Thakkali Thokku/ Tomato Thokku

It is really tiring to stand in front of a stove and cook in the heat of summer! So making these type of thokku / paste and storing it in fridge will save us :) This is a special tomato thokku recipe from my kitchen! Tomatoes are known for their outstanding anti-oxidant content and it helps to maintain good heart health. It takes about 2 hours to cook this but it's worth it! You can store it for more than 2 months and use. Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Tomato – 2 kg

Gingelly oil – 1 cup (230 ml approx)

Mustard – 1 Tbsp.

Channa Dhal – 1 Tbsp.

Red chilli – 25 (long variety)

Venthayam/ Fenugreek – 1 Tsp.

Pepper – ½ Tsp. (optional)

Salt as required

Method of making Tomato/ Thakkali Thokku with stepwise pictures:

1. Wash tomatoes at least twice. Cut the tomatoes and put it in a mixer jar ( I used the juicer jar).Grind/Juice the tomatoes thoroughly. Make the puree in batches as all the tomatoes can’t be done in one go!

2. Heat a thick bottomed pan and add 1 cup of gingelly oil

3. Once the oil is hot add mustard seeds, let it splutter

4. Add the tomato juice. As you pour, tomato might splutter out so keep a lid in hand. If it splutters close it for 2 minutes and then open and pour the rest of it

5. Stir and let the tomato get cooked, do not close.

6. Dry roast Channa dal, Fenugreek, Pepper(optional), Red chilli and let it cool. Grind it to a fine Powder in a mixer jar.

7. When tomato get reduced by 20% add this powder gently so that no lumps are formed. Stir it.

8. Let the tomato thokku get cooked. Occasionally stir so that it do not get stuck to the bottom. When tomato reduces by 50% you will get the thokku consistency. 

9. Once thokku consistency is reached and all the added oil oozes out switch off the flame and let it cool to room temperature. Do not close it

10. Next day if possible keep it in direct sunlight (for 2 – 3 hrs ) otherwise skip to next step

11. When the temperature of thokku reduces to room temperature, store it in a dry and clean container and keep it in your fridge.

12. Serve thokku with hot Idli/ Dosa/ Rice 

Note:

• Throughout the process keep the flame in medium. Total time taken is 2 hrs.

• As thokku thickens and you stir, the paste will bubble and spill out so have a lid handy, and close half or 3/4^th so that there is gap for the vapour to escape.

• Make sure you do not use wet hands or wet spoons while handling thokku.

Sweet Potato Tikki/ Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Tikki

This is a healthy, simple and tasty snack recipe! Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest foods to eat. This root vegetable has vitamin A, B and C along with potassium, iron and manganese. If you are not a fan of the taste of sweet potatoes, here is a tikki recipe! You will definitely like this as this recipe has sweet potatoes along with spices and more over it's pan fried !Happy cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes - 2 medium size

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Garlic - 3

Green chili - 1

Coriander leafs - 3 - 4 sprigs

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

Method of making Sweet Potato Tikki/ Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Tikki with step wise pictures

1. Wash the sweet potatoes and pressure cook it for 2 whistles / chop and cook it in boiling water. Peel off the skin. Mash it.

2. Finely chop ginger, garlic and green chilli and use it, if you are serving it for your kids it's better to make a paste and add( i have used the paste)

2. To the mashed sweet potatoes add in ginger garlic green chili paste, garam masala powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, finely chopped coriander leafs.

3. Mix everything well and make big lemon size balls and flatten it.

4.Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the tikki both sides, till you get golden brown color.

Serving tips:

1. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or tomato chutney or green chutney

Mango & Custard Dessert

Glad to share this dessert recipe with you! This one is simple to make and great to taste! Kids will love it. I have used vanilla ice cream in this recipe instead you can use whipped fresh cream with sugar. Happy Cooking! Cheers! 

Ingredients:

Mango – 2 medium size

Custard Powder – 1.5 tbsp

Milk – 1 cup

Vanilla ice cream – 120 ml

Sugar – 2 – 3 tbsp

Method of making mango & custard dessert with step wise pictures:

1.Add 2 to 3 tbsp of sugar to a cup of milk and boil it

2.Meanwhile take custard powder in a small  bowl and mix it with little water without lumps

3.When the milk boils add the custard mix to it, keep stirring so that no lumps are formed

4.Keep cooking till the milk thickens and bubbles

5.Let the custard milk cool to room temperature

6.Wash the mangoes, remove its skin and chop it

7.Transfer the chopped mango to a mixer jar and puree it (Check the sweetness, if needed add some sugar or go with the natural taste)

8. Now it's time to set it, there are two ways to do it,

Method 1: Take a mixer jar add the custard milk, ice cream and mango puree, give it a gentle mix using whipper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Scoop it in to a serving bowl or cut it as in the display picture and serve cold.

Method 2: Take a serving bowl, first place a layer of custard, then a layer of vanilla ice cream, finally a layer of mango puree, refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve cold. 

Medhu Vadai/ Ulunthu Vadai

Methu vadai is a famous South Indian recipe made on special occasions. This is a healthy recipe made from urad dal. This dal is one of the richest sources of proteins and Vitamin B. Urad dal is also good for women as it has iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium which makes it a healthy pulse.For strong bones and a healthy body, have urad dal. And having methu vadai is a tastier way to do it! Happy Cooking! Cheers! 

Ingredients:

Urad dal / Uluntham paruppu - 1 cup

Small Onions – 10

Green Chilli – 1

Curry leaf – 1 Sprig

Coriander Leaf – few

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method of making medhu vadai/ ulunthu vadai with step wise picture:

1. Wash and soak Urad dal for 2 hours

2. Break or cut one green chilli and add it to the grinder, let it grind for a minute. Add urid dhal without any water

3. Grind it to a paste, do not add more than 3 tbsp of water while grinding

4. Transfer the dough to a bowl add finely chopped onions, salt, curry leafs and coriander leafs. Mix well

5. Heat needed oil for deep frying in a kadai, meanwhile take a bowl of water, a plastic cover/ banana leaf

6. Wet your hands and the cover in the bowl of water, take a ball of dough and place it over the cover, flatten it and make a small hole in the middle

7. Take a small piece of dough and drop it in the hot oil, if it immediately comes to the surface then oil is ready for frying

8. Now gently place the vadai dough in to the oil, flip the vadai for the other side to get cooked. When its golden brown and bubbles reduce, take the vadai from the oil and it's ready to serve!

Note:

1. Do not add more water while grinding, it will make the vadai very much oily
2. Also carefully place the vadai in the oil, always drop vadai dough along the sides/ circumference of the kadai
3. Serve it with coconut chutney or any chutney you prefer!

Egg Gravy Chettinad Style

Hello! Glad to share this Egg Gravy recipe with you! In this recipe we break raw eggs in to the boiling gravy which gives a unique taste. Also in this dish we dry roast and grind the spices to get the taste of chettinad cuisine. Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Egg – 4

Onion – 1 big

Tomato – 2

Ginger – 1 inch

Garlic – 4

Green chili - 2

Coconut – ¼ cup

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Chili powder – 1 tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Clove – 1

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch

Star anise - 1

Bay leaf - 1

Coriander to garnish

Water as required

To dry roast and grind:

Roasted channa dal – 1 tbsp.

Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp.

Red chili – 6

Khasa Khasa – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Sombu – 2tsp

Cinnamon – ½ inch

Clove – 1

Cardamom – 2

Method of making "Egg Gravy Chettinad Style" With stepwise pictures

1. Dry roast all the ingredients given under “To dry roast and grind” to brown colour and grind it in to a fine powder

2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard, once it splutters add bay leaf, clove,cinnamon and star anise. Saute a minute and add chopped onion. Fry till it becomes translucent.

3. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilies to a fine paste with little water and add it to the onions

4. Roast till raw smell goes, then add chopped tomatoes and salt and cook till tomatoes becomes mushy

5. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and the masala powder ground in step 1

6. Add 1 cup of water and mix well. Let the gravy become thick and bubbling.

7. In this stage grind coconut with water to a fine paste and add it to the gravy. Let it cook for 2 minutes

8. Finally break the eggs one by one and drop it in to the boiling gravy, close with a lid and let it cook for ten minutes.

9. Now gently flip the eggs and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander or mint and serve hot.

Drumstick Masala/ Murungakkai Masala

Drumstick offers all type of nutritional advantages and in addition cures numerous health conditions. It is rich in iron, Vitamins as well as calcium. Drumsticks are recognized to offer healthy and strong bones and are also believed to purify the blood. So here is Drumstick masala recipe with step by step pics. This South Indian style masala recipe tastes great and it best compliments rice.This is going to be your favorite drumstick recipe! Happy Cooking! Cheers! 

Ingredients:

Drumstick - 2

Onion - 1

Tomato - 1

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 4

Green chilli - 2

Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric  Powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method of making drumstick masala with step wise picture:

1. Wash drum sticks and cut them to 1 or 2 inch pieces. Pressure cook with water and little salt for one whistle. (Add water just till the drumstick gets immersed)

2. Wash and finely chop ginger, garlic, green chilli, onion and tomato. Clean curry leafs.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and jeera. Once it splutters, add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute for 2 minutes

4. Add onion and curry leafs. Saute till the colour of onions turns pink. Add tomato and saute. Mash the tomatoes.

5. Add chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and needed salt. Add cooked drum stick along with the water. (Make sure of the consistency, if there is too much of water it will become watery!)

 6. Close and cook for 5 minutes, so that the gravy gets in to drumstick, also water gets reduced. Now grind 1/4 cup of grated coconut with little water to a paste. Add this to the masala and cook for 5 minutes. 

Note:

1. This masala can also be done with the fleshy part of drumstick. After step one, with a spoon remove the flesh of drumstick and use it in the masala (i.e. in step 5). 

2. I have used the chilli powder made at home, it has both red chilli and coriander in it. If you are using plain red chilli powder, add coriander powder accordingly.