Hotel Sambhar [ Easily we can make it at home ]

Ingredients :

• Tuvarr dal - 1/2 cup
• Red tomato - 1 [ roughly chopped ]
• Carrot, red pumpkin, brinjal, [ all together ] - 1/2 cup
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp [ thin pulp ]
• Coriander leaves - little
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required

To grind :

• Fried channa dal - 2 tsp
• Fresh grated coconut - 1 tbsp
• Tomato - 1 [ chopped ]
• Dry red chillies -4 to 5 ( fried in oil )
• Sambhar powder - 2 tsp [ heaped ]

For seasoning :

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Broken black gram - 1/2 tsp
• Dry red chilli - 1 [ broken]
• Small onion - 8 to 10
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Methi seeds - 1/4  tsp
• Green chilli - 1 [ slit ]
• Curry leaves - little

Method :

Wash the tuvar dal and pressure cook along with turmeric powder. Allow for atleast 6 to 7 whistles to come. After the pressure leaves, add little water to that, mash well and keep aside. Meantime, grind all the ingredients in a mixer to a smooth paste and keep aside. Then take the same pressure cooker [ wash and take ] keep on the gas. Add oil to that. When the oil becomes hot, add seasoning one by one. When the dal changes into brown and the red chilli becomes crisp, add onion and other vegetablesto that. Mix well. Then pour the mash dal above the vegetables. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, tamarind pulp, along with ground masala and sugar. Mix well and check the salt. Close the cooker and wait for 3 whistles to come. After the pressure goes, open the cooker and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves. Your tasty sambhar is ready to serve with idli, dosa and steamed rice. 

Veggie Roll [ Easy method ] An evening snack

Ingredients :

• Potato boiled - 1/4 k.g. [ mashed ]
• Grated carrot - 1/2 cup
• Boiled peas - 1/2 cup
• Green chilli paste - 1 1/2 tsp [ according  to taste ]
• Salt - as required
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Chat masala - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger chopped - 1/2 tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Cumin seeds or oregano [ ajwain ] - 1/4 tsp
• Maitha - 1/2 cup
• Conflour - 2 tsble spoon
• Bread crumps - 1/2 cup [ for dusting ]
• Oil - enough for frying

Method :

Take one big bowl, mix all the ingredients except bread crumps. Mix well. Mean time, keep enough oil in a kadai. When oil becomes hot, make rolls from the mixture, dust it in bread crumps and deep fry till it changes into golden and crispy. Remove from the oil and serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney. Your easy-to-make yummy evening snack is ready to eat.

P.S. These rolls can be prepared in advance and stored in freezer  for a week. Before preparing take it from the freezer. After the roll gets back to the room temperature, then fry the same in oil. 

Chilli Parota

Ingredients :

• Left over parathas - 4 [ made previous day cut into thin pieces ]
• Spring onion - 1 bundle [ chopped & keep leaves and onion separately ]
• Salt - as required
• Grated cabbage - 2 tbsp
• Grated carrot - 2 tbsp
• Capsicum - 1 chopped
• Green chillies - 2 to 3 [ chopped ]
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ peel and chopped ]
• Garlic flakes - 4 to 5 [ chopped ]
• Red chilli paste - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp [ if needed ]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
• White kabuli channa - 1 handful [ boiled optional ]
• Soya sauce - 1 tsp
• Oil - 3 tbsp

Method :

First take one kadai & add oil. When the oil becomes hot, add chopped garlic. Fry for 2 seconds till the garlic changes into brown color. Then add onion fry for 3 minutes and add other vegetables one by one. Fry for 5 minutes [ Don't fry more since the vegetables should stay crisp ]. Then add soya sauce to that. After 2 minutes, add ginger garlic paste, red chilli paste, a pinch sugar, salt and tomato ketchup. Mix well & finely add piece parotas and mix well. Garnish with onion leaves. If you want to add channa add along with the vegetables. Serve hot your yummy easy chilli parota is ready for eating.


P. S : Nowadays you can get good parotas in super market also. You can buy and prepare this.

Tharaty Pal [ Pal Khoa or Sweet Milk Khoa ]

Ingredients :

• Whole milk - 1 1/2 litre
• Sugar - 1 1/4 cup
• Curd - 1 tsp

Method :

Pour the milk into a thick & wide bottom vessel. Bring it to a boil on medium flame. Let the milk continue to boil on medium flame untill almost all the water evaporates and milk starts becoming thick. Keep on stirring every minute, to make sure that the milk doesn't boil over and it doesn't stick to the bottom. When the milk starts to get thick and reduces to 3/4th of the vessel, add curd to that and mix well. Leave for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, add sugar to that and stir well. After adding sugar, the mixture becomes a little watery again. Continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more. Your yummy Tharaty Pal is ready to eat.


P.S: Tharaty Pal - A popular milk sweet which is prepared in every Brahmin marriages in Tamil Nadu.

Vegetable Thogayal

Ingredients :

• Carrot - 1/2 cup [ chopped ]
• Raw mango [ kacha pakka chopped ] - 1/2 cup
• Red pumpkin - 1/2 cup [ chopped ]
• Capsicum - 1/2 cup [ chopped ]
• Green chilli - 2 [ slit]
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Tomatoes - 2 [ chopped ]
• Onion - 1 [ peeled and chopped  optional ]*
• Mint leaves  - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
• Salt as required
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp

*Those are not eating onion thay can omit 


For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Black broken dal - 2 tbsp
• Dry red chillies - 7 to 8
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Method :

First peel and chop all the vegetables and keep aside. Then heat a kadai & add oil to that. When the oil becomes hot, add the seasoning and fry till the dal changes into golden in color and the chillies become crisp. Then add onion, fry for 2 seconds and add other vegetables one by one. Just fry the vegetables for 5 minutes [ Not necessary that it should get completely cooked ]. Add salt, asafoetida, tamarind paste, mint leaves, coriander leaves ginger, little sugar. Finely add coconut. Mix well and remove from the gas. When it becomes cool, grind in mixer to a smooth paste. It goes well with roti and rice. You can also spread in bread slice too.

Angaya Podi

Ingredients :

• Curry leaves - 1 cup
• Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Dried sundakkai vathal - 20
• or manathakkali vathal- 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Veppampoo [ dried neem flower ] - 1 tbsp
• Dry ginger [ sukku ] - 1/2 inch piece
• Fresh ghee or Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp

Method :

Wash the curry leaves, put it and dry roast in a heavy bottom pan. Stir continuously till it becomes crisp.  Then keep aside. Then dry roast pepper till it splutters. Keep aside. Dry roast each ingredients separately. Dry roast sundakkai till it becomes black but it should not be burnt. Add a pinch of asafoetida and little salt. Then grind every thing to a smooth powder .

How to use :

In  cooked rice, put 1 or 2 tsp of this powder. Heat a tsp of ghee or gingelly oil and pour over this powder. Mix well and eat.

This is a powder which cures indigestion and stomach upsets. This controls diarrhoea.

P.S :  Its good for health especially for ladies after delivery.

Oats Green Moong Dal Kichidi

Ingredients :

• Oats - 2 cups
• Green moong dal - 2 cups [ soaked in hot water for 1 hour ]
• Onion - 1 big [ finely chopped ]
• Green chillies - 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ finely chopped ]
• Garlic flakes - 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Tomato - 1 big [ chopped ]
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Fresh coriander leaves - little

For seasoning :

• Cumin seeds -1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Dry red chilli - 1 [ broken]
• Cinnamon - small piece
• Clove- 2
• Bay leaf - 1

Method :

First boil the moong in the cooker. Wait for atleast 8 whistle to come. After the pressure leaves, open the cooker and put the moong into a vessel. Then keep the vessel in the gas. Mean time, wash the oats 5 to 6 times in water [ This prevents the same from being sticky ]. Squeeze the otas and put it in the vessel along with tomatoes which is on the gas. Allow to boil for 5 minutes in low flame.

Take one small kadai and add ghee to that. When it becomes hot, add cinnamon, clove, bay leaf and cumin seeds. When it pops, add red dry chilli, chopped onion, ginger garlic pieces. Fry till it changes into brown in color. Add this to the kichidi. Add salt and mix well. Allow to boil for 3 minutes more. Before removing from the gas, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with papad and curd. Add 1 tsp fresh ghee on the top of kichidi. Enjoy your oats kichidi.