Rice Roti (Pathiri)

Ingredients:

• Rice powder(Pathiri powder) – 1 cup
• Rice powder(Pathiri powder) – 1/4 cup for pressing

           (1. Raw rice has to be soaked for 6 hours and drained,
             2. grind into fine powder,
             3.fry in a wok without oil till the aroma of rice comes out,
             4.sieve it to get a extra fine powder.
             5.This kind of rice powder is readily available in market as Pathiri or Appam powder),

• Water – 1 ¾ cup,
• Oil – 1 tsp,
• Salt - as per taste,
• Chapatti presser,

Method:

1.    Take water in a heavy bottom pan, add salt, oil and allow it to boil.

2.    Once it starts to boil remove ¼ cup into another bowl, reduce the flame and add the rice powder little by little stirring continuously with a spoon.

3.    When the mixture becomes dry add the remaining water spoon by spoon and stir continuously for 5 to 10 minutes till it cooks slightly and becomes soft.

4.    Remove the pan from heat, close with a tight lid and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

5.    Knead the mixture well when warm and make lemon sized balls out of it.

6.    Spread the rice powder on the chapatti press/maker, place the balls and press to get thin round rotis. You can roll the balls manually on a flat surface, but it’s slightly tricky and you need experience for that.

7.  Toast the Rotis on a hot pan without oil switching between medium and high flame. Do not cook in low flame as the rotis will become hard.

8.    Serve with Kerala Chickpea curry or mutton curry or Potato stew or coconut milk . I think the best combination is mutton curry.

Mango-Ginger Pickle

Mango-Ginger is nothing but a type of ginger with mango flavor and taste. Its botanical name is Curcuma amada. It’s called manga-inji in Malayalam and Tamil.

Ingredients :
Mango-Ginger skinned and chopped - 250 grams
Tamarind - 1 full lemon size ball,
Salt – as per taste,
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp,
Chili powder - 2-3 tbsp.

Masala to be powdered:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 cup

For Sesoning:
Oil – 1/2 cup(sesame oil)
Mustard - 1 tbsp,
Cumin - 1/2 tbsp,
Asafoetida - 1 tsp,
Dry red chilies(broken into pieces) -  3-5 nos.
Curry leaves - 1 sprig.

Method:
1. Make thin slices of the ginger. Leave them to dry for minimum 1 hour.

2. Soak tamarind in water for 15 minutes, extract juice and keep it aside.

3. Fry mustard and fenugreek seeds without oil. Powder them together.
4. In a large wok, heat oil, add seasoning items, when they splutter well add mango-ginger and fry them real good. Now add salt, turmeric and chilly powder, followed by tamarind juice. Cover and cook over medium heat.
5. Once it comes to thick pickle like consistency, add powdered items sauté for a few seconds and remove from heat.
6. Allow this to cool. Store them in a ceramic jar/glass jar. 

Cauliflower Stem Chutney.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower stem chopped – 1cup,

Tamarind – ½ lemon size ball,

Red chilly – 4 No,

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp,

Sesame seeds – 2 tsp,

Salt – as per taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Seasoning:

Oil – 1 tbsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp,

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp,

Red chillies (cut into pieces) – 2 nos.

Asafoetida – 1 pinch.

Preparation method:

1. Wash the cauliflower stem and cut it into small pieces.

2. Soak tamarind for 10 minutes, extract juice and keep aside.

3. Heat a pan, roast sesame seeds and dry red chilly till it is brown. Remove it into a plate.

4. Heat 2tbsp oil, add the cut cauliflower stem pieces, fry it till it is soft.  Add the tamarind juice, If required add little water and cook.

5. Put the red chillies into a mixer and grind, then add the cooked cauliflower stem and sesame seeds, and grind again. Then add salt and grind again.

6. Heat oil in a pan, when hot add seasoning items and fry till it splits.

7. Add the ground chutney into the above seasoning and sauté for a few seconds. Chutney is ready. Serve with rice, dosa or idli.

Maranta arundinacea

Common name:  Arrow root, Koova (Malayalam), Tihhor or Thikhor(hindi).

Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Common name:   Tannia, cocoyam, Kattukizhangu (Malayalam).

Manihot esculenta

Common name: Tapioca, Cassava , Kappa or kolli (Malayalam), Maragenasu(kannada), Simla aloo or marachini(hindi).

Dioscorea esculenta

Common name: Lesser yam,  Nanakizhangu(Malayalam).

Dioscorea alata

Common name: Greater yams or Asiatic Yams, Kaachil or Kaavoth(Malayalam), Tuna-Genasu(Kannada).

Colocasia esculenta

Common name:  Taro, Chembu(Malayalam)

Amorphophallus campanulatus

Common name: Elephant foot yam, White-spot giant arum, Stink lilly, Chenna(Malayalam), Suvarna gedde(kannada), Jimmikhand or Suran(hindi).

 Recipes listed:  
Yam curry or Kaalan
Sambar traditional 

Ivy gourd(gherkins) in onion masala

Ivy gourd - 250 gms - cut into thin rounds
salt - as per taste
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2 tbsp

Masala:
onion big - 1no. - chopped.
Bengal gram dal - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Coriander seeds - 1tbsp
dried red chillies - 4 - 6nos.

Method:

1. Wash and cut Ivy gourd into thin round slices.
2. Meantime, chop onion into medium sized pieces.
3. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry onions till the raw smell is gone.
4. Add red chillies then add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, gram dal and
    stir for 2 minutes and remove from fire.
5. Let the above mixture cool and then grind it into fine paste.
6. Take a kadai, heat oil, add ivy gourd, turmeric, salt and curry leaves.
    Cover with a lid and allow it to cook for 5 minutes in its own moisture.
7. Open the lid, sprinkle some water and cook it covered for another few
    minutes till 3/4th done.
8. Now add the ground masala and saute till its cooked completely. 

SAMBAR Traditional (without using sambar powder).

Ingredients:

Vegetables - Elephant foot yam and ash gourd (cut into 1/2 " cubes) - 3/4 cup

Drumstick - 1 no. (cut into 1 inch long pieces)

Red gram dal (Tuvar dal) – 1/4 cup

Tomato – 1 small (chopped)

Pearl onion - 4-5 nos.

Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball

Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp

Salt - As per taste

Masala (to make paste):

fenugreek seeds - 2 tsp

Asafoetida (small broken pieces) - 1 tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 1/2 tbsp

Coconut (grated) - 1/4 cup

Red chilly (dry) – 6 nos(change it as per taste)

Curry leaves – 2-3 nos.

Seasoning:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Dry red chilly (cut into pieces) - 3nos.

Asafoetida (Ingu/Hing) – 2 pinch

Curry leaves – 1 sprig.

Method:  
1. Rinse the tamarind in water for 10 minutes, squeeze it nicely, extract

    juice  and discard pulp. Keep it aside.

2. Cook the dal with suffecient water in a pressure cooker and keep it aside
3. Cook the ash gourd, yam with sufficient water in a pot or pressure cooker 
   and keep it aside

4. Take an iron skillet and roast fenugreek, coriander seeds and coconut.
    Roast till coconut turns brown.

6. Lastly add chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves, roast for a minute.
    Remove from fire. Allow it to cool.

7. Transfer all the roasted ingredients into a mixer, add water and grind into a

    paste.

8. Take a deep vessel transfer the cooked vegetables, add tamarind juice,

     salt, turmeric and boil till the tamarind is cooked(about 10 minutes).

     add drumstick, tomato and onion. allow it to boil for 2 minutes.

10. Now add ground masala paste and cooked dal. Boil for 5 minutes or till
       the gravy slightly thickens. Remove from fire.

12. Take a small pan, add oil for seasoning when hot add mustard seeds,

    when it splutters add remaining seasoning ingredients and fry for a few

    seconds.

13. Immediately add the seasoning to the curry. Sambar is ready.

     Note: For a change you can fry the pearl onions(slice it into long

             pieces) separately in a pan and add it in the end, instead of

             cooking it with drumstick.

Cabbage Pakoda

Ingredients:

besan/chick pea dal flour - 1 1/2 cups,

rice flour - 1/2 cup ,

green chillis, finely chopped - 2-3 nos,

red chilli pwd - 1/4 tsp ,

ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp ,

onion  - 1 large (sliced),

finely sliced cabbage - 2 cups ,

hot oil - 1 tbsp ,

curry leaves  - 1 sprig (chopped),

salt to taste,

oil for deep frying,

Method:

1 Combine both the flours with salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, green chillis, curry leaves, sliced onions and cabbage. Add hot oil and mix well with fingers.
2 Add few tablespoons of water and mix well such that it forms a slightly hard batter. Dont add too much water. The batter should just coat the cabbage strips and onion slices.
3 Heat enough oil in a deep frying vessel. Once the oil turns hot, reduce   flame to medium. Use your fingers to drop the batter in the oil to form small fritters. Deep fry till they turn golden brown. Use a ladle to keep turning the fritters so that it cooks on all sides.
4 Once they turn golden brown, remove them on to absorbent paper.

Ivy gourd(gherkins) in coconut masala

Ingredients

Ivy gourd - 250 gms - cut crosswise into thin rounds,

medium sized onion - 1no. - finely chopped
sesame seeds - ½ cup
grated coconut - ¼ cup

dried red chillies - 4 - 6nos.

jaggery powder - 1tsp
salt - as per taste

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method

1. In an iron skillet, lightly roast sesame seeds, coconut and dried red chillies.

2. Cool and ground them into a smooth paste (use little or no water while grinding)

3. In a pan, heat oil, toast mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves.

4. Add onion, saute a little bit, and then add round slices of ivy gourd. Mix them once, cover and cook, stirring in between for 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat. Allow it to cook in its own moisture.

5. When they are tender and giving off wonderful smell, add the sesame-coconut paste, jaggery, salt and turmeric. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsp of water, stir to mix and cook them covered for 2 minutes and then cook them open till they are dry and done.

6.  Serve warm with rice or chapati.

Beetroot Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

Chickpeas(white) / kabuli chana - 1 cup,

Beetroot - 1 small,

Cucumber - half of one medium size,

Green chilly - 2 or 3 nos.

Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp,

Lemon extract - 1 tbsp,

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp,

Seasoning:

Olive oil - 1 tbsp,

Mustard   -  1 tsp,

black gram dal - 1 tsp,

Curry leaves - 4-5 nos,

asafoetida -  1 pinch,

Method:

1. Soak chickpeas overnight (or put in boiling water and close with a tight lid and switch off heat, use it after 1 hour)

2. cook chickpeas in a pressure cooker till soft.

3. Grate beetroot and cook seperately in a vessel.

    Note: Can use beetroot without cooking if you are comfortable with the

            raw taste.

4. chop cucumber into small pieces and keep it aside.

5. Heat olive oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and let them splutter.

6. Add split black gram dal and let them turn red.

7. Add curry leaves, pinch of  asafoetida and saute.

8. Add chickpeas, green chilly, salt, beetroot and saute till it becomes dry.

9. Turn off heat and combine the above with cucumber pieces, garam masala,      coriander leaves and lemon.

10. cover the kadai and allow it to cool.

Yoghurt Rice or Indian-curd rice.

Ingredients:

·  Cooked rice – for 2 persons,

·  Plain curd – 2  cup,

·  Green chilies - 1 or 2,

·  Ginger paste - 1/4 teaspoon,

·  Coriander leaves(Cilantro) - 1 1/2 tbsp chopped,

·  Curry leaves - 4-5 nos.

·  Pomogranate seeds  - 2 tbsp,

·  Salt - to taste,

Seasoning:

·  Oil - 1 tablespoon,

·  Bengal gram dal - 1/2 tea spoon,

·  black gram dal - 1/2 tea spoon,

·  Dry red chilly - 2 nos,

·  Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp,

·  Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp,

·  Asafoetida - a pinch,

Cooking Method:

    1. Heat oil in a pan.

    2. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. When they stop crackling add Bengal        gram dal, urad dal. Fry for 5 seconds. Add dry chilly and Fry.

    3. Add asafoetida, chopped chilies, curry leaves. Fry for 5 seconds.

    4. Remove the pan from fire.

5. Mix cooked rice, salt, pomogranate and chopped coriander leaves to        the above mixture, allow it to cool. (The above picture shows the rice before mixing of curd).

    6. Mix the curd just before serving. Curd-rice is ready.

Rasam (without using rasam powder)

RASAM (Thili saaru):

Ingredients

Tomato – 2 medium sized,

Dal (Tuvara / arhar) – 2 tbsp,

Tamarind - 1/2 lemon sized ball,

Jaggery crushed - 1/2 tsp.,

Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp,

Salt - As per taste,

Oil - 2 tbsp,

Masala (to make paste):

Coriander powder – 1tbsp,

Red chilly powder – 1tbsp,

Curry leaves – 1/2sprig.,

Asafoetida powder – ½ tsp,

Pepper seeds – 1tsp,

Cumin seeds – 1tsp,

Garlic – 4 pods,

Ginger – ¼ inch long piece,

Seasoning:

Oil - 1 tbsp,

Mustard – 1 tbsp,

Dry red chilly (cut into pieces) - 3nos.

Asafoetida powder(Ingu/Hing) – 1 pinch,

Coriander leaves chopped – 2 tbsp.

Method: 
1.Rinse the tamarind in water for 10 minutes, squeeze it nicely, extract juice and discard pulp. Keep it aside.

2. Cook the dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.
3. Boil water in a vessel, add tomatoes to it and allow it to boil till the skin wilts. Once its cool remove the skin and chop into pieces.

4. Fry coriander powder, red chilly powder and curry leaves without oil for one minute. Allow it to cool. Now grind all the masala ingredients mentioned above along with roasted items and little water. Don’t make it fine paste.

7. Take a big vessel add oil when hot, fry chopped tomato in it till its cooked properly.

8. Add tamarind water, salt, turmeric powder, jaggery to the above mixture and allow it to boil till the tamarind is cooked.

9.  Now add cooked dal (use only the dal stalk if you want the rasam to be very watery), masala paste along with required amount of water (approx. between 1 – 3 cups) to it and allow it to boil for 10 minutes.

10. Take a small pan, add oil for seasoning, when hot add mustard seeds, when it splutters add asafoetida, red chilly and fry.

11. Add the above seasoning to the curry, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Phaseolus lunatus

Phaseolus lunatus
Common name: Lima beans, butter beans.
Not cultivated in India.

Trigonella foenum-graecum

Trigonella foenum-graecum

Common name: Fenugreek seeds, Methi Daana(hindi), Uluva(malayalam), Menthye kaalu(kannada).
Seed color: Light brown
Internal seed color: white.

The fresh leaves are used as greens to make curry. The dried leaves (Kasoori methi) are used as herbs. 

Recipes listed:
sambar traditional (without using sambar powder)

Vicia faba equina

Vicia faba equina

Common name: Horse Gram, Gahat or Kulthi or Kulath(hindi), Muthira(malayalam), Huruli kaalu(kannada).
Seed  color: Brown
Internal seed color: White.

Tamarind Rice (HULIYOGARE)

      One of the most famous recipe of Karnataka and South India especially among Iyengar community. This was a regular breakfast recipe at our college hostel. I use to dread at the thought of having huliyogare. But later when I started having the home made ones and also at my friends home, I completely changed my opinion about this recipe.

             You also get the masala paste in packets  in various super markets now. Even though the procedure for  masala preparation  is long and time consuming its worth the effort. I have simplified the cooking method so that its easy to understand and prepare.

 HULIYOGARE (Tamarind Rice)

Ingredients

Tamarind – 3 lemon sized balls.

Jaggery pieces - 1 1/2tsp.

Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp

Salt - As per taste

Oil - 60 ml. 

Cooked rice – Required for 2 to 3 persons.

Masala (to powder)

Black pepper - 2tsp 

Fenugreek seeds - 3tsp

Cumin seeds - 4tsp.
Mustard - 1tsp

Black gram dal(urad) - 1tsp

Bengal gram dal(chana dal) - 5tsp

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

Red chilly - 2 to 3 nos.

Curry leaves - 1 Sprig

Asafetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp

Ingredients (to powder)

Dried coconut (Copra) cut into small pieces - 1 cup. 

Sesame seeds (Ellu or Til) – ¾ cup

For seasoning
Mustard - 3tsp

Black gram dal(urad) - 1tsp

Red chilly - 4nos

Curry leaves - 1 Sprig

Groundnut – 1/2 cup

Method: 


A. Preparation:
1.Soak the tamarind in a cup of water for up to 30minutes. Then make a thick extract(remove the seeds and white outer coating) as much as possible and keep aside.
2. Fry the sesame seeds without oil till the aroma comes out.
3.Grind the copra and roasted sesame seeds in a mixer and keep aside. Grind it coursely and not into a fine powder.
4. Heat a pan, add 2 to 3 tsp of oil and fry all the masala items except hing (add them one by one as stated in order to the pan) till the aroma of all the ingredients comes out, allow it to cool. Later make a coarse powder in mixer. Keep aside along with hing.
5. Roast groundnut without oil till it turns brown. Keep it aside.


B. Cooking:

1. Boil the thick extract of tamarind in a deep vessel, to this add jaggery, salt and turmeric powder, allow it to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or till cooked properly (add water as needed).

2. Add masala powder along with hing to the above, mix well and leave it for 2 minutes to boil.

3. Lastly add sesame seed and copra powder, mix well, allow it boil for one minute or till the mixture is almost semi-dry.


C. Seasoning:
1. Heat remaining oil in a pan, once it is hot add mustard, when it splutters add bengal  gram dal, fry nicely. Add curry leaves, red chilly (which is cut into pieces) saute and lastly add roasted groundnuts, fry till the oil coats the groundnuts.

2. Take the cooked rice in a bowl, add tamarind masala paste and seasoning, mix well without breaking the rice. Huliyogare is ready. Serve it hot with Kosambri or Cucumber salad.