Mor Kuzhambu

Wondering how to stay cool this summer!? Then here is one best way! Keep your food cool. Mor Kuzhambu is a perfect dish for summer.It has curd, coconut, Fenugreek/ Venthayam which will help you beat the heat. I suggest you to make it a night before, it tastes great the next day afternoon! You can make plain mor kuzhambu or with vegetables as you wish! Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Curd - 1 1/2 cup

Coconut - 1/2 cup grated

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

To Soak in water,

Rice - 1 Tbsp

Thoor dal/ Thuvaran Paruppu - 2 Tbsp

Coriander Seeds/ Daniya -  2 Tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

To Roast,

Fenugreek/ Venthayam - 1 tsp

Green Chiili - 5

Red Chilli - 3

To Temper,

Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard/ Kadugu - 1 tsp

Curry Leafs - 1 sprig

Method of making "Mor Kuzhambu" With stepwise pictures

1. Soak the ingredients mentioned in  " To Soak in water" for about 20 to 30 minutes

2.In a pan take a tsp of gingelly oil and roast the ingredients mentioned in "To Roast" section

3.Let the roasted ingredients cool (Meanwhile you can grated 1/2 cup of coconut)

4.In a mixie grind the soaked and roasted ingredients to a fine paste adding needed water

5. Take a thick bottomed vessel and pour the content in mixie to it. Add needed water and make it a thin gravy. (dosa batter Consistency ). I have added cooked ash gourd to it, you can skip this if you are making plain mor kuzhambu

6. Keep the vessel on medium  flame and cook for 5 minutes. (As the rice and dal gets cooked and the gravy will become thick.)

7.Now switch off the flame and add curd to it

8. Heat one tablespoon of gingelly oil and add mustard, Once it splutters add curry leafs and switch off the flame. Add this tempering to the gravy

Note:

1. Mor Kuzhambu is even more tastier the next day. Longer the ingredients we have used  gets soaked in curd, the more tastier it is! 

2. Curd used should not be sour.This is a rule!

3. Mor kuzhambu can be plain or if needed some vegetables can be added to it

4. If you are using pusanikai/ Ash gourd, First cook the vegetable completely and add to the gravy in step 5

5. If you are using Lady's Finger, Fry the lady's finger in oil. Then add it to the gravy in Step 7

Vendakkai/ Lady's Finger/ Okra Pakoda

Hello! This is a very simple pakoda recipe, you can prepare it in less than 15 minutes. Let's get to know How to make Vendakkai/ Lady's Finger/ Okra Pakoda? Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Okra – 10 

Green chilli – 1 (Finely chopped)

Ginger – 1 tsp  (Optional)

Garlic – 1 tsp (Finely chopped)

Curry leafs – 1 sprig  (Finely chopped)

Gram Flour -  ½ cup (Flat)

Rice Flour – 1 tbsp

Hing – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Chop lady's finger to small pieces as in picture. Add all ingredients mentioned in “Ingredients” section.(Exclude oil for deep fryingJ).

2. Add 1 to 2 tbsp of oil and needed water to make a thick batter.( 1/4 cup water approx)

3.Heat the oil for deep frying and fry to golden brown.

Note:

1.Oil is added in step 2 to make crispy pakoda.

2.Put every piece of okra separately in hot oil and cook in medium flame. If the range is high lady's finger will not get cooked.

3.Clean lady's Finger and dry it completely before chopping.

Karpooravalli Bajji / Indian Borage Fritter

Happy to share this healthy bajji recipe!  Karpooravalli/ Indian borage plant is found in almost every South Indian's garden! It has amazing health benefits and medicinal uses. Karpooravalli is one home remedy that we resort to first when we get a cold and cough.

You can clean the leafs and eat it raw. But for those who want to try something new or for those who do not like the pungent flavour of the leaf, can try this bajji recipe. This will serve as a healthy snack. Happy cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Karpooravalli leafs - 10- 12

Kadalai maavu / Gram flour - 1/2 cup

Rice flour - 1tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1.Wash the leafs twice and dry it completely.

2.Mix all the other ingredients mentioned, except oil.

3.Pour needed water and make a medium thick batter. Heat oil for deep frying

4.Dip the leafs in the batter and fry to golden brown colour

5. Serve hot

Note:

1. Dry the leafs in a news paper or cloth. If the leafs are not completely dry the bajji will be too much oily

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.

Broccoli Soup

Hello! This is a healthy, creamy soup recipe! Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous vegetables family. Cruciferous vegetables are nutrition powerhouses which supply loads of nutrients for little calories. 

If you want to stay healthy then broccoli should be in your diet.If you are not a big fan of it, you should definitely try this soup. It's a creamy lip smacking soup, which will make you a fan of broccoli! Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 150  - 200 gms

Butter - 1 tsp

Onion - 1

Garlic - 4 pods

Maida/ All purpose flour- 1 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Milk - 1/2 cup

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1.Clean broccoli florets

2.Heat a pan, add butter. Before the butter completely melts add finely chopped garlic.

3.When garlic starts to get a brown tint add finely chopped onion and sauté till onion turns pink

4.Add brocolli florets and saute for a minute and add a spoon of maida

5.Saute till the maida and brocolli gets covered by butter completely

6. Add a cup of water and salt to it.Close the pan with a lid.

7. When brocolli is completely cooked, switch of the flame

8. Pick the florets in a plate and let them cool. When it's cool grind it in mixie to paste

9. Add this paste and one more cup of water to the soup and heat it. When the soup starts to boil add 1/2 cup of milk and Switch off the flame

10. Add pepper and serve hot

Note:

1. If you want the soup to be clear(Without pieces of garlic and onion), grind all the content after step 7.

2. It took 10 minutes to cook my broccoli florets. Depending on the freshness of the florets and the kind of pan used, the cooking time differs

3. You can cook the dish in cooker also. After step 6 transfer the content to cooker and cook. Again continue with step 8

4. You can adjust the amount of water according to the needed consistency. 

Kathirikai KaraKuzhambu / Brinjal or Aubergine or Vankaya Curry

This is one of the sour and hot brinjal recipe from South Indian Cuisine. This curry tastes heavenly with hot rice. Having brinjal in our diet serves us with lot of health benefits. It's rich in low soluble carbohydrates and fibre, so it is a good choice for people suffering from diabetes. Also it is rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre which helps in getting glowing skin and stimulates good hair growth.

So let's get to know "How to make Kathirikai KaraKuzhambu / Brinjal or Aubergine or Vankaya Curry" Happy Cooking!Cheers!

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 5 no's

Shallots/ Pearl onions - 10 numbers

Tomato - 1

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Tamarind - 1 small lemon size

Coconut Shredded - 1/2 cup

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Fennel/ Sombu powder - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

To Temper:

Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Green Chilli - 2 slit

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in hot water.

2.Heat a pan add 2 tbsp of oil and add the ingredients mentioned in "To Temper" one by one

3.Add chopped onions and garlic. Add the curry leafs and saute till the onions become translucent.

4.Add tomato,a pinch of salt and close the pan with a lid

5.In 2 minutes open the lid and mash the tomatoes.Then add the brinjals.( I have slit the brinjal both the sides, You can cut it the way you prefer)

6. Let the brinjal get 3/4th cooked.

7. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder and tamarind pulp. Mix and let it cook.

8.Grind coconut to paste with water

9.Once Oil starts coming out of the gravy, Add the fennel power and coconut paste. In 2 minutes switch off the flame and serve hot with rice

Note:

1. 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.

Rasgulla

Glad to share this dessert recipe with you! Rasgulla! It's one of the most popular Indian Sweets. I have tried making this sweet couple of times before, but the results were not appealing! But this time I made soft yummy rasgullas. Learnt from mistakes:) The mistakes done are given as tips in the "Note" section of this post. Kindly read through and follow to get good results. Happy Cooking! Cheers!

Ingredients:

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Lemon - 1
Rava - 1 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method:

1.Bring the milk to boil, Switch off the flame and add 1 tbsp of lemon juice and stir in. The milk will curdle. If not add more lemon juice.

2. Filter it in a muslin cloth, and wash it in running water. This removes the lemony taste from the paneer and also cools it down.

3.Squeeze the excess water out and hang the paneer for 45 minutes/ You can also keep a heavy weight over it. This is done to remove the water from paneer.
Meanwhile add sugar and water and set aside.

4.Open the muslin cloth, nice ball of paneer will be ready. Check the texture, it should neither be watery nor too dry.

5. Keep the already mixed sugar and water on a stove and let it cook in low flame. Select a wide bowl for making sugar syrup.

6. Add a tsp of  rava and mix gently, then knead it with your palm. Knead only 4 to 5 times.

7. Make small balls, the size will double when the rasgullas are cooked. so decide the size accordingly

8. Stir the sugar syrup every now and then and check if all the sugar is dissolved. Add a tsp of cardamom powder. Once all the sugar is dissolved pour half of the sugar syrup to another bowl

9. To the one cup sugar syrup add the balls gently. And shake the vessel so that the syrup covers the entire ball

10.Keep the flame in low otherwise there is a chance for the balls to disintegrate!

11. In 5 minutes add the other cup of sugar syrup to the balls.

12.In other 5 minutes the rasgullas will be cooked. To check it, put one rasgulla in a cup of water, it will sink and stay there in the bottom!

13.Immediately transfer cooked rasgullas to a serving bowl and serve when the heat reduces. You can also  refrigerate and serve it cold.

Note:

1. Depending on the quality of milk the amount of lemon juice required will differ

2. Once the milk curdles quickly filter and wash it in cold water, this is important for making soft rasgullas

3. Do not apply too much pressure while kneading, if applied rasgullas will become very hard

Veg Hakka Noodles

Happy to share this Hakka noodles recipe with you! This is an Indo-Chinese recipe. 

Though cooking this dish takes a bit longer compared to instant noodles, It's worth it! If chopping of vegetables is done, it would hardly take 15 mins to cook. Happy Cooking! Cheers!  

Ingredients:

Hakka Noodles – 250gm

Onion – 1 thinly sliced

Green Capsicum – 1

Carrot – 1 

Ginger – 1 inch finely chopped

Garlic – 4 finely chopped

Soya sauce – 1 tbsp

Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 3 tbsp

Method:

1. In a wide bowl take water in excess and bring it to boil add salt and a tsp of oil to it.

2. Now, add noodles to it. In 7 minutes it will be cooked. Immediately drain the water and add cold water to it. This avoids further cooking of the noodles. Apply one tsp of oil to it.

3. Heat a pan add 3 tbsp of  oil. let the oil heat. Add garlic and ginger. Sauté for a minutes, add onions and sauté till colour changes to pink.Now add the carrots sauté gently for 2 minutes. Lastly add capsicum to it.

5. Now add soya sauce and red chilli sauce. Saute for a minute 

6. Add the cooked noodles, salt and pepper and gently mix.

Note:

1.Cooking time of the noodles differ according to the thickness and ingredients, so check the pack of your noodles for the cooking time.

Best Practice:

1. While making noodles/Fried Rice its best to keep the range in High. It gives the crunch!

2. Use olive oil