Avocado Almond Chutney

Some avocadoes were sitting in the refrigerator for quite some time. The week went by so fast that there wasn't enough time to even think of making use of it. However, I managed to find a recipe for it when I decided to forgo the routine chutney for dosa and try something new.

Brainstorming lead to this idea and so I gave it a try! But believe me, my kids loved it and insisted eating with both their dosa and chappathi (the next day's dinner). I used almonds, which can also be substituted with grated coconut. The color might not seem too appealing, but the taste is what matters, and in that department, this chutney did not dissappoint!

INGREDIENTS :

1Avocado

1/2 Cup Almond soaked and de skinned

1 Small Onion 

4 Green Chillies

2 Cloves Garlic

1/2 Tsp Tamarind Paste

Salt to taste

2 Tblsp Chopped Coriander Leaves

4 Tsp Oil

METHOD :

 Cut the avocado, remove the seed and scoop out the pulp. Mash it thoroughly with a fork and keep aside.

 Heat a pan over medium heat and pour two teaspoons oil to it. Once hot, add the chopped onion and green chillies and fry until light brown. Add the garlic cloves and coriander leaves along with a pinch of salt and the tamarind paste. Fry this mixture for about two minutes.

Cool this mixture and grind in a coffee grinder or a small mixer. Half way through the grinding add the soaked almonds and grind it to a coarse paste.

 Add this to the mashed avocado and mix well. Add more salt and adjust taste as required.

Heat the other 2 teaspoons of oil, add mustard, curry leaves and the dried red chillies and season the chutney.

Sweet Thenkuzhal

  Thenkuzhal to people in most parts of tamilnadu would be those crispy entwined ball like snack, otherwise in simple words Murukku (of course one other form of it). But for the people of southern TN its that ladder shaped sweet which is more like honey comb that oozes out sweet syrup when you bite into it. Most festive seasons are incomplete without this sweet from street side vendors making it fresh and hot. I still remember my granddad bringing it from town in palm leaf baskets which adds that extra flavor to the sweet.
  I remember my grand mom and mom making this at home as a kid but mostly we can get it so fresh from the markets so why bother yourself with all those labor. Few months back out of the blue the kids had been talking too much about this sweet so I had been searching for the recipe. Luckily I found it and gave it a try. The end result was almost the same except the shape. You can figure out the difference from the pictures.

Here's how the store-bought thenkuzhal looks.  

INGREDIENTS :

Raw Rice  : 11/4 Cup
Urad Dal   : 1/4 Cup
Salt            : Pinch
Sugar         : 11/2 Cup
Water         : 1/2 Cup
Oil             : For frying

And here's my homemade version.

METHOD :

              Soak the rice and urad dal for about four hours and grind them to a smooth thick batter. Add a pinch of salt and mix well and leave it for about 8 to 12 hours.
            When ready to fry the thenkuzhal, make the sugar syrup. Dissolve the sugar in water and heat on medium flame. The syrup is ready when it gets to one string consistency. (When the syrup starts to thicken just rub a drop of the syrup between two fingers and pull them apart, you will see a string between the two fingers) .
            Heat oil in a pan at medium high temperature. The oil should be hot to squeeze the batter. Either fill the batter, (which is a bit thicker than pancake batter) in a funnel cake mold or if you feel more comfortable, do it using a ziplock or icing bag and squeeze in to the shape of a ladder or any shape you may be more comfortable with. Let it cook for 2 mins on both sides or until light golden and crisp.
  Once done remove from oil, dip it into sugar syrup for about 2 mins and remove to a serving plate. Thenkuzhal mittai is ready. For those out there with a sweet tooth this one would delight you.
         

Sarkarai Pongal

      Pongal is a traditional dish made of the tamils. It can be made either sweet or savoury. The sweet edition is the SarkaraiPongal  and savoury is the Ven Pongal. This recipe is the sweet one. Pongal can be completely cooked in milk or you can use both water and milk. The secret to the taste is the richness and the silky texture. Sarkarai Pongal is made during many auspicious occasions by the tamils.

 INGREDIENTS :

 Raw rice    - 1cup

 Moong Dal -1/4 cup

 Palm Sugar -cup

 Milk             -1cup

 Water          -4 cups

 Cashews     - 1Tblsp

 Raisins         - 1Tblsp

 Coconut       -1Tblsp

 Nutmeg         -1/4 Tsp

 Cardamom    - 2

 Ghee              - 4 Tblsp 

METHOD :

    Dry roast the moong dal in a pan until it starts to give out the flavor and keep aside. In a pan or preferrably pressure cooker heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the cashew pieces, raisins and coconut seperately and keep aside. Heat the milk and water with a pinch of salt in the same pan while you clean the rice and and moong dal.Add the cleaned rice and dal

to the water. Bring it to a brisk boil and close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook on medium high heat for five whistles. When you open the pan you should see a mushy mixture which is kind of watery. If not cooked enough you want to cook them a little more.

  Meantime take the grated palm sugar along with a tablespoon of water and melt it. Once the rice is cooked and the pressure subsides, open the lid and pour the strained sugar syrup to the cooked rice and dal mix and give it a nice stir and cook for about few mins until they come together, make sure the water evaporates but the mix doesn't get dried out. Add a tablespoon or two of ghee, mix well and now add the roasted cashews, raisins and coconut pieces and stir them along with a table spoon of ghee. Finally sprinkle the nutmeg powder and split cardamom. And pour a tablespoon of ghee over this. The yummy, gooey, ghee-laden pongal is ready.

   A versatile dish can be served as breakfast,an evening snack or dessert.

 Few things which might help you are you can always use dark brown sugar if you don't have palm sugar. You can also use coconut cream instead of milk. I prefer to add half cup of coconut cream to water instead of milk and finally add half cup thick coconut cream aftet adding the sugar syrup. This gives a rich taste to your pongal.

Mom's Mutton Roast

Each and every recipe/dish our mom makes for us is very special, and out of those there are some that are especially so. This mutton roast is one of those recipes from my mom and it is very close to our hearts because all of her kids, grandkids and daughter and son-in-laws love it. I'm so happy to share such a mouthwatering and easy to make recipe here. The actual recipe calls for whole spices that are dry roasted over medium heat and powdered along with ginger and garlic, but I made it with powdered spices available to make the process simple.

INGREDIENTS :

Mutton/Goat Meat   - 1 lb

Onion (Medium)       - 2

Shallots                   - A handful

Tomato (Small)         - 1 (Optional)

Ginger Garlic Paste  - 1 Tblsp

Cinnamon                - 1" piece

Cardamom               - 2

Cloves                      - 2

Turmeric Powder      - 1/4 Tsp

Red Chilly Powder    - 2 Tsp

Coriander Powder    - 1 Tsp

Jeera Powder           - 1/4 Tsp

Fennel Powder         - 3/4 Tsp

Pepper Powder        - 1/2 Tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 Tsp

Coconut oil               - 4 Tblsp

Salt                           - To taste

METHOD :

   Clean and  cut the meat into medium size cubes. Use either boneless or bonein or a mix of both. But boneless is highly recommended.

 In a pan, dry roast all the spice powders until the flavors come out, then keep the pan aside. Make sure they don't burn or else that burnt smell will spoil the dish.

 Thinly slice the onions, tomatoes and green chillies. If you prefer a real dry roast, leave out the tomato.

Thinly slice the shallots and keep aside.

In a pressure pan add two tablespoons of coconut oil (this is prefered buy any oil can be used) and fry the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. When they start to give an aroma, add the onions and fry them until golden brown. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell is gone.

Then add the meat and fry for 2 mins followed by the dry roasted spice powders. Add a tsp of salt at this point.

Add the tomatoes if you are using them and give it a good stir. Add not more than two tablespoon of water, close the pan and wait for steam to come out. Now put on the whistle and cook the meat until its 3/4 th done.

Switch off the stove, open the lid and add the sliced shallots at this point along with a tablespoon of oil, close the lid and cook on medium flame for about 5 mins.

When pressure subsides, open the lid. Now adjust the salt, add the remaining one tablespoon of oil, then let the liquid evaporate completely and fry the dish until it's dry and comes together.

This mutton roast is definitely a side dish to die for, and goes well with nearly everything. 

  

Chicken Chilly Dosa

 Dosas are a regular in many of our breakfast or dinner tables. Sometimes the kids might not want to have the same or you might want to break the routine. Then you should try this chicken chilly dosa. If you are a vegetarian try it with tofu or paneer or just the veggies. It can be eaten with or without any side dish.

INGREDIENTS :

Dosa Batter         - 1Cup 

Tomato Ketchup  - 2 Tblsp

Soy Sauce           - 2 Tsp

Red Chilly Flakes - 1/2 Tsp

Cheese Shredded - 2 Tblsp (optional)

Spring Onion       - 3 Tblsp

Coriander Leaves - 3 Tblsp

Olives Chopped  - 2 Tblsp (optional)

Chicken Breast   - 1 Big Piece

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp

Red Chilly Powder - 2 Tsp

Ginger Garlic         - 1 Tsp

Salt                       - To taste

Oil                         - 1/4 Cup

METHOD :

   Clean and cut chicken into small chunks. Marinate with ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt. In a pan under medium high heat add two teaspoons of oil and fry them until its no longer pink in the center.

 Keep aside. 

This dish can be made with left over fried or baked chicken too. Job made easy.

 Chop the spring onions and olives. Mix together ketchup and soy sauce.

 In a Dosa tava spread thin dosa, sprinkle oil all over, keep the flame medium low. Brush the ketchup soy sauce mix allover the  dosa.Then sprinkle the chopped veggies, prepared chicken, cheese and the chilly flakes. Sprinkle some oil over. Let the dosa cook until crisp and when done roll over and transfer to the plate. Your chicken chilly dosa is ready.

 Serve with your favorite chutney or just plain. Tastes super good.

Kinnathappam

     Kinnathappam is one of the unique festive sweets common to the Muslim households of Kanyakumari district. Sorry, no offense to my non-Muslim friends, but I have never known anyone else who has made this, and it's always me making them this sweet. It's a festive sweet because it's specially made during Eid and all many other happy occasions. Kinnathappam is a must have during Eid and is made in almost every household. Eid is the one day you can taste every possible variety of Kinnathappam because you get to eat it at almost every house you visit.

     This sweet is a twin of Vattilappam, local to Ceylon. The difference between Vattilappam and Kinnathappam is that the former is made using more eggs and the latter with more of coconut cream. This is very easy to make and it's a rich delicacy made out of fewer and easily available ingredients. Depending on the rice used, bringing the texture can be really challenging; I usually use basmati rice so that the texture remains the same every time I make it. This exact measurement credit goes to one of my friends, Aneeze.

     If you are using fresh coconut cream, you can use the first milk extracted for the given amount and use the second and third instead of water. Again, it's highly recommended to grind the rice in a grinder, but I always use my mixer to do the job and never regretted doing so. I use a pressure pan to make this with a round steel stand to hold the plate and the lid goes with the rubber gasket without the whistle. My pan to hold the batter is 2" deep and 6" wide. With the given standard measuring cup I make two plates of this pudding.

     The prep steps may sound very long, but it is actually very simple and worth a try. Believe me, you will definitely fall in love with this smooth velvety creamy pudding.

INGREDIENTS :

Raw rice             - 1 Cup
Sugar                  - 1 Cup
Egg                     - 1
Coconut Cream  - 1 1/2 Cups
Salt                     - Pinch
Jeera Seeds         - 1/2 Tsp (optional)
Water                  - As needed
Cardamom          - 8 Nos
Ghee                   - 1 Tsp

METHOD :

     Clean and soak the rice in water for a couple of hours. Grind the rice with cardamom and egg to a smooth paste. Add the coconut cream to this too while grinding, instead of water. The texture should be really smooth, almost like silk. Remove this from the blender, add sugar, and dissolve well. Add a pinch of salt and measure the total quantity of this mixture with the same cup used to measure the rice. Bring this to a total measure of four cups using water. For every cup of rice used, you should make it to four cups of batter, as this helps to maintain the consistency of the batter.

     Now strain the batter through a fine sieve. Strain it a couple more times to remove any grains. The batter is now ready to be steamed. In a wide pan deep enough to steam a cake, or a deep plate, pour water and put something to hold the plate/pan (an inverted plate, for example) so that the plate/pan with batter doesnt touch the bottom of the wider pan and bring it to a boil. Grease the pan or plate with ghee, then pour the batter through 3/4th's of the plate and keep above the inverted plate. Cover the deep pan and steam cook at medium flame for about 14 mins. A tooth pick inserted should come out clean and you should see slight cracks on the surface of the cake once done.
  
     Remove from the stove and sprinkle jeera seeds on top. Let it cool completely, then cut and serve. The shelf life is one day and can be refrigerated for about three days. If you freeze it's better to steam again before serving, to get the right texture.

Puli Inji

  Puli Inji. I came to know about this from a friend who always talks about having this with Biryani at another friend's place whenever I serve Biryani. Finally we got a chance to taste her Puli Inji and my fellas fell in love with the taste, a perfect blend of sweet and sour with a hint of heat. So this recipe is a courtesy from my dear friend Sameera. She served with her awesome Malabari Biryani, the rich, flavorful dish with very few ingredients. Haven't gotten it right yet, In shaa Allah will post it someday.

INGREDIENTS :

Ginger    - 1/2 Cup (finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 2 (finely chopped)
Tamarind Paste - 1 Tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Jaggery - 2 Tblsp
Flour - 1 Tsp
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 Tblsp

Garnish :
Oil - 1 Tsp
Mustard - 1/4 Tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Dried Red Chilly - 1

METHOD :

   Finely chop ginger and green chillies. Heat a pan along with oil over medium flame and fry the chopped ginger and green chillies until the raw smell is gone. Move to a plate lined with paper towel and drain the extra oil. Then cook this ginger and green chillies in a little water along with red chilly powder and salt. Once it becomes soft, add the tamarind paste and jaggery, bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the flour in little water, add to this simmering mix and let it thicken.
 Finally heat oil in another pan, season with the ingredients under garnish and add to this. This step is optional.
 Puli Inji is served as part of Sadhya, the Onam meal and has many variations too. I'll post the recipe for another variety of Puli Inji that is common in my household, soon.
 It makes a fantastic side dish for fish biryani.

Tomato Jam

Tomato jam is one of the important side dish served along with biryani in weddings at our place. Though as an effect of modernization, the recipe has changed a lot with added fruits and nuts. This classic recipe is always a hit. Like tomato jam we have few more must haves with the meal, like boiled eggs, fried appalam and onion raita. Its very simple but tastes soo yumm.

INGREDIENTS :

Tomatoes   - 4 big ones
Sugar         - 1/4 cup
Ghee          - 3 + 1 Tblsp
Cashews     - 1 Tblsp
Raisins        - 1 Tblsp
Lemon Juice - 1 Tblsp
Salt              - A Pinch

METHOD :

    Blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Cool them a bit and in a food processor just mash them well. Don't puree them because the texture adds a nice texture to the jam.
   Heat a pan and add a tablespoon of ghee and roast the cashews and raisins and keep aside. In the same pan bring the pureed tomatoes cook under medium flame. Add the sugar with a pinch of salt. Let the sugar dissolve completely. At this point you can check the sweetness and add more sugar if you like, because if the fruits are not that sweet you might need more sugar. Then add the lemon juice. Reduce flame and let the mix evaporate, add the ghee now and let it thicken a bit.
   When it starts to leave the sides add the roasted cashews and raisins and remove from fire and cool down.
  This has a shelf life of a week and can be refrigerated for a month or frozen for about 3 months.

Chilli Idli

 Idli, though a comfort food to many is not a welcoming one for others. So when it comes to feeding kids, often we have to try out different ways to brighten up the plate. This dish is quite simple and easy way to include veggies in to your little one's healthy diet. Its an instant hit at my house, hopefully might turn out to be the same at yours too.

INGREDIENTS :

Idli      : 10 Nos
Onion  : 1 Big
Green Bell Pepper      : 1 Small
Yellow Bell Pepper     : 1 Small
Spring Onion               : 2 Nos
Chopped Coriander     : 2  Tblsp
Soy Sauce                    : 3 Tblsp
Tomato Ketchup          : 3 Tblsp
Hot Sauce/Chilly Sauce : 2 Tsp
Chilly Powder              : 1 Tsp
Garam Masala              :1/2 Tsp
Salt     
Oil         

METHOD :

    Cut the idlis, onion and bell peppers into small cubes and finely chop the spring onion. In a deep fry pan add about 3 tablespoon oil and fry the idli pieces, remove from oil and keep aside. To the same pan add the chopped onion. Sometimes the idli might absorb all the oil so you might want to add a tablespoon of oil to cook the veggies. Half way through, add the bell peppers and fry them for about 5 mins and then add the white part of the spring onion. Reserve the green part for garnish.

When the veggies are cooked, add the chilly powder, garam masala, soy sauce, hot sauce and ketchup to the vegetables and fry them for about 2 mins. Now add the fried idli to this and mix them well. Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and the green onion and cover and simmer for 3 mins.

    This can be served with raita on the side or as such for breakfast or dinner. Kids would really love the color.

Liver Varattal (Dry Roast)

Its been a while that any recipe has been posted. So, I'm going for a quick and easy recipe. Though liver is not a very welcoming dish among all of us at home, I do cook it once in a while. This recipe is simple with few ingredients but tastes super good.

INGREDIENTS:

Goat Liver       : 1 lb
Ginger Paste    : 1 Tsp
Garlic Paste     : 1 Tsp
Pepper Powder: 1 Tblsp
Jeera Powder   : 1 Tsp
Salt                  : To taste

To Season :
Mustard              : 1 Tsp
Grated Coconut  :1 Tblsp
Curry Leaves      : Few
Oil                       : 1 Tblsp
Dried Red Chilli : 2

METHOD:

    Clean and cut the liver into small pieces. Mix along with all other ingredients except for those under seasoning. Cook for just two whistles in a pressure cooker with one tablespoon water.
   Remove the lid once the pressure subsides. In a fry pan, heat the oil and splutter mustard, curry leaves and coconut and fry for a few seconds. Add the cooked liver to this. Adjust salt and fry until the water evaporates, all the ingredients come together and it begins to look dry.
   This can be served as a side with bread or rice.