Mixed vegetable pulao

This is a unique pulao which combines English vegetables with Indian ones - a real treat! Kids really love this.

Ingredients:

Brocolli stems (reserve the florets for the salad) - 1 cup

Carrots - diced into 1/4" cubes - 1 cup

Peas - 1/2 cup

Beans - cut into 1/4" long pieces - 1 cup

3 Onions - cut into 1/2" long strips

Yellow capsicum - 1/4 - cut into 1/4" long pieces

Red capsicum - 1/4 - cut into 1/4" long pieces

Green capsicum - 1/4 - cut into 1/4" long pieces

Fresh mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Coconut milk - 2 cups

Rice (Basmati long grained) - 3 cups

Salt - to taste

Cumin / jeera seeds - 2 tsp

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon - 3 sticks of 1/2" each

Cardamom - 3

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Method:

• Wash all the vegetables and cut them.
• Wash and soak the rice for 1/2 hour.
• In a deep bottomed pan, heat cooking oil. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.
• When they turn red add onions and saute them till they turn translucent.
• Add carrots, peas and beans. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add brocolli stems and green capsicum. Saute for 2 minutes.
• Add soaked rice and fry until lightly roasted.
• Add coconut milk and 2 cups water.
• Add salt. Cover the vessel and cook until rice is done.
• Cut mint leaves and add to the rice. Stir well.
• Add cut yellow and red capsicum, turn off the flame, stir and keep covered for 5 minutes.
• Serve hot with raita of your choice.

Pullayar kozhakattai

Ingredients:
For the filling (purnam):

• Coconut - 1
• Jaggery (finely powdered) - 1 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup

For the covering:

• Raw rice - 2 cups
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup

Method:

For the filling:

• Grate coconut finely.
• In a pan add jaggery and water and let it boil until it reaches a two string consistency.
• Add coconut and stir well. Let it thicken. It is done if you can make balls easily without the mixture sticking to your hands.

For the cover:

• Wash and soak raw rice in water for 10 minutes. Strain in a collander. Let stand for half an hour.
• Powder in a mixie and sieve until you get a fine powder. 2 cups raw rice will normally yield about 4 cups of powder.
• In a vessel add water and rice powder and stir until it reaches dosa batter consistency. Keep aside.
• In a thick bottomed pan add 1 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, salt and 1 tbsp oil.
• When the mixure boils, add the rice batter slowly while stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
• When the mixture becomes thick, remove from fire and keep aside.
• Cool.

For the Kozhakattai

• Make small balls out of the filling.
• Make a small ball out of the rice mixture and flatten it between the palms of your hand.
• Grease your fingers with a little oil and flatten the ball with your fingers working from the centre to the outer edges until a thin cup is formed.
• Insert the coconut ball inside and cover leaving a small tip on the top.
• Arrange this on a idli plate and steam.
• When the kozhakattai's are done, the outer cover will look glossy.
• Remove from fire, sprinkle little cold water with your fingers.
• Serve when cool.

Dal Dhokli

Ingredients:

For Dhokli

• Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

For Dal

• Moong dal (with or without skin) - 1 1/2 cups
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Jeera / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Red chilli powder (optional) - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Dhania powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Lemon - 1
• Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash and pressure cook the dal until it is well done.
• In a bowl, take wheat flour and salt, add water little by little and make a dough of chapatti dough consistency. Set aside for atleast 1/2 hour.
• Make chapattis out of the dough and cut the chapatti into 1 1/2" squares.
• Boil water in a vessel. Add a little oil to the water. When the water begins to boil, add the cut chapatti pieces into it and cook until soft. Drain in a collander. Pour cold water over it and keep aside.
• In a thick pan, pour 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds and jeera seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Add curry leaves along with finely ground ginger and chilli paste.
• Mash the dal well, mix with 5 cups of water and add to the pan. Add salt, dhania and jeera powder.
• Let the dal boil for 5 - 10 minutes. Add chilli powder and the dhokli pieces. Boil for another 2 - 3 minutes.
• Remove from flame. Add lemon juice, ghee and chopped coriander.
• Serve hot.

Rawa Dhokla

Ingredients:

• Rawa (semolina) - 1 1/2 cups
• Sour buttermilk - 3 cups
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Green chillies - 4
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Sesame seeds (white) - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Eno fruit salt - 10 gms
• Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
• Water as required

Method:

• Grind 2 chillies and ginger into a fine paste.
• In a bowl, mix rawa, buttermilk, salt, turmeric powder and the ground chilli - ginger paste. Mix well until it is of dosa batter consistency. If required, add some water.
• Keep aside for an hour.
• In a deep bottomed pan, add some water and bring to a boil. Place a small bowl in the centre so that it acts as a stand. Grease a deep plate.
• When the water is boiled and the vapour starts to rise, add the eno fruit salt to the prepared dhokla batter and immediately pour into the greased plate.
• Put the plate on the bowl in the deep bottomed pan and cover with a lid / big plate so that the steam does not escape.
• Let it cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes. Poke a knife into the dhoklas. If the batter does not stick to the knife, the dhoklas are done.
• Remove them from the fire and cool. Cut into squares.
• In a pan add oil, mustard seeds, sesame seeds. When they splutter, add asafoetida, curry leaves and finely chopped chillies. Add 1/4 cup water. (If you like the dhoklas sweet, you can add 1 tsp sugar along with the water).
• Pour this onto the dhokla plate. Garnish with chopped coriander.
• Serve with spicy mint chutney and sweet dates chutney.

Parikkai (Bitter Gourd) pickle

My mother in law used to make this frequently when she was alive. Since bitter gourd is not widely relished, this dish has become a rarity even within my own family. But for bitter gourd lovers, this is a must try recipe.....

Ingredients:

• Bitter Gourd - 3 tender
• Sesame seed oil - 3 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Fenugreek / Methi powder - 1 tsp
• Jaggery - as per taste
• Salt to taste
• Tamarind - 1 gooseberry sized ball
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Urad dal - 2 tsp
• Chana dal - 2 tsp

Method:

• Wash, deseed and cut the bitter gourd into small cubes - about 1/2 cm in size.
• Pour oil in a thick bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal. When the mustard seeds splutter and the dal turns red, add turmeric powder and asafoetida.
• Add cut bitter gourd pieces and fry for about 5 minutes on medium flame.
• Extract pulp from the tamarind (use very little water) and add this to the bitter gourd.
• Add salt. Boil the bitter gourd in the tamarind extract until the tamarind extract is absorbed completely.
• Add chilli powder and methi powder. Add required amount of jaggery.
• Cool and store in airtight container.
• This can be used for more than a month if refrigerated.
• Serve with chapatti or curd rice.
  

Rice Sevai

Thanks to these modern days of instant sevai, this recipe is almost lost. Hardly anyone every makes this except the old puritans who insist that this is better both in terms of texture and taste.

Ingredients

• Salem boiled rice - 3 cups
• Water
• Salt - as per taste
• Sesame seed oil - 1 tbsp

Method

• Wash and soak rice overnight.
• Grind into a fine watery paste.
• In a pan, pour 1 cup water, sesame seed oil and salt. When it boils, pour the batter into it and stir continuously until it becomes a thick paste. Take care to avoid lumps.
• Cool. Make egg shaped balls as shown in the picture and place in the idli plate for steaming.
• Steam for about 20 - 25 minutes. The balls are done if they are not sticky.
• When hot, put into the sevai press and make the sevai.
• Put 1 tsp oil over it and cool.
• When completely cool, they can be cut into smaller strings and used for making coconut sevai, lemon sevai, curd sevai, tomato sevai, puli sevai, etc (refer recipes in the blog).

Tomato soup

This is a south Indian version of the popular tomato soup - tastes yummy and different from the ones that are normally available.

Ingredients:

• Ripe tomatoes - 6
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - to taste
• Cornflour or barley powder - 1 tsp
• Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Jeera - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

• Put washed tomatoes in a little boiling water. Keep covered. After sometime the skin will split. Grind this into a fine paste.
• Add pepper powder, salt and sugar.
• Mix the cornflour or barley powder in water and add.
• Boil the mixture.
• In a pan, add ghee, mustard seeds and jeera. When they splutter, pour this into the soup.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Variation - 1 tsp sambar powder can be added if you like a little more spice...