Greens - Mango Avial - a less common combo! This is a delicious dish & can be prepared as a kuzambu or slightly thick as a side dish. Though any keerai can be used, red keerai is specially tasty for this. If the mangoes are not sour: Add 1 tsp tamarind paste Or Sour curds can be added. Chopped greens - 4 cups Chopped mangoes - 1 cup Slit green chillies - 2-3 (to taste) Grind to a paste: Coconut - 1/2 cup Jeera - 1 tsp Red chillies - 1-2 (if you prefer spicy) Curds - 1 cup (or less) To garnish - curry leaves dipped in coconut oil. Boil greens + mangoes + green chillies till soft & cooked (one whistle is ideal) Add salt & lightly mash. Add the ground paste & simmer for 3-4 mts. Add curds & switch off. Stir for a minute to blend well. Garnish. Goes best with hot rice+ghee, papad & a roast curry.
Corn-Methi Sabji - creamy & delicious! Cooked sweet corn kernels - 2 cups Methi leaves - ¾ cup To temper: Oil - 1 tbsp Jeera - 1 tsp Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp Beat together: Curds - ½ cup Besan - 2 tsp Hali Boil together in 1 cup of milk for 10 mts & grind to paste: Onions, chooped - ¾ cup Chopped cashews - 2 tbsp Garlic - 4,5 pcs Ginger - 1” Green chillies - 2,3 (more to taste) Heat oil & temper as given. Add methis leaves & sauté for 4-5 mts. Add curd-basan mixture & the ground paste . Next add corn, salt & simmer for a few mts till gravy thixckens. Serve with rotis or pulaos.
Baked Potato Roast - it cooks on its own!! For SBS photos, please go to Baked Potato Roast For this,cutting potatoes into uniform size wedges (big or small) or cubes is important. Wash the cut potatoes several times in water to remove the starch completely & drain. To 3 cups of cut vegetables, add 1&1/2 tsp chilli powder (or a little more), salt, hing, haldi & 2 tbsp of oil & mix well. Any dry herb like oregano etccan be addedoptionally. Transfer to a flat baking dish & bake at 220 deg C for 40 mts, stirring thoroughly twice, to make sure that all pieces are uniformly roasted. Timing varies wih ovens, please remember! This is an easy method and the raw potato gets cooked very well. This is one size: Small squares; Long wedges: with herb added!
Broccoli Kurma - a less common dish with broccoli Broccoli Kurma - a less common dish with broccoli. TD Boiled broccoli pieces - 1 ½ cups Boiled green peas - ½ cup Crumbled paneer - ½ cup Oil + ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp Cloves, cinnamon, cardamom - 2 pieces, each Chopped onions - ½ cup Pureed tomato - 1 cup Red chilli powder & Jeera powder - 1 tsp each Salt, haldi Malai or butter - 1 tbsp (optional) Melt oil +ghee. Saute, Cloves, cinnamon, cardamom for a few secs. Add onions & sauté till glossy. Add tomato puree & spice powders. Cover & simmer for 10 mts. Add vegetables, paneer and salt. Cook till all ingredients are well blended. Garnish with malai & serve with parathas or jeera rice.
Kalyana Alu Kara Curry - a must in S I wedding lunch! Potatoes - 1/2 kg Oil - 3-4 tbsp (not less) Salt Roast in 1 tsp oil & powder a little coarsely; Red chillies - 4-5 Gram dhal & daniya - each 2 level tbsp Hing - 1/2 tsp Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp (add last & switch off) Boil potatoes correctly - they should be boiled well, but firm & not soft. Then the curry will become mushy.Peel & cube. Heat oil & temper 1 tsp mustard seeds. Add cubed potatoes, salt & asmuch of he powder as you find necessary. Mix & saute on a low flame till crisp & brown.
One Whistle Brinjal Curry - in pressure pan! For SBS photos, please go to One Whistle Brinjal Curry Select fresh brinjals & cut into long segments. To powder coarse; Red chillies - 3-4 (or to taste) Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp To temper: Oil - 1 tbsp Red chillies - 2 Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Hing - ½ tsp Salt & haldi Heat oil in a pressure pan & temper as given. Add washed & freshly drained brinjal pieces, haldi & salt. The moisture in the brinjal is sufficient usually. If at all, add 2 tsp water. Cover & keep the weight. Switch off on the first whistle. Open in 5 mtes & if there is even little water,evaporate by heating the pan for 3-4 mts more. Add the coarsely powdered red chilli-peanut mixture & sauté till uniformly mixed. This can be left plain or curryma powder added as well.
BajjiChilli – Tomato Mandi - colourful & spicy! For SBS photos, please go to Bajji Chilli-Tomato Mandi I watched this recipe on a TV show, with green chillies. Since the variety of chillies we get here is very hot, I tried with bajji chillies. Bajji chillies - 250 gms Tomatoes - 250 gms Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp (or to taste) Chilli powder - 2-3 tsp Salt Oil - 2 tbsp Cut chillies & tomatoes as shown below. Heat oil & sauté chillies. They must shrink well; then add tomatoes. Add salt & chilli powder & lighly fry till cooked. Add tamarind paste wih just sufficient water & simmer. Switch off when you get the required consistency. serve hot. Serve with any tiffin or curd rice. Here I haver served with vattayappam.
Lauki-Paneer Delite - try this gravy with any combination of vegetables. I learnt this from a Gujarathi friend who belongs to Surat, but lives in Madurai. Boil together without water ( or MW Hi for 5 mts) Onions - 3 Tomatoes - 5 And liquidise. Mince fine: Green chill - 1 Ginger - 1 “ Garlic pieces - 2,3 Steamed lauki - 1 cup Chopped paneer - 1 cup Oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Methi seeds - ½ tsp Cloves - 2,3 Cinnamon - 1“ Pepper - ½-1 tsp Red chilli powder - ½ tsp Dhaniya powder - tsp Methi powder - ½ tsp Hing, haldi In a pressure pan, add oil & temper as given. Add all spice powders & simmer for a while. Add the tomato-onion mixture, boiled lauki & panner. Add salt, cover & cook for one whistle. Open & garnish with coriander leaves. Goes well with rotis.
Kalyana Parangikkai halwa Curry - is the Kalyana list, for ever growing?? Friends, I am posting this recipe in a hurry because I want you all to try it before the 'red pumpkin' season is over. This tastes best with red, ripe pumpkin.This is a mildly sweet curry and used to be a 'must' item in kalyana sappadu years back, but alas, now,no more! Cut the red pumpkin into big 1' cubes. Cubes - 2 cups Sugar - 2 bsp (or to taste) Rice flour - 1 tsp Coconut - 2 tbsp Salt To temper: Ghee + oil - 1 tbsp Red chillies - 1-2 Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Cashewnuts - 7, 8 Curry leaves - few Hing - 1/4 tsp Cook cubes with just 2 tbsp water & haldi for one whistle or till soft. Lightly mash, adding sugar, rice flour, salt & coconut. In another kadai, temper as given, add the vegetables & saute for few mtes. The sweet lwevel is your option.Goes best with a spicy vathakuzambu!
Greens Poriyal - a dry curry with any keerai. Please go to Greens Poriyal You can use any greens for this method. Onions are optional. Small onions taste better. Adding coconut at the end is also optional. This is also called Keerai Sundal. Chop greens very fine, wash VERY THOROUGLY & REPEATEDLY. Drain the water completely. Using Salad Spinner is ideal. Chopped greens - 3 cups Coconut - 1-2 tbsp Salt To temper: Oil - 2 tsp Musard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Red chillies, broken - 2-3 Finely chopped onions - 2-3 tbsp Temper,add greens, keep covered for a few mtes. Open add salt & when dry, switch off. Adding a tsp of sugar is optional. Add coconut. Hing - 1/4 tsp The photos are self-explanatory! This goes with phulkas along with a dhal. This also goes well with sambar or any kuzambu.