Vendhayakkali

Ingredients:

Boiled rice(Pulungalarisi) - 1 cup
Urad Dal - 1/4 cup
Fenugreek / Vendhayam - 1/4 cup
Jaggery / karuppatti / panai vellam - as needed
Gingely oil / Nallenney - as needed
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Soak rice, dal and fenugreek for almost 4 hours.
• Grind to a nice dough.

• Shift the dough to a non-stick vessel / heavy based vessel, add alt and 3 cups of water and keep stirring.
• Take care and stir non-stop, to avoid formation of small solid balls.

• Kali will be ready by 15 minutes.

How to eat?

• Take some hot kai ina plate and make it to a thick round shape and dig out little in the centre.
• Add powdered jaggery and gingely oil.
• As per your need, add more and more jaggery and oil.

• Those who go for spicy flavour, can take kali with coconut chutney.

• Mochai pulikulabu is another good choice for vegetarians.
• Mochai + Dry fish curry could be non-vegetarians' choice.

Note:

• This is good for pregnant women as it redcues back and hip pain, and regulates body heat and it helps easy, normal delivery.
• It is good for all to take kali weekly once to regulate body heat.
• Diabetic persons can reduce the quantity of rice and increase the measure of fenukgreek.

Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, my mother

Tindora paste / Kovaikkaai Chutney

Ingredients:

Tindora - 150 gm
Onion - 1 small size
Tomato - 2 small
Tamarind - small lemon size
Red chilli - 8
Green chilli - 4
Corriander seeds - 3 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - for seasoing
Salt - as needed
Oil - as needed

Procedure:

• Cut the tindora to round pieces.
• Add oil to the frying pan and season with mustard seeds.
• Add tindora and fry until it turns golden brown.
• Add corriander seeds, red chilli and lengthwise slit green chilli and saute well.
• Add sliced onion and tomatoes and saute.
• When it gets fried well, let it cool; add salt and soaked tamarind, little water and grind to a paste.

Note:

• It is a good combination to mix with white rice and for Idli and Dosa.
• If needed, scraped coconut can be added.

Learnt from: Mrs. Shakunthala Krishnamurthy, Friend

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