Back with a Bang!..No wait…another recipe.

Oh I know, its been ages since I blogged. It wasn’t ‘coz I wasn’t cooking! Au contraire, I even cooked my first ever Pongal (The Tamil harvest festival) day meal for my in-laws complete with two types of Pongal, gothsu, vada, vazhakkai podimaas, and rasam!Did I just hear a “Hallelujah!”, sistah?

I am back to blogging at the behest of some friends (you know who you are 🙂 )and encouragement (read nagging!) from hubby dear. Life had been hectic last year with some unfortunate things going on for me…so I decided to take a “sabbatical” from my virtual kitchen.  But here I am, back to writing about some of my adventures (and misadventures) in the exotic world of food. What better way to restart this journey than with one of my all-time favorite dishes-appalapoo kootu (mini dried lentil chips deep fried and simmered in lentil sauce). As most of y’all might have guessed (or known) by now, me and the Mister (!) don’t exactly meet eye to eye on lots of dishes (like many other things) and this ranks in the top 10. That’s ‘coz he likes his appalams crispy while I like them in any form!

I make this dish whenever I miss my mom. Whenever I had a rough day at school or wasn’t feeling up to it, it was like she somehow sensed it without me having to tell her. That evening a piping hot appalapoo kootu used to await on the table to lift up my mood! Mothers, I tell ya!! This dish is made using mini appalams and that’s why the name appalapoo (mini appalam).

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - The most amazing comfort food ever -Appalapoo Kootu

Appalapoo  – 8-10 nos (if using appalam, 3-4 would be sufficient)

saunf (fennel seeds) – 1.5 tsp

onion, small, finely chopped – 1/2 no

garlic, medium – 2 pods (optional)

toor daal-1/2 cup

turmeric-1/4 tsp

salt-as per taste

Water – 1.5 cups

Oil- for frying

For the tadka:

Mustard seeds-1 tbsp

red chillies, dried-2

hing-1/4 tsp

curry leaves-7-8 nos

Oil-2 tsps

Pressure cook the toor dal with garlic and turmeric in 1 cup water. Mash and keep aside. Fry the appalams/appalapoo in oil. In case of appalams, crush them to get bite-size pieces.Crush the fennel seeds using a mortar and pestle to bring out the oils.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, hing, saunf and onions. Add the curry leaves and red cillies as well. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Now add the toor daal along with salt followed by the appalapoo. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Serve hot with rice and rasam or some spicy tamarind-based curry. N hear yourself say “Ha..life’s good!”.

On an aside, I baked this cake for some friends and they assumed it was store bought. I hate blowing my own trumpet (yeah right!) but just couldn’t resist it this time!

Our friends couldn't see the back of the cake..now you know why they refused to believe!

It was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting based on Ina Garten’s recipe.

Chatti Masiyal/Peerkangai Masiyal(Bottle gourd in tangy sauce)

Peerkangai (bottle gourd) has never been on the top of my favorites list. My mother had to tempt me to eat this rather bland veggie using different dishes or just good combos that go well with this dish(so that she can coax me into eating this masked by the other nicer dishes around). Some of these dishes were kootu, thogayal(with the skin) or an occasional(oh by that I mean, once or twice a year!) deep fry with bengal gram.

Soon after my wedding, one morning my mother-in-law announced that she was making a dish with this vegetable.  I neither wanted to eat this vegetable nor tell her I didn’t like it , for the fear of hurting her feelings. So I decide to gulp it and put on a smiling face – till she served it on my plate. Boy oh boy, was this dish great or WAT! I was so completely in love with peerkangai from then on! But sadly, I forgot to get the recipe or even the name of the dish, during that trip.

Recently, when I started finding good(oh yeah, they are mostly in their stale dried best!) peerkangai in the nearby Indian grocery store, I decide to make this delightful dish. I thought I had to first ask for the name of the dish from my hubby before asking my MIL for the recipe for ‘that dish with peerkangai which was heavenly’! The name was-brace yourselves- ‘Chatti Masiyal'(Paste in a pot!). After a few mins of good laugh, I called my MIL and asked her for the recipe.

Here it goes:

Peerkangai, meduim, diced-2 nos

Bengal gram(kadalai paruppu)-2 tbsps

coriander seeds(dhania)-2 tsps

red chillies-4 nos

tamarind pulp-1/4 cup

turmeric-1 tsp

salt-as per taste

For tempering(thadka):

Oil-1/2 tsp

mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

curry leaves-5-6 nos

Asofoetida-a few dashes

Dry roast the bengal gram, coriander seeds and red chillies. Allow it to cool and grind it to a smooth powder. Pressure cook the peerkangai along with turmeric in some water till tender. Mash the vegetable a little. Add the ground powder along with salt and tamarind pulp and some water to get the consistency of thick sambar or pancake batter. Allow the sauce to simmer on medium heat. Heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Add the tadka to the sauce and serve with rice and appalum.

A pukka tamilian meal complete with rice, masiyal, poriyal and appalum

P.S: For all ya sistah out there with an absolute distaste for this veggie, try this dish with the red chillies and tamarind turned up a notch than what’s given in the recipe – oh I can already hear you gushin’ about it!

Kathirikkai gothsu-The soulmate of Venn Pongal

Venn(white) Pongal is one of the most sought after breakfast items in most Tamilian homes. Nothing beats a breakfast of hot delicious venn pongal with hmm..chutney..yeah, alrite, sambar..uhh..okkay, what about gothsu? Oh yeah! Truly, pongal and gothsu is a divine combo. When my now-husband-then-fiance moved to the place I lived in, he had asked for the Pongal-gothsu combo for breakfast! When I served him his favorite breakfast that morning, a silence had descended over the table. There was a tension in the room-me with my fingers crossed about how he liked the food and my roommates standing behind the kitchen wall waiting for the final verdict. And at last, after 5 whole nail biting moments came the “Rombo nalla irukku”(its very good). A Wheh! escaped my mouth while a chorus of girlie giggles and “Ooooohos, Aaahaas”(an exclamation of praise but in this case said just to embarass the two of us!) emanated from behind the kitchen wall.

Anyhow, this winning combo has been served for years at home. It always evokes many fond memories about home and about dear ones. Here goes the recipe for what gives venn pongal its spunk 🙂

Awww...such a heavenly union, don't ya agree?

Brinjal, small, quatered-5-6 nos

Moong dal-1/4 cup

onion, medium, chopped-1/2 no

tomato, medium, chopped-1 no

green chilli, slit-1 no

curry leaves-5-6 nos

tamarind pulp-1/4 cup

sambar powder-1/2 tbsp

tumeric powder-1/4 tsp

mustard seeds-1 tsp

channa dal-1/4 tsp

hing-a pinch

salt-as per taste

oil-1 tsp

cilantro-few sprigs for garnishing

Cook moong dal in 3/4th cup water and a pinch of turmeric. Mash and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Crackle mustard seeds, add the channa dal, hing and green chillies. A minute later, add the onions. Saute them with a pinch of salt till they turn translucent. Now add the tomatoes and chopped brinjals and saute for a couple of minutes. Now add the sambar powder and tamarind pulp. Add water and cover for a few minutes.

Finally add the mashed moong dal. Boil for 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with pongal.

P.S: Chopping the brinjal just before sauteing is good. Also, keeping the chopped brinjal in bowl of water stops them from darkening.

Gongura thokku with Pulicha Keerai(Sorrel leaves)

Like I had mentioned in my earlier post, finding different types of (familiar)greens in the place I live, is extremely difficult. But a bigger uphill task, for me, is making my husband eat it!

Last week, I found a small bunch of Pulicha keerai/gongura/sorrel greens at the neighborhood Indian store. Although I bought it thinking it was something else(I thought I was picking the pack of mint but mistakenly picked the pack of greens that was lying next to it), I was so glad I bought it. Pulicha keerai was made at home atleast once in two weeks in the form of masiyal or gongura thokku. Though we do get the Udipi Gongura thokku, its not the same as amma’s (no, not the brand!)homemade gongura thokku. Another thing that comes to mind when I think of Gongura thokku is Tirupathi(No,no the prasadam is still laddu). Every time we went to Tirupathi, a meal at Bhima’s was a must(like so many other devotees, I guess 🙂 ). And my dad especially looked for those little bottles of gongura thokku and gun powder(Andhra’s version of the hot and spicy paruppu podi) and devoured them under my mom’s stare!

When I wondered what I could do with the bunch of keerai, my mom suggested the thokku. The surprising part was my hubby ate it with relish…no complaints, no cringing but more spoonfuls. This thokku can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for upto a week and tastes as fresh.

Pulicha/gongura/sorrel greens-1 small bunch(about 3 cups of leaves)

channa dal-3 tsps

coriander seeds/dhania-3 tsps

fenugreek seeds/vendhayam-1/4 tsp

red chillies-4-5 nos.

garlic, chopped-3 cloves

salt to taste

oil-1 tbsp

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan. Saute channa dal,dhania, fenugreek and red chillies till they turn golden. Remove from pan and allow it to cool down. Saute the greens till they wilt and reduce to almost 1/2 of its original volume. Allow the greens to cool down. Grind all the sauteed ingredients.

Heat rest of the oil and saute the garlic. Now add the ground greens+chillies+dal mixture. Season with salt and saute for 4-5 minutes.

Serve with hot rice, idlis or dosas and you will be surprised how the most finicky eater would eat this dish with delight!

Barotta-The south Indian Bread

Paratha/Parantha is the world famous bread that comes from Northern India. South India’s answer to this amazing dish is the equally delish Barotta(or as I call it-Parotta). As a kid, I used to look forward to the evenings when I came back from school to have a steaming, hot Parotta. Days when my mom packed idlis/curd rice for lunch, I knew something extra special awaited in the evening. My guess is that was her way of making up for packing such a vapid lunch! Later came the Parotta kurma of Saravana Bhavan. Although I consider this great, I came know through friends that the barottas served in கையேந்தி பவன் (road side eatery) were simply superb.

So here I was sitting one Sunday, after having had curd rice and pickle for the past two meals, wondering how I could make up for serving(and eating) such a bland, boring meal that it struck me-Parottas, of course! There are many sub-versions of this already yummy dish-my mom makes a version of it called Ceylone Parotta with eggs while I know one of the most-sought after dish at my MIL’s kitchen is the kothu parotta(minced parotta with vegetables although the traditional version is made with meat). Now coming back to my parottas-they turned out rather well considering how easily I had made mine(watch the video below to see catch my point-a la MichealMadanaKamaRaj)!

To make 12 parottas my way:

Maida(cream of wheat)-1.5 cups

salt-to taste

oil-3 tbsps

water-1 cup

Combine all the above ingredients and knead into a smooth dough. Allow the dough to rest for about 30 mins. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls. I have two ways of rolling them out:

1. Roll out the ball into thin rotis using a rolling pin. Spread 1tsp oil on the roti and start folding them from one edge like a fan(fold one end, starting at the edge underneath fold over till you reach the other end).Now roll the linear fan into a circle with the loose end tucked into the center. Roll this out (about 1/2 inch thick-don’t panic if you dont see layers yet). Cook on medium flame till golden on both sides. Once done, push the parotta together from either sides to fluff them up and bring out the layers.

2. Roll out the ball into thin rotis using a rolling pin. Spread 1 tsp oil at the center of the roti and make a well(hole). Stretch the hole from either sides elongating the roti simultaneoulsy till the roti tears into two ends making one long thin rope-like structure. Now swirl the long rope into a circle, flatten it out and roll it out(1/2 inch thick). Cook till golden on both sides and push the parotta together from either sides to fluff them up and bring out the layers.

Serve hot with onion, tomato raita and vegetable kurma.

Need I say how sa(u)ssy the combo looks! 🙂

P.S: Thanks M for talking about your wonderful parottas(over the sambar vadais, pooris,butter masal dosais etc), it reminded me about the posting my parotta recipe! 🙂

Thakkali/Tomato thokku

Every time my mom and I embarked on an overnight journey, foods that were packed included rotis/idlis and the thakkali thokku(spicy pickled tomato concentrate). The reson for this was these lasted long in the hot Indian summery days. And they tasted just as fresh and tasty all along. This wonderful thokku was also served at home as an accompaniment for thoor dal pulav and other breakfast dishes.

For me, this dish is special ‘coz this was one of the first dishes I ever cooked for my hubby and his ex-collegues when I visited him and got some great compliments. So recently when our friends and we decided to go to a nice little state park for a long weekend, I offered to make the thakkali thokku. And it was no different this time-while one got reminded of  her paati’s(grandmom) thokku, another got reminded of home sweet home in Hyderabad! What better compliment for one’s food than reviving fond ole memories :). This is one dish you cannot go wrong with.

Beautiful,summery tomatoes washed and ready to be cooked

For 2 servings:

tomatoes(medium, chopped/pureed)-3 nos

(Pureeing the tomatoes gives a smoother thokku than when chopped which leaves little lumps)

kashmiri red chilli powder-2.5 tsp

salt-3/4 tsp

mustard seeds-1 tsp

fenugreek seeds-1/4 tsp

sesame oil/gingely oil-1 tbsp

In a hot pan, saute the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds till they mustard seeds pop and the fenugreek seeds give a wonderful aroma(don’t let them burn!). Cool and grind to a fine powder.

Heat oil in the pan and add the tomato puree. Saute on medium high for 5 mins till the puree thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. Add salt and chilli powder and cover. Cook for a couple of minutes on low heat till you see oil emerge around the mixture. Stir in the mustard-fenugreek powder and turn off the heat immediately. Serve with idlis, dosas or even rotis.

Tomato thokku ready to take a hike! No really..we went to a state park:)

Paruppu Usilli

I know, I know…google it and you would find thousands of recipes for this dish but this recipe comes as a request from a dear friend. She hails from the Sundara Telungu(in Tamil) desam and had never heard of the dish till I introduced it to her. This dish is special but common, tasty but healthy(S, reassure P that though it is tasty, it is good for you too!), simple but tedious..yes it is out very own Paradoxical paruppu usilli!

To each their own is one saying that is especially applicable to cooking. The same dish can be prepared umpteen number of ways. I believe every individual lends a part of their personality to their cooking and that reflects in their food. Although most people make paruppu usilli the same way, differences do exist, some due to differences in taste palettes and some due to health reasons and time constraints. For example, my ammamma used both toor and channa dal for the usilli while my mom uses only toor daal as she believes channa daal is bad for the stomach and my aunt adds ginger to help in digestion but ‘ups’ chilli level a few notches. My MIL even has a recipe for avasara(quick/instant) paruppu usilli!

I do mine as per my liking, sometimes with channa dal and sometimes without, sometimes a little more hotter than the rest of the times and sometimes the actual way and sometimes the avasara way. The following is the recipe I followed when I served my friend the usilli.

Toor daal-3/4 cup

channa dal-handful

red chillies-3 nos

salt-to taste

vegetables like beans/avarakkai(broad beans)/karamani(long beans), chopped-2 cups

For tempering:

mustard seeds-1 tsp

curry leaves-5-6 nos

hing-a pinch

red chillies-1 no

oil-a few drops

Soak the daals and the red chillies for 2-3 hours in lukewarm water. Grind into a fine paste with little water and salt. Divide the mixture into 5-6 equal parts and steam cook in idli plates. Allow them to cool down. In a mixer, grind the steamed lentil cakes on pulse setting (pulsing it a couple of times will do the trick). This makes the usilli get the perfect texture. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a air-tight container.

Whenever needed, heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add the hing, curry leaves and red chilles. Add the vegetable of your choice (or should I say what’s available) and salt. Cover and cook. Once the vegetables are done, add the paruppu usilli, stir well and serve with rice.

P.S: For avasara usilli, cook the vegetables and then add 2 heaped tbsps of readymade paruppu podi(daal powder that is used as an accompaniment) and mix well so that the vegetables get coated with the paruppu podi. This turns out great and is done in a jiffy!

Vegetable Stew or ‘ishtoo’

It has been a while since I blogged. I have been basking in the wonderfully pleasant sunny days. I am a sucker for sunny days(not the unbearably hot ones) who loathes temperatures below 20 F. I have been ‘soakin up the sun’ and enjoying sometime off from daily chores. Although I never really stopped cooking, I have slowed down on the clicking-pictures-after-every -meal-is-prepared part! My better half got a little bitter about flashing 😉 the camera during each meal. So I decided to let him enjoy respite from the camera! Time has come for my camera to re emerge from its little sojourn. What better dish to start with than the vegetable stew.

My wonderful mallu friends introduced me to this great tasting dish. There was just one hitch..I didn’t know it was The Vegetable Stew till I was all grown up. As a kid, I heard amma refer to it as ‘isht00’ and I assumed it was a dish by itself! Later when I went to ‘Malgudi Days'(a wonderful restaurant in Savera group of hotels)and was served ‘ishtoo’ with aapam, when the menu said the dish was Aapam with vegetable stew, I realized ‘ishtoo’ was actually VEGETABLE STEW! Now, for all those who have serious doubts about my aptitude levels, ditch the thought and read on for the recipe!!

The name ‘ishtoo’ however stuck on and now even my hubby calls it so! Is it just me or do you too think that it sounds like it originated from ‘ishtam‘ (like)? What better a name for a tasty dish that is so ‘endearing’!

Green chillies, slit lengthwise-2 nos

ginger, chopped-1/2 inch

vegetables(potatoes,carrots,beans), diced-1/2 cup

coconut milk-1 cup

curry leaves-7-8 nos

turmeric-a pinch

mustard seeds-1 tsp

salt-as per taste

water-1/2 cup

oil-a few drops(use coconut oil for that extra Zing)

In a pressure cooker, heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the green chillies, curry leaves and ginger. Saute for a few seconds. Now add the vegetables and turmeric followed by the coconut milk aand water. Season with salt. Cover and cook for 1 whistle. Serve hot with aapam, idiappam or rice.

Low-Cal banana nut mini muffins

Now, that title is a mouthful! Weekends are always days of waking up late, eating brunches and lunners (No I didn’t make that up, the word exists!) and lots of ‘norukku theeni'(snacks)! This weekend was no different.

There was a VERY ripe banana lying around and I wanted to make use of it for breakfast that day, you ask how? Banana Nut muffins, of course. The only hitch-there was no butter,brown sugar,walnuts or egg substitutes at home. I knew that the only way I was going to pull this off was by making a low-cal version of it with what was available at home-oil,milk,sugar and almonds. Although I was skeptical about the end result from the word ‘Go'(after all, isn’t banana nut muffin supposed to be RICH in calories), I decided I had to try it. The result actually surprised me. The muffins turned out quite light and fluffy.

A healthy and delicious breakfast for a bright Sunday morning

To make 9 muffins

ripe banana-1
oil-1/4 cup
sugar-1/4 cup
milk-1/4 cup
vanilla extract-1/2 tsp
flour-1 cup
baking powder-1/2 tsp
baking soda-1/4 tsp
salt-1/4 tsp
slivered almonds-1/4 cup

In a large bowl mash the bananas.Add oil, sugar, milk and vanilla and mix well. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until combined . Fold in the nuts. The resulting batter will be quite stiff. Pour the batter into oiled muffin tins. Fill upto 2/3rds of a tin. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

The end result had the same wonderful aroma as that of ‘PazhamPori'(banana fritters)!

Served with a steaming cup of chocolate malt drink

Start a lazzzzy weekend with these yummy little fellas!

Pramaadhamaana Poricha Kootu(amazing vegetable-lentil stew)

Its a marathon of recipes today. I keep drafts on the blog and publish them later. Today I realized there were quite a few recipes in the drafts that I hadn’t published. Hence I am bombarding the blogichen with my recipes!

My MIL is one of the best cooks I have come across. A wonderful lady with whom I had the joy of growing up, once told me what makes food especially tasty is the love that goes into making it. I find that extra ‘special something’ in my MIL’s food. I still remember her making polis for me ‘coz I had mentioned that my ammamma (who had passed away) used to make it just for my sake. Every day I spent at her place after my wedding was a melange of some of the best dishes I have ever tasted. That’s when I knew how my husband got his high standard of food and that I had a loooong way to go to reach those standards!Phew!

This is one of her classic dishes which features regularly on our menu. Since Chennai has scotching summers, we make this dish with vegetables that have high water content during the sweltering months. I use snake gourd, bottle gourd, pumpkin or even chowchow(chayote squash) when I don’t find gourds at the Indian store.

Saadham, kootu, curry-veettu saapadu madhiri varuma!(Nothing like our home cooked food!)

Vegetables(you can use gourds and pumpkin at the same time)-2 cups

Moong dal-a handful

Urad dal-3 tsps

peppercorns-8-10 nos

red chillies-1 no

coconut powder-1/2 cup(If using freshly grated coconut-1/4 cup)

turmeric-1/2 tsp

salt to taste

For the tadka:

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

curry leaves-5-6

hing-a pinch

red chillies-1

oil-1/4 tsp

Cook  the vegetables and moong dal separately with some turmeric. I pressure cook them in two different vessels. Its cooked separately so that the dal can be mashed without mashing the vegetables.

Fry the urad dal, red chilli and peppercorn in a little oil till the urad dal is golden. Once cooled, grind this mixture with coconut and little water into a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Follow this with hing, curry leaves and red chilli. Now add the  vegetables and mashed moong dal. Bring this to a boil along with the coconut paste. Season with salt and serve hot with rice.

Served with plain rice and kathirikkai masaal(Stuffed eggplant)