Kongu Nadu Thakkali Kuzhambu / Kongu Cuisine Tomato curry for Rice (without coconut)

Category: Kongu Cuisine / Kuzhambu   
Preparation Time: 5 mins    
Cooking Time: 20 mins    
Servings: 4 servings

Kongu Nadu Thakkali Kuzhambu

Thakkali kuzhambu is one of the common dish in my region (Kongu region). There are lots of variations in Thakkalai kuzhambu and this one goes well with hot rice.

I got this recipe from my Amma & Athai and this is the way they make for rice. For tiffin items, it will be a different version and will post it soon.

Kongunadu cuisine is known for its simplicity and flavorful food. In Kongunadu cuisine, we use simple spices & masalas and most of the ingredients would be locally available. The most commonly used ingredients are small onions /  chinna vengayams (shallots), coconut, curry leaves, peanut / coconut / sesame oil, turmeric, Nattu sakkarai and also millets like Ragi & Kambu. Also we use less oil than other cuisines.

For this recipe, chinna vengayam (small onions / shallots) and naattu thakkali (country tomato / non-hybrid variety) are the best. If we use the hybrid variety tomato, we can add a bit of tamarind for sourness. Coconut is not used in this recipe and instead toor dal is used for thickening.

This goes well with rice along with a poriyal but we can also have this for tiffin items like Idli, dosai, paniyaram.

Ingredients:

To Saute & Grind:

• Peanut Oil / Coconut oil / Sesame oil - 1/2 Tbsp
• Small Onions - 3/4 cup or 1 big onion chopped
• Red chilly - 3-4 (Adjust as per spice level)
• Ripe Tomatoes - 4
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 Tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind - small piece (Optional)

Quick & Easy Tomato Rice

Category: Rice Varieties
Preparation Time: 5 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 to 20 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings

Quick & Easy Tomato Rice

This tomato rice recipe is very easy and quick and a perfect lunch box recipe. There is no grinding part or any addition of masala powders. But it tastes great :) Small onions are the best for this rice and if we are not having it, we can use red onion.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Ripe Tomatoes - 3 to 4 nos, sliced or chopped
• Small Onion -  1 cup or  1 red onion sliced (Small onion tastes the best)
• Garlic -  around 10 cloves, halved
• Oil -  1/2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds -  1/2 tsp
• Channa Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Split Urad dhal - 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves -  few
• Green chillies, slitted -  2 to 4 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt -  to taste
• Coriander leaves - to garnish (Optional)

Tomato-Brinjal-Potato Curry (Thakkali Kathirikai Urulaikizhangu Kadaiyal)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties 

Preparation Time: 10 mins  

Cooking Time: 20-30 mins 

Servings: 3-4 servings

Tomato-Brinjal-Potato Curry

 Tomato-Brinjal-Potato Curry, usually called as "Thakkali Kathirikkai UrulaiKizhangu Kadainthathu" in our Home is a very tasty one with minimal ingredients. We love to have with Idly, Dosa and Paniyaram. This is my mom's recipe and I just added Curry powder as an extra ingredient. We can also add coconut milk at the end for more flavour.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes, well ripen - 3 nos, finely chopped
• Brinjal - 2 nos, finely chopped
• Potato - 2 nos, peeled and finely chopped
• Small Onions - 10-12 nos or 1 Big onion, finely chopped
• Green chillies - 1-2 nos, halved (Adjust as per spice level) (Can be avoided if making for kids)
• Red chillies - 1 no, broken

Peerkangai Kadaisal (Ridgegourd Curry with milk)

Category: Lunch
Preparation Time: 5-10 mins    
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings

Peerkangai Kadaisal

Peerkangai Kadaisal is a quick and simple recipe from Kongu region which uses very minimal ingredients. This is very comforting recipe and even kids will like it. Crushing the cumin seeds by hand makes this dish more aromatic and milk gives a little sweet taste so kids will love it. Since we will be mashing it while cooking, one chilly will be enough; while making for kids, a small piece of chilly would be more than enough

Ingredients:

• Ridge gourds -  2 long ones
• Small Onions, chopped - 7-8 nos
• Green chilly - 1 no, slitted*
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhal- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- few
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Milk - 1/4  - 1/3 cup (Boiled & Cooled)
• Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash the ridge gourds well, scrap the edges and peel off the skin, We can use the skin for making thogayal
   
2. Finely chop the ridgegourd and if there are any thick seeds, we need to remove them
   
3. Heat oil in a pan, once it becomes hot add mustard seeds followed by urad dhal, curry leaves, green chilly and chopped small onions, saute for 2 mins
   
4. Add the finely chopped ridgegourd pieces and saute for 1-2 mins; add required salt and mix well
   
5. Allow to cook covered in medium flame for few mins until it gets cooked and becomes soft; No need to add water as the veggie itself releases water while cooking
   
6. Once it gets cooked, mash it well using "Mathu" or masher
   
7. Crush the cumin seeds in the palm and add it to the curry
8. Now reduce the flame to low; add the milk (adjust as per required consistency); mix well and switch it off 
   
9. Serve hot with Rice!
   

Tomato Curry (Kongu Special - Thakkali Vathakiyathu)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties / Lunch

Preparation Time: 10 mins  

Cooking Time: 30 mins 

Servings: 3-4 servings

Kongu Special - Thakkali Vathakiyathu!

Tomato Curry, usually called as "Thakkali Vathakiyathu" in our Kongu Region is a very tasty one with minimal ingredients. We love to have with hot rice, Idly, Dosa and Paniyaram and it also tastes yummy with curd rice:) 

This recipe doesnot involve any spice powders and Well ripe Tomatoes and small onions are the important ingredients for the authentic flavour and taste. Though it looks simple, it tastes great!!!! We can also add freshly grated coconut at the end for an additional flavour:)

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes, well ripen - 5-6 nos, finely chopped
• Small Onions - 10-20 nos, chopped
• Garlic - 10-12 cloves, finely chopped
• Green chillies - 2-3 nos, halved (adjust as per spice level)
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhal, split - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1-2 sprigs
• Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Freshly grated coconut - 2 tbsp (Optional)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, once it becomes hot add the mustard seeds followed by Urad dhal and curry leaves, saute for 30 secs
   
2. Add green chillies and onions saute for 1 min
   
3. Now add the finely chopped garlic and saute for another 2 mins
   
4. Add the finely chopped tomato pieces and mix well
   
5. Add turmeric powder along with required salt and cook covered till the tomato pieces get cooked well (Dont add any water)
6. Once it gets cooked, saute for another few mins till all the juice from the tomato gets evaporated and it reaches a thick consistency, then switch it off
   
7. If adding coconut, we need to saute them little more till it becomes little dry and add coconut and switch it off
8. Serve hot with Plain rice, Idly, Dosa or Paniyaram or just with curd rice:)
   

Arisiyum Paruppum Sadham (Kongu Special Recipe)

Category:  Lunch / Rice
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Servings: 3 - 4 Servings

Arisi-Paruppu Sadham

                          
Arisiyum Paruppum Sadham / Arisi-Parupu Sadham is an authentic Kongu Recipe. Every home in Kongu region might have their own version of this recipe and this is my mom's recipe. There they will grind the masala in "Ammi" and that gives the authentic flavour! 
This is such a mildly spiced, comforting food for all and especially kids would love it with a dollop of ghee or fresh curd. We can have along with any spicy potato fry or pickle or just ghee or fresh curds. When I am making for my kid and in a hurry, I would just add onions and tomato to the spices and grind together:) and that too tastes yummy:)

Arisiyum Paruppum Sadham

 Ingredients: 

• Rice - 1 cup
• Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup (adjust as per taste)
• Small Onions - 10 nos, peeled and halved
• Tomato, roughly chopped - 1 no
• Green chilly - 1-2 slitted (Optional and adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil / Any cooking oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Urad dhal - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as required

To grind:

• Garlic, peeled - 6-8 cloves
• Curry leaves - few
• Red chillies - 1-2 nos (adjust as per spiciness)
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Pepper corns - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak the Rice and Dhal together for 15-30 mins or just for the time we are ready with the rest of the ingredients
   
   
   
   
2. Take all the ingredients under grinding in a mixie / blender and grind to a bit coarse paste with little water
   
3. Heat Oil in a pan,Once it gets hot add the mustard seeds, followed by Urad dhal and curry leaves
4. Add in the Small Onions and green chillies (if using); saute for a min till the onions turn pink
   
5. Add the ground paste and fry for a min
   
6. Add in the tomatoes and saute for another 1-2 mins
   
7. Add the turmeric powder and saute well
8. Now add the required amount of water to it and bring to boil (Usually we would like this rice to be on softer side so will add little more water than the usual measure. For 1 cup rice and 1/4 cup Dhal, if we want the grains to be separated, we can add just 2 cups of water and if we need on softer side, we can increase the water quantity to 2 1/2 or even 3 cups if making for kids)
   
9. Then add the salt to the water and mix well. At this stage, the water should taste little salty and after cooking it would be perfect
10. Once it starts to boil, add the soaked and drained Rice+Dhal and mix well
    
11. Pressure cook for 3 whistles or we can reduce the flame to simmer after the first whistle and let it sit for around 10 mins or till we get the second one; Once its done switch it off
12. After the pressure got released, open and mix gently
    
13. Serve hot with Ghee / Pickle / Curd / Spicy Curry
    

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu - Home Style (Kongu Special Recipes)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties / Lunch

Preparation Time: 10 mins  

Cooking Time: 30 mins 

Servings: 3-4 servings

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu is my one of my favourite recipe from childhood:) and I love the ones which my grandma and my mom prepares. We love to have with hot rice and it also tastes yummy with curd rice:) and even with dosa. This recipe doesnot involve any spice powders and we just use roasted and powdered Urad dhal with vendhayam for thickening and additional flavour.

As far the Kongu nadu special recipes are considered, Small onions are the important ingredients for the authentic flavour and taste and we wont get the same taste while using shallots / big onions. So for this recipe, Small onions are the must and if we dont want we can skip garlic.

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Lady's finger /Okra - 20-25 nos
• Small Onions - 10-15 nos, peeled and halved
• Garlic- 6-10 nos, peeled and roughly chopped 
• Tamarind - lemon sized
• Sesame Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Channa Dhal - 1 tsp
• Split Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1-2 springs
• Red Chillies - 2-4 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as required

To Roast and Grind: 

• Urad Dhal (Whole White) - 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek Seeds / Vendhayam - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Soak Tamarind in warm water and extract juice
2. Heat a pan and dry roast the urad dhal and fenugreek seeds till they turn golden brown and gives out nice aroma. Switch it off and allow to cool and then powder it and keep it ready
3. Wash the Lady's finger / Okra and wipe dry without any moisture
4. Trim off the ends and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5. In a pan (prefereably non-stick  so less oil can be used), heat 1 tsp of oil and add the Okra pieces and saute for 6-8 mins until the stickiness gone and keep aside
   
6. Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a pan, once it gets heated up add the mustard seeds, followed by Channa dhal, Urad dhal, Curry leaves and red chillies. Fry for a min till the dhals turn golden brown 
   
7. Add the halved onions and then roughly chopped garlic pieces and saute for 2-3 mins til the onions turn transparent
   
8. Add the tamarind extract with enough water (as per required Kuzhambu consistency) along with required salt and turmeric powder, mix well and bring to boil
   
9. Once it started to boil, add the sauted okra pieces and allow to cook covered in low-medium flame for 10 mins
   
10. Check for salt and now add the Urad dhal - fenugreek powder to it and simmer for another 5-6 mins
    
11. Now the kuzhambu gets thickened and reached the desired consistency
    
12. Switch it off and serve hot with rice!
    

Chola Paniyaram - Home Style (Kongu Special Recipes)

Category: Breakfast / Dinner
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 8-12 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 5 mins /batch

Chola Paniyaram is an authentic Kongu Nadu Special Recipe and this is the one from my Mom's home:) Until I entered college, I never know we can make paniyaram with normal Idly batter, every time when we make paniyaram, it is surely with the Corn. Since Corn is a staple food in Kongu region, in our home after corn harvest, they will clean and broke the dry corn into coarse bits and pieces using "Ural" and will store for months specially for making paniyaram and also "Chola Puttu".

Adding Raw rice and Moong dhal is purely optional, My aunt will be adding these for crispiness and more flavour:) After coming to US, I am using the broken corn / corn rava from Indian store for making this paniyaram. As far the Kongu nadu special recipes are considered, Small onions are the important ingredients for the authentic flavour and taste and we wont get the same taste while using shallots / big onions.

Chola Paniyaram

Ingredients:

• Boiled Rice / Idly Rice - 1 1/2 cups
• Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
• Broken Corn -  2 cups (Here I used Corn Rava)
• Whole Urad Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Yellow Split Moong dhal - 1/4 cup (Optional)
• Fenugreek seeds / Vendhayam - 1 tsp
• Small Onions, peeled - 1-2 cups
• Curry leaves - handful
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Fresh coconut, chopped into tiny pieces - to taste

*Notes:

• Small Onions are the must for this recipe to get the authentic flavour. Adding big onion / shallots will not give that real flavour
• Adding Raw rice is optional, if we want to skip that, we can increase the quantity of Idly rice to 2 cups
• Moong dhal is also an optional ingredient

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice, broken corn and moong dhal (if using) together for 6-8 hrs / overnight; urad dhal and fenugreek seeds separately for 45 mins-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds followed by urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and silky. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding dhal, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy
3. Now add the rice and corn to the grinder and grind to a smooth batter similar to Idly batter consistency. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4. Add required salt and mix well with hands
5. In a mixie / blender add the small onions, curry leaves, cumin seeds and grind it to a coarse paste without adding any water
   
   
   
   
6. Add the ground paste to the batter and mix well
   
7. Allow to ferment for about 8-12hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
8. After fermentation, add the tiny pieces of fresh coconut into it and gently give it a mix
   
9. Heat Paniyaram pan, add few drops of oil in each hole
10. Once the pan becomes hot, add a spoon of batter into each hole
    
11. Reduce the flame to medium and cover the pan with lid; allow to cook for 1-2 mins
12. Then flip it over and allow to cook the other side without covering with lid
    
13. Once its done, remove from the pan and repeat the same for the remaining batter
14. Serve hot with Sambar and chutney! Peanut / Coconut Chutney with Paniyaram is always a great combination:)