Carrot Tomato Soup

Soups are a great energy drinks especially in winter. This particular one is quite easy to make and tastes refreshing. A must try!

Ingredients:

Carrot - 1 big

Tomato - 1 medium size

Toor dhal - a handful

Tamarind extract - 2 tsp

Rasam powder - 1 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Mustard - 1 tsp

Curry leaves

Corrainder leaves

Procedure:

Pressure cook the carrot cut into pieces, tomato and toor dhal for 3 whistles.

Blend them to a paste once they are cooled.

In a pan add a spoon of oil and when it is hot add hing followed by mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Add the carrot- tomato paste and tamarind extract. Add water to get the desired consitency.

Add salt and rasam powder according to taste.

When it boils, remove from flame.

Garnish with corrainder leaves and serve hot.

Crispy Yam Fry

Yam is one of my favourite vegetables. It tastes great with sambhar rice, rasam rice and even curd rice (what else?!) This can be served as a snack and sometimes gets over even before served!

Ingredients:

Yam - 200gms

Chilli powder - 1tsp

Salt - to taste

Rice flour - 1 tsp

Gram flour - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil - To fry

Procedure:

Clean and cut yam into pieces of 1/4 inch thickness.

Boil water and add the yam pieces, turmeric and salt. Let it cook till it is half done.

Remove it from water, add chilli powder, rice flour, gram flour and salt accordingly. Let it rest for 30 mins.

Deep fry in oil till it is cooked.

Easy vegetable pasta

This is an easy indian version of pasta. It tastes very good and is healthy. My family loves it. It can be served as a meal. The measurement serves 3.

Ingredients:

Cooked pasta - 1 large bowl
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Carrot - 1
Beans - 10 nos.
Capsicum - 1
Medium sized Tomato - 2
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1/4 inch
Garlic - 2 (finely cut)
Cinnamon - 1, cloves - 2
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
Soya sauce - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Corrainder leaves
Grated cheese
Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

• Chop all the vegetables finely.



• Grind tomato, ginger and make a puree.



• Heat oil in a big pan, add cloves and cinnamon.



• Add onions, garlic, chillies and saute till golden brown.



• Add the chopped vegetables and saute for a while till they are soft.



• Add the tomato puree, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and cook for 5 minutes.



• Add tomato ketchup and soya sauce.



• Add the cooked pasta and mix well.



• Garnish with grated cheese and corainder leaves.



• Serve hot.

சுண்டல்

There are different varieties of sundal. Chick peas is the most popular of all and is made mainly for offering God. I have made white peas sundal. A healthy protein rich snack

Ingredients:

White Peas – 1 cup
Mustard seeds
Orid dal – 1 tsp
Red Chilli - 1
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt
Curry leaves

Procedure:

• Soak the White peas overnight and pressure cook them for 8-10 whistles

• In a pan add oil and heat it

• To it add mustard seeds and orid dal.

• After the mustard splutters, add red chilli, curry leaves and the cooked peas

• Add salt as required

• Serve hot

Semiya Kesari

A dessert made as Offering for god. This one is usually made with Rave. I have alternatively used semiya for this.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli – 1 cup
Sugar – ¾ cup
Water – ¾ cup
Milk – 1 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Cashews, Raisins, cardamom powder, food color

Procedure:

• In a pan heat ghee and add cashews and raisins till the cashews are roasted

• Keep the roasted cashews and raisins away and add vermicelli to it and roast a little

• To this add water and let it cook for 3-5 mts

• After add milk and simmer the heat. Keep stirring every now and then

• Once it starts to thicken, add the sugar and food color

• When it starts coming together, add cardamom powder and roasted cashews and raisins

• Ready to serve.

Carrot Chapatti

A different chapati with the goodness of carrot.

Ingredients:

Carrot – 1
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Salt

Procedure:
• Shred the carrots finely

• Add this to the flour ad add salt and mix well.

• Add water little by little and make it as regular chapatti dough

• Make balls and roll them as chapatti

• Put the rolled one on tawa and cook on both sides with little oil

• Serve Hot.

Okra Thayir kuzhambu / வெண்டை மோர் குழம்பு

Ingredients

Okra – 8 (cut them as we do for sambar)
Curd- 1cup
salt
turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds
Red chilly – 2
Curry leaves
Oil

To grind
Onion – ½
Green Chilly – 1
Ginger – little

Soak the below ingredients for 30 mts and grind them with the above mix
Rice – 1tsp
Channa dal – 1tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1tsp

Procedure

• Put some oil on pan and fry the okra with little salt on low flame

• After it cooked keep it aside

• Grind the ingredients mentioned for grinding

• Mix the curd, grounded mix, turmeric powder and salt. Add water if required

• To tadka with oil, mustard seeds, Red chilly and curry leaves and add to the above curd mix

• Now add the cooked okra to this

• Keep this pan on heat and allow to boil (It will boil up as milk) Take from flame after that

• More kuzhambu is ready

Potato Fry

A simple potato fry and it tastes good with Sambar, more kuzhambu or any variety rice.

Ingredients:

Potato – 1
Ginger garlic paste – 1tsp
Chilly powder -1 tsp
Salt
Oil

Procedure:

• Peel the potatoes and make thin slices (a little more thick than for chips)
• In a bowl mix the ginger garlic paste, chilly powder and salt.
• To this add the potatoes and keep for 1 hr
• Heat dosa tawa and spread the marinated potatoes. Slightly brush oil
• Turn them on the other side after they brown.
• After it slightly browned on both sides take them and do the same for the next set of potatoes until done

Mint Rice

Ingredients:
Basmati rice – 1 cup
Mint leaves – 1 cup
Onion – 1 (long sliced)
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chilly – 2
Clove – 3
Cinnamon stick – 1
Oil

Procedure
• Cook the basmati rice until half done
• In a pan, saute mint leaves, ginger garlic and green chillies. Gring this as a paste with very minimal water
• Heat Oil and add clove and cinnamon
• Add the onions and sauté until transparent
• Add the grinded paste, salt and the rice.
• Sprinkle little water and keep it covered on low flame for 10 mts.
• If needed add water and cook for a little more time until rice is fluffy.

Brinjal curry

This is a simple dish which goes well with Chicken Briyani

Ingredients:
Brinjal – 3 (finely chopped)
Tomato – 1 (finely chopped)
Tamarind juice – 1 tbsp
Clove – 2
Oil – 1 tbsp

To grind:
Onion -1
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Black pepper – 1 tsp
Red chilly – 4
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Procedure:
• Grind the ingredients mentioned
• Heat oil and add clove
• Add the grinded paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off
• Add tomatoes and brinjal one after other
• Add water and keep it covered to cook on a little low flame
• After the brinjal gets mashed well, add tamarind juice and cook for 5 mts
• Garnish with coriander leaves

Chicken Briyani / சிக்கன் பிரியாணி

This method of chicken briyani uses convection oven. This takes a long time for cooking (takes ah hour) but it tastes good because of the slow cooking process.

Ingredients:
Chicken – 300 gms
Basmati Rice – 2 cups
Onion – 3 (long sliced)
Tomato – 4
Ginger Garlic paste – 3tbsp
Green chilies - 2
Chilli powder – 4 tsp
Yogurt – 1 tbsp
Mint leaves
Coriander leaves
Lemon juice – 1/2 tsp
Whole garam masala (Bay leaves – 1, Cinnamon -1, Cardamom – 1 stick, Clove – 7)
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt

Procedure:
• Cut chicken into slightly bigger pieces and clean them
• Marinate the chicken with Chilli powder, 1tbsp ginger garlic paste, salt and yogurt. Keep it marinated for 1-2 hrs
• Wash and soak rice in water for ½ hr
• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Heat oil in a pan
• Add whole garam masala, ginger garlic paste, green chilly, onion and tomatoes one after another sautéing each for a awhile
• Add marinated chicken to it and sauté for a awhile
• Add mint and coriander leaves and then add drained rice
• Saute for a while and turn of heat
• Take a oven proof pan and spray oil all thru the sides
• Pour the chicken rice mix into the pan and add water ( 3 cups of water for 4 cups of pre-soaked rice. There may be some water in the rice mix itself. So u may have to add 2 ¼ cups of water).
• Mix thoroughly and cover with a aluminium foil
• Keep it the oven for 50 – 60 mts.
• After 60 mts remove the foil and mix the rice.
• Garnish with coriander leaves

If u feel the process is very time consuming, u can cook chicken separately on stove top. Half cook the rice and then mix both and keep it in oven for 15 mts.

Thattai / தட்டை

This is one of my favorite snack. But its quite time consuming to make and also requires some assistance.

As the same way for murukku, I used the wet grinded rice for this one too. You may also use the rice flour and add water to get the desired consistency.

Ingredients
Idly Rice – 2 cups
Orid dal – 1/4 cup
Red chillies – 4
Groudnuts – 2 tbsp
Soaked Bengal gram – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves
Salt – to taste
Butter – ½ tbsp
Oil- to fry

Procedure:
• Soak the rice for 4 hrs and wet grind it with red chilly and pepper (Don’t add too much water. The batter shud be little thick)
• Dry roast the orid dal till a nice flavour comes
• Powder the roasted dal in a blender
• Dry roast the groundnuts and just crush them in the blender (the nuts shud be seen)
• Mix the grinded rice flour, powdered orid dal, groundnuts, soaked Bengal gram, curry leaves, salt and melted butter to make a thick dough (shud be little more flexible than u make for rotis)
• Make small balls out of the mixed flour
• Take the balls one by one and press it on a oil coated platic sheet. Make it thin.
• Poke it with a fork her and there
• Put this on hot oil and turn it to the other side after a while
• Take it out when the spluttering of oil stops
• Cool it and store in an air tight container

Murukku / முறுக்கு

There are different varieties of murukku. I got this recipe from a website and made some alterations. The actual recipe was a sweet one. But I made it a spicy one and my family loved this.

I have wet grinded the rice for the rice flour as I feel it gives a better taste. You may also use the rice flour and add water to get the desired consistency.

Ingredients
Idly Rice – 2 cups
Moong dal – ½ cup
Red chillies – 4
Pepper – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Butter – ½ tbsp
Oil- to fry

Procedure:
• Soak the rice for 4 hrs and wet grind it with red chilly and pepper (Don’t add too much water. The batter shud be little thick)
• Dry roast the moong dal till a nice flavour comes
• Add 1 cup of water and pressure cook the roasted dal
• Strain excess water from the cooked dal ad mash it well
• Mix the grinded rice flour, cooked dal, Salt and melted butter to make a thick dough (shud be little more flexible than u make for rotis)
• Put the mix in the murukku press with the desired mould (either single or 3 holes. I used the single hole)
• Press the murukku on a lightly oil coated plate and drop it carefully in the hot oil. Take it out when the spluttering of oil stops
• Cool it and store in an air tight container

Mysore pak

I thought its so difficult to make this one. But when I tried this it was so simple and comes out quick too. I will add this to my Diwali list hereafter.

Ingredients

Besan – 1 cup
Sugar – 2 cups
Ghee – 1.5 - 2 cups
Water – ½ cup

Procedure

• Sieve the besan flour to make it fine
• Melt the ghee and take it from flame
• Add the besan flour to the melted ghee and mix well without any lumps
• In a heavy bottomed pan add water and sugar
• Stir to make the sugar dissolve in water
• After the syrup starts thickening pour the besan- ghee mix
• Keep stirring well
• Once the mix starts thickening and comes rolling to the center remove from heat
• Pour it on a ghee coated vessel and allow to cool
• Use a knife and cut it to square or rectangles (before it sets fully)
• You can remove the pieces after it cools down and store them

Rava Laddu

Rava laddu is a simple to make sweet and its one of my most favorite Diwali sweet.

Ingredients:
Rava(Sooji) – 1 cup
Powdered sugar – 1 cup
Ghee – ¼ cup
Cardomom powder – little
Cahews – cut to small pieces
Raisins

Procedure:

• Dry roast rava and then grind it after cooling for a while.
• Heat ghee and roast cashews and raisins with that
• Mix powdered rava and sugar
• Add heated ghee to the above mix and mix well
• Make round balls of that
• If u are not able to make balls, add little more melted ghee
• Store them air tight.

If the laddus break down, keep them in refrigerator for 2-3 hours and will stay tight afterwards

Kozhukattai / கொழுக்கட்டை

This is a traditional sweet of South India and will mainly be made as offering to god especially for Karthigai Deepam. I’ve wet grinded the whole rice for this. Another method would be to use rice flour and steam it before using.

Ingredients:
Rice – 1 cup
Grated Jaggery – ¾ cup (melt the jaggery in water and filter it)
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Cardomom – ½ tsp

Procedure:
• Soak the rice for 3-4 hrs and then wet grind it finely ( very tiny coarse of rice is okay). You can add the filtered jaggery water to grind it. The batter doesn’t have any consistency. It can be watery too

• To the above flour add remaining jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder.

• Heat a non-stick pan and pour this mixture on it (Add a little oil if using a regular pan)

• Keep stirring until the flour comes together as a mass. You should be able to make balls of it

• After cooling for a while make balls. Keep the balls in ur palm and press with ur fingers. Also u can make “vilakku” shapes too.

• Steam them for 8-10 mts or until ready

• Serve hot with coconut pieces