Araichu vitta sambhar

Ingredients:

Tuvar dal - 1 cup

Onion - 1/2 ( chopped)

Vegetables as you wish.

Tomato - 1 (medium-chopped)

Tamarind - key lime size

Salt

Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon

For Grinding:

Whole red chilli - 5

Coriander seeds - 2 teaspoon

Bengal gram- 1 1/2 teaspoon

Grated coconut - 2 tablespoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds -1/4 teaspoon

Seasoning:

Oil

Curry leaves

Asafoetida- - 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Urad dal -1/2 teaspoon

Method:

Boil the dal with vegetables and little salt.

Soak the tamarind and extract the pulp.

Fry the bengal gram, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, whole red chilli, grated coconut, corainder seeds and grind them.

In a saucepan heat the oil.

To the oil add onions and fry.

Then add the tomato pieces and fry.

Then add the tamarind extract, turmeric and salt.

When the raw smell fades add the ground dals & mix.

Reduce in between low and medium flame.

Now add boiled dal with vegetables and mix.

Finally season the sambhar with mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida.

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Masal vadai

Ingredients:

Bengal gram (or) channa dal - 2 cups

Red onion (big) - 1 (chopped)

Ginger - 1 inch

Green chillies - 6 (small)

Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 10

Coriander leaves - 4 teaspoon

Salt

Oil for deep frying

Ingredients:

Soak the bengal gram for 1 to 4 hours depending on dal quality.

Keep 1 tablespoon of soaked dal aside.

Transfer the soaked dal sans water into a wet grinder.

Add ginger and green chillies also into the grinder.

Grind coarsely .

Add chopped onion, fennel seeds, chopped curry leaves, corainder leaves, salt, 1 tablespoon soaked dal and mix all ingredients well. (except oil).

Make key lime size ball, flatten it on wax paper, and fry in batches.

Remove when fried. (Level of frying is upto you. Keep the flame between low and medium.)

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Pongal

Ingredients:
Raw rice ( sona masoori) - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Peppercorns - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoon
Ginger - 3/4 inch ( chopped)
Ghee - 2 tablespoons or depending on your fitness level
Water- 3 cups
Salt
Asafoetida- 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 4 to 6 leaves
Cashew nuts ( whole)- 10

Method:
Dry roast the moong dal till the raw smell goes off.
Fry the rice for 30 seconds in low flame.
Wash both dal and rice.
Pressure cook rice and dal in 3 cups of water with required salt.
Grind peppercorns and cumin seeds coarsely.
Roast cashew nuts in ghee till it turns into golden color.
In a small kadai, fry chopped ginger, pepper and cumin in ghee. Add curry leaves and asafoetida in the kadai.
Immediately pour the above roasted items into cooked dal and rice. Add the roasted cashew nuts. Mix well.
Serve with coconut chutney, sambar and medhu vada.

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Sweet Pongal - சக்கரை பொங்கல்

Wish you all a Happy new year. Though this pongal is called sakkara pongal, there will be no sugar. Instead jaggery is used.

Ingredients:

Sona masoori rice - 1 cup (பச்சரிசி)

Moong dal - 1/4 cup (பாசி பருப்பு)

Jaggery (powdered) - 2 cups (உருண்டை வெல்லம் - தூள் ஆக்க வேண்டும்)

Ghee - 2 1/2 tablespoon

Cashew nuts (whole)- 10

Golden raisins- 6 to 8

Milk - 1/2 cup

Water- 2 1/2 cups

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Cooking (or) edible camphor - 1 pinch

Saffron threads - 1 pinch (குங்கும பூ)

Method:

Slightly dry roast the moong dal till the raw smell fades off.

Mix the moong dal and rice together and wash.

Pressure cook both dal and rice by adding 2 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of milk.

Split the whole cashew nuts into two and roast them in 1 teaspoon of ghee. Remove the cashews when it reached golden color.

Roast the raisins in kadai with 1/2 teaspoon of ghee. When the raisins starts to puff remove from fire.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan add 2 cups of jaggery and 1/2 cup of water in medium heat.

Let the jaggery melt and when it starts to boil remove from fire and filter out the dirt.

Again bring the melted jaggery to boil in between low and medium flame. When the consistency reaches to soft ball (in a cup of cold water let one drop of syrup and the drop should form small ball, we call this பாகு பதம்)

Immediately pour the syrup in the boiled rice and dal and mix.

Now keep the pressure cooker in low heat and add 1 tablespoon of ghee and mix.

Add roasted cashew nuts, raisins, cardamom powder ,one pinch of edible camphor, one pinch of saffron and mix.

Add remaining ghee and mix.

Remove from fire.

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Instant Mango Pickle II

Ingredients:

Raw Mangoes - 2 (big)

Sugar - 1 tablespoon

Salt - 1 tablespoon

Garlic - 3 cloves (peeled & crushed)

Turmeric powder -1 tablespoon

Mustard powder - 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 2 tablespoon

Vinegar - 2 tablespoon

Oil as required

Pickle masala

For pickle masala:

Red chilli (crushed) - 2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander seeds (roasted) - 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Ajwain (carom seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon

Kalonji (onion seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

Wash and wipe dry the mangoes.

Cut the mangoes into desired shape and size.

Take a bowl and place the mangoes in it.

Add sugar, salt, turmeric powder and keep it aside for two hours.

After 2 hours, separate the liquid from the bowl. Keep mango pieces in bowl-1 and keep the liquid in another bowl-2.

Mix all ingredients in pickle masala in a small bowl-3.

To the bowl-2 add crushed garlic, pickle masala, chilli powder, mustard powder and mix.

Add vinegar and mix well. (bowl-2)

Add oil gradually and keep stirring continuously. (bowl-2)

Pour this masala on to mango pieces (bowl-1) and the pickle is ready.

Keep this pickle in air tight container and store in the fridge.

References:

Sanjeev Kapoor

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Pesarattu

Ingredients:
For grinding:
Green gram or whole moong - 2 cups
Rice - 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Green chilli - 3 ( small)
Salt

For dosa topping:
Onion - 1/2 (chopped)
Green chilli - 1 ( chopped)
Curry leaves - 10 ( chopped)
Coriander leaves - chopped
Oil

Method:
Soak the green gram for overnight.
Next day grind the green gram with green chilli, ginger, rice, cumin seeds, and salt.
The batter should not be too thin or too thick.
Heat dosa pan in the burner.
Spray or make a coat of oil layer on the dosa pan.
Spread a ladle of the batter on the pan.
Sprinkle the topping on dosa.
Spray or sprinkle few drops of oil on top of the dosa.
After 1 minute, flip the dosa.
Serve when both sides are done.

Ginger chutney is my family's favorite as a side item for green dosa. Here is how I make it.
Ingredients:
Ginger - 50 grams (peeled and cut into pieces)
Black gram - 1 tablespoon
Bengal gram- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chilli - 2
Asafoetida - 2 pinch
Tamarind - small piece
Jaggery - small piece
Salt
Oil, Mustard seeds, cumin seeds - For tempering

Method:
Fry the ginger, grams, red chillies individually and keep them aside. Use very little oil while frying.
Grind all the above ingredients.
Temper with mustard seeds, and cumin seeds.

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