Tag: side for pongal

No Need of Onions!!! · Side Dishes for Rotis/Dosas/ Naan.

Quick N Tangy Tomato Ginger Gravy.

Shoba3 Comments

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This is a quick side dish for Venn Pongal /Vada/ Chappathi/Dosa /Puris  and Idlis. It`s pretty much easy and simple to make but vrey delicious and appetising. I remember one time when my mami made this for Pongal. We simply lapped it up!!! Yeah…its that good!!!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Big Slicing Tomatoes or Tomatoes on the Vine. Double the quantity for Roma.

1 inch Ginger finely grated.

3 Green Chillies vertically slit.

1/2 spoon Red Chilli Powder.

Salt.

Hing.

Mustard.

Turmeric.

PREPARATION:

  • Puree all the tomatoes in the mixer without adding much water and set aside.
  • In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and when hot, pop in mustard, broken urad dhal and curry leaves.
  • When the mustard splutters, add grated ginger, slit green chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of hing.
  • Allow a couple of seconds to saute and then immediately add the pureed tomato.
  • If needed, you can add 1/8 cup of water to the mixer and after a quick shake, pour it in to the kadai.
  • Add turmeric, salt and  red chilli powder and stir in well.
  • Simmer for about ten minutes and switch off heat.
  • Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

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HINT:

As an option to increase the volume in case  a large serving is needed, is to saute the onions after the seasoning and then add the tomato puree. This version is made with tomatoes but it can be made without on a day when no onions need to be  consumed.

Side Dishes for Rotis/Dosas/ Naan.

Delicious Brinjal Gothsu (Tamarind Gravy of Onions, Tomatoes and Brinjals- Side for Pongal)

Shoba14 Comments

Brinjal Gothsu

I guess Brinjal Gothsu was some thing I have neverhad much in my own home. There  was this one hotel in Madurai, that used to serve steaming hot blobs  of ghee laden Venn Pongal with spicy Brinjal Gothsu. TIt`s a very versatile preparation and so homes in Tamil Nadu, all have their own way of preparing the same. My mother in law also makes awesome tasty Gothsu, and she once used the base of the morning rasam for Gothsu for the night. Rehashing ingredients sometimes is more tastier than the original preparations. This combination always works as the sweet spicy tanginess in the Gothsu compensates for the peppery niceness of the Pongal. Iguess this is what my telugu friends refer to as “Gojju”. When you have guests for breakfast, Gothsu is an easy tasty side for Pongal/Dosa and Idli.

INGREDIENTS:

1 long Japanese Eggplant diced in to 1 inch cubes.

1 1/2 cups of tamarind water.

1 Onion diced in to small cubes or 15 shallots sliced in to halves.

1 Tomato chopped in to fine pieces.

1 Spoon Sambar Powder.

1 spoon of Rice Flour diluted in 4 spoons of water.

Hing

Turmeric.

Salt

Cilantro to Garnish.

Curry Leaves, Mustard & Urad Dhal for seasoning.

PREPARATION:

  • Take a kadai and place on the stove. Pour 2 spoons of oil and add urad dhal, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Keep the diced vegetbles ready to be used.
  • When the mustard splutters, add onions and allow to saute till soft. Now add the tomatoes and mix well.
  • Tap in a pinch of hing and  turmeric and cook till the tomato-onion mixture is mushy.
  • Now add the diced eggplants, sambar powder, salt and mix well.
  • Add the tamarind water and  allow around ten minutes for the brinjals also to cook in to the mixture and get soft.
  • When its a little thick, add the rice-flour water to the kadai.
  • Add some more water depending on what you want the final consistency to be.
  • Normally it would be a little thicker than “Sambar” but thinner than a chutney or dip.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve hot with Venn Pongal.


No Need of Onions!!! · Side Dishes for Rotis/Dosas/ Naan.

20 Minutes Tangy Tomato Gravy – Homestyle??? Nah.. Amma style!!!

Shoba16 Comments

As a child, I hated the very thought of idlis…I always argued with Amma “It`s just batter ma, it has no taste”…How can people ever say “great Idlis”??? And she would wordless pass on this tomato gravy to me, and I would gulp down the hot idlis soaked lavishly with the gravy. The next day when she would make crisp dosas, I would submerge them in this gravy and some times amma would wonder whether it was tomato gravy to eat as a side with dosa or the other way round???

I am guessing that this is a recipe that has been passed on to my amma from her mom…Nobody knows exactly…This is a very versatile gravy cum chutney – This could be a side for idlis and dosas as the tanginess really sweeps you off your senses..It`s also an excellent side for hot Venn Pongal or steaming Gujarati Khichdi. It can also double up as a side for rotis for dinner!!! I always make a lot and put away half in to the fridge for another day so  I can toss it out and use it for chappati or parathas and my husband will never even know!!!

It just uses 5 ingredients and is pretty simple. The original recipe does not use onions so there`s no sweat on days when you need to avoid them!!!

INGREDIENTS:

To roast in oil...
To roast in oil...

5 Medium sized tomatoes chopped.

4 dried red chillis.

3 spoons of urad dhal.

1/3 cup of coconut.

A cup pf water.

A pinch of turmeric

Mustard and curry leaves to season and salt to taste.

PREPARATION:

  • In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and roast the urad dhal and red chillis till the dal turns brown. Make sure that the flame is on medium low and the roasting is slow as this enhances taste.
  • Grind this with the coconut and a little water and make a smooth paste. Set aside for later.
  • In the same kadai, add a spoon more of oil, and when it begins to smoke, add mustard, curry leaves and immediately the tomatoes.
  • Stir in a pinch of turmeric and hing and the requisite salt. At this point pour in the one cup pf water and allow to boil.
Bubbling and boiling....
Bubbling and boiling....
  • After 10 minutes add the ground paste and adequate water to make it in to a pouring consistency.
  • Switch off when it comes to a boil and serve Hot with Venn Pongal , Gujarati Khichdi or Idli / Dosa garnished with chopped cilantro.

Off goes this entry to FCI Orange which is the brainchild of Harini of Sunshinemomblogs and hosted by Aparna of MydiverseKitchens.


NOTE:

  1. You can grind the roasted ingredients with a spoon of coconut milk to get added richness.
  2. You could also try this version with onions for an extremely filling side dish.