Good with fish curries or sugar.

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Chettinadu Chicken Curry

Ingredients and Method
chicken 1 kg
onion 4
tomato 4
red chilly powder 4 teaspoons
coriander powder 3 teaspoons
turmeric powder 1 teaspoons
garam masala powder 1 teaspoon
garlic cloves 7
ginger 1 inch piece
curry leaves few
coriander leaves chopped few
oil 4 tb spoon
salt

For grinding,
red chillies 2
fennel seeds 1 teaspoon
poppy seeds 2 teaspoons
bengal gram / pottukadala 1 table spoon
coconut grated 1 handful
oil 1 teaspoon

In oil fry red chillies, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, Bengal gram / pottu kadala and coconut to a golden brown color and then grind to a fine paste.



Grind garlic and ginger to a fine paste.

Heat oil. When the oil becomes hot add chopped onion and fry for a few minutes until it changes into a light brown colour.

Then add tomatoes which are finely chopped with ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and fry well until the tomatoes are changed into a fine paste and the oil floats on the surface.

Add the pieces of chicken ,ground paste and enough salt with 1 cup of water.

Cook on medium fire until the chicken is well cooked.

Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves.This is a very thick gravy.

I followed the Chettinaadu Chicken Curry recipe of Mrs. Mano Saminathan. Since the amount of chilli is high in the original recipe, I changed it to Kashmiri chilli powder, following Mrs.Mano's suggestions. Mrs. Mano Saminathan is an expert in cooking various dishes and has an experience of forty years in this field. She hails from the famous Thanjavur City of Tamil Nadu. Mrs. Mano , lives in Sharjah with her family, runs the South Indian restuarant "Saffire".

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Kumbalanga Parippu Curry / Ashgourd Dal Curry

Ingredients and method
Toor dal / tuvara parippu 1/2 cup
Ash gourd pieces 2 cup
tomato 1
onion 1
green chilly 2
turmeric powder 1 tea spoon
chilly powder 1 teaspoon or more
salt

for seasoning
coconut oil
mustard seeds
curry leaves
red chillies

We can cook this in three ways.For this, first soak dal for 1 or more hours.Chop onion,tomato and green chillies.

method 1
Soak dal for 1 hour. Wash and cook with chopped ash gourd, onion, tomato , green chilly, salt and all powders. Use water just enough to cover the vegetables.When it is done, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add red chillies broken, curry leaves , stir, and pour into the curry.

method 2
Cook all the ingredients together as in the method 1. Put 4 table spoons coconut milk powder in this(Or use thick coconut milk approx. 1 cup). Mix well.Then do seasoning.

method 3
Grind 1 cup coconut grated with 4 small onions and 1/2 tea spoon cumin seeds in little water. Cook dal, ash gourd and green chillies with salt and powders. Onion and tomato not needed in this. Pour the blended coconut solution in to this. When it begins to boil, remove from fire. Do the seasoning.

For non vegetarians this curry is very good with rice to take with fish fry or red fish curry.

Submitted to JFI hosted by Linda of Out of the Garden.

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Vella Naaranga Achar / White Lemon Pickle

Ingredients and Method
lemon 12
garlic 12 cloves
green chilly 12
mustard seeds 2 teaspoons
black pepper corns 2 teaspoons
salt
vinegar 1 table spoon
sesame oil or coconut oil 2 table spoons
curry leaves few

Chop curry leaves,green chilies and garlic. Crush mustards and pepper corns.Cut lemon into thin slices. Cook it with 1/2 cup water and salt. Cook and reduce water. Heat oil, saute garlic, green chillies and curry leaves.Don't saute too much but for few seconds only. Add lemon and crushed ingredients. Mix well. Add vinegar and enough salt and mix well keeping on the low flame.
I prepare this without cooking lemon, so it would be little bitter but after two days it tastes good.

You can cook lemon in water before cutting it. Discard the water and chop lemon.Then follow the above method. Add ginger if you like.

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Ulli Theeyal / Small Onions Cooked In Roasted Coconut Gravy

Ingredients and Method
small onions / shallots 15 whole peeled
tomato 1
green chillies 2 chopped
coconut oil
tamarind 1 goose berry size

For roasting
coconut grated 1 cup
small onions chopped 3
garlic clove chopped 1
coconut oil 2 tea spoons
curry leaves few
perumjeerakam/ fennel seeds 1 pinch
coriander powder 3 tea spoons
chilly powder 1 or 2 tea spoons
turmeric powder 1 tea spoon

Heat coconut oil. Fry small onions and garlic. when it turns brown, add coconut, fennel seeds and curry leaves. Stir until the coconut turns brown. Then add all powders and stir for few seconds only. Remove from fire. When this cools, blend them with 1/2 cup water.(Or use enough water to make it a thick solution)

Heat 1 table spoon oil. Saute small onions and green chillies. When it begins to transparent, add tamarind water about 1/2 cup. Put salt and tomato chopped and let it boil. Add blended coconut mixture and boil. When oil floats on top, remove from fire.

Heat 2 tea spoons of coconut oil, splutter mustard seeds, fry dry red chily and curry leaves.Pour them into the curry.

You can make this in an easy way.
For this start from the end. Do the seasoning first and saute small onions and green chillies in this and boil with tamarind water, tomato and blended coconut mixture. Add enough salt.

Enjoy with Rice..!

Other Theeyal Recipes,
Kaippakka / Bittergourd Theeyal
Chemmeen / Prawns Theeyal

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Spicy French Toast

Ingredients and method
Bread 3 slices
egg 2
onion 1
green chillies 2
curry leaves few
pepper powder optional
Milk or Coconut milk 2 tablespoons optional
salt
oil

Chop the sides the bread slices and cut them into two triangle shaped pieces. Break eggs into a bowl. Chop onion, green chillies and curry leaves and mix with the eggs. OR blend eggs with them for few seconds just to crush the ingredients. Add salt. Heat a pan. Pour little oil. Dip bread pieces in this and place in the pan. Flip over when one side is done.

See the Sweet French toast recipe here.

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Semiya Bread Kesari

Ingredients and method
Semiya 4 tablespoon
Bread 4 slices
Coconut milk 1 cup thick
Milk 2 cup
Sugar 5 tablespoon
Ghee 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder 1 pinch
Kismis and Cashew nuts few

Cut bread into small pieces.
Heat ghee, roast kismis and cashews and keep aside. In the remaining ghee roast semiya till golden brown. Then add bread pieces and fry for few seconds. Remove from fire and add coconut milk and milk into this. Keep this for half an hour. Heat sugar with 1 spoon water. When it begins to boil add the above mixture. Boil till thick. Remove from fire and sprinkle cardomom powder over it.

Recipe Source - My sister's recipe collection.

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Masala Dosa

For making Dosa
white rice 2 cups
black gram dal / uzhunnu parippu 1/2 cup
green gram dal / cherupayar parippu 1/4 cup
cooked rice 1/2 cup
water
salt



Soak rice, black gram dal and moong gram dal in water for 3 to 6 hours. Wash and grind them together using enough water to make dosa batter. Then blend with cooked rice. Add salt and keep for fermentation up to 12 hours.Add yeast if needed. Make dosas on a hot frying pan or thawa. Spread little ghee over it.



For Making Potato Masala
potatoes 2 big
onion 1
ginger 1/2 inch piece
green chillies 2 or more
curry leaves few
coriander leaves chopped few
tomato 1
turmeric powder 1/2 tea spoon
chilly powder 1/2 tea spoon
cumin seeds 1 pinch
oil
salt
mustard seeds

Boil and peel potatoes. Mash them. Heat oil , splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Saute chopped onion. When it is transparent, saute chopped green chillies, chopped ginger and curry leaves. When the smell comes, add chopped tomato and coriander leaves and the powders and salt. Let the tomato cook well, then mix this with mashed potatoes.

Other curries to take with Dosa,
Sambar
Chutney
Chammanthi

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Hummus

Ingredients
chick peas - 1 can (cooked) or cook chick peas soaked in water till soft.
garlic cloves - 2
lemon juice - of 1 lemon
sesame paste(thahina) - 1 table sp or ground white sesame seeds.
salt - enough
olive oil - 2 tb sp


My daughter's dinner plate

method
Grind ingredients 1 to 5 altogether.Add little water which used to cook chick peas. Make a thick paste. Pour olive oil on top. Use with sandwich, chappathi, arabic roti(khubz) etc.
You can also make this without adding sesame paste. Instead of lemon juice add yogurt. And if you like to make it little spicy add 1 teaspoon pepper powder.

You can keep this for about 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. In freezer , keep up to one month.
Also this a best and healthy sandwich spread.

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Chilly Beef / Mutton

Kerala Style Chilly Beef / Mutton
Beef ½ kg
Onion 2
Ginger 1 ½ inch piece chopped
Garlic 7 cloves
Green chilly 4 chopped
Pepper powder 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Soya sauce 2 table spoons
Chilly sauce 2 tsps
Tomato sauce 1 table spoon
Corn flour 1 table spoon
Oil 2 table spoons
Garam masala 1 tea spoon
Coriander powder 2 tsps
Chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt

Grind garlic. Cook beef with garlic paste, turmeric powder,chilii powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Open lid and reduce water by cooking on a low flame. Heat oil, sauté chopped onions. Then fry ginger, green chillies and chopped curry leaves. Stir till aroma spreads out. Add beef with pepper powder and sauces. If needed add salt.

To make a thick chilly beef curry, take half cup of water remained after cooking beef. Mix with corn flour, add to the dish. Heat, when begins to boil, remove from fire, garnish with coriander leaves.

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How to prepare Garlic and Ginger paste?

Garlic
It is a well known fact that garlic is good to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. For reducing fever associated with cold, it is good to take garlic rasam or soup.Garlic is good for Asthma patients too. It is also known for it's antibiotic effect.

See the Garlic Rasam recipe here.

Ginger
Ginger increases saliva, reduces gastritis and helps digestion. Taking fresh ginger juice is good when some one having stomach pain due to disorders related to digestion.Taking ginger daily also helps arthritic and diabetic patients too.Dry ginger is good for cough if taking powdered with black pepper and kalkkandams(sugar candy).



For preparing Garlic and Ginger paste,

Method 1
garlic big cloves 25
ginger 1 inch pieces 5
OR
Use the amount seen in the above picture.

Grind garlic and ginger together and freeze.When you use, keep the frozen garlic ginger paste in refrigerator for a while and cut the amount you like. Don't keep the paste out side of the fridge to use. I follow this method and the garlic I used is Chinese garlic. Indian garlic is very small in size.

Method 2
garlic big cloves 20
ginger 1 inch pieces 5
oil 1 tablespoon
vinegar 1 teaspoon
salt little

Peel garlic and ginger. Wash them and grind with 1 table spoon oil,1 tea spoon vinegar and little salt. Keep it refrigerated. You can add a pinch of turmeric too while grinding. You can use any oil for this, but Olive oil is good. If you use water for grinding, use previously boiled and cooled water. The shelf life of this paste is one month.

Normally if you prepare garlic and ginger paste without adding any of these, soon it gets a bluish green color. Some people wouldn't use it since they are afraid of food poisoning. Actually this is not harmful to us. Garlic contains sulphur and when it acts with the copper in the water (or with the utensils contained aluminum,iron etc) and forms copper sulphate. Also garlic contains chlorophyll (substance that gives green color to leaves) and this gives a greenish color change to garlic while reacting to temperature.

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