Podalanga Paruppu Usili/Snake gourd Dhal curry/Potlakaya pappu thalimpu

Learnt this recipe from Mom. This is a tasty curry with Dal.you can make the curry with cluster beans, banana Stem,Banana Flower etc. This curry tastes yummy with plain rice, vathal kozhambu, Sambhar,Rasam etc. Lets see how to make it.

Ingredients:-
Snake gourd - 1

Tuar Dal - 2 tsp
Chenna Dal - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Salt as required
Oil - 3 tsp

Turmeric - a pinch
Seasoning:-
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Urad Dal - 1tsp

Method:-
1. soak tuar dal,chenna Dal and Red chillies in water for 1/2 an hour.

2. Grind it in a mixer coarsely with out water.
3. Cut the snake gourd into small pieces and cook in water till soft, drain and keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a pan, add seasoning and fry until golden brown.
5. Add the coarsely grounded dal, salt,turmeric and fry till the dal becomes separate pieces.
6. Add the cooked snake gourd and mix well.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves.
8. Tasty Paruppu Usili is ready to eat.

Pav bhaji Masala

Pav bhaji is my all time favourite. I first ate this wonderful dish years ago in lonavala hill station in a road side shop. He made this dish in front of us in a hot tava. Got fasinated with that and i can still remember the way it tasted.... Cold climate....hot hot butter toasted pav and spicy tangy bhaji with butter that melts in you mouth. what else u want in life ha ha.... Then checked with him and noted the recipe...then started regularly making at home. When ever we used to go out shopping and ended up eating chat, my sis used to go for Bhel puri whereas i ended up with Pav bhaji..... ha ha after a long time making this at home... Lets see how to make it...

Ingredients:-

Carrots - 1

Beans - 8 pieces

Peas - small cup

Cauli Flower - small flower

Potato - 2

Tomatoes - 2((Boil whole tomatoes separately in water, peel of the outer skin and cut into pieces)

Onions -3

Capsicum - 2

Coriander leaves - 2 tsp

Lemon - small piece

Butter /Ghee - 6 tsp

Pav Bhaji Masala - 2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Chilly Powder - 2 tsp

Bread/Pav/Bun - 2

Method:-

1. Pressure cook the below vegetables in cooker in enough water and salt till soft.

2. Heat Butter/Ghee in a pan add Onions and Capsicum with little salt.

3. Fry till golden brown and add tomatoes to it.

4. Add the cooked and mashed vegetable to it,

5. Add Pav bhaji masala, garam masala, chilli powder.

6. Mix well and let it cook until mushy.

7. Add two tsp of Butter/Ghee and garnish with coriander leaves.

8. In a tava toast the bread/bun/pav with butter.

9. Serve with Cut onions, lemon piece, hot hot pav and bhaji.

10. Tasty and yummy Pav Bhaji is ready to eat...

 

 Note:- I didn't have peas hence not used the same. If you have fresh peas you can cook it along with the vegetables in cooker.

Plain Vanilla Cake with curd.......

For long time wanted to bake a cake without eggs. I found out this egg less recipe in the net and tried it. This is the first time iam trying to bake a cake from scratch. Believe me it didn't disappoint me and the cake turned out well. Took it to office and shared with my office friends. every one liked the cake and iam happy. Lets see how i made it.

Ingredients:-

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Curd/yogurt - 1 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Method:-
1.Preheat oven to 200 C for 10 Minutes.
2. Grease  and flour the glass bowl baking pan.
3. Cream the sugar and yogurt until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Add baking powder and baking soda and Mix well
5. You will find  it becomes frothy and  bubbles appear.
6.Add vegetable oil and vanilla essence and Mix well.
7. Slowly add little by little 1 tsp purpose flour at a time and mix all the flour well with the wet   ingredients.
8.Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree C for 10 Minutes.
9.Reduce temperature to 175 C and bake for 25 Minutes.
10.Take a toothpick and  insert into the cake if it comes out clean, cake is done.

11.Cool the cake for half an hour and then overturn onto a plate.

12.Tasty cake is ready to eat.

Fresh Ghee/Clarified Butter

Ghee also known as clarified butter has many health benefits.  One of the grandma's kitchen herbal medicine known to heal internal injuries when taken regularly. Since childhood days i have seen tedious process of collecting the cream of milk and curd daily and after that putting it into a glass bottle with cold water and continuously shaking for an hour brings butter. Then this butter is heated further to make ghee. Tedious process....hmmmm....Thanks to the ready made available butter today in super markets ghee making is very easy and gets done in 10 to 15 min. You may think why to make Ghee from butter if ghee is also readily available in markets. But i feel they doesn't have the Traditional home made nice ghee smell which i am used to from childhood. So here we go... Lets see how to make this aromatic and delicious ghee.

Ingredients:-

Butter - 220 gms

Jeera - 3 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Method:-

1. Melt butter in a pan.

2. Reduce the stove to low or medium heat.

3. once the butter starts becoming frothy.

4. In a strainer add jeera and curry leaves and place it in the frothy butter.

5. The essence of jeera and curry leaves will be absorbed by the butter.

6. Once the Butter turns golden colour switch off the stove.

7. Strain with a strainer.

8. Golden honey coloured ghee is ready with delicious aroma. 

Thakkali thairu pachadi/Tomato Raitha/Tomato Pergu Pachadi

This Raitha is my all time favourite. Tastes yummy  and gets done on all festival days at my home since childhood.Learnt the recipe from Mom. simple to make but the taste leaves ever lasting memories. You can have it with plain dal rice, mixed rices, pulav, veg biryanis, Dal kitchadi, rotis, pulkas, nan etc.....

Ingredients:-

Curd -1 1/2 cup

Tomato -2

Green chillies - 3

Coriander leaves - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar - 2 pinches

Seasoning:-

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds -1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:-

1. Cut tomatoes and chillies into pieces.

2. In a pan add seasoning and when the mustard starts spluttering.

3. Add tomatoes,chillies, salt,sugar.

4. Let the tomatoes become mushy.

5. Switch of the stove and let it cool completely.

6. Add Curd to the tomatoes mix well.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves.

8. Tasty and yummy thakkali thair pachadi/Tomato raitha is ready.

Chenna Dal Masala vada/ Kadala paruppu vadai/ Kandhi pappu garelu

This a tasty vada, made with chenna Dal and onions. Simple to make yet very tasty. Mom used to make it as a snack on Sundays to have with fresh filter coffee. After many years making this. Bought back all child hood memories. you can have it as it is or with tomato sauce or with chutney or with mixed rices. lets see how to make it.

Ingredients:-

Chenna Dal - 2 small cups

Raw Rice - 1 tsp

Onions - 2

Red chillies - 6

Salt to taste

Oil to fry

Ginger - small piece

Coriander leaves - 3 tsp

Method:-

1. Soak chenna Dal, rice and red chillies in water for 1 hour.

2. Drain the water , add ginger piece,salt and course grind it in mixer.

3. Add onions and coriander to the ground chenna Dal mix.

4. Heat oil in a pan. once the oil is heated reduce the flame to medium.

5. Take a lemon sized round chenna Dal mix and flatten it with hands.

6. Slowly leave it in oil.

7. Fry both sides till it is golden brown.

8. Fry the remaining vadas in batches.

9. Hot hot tasty vada is ready to eat.