Pachai Malli Chutney (Green Coriander Chutney)

Preparation time : 5 minutes      Cooking time : Nil Serves 4  Difficulty :  Easy This is a simple chutney which my grandma used to make it a side dish for idli/dosa. Please don’t get it confused with the green chutney we make for chat items. The term “Pachai” refers to raw i.e uncooked, no cooking or seasoning needed for this chutney.  The taste and flavor of the chutney which my grandma used to make those days still linger in my memories. The tangy and spicy taste of the chutney along with the fresh flavor of coriander,   mixed  with  cold...

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Red Aval Payasam (Red Poha Kheer)

Happy Krishna Jayanthi to all! Krishna …. A character liked by all age groups, adorned worldwide and  linked with everybody’s life. Krishna is the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu and  his birth is celebrated as Krishna Jayanthi/ Gokulashtami/ Janmashtami . We all know Krishna is fond of butter, milk, sweets , aval and snacks like seedai, murukku etc. So it is a practice to offer these things  as “Nivedyam” on Krishna Jayanthi. Today I prepared Red Aval Payasam as Gokulashtami Special. Very simple but delicious, healthy desert made with minimum ingredients. Ingredinets: Red aval...

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Mooli ka Paratha | Mooli Parantha| Stuffed Radish Paratha

Mooli Paratha or Radish Paratha is one of the  Punjabi special flat bread and it is very delicious , one could not notice even  the smell of radish. So it is an easier way to include this healthy vegetable in your diet in large quantities.  Kids will also love to have this for their lunch box. The health benefits of radish are many and here is  the recipe! Ingredients:    For Dough: Wheat flour     - 1cup Oil – 1 tsp Salt & water  as needed    For stuffing:                ...

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Mutton Bone Soup | Nenju Elumbu Soup (Nenjelumbu Soup) | Maarkandam Soup

Preparation time : 10 minutes      Cooking time : 20 minutes Serves 4  Difficulty :  Easy Mutton bone soup or Maarkandam Soup or Nenjelumbu soup is a clear soup, it is otherwise called "Nenju Elumbu Charu" and very good for all ages especially for growing children and very easy to make. I used to make this soup at least once in a month. I prefer this soup compared to broiler chicken . But today doctors, dieticians advice us not to take mutton. Children also like chicken and we don’t have any other choice than taking chicken. But the aroma of Country...

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Vegetable Fried Rice

Preparation time :10 minutes      Cooking time : 10 minutes Serves 2  Difficulty :  Easy Whenever we go the restaurant, most of us order vegetable fried rice because it is a favourite dish for many. The restaurants serve the dish in different styles – some soak the dish in  oil, some serve with few strings of vegetable, some simply sauté the rice with salt and name it as fried rice, charging around Rs.180/- for the salted rice. Also, in restaurants, they will definitely add ajinomoto. There are  many controversial statements on...

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Simple Vanjaram Fish Fry (Seer Fish Fry)

Preparation time :10 minutes      Cooking time : 10 minutes Serves 2  Difficulty :  Easy            Vanjaram fish is always good for making fry than kuzhambu. There are many methods i.e masala for frying fish and each masala adds unique flavor and taste to fish fry. This is a very simple masala and made in a jiffy but it will not compromise on taste. Ingredients: Vanjaram or Seer Fish             - 4 pieces (sliced) Red chilli powder       ...

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Oats Kolukattai

Preparation time :10 minutes      Cooking time : 10 minutes Serves 2 Difficulty :  Easy                I am a big fan of kolukattai , likewise everyone in my family loves kolukattai. My grandma used to make so many varieties. In the same way , I also tried out so many kolukattais. One of the recipe is with Oats.  I’ll post the other kolukattai varieties also in due course. But I prefer this recipe to be blogged early because nowadays, oats has been included in the regular breakfast menu of many families. Due to...

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Independence Day Special: Tri-colour Smoothie

August 15th – the Independence Day… A day that has to be remembered by everyone but is now just a mere holiday - a holiday on which most people seem to stick to their couches watching telecasts of newly released films. This is a sad turn of events. Even schools don’t seem to be functioning on this day – there is no flag hoisting. The sad part is, many schools don’t even have a flag pole for flag hoisting. Back in the days, the Independence Day was not a mere holiday. It was a day of national pride. We used to go to the school early in the morning for flag hoisting. For this one-day event,...

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Thatta Payaru Thanni Kuzhambu ( Karamani/ Cowpea Gravy)

Preparation time : 5 minutes      Cooking time : 20 minutes Serves 4  Difficulty :  Easy Thatta payir is otherwise known as Karamani  and  in English, it is called cow pea / black eyed beans. This legume is available in many varieties and colours. I have seen white coloured karamani in many of the departmental stores in Chennai. But in south Tamilnadu, we get brown coloured pulses available in various sizes. Generally Thatta payir has its unique flavor and taste but in my opinion, the small, brown variety tastes much better than any other...

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Chettinad Kari Varuval (Mutton Fry)

Preparation time : 15 minutes      Cooking time : 30 minutes Serves 4  Difficulty :  Medium Chettinad Kari Varuval is a tasty, spicy side dish . My son started eating mutton (goat meat) only after having tasted this dish. I am sure all mutton lovers will love this recipe. My mom used to make this varuval to finish off the rice if she had cooked the rice in excess. Because we would not know how much rice we ate with this varuval. I don’t know how many of you heard about “kadai sadam”. After finishing varuval, my mom used to mix rice in the left out masala...

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Elumbu Sambar/ Nenju Elumbu Kuzhambu (Bone Gravy)

Elumbu Sambar or Elumbu Kuzhambu with mutton chukka is a signature dish of our family and loved by everyone . My brothers are crazy for this combo . This combo works out really well for Sunday’s lunch, today being Sunday,  I made elumbu sambar using nenju elumbu with Chettinad Kari Varuval (Mutton Fry). I want to post this recipe immediately so that next Sunday, you may try it out,  enjoy and realize that what  I am telling is absolutely true. Most of the people, now a days, don’t prefer mutton because of its fat content. Doctors also advice us to go in for lean meat. In my...

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Kalkandu Vadai

Kalkandu Vadai/ Sweet medhu vadai is one of the most delicious Chettinad recipe served in all Chettiyar marriages and they will make this recipe for all auspicious occasions like Diwali, Pillayar Nonbu, etc. Traditionally it was made with crystal sugar candy (Kalkandu) , hence the name “Kalkandu Vadai”. Now a days, sugar is substituted in place of kalkandu. Very simple recipe with minimum ingredients and easy to prepare. Ingredients:  Urad dhal         - 1cup  Raw rice          - 1 tbsp  Kalkandu...

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