Dry Stuffed Brinjal Curry ~ ennai kathirikai

Brinjal is my favorite. Dry version is what i am making now a days. Mixing this thick curry with hot rice and a tsp of ghee is the best way to eat and relish. To make this curry, you need to pick tender and small purple brinjals. Recently my 6 year old boy started to enjoy this curry. though he felt the curry spicy, he liked the masala stuffed brinjal very much!!

Vendakkai Kulambu ~ Bhindi curry for rice

Watching the last match of sachin was very emotional. My grand father, uncle and brother are hard core cricket fans at home. i was left with no other option than joining them in cheering for Team India. I remember the days, when my grand father listens to cricket commentary in radio and also the days watching match in television munching snacks like seedai and boiled groundnuts. Those were the days sachin started to play. i started watching cricket in tendulkar era. it was also nice to watch the last match with my son. he kept on asking, why he is retiring, wont he touch the bat again and all.

Sweet and Spicy Vegetable Curry / Theeyati Pulusu

Collecting cookbooks interests me a lot! after collecting so many book's, i felt that only few book's are worth saving for life-time. now a days i restricted myself in buying cookbook's. only if i desperately long for a book, i buy it. Cooking at home with Pedatha was one book, that i wanted to buy for a long time, when hubby gifted me the book for my last year's birthday, i was so excited about the gift! maybe the warmness and love filled recipes in the book or my favorite andhra recipes should have been the reason for excitement! Today's recipe is from Cooking at Home with Pedatha! do try, you will love this curry as it will have balanced taste of sweetness of jaggery, tangy from tamarind and spicy from lots of chillies!

I almost cook just an hour before the lunchtime. mostly i don't plan my meals, i go and check my refrigerator and decide on that. some times i call and ask my hubby on what to cook, he always leaves to my choice!! I wanted to try this curry for a long time, luckily had vegetables in hand and went ahead! Do you plan your meals the previous night?

                                           Theeyati Pulusu / Sweet and Spicy Vegetable Curry

Serves - 3

Preparation time - 20 minutes

Cooking time - less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Vegetables :

Bottle Gourd - 1

Sweet potato - 1

Drumstick - 1

Raw Mango - 1/2

Pumpkin - 1/4 

Brinjal - 1

Tamarind - 1 small lemon size

Sambhar powder - 2 tbsp

Jaggery - 2 tbsp

Green Chillies - 3 or 4

Corriander leaves - 1 tbsp

For Tempering:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp

To grind into powder:

Split urad dal / udaicha ulundhu / minapa pappu - 1 tbsp

Bengal gram / kadala paruppu / senaga pappu - 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds / ellu / nuvvulu - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat a pan, and dry roast the split urad dal, bengal gram and sesame, till they reach golden color  let them cool and grind into a fine powder.

Boil 1/4 cup of water and remove from flame and add tamarind to it and let it soak for 10 minutes and squeeze the pulp.

Wash the bottle gourd and peel it's outer skin and chop into big chunks. do the same to sweet potatoes. chop the other vegetables into big chunks.

In a pan, heat oil, add mustard and let it splutter, add fenugreek seeds, asafoetida powder, green chillies and curry leaves. Then add all the vegetables together and mix well with the tempering. add enough water to cover the vegetables and let it boil for almost 10 minutes, till all the vegetables are cooked well.

Meanwhile, To the squeezed tamarind water, add 1 cup of water then the grounded powder, sambhar powder and mix well. also mix in the jaggery ,mix with your hands. this way, you can mash the jaggery and also mix well.

Now, after the veggies are cooked, add in the tamarind water and mix well with the vegetables. Let the curry boil for 5 minutes in medium flame..

Garnish with corriander leaves and curry leaves.

Serve warm with rice and ghee!

Vatha Kuzhambu ~ வத்த குழம்பு

This Vatha kuzhambu recipe is the perfect recipe. Making perfect vatha kuzhambu and mor kuzhambu remained  as a dream to me before. Now i have a favorite tutor on youtube, from where i learned to make perfect traditional brahmin style vatha kuzhambu. i have prepared vatha kuzhambu with same ingredients, but now i know, the order in which the ingredients should be put to cook. simple tricks! come on i will teach you, what i learned.

The tricks i learned this time is to roast the sambhar powder, before adding the small onions and garlic. next trick is allowing the kuzhambu to boil well and let the kuzhambu leave oil in the sides of the pan.

Traditionally vatha kuzhambu is made in kalsatti, it seams the kalsatti made kuzhambu is extra special in taste. Still in many brahmin house-hold, making vathakuzhambu in kalsatti is in practice. When i visited a mess in west mambalam, few people were having curd rice and vatha kuzhambu as the side dish. even i started to eat like that way back home, Its better than eating with pickle! Try for yourself!

This vatha kuzhambu will be bitter, tangy and spicy. a bit of jaggery makes all the taste get balanced. No wonder, this vatha kuzhambu remains as favorite to many people.

Vatha Kuzhambu Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins 

Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves: 4
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Curry

Ingredients:


Sundakka, Manathakkali vathal - 1/4 cup
Old tamarind- 1/2 a size of lemon
Small onions - 1 cup (15 no.)
Garlic - 1/4 cup (10 no.)
Sambhar powder - 3 tsp's
Jaggery - a tiny bit

For Tempering:

Sesame oil / Nallennai - 1/4 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek / vendhayam - 1/4 tsp
Cumin / Jeeragam - 1/4 tsp
Chana dal / Kadala paruppu - 1 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of warm water for about 10-15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and get the extract in a bowl. repeatedly add water to tamarind and squeeze it twice. this helps in taste.

2. Peel the outer skin of small onions and garlic and keep aside.

3. Heat a tsp of oil in a small pan and roast the sundakka and manathakkali vathal in medium flame for about a minute.

4. Heat a thick bottomed pan, add 1/4 cup of sesame oil, when the oil is hot, drop in the mustard and let it pop, then add chana dal, jeeragam, fenugreek, dry red chilli, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.

5. Next add in the sambhar powder in slow flame. roast the sambhar powder in slow flame for about 1-2 minutes, till you see change in colour.

6. Then add the small onions and garlic, roast the onions and garlic in slow flame for about 5 minutes, till the shallots and garlic turn soft and cooked.

7. Now, when the small onions and garlic are cooked, add in the tamarind water and some curry leaves. add salt to taste and stir well. let the kuzhambu boil in medium flame for about 5 minutes.

8. The oil should seperate from the curry, only on seeing that, add in the roasted sundakka vathal. Add a small piece of jaggery at the end. again let the kuzhambu boil for about 2-3 minutes.

Switch off the flame and serve hot with rice and appalam. Few people like to have this vatha kuzhambu as a side, for curd rice.

Notes:

I have added medium amount of tamarind, you may increase to a small lemon sized one, if you prefer more tangy kuzhambu!.

Vatha kuzhambu stays good for 2-3 days in room temperature.

While you want to prepare food for travel, prepare this kuzhambu the earlier night. prepare it little thick. next day, mix the kuzhambu with hot rice and pack for your travel.
it should keep well for 6-8 hours.

Add little salt to the kuzhambu, as the sundakka vathal and manathakkali vathal has salt in it. so it will get  balanced in the kuzhambu.

Drumstick curry ~ Murungakkai puli kuzhambu

I love to cook drumstick as often as possible. Wherever i stayed, the home had an drumstick tree. be it my grandparents place or at our village home or at my mom's place or at my boarding hostel and even in the apartment i am in now. It is said that, the drumsticks taste better, when the tree gets good groundwater. unfortunately drumsticks in our apartment do not taste good. we mostly buy out. I like drumstick leaves dal and drumstick sambhar much than this curry! 

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Curry ~ Wattakka kalu pol

I wanted to try this curry, when i made the sri lankan roasted curry powder last year, but it took a year and finally i cooked this super pumpkin curry yesterday. somehow we loved the curry powder and the flavor it imparts on the curry. You can never find a vegetarian curry so flavorful and spicy other than this. that's my opinion, it may differ with you! 

Vada curry

I took a long break here. We were very much prepared for the water scarcity problem when we moved from bangalore to chennai. luckily we did not face water crisis all these 5 years. but 20 days back, our apartment faced it, may be to give me a chance to face water scarcity. now the problem got solved. Thank God! now i know the value of each drop of water. i just owed, i would never waste water.

Sri Lankan Eggplant Curry ~ Brinjal Moju

As I mentioned about Sri Lankan cuisine and my latest obsession with it, here iam sharing a very popular eggplant curry from sri lanka. This is also known as Brinjal Moju. Moju means Pickle.  As the name implies, It  has to be eaten along with rice, some dal, some stir fried greens and a little eggplant moju( just like we have pickle). I also served this pickle with dosa and it was also a winnig combination.

Pacha Manga Curry

Drumstick and Mango combination is the best for sambhar. The combination proved again in this coconut based simple curry. This is Muringakka Pacha Manga Curry from God’s own country Kerala. A finger licking curry, with simple recipe is so rare, this curry is one among. you can make this curry in minutes if you have small onions and grated coconut ready in hand.

Ceylon Egg Curry ~ Steamed Egg Cake Curry

I like to try Egg curry in different ways. once i watched this ceylon egg curry on a television cookery show and loved the idea of steaming the eggs and using in curry. i have tried it twice and we liked this ceylon egg curry very much. though i did'nt get perfect steamed egg cakes, the taste was no compromise. If i have used some 5 or 6 egg's i could have got perfect egg cakes. since i used 3, it was not enough for the egg cake to raise. On googling i found a similar type of dish called egg dhoka is prepared in Bengal. You can also refer here for a Dry Egg curry from here.

Thenga Aracha Kuzhambu ~ South Indian Curry with Coconut

When i get bored with usual curry, i prepare this. This is one of my hubby's favourite. This Curry goes well with Idli, Dosa's and Rice. You can add variety of vegetables, my choice is drumstick, potato and brinjal.

Ingredients:

Drumstick - 1
Potato - 1
Small Onions - 10 (chopped finely)
Garlic - 5 cloves
Tomato - 1 (chopped finely)
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Tamarind - a small lemon size

For Seasoning:

2 Tbsp of Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Methi seeds
1 sprig Curry Leaves

To Dry Roast and Ground:

1 tbsp Corriander seeds
1/2 tbsp Urad dal
1/2 tbsp Cumin Seeds
1/4 tsp Methi seeds
3 Dry Red Chilli's
3 tbsp of grated coconut

Dry Roast the above and grind along with 2 tbsp's of Sambhar Powder and 1/4 cup water. Grind it all together into smooth paste.

Method:

Cook the Drumstick and Peeled Potato in 1 cup of water for about 10 mins.

Soak Tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes, then squeeze the tamarind and get tamarind pulp.

In a Pan, Heat Oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, add methi seeds and curry leaves and roast them.
add garlic, shallots and roast them till they are almost cooked. add chopped tomato and mix well.

Add Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste to the pan and mix well. add the cooked vegetables to the pan and the tamarind pulp. mix all together and let it boil for 2 minutes.

Add the Ground paste to the pan and mix well. add little water, if you want loose curry. let the curry boil for 2 minutes and garnish with corroiander leaves and curry leaves.

Serve Hot with Idli's or Rice.

* Use Coconut Oil, it gives nice flavour.

Baingan aur Mirch ka Saalan

Life has so many challenges ahead for us now. Right from Career, School for the kid,  everything is still on hold, and we are really fighting hard to play it all smoothly from the pause mode. Hope everything will get smoother. Other than that, had bloggers meet, where i got a chance of knowing all nice bloggers and now i can call them as blog-friends. every blog-friend were so sweet and nice. then my kid got holiday's, so i need not tell you all, why i was not spotted here often.

Holiday fever caught us and cooking new dishes becomes my job. As a Brinjal Fan, i was longing to prepare this Baingan aur Mirch ka Saalan. i got this recipe from Nita Mehta's Cook in Minutes. it was really made in minutes.close to quarter of an hour, if i need to mention the duration.

If you think, that this Gravy is a Spicy Dish, then you are wrong. Its Tangy and Thick Gravy. If you need it to be spicier, add some chilli powder or have a bite of green chilli's then and there while having the gravy;)
The fried soft brinjals compliment with the tanginess of the gravy, and i think thats the uniqueness of the gravy.

Recipe Source: Nita Mehta's Cook in Minutes
Ingredients:

4 Green Chilli's
5 Purple Brinjal's - sliced in round shape's (refer picture)
Tamarind paste - 2 tsp's
Chilli powder  - 1 tsp
5 tbsp Oil
1/4 tsp Mustard
1/2 Onion - finely chopped
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Thick Milk - 1/4 cup or Fres Cream - 2 tsp's

To Grind:

2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1 tsp grated coconut
6 flakes of garlic
1 inch of ginger
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp's of corriander powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
Juice of half of a Lemon

 Grind the above all together into a smooth and thick paste with 2 tbsp of water.

Method:

Heat Oil in a Thick Bottomed pan, add slitted green chilli's and fry them. after frying remove it from oil.
Then add round sliced Brinjal's to the oil and fry them for 5-7 minutes till they are cooked and turn into golden colour. once the brinjals are cooked remove them from oil.

add mustard, curry leaves to the oil and let the mustard splutter. now add frinely schopped onion and fry them till they turn translucent.

Now add the grounded smooth paste and mix with the onions. add 2 cup's of water and tamarind paste and bring them to boil.

Then add the fried green chilli's and brinjals to the pan and mix well. Let the gravy simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Then remove the gravy from the flame and add 2 tsp of fresh cream or 1/4 cup of thick milk.

Serve with Rice or roti's.

Murungakaai Oorppu / Paal Kuzhambu

I was not regular here, as me and my son fell ill one after another. It was Very Difficult Part of life, to take care of  my son, dropping and picking up trips to school all alone, when i was ill. I would not have suffered this much, if my husband was here. Thank God, time passed very fast, and my hubby will be with us in 3 hrs. i just dont want to sleep, till i receive him. so you know, why iam relaxing here. Also one more reason, why i did'nt frequent here is, i did not cook much other than idli's for break-fast, and Rasam with some Poriyal / Vegetable for Lunch and Chapathi's or Dosa's for Dinner. But now i assure you, you will see me back in Power, as iam longing to cook lots and lots for my hubby, who cooked and ate all alone for the past 3 months.

Let me Come to today's recipe. We call this Curry as Oorppu. this is basic kuzhambu recipe, but has milk in it. i think this curry may be called different in other housholds. This curry is always prepared with these specific vegetables - Murungakaai, Palakottai and Kathrikaai. Potato would also make a nice combo. So if you want to try this curry, stick with same vegetables for good taste. This is one of Grandmom's special. my mom also prepares it equally good.

Ingredients: (Recipe for 2)

Murungakaai / Drumstick - 1
Palakottai / Jackfruit seeds - 8
Kathrikaai / Brinjal - 2
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Milk - 1 cup (Boiled and Cooled)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder / Kuzhabu Milagaai Thool - 2 tsp's

For Tempering / Thalippu:

Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard / Kadugu - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek / Vendhayam - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red chilli - 2
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp's of oil in an iron skillet, add mustard and let it splutter. add fenugreek seeds, dry red chilli's and curry leaves. roast them all for 1/2 a minute.

Pressure Cook the Jackfruit seeds and Drumstick for upto 5 whistles. remove the outer skin of the Jackfruit seed and keep aside. chop the Brinjals into pieces and set aside.

Add finely chopped Onion and fry them till they turn translucent. add finely chopped tomatoes and fry along with the onions. add little bit of salt, to speed the frying process. add turmeric powder and chilly powder and mix along with the onions.

Add the Brinjal pieces to the Skillet and mix them with the masala's. let the brinjal get shrinked for a minute and add Jackfruit seeds and Drumsticks. also add salt to taste and a cup of water.

Close the Skillet with a lid and reduce the flame to low and let brinjals get cooked for 5 minutes atleast.

Once the Brinjals are Cooked, remove the skillet from flame. Now add the Boiled and cooled milk to the skillet and give a mix and transfer to a serving bowl.

Serve it Hot with Steaming Hot Rice.

* The Milk reduces the Spicyness of the Curry and gives a nice taste.
* If you have excess milk, go for this curry.
* Also Stick to Vegetables Drumstick and Brinjal.

Mushroom Curry - For Rice

Preparing Mushroom is becoming breeze for me now-a-days. One day I Prepared this Mushroom Curry for Lunch. It was done so quickly and only after tasting it, I decided to shoot pictures at the Curry to blog here. It tastes that Great. I have added Curd to this curry, which really gives a different sour taste, also the masala's incorporate with the curd very well, than the usual tamarind.

Mushroom Curry

Prep Time: 10 mins 

Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves: 2
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Curry

Ingredients:


Mushroom - 100 gms (washed and wiped clean Mushrooms)
Big Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Oil - 2 tbsp's
Pattai / Cinnamon Stick - 1" inch size
Lavang / Cloves - 2
Sombu / Fennel - 1/4 tsp
Green Chilli - 1 (slitted vertically)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 and half tsp's
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilly Powder / Kulambu Milagaai thool - 1 tbsp
Corriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Curd - 3 tbsp's

Method to Prepare Mushroom Curry:

First Wash the Mushrroms thoroughly. wipe them to clean and chop them.

Heat a Pan, Add & Heat Oil. add Cinnamon stick, Cloves and Sombu and fry them in medium flame. add slitted Green Chilli & Ginger Garlic Paste and fry them till the raw smell leaves.

Now add finely chopped Onion to the Pan and fry till it turns translucent. add finely chopped tomatoes and fry it along, till every ingredients in the pan mix with each other.

Add Salt, Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder and Corriander powder to the pan and mix well with the ingredients. fry them all, till the oil leaves by sides of the pan.

Add the Chopped Mushroom and saute them along the masala's. the mushroom shrinks and leaves little water and gets cooked within 2 minutes.

After the Mushroom is cooked, add Curd to the Pan and mix well. Make Sure, the flame is set low, while adding Curd and even after adding Curd. Add a Cup of water to the Pan and mix well. check for salt and chilli powder. and let the Curry sit in low flame for about 3-4 minutes. and then remove from flame and Serve Hot with Rice.

 

This Mushroom Curry Goes well with Rice, Idli's and Dosa's. The Sourness of Curd, tastes different in this Curry and the mushooms blends well with the Masala's too.

Kaaraamani Kuzhambu / Lobia Curry

Recipe Marathon - Lap 7 (Final Lap)

It was just 7 days, and it flew away very fast. I enrolled myself for Nupur's Marathon, as i had many post pending on my draft and also hubby had his Project Delivery Time & was working till mid-night, So i needed some blogging time, to keep me occupied. Iam Glad I enrolled, as i got many new friends from the marathon and got to learn how to allocate time for blogging for the day.
Now I wonder, how 7 days flew so fast....

Coming to Today's Recipe Lobia / Cow Gram Curry / Kaaraamani Kuzhambu.

I don't know why, my hubby fasts on the year end. He fasts till evening and for night, he eats just fruits. so i knew, that iam alone going to eat this curry and thought why not experiment with different flavour's. I added what all caught my eye on my pantry.

You Can't guess, what mystery ingredients i added, just from the look or taste. But all togeather gave a nice taste, that you all should try, thats why iam posting it here.



Ingredients:

Cow Gram / Lobia / Kaaraamani - 1 cup (Soaked in water for overnight)
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic - 3 cloves (chopped)

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp's
Anardana seed's / Dry Pomegranate Seeds - 2tbsp's

Kasuri Methi - 2 tbsp's
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Kuzhambu milagaai thool / Chilli Powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 2tbsp
Mustard - 1-/4 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 8

Method:

Heat Oil in a Kadaai or Pan. Add mustard and wait till it splutters. add fenugreek seeds, asafoetida powder and curry leaves and saute them.

Pressure Cook the Cow Gram / Kaaraamani / Lobia with 1/4 cup water and little salt upto 4 whistle's.

Grind the Grated Coconut and Anardana seeds into a coarse powder and keep aside.

Now Add the Tomato and Garlic. fry them till the tomatoes get mashed.

Now add turmeric powder, Chilli Powder, salt to taste and mix well.

Add the grounded coconut + anardana seed powder to the pan and mix well with the tomatoes.

Add the cooked lobia / kaaraamani to the pan and mix well.

Add 1/2 cup water and kasuri methi, Curry Leaves and salt to taste to the pan and mix well. let the curry boil for 5 minutes in medium flame.

This Curry tasted so Good, the anardana and kasuri methi gave nice taste to the curry.

It tasted excellent with Hot Idli's.

* You can also add tamarind paste to the curry, if you like the tangyness.

Wish You All and Your Family A Very Happy New Year....

Chettinaad Egg Curry

This Chettinaad Egg Curry is full of flavours. The Pepper, curry leaves elevates the taste of the curry. Few points i learned in preparing egg curry are, adding saunf / sombu is a must for tadka / thalippu. adding green chilli, dry red chilli, chilli powder and pepper powder each in small quantity makes the difference in taste. i always love to add curry leaves powder to my curry. it makes the curry thicker also the flavour it gives is amazing.

Ingredients:

To Crush:

Shallots / Small Madras Onions / Chinna Vengayam - 6
Garlic / Poondu - 5 pieces
Ginger / Inji - 2' inch long
Green Chilli / Pachai Milagaai - 1 and half

Crush the above in your mixer grinder or with your pestle and mortar. (dont add water to crush)

Red Onion / Periya Vengayam - 1 (finely chopped)
Ripe Tomato / Thakkali - 2 (finely chopped)
Boiled Egg's / Muttai - 4
Butter - 1 tbsp


List of Powder's:

Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Chilli Powder / Milagaai Thool - 1/2 tsp
Corriander Powder / Malli Thool - 2 tsp
Pepper Powder / Milagu Thool - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves Powder / karivepillai podi - 1 tsp

For Tadka / Thalippu:

Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Saunf / Sombu - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 2
Curry Leaves - 10
Oil - 2 tbsp's

Method:

First Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan / Iron skillet. add mustard and let it burst. Now add saunf and curry leaves. add dry red chilli, curry leaves and roast it.

Add the Crushed Shallots-Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli to the pan and fry till the raw smell of the ginger garlic leaves.

Add finely chopped onion's to the pan and saute them till they turn translucent. add the tomato and fry it along with onion.

Add salt, Turmeric Powder a pinch and mix with the onion-tomato. fry them till they mix togeather.

Add Chilli powder, corriander powder, pepper powder & curry leaves powder one by one and mix with the ingredients in the pan. saute them well, till the oil emits on sides of the pan.

Add Half slitted boiled egg's to the pan and mix with the masala.

Add about one and half cup's of water and let the curry boil for two minutes in slow flame.

Add Butter and close the pan with lid. switch off the flame and let the curry rest on stove for 2 more minutes.

Serve hot with Rice or Dosa.

* I added curry leaves powder little extra. thats why the colour of the curry is different.
* The Crushed shallot-ginger-garlic-green chilli added made the curry different.
* If you wish to add more pepper powder, reduce the green chilli and chilli powder a little.
* Adding Butter at the end is optional. it thickens the curry a little and it gives richness to the curry.

Vendhaya Kuzhambu ~ வெந்தய குழம்பு

Yesterday, My Hubby was reading a book, and i was watching TV, my son was playing with his car. Hubby Dear Interrupted me, on how would வெந்தய குழம்பு , உருளை கிழங்கு பொடிமாஸ் {Fenugreek Curry and Potato masal } would make a great combination. He was reading a book written my la.sa.ra. I did'nt have an idea, other than, it will be very bitter in taste. 

Today I tried it, it was not bad, or so bitter, a different taste one should give a try. It was spicy, tangy, little bitter. according to me, if you have all taste's as per the ratio, then its the perfect kuzhambu/curry. this kuzhambu is a hit at home. 

whenever i ask my hubby, what to prepare for lunch, he asks me to prepare this kuzhambu. update: i am preparing this kuzhambu quite often now a days. it goes well with the potato masal / urulaikizhangu podimaas.

Vendhaya Kuzhambu Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins 

Cooking Time: 15 mins  
Serves: 3
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Curry

Ingredients:


Shallots / Small Onions - 12
Tomato - half of a tomato
Fenugreek seeds / vendhayam - 10 seeds
Tamarind - one lemon size ball
Sambhar Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Sesame Oil - 3 tbsp's
Mustard - 1/ 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10

Dry roast the following:

1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tbsp Corriander seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin
4 Dry Red Chilli's
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (roughly 8 seeds)


Method:

Peel the shallots / small onions and keep aside.

Dry roast 10 fenugreek seeds for 2 minutes in medium flame till it turns into golden color. once cooled powder it coarsely and keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of warm water and squeeze the pulp out. add sambhar powder, turmeric powder and mix well with the tamarind water and keep aside.

Dry Roast the chana dal, corriander seeds, cumin, red chilli's, and fenugreek seeds, till they turn golden color. after roasting, cool them down and powder finely. to that add 3 shallots and half tomato to the coarsely grinded powder and gind them into a fine paste. add a tsp of water and grind into a very fine paste.

Heat 3 tbsp's of oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard, let it pop, add 10 curry leaves. fry it and add the remaining shallots and fry them till they turn translucent.

Add the grinded paste to the onion and fry them for a minute by stirring.

Add the 2 cups of tamarind water(mixed with turmeric and sambhar powder), salt to taste and stir well.

Let it boil for 4-5 minutes and remove from the flame.

Sprinkle the coarsely grinded fenugreek seed powder over the top of the kuzhambu and serve with hot rice.
It also taste's good with hot idli's and dosa's.



For Potato Podimaas / Urulai kizhangu podimaas refer suganya's recipe. I just followed her's and it turned out splendid.

Try this combination and fall in love.

Kathrikkaai Kadala Kuzhambu / Eggplant Chickpea Curry

Today Morning i saw this curry recipe in my favourite TV show- AVM Managayar Ulagam. I had all the ingredients ready in hand, so went ahead without any hesitaion. The Real name of this curry is Kathrikkaai Kuttai Kuzhambu, it means Thick Eggplant curry. It seams, this dish is from Thanjavur Cuisine, which is my favourite. Trichy and Tanjore are the best places offering vegetarian food in TamilNadu. Karaikudi is the best for Non-Vegetarians. Coming to the Curry, it tasted so different and was great with Hot Rice.

If you are having purple brinjal's in hand, and overnight soaked chickpea, then this is very easy dish to make.

Kathrikkaai Kutta Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Purple Brinjal's - 10
Brown Chickpea - 1/4 cup (soaked for12 hrs)
Gingelly Oil - 1/4 cup
Mustard - 1 tsp
Split Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10
Sambhar Powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Tamaraind - a small lemon size or 1 tbsp Tamarind paste
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida Powder - 1 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp's

Method:

First Wash the Brinjal's and cut them into small pieces and put them into a cup of water to avoid the colour change.

In a Heavy Bottomed Kadaai, Heat the Oil, add the asafoetida powder, mustard and let the mustard pop. Add the split urad dal and curry leaves and wait till it get roasted.

Now add the Sambhar Powder and fry the powder in the oil for a minute or till a slight colour change occurs. Now add the brinjal pieces and fry them for a minute, till they start shrinking and change its colour.

Now add soaked brown chickpea to the brinjal and mix well. add turmeric powder and salt to the brinjal, chickpea and mix well.

Add the tamarind water and mix well. close the kadaai / Pan with its lid and let it rest on the stove for about 10 minutes in a medium flame. Add Jaggery in between and stir well.

Let the Curry gets thick and then switch of the flame.

Heat a tbsp of ghee in a pan and add the grated coconut to the ghee and fry it till it turns golden colour (refer the picture). add the roasted coconut to the curry and serve hot with rice.

This curry got a well balanced tangyness, spice and tasted little bit sweet bcoz of jaggery.
The chickpea was cooked in just 10 minutes and tasted well in the curry. The Highlight was the Purple Brinjal's which took the masala's into it and tasted excellent, iam drooling on typing this.

Dont Miss to try if you are a Eggplant / Kathrikkaai Lover.

Zucchini Morkozhambu /Zucchini in Buttermilk Gravy

Yes I prepared Mor Kuzhambu with Zucchini. Today i could not find any vegetables for making a curry or sambhar in my Fridge. I had a Zucchini, which i bought to try soup with it. Finally Morkuzhambu took over the Soup and it did'nt fail to impress us. I got to have a pie of inspiration from Priya, I really wonder, how she plays on ideas with Zucchini. Zucchini Vadai, and Chocolate Bread with Zucchini are must to look for in her blog. Thanks Priya for the Award.

How to Prepare?

Zucchini - 1 [cut into cubes and saute them in a pan with a tbsp of oil for about 3 minutes, till they start to get roasted, add little water, till the Zucchini are covered and let it get cooked for about 2 minutes].

Soak the Dal in warm water for one hour.

Toor Dal - 1 tbsp

Chana Dal - 1 tbsp

Grind the above Soaked with the following Ingredients.

Dhania - 1 tbsp

Ginger - of 1/2 inch size

Dry Red Chilli - 5

Cumin/Jeera - 1 tbsp

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp

Yogurt / Thick Sour Curd - 1 cup

Turmeric Powder - a pinch

Salt - as per taste and

1/4 cup of water.

Add the Grinded Paste to the Zucchini in the pan and stir well. let it get heated for a minute. after a minute Transfer it to the serving bowl.

Heat a tbsp of oil in a small pan for tempering, add 2 tsp of Mustard + 1 tsp of Cumin + pinch of hing + 1 tsp of urad dal + 2 dry red chilli and few curry leaves. roast for about half minute and add to the Zucchini in the serving bowl.

Enjoyed the Morkuzhambu with Bitter Gourd Chips. it was a great meal!

Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi Masala is my favourite, when i go to restaurant's, But never intended to try it at home till i saw Meeta's Punjabi Aloo Gobi. i took the key ingredients from her recipe and went ahead with my own way of making curry. it came out So Good. we liked it a lot. Thou its a dry one, you can make it in gravy form by adding Fresh Cream in the last. Iam sure this recipe will amaze you all, as it amazed us.

Ingredients:

Desi Ghee - 2 tbsp's

Cumin - 1/4 tsp

Potatoes - 2 Big

Cauliflower - 1 small or 10 floret's

Red Onion - 1 big one (finely chop it)

Tomato - 1 big one (finely chop it)

Powder's to add :

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder / Cayenne Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Corriander Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Corriander Leaves(finely chopped) - 1 tbsp's to Garnish

To Crush : ( Crush the following in your Pestle mortor )

Ginger - 1 inch size
Garlic - 5 cloves
Green Chilli -1

Method:

Cut the Potatoes (aloo) into cubes. take care to cut them into equal sizes. also cut the Cauliflower(Gobi) into equal size floret's. Put the floret's in Boiling water with a pinch of turmeric powder for about 2 minute's and drain them and keep it aside. Put the Cauliflower's and Potatoes in your microwe for about 5 minute's, or steam them for about 7 minute's, till they are atleast half-way cooked.

Heat a Pan, add Desi Ghee to it, let the ghee get hot, and add cumin seed's to it. roast the cumin seed's. Now add the Crushes Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli mix to the pan and saute them for half a minute.

Add the Finely chopped onion and saute it till they turn translucent. then add the finely chopped tomato. fry them all for a minute.

Now add Turmeric powder, chilli powder, Corriander powder, cumin powder and Garam masala to the onion tomato mix. let the masala's mix up well with the onion-tomato.

Then add the half-cooked Potatoes and cauliflower to the pan and mix well. cover the pan with its lid and let the potatoes and cauliflower sit in the low flame for about 5 minute's till they get fully cooked.

Add Corriander Leaves to Garnish and add a tsp of desi ghee as a finishing serving touch.

If you want the aloo gobi in gravy form, add 4 tbsp's of fresh cream before a minute to switch of the flame. Serve it with soft chapathi's or Pulkha's.

Hope you all Like it. Iam getting ready with IAVW-Moracco Roundup, my next post will be the roundup. see you all there, till then Have a Happy Weekend!