Poondu(Garlic) kuzhambu

There are so many versions of poondu kuzhambu but this version of mine has only garlic added to it and no onions or tomatoes. If you are lazy to cut onions and tomatoes you can make this as this recipe calls for only garlic. This gravy can be refrigerated for more than a month. It would stay fresh as we don't add onions or tomatoes to it. If you would like to have a handy thokku or gravy to go with idlis ,dosas or rice you can make them and refrigerate them. I make this for my husband especially when I leave to India. It tastes so good with rice and potato curry.

Ingredients 
Garlic - 10 cloves
Curry leaves - A handful
Tamarind - 1 goose berry size (If you are using tamarind paste - 2 tbsp)
Oil - 4 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2 - 3 
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Hing - A pinch
Sambar Powder/Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Pepper cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tbsp


Preparation Method
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and urad dal and let it splutter. Now add the red chillies, curry leaves,hing and  garlic and fry them well. You can smash the garlic to add more flavor and taste.

Once the rawness of the garlic goes off add the turmeric powder, tamarind paste, sambar powder and salt.
Allow it to boil for about 15-20 minutes. You can see that the gravy would have reduced to almost half its size. Now add the pepper and cumin powder and let it boil for about 2-3 minutes.If you want it even more thicker let it boil for a few more minutes.

Garlic kozambu is ready to serve. I usually add a tbsp of Gingelly oil to this to make it even more tastier. Moreover Gingelly oil balances the heat in our body because of the garlic. This gravy is extemely tasty and easy to make too.

Surakkai pattani kootu(Bottlegourd/Lauki mutter dal)

The thing that bottle gourd was one of the earliest vegetables cultivated by man makes me treat this real special. It has been known for its medicinal value and hence is being widely used in traditional healing. I love to use this often in my kitchen. Using mutter in this recipe gives it an extra punch. I combine lentils with vegetables just to boost the protein intake. This healthy recipe can be eaten either with rotis or hot rice.

Ingredients
Surakkai(lauki) - 1 medium size
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Pattani(Mutter)-1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium size
Tomato - 1 medium size
Garlic - 2 - 3 cloves
Curry leaves- A handful
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds(Sombu)- 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Chilli powder or Sambar powder- 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp

Preparation Method
Cut the Bottle gourd into medium size pieces and pressure cook it along with the dal and mutter. Add the turmeric powder while you pressure cook it.

Now heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, fennel seeds , red chillies and the curry leaves. Add the garlic and onion and fry them well.

Add the tomatoes along with the cooked dal. Add chilli powder and salt.

Let it boil for about 7-10 minutes. Dal is ready to serve.If you like it to be more spicy you can use bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon while doing the tadka.

Aval Almond Payasam(Almond poha kheer)

Aval(Poha) always reminds me of Lord Krisha as it was his favorite.This payasam is made especially on Krisna Jayanthi. Everytime I make something out of aval I keep it first before Krishna even before I taste it. Making a payasam/kheer with aval is so easy that you can make it in a few minutes. It tastes so good no wonder Lord krishna liked it. I ran out of cashew nuts and hence I used Almonds and infact I liked it. Aval and almond rhymes well too...This is a very traditional recipe and I love trying traditional recipes which have a great story attached to it ....

Ingredients 
Aval/Poha - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Almonds - 5-6
Raisins- 4-5
Elachi powder- 1/2 tsp
Milk - 2 cups


Preparation Method
Add 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the almonds(I prefer to break them into half) and raisins. Keep them aside.
In the same pan add the remaining ghee and roast the Aval. Now add the milk and let the aval cook.
Add the elachi powder and once the aval is cooked add the sugar.
Let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Now garnish it with almonds and raisins and payasam is ready for your feast...

Pudalangai poricha kootu(Snake gourd dal)

Pudalangai poricha kootu is a wonderful way to cook snake gourd. One thing I like about this vegetable is that it is so easy to cut. When you are done with cutting the vegetables almost half the cooking is done. This kootu is very tasty and extremely easy to make.I use a lot of coriander seeds in my cooking. Add it to any dish it would make it so tasty. Apart from the taste aspect it aides in digestion too. I am a big fan of coriander seeds and use it wherever I can. Make a nice spicy curry with this and have it with hot rice I bet you wont regret it.

Ingredients
Snake gourd - 1 medium size
Moong dal(pasi paruppu) - 1 cup
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup(If you are using the dessicated one)
Curry leaves - 5-6
Green chillies- 2 -3(add more if you want it spicy)
Hing - a pinch
Salt - As required


Preparation method
Cut the snake gourd into medium size pieces and pressure cook it with the moong dal,turmeric powder and chana dal.(For 1 cup of dal and medium size snake gourd you can add 2 1/2 cups of water
 In the mean while dry roast only the coriander seeds and grind it finely along with the cumin seeds,coconut and green chillies.

Now heat oil in a pan and  add the mustard seeds and the urad dal.Add the curry leaves and the hing.
Add the cooked dal mixture to this and required amount of salt.
Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add the ground paste and let it boil for about 5-7 minutes.
Thats it... Pudalangai poricha kootu is ready.. It really tastes good without any garlic or onion added to it..
The original tanjore recipe doesn't have garlic or onion added to it. But if you would prefer to have them in your version you can add them too....

Pulicha Keerai Thogayal

Pulicha Keerai (Sour leaf) known better as Gongura is nature's blessing to us. It is packed with iron,vitamins,folic acid and anti oxidants. If there is one simple way to take better care of ourselves have this as part of your diet as much as possible. It is so tasty and so easy to make too. One can make this in just 10 minutes. My mom used to make this a lot but without garlic and onions. My version comes with garlic and onion as they take the taste to a different level. Try this out...

Ingredients 
Pulicha Keerai/Sour leaf - 1 Bunch
Garlic - 4 cloves
Onion - 1 medium size
Oil - 2 table spoons
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 3 
Salt - As required


Preparation Method 
Add 1 table spoon of oil to a pan . Now add the coriander seeds , garlic, red chillies.
Fry them well and keep them aside.

In the same pan fry the sour leaf(No extra oil required) . The leaves would shrink to almost half and change their color. The color change is due to the iron content in the leaves.

Cool the roasted spices and the sour leaves and grind them in a blender.I usually make a fine paste similar to a chutney.

Now add the remaining oil and saute the onions till they become translucent. Once the onions are cooked add the blended mixture along with the required salt and fry them well for about 5 mins.
If you would like to have it like a gravy you can add some more water

Pulicha keerai thogayal is ready to be served with hot rice. It is an excellent combination with curd rice too...

Rajapalayam KaraKuzhambu

Kara kuzhambu a south indian speciality is one of my favorite dishes as it has got such a tangy taste to it.Any special meal is incomplete without this .Kara kuzhambu with potato curry is the ultimate combination. Adding eggplant or drumstick makes it even more tasty but this version doesn't have these vegetables. It tastes heavenly with curd rice. This can be refrigerated for more than a week as it doesn't have any dal added to it. If you would like to store it for even more days you can add more oil to it to stay fresh. Its easy to make too. Once you add all the ingredients you are done when the gravy reaches the right consistency.
Here comes the recipe

Ingredients

• Small onion - a handful
• Tomato - 1 medium size
• Garlic - 6-7 cloves Red chillies - 3
• Tamarind juice - 2 cups
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek - Half a tsp
• Hing - a pinch
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a handful
• Sambar powder - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 1 and half tbsp
• Oil - 4 tbsp

Preparation method

• Heat oil in a pan and once its hot add mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
• Now add Red chillies,fenugreek seeds,garlic and fry them well.
• Add onions and fry them well.
• Add tomatoes,turmeric powder and curry leaves .
• Add the tamarind pulp, sambar powder and salt.
• Allow it to boil for 15 - 20 mins. Now the gravy would have thickened and the quantity would have reduced to half of its original quantity. This is the right consistency. This gravy wouldn't be so loose like sambar but would be of the consistency of a thokku. Now Rajapalayam Karakuzhambu is ready to serve..

Pudina paruppu(Mint dal)

I love mint for its color, flavor and its nutritional value. I end up making mint pulao or chutney all the time. Suddenly I had this idea of making a dal with mint. I couldn't wait to try this out. People who like a lot of flavor in their food would love this. Its an easy way to make kids eat mint too.This goes well with rotis and rice...... check it out!!!

Ingredients
Mint - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green chillies - 3
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Hing - A pinch
oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - As required

Preparation Method

• Pressure cook mint and moong dal and keep it aside.
• Now heat the oil, add mustard seeds, fennel, garlic, onion and tomato and fry them well.
• Now add green chillies and the turmeric powder and fry them till the rawness goes off.
• Add the cooked dal to the tadka.
• Add hing and salt as required.
• Allow it to boil for 5 minutes and the dal is ready...

Indian butter biscuit

Indian butter biscuit(Ghee biscuit)

This biscuit was inspired from the ghee biscuit my mom used to make when I was a small kid. She managed it so well to bake a cookie without an oven. She used to make it in a tava with hot sand on it. I still remember eating so many of them once she makes it. Having said enough about my love for these biscuits I love to make these yummy ones for my daughter now. She loves the heart shaped ones hence I make more of them.
Here comes my version of butter biscuit.

Ingredients
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4th of a cup
A pinch of salt
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 3/4th of a cup
oil for greasing the baking tray


Preparation Method

• Mix all purpose flour,salt,baking soda and baking powder together.

• Now add sugar to a bowl and cream the butter. Now add this mixture to the flour little by little and make it into a soft dough by kneading it.

• Make balls out of this and flatten them out. You can make them small as it doubles in size when you bake it.

• If you like to make different shapes roll the dough thick and use a cookie cutter to cut them out.

• I usually start to preheat the oven at 350 degrees when I am done with making the cookies.

• Keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 mins.

• Now place it in a greased baking tray and bake them for about 15-20 mins.

• After 20 mins switch the oven off and keep it inside for 10 more mins.

Now you can take them cool them off.Yummy crispy cookies are ready. I usually sprinkle dried coconut powder on the cookies after I arrange them on the baking tray.. Its optional though..