Muthusaram

Ingredients:

• Raw rice powder - 3 cups
• Moong dal - 1 cup
• Chana dal - 1 cup
• Sesame seeds (white) - 50 gms
• Asafoetida - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Butter (if required) - 1 lemon sized ball
• Water as required
• Oil for deep frying
  

Method

• Dry roast Moong dal and chana dal separately until it gives off an aroma. Powder them together finely in a mixie.
• Add 1 cup of the moong and chana dal powder to 3 cups of rice powder.
• Add sesame seeds, salt and asafoetida powder. Heat 3 tbsp of oil or the butter and add to the powder.
• Add water little by little and knead until it reaches chapathi dough consistency.
• In a frying pan, heat oil on medium flame.
• Put a star shaped plate in the press, insert a little dough and press directly into the oil.
• Let cook for some time and turn over. When the bubbles in the oil subside remove and transfer into a plate covered with tissue / news paper.
• Cool and store in airtight container.
• Serve with tea / coffee.

Narthangai pickle

Ingredients:


Narthangai - 6 nos
Turmeric sticks - 2
Salt - 1 cup for every 4 cups of narthangai
Fenugreek / Methi seeds - 4 tsp

Method:

• Heat the turmeric sticks and grind them into a coarse powder.
• Roast methi seeds until deep red and grind into a coarse powder.
• Cut the Narthangai into 4 pieces and then cut into 1/2" triangles. Remove seeds.
• For every 4 cups of Narthangai pieces, add 1 cup salt, add the fenugreek and turmeric powder.
• Mix these well and keep aside.
• Stir every day for 2 - 3 days.
• Store in air tight containers.
• Serve with curd rice.

Variation - 4 tsp chilli powder and 2 tsp asafoetida can be added. After 2 days, it can be dried in the sun on a plastic sheet until dry and then stored in air tight containers. This can be used for a year.

Vadigapulli Narthanga pickle

Ingredients:

Vadugapulli Narthanga - 1

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Green Chillies - 8

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Method

• Cut the narthangai into 1/2 " cubes.
• For 4 cups of cut narthangai, add 1 cup of salt.
• Pour oil in a deep bottomed pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add finely chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
• Add this to the salted narthangai and keep aside for 2 - 3 days.
• When soft, store in the refrigerator.
• Serve with curd rice.

Mahani pickle

Ingredients

Tender Mahani roots - 1 kg

Red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri or Byedige)

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 3 tbsp

Lemon - 6 big sized

Curd - 1/2 cup

Salt

Method:

• Peel the skin and remove the thick inner roots.
• Soak them in water for an hour.
• In a vessel, add water, curd and turmeric powder.
• Cut the roots into small cubes - 1 mm size and put them into the water to which curd and turmeric powder were added.
• Wash the mahani roots well.
• Take 1 cup chilli powder and 1 cup of salt for every 6 cups of cut mahani roots.
• Dry roast the mustard seeds lightly and grind to a fine powder.
• Mix mustard powder, chilli powder with a little boiled and cooled water and grind in the mixie. Add to the mahani roots. Add salt and mix well.
• Squeeze the lemon juice into the mahani.
• Keep aside for 2 - 3 days until little soft.
• Add a little boiled and cooled water if required.
• Store in refrigerator in air tight containers.
• Serve with dosa or curd rice.

Sambar powder

Ingredients:

• Urad dal - 2 tbsp

Toor dal - 3 tbsp

• Chana dal - 3 tbsp


• Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tbsp


• Fenugreek / Methi seeds - 2 tbsp


• Coriander seeds - 3 cups


• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp


• red chilli powder

• black pepper - 2 tbsp


• Curry leaves - 2 tbsp
  

Method

• Wash and dry the curry leaves.
• Dry roast all ingredients except red chilli powder until the dal turns deep red.
• Grind into a fine powder.
• Add 1 cup red chilli powder for 3 cups of the ground powder.
• Mix well and store in air tight container.

Tomato chutney (thokku)

Ingredients:

• Ripe tomatoes - 1 kg
• Tamarind - 1 gooseberry sized ball
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Jaggery - to taste
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Red chillies - 3
• Asafoetida - 2 tsp
• Oil - 4 tsp

Method:

• Wash the tomatoes and put them in boiling water. Peel and deseed the tomatoes. Grind the pulp into a fine paste.
• Extract the tamarind pulp and add to the tomato paste.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a thick bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and red chillies broken into halves. When the seeds splutter add turmeric powder and the tomato and tamarind extract.
• Cook on low flame in a covered vessel for 30 - 45 mins until it becomes a thick paste and the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.
• Add salt, chilli powder, jaggery, asafoetida and the remaining oil.
• Simmer on low flame for another 5 - 10 mins.
• Cool and store in air tight container. This can be used for a month if refrigerated.
• Serve with dosa, rice, idli or chapatti

Variation:

1. One tsp of fenugreek (methi) powder can also be added along with chilli powder.
2. Finely chopped onions can also be fried until translucent and added to the tomato paste.

Rice and Chana dal payasam

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 1 1/2 cups

• Chana dal - 1 tbsp
• Black Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Milk - 2 cups
• Cashew pieces - a few
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

• Dry roast the chana dal until red.
• Mix the chana dal with washed rice, 1 cup milk and 1 1/2 cups water and cook in a pressure cooker until 1 whistle. Lower the flame and let cook for another 10 minutes.
• In a pan add jaggery and 1 cup water. Strain the syrup to remove dust / dirt.
• Boil the jaggery syrup and add the cooked rice and chana dal.
• Once it boils and becomes thick, add the remaining milk.
• Roast the cashews in ghee and add.
• Add cardamom powder and serve hot or cold.