RAW JACKFRUIT BRIYANI

Briyani with the raw jackfruit is always delicious! But it depends on the sweetness, freshness and the taste of the vegetable.

பலாக்காய் [பலாமூசு] புலவு:

Ingredients:


Raw jackfruit [cut in to small pieces] - 2 cups
Finely sliced onion-3
Finely chopped tomato-3
Small garlic flakes-a handful
Finely shredded ginger- 1 tsp
Chopped coriander- 1 cup
Chopped mint leaves- 1 cup
Salt to taste
Ghee- ¼ cup
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Slit green chillies-4
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Fennel powder- half sp
Basmati rice- 3 cups
Curd- 2 tsp
Lime juice- 1 tsp


Powder the following ingredients finely:


Black gardamom-1, green cardamom-2, cinnamon- 1 pieces, cloves-3, staranise- half, Fennel seeds- 1 tsp


Procedure:


Clean the raw jack fruit and take out the fleshy part.
Cut in to tiny pieces.
Pressure cook them with little water and salt to 3 whistles.
Drain the water and coat them with giner-garlic paste, half of the turmeric powder, fennel and chilli powder.
After half an hour, deep fry them for a few seconds.
The colour should not change and the pieces should be soft.
Keep them on a paper kitchen towel.
Heat the ghee in a vessel.
Add the onion with the garlic and the ginger and fry them to slightly golden brown.
Add the tomatoes with the greens, slit green chilies and the remaining turmeric powder.
Fry them until the tomatoes are mashed softly and the oil floats on the surface.
Add the fried jackfruit pieces and cook on slow fire until the masala coats the pieces well.
Add the powder and mix well.
Add the curd and cook for a few minutes.
Add the coconut milk, 5 cups of water, and the rice
Cook until the rice is 3/4th done.
Add salt and the lime juice.
When all the water is evaporated, cover the vessel with a suitable lid, and keep it in ‘Dhum’ in a gas oven for 20 minutes.
Mix once in between and pour some ghee around the corners.
Now the delicious Raw jackfruit Briyani is ready!!

RIDGE GOURD KOTHSU

பீர்க்கங்காய் கொத்சு

This ridge gourd kothsu is a delicious accompaniment for dosai and idli. The final gravy must not be very thick. Nowadays the ridge gourds sometimes are having bitter taste. Hence it is better to taste it before cooking.


Ingredients:


Green gram- 1 cup
Ridge gourd- half kilo
Slit green chillies-3
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- half sp
Asafetida powder- half tsp
Chopped onion- half cup
Crushed tomato- 2 cups
Tamarind- a lime size
Sambar powder- half tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 4 tbsp
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Chopped coriander- half cup


Procedure:


Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of water for half an hour and then extract its juice.
Boil the green gram with the turmeric powder and enough water until it is almost cooked.
Cut the ridge gourds in to 1cm cubes and add them to the boiling green gram with the green chillies.
When the vegetable is cooked well put off the fire and mash them finely with a potato masher.
Heat a pan and pour the oil.
Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the onion with the asafetida powder and fry them for a few seconds.
Then add the tomato with the greens and cook them until the tomatoes are mashed finely and the oil floats on top.
Add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil for a few minutes.
Now add the cooked vegetable with enough water and sprinkle the sambar powder.
Boil the kothsu for five minutes.

GOOSEBERRY RICE

நெல்லிக்காய் சாதம்:

This is the most nutritious rice. And it is a very simple one. Mild potato fry would be a suitable side dish.

Ingredients:

Rice cooked with salt- 3 to 4 cups
Gooseberry [big] -12
Curry leaves- 2 arc
Shredded coconut- half cup
Lime juice- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Black gram- 1 tsp
Chopped coriander-2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 2 tbsp
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Asafetida powder- 1 tsp

Procedure:

Shred the gooseberries finely.
Heat a pan and pour the oil.
Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the black gram and the asafetida.
Fry for a second.
Then add the curry leaves and the shredded gooosberies.
Fry on slow fire until the gooseberry is cooked softly.
Add a little salt and again fry for a few seconds.
Add the coriander leaves and the coconut and mix well.
Add the rice and cook on slow fire mixing continuously for a few seconds.
Add the lime juice and mix well.

WHITE PUMPKIN MORKUZHAMBU

பூசணிக்காய் மோர்க்குழம்பு


This is a famous vegetarian dish in south India. White pumpkin, ladies finger, colocasia and brinjals are the suitable dishes for morkuzhambu.

Ingredients:


White pumpkin pieces- 2 cups
Thick curd- 2 to 3 cups
Shredded coconut- half cup
Fenugreek seeds- half sp
Black gram- half sp
Tuar dal- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- half sp
Chopped tomato- 1 cup
Turmeric powder- half sp
Salt to taste
Red chillies-4
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Gingelly oil- 3 tbsp
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Chopped coriander- 3 tbsp
Green chillies-5
Shredded ginger- half sp


Procedure:
Soak the tuar dal in a cup of water for half an hour.
Boil the pumpkin pieces in enough water and salt.
When they are cooked, drain the water and keep the pieces in a plate.
Heat a pan and pour a tsp of oil.
Add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and black gram and fry them to light golden colour.
Add the tuar dal without water and fry them for a few minutes.
Add the green chillies and fry for a few minutes.
Then add the coconut with the ginger and fry them for a few seconds.
When cooled, grind them with enough curd to a coarse paste.
Beat well the remaining curd except a half cup
Mix well the beaten curd with the ground paste and enough water to the required consistency.
Heat a pan and pour the remaining oil
Add the mustard seeds and when they splutter, add the tomato, red chillies, curry leaves and the turmeric powder.
Cook on medium fire until they are mashed well and the oil floats on top.
Add the coriander and fry for a few seconds.
Pour the morkuzhambu mixture with the cooked pumpkin pieces and enough salt.
When the morkuzhambu starts boiling, put off the fire and mix in the remaining curd thoroughly.
In this way, this kuzhambu will be perfect and delicious.

NAATTU KOZHI KUZHAMBU :

This kuzhambu is having a delicious taste as it has a lots of curry leaves. The powder enhances the taste very differently.
நாட்டுக்கோழிக்குழம்பு:

Ingredients:


Chicken pieces-750 gms
Cubed potatoes- 1 cup [optional]
Sliced onion-3
Chopped tomatoes-2 cups
Salt to taste
Oil-6 tbsp
Chopped coriander-half cup
Curry leaves- 5 arc
Coarse fennel powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Chillipowder-1 tbsp
Coriander powder-2 tbsp


Powder the following:


1 tsp fennel seeds, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp poppy seeds


Grind the following to a fine paste:


Shredded coconut- 1 cup, Sambar onions-10, fennel seeds-1 tsp, ginger-2 tbsp, small garlic pearls-15


Procedure:


Heat a vessel and add the 3 tbsp of oil.
Add the half of the onion and fry them to golden brown.
Add the tomatoes and fry it until they are mashed well and the oil floats on top.
Add the potatoes and cook them with a few cups of water until they are half-cooked.
Add the chicken pieces with the powders and salt.
Cook the chicken for some minutes.
Add the ground paste and cook for a few minutes.
Heat a pan and pour the remaining oil.
Add the remaining onion and fry it to golden brown.
Add the coarse fennel powder and the greens.
Fry them for a few seconds.
Add this to the kuzhambu.
Let the gravy cook for a few minutes on slow fire.
Serve hot with rice or aappams.

PARUPPU URUNDAIKKUZHAMBU

பருப்பு உருண்டைக்குழம்பு

This is a very famous dish in Tamilnadu. With hot rice, the paruppu urundai kuzhambu makes the meals very delicious. I have combined my mother’s and my mother in law’s recipes with a few innovative tips of mine to get a mouth watering paruppu urundai kuzhambu! This suits well with idli, curd rice and dosas also. Drumstick pieces are added to enhance the flavour of the kuzhambu. Some people fear to drop the fresh balls straightly in boiling kuzhambu. For that, one can go to a safer method. The balls can be steamed for 10 minutes before adding in the kuzhambu. But the taste of the balls will be little hard.

Ingredients:
For urundai:
Tuar dal- 1 cup
Bengal gram- half cup
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- half tsp
Turmeric powder- half sp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves- a handful
Chopped coriander- 2 tbsp
Finely chopped garlic flakes- 2 tbsp
Finely sliced onion-2
For kuzhambu:
Tamarind- a small orange size
Chilli powder- 2 tbsp
Coriander powder- 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder- half sp
Salt to taste
Drumstick-2
Finely chopped small onions-1 cup
Finely crushed tomato- 1 cup
Fenugreek powder-1 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 arc
Gingelly oil- 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder- half sp
Procedure:
For urundai:
Soak the dals in enough water for 1 hour, then drain the water and grind them to a coarse thick paste with the fennel seeds and salt.
Add onion, garlic, powders and the greens and mix well.
Make lemon sized balls and keep them away in a fridge.
For kuzhambu:
Soak the tamarind in enough water for an hour and then extract its juice.
Heat a pan and pour the oil. Add the onions and fry them to golden brown.
Then add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder and fry them until the tomatoes are mashed finely and the oil floats on top.
Add the fenugreek powder and fry it for a few seconds.
Add the powders with the tamarind juice and salt.
The kuzhambu must be watery.
Add the drumstick pieces and let it boil for some minutes.
When the drumstick pieces are half-cooked, drop the balls 5 at a time.
After 5 minutes of interval, again drop 5 balls in different places so that the balls will not stick with each other.
Thus finish all the balls and allow the kuzhambu to boil on medium fire for some minutes until the kuzhambu and the balls are cooked well.
pour 2 tsp of gingelly oil around the corners.
Keep the kuzhambu on very slow fire a few minutes and put off the fire.
Options:
Along with the balls, paruppu vadais and pieces of paruppu adai can also be added.
Paruppu vadai:

Flatten the balls in to a vadai shap and deep fry them in moderate oil to golden brown.
This can be eaten as a side dish also.
 For paruppu urundai kuzhambu, this vadai, appalam, and papads are suitable side dishes.
Paruppu adai:
Flatten thinly the balls on hot tawa and cook them as adai. Pour gingelly oil around the corners.
When cooled to golden brown, cut each adai in to 2 inches cubes and drop them when the kuzhambu is boiling.

MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD

Ingredients:
Procedure:
Onion-1[thinly sliced]
Tomato [finely chopped]-1 cup
Finely sliced cucumber-1 cup
Finely chopped green chilli-1
Finely chopped coriander-half cup
Finely chopped mint leaves-2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Lime juice-1 tsp
Curd- 2 cups
procedure:
Mix in all the vegetables in a bowl.
Add enough salt and the lime juice.
Add the curd and mix well.
More curd can be added according to the requirement.