Bharwa bhindi simply means stuffed ladies finger. A simple dish for which you will find all the ingredients at home. Prepare it and enjoy with hot chapathi.

Ingredients

Bhindi / ladies finger 1/2 kg

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Jeera pwd 1 tsp

Dhaniya pwd 1 1/2 tsp

Aamchur / dry mango pwd 1 tsp

Garam masala 1 tsp

Salt 1tsp

Besan / gram flour 1/2 cup

Oil 5-6 tablespoon

Method

Wash and dry pat the bhindi, slit the bhindis. Take a bowl mix together the besan with all the spices ,add oil and mix everything together. Now stuff the bhindis with the spice mix . Heat a pan ,add oil,add the stuffed bhindi ,saute them. Cover and cook them in low heat. Stir them in between so that the bhindi’s don’t get burned. Cook till the bhindi’s are fried completely. Enjoy Bhindi fry with hot chapathis.

Karadaiyan Nombu is a Tamil brahmin festival.Two types of adai are prepared on this day. This is the savory version of the vella adai.

Ingredients

Rice flour —–1 1/2 cup

Coconut— 1/4 cup+ 1 tablespoon cut pieces

Green chili—–2

Asafoetida—– 1/4 taspoon

Mustard seeds—– 1/2 teaspoon

Channa dal —–1 teaspoon

Water ——2 1/4 cup

Salt—– 3/4 teaspoon

Few curry leaves.

Method

Dry roast the rice flour in medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Grind together coconut and green chili. Heat oil in a kadia ,add the mustard seeds when they splutter add the channa dal and fry till they change colour ,add the curry leaves,chopped coconut and asafoetida . Pour water ,add salt and the grounded coconut with chili.When water starts boiling lower the heat and add the rice flour and mix it well. Remove from heat and allow it to cool, knead well. Take small balls ,flatten them,make a hole in the center and steam them in greased idly mould for 5 minutes. Enjoy uppu adai.

Tip——- Anil brand or Nirapara brand,idiyappam rice flour are good to make these adai. If you find the mav dry sprinkle some lukewarm water and then knead it well.

There are some dishes that are related to certain festivals and made only for that day and offered as prasad . Karadaiyan Nombu is a festival where sweet and salt adai is made and offered to the almighty.

For the sweet adai

Ingredients

Rice flour 1cup.

jaggery 1 cup

Karamani 2 tablespoon

Cardamom pwd 1/4 taspoon

Ghee 1 teaspoon

Water 1 1/2 cup

Jack-fruit / coconut cut into small pieces —– optional .

Method

Dry roast the rice flour in medium heat until it turns light brown in colour. (Test the flour, by taking the flour between your fingers and draw a line on the counter like you would while creating a kolam/rangoli) Roast the karamani and pressure cook them. Heat water in a kadai and add the jaggery. Once the jaggery dissolves, strain and remove the impurities. Now put back the jaggery water in the heat and once it starts boiling, lower the heat, add the cooked karamani and cardamom powder. If you are adding the jack-fruit or coconut pieces, add it with the gher. Now add the rice flour and mix it well so that no lumps are formed. Once the mixture has cooled down, make small balls of the dough and flatten them. Make a small hole in the center and steam it in greased idly moulds for 6-7 minutes. Nombu sweet adai ready, enjoy with unsalted butter.

Tips—- I purchased ready made rice flour. Anil brand or Nirapara brand idiyappam rice flour.Adding Jack-fruit gives extra taste and was thought by my badamma.

Tender mango pickle, doesn’t involve any of the cooking process and requires minimum oil. It can be stored for a year. Tender mangoes are seasonal, so don’t miss the season and prepare the vadumangai and store it.

Ingredients

Small raw mangoes 8 cups

Rock Salt 1 cup

Red chili pwd 1cup

Mustard seeds 1/4 cup coarsely powdered

Turmeric pwd 1 teaspoon

Sesame oil 2 tablespoons

Method

Choose mangoes of same size with the stem. Trim the stem of the mangoes leaving a bit.Wash them well, wipe and allow them to dry by spreading them on a towel.

After about 3-4 days you will notice the mangoes have discharged water and that the mangoes would have reduced in size a bit and would have developed wrinkles. Now add the red chili powder and mustard seeds powder; mix everything together and leave it further for 5-6 days. Around the 10th day there will be thick gravy with the mangoes. Now your Vadumangai / Mavadu is ready. Store it in jar /bottle and enjoy all through the year.

Take thick curd and empty them into a muslin cloth which has been placed in a vessel.  Tie a knot and hang it , so that the excess water comes out. Leave it for 25-30 minutes. Remove it and your Hung curd is ready. Remove the skin and cut the guava into small pieces and steam them for 10 minutes. Grind the steamed guava and pass it through a seive to get only the pulp of guava. Now add the guava paste, cumin powder, red chili powder, black salt and salt to the hung curd. Mix everything with a beater together to get a smooth paste. Guava dip ready.

Paan-veg pakoda

Ingredients

Betel leaf / paan 4 nos
Cabbage, carrot, potato, capsicum 2 cups
Green chili 1
Fennel seeds 2 tablespoons
Coriander seeds 1 tablespoon
Gram flour 1 1/2 cup
Rice flour 2 table spoon
Salt 1 teaspoon
Oil for frying.

Method
Cut cabbage,carrot, capsicum,potato and chili into small bits.
Grind together 4 paan leaves, fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Now add the grounded paste, gram flour, rice flour and salt to the vegetables. Mix well, sprinkle water and bind everything together. Heat oil in a kadai. Take small portion of the mixture and drop it in the hot oil. When the pakoda is semi cooked,turn over and cook them till they are crisp. Remove the pakoda and drain them on a kitchen tissue.

Enjoy hot pakoda with ketchup or guava dip.—- https://sujatasrecipes.blog/2020/03/08/guave-dip/

Did you try my Oats Pesarattu? Enjoyed it? How did you manage with the little batter left over when every member of your family wanted it. Next time don’t worry, try out two of my recipes given and surprise your family with a new snack.

Pesarattu batter 2 cup

Raw rice 1/2 cup

Oil

Method

Soak rice for an hour and grind it into a smooth batter. Add this to pesarattu batter with salt, mix well. Allow it to rest for half an hour. Heat the paniyaram pan with some oil, pour ladleful of batter in each hole,cook for a minute.Then turn and cook on the other side. Moong dal paniyaram ready.

Pesarattu Tikka

Ingredients

Pesarattu batter 2 cups

Shredded carrot and cabbage 1 cup

Green chili 2

Fresh coriander 1/2 cup

Chat masala 1/2 teaspoon

Sesame seeds 1 teaspoon

You have a cup of pesarattu mav , turn it into a healthy snack. Shred carrots, cabbage.Cut green chillies and coriander leaves. Mix all this to the pesarattu mav along with 1 teaspoon of chaat masala and little salt. Grease a vessel with oil ,pour in this mixture, sprinkle some till seeds and steam cook it for 10mnts. Remove from heat, cool it and cut into cubes. Sallow fry it and enjoy pesarattu tikki

Ingredients

White pumpkin         1 cup
Red  pumpkin             1cup
Karamani                    1/4 cup
Green chili                  2
Coconut milk            1/2 cup
Salt                             1 teaspoon
Coconut oil               1 tablespoon
Few Curry leaves.

Want to prepare lunch and go out? Prepare this simple and wholesome meal, which can be prepared quickly with not much preparation. Switch on the rice cooker ,come back and enjoy warm Paneer Pullav with chips .

Ingredients

Rice 1 1/2 cup

Carrot,beans, peas 1 cup

onion 1

Paneer 1 cup

Gram masala 1 tablespoon

Colves 4

Cinnamon 2 small piece

Cardamom 2

Bay Leaf 1

Salt 1 1/2 teaspoon

Oil 4-5 tablespoon

Fresh Mint & Coriander leaves 1/2 cup

Method

Wash and soak the rice for about 20 minutes. Cut the paneer into cubes, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the paneer, keep aside. Heat the remaining oil in the pan , add the cloves, cinnamon,cardamom, bayleaves and saute till you get a nice aroma. Add the onion and fry till the onion turns pink, add the vegetables and saute for two minutes. Now add the rice and fry it for 3-4 minutes. Then add the mint & coriander leaves with the garam masala and the fried paneer . Add water,salt and give it a stir cover and cook in low heat for 15 minutes or the rice is done.

You could use Tofu instead of paneer . Cook it in a pan or a rice cooker.

Chutney’s are usually, white, green orange or red. Here’s a chutney which is dark pink in colour. Try this beetroot chutney which doesn’t have the sweetness of beetroot but has its own unique flavor.

Ingredients

Shredded beetroot 1 cup

Coconut 1/2 cup

Channa dal 1 1/2 tablespoon

Urad dal 1 1/2 tablespoon

Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Asafetida 1/4 teaspoon

Dry red chili 1

Green chili 2

Tamarind small marble size

Oil 2 -3 teaspoons

Salt 3/4 teaspoon

Method

Heat 2 spoons of oil in a pan add the channa dal, ural dal, red chili and cumin seeds and fry them till the dals change colour and you get a nice aroma. Now add the shredded beetroot and saute for about two minutes.Now add the green chili, tamarind and asafetida, give a stir and but of the heat. Grind together the fried ingredients, coconut and salt , adding little water to a smooth paste.Heat the reaming oil, add the mustard seeds, when they splutter, put of the heat and add this to the chutney. Beetroot chutney is ready.