Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients :

Rice flour - 3 1/2 cup
Bengal gram flour - 1 cup
Broken black gram flour - 2 sp
Salt - As per taste
Asafoetida powder - A pinch
Red chillie powder - 2 sp
Ghee - 1/2 sp
Oil - For deep frying.

Method :

Take one big bowl & mix all the ingredients. Add required water & form a dough for making ribbon pakodas. Then keep one kadai on the gas & pour enough oil. In the mean time, take a mold & apply little oil towards the side of the mold & fill it with dough. When the oil become hot, press the mold directly in the oil. When  pakodas are crisp & golden in colour, gently remove from the oil. Your ribbon pakoda is ready to eat. Store it in an air-tight container.

Deepavali Legiyam

Ingredients :

Pepper corns - 2 tbl sp
Coriander seeds - 1 sp
Cumin seeds - 2 tbl sp
Ajwain - 2 tbl sp
Kandan thippilli - 2 tbl spn
Dried ginger - A few pieces
Cardamom - 4
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup.

Method :

First roast each ingredient separately [except cardamom, ghee & jaggery]. Then soak all together for about 20 mins in enough water. Then drain the water & grind to a fine paste. Then keep one thick bottomed vessel on the gas &  put the jaggery to that adding little water & stir continuously. When the jaggery gets completely dissolved, add the grained paste, powdered cardamom, ghee & stir well till it leaves the sides of the vessel. Your deepavali legiyam is ready. When it becomes cool store it in a dry container.

Fruit Salad with Ice - Cream

Ingredients :

Bananas - 2
Apple - 1
Green grapes & Black grapes - 1/ 2 cup
Fresh orange juice - 1 /2 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla ice-cream - 3 cups.


Method :

Peel & cut bananas into slices. Then cut apple into dices & mix 1 tbl sp of lemon juice. This prevents browning. Grapes should be washed & seeded. Then take one mixing bowl & mix orange juice with other fruit pieces. Add powdered sugar, mix well & chill in the fridge till serving time. Before serving add the ice-cream & mix well.

How To Serve :

In each ice-cream cup, put 3 tbl sp of fruits & 1 scoop full of ice-cream. Keep 1 wafer biscuit in a slanting-standing position & serve as a dessert.

Mambazha Pulisseri

Ingredients :

Ripe sweet mangoes - 2
Curd - 2 1/ 2 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/ 2 sp
Salt - As required.

Vegetables :

White pumpkin - 1/4 kg [Peeled, seeded & cut into big pieces].

For Wet Grinding :

Grated fresh coconut - 2 cups
Green chillies - 3
Cumin seeds - 1/4 sp.

Fry In Coconut Oil :

Methi seeds - 1/2 sp
Dry red chillies - 2 [broken].

For Seasoning :

Mustard seeds - 1 sp
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Red chillie - 1
Curry leaves - 1 spring.

Method :

Wash & cut the ripe mangoes & cook well till it becomes soft. When it becomes cool, squeeze out the thick pulp, mix with the well beaten thick curd & keep aside. Then add 2 cups of water to the remaining mangoes & squeeze out the pulp completely. In this water, cook the pumpkin [white] pieces, adding salt & turmeric powder. Grind together coconut, green chillies, fried methi seeds & red chillies. Add this wet grained masala to the boiling vegetables & cook for 5 mins more. Then add well beaten curd mixed with the mango pulp to that & mix well. When it comes to boil, remove from the gas. Season with mustard seeds, red chillie & curry leaves in coconut oil & pour it to the kuzhambu.Your mambazha pulisseri is ready to serve. Serve with hot rice along with kootu or curry.

Parupu Varuthu Araitha Kuzhambu

Ingredients :

Red gram dal - 1 hand ful
Bengal gram - 1 tbl sp
Black broken gram - 1 tbl sp
Black pepper - 4 to 5
Fenugreek - 1/4 sp
Red dry chillie - 8 to 10
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Tamarind paste - 2 tbl sp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
Salt - As per taste
Asafoetida - 1/4 sp
Red chillie powder - 1/2 sp
Sambar powder - 1/2 sp
Jaggery - 1 tbl sp
Oil - 4 sp
Mustard seeds - 1 sp [For seasoning]
Dry chillie - 2 broken [For seasoning].
Dhania - 1 sp

Vegetables for kuzhambu :

Brinjal, pumpkin, drumstick, ladies finger [cut into big dieces].

For Grinding :

Fry red gram dal, bengal gram dal, black broken gram, dhania,  black pepper, fenugreek, red dry chillies, 7 curry leaves in oil & grind it in mixer grinder.

Method :

Take one deep bottom vessel, keep it on the gas & pour 2 sps of oil to that & add  mustard seeds, broken chillie. When the mustard seeds splutters, add the cut vegetables, curry leaves & fry for 2 mins. Then pour required water & add salt, tamarind paste, turmeric powder, red chillie powder, sambar powder, asafoetida, &  jaggery. Mean time keep one kadai on the other side of the gas & pour 1 sp of oil & fry all the ingredients in light red colour & grind in mixer smoothly. When the vegetables gets boiled nicely add the grained masala along with little water. Check salt in this time. Allow to boil for 5 mins in low flame. When the kuzhambu gets ready, remove from the gas. Garnish with fresh curry leaves. Serve with hot steam rice with roasted curry. 

Elephant Yam [Senai Kilangu] Roasted Curry

Ingredients :

Fresh elephant yam - 1/2 kg [finely cut pieces]
Oil - 3 tbl sp
Mustard seeds - 1 sp
Black broken gram - 1 sp
Salt - As required
Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
Sambar powder - 1 1/2 sp
Curry leaves - Little.

Method :

Clean & wash the elephant yam. Then finely cut it into small pieces. Keep one non-stick pan on the gas, pour oil to that heat it & then add mustard seeds, black broken gram & curry leaves. When the seeds splutters & the dal turns to golden colour, add the vegetables & fry for a minute. Add salt, turmeric, sambar powder & mix well. Keep the gas in low flame. Close the kadai with a lid & fry the curry. When the curry is fried nicely, remove from the gas. Serve the curry with sambhar or any kuzhambu.

Dal Varieties

1.                                                     Dal Maharani

Ingredients:

• Red gram dal [Tuvar dal] - 1/2 cup
• Coconut [Grated] - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 5 flakes
• Onions - 2 or 3
• Green Chillies - 4
• Tomatoes - 2
• Lemon - 1.

To garnish:

• Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Salt - As required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp.

Method:

Cut onions, slice tomatoes & slit green chilles into two. Grind coconut, ginger & garlic together. Cook dal in pressure cooker with enough water & turmeric powder. Heat oil & fry onions till it becomes transparent. Add chillies, tomatoes & fry for few more mins. Mix cooked dal with mixture [grained] & salt. Cook till the raw smell goes. Toast jeera in hot ghee & add it along with curry leaves & coriander leaves to the dal. Serve hot for phulkas, steamed rice with squeezed lime.

Variation:

Use masoor dal instead of tuvar dal. Fry fenugreek seeds & few red chillies along with jeera.
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2.                                                   Pancharatna Dal

Ingredients:

• Bengal gram - 1 handful
• Gram - 1 handful [Payatham parupu]
• Broken black gram - 1 handful
• Red gram dal - 1 handful
• Lentil [Masoor dal] - 1 handful
• Red tomato - 3
• Onions - 3
• Ginger garlic - 1 tbl sp [Finely chopped]
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp
• Ghee - 2 tbl sp
• Lemon - 1
• Red chillie powder - 1 sp
• Salt - As per taste
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbl sp.

Method:

Wash all the dals & keep aside. Then take one pressure pan, pour 2 sp of ghee & add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onion, ginger garlic & fry for 5 mins in low flame. When the onion turns into golden colour, add salt, turmeric powder, chillie powder & mix well. Then add the dal to that along with 4 cups of water. Close the lid & wait for the whistles to come. After 2 whistles, simmer the gas & keep the dal in the gas for 15 mins. Then remove the dal from the gas. After the pressure cools down, open  the lid & mix well. Add the lemon juice & coriander leaves. Serve this dal with jeera rice or with pulkas.

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3.                                                              Dal Fry

Ingredients:

• Red gram dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Masoor dal [ mysore paruppu ] - 1 / 2 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Greeen chillie - 2 [ slit ]
• Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Garlic flakes - 2
• Red tomato - 1 [ big, cut into pieces ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Onion - 1 [ cut into dices ]
• Coriander leaves - little
• Sugar - 1 / 4 sp
• Oil - 1 tabl . sp
• Ghee - 1 tabl . sp
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp.
 

Method :

Wash the dals in clean water. Take one pressure cooker keep on the gas, pour oil, ghee together add cuminseeds, when it splutter add onion, ginger, garlic to that fry for 5 mints in lower flame till the onion turns into gloden brown add the dals,salt, turmeric, green chilli, curry leaves, coriander leaves & mix well. Add enough water, along with little sugar [ it gives more taste. ] Close the cooker & wait for 4 whistle to come.Then  remove the cooker from the gas. After the pressure goes open the cooker & mash the dal with spoon. Your dal fry is ready to eat. Serve with hot pulkas, steamed rice.