Kovakkai/Tindora is one vegetable which I do not remember eating as a child. Not that I LUV my veggies when I was young. I was like any other child, detesting and protesting any vegetable. My dad used to say I literally lived on milk and curd rice. I am not proud about that. And I hope my son does not turn out as picky as I was. Coming back to tindora, I remember that it didn't feature much in our home. This one here is a simple recipe and best suited for cooking without a lot of fuss.
Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Kovakkai/Tindora/Ivy Gourd - 2 cups (I used 1 pack of frozen Tindora)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp (1/2 tsp if using extra hot)
Salt - to taste
Method:
Wash and pat dry the tindora. Slice lengthwise into quarters. Heat oil in a wide non-stick pan and add the cut tindora. Fry in medium-high heat until it is three-fourths cooked and the skin gets a little crispy. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt and continue to fry until completely cooked. Serve as a side for rice.
Last week my son was under weather with a severe cold. Poor thing was finding it difficult to concentrate on keeping himself busy with the nose block and congestion. All the vaporiser rubbing and steam sauna wasn't helping him much. So I made a simple chicken soup for him. This is a super comforting soup and if your little one can't bear the spicy heat, you might as well just mix this with rice and serve like rasam rice.
Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Chicken (with or without bones) - 1/2 lb (1/4 kg) approx 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups
Pearl onions - 8
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Garnish:
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - a little
Method:
Crush the pearl onions and garlic cloves with knife. Crush the pepper corns and cumin seeds with a mortar & pestle or just with the bottom of a heavy glass. You could also pulse a couple of times in a blender or coffee grinder. Add all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook until the chicken is done. Alternatively you could pressure cook the ingredients for 1 whistle. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve piping hot.
Notes:
Do not use chicken breast pieces for making soup. Half a tsp of cumin powder and coriander powder can also be added. I decided to keep it simple, so did not add.
Sambar is an important part of a South-Indian meal. No South-Indian Thali will be complete without this lentil soup. It is simply divine and what would be part of a comforting home cooked food for me. This is the method I follow when pressed for time and it gets ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
Serves - 4-6; soaking time - 30 mins; cooking time - 30 mins.
Toor dhal/Pigeon Peas - 1 cup
Brinjal - 5 small or 1/2 of a big one - cut into wedges
Drumstick - 1 - cut into 2 inch pieces
Onion - chopped - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 small - chopped
Tamarind - size of a gooseberry/marble - soak in warm water and extract juice
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Tempering:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - from a twig
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Method:
Wash and soak the dhal in water for 30 mins. Pressure cook with 3 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt for 3 whistles. When the pressure is released, drain and reserve the water. Using the back of a rounded spoon mash the cooked dhal. Add the reserved water and another cup or two more of water. Drop the brinjal, drumstick, chopped onion, tomato, sambar powder, chilli powder and more salt if needed. Cover and cook for another whistle. When the pressure is released, add the tamarind juice and allow it to boil for 5 minutes. Do a taste check and season with the tempered ingredients. Serve hot with rice and if desired with a dollop of ghee.
Notes:
Any vegetable or a combo of more than one vegetables can be used in a sambar.
Nature's simple foods are often the simply delicious ones. A cabbage poriyal is what I would choose if I had to for a side dish for rice. It is easy to make with simple flavours and is a great accompaniment for any kulambu, rasam or curd rice.
Ingredients:
Cabbage - chopped/shredded - 4 cups
Moong dhal - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 2
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt - to tate
Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dhal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Method:
Wash and cook moong dhal in 1 cup of water until soft but still holds the shape. Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of water to the shredded cabbage and microwave for about 4-5 minutes, mixing once every minute. It should be soft when pressed but not mushy. Alternatively it could be cooked in steam or boiled in water. Do not discard this cabbage boiled water. Reserve to use in soups.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter the ingredients for tempering. When the chana dhal turns light brown, add the slit green chillis and chopped onions. When the onion is cooked and translucent add the ginger paste. Cook in medium heat for 2 minutes. Add salt to taste and cooked cabbage and mix. Continue to cook in medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the cooked moong dhal and grated coconut. Remove from heat and mix well. Serve hot.
Do you remember the friends we visited for dinner in my German Chocolate Cake post. They are a sweet couple and the dinner was super awesome. Now, DH and spicy foods are two entities who cannot be separate. And needless to say when they made Andhra-style Mirapakaya bajji for appetizers, he was in cloud nine. Seeing how much he loved the bajji, I duly asked for the recipe and they were happy to share.
Ingredients:
Serves - 5
Serrano Peppers / Bajji Milagai - 10 (Choose the light colored ones and definitely stay away from the dark ones)
Besan / Chickpea flour - 2 cups
Rice flour - 1/3 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Salt - to taste
Baking soda - a big pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch
Water - as needed
Oil - for deep frying
For the Stuffing:
Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Method:
Using a small paring knife, carefully slit the peppers on one side with the stem intact. Use the knife or a sharp spoon to scrape out all the seeds. Set the peppers aside and wash your hands with soap and water. Mix the ingredients for stuffing and place about 1/2 tsp of of it in each pepper. Heat the oil for deep-frying. Meanwhile, mix the batter for bajji without any lumps. The batter should be of dripping consistency. Take the peppers by the stem and dip in the batter to coat all sides. Gently drop in the oil and cook in medium-high heat until golden brown. Remove from heat and serve with chopped onions and coconut chutney.
Linking this up to Nupur's What's with my Cuppa?; Birthday Party.
Ingredients:
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