Ketchup is the quick fix for every form of food. Sweet and tangy, ketchup is the perfect accompaniment to many a dish from multiple cuisines. Ketchup will be at the top of the list, in my household’s monthly shopping list. Why not make it healthier by making it from your own kitchen? Home made ketchup, made with some love and memories

Ingredients: –
Tomato– 1 kg
Sugar– ½ cup
Black salt– ½ teaspoon
Dry Mango pwd– ½ teaspoon
Salt– ½ teaspoon
Red chilli pwd– ½ teaspoon
Vinegar– 2 teaspoons.

Method

Take fresh and ripe tomatoes, wash and cut into big chunks.
Pressure cooker the tomatoes for 3 whistle. Open and allow to cool.
Blend the tomatoes into a thick puree, strain the puree to remove seeds and skin of tomato puree.
Heat a wok, add the puree, once it starts boiling add the sugar. Allow it to simmer, stir occasionally. when the puree starts thickening, add the black salt, mango pwd and red chilli pwd.
Allow the puree to further reduces, put off the gas and add the vinegar, your ketchup is ready.
(How to test if ketchup is ready . take a spoon full of ketchup and drop it in a plate and tilt the plate if you find no water running out of the puree then your ketchup is ready.)
Jar the ketchup and store it in the fridge.

A healthy and super delicious tiffin. Pesarattu is made of yellow moong dal or green whole moong. Sprouted whole moong and oats makes it more healthier.Enjoy the tiffin.

Ingredients

Green moong/ pachai payaru 2 cups

Oats 1 cup

Curd 1/2 cup

Green chili 3-4

Ginger 1 inch

Salt 1 1/2 teaspooon

Oil and coriander leaves.

Method

Allow the moong to sprout. Wash and soak the moong for 4 hours.Drain the water. Transfer the soaked moong into a container and cover it with a wet cloth. Leave it in a warm place for 8-10 hours. Sprinkle some water over the cloth if the cloth becomes dry.

Powder the oats. Grind together sprouted moong ,ginger, chili, coriander ,adding enough water to get a smooth batter. Add the curd,salt and oats powder and mix well. Oats-Pesarattu batter is ready.The consistence should be thicker then dosa batter.

Heat tawa , pour a ladle full of the batter and spread it evenly,drizzle oil on the sides and on the top. Allow it to cook on medium flame, flip it over and cook it on the other side.

Serve Oats-Pesarattu with sambar or simply sprinkle the milagai podi and have spicy oats-pesarattu.

Carrot, Beans, Potato, Peas  each 1/2 cup
Tomato red /green     1
Dhaniya seeds        1 teaspoon
Jeera seeds             1 1/2 teaspoon
Sauf                           1 teaspoon
Kasturi methi           1 tablespoon
Turmeric pwd           1/2 teaspoon
Red chili pwd             1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chili                 2
Salt                              1 1/2 teaspoon
Oil                                2 tablespoons
Few curry leaves.

The ingredients used in this sambar is unusual. Methi leaves is generally not a common ingredient in any version of a sambar. This sambar dish is a creative creation of mine made instantaneously when my fridge was low on veggies!

Ingredients: –
Tomato— 1 big
Methi leaves— 1 cup
Tuvar dal— ½ cup
Tamarind— small lemon size
Turmeric— ½ teaspoon
Red chilli pwd— 1 ½ teaspoon
Channa dal— 1 tablespoon
Coriander seeds— 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds— ½ teaspoon
Jaggery— 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds— 1 teaspoon
oil— 2 teaspoon.

Method :-
Pressure cook tuvar dal. Soak tamarind in a glass of water. Cut tomato into big pieces, wash the methi leaves well. Remove pulp from the soaked tamarind. Take a deep pan, pour in the tamarind pulp, add tomato pieces, turmeric,salt and jaggery. Cook the tomato but see it doesn’t turn massy. Heat 1 spoon oil in a pan, fry the channa dal, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds till it becomes red in colour, cool it and powder all the fried ingredients with red chilli powder. Add this to the cooked tomato gravy. Allow it to boil, then add in the methi leaves, mix it well let it cook for 2 mnts. Now add the cooked and mashed tuvar dal and bring it to boil, but off the heat. Heat the remaining oil in a pan , add mustard seeds, when it splutters remove from heat and add it to Tomato- methi sambar. Enjoy this different but simple sambar.

A typical palakkad side dish. An awesome combination with any molagootal.

Ingredients

Ladies finger 7-8

Small brinjal 4

Tomato 1

Green chili 2-3

Tamarind small lemon size

Jaggery 1 tablespoon

Coconut 1/4 cup

Turmeric pwd 1/4teaspoon

Asefideta 1/4 teaspoon

Salt 1 1/4 teasoon

Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds 1/4 teaspooon

oil 1 tablespoon

few curry leaves.

Method

Soak tamarind in water. Cut the vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook the vegetables in tamarind water,adding turmeric pwd, asafoetida , jaggery and salt. Grind the coconut and green chilis together into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked vegetable. Add little water to get a proper consistency. Heat oil in a pan ,add mustard seeds, when they sputter add the fenugreek seeds when they change colour add the curry leaves put of the heat and add this to the pachadi.

A traditional Maharashtrian breakfast dish. Normally only potatoes are used, i have added mixed vegetables to make it more filling, since most of the time we have it for dinner.

Breakfast or dinner, it is easy to make and very tasty to eat.

Ingredients

Poha— 2 cups

Mixed vegaetables— 3/4 cup

Peanut —-2tablespoons

Green chilis— 2

Mustard seeds—- 1teaspoon

Cumin seeds—-1 teaspoon

Red chili pwd —-1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric pwd —1/2 teaspoon

Asafetida — 1/2 teaspoon

Salt —-1 1/4 teaspoon

Oil —-2-3 tablespoon

Juice of one lemon, coriander leaves and few curry leaves.

Method

Take poha in a sieve and run water through it, washing it at the same time. Take a deep pan, heat one spoon of oil and fry the peanuts, remove and keep it aside. Add the reaming oil,when the oil become hot add the mustard seeds when they sputter add the cumin seeds ,cut green chili and curry leaves,saute them. Add the vegetables, turmeric pwd, asafetida and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, lower the flame and cook the vegetables. When the vegetables are cooked, add the poha ,red chili pwd and mix everything together, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. But of the heat, add the peanuts and coriander leaves. Just before serving add the lemon juice. Enjoy vegetable poha.

If using thick poha soak it for 3-4 minutes,i used thin poha.

My son’s favorite! Take a look at this quick and delicious recipe.

Ingredients

Carrot 2

Green chili 1

Mustard seeds 1/4teaspoon

Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Oil 1/2 teaspoon

Juice of one leamon.

Method

Grate carrots and add the cut chilli. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the carrot with chilli,add the salt, give it a stir ,now squeeze juice of the lemon, stir and put off the heat. Enjoy this simple carrot salad.

Mathan Kudal Thogaiyal.

Kudal is the fleshy part with seeds which one finds inside the mathan and usually trown away,but in reality it’s full of nutrition. )

Mathan kudal—1 1/2 cup
Urad dal—    3 tablespoons
Dry red chili—  2
Asafetida —-    1/4 tsp
Fresh coconut—  1/2 cup
Tamarind—  small marble size
Sesame oil —-  3 tsp
Salt       1/2 tsp

Celebrating Shivaratri. Made prasaad, parippu kanji.

Ingredients

Pasi parippu / Moong dal 1 cup

Jaggery- 1cup

Milk 2 1/2 — 3 cups.

Method

Dry roast the paruppu till it changes colour and you get a nice aroma. Pressure cook the paruppu for 3 whistles or until the paruppu is soft. Take a vessel, add the powdered jaggery with half glass water. When the jaggery dissolves, strain it for any impurities and pour it back to the vessel. Now add the cooked and mashed pasi paruppu and mix it well. Allow it to boil for 3-4 minutes and put off the heat. Now add the milk and stir it well.

Paruppu kanji prasadam is ready for offering to Lord Shiva.

Rasakalan is similar to Moru kootan but different in its own way.

Ingredients: –

White pumpkin, Raw banana, Drumstick– 1 cup
Sour curd– 1 ½ cup
Coconut— 1 cup
Green chillies– 2
Channa dal– 1 table spoon
Methi seeds– ¼ table spoon
Dry red chilli– 1
Mustard seeds– 1 teaspoon
Red chilli pwd– ½ teaspoon
Turmeric pwd— ½ teaspoon
Jaggery– ½ tablespoon
Salt– 1 ½ teaspoon
oil– 2 table spoon
few curry leaves.

Method: –
Wash and cut the vegetables into big cubes. Cook the vegetables with turmeric, red chilli pwd and salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the channa dal, methi seeds and red chilli. Grind together the fried ingredients and coconut into a smoot paste. Once the vegetables are cooked add the jaggery and grounded paste, allow it to boil for about 3 mnts, then add the beaten sour curd. Stir it well, when you see forms forming put the heat off. Your Rasakalan is ready(don’t boil the raskalan after adding he curd.) Heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds, when its starts spluttering add the curry leaves and pour it over the Rasakalan.