Coriander leaves Chutney (Kotthamalli Thohaiyal)

This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese, Thiamin and Zinc.The chutney does not take much time to prepare and can be used for days if refrigerated.

Preparation time: 10 mins (seperating the leaflets will take abt 10-15 mins)

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves: 2-3 bunches (seperate the leaflets from the stalk)

Dry chilies: 2

Green chilli: 1

Ginger: 1.5 inches

Split gram (urud dal, ulutham parruppu): 3 tsps

Tamarind: size of a small goose berry

Oil: 2-3 tsp

Method:

Take a little oil in a pan and add the split gram and fry till it turns light brown

Add the dry chilies, green chilies and ginger in the same order and fry for ½ minute

Grind all of the above

Now fry the coriander leaves slightly in the pan with very little oil (doing this will remove the raw coriander taste from the chutney and will make a good difference in taste)

Add the fried coriander leaves into the blender and blend coarsely with rest of the ground ingredients and little salt

Take 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Wait till it splutters

Add the coriander chutney to this and fry for ½ min in low flame
Mix well and serve with hot rice or roti.

Vazhai Poo (banana blossom) Paruppu Usli

As usual my husband and I pushed the cart through the aisles as I picked vegetables examining them as if I had microscope embedded in my eyes. And lo! I spotted the Vaizhai poo gingerly sitting on the shelf in the Korean market and I couldn’t help day dreaming. Mom made paruppu usli that I last tasted 2 years back still lingered in my tongue. Immediately I decided the menu for Sunday even as Mahesh warned me of the work involved. Yeah… he is really good at warning, though not equally good at helping.

It is a little consuming recipe but rewarding. My motivation to make this is Mahesh. It is all worth when I see him enjoy his meal.

As I started preparing my favorite dish, I took some pictures and decided to post the recipe that was passed on through generations in the family. So here we go…

Ingredients
Banana blossom – 1 medium size
Thur dhal (Thoram paruppu) cup
Channa Dhal (kalla paruppu) – ½ cup
Dry chilies – 2
Asefotida – a pinch
Salt – to taste
Mustard seeds – to season
Cooking Oil

Pre-preparation

1. Soak Toor and Channa dal for at least one hour. Makes it easier for grinding

2. Separating the florets:

1. Apply little oil (I use sesame oil) on both the hands to avoid sticking while separating the flowerlets
2. Remove the cover of the plantain flower one by one. Remove and hold the bunch of florets in your hand and brush on the top of the bunch. This will make the stamen visible
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Remove the main stamen alone (refer to the picture) and cut the bunch into small pieces
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Soak them in water mixed with turmeric powder to prevent the flower from turning black














5. Continue removing the covers of the flower one by one till you reach the heart (middle) of the flower. This part of the flower can directly be chopped without having to remove the stamen.
   
   Phew! the most tedious part of the work is done!
   

Method
Add a little salt and cook the chopped florets until it becomes soft. Keep aside.
Grind the soaked dal and dry chilies coarsely (add as little water as possible)
Add Asefotida and a little salt to the dhal
Cook the dal. I pressure cook it up to three whistles
Take oil in a deep pan. Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters and then add the cooked dal.
Fry the dhal till it separates. Try doing this in low flame. This takes some time but is the important for good texture and taste of the usli
Once the dal separates, add the cooked florets and mix well. Fry for couple of minutes and your usli is ready
Serve it with rice or roti. I love the combination of this with rice and more kuzhambu.

Variations:

The banana blossom can be substituted with other vegetables like cluster beans, beans, cabbage etc.

Nutritious Value:

The most nutritious herbal flower, it is rich in vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and other nutrients that are needed to keep our body disease free and healthy. It is believed to be an excellent source of antioxidants and tannins. Antioxidants are chemicals known to help prevent cancers and combat aging and tannins have been reported to prevent bladder and urinary tract infections in women. Source: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6180160-description.html

Pulikachal & Puliyodarai (Tamrind Rice)

Pulikachal is gravy used to make puliyodarai (pulihora/puli saadham/tamarind rice). Puliodarai is a traditional food that tastes its best in iyengar temples. It in fact tastes great after the rice soaks well in the pulikachal and so puliyodarai is the default food in south Indian picnics.

Preparation time: 45-50 minutes (most of it is the boiling time and does not require constant attention)

Ingredients:
Dried Red chillies (kanja molaga): 3 (broken)
Tamarind water: 5 cups
Ground nuts: 3 tsp
Channa dal: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: about 10
Cooking oil: 2 tsps
Sesame (Gingili oil): 1 tbsp
Yellu (til/sesame seeds): 1 tsp
Salt to taste

To Grind:
Dried Red chillies : 2
Channa dal: 2 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Pepper corn: 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:
Pulikachal (the gravy)
Step 1
Roast channa dal, urud dal, and pepper corns in 1 tsp cooking oil till both the dals turn golden brown.
Add 2 red chilies to this and fry it for about 15 seconds. Grind all the roasted ingredients.
Step 2
Heat 1 tsp of cooking oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
Once the mustard seeds splutters, add ground nuts and 3 dried red chillies (broken into quarters or halves).
After roasting the ground nuts for few seconds, add the curry leaves, a pinch of asafetida, tamarind water and salt.
Boil for about 15-20 minutes and then add the ground ingredients
Continue boiling till the mixture thickens. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
Take the pan off the flame and add a little yellu and mix well
Let the pulikachal cool and then store it in air tight containers. You can use this pulikaachal for long especially if you store it in the fridge. Pulikachal can be used like a pickle to go with roti, yogurt-rice etc.

Puliodharai (the mixed rice)
Step 3
Add required quantity of pulikachal and 2 tsp of sesame oil to cooked rice and mix well. Mix carefully without mashing the rice. Your Puliyodharai is ready!

Ven Pongal

Pongal is a four day harvest festival celebrated by Tamil speaking people. Two types of pongal dishes are cooked during this day, Ven pongal (spicy pongal) and Sakkarai pongal (sweet pongal). The pongal varieties are offered to Sun God during the festival. When I was little my grandma once told me that pongal is made soft and mushy because Sun God is old and cannot eat anything that is hard or crunchy… fascinating isn’t it?

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Rice: 1 cup

Moong dal: ½ cup

Green Chillies: 1

Ginger: ½ inch piece (grated or finely chopped)

Whole black pepper: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Ghee: 2 tsp

Cashew nuts: 6-8

Curry leaves: 5-6 leaves

Method:
In a pan dry roast rice and moong dal till the moong dhal turns golden brown.
Wash well and steam to cook with 4 ½ cups of water (1:3 ratio) or pressure cook (4-5 whistles).
Take 2 tsp of ghee and the pepper seeds, cumin seeds till the cumin splutters
Fry cut green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves in little ghee and add this to the cooked rice-dhal.
Fry cashews in remaining ghee and garnish.
Mix well and serve hot with a little ghee.