Parikai Poornam - Karela sabzi

Karela is something that either you love it or don't like it at all. If you find it bitter this sabzi can be your thing. It has the sweet and sour tangy taste. I love this so much that I can just eat it as a snack. This recipe Amma learnt from my Lata Mami and I learnt it from Amma.

Ingredients:
Karela - 4
Tamarind pulp - 1 small lemon sized
Salt
Dosa Milagai podi - Spiced chutney powder or Sambhar powder
Oil
Jaggery (optional)

Method:
Chop the karela into thin round slices. If it is too big, cut it length wise and then chop into small pieces. Take oil in a pan and add the karela pieces and shallow fry till it is crisp. You can deep fry for faster time, but I like it shallow fried. Add thick tamarind pulp and let it boil. Now add salt as per taste, add the dosa milagai podi as per taste and jaggery if you like sweet and sour taste. Goes well with roti or rice and some dal/moolakootal.

Kakadi Koshimbir - Cucumber Raita

I love cucumber and curd. So imagine the combination of both is so good. This is a easy recipe and can be put together in the last minute. You can just eat this as a salad as well.

Ingredients:

Cucumbers - 2

Roasted Crushed peanut - 1/2 cup

Yogurt - 1 cup

Salt

Sugar (optional)

For Tempering:

Green chillies - 2

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Heeng - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Chop cucumbers, add roasted crushed peanuts, yogurt, salt, little sugar if you like. Mix it well. Season with mustard, jeera, heeng, green chillies.

You can make it with either cucumbers or onions and tomatoes or grated radish. 

Elai Ada Savory

Ingredients:

Coconut  1 cup

Salt

1 cup rice

1 tsp boiled rice

Method:

Soak rice 1 cup for 2 hrs add 1 tsp boiled rice also for softness when soaking rice. Grind it very nicely as a thick paste add a little salt. Add little salt to the coconut. Then spread batter in banana leaf spread coconut mix and fold the banana leaf and steam for 10 min. If you don't have banana leaf, just spread it in idli stand, add stuffing and cover again on top and steam.

Elai Ada Sweet

Ingredients:

Coconut  1 cup

Jaggery 1/2 cup

Ghee

Cardamon powder

Ripe Jack fruit (optional)

1 cup rice

1 tsp boiled rice

Method:

Make poornam as of sweet modak. If you get jack fruit you can cook the jack fruit add in poornam (this is original elai ada)

Soak rice 1 cup for 2 hrs add 1 tsp boiled rice also for softness when soaking rice. Grind it very nicely as a thick paste add a little jaggery for a little sweet.Then spread batter in banana leaf spread poornam and fold the banana leaf and steam for 10 min. If you don't have banana leaf, just spread it in idli stand, add poornam and cover again on top and steam.

Brown Thogayyal

Ingredients

Urad dal 2tbsp

Heeng

Red chilly 3-4 (as per taste)

Oil

Tamarind small lemon size

Coriander leaves

Jaggery

Salt

Method:

Take a pan and add little oil. Fry urad dal, heeng and red chilly and turn off the gas and add a little amount tamarind.  Let the mix cool off. Grind this first then add some coconut, coriander leaves,salt and jaggery and grind it well. This goes well with rice and some curry like moolagootal.

Mango Moorkootan

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango -1

Red whole chillies- 4-6

Methi seeds - 1 tbsp

Curd - 1 cup

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Salt

Haldi

Heeng

Red chilli powder

Mustard seeds

Jaggery (optional)

Method:

Boil Mango pieces and seed with water, salt and haldi until it is soft. Fry roast methi seeds, red chili 4 of them. Let it cool. Grind it with coconut. Mix it in the mango, let it boil. Add red chilli powder for color. Now add beaten curd and mix well. Just boil it once. Add jaggery if you like. Temper with mustard seeds, heeng and red chili.

This goes well with rice or Roti.

Nelikai (Amla) Arachukalaki (chutney)

Ingredients:

Amla (Gooseberry) - 8

Salt

Grated coconut 

Green chillies - 4

Mustard seeds

Oil

Method:

Boil Amla with salt and water until soft. Drain water and let  it cool. Grind it with coconut and green chillies. Temper with mustard seeds.

This goes well with any moolakootal.