Keerai Milakoottal

Ingredients:

• Palak [ spinach ] - 2 bunches [ wash & cut finely ]
• Moong dal or toor dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Curry leaves - little

For wet grinding:

• Grated  fresh coconut - 1 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 sp
• Dry red chillies - 2

For seasoning:

• Coconut oil - 2 tbl sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp

Method :

Cook palak for 5 mins adding very little water & turmeric powder. Then wash & cook moong dal till tender or pressure cook toor dal adding enough water. Grind together coconut, cumin seeds, dry red chili to a fine paste. Add the cooked  palak & blend for 2 mins. Mixed the grind mixture with the cooked dal. Add salt, turmeric powder & boil well. If  you want add  required  water at  this stage [make it to kuzambu constency]. Then season with mustard seeds, urad dal & curry leaves in coconut oil. Serve hot with rice.

Mysore Iyengar Milagu Rasam

Ingredients:

• Dal water - 2 cups [ strained from cooked tur daal ]
• Lemon - 1 or 2
• Curry leaves - as required
• Thick coconut extract - 2 tabl . sp
• Sugar - little
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tabl . sp
• Salt - as per taste

Dry roast & powder:

• Red chilies - 3 or 4
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Black broken dhal - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram dhal - 1tsp
• Pepper - 1 /4 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Rice or wheat - 1/2 sp

Method:

Dilute dal water with another two cups of water. Add salt, sugar & powdered spices & bring to boil. Then add coconut extract & remove from the gas. Squeeze lemon & garnish with coriander, curry leaves. Your mysore iyengar milagu rasam is ready to serve.

Poricha Kuzambu

Ingredients:

• Diced chow- small pieces
• or white pumpkin - 2 cups
• Snake gourd cut into small pieces - 1 cup
• Brinjal cut into small pieces - 1/4 cup
• Raw banana cut into dices - 1/4 cup
• Drumstick - 1 cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Moong dal or green gram dal - 1/2 cup

For seasoning:

• Coconut oil -3 tbl .sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Dry red chili - 1 [ broken into 2 to 3 pieces ]
• Curry leaves - little

Grind together:

• Broken black gram dal - 1 tbl sp [ urad ]
• Red chilies - 4 to 5
• Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Fry the above spices in little oil till it turns into brown in colour, & grind with grated coconut.


Method:

Scrape outer skin & dice the vegetables into 1 inch piece. Cook along with green gram dal or moong dal in just enough water till dal & vegetables becomes soft to touch. Then add grind fresh masala to that along with salt, turmeric powder. Boil for 5 mins till the kuzambu gets ready. Then heat coconut oil in a pan add seasonings & mix with kuzambu. Garnish with curry leaves.Serve with hot steam boiled  rice.

Mysore Rasam

Ingredients:

• Toovar dal - 1 cup [ boiled ]
• Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Rasam powder - 1 sp
• Red tomatos - 3 [ cut into small pieces ]
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Sugar or jaggery -  1/2 sp
• Green chili - 1 small
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Curry leaves - little
• Finely cut coriander leaves - 1 tbl sp

Fresh masala powder for rasam:

• Coriander seeds - 1 tbl sp
• Bengal gram dal - 1 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 5 to 6 [ fried in oil ]
• Poppy seeds - 1 / 2 sp
• Grated dry coconut - 2 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Clove - 2

[ fry all ingredients in 1 sp of oil till it turns into brown color. Then coarsely powder it in a mixer & keep aside]

For seasoing :

• Ghee - 1 tbl sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 1

Method:

Take one deep bottom vessel, keep on the gas & pour extracted tamarind plup, add turmeric powder, red chili powder, rasam powder, asafoetida, slit green chilli, ginger piece & salt. Add 2 glass of water to that & allow to boil. Add powdered fresh masala, finely chopped tomatoes & boil for 10 mins more in lower flame. After that add boiled mashed dal. Pour enough required water to that.When it begins to boil, remove from the gas. garnish with cut coriander leaves & curry leaves. Season with given ingredients in ghee. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Different Types Of Pickles

                                                      Aamla Pickle

Ingredients:

• Amla - 1/2 kg
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Asafoetida - A pinch
• Red chillie powder - 3 tbl sp
• Dry roast methi powder - 1/4 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Seasame oil [Til oil] - 1/4 cup.

Method:

First wash & clean the aamlas. Then boil the aamlas in cooker without water [just 1 whistle]. After it cools down, remove the seeds from aamla & keep aside. Then take one pan keep on the gas, pour 1/2 of the oil in the pan heat it, add mustard seeds to that. When it splutters,  put the aamlas along with salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, methi powder, asafoetida & mix well. If the masala is completely coated to the aamlas, remove from the gas. Keep it full day in the same vessel. Pour the remaining oil to that & mix well.  Then store in a jar. Tastes good with hot ghee rice & curd rice.
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                                                                     Lemon Chutney

Ingredients:

• Juicy yellow lemon - 10 [Cut into small pieces]
• Salt - Required amount [approximately - 1 cup]
• Turmeric powder  - 1 tsp
• Red chili powder - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery - 2 tbl sp
• Sugar - 2 1/2 tbl sp.

Method :

Take one big bowl & put cut lemons in it. To this, add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder & mix them well. Then preserve it for 3 days, while you shuffle daily once. After 3 days, add sugar & jaggery to the stuff.. On the 4th day morning keep the pickle in to a close vessel & boil the same in cooker and switch off after 2 whistles. After the pressure goes, remove the pickle from the cooker, put into a mixer & grind for 2 mins (See the picture above). Change it into a glass or plastic container. Have it with paratas, roti, bread, idli, dosas or even curd rice. Enjoy the yummy katta meeta lemon chutney.
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                                                                        Kaduku Mangai

Ingredients:

• Tender small fresh  mangoes - 6 glasses
• Salt - 1 glass
• Chilli powder - 200 gms
• Mustard seeds - 100 gms
• Rock asafoetida - 1 small piece [Fry in oil till it becomes crispy & make it powder].

Method:

Remove the stock of the mangoes, wash well, add salt & mix well. Keep in a closed ceramic jar or bottle for 4 to 5 days. When the mangoes are shrunk & all the salt has become watery, heat the salt water till it is reduced to 1/2 or 1/3 of its original quantity. Allow it to cool well. Then grind chili powder & mustard seeds in the cooled salt water. Add to the mangoes & mix well. Then dip a clean cloth [Cotton cloth] in til oil & put on the top of the mangoes. Tie the neck of the jar with a clean cloth & close the jar. Always use a clean dry spoon to take out the mangoes. Keep mangoes in a small bottle for using daily. Tastes well with curd rice, molakootal rice.
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                                                         Avakkai Mango Pickle


Ingredients:

• Big green sour mangoes - 3 kgs
• [Wipe all  mangoes with wet cloth & dry them in a cloth]
• Cut mangoes - 6 cups
• Salt - 1 cup
• Turmeric powder - 3 tbl sp
• Red chillie powder - 1/4 kg
• Methi dana - 100 gms
• Mustard seeds powder - 200 gms
• Asafoetida - 2 tsp
• Whole small black channa - 100 gms
• Til oil - 3/4 kg
• Methi seeds - 1 hand full.

Method:

First of all mix all the ingredients & keep aside. Take one big clean dry ceramic jar. First put 1 layer of  masala powder in it. Then put 1 layer of  mangoes and a little til oil on top of it. Similarly, put all the other mangoes & masalas into the jar. Tie the neck of  the jar with a clean cloth & close the jar. The next day, add remaining oil to the pickle & stir it everyday for a week. Then preserve it & use a dry spoon for taking out the pickle while serving. Do not use hand while taking out the pickle. In this way the pickle will last longer. Tastes good with curd rice, parathas & dal rice.
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                                                           Mango Thokku


Ingredients:

• Bangalore raw mangoes - 3 [Use less sour mangoes]
• Salt - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 2 tbl sp
• Red chillie powder - 1/4 cup
• Asafoetida - Little
• Jaggery - 100 gms
• Mustard seeds - 2 sp
• Til oil - 1/4 kg

Method:

First scrap the outer skin of the mangoes, grate them & keep aside. Grind the mango along with salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder & jaggery to a smooth  paste. Then take one kadai, keep on the gas & pour til oil to that. Add mustard seeds when it splutters, add the grained paste to the oil & fry for 10 mins in a lower flame. When the thokku leaves sideways, [non sticky] remove from the gas. Let it cool & store it in a bottle. Your tasty thokku is ready.
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                                                               Lemon Pickle


Ingredients:

• Fresh lemon - 50
• Salt - 1/4 kg
• Red chili powder - 1/4 kg
• Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
• Methi seeds - 50 gms
• Mustard seeds - 50 gms
• Asafoetida powder - 2 sp
• Til oil - 1/4 kg.

Method:

Wash the lemon & wipe with a cloth & cut them into 8 pieces. Do not use any brass or iron vessel. Use ceramic or glass jar. Roast methi seeds to a brown color & powder along with  mustard powder, turmeric powder & chili powder. Mix all these with lime & pack the jar. Then heat the oil in kadai well, add asafoedida powder. When it becomes cool, mix the oil with the pickle. For a week keep this jar in the sun by tying a white cloth to the jar. Then keep it tightly closed. The older the pickle the better it will be in taste.

Mixed Vege Kurma

Ingredients:

• Potato - 4 to 5 (boiled, peeled & cut into dices)
• French beans - 8 to 9 (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• Carrot - 2 (cut into small pieces)
• Flower - 1/2 cup (slit into small pieces)
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Shahi garam masala powder - 1 sp
• Ghee - 2 sp
• Oil 2 sp
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp
• Fresh cream - 2 tabl . sp
• Fresh grated coconut - 1 tabl . sp
• Finely cut coriander leaves - little

For grinding :

• Small sambhar onion - 3 to 4
• Green chili - 1
• Garlic flakes - 2
• ginger piece - 1/2 inch
• Fresh grated coconut - 1 tbl sp
• Coriander leaves - 1 sp
• Cashews - 4
• Ani seeds - 1/4 sp 
• Sugar - 1/2 sp

Grind all the  ingredients  in  mixture & form a smooth paste.

Method :
Take one small cooker & keep it on the gas, pour oil, ghee together, add cumin seeds & put all the vegetables in the cooker & fry for 3 mins. Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder, sugar & grind masala to that along with cream & 1/2 cup water. Mix well & close the cooker & wait for 3 whistles to come. After the pressure goes open the cooker & garnish with cut coriander leaves. Serve with hot pulkas/parathas. Your kurma is ready.

Puran Poli

Ingredients:

• Maida - 1 cup
• Wheat flour - 1/4 cup
• Salt - a pinch
• Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Water - enough to mix dough
• Ghee - for frying

Inner filling:

• Bengal gram dal - 1 cup (kadalai paruppu)
• Grated jaggery - 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1 sp
• Nutmeg powder - 1 sp

Method:
Mix salt, ghee, turmeric powder to the flour till it blends well. Add water gradually & knead to a soft pliable dough. Keep under wet cloth for 1 hour. Knead again till dough becomes elastic & soft. Then cook dal in enough water in pressure cooker till one whistle. Allow to cool, strain through a colander to remove excess water & grind to a smooth paste along with finely grated jaggery & cardamom powder, nut meg powder. If the filling is little watery, dry it up by frying it in a hot pan. Make even sized (big lemon sized) balls out of the dal mixture. Divide maida dough into equal number of balls. Keep one ball of filling inside maida ball by flattening it. Cover &seal well with the maida dough.Then spread it like stuff parata. Heat a tava over the gas, turn over poli on the top of that carefully, pour little ghee around & cook on both sides.Your puran poli is ready to be served.