Ukkarai

Ingredients:

Raw rice rawa : 1 cup
Jaggery : 2 cup (1:2 ratio - 1 cup rice: 2 cup jaggery - adjust to ur taste)
soaked & Half Cooked Moong dal : 1/2 cup
scrapped coconut : 1 cup
Ghee : 3
Cashew nuts: 1-2 tsp (5- 8 nos)
Raisins : 1 tsp
Elachi powder : 1 tsp
Water :2 cups (1:2 - 1cup rice rawa : 2 cups water)

Method:
Heat ghee in a kadai, then fry the cashewnuts & after a min, add raisins and fry.
Then add rice rawa, and fry until it reaches light brown color & a nice arome will come.
At this stage, add 2 cups of water & cook the rice rawa.
Once rice is cooked, then add half cooked moong dal and then immediately add jaggery powder.
Mix well.
Then add scrapped coconut, then add elachi powder.
Turn off the stove & serve it as hot.
Sweet Ukkarai is ready to serve.

Coconut Rice (Thengai sadam)

This is again a very authentic south indian recipe. It's very easy to prepare & it's one of the best lunch box recipe.
This goes well the mashed potato fry.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice : 2 cups (use 10% less water than you normally do to cook the rice)
Fresh grated coconut : 1/2 cup
Dry red chillies : 5nos
Gram daal (Kadalai Parruppu) : 1 tsp
Hing - pinch
Mustard seeds : 1 tsp 
Urad dal  : 1 tsp
Gingelly oil : 4 tsp
Curry leaves -5nos
Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a pan , add mustard seeds + urad dal and saute until the mustard seeds starts spluttering.
Then add curry leaves, gram dal , hing, red chillies, grated coconut  salt in the same order and saute well.
Once the coconut scrappings turns into light brown (at this stage nice aroma also comes from the coconut), then add cooked rice and mix gently.
Coconut rice is ready to serve.

PS: The rice should be non- sticky.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

Ponni rice - 1 1/2 cup
Lemon - 1 no (Wash, Cut and sqeeze the juice)
Red chilli - 3 nos
Gram daal (Kadalai Paruppu) - 1 tbs
Peanuts (Dry and roasted) : 1 tsp (Optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing : 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad daal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbs
Gingelly oil (nalla ennai) - 2 tbs
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - washed and chopped - one handful (optional)
Curry leaves - 4 nos

Method:

Wash and cook the rice with 3 1/2 cups of water in a rice cooker. Once the rice is done remove the cover and let it cool.
Heat cooking oil and gingelly oil together in a pan.
Then add mustard seeds + urad daal + gram daal +Peanuts.
Once the mustard seeds starts spluttering,add curry leaves and red chillies.
Then add the turmeric powder and hing.
At this stage add the cooked rice to this and mix well.
Turn off the stove & then add the lemon juice and mix gently.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Lemon rice is ready to serve.

Cabbage Poriyal

Ingredients:

Cabbage : 1 cup finely chopped
Onion : 1/2 finely chopped
Green chillies : 1 roughly chopped
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp
Scrapped coconut : 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Urad dal  : 1/2 tbs
Oil
Salt to taste
Curry leaves

Method:

Wash the cabbage & cut it into small thin slices & cook it in microwave with little water.
(In case microwave is not available, then pressure cook it for 2-3 whistles & not much).
Heat oil in a pan and then add mustard seeds,urad dal.
Once mustard seeds splutters, then add cumin seeds,chopped green chillies and onion.
Cook until the onion become transparent.
At this stage, add cooked cabbage and then sprinkle salt to it.
Saute well and then add the scrapped coconut and remove from fire.

Serve hot with sambar rice.

Chow chow kootu

Ingredients:

Chow chow  - 1 no
Moong daal/ Paasi paruppu : 1/2 cup (washed & soaked for 10 -15 mins)
Onion : 1
Green chillies : 2
Grated coconut : 1/2 cup
Hing : 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
Urad daal : 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds : 1 tsp
curry leaves
Corinader leaves
Coconut Oil
Salt

Method :

Peel the outer skin of the chow chow & Cut it into small 1" pieces and keep it aside.
Cook the soaked moong dal along with chow chow in the pressure cooker fro 3 whistles.
Take the grated coconut and then add 2 small onions + 2 green chillies + 1tsp cumin seeds & grind
it very coarsely without water. Keep this aside.
Heat coconut oil in pan, then add mustard seeds and urad dal.
wait until the mustard seeds spluttering, then add the chopped onions and saute until it become
transparent.
Then add the cooked chow chow & moong daal mixture, grinded coconut mixture and salt.
Mix well and cook for few mins. Turn off the stove.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves & chow chow kootu is ready to serve.

Vendaikkai Poriyal (Ladys finger/Bhindhi poriyal)

This is the simplest method and authentic way to cook vendaikai.
very easy to cook vendaikkai for the beginners.

Ingredients:

Onion - 1/2 (chopped)
Green chillies - 1 (cutted straight)
Ladys finger / vendaikkai - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Scrapped Coconut - 1 cup
Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
urad dal- 1/2 tbs
Oil
Curry leaves - 3 nos
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad daal. Once it started spluttering add
curry leaves. Add green chillies immediately after curry leaves.
Then add chopped onion into it & saute until the onion become transparent.
Add okra and fry.
Slowly add the remaining oil after every 5 secs, so that the sticky gel in the ladys finger will go off and in the same time it's cooked.
Add salt and grated coconut to the ladys finger mixture & turn off the stove.
Easy Ladys finger poriyal is ready to serve.
This goes well with the sambar rice.

Semiya Kesari/Vermicelli kesari/Halwa

Ingredients:
Vermicelli - 200 grams (11/2 cups)
Powdered sugar - 150 grams (1 1/4 cup)
Yellow/saffron food color - 1 pinch
Ghee - 4 tbs
Cashew nuts - 10 nos
Raisins - 10 nos
Roughlt crushed Cardamom - 2 nos
Water
Salt - pinch (optional)

Method:

Heat 1 tbs of ghee in a pan in low flame. Add vermicelli and stir fry till golden brown and keep
it aside.
Heat 1 tbs ghee in the same pan and fry cashew nuts, raisin in it. Keep this aside.
Dissolve the yellow /saffron food colour in little water & keep it aside.
In a kadai, heat 3 cups of water and wait until the water boils.
Then add vermicelli, fried cashews, raisins, cardamom mix. Stir well.
When the vermicelli is cooked (ie)it starts bubbling),then add sugar/sugar powder to it and add the remaining ghee. Mix thoroughly.
Cook the vermicilli until the water content goes off. Stir consiously and continously for every 2 mins.
Turn off the stove & vermicelli kesari is ready to serve.
Serve this kesari either hot or cold.

Rava Dosa

Ingredients:

Rava / Semolina : 1 cup
Cumin seeds : ½ tbs
Pepper corns : ½ tbs
Onion (finely chopped) : 1/2
Water
Salt

Method:

Soak rava in equal quantiy of water for 30-45m ins.
After 45 mins, grind the rava in a blender/mixie with water & prepare a very thin batter.
Add the chopped onions, crushed pepper corns ,cumin seeds into the batter.
Heat tawa & splash the batter & then sprinkle oil on the sides of the dosa.
Cook on both sides till golden brown.
Repeat the same process for the remaining batter to prepare more dosas.
Serve hot with coconut chutney.

PS: Even you can add curd to this rava dosa batter. But this is optional.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:


For tadka:
Mustard seeds :1 tsp
Urad dal :1/2 tsp
Red chilly : 1 (optional)
Curry leaves
Oil

Method:

Take a blender & then add all the above mentioned  ingredients into it.
Grind all the ingredients into fine paste with very little water.
Heat oil in a kdai, then add mustard seeds and urad dal.
wait until the mustards seeds splutter, then add red chilly & curry leaves.
Add this tadka to the grinded chutney & serve.
This goes well with  Idly/dosa/Rice/ Variety rice...Fresh coconut - 1 cup
Dry Roasted  peanuts - 1 handful
Dried red chillies - 4 nos
Fresh tamarind - 1 small piece
Salt to taste

Ulundu vadai (Urad daal vada)

This is a traditional recipe from south india which is usually served along with Idly/Pongal in the morning.

Ingredients:

Ulundhu / Urad daal - 1 cup
Onion - 3/4 finely chopped
Green chillies - 3 nos finely chopped
Pepper : 1 tsp
Cumin seeds : 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped
Asafeotida / hing - pinch
Salt to taste
Curry leaves - 6 nos finely chopped

Method:

Wash and soak the urad daal for 1 1/2 - 2 hours and strain water completely.
Grind the urad daal with salt & hing into a thick batter with very little or no water.
To this batter, add onion, green chillies, coriander leaves, pepper , cumin seeds and mix well.
Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
Take small balls & flaten that batter using your palm & then drop the same into the oil.
Stir fry the vadas until it became golden brown color. Then take out the vada and keep it on a
tissue paper for few seconds to strain the oil.
Serve hot with coconut chutney or ketch up or sambhar.

PS:
Even though the traditional method is to flatten the vadas, we can also make the vadas without flattening. ie) just stir fry in the shape of balls...

Paal Kolukkattai (Steamed rice balls in coconut milk )

Ingredients:

Rice flour : 1 cup
Jaggery : 1 cup
Elachi powder: 1 tsp
Coconut milk : 1 cup

Method:

Mix rice flour with hot water & knead the dough like chappathi dough.
Make small balls out of this dough and keep this aside.
Boil the water in a pan/kadai and then add these rice balls and cook until the outer layer of the balls turns into transparent.
In anathor pan heat water and add powdered jaggery to it.
Wait untill the jaggery will be dissolved in the water.
Drain all the impurities in the jaggery & then add the cooked rice balls into the jaggery.
At this stage, add the coconut milk/even plain milk & elachi powder and cook for a min.
Turn off the stove & Paal kolukkatai is ready to serve.

Murungai keerai Adai

Ingredients:

Raw rice :1 cup
Boiled rice :1 cup
Urad dal :1/4 cup
Toor dal :1/2 cup
Gram dal : 1/2 cup
Green chillies :2
Red chillies: 4-5
Murungai keerai : 1 cup
Curry leaves
Cumin seeds : 2 tsp
asafoetida (hing) : 1 tsp
Ginger :1" piece
Gingelly oil
salt to taste

Method:

Wash and soak the dals and rice together for 3-4 hours.
Drain the water and keep it aside
In a blender, put the dal & rice mixture, then add green chillies, red chillies, ginger piece and grind it coarsely without adding water.
Then add salt & mix the murungai keerai to the grinded mixture.
Heat a tawa and spread the batter like dosa.(but since the batter is slightly thick, the adai will also be thicker than the regular dosa)
Sprinkle the gingelly oil over the adai & cook on both sides till golden brown.
Repeat the same process for the remaining batter to prepare more adais.
Serve it hot with avial or with coconut chutney or even with powdered jaggery/sugar.

Yellow Pumkin Halwa

This is very easy to make & not much stirring...yet delicious halwa..

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin:  ( grated) : 1 kg
Sugar : 3 tsp
Elachi powder - 1 tsp
Ghee: 3 tsp
khoa: 1/2 cup
Finely chopped Badam & cashew nuts - for garnishing

Method:

Heat 2 tsp Ghee in a non stick tawa.
Once it's melted, add grated yellow pumkin into it & saute for 3-4 mins.
Once it's done, then add khoa & sugar. Mix well.
Then add elachi powder and mix well...
Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in another kadai and fry the chopped nuts until it turns golden brown color.
Mix the nuts into the halwa & serve it hot...

Yellow pumkin halwa is ready to serve..

PS:
Since the pumkin itself is sweet, we don't have to add much sugar for this halwa.

Venthaiya Kulambu (Methi kulambu)

Ingredients:

Venthaiyam/Methi seeds : 1 -1 1/2 tsp
Raw rice : 2 tsp
Red chilly : 3
Tamarind pulp : 1 lemon size
Jaggery : 1 TSP (optional)
Onions :1 chopped
Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
salt
Oil
Curry leaves

Method:

Heat tawa, then dry roast methi seeds for 1-2 mins.
Then add raw rice & red chillies and fry for 4-5 mins.
Once it's done, allow it to cool.
Grind the above mixture using a blender & keep it aside.
Heat oil in a tawa,then add mustard seeds.
Once the mustard seeds started spluttering, then add curry leaves & saute.
Then add tamarind pulp & saute until the raw smell is gone.
Then add little water, grinded mixture, chopped onions, turmeric powder and little jaggery.
Mix it well & allow it to boil.

Vendaiya kulambu is ready to serve.

This goes well with Rice.

Soya Upma

Ingredients:

Soya (soaked in water) : 3/4 cup
Carrot : 1/2 (Cut into length wise)
Cabbage : 3/4 cup
Onion : 1/2 (finely chopped)
Green chillies :2
Mustard Seeds :1/2 tsp
Urad dal :2 tsp
Ginger (finely chopped) :1/2 tsp
cumin seeds :1/2 tsp
salt : to taste
oil :1 tsp
Lemon juice : 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, then add mustard seeds & cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
Then add ginger & urad dal. Wait until the dal turns into light brown.
Then add onion & fry.
Add carrot, cabbage, green chillies & salt and saute well.
At this stage add the soaked soya & saute for few minutes.
While serving, squeese a lemon & garnish with coriander leaves.
Soya upma is ready..

Raagi Chilla (Raagi dosa)

Ingredients:

Ragi flour :4 tsp
Soya flour : 1 tsp
Onion : 1/2 finely chopped
ginger : 1/2 tsp finely chopped
sesame seeds :1 tsp
Green chillies : 1 finely chopped
Onion : 1/2 finely chopped
corainder leaves : 2 tsp finely chopped
salt
oil

Method :

In a bowl mix raagi flour, soya flour , onion, green chillies, sesame seeds, salt & mix well.
Add coriander leaves & water into it and mix well. Make sure there is no lumps in the batter.
The batter should be thin enough to pour it on a griddle.
Heat tawa & put 1 tsp of oil into it & then pour 1 ladder full of raagi batter.
Once it's cooked into light brown color & then flip on the other side and cook.
ie) Cook both the sides of the dosa.
raagi dosa is ready to serve.

Oats oothappam

Ingredients:

Oats : 4 Tsp
Curd :1 cup
Tomato : 1/2 finely chopped
Onion : 1/4 chopped
cabbage : 1 tsp finely chopped
Panner : 2 tsp (grated)
Green peas : 1 tsp
green chillies (slitted):
3-4 curry leaves

Method:

Soak oats with curd and little water for 1 -1.5 hours.
Then add curry leaves , salt and mix well in the form of dosa batter.
Also add green chilly, corainder leaves into the batter and mix well.
Heat tawa & spread the batter in the tawa.
Then sprinkle onion, cabbage,peas,tomato,paneer etc over the dosa.
Once it's cooked into light brown color & then flip the dosa on the other side and cook.
ie) Cook both the sides of the dosa.

Oats oothappam is ready to serve.

Yellow Pumpkin kootu

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin : 1 piece (cut into 1" cubes)
karamani (Cow peas/Black eyed beans) : 1 cup (boiled along with little salt)
Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder : 1 tsp (adjust to ur taste)
Scrapped coconut : 2 tsp
Salt
Coconut oil -1 tsp
Curry leaves


Method :

In a kadai put the yellow pumkin pieces & then add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, salt &
little water.
Allow the pumkin to be cooked.
Once it's cooked ,then mash the pumkin uniformly.
Then add the already cooked karamani to this and cook it for 4-5 mins.
Then add 2 tsp scrapped coconut to this & mix.
Then add 1 tsp of coconut oil & curry leaves in the centre of the pan & close the lid for 5 mins. No seperate tadka for this kootu.
Turn off the stove.
Pumkin karamani kottu is ready to serve.
This goes well with Rice/Roti/Phulka/Chappathi..

Cabbage Chutney

Ingredients:

Cabbage: 1 cup
Tomato : 1 (medium size - roughly chopped)
Onion : 1 (medium size - roughly chopped)
Scrapped coconut : 2 tsp (optional)
Tamarind pulp : 1 -2 tsp
Green chillies : 2 (adjust to ur taste)
Mustard: 1 tsp
Red chillies : 1-2
curry leaves
Oil
Salt


Method:

Heat oil in a kadai, then add onion and saute well for few mins.
Then add chopped tomato & saute.
Then add cabbage to this & saute well.
Also add chopped green chillies, salt and mix well.
Once the cabbage is cooked, then add coconut & tamarind pulp to this mixture & mix well.
Turn off the stove & allow this mixture to cool.
Then put the above into a blender/mixie & grind into a coarse paste.
Heat 1/2 tsp oil & add mustard seeds into.
Once they started splutter, then add red chilly & curry leaves.
Add this tadka into the grinded cabagge chutney and mix gently.
Cabbage chutney is ready to serve.

This goes well with rice/roti/chappathi/idly/dosa.

Idli Mulagai podi

Ingredients:

Urad dal-3 Table spoon
Channa Dal - 2 Table spoon
Red chillies - 5-8
Garlic - 2-3
Hing -1 tsp
Rice - 1tsp (optional)
Salt - as required

Method:

Dry roast the Dals , rice to golden colour along with hing & keep it aside.
Heat ½  tsp oil and fry red chilli to dark brown reddish colour.
At the end add garlic flakes as well & fry.
Once it came to room temparature, the add salt and grind to a coarse dry mixture.
Idly mulagai podi is ready to serve.

Mix this dried podi with Gingelly oil &have it.
This is the best side dish for Idly/dosa.

Ellu chutney (Sesame seeds chutney)

Ingredients:

Ellu or Sesame seeds - 3/4 cup
Red chillies - 06- 08 nos (adjust to ur spice level)
Tamarind - 1 lemon size ball
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp optional
Salt to taste
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Gingelly oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat a kadai and dry roast the sesame seeds or ellu
When it splutters, remove the same from fire.(Be little consicious while roasting the sesame seeds, because it'll become smooky & dark if u over roast the seeds)
Heat oil in a kadai and fry the red chillies & keep it aside.
Then in the same kadai fry the urad dhal & tamarind.
Now first grind red chillies, tamarind, salt to a very fine paste with optional jaggery
Add sesame seeds and urad dhal to the above mixture and then grind this
coarsely with minimum water.
Sesame seeds chutney is ready to serve.

This  is the best and most commonly used side dish for Urad dal rice.

Onion Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

Small onion - 10-15
Tomato - 1 (cut into pieces)
Red chillies - 5-8 nos (adjust to ur spice level)
Tamarind- 1 small lemon size
Mustard seeds = 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and then add mustard seeds and urad dal.
Once the mustard seeds starts spluttering, then add red chillies and saute for a min.
Then add onions and the tomato pieces. Saute well for few mins until the onion become transparent & the tomato pieces became mushy.
Now turn off the stove & add tamarind to this mixture and gently mix well.
Allow it to cool to room temp.
Then transfer the above mixture along with the salt into a mixie jar/blender & grind it with no or very little water.
Transfer it into a serving bowl & garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Onion tomato chutney is ready to serve.

This is a good combination for Idly or dosa.

Urad Dal Rice - Ulunthan Paruppu Sadam

Ingredients:
Rice-1cup
Urad dal(preferably with the skin) - 1/4 cup
Fresh coconut (scraped) - 1cup
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Garlic - 2-3
Salt to taste
Gingely oil- 1 tsp
water - as required

Method:

Roast urad dal in a kadai without the oil until it turns into golden colour.
Remove and mix the dal with the rice and wash well for 2-3 times.
Add 3½  cups of water (adjust to ur choice of rice used)salt,fenugreek and garlic.
Cook it in a pressure cooker normally.
Once the rice and urad dal is cooked, then add a tsp of gingelly oil & scrapped coconut into the rice & mix gently.

This goes well with Avial and sesame seeds chutney, or Appalam/papadam or onion Vadagam or even
with the coarsely powdered Jaggery.

This is too gud for health especially for the girls & ladies.