Pudhina Rice / Mint Rice

Ingredients:

Unboiled Rice - 1 cup - Soak rice for 45 mins
Puchina(Mint) - A bunch
Green Chilli - 8 nos
Onion - 1 - cut it length wise
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cloves & Cinnamon Sticks - 2 nos.
Cardamom(Elaichi) - 2 nos.
Bay leaves - few.
Curd - 2 tsp
Oil/Ghee - 3 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp







Method:

1. Grind pudhina and green chilli and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaves.
3. Add onion and fry until golden brown.
4. Add ginger - garlic paste and fry for 2 mins.
5. Add the ground pudina and greenchilli paste and fry for 5 mins. until oil gets spearated.
6. Now add rice and 2 cups of water and curd mix well.
7. Keep it in a pressure cooker or rice cooker until rice is cooked.

Note:

-> Serve with any kind of raitha, chicken 65....etc.,

Keerai Kuzhambu / Spinach Gravy

Ingredients:

Spinach / Keerai - A bunch - Separate leaves and wash well.
Onion(small) - 12 nos
Garlic - 6 nos
Green chilli - 5 nos
Tomato - 2
Salt - 1/2 tsp

For Seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli - 2 nos - remove the seeds
Hing(Asafoetida) - A pinch
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Boil all the ingredients until spinach leaves are cooked. Do not cook too much, as the color of the leaves change and taste differs from original recipe.
2. Once cooked, smash them in a blender(just one round). Do not grind finely.
3. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard and cumin seeds, add red chillies, hing and add it to the ground spinach paste.

Hint:

-> Boil 1/2 cup of toor dhal and add to this mixture to prepare keerai paruppu kuzhambu. (see pic below)
-> Serve with rice...more of this spinach gravy and less amount of rice. People who are in diet can follow this.(see pic below)

Keerai Paruppu Kuzhambu...














Keerai Saatham / Spinach Rice:

Ennai Kathrikai / Brinjal Fry

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 4 nos - cut it length wise.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 1 - Squeeze it and extract juice, leaving skin.
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan(non-stick is better), add all ingredients and cook well until oil ooze out.

Note:

-> Serve with Moore kuzhambu, curd rice, rasam rice, and more....

Kollu Saatham / Horse Gram Rice

Ingredients:

Horse Gram - 1/2 cup - Roast it until color changes
Uncooked Rice - 1/2 cup
Water - 5 cups
salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients and pressure cook it.

Serving Suggestion:

-> Serve with curd, or any thovaiyal(chutney) variety.

Kollu Thuvaiyal / Horse Gram Chutney

Ingredients:

Horse Gram - 1 cup
Garlic - 3 nos
Red chilli - 4 nos
Tamarind - 1 Amla size / 1/4 tsp of paste
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Roast horse gram, garlic and red chilli in a pan and let it cool.
2. Grind them along with tamarind paste and salt and with required amount of water.

Note:

-> Serve with rice, dosai, idly, etc.,
-> Best side dish for rasam saatham, kollu saatham, curd rice.

Keerai Poriyal / Spinach Poriyal

Ingredients:

Spinach/Keerai(Any kind) - 1 bunch - chop them
Garlic - 2 nos
Grated or sliced coconut - few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli - 2 nos - Remove seeds
Hing(Asafoetida) - A pinch
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, urad dhal and wait until they splutter.
2. Add redchill, hing, salt and add the chopped spinach and close the lid of the pan.
3. Reduce to medium/low flame and let it cook. Do not add excess water.
4. Now grind garlic and 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds and coconut without adding water.
5. When the spinach is cooked, add the ground mixture and mix well.
6. When there is no water left in the pan you can turn off gas.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 3 tsp / extract juice from half lemon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Channa Dhal/Urad Dhal/Both - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 2 nos. - remove the seeds
Hing (Asafoetida) - A pinch
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1/4 tsp


Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add urad dhal/channa dhal or both, add red chilli, curry leaves, hing, and lemon juice.
2. Add turmeric powder, salt and let it boil for 1 minute in a medium flame.
3. Turn off gas and mix rice and serve hot.