Thakali Kurma / Tomato curry in coconut based spicy gravy

Before marriage, my mom doesn't make any kurma varieties as my dad doesn't eat garlic, cinnamon or any of the whole spices. So my mom never tried any recipes which requires whole spices as a major ingredient. In a way even i am not used to a strong flavor of cinnamon or garlic.

Story changed after my marriage and my hubby loves the flavor of cinnamon / garlic and other spices. Though he likes chutney and sambar varieties as well, his preference goes to these kurma varieties only. Though i have tried various versions of kurma, i didnt get the perfect taste and flavor for a very long time. 

After researching many websites, getting the recipes from many of my friends and doing lots of trial and errors, i have finally ended with this recipe, which goes very well in my family now. This kurma is a very good accompaniment for Idiyappam, appam, idly, dosa, chapathi.....

On the health aspects, tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, biotin, molybdenum, and vitamin K. They are also a very good source of copper, potassium, manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin B6, folate, niacin, vitamin E, and phosphorus. On the other hand coconut has its own health benefits. Its unique combination of fatty acids can have profound positive effects on health. This includes fat loss, better brain function and various other amazing benefits other than offering exotic flavor to the dish.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes - 4 (cut into small cubes)

Onion - 1 (cut into small cubes)

Turmeric powder - a pinch

chilly powder - 1 tsp or adjust according to taste

corriander powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as required

For seasoning:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cinnamon stick - a small piece

cloves - 2

curry leaves - 1 twig

For grinding:

Coconut - 4 to 5 thin slices

green chilly - 1 or 2 (adjust as per taste)

garlic - 2 pods

ginger - a small piece (half as that of garlic)

Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

Cashew - 4 or 5

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds to it. Once the mustard splutter, add the whole spices and then onion and curry leaves. Add salt as required. Saute them for a while till onion turns translucent. 

2. Now add the tomato pieces and saute the tomato again with onion.

3. Add the dry powders now and lower the flame. Let the tomato get cooked in the spice powders now.

4. Now add the ground coconut paste to the mix. Adjust the consistency of the kurma if its too thick.

5.  Let the kurma get cooked for few mins.

6. Once the correct consistency is reached, switch off the flame and transfer the kurma to a serving bowl. Sprinkle finely cut corriander leaves on top of it.

7. Serve hot with Idiyappam/Appam/idly/dosa. 

Tips:

1. Sambar powder can be used instead of chilly powder and corriander powder.

2. Cashew can be replaced by fried gram when grinding coconut. Cashews give a richness to the dish, but it is completely optional.

3. Instead of whole spices used during seasoning, a tsp of garam masala can be used when dry powders are added.

Beetroot Keerai paruppu kadaisal / Beetroot greens with mashed dal

When i was small i always like to work with beetroot due to its vibrant color. The way i eat beetroot recipes outside is completely different from how my mom makes beetroot poriyal. She cooks it till soft and season it with pepper powder, such a divine taste of the sweetness of beetroot blended with the hot hot pepper makes it so nice to eat. But other than that, my mom doesn't make any dish with beetroot.

I came to know about this recipe, when i start wondering why are they selling beetroots with their greens in Australian markets when we are just going to throw away the greens as i was not aware of the health benefits of the same that time. It was during that period, i understood that beetroot greens are edible and can be cooked in the same way as other green varieties.

Health benefits of beet greens: http://foodfacts.mercola.com/beet-greens.html

Since then, whenever i see fresh beetroot greens, i immediately grab them . Nowadays am making sure i prepare this recipe once in every fortnight. I feed this one to my kids with hot steamy rice and a spoon of ghee...wow, what a yummy taste ....!!!!!

Instructions:

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 7 mins

Ingredients needed:

1 bunch of beetroot greens
Toor dal + moong dal - 1/4 cup
Green chilly - 1 (adjust as per taste)
Garlic pods - 3
Salt

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Leave the hardest part of the greens and chop the remaining ones.

2. In a saucepan, add the chopped greens, slit green chilly and garlic pods. Add very little water till 1/4th level of the contents of the saucepan and cook it.

3. In about 5 mins the greens would be cooked. 

4. Remove it from the stove and allow it to cool.

5. Meanwhile, pressure cook the dal till soft and mash it till mushy.

6. Once the cooked greens is cooled down,mash the greens nicely with a masher. Do not blend or grind it with mixie.

7. Now add the dal and mix both well and add required salt. At this stage if the consistency is fine such that its neither too thick nor too watery, then no need to cook it again. If its too thick, add little water to adjust and if its too watery, cook for some more time till the consistency is fine.

8. Now season the kadaisal with mustard seeds, urad dal and hing.

Mix it nicely and serve it hot with steamy rice and some ghee.

Some do's and dont's when cooking greens:

1. Do not pressure cook the greens as the vital things in the greens are lost when it is pressure cooked.

2. Moong dal alone goes very well with greens and its healthy too.But Toor dal can also be used when moong dal is not available or a combination of both.

3. Always mash the greens with a hand masher and never grind it or blend it with a mixie. Greens are best enjoyed when they are coarse and not a fine and smooth paste and the iron content of the greens are intact when they are hand mashed.

4. Do not cook the greens with lot of water and later discard it as the cooked water is really healthy. Its enough to cook it with very less water and completely utilize the water without throwing it.

5. Though i am not sure on this point, i stopped cooking greens with tomatoes as i heard its not good to cook them together. 

Mushroom Masala

I have never been a lover of Mushroom as my parents dont prefer it and so we haven't used it before marriage. After marriage also, though my dear hubby love eating mushroom, i didnt have the guts to try it out due to its flavor. So he generally eats sauteed mushroom while i take all the other veggies except it. My close buddy Saipriya was the one who introduced me to this awesome dish, which i could comfortably eat without having a thought that its the mushroom. Now i make this one often and make my kids also eat it joyfully. yayyyyyy !!!

Thank you Sai :)

Here goes the recipe:

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 4

Items required:

Mushroom - 200 gm
Capsicum - 100 gm
Onion - 1 big sized
Tomato - 3 medium sized
Ginger garlic page - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - as per taste
whole spices
Salt
Oil

Preparatory steps:

1. Cut mushroom, capsicum to small cubes.
2. Cut onion into thin slices
3. Blanch tomatoes , peel the skin and grind it into smooth paste

Cooking instructions:

Step 1: Heat little bit of oil in a kadai and saute the mushroom with salt and pepper powder. Add slit green chillies if you like it hot. Keep it aside.

Step 2: In the same kadai, now saute the capsicum with little oil and salt. Make sure its not over cooked as it needs to be crunchy. Keep it aside.

Step 3: In the same kadai, add little bit of oil and saute the onion with the whole spices. Once the onion turns golden brown, allow them to cool. Keep it aside.

Step 4: Once the sauteed onion is cooled down, grind it to a smooth paste.

Step 5: Heat the kadai again and add 3 tbsp of oil. Add the ginger garlic paste and the ground onion paste and keep mixing it till the oil separates.

Step 6: Now add the tomato paste, chilly powder, garam masala, dhaniya powder and salt and allow it to cook for few minutes.

Step 7: Now add the sauteed mushroom and capsicum and adjust water to make sure the gravy neither too thick nor too watery. Let it cook for 2 mins.

Step 8: Add crushed kasoori methi and switch off the flame.

Yummy yummy mushroom masala is ready to be served. It can be served with Rotis or Jeera rice as an awesome meal.

Enjoy and happy cooking !!! :)

Aviyal

Aviyal is the kind of vegetable mix which is made with coconut based gravy and seasoned with coconut oil. The flavour of coconut and coconut oil makes it different from the other types of kootu varieties. This dish mainly comes from Kerala. In Tamilnadu, aviyal is preferred to be taken as a side dish for Adai. This is also considered to be one of the special recipes to be made on occasions.

Here goes the recipe:

Required:

Vegetable mix - 1 bowl (Beans, carrot, plantain, potato, drumstick, pumpkin)
Salt - according to taste
turmeric powder - a pinch
Curd - 1/4 cup

For seasoning :

Coconut oil - 2 tablespoon
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 stick

For grinding:

Coconut - 1 cup (grated)
green chilly - 2 (change according to taste. Here i added red chillies as i didnt have green chillies in stock and so you can see aviyal in red colour. Preferred is green chillies)
rice - 1 tsp
fried gram - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash all the vegetables. Keep a pan in the stove, add the vegetables and some amount of water for the vegetables to cook. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and half amount of salt. (remaining salt needs to be added at the end after the coconut paste is added)

2. Grind all the items (given under grinding section) to a smooth paste and keep it aside.

3. Once all the vegetables are cooked, strain the remaining water and mix the ground paste to it. Make the mix to a 'not so thick' consistency. Add the remaining salt to it and keep it in the stove. Let the paste gets cooked with the veg.

4. Beat the curd to make sure no lumps are found. Pour the curd to the aviyal smoothly and switch off the flame immediately. Mix them gently.

5. In another stove keep the seasoning pan. Add coconut oil to it. Once oil is heated, add the mustard seeds to it. Once they start to splutter, add curry leaves to it.Add seasoning to the cooked aviyal.

Serve hot with rice or adai.

Cabbage Poriyal

Cabbage is one of the vegetable which will be present in my kitchen 99% of time. All of us love this very simple curry which is very easy and quick side dish that can be made. Also it has lots of medicinal qualities and so minimum once a week we prepare this curry at home.

Items required:

Cabbage - Cut into thin and lengthy pieces
Chilly - 1 no, slit into 2 half.
Curry leaves
Coconut - grated
Oil, Mustard seeds and Jeera - for seasoning
Salt - as required.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds and jeera to it.Once the mustard starts to splutter, add the cabbage, chilly and curry leaves to the kadai and saute them well. Add little amount of water, salt as required, mix them nicely and cover it with a lid.

Note: For people who love a colourful poriyal, a pinch of turmeric can be added at this point of time.

After few mins, once all the water is absorbed, add the grated coconut and mix it with the poriyal. Switch off the flame and transfer the contents to another container.

This poriyal goes very well with any south indian sambar and rasam. The same way beans poriyal can also be made.

Variation: Chopped onions can be added to the poriyal for added taste and flavour.

Try this and provide your valuable comments :)

Manathakkali paruppu masiyal / 'Solanum nigrum' in dhal gravy

We have a small garden in our balcony. One day we were surprised to see the manathakkali plant coming on its own. We just left it as it is to become little bigger and then we use it to prepare this masiyal. I love this kind of preparation of green-leaves and will never miss preparing this. I heard my mom saying, this heals the ulcer.

Items required:

Manathakali leaves - 1 bunch. Clean it nicely and cut into thin pieces
Tomato - 1, cut into small pieces
Moong Dhal / Paasi Paruppu - 4 tablespoon
green chilly  - 2 nos, slit into 2 halves.
Mustard seeds, Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Hing / perungayam - a pinch
Salt
Oil for seasoning

Method:

Put the cut manathakkali leaves, moong dhal, tomato pieces, chilly in a pressure cooker and add required amount of water. Close the lid and pressure cook it for 6 whistles.

Once the steam is completely gone, open the lid and make sure no excess water is present. (you would be wondering about the toor dhal in the picture. Thats the remaining of the dhal i cooked for paruppu rasam, which i added to it too)

Heat oil in a kadai and add red chilly and mustard seeds to it. Once they start to split, add a pinch of hing and Jeera to it. Add the cooked manathakkali-dhal mix to the kadai. Add required amount of salt and turmeric powder to it.

Let all of these cook for few mins till the water is absorbed and the required consistency is reached. Switch off the flame and transfer it to a container.

This goes very well with hot rice with a spoon of ghee and papadams :) Try it and provide your valuable comments.

Potato Onion Curry / Urulai kizhangu vengayam poriyal

                                     

This is one of my very fav curry and i love it with rasam rice. Potato always comes handy when there are no vegetables are available on that day. A not so complicated vegetable, with which lot of tasty items can be made quickly.

Items required:

Potato - 4 medium sized. Boiled and peeled, cut into equal sizes.
Onion - 1 medium sized, cut into thin slices.
Green chily - 2, slit into 2.
Curry leaves
Salt, turmeric powder, oil - As required.
Mustard seeds and cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they start to splutter, add the cumin seeds.After few seconds, add the cut onion, chilly and curry leaves to it and start stir frying them for few mins, till the onion becomes golden brown in colour.

Now add the cut potatoes and mix all of them slightly. Take care not to mix too much as the potatoes can break. Now add required amount of salt and turmeric powder and mix everything. Add a teaspoon of oil and keep the stove in low flame for few mins.

Remove the curry from kadai and serve hot with rice.

Try it and provide your valuable comments :)

Cauliflower curry - a 2 minute curry

We dont eat cauliflower in my mom's place. After i got married, i started using cauliflower in little amounts, mostly in Veg pulav or kurma. I always feel there should be a very simple recipe with this vegetable and i thought of preparing curry for my kids one day for dinner.

Thank GOD, it was accepted by my kids very well and after finishing, i got a question,'amma what veg is that, its yummy'....yeeeeaaaahhhhh.....what can be more happier than this for a mother....

Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets - have small florets cleaned and boiled.
Onion - as needed.
Tomato - as needed
Salt, chilly powder - little
Garam masala/Ginger-garlic paste - as per one's wish, if the curry needs to be spicy

Method:

Make small florets and with a pinch of turmeric, boil it for sometime or keep in cooker for 4 whistles. Strain the water and make sure no worms are present.

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.

Now add the tomatoes and the boiled cauliflower to the kadai and mix them well in medium flame. Sprinkle little salt and chilly powder. Add half a teaspoon of oil and keep in low flame.

Once the raw smell of the chilly powder is gone, switch off the gas and transfer to another container for serving.

Variation: For those who like the flavor of ginger/garlic/garam masala, can add them to this recipe for a different taste. When frying onion, add the ginger-garlic paste also to it and fry it in the oil till it mixes with the onion nicely. Finally along with chilly powder little bit of garam masala can be added.

This recipe hardly took me 2 mins to finish leaving the boiling time of cauliflower.I boiled the cauliflower florets when i cooked rice in the cooker.

Try it and provide your comments. :)

Potato Capsicum Masala

This is one more out of my creativity (hihihi) I used to watch my north indian friends bring this one for their lunch. The dish looks so impressive that one day i started making it myself assuming the ingredients. Thank GOD! it came out well and went on very well with Chapathis :) One more good thing about this is, we could eat capsicum in the form of poriyal too apart from adding it to the sambar.

Items Required:

Potato - 2 nos.
Capsicum - 1 big no.
Onion - 1 big no.
Garam Masala - little
Chilly Powder - little

Method:

Cut the vegetables in cube shapes. Let the pieces be not too small neither too big. Now heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds and jeera. Now add the onions and ginger garlic paste and fry it well. Once the onion turns to golden brown colour, add the potato pieces. Simmer the flame and saute the mix nicely and leave it. Keep checking if the potato is getting cooked. Once 80% of the potato is cooked, add the capsicum pieces to the mix and add a pinch of turmeric powder and required amount of salt. Do not cook the vegetables with water. Let it get cooked in the oil itself. Now add required amount of chilly powder and garam masala and a teaspoon of oil and mix the masala well. Remove from flame after 5 mins.

This goes very well with Chapathi. Ladies finger can also be added to this recipe. But for that the ladies finger pieces have to be deep fried first and then it should be added to the above recipe.

Do try this and let me know your comments :)

Potato Dry peas Kurma

I didnt know this tasty kurma till my marriage. My sister in law makes this and it goes very well with Idly and Dosa :) The recipe is not very hard to make. Please try it and let me know your comments.

Items required:
Potato - 3 big sized. Cooked and mashed (not so much. The potato pieces have to be seen)
Dry Peas - 1 cup. Soak in water for 8 hrs and cooked in single whistle.
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Aniseed (perunjeeragam)

For gravy:
Ginger - small piece
garlic - 5 pods
Green chillies - 3
Coconut pieces - 3
Cinnamon - a small piece
Cloves - 1 piece
Onion - 1 big or 2 small ones
Tomato - 1 big or 2 small ones
Dania seeds - 2 tablespoon.

Method:

Dry fry the dania seeds in a kadai and the gravy items along with dania has to be grind well. Now Heat oil in a kadai and add aniseeds. Now add the cooked dry peas and potato pieces and fry for a min. Add the grind gravy, turmeric powder and salt and add little amount of water and leave it in the flame for 5 mins. If required add a slit green chilly. Once the raw smell of the gravy is gone, remove from fire.

Garnish with corriander leaves. Try it and let me know your comments.

I'm posting this recipe for Suma's 'Delicios Dals' From India event.

Methi leaves (Vendiya keerai) kootu

From my young age, I have never tried to eat this keerai variety due to its bitter taste. During my pregnency, my mom used to prepare this atleast once a week and for the sake of my baby i started having it. It tasted great and i loved this one with the combination of curd rice.

Items required:

Methi leaves - washed and cleaned
Toor dhal - cooked and mashed nicely
oil, mustard seeds, urad dhal and channa dhal for seasoning
salt

For gravy:
coconut
jeera
black pepper
pottukadalai (roasted gram)
green chilly/red chilly

Method: Grind the items given for gravy and keep it aside. Now heat oil in a kadai and do the seasoning. Now add the methi leaves and mix it with the tadka. Once the leaves are cooked, add the cooked toor dhal and the gravy mix to the kadai. Add enough water so that the methi, dhal and the gravy mix together nicely and let it not be too thick. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and required salt and mix them well. Let the kootu boil nicely for sometime till the mix comes together and the water is no seperate.

Remove from flame. This goes very well with south indian meals and is a great combination for curd rice.

Tips: Do not cut the methi leaves as the bitterness increases when the methi leaves are cut. Try this and let me know your comments :))