Coriander leaf chutney

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Garlic - 2 nos
Green chilli - 3 nos - can also use red chilli
Coconut - 2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp or 1/2lemon size
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Hing - A pinch
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp or as per need.
Curry leaves - few






Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, fry coriander leaves and keep it aside.
2. In the same pan, add coconut, garlic and green chilli and fry until you get the nice aroma of coconut oil.
3. Let every thing cool for some time and grind everything together finely with tamarind and salt.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add urad dal, hing and curry leaves.
5. Add this to the ground paste and mix well. Add more salt if needed.

Note:

Same way you can also prepare mint chutney, curryleaf chutney, toor dal chutney, mint-coriander leaf chutney.

Wheat Puttu

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 4 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 or A pinch of cinnamon powder
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 4 tsp
water - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Roast the wheat flour in a pan for 5 mins and let it cool.
2. Mix salt with the wheat flour. Sprinkle water on the flour little by little and wet the flour. Consistency we can say like, the flour should be wet, but when you try to make as ball, it should break and should not stick with each other like dough. You can see the picture below.
3. If you have the puttukuzhai(puttu making vessel), add 1 tsp of coconut first, then 3 tsp of the prepared mix, then coconut again and then prepared mix again, until it fills. (OR)

If you don't have that puttukuzhai, you can make using idly vessel. Spread a white cotton cloth in the idly plate and spread the prepared mix. In the middle keep the coconut and cover it with the cotton cloth, just bring the 4 corners to the middle(see pic below). If you do not cover, because of the steam, it will stick to each other and will be like cooked dough.
4. Steam it for 10 mins.
5. Change it to a vessel, add ghee, sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Nice aroma will tempt you to eat hot.

Before baking, puttu flour should be like this:


Spread like this in a idly plate:











Cover it and its ready to bake:



Note:

Those who are in diet can have this wheatputtu, but reduce the amount of coconut and sugar. Avoid ghee. You can also mix pappad and banana with this. Same way you can also prepare ragi and rice puttu. I'll post them soon.

Wheat(Chappathi/roti/Paratha) Dough

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Curd - 2 tsp
Salt -1/2 tsp or as per need
Water - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Add curd and salt to the wheat flour and mix well. Curd makes dough soft.
2. Add water little by little and knead the dough.
3. Finally add oil and knead the dough once again. This is to avoid dryness of dough.
3. Let it for min 45 mins and max 1 hour or more. This helps to get a soft, spongy chappathi/roti.

Note:

For me chappathi/roti will always be like rubber sheet until i learn this technique. You can use this dough for making poori also. Stuffed chappathi/roti is called as paratha. Its different from parota. Soon i'll post varieties of parota.

Lunch Podi(powder)

Ingredients:

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 5 nos
Graram masala - 1 tsp or add 2 cloves and 2" cinnamon
Roasted peanuts - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - A handful
















Method:

1. Heat a pan, add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, urad dal and red chilli
2. Fry until mustard seeds splutters. Turn off gas and add peanuts and curry leaves.
3. Let it cool and grind in a blender/mixi.
4. Add garam masala powder now and mix well. Let it cool for some time and store it in air tight container.

Note:

This is not exactly called as lunch podi, i named it. If you know a better name for this podi, post it to me. We can use this podi for capsicum rice, carrot rice, or simply add this podi with rice and add salt and sesame oil, it'll be very tasty. Try this and post your comment.

Brinjal Curry

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 4 nos - cut it length wise
Onion - 1 - cut into pieces
Tomato - 1 - chopped
Green chilli - 4 nos
Red chilli - 2 nos
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - A pinch
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Idly/dosai batter - 3 tsp - make it too thin by adding 7 tsp of water
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few - chopped

Method:

1. In a pressure pan or a vessel add brinjal, green chilli, onion, tomato, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, turmeric powder, salt and add 1 and a 1/2 cups of water and cook well.
2. Drain the water, and smash the cooked brinjal and other stuff in a blender/mixi/ladle.
3. In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Wait until splutters, then add red chilli and curry leaves and add the drained water.
4. Add the smashed mixture and mix well. Add hing and excess salt if needed.
5. Let it boil for 5 mins. Now add the idly/dosai batter, which is mixed well and made thin by adding 7 tsp of water.
6. Stir the curry well while adding the batter, other wise batter will boil and remain as solid particles.
7. Stir for some time and leave it for 4 min. Finally and coriander leaves and finish.


Note:

Another variety of side dish for idly, and dosai. Instead of making the same chutney's, try different varieties....Very healthy food too.....

Thakkali Kuruma/ Tomato Kuruma

Ingredients:

Tomato - 3 nos
Garlic - 3 nos
Green chilli - 3 nos
Onion - 1 - cut into pieces.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp or as per need
Cloves - 2 nos
Cinnamon - 2"
Aniseed/Sombu - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need
Idly or dosai batter - 3 tsp - mix it will 5 tsp of water.
Coriander leaves - A hand full.

Method:

1. Boil the tomatoes adding, garlic, green chilli, onion, 1/2 tsp aniseed and salt.
2. Drain the water after boiling, and smash them in a blender/mixi. Do not smash finely. Say 1 or 2 rounds.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon and remaining aniseed. Wait until it splutters.
4. Add the drained water and then add the smashed tomatoes.
5. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt(if needed).
6. Let it boil for 5 min, and then add the idly/dosai batter, which is made thin adding 5 tsp of water.
7. Stir while adding this, otherwise the batter will cook and form solid particles in kurma. stir for a while, add coriander leaves and finish.


Note:

I use to prepare this in my bachelor days. I our home we dint had a mixi, so i use to prepare this instead of chutney. You can also smash this with a ladle. All my room mates likes this dish very much. For dosai and idly....kurma will fly like anything, means it'll be over soon.