Radish Puttu

Ingredients:

Radish - 4
Small onion - 100 gm
Green chilli - 6
Roasted channa dal (Pottukadalai) - 2 tablespoon
Sauf - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Salt - as needed
Curry leaves - for seasoning

Procedure:

• Peel the skin of radish, scrap to long pieces.
• After 15 minutes, squeeze off the radish to remove the juice.
• Place the frying pan on the stove, add oil; when the oil gets heated up, season mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
• Add finely chopped onions and green chillies and saute.
• Add roasted channa dal and sauf and grind to a nice powder.
• When the onion gets brownish, add radish and saute well.
• Cover the pan; don't add water.
• When the radish gets brownish, add the roasted channa dal+sauf powder and stir well for 5 minutes.

Note:

Scraped coconut can be added, if needed.
 

Kala Kalaa / Maida rolls

Ingredients:


Maida - 200 gm
Butter - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Coconut milk(thick) - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Cooking oil - 250 ml
New comb with broad gap / Fork - 1
Procedure:

• Add salt, sugar, butter, coconut milk, little water to Maida and make chappathi style dough..
• Set aside for almost 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, the dough will be softer.
• Make small balls (small marble size).
• Place a ball over a comb or at the back side of a fork and press and extend it towards one side.
• Carefully remove it and roll it over the tip of your left index finger.
• Press both ends lightly.

• Take it out carefully..the sides of the roll should not be in contact..there should be a hollow..
• Roll all the balls similarly..

• Add oil to the frying pan, when it gets heated, deep fry the rolls.

• Add only 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to the sugar and heat it in a broad container.
• Stir evenly till the sugar melts.
• When the sugar syrup boils and turns to  a pale white colour, switch off the stove.
• Add the fried rolls to the sugar syrup and blend well.
• As the syrup is hot, it immediately spreads around the roll.

Learnt from: Mrs.Padma, my mother

White chili in tamarind

Ingredients:

White chili - 150 gm
Tamarind - size of a small lemon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Feugreek - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
Gingley oil - 1/4 cup
Cooking oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dal -  1/2 teaspoon
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Roast fenugreek in a frying pan and powder it.
• Add cooking oil to the frying pan, when it gets heated up, season mustard seeds, urad dal and asafoetida.
• Cut the white chili into small pieces.
• Add the chili pieces to the pan and saute in low flame.
• When it gets sauted well, add thick tamarind pulp.
• Add salt, turmeric powder and powdered fenugreek.
• Add gingley oil once the raw smell is gone and stir well.

Note:

• Those who enjoy the taste of tamarind+jaggery, add a piece of jaggery.
• It tastes good immediately, but tastes better as days go by.
• Green chili can be used instead of white.

Learnt from: Getting back memories of tasting this item from the hands of my school friend's mom + Internet..self trial

SEMI-RIPE CUCUMBER PACHADI

Ingredients:

Semi-ripe cucumber - 1 (medium size)
Green chilli - 7
Tamarind - 1/2 of small lemon size

Cummins  - 1/2 teaspoon

Curd - 1 or 2 tablespoon

Oil- to saute

Salt - to taste

Procedure:

• Peel  skin off the cucumber and cut into small pieces.
• Add oil to a frying pan, when it gets heated up add cummins and green chilli; saute for just few seconds.
• When it gets cold, add soaked soft tamarind and grind to a coarse paste.
• Add paste to the cucumber pieces and mix well.
• Add curd and salt.

Note:

• This pachadi tastes better when curd is not added as you can get the real taste of chilli and tamarind.
• If needed, you can season with mustard seed and asafoetida.

Learnt from: Mrs. Shakunthala Krishnamurthy, friend

PARUPPU VADA MORKKUZHAMBU

Ingredients:

Buttermilk - 2 cups
scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
toor dal - 2 tablespoon
Raw rice - 1 tablespoon
Corriander seeds - 2 tablespoon
Ginger - a small cube
green hcilli - 10
red chilli - 3
asafoetida - 1 pinch
Paruppu vada - 7
turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 2 teaspoon
Salt - as needed
Mustard seeds, Urad dal, fenugreek - for seasoning
Curry leaves - for seasoning
corriander leaves - to garnish


Procedure:

• Soak toordal, raw rice, corriander seeds for almost half an hour.
• Add the soaked items, coconut, ginger, green chilli and grind to a nice paste.
• Add oil to the frying pan, when it is hot season with mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek, redchilli, curry leaves, asafoetida.
• Add the paste to the pan..add turmeric powder, salt and little water and allow it to boil until the raw smell goes off.
• Add buttermilk and allow it to boil in medium flame.
• Take care while boiling the buttermilk...it has to boil well..at the same time it shouldn't turn curdish..
• When this gravy gets little tightened add the paruppu vadas.
• Switch off the stove after 2 to 3 minutes.
• It will take almost 30 minutes for the vadas to get softer.

Note: The vadas should not be crispy..they should be somewhat thicker..

Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, mother

YAM MASALA DEEP FRY

Yam is a common name for many varieties of kizhangu...here it refers to chenai kizhangu...though it is called karunai kizhangu in some parts of Tamil Nadu.

Ingredients:


Yam /  - 200 gms (app. 25 pieces)
Channadal - 1/2 cup
Corriander seeds - 4 teaspoon
Red chilli - 10
Small onion - 8
Garlic - 4 cloves
Sauf - 1/2 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 150 ml.
Salt - to taste

Procedure:

• Peel skin off the yam and cut into rectangular pieces.
• Add turmeric powder and salt; half cook the yam.
• Drygrind channaldal, corriander seeds, red chilli and sauf.
• Add small onions, garlic and little water and grind to a fine paste.
• Blend this paste to the yam pieces and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Heat oil in the frying pan.
• When oil is hot, deep fry the pieces.

Learnt from: Mrs. Priya Ramesh, friend

TOMATO SOUP KUZHAMBU

Name sounds different? Even this soup is different..it is tastier when mixed with rice as kuzhambu rather than taking it as soup..

Ingredients:

Tomato - 3
Onion - 1
Green chilli - 4
Garlic - 5 cloves
Toor dal - 2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Corriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Roasted channa dal / pottukkadalai - 2 teaspoon
Sauf - 1 teaspoon
Scraped coconut - 3 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 2 pieces
Corriander leaves - to garnish
Salt - as per need
Oil - 1 teaspoon

Procedure:

• Take chopped tomatoes (medium size), sliced onion, split green chillies, sliced garlic, turmeric powder, toor dall in a pressure cooker and add 3 glasses of water.
• Pressure cook for 10 minutes.
• Grind coconut, 1/2 spoon of sauf, roasted channa dal / pottukkadalai, corriander powder into a fine paste.
• Add oil to a frying pan; season with cinnamon and sauf.
• Add the mix from the cooker to the pan and add salt.
• When the mix boils, add the paste; when it boils well and bubbles twice switch off the stove.
• Garnish with corriander leaves.

Note:

If sour taste given by tomato is not enough, add few drops of tamarind pulp.

Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, mother
Tips for enriched taste: Mrs. Bhuvana Sekar, friend

POTATO GREEN CHILLI KURUMA

Ingredients:

Potato - 3
Green chilli - 6
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Garlic - 5 cloves
Corrinader seeds - 3 teaspoons
Corriander leaves - one handful
Coconut scraped - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Cinnamon - 4 pieces
Cloves - 3 pieces
Big jeera / sauf - 2 teaspoons
Khasa khasa - 1/2 teaspoon
Curd - 1 teaspoon

Procedure:

• Boil the potatoes and cut into small pieces.
• Fry dhania and slit green chillies. Add this to coconut, khuskhus and sauf and grind to make a paste.
• Add butter and oil to the pan. Season with cinnamon and cloves.
• Add onions, tomatoes, long sliced garlic and saute well.
• Add the ground paste, saute well and add enough water.
• Add potato pieces.
• Saute well till the raw smell gets off, simmer the stove and add curd.
• After two to three minutes, add finely chopped corriander leaves.

Note:

• If you like to add ginger, add it finely chopped.
• While you make the paste 2 or 3 cashew nuts can be used.
• If you need it to be greener, while you make the paste, add corriander leaves too.
• 1/2 spoon of lemon juice can be added instead of curd.

Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, my mother

COCONUT MILK RICE

Ingredients:


Rice - 1 1/4 cup
Coconut scraped - 1/4 cup
Onion(Big piece) - 1
Green chilli - 4
Tomato(small) - 1
Cinnamon - 3 pieces
Cardamom - 1
Big jeera / sauf - 1 teaspoon
Butter / Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Corrinader leaves chopped - 2 teaspoons
Pudina - only 5 to 6 leaves
chopped ginger - 1 teaspoon
chopped garlic - 2 teaspoons
salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Extract milk from the scraped coconut.
• Add butter / ghee and oil to the cooking vessel.
• When it gets heated, season with coarsely powdered sauf, cardamom and cinnamon.
• Add long sliced onions, giner and garlic pieces and saute well.
• Add green chillies and tomato; saute well.
• Add coconut milk, water required, salt and rice and close the vessel.
• Stir now and then till it gets fully cooked.
  
  

Note:
It is a dish in which the flavour is highlighted more than the taste. Hence an apt side dish is very important. Suitable suggestions: Any type of kurma, or non-veg/veg masala curry.

Learnt from: Mrs. Jothi, my mother-in-law

Crab Pepper Masala

Ingredients:

Crab - 8
Onion - 2
Tomato small - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teasp
Pepper - 2 teasp
Jeera / cummin - 1 teasp
Red chilli powder - 2 teasp
Turmeric powder - 1 teasp
Scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
Corriander Seeds - 3 teasp
Corriander leaves- to garnish
Oil - 5 teasp
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Clean the crabs.You can click HERE to see how to clean crabs.
• Add oil to the frying pan. After the oil gets heated, add finely chopped onions, tomato, ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Roast corriander seeds without oil.
• Add roasted corriander seeds, coconut, pepper, jeera, red chilli powder and grind it to a paste adding very little water.
• Add the masala to the pan and saute well.
• Add turmeric powder and salt.
• Add the crabs to the pan and gently turn them.
• Add 1/2 cup of water and close the pan.
• After the crabs get cooked, turn again gently.
• Cook till the masala thickens in a medium flame.
• Garnish with corriander leaves when the dish is ready.

 
Learnt from: Mrs. Jothi, my mother-in-law

How to Clean Crabs?

At the outset a crab looks like this..

You can see a V shaped part...

Open that V....



Remove all these  yellow parts and small pieces



After cleaning the crab looks like this...

Clean the crab with water

If the crab is big split it into two parts..if it is small take the full piece



Then take these leg parts separately

The whole crab indeed...but all the split parts are arranged as a whole.

Crab pepper masala is ready..recipe follows in the next post..

LEARNT FROM: Mrs. Jothy, my mother-in-law