Vazhakkai Masala Fry (Plantain Spicy Masala Curry)

Category: Lunch / Poriyal
Preparation Time: 10 mins +15 mins marination
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: For 2-3 persons 

Vazhakkai Masala Fry

Ingredients:

• Vazhakkai / Plaintain - 1 big sized / 2 small ones
• Onion, finely chopped - 1 small sized
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Channa dhal - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Salt-  to taste
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

To Roast and Grind:

• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Red chilly - 2-3 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Curry leaves - few
• Garlic - 3 pods
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Pepper - 1 tsp
• Coconut - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat a pan in a low/medium flame and dry roast the coriander seeds and red chilly for 30 secs and then add the garlic pods, curry leaves, fry till we got nice aroma; then add the pepper and cumin seeds fry for few secs
   
2. Switch off and finally add the coconut
   
3. Allow the mixture to cool and grind it to a coarse paste with very little water
4. Peel the skin and chop the plantain into bite sized cubes; keep it in water to prevent browning
5. In a wide bowl, add the ground masala, turmeric powder and salt, mix well
   
6. To this masala, add the  plaintain pieces (without water),Mix well and allow to marinate for atleast 15 mins
   
7. After marination time, heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, Urad dhal, channa dhal and curry leaves and fry till the dhals turn golden brown
   
8. Add the finely chopped onion and fry with a pinch of salt till it becomes transparent
   
9. Then add the marinated plaintain pieces along with 3-4 tbsp of water and cook covered in medium flame till it gets cooked and become soft. Take care not to turn it mushy
   
10. Once the water gets evaporated and the vegetable gets cooked, fry for another min and switch off
    
11. Serve hot with Rice, Sambar or Rasam and also tastes fantastic with curd rice!
    

Carrot-Beans Poriyal

Category: Lunch / Poriyal
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: For 2-3 persons 

Carrot-Beans Poriyal

  Ingredients:

• Carrots, finely chopped - 4-5 nos
• Green Beans, finely chopped - 20-25 nos
• Small Onion, finely chopped - 5-7 nos
• Green chilly, slitted - 1-2 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1 tsp
• Channa dhal - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Salt- to taste
• Fresh coconut, grated - 3-4 tbsp
• Water - as required

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, once it splutter, add Channa dhal, Urad dhal, Curry leaves one by one
2. Then add the chopped onions, saute for a min and add the chillies
3. Add the finely chopped carrot and beans to it and saute for 2 mins
4. Add required salt and little water, cook covered till the veggies get cooked
5. Once they become soft and without any water, switch off and add the grated coconut
6. Mix well and serve hot!
   

Cranberry Rasam

Category: Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: For 3-4 persons 

Cranberry Rasam!

Ingredients:

• Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Cranberry, fresh/frozen- 1/2 cup (Adjust as per the tanginess of tomato)
• Tomato, chopped - 1 no. 
  
• Garlic pods, crushed - 7-8
• Rasam powder - 2 tsp 
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as required
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Red chilly - 1 (to taste)
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a generous pinch
• Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Coriander leaves - as required 

Method:

1. Pressure cook Toor Dhal with 1 cup of water, Turmeric, few drops of oil  and mash well (I usually pre soak dhal for at least 15 mins for easy cooking)
2. Heat oil in a pan, once it gets hot add the mustard seeds. When it splutters, add cumin seeds, red chilly, followed by curry leaves and asafoetida
   
3. Add the crushed garlic pods and chopped tomato pieces. Saute well till tomato turns mushy (It might takes around 3-4 mins)
   
4. Then add the cranberries and saute for another 3-5 mins till it gets cooked and become mushy
   
5. Now add the mashed dhal with required amount of water, required salt and Rasam powder and mix well
   
6. Keep the flame in medium and cover the pan with lid. Once it becomes frothy and started to boil, switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves
   
7. Make sure not to boil the rasam after adding dhal
8. Serve hot with Rice!
   

 

Chocolate flavoured Peanut Butter

Category: Spreads
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Servings: yields around 1 cup

Home made Peanut Butter is a healthy spread/ snack with the goodness of peanuts and without any preservatives / artificial sweeteners. We can add any flavour to it such as Vanilla / Cinnamon / Chocolate; Options are endless:) Kids will surely love it and can be enjoyed with toasts/ sandwiches/ even with fruits.

Chocolate flavoured Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

• Peanuts, Raw shelled-1 cup
• Chocolate chips, semi-sweet mini morsels - 1 tbsp (adjust as per taste)
• Peanut Oil - 1 tbsp
• Honey - 1 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Dry roast the peanuts in a pan / oven and remove the skin; It should be warm while grinding
   
2. Here I used 1 tbsp of mini chocolate chips, we can adjust as per our taste
   
3. In a mixie / blender, add the roasted peanuts and grind it for 1 min till it becomes coarsely ground
4. Wipe down the sides of the jar and grind it for another 1 min
5. Now add the chocolate chips and grind for another minute
   
6. At this stage, it will be a coarse paste like consistency
   
7. Add in the peanut oil, honey and a pinch of salt
   
8. Grind it again till it reaches buttery texture
   
9. Transfer it to an air tight container and refrigerate
   
10. If we need more creamy flowing consistency, we can add another 1/2 tbsp of peanut oil while grinding
11. If we need coarse / grainy butter, initially we can remove around 2 tbsp of coarsely ground peanuts and add at the final stage

Poosanikkai Kootu - Pumpkin-Dhal Curry

Category: Kootu / Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Servings: 3-4 persons

Pumpkin Kootu is a comforting and mildly spiced curry with the goodness of pumpkin and protein rich dhal. Since it is not spicy, kids will like it. If we want a spicier version, we can also add 1 tsp of sambar powder / red chilly powder. We can prepare it with moong dhal alone or combination of moong and channa dhals.

Pumpkin Kootu

Ingredients:

• Poosanikkai /Orange Pumpkin, finely chopped - 1 cup heaped
• Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Channa Dhal - 2 tbsp
• Onion, finely chopped - 1/2 no 
• Tomato, finely chopped - 1 no
• Green chillies - 1-2 (Adjust as per spiciness)
• Ginger grated - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped - for garnishing

For Tempering:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Red Chilly, broken - 1 no (Optional)

Method:

1. Wash and remove the skin of the pumpkin, chop it into fine pieces
   
2. Soak the channa dhal for 10 mins
   
3. Dry roast the moong dhal in medium flame for 3-5 mins
   
4. In a Pressure cooker, add the pumpkin pieces, chopped onion, tomato, ginger, green chillies, channa dhal, moong dhal and turmeric powder
   
5. Add enough water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles
   
6. Once the pressure releases, open it up and mash it slightly with laddle
7. Add required salt and boil for another 4-5 mins in low flame. If its too thick, we can add little water
   
8. Meanwhile prepare the tempering in another pan; heat oil and then add mustard seeds followed by curry leaves, red chilly and finally cumin seeds
   
9. Add the tempering into the boiling kootu, mix well and simmer for another 1-2 mins
10. Switch off and Garnish with coriander leaves
    
11. Serve hot with rice!

Kothamalli Sadham - Home Style (Cilantro Rice)

Category:  Lunch / Rice
Preparation Time: 15 mins 
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings:For 2-3 persons

Kothamalli Sadham

Kothamalli Sadham is also one of my  favourite lunch box meal and this recipe is adapted from my mom's Recipe:) Addition of coconut makes it more flavourful and it can be had with spicy veg gravy! 

Since it's not having strong masala flavour, kids will surely like it. If making for kids, we can also add ghee roasted cashews / paneer pieces as an additional garnish:)

Kothamalli Sadham!!

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 1 no
• Star anise - 1 no
• Onion, thinly sliced - 1 no
• Salt- to taste
• Cilantro (Coriander leaves), finely chopped - 1/4 cup, for garnishing

For Coriander-flavoured coconut milk:

• Fresh coconut, chopped - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
• Cilantro (Coriander leaves), chopped - 1 bunch or 1 to 2 cups
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 3-4 pods
• Green chillies, slitted - 2-3 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
• Cloves - 2-3 nos
• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Poppy seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Water - around 1.5- 2 cups

Optional Garnishing:

• Cashews, roasted in ghee - 2-3 tbsp (Or)
• Paneer pieces, toasted in ghee - few

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice for atleast 30 mins
2. Take the ingredients under grinding in a blender/ mixie, add required water and grind to a smooth paste. Using strainer, extract the coriander-flavoured coconut milk
   
3. We can grind and strain the extract 2-3 times until we extract all the liquid. Make sure the extract comes to about 1.5- 2 cups
   
4. Heat oil in a pan / pressure cooker / pan, add bay leaf, star anise and fry for 30 secs
5. Add the sliced onion, sprinkle a pinch of salt, saute till it becomes golden brown 
   
6. To this add the drained rice, required salt
   
7. Measure and add the required spiced coconut milk, around 2 cups
   
8. Pressure cook for 2 whistles and simmer for 5 mins, switch off and allow to cook in the steam itself Or we can cook in pan / using electric rice cooker
9. Allow to sit for 15 mins before mixing
10. If adding cashews/ paneer, we can add now
    
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any kurma / raita