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.

Strawberry Milk Shake

Ingredients :

Fresh strawberrys - 5 to 6
Milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 4 to 5 sp
Strawberry essence - Few drop.

Method :

Boil the milk & make it cool. Then cut the fruit & put it in the mixer or blender along with sugar, milk & essence & blend it for 3 mins. Then pour it in a glass & garnish with finely cut strawberrys. Serve it chill & enjoy your drink.

Hommade Ice Creams !!

1.                                                                Kulfi

Ingredients:

• Full cream milk - 1 litre
• Cornflour - 2 tbl sp
• Sweetless mava [kova] - 100 gms
• Sugar - 8 tbl sp
• Cardamom powder - 1 sp
• Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
• Milk masala powder - 1 tbl sp.

Method :

Take one thick bottom vessel & pour milk, cornflour, sugar & mix well. Then keep it on the gas in a high flame. Stir nonstop otherwise the milk will stick in the vessel. When the milk starts boiling & becomes thick, remove from the gas. Then add mava, fresh cream, cardamom powder, mix well & keep aside. When it becomes cool, put it in the mixer grinder & blend it  for 10 mins till the ice cream  mixture becomes soft. Then shift the mixture to either aluminium container or air tight plastic container & keep in the fridge [freezer] for 14 hrs. Your mouth watering  kulfi  is ready to eat. Before serving sprinke milk masala to that [See picture].

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2.                                                          Custard Apple

Ingredients:

• Custard apple - 3
• Milk [Creamed milk] - 1/2 litre
• Custard powder [plain] - 1 1/2 tbl sp
• Corn flour - 1 1/2 tbl sp
• Sugar - 12 sp
• Cardamom powder - 1 1/2 sp
• Fresh cream - 1/2 cup.

Method :

Keep one thick bottom vessel on the gas &  pour the milk. Add the custard powder, cornflour, cardamom powder & mix well. Stir non stop in high flame till it becomes thick. Then remove from the gas. After it becomes cool add 1/2 cup of fresh cream, blended custard fruit to that & grind  in the mixer till it becomes very soft. Then transfer the mixer to a air-tight container. If there is some excess fruit remaining, add that also to the container so that it gives a natuaral taste. Keep it in the freezer for 12 to 14 hours. Before keeping in freezer mix the blend custard apple to that. After 14 hours your ice-cream will be ready to eat.

Note : Remove the seeds from the fruit & blend the fruit in a blender or in the mixer.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients :

Cauliflower - 1 cup [made into flowerettes]
Big Potato - 3 [cut into big pieces]
Capcicum - 1 [cut into dices]
Ripe red tomatoes - 3 [finely chopped]
Onion - 3 [cut in to big pieces]
Garlic - 2 flakes
Oil - 1 tbl sp
Red chillie powder - 2 sp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
Salt - As per taste
Everest pav bhaji masala powder - 2 tsp
Amul butter - 50 gms
Pav - 6 pieces

For Grinding :

Take the mixer vessel,  put onion, garlic, tomatoes, red chillie powder, turmeric powder. Grind them smoothly & keep aside.

Method :

Keep the pressure cooker on the gas & pressure cook the vegetables with salt, & turmeric powder. Then keep one kadai, heat oil or ghee to that. Add the grained masala & fry for 5 mins. Add chopped tomatoes, smashed vegetables to that & fry for 5 mins more in low flame. Add pav bhaji masala & amul butter to that & mix well. Keep on stirring from bottom till it thickens. Serve with pav halved toasted with amul butter on both sides. Before serving keep 1 tsp of chopped onion, coriander leaves & diced lemon pieces.

Baingan Bhartha

Ingredients:

• Brinjals - 1/4 kg [big purple seedless]
• Onions - 3 [peeled & chopped]
• Green chillies - 2 [cut into tiny pieces]
• Garlic - 2 flakes [chopped]
• Red tomatoes - 3 big [finely cut]
• Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup [finely chopped]
• Salt - As required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chillie powder - 1 1/2 sp
• Sugar - 1/2 sp
• Lemon juice- 1 tbl sp
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Oil - For seasoning
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp.

Method:

Select good purple colour brinjal [seedless], wash well & wipe with a cloth. Then apply little oil & roast the brinjal directly over the fire. Then remove the outer skin. When it becomes cool, blend the brinjal in the blender or in the mixer & keep aside. Then keep one kadai on the gas, pour oil, add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onion, green chillie, ginger garlic & fry for 5 mins. When the raw smell goes, add chopped tomatoes, put salt, turmeric, red chillie, sugar & fry in low flame. When the oil leaves sideways, add the blend brinjal & mix well. If required, add 1/2 cup of water & boil. Check for salt, add lemon juice & garnish with cut coriander leaves. Remove from the gas & have it with phulkas or paratas.