COCONUT RICE (THENGAI SADAM)

Variety rice as these rice dishes are called, are very simple dishes to make. They make very good picnic dishes. They are good lunch box items. Coconut rice is one such rice dish. It can be had with potato chips or fryums. In my house, coconut rice is always accompanied by morkuzhambu because my husband loves this combination.




Preparation Time: 20 mts Cooking Time: 10 mts Serves: 2-3




Ingredients:


Raw rice - 1 cup
Coconut scrapings - 3/4 cup
Black gram dal (ulundu paruppu ) - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Refined oil - 2 tbsp
Red chilies - 3 nos
Green chilies - 3 nos
Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste




Method:



Cook the rice with a little salt. Each grain of rice should be separate. Soak the urud dal in a little water for 1/2 hr. Break the red chilies in to 2 pieces. Chop the green chilies in to small pieces. Drain the water & keep the urud dal ready. Heat the oil in a pan & fry the mustard seeds. Add the red chilies, green chilies, urud dal & curry leaves. Fry for some time. Then add the coconut scrapings & salt. Fry till oil comes out of the coconut. Don't brown it. Switch off the heat & add the cooked rice & mix it well. Coconut rice is ready to eat.


Tips:

1. We can use coconut oil instead of refined oil. This will blend with the rice & give an additional flavour.
2. Fry some cashew nuts in ghee & add it to the rice. This will enhance the taste of the rice.
3. Always soak the urud dal before making the rice. Frying without soaking will make the dal hard to bite.

Try it & enjoy.

GREEN PEAS FRY

When i came to Kerala as a newly wed, all we had was a single restaurant with very limited vegetarian options. The term vegetarian had very little meaning in Kerala then. All i could get in that restaurant was this "peas fry". After sometime, i started liking this dish so much that it became a regular in our dining table. This is a very simple but delicious dish.



Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 15 mts Serves: 2





Ingredients:


Frozen peas/fresh peas - 1 cup
Big onion - 1 no
Tomato - 1 no
Green chilies - 2 nos
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Refined oil - 3 tspSalt - to taste





Method:



Chop the onions in to small thin pieces. Grate the ginger. Slit the green chilies. Cut the tomatoes in to slightly big cubes. Wash the peas & keep it ready. Heat oil in a pan & fry the cumin seeds. Then add the green chilies, grated ginger & chopped onions. Saute them till the onion turns pale in colour. Add the peas, chili powder, turmeric powder & salt & mix them well. Reduce the heat & cook it for 10 mts. When the peas are almost cooked, add the tomato pieces & fry for a few mts. Green peas fry is ready. We can have it with rotis, naan etc.


Variations:


We can make this curry with sweet corn instead of peas. Another variation is to skip the peas & just use the onions & tomato to make the curry. This is called "tomato fry".


Tips:

1. If we use coconut oil instead of refined oil, it will give a nice Kerala flavour to the curry.


2. Garlic lovers can add 2 or 3 pods of garlic ( chopped finely ) while frying the onions.
   

Try it & enjoy.

CASHEW PANEER

As i said in my earlier blog, i was looking for something different & new to cook for my guests. So i made this side dish to be eaten with the palak peas pulav. Paneer is very easy to make at home & has lot of carbohydrates & proteins. We can also buy paneer from the shops.

Preparation Time: 15 mts Cooking Time: 20 mts Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Paneer cubes - 1 cup

Big onions - 2 nos

Tomatoes - 2 nos

Garlic pods - 4 nos

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder (dhania) - 1 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder (jeera) - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 small piece

Cloves - 2 nos

Cardamom - 1 no

Refined oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Broken cashew nuts - 2 tbsp

Method:

Grind all the ingredients from big onions to cumin powder into a smooth paste. Grind the cashew nuts separately in to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan & Saute the paneer cubes for some time. Drain the oil & remove it from the pan. In the same pan add the cinnamon, cloves & cardamom. Then pour the ground masala paste & saute till the oil comes out. Add the salt & the paneer cubes. Add 2 cups of water & allow it to boil. Then add the cashew paste. Let it boil for 2 mts. Garnish with coriander leaves. Cashew paneer is ready.

Variations:

Paneer, along with carbohydrates & proteins has fat also. So for those who do not want to use it, the best alternate is soya paneer.

Tips:

1. While frying the paneer cubes, make sure it is not over fried. This will make the paneer hard. Remove it when it starts changing colour.
2. Always select fresh paneer while buying it from the shops. This will help maintain the taste of the paneer.

Try it & enjoy.

PALAK PEAS PULAV

Yesterday i had invited a few people for lunch. I wanted to cook something interesting & new. Hence this recipe. As i had mentioned in my earlier recipe, spinach is full of anti oxidants, iron & omega 3 fatty acids. Green peas also has carbohydrates, proteins & fibres.


Preparation Time: 15 mts Cooking Time: 30 mts Serves: 2



Ingredients:

Basmathi rice - 1 cup
Cinnamon - 1/4 inch piece
Cloves - 2 nos
Black cardamom (bada elaichi) - 1 no
Big onion - 1 no
Green peas (frozen or fresh ) - 1/2 cup
Spinach (palak ) finely chopped- 3/4 cup
Refined oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste


To grind to a paste:

Green chillies - 3-4 nos
Fresh coriander leaves - a small bunch
Mint leaves (pudhina ) - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic pods - 2-3 nos




Method:

Grind all the ingredients for the masala & keep it ready. Chop the onion & spinach into fine pieces. Wash the rice & drain the water. In a pan, heat the oil & add the cinnamon, cloves & cardamom. When they are fried, add the chopped onion & fry till it is pale in colour. Add the green peas & saute for sometime. Then add the ground paste & fry it in low heat till the oil separates. Add the spinach & saute till it becomes soft & tender. Add the rice & fry till all the water evaporates & the rice doesn't stick to the sides. Then Add 2 cups of water to it & pressure cook it. Alternately we can put it in the rice cooker & cook.

Variations:


We can make this rice with frozen sweet corn also. We can also add fresh beans to it.


Tips:

1. Use some spring onions instead of regular onions. This will add to the green colour of the pulav.
2. While cooking basmathi rice, always add just enough water to immerse the rice. This way the consistency of the pulav will be good.
3. Adding a little ghee along with the oil will enhance the flavour of the rice.
   

Try it & enjoy.

Drumstick Sambar

South India is famous for its sambar. This is one dish which can be consumed with anything like rice, idli, dosa, upma etc. Each of the southern states has its own version of sambar. What i have given here is a simple & easy to make version of the sambar. I will be talking about the other types of sambar like sambar with freshly ground spices (arachuvitta sambar) later in my blog.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 30 mts Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Red gram dal (tur dal or pigeon pea) - 1 cup

Tamarind - 1 small lime size

Refined oil - 2-3 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds (optional ) - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

Sambar powder - 1-2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Vegetables:

Drumstick - 2 nos / 150 gms

Small onions (pearl onions) - 4-5 nos

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Tomato ( small ) - 1 no

Coriander leaves - 2 tsp

Green chilies - 2 nos

Method:

Wash the tur dal & pressure cook it with enough water & 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder. Mash it well & keep it aside. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water & squeeze out the extract. Pour 1/2 more cup of water & repeat the process. Cut the drumstick in to 2 inch pieces. Slit the green chilies. Cut the tomato in to small pieces. Skin the small onions. Keep all the vegetables ready along with the curry leaves. In a pan, heat the oil, & crackle the mustard seeds. When it is over, add the fenugreek seeds, asefotida powder & the vegetables. Saute them well. Then add the tamarind extract. Add the salt, balance turmeric powder & sambar powder. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the flame & allow the drumsticks to get cooked. When its all cooked, add the boiled tur dal & mix well. Let it all boil for some time. Garnish with coriander leaves. Sambar is ready.

Variations:

We can make sambar with a lot of other vegetables like brinjal (egg plant), ladies finger (okra), radish, capsicum (bell pepper), carrot & even small onions. Sambar can also be made with freshly ground spices. Tur dal can be substituted with green gram dal (moong dal/pasi paruppu). Will give the recipe for this sambar later in my blog.

Tips:

1. While soaking tamarind, soak it in boiled water. This will help in easy extraction.
2. Soak the tur dal for an hour in water & then pressure cook it. This will help the dal to cook well & easy to mash.
3. Don't use small onions while making radish sambar, because it has its own smell & taste.
4. Add the sambar powder to the mashed tur dal instead of adding it to the tamarind extract & add it after the vegetables are cooked. This will give a nice aroma.
5. The green chilies will give additional spice to the sambar. We can substitute it with red chilies too.

Try it & enjoy.

French Beans Fry (Beans Curry)

French beans or green beans as it is called around the world, is a vegetable which is high in nutritional value. It is rich in carbohydrates, proteins & vitamin-c. It also has a high fiber content & so makes digestion easy. Green beans is cultivated all around the world. What i have given here is a very simple & easy way of cooking french beans. It is very tasty too.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

French beans (green beans) - 250 gms

Refined oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red chilies - 2 nos

Salt - to taste

Method:

Cut the beans in to small pieces. In a pan, heat the oil & fry the mustard seeds & the red chilies. Add the cut beans & salt. Mix it well. Sprinkle with little water. Close the pan with a lid & cook it in low flame. Stir it after 5 mts. Cook it till it becomes tender. Beans curry/ porial is ready.

Variations:

The recipe i have given is for the diet conscious. We can also add coconut scrapings to this & saute it. Alternately, mash the coconut scrapping with a couple of red chilies & add it to the beans fry & saute for a few minutes.

Tips:

1. Add a pinch of soda-bi-carb while cooking the beans. This will help the vegetable retain its green colour.
2. Frozen beans can also be used, but fresh beans are always better & tasty.

Taste it & enjoy.

Quick Tomato Rice

Tomatoes have become an integral part in Indian cuisine. Most of the dishes have tomato as an important ingredient. Tomatoes can be used in place of tamarind in most dishes.

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:30 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup

Big onion - 2 nos

Tomato - 3 nos

Sambar powder - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Refined oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Cook the rice with little salt. Each grain of rice should stand separate. In a pan, heat oil. Fry the cumin seeds. Add the onions & fry till they are brown. Then add the tomatoes & fry them. Add the salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder & fry till oil separates. Switch off the stove & add the cooked rice & mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Quick tomato rice is ready to eat.

Variations:

Add some fresh boiled peas along with the tomatoes & fry them. This will give the rice a nice colour. We can also use chili powder, cumin powder & coriander powder instead of sambar powder. We can also make it with basmathi rice instead of raw rice to give it a nice aroma. If fresh tomatoes are not available, we can use canned crushed or diced tomatoes instead.

Tips:

1. Adding 1 or 2 pods of garlic while frying the onions will give the rice a nice flavour.
2. Use 1/2 tsp. of ginger garlic paste to enhance the flavour.
3. Using tomato puree instead of tomatoes will give the rice a nice colour.
4. Put a small piece of cinnamon, 1 clove & a small bay leaf while cooking the raw rice. It will give the rice a mild masala flavour.
   

Try it & enjoy

IDLI

Idli is a very popular breakfast item in the southern regions of India. It is a very simple dish to prepare. It is nutritious & healthy to eat, because it is steamed. Once the batter is made, it is very easy to make idlis & dosas. With the batter in the refrigerator, we need not worry about entertaining guests at any time of the day.

For the Batter:

Preparation Time: 4 - 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Idli rice (boiled rice) - 4 cups

Whole black gram (full urud dal

without the skin) - 1 cup

Salt - to taste

Method:

Wash & soak the rice for at least 4 to 5 hours in water. Grind the rice with enough water in the grinder or mixer till it is nice & soft. Soak the urud Dal in water when the rice is put in the grinder. Let it soak for a couple of hours. Then grind the Dal with enough water. It should get into a foamy consistency. Mix both rice batter & urud batter together with enough salt. Leave it overnight to ferment. Idli batter is ready. This batter can be used to make dosa also. Though we can use the mixer to grind the batter, i would strongly recommend using the grinder for soft idlis.

Some people use rice & dal in 3:1 proportion instead of the 4:1 proportion I've given in my recipe.

For idlis:

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time: 10 mts Serves: 4

Batter for idli - 2 cups

Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Take the idli cooker & spread the oil in the grooves for the idlis. With the help of a ladle, pour the idli batter in to the grooves. Steam it in the idli cooker for 10 mts. When u poke a knife into the idli it should come out without sticking. Then the idli is ready. This can be had with coconut chutney, sambar or chutney powder.

Variations:

We can make vegetable idlis also. While pouring the batter, pour 1/2 & then put some vegetable masala into it & then pour the rest of the batter. We can also use a cooker vessel to make vegetable idli. Spread oil in the cooker vessel & pour a layer of the batter. Then spread the vegetable mix on top of that. Then spread one more layer of the batter & steam it in the cooker. This will look like a cake. We can cut it into pieces & use. Children will like it very much.

Those who stay abroad can use the cream of rice instead of the boiled rice. Soak it in enough water for an hour. Grind the urud dal, add it to the soaked cream of rice & mix it. Rest of the recipe is same.

Tips:

1. While soaking the urud dal, we can add a tsp. of fenugreek seeds to the dal. This will make the idlis soft & nice smelling.
2. Adding a tsp. of gingelly oil to the batter before making idlis will make the idlis soft.
3. Grind the urud dal till bubbles appear in the batter. Also the batter will feel cold in our hands. Then it is ready.
4. We can also soak the dal & keep it in the refrigerator till it is ready to grind (2 hrs approximately).
5. While grinding the urud dal we should pour enough water along with the dal & grind. This will help us get it in the right consistency.

Try it & enjoy.

Purple Cabbage And Carrot Salad

As i said earlier, English vegetables have found a permanent place in the Indian dining table. Though carrot has been there for a long time, purple cabbage is a recent addition to the Indian dishes. This salad was suggested by my daughter initially, but has now become a regular in our weekly menu.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Purple cabbage - 150 gms

Carrots - 150 gms

Green chili - 2 nos (finely cut)

Lemon/lime - 1 no

Refined oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

salt - to taste

Method:

Scrape the purple cabbage & the carrot. Mix them well along with the salt. Heat the oil & crackle the mustard seeds. Add the finely cut chillies. Pour it on top of the salad . Squeeze the lemon juice in to it. Mix it all together. Tasty & healthy salad is ready to serve.

Variations:

We can make this salad with just carrot alone. We can also add sprouted green gram dal (moong dal) to it for more taste & nourishment.

Tips:

1. Add a pinch of asafoetida while seasoning. This will give a nice flavour to the salad.
2. Cut the purple cabbage into long thin strips instead of scrapping them to give the salad a more attractive look.

Taste it & enjoy.

Tomato Onion Chutney

India is famous for its spicy chutneys & pickles. Each region has its own version of these spicy side dishes. Chutneys & pickles play a very important role in the Indian cuisine. They add spice to the food we eat.

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Big onions - 1 big/ 2 small

Tomato - 2 nos.

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urud dal - 2 tsp

Red chillies - 4 nos

Refined oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan & fry the mustard seeds & urud dal till urud dal is brown in color. Remove it & put it in the mixer. Add the balance oil in the pan & fry the onion & tomato with the salt till they are soft. Powder the Dal mixture, add the onion & tomato & grind them all together till it is ground to a smooth paste. Tomato onion chutney is ready.

Variation:

We can make this chutney with just onions. If there are no tomatoes, we can add some tamarind instead & grind.

Tips:

1. For those who like the taste of fresh coriander leaves, add little of that while grinding the chutney. It will give a wonderful taste.
2. Adding one or two cloves of garlic while frying the onion & tomato will give a garlic flavour to the chutney.

This chutney can be had with idli, dosai, adai, kuzhipaniyaram, puri etc.

Try it & enjoy.

CAPSICUM CORN MASALA ON TOAST

Indians have adopted a lot of English vegetables into their daily menu. Capsicum has taken up many forms in the Indian palette. This is one of them.

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Capsicum - 1/4 kg (250gms)

Sweet corn (frozen) - 100 gms

Big onion - 1 no.

Tomato - 1 no

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Refined oil - 1 tbsp

For the toast:

Bread - 4 slices

Butter - enough to spread on the toast

Method:

Cut the capsicum in to small square pieces. Cut the onions & tomatoes in to small pieces. In a pan, pour the oil & fry the jeera. Then add the onions & fry till they are translucent. Add the capsicum & fry for sometime. When it starts cooking, add the tomatoes &the sweet corn. When it is almost cooked, add the turmeric powder, chili powder & salt. Cook for a few more minutes. The capsicum corn masala is ready. Toast the bread. Take a toast & spread some butter on top. Then put a tablespoon of masala on top & serve it hot. This makes an ideal tea time snack. We can also have it for breakfast.

Variations:

We can make the masala with any vegetable we have. We can substitute corn with green peas. We can add carrot & beans also to the masala.

Tips:

1. For those who love garam masala, we can add a little of it to enhance the taste.
2. We can also add some chaat masala or channa masala for a different taste.

Try it & enjoy.

LONG BEANS FRY (PAYARU THORAN)

India, especially Kerala has a lot of home grown vegetables. Long beans is one of them. So it finds a place in the dining table in different forms. Payaru fry is one of the simplest & delicious dishes we can make. In some states of India it is also known in the name "cow pea beans".

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:10 mts Serves:2

Ingredients:

Long Beans - 1/4 kg

Scrapped Coconut - 2 tbsp

Red Chillies - 2 nos.

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Refined Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Cut the long beans (payaru) into tiny pieces. In a frying pan, pour the oil. Add the mustard seeds & let it splatter. Then add the cut beans & enough salt. Sprinkle little water & close the pan & allow it to cook in slow heat. In the mean time crush the coconut & red chillies in the mixer. It should not become a paste. When the beans is cooked, add this mixture to it & toss for a few seconds. The long beans fry is ready.

Variations:

Long beans can be cooked without the coconut also. We can saute some finely cut onions & then add the beans to it. This will give a different taste. We can also add some chili powder & turmeric powder instead of red chillies.

Tips:

1. While cooking the beans, add a pinch of soda bi carbonate to the vegetable. This will allow it to cook faster & also retain the colour.
2. While crushing the coconut, garlic lovers can add 2 pods of garlic and it'll give a nice garlic flavour.

Taste it & enjoy.