Lemon Pickle

This pickle is very easy to make.

It is made with elongated yellow lemon which used to be called as 'gal gal' by my mother.

Ingredients:

1. lemons 3
2. Green Chillies 4 or 5
3. Ginger 1 small piece
4. Red Chilli powder 4 t spoons
5. Oil 2 t spoons
6. Mustard seeds 1 t spoon
7. Turmeric powder 1 t spoon
8. Asafotida ( Perungayam) powder little
9. Salt 2 table spoons.

Method:

Boil the lemons in Water. Take a Big Vessel full of water and put the lemons in them and boil it for 10 minutes.

Remove the lemons from water and cut into small pieces removing the seeds from it. Now this is a tough job as the lemons will be very soft and the juice will be spilling while you cut the boiled lemons.

Take a 'Kadai' or Iluppachatti and add the oil.

Put the mustard seeds.

When it splutters, add the chilies and ginger which are to be cut into very small bits.

Add the cut lemons, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder and the asafotida powder.

Stir it well. Add one or two table spoon of water and let the pickle boil well.

Switch off the stove.

The pickle is ready and this should be kept in the Refrigerator.

This is an instant pickle and can be used immediately after making it.

To enhance the taste, fenugrin (venthiyam or methi seeds) should be fried in a dry 'kadai' till light brown and powdered and added to the pickle.

Avial

' Avial' is a dish prepared with vegetables and can be eaten with cooked rice. Very easy to prepare.

Ingredients.

1. Raw Banana (Valaikkai) one
2. Ash gourd little portion (Pooshani kkai, )
3. Pumpkin (Parangikkai) little portion
4. Beans few
5. Carrot half
6. Squash (Bangalore Katharikkai) half
7. Potato one small
8. Drumstick (Murungai kkai) one
9. Cumin seeds (jeera) 1 table spoon
10. Green chillies 4 or 5
11. Grated Coconut 3 to 4 table spoons
12. Yogurt (Thayir) one cup.
13. Salt to taste.
14. Fresh coconut oil or ghee (optional)
15. Curry leaves (if available) few

Method:

Cut all the vegetables into square 1 inch pieces, murungai kaai into 3 inch length pieces.

Some other vegetables like egg plant (katharikkai), peas (pattani) and yam (senai kilangu) can also be added.

Be careful when you cut the Senai kilangu. just wash it and put it with other vegetables without touching it with hand as it might cause itching.

Normally Valakkai, pooshani and parangikkai are the main ingredients and you can add other vegetables depending on the availability.

Grind the coconut, jeera and green chillies into a paste. add the yogurt and keep aside.

Cook all the vegetables with very little water and salt. It can be pressure cooked but stove has to be switched off once the pressure is set in, so that the vegetables are not over cooked.

Add the paste with curd and bring the vegetable to a boil mixing it well.

Add a spoon full of coconut oil or ghee, the curry leaves cleaned and soaked in the oil. just switch off the stove and the 'Avial' is ready. Garnishing with mustard seeds is not done for this dish.

Use chillies according to your taste. I always add a little turmeric powder while cooking the Vegetables.  Hence My Avial looks a little yellow.  It is optional.
I add ghee when fresh coconut oil is not available.

Stuffed Egg Plant with Gravy

This is a very tasty dish eater with Chapathi.
You need very small brinjal/eggplant/baingan for this.

Ingredients:

1. Small eggplants 1/2 KG.
2. Channa Dhal 1 t spoon
3. Coriander seeds/dhaniya 1 t spoon
4. Sesame seeds/ellu/til 1 t spoon.(this is optional but adds to taste)
5. urad dal 1 t spoon
6. red chillies 4 or 5
7. jeera 1 t spoon
8. tamarind one small bit or paste 1/4 t spoon
9. jaggery/vellam a small bit (optional)
10. Grated coconut 2 table spoon.
11. Asafotida powder
12. oil 1 and 1/2 table spoons.
13. mustard seeds
14. turmeric powder/haldi little
15. salt to taste

Cut the crown of the eggplant and make a cross cut without cutting the whole vegetable so that you can stuff the paste into it. Keep it aside

Fry channa dhal, urad dhal, coriander seeds, red chillies, sesame seeds, jeera , asafotida in little oil. once the dals turn brown add the coconut and fry for some more time. Add the tamarind, Jaggery, and salt and then Grind this into a fine paste.
Stuff this into the eggplant.
Take a kadai. Add the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds. once it splutters add the stuffed eggplant and also turmeric powder. What ever paste is remaining add this into the kadai as this forms the gravy. Add little water and Cover the 'kadai' with a lid. Keep it in a low fire and keep turning it often. If it becomes dry add little more water. When the eggplants are cooked well remove from fire.


For a little variation,  Fry one medium size onion cut into small pieces and once it turns light  brown add one medium size tomato cut into small pieces.  Fry till tomatoes are soft and grind it along with the other masalas into paste and stuff this into the small egg plants and cook the  same way.

Bisi Bela Bath

This is a Karnataka (kannada) dish which is eaten as a dish which is a mixture of rice, and dal with vegetables.

Ingredients:

1. Rice 1 cup
2. Tur Dal 3/4 cup
3. Vegetables *
4. Tamarind if paste 1 and half table spoon, otherwise take a lemon sized ball of tamarind
5. salt to taste.
6. oil for garnishing and frying
7. Ghee about 2 to 4 t spoons.
8. ground nuts about 2 to 3 table spoons.
9. mustard seeds , channa dal for garnishing and curry leaves for garnishing.

* Vegetables to use are ash gourd (Vella pooshanikkai) a small bit, bangalore kattarikkai half or one (squash), Beans 50 gms , Capsicum 1/2 , Carrots medium sized one. peas 100 gms. tomatoes 2 medium sized.

The above vegetables which ever is available can be used, but potato and onion, okra (ladies finger) , egg plants are normally not used. If drumsticks are available they can also be used.

For the bisi bela bath Masala.

1. channa dal 1 and 1/2 t spoons
2. coriander seeds 2 t spoons
3. urad dal 1 t spoon
4. red dried chillies 8 or 9
5. 1 small bit of cinnamon stick
6. jeera 1 t spoon
7. black pepper few seeds.
8. asafotida a small bit or 1/2 t spoon powder
9. copra or dried coconut grated 3 to 4 table spoon
10. oil for frying the ingredients

Method:

Fry grated coconut till light brown in a 'kadai' or a thick bottomed pan. keep aside.

with half t spoon of oil fry all the ingredients mentioned till the urad dal, and channa dal becomes golden brown.

grind the masala including the fried coconut into a powder. now add one cut tomato and grind this into a paste and keep it aside.

soak the tur dal for an hour or so and then cook the dal in a pressure cooker. keep aside.

cook the rice in the pressure cooker. keep aside.

cut the vegetables into small square pieces.

In a kadai pour little oil and fry the ground nuts and soak the fried ground nuts in water .keep aside.

In the same kadai pour 1 t spoon of oil, put mustard seeds and once it splutters add the curry leaves and then add the cut capsicum. fry a little bit and add all the other vegetables and fry for few minutes. Remove from kadai. (for taste one green chilli can also be fried along with capsicum)

Put the fried vegetables in the pressure cooker and add the tamarind paste mixed with 1/2 cup of water. (if tamarind is used take out the juice from the tamarind. For this it has to be soaked in hot water before you start the cooking process.)

add salt.

add the soaked ground nuts and cut and add one tomato.

pressure cook this.

Mixing:

Take a thick bottomed big vessel keep on the stove, add the cooked rice, cooked dal, the boiled vegetables, the ground masala paste and mix it well. In another kadai take 2 table spoons of oil and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add 1 or 2 t spoons of channa dal and once brown pour this over the mixed rice . add the ghee also and mix well. once the whole rice is thoroughly mixed with vegetables and dal switch off the stove and serve hot.

Milagu Kulambu

This is good for your stomach if taken with rice once a month or so.

Ingredients:

1. Black pepper/Milagu 1 Table Spoon.
2. Red Chillies/Milagai vattal 3 or 4
3. Urad Dal 1 Table spoon
4. Channa Dal 1 T spoon
5. Coriander seeds/dhaniya 1 T spoon
6. Tamarind/Puli size of a lemon/if paste use 1 and 1/2 Table spoon.
7. Asafotida/Hing small bit/1/2 T spoon powder
8. Jeera 1 T spoon
9. Oil 1 Table spoon
   
10. Curry leaves 2 hand full
11. Salt to taste
12. mustard seeds little
    

Soak Tamarind in hot water and take the (thick) tamarind juice . If paste add little water and keep aside.
Fry all the above ingredients ( blackpepper, jeera, urad dal, channa dal, dhaniya, red chillies, asafotida ) in a thick bottomed vessel with little oil. When urad dal turns brown add the curry leaves and fry for some more time.
Grind the fried items into a paste adding little water.
Keep the kadai/thick bottomed vessel on the stove and add oil and put mustard seeds. Once it splutters add the paste and turn it over a little. Add the tamarind water and salt to taste. Stir well. Let the mixture boil well and once it is thick and in the right consistency of 'milagu kulambu' remove from stove.

This can be kept for 2 / 3 days even in normal temperature. it will not get spoil t. If kept in Fridge can be used for longer period.

Coriander chutney/Kothamalli Thuvayal

This dish can be eaten mixed with cooked rice and can also be eaten as side dish with any Indian Breads.(Chapathi etc).

1. Ingredients:

1. Coriander a few bunches
   
2. Urad Dal 1 table spoon
3. Red dried chillies 2
   
4. Channa Dal 1 t spoon
   
5. Tamarind a very small bit, if paste very little
6. Asafotida powder 1/2 t spoon (optional)
7. Salt to taste
8. Cooking oil 1 t spoon

Fry the dals and chillies and asafotida in a 'Kadai' or a thick bottomed pan till brown. Add the tamarind and salt and mix and keep this separate. In the same Kadai put the cut and cleaned coriander leaves and turn around with a ladle for a few minutes. Switch off the stove.
Grind the dals in a mixer/blender and it will become powder. Now add the coriander leaves and grind it into a thick paste adding very little water. Once the paste is smooth remove and keep it in a bowl the chutney is ready.
Second Method.
This also can be done in a different way using fresh green chillies and fresh coconut.
Method is same. Fry the dals without the red chillies (not needed for this method)
Remove the fried dals and put the coriander leaves in the 'kadai' and also 2 green chillies and fry for few minutes. While grinding , after the dals are powdered add the coriander leaves, green chillies and also fresh grated cocnut about 2 table spoons.
once it is ground to a paste the chutney is ready.

'Adai'

Adai is another South Indian Tamil dish which is exclusively prepared by Tamil people.
It is also made like a Dosa on a Hot Plate or Dosai Kallu. This is much more healthier as lots of lentils are used in this dish.
Ingredients:

1. Raw Rice 1/2 cup
2. boiled idli rice 1/2 cup (alternately one cup of raw rice can also be used)
3. urad dal 1/3rd cup
4. channa dal 1/3 cup
5. tur dal 1/3 cup
6. black small chick peas a hand ful
7. green chillies 2 or 3
8. red chillies 3 to 4
9. ginger a small bit
10. Asafotida /perungayam little
11. salt to taste (approximately 1 and 1/2 t spoons )
12. curry leaves and coriander leaves
13. one onion cut into small bits.(optional)
14. 1 to 2 table spoons of grated coconut (optional)
15. oil for making the adai on the hotplate.

Method:

• Soak the rice and the three dals together for 4 to 5 hours

• Soak the chick peas separately for 4 to 5 hours.

• Grind the drained chick peas with chillies, ginger, asafotida, salt into a nice paste in the mixer.

• Drain the water from the dals and add this on top of the paste into the mixer and grind it into a little coarse batter. (If you want smoother 'adai' you can grind this also into a smooth batter.

• Cut the coriander and curry leaves and mix it thouroughlly with the batter.
• Add the grated coconut and mix it well.
• Use the batter to make adai immediately or keep the batter inside the fridge so as to take it out when ever you want to make adai, as this batter should not be kept outside for raising like dosa batter.

• Onion should be cut into very small pieces and added to the batter just before making the adai.

• Heat the dosai kallu very well and make the adai adding oil around the adai and this should be done on a medium flame and wait till the adai becomes golden brown and then turn it around.
• Unlike dosa the adai takes a little longer time to get crisp.

• Eat it with ' sambhar' or 'vellam' (jaggery).

• Adai aviyal is a famous dish in the South Indian Restaurants but some how I don't like the combination of adai with avial
• A little butter on top of the hot adai will add to the taste very much but watch your weight!!