Brinjal Kootu - another interesting name is Katharikkai Asadu Select fresh, tender brinjals. Brinjal cubes - 2 cups Green chillies, chopped into 1 cm pieces - 4,5 ( or to taste) Tamarind paste - 2 tsp Salt, hadi Hing - ½ tsp Cooked tur dhal - ½ cup ( minimum) To temper: Opil - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Red chillies - 2,3 Curry leaves - few In a kadai, heat 1 tsp oil & fry lightly brinjal & green chilli pieces, till they start shrinking lightly. Add tamarind paste with ¾ cup of water, haldi & salt. Cook till brinjal becomes soft. Now add cooked dhal & hing. When it starts boiling, simmer & cook for a few mts till all ingredients are well blended. Remove & temper as given. Goes well with thogayal sadam, paruppu podi sadam & vathakuzambu. The combination ofbrinjal & green chillies gives this a different taste.
Broccoli Dishes - full of iron & goodness. Stir fry 1 - Roast white seasame seeds (3tsp) & powder. Cauliflower & broccoli (alone) – cut into big pieces , lightly steam – 2 cups Heat 1 tsp oil , temper , 2,3 red chillies , hing & 1 tsp plain seasame seeds (also) – add lightly steamed vegetables , sprinkle powder , salt & mix well & remove. Goes well with rice & can be used as a dry sabji with parathas. 2 - Instead of seasame seed powder, add grated coconut. The secret of a good stir-fry dish lies in the fact that the vegetables should be crunchy-cooked and not overcooked. It is best to prepare a stir-fry dish just before a meal so as to serve it immediately. For stirfying you may use either peanut oil (groundnut oil) or til oil (gingely/sesame oil) and before adding broccoli, you may saute some minced garlic (fresh garlic and not the off-the-shelf paste) and freshly ground (coarse ground) red chilli powder. Stirfried broccoli tastes best when fresh and hot/warm and spicy with the flavor of garlic. 3 - You can make 'mulagoottal' with broccoli. It will taste great. Just prepare it the same way how you make cabbage/cauliflower mulagoottal. Garnishing with 1 tsp. coconut oil will give added flavor/taste. This goes well with Chappathi too and is a healthy diet too. The photo of broccoli-cauliflower stirfry is given below.
Dear Chit Thanks for the Asadu recipe. My mother used to make one similar to this ,with the long green brinjal variety with green chillis and dal,topped with lots of kotthamalli. It was generally referred to as Pacchai kootu at home because of the colour. I shall make Asadu for sunday lunch , with thogayal and Vathakuzhambu, as you suggest, and try to get myself a Samatthu pattam from hubby ! Thank you Chit Regards VS
Dear VS, Yes, do get a Samathu pattam by cooking asadu & send a F B to this asadu, without fail ! Love, Chithra.
Re: Broccoli Dishes - full of iron & goodness. Dear Chitra, Thanks a lot for the recipes. Regards Latha :wave
Dear Chit As promised, I made the Kathrikai Asadu for Sunday lunch along with sundaikkai vathakuzhambu, peerkankai thogayal, beans curry and fried applams. The kootu went very well with the v.kuzhambu. And your recipe was so easy, no hassles with grinding coconut and things like that, as is generally done for kootus. We all relished it. Thank you so much. VS
Dear VS, Thankyou very much for the prompt F B. You seem to have cooked a grand, enjoyable lunch ! Love, Chithra.
Sweet & Sour Vegetables – goes with Chinese rice & Noodles. Carrot - 1 French beans - 16 Cucumber - 1 medium Capsicum - 1 small Tomatoes - 2, medium, cut into thin slices Spring onions - 2, cut into 4 pieces Medium flowerettes of cauliflower - ¼ cup Ajinomoto - ¼ tsp (optional) Oil - 3 tbsp Tomato sauce - 1 cup Vinegar - ½ cup Sugar - 4 tbsp Water - 1 ½ cups Pepper - ½ tsp Salt Cornflour - 3 tbsp mixed with ½ cup water Scrape the carrot, string the beans & drop in boiling water to which ½ tsp salt is added. Boil for 1 mte, drain & cool. Cut carrot into 1 cm flowers & beans into 1” pieces. Peel cucumber, cut that & capsicum into ½ “ pieces. Heat oil in a pan, stir fry cauliflower & onions on a high flame for 2 mts. Add carrot, beans, cucumber, capsicum, ajinomoto & salt. Stir fry on a high flame for 3 mts. Add tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, water, pepper & salt. Bring to boil & stir well. Add cornflour mixed with ½ cup of water, stirring all the time. Add the tomato & simmer for 2 mts, stirring continuously.
Kovakkai (Tindli) chutney - a spicy dish which can be preservedfor 3 days ! I learnt this from my Hyderabad friend. This dish can be kept in the fridge for 2, 3 days, if made using a little more oil. This goes well with curd rice, mulakootal & with dosai also. This can be made as spicy as one likes. Finely chopped kovakkai 2 cups Tamarind paste 2 tsp (or more) Fry & powder Gram dhal 3 tsp Udad dhal 1 tsp Red chillies 5 Dhaniya 4 tsp Hing, haldi, salt, jaggery Oil 2 tbsp Mustard seeds 1 tsp Mix tamarind paste with salt, haldi & cook kovakkai in that. Add the made powder, little jaggery &boil. When they blend well, remove. Heat oil, temper mustard seeds, add the paste, fry well & remove. Keeps for 2,3 days. Tamarind & chillies can be adjusted to individual preferences, if you prefer it more spicy.
Dear Chitra Maam, I made Mullangi Masal Kootu. I remember that I made it as per the method and proportions given in there recipe. But then the smell of mullangi was a bit too prominent in the dish. Would you suggest some amends for this. Also, does the size of the radish cubes matter (after boiling, the cubes were about half inch in length). Please let me know how to make it even tastier. Thanks.