Vegetable Dum Biryani

Stay tuned for the recipe...
Layer 1: Spiced Vegetables

Layer 2: Basmati Rice with Jeera, Cloves, Bay Leaves, Cardamom, Cinnamon sticks sprinkled with Yogurt & Cilantro

Layer 3: Repeat of Layer 1
Layer 4: Repeat of Layer 2
Layer 5: Garnished with caramelized onions

Chettinad Kaara Kuzhambu

Stay tuned for the recipe...

Malli Masala Dosai

Fremont... Errr... Some-Mexican-City's Malli Masala Dosai. Stay tuned for the recipe...

Roasted Petite Golden Potatoes

No, I won't post a recipe for this easiest thing. Just make sure you buy Petite Golden Potatoes.

Idiyappam & Kurma

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Saiva Meen Kuzhambu

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Nava Dhaanya (9 grains) Kuzhi Paniyaram

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Upma Kozhukattai

Stay tuned for the recipe...

Egg & Tofu Kothu (Minced) Parotta/Paratha

Ingredients

1. White/Brown Eggs - 2 Nos.
2. Parotta - 2
3. Extra Firm Tofu - 1 pack
4. Red Onion - 1
5. Garlic - 6 cloves
6. Ginger - 1/2 tsp
7. Green Chilli - 4
8. Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
9. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Green Peas - 1/4 lbs.
11. Curry Leaves - a small bunch
12. Oil - 2 tbsp
13. Salt - To Taste
    

Procedure

1. Sauté the chopped Onions, Green Chilli, Curry Leaves, Garlic & Ginger on a thick pan
2. When the onion turns golden brown, break the eggs and pour it on the pan and keep stirring the mixture so that you have a bhurji (scrambled eggs) kind of a texture
3. When its nicely sautéed, add the chopped tofu & green peas onto the above mixture with Chilli & Turmeric powders
4. Now, add the finely chopped Parottas (frozen parottas is perfectly fine) to the pan (Assuming that you cooked the parottas in a pan already and you're chopping the cooked parottas)
5. Add some salt and keep mixing them until they're cooked (probably for 10-15 mins)
6. Enjoy your Egg & Tofu Kothu (Minced) Parotta/Paratha

PS: I had some leftover Mutter Tofu and I used that instead of sautéing my tofu & green peas. So, you can be very creative with your leftover side dishes too.

Sambhar Vadai

Ingredients

1. Urad Dhal - 1 cup
2. Green Chilli - 1
3. Curry Leaves - 1 branch
4. Asafoetida - One small pinch
5. Salt - To Taste
6. Oil - To deep fry

Procedure - For Vadai

1. Soak urad dal overnight for atleast 8 hours. Finely (I mean, very finely) chop Green Chillis & Curry Leaves
2. In a grinder, finely grind the soaked urad dal. Don't add too much water, just add as much as it needs to keep the grinder working. (Yes, you can use a mixie too, but if you grind it, you'll get more for your buck!)
3. When its done, add the above finely chopped items to the ground mixture with salt and asafoetida
4. Now, take a ping-pong sized ball of this mixture, place it on your four fingers, make a small hole in the center of the vadai and slowly drop it in boiling oil
5. Keep the stove in medium flame so that you'll let the vadai cook properly and turn golden brown as well
6. In an electric stove with medium flame, it takes about 8-12 minutes for the vadai to come out properly. When its done, keep the fried vadai's on a tissue paper and you'll have a "Oh! My God! See how much oil!" moment, and that's perfectly Okay! No need to call 911...
7. Now, drop these vadai's (that is, after they've cooled down a bit) in some yummy sambhar and let it soak for atleast 6 hours. Don't worry, it won't become soggy
   

Procedure - For Sambhar

• Come on, now don't tell me you don't know how to make a Sambhar! Are you flipping kidding me?

Oh btw, one free advice - The best consistency (பதம்) for the ground mixture is, when you take it in your hand/spoon and keep it upside down, it shouldn't fall down.

Masal Vadai

Ingredients

1. Channa/Gram Dhal - 1 cup
2. Red Onion - 1
3. Garlic - 4/5
4. Ginger - 1 tbsp
5. Green Chilli - 1
6. Crushed Red Pepper - 1/2 tsp
7. Curry Leaves - 1 branch
8. Asafoetida - One small pinch
9. Salt - To Taste
10. Oil - To deep fry

While frying...



After frying...



Procedure

1. Soak gram dal for about an hour. Finely (I mean, very finely) chop Onions, Green Chillis, Garlic, Ginger & Curry Leaves
2. In a mixie/blender, coarsely grind the soaked dal with the crushed red pepper
3. When its done, add the above finely chopped items to the ground mixture with salt and asafoetida
4. Now, take a ping-pong sized ball of this mixture and place it on a ziploc sheet (or vaazhai ilai, literally speaking) and pat to flatten it (You can sing this song though!)
5. Slowly, drop the patted vadai in boiling oil. Keep the stove in medium flame so that you'll let the vadai cook properly and turn golden brown as well.
6. Serve with Coconut/Mint Chutney and put on a lot of weight!

Aval (Poha) Upma

Ingredients

1. Thick Poha - 2 cups
2. Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup
3. Tomatoes - 2 Nos.
4. Coriander Leaves - 1/2 bunch
5. Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
6. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
7. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt - To Taste
9. Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Soak the thick poha in water for 5 mins and squeeze the water out and let it dry for a few minutes
2. Add the cut vegetables onto a pan with some oil keep sautéing it for a few minutes.
3. Now, add all the powders and then add the poha and keep stirring it until the powders are cooked properly
4. Finally, add finely chopped tomatoes and garnish it with coriande leaves. We add the tomatoes at last as it doesn't make the Poha Upma watery
5. Enjoy it with some thick Yogurt and chips, it'll be heavenly.

Mango Sevai

Ingredients

1. Rice Sevai - 2 cups
2. Red Onions - 1 Nos.
3. Green Chili - 2 Nos.
4. Tomatoes - 2 Nos.
5. Coriander Leaves - 1/2 bunch
6. Fresh Green Mango - 1/2
7. Chilli Powder - 1/2 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
10. Salt - To Taste
11. Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Boil water with some salt and add the Rice Sevai for a few minutes. Filter out the water and let the sevai dry out for a few minutes
2. Julienne cut the onions and Green Chillis and sauté them on a pan until they turn golden brown. Add the tomatoes and sauté for a few more minutes
3. Finely grate the fresh green mango and then add it to the pan with sevai and all the other powders. Cook for a few minutes until the powders are nicely done.
4. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy

Potato & Onion Fry

Ingredients

1. Potatoes - 1 lbs
2. Red Onion - 1
3. Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
4. Dhaniya (Corriander Powder) - 1 tbsp
5. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
6. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
7. Salt - To Taste
8. Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Boil/Steam the potatoes, peal the skin and keep them aside
2. Julienne cut the the onions & sauté them till they turn golden brown.
3. Now, add the boiled potatoes with all the powders and keep sautéing it until the spices are properly cooked
4. This is a defacto curry for any entree. Enjoy with any rice.

Milagai (Mirch/Chilli) Bajji

Ingredients

1. Mini Bell (Green/Red/Orange/Yellow) Peppers - 5
2. Paprika powder - 2 tbsp
3. Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
4. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Corriander Powder - 1 tsp
6. Crushed Peanut Powder - 2 tsp
7. Besan Flour / Chick Peas Flour / Kadalai maavu - 1 cup
8. Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
9. Salt - To Taste
10. Oil - 1/4 lbs.
    

Before Frying...

After Frying...


Procedure

1. The smartest way to make this Bajji is to buy the right kind of peppers. If you buy an Anaheim Chilli or a Jalapeno, you can reserve the loo for the next morning and take the day off from work, because you ain't coming out of that haven. Try to select mini bell peppers or pepper specifically for the the Bajji. You can check this in your Produce department and they should be able to help you with the Pepper's spiciness level.
2. You have to make a batter with Besan Flour, Chilli Powder & Salt. Make it a little viscous.
3. Make a paste/mixture with the rest of the powders (Paprika, Cumin, Turmeric, Corriander & Crushed Peanut Powder) & oil
4. Now, cut the peppers length wise and stuff the above mixture onto the peppers
5. Dip the above stuffed peppers onto the batter and deep fry them
6. This would be a wonderful afternoon snack especially when its cold outside. Ofcourse, its not a healthy snack, otherwise it wouldn't taste this good.

Ennai (Oil) Kathirikkai Kuzhambu

This is not just another variation of Vatha Kuzhambu, but a truly enriching experience, both to cook and eat with suda-suda sadham. I learned this from Harini's Amma, and if you don't know Harini or her Amma, wait for some more time. Harini's Amma is one real important person in my cooking life. Will come to that later and lets take a plunge onto the details... (yea, kelambu kelambu kaathu varattum dhan...)

Ingredients

1. Kutti Kathirikkai (Small Brinjals a.k.a. Egg Plant) - 5 or 6
2. Puli - a small lemon size
3. Kadalai Paruppu - 2 tbsp
4. Milagai Vathal - 6 or 7 (For, 'sema hot machi', use 9 or 10)
5. Dhaniya - 2 tsp
6. Perungayam - A small pinch
7. Kadugu - 1 tsp
8. Oil - 4 tbsp (Use this
9. Karuveppilai - 5
10. Salt - As much as you want

Procedure

1. Put the tamarind in boiling hot water with salt and leave it for 15 minutes. This will ease your work of squashing the tamarind and getting the water out of it
2. While the tamarind is soaked, put a heavy vessel on the stove (As usual, I used my vaanali!)
3. Add a few drops of oil in the hot pan and add the Kadalai Paruppu, Dhaniya, Vatha Milagai
4. Fry till it turns golden brown and transfer the contents to a mixie. Let is cool for sometime and grind it to a coarse powder (The less oil you use for frying, more powderized it is!)
5. Wash the kathirikkai nicely in running water and cut the stem. Make sure the kathirikkai's are small, say the size of a plum fruit that we get in India
6. Now, make 2 cuts in the center of the kathirikkai's, from the top, so that the two cuts are perpendicular. Remember, don't cut it fully and the kathirikkai should be as a whole
7. Stuff the powder that you just ground in the mixie, in the kathirikkai's (Remember, how a kezhavi in front of our schools would stuff milagai podi in the mango? Do just like that. If you don't know how she would stuff the milagai podi, go to school again and trust me, you've missed a few delicacies in life!). Stuff the powder in all the kathirikkai's and keep it aside. You should have some powder left at this point in time, keep it safe, as we will need it later in the game
8. Put the same vaanali in the stove and add 4 tbsp's of oil (yes, the kuzhambu should live upto its name, so, we need more oil!). Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and let is splatter
9. Place all these kathirikkai's in the vaanali with great care, make sure the kathrikkai's doesn't break and ensure that the stuffing doesn't pop out totally. (Of course, you can't help a little bit of the powder coming out of the kathirikkai's, but don't turn it upside down and make yourself look like a clown!)



10. In the meantime, get your tamarind water ready and add it to the vaanali after the kathrikkai's are well fried. Pour it carefully from the sides, so that the kathirikkai's doesn't break
11. Add salt to taste and let it boil till the viscosity increases, keep the stove in medium flame (The more you keep the more viscous it gets!)
12. Before you switch off, add the remaining powder and perungayam
    

Your Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu is all set to be attacked with any of the options I had listed for Vatha Kuzhambu.

Variations: You can add 5 or 6 black peppers with the red chillis, to increase the spice and flavor. (I would be debarred by Harini's Amma though!)

Vaazhakkai Fry

Ingredients

1. Vaazhakkai (Raw Banana) - 4 Nos.
2. Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
3. Dhaniya (Corriander Powder) - 1 tbsp
4. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
6. Salt - To Taste
7. Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Peal the skin off the Raw Bananas and cut them into round pieces (as shown above)
2. Add the cut pieces onto a pan with some oil with all the powders and keep sautéing it until the spices are properly cooked
3. You can add more oil as needed to roast it really well.
4. That's about it

Paruppu (Lentils) Thogayal

Ingredients

1. Toor dal - 3 tbsp
2. Channa dal - 2 tbsp
3. Fresh coconut - 1 tbsp
4. Black pepper - 1 tsp
5. Red chillies - 2
6. Asafoetida - A small pinch
7. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
8. Curry Leaves - 5 or 6
   
9. Salt - To taste
10. Oil - 1 tsp

Procedure

1. Take a pan, preheat the oil and fry ingredients (#1 thru' #5) until it turns golden brown
2. Let it cool and grind them all together adding a little bit of water and salt to it. It should be pretty viscous
3. When its nicely ground, do a Tadka with mustard seeds, curry leaves & asafoetida and garnish the Thogayal
4. It makes an ultimate combination with a Vatha Kuzhambu

Vatha Kuzhambu & I...

... are like nagamum-sadhayum.

I used to get this in a dabara soon after Amma is done preparing it and will just drink it as if it were a soup. I don't remember when I started eating this, but I for sure remember when I first made one all by myself. Well, I had to call another prodigy to ask how to do it, as Amma used to be in Pondicherry at that time. (I will talk about prodigies sometime later, as there are quite a few people who deserve just more than a mere mention in this space, who were, in some way or another, an inspiration to me.)

When there is Vatha Kuzhambu at home, you can easily find me doing one (or) more of this --

• Plain-a, verum-na, dabara la oothi, spoon pottu soup madhiri kudipaen
  

• Vadaam, Poricha Appalam, Thaenkoozhal, Murukku - idhula edhavadhu onna eduthu Vatha Kozhambu la thochu-thochu saapiduvaen (I understood from my Manni the other day that Sid is doing the same thing these days, well, prodigies seldom differ!)

• Edu vaazhai ilai-la (literally, all right), suda-suda sadham pottundu, paruppu, nei oothi pesanju, side-la konjam/neraya Vatha Kuzhambu oothi, thottu-thottu saapta - aah..ha... "Sorgame Endralum..."

• Adhe Edu vaazhai ilai-la (pinna, ovvuru saadhathukkum elai maathuvaangala?), suda-suda sadham pottundu, nall-ennai (Gingely Oil) vittu, Vatha Kuzhambu oothi pesanju, Poricha Arisi Appalam-oda (they say Sutta arisi appalam is the best combo, but I like it this way) thottundu saapta, it will be heavenly divine!

• Aprm, Adhe Edu vaazhai ilai-la, sadham pottundu, nalla gettiya thayir vittundu, pesanjuttu, oru pidi thayir sadham eduthundu, right hand nadu viralala kuttiya oru kuzhi madhiri pottukanum (Just like you would while doing Ulundhu Vadai). Andha kuzhi-la Vatha Kuzhambu oothi gulp-nu vaaila pottunda, ada ada ada - pramadhama irukkum. I used to be a spoilt kid when it came to food and Amma would never let me eat anywhere else, ellarum naan saapidaradha paathu kannu pottuduva appadinu, as if their kannu-pottufying will elachufy me! anyways, the spoilt part is, i would ask amma to oothify the vatha kuzhambu in that kuzhi while i am eating thayir sadham, and amma would diligently do it for me though. Chae, adhellam oru kaalam...

Idhellam panninaaaa.... train vandhurum (purilena, Anbe Sivam poi paarunga!)

Ingredients

1. Puli (Tamarind) - a small lemon size
2. Kadalai Paruppu (Channa Dhal) - 1 tbsp
   
3. Vendhayam (Methi seeds) - 1/2 tsp
4. Perungayam (Asafoetida) - 1/3 tsp
5. Milagai Vathal (Red Chilli) - 5-6 (Sometimes, I use 10 to make it real hot!)
   
6. Karuveppilai (Curry Leaves) - 5-6
7. Kadugu (Mustard Seeds) - 1/3 tsp
8. Vellam (Jaggery) - 1 tbsp
9. Sambhar Powder - 2 tbsp
10. Manjal Podi (Turmeric) - 1/4 tsp
    
11. Oil - 3 tbsp
12. Salt - As much as you want
13. Any of these vegetables - Onion, Drumstick, Okra, Egg Plant, Sweet Pumpkin

Procedure

1. Put the tamarind in boiling hot water with salt and leave it for 15 minutes. This will ease your work of squashing the tamarind and getting the water out of it
   
2. While the tamarind is soaked, put a heavy vessel on the stove (Typically, I use a vaanali / uruli. Amma had a kal chatti and this requires "special" care. I neither have the patience nor the knowledge to use that, so I just stick to my vaanali/uruli)
3. Add the oil in the hot pan and the mustard seeds, curry leaves
4. After the splattering, add Kadalai Paruppu, Vendhayam, Red Chillis, Asafoetida and fry it in the oil
5. When it turns golden brown, add the vegetables (say, onion), curry leaves and turmeric powder on top of it
6. Fry it till the onion turns golden brown and add the tamarind water to the whole mixture
7. Add sambhar powder & salt to the boiling contents and let it boil till the viscosity increases, keep the stove in medium flame (The more you keep the more viscous it gets!)
   
8. Just before you switch off the stove, add the jaggery to the Kuzhambu and let it boil for exactly 2 minutes (This is just to add flavor and trust me, this wont make the kuzhambu sweet!)

Variations: You can add manathakkali kaai, appalam, sundakkai vathal, thaamarai kezhangu, kothavarangai vathal instead of the vegetables. Basically, you will fry any/all of these and add it in the boiling kuzhambu.

Your Vatha Kuzhambu is all set and it just has to be attacked with any of the options I would normally do as mentioned above.

Note: The Vatha Kuzhambu in the picture was made by Anu yesterday. I better give her the credit, if not I ain't gonna get one such in the near future!

Payatham Paruppu Adai a.k.a Pesarattu

We decided to make Payatham Paruppu (Moong Dal) Adai a.k.a Pesarattu, as a close friend of ours' called up and said they're coming over for dinner and we ran out of usual options for roti & side dishes, poori & masal, briyani & raita. Mainly because, we were too bored to do those usual things and/or the fact that we didnt have enough to prepare one such. Just before we could pluck our last hairs to decide what we should make for them, something struck our minds and we started off with this simple, yet mouth watering dish...

Ingredients

1. Moong Dhal - 1 1/2 cups
2. Plain raw rice - 1/2 cup
3. Red Chilli - 5-6
4. Asafoetida - 1/3 tsp
5. Salt - As much as you want
6. Curry Leaves - 12-15
7. Corriander Leaves - 5-7 stems
   

Procedure

1. Soak the Moong Dhal and Raw Rice in water for 90 minutes. (True, you can get this going as fast as this)
2. Grind the soaked contents with Red Chillis, Asafoetida, Salt (Dont grind it fine, let it be a little coarse - just like you would do for adai)
3. Cut the Curry Leaves & Corriander Leaves into small pieces and mix it well with the grounded mixture
4. Heat kadai and pour a little oil and lay the batter just as you would for dosai/adai and cook on medium flame
5. Don't over heat the kadai as the adai would become dark (karinju poidum)

Serve hot with Tomato Pickle/Chutney, Sambhar and Curd.

Variations: You can add finely chopped onions/spinach/cabbage to the batter.

For the record - Nobody called up and said they would come for dinner, I was just trying to accentuate just for the sake of this post.

Ellam... eye wasss...