Cluster beans sambar recipe | Kothavarangai sambar

We always make sambar with cluster beans/ kothavarangai. Make poriyal next to it and very rarely paruppu usili. Only cluster beans south Indian recipe, though I love to try a subji. My mom makes this kothavarangai sambar by sauteeing the vegetable first in oil and then boiling it, discarding the water (says its pitham) and proceed with sambar. It will be yummy, but MIL makes it as such boiling directly, I have no complains about that too. So I follow MIL’s method as Vj likes it that way. He is a big fan of cluster beans sambar, just contrast to my FIL, he hates it. This is a simple recipe, but when I made I thought I will click and post here in my blog for beginners.

Cluster beans sambar recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time:15 mins    |  Cook time: 25 mins    |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cluster beans - 1 cup, cut into 2 inch pieces

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Toor dal - 1/2 cup

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Onion - 1

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Tomato - 1

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Tamarind - 1 tsp tightly packed

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Sambar powder - 2 tsp heaped

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Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

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Asafoetida - 1 pinch

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Salt - As needed

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Curry leaves - Few

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To temper

Oil/ Ghee- 1 tblsp

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Mustard - 1 tsp

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Fenugreek seeds / vendhayam - 1/4 tsp

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Jeera - 1 tsp

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Asafoetida - 1 pinch

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Curry leaves - Few

Method

1. Pressure cook toor dal with a drop of sesame oil, one red chilli (optional added to cook it easily) with 1 & 1/4 cup of water for 4 whistles. Soak tamarind in hot water for 30 mins and extracts the juice, keep aside. Chop onion (I used small onions, so just peeled and used it) in to cubes and tomato too.
2. Boil cluster beans with little salt in two cups of water. Once done, add the tamarind extract and required salt. 
3. Temper the items given under ‘To temper’ table, add onion fry till transparent, add tomatoes fry until soft and add this to the boiling cluster beans. Add turmeric, sambar powder, asafoetida and mix well. 
4. Once it boils well, add cooked dal, mashed well. Bring to boil. Adjust water consistency and boil until the sambar is thick enough. As it cools it will thicken, so switch off accordingly. Add few curry leaves torn and mix well.

Notes

• If there is lots of water in cooked dal, drain it before mashing it to make it easy.
• Tomato can be skipped.
• Tempering with ghee gives nice flavor.
• Cluster beans takes long time to cook. Cook it covered with a pinch of sugar if you need to retain the green.

Serve with hot rice and poriyal/ kootu/ curry. We love it with a dollop of ghee.

Technorati Tags: cluster beans sambar recipe,cluster beans south indian,kothavarangai sambar recipe,kothavarangai recipe,south indian sambar with cluster beans,kothavarai

Hummus recipe without tahini | Chickpea dip

Hummus is an easy and healthy chickpea dip, authentically served with pita bread. I had this first in Salivation restaurant. I just loved it. Had long time wish to try this, but always Tahini was the thing that made me postpone trying. But learnt Tahini is nothing but ground roasted white sesame seeds with few ingredients, so I thought I would replace tahini with roasted sesame in the recipe. Somehow I could relate hummus to paruppu thogayal. May be coz of the lentil and garlic. So here is my take on the hummus. Easy to try at your home.

Hummus recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Continental  |  Recipe Category: Snack
Prep Time: 12 hrs soaking time    |  Cook time: 5 mins    |  Serves: 1 & 1/4 cups

Ingredients

Chickpeas (Channa)	1/2 cup
White sesame seeds	1 tblsp
Garlic	1 flake
Lemon juice	2 tblsp
Olive oil	2 tblsp
Salt	As needed

 

Method

1. Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain water and add enough water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or until soft. Drain water and reserve that water for later. Cool down (peel the skin off if you want).

2. Roast the sesame seeds in low flame with constant stirring taking care not to burn it, until golden in colour.

3. Place chickpeas, sesame seeds, peeled garlic flake, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a blender and grind smooth with the water reserved from cooked chickpeas. Check for salt.

Notes

• Peeled chickpeas gives super soft and smooth textured hummus. But both ways it tastes nice.
• If you want, roast the garlic and use it in the recipe.

Transfer the hummus to serving bowl, make swirls and drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle some chilli powder on top and serve with fresh vegetables or pitta bread. I served with capsicum strips, cucumber strips, baby carrots, salt biscuits, maska chaska biscuits. Cherry tomatoes can also be served. Dip generously in hummus and enjoy the healthy snack.

Technorati Tags: easy hummus recipe,hummus recipe,hummus without tahini,chickpeas dip,chickpea dip,hummus platter

Brinjal mochai kootu | Kathirikai mochai kootu

During pongal I really missed the fresh mochai as I never go to little India to buy vegetables sake. When I went to Chennai, I told my MIL, so when I was packing, she went and bought me the fresh mochai and my co-sis peeled and gave for me to carry here. Just a serving enough to make a kootu. Vj is big fan of this mochai and in my inlaws family, everyone have the habit of peeling the skin off before eating. It tastes different, soft without that skin, but I never had patience to do that. But Vj does it patiently for each mochai. I have seen my MIL doing the same. I wanted to try kari with this combo, but I k now Vj likes kootu better, so made it. Sure will post kari also soon. This combo is a winner, how ever you cook, comes out delicious.

Brinjal mochai kootu recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time: 15 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 2

Ingredients

Brinjal, small variety	6-8
Mochai, fresh (peeled)	1/2 cup
Moong dal, paasi paruppu	1/4 cup
Sambar powder	1 tsp
Turmeric	1/8 tsp
Shallots (Small onion)	3
Salt	As needed

 

To grind

Grated coconut	1/2 cup
Jeera (cummin seeds)	1 tsp

 

To temper

Oil	2 tsp
Mustard	3/4 tsp
Urad dal	2 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

 

Method

1. Pressure cook moong dal for two whisles with 3/4 cup water. Boil fresh mochai in a cup of water. Mean while chop brinjal finely and keep immersed in water.
 
2. Once the mochai is half done, add salt, turmeric, sambar powder, chopped brinjal, finely chopped onion and enough water, just to immerse the brinjals. Once brinjal is done, grind coconut with jeera and little water and add it to the cooked brinjal, along with cooked moong dal.

3. Mix well, give a boil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Mix well.

Notes

• I think you can use dried mochai too, but soak overnight and pressure cook before using it in this recipe.
• Onion can be ground along coconut and added.
• Instead of sambar powder, you can also add green chillies or red chillies ground along with the coconut.

Serve with any kuzhambu. Best with poondu kuzhambu, kara kuzhambu but we had with cluster beans sambar, which I will post next.

Technorati Tags: katharikai mochai kootu,brinjal mochai kootu,brinjal mochai recipe,fresh mochai recipes,south indian kootu recipes

Mushroom matar recipe | Mushroom matar masala

Yes, yes, yes! I finally made a dish at home with mushrooms ! I have made once, few years back, but I totally spoilt the dish. My milk in the gravy broke and the gravy was not at all looking or tasting nice making it worse with the mushrooms. That too I made it to someone who visited us. After that I never dared to buy or try mushrooms at home as my family also never eat mushrooms. I eat mushrooms in the pizza or if it is in any of the dish along with other vegetables. But buying and cooking at home, never! As I don’t even know how to handle it and I didn’t like to even touch it.
An incidents in which I tasted in restaurants due to compulsion of my friend, made it worse. The piece of mushroom I put in my  mouth was spoilt and you know how an old mushroom would smell. Terrible. Now again Sangeeta showed me a mushroom matar which I though I should try and see for one last time. I bought mushrooms and first I tried fried rice with it. It was eaten by both Vj and Aj, but I am not sure if they had it since I made it. But with the rest of the mushrooms, I made this gravy today and Aj loved it with jeera rice and dal palak. He said he will eat again but with one condition, only with rice, not with roti. Anyways I was happy that I could make a recipe with mushroom and made him eat too. Thank you for the cute towel, plate Sharmi ;)

Mushroom matar masala recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Side dish
Prep Time: 15 mins    |  Cook time: 25 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Mushroom	8
Green peas, I used fresh	1/2 cup
Tomato	3, large
green chilli	2
Ginger garlic paste	1 tsp
Red chilli powder	3/4 tsp
Coriander seeds powder	1 tsp
Garam masala powder	3/4 tsp
Turmeric	1/4 tsp
Cream	1/4 cup
Milk	1/2 cup
Coriander leaves, chopped	3 tblsp
Kasoori methi	1 tblsp
Salt	As needed

 

To temper

Oil	2 tblsp
Cardamom	1
Cloves	1
Cinnamon	1/2 inch piece
Cumin seeds / Jeera	1 tsp

 

Method

1. Cube the tomatoes roughly and grind it to make it as a puree along with green chillies. 
2. I recommend buying white button mushrooms. In a kadai, heat oil, temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table.
3. When jeera splutters, add the tomato puree, ginger garlic paste, mix well and fry covered for 5 minutes. It will splutter a lot, so better cover it. Then add red chilli, coriander, turmeric powders, kasoori methi and salt and mix well. Fry for another 4 minutes or until oil separates.
4. Add green peas and little water, cook covered for 2 minutes or until almost done. Meanwhile you can cut the mushrooms. I removed the stem and the black part under the mushroom, but its optional, you can just quarter the mushroom into four.
5. Add the mushrooms to the masala and 1/2 cup water. Simmer for  minutes.
6. The mushroom should get cooked. Add garam masala at this stage and mix well. 
7. Add cream slowly while mixing in low flame. Add another 1/2 cup water and let it cook for a minute. Add milk and more water to this and keep in low flame. Never ever put the flame in high at any point after adding cream and milk. Also you have to add gradually while you mix. 
8. After 2-3 minutes, add coriander leaves and switch off the flame.  

Notes

• Always use fresh mushrooms, cook the same day as you buy to avoid stinky mushrooms.
• The gravy can be made no onion no garlic by skipping the ginger garlic paste. You can grind ginger along with tomatoes in that case.
• This gravy is very tangy, so make sure you add cream and milk. If  you do not have cream, you can also add lots of milk to balance the tanginess.

Serve with any mild pulao. We had with jeera rice.

Technorati Tags: musroom matar,mushroom masala,mushroom recipes,mushroom rakskitchen,mushroom raks,mushroom recipes rak's kitchen,mushroom masala rakskitchen

Idli upma recipe | Easy South Indian idli upma

   
Idli upma? Give me 3 times a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I can have it without complaining life long. I love it like that. Any upma is my favorite, but this is one easy and unique upma made from the leftover idlies. We call it udhuthu kulukal, which means crumbling and tossing. There must be a lot of variants in this idli upma, but this is the way I like. My mom makes it without carrot and I love that simple version first, but my MIL adds carrot in all possible dishes, including this idli upma to make it eye appealing. In the beginning I used to not like the addition of carrots as I felt it supresses the onion flavor a bit, but now I like this variation too. My mom tempers with coconut oil and the fresh green chillies, onions and curry leaves tossed together gives a divine smell. Its simple but packed with flavors. I have seen many of my friends love idli upma but sadly its opposite when it comes to the guys in the family. Nobody likes it, I dont know why . This can be made along with tea with the left over idlies from your morning breakfast. I most of the times become lazy to make idli upma and have the aaripona idli itself. It’s best only when someone makes you sit, prepare and gives you . Atleast for me, I many times get emotional when I am hungry and no one is there to make something for you Or no one cares to make you sit and give your course of meal hot.

Idli upma recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Breakfast
Prep Time: 5 mins    |  Cook time: 5 mins    |  Serves: 2

Ingredients

Idli	6
Onion	1, large
Green chilli	4
Finely chopped carrot	3 tblsp
Ginger, finely chopped (optional)	1 tsp
Salt	2 pinches

To temper

Coconut oil/ Any cooking oil	1 tblsp
Mustard	3/4 tsp
Urad dal	1 tsp
Channa dal	1 tblsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

 

Method

1. Crumble the idli with a tsp of sesame oil. You can refrigerate the idlies, this will make your job easy as it wont stick to your fingers. 
2. Heat a kadai with oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Add onion and fry until transparent. Add carrots, salt and fry for a minute. Everything in medium flame without changing its colour. Otherwise the upma will turn dull in colour.
3. Add the crumbled idli and just toss for a minute until its mixed well.

Notes

• Refrigerating the idlis gives beautiful crumble of the idlies. More you refrigerate, easy to crumble.
• You can add vegetables to fortify this upma.
• Sesame oil can be added while crumbling.

Serve hot, can be had as such or best with sugar
Check out the other left over idli recipes

• Chutney idli
• Kaima idli
• Crispy idli fry
• Cocktail idlies

Technorati Tags: idli upma recipe,idli upma,south indian idli upma,leftover idli recipes

Sunday Brunch/ Breakfast Menu 15

This is just a combo rather menu. The classic combo of channa bhatura / Chole bhatura. Perfect for a lazy sunday to wake up leisurely and have a heavy fat breakfast cum lunch or call it as brunch. It will be heavy and filling that you need not worry about the lunch, you then have a tea time snack and an early dinner. I love channa bhatura, but when it comes to restaurants, I have tastes only very few times, I love their chole, especially at Kailash Parbhat which I tasted once, but the Bhatura always I love the home made ones better. Just for the sake of Oil. The restaurant ones are too oily. Though I like the chewy texture of the restaurant bhatura, the home made bhaturas are soft, less oily and stays soft even after cooling down. For a change I tried my friend’s version of Channa and it was yummy. Today we all had this for our breakfast cum lunch.  Check out the recipes

1. Channa masala recipe (which you see here)
2. Channa masala with coconut
3. Pindi channa recipe
4. Bhatura recipe (Which you see here)
5. Bhatura recipe (Version 2)

You can also check the south indian poori and potato masala recipe. If you want a no onion no garlic aloo bhaji, check the recipe here.

Sunday Indian breakfast combo

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Breakfast
Prep Time: 12 + 3 Hrs (Overnight soaking + dough resting time)     |  Cook time:40 Mins    |  Serves: 4

1. Soak channa overnight. On wake up, prepare the bhatura dough first. Later you can finish the other works and start preparing your breakfast.
2. Pressure cook channa, a potato. Meanwhile finish chopping works and grinding part for the channa.
3. When the channa is cooked, prepare the channa masala.
4. Lastly, keep ready fresh cut onion, lemon wedge and chilli for serving and then when your family is ready for breakfast, roll the bhaturas while the oil is getting heated. Prepare hot bhature and serve the hungry family and yourself.

You can also add on a sweet like rava kesari, atta kesari or semiya kesari to make it more special.

Technorati Tags: Sunday brunch ideas indian,indian sunday breakfast,indian breakfast ideas,indian breakfast combos,indian breakfast recipes.

Schezwan fried rice recipe | Fried rice recipes

I sent this recipe for my  monthly kungumam thozhi step by step series. I posted schezwan noodles recipe. That time itself I prepared this schezwan fried rice too, thought of posting later as I didn’t want to bore you all.  I am just back from a short visit to Chennai. After this hectic trip, I had no new posts in my hand, so this came to the rescue. I hope I can be regular in posting recipes from now onwards. I love schezwan recipes, be it noodles or fried rice, now a days my choice is always spicy things. Many of you tried shcezwan fried rice after I posted schezwan noodles recipe. I thought I too should post soon and found the right time now.

Schezwan fried rice recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Oriental  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time: 30 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Cooked Basmati rice	2 cups
Kashmiri red chilli*	10 + 2
Onion	1
Garlic, finely chopped	3 tblsp
Soya sauce	1 tsp
Chilli sauce	1 tsp
Carrot, beans, cabbage –  finely chopped	1 & 1/2 cups
Celery leaves, finely chopped	3 tblsp
Salt	As needed
Olive oil	3 tblsp

 

Method

1. Soak 10 red chillies in hot water for 30 mins and grind it to a paste with little water.
2. In a kadai, heat olive oil and add remaining 2 red chillies and finely chopped garlic. Do not change the color of the garlic. Just fry till fragrant, say half to one minute. Add finely chopped onion and fry for another minute in  high flame.
3. Add chilli and soya sauce, ground red chilli paste. Fry till oil oozes out. 
4. Add the finely chopped vegetables, salt and toss well in high flame. The veggies should get cooked, retain its crunchiness as well. Add more olive oil if needed.
5. Add cooked rice, toss gently to mix well.

Notes

• *Kashmiri red chillies gives a bright red color. It will look long and shrunken. If using ordinary red chillies, reduce the quantity.
• If not celery leaves, try coriander leaves or spring onion. Olive oil can be substituted with sesame oil.
• To cook basmati rice, soak for half an hour, pressure cook for 3 whistles with 1 & 1/4 cup water. Once done, invert in a broad vessel, add a tsp of oil and cool down to seperate the grains.

I served with schezwan baby potatoes, it went well with it, but any manchurian side dish will work.

• Baby corn manchurian
• Cauliflower manchurian
• Veg manchurian gravy
• Schezwan baby potatoes gravy
• Chilli paneer dry
• Chilli paneer gravy

Technorati Tags: schezwan fried rice recipe,how to make schezwan fried rice,easy schezwan fried rice recipe,schezwan recipes