Thuvayal

1. Parupu thuvayal

Parupu thuvayal is prepared with tur dal, and coconut. The below ingredients serve 2-3 persons. Increase the ingredients according to the number of people you prepare for.

Ingredients:

• 50g or 1 cup tur dal
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 4 - 5 red chillies (dried)
• ¼ tsp hing ( asefoetida)
• Salt to taste
  
  Oil to fry the ingredients.

Method:
Heat 4 -5 tsp of oil in a kadai. First add tur dal then red chillies and sauté them till the dal turn into light brown. Now add hing and coconut. Saute them for one minute.
Now grind all the above masala with salt by adding water little by little into fine paste. Parupu Thuvayal is ready.
Now take 2 spatula of cooked rice in a plate. Mix 3-4 tbsp of parupu thuvayal with ½ tsp butter oil with rice and have it along with side dish keerai kootu and vattakuzhambu.

Coconut Rice

Coconut is one of the main ingredients in South Indian recipe. Recipe prepared with coconut cannot be refrigerated for a long time. So prepare accordingly.
Coconut rice is another Chitrannam. It is prepared with fresh grated coconut. Coconut oil is used in this recipe which increases the taste.

Cook 200 g of rice with 1:2 ratio of water. Transfer this cooked rice in a big plate. Add 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil and spread it gently with a spoon. Let it cool.
Grate a coconut.

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon rai
• 2 teaspoon udar dal
• 2 teaspoon channa dal
• ¼ teaspoon hing (asefodida)
• 3-4 red chillies (dried)
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• Few cashew nuts
• Few raisins
  
  2 cups grated coconut (fresh)
  4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil
  Salt to taste

Method:
Heat 4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil in a kadai and fry all the above ingredients till they turn into golden brown. Now add the grated coconut and sauté it for 2 minutes. Add salt to your taste and mix them thoroughly with the cooked rice.
Serve it with fried or roasted papad or chips.
Serves two.

Lemon Rice

Chitrannangal (Assorted Rice preparations)
Chitrannam means cooked rice mixed in different variety of ingredients. It is easy to prepare and tasty to eat. There are about 8-10 variety of chitrannangal. These are mostly prepared during festivals, in marriage feast, and are offered as prasadam at temples in south India.
Lemon rice is one of the chitrannam. It is very easy to prepare. Increase the quantity of rice and ingredients according to the number of persons you prepare for.

1. Lemon rice
Cook 200g of rice with (1:2 ratio) water. Transfer this in a big plate. Add 3-4 teaspoons of sesame oil and spread it gently with a spoon. Let it cool.
Squeeze 2 lemons (remove the seeds) in a cup and add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi).

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon rai
• 1 teaspoon udar dal
• 1 teaspoon channa dal
• ½ teaspoon tur dal
• ¼ teaspoon hing ( asefodida)
• 2 red chilies (dried)
• 1 sprig curry leaves chopped
• Few cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5-6 teaspoons sesame oil or which ever oil you use
  
  For grinding masala
• 3-4 tablespoons grated coconut
• 3-4 green chilies
• ½ inch ginger
• Few coriander leaves
  
  Grind the above masala into paste by adding little water
  

Method
Heat the oil in a nonstick kadai and fry all the above ingredients till it turns into golden brown. Now add the masala paste and salt. Stir it well. Let it boil for 1 minute.
Switch off the flame. Pour the lemon juice with haldi and stir it well.
Now slowly mix this lemon mixture to the cooked rice. Serve this after ½ an hour because it takes little time for the lemon masala to get absorbed in the rice. Serve it with fried papad.

Serves two.

Chutney

Chutney is one of the side dishes for Idlis, Dosas. Medu vadas, Upma, Venpongal , Bondas, Bajiyas, etc .There are few variety of chutneys. Its easy to prepare. Chutneys cannot be stored for long time. It should be consumed with in 2-3 hrs. Increase the quantity of ingredients according to the number of people you prepare for.

1. Tomato Chutney.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium size tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 medium size onion (chopped)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• ½ inch ginger
• 2 green chillies
• 1-2 red chillies
• 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 3 tbsp channa dal
• Few chopped coriander leaves
  
  Salt to taste
  3-4 tbsps of oil to fry the ingredients.

For tempering
½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
1 tsp oil

Method:

Heat the oil in a kadai, add channa dal and red chilies . Saute them till the dal turns into light brown. Then add chopped onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, hing, and curry leaves. Saute them for one minute. Now add chopped tomato and grated coconut. Saute the whole mixture for two more minutes. Transfer this masala in a plate. Let it cool down. Now grind them with chopped coriander leaves and salt by adding little water into a fine paste. Transfer it in a bowl. Temper it with mustard seeds. The tomato chutney is ready to serve.

Kootu

1. Poricha kootu:

Poricha kootu is usually prepared with the Pudalangai (snake gourd). We rarely get this vegetable in the place where I live. So whenever I find this vegetable in the market I buy it to make Poricha kootu.

Ingredients:

• 500g Pudalangai (snake gourd)
• 50g moog dal (pasi paruppu)
• 1 cup grated coconut
• ¼ tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 1tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1-2 red chilies (dried)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp rice flour (for thickening)

For tempering:

• 2-3 tsp oil
• ½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 2tsp udar dal
• 1 sprig curry leave

Method:
Wash and cut the Pudalangai (snake gourd) vertically and slice it.
Cook moog dal and keep it aside. In a copper bottom vessel or in a non stick vessel cook pudalangai with salt and hing.Add enough water to cook the vegetable. Now grind the grated coconut, jeera, and red chillies with little water. Transfer this ground masala paste into the cooked dal. Pour this mixture into the boiling vegetable. Add 1 tsp black pepper powder to the boiling kootu. Stir it now and then. Make thin paste of rice flour with little water and pour it into the boiling kootu. Let it boil for one more minute, and then remove it from the flame. Temper it with rai, udar dal and curry leaves. Now the Poricha kootu is ready.

If you cannot grind the masala just heat the oil in a kadai and add rai, udar dal, jeera, red chillies. When the rai splutters add grated coconut and curry leaves. Sauté it for one minute. Then temper it into the kootu.

Kuzhambu (Sambar) variety

Kuzhambu (Sambar) which we Iyengars call it as Negizhcurryamudu, because it is a gravy preparation. It is prepared with tamarind (imli), lentils (dal), masalas, and vegetables like brinjal, lady’sfinger (okra), raddish, drumstick, white pumkin, yellow pumkin, capsicum, carrot, onion, sweet potato, spinach etc. There is slight difference between kuzhambu and sambar. Kuzhambu is prepared either with kuzhambu podi (sambar powder) or by tempering the ingredients. Sambar is prepared with freshly ground masala with coconut.

1. Pulikeerai: (Spinach with tamarind and dal)
Pulikeerai is prepared by tempering the below given ingredients. Sock tamarind (imli) in water for ½ an hour and extract the juice. Keep it aside. Cook tur dal about 100 g with ¼ tsp haldi. Wash and chop 250g of spinach. Wash and cut 50g of okra (lady’s finger) and 4 medium size brinjal into small cubes.

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 2 tsp udar dal
• ½ tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 4-6 green chillies (chopped)
• ½ tsp fenugreek (methi)
• 4-6 tsp oil

Salt to taste.
2 tsp rice flour.
Method:
Heat the oil in a kadai. Add rai, udar dal, hing, methi and chopped green chillies. Let the rai splutter. Then add okra and brinjal and sauté them for 1 minute. Add spinach . Pour imli extract into the spinach mixture. Add salt to taste. Let it boil for sometime. Add cooked tur dal and let the whole thing boil for few more minutes. Stir it now and then. Take 2 tsp of rice flour in a cup .Make it a paste by adding little water and pour it into the boiling spinach. Stir it thoroughly and let it boil for 1 more minute. Now the pulikeerai is ready.
Take a spatula full of cooked rice in a plate and add 2-3 ladles full of pulikeerai, mix them with ½ tsp ghee (butter oil). Have it along with side dish Poricha kootu

Pakode

Green peas-corn-chickpea pakode
Winter is the time when we get fresh green peas, sweet corn, green chickpea, tender onion and tender garlic. So one evening I thought of making pakode with these. To my surprise it tasted Yummy. So why don’t you try this and have it along with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

• 2-cups sweet corn (sheared from cob)
• 1-cup green peas
• 1-cup green chickpeas
• 3 tender onion
• 2 tender garlic
• 4 green chilies
• ½ inch ginger
• 1-teaspoon black pepper
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• Few green coriander leaves

Oil to fry
Salt to taste.

Now grind all the above ingredients into thick paste by adding little water. Transfer this dough into a bowl. Add salt to taste. Now add channa flour (besan) little by little to the dough and whisk it thoroughly till the water in it is completely absorbed.

Method:
Heat the oil in a kadai. Keep the flame in medium. Make small balls of this dough and deep fry them till they turn into light brown in color. Serve them hot with tomato sauce.