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Thursday, December 29, 2011

PARUPPU URUNDAI RASAM


INGREDIENTS:

Toor dhal - 1 cup
Dry red chillies - 3 or 4
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 2 tsp.
Hing
Tamarind - half the size of lemon
Rasam powder - 1 1/2 tsp.
Tomato - 1 big
Coriander leaves - for garnishing

To temper:
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Curry leaves - a sprig

METHOD:

For the urundais (balls):
Soak toor dhal and red chillies in water for 1 hour. Drain the water completely and grind to a coarse paste alongwith salt. Heat oil, add this paste and saute well till the colour changes and well cooked. Alternatively, you can steam in idli plates for 10 minutes. 
When cool, shape into small balls. Keep aside.

For the rasam:
Grind tomato to puree. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water and extract juice from it. In a deep vessel, add pureed tomato, tamarind extract, salt, and hing.  When it boils,
 add rasam powderAllow it to boil till the raw smell is diffused.  Now add 3 1/2 cups of water. When it is slightly hot, "simmer the stove" and add the balls (koftas) one by one gently. Now, cook in "medium flame" till the balls float on top ( approx. 6-7 minutes).

Transfer to a serving dish and temper with the given ingredients. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.  

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

PALAKKOTTAI (JACKFRUIT SEED) KUZHAMBU

JACKFRUIT SEED KUZHAMBU,PALAKKOTTAI KUZHAMBU,IYENGAR CUISINE,

INGREDIENTS:

Jackfruit seeds - 10

Tamarind - a lemon sized ball
Sambhar powder 
- 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida(hing)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp.
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Salt - as per taste
Curry leaves - few

METHOD:


Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp. Keep aside.

Crush the jackfruit seeds slightly using a stone crusher, de-skin and pressure cook alongwith water for two whistles. Drain the water.  Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add urad dhal.  When  it turns golden brown, add methi seeds, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric powder, and curry leaves .  Now add the cooked jackfruit seeds, sambhar powder
and slightly saute it being careful not to burn it. Immediately pour in the tamarind extract alongwith salt. Allow it to boil till thick.

Palakkottai kozhambu is ready to serve with rice and goes well poricha appalam.


NOTE:  The seeds can be de-skinned easily after crushing the seeds. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

THENGAI (COCONUT) BURFI - KARTHIGAI - A FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS


HAPPY KARTHIGAI TO ALL
For all karthigai recipes click on the captions of the pictures towards the end of this post. Now the thengai burfi...


INGREDIENTS:

Coconut - 1 big (soft scraps)

Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tablespoons
Cashew - 10 broken to pieces

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp.

METHOD:

Scrap only the white portion of the coconut. Ensure soft scraping. Do not scrap the brown skin.

In a  heavy bottomed pan, add a ladle of water and sugar.  Make a sugar syrup of 1 thread consistency. Add scraped coconut and stir continuously. When the mixture leaves the sides and has white froths all over, add ghee, broken cashew pieces, cardamom powder and mix well. Spread on a greased tray evenly and cut into desired shapes.