Pasta Salad

My friend, Mrs.Chitra Laxman, made this salad for our pot luck lunch and it was 'sold-out'!

And as usual, she was very embarassed to tell me the recipe, saying instead, 'it is just a mix of everything continental, no particular recipe'.

I share here her recipe of Pasta salad. 

I have not given any measurements for the codiments, add them in by the teaspoon and taste as you go along.

Ingredients:

Pasta - 2 cups, boiled and cooled

Onion - 1 large, chopped fine

Tomato - 2, chopped fine

Capsicum / bell pepper - 1, chopped fine

Olives - handful, chopped

Baby tomato - 200 gms, halved

Olive oil - 4 tbsp

Jalapenos - 2 tbsp (optional)

Below mentioned ingredients were mixed without any particular ratio!

Salt (very less as the dressing is salty)

Pepper 

Chilly flakes

Dried basil 

Dried thyme

Dried Oregano

Store bought Italian dressing

Method:

Mix together the cut vegetables and add in the pasta.

Now add the condiments and go by your taste buds till you hit the spot!

Lady in Red is the pasta salad maker (Chitra) and behind her is the kitchen's mistress (Vani)

Chundakka Vathal / Preserving Pea Eggplant / Drying Turkey berry

Solanum Torvum / Thai pea eggplant / Turkey berry / Chundakka

Dried and preserved

This preserve is typical of Tamil Nadu. 

Chundakka is supposed to be high in Iron and is consumed when one is low in iron.

Chundakka is used to as a main ingredient in some curries and as a condiment in some. Example: Vathakozhambu and Kadamba rice.

Preserving these berries is quite easy if you have the help of Surya Bhagavan or the Sun God. It is first soaked and dried under the sun and then fried and used whenever necessary. Just like thayir milagai / curd chillies.

Ingredients:

Fresh Chundakka - 2 cups, stem and stalk removed

Curd - 1 cup

Salt - 1 tbsp

Chilly powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder / manjal - 1 tsp

Uluva / methi / fenugreek seed powder - 1 tsp 

Method:

Wash and drain the Chundakka.

Then using a stone, break each chundakka open. ALL chundakkai must be broken open.

Now wash this open chundakka till almost all seeds are removed.

(about 6-8 washes).

Now dry this on a clean cloth till all water evaporates.

Mix together the curd, salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder and Methi powder.

Add this curd mixture to the chundakka.

Mix it well and keep aside for 1 hour, covered.

Mix again and start drying it under the hot sun in a clean vessel. Try to spread it in 1 layer.

At night, keep covered with a clean white cloth. Do not place a tight lid, as this might cause fungal growth.

In about 2- 3 days all the curd will dry and the chundakka will sound crispy when moved around.

Transfer into an airtight container and use as required.

Before using, deep fry in hot oil, till it blackens. Add it to your curry or enjoy with hot rice topped with ghee.

Podicha Pulinkary / Puli curry without coconut

Pumpkin and other vegetables cooked in a sweet and tangy gravy. 

Almost all curries made in Kerala has coconut. Coconut grows aplenty and is used in all possible ways.

Kerala is got from the name Keralam...The land of kera or coconut.

This curry is a 'freak'! No dal, no coconut. 

And thus it's reputation is not too good. 

You make this curry only on those days when you are sure no guests will come! :D

My grandmother, (late) Mrs. Lakshmy Suryanarayanan, used to make this only as the curry of dinner. I make this often!! So easy, why not?

In this recipe, pumpkin and the ground masala powder are the stars. Take time to make the masala.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin, Potato, Drumstick, Carrot - 2 cups

Tamarind ball of 1-1/2 inch diameter

Salt

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Jaggery - 1/2 tbsp

Masala powder ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 tbsp (soaked in water for 1 hour)

Dry Red chilly - 6 or more

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

For the tadka / garnish:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red chilly - 2, broken

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Shallot / small onion - 4, cut into thin rounds (optional)

Method for making masala powder:

Take a heavy bottomed pan and fry the dry red chilli and fenugreek seeds, until the seeds start popping. Keep aside.

Reduce flame. In the same pan, add the soaked rice after draining the water and start frying. The rice will initially stick to the pan, but after some time will move around.

Fry till the rice turns golden brown. 

Turn off flame and add in the fried red chilli and fenugreek seeds.

Cool and powder. It will be quite coarse.

Method to make curry:

Cut the vegetables into slighly large chunks.

Start by boiling the potato in water.

When it gets half cooked, add the carrot, pumpkin and drumstick.

When the carrot gets half cooked, add the tamarind pulp, salt and turmeric powder.

Boil till all the vegetables soften.

Now add the powdered masala. The curry will immediately thicken.

Carefully add more water to dilute gravy.

Bring to a boil and add the jaggery.

Boil for one more minute.

Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds.

Then add the broken red chillies and curry leaf. (Add the shallots and fry till golden.)

Add this to the curry.

Serve hot with rice.

Sambar with Sambar-Keerai

Sambar Keerai is a herb we usually find here in South India. Sadly, I do not know it's biological or English name.

We usually make sambar with this leaf and I have not had it in any other form. Since it does not grow at home frequently and is unavailable in the market, we have it utmost once or twice a year.

The traditional recipe is very simple. Make sambar without any vegetables. Then just add this leaf to the hot gravy and cover the vessel.
But at home, my husband loves vegetables in sambar, so I make the sambar with all vegetables and add this herb in at the very end. Anyway, the quantity of this keerai available is quite less. And it wilts in the hot gravy. So it makes sense.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sambar either with or without any vegetables.

Method of making sambar without any vegetables.
Boil tamarind water with salt, turmeric powder until the raw smell of tamarind goes. Now add the sambar powder and asafoetida. Boil for 2-3 minutes and add the boiled dal. Cook for 3-4 minutes more and turn off flame. Splutter and add mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaf.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After your sambar is ready, this is what you do.

Pictorial for the rest of the process.

Remove leaf from stalk and wash well

Cut the leaf, not too small.

Prepare Sambar either with / without vegetables

After you turn off flame, add the cut leaf into the hot gravy and cover.

Look how the leaves have wilted after 10-15 minutes.

Final product!

Keerai masiyal / Pureed Spiced Spinach

Spiced Pureed Spinach. This is the South Indian way of making a spicy gravy out of spinach.

North Indian's usually have spinach gravy like in palak paneer. Very rich but a little hard to make.
This South Indian curry has all the goodness of spinach intact, but is not too rich. And the cooking process is minimal. The onion and green chilly are added directly into the spinach. There is no tamarind or tomato added to the curry. Oil is also less. This is another great way to eat the leafy green.

We use a certain variety of spinach called 'ara keerai' to make this recipe. But it tastes just as good with other leaves like palak and ordinary cheera / keera

Arakeerai

Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Shallot / small onion - 3
Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)
Green chilly - 1 (add more or less to suit your family's taste)

For garnish:
Oil (preferable coconut / refined) - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
White rice - 1 tsp (optional)
Red chilly - 2, broken

Method:
Wash the leaves well to remove all grime.
Place in a pressure cooker with little salt, turmeric powder, onion, garlic and green chilly. Pour in 1/2 cup of water.

Pressure cook for 3 whistles and turn off flame.

Mash / puree well.

Give it one boil and turn off flame.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter the mustard. Then add in the urad dal, white rice and red chilly. Once dal turns red, add on top of the pureed spinach.
Serve at room temperature with hot rice and ghee.

Khara Bhaat

Mixed Vegetable Rava Upma with tomato.
Another great breakfast dish with all the right ingredients to make your day.

Ingredients:

Rava / Sooji - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp + 1tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2, broken
Cashewnuts - 12
Green chilly - 2, split
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Ginger - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Carrot, beans, green peas, potato - 1 cup
Coriander leaf - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Boiling water - 2 1/2 cups

Method:
Boil the potato and carrots (covered) in just enough salted water till it gets half cooked. Then add the beans, green peas and cook till all the vegetables are nearly done and all the water gets evaporated.
Heat a heavy bottomed vessel / kadai and add 1 tbsp ghee.
Fry the cashewnut until golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Now fry the rava in the same ghee till good smell comes. Transfer to another vessel.
Heat the oil in the same kadai and splutter the mustard seeds.
Then add the urad dal, red chillies and fry till dal turns golden brown.
Now add the onions, green chilly, curry leaf and ginger.
Fry till onion turns translucent.

Add the tomato, salt and turmeric powder to this and fry till the skin of the tomato starts peeling and it becomes mushy.

Add the cooked vegetables to this and mix well.

Add the fried rava and mix well.

Add the boiling water and mix it into the rava, vegetable mix.
Lower flame and cook covered for 2 minutes till all the water gets absorbed.
Now add 1 tbsp ghee and mix it in.

Serve hot garnished with fried cashewnuts and chopped coriander leaf.
Serve with coconut chutney.

Tengoil / Thenkuzhal / Crispy Savoury from Tamil Nadu

College admissions......That time of the year when you are fretting over the cut-offs, different academic streams, different cities and very tense.... as first off your child is leaving you and second you are never really sure if the choice you made is right!

Bangalore had Mount Carmel College...
So, we went to Bangalore. There we stayed at my husband's cousin's house and his amazing family made sure that we were very comfortable.
Inspite of us flitting in and out of their house at odd hours, Kavita was always smiling and serving us hot meals. She knows that a full tummy always makes decision-making easier!

One evening after a particularly heavy session of Paying Guest accomodation search, we landed up at their house exhausted. She served us tea and this crunchy tasty snack. We had one bowl and slowly the whole 'dabba' / storage vessel was brought forth!

You should also try this crunchy evening snack. And I think you MUST make it in large quantity.
It is great 'make ahead' snack and it can be stored for long...like butter murukku, cheedai and thattai.

Recipe source : Mrs. Kavita Raj 

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 4 parts
(either make at home with recipe below or use 'appam' flour available in the market)
Urad dal flour - 1 part
Pottu Kadala flour - 1/4 part
Til seeds / pepper / jeera powder - 1/8 part
Butter - 1/4 part
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method for preparing rice flour:
Wash and soak the rice in water for 10 minutes.
Spread the drained rice on a clean white cotton towel and place under the fan for 10 minutes.
Powder well and sieve through the smallest hole of your arippai / chalni.
Powder and keep sieving until all the rice gets used up.
Throw away the non-fine particles.
Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and add the flour to this.
Stir for 2 minutes and turn off flame.
Keep stirring till the vessel reaches room temperature.
Measure 4 cups of rice flour for this recipe.

Method to make Pottu kadala flour:

(image source : google images)

Dry roast the pottu kadala in a heavy bottomed vessel on a low flame till it gets heated through , but does not lose colour.
Cool, powder and sieve.
Use 1/4 cup of this in this recipe.

Method to make Urad Dal Flour:
Dry fry the urad dal on a VERY low flame till good smell comes and dal starts turning golden brown.
Turn of flame and continue stirring till vessel cools.
Cool the dal and powder.
Sieve well, using the same sieve as the one used to sieve the rice flour.
Use 1 cup for this recipe.

Method:

Mix together the dry ingredients and add in the butter.
Mix till it gets well incorporated.

Add enough water to make a smooth dough.
Keep the oil for frying on a medium heat.
Use a press and make desired shape with the dough and drop directly into the hot oil.
Fry until golden brown.
Remove from oil using a slotted spoon.
Cool to nearly room temperature and store in an air tight container.