Corn Fried Rice | Sweet Corn Fried Rice | Corn Veg Fried Rice

Corn Fried Rice | Sweet Corn Fried Rice | Corn Veg Fried Rice is a tasty fried rice and I should say that my family enjoyed  the sweet taste of fresh corn in the fried rice. Once we tasted this dish  at Crowne Plaza, KL, Malaysia but it was very bland. For a long time, I was planning to make this dish with an Indian touch and today, you can see the result of those plans. Nowadays, I decide my weekend menu considering my blog because only on holidays, I have time to take photographs. But  I don’t want to spend too much of time in the kitchen since summer has started in Chennai....

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Kadalai Maavu Chutney | Besan Flour Chutney | Bombay Chutney

Kadalai Maavu Chutney | Besan Flour Chutney | Bombay Chutney is very easy to prepare and comes handy when we don’t have ingredients other than onion & tomato  at home or have very little time to cook. I love to have this chutney with hot, steaming idlies even though  it goes well with dosa, chapathi, roti, poori, etc. My mom is an expert in making this chutney and I remember those days when we sat together and had this chutney with thick pizza-like dosa (but soft!)! Here is my mom's recipe. Ingredients: Bengal gram flour | Besan flour | Kadalai maavu  - 2 tbsp Onion (finely...

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Senai Kizhangu Fry | Elephant Yam Fry | Chettinad Chenai Kilangu Varuval

Senai Kizhangu Fry | Elephant Yam Fry | Chettinad Chenai Kilangu Varuval is a simple fry, yet it will be an exotic accompaniment for any rice dish. As I said already in my earlier post for Pidi Karunai Masiyal, Senaikilangu is mostly known as Karunai Kizhangu in Chennai. Though there are many methods of making this fry, the recipe I’m giving here is very simple with minimum ingredients. I heard many people stay away from this tasty tuber because of its itchiness and some seem to be allergic too. But if you use this vegetable after leaving it for some days, it won’t cause irritation. It should...

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Aam Panna | Aam ka Panna | Raw Mango Drink

Aam Panna | Aam ka Panna | Raw Mango Drink is a healthy Indian summer drink prepared with raw mangoes and some other condiments. It is a famous drink in Northern parts of India, prepared to beat the heat during summer. It is believed to protect our body against sun stroke and is an excellent thirst quencher too. This drink will top up all the vitamins & minerals lost due to excessive sweat in hot summer. Truly, we have to be grateful to Mother Nature for providing us with raw mangoes at the right time, giving us a natural way to combat the heat. As for aam panna, once we make the pulp...

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Kanchipuram Rava Upma | Kanjivaram Upma | காஞ்சிபுரம் உப்புமா

Kanchipuram Rava Upma | Kanjivaram Upma | காஞ்சிபுரம் உப்புமா  is  another variety of making breakfast with semolina | rava. My grandma used to make it very often and this recipe has already been published in Malligai Magal magazine and posted in my Tamil Blog “Rani’s Arusuvai Virundhu”. This is slightly different from our regular upma and it tastes different with the addition of more ingredients as we do for “Kanjipuram Idli”. I am sure you can add this as a variety in your breakfast list. Ingredients: Semolina | Rava – 1 cup Water – 2 ½ cups Onion (finely chopped)...

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Mulai Keerai Kootu | Amaranth Leaves Kootu | Thotakura Kootu

Mulai Keerai Kootu | Amaranth Leaves Kootu | Thotakura Kootu is a dhal based gravy prepared with mulai keerai | amaranth leaves. Mulai keerai in Tamil is known as Amaranth leaves in English and Thotakura in Telugu. Recently, we are getting fresh, tender greens here  in Chennai. Yesterday, I got a bunch of mulai  keerai  and I made this Keerai kootu since it’s my family’s favorite.  Ofcourse, all greens have their characteristic flavour & taste and when we add the right ingredients, we can bring out the real flavours of any green! Here we go for the recipe! Ingredients: Mulai...

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Mangai pachadi | Raw Mango Sweet Pachadi | Maangai Vella Pachadi

Mangai pachadi | Raw Mango Sweet Pachadi | Maangai Vella Pachadi is a traditional dish made for Ugadhi (Telungu New Year)  as well as Tamil New Year.  It is the custom/tradition followed for years to incorporate all six tastes on the New Year Day to symbolize how life is made of ups and downs, joys & sorrows, etc. The raw mango has the characteristic sourness & a slight  thuvarpu (துவர்ப்பு)  taste by nature. While making this pachadi , jaggery (sweet), green chillies (spice) and of course, a pinch of salt is added. To complete the arusuvai (6 tastes), a bit...

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Paanagam| Paanakam | Paanaka | பானகம்

Panagam| Paanakam | Paanaka .... an Indian lemonade made with the goodness of lemon, jaggery, dry ginger powder and cardamom. It is a refreshing drink especially irresistible this hot summer.  This tangy yet sugary drink with little spice is a real thirst quencher.  That is why it has been prepared as  prasadam for almost all temple festivals conducted during summer.  In the temples they prepare this in large vessels called “Anda’’  which has the capacity of about 100 litres . When it is produced in mass, little tamarind juice is alos added. This is also a special Neivedyam...

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Raw Jackfruit Biryani | Raw Jackfruit Pilaf | Palaakkai Biryani | பலாக்காய் பிரியாணி

Raw Jackfruit Biryani | Palaakkai Biryani is yet another version of using raw jackfruit and I should say this is one of the most delicious rice dishes one could make equivalent to non-veg biryani.  As I have mentioned in my earlier post for Raw Jackfruit Curry, my grandma used to make stir fry, kootu, korma, etc., with this raw jackfruit but never made this biryani. I planned to try this so many times before, but always ended up making ” Palaakkai pirattal”, one of the favourite dishes of my family as an accompaniment for sambar. This year I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of tasting...

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