Aloo Peas Pulav

Ingredients:
Basmati rice- 2cup
Potato- 4nos
Green Peas- 1 small cup
Garlic&Ginger paste- 1tbsp
Bay leaves- 1
Red Chilli powder
Oil
Salt

To Powder
Cinamom-1 small piece
Cloves- 3nos
Cardamom-1nos
Fennel seeds- 1spoon

How to make:
1)Wash and soak the basmati rice for 10mins before the preparation.
2) Peel and dice the potatoes.
3) Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaves, ginger&garlic paste and saute well.
4)Then add the potatoes and peas to it.
5)Add the masala powder and mix well.
6) Then add the basmati rice, salt and stir them well.
7) Add 3cups of water and pressure for 2whistles.
Serve with raita or any vegetable gravy.

Mor Appam or Kuzhi Paniyaram

Ingredients:

Idly Rice- 3cups
Urad Dal- 1 cup
Rava- 1tbsp
Green Chillies- 4 chopped
Onions-  1big size, chopped
Mustard- 1sp
Urad dal- 1 sp
Channa dal- 1sp
Salt
Oil

How to make:
1) Soak rice for 1 hr and urad dal for 1/2 hr and grind like dosa batter and allow to ferment for a day.
2) The next day, for take one bowl of the batter and add rava, finely chopped onions, green chillies and salt.
3) Splutter some mustard seeds and add urad and channa dal and fry it until golden brown and add to the batter.
4)Add curry leaves to it.
5) Once the batter is ready, heat oil in appam karal or kal.
6) Pour in each cups and fry it until golden brown by tossing it both the sides.
7) A tasty evening snack which can be accompanied with a hot tomato chutney.

Chow Chow skin Thogaiyal



This is very tasty and healthy traditional thogaiyal made from the skin of chow chow or Chayote. The skin of chow chow has high fibres and shall be utilised for cooking without wasting!!!

Ingrdients:

Skin of Chayote - 1cup

Urad Dal - 2tbspn

Redchillies- 2nos.

Hing- a small piece

Coconut scrapes- 2 spoon

Tamarind - a small piece

Oil

Salt

How to make:

1)Heat oil in a pan and fry hing, Urad dal and redchillied one by one.

2)Then add the skin of chayote, tamarind, coconut scrapes.

3) Allow the roasted ingrdients to cool.

4) Add salt and grind the ingrdients to fine paste.

Suitable to mix with rice or as a side dish for any kuzhambu dish.



Idly Podi

Ingredients:

Urad Dal- 2 tbsp

Red Chillies-4 nos.

Hing- 1 small piece

Black Sesame- 1tsp

Oil

Salt

                            

How to make:

 1) Heat 1 spoon oil in a pan and roast the ingredients one by one until golden brown.

 2) Then grind them to coarse powder and add salt before powdering.
 3) Good combination for Idly, Dosai, Adai etc.

Tangy Tom' Pasta

Ingredients:

Tomato puree-1 cup
Butter -1tbspn
Extra virgin olive oil - 1tbspn
Parmesan Cheese - 1tspn
Garlic- 5pods
Onion- 1 medium size, diced
Chilli flakes
Dried Oregano and Herbs
Salt

To make tomato puree:

1) Blanch (immerse the tomatoes in boiling water until it becomes soft) 2 tomatoes and peel of the skin. scoop of the seeds inside and cut the flesh into small bits. 

2) Grind the tomatoes, Dried Oregano and herbs (readily available in supermarkets) garlic and olive oil into a smoot paste.

3) This Paste can be store for a week under refrigeration and can be used in making pasta, noodle or even as bread spread.

How to make Pasta:

1) You may buy the different shapes of pastas available in the market. Each one is known by a different name by its shaps, For eg, Sphagetti ( flat noodle shape), Fusilli ( Spiral or twisted shape) Penne (Tubes with ridges) Shells and Pipes etc.,
      I have made this dish with Fusili.

2) Boil water and add little salt and oil.Then add this fusili and allow it to cook till it becomes soft.
3) Strain the water and immediately wash with cold water. This will avoid the fusilis without breaking.
4) In a wok, add butter and saute the onions and some garlic.
5) Add fusilis and toss it well, then to it add the tomato puree, salt and chilli flakes.
6) Toss it well and slow cook for 5mins and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Paruppu Podi (Dhal powder)

I had been a great fan of Paruppu podi all times. I generally used to buy from the famous store 'Ambika Appalam Depot'whenever i go to chennai. This time i was running out of stock and tried to get here locally and failed. I browsed through the net and found from various websites the 'secret ingredients' of it. Here i present it with slight modifications.

Ingredients:

Pottu Kadalai (Dhalia)- 1/2 cup
Kadalai Paruppu (Channa Dal)- 1cup
Red chillies- 5nos.
Ghee- 1tbspn

How to make:
1) Heat ghee in a pan and roast kadalai paruppu and pottukadalai, one after the other in a low flame.
2) Add red chillies to it and roast.
3) Let it cool for sometime and grind it powder.
4) If u like, temper it with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
5) Optional- may also add garlic after roasting with other ingredients.

Garden Salad

This is a very simple and easy welcoming appetizer for guests! I did this one of my friend came for dinner.

Ingredients:

Any preferred quantity of;
Cucumber
Tomato 
Onion
Pineapple
Lemon Juice -1/2 lemon
Sugar- a pinch
Salt- to taste
Black pepper powder- a pinch

How to make:
1) Dice all vegetables and pineapple.
2) To the mixing bowl squeeze the lemon, add salt and sugar and mix well.
3) Put in all vegetable and toss well.
4) Sprinkle pepper powder and refrigrate for few minutes before serving.

You may even add vegetables of your own choice. I added pineapple inorder to give a tangy flavour which i liked.
5)

Kathirikai Thogaiyal

I tried this Brinjal Thogaiyal which my grandma used to do with Vathakuzhambu, any of the type. Its a wonderful accompaniment with any spicy kuzhambu varieties.

Ingredients:

1 big size Brinjal
Urad Dal- 3tbsp
Redchillies- 4nos.
Asafoetida- 1small piece
Coconut scrapes- 1 tspn
Sesame Oil- 1tbspn
Salt- to taste

How to make:

1) Wash the brinjal and char burn it on the gas top.
2) When the brinjal is burnt completely, remove from the flame and allow it to cool.
3) Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and fry urad dal, chillies, asafoetida  and coconut scrapes.
4) After the brinjal becomes cool, peel of the burnt skin and the inner seeds by scraping out with a spoon.
5) Then grind all the ingredients and add salt to taste.
6) Temper with Mustard and urad dal if preferred.