Thogayals are my husband’s favourite. He like all kinds of thogayal… karuvepillai, kothamalli (coriander), kathrikai (brinjal), paruppu (dal)… and the list can go on and on. Its a very simple and easy recipe made with very few ingredients. Tastes good with hot rice and ghee.
A quick dosa recipe with oats which does not require any fermentation. This dosa can be made in a jiffy with a very few ingredients and tastes really good. My daughter love this dosa and hence I make it quite often.
Gotsu is a simple condiment / accompaniment that goes well with arisi upma (broken rice upma) or ven pongal. The smoky, spicy and tangy flavour of gotsu is so right for pain ven pongal which doesn’t have too much of flavour except pepper and cumin.
Just like sambhar powder, every household will have their own recipe of rasam powder. Here is my rasam powder recipe.
This pachchadi goes well with sambhar/kuzhambu/rasam rice and those who love aloo can never say no to this one. This pachchadi can be made with a very few ingredients in a jiffy.
Manga rice is very famous in Karnataka as I first heard about it in Bangalore and I was told that this rice is made on Karnataka new year / Ugadi. It is very simple to make and tastes delicious, the sweet and sourness of raw mango, sweet and creamy coconut, hint of mustard seeds and spicy red chillies. I used totapuri manga as this variety of raw mango makes the recipe very tasty.
This one is a very simple rasam made with few ingredients and without dal & tamarind yet it is very tasty. It can also be had like a soup especially in winters.
We always make mor kuzhambu during important festivals / pandigai (as called in Tamil). One of the easiest recipes of South India and one of my favourite too. Mor Kuzhambu is generally made with paruppu urundai or dried salty sundakkai with white pumpkin or okra (bhindi). My husband likes it with yellow pumpkin for the sweet, sour and salty taste. Here is the recipe with Keera Paruppu Urundai. I took the recipe from here. You can replace spinach with any greens. I normally soak all the dals for a minimum of 6 – 8 hours as soaked dals digest faster.
I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law which is very different from what my mom makes. I liked this kootu as it gives more of a sambhar look and taste, it can be had with paranthas as well. Katrikkai puti kootu can be made quickly as brinjal cooks in no time.
I simply like this pickle with my idli or dosa. The sweet and tangy flavour of tomato and the sourness of tamarind really go so well in this pickle that you can have with almost anything – idli, dosa, upma, rice, roti, parantha. It is my best travelling partner – pack some phulka and tomato pickle and you are ready to go. This pickle can be kept in the refrigerator for almost 10 days.
Sambhar Powder is one of the most important podi/powder in a south Indian kitchen and every household in southern India will have their own sambhar powder recipe though the ingredients go into the making of this powder would be more or less the same. Here is my sambhar powder recipe.
My husband prefers salty/spicy adai than sweet. And, he also takes takes this adai as an evening snacks and sometimes for breakfast. I simply toss these steamed adai in dosa milagai podi and serve.
Karadaiyan Nombu or Savitri Nombu is a vratham / vrat observed by TAM-BRAMs on the last day of Maasi masam and first day of Panguni masam of Tamil calendar which is 14th March of every year. Married women worship Goddess Gauri or Parvathi or Shakti for marital bliss and better health of husband and children. Unmarried girls perform the vratham to get ideal person as their husband. Karadaiyan Nombu is similar to that of sowbagya Gouri vratham or Gauri Tritiya vratham of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Gangaur vrat of Rajasthan, Jyesta gouri Vrat of Maharashtra, Jitiya Puja of Bihar, Karva Chauth of all other North Indian states. On this day, married women (in their traditional 9 yard saree called madisar) change their thirumangalya charadu (thread) and tie sacred yellow thread around their neck during the auspicious time of the day and unmarried girls tie only the sacred yellow thread. While changing the thirumangalyam charadu the following sloka is chanted:
Throram Krishhnami subhake saharitham
Dharami aham bharthu
Ayushya Sidhartham supreethabhava sarvadha
In my family, we normally fast till the thread is changed and eat only the neivedhyam prepared for the pooja which is called karadaiyan nombu adai.
Amla is so rich in vitamin C and I really love this pachchadi. Well, my paternal granny would say nellikai should not be taken on sundays… I never bothered to ask why and till date I couldn’t find a logical answer for that. She would also say not to take amla at night may be for its cooling properties and one may catch cold if taken at night. Anyway, I like this stuff and wouldn’t bother much about the days it can be taken or not to be taken. I took the recipe from here and made few changes to suit my taste buds.
Karuveppilai kuzhambu is so simple to make and tastes so yummm with all the goodness of curry leaves. I made this kuzhambu after such a long time and served it with aloo fry, cauliflower carrot curry and nellikkai thayir pachchadi. This kuzhambu goes well with ven pongal and arisi upma.
Karuveppilai or curry leaf as called in English is so full of medicinal values yet I would always pick these out from my plate…. infact in my family everybody do that… and hence my mom started using ground kaurveppilai. Curry leaves are so good for the eyes and hair and we all relish when this is served as thokku, podi, kuzhambu or thogayal. I always keep stock of Karuveppilai podi at home and use it as flavouring agent in many of my side dish / accompaniments.
I had been to my relative’s house and my SIL was mentioning about poosanikai thayir pachchadi. I never heard of it because both my mother and my mother-in-law never made this pachchadi. It sounded so interesting and decided to try it out. It came out so tasty and without much effort.
I first tasted mor rasam at my in-laws’ place, I only heard of mor kuzhambu and kadhi.. never about mor rasam. My MIL makes this rasam so flavourful. She uses lots of ajwain / omam.. and she tells me this is good for cold just like jeera milagu rasam. So, here is my mor rasam recipe…
Bisibela bath is a prominent karnataka recipe which is like a sambhar rice but with lots of flavour and aroma. This should be take really piping hot else you will not relish it. I wanted to try this out in veragu arisi which is very rich in fibre in comparison with rice. It came out so well and yummy… I served it with sweet potato fry, papad and poosanikai thayir pachchadi.
Ginger, with its strong and spicy aroma, has its own place in Indian cuisine. It may be used fresh or dried, powdered or pickled or in the form of juice or oil. No, wonder ginger is the classic Indian household favourite. Ginger improves absorption and assimilation of essential nutrients and aids in digestion. It also helps break down the proteins in your food. Ginger protects the stomach against ulcers by promoting mucus secretion. Today, I made inji pachchadi and it tastes best with rice and any sambhar.