Egg Kurma

 

Ingredients : 

Boiled Eggs - 4 nos

Onion (big) - 1 (finely chopped)

Tomato (big) - 1 (finely chopped)

Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon

Garlic pods - 5 (finely chopped)

Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon

Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Coconut (grated) - 1/2 cup

Curry leaves - 2 Strands

Coriander leaves - few strands

Salt to taste

Method :

1. Heat a kadai with little oil and fry peppercorns and fennel seeds till the aroma comes out.

2. Grind peppercorns, fennel seeds and grated coconut in a blender to a coarse powder

3. Heat the kadai again with oil and saute Curry leaves, onion, tomato, ginger and garlic until everything gets cooked well.Add water to the content to get a gravy consistency.

4. Add the ground paste into this and add boiled eggs to the gravy.

5. Let the gravy boil for few minutes.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice

Modhagam (Kozhukattai)

This is another special dish made during Vinayagar Chathurthi and Varalakshmi Nombu, 2 famous festivals for Hindus. It is also a special offering to lord Ganesha. This dish consists of two parts, a sweet dish (pooranam) covered by steamed rice (kozhukattai)

Ingredients :

Pooranam:
Channa Dal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom pods - 5
Grated coconut - 1 cup

Kozhukattai:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Gingely oil - 1 teaspoon
Salt - a pinch


Method:

For the pooranam:
1. Soak channa dal in water for an hour
2. Boil dal in pressure cooker upto 3 whistles.
3. Mash the dal to a fine paste.
4. In a bowl, add water and dissolve the jaggery in it. Filter the dissolved jaggery to remove any impurities
5. Heat a kadai on medium high and boil the filtered jaggery paste till it becomes thick (takes approximately 10 minutes)
6. Add the mashed dal into the above jaggery paste and mix well.
7. Add coconut and cardamom pods to the mixture. Keep stirring until it is possible to make small balls out of the mixture. Switch off the stove and keep the kadai aside

For the Kozhukattai:
1. In a bowl, pour the rice flour and salt.
2. Bring the water to a roaring boil.
3. Add the boiling water little by little to the rice flour (take care while mixing, use a spatula for this ). You should be able to make balls. To test this consistency, pour little gingely oil in the palm and try making a ball. If you could , then stop adding water.
4. Now you are ready to make kozhukattais. Take small amount in the palm and make small cups and put a teaspoon full of pooranam inside the cups and close them
5. Steam the cups in a steamer for 5 minutes
6. Delicious kozhukattai is ready to serve

Karuvaadu varuval / Anchovies Fry

  

Ingredients :

Dried Anchovies - 1/4 kg

Onions (medium sized) - 2 (finely chopped)

Garlic - 5 pods (finely chopped)

Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon

Fennel powder - 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoons (or as required)

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Tomato (medium sized)  - 1 (finely chopped)

Curry leaves - 1 strand

Method: 

1. Heat oil in a kadai and put curry leaves. Once the leaves become slightly crisp, add onions.

2. Saute the onions well for 7-8 minutes

3. Add garlic pods and ginger paste to the sauteed onions. Fry till the raw smell of the ginger and garlic goes away.

4. Add tomato to the above mixture.Saute tomato until it becomes well cooked and mushy.

5. Add Turmeric powder, red chilli powder , fennel powder. Saute for few minutes.

6. Check for salt and add if required. Dried Anchovies already contain salt so add them finally only if it is required.

7. Serve hot with choice of rice.

Mutton Kulambu / Gravy

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

For Marination :

Mutton - 1/4 Kg

Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon

Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Curd - 2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

For the Gravy :

Onion (medium) - 2 (finely chopped and keep the two onions separate)

Tomato (medium) - 3 (finely chopped)

Raddish - 1 (sliced) and / or Drumstick - 5 pieces (1 inch)

Red Chilli powder - 2 teaspoon

Tamarind paste - 1 tablespoon

Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon

Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Coconut (grated) - 1/2 cup 

Oil - 4 teaspoon

For Seasoning :

Bay leaf (small) - 2

Cloves - 2 nos

Cardamom - 2 nos

Cinnamom - 1 inch

Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Garlic pods - 4 (slitted)

Green Chillies - 2 (slit into two)

Curry leaves - 1 strand

Coriander leaves - 1 strand

Method : 

1. Marinate the washed and cleaned meat with the items given for marination , for 1 to 2 hours

2. Heat 2 teaspoon oil and saute half the portion of the finely chopped onion and tomato in a kadai.

3. Once thee onions become transluscent , add the Ginger and garlic paste and saute for few minutes till the raw smell goes away

4. Take a pressure cooker and add the contents in the kadai and the marinade and cook until 3 whistles

For the Gravy : 

5. Take a heavy bottomed vessel, add oil and saute the remaining chopped onions and tomatoes till they are cooked well

6. Now add raddish and / or drumstick pieces

7. Transfer the contents of the cooker to the vessel along with tamarind paste, red chilli powder and salt

8. Add water , close and boil the contents until the vegetables are cooked thoroughly. At this point the gravy will also release a fine aroma

9. While contents are boiling, grind fennel and coconut to a fine paste by adding water little by little

10. Add the ground paste to the gravy and let it boil in medium heat

11. In a separate kadai , put oil and saute the tems given for seasoning. Fennel seeds and curry leaves should be added at the last

12. Add the seasoned mixture to the gravy and garnish with coriander leaves

13. Serve hot with rice and choice of side dish

Navarathna Chutney

                                                                                              

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

Green Chillies - 4

Ginger - 1 inch

Tamarind - Amla size

Split roasted gram (Pottukadalai) - 2 teaspoon

Tomato (big) - 1 / medium - 2

Onion (big) -1 / medium - 2

Curry leaves - 1 strand

Asoefetida - 1/2 teaspoon

Coconut (grated) - 1/4 cup

Oil and salt as required

Seasoning (optional) :

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Asoefetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Method :

1. Heat oil in a kadai in medium high and fry asoefetida

2. Followed by the rest of the ingredients one by one and coconut at the last

3. Saute the contents for 5 minutes only

4. Let the contents cool and grind them in a blender adding very little water and required salt

5. Heat the kadai again and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add asoefetida and saute for few seconds and add to the chutney

6. Best side for Dosai / idli

Notes :

Seasoning is optional. The chutney tastes good without seasoning also

Vadagam Thuvaiyal

Ingredients:

Red Chilli - 4 nos
Coconut (Grated) - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - Beetle nut size
Vadagam (crushed into small pieces) - 2 teaspoon
Gingelly oil - 1 teaspoon
Salt as required

Method :

1. Heat Gingelly oil in a small kadai and fry the vadagam pieces for few seconds
2. Grind red chillies, tamarind and coconut coarsely
3. Add fried vadagam to this mixture and grind for another few seconds and add salt as required
4. Transfer the contents to a small bowl. Vadaga thuvaiyal is ideal for idli , dosa and even with rasam or puli (tamarind) sadham

Notes:
Recipe for how to make vadagam will follow shortly.  Do not fry vadagam for long as it will loose its flavour.

Mushroom Biryani

Serves : 5

Ingredients : 

Mushroom - 1/2 kg ( 2 packets)
Basmati Rice - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 3 1/2 cups
Onions (medium) - 3 (finely chopped)
Tomato (medium) - 2 (finely chopped)
Ginger paste - 2 teaspoons
Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Ghee - 2 te
Oil and Salt as required

Seasoning:
Bay Leaves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Green Caaspoonsrdamom - 2 nos
Cloves - 2 nos
Black Cardamom - 1

Method: (Similar to tomato rice preparation)

1. Soak the rice in water for 15 minutes.
2. Drain and fry the rice along with few mint leaves in ghee for 3 minutes.
3. Add oil in a kadai and heat it to medium high. Add the items given for seasoning one after another and fry for few seconds
4. Saute onions , green chillies, ginger and garlic paste for 5 minutes till the raw smell goes away
5. Add mint and coriander leaves and saute for few minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and saute until it becomes mushy.
7. Add Red Chilli powder, Turmeric powder and salt to the contents in the kadai.
8. Leave the kadai in low heat for 5 minutes. This is again for the raw smell of red chilli powder to subside
9. Cut the mushroom into small pieces and mix it with the contents of the kadai.
10. Transfer the contents to a pressure cooker and water. Put the weight and keep the cooker in low heat for 10 minutes.
11. After 10 minutes, check if the rice is done, else keep for another 5 minutes in low flame only.
12. Once the rice is done transfer the contents immediately into another container else rice will become mushy if left in the cooker for long.
13. Serve hot with raita or any choice of kurma

Notes:
Do not leave the cut mushroom pieces outside for long as it will loose its colour. Cut the mushroom only when you are ready to put into the kadai.