Avial - A perfect healthy and tasty combo.

Ingredients:

1. Vegetables - chopped into wedges - 300 gms. 

2. Curd - 1 1/2 cups - Fresh , absolute thick curd. 

3. Coconut - 1 cup

4. Green chillies - 6 nos 

5. Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon

6. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

7. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

8. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

9. Salt to taste

10. Hing - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Chop the vegetables into an inch sized wedges. I have used the following green vegetables and starchy vegetables.

please make sure to wash and peel the root vegetables, so that,  no mud/dirt is retained. Rinse them several times, even after peeling the skin, to make sure the vegetables are clean.

Green vegetables

1. Carrot - 1 small

2. Beans - 5 nos

3. cluster beans - 5 nos

4. Broad beans - 3 nos

5. Snake gourd  - 3 inch long piece

6. Pumpkin - 100 gms

Starchy vegetables:

1. Yam - 50 gms
2. Potato - 50 gms
3. Colocasia - 50 gms
4. Green plaintain / Raw Banana - 4 inch long

There are two ways of cooking the vegetables.

Method 1:
2. Steam the vegetables. you can put it in a cooker and cook for two whistles. this is very important. The vegeyables should be steamed and should not be mushy. Every vegetable should retain its shape , texture.


Method 2:
2. Heat coconut oil in a pan. Coconut oil is a must. once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the curry leaves and once it is fried, add the veggies. Add the salt and mix well, cover and cook for two minutes, for the veggies to soak in some flavour. From the kadai,  transfer it to a bowl and pressure cook.


The veggies might leave out some moisture. make sure to drain the veg stock. please do not waste the stock. add some salt and pepper and have it as a refreshment. The vegetables must be completely dry. there should not be any residual stock.

If you follow Method 1:
 3. Allow the veggies to cool.
4. Grind the coconut, chillies, cumin seeds into a smooth paste.
5. Once the veggies are cooled completely, add curd, ground paste and mix well. if the vegetables are not cool, the curd will become runny, spoiling the appeal of the entire dish.
6. Heat coconut oil, once hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add it to the Avial. Mix well and serve it with rice or Adai.


If you follow Method 2:

3. Allow the steamed veggies to cool completely.
4. Grind the coconut, chillies and cumin seeds into a smooth paste.
5. Once the veggies are cooled, add curd and the ground paste and serve with rice or Adai.

Simple Potato fry with a twist

The below measurements serves three.

Ingredients: 

1. Baby potato - 300 gms

2. Oil - 4 tbsp 

3. Chilli powder - 2 tbsp

4. Cumin powder  - 1/2 tbsp

5. Garam masala - 1 tsp

6. Salt - to taste

7. Green chillies - 2 Nos 

8. Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp

9. Hing - 1 tsp

10. Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

11. Turmeric powder - 1

12. Juice - from a big sized lemon.

Method:

1. Boil and peel the potatoes. I have halved few of them, so that every piece is of same size.

2. In a bowl, add oil, salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala, hing , Turmeric powder and mix well.

3. Add the finely chopped green chillies, Coriander leaves, lemon juice and mix well. Marinade is ready. 

4. Add the peeled potatoes and mix well, until each potato piece is coated well with the marinade. Allow the potato to marinate for thirty minutes.

5. The longer the potato marinates, more the flavour. after thirty minutes, heat about a teaspoon of oil in a pan and add cuminseeds.

6. Saute it until it fries well.

7. Add the marinated potatoes and 2 table spoons of oil.

8. Roast the potatoes slowly in medium-low flame for 8 - 10 minutes until they are golden brown.

9. Serve it hot with a cup of rice, Sambhar to make it a perfect yummy lunch.

Sambhar Rice - Traditional tamizh Delicacy

The below measurement serves three

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 200 gms
2. Thoor dhal - 100 gms
3. Tamarind - size of a small lemon
4. Carrots - sliced- 1/2 cup
5. Beans - sliced- 1/2 cup
6. Brinjal cubed - 1/2 cup
7. Lady's Finger - chopped - 1/2 cup
8. Onion - small - sliced
9. Tomato - cubed- 1 small
10. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
11. Green chilli - 2 nos - slit
12. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
13. Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbsp
14. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
15. Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp
16. Sambhar Masala - 3 tbsp
17. Salt - as required.
18. Hing - 1 tsp
19. 2-3 tbsp of oil
20. 1 tbsp Ghee.

Method:

1. Cook the rice. softer than usual. A couple of whistles extra would do.
2. Cook the dhal well for about 5-8 whistles
3. Put the ball of taamrind in hot water and allow it to rest.
4.Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.

5. Tear the curry leaves roughly and add it to oil. Along with it add green chillies, fenugreek seeds.

Make sure the temp of oil is low while adding fenugreek seeds, it might burn and taste bitter.

6. Fry for a minute and add Oinion

7. The onions must sweat out a little. you can cover and cook. it might take about 5 -7 minutes. Add salt for faster cooking.

8. Once the onions cook as shown above, add Lady's finger, brinjal and tomatoes. 

9. Saute them for about 5 minutes. These vegetables do not require steaming, so I added before to stir fry them.

10. Once it gets cooked as shown above, add the veggies that need steaming.

11. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the salt required for the veggies.

12. Add about 150 gms of water to the vegetables. Cover and cook them for 5 minutes. Take the lid off and cook until the added water dries out a little. By this time the vegetables would be par boiled.

13. Add 250 gms of tamarind extarct( squeeze the tamarind ball in the water in which we soaked initally, pass it through a strainer)

14. Add Turmeric, chilli powder, Salt and Hing.

15. Cover and cook for a good 12 minutes, until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.

16. Add the cooked Dhal.

17. Mix well. Add the sambhar Masala powder.

18. Mix well and allow it to boil for 3-5 minutes.

19. Add coriander leaves. This completes the sambhar which could be used for Rice, idli, Dosai etc..

20. Mash the cooked rice well. Make sure there are very less or no lumps. Once added to Sambhar breaking the Lumps will be a tedious Job.

Add the Rice little by little to the Sambhar. Mix well.

21. Add a table spoon of Ghee on Top and Serve hot.

Easy Fried Rice Recipe

The below measurements make 3 servings.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 200 gms

2. Finely chopped carrots - 1/4 cup

3. Finely chopped french beans - 1/4 cup

4. Finely chopped cabbage - 1/4 cup

5. finely chopped capsicum - 1/4 cup

6. Finely chopped onion - 1 small 

7. Soy sauce - 1/2 tsp

8. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp

9. Salt - to taste

10. Ginger - a two inch piece- roughly chopped

11. Garlic - 4 cloves

12. Green chillies - 4-5 nos.

13. Oil - 2-3 tbsp

Method:

1. Cook the rice and spread it in a wide bowl for it to cool. 

2. Grind the ginger, garlic and green chillies into a fine paste.

3. In a wok, add oil, once hot, add the onions.

4. Once the onion turn brown, add the ground paste.

5. Saute for 5-8 mins on low-medium flame, for the paste to cook well.

6. Once the raw smell of the paste is mostly gone, add the chopped veggies.

7. Add the salt required for the veggies. It will help to flavor the veggies, also make them cook fast.

8. Saute the veggies for 4-5 mins , so that they are cooked.

it is a personal preference here, if you want the veggies to be soft and completely cooked, cover the pan and cook for 5-8 mins. Saute in regular intervals. 

If you want the veggies to be crunchy, cook them only for 3 mins, do not cover the pan.

9. Once the veggies are cooked as per the preference, add soy sauce and mix well.

10. Add the cooked rice 

11. Add black pepper powder, salt required for rice and mix well.

12. Serve it hot