Mothersday Recipe - III Vendaikkai Pulunkari

Ingredients

1. Okra / Bhindi cut into pices - 1/2 kg
2. Tamarind - small lemon size
3. coconut oil - 1 tsp,mustard, u. dhal, dry red chilies, curry leaves - for seasoning.
4. turmeric powder, asaefotida,  - for color and odor
5. grates coconut - 1/4 th cup
6. 2 tbsps raw rice, 2-3 red chilies, methi seeds - 1/tsp - for dry roasting and powdering
7. Salt to taste

Steps

1. Keep a pan on fire.
2. Add coconut oil, all seasoning items.
3. After mustard splutters, add the bhindi.
4. Now add  salt,turmerics & hing.
5. Stir everything well.
6. Add salt & tamarind pulp.
7. Mix everything well and let it cook on medium flame (cover it up with a lid for faster cooking).
8. In a separate pan dry roast rice, methi & red chilies.
9. Grind dry roasted mixture to a coarse powder.
10. After bhindi is cooked well, keep it on low flame.
11. add coconut and dry roasted power.
12. Mix everything well and turn off the gas.!

Since this powder has a coarse texture, it tastes well and we call it Bhuru Bhuru - means something that's coarse. It's also called as pulunkari.

This could be made with tindora, etc.. also

Mothersday Recipe - II Mukkani Sambar

Mukkani Sambar 
Ingredients

1. Lemon sized tamarind.
2. Jaggery powder - 1tbsp
3. 4-8 Red Chilies , 2/3 cup coriander seeds, 1tsp methi seeds - for frying & grinding
4. Jack-fruit, Mango and (Nenthram) Banana gut into pieces.
5. 1tsp mustard, u. dhal,  a pinch of methi powder, hing powder, red chilies powder , 5-10 curry leaf leaflets.
   

Procedure

1. Make a pulp with tamarind.
2. Add it with enough water, turmeric powder, salt & jaggery.
3. Bring it to a boil.
4. Add all the fruits and cook them on low heat.
5. Now in a pan, add little oil and all grinding ingredients (except coconut) and fry on low heat.
6. Now grind that masala well to a fine paste.
7. After the fruit mixture boils, add this paste.
8. When everything boil turn off the heat.
9. In the same pan, heat little more oil and add all seasoning items.
10. Add it to sambar!

Enjoy this delicacy with rice, tiffin etc.! Jack fruit flavor is really nice!

Cabbage Upperi AKA முட்டைக்கோசு உப்பேரி

Ingredients

1. Cabbage cut into thin slices. 2-3 cups
2. Curry Leaves 10-15 leaflets,Coconut 2 tbsp, green chilies - 2-3 (or more) 
3. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
4. Mustard seeds, U. Dhal - 1tsp (for seasoning)

Procedure

1. Add water, salt and turmeric powder to a vessel and bring to a boil.
2. Add cut cabbage and bring to a boil.
3. After it starts boiling, make sure it's only 80% cooked.
4. Turn off the gas, cover the vessel with a lid and let it cool down for 10 mins.
5. Now filter the water and allow the cooked veggies to cool down.
6. That water may be used for rasam or cabbage soup.
7. In a pan add coconut oil, mustard, and u. dhal.
8. After mustard seeds splutter reduce the heat to medium flame.
9. Now add the cooked and cooled down cabbage.
10. Now add a little bit of salt.
11. Stir it well so that the oil, mustard etc. spreads well and extra water from cabbage is gone.
12. Now grate coconut, green chilies, & curry leaves to a coarse paste (without water).
13. Add it to cabbage, sir it well & turn off the gas.

Cabbage upperi is ready. Enjoy it with rice, chapatis etc..

Snake Gourd Curry (புடலங்காய்த் துவரம்)

This is another very traditional  TAMBRAHM recipe. Thuvaram - means a curry or vegetable mixed with a small quantity of tuar dhal or thuvaram paruppu as it's called in Tamil. Only certain Indian vegetables are suitable for this recipe (like Indian beans, snake gourd, beans, long beans etc)

Ingredients

1. Snake-gourd cut into small pieces  - 1-2 cups
2. Well cooked tuar dhal - 1-2 tbsps
3. grated coconut - 1tbsp
4. shredded coconut - tbsp 
5. coconut oil - 1 tsp
6. mustard seeds, u. dhal - 1 tsp
7. curry leaves - 5-10 leaf lets
8. dry red chilies - 2-3 (cut into pieces)

Procedure

1. Add water, salt and turmeric powder to a vessel and bring to a boil.
2. Add snake-gourd pieces and bring to a boil.
3. After it starts boiling, make sure it's only 80% cooked.
4. Turn off the gas, cover the vessel with a lid and let it cool down for 10 mins.
5. Now filter the water and allow the cooked veggies to cool down.
6. In a pan add coconut oil, mustard, red chilies and u. dhal.
7. After mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves and reduce the heat to medium flame.
8. Now add the cooked and cooled down snake-gourd pieces. (if needed add a pinch of turmeric again).
9. Now add a little bit of salt, cooked tuar dhal and shredded coconut.
10. mix everything well.

Snake gourd thuvaram is ready. Enjoy it with rice, chapatti etc..

Since we have added tuar dhal it is very tasty..and can be had with plain rice also.

Sathvik Mixed Vegetable Pakoda

Sathvik Mixed Vegetable Pakoda..

Ingredients

1. Finely chopped Veggies ( 1/2 potato, 4-5 florets of cauliflower, small peice of cabbage, 1/2 tbsp spinach, little coriander leaves, 1/4th of belle pepper) - 1 cup
2. Finely Chopped Green Chillies 2 & small piece of chopped ginger 
3. Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
4. Asaefotida - 1 pinch, Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp, red chillie powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Besan or chick pea flour 1 cup
6. ghee - 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for frying

Steps

1. Mix all the veggies, ginger, green chilies, cumin, salt, turmeric, asafetida, red chilies powder, salt and mix everything well.
2. With slight pressure with hands, mix everything well & keep it aside for 2-3 mins.
3. Now add Besan or chick pea flour.
4. Optionally If the flour is too thin add some extra besan .
5. Without adding water, mix everything very well.
6. Sprinkle a little water and mix gain, and repeat this until it becomes a thick dough.
7. Now add 1 tsp of ghee and mix everything well.
8. Keep a frying pain on medium heat and add oil tot he same and heat until the oil comes of boiling point.
9. Drop a small piece of dough into oil and make sure that it gets cooked and rises above.
10. Now take the dough into hands, make into small pieces and drop into the oil.
11. Allow the pakodas to cook until sound of oil stops and bubbles reduce.
12. Repeat this until all the dough is over.
13. Keep it on a tissue paper so that extra oil gets absorbed.

Mix Veggie Pakora is ready! You can enjoy it with coffee, tea and side dishes like chutney..

Note: You can add a tsp of rice flour or corn flour to make it more crispy.
Note: Finely chopped onions can be added to the veggie mixture too.
Note: Slightly grated coriander seeds can be added to this. ( or caram seeds).
Note: If there's no chutney available sprinkle some chat masala powder on the pakodas.

Keerai Mulakoottal

Keerai Mulakoottal

Ideally this is made with any soft keerai or greens. For the occasion of dwadashi, agathi keerai is used.

Note: As per Siddha Medicine, Agathi keerai can be consumed only twice in a month and hence dwadashi is the day for consuming this keerai.  It's packed with iron and other nutrients.

Ingredients:

1. Cleaned and cut greens (keerai) 1 cup
2. Cooked tuar dhal - 1 cup (1/2 cup dhal cooked with turneric and 1/2 cup water)
3. Coconut - 1/2 cup
4. jeera / cumin - tsp , Urad Dhal - 1 tbsp red chillies  1-2 nos - for grinding
5. salt - 1 tbsp or to taste
6. water - for boiling keerai, grinding.
7. coconut oil - for seasoning ( Coconut oil adds to the flavor)

Steps

1. Make sure that your greens contain only the soft part of it. (any stems etc.. can be saved for making a dif. curry).
2. Cook 1/2 cup toor dhal with turmeric and  1/2 tsp coconut oil / ghee ( ghee/ coconut oil prevents dhal from raising and coming out of your cooker and spilling in the stove etc..) and keep it aside after it's cooked.
3. Add 1.5 cups of water and a little salt (it preserves the color of your keerai) and heat it in a vessel.
4. After it comes to a boil add the greens and cook it on low flame.
5. after greens / keerai is cooked then turn off the fire.
6. Filter the keerai and save the water for grinding or adding later.
7. Let your keerai cool down . (grinding hot keerai in mixer will cause it to splash every where).
8. In a pan, fry 2 red chilies and urad dhal until urad dhal turns red ad a sweet aroma arises.
9. Not add that shredded coconut, fired u. dhal, red chilies, and a tsp of jeera to a fine paste. (use the water which was used to boil keerai).
10. If your greens are tender, you can mash it with a potato masher - if not, add it tot he same blender and run it once or twice.( dont grind your greens to a fine paste).
11. Now mix the ground coconut / u. dhal paste and greens in the same vessel and add more (water used to boil greens) water to bring it to nice consistency.
12. Allow the above mixture to boil.
13. Add the toor dhal, which was cooked.
14. Add salt to taste.
15. In a frying pan, add coconut oil, mustard, jeera(optional), u. dhal, one red chilies and allow mustard to splutter.
16. Add the seasoning on top of your gravy.

Keerai Mulkakoottal is done. Enjoy with rice , pickle / pachadi.

This is an all time Palakkad recipe.


Note: Instead of toor dhal, moong dhal can also be used.
Note: Shredded coconut can also be fried with cocnut oil ad added for more flavor.

Vazhaikkai Puli Kuthi Kari

Vazhaikkai Puli Kuthi Kari

This is a special delicacy prepared for all of the occasions in TAMBRAHM households.



Ingredients:

1. Raw Banana 3-4 nos.
2. Coconut (Shredded) - 3 tbsp
3. Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp, Urad Dhal 1 tsp , 2 dry red chilies, curry leaves 2, asaefotida - 1 pinch (For seasoning)
4. coconut oil - 2 tbsp
5. tamarind pulp 1 tbsp
6. turmeric - 1 tsp
7. salt - 1 tbsp or to taste
8. water to boil .

Steps:

1. Cut banana tip and base and peel off only the green skin.
2. Split banana(s) into two pieces length wise and then cut them into thin (not too thin like chips) slices.
3. Add the cut pieces to a boil containing salt and water (to prevent it from becoming dark) and keep it aside.
4. take another vessel, add salt, turmeric, tamarind pulp and allow it to boil.
5. Once it comes to a boil, all cut banana pieces.
6. After banana comes to a boil and most of the pieces are cooked, turn off the fire, cover it as keep it aside for 5 mins(to assure that all bananas are cooked well).
7. Then, using a filter, separate the bananas and discard the water.
8. Allow the bananas to cool down well - or they will get mashed .
9. Take a kadai, and add t tbsps of coconut oil.
10. Once the oil is hot, then add all the seasoning items (except curry leaves, asaefotida and dry chilies).
11. After mustard splutters, and urad dhal turns red, then add curry leaves, dry red chilies and asaefotida.
12. After curry leaves are fried well, add 2 tbsps of cup coconut  and fry well.
13. Roast the mixture until coconut id roasted well and aroma arises.
14. Not add the cooked bananas.
15. Sprinkle some salt (and red chili powder optional).
16. Mix everything and fry for 1.2 mins.
17. Add 1 tbsp of grated coconut now.
18. Squeeze some lemon to give it a tangy taste (Optional).

Banana Curry is ready.  Enjoy it with rice or chapathi.

Dwadashi Paaranai

Dwadashi paranai - is the ceremonious breaking of fast after ekadashi. This feast is actually prasadam, and very de-detoxifying, de-acidifying one. Only a total of 2-3 chilies are used. and strictly no tamarind is used for this cooking - as fasting my have made our body acidic and very simple and sathvik meals are prepared.

Here's are the typical ingredients/ veggies used in dwadashi paaranai.

Below is a picture of basic ingredients. Mango vathal (for mango vatha kuzambu is optional)

I have other posts for keerai mulakoottal, more kuzhambu etc..

1.  Greens (Agathi keerai) 
2.  Raw banana 
3. Black Pepper
4. Tomatoes,Lemons, Mango, Indian Gooseberry, Curd (as a supplement for tamarind).
5. White pumpkin
6. Turkey Berry (Sundaikkai (Deworms the stomach and is good for health)
7. India Gooseberry (Rich in iron)
8. Coconut(s)
9. Sesame oil. Coconut oil, or Ghee (no her oils must be used for cooking).

Please click below for the recipes :

1. Keerai Mulakoottal
2. Vazhaikkai Puli Kuthikkari
3. Sundaikkai Khadi or Mor Kuzhambu