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.

Mullangi/ Radish is not a preferred vegetable in many homes, especially the odour one gets when cooking. I tried a kurma with this vegetable and the result was awesome. Prepare, serve and enjoy, Mullangi kurma.

INGREDIENTS: –
Mullangi /Radish— 1
Fresh coconut— ½ cup
Onion — 2
Tomato— 1
Garlic— 3 ponds
Ginger— ½ inch pc
Cloves— 4
Cinnamon— 2 small pc
Fennel seeds— 1 ½ teaspoon (saunf, perumjeeram)
Red chilli pwd— 1 teaspoon
Turmeric— ¼ teaspoon
Salt— ¾ teaspoon
Oil— 2 tablespoon
Few curry leaves.

Method: –
Grate the mulliange and sauté it in a pan to remove the raw smell. Cut one onion into small pieces.
Grind together sauted mulliange, coconut,one onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and 1 spoon of permjeeram, adding sufficient water to get a smoot paste. Heat oil in the pan add the remaining perumjeeram, sauté for a mnt, now add the cut onion and the curry leaves, sauté till the onion turn pink in colour. To this add the grounded paste, turmeric pwd, red chili pwd, salt and give it a stir. Now add a glass of water and mix well, when it starts boiling, lower the flame, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes.

Your mulliange kurma is ready.

A pakka palakkad dish that is usually not prepared in many households. It is as well a family favorite! This is a dish I learnt from my mother in law.

CHENA KADI
Ingredients:-
Chena / yam– 1 cup , cut into thick slice
Toor dal– ½ cup
Coconut– ½ cup
Ginger– ½ teaspoon
Green chillies– 2
Mustard seeds– ½ teaspoon
Urad dal– ½ teaspoon
Turmeric pwd– ½ teaspoon
Red chilli pwd– 1/2 teaspoon
Salt– ¾ teaspoon
Coconut oil– 1 tablespoon
Lime juice– 2 tablespoon
Fresh curry leaves.

Method:-
Cook toordal in a pressure cooker. Add chopped ginger,turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt to the to the sliced chena and cook. Grind together coconut and green chilli without water. Once the Chena is cooked add the cooked toor dal, ½ cup water, stir and cook for 3-4 mnts. Now add the grounded coconut stir well and cook further for two minutes. Put off the heat. Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds, when it splutters add the urad dal when the dal changes colour add the curry leaves and pour it over the cooked chena. Just before serving add the lime juice and mix well. Chena kadi is ready.

Ingredients
Rice—-                   1cup
Green peas–          1/4 cup
Onions—-                 2
Tomato paste—     4 tbsp
Mustard seeds—   3/4 tsp
Red chili powder— 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder— 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder—     1/2 tsp
Coriander powder—   1tsp
Oil —–                          4 tbsp
Salt—-                           1 1/2 tsp
Few curry leaves.

Give a twist to the simple idli batter. Add fresh vegetables and give nutritious idli’s to our little kids. You may as well add thokku to idli batter and let the others enjoy the spicy tiffin.

Make this simple but mouthwatering recipe with idli batter, and with the addition of my thokku’s.

The first two recipes are especially nutritious for children. My grandson really enjoyed it!

1.The colorful idli is made with fresh vegetables’. Take beetroot, carrot, grate them separately. Steam it and grind it with a tablespoon of fresh coconut. Now mix it with the idli batter and make small idli’s. Now you have red-beetroot idli, orange-carrot idli and you can have green idli adding paste of coriander leaves and coconut. Your colorful kutti idli’s are ready.

2.For the stuffed idli, sauté carrot/ peas in ghee with jeera and little pepper. Pour little idli batter in the mould. Place some sauted vegetables, cover it with some more idli batter and steam it.

3.Add little pudina-kothamalli thokku to the idli mav and steam it, spicy idli is ready.

4. Cheese dosa. Pour the mav and make dosa, spread the tomato thokku on one half of it, immediately spread shredded cheese on top of the thokku , fold the dosai and here’s your spicy cheese dosa.

5.You are short of dosa batter, no worries. Make tomato omelette. Add one cup besan flour to one cup dosa batter, add water and make a thick batter like a utthapam batter. Now add cut tomatoes, green chillies, fresh coriander leaves and salt. Make thick dosa and your tomato omelette is ready.

Prepare some of these simple recipes and enjoy a lovely meal with your family.

Millet is the new in thing for health conscious folks. Kodo millet is an anti-oxidant which is very useful for weight loss and cholestrol reduction. Here is my creative rendition of a millet and radish dish!

INGREDIENTS:-
Kodo millet— 1cup
Water— 1 ¾ cup
Onion— 1 small ( cut into small pcs)
Red capsicum— 1 small ( cut into small pcs)
Corn— ½ cup
Radish leaves— 1 ½ cup
Fresh coriander— 4 tablespoons
Fresh mint— 2 tablespoons
Green chillies— 2 nos
Cloves— 4 nos
Cinnamon— 2 small pcs
Whole pepper— 9-10
Oil— 3 tablespoons
Salt— 1 teaspoon.

Method
Dry roast kodo millet till you get a nice aroma, cool it and wash it well. Now cook the millet with water, ½ spoon salt and 1 spoon oil in a pressure cooker for 3 whistle. Open and spread the cooked millet in a plate and allow it to cool. Wash the radish leaves well and cut it into small pieces.Grind together coriander, mint and green chilles with ½ a cup of water. ( you could use green chutney used for sandwich). Heat oil in a pan, add the cloves, cinnamon and pepper, saute for a mnt. Add the onion and saute for 2 more mnts, now add the corn and capsicum, cook it till they turn soft, now add the green chutney, salt and saute it for further 3mnts. Add the cut radish leaves and toss it together well. Add this to the cooked kodo millet and mix it well, your kodo millet…… is ready.

Ingredients

Rice— 1cup,

Onion—1,

Gralic—3ponds,

Ginger—  ½ inch,

Green chills—2,

Cloves— 3,

Cinnamon—2 small pcs,

Cardamom—2 ,

Bay leaf—1,

Star anise— 1,

Coconut milk—1 cup,

Sesame oil—3 tbsp

Salt—1 ¼ tsp.

Method

Wash and soak the rice for 15mintues. Dry roast cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Grind garlic, ginger and the dry roasted spices. Heat oil in pan add the star anise , bay leaf, onion and green chills and fry till the onion turns translucent. Add this to the rice. Now add the coconut milk, salt and sufficient water to cook the rice in a cooker. Open the lid and gently mix the rice, so that the top coconut milk layer gets mixed evenly. Brinji rice is ready.

(note :-remember to reduce the proportion of water ,since we are adding one cup of coconut milk.)

Pudina Kothamalli Tokku

Ingredients
Fresh Coriander leaves— 1 bunch
Fresh Mint leaves— 1 bunch
Green chilis— 8-9
Coriander seeds— 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds— 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds—- 1 1/2 tbsp
Tamarind—- a small marble size
Dry red chilis — 2
Asafetida —- 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil— 6-7 tbsp
Salt—- 1 1/2 tsp.
Few curry leaves.

Tomatoes are in season,stack up your fridge with this seasonal tasty tomato thokku! A thokku that goes well with any tiffin or snacks.

Ingredients: –

Tomatoes— 1 kg
Garlic— 8-9 pounds
Tamarind– small lemon size
Jaggery— 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds— 1 teaspoon.
Red chilli— 3 nos
Turmeric pwd– ½ teaspoon
Red chilli pwd— 4 tablespoons
Asafoetida— ¼ teaspoon
Fenugreek pwd—1 teaspoon
Salt— 2 tablespoons
Gingerly oil—- 6 tablespoons

Method
Take ripe tomatoes, wash it,chop it and blend it in a blender along with the tamarind. (don’t make it into a smoot pulp)
Peal the garlic.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan, add the mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering, break the red chilli and saute it for half a minute, add the garlic and fry till it changes colour. Now add the blended tomatoes. Stir it, reduce the flame into medium and allow it to cook for 10 mnts. Now add turmeric, red chilli pwd, (i have taken the spicy chilli pwd)asefoetida, jaggery and salt, stir well. Keep stirring it occasionally till you get a thokku consistency. now add the fenugreek pwd and mix well. Cook the thokku till the oil starts oozing out from the mixture.
You Garlic Tomato thokku is ready.