Pidi Karunai Masiyal | Karunai Kizhangu Masiyal | Mashed Yam

Pidi Karunai Masiyal | Karunai Kizhangu Masiyal | Mashed Yam | Chettinad Pidi Karunai Masiyal is a tasty, healthy side dish and goes well with sambar, rasam & curd rice. Most of the Chennaities don’t know about pidi karunai and when told, they get it confused with ‘Senai Kizhangu (Elephant Yam)’. Moreover, I found that only very few shops have this pidi karunai kizhangu. All Pazhamudir Cholai outlets in Chennai have a stock of this kizhangu throughout the year. I want to pass on this information before going to the recipe since it will be helpful for those who want to buy this kizhangu & try out this recipe!

Yam is generally considered to be a healthy tuber and good for those with constipation problems. It also helps to cure piles. Hence it is better to include in our regular diet.

There are many tasty dishes like puli kuzhambu, roast, sambar , etc., which can be prepared with this karunai kizhangu. 

Coming to masiyal recipe, it is very easy to prepare and this is a Chettinad special recipe.

Ingredients:

• Pidi karunai kizhangu – 5 Nos.(Medium size)
• Onion (finely chopped) -  1 No.
• Garlic (crushed) – 2 pods
• Green chilli (slitted)– 1 No.
• Tomato (finely chopped) – 1 No.
• Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Tamarind – small marble size
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Jeera (cumin seeds) – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – few

Method:

1. Wash pidi karunai well in running water. Pressure cook the washed kizhangu with required water until it gets cooked well (Normally, it takes 3 to 4 whistles).
2. When the pressure subsides, take out the pidi karunai and allow it to cool.
3. In the mean time, soak tamarind in ¼ cup of water, squeeze out the pulp and keep it ready.
4. Peel off the skin from the pidi karunai and mash it well. To this mashed kizhangu, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, tamarind pulp and salt and mix everything well. Keep it aside.
5. Pour oil in a kadai and season with the items given “For seasoning”. Then add finely chopped onion and cushed garlic. Sauté well.
6. Add green chilli and tomato and sauté well. Then add mashed kizhangu and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add ½ cup water, mix everything well and cook the masiyal in simmer by keeping the kadai closed.
8. Then open the lid and cook well until it reaches masiyal consistency.

Healthy & tasty pidi karunai masiyal is ready! This masiyal can be mixed with hot, steaming rice and had simply with appalam. I like to have it with idli/dosa too. Today,  I have served this masiyal with vendaikkai sambar and appalam!!

Note:

• You can make the masiyal  thinner if you want to  mix it  with plain rice rather than as a side dish.

Tags: Karunaikkizhangu masiyal, Chettinad karunai kizhangu recipe, Pidi karunai masiyal recipe, mashed yam recipe, healthy yam recipe, recipe for constipation, recipe using pidi karunai to cure piles, chettinad style masiyal, healthy masiyal recipe

I am sending this to South indian Cooking of Anu's Event hosted by Nandoos Kitchen

Read more ...

Oats Porridge | Oats Porridge with Fruits & Nuts

Oats porridge…I know all of you will ask, what is so special about oats porridge other than the fact that it is easy to make, healthy & is a low calorie food. Even my son asked me “what is there to post for oats porridge” while arranging for the photo shoot.  But its simplicity is its biggest plus as it helps when we are bored of cooking,  have no time for cooking, or want to have something light, like to fast for few days J and so many. Also I thought I could share some information on oats porridge.

All weight watchers think that including oats in the regular diet will help keeping weight under control. The oats porridge can be prepared with buttermilk and a pinch of salt for better results or if you  want to add milk, skimmed milk should be added but sugar should be avoided.

For diabetics, oats porridge should not be prepared watery if it is for the main course. The quantity of oats has to be increased accordingly and prepared in thicker consistency. Added fruits should also be selected accordingly.

Above all, the clicks have come out well, so I don’t want to miss them …to exhibit my photography skills J.

You can also follow the cooking instructions given on the top cover but I followed the method below.

Ingredients:

• Oats – 2 to 3 tbsp
• Milk – ½ cup
• Water – ½ cup
• Honey – 1 to 2 tbsp (optional)
• Fruits & Nuts as required.

Method:

1. Boil water in a sauce pan. Add quick oats to boiling water and stir continuously.
2. When the oats is cooked, add milk and cook till it reaches porridge consistency.
3. Remove from fire and serve with fruits and nuts of your choice.

Your healthy oats porridge is ready to serve!

Today I have served Oats Porridge with cut strawberries, kiwi and walnuts. I didn’t even add honey | any other ingredients for sweet taste because I felt that the sugar in the fruits is enough and no one could find out it is missed.

Note:

• You can add honey | sugar after removing porridge from fire.

Tags: oats porridge recipe, porridge recipe with oats & milk, low calorie oats porridge recipe, oats porridge with fruits & nuts, healthy diet recipes, diabetic recipes

Read more ...

Mutton Chukka | Mutton Dry Chukka

Mutton Chukka is yet another spicy fry made with boneless mutton | goat meat.  I have tasted  varieties of mutton chukka and the method of preparation varies from place to place but I always opt for Chettinad Mutton Chukka | Mutton Dry Chukka. This  is a dry fry item which can be  made with minimal ingredients as compared to any non-veg recipes and by following simple steps. I would suggest this recipe for a bachelor if anyone wants to try  a simple recipe with mutton which suits best  even for rasam and to make the meal exotic & something different. It goes well with non-vegetarian gravies like Elumbu Sambar, Elumbu Thanni Kuzhambu, etc., and also can  be had with any vegetable sambar, rasam, curd rice, variety rices | pulaos.

Ingredients:

• Mutton ( Boneless) – ¼ Kg.
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½  tsp
• Small Onion (finely chopped) – 15 Nos.
• Garlic (finely chopped) – 8 to 10 Nos.                       
• Tomato (finely chopped) – 1 No. (small)       
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Pepper-Jeera powder – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste.

For seasoning:

• Bay leaf – 1 no.
• Cinnamon – 1” piece
• Kal paasi  - 1 piece
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
• Red chilli – 2 Nos.
• Curry leaves – few
• Gingelly Oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash mutton thoroughly, cube it and pressure cook along with salt, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and ½ cup water  for about 3 whistles and 5 minutes in simmer.
2. Take a non-stick pan | heavy bottomed kadai, pour oil (preferably gingelly oil), season with items one by one given under seasoning.
3. Add onion and garlic, fry till it becomes golden brown.
4. Next add tomato, fry till it gets mashed well, then add red chilli powder, sauté till oil gets separated. Then transfer the contents from the pressure cooker, mix well, add required salt ( remember we add salt while cooking mutton), cover with the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Open the lid and allow the water from the gravy to get dry completely by stirring in between.
6. When the fry becomes dry without any gravy, add  pepper- jeera powder,  mix well and switch off.

Your Chettinad Mutton Chukka is ready to  be served with hot steaming rice as I said earlier. I love to have this chukka with tamarind rice. Try this combo for yourself!

Note:

• Carefully add salt while frying because this fry won’t need much salt.
• Mutton chukka needs some  spiciness  but you can either raise |  reduce the red chillies and chilli powder according to your spice level.

Tags: Recipe for mutton chukka, Authentic Chettinad Mutton Chukka recipe, How to prepare Chettinad Mutton Chukka? Restaurant style mutton chukka recipe, Bachelor’s recipe with mutton, Bachelors’ mutton chukka recipe, Mutton fry recipe, Chettinad mutton fry recipe, Mutton dry fry recipe, Mutton fry recipe without gravy, Chettinad mutton dry chukka recipe, Dry mutton chukka recipe

Read more ...

Paruppu Vadai | Masal Vada | Aama Vadai | Parippu Vada

Paruppu Vadai | Masal Vada | Aama Vadai | Parippu Vada is an interesting South Indian snack. It is not only an usual snack but it is made as a special dish on all festive occasions.   No vegetarian feast is complete without ‘Vada’ & ‘Payasam’ irrespective of the number of dishes made. I usually prefer to make Paruppu Vada for lunch | evening snack and Medhu Vada for morning breakfast. It can also be made  for Neivedyam for some poojas! If this vada is made for Pooja, it can be prepared with No onion & No garlic.

Paruppu vada is best enjoyed with a sip of tea! 

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

• Bengal Gram Dhal (KadalaiParuppu) – 1 cup
• Red chillies – 6 nos
• Fennel seeds – 1 Tbsp
• Garlic – 2 to 3 pods
• Green chillies (finely chopped) – 2 nos
• Asafoetida  -  1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Shallots (finely chopped) – 15 nos
• Ginger (chopped) – 1 tsp
• Coriander and curry leaves ( finely chopped)- 1 Tbsp each
• Salt as required
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Soak the kadalaiparuppu and red chillies for minimum one hour. Now add the soaked dhal along with red chillies and garlic and grind it coarsely without adding water and transfer the dhal to a large bowl.
2. With the ground dhal, add fennel seeds, finely chopped green chillies, onion, coriander& curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder and salt and thoroughly mix everything without adding water.
3. In the mean time, heat oil in  a flat bottomed kadai.
4. Make small balls out of the vada mixture. Flatten these balls and fry in slow fire, flip the vadai on both sides till vadais turn into golden brown colour.

Mouth watering, crispy Masal Vadai is ready to eat. This can be taken as evening snack along with tea, I usually reserve some for the evening when it is made for lunch. It can also be had with any variety rice, sambar rice, curd rice or for rasam.

Note :

• Care should be taken while grinding kadalai paruppu, it should be coarsely ground without adding water.

Tags: Paruppu vadai recipe, Masal vadai recipe, How to make crispy vadas with Bengal gram dhal?, Aama vadai recipe, Masala vadai, Hot & crispy vadas for evening snacks, Tea time snacks recipe, ஆம வடை| ஆமை வடை

I am linking this recipe to http://www.aathidhyam.in/2013/12/cook-n-share-what-you-like-event.html

Read more ...

How to prepare Sarkarai Pongal in a traditional open pot ...| Sakkarai Pongal Recipe | Sweet Pongal Recipe

Thai Pongal otherwise known as Tamizhar Thirunaal in Tamilnadu is celebrated in Mid-January. The festival spans four days starting from  the last day of Markazhi and first three days of Thai. Basically this festival is celebrated as a mark of showing our gratitude to “Nature”.  The celebration starts with Bhogi or Mahar Sankranthi , on this day everyone prepares their house for celebrating Pongal by discarding the old, unused items from their house. The next day is Pongal.  On this day, Pongal is made out of the harvested rice. This Pongal along with farm fresh vegetables ,  sugarcane, etc are offered to the Sun God. The next day is Mattu Pongal, celebrated  for the bullocks which help in all agriculture activities. The fourth day is observed as Kaanum Pongal and everyone visits their relatives’ houses to get the blessings of the elders.

In the olden days, many people used to get a new mud pot for making Pongal on the day of Thai Pongal. As the new mud pot  cannot be used straight away  for cooking, it needs to be processed for cooking . So, the preparation for Pongal festival starts a few days ahead.  Some families traditionally follow the way of making pongal in a brass vessel called Vengala Paanai (Brass Pot) and the paanai will be handed over to the next generations. Whatever the pot they use, it needs to be decorated with colourful drawings and  some special flowers,  manjal kizhangu is to be tied around the neck of the pot. The stove will be kept in the open yard and Pongal will be prepared in the special vessel and after preparation it will be offered to Sun-god Surya.

Now, in the apartment culture, it is not at all possible to prepare Pongal in the open yard, but we can make Pongal in Paanai |Pot using our regular stove top. While preparing Pongal, it is customary to let it spill out from  the pot. The symbolism behind the spilling of Pongal is that peace, prosperity and joy must spill over from the pot of life throughout the year.So it is always good to prepare Pongal in open vessel atleast on this day of Pongal instead of using pressure cookers.

Today, I am going to tell you the procedure for making Sakkarai Pongal in Pongal Paanai! The traditional open pot method of preparing Sarkarai Pongal follows few steps and it will get cooked in half-an-hour's time since we are using raw rice.

Ingredients:

• Ponni raw rice – 1 cup
• Green moong dhal – ½ cup
• Water – 5 cups
• Milk – 1  cup
• Crushed jaggery – 1 cup (heap measure)
• Coconut gratings – ½ cup
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Ghee – 2 tbsp
• Cashew nuts – a handful
• Raisins – a handful

Method:

1. Wash raw rice and moong dhal  in water together  twice. Then add 5 cups of water to this, drain the water alone into the pot in which we are going to prepare Pongal.
2. Place the pot over the stove top, add ¼ cup of milk and bring it to boil. Allow the water to boil till it gets spilled over from the pot. Now is the time for “Pongalo Pongal!!” from you and the rest of your family JJJ
3. Reduce the fire immediately and take out   ½  cup of water from the pot and keep it separately. Add the rice, dhal and stir well and cook in simmer stirring now and then.
4. In the mean time, fry cashew nuts and raisins in a tsp of ghee and keep aside.
5. Melt jaggery in ½ cup of water and strain the impurities.
6. When the rice-dhal is done, add the remaining milk and stir well by mashing the rice gently. When the rice absorbs the added milk, add the strained jaggery syrup and mix well. After some time, pongal reaches thick pouring consistency, add cardamom powder, coconut gratings, fried cashew nuts and raisins and stir well Then add the balance ghee and switch off.

Your Sarkarai Pongal | Sakkarai Pongal prepared in a traditional way,  is ready for Pooja!

Note:

• The pot you have chosen for making pongal should be of correct size i.e if you are going to prepare pongal  with 200g rice, it is enough if you choose the pot size of around 2 litres size!
• I have used only one cup of jaggery but you can raise the quantity to 1 ½ cups and better to use Paagu vellam to get brownish colour.

Have a Happy & Prosperous Pongal! Pongalo Pongal!!!

Tags: Sarkarai pongal recipe, Thai Pongal recipe, Festival recipes, Traditional method of making Pongal in a pot, how to prepare pongal in open vessel?, sweetened rice recipe, Sweet pongal recipe with jaggaery, Sweet pongal recipe with Paagu vellam.

Read more ...