Sabudhana umpa

I love to try different variations of dishes and I am always in a look out for it.I hit the jackpot with this Marati version of upma.This Sabudhana upma is nothing like its South Indian kin! Itz easy and I was charmed with this version of upma with its first bite.

Ingredients:

1 cup  Sabudhana
1 cup Yogurt / sour curd
1/2 cup peanuts
4 green chillies
1 tbps oil
1 tsp jeera /cumin
1 sprig curry leaves
salt

Preparation:
1.Mix Sabudhana and curd in a vessel .If the mixture is dry, add water or buttermilk.
2.Add salt and soak the mixture  for atleast 3 hours.
3.Check if Sabuhana is ready by squeezing it .If it is soft it is ready.If it still has a hard core, soak it for a bit longer.make sure the mixture is not too dry.
4.In a pan roast peanuts with a drop of oil, till golden brown.
5.Cool the peanuts in a dry plate for about 5 min.
6.Once the peanuts are cooled, make a coarse powder and set aside.

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add  jeera, finely chopped green chilies and curry leaves ,fry till crisp.
2. Add Sabudhana and fry on a medium  flame till the sabudhana turns transparent.
3.Once most of the sabudhana turns transperent , add the peanut powder and mix well.
4.Serve hot.


Note:
If you are using Nylon Sabudhana , you will have to soak the mixture overnight.
While soaking the sabudhana for 3 hours, check in between to make sure the sabudhana is not too dry.If it is dry add little buttermilk or water.
Try and use a non-stick pan.The buttermilk will stick and blacken the pan.

Pacha Pulusu ( no cooking rasam)

This hot summer, try this light and cool rasam.

Serves 4

Ingredients :

1 cup finely chopped Onions

2 cup tamrind juice

1/2 cup water

2 tbps chopped Cilantro

2 tsp Jaggery

8 green chillies finely chopped

salt to taste

Method:

1.In a 1 quart bowl crush greenchill , onions with salt .

2.Add cilantro and tamrind juice.

3.Add water and Jaggery to adjust tanginess to your taste.

4.Serve cool with hot rice and ghee.

Note :

You can sever this rasam as a soup as well.

For more flavour you can add tempering.

Idli / Steamed rice cakes

Idli the steamed wonder! Idli Sambar with vada is a breakfast that I can eat everyday without getting bored.

Idli making is generally a 2 day process, so lets get started...

Idli recipe

3 cups idli rice

1 cup urad dal /black gram

1 tbps methi seeds / fenugeek

1/2 tsp dry yest (optional)

1/2 tsp baking powder(optional)

salt to taste

Method:

For Batter:

1. Soak urad dal and idli rice in separate container overnight or for about 8 hrs.

2. Grind the rice to a coarse texture and set aside.

3. Grind urad dal separately till a shiny sheen appears on the surface.

4. Mix the ground rice , urad dal and salt.

5. You can add yeast to you batter so as to help ferment faster. It is completely optional.

6. Close the lid and store the batter in a warm area.

7. Let the batter ferment for about 8 to 10 hours.

8. If the batter is well fermented your batter will be almost double.

Steaming idis:(this is the easy part )

1. Add baking powder to the batter and mix well.

2.Coat the idli plates with very little oil.This will make it easier for you to remove steamed idlies later.

3. Add idli batter into each depressing about 3/4 of the depressing. (If your idli batter is well fermented it will puff up to double the volume).

4. Steam the idlis for about 15 minutes.

5. Once the steam has escaped open the steamer/cooker lid. Remove the plates and let it cool for a minute.

6. With a spoon scoop out idlies by loosening the edges 1st.

7. Add a drop of ghee if you like and serve hot with sambar or chutney.

Note:

1. Make sure you do not add excess water, or the batter will become runny.If you place a drop of batter it must retain the shape.

2.You can soak about 3 cups of rice rava / cream of rice instaed of soaking and grinding rice.

3. Fermenting idli batter in winter might take more than 10 hours.

4. I generally add yeast during summers so as to skip adding baking soda altogether.

Sambar for idli

This tangy Sambar completes the idli. Idli can be eaten with various chutneys and podis but I don't feel satisfied until there is sambar with it. I prepare this sambar specially for idli and vada, but it tastes good with rice as well. I end up eating more sambar than idli, the combi is simply the best. Some people like to immerse the idli in sambar like I do, but others prefer it in a cup, either way it is yummy! So what are we waiting for?

Sambar Recipe:

1 cup Thoor dal / split pigeon pea

1 cup Tamrind juice

1 small Onion chopped lengthwise (optional)

1 pound small Onions / pearl onions

5 juicy Tomatoes finely chopped.

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Jeera / Cumin

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1/4 tsp crushed Jaggery

1 pinch Hing.

1 sprig Curry leaves

Salt to taste.

For grinding:

1 tsp Ghee /clarified butter

2 tbps Oil

1 inch Cinnamon

8 Cloves

2 Marati moggu

1/2 tsp Urad dal/split black gram

1/2 tsp Channa dal

1/3 cup grated Coconut.

2 tsp Curry powder/Rasam powder

Method:

1. Pressure cook thoor dal and turmeric with adequate water.Let it whistle for atleast 3 times.

2. Let it cool. Once cool mash the dal .

3. Heat Ghee in a pan and roast Cinnamon,Cloves and marati moggu, till cloves swell.

4. Add urad dal and channa dal and fry till crisp and golden brown.

5. Grind the fried mixture along with coconut , curry powder and water to a fine paste.

6. In a deep sauce pan, heat oil add mustard seeds, cumin, hing and curry leaves.

7. Once the curry leaves are crisp , add onions.

8. Fry onions till they are translucent and then add tomato.

9. Fry tomatoes for about a minute.

10. Add the mashed dal and tamrind water.

11. Add crushed Jaggery and stir.

12. Add the ground masala and boil for 3 to 4 minutes.

13. Add salt and garnish with cilantro.

14. Serve hot with hot idli , vada or rice.

Note:

If you prefer spicy Sambar add extra Rasam powder.

If your rasam powder is not very spicy you can add about 1/4 tsp chilli powder to 1 tsp rasam powder to make it more spicy.

Chakku Dosa

Chakku dosa tastes best with Onion Chutney or Yaragaddala Mirumu ! Traditionally this dosa mixture is milled with washed rice and channa dal in mills.This is a instant version of the same.Try this unique south Indian dosa today.

Ingredients:

1 cup cream of rice

1/4 cup Gram flour /Besan

1 cup sour curd

1 cup butter milk (optional)

salt to taste

For seasoning

1 tbsp oil

1 pinch Asofoetida

1 sprig curry leaves (optional)

1 tsp channa dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

2 to 3 red chillies broken into 1/2

Method:

1. Mix cream of rice , gram flour, salt and curd.Soak the mixture for at least 4 hours.If the mixture is very thick add water.

2.In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, Asfoetida, curry leaves , channa dal and red chillies.Fry till crisp.

3.Add the seasoning to the batter just before making dosa.

4.Add buttermilk or water to the dosa batter to bring it to a flowy consistency.

5.Make dosa on a tawa.

6.Add few drops of oil over the edges of the tawa.

7.Cover the tawa with a lid and heat it on medium flame.

8.When the edges turn red and crispy flip it over and heat it for about a minute.

9.Serve hot with ghee and Onion chutney.

Note:

Make dosa on a Concave tawa / Appam tawa.Pour the batter on the edge of the Tawa , so that the batter flows towards the center.Add additional batter if required to make the dosa complete.

Palak Papu \Spinach Lentil curry

One of the mild but rich in nutrients dal.Try this easy dal.

Ingredients:

1 cup Thoor Dal

1 cup chopped Spinach \Palak

5 or 6 Green chillies slit

5 to 6 Garlic cloves slit

1 pinch turmeric

Salt to taste

For seasoning

1 tsp oil

1 pinch Asofoetida

1 sprig curry leaves (optional)

1 tsp channa dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin

2 to 3 red chillies broken into 1/2

Method:

1.Pressure cook toor dal, turmeric, green chillies, garlic and chopped spinach with sufficient water.

2.In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, Asfoetida, curry leaves, cumin, channa dal, and red chillies.Fry till crisp.

3. Add salt and seasoning to the dal and stir.

4.Serve hot with cooked rice or roti.

Note:

Let the pressure cooker whistle for an extra whistle than usual to get a well done and soft dal.

Serve palak papu along with raw chopped onions and fried sour chillies.

Noodles

There are many ways of making noodles but I have used one of the simplest ways with no elaborate spices, just basic spices and vegetables. Sharing with you one of the easiest ways of making noodles (no, not Maggi). I used Hakka Noodles in this case.

INGREDIENTS

2 onions cut lengthwise

1 carrot cut lengthwise

1 bell pepper cut lengthwise

1 cup sliced mushrooms

chopped green chillies

1/2 cup cabbage chopped finely

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

 salt to taste

3 tsp olive oil.

1 packet Hakka Noodles

METHOD

1) Chop onions lengthwise. Fry it in a big tawa using 2 tsp oil. Once it gets translucent, add carrot, mushrooms, bell pepper, green chillies Sauté well.

2) In another pan add noodles in water and let it get cooked, Once done, strain with a filter and add 1 tsp olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Saute well.

3) In the first pan add chopped cabbage, soy sauce, shredded ginger, salt (very less since soy sauce also has salt in it) and mix well. Add chilly sauce (optional), vinegar and more soy sauce in case necessary.

4) Once vegetables get 80% cooked, add noodles and mix well. Then switch off the flame.

NOTE: Cook Veggies in high flame. You may also add vegetables like peas, green beans but cook them well.

WaterMelon-Orange juice

This takes no time and has that refreshing zing to the boring sugary watermelon syrup. For this you need

Ingredients

2 cups or more of chopped watermelon

2 oranges

1 tsp sugar (optional)

Method

1) Grind the chopped water melon in a mixie. Filter the seeds and extract the juice.

2) Extract the juice of orange using citrus juicer. Mix and serve immediately.

NOTE: You may add a few ice cubes too after your water melon juice is done. Just add the juice in the mixie alongwith ice cubes and run it for a few seconds. Be sure to add a bit of sugar too since the ice cubes are likely to dilute the sweetness of juice.

Sauteed Mushroom

Sautéed mushrooms is a perfect midnight snack since it is quick, easy and tasty. 

For this you need

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms ( or as more or less you eat)

1/2 tsp pepper

salt to taste

1/2 tsp lemon

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

grated parmesan cheese for seasoning 

 Method

1) Slice mushrooms thinly. Now take a pan and add olive oil. Saute mushrooms well in oil until it gets cooked. Add oregano, basil and salt to it. (Add less salt since mushrooms tend to shrink).

2) Add pepper. Once it gets cooked, switch off the flame. Season with lemon and parmesan cheese and enjoy while it is still warm.

ChakkaraI pongal/ sweet aval

When you prepare sweets, be assured of one thing. Any sweet using rice or rice powder or puffed rice will be a sure shot hit. Sweet aval in this case too is no exception. All you need is

jaggery- 1 and a quarter cups
Ghee 1 tbsp
Aval - 2 cups
Kishmish- 10-12
Cardamom - 1/3 tsp
Water 2 cups
grated coconut - 2 tbsp
sweetened coconut flakes - 1 tsp to season
Broken cashew nuts- 10

METHOD

1) Powder the jaggery and keep it in water until it gets dissolved. There may be some impurities floating on top. Remove it with a spoon.

2) Now put the jaggery mixture on flame. Keep it on medium flame.

3) Once jaggery water gets hot, add grated coconut and keep it for a while until the coconut soaks all jaggery.

4) Clean the puffed rice in water. Sprinkle some water on the puffed rice and keep it so 2 mts. Then add the same to the coconut jaggery mixture. Simmer the flame. Keep stirring well to avoid the bottom of the pan from being burnt. Add 1/2 tsp ghee. Once rice soaks all the water, add cardamom powder.

5) Fry some cashew nuts and kishmish in remaining ghee and season it to the pongal. Add some sweetened coconut flakes to give that zing to your sweet dish.

Brown rice pudding/ Pal Paysam

Serve it as a warm Paysam on a festival or a dessert on a summer day instead of ice-cream, this dish will win hearts. Also, if you are very worried about intake of carbohydrates and white rice, this chewy short grain brown rice is a pretty good idea. Although this takes a lot of time to make, I have tried to reduce the time by dividing work and doing it simultaneously.

For this you need

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

3 cups water

3 cups whole milk

12 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Kishmish

1 tsp ghee

Method

1) Take a pan. Add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of milk. Keep it to boil. Once it starts boiling, add  4 tsp sugar and brown grain rice. Keep stirring and lower the flame. Brown rice takes a long time to get cooked. Keep checking if it is cooked every now and then. The mixture slowly thickens and brown rice gels well with the mixture.This takes approx one and a half hours to two hours.

2) In another pan, add two cups of milk and 8 tsp sugar and let it boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and let it boil for a while.  Keep stirring every now and then to ensure that the bottom of the pan does not get burnt. Let it boil continuously until it starts getting creamish- brownish in colour. (It thickens up and is like the milkmaid consistency). This would easily take 1 and a 1/2 hours.

3) Once done, mix them both and switch off the flame. Keep it aside.

4) Fry some Kishmish in ghee and season it alongwith cardamom powder to the pudding.

5) Cool the pudding  to the room temperature and keep it in the fridge. Enjoy chilled brown pudding as a dessert.

Aviyal

Avial is an authentic recipe of Kerala.... there are various ways but I am sharing one version of it which is very near authentic. You may use a variation like peas, beans, carrots.  It is pretty simple to prepare and you do not need too many ingredients. For this you need

Ingredients

1 raw banana cut into strips

1/3 eggplant cut into strips

1 cup white pumpkin cut into strips

1 tsp coconut oil

salt to taste

4 tbsp thick curd

3 green chillies

a few curry leaves

1 cup water

5 tbsp coconut flakes

Cooked drumsticks (optional)

Method

1) Take a pan. Add some water and salt. Add chopped raw banana when the water starts boiling.

2) Once it gets slightly cooked, add cut eggplant.

3) Add chopped pumpkin after eggplant gets 30% cooked.

4) Grind green chillies and coconut with curd in a mixie. Add this mixture once the vegetables are completely cooked and let it get cooked for 1 minute. When you are adding this to the cooked mixture, ensure that there is no water. If there is water, drain it away. Curd by itself carries some liquid some this will make the gravy more watery.

5)  Season with chopped curry leaves and 1 tsp coconut oil. 

Have it warm with your favourite sambar or rasam. It compliments it very well. There is a variation for this dish. To make it watery, you can add more water while cooking which makes it suitable for having it with rice. Also, while grinding curd, coconut and green chillies, you could add cumin seeds to it. 

Palak Koottu

Simple and tasty recipe, this is one of the best Koottu you could ever have with less ingredients.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry moong daal which is cooked using pressure cooker

One whole bunch of spinach washed and chopped

2 green chillies slit

water for cooking spinach

salt to taste

For roasting and grinding

1 tsp cooking oil

2 whole red chillies

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/2 tsp chana daal

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

3 tbsp coconut flakes

1 tomato chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Seasoning

Curry leaves,

urad dal

mustard seeds

one whole red chilly

Method

1) Pressure cook moong daal until it gets cooked completely.

2) Boil water. Wash and cut spinach and once done, add it to the boiling water and cook with the lid open. Once done drain away excess water.

3) In another pan, add some oil. Add all the ingredients except tomatoes and coconut. Once they start browning a bit, add chopped tomatoes. Once it fries well, add coconut and fry it till coconut flakes turn slightly brown. Switch off the flame and keep it aside to cool down.

4) Once the ingredients cool down, grind them in a mixie using a little bit of water.

5)  Add cooked  daal in the pan that has cooked spinach in it. Add the ground mixture to the pan. Add some salt to taste and cool well until the gravy starts boiling.

6) For seasoning, add some curry leaves. In a small pan, add urad dal, mustard seeds, whole red chilly and add them to the daal.

Serve hot with rice.

Capsicum Raita

Do not have to many veggies for Raita? You can make an excellent Raita out of just Bell pepper. Make this as a perfect side dish for Biryani, fried rice, rice and sambar or even with chappati.

Ingredients

2 Bell pepper, chopped into small pieces.

salt

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 Urad dal seeds

1 green chilly chopped

Hing (most important)

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 cups of curd

Method

1) Take some oil. Add mustard seeds and once it starts crackling add urad dal and chopped green chilly. Do not let urad dal brown too much. It may get burnt fast.

2) Add capsicum, hing and salt and fry until the capsicum loses a bit of its crunch but not completely.

2) Once done, keep it to cool and add curd slowly - a little at a time. Mix it well. Serve chilled.

Ven Pongal

High on nutrition, this dish is often considered as a quickie tiffin or breakfast. It needs minimum seasoning, and yet is quite flavorful, thanks to ghee and pepper. For this you need

Serves - 2 people

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of rice

1 cup moong daal

salt

pepper powder

7-8 pods of whole pepper

2 tbp ghee

8-10 pieces of broken cashewnuts(broken into halves).

cumin seeds

a few sprigs of curry leaves

5 cups of water

METHOD

1) Take a vessel. Add rice and moong daal. Now wash it well in water.

2) Take a pressure cooker. Add washed rice, moong daal and 5 cups of water. Add salt and cover it with a lid. Cook upto 2 or 3 whistles ( depends upon pressure cooker though). Once you remove the pan, the cooked rice and moong dal must be slightly mashed up.

3) Take another pan. Fry broken cashewnuts in 1 tsp ghee. Keep the fried cashews aside.

4) In the same frying pan, add the remaining ghee. Add some cumin seeds. Add whole pepper, curry  leaves and once they begin to crackle, add the cooked rice and moong daal. Mix it well. At this point of time you can check for salt. You may even add some more ghee if you want to.

5) Stir it for half a  minute and remove from fire. You may sprinkle just a bit (not too much) of pepper powder on top and serve hot with chutney, sambar or Gojju.

Noone Vankaya / Stuffed eggplant gravy

Noone Vankaya or Nuna Vankaya or stuffed eggplant is the gravy version of its cousin Gutti Vankaya .It tasts best with Jowar rotti or Jaloda rotti .It always reminds me to Kamath yatriniva's jolada rotti!At home we love to combine Noone vankaya with rava rotti or rice.Try this yummy stuffed eggplant today!

Noone Vankaya or Nuna Vankaya recipe:

3 tbsp oil

1 sprig curry leaves

1 pound small brinjals / eggplant

1 medium onion , sliced lengthwise.

1/4 cup tamarind juice

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp crushed Jaggery

1 tbps chopped cilantro

For stuffing

1 tsp oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tsp Coriander seeds

3 tbps sesame seeds
3 tbps Groundnuts

3 tbps grated Coconut

8 Red Chillies
4 cloves of Garlic
salt to taste.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and roast cumin, coriander ,groundnuts, seasame seeds and red chillies.

2. Transfer it to a cool plate\bowl and let it cool.

3. Grind the roasted mixture along with coconut, garlic to a fine powder. Do not add water.The mixture should be dry.

4. Transfer the mixture to a cup.

5. Slit the eggplants into 4 , from the round end to about 3/4 the way up so as to retain the stalk.

6. Stuff the powder in between the eggplant and gently press.

7. In a pressure cooker heat oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves.

8. Fry onions till they are 1/2 done.

9. Add Stuffed eggplants and fry them till they start turning golden brown. Make sure you roll around the eggplant so that it cooks evenly.

10. Add the remaining or left over stuffing powder (if you have any).

11. Add tamarind juice and cook for about for 3 minutes.

12. Add about 1 cup water and close the cooker lid.

13. Wait for 1 whistle and switch off the stove.

14. Once the cooker cools down and the steam has escaped, remove the lid , add jaggery and stir.

15. Garnish with cilantro.

16. Serve hot with rice or chapati or any rotti .

Note:

1.You can use coriander and cumin powder in place of Coriander and cumin seeds.

2.Make sure you don't of lot of water content before you pressure cook or your eggplants might end up mashy.

Channa Masala \Garbanzo beans masala

Channa masala or chole is one of the easiest and a very popular dish. Frankly it doesn't need an entry in a blog! But I feel my recipe book looks incomplete without this addition.

Punjabi Channa Masala Recipe

1 pound Dry garbanzo beans / Kabuli channa

1 tbps oil

2 medium Onion

1 Tomato (optional)

1/2 cup Tomato paste ( not tomato puree)

3 tbps Channa masala

1 tsp Turmeric

Method:

1. Soak the Channa overnight or atleast 8 hrs.

2. Pressure cook the Channa and salt up to 2 whistles.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies .

4. Add chopped onions and fry onions till golden brown.

6. Add Turmeric and Channa masala , fry for about a minute .

5. Add chopped tomato and tomato paste and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes.

6. Add salt and 1/2 cup water or as required if you need a gravy.

7. Add boiled channa and simmer for 15 minutes so that the channa absorbs the masala .

8. Serve hot with Bathura , poori or rice.

Note:

1.You can use 2 garbanzo beans cans instead of dry garbanzo beans.If you do then skip 1st two steps and proceed with the 3rd step.

Tomato Rasam

The king of all rasams. Imagine the clear water floating on top which when savoured gives a tangy, sour spicy flavour that pleases every sense of yours. Eat it with rice and pappad or drink it as a soup. It teases your taste buds. Here is the step by step procedure and ingredients needed to prepare this delicious form of food.

Ingredients

Two tomatoes chopped into four pieces.

Turmeric powder

hing or asafoetida

2 slit green chillies

1 small lemon size tamarind soaked in hot water

salt to taste

1 teaspoon full rasam powder (if not available take 1 tsp sambar powder and  add 1/4 tsp pepper powder and  1/4 tsp coriander powder)

1 tsp ghee

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

1/3 tsp jeera seeds

1 red chilly

1 cup water

a  handful of tur daal pressure cooked in 4 cups of water.

few sprigs of coriander leaves chopped

Method

1) Soak some tamarind in hot water. Let it stay so for a few minutes until the water is of room temperature and you are easily able to squeeze out tamarind water.

2) Take one cup of water. Add salt, turmeric powder, slit green chillies, asafoetida and chopped tomatoes. Squeeze the tamarind and add tamarind water to it.

3) Now add rasam powder, and once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and cover it paritally. Wait for the quantity to turn into half.

4) Once the quantity reduces to half, add cooked toor dal along with toor daal water that was used for cooking. If it appears to be too thick, add one cup of cold water and simmer the flame to the lowest.

5) A lather like formation would form on the top of rasam, that means it is ready. Switch off the flame immediately. Never let it boil the second time else that would spoil the taste.

6) For seasoning, take one tsp ghee in a small vessel. Add mustard seeds and once it crackles add whole red chilly, cumin seeds and hing. Add the seasoning to the rasam alongwith chopped coriander  leaves. Serve hot.

Vatta Kozhambu

This gives you the feeling of comfort food especially with its spicy, tangy taste and aromatic character that makes us remember our home. I have added onions but you need not add onions. You may add some vegetables like seetaphal too. Some people also add potatoes although I am not too fond of it.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

mustard seeds

10 methi dana/ fenugreek seeds

2 red chillies

dried vattral

pinch of asafoetida

curry leaves

1/4 turmeric powder

1 tsp sambar powder

salt to taste

1/2 lemon size tamarind immersed in a cup of hot water

1 tsp rice powder dissolved in a few tsp of water

1 small onion (optional) sliced lengthwise

1tsp toor daal

METHOD

1) In a frying pan add some oil. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, toor daal, dried Vattral, asafoetida. Fry them on medium flame. 

2) You can at this point of time add sliced onions and then fry them well. Once they are fried, add turmeric powder, sambar powder and fry for  few seconds stirring continuously. Turn off the heat or transfer the pan to another stove which has not been used.

3) Now add the tamarind juice which is extracted from squeezing out tamarind. Switch on the flame. Let the mixture boil for 15 mts. Once done, add rice powder that was dissolved in water. This brings the thickness. 

4) Fry some vattral in oil until it changes colour and turns crispy but not very dark. 

5) Season the kozhambu with curry leaves and vattral. Serve it hot with rice or have it as a side dish with curd rice.

Aata Halwa/ Wheat Halwa

This is not a South Indian Godumai or wheat halwa. That takes a lot of time. But this halwa hardly takes more than 15 mts of preparing it. It also tastes pretty good. Here is the recipe

Ingredients

Wheat - 1 cup

Ghee - 1/3 of a cup ( or more)

Water - 2 cups

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cardamom and dry fruits like kajoo and kishmish to taste

pinch of colour (optional)

Method

1) In a pan, add sugar and water and keep it for boiling.

2) In another pan, add 1 tsp ghee and once it melts, add dry fruits to it and fry without burning it. Keep the dry fruits aside once done. Take the same pan, add 1/3 cup of ghee and once it melts, add wheat flour to it. Fry on a low flame until the wheat turns brown and looks well coated with ghee. Keep stirring or it would start getting burnt. Switch off the flame.

4) Once water starts boiling on the other pan, add it the boiling water to the pan that has wheat. Keep stirring well until it thickens. Keep the flame low throughout. Add colour to it (optional).

5) Season with a pinch of cardamom and dry fruits and serve immediately.

Note

~ Wheat tends to get sticky very soon. So you must decide when to remove the halwa from the pan. Do not let it become too thick. Remove it from the pan when it just starts to thicken and yet loose.

~ you can add more ghee if you want to make it tastier.