Parangikkai Pulikuzhambu (Butternut Squash in Tamarind-Coconut Gravy)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 20 mins 
Servings: 3 servings

Butternut Squash- Kondakadalai Pulikuzhambu

Pulikuzhambu is an easy South Indian kuzhambu and we usually add veggies like brinjal, drumstick, lady's finger, bittergourd.

I tried pulikuzhambu with Butternut squash and it turns out good. Butternut squash is similar to Manjal Poosanikkai / Parangikkai / Orange pumpkin. 

Yummy Pulikuzhambu

Addition of  cooked brown channa and ground coconut makes it more yummy :)

Whenever I soak this brown channa, I usually add more, cook and freeze in it. You can view my earlier post on freezing beans here.

I love to add these Channa in other dishes like Kurma, kuzhambu, rice varieties or even in kootu:)

While cooking this, make sure that the Butternut squash / pumpkin pieces are not got overcooked and turn mushy. Since there's sweetness in squash, I didn't add any jaggery here

Ingredients:

• Butternut Squash/ Orange pumpkin - 2 cups, cubed 
• Brown Channa / Kondakadalai - 1/2 cup, cooked
• Tamarind - Size of a Gooseberry (Use as needed)
• Sambar Powder - 1-2 Tbsp (Adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil - 1/2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dhal- 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
• Curry leaves -few
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Small Onions - 7-8 nos, halved

Home made Nutella (Hazelnut / Almond Chocolate Spread)

Category: Home made Spreads
Preparation Time: 10-15 mins
Servings: yields around 1 cup

Nutella made with Almonds

Nutella is the popular chocolate spread among the kids. But we dont prefer buying it because it is made with palm oil and loaded with sugar. So I prefer making it at home without any preservatives or refined oils.

Almond Chocolate Spread

For more chocolatey flavour, we can add few chocolate chips or little home made chocolate. 

Nutella made with Hazelnuts

Nutella is made with Hazelnuts and if we didn't have access to those nuts, we can use almonds. I have tried with both hazelnuts and almonds. 

Minion is happy with this Nutella :) 

We can also use peanuts and I have already posted Chocolate Peanut butter recipe here.

We can use this on toasts, breads, crackers, cookies, cakes, chapathis, apples, smoothies or on anything we like to:)

Home made Nutella on Home made Banana Bread :)

Ingredients:

• Hazelnuts or Almonds -1 cup
• Organic Unrefined Sugar - 1/4 cup (adjust as per sweetness)
• Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 2 Tbsp
• Virgin Coconut Oil - 1-2 Tbsp (Use as needed)
• Pure Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Pavakkai Kondakadalai Puli Kuzhambu (Bittergourd-Brown Channa Tamarind Gravy)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 20 mins 
Servings: 3 servings

Pavakkai pulikuzhambu is an easy South Indian kuzhambu and it doesn't need any grinding. We can make it more healthy and tasty by adding cooked brown channa / Kondakadalai / karuppu sundal.

Pavakkai Kondakadalai Pulikuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Bittergourd / Pavakkai - 2 medium sized, finely chopped
• Brown Channa / Kondakadalai - 1/2 cup, cooked
• Tamarind - Size of a Gooseberry (Use as needed)
• Sambar Powder - 1 to 2 Tbsp (Adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil - 1/2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dhal- 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
• Curry leaves -few
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Small Onions - 7-8 nos, halved
• Garlic - 6-7 cloves, chopped
• Jaggery - a small piece
• Salt - as required

Method:

• Soak Tamarind in warm water and extract juice to around 1 cup and finely chop the bittergourd

Sprinkle Chocolate Bark (Easy Holiday Treats)

Category: Easy Treats / Festive Recipes
Preparation Time: 5 mins 

 

Sprinkle Chocolate Bark

Chocolate bark with sprinkles is a very easy and quick holiday treat. Chocolate bark is actually a sheet of chocolate covered with nuts and dry fruits or even candies. 

Festive Treats!!!

If we are not having any cooking chocolate, we can just use our regular chocolate chips. There are lot of variations for the chocolate bark; We can use either dark chocolate or milk chocolate or even white chocolate to make these.

 

Also the toppings are purely of our choice. We can use chopped nuts, dry fruits, seeds, candied fruits, crushed candy canes, coconut, candies, etc. as toppings.

During this winter break, kids will enjoy making these quick treats. I try to avoid the artificial dyes so I used the sprinkles coloured with natural ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Chocolate chips - 1 cup (I used semi-sweet mini chocolate chips)
• Sprinkles - as needed

Mixed Veg Paniyaram

Category: Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2 servings

Crispy & Yummy

Kids love to have bite sized foods. Paniyaram is always a hit among the kids. We can serve these for breakfast or even as an evening snack.

Mixed Veg Paniyaram

I had already posted Chola Paniyaram recipe in my blog. And this one is using left over Idli dosa batter and to make it more healthy we can add mixed veggies.

Crispy paniyarams😋

Ingredients:

• Idli/Dosa batter - 2 cups
• Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Carrot - 1 big, finely chopped
• Green beans - 10, finely chopped
• Green chilly, split - as needed
• Salt - to taste
• Cooking oil - as needed
• Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
• Split Urad dal - 1 tsp

Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam (Red rice string hopper)

Category: Idiyappam / Breakfast recipes
Preparation Time: 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 3-4 servings

Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam

Mapillai Samba Arisi or “Bride Groom Rice” is a traditional and native variety of rice, which is red in colour and is grown predominantly in Tamil Nadu. In ancient period, the newlywed bridegroom would be asked to lift the rock in front of everyone to display his mental & physical strength and bravery. To improve the physical and mental power, they would be  served this rice which is high in nutritional value. Mappillai samba is one such native rice which has got a high nutritional value that will help them to stay focused while lifting the rock as well as give them the power to lift. Hence, this red thick rice got its name as “Mappillai Samba” and was often cooked and served to newlywed bridegrooms. 

Mapillai Samba Rice

Even though the name of the rice is “Bride Groom's Rice”, it is meant for all who wants to get good energy and strength.

Idiyappam with Mixed Veg Curry

Mappillai samba rice has great amount of iron and zinc. Iron protects the production of myoglobin and haemoglobin. They carry the oxygen to tissues and muscles which keeps the energy level high of the body. It also consists pro-anthocyanins which assist in reduction of the cholesterol level and hyper glycemia. Good for diabetics since it is has a low Glycemic Index. Children will achieve better growth.

Here I used home made Mapillai Samba rice flour. Wash and soak rice for about 2 hours; then drain the rice and spread it on a clean cloth; let it dry in shade until it gets completely dried. Then grind it to a fine flour in the flour mill. If making in small quantities, we can grind it in batches in the mixie.

Ingredients:

• Mapillai Samba Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
• White rice / Idiyappam flour - 1/2 cup (optional and can be replaced with Mapillai samba rice flour)
• Water - 2 cups (Adjust as needed)
• Salt - to taste
• Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp

Mixed Vegetable Dosa Waffles

Category: Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2 servings

Dosa Waffle Sticks

As a south Indian, we always stock up Idli Dosa batter. But kids often got bored with the regular foods. We need to find ways to make our regular foods look fun and fascinating for the little ones 😅

Mixed Veg Dosa Waffles

So how about making our dosa more interesting and attractive by adding colorful veggies and cook it in the waffle maker 👍 

These dosa waffles are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. With the addition of veggies, Doesn't it look tastier?

Dosa sticks or Dosa squares?

While serving for toddlers and small kids, we can cut them up into strips or even squares.

Bite sized foods are always liked by the kids, so lets be creative 😊

Ingredients:

• Idli/Dosa batter - 2 cups
• Idli Podi - 1 Tbsp (adjust as needed)
• Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Carrot - 1 big, finely chopped
• Green beans - 10, finely chopped
• Green chilly, split - as needed

Sambar Podi (Sambar Masala Mix)

Category: Home made Powder
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: yields around 1 1/2 cups

For a  best tasting Sambar, the secret ingredient is the Sambar podi / Sambar Masala. There are lot of Sambar Masala mix available in the market, but Home made masala is always taste best and fresh :) 

Home made Sambar Masala

If you're used to buy masalas from the store, it might feel like a hectic task to prepare at home. But once we started, we cant resist ourselves from making these at home. Also we can adjust the ingredients as per our liking and preference.

These home made masala powders are filled with aroma, flavour and most importantly no preservatives. Also when we have babies or toddlers, we can easily adjust the spice level when we make it by ourselves at home.

Sambar Podi

I have already posted a Sambar Podi recipe here. This is slightly different and this is my go-to masala for Sambars, Quick Sambar rice, Veg roasts, Puli Kuzhambu, Kootu, Variety rices :)

Make sure to roast the ingredients in low flame or else certain spices will get burnt fast which affects the flavor of the podi. 

For a brighter colour, add byadagi chillies along with the spicy chillies.

Ingredients: 

• Coriander seeds- 1/2 cup
• Channa dal- 3 Tbsp
• Whole Urad dal - 3 Tbsp
• Toor Dal - 2 Tbsp
• Dry Red chillies- 15 - 25 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Cumin seeds-  1 and 1/2 Tbsp
• Black Pepper- 1/2 Tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds / Methi seeds -  1/2 Tbsp

Dry Coconut Idli Podi

Category: Ready Mix
Preparation Time: 5-8 mins 
Cooking Time: 8-10 mins
Servings: yields about 3 cups

 

Dry Coconut Idli Podi

Idli podi is sure a savior during kids hunger pangs :) When we need a quick side dish for idli or dosa, it comes in handy. This could also be used to make Idly fry or Idly fingers for snack time.

 

While making for toddlers, we can reduce the spice level and If you like coconut, you will love this Idli podi :)

Ingredients:

• Channa Dhal- 1/2 cup
• Whole Urad Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Dry Coconut - 2 cups
• Red Chillies - 3-8 (Adjust as per spice level)
• Asafoetida / Hing - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Jaggery - 1 tsp (Optional)

Method: 

• Heat a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast Channa dal for few mins in low flame

Ragi Poori

 Category: Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings 

 

Ragi Mini pooris

Ragi is one of the healthiest grain and also easily available. Mostly it will be the first food given to the babies when they are ready to start with their solids. Ragi can be given to kids in various forms like Porridge, Idli, Dosa, Pakoda, etc. 

We can add Ragi flour along with wheat flour for making Ragi pooris :) Since I used store bought Organic ragi flour this time, the colour of the pooris are on little darker side.

Mini Ragi Pooris  served with Mixed Veg Kurma

Ragi pooris taste great with Channa masala, Potato Masala, Veg Kurma :)

Ingredients:

• Ragi flour - 1/2 cup

• Wheat flour / Atta - 1/2 cup

• Rava, fine variety - 1 tsp 

• Salt - to taste

• Ghee - 1/2 tsp

• Oil - for deep fry
• Water - as needed

Beetroot Thogayal

Category: Lunch
Preparation Time: 5 mins    
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Servings: 3-4 servings

Spicy Beetroot Thogayal

Thogayal is a kind of chutney but it will be thicker and coarsely ground than chutney. Thogayal can be mixed with rice along with a tsp of sesame oil  or can have as a side dish for Morkuzhambu.

Beetroot Thogayal

This beetroot thogayal goes well with hot rice but we can also have it with Idli, dosa or Chapathi.

Thogayal can be made with or without coconut; here I have not used coconut. But if we prefer, we can add little coconut to it. If we are adding coconut, we need to finish off on the same day, we cant store it and use later. Without coconut, we can store it in refrigerator for 1-2 days but mostly we will finish off the same day :) 

Beetroot Thogayal without Tempering

Tempering is completely optional, It tastes good even without it :)

Ingredients:

• Beetroot -  1 big sized, grated
• Sesame oil- 1 Tbsp, divided
• Whole Urad dhal- 3 Tbsp
• Red chillies- 3-4 (Adjust as per taste)
• Black Pepper- 1 tsp
• Tamarind - small gooseberry sized (adjust as per taste)
• Asafoetida- 2 pinches
• Salt - to taste

Vendakkai Morkuzhambu (Okra in yogurt gravy)

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings

Mor Kuzhambu or buttermilk kuzhambu is a south Indian gravy made from Indian buttermilk or slightly sour curd / yogurt and goes very well as an accompaniment with rice.

 

Vendakkai Morkuzhambu

We can add vegetables like Okra, white pumpkin / ash gourd or even vadai :) If we run out of veggies, we can prepare this even without any veggies. It will still be very good.

I had already posted a recipe using Ash gourd here - Ash-Gourd Morkuzhambu. This is slightly different from that one posted earlier.

Ingredients:

• Vendakkai / Okra / Lady's finger - 6-8
• Butter milk  - 2 1/2 cups (I used 1 cup of thick curd & 1 1/2 cup of water)
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tsp

To Grind:

• Toor Dhal - 1 Tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Green chilly - 2-3, adjust as per spice level

Vegetable stuffed Idli

Category: Kids Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings 

Vegetable stuffed Mini Idlis

Idli is one of the popular and healthiest Indian dish. In South Indian homes, we usually stock up Idli and Dosa batter in our refrigerator. To make it more interesting for the kids, I usually stuff vegetables and make these Stuffed Idlies.

So soft and Yummy!

These are tasty, easy and more healthy with the added veggies. Kids too love these Idlis and it can be a great finger food for them.

If we are making mini stuffed idlis, we can even toss them up in idli podi and serve with skewers :)

Veg Stuffed Mini Idlis

Ingredients:

• Idli batter - 3 cups
• Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 big, pureed
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 Tbsp
• Carrot - 1 big, finely chopped
• Green beans - 10, finely chopped
• Green peas (I used frozen peas) - 1/3 cup
• Sambar powder - 1/2 Tbsp (adjust to taste)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli powder - as required (Optional)