Thiruvadhirai

What a wonderful journey it has been. It was the same thiruvadhirai kali and kootu I started my blog with Jan 2010. Thiruvadhirai brings back wonderful memories of Arudhra Dharisanam in Chidambaram. We lived in Chidambaram for a brief period of 1 year way back in 1990. Though I was just a kid, there are certain memories that is etched and would never fade. The “ther thiruvizha”, pulling the “ther” of Lord Nataraja on the streets, with such pomp and show. The clear picture that comes to my mind is of those huge elephants that would so powerfully break open those coconuts/poosanikkais and gulp them down those massive mouth! And those shopping with Rs.5 or Rs.10 that our parents would allocate us exclusively during this Arudhra Dharisanam. Festivities galore, the early morning abishekam to Lord Nataraja in “Aairam Kaal mandapam”, the “kalkandu sakkarai pongal” and of course kali and kootu at home. Its been almost 20 years now and I never had the opportunity again to visit the temple for another Arudhra Dharisanam.

Stories apart , this is a re-post of my first ever Kali and kootu recipe with added picture.

Black eyed peas curry

This has been on my post list for quite sometime. Recently my thirst for beans and proteins seem to be a never ending thing. So I try and incorporate all kind of dry/sprouted beans in my day-to-day recipe and one such is black eyed peas. I like it better when my hubby makes it and so today as well, it’s his recipe!

1 cup black eyed peas, soaked overnight
2 small or 1-1/2 medium sized tomatoes chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
1″ ginger chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 or 2 green chillies slit length-wise
Coriander leaves chopped, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder
3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
Pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Add oil to a pressure cooker and when hot add cumin seeds. When they crack add onion and fry for about 2 minutes until they turn translucent.
2. Then add ginger-garlic-green chilly and fry for a minute. Add all the dry powders and fry until they blend well and raw smell leaves. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and fry again for 2 minutes. Add soaked/drained bean and fry for another 1 minute.
4. Add milk, salt, water and pressure cook for 2 whistle. If the curry is too watery, boil on medium flame after opening the cooker for 5 minutes. If its too thick, add water and boil for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Vazhakkai-Raw Plantain Seppankezhangu-Taro root kootu

I always have a liking to try out traditional recipes that comes through generations. This recipe was given to my mom by her mother in law and now to me by my mom. I keep pestering my mother to write down all the recipes that she has learnt over a period of…I guess almost 45years of cooking! But so humbly she would say….”Naan enna perusa panitten ellarum pannathatha….” But look at me! I would make such a simple thing and I would immediately call her up and boast about it! Yuck………………..And still she would give me all due credits and applause and I think that’s what keeps me going each day!

Now to the recipe.

1 medium sized vazhaikkai (Raw plantain) (Peel and cut into small cubes)
3-4 seppankezhangu (Taro root)
2 teaspoon freshly made sambar powder
1 small gooseberry sized tamarind, soaked and squeezed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, urad dal, pinch of hing, spring of curry leaves, 1 teaspoon oil for tempering
1 cup soaked, boiled karamani (Or any kind of bean)
2 cups water

To grind:
2 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
3 tablespoon grated coconut

Method:
1. Boil seppankezhangu with salt. Cool, peel, cut into small chunks and keep aside.
2. Now add 1 tsp oil to a kadai and when hot temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, hing and cury leaves.
3. Vazhaikkai, little turmeric and saute a little. Then add salt, water, tamarind extract, sambar powder and cook on medium flame until vazhaikkai is cooked to 3/4th.
4. Then add boiled karamani, boiled and cubed seppankezhangu and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the cumin-coconut paste, cook until raw smell of jeera fades. Serve hot with paruppu/dal rice.

Chocolate chip cookie II

My recent finding… www.joyofbaking.com . Here is where I managed to find another version of the age old chocolate chip cookie. This one turned out nicely crisp at the edges and wonderfully chewy inside. I was little skeptic about the recipe because I used whole wheat flour (chapathi flour) instead of all purpose flour and so halved the recipe. But this tasted much better than my previous attempts. This is the exact recipe from joy of baking except whole wheat flour.

1 stick (1/4 cup) butter (room temp)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg (room temp)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chip

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
1. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and keep aside.
2. Cream butter first until smooth. Then add sugar and beat for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat for another 1 minute.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and half way through add the choc chips. Do not over beat. Just enough to blend well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if the dough is too soft.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I used my tablespoon scoop to drop the cookies. Space them 2″ inches apart as they spread really well. Bake for 14 minutes, cool in sheet for 3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container. This makes about 20 cookies.

Potato Cauliflower Curry

A simple and quick spicy curry for those really boring cooking days. I made keerai with karamani for roti and wanted something crispy and spicy to go along with my rice and keerai. Potato and Cauliflower always comes to my rescue.

1 potato diced into 1/2″ cubes
Cauliflower florets of bite size
2 teaspoon sambar powder
Salt to taste
Pinch of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds and urad dal
Pinch of hing
3 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan and when hot add mustard seeds, urad dal and hing. Add the washed cauliflower and potato chunks.
2. Add a pinch of turmeric and saute them on low-medium heat and cover the pan for about 3 minutes.
3. Then add salt and mix well. Cook covered again for another 5 minutes. Then add sambar powder and saute. Add remaining 2 tablespoon oil and cook on medium flame uncovered until veggies crisps evenly.

Sambar Rice / Spicy vegetables cooked with Lentils and Rice

Sambar sadam……There are lotsa places in chennai famous only for its sambar sadam! Saravana Bhavana, Komalas. I’ve tried making them with the homemade/ready made sambar powder, but it never tasted as good as it looked. But this time, my mom asked me to make a fresh powder and use it immediately for this. Ah!! Divine! It took me so many days to master this simple dish.

For the Powder:
4 tablespoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
4 tablespoon dhania
10-12 red chillies
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Pinch of hing powder/ katti perungayam
1 teaspoon oil
3 tablespoon dry/freshly grated coconut

1. Fry the above ingredients except coconut (chana dal first, followed by urad dal, fenugreek, dhania, red chillies, hing) in oil.
2. Let it cool completely. Add coconut and grind to a fine powder (do not add water) and keep aside.

2 cups mixed vegetables (Carrot, green beans, radish, peas, murungakkai)
1/2 cup toor dal
Pinch of turmeric

Pressure cook vegetables with toor dal and turmeric. Separate the cooked vegetables and mash dal well. Keep aside.

1/2 cup thick tamarind paste
1 medium tomato
4-5 pearl onions/chinna vengayam
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon each mustard seeds, urad dal
pinch of hing
2 red chillies
1 spring curry leaves
2 cups water
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon ghee
4 cups well cooked rice

1. Add oil to the deep pan or use a cooker. When hot temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, hing, red chillie and curry leaves.
2. Add onion and saute for a minute. Add tomato and saute.
3. Add tamarind paste, water, salt, 4 tablespoon freshly made sambar powder and cook on medium heat until onions are cooked partially.
4. Now add the separated vegetables and bring it to a boil. Then add the toor dal and bring it to a boil and simmer for few minutes. Check for water/salt/sambar powder. Add more if required.
5. Finally add cooked rice and mix well. Add dollop of ghee and serve hot.