Month: April 2009

No Need of Onions!!! · Poriyals / Kootu Varieties.

Urulai Fry (Alu Fry) – Potatoes flavoured with spices and finished in the Oven.

Shoba15 Comments
Urulai Fry.
Urulai Fry.

My husband got a huge bag of golden potatoes from the Indian store demandng me to make his favourite alu fry. These were the smaller golden potatoes with very thin skin which cooks pretty fast. So I got around to making it and I always start by pre-cooking it for  one whistle in the pressure cooker, lightly sauteing it in the pan and then broiling it in the oven. It`s fast, easy and very very original.

INGREDIENTS:

8-9 Medium to Small Potatoes.

Pinch of Turmeric.

Salt.

1 spoon of Red Chilli Powder.

Hing

Seasoning:

Oil, Mustard, Broken Urad Dhal and curry leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • Peel the skin off all the potatoes and drop them in a vessel with a little water and salt and cook them for JUST ONE WHISTLE in the pressure cooker. Remove the cooker from the electric plate and keep in a cool place.
  • When the water is drained and the potatoes cooled, chop them in to big 1  inch pieces and set aside.
  • In a kadai, add 3 spoons of oil and when hot, add mustard, urad dhal and the curry leaves and a pinch of hing and then immediately the pieces of potatoes.
  • Add requisite salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and stir well.
  • Cook till the salt and the spices are well flavoured on the potatoes.
  • After about ten to fifteen minutes switch off the stove.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease an oven proof dish with oil spray and pop the potatoes in it.
  • Place the potatoes inside the oven for 3-4 minutes.
  • Now turn the setting to BROIL and allow it to broil for exactly 1 1/2 minutes.
  • Take out the potatoes, give it a stir so that the potaotes below come up.
  • Broil again for exactly 1 1/2 minutes. BROILING FOR ANY MORE TIME WOULD BLACKEN THE BEAUTIFULLY DONE POTATOES.
  • Serve sizzling hot with Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu and Pumpkin Kootu.

NOTES:

The option of broiling in oven is to cut back on the oil consumed in getting the “fried” taste and texture. It can be completely cooked on the stove top, on medium flame , adding oil now and then.

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No Need of Onions!!! · Poriyals / Kootu Varieties.

Pumpkin Potatoes & Koorkai Poricha Pepper Kootu.

Shoba7 Comments
Pumpkin Potatoes and Koorkai Kootu.
Pumpkin Potatoes and Koorkai Kootu.

Sundays are always meant for lazy morning brunches and steaming hot early dinners of home made goodness. I had this lovely fresh piece of pumpkin inside my refridgerator and my husband decided he wanted a kootu – which is a side – almost a thick gravy. I had already made the Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu from yesterday and the freshly made kootu smelling of vegetables and coconut and peppery niceness that it was a flawless compliment. I decided to toss in the koorkai at the last instant as I love the flavour and aroma of this root tuber. This preparation is pretty versatile so it could be substituted with any vegetable like chayote, bottle gourd, cucumber etc.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 – 2 cups of chopped pumpkin.

2 Medium Potatoes Chopped.

A handful of chopped Koorkai.

1/4 cup of cooked bengal gram.

2 tsp of broken urad dhal.

A spoon of black pepper.

1/3 cup of dessicated  coconut.

A spoon of cooked toor dhal (optional).

A pinch of turmeric.

A pinch of red chilli powder.

Salt.

A pinch of hing.

Seasoning:

Mustard, Broken Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • Take the vessel and add all the chopped vegetables, pour just enough water so it just covers the veggies and switch on the stove. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and allow them to cook well.
  • Cook the bengal gram so it does’nt get too mushy but just enough.
  • Take a small seasoning kadai and roast the urad dhal, pepper and a few curry leaves in oil till the urad dhal turns golden brown.
  • Grind this with the coconut to a smooth paste and set aside.
  • When the vegetables are cooked well, add the ground paste, cooked bengal gram, salt if necessary, a spoon of cooked toor dhal. Mix well and allow to come together.
  • Season in gingely oil with mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves and serve with Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu and Lemon Rasam.

Weekend Menu 1:

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu,

Tomatillo Lemon Rasam ,

Pumpkin Potatoes & Koorkai Poricha Kootu &

Urulai Fry./Alu Fry.

Festivals & Significance · Naivedhyams/ Festival Offerings.

Significance of Ram Navami & Offerings – Sweet Panagam.

Shoba3 Comments
Panagam.
Panagam.

The festival of Sri Rama Navami marks the birthday celebrations of Lord Rama, an incarnate of Lord Vishnu. The main significance behind the celebration of this festival is that the character of Lord Rama signifies an ideal son, an upright husband, a righteous King, and a loving brother and even an ideal man, someone who follow the right path against all odds in life. He was also the true embodiment of humanity. So celebration of Sri Rama Navami is a special reminder of all the noble deeds or ideals for which Lord Rama symbolizes. So if we see it in true sense it is not only a festival to enjoy and have fun there are lot more things to be learnt. It is a celebration of goodness and its victory against all evils. Sacred places associated with Lord Rama, like Ayodhya, Ujjain and Rameshwaram, draw tens of thousands of devotees. In Rameshwaram, thousands take a ritual bath in the sea before worshipping at the Ramanathaswamy temple. There are also lots of Parayanams and satsangs where devotees get together to hear the story of Lord Rama and to sing bhajans in his praise.

One of the most popular offering to the Lord, on this day is the “Panagam”.  I remember my amma making Panagam and offering it to the Lord and then all of us having it and enjoying the sweet from the jaggery and the spice from the ginger…

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups of water.

1/4 cups of jaggery.

1 tsp Grated Ginger.(Originally use “Chukku” or Dried Ginger)

1 tsp powdered cardamom powder.

Dash of Ground Black Pepper.

PREPARATION:

  • In a vessel, dissolve the jaggery in the measured water and set on the stove on medium low.
  • Slowly add the chukku after mashing it with a mortar and pestle or simply use fresh zested ginger.
  • Add powdered cardamom powder and a dash of ground black pepper.
  • Stir in well and switch off.
  • Offer Naivedhyam to the Lord and sip sweet Panagam.

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No Need of Onions!!! · Sambar / Rasam / Kuzhambu Varieties.

Tangy Tomatillo Lemon Rasam.

Shoba6 Comments
Tangy Tomatillo Lemon Rasam.
Tangy Tomatillo Lemon Rasam.

Cold weather and rains always make me remember Comfort Foods….Foods that have been a part of our growing up, something that I always took for granted for a long long time. When I went to stay in the hostel for my Masters, I realised the warmth and love that goes in to the food our moms make for us. Nothing that I can have in restaurants can even come close to the lingering fragrance and warmth from food cooked at home with loving hands.

After a festival or function,we would crave for amma`s home made simple pathyam food to cleanse our systems.  I always loved her simple lemon rasam with Beans Curry or Chow Chow Kootu and Appalam. I am not so happy with the tomatoes here in the U.S, as I feel they lack tartness and tang. Yesterday when I saw tomatillos at the local produce store, I bought a pound or two, all the while imaging endless possibilities. Tomatillos can be stored in paper bags and kept in the refridgerator for around 2-3 weeks. The tomatillos have a protective outside husk. Remove the husk and wash before use. Tomatillos are used in many places in teh treatment of fever. I had to make this lemon rasam today, as its been pouring since morning and I suddenly yearned for amma`s cooking…

Tomatillos with husks...
Tomatillos with husks…Pic Courtesy Gourmetsleuth.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tomatillos or 1 Tomato

1  Jalapeno  slit vertically.

2 red chillies.

2 1/2  cups of water

4 spoons of cooked Toor dhal.

1 Inch Piece of Tamarind.

1 Tsp Rasam Powder

Hing

Curry Leaves.

1 Lemon.

Salt

Cilantro / Curry Leaves to Garnish.

PREPARATION:

  • Chop the tomatillos in to little pieces so it saves cooking time. Dilute the cooked toor dhal in the 2 1/2 cups of water and set aside.
  • In a kadai, add a spoon of ghee and when it is hot, add mustard. When the mustard splutters, add hing, curry leaves, red chillies, slit jalapenos, and finally the chopped tomatillos.
  • Allow to saute for a few minutes till the tomatillos are a little mushy.
  • Add 1 cup  of the dhal water at this stage and allow to simmer. Add salt, hing, Rasam powder and  turmeric.
  • After about ten  minutes, remove in a spoon, a few cooked pieces of tomatillos and crush them with a spoon in a cup. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of toor dhal water to the crushed tomatillos and pour it all back in to the kadai.
  • Allow the whole rasam to simmer and then switch off in about 15 minutes or so. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and curry leaves. Keep the rasam closed.
  • After the rasam has cooled down a bit,  squeeze the juice from the lemon and keep closed again until time to serve.
  • Serve HOT with Beans Poriyal or Pumpkin Poricha Kootu. Alu Fry is always the recommended option!!

NOTES:

  • The same rasam can be made with regular tomatoes too. I add a pinch of  tamarind to the dal water as it cooks.
  • Adjust the tartness based on the sourness of the Lemon/ lime etc.
  • For added taste,  you can zest the lemon a little bit after switching off the stove
  • Add a marble size of jaggery for added taste.

Let me know what you think! Did you try it?