One of my mallu friend got me 'Erisseri' on the onam day. It was so delicious and I immediately wrote down the recipe from her. Then I tried it today morning. It came out very well and heres how I prepared it.

Ingredients:

Black Channa - 1 cup

Raw Plaintain - 1

Yam - 100 gms

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Pearl Onions - 6

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Seasoning

Mustard and urad dhal - 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves - few

Red Chillies - 2

Obviously we have to use coconut oil.

Method:

Soak the channa overnight. Pressure cook it with salt and 1/2 tsp chilli powder. Add only little water as this curry will be dry.

I microwaved the cubed Yam and plaintain seperately(with 1/4 tsp chilli powder each). They should be well cooked.

Once the pressure is released, add the yam and plaintain to the cooked channa and allow it to cook.

In the meanwhile, grind together coconut, pearl onions and cumin seeds coarsely.

Add this to the vegetables and mix well. Adjust the salt if required.

Cook for some 5 minutes and switch off.

Do the seasoning with the items mentioned for seasoning.

Thats it delicious curry ready to serve with hot sambar rice and pappads.

Drumstick leaves are always my favourite. I love everything made out of it. As you all know its rich in iron content and especially ladies who are pregnant need to take it for sure. Every doctor will prescribe iron tablets throughout pregnancy and even after post pregnancy. So it becomes a must take greens during pregnancy. When i was pregnant, we found it very difficult to get this leaves here. So my mom used to carry this greens wrapped in a wet cloth(to keep it fresh) from my hometown. I will soon post one more recipe on murungaikeerai kashayam, which i drank to get rid of the excess water accumulated. Everyone will face swelling in their legs during pregnancy and if you drink this kashayam, immediately the swelling will go off.

Coming to the recipe

Ingredients:

Drumstick leaves - 1 cup

Toor Dhal - 2 tbsp

Pearl Onion - 10

Green chillies - 4 nos

Seasoning

Mustard Seed - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Aesfoetida - 1 pinch

Method

Pressure cook the toor dhal to a level, that it is done 3/4th.

Mince the onion and chillies.

In a kadai, heat 1 tsp of oil and add the seasoning items.

Once the mustard splutters, add the onions and green chillies.

Then add the greens and dhal(along with the little excess water used for cooking the dhal)

If you want you can even garnish it with scrapped coconut.

That's all serve it with hot sambar rice.

This is my lunch box with Raddish Sambar, murungaikeerai thuvattal and curd rice.

This lunchbox enters the Wholesome Lunchbox event conducted by Margot.

Also this am sending for the Food for 7 stages of life - Pregnancy (Zero hour) event hosted by Radhika and Sudeshna

This is one more for the Viki's Side Dish for Chappathi event.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets - 1 cup

Potatoes cubed - 1 cup

Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Paneer - 1/2 cup

Capsicum - 1

Onion - 1 big

tomato - 1 medium

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 pinch

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Saunf Powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coconut Paste - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1 piece

Mint Leaves for garnishing

Method:

In a kadai add some oil and fry the cubed paneer. Drain them and put in a bowl containing water.

In the remaining oil, add the cinnamon and then onion. Then add the ginger garlic paste.

When the raw smell goes off, add the tomato and all the vegetables except capsicum & paneer.

Now add the turmeric, chilly powder, saunf powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well and close with a lid. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the capsicum, garam masala and the coconut paste.

Cook it for 2 more mins and garnish with mint leaves.

Serve with hot chappathi.

My husband really loved this gravy and it was a great happiness for me.

Work has become so tight nowadays and am finding it very difficult to post anything. Also we have been on continuous travel for some or the other functions. I have been silent viewer of my favourite blogs and kept worrying on seeing my blog silent. I just found some free time after a long gap. Just thought posting in all my pending dishes.

This is a very quick and delicious recipe, which goes well with chappathi.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 big

Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 big

Green Chillies - 2 nos

Crushed Pepper - 2 tbsp(a/c to ur taste)

Salt - as per taste

Curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Method:

Put the cauliflower florets in boiling water and drain them.

In a kadai, add 1 tbsp of oil and add the onions.

Once onion is cooked, add the ginger garlic paste.

Once it is done, add the florets, green peas and mix well.

Now add the pepper powder, salt, sprinkle some water and close with a lid.

Once the veggies are done, garnish it with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Serve it with hot chappathis and onion raitha.

I am sending this to the Side Dish for Chappathi event conducted by Viki's Kitchen

This is recipe tried following a TV show.

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gm

Potato - 2

onion - 1

To Grind:

Pearl Onions - 10

Garlic - 10

Tomato - 1

Red Chillies - 10

Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1

Clove - 2

Cardamom - 2

Khus Khus - 1tsp

Fried Gram - few

cococut - 2 tbsp

Method

In a kadai, add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the cubed paneer. Drain it and put it in a bowl containing water and turmeric mixed.

Bake the potatoes and keep it aside.

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and add the cinnamon, clove and khus khus. Once it starts spluttering, add the onion and saute well.

Then add the garlic, red chillies. Saute till the chillies become crisp.

Now add the tomato and the coriander powder.

Put the coconut and fried gram in to the mixer along with the sauted ingredients and grind it to a smooth paste.

Keep a kadai add 1 tsp of oil and saute the onions. Then add the paneer and potatoes and the ground masal. cook it for 5 mins in simmer by closing the lid.

Serve this with Roti and hence I am sending this to Side dish for chapathi event hosted by Viki's Kitchen.

Mushroom has become a mandatory item for lunch on every weekend. Rarely we prepare non veg and rest all times its mushroom curry, with rasam/sambar. We will late lunch by around 3-4 pm on weekends. Nowadays my kid is insisting on eating with his dad alone. My hubby dear finds it difficult to have his food properly. but its truly a great enjoyment. I will be busy cooking in the kitchen and my kid will come & take a plate for my husband (whenever my kid feels hungry). He will show that plate to me and ask "Tha" (which means give). I will put something in that plate, he will go running with that to his dad and have the food with him. He come back for the second serving. So cute of him.

Coming to the recipe

Ingredients

Mushroom - 200 gms

Potato - 1 or 2

Onion - 1 big

Tomato - 2

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Chilly Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 3 tsp

Coriander Leaves - few

Method

Clean and cut the mushroom and all other veggies.

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and add the onions.

Saute till it becomes translucent. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes.

Add the tomatoes and all the powders and salt.

Now add the potatoes and mushroom. Mix well.

Sprinkle some water and close the kadai.

Stir in between till the veggies are done.

Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rasam or sambar rice.

This is one more excellent side dish for any sambar. But I like it to have as a gravy with rice. Usually on a rainy day, my mom will surely prepare this porial, rasam and hot rice. She mix the hot rice with this porial and feed us even when i was doing my college. I love my mom's mixing as she will add a little more salt and it would be nice to have from mom's hand always.

Lets get into the recipe.

Ingredients

Broad Beans (Avarakkai) - 500 gms

Pearl Onion - 10

Tomato - 1 small

Sambar Powder - 2-4 tsp

Salt - as Required

Mustrad and urad dhal for seasoning.

To Grind:

Coconut - 3 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method

Grind the items to grind to a smooth paste.

Heat a kadai and add 1 tsp of oil.

Add the seasoning items and then the onion. Once the onion is soft, add the tomatoes and then the minced avarakkai.

Saute for a awhile and then add the sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt.

Sprinkle some water and close with a lid. Saute in between til the veg is done.

Once the veg is cooked well, add the ground paste. Mix well and switch off the stove.

you can have it as a side dish with sambar or else directly with white rice.

This is my all time comfort food. We went on a unplanned temple visit and we all were so tired after coming back home. Every one was hungry but no one had energy to prepare anything. So I ended up preparing a simple comfort meal containing Rasam, Ennai Kathirikkai Porial and few pappads. Everyone enjoyed this meal and finished off everything.

Ingredients

Brinjal - 1/2 kg

Garlic - 20-30 pods

Sambar powder - 2-3 tsp

Salt - as required

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dhal split - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves and Coriander Leaves - Few

Method

Cut the brinjal Lengthwise and put it in water.

In a kadai, add 1 tbsp of oil and add the seasoning items.

Then add the garlic and saute for few seconds. Then add the brinjal, sambar powder and salt.

Sprinkle some water over it and close with a lid. Saute well in between, so that it doesn't get burnt. Adjust the water until the brinjal is done.

Finally add the leaves. I used more coriander leaves, this will add up the aroma.

So simple yet delicious dish.

I am sending this to FIL-Brinjal conducted by Sanghi.

I love any vegetable in the form of kootu, as it requires only very less oil and rich in protein. From the beginning, instead of giving only pappu, I used give any veg kootu to my kid. He loves to have kootu rice with ghee. I usually prepare this kootu as a side dish for any kulambu. Today i prepared pachai mochai kulambu along with kootu.

Ingredients:

Snake Gourd - 3 pcs

Bengal gram Dhal - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1

Green Chillies - 3-4

Red Chillies - 2

Aesfoetida - a pinch

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Mustard and urad dhal for seasoning.

Method:

Pressure cook the dhal. Cut the gourd, onions and chillies.

In a kadai, add 1/2 tsp of oil and add the seasoning items and cumin seeds.

Once the mustard splutters add the onion and chillies and saute well.

Now add the snake gourd and saute for a while.

Now add the cooked dhal, salt, and turmeric powder. Close with a lid and cook till the veg is done.

Add curry leaves and coriander leaves for extra flavor.

If you want, you can also add a small tomato for this.

Serve this kootu along with kulambu or rasam rice.

This is a special side dish, often prepared in brahmin families. I learnt this recipe from one of the TV shows. It sounded so easy and hence I thought of giving it a try. I first tried it with beans and it came out so well, but I didnt took pictures. This time I made it again just to take some snaps. This time I used cluster beans(kothavarangai). 

Ingredients:

Cluster Beans - 1/4 kg

Channa Dhal - 1 cup 

Red Chillies - 5

Aesfoetida - 1 pinch

salt as required

Seasoning:

Mustard & Urad Dhal - 1 tsp each

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Onion - 1 

Curry Leaves Few

Method:

Soak the dhal for 1/2 hr. Drain the water and grind it with chillies & little salt. Grind it coarsely as we do for vada. 

Put this paste to a microwave safe bowl and bake it for 5-8 mins(depending on your microwave). It will become like one hard dried dosa. 

Cut it and grind it in mixer again. You will get a coarse powder. 

Cut the cluster beans and cook it in microwave by sprinkling some water and salt. 

Once it is cooked well, add the powder and mix well. Cook it for a min again. 

In a sepearate bowl, heat a tsp of oil and add the seasoning items mentioned, with the help of microwave. 

Add the cooked beans and usli mixture to this seasoning and cook it again for a min. 

Thats it. Its ready to serve with a hot sambar rice. 

It will be really easy to cook this dish with the help of microwave. 

This Usli enters MEC:Essential Extras event hosted by Rachel originated by Srivalli.

This quick fix dish also enters the WYF:Quick Meal hosted by EC

My hubby dear loves this. He doesn't like poori, but love to have this masala with dosa. Hence every time I prepare poori masala, he will be having only dosa. Anyway I dont like this combo. 

This time I prepared only masal for dosa, especially for him(as a thanks note for getting me some nonstick ware). 

I prepared masala dosa once. For first dosa, my husband said "Masala is more inside the dosa". For the second dosa, he said "I am searching for the masala inside the dosa". My reaction: Stopped the masala dosa and served this dosa masal. He can take the masala, how much ever he wants. 

OK here comes the recipe. 

Ingredients:

Potato - 4

Onion - 2

Green Chillies - 5

Red Chillies - 2

Curry Leaves and Coriander Leaves - few

Mustard Seeds and Urad dhal - 1 tsp each

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Tomato - 1 (optional)

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as required. 

Method:

Boil the potatoes, cool it and mash it gently. 

Mince the onion and chillies. 

Heat oil in a wok, and season the masal with mustard, urad dhal and cumin seeds. 

Add the onion, chillies and saute well till its get cooked well. 

Add the potatoes and mix well. Add 1 cup of water, salt and turmeric powder. 

Mix well and close with a lid. 

It wont take much time to cook. Once it reaches the required consistency, switch off the stove and add the leaves. 

My version will be little gravy/watery kind, to serve with dosa. 

You can even make it thick and serve it closed inside the dosa. This is what we call masala dosa. 

This is one more kind of preparing greens. 

Ingredients 

Arai Keerai - 1 bunch

Pearl Onions - 10

Green Chillies - 3

Red Chillies - 2

Coconut Scrapped - 2 tbsp

Seasoning

Mustard - 1tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Channa dhal - 1 tsp

Aesfoetida - 1 pinch

Method

Sort the greens and wash it cleanly, to remove all the sand. 

Mince it nicely. Mince onion and chillies too. 

In a kadai, add a tsp of oil and add the seasoning items.

Then add the onion and chillies. Saute till the raw smell goes off. 

Then add the greens and salt. Mix well and wait until it gets cooked. No need to add water as the greens will get cooked in its own water. 

It will take jus 5 mins to cook. Once cooked, add the scrapped coconut and mix well. 

Serve hot with sambar rice. 

This is a recipe learnt from my MIL. But still I didn't get any appreciation from my hubby dear. Every time I try it, he used to say "It doesn't match my mother's preparation". I don't know, i do the same way, as she tells. I liked, hence posting it here. You please try ti and let me know, whether its good or not ;)

Ingredients:

Fully Ripen Tomatoes - 4

Onion - 2 big

Green Chillies - 3 

Chilly Powder - 1 tsp

Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Bay Leaf - 1

Curry Leaf - 1 

To Grind

Coconut - Half coconut

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Method:

Scrap the coconut, peel off the ginger. Grind them together to a very smooth paste with less water. 

In a kadai, heat1 tsp of oil and add the cinnamon and bay leaf. 

Add the onion, chillies and saute well. Then add the tomatoes and saute till they becomes soft and mashy. 

Then add all the powders, salt and 2 cups of water. 

Close it with a lid and bring it boil for 5 mins. 

Once the raw smell goes off, add the coconut paste and stir well. 

Before it starts boiling, switch off the stove.

Serve hot with idly or dosa. 

This is my all time favourite. I think this is the simplest recipe which delivers a heavenly taste. I had a school time friend, who had a regular menu of this potato fry with curd rice. I have seen her taking this for the entire year, other than weekends. I am also a great fan of this dish, but for health reasons, I restrict from making this often. But this is the right time for my kid to enjoy the taste of this fry. He loved it a lot, when I gave him for the first time. Previously I used to give him only baked potato, with little salt and pepper. But after tasting this fry, he is not willing to take baked potatoes anymore. So nowadays I am giving potato in this form alone. 

Coming to the recipe, it doesn't involve complex procedure or ingredients. 

Potatoes - 3

Chilly Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - As per taste

Oil for cooking.

Method:

Peel off the skin of the potato with a peeler. Slice them into thin discs. 

In a kadai, heat some oil and add the mustard seeds. 

Add the potato and fry it for 5 mins. 

Add all the powder and salt. close with a lid and cook for 5 more mins. 

In simmer, fry it for some more time, until they become crisp. 

Serve hot with sambar rice or curd rice.
 

I am sending this potato fry to 15 minute cooking event conducted by Mahimaa

Curry leaves is the one which turns an ordinary dish into an aromatic dish. This helps a lot in digestion and many diseases related to food can be cured with the help of this small herb. Almost all of the Indian dishes use it while seasoning. We can also consume it with buttermilk, by crushing it into the buttermilk. Especially for women, it helps a lot in hair growth. 

This time my mom got a lot of fresh curry leaves from the garden. It was so fresh and hence i didn't want to waste by storing it for a long time in the fridge. Hence the thought of preparing karuveppilai thuvaiyal flashed my mind. 

Ingredients:

Curry Leaves - 1 cup

Red Chillies - 2

Green Chillies - 2

Urad Dhal - 1 tbsp

Tamarind - gooseberry sized

Coconut - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Method:

In a kadai, heat 1 tsp of oil. Add the urad dhal and roast it till it turns golden brown.

Add the ginger and tamarind and saute well. Then add the chillies and saute for a min. 

Add the curry leaves and saute well. 

In a mixer add all the roasted ingredients, salt and coconut. Grind it to a smooth paste. 

This curry leaves will increase the body temperature. So if you want you can replace the tamarind with lemon juice. 

Serve this chutney with hot rice and a some ghee, if you are feeding your kids. It also goes well with idly/dosa. 

I am sending this to SWC - Cooking with Greens event hosted by Sowmya

Greens are very cheap and you can make much varieties out of it like kootu, poriyal, thuvattal, kadaiyal, keerai vadai and so many. The cooking time is very less. Only time consuming process is to sort out the keerai and cleaning it. If somebody does it for me, I will prepare keerai even everyday ;) 

Ingredients for keerai kootu

Arai Keerai - 2 cups (washed, cleaned and chopped finely)

Pearl Onion - 10 minced

Green Chillies - 3 split

Tomato - 1 minced

Green Gram Dhal (Paasiparuppu) - 1/2 cup

For Seasoning

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Split Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp

cumin seeds  - 1 tsp

Red Chillies - 3

Aesfoetida- 1 pinch

Method:

For this recipe the dhal should be less and the keerai should be more. Its good on both the health and taste front. 

In kadai, cook the dhal (don't pressure cook it). Once it is half cooked add all the ingredients to it and close it with a lid. Let it cook for some time. 

That's all season the kootu with the seasoning items. 

Serve hot with rice and potato fry. 

This is my kid's favourite during lunch time and hence I am sending this for Monthly Mingle -Kids Lunches hosted by Srivalli and originated by Meeta. I truly had a lovely lunch. 

Again am sending this to FIC Red+Green hosted by Neha(don't know whether it fits her tricky guidelines ;)) originated by Sunshinemom

Also when I am alone at home, I will prepare this for me and not much of cooking involved, hence sending this to  Single Serving Recipes hosted by Spicyrasam

This is a sweet tangy combo side dish. This is healthy at the same time as we are using jaggery for that. This will serve as a good side dish with sambar rice.

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 1

Jaggery - 1 cup (Depends on how sweet you want)

Green Chillies - 2

Red Chillies - 4

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1/2 Tsp

Curry Leaves

Method:

Remove the skin of the mango using a peeler. Make rough pieces of mango. I use peeler only for that.

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and add the seasoning items.

Add the cut chillies and saute for a minute.

Add this mango pieces and saute for some time.

Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp of salt and close with a lid.

Once the mango is cooked well add the crushed jaggery and mix well.

Cook it for five more minutes till the jaggery is completely melted down and mixed well with the mango.

Switch off the stove and serve hot with sambar rice.

I am reposting it for the Mango Mela conducted by Srivalli.

Here is my next recipe for the tomato season. My mom prepared this and my only work was to shoot and eat. This one can be a side dish for rice or chappathi, serve as spicy jam for bread toasts or chutney for dosas. Too much na! You can preserve it for at least 15 days with refrigeration. Here goes the recipe. 

Ingredients:

Tomato - 1 Kg

Red Chillies - 30 - 40

Tamarind - Lemon sized

Lemon - 2

For Seasoning:

Gingelly Oil - 1/2 cup

Mustard and Urad Dhal

Curry Leaves

Aesfoetida 

Method:

Cut the tomatoes and sun dry it for a day. Also sun dry the chillies. 

In a mixer grind the red chillies first without adding water. Then add the tomatoes and tamarind and grind it to a coarse paste. 

In a kadai, add the gingelly oil and the items for seasoning. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the ground paste and keep on stirring. 

Take care that it is not stuck to the kadai. Likewise keep stirring till the raw smell goes off. 

Switch off and store it a container for about 15days. 

I am sending this to SWC-Meals on Wheels conducted by Lakshmi

I always prefer a simple method of cooking. I hate to stand for a long time in the kitchen. Everyday I used to spend around half an hour in the kitchen where in I will prepare breakfast and pack my lunch. If i feel it will take more than this time...I will not prepare anything for lunch...so we will altogether have good dinner at 7pm itself. Thats it. This is one such simple curry which can be done within few minutes and tasty to have with rotis or rice.

Ingredients:

Veggies - 2 cups (Whatever u like)

Onion - 1 minced

Tomato - 1 minced

Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Saunf Powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry Leaves - few

Method:

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and saute the oil till they become translucent. 

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 

Add 1/2 cup of water and allow it to cook by closing with a lid.

Serve hot with Chappathi and raitha. Thats my dinner plate...taste it. 

My kids favourite is green peas. He will get the peas and cauliflower alone from everyone in a plate and eat so cutely(I thought of capturing that but forgot...ooh). So am sending this to Monthly Mingle - Kids Lunches  conducted by Srivalli orginated by Meeta

This is one of the best combo which suits well for chappathi/Rotis. Very Healthy too. I dont know but am not preparing it so often. May be its not flashing into my mind when i think of a meal. 

Ingredients:

Channa (Sprouts) - 1 cup

Potato - 2 (Boiled)

Chilly Powder - 1 tbsp

Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tbsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Saunf Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp

Salt as required

To Grind:

Pearl Onion - 10

Garlic Pods - 10 

Tomato - 1

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Method:

Bake the potatoes and channa together in a pressure cooker with required amount of water and salt. 

Peel off the potato skin and crush it into small pieces. 

In a kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and add ground paste and saute well till the raw smell goes off. 

Add all the powders mentioned and salt. Saute well for a while and then add the channa with water and potato. 

Close it with a lid and cook for 15 mins by sauting in between. Serve hot with roti or chappathi.