Tomato Garlic Paruppu Rasam

       Rasam is  a south Indian spiced soup and is an important item in south Indian meals.  It has pepper , coriander seeds, chili, tamarind and essential spices that helps improve your digestion and also a very comforting dish, when taken during cold or stuffy nose. 

      Usually rasam is made using rasam powder. This time , I made a special rasam called dal rasam (paruppu rasam) which is made using spice powder prepared on that moment and added to the dish. This rasam will be more flavorful and tasty than regular rasam, because ,all the spices are dry roasted and freshly grounded to give a nice aroma and taste ! 

Preparation Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Serves - 2 to 3 people

INGREDIENTS:

FOR DRY ROAST AND GRIND:

coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon

cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 3 no.s

Few curry leaves

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds -1/2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - few

Asafoetida powder - a pinch

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s 

Garlic cloves - 3 to 4 no.s

Tamarind extract - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Tomato - 1 medium size, chopped fine

Toor dal - 1/4 cup 

Coriander leaves - For garnishing

METHOD:

1. In a pressure cooker, cook 1/4 cup of toor dal and mash them well and add some water .

2. In a pan, add the items mentioned in the "dry roast and grind" section, dry roast until nice aroma comes. Allow them to cool down and grind them to a fine powder. This will be like a rasam powder.

3.  In a pan, add some ghee.  Add mustard, cumin seeds, dry red chilli , asafoetida powder. Also add some curry leaves, garlic cloves.

4. Now add the spice powder which you prepared in step 2 and sauté, till it turns aromatic. 

5. Now add 1 cup of tamarind extract water, chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt. Cover with lid and let it boil for 10 minutes. 

6. Now, add mashed toor dal and required water to your desired consistency. When it starts to boil and turn frothy as shown in below picture, add chopped coriander leaves. Do not let the rasam  boil for too long after adding toor dal . Tomato garlic paruppu rasam is ready. Serve with hot rice and some curry ! 

Arisi Paruppu Saadham(Masala Dal Rice)

 Today I would like to share a famous recipe which is very popular in Coimbatore. Arisi paruppu saadham, a one pot dish made with rice, lentils and spices . I happened to know about this dish through my friend Pavithra, who is from Ooty. It was absolutely delicious and quite easy to make for lunch. 

INGREDIENTS:

Parboiled Rice - 1 cup

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup

Water  - 2 cups

Sesame or gingely oil - 3 tablespoon

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry Leaves - a bunch

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s

Onions - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Tomato - 2 medium sized chopped fine

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Sambar powder - 1 teaspoon

Ghee - 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

1. Soak parboiled rice and Toor dal for about 30 to 45 minutes.

2. Chop tomatoes, onion and garlic into fine pieces.

3.  In a pressure cooker ,add sesame or gingely oil.  Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and dry red chilli . Now add garlic and fry till they change color.

4. Now add chopped onion and fry till they change colour. 

5. Now add chopped tomatoes . add turmeric powder, salt and sambar powder. For this recipe, store bought sambar powder tastes better. Fry, till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

6. Now add 2 cups of water . Also add soaked and drained  rice and toor dal . 

7. When it starts to boil, cover with lid. Cook for 3 whistles on medium flame. Switch off the stove. Let the pressure settle by itself. Arisi paruppu saadham is ready .

8. Serve with any dry curry of your choice !

Potato Poori

 Poori is a deep fried dish made using whole wheat flour. Dough is made with whole wheat flour, flattened using roller pin and deep fried in oil. Today I added some spices, boiled potatoes to the dough and  made potato pooris. They were absolutely delicious and very filling. This dish is specially liked by kids a lot !! .

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Yields: 15 to 16 poori

INGREDIENTS:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

 Potato - 1 large sized

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Salt - as required

Coriander leaves - a bunch

Oil - 2 tablespoon 

Oil for deep frying

METHOD:

1. In a bowl, add water and some salt. Add potato and allow it to boil for 10 minutes, till it get soft.  Alternatively, you can also pressure cook the potato.

2. Peel of the skin of the potato. Mash them well with a masher or with ladle. Mash them well, so that there isnt any big lumps. Now add whole wheat flour, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander leaves, salt and oil. Sprinkle just 1 to 2 tablespoon of water , to make a soft dough. Do not add more water, as the dough turns too soft and difficult to make pooris. Also spread some oil on the top of  dough and keep it covered for 5 minutes. 

3. Take lemon sized dough, sprinkle some wheat flour and flatten the dough using roller pin. 

4. Deep fry them in oil, till they fluff up. The oil should be hot enough for the pooris to fluff up. Once you put the pooris inside, slightly press them using a perforated ladle, so that they fluff up well. 

5. Serve with any curry or gravy of your choice !

Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is an "Mumbai" based  popular snack/tiffin item. "Bhaji" means thick vegetable curry in which veggies are  cooked and mashed. Also spices are added to give it a nice flavor. Usually this "bhaji" is eaten along with  Pav ( mini round buns) and it is a very tasty snack or tiffin !... 

This time, instead of Pav,  I used whole wheat bread to make it more healthy . Do try it and leave your comments !

INGREDIENTS:

Potato - 2 medium sized

Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Cauliflower- 1 cup

Carrot - 1/2 cup

Beans - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 cup chopped 

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 teaspoon

Green chilli - 1

Tomatoes - 1 medium sized

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Pavbhaji masala - 1 tablespoon

Kasturi methi or Dried fenugreek leaves - 1 teaspoon

Coriander leaves- for garnishing

Butter- 1 tablespoon

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Lemon Juice - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. In a pressure cooker, add  carrot, potato, cauliflower, green peas, beans . Add 1 1/2 cups of water and cook until they are soft and tender. I kept in high flame for 1 whistle, and then in simmer mode for 10 minutes.

2. In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Add ginger garlic paste and 1 green chilli. Then add onions and fry till they turn translucent.

3. Now add tomatoes and fry, till they turn soft and mushy. 

4. Now add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder and pav bhaji masala, and fry for a minute or two, until the raw smell is gone.

5. Now add the boiled and mashed veggies.

6. Add some water, to bring to a gravy consistency. Do not add too much water.

7. Cook for 3 minutes, till the mixture thickens.

8. Now garnish with kasturi methi and coriander leaves. Switch off the stove and add some lemon juice.

9. Serve the bhaji with pav or any bread of your choice ! 

Kaju Katli/Cashew Barfi

 Kaju katli is a dessert made of cashews , sugar . Sugar syrup boiled to a certain consistency and cashew powder is mixed to that , to form barfis. 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Yields: 30 no.s of barfis.

INGREDIENTS:

( cup - 240 ml)

Cashews -  2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Dry roast cashew just for 2 to 3 minutes, still they are slightly hot to touch. It helps the cashews to get grinded to a fine powder.

2. Now grind them in a mixer,  to a fine powder. Do not grind all cashews at once. Grind in batches. Also, use "pulse mode" to grind the cashews. Do not grind for long time, because cashew will let out oil and the powder turns sticky. Use pulse mode and grind little by little to a fine powder. Also, sieve the powder to remove if there is any big pieces. The cashew powder should be smooth. 

3. In a pan, add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well , for the sugar to dissolve. When it starts to boil, and in exactly 5 to 6 minutes, you get one string consistency of the sugar syrup. You can take some sugar syrup from the ladle, when you touch the syrup with two fingers , and pull apart your fingers , you get one string. That will be the ideal consistency. 

4. Now add the cashew powder. Do not add all the powder at once. Add little by little, and keep stirring the mixture using spatula in other hand. You can see , the mixture thickens and comes together. 

5. Add a teaspoon of ghee to cashew mixture and mix well. When the mixture is loose and before it gets hardens, switch off the stove and pour it on a baking paper. Remember to grease the baking paper with ghee, before pouring the mixture.

6. After pouring the mixture, it starts to thicken. Use a spatula, to knead the mixture to a  dough. Knead the dough again to make a smooth dough. 

7. Cover the dough, with another greased baking paper. Using roller pin, flatten it slightly to get a uniform thickness . Cut them into diamond shapes.

8. Kaju katli is ready !. It can stay well for 2 weeks , if refrigerated.

 

Rava/Sooji Murukku

 Try this tasty rava murukku for this Diwali. It is made of rava, rice flour, sesame seeds and butter.

Yields : 15 to 20 murukkus

INGREDIENTS:

Rava/Sooji - 1 cup

Rice Flour- 2 cups

Sesame seeds - 1 tablespoon

Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Butter - 2 tablespoon

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Water - 2 1/4 cups

Oil - For deep frying

Asafoetida powder - a pinch

METHOD:

1. In a pan, heat 2 cups of water. When it starts to boil well, add 1 cup of rava. Do not add rava at once. Add little by little, and keep stirring continuously, so that there are no lumps . When the water all absorbed, add 2 tablespoon of butter and mix well. You can see the rava comes together and doesn't stick with the pan.

2. Take cooked rava in a bowl. Allow it to cool down a little bit. Now add 2 cups of rice flour, sesame seeds, salt, asafoetida powder, red chilli powder.

3.  Crumble and mix well . Also add 1/4 cup of water and mix well to form a moist  dough. You can adjust the water according to the need. The dough should be smooth . 

4. Grease the murukku hand press machine with oil. I used star shaped jalli. 

5. Heat sufficient oil in a pan. Take some dough, and put it in the handpress machine and make chaklis/muruku on the back side of perforated ladle, as shown in the video below.

6. Deep fry them in oil .

7. Rava murukku is ready !

Badusha / Balushahi Sweet

 Badusha/ Balushahi is an Indian sweet similar to doughnuts. It is made of all purpose / maida flour, deep fried in oil and dipped in sugar syrup ! Try this tasty and easy to make sweet for this deepavali !!! 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Yields - 10 no.s

1 cup = 240 ml

INGREDIENTS:

All purpose flour / maida - 1 .5 cups 

Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Curd - 1/4 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Cashews - 4 to 5 no.s for garnishing 

SUGAR SYRUP:

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Cardamom - 2 to 3 no.s

METHOD:

1. In a vessel, take all purpose flour. Add sugar, baking powder, ghee, curd .

2.. Mix the contents gently. When you take some flour in hands, you should be able to hold it in a shape as below. That should be the consistency.

3. Now add 1/4 cup water gradually and mix with flour. Do not knead the dough, as you make rotti dough. Mix gently. 

4. Cover it with moist cloth and set aside for 15 minutes.

5. Now, in a pan, take 1 cup of sugar. Also add 1/2 cup water and cardamom. 

6. Now allow the sugar syrup to boil for just 5 minutes. When you touch  the syrup, it should be sticky. Switch off the stove.

7. Now take some small lemon sized dough, roll it gently and make a dent in the center.

8. Add them in oil for deep fry. Keep the flame in medium for 1 minute, the badusha gets little bigger in size, and comes up. Now turn the flame to low, and fry the badusha on both side for about 15 minutes. It turns to golden brown. 

 9. Take the fried badusha in a plate with tissue paper and then immediately dip the badusha in the sugar syrup, which you prepared in step 6. Let it rest in syrup for 5 minutes. 

10. Take the badusha out of sugar syrup and add some chopped cashews on the top . Tasty badusha sweet is ready !!!