Rava Kunukku

This is a great snack that can be made quickly and one of my personal favorites.

 

Ingredients
Rava – ½ cup
Rice flour - 3 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Curd - 1 cup
Onion – 2 medium sized
curry leaves – a few strands
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

Directions

Soak the rava in curd for 20 minutes. Add curry leaves, chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, rice flour, chilli powder and mix everything thoroughly. Make small balls out of the thick mixture. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry them when the oil gets smoking hot. When it turns golden brown in color remove from the oil and drain.

Tips
You can add boiled carrots and baby corn too. It tastes delicious when eaten hot.

Paruppu UsiIi

Ingredients

• Beans - ½ cup
• Carrot - ½ cup
• Toor Dal - ¾ cup
• Urad Dal - ¼ cup
• Red Chilli - 4
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp

For Seasoning

• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 2 strings
• Oil - 2 tbs

Directions

Cut the carrot and beans into small pieces. Soak the toor and urad dal for half an hour. Add the red chilli and asafoetida powder along with the dal and grind the mixture to a coarse paste. Steam this mixture for 10 minutes. Boil the vegetable adding the required amount of salt.

Take a pan and pour oil when it gets heated. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add the steamed dal mixture and fry till it is nicely done. A little bit of salt could be added here. Now add the boiled vegetables and mix it thoroughly with the dal and fry for 5 minutes and switch off the gas. Paruppu Usili is ready!

Tips

For the vegetables cluster beans, spring beans, cauliflower, snake gourd, green peas and capsicum can be used. Also 2 green chilli and 2 red chilli can be used instead of 4 red chillies. If capsicum is used, it must be fried in oil first. The dal mixture can be steamed in idli plates.

Vegetable Kootu

 

Ingredients

• Tomato - 2
• Carrot - 2
• Chayote(Chow chow) - 1
• Cabbage - ½ cup
• Green peas - ½ cup
• Moong dal - ½ cup
• Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
• Chilli powder - ½ tsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Mustard - ½ tsp
• Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
• Urad dal - ½ tspSalt - to taste

Directions

Peel off the skin from the carrots and the chayote. Cut the vegetable into small pieces.
Pressure cook the vegetables along with the moong dal and add turmeric powder and chilli powder. Allow this to cook until two whistles.

Take a small pan and add 1 tsp oil. When the oil gets heated up add the mustard and allow it to splutter and then add the cumin seeds and urad dal. Slice the green chillies and add them as well. This sauteed mixture is added to the cooked vegetables along with the salt.
Remove the dish from fire and garnish with coriander and curry leaves. Vegetable kootu is ready to be served.

Tips

Salt can be added after cooking the dal and vegetables because the ingredients will absorb less salt making it healthy. This dish uses very little oil as well.

Appalam Vathakuzhambu

This is my grand mother’s recipe. It is a very very tasty dish taken with roasted papad (sutta appalam). As my dear daughter got married recently I want to share this with her so that she and my son in law can enjoy this traditional dish

Ingredients

• Appalam(Papad) - 3  
• Manathakkali vathal (Black Nightshade) - 2tsp
• Sambar powder - 4tsp
• Tamarind - a medium lemon size       
• Gingely oil - 2tbsp
• Mustard - 1tsp
• Toor dal -1tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp                                  
• Curry leaves - a few                                   
• Dried Red chillies - 2
• Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
• Jaggery - a small lump

Directions

Take a pan, add a little bit of oil and fry the appalam(broken into small pieces). Remove the pieces from the oil and keep it aside. In the same oil fry the manathakkali vathal for a little while and remove it from the oil. Now add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add toor dal, asafoetida, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds and dried red chillies. Add the sambar powder and fry for a little while.                                     

Make a thick tamarind extract and add to the above preparation. Add salt and jaggery as needed and allow it to boil. When it becomes thick add the previously fried appalam and manathakkali vathal. Let it boil for a few minutes and remove it from fire.       

The traditional appalam vathakuzhambu is all yours :)
                                         

Palak Paneer

Ingredients

• Palak(Spinach) - a bunch
• Paneer(Cottage Cheese) - 10 cubes
• Corriander powder - 1tsp
• Chilli powder - 1tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato - 2
• Butter - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Directions

Pressure cook the palak and tomatoes until we get 2 whistles. Grind the cooked palak and tomatoes to make a fine paste. Heat the cooked paste in a pan and add all the three powders. Add the paneer cubes. Add salt to taste and pinch of sugar. When this comes to boil add the butter and switch of the fire.Your delicious palak paneer is ready!

Tips

A healthy alternate to paneer would be to add tofu in the spinach mixture.

Tropical Salad

This is a protein high, healthy and mouth watering salad. I give this salad to my daughter as an evening snack along with some fresh fruit juice. It can also be had for break fast.

Ingredients

• Carrot - 2
• Cucumber - 1
• Pomegranate - 3tsp
• Raw Mango - 2tsp(grated)
• Ginger - 1tsp(grated)
• White Pepper - 1/2 tsp(powder)
• Sprouted Green Gram - 3tsp
• Salt - to taste

Directions

Peel the skin of the carrots, mango and ginger. Grate them finely. Mix the grated carrot, mango and ginger. Slice the cucumber and add it to the mixture along with sprouted green gram. Sprinkle the white pepper and salt and garnish with corriander leaves. Finally add a dash of sugar and half a teaspoon of olive oil. Here goes a healthy salad!   
   

Paal Payasam(Milk Kheer)

Ingredients

•  Basmati rice - 1/4 cup
•  Milk - 4 cups(1 litre)
•  Sugar - 1 cup (Can add more depending on your sweet level)
•  Cardamom - 3
•   Saffron - A few strands
•  Almond - 10
•  Condensed Milk(optional)

Directions

Grind the rice to make a coarse powder. Pressure cook the rice and add milk to it. Keep the mixture boiling till it becomes condensed and pinkish in color.

Add sugar and a small amount of store bought condensed milk and also the cardamom and saffron. Take the dish off from fire and garnish with grated almonds. Awesome payasam is ready!!!

A few tips

After adding sugar don’t boil the payasam for a long time. Adding the condensed milk is optional and if added we will get a rich and thick payasam. We can also add pistachio nuts.