Avarakkai Soya bean koottu/Flat beans Gravy with Soya bean

I love Flat beans/Avarakkai very much, I buy lots of them in its season and cook curry & gravy often.

One of the recipe with flat beans that I do is arachuvecha koottu /gravy with any chickpeas. This time I tried the gravy with soya bean. It has all the flavors of coconut, coriander, peanut in the Flat bean and Soya bean & it makes yummy combo with rice and papad.

Ingredients:

Cut Flat beans - 2 cups

Soya bean - 1/2 cup(soaked overnight)

Moong Dal - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

For Tadka:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds  -1 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Chana dal - 1/2 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves - 5 -6

For grinding:

Red chilli - 1 (you can add more if you want it spicier)

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Peanuts - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Method:

Pressure cook Flat beans, Soya beans and Moong dal together.

Fry and grind the ingredients given under 'For grinding'.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add all the other ingredients under 'For Tadka'.

Now add the cooked beans and ground mixture into it. 

Add salt to taste. 

Let it cook altogether for 10 minutes.

Its all yours now. Its heaven when you eat with rice and Papad. Believe me!

Ginger Thokku - Reposting and award

Reposting Ginger Thokku for Akila's event "Dish Name starts with G"


Ginger is one of the very best spice, also has antibacterial properties which we use it from tea to recipes.
Its my favourite spice too which I save it in freezer & grate it in whatever side dishes I make.
I met my friend in Bhajan yesterday, she had brought Ginger Thokku, it was too yummy & healthy recipe.
I got recipe from her & made it today, which I would like to share with you all.  
Ingredients:
Ginger - 4 inches - cut into pieces.
Tamarind - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Oil for frying - I used gingely oil
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
For Grinding:
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Red Chillies -2 nos 
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - 5 -6 

Method:
Heat oil in Kadai and fry urad dal, chana dal, red chillies, hing, curry leaves. Once its done, keep aside.
Fry cut ginger in kadai separately and let it cool.
Grind dal mixture, ginger, tamarind, salt in mixer.
Heat oil in kadai, put mustard seeds, curry leaves. Add the ground ginger paste & turmeric powder when mustard seeds splutter. 
Fry till the mixture is cooked(the raw smell would be gone quick as we have already fried all these ingredients).
Now add jaggery and switch off the stove.
This goes well with dosa, idly, Pongal or with white rice as well..
Ginger Thokku tastes little ginger hot, little jaggery sweet & little sour tamarind  :-)

I thank Akheela of Torviewtoronto for such a beautiful award for participating in Food Palette Series- Brown

Sending this to bookmarked recipes  - a wonderful event hosted by Priya and Aipi

Also sending to - Sara's Feb 2011 event- Healing foods Ginger and Garlic
                                                                  Healing food page

'Spicy' Brinjal Flat beans Curry ( Baingan Papdi Subzi)

The reason why I have put 'Spicy' within quotes is becoz I had forgotten the taste of Spiciness,
may be 2 -3 years...one reason being my Hrishi who is just 2 yrs and my hubby also is not a big fan of spicy food. 
So I have a habit of having 1-2 green chillies with whatever I eat, be it roti or rice...also its healthy to have green chilli as it has Vitamin C to protect us from cold!!
Anyways, now I come to the point that I made spicy Brinjal flat beans curry as I have not yet started feeding brinjal to my kid. It came out 'good' spicy and yummy, the secret ingredient was ground ginger and mustard to the curry. This time I did not have green chilli, just enjoyed my subzi with white rice and papad.
Here goes the recipe! 

Ingredients:
Brinjal - 6 nos - roughly cut into 4
Val papdi - Frozen 2 cups
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp ( soaked in water for 1 hr and ground to paste)
Ginger - 1 small piece (ground to paste)
Salt to taste
For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp grated
Green chilli -  3 -4 slit
Curry leaves - 3 -4
Red chilli - 1 -2
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Method:
Pressure cook Brinjal and Val Papdi for 2 whistles and Drain water, keep aside.

Heat Oil in pan and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add all ingredients given under tempering.

Stir in the pressure cooked papdi and brinjal into the pan.
Add little oil and salt to ground mustard and mix with ground ginger - This is to avoid bitterness from mustard. 
Now add the mustard-ginger mixture to the pan followed by salt.
Fry for another 5 -6 minutes. 
Off the Stove and cover with lid.
The "Spicy" Brinjal Flat Beans Curry is ready to be served with roti or ghee rice.
Note: The mustard and ginger flavor in the curry gives yumm taste!!!Enzoy.

Sending this to Only Original recipes event hosted by Nivedita and Pari

Thanks to Akila from Learning to Cook for sending me Participation award!

Palak Kadhi in Yoghurt Gravy for Tried n Tasted

Its been 5 days since I had time to blog. I had already decided to make Palak Kadhi from Aipi's blog for Tried n Tasted :-)
But my kid going to school from last week turned out to be very tough time for me.
This is the first time, I'm leaving all by himself, and his crying when leaving at school hurts me. Hopefully, he will be okay in a week...
Okay, back to our Aipi's blog, She's amazing, not surprising to anyone. Her recipes are very much mouth watering and am happy to share one of Aipi's recipe with Tried n Tasted!!
I had Spinach with me and made Palak Kadhi for yesterday's dinner. My husband is not a big fan of Kadhi and he had Palak Kadhi with Parathas, I was happy to see him asking for more Kadhi..Hurray!! Thanks to Aipi ;-)
You could find the recipe from the wonderful blogger Aipi's "usmasala" - Palak Kadhi
The yummy Spinach Kadhi was like this!!

Sending this to Tried n Tasted of Aipi's usmasala blog  hosted by other wonderful blogger Priya

Ginger Powder/Inji Podi

My Mom n Dad are here and am so excited!! Today I made Inji Podi with my Mom's guidance. 
I am a big fan of my Mom's style of cooking and I would like to share this wonderful/useful recipe with all my friends.
This powder can be stocked for 2 weeks.
Ingredients:
Ginger - 2 inches - chopped roughly
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Pepper -  1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Tamarind - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Fry Urad dal, Pepper & hing in a kadai till it is brown and transfer it into a cup.( No oil required)

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in Kadai and saute Ginger till its tender.

Grind the dal/pepper mixture with tamarind, then add ginger to it & grind till its powdered.

Ginger Powder is ready to be served.
It goes well with Ghee rice.
Note: You could also fry curry leaves with ginger and grind it with dal/pepper mixture. 
Sending this to Bookmarked recipe hosted by Aipi

(Invisible) Paneer Gravy

I like all the paneer recipes...my hubby doesn't like the paneer chunks in any rice/gravy.
So I thought I will prepare gravy that would meet our needs!!
I grated the paneer in the gravy..
Lets go to the recipe!
Ingredients:
Grated Paneer     - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Finely chopped Onion - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Chopped Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup
Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
Mushrooms - 1/2 cup 
Green Chillies - 3 
Tomato Puree - 1 cup (3 tomatoes)
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Deggi Mirch - 1/2 tsp
Spices - Cinnamon, Star anise, Bay leaves, pepper, cardamom
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt to taste
Butter/Oil for frying
Method:
Heat butter in pan & add cumin seeds & all spices. 
Once it starts leaving out its flavors, add onions, ginger garlic paste.
Saute till its brown in colour. 
Then add bell pepper, cauliflower, slit green chillies, mushrooms and any other vegetables if you want to add.
Once its kind of cooked, add tomato puree (grind the tomatoes or you could use tomato puree available in shops) and stir the mixture in between till the tomatoes are fully cooked ( you could find if raw smell is gone).
Add salt, turmeric powder, garam masala & deggi mirch.
Let it cook for 10 minutes. 
Switch off the stove & add the grated paneer in to the gravy. Mix it and close the pan with lid.
Leave it for 5 - 10 more minutes.
Garnish with cilantro & grated paneer..
It is ready to be served with Rotis/Naan!!

Ginger Kolambhu

Ginger has been all time favourite spice which I don't forget to add in all of my recipes :-)
I made this Ginger kolambhu which I want to share with you all.
Here goes the recipe:
Ingredients:
Ginger - chopped finely
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
a pinch of hing
Green chillies - 3
Curry leaves - a little bunch
Tamrind extract - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Gingely Oil 
Method:
Heat oil in Kadai and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add fenugreek seeds, chana dal, hing.
Once they turn slightly brown, add chopped ginger. Let it fry till it leaves its flavor.
Then add curry leaves, green chillies & salt.
Now its time to add 1 cup of water & tamarind extract.
Once the mixture has come to a boil, add jaggery. Pour 1 tp of gingely oil over the kolambhu and off the stove. 
Ginger kolambhu is ready to be served.
It goes well with Venpongal or Dosa. I made for Spinach-Ginger Dosa :-)

Sending this to  Sara's Feb 2011 event- Healing foods Ginger and Garlic
                                                                  Healing food page

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Brinjal Stuff

Today I made brinjal stuff. Now lets see the recipe.
Slit the brinjals. Don't cut the brinjal into pieces.It should be intact with the stem. Just make two perpendicular cuts in the end oposite to the stem,so that u can stuff in the masala. (you could slit into four cuts also)
Mix Sambar powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, saunf, salt, curry leaves and oil without adding water.Then stuff the masala into each brinjal and let it rest for 5 min.
Heat oil in a kadai and and add the brinjals.If u have excess masala dont throw it away add it into the kadai.
Cook with a lid  in medium heat. stir it frequently until the brinjals are cooked. Then deep fry with oil.
10 min before removing from heat add curry leaves and stir.


Serve with rice/roti

Tomato Thokku

Tomato Thokku is my favourite recipe which I make frequently especially for Dosa and Idly. It can also be used as a dip, spread, curry or a pickle. You can eat it with Naan/Bread, with Idli / dosa /upma, curd rice, spread it over bread or eat it mixed with hot rice and ghee. Lets go to the recipe!!

Ingredients:
Tomato - 10 - 12 nos
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red Chilli - 3 nos
Salt to taste
Jaggery  - 1 tsp 
For Thadka:
Gingely Oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch 
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp 
Red chilli  - 2 nos (depends upon your spice interest :-) )
Curry leaves - 10 - 12 leaves


Method:
Grind the tomatoes with 3 red chillies and keep it ready.
Take big pan & add all the ingredients given under Thadka into Gingely Oil. Once you hear the spluttering of mustard seeds, saute until light brown.
Add the ground tomatoes, turmeric powder, salt into it and stir it in frequent intervals to avoid it sticking into the pan. Make sure the flame is medium- low. You would know when the raw smell is gone. Now add jaggery. 
When the oil gets separated from the tomato thokku, it means its done. Put 2 tsp of gingely oil into it, Switch off the gas & Close the pan with lid. Let it cool.
Now enjoy your thokku with hot rice, rotis, Idly, Dosas!!

Bitter gourd stuff

Karela/Bitter gourd(BG) is always been my favourite vegetable since childhood.
My mom used to make stuff, pulusu(kozhambu) and pitla (koottu) very tastily.
I made a little change and added some more ingredients to add more aroma and taste. hope you like it.
Lets go to the recipe.
Ingredients:-
Bitter gourd 7 nos
Oil 3 tbsp
For stuffing :-
Onions finely chopped - 2 nos
Garlic finely chopped  - 3 cloves
Ginger finely chopped - 1"
Green chilli  - 3
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Saunf - 1/4 tsp
channa dal/urad dal  each 1 tsp fried and ground (you could use sambar powder instead)
Methi leaves  - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder 1/2 tsp (optional)
shredded coconut 1/4 cup
Oil 1 tbsp 
Salt as per taste
Fry onions, garlic, chilli, ginger in the oil until roasted.Add the other ingredients given under stuffing. Saute for 3 minutes till it gets mixed up.
I don't use besan for karela stuffing, instead I use coconut.
Scrap the outer skin of kakarakaya/karela. Make a slit in the middle and remove the seeds. Put all the bitter gourds in a bowl of water mixed with salt and tamarind pulp. This helps in reducing bitterness.
Take oil in a pan and put the BG's, fry for 2 min, then sprinkle some water and close it with lid. Keep the flame in medium. Make sure to keep an eye on it and sprinkle more water if required. This will make the BGs cook and the masala to get deeper into it.
When you find them cooked, keep the pan open and fry them by turning the BG's frequently.
Once they are fried, server hot with rice.