H- Horsegram Vadai

Wow, 8 days done in this marathon. I'm pretty pleased with myself with my recipes and blogging. I know that you must be hearing a lot about my grandmother and her influence on my cooking. Here is another blast from the past. She never lets any vegetable cooked go waste. It will promptly be convereted into another dish, which you cannot obviously figure out. So i guess it was during one navrathri that she had made kolu sundal. The next day morning, this vadai was made. I liked it very much and did not even think of asking what was it made of.

Later during the day, I came to know that is was made with horsegram. AWWW... was awestruck. Learnt from that lady that you should not waste food and through your knowledge you can create your own recipe. So here goes the best of excess food recipe/ Horsegram Vadai 

Ingredients

Horsegram - 1cup

Onions - 1 nos

Curry leaves - a few

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste

Method 

Soak the horsegram overnight after washing it for three or four times

Finely chop the onions and green chillies 

In the blender, take the soaked horsegram and pulse it two or three times.

It should be a coarse mixture like what we do for a masala vadai. 

Take this in a bowl.

Add finely chopped onions and chillies.

Adjust salt, mix well.

Make small patties and deep fry them in hot oil

Serve with sauce or coconut chutney

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G - Godhumai Rava Payasam

My first sweet dish of the season. Godumai Rava Payasam And a very Happy Ugadi to all you folks out there. Every dish that I am making for this series has a connection with my family either my mother or my grandmothers or some family tradition that we follow. 

This payasam, was made by my grandmother when I was in college. She made this to pep me up when I was down for some reason. This was made in a jiffy and sure did bring a smile on to my face. These days I realise that my cooking is highly influenced by my grandmother. 

Off to the recipe

Ingredients 

Wheat rava - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup ( broken into small pieces )

Cashew and raisin - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Boiled and cooled milk - 1 cup

Method 

In a heavy bottomed vessel, cook the wheat rava in minimal water. 

When the rava is cooked well, add the broken jaggery and keep mixing well

When the jaggery and rava are mixed well

Take it away from the flame and let it cool

In another pan, heat a little ghee and roast the raisins first followed by the cashews.

PS: Always roast them seperately and not together

Add this to the rava jaggery mixture and mix well

When it is completely cooled add the boiled milk and mix well again

Serve chilled

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F - Fenugreek leaves stir fry

Today we are cooking a very healthy stir fry. Fenugreek leaves are very abundant in the season of summer. I love the ones which come in very small bundle. Especially when I am cooking only for myself only. This stir fry is very easy to make and can go with rasam, dal or even curd rice. 

On to the recipe and the things needed to make it

Ingredients

Fenugreek leaves - 2 cups

Small onions - 3 

Red Chilli- 1

Coconut Scrappings - 2 tbsp ( optional )

Salt to taste

Oil and Mustard seeds for tempering

Method

Clean the fenugreek leaves thoroughly three to four times
Its very important to clean it well as there are chances that mud might stay between the leaves
Peel the onions and chop them into fine pieces
Cut the red chilli into two piece and keep them aside
In a frying pan add a little oil
Once the oil is heated add mustard seeds and red chilli
Followed by the chopped small onions
Saute them over small flame and add salt to this.
Add fenugreek leaves and saute further.
Just drizzle water over the leaves and mix well.
Cook over low flame for about ten minutes and your stir fry is done
If you want add coconut scrapping towards the end and mix well

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E - Eral Pepper Fry

I am a vegetarian who often indulges in egg but no meat. That definitely does not stop me from cooking meat, for my loved ones. Oh yes and I do love cooking non vegetarian, Its a emotional satisfaction that you get when the food you cooked tastes good though you cant taste it. Yaay... And what is more when my appa gives me a nod it is equivalent to 100s Michelin stars bestowed upon me. Did I ever tell you, he was the one who honed my cooking skills by being my guinea pig. 

Today's recipe is a very favorite thing for appa and is very simple to make. You just need prawns handy to make this. Baby corn, potatoes, mushrooms, brocolli or cauliflower can be replaced in this dish instead of prawns. 

On to the recipe.

Ingredients

Prawns ( cleaned and de veined ) - 2 cups

Onion - 1 sliced 

Green chilies - 3 ( slit into two )

Pepper - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil - for stir fry

Method

In a mixer, make a coarse paste of pepper corns and a little onions. 

Take a pan and add little oil

When the oil is hot add the sliced onions followed by green chillies and saute well

Adjust salt and continue to saute

Add the coarse paste of pepper and onions..

Now stir in the prawns and cook on low flame for about ten minutes. 

Spicy yummy and easy prawn fry ready

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C - carrot poriyal

Day 3 and here I am with a healty and simple stir fry. Carrot Poriyal. This dish has the flavor of coconut along with green chillies. The addition of coconut is something that I have seen in my household. This carrot poryal is always made with the addition of moong dal and named as a carrot kosambari. I realised that this dish is quite unique, when this was packed in my lunch box in school or college.

For people who have seen or been through my blog will know what a sucker I am for vegetables. Shopping for clothes and accessories will not excite me as much as I get excited when am in a vegetable market, surrounded by fresh vegetables and herbs. Carrots are always ( Read Capital, Bold and Italic ) on my vegetable shopping list.

Let me jump onto the recipe for this yummilicious carrot poriyal. My personal choice to have this with a bowl of creamy curd rice. or with coconut rice.

Ingredients

Carrots - 1/2 kg

Coconut scrapings - 1/2 cup

Green Chilies or Red Chilies - 3 nos

Oil and mustard seeds - for tempering

Salt - to taste

Method

Cut the carrot into small cubes and put them to boil

After they are done, strain it and keep it aside.

In a frying pan, add a little oil

When the oil is hot add mustard seeds followed by the chilies

Add the coconut scrapings as well and stir it under low flame 

Lower the flame well and the add the steamed carrot cubes. 

Mix well and adjust salt. 

Remove on to a bowl and serve with meals or curd rice

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B-Bajji

This is my post for the second day. My grandmother use to make this whenever I had asked her for something crunchy to eat. Sometimes a whole bowl of creamy curd rice with hot bajjis will be waiting for me when I come home from school. This is also a dish that is made when a groom goes to see a bride, this is served along side Rava Kesari and Filter Coffee. This combination is called bajji soji. Going to the preparation of the same. Simple ingredients off the pantry at your kitchen no fancy stuff as well.

                            

Ingredients

Besan flour aka Kadalai Maavu - 1 cup

Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Raw Banana - cut into slices about 10 or 12

Oil for deep frying

Method 

In a bowl, take the besan flour, red chilli powder and salt.

Add little water and make it into a good smooth paste.

Cut the raw banana into thin slices and set them aside.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed wok.

When the oil is heated up, get ready to deep fry the raw banana slices

Dip each side of the raw banana, in the besan flour mixture 

Deep fry till the bajji is cooked well

Serve hot with coconut chutney and hot cup of coffee

                           

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A- Arakeerai masiyal

The month of April is always time for marathon of cooking and blogging. This month we have chosen one cuisine to blog about and and at the same time follow a pattern of A-Z. I am super excited because this is the very first time that I was ready with all my dishes before the D-Day.

Throughout this month I will present to you simple day to day dishes, that has been in my household for a long time. All these dishes are very special since I have learnt them from my grandmother and mother. Cooking at my home is dominated by the flavors and aroma from Tirunelveli District. This is a small district towards the south most tip of India. I have my roots from this place, It is a place where my grandparents lived and my parents grew up. 

Today I bring to your plates, a very simple side dish made from the greens available near our homes. It is called Arakeerai Masiyal. Very simple to make and at the same time, loaded with Vitamin A. This can be mixed with rice or eaten along with sambhar rice. This masiyal tastes the best with kara Kulambu. Ooh.. delicious. 

Now on to the recipe, of the very easy Arakeerai Masiyal 

Ingredients 

Arakeerai - 2 cups

Garlic pods - 2

Green Chillies - 2 

For tempering - oil, mustard seeds and red chilies

Salt to taste

Method

Clean the greens and boil them along with garlic pods and green chillies

Let it cool down completely

Take the cooked greens in a blender and add salt to it

Make a smooth paste from the greens 

In a seperate pan, add a little oil and mustard seeds

Add the red chillies and wait till they sputter.

Pour this tempered mixture over the smooth paste of greens 

Serve this with sambhar or eat it as such with rice.

I had it with pepper potato and papad with steamed rice. 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

An InLinkz Link-up