Guacamole | Avacado Dip | Butter Fruit Dip

Guacamole | Avacado Dip | Butter Fruit Dip is a famous Mexican dip made using ripe avocados  commonly taken with tortillas. Now it has spread to all regions. In India, avocados are commonly used for making milk shakes and smoothies.  We can find these in the menu card of many restaurants over here.

Avocados are healthy fruits since they are rich in folate, potassium, mono saturated fats, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and many other essential vitamins and minerals. These components help to prevent heart disease, cancer and to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, etc.

Guacamole | Avacado Dip | Butter Fruit Dip is a famous Mexican dip made using ripe avocados  commonly taken with tortillas. Now it has spread to all regions. In India, avocados are commonly used for making milk shakes and smoothies.  We can find these in the menu card of many restaurants over here.

Avocados are healthy fruits since they are rich in folate, potassium, mono saturated fats, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and many other essential vitamins and minerals. These components help to prevent heart disease, cancer and to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, etc.

Ingredients:

• Avacado – 1 No.
• Onion (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Green chilli (finely chopped) – 1 tsp
• Cilantro | Coriander Leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Pepper powder – ½ tsp
• Lime juice – 1 tbsp
• Olive oil – 1 tbsp
• Tomato (chopped) – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut the ripe avocado into two, remove the seed. Scoop out the pulp using a metal spoon from the peel.
2. Mash the pulp coarsely with the spoon and transfer it to a mixing bowl.
3. Add all the above ingredients except tomato to the pulp and mix everything well.
4. Tomato can be added at the time of serving.

Healthy Guacamole is ready for serving. You can serve it as a dip for any crunchy snacks or as a spread for any bread. We had this guacamole with toasted wheat bread abd enjoyed every bite of it!

Note:

• Only avocado pulp and salt are the main ingredients for this dip. You can vary the quantity of ingredients listed above or even eliminate some,  as per your taste buds.
• Before preparing guacamole, taste the avocado pulp and proceed. It may deceive you sometimes.

Tags: Avacado dip, How to prepare guacamole using avocados?, Mexican Avacado Dip, Butter fruit dip, Dip using Avacados, How to select avocados for making dip?, Mexican Dip, Mexican Dip using avocados, Avacado Dip for Tortillas, Avacado Spread for Bread, Avacado sauce

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Karunai Kizhangu Kuzhambu | Pidikarunai Puli Kuzhambu | Yam Tamarind Curry

Karunai Kizhangu Kuzhambu | Pidikarunai Puli Kuzhambu | Yam Tamarind Curry is a tasty, tamarind based gravy and a specialty of Chettinad cuisine  which can be prepared using pidi karunai kizhangu. As I have mentioned in my earlier post for Pidi Karunai Masiyal, this  tuber can be used for preparing this gravy which goes well with hot steamed rice and roasted papad (sutta appalam) The recipe, I have followed here is also a simple one and can be made with no effort!

Ingredients:

• Pidi karunai kizhangu (Medium) – 2 Nos
• Shallots (cut into 2) – 10 Nos
• Garlic – 5 pods
• Green chillies (slitted) – 2 Nos
• Tomato ( finely chopped) – 1 No.
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder – 1tsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Tamarind – gooseberry size
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Sesame Oil | Gingelly oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds | Vendhayam – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – few

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook karunai kizhangu. Wait till the pressure goes off.
2. Allow it to cool & peel off the skin. Cut into ¼” thick discs.
3. In the mean time, soak tamarind in a cup of water and keep the other ingredients ready.
4. In a kadai, heat oil and season with the items given under “For Seasoning”.
5. Add shallots, garlic and green chillies and sauté till the onion becomes translucent.
6. Add finely chopped tomato and sauté till it becomes mushy.
7. Then add all the spice powders and sauté till the raw smell of the masala goes off.
8. Add karunai kizhangu pieces and gently mix everything with the masala without breaking the kizhangu pieces.
9. Finally add tamarind juice & required salt and bring it to boil.
10. Check for salt, spice and consistency of the gravy and add more if needed.
11. Cook in simmer with the lid covered for about 10 minutes.

Spicy, tasty Pidikarunai Kizhangu Puli Kuzhambu is ready to serve. It goes well with steamed rice and veg kootu, sutta appalam, keerai masiyal are the best combinations! For curd rice, pidi karunai kizhangu with little gravy is enough to have a finger licking meal!!!

Note:

• I like the gravy in thick consistency as shown in the pic. You can adjust as per your choice.

Tags: Karunai kizhangu puli kuzhambu, Chettinad karunai kizhangu kuzhambu recipe, Chettinad recipes, Karunai Kizhangu recipes, Pidi karunai recipes, Yam recipes, Yam tamarind curry recipe, Karunai Kizhangu tamarind curry recipe, Chettinad kuzhambu recipes, Simple Kuzhambu recipes, Easy kuzhambu recipes

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Sweet Potato Cutlet | Sweet Potato Patty | Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Cutlet

Sweet Potato Cutlet | Sweet Potato Patty | Sarkaraivalli Kizhangu Cutlet is a healthy snack prepared with sweet potatoes in combination with some spice powders. The sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, beta carotene, etc. So it is a healthy vegetable which can be included in our regular diet.

My husband  and I like to have these boiled potatoes for morning breakfast but my son never likes them that way. So I used to play around with sweet potatoes, coming out with new dishes to make him eat by hiding it in the dishes which he likes the most. I’ll post the other recipes in due course. I’ve already posted the recipe for  Sweet Potato Gulab Jamun  and I’ve got good feedback from my friends too!

My son’s vacation started only 3 days before and he wanted to have some finger food for the evening snack. I don’t like to order anything from outside since summer has peaked up in Chennai. So I wanted to make something on my own but I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Suddenly I got an idea of making these yummy cutlets for him.  Once the potatoes are ready, it took only about 15 minutes for the end product. The sweetness of this veggie when combined with little spice and tangy with a dip of tomato sauce…mmm… it tastes heavenly J! We enjoyed a lot..

Ingredients:

• Sweet potatoes (medium) – 2 Nos.
• Green chilli (finely chopped) – 1 No.
• Onion (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Cilantro | Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Corn flour – 2 to 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook the sweet potatoes. Allow them to cool.
2. Peel off the skin and mash to a smooth paste without forming any lumps.
3. Then add all the ingredients except oil and mix everything well.
4. Take a portion of the mix and flatten it to get the desired shape.
5. Continue doing the same for the entire mix.
6. Heat oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the cutlets on both sides until golden brown.

Your lip smacking Sweet Potato Cutlets are ready to serve! We had these cutlets with tomato sauce.

Note:

• Don’t overcook the sweet potatoes.
• You can add all purpose flour | maida or bread crumbs in place of corn flour.

Tags: Sweet Potato Cutlets, Shakarkandi patties recipe, Sweet Potato Recipes, Healthy Snack Recipes, Appetizer/ Starter Recipe, sakkarivalli kizhangu cutlet recipe, how to prepare cutlets using sweet potato?, Indian appetizer, Starter/Sanck recipe, Healthy cutlet recipe

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Instant Ragi Koozh | Finger Millet Porridge | Keppai Koozh

Instant Ragi Koozh | Finger Millet Porridge | Keppai Koozh is a traditional, healthy breakfast recipe. It is usually prepared during summer since it has a cooling effect on our body. As for nutritional benefits of ragi,  I need not say  much as you may already be aware that it is rich in iron, calcium, etc. Ragi has low glycemic index and hence it is a preferred  grain  for diabetic people. As a whole, a healthy recipe, everyone should give it a try...

The recipe, I’m giving here is not the traditional one as it does not require fermented ragi dough. Also I have skipped rice in this recipe. Till few years ago, I was not a great fan of this porridge since I am  not  used to  it in my childhood days. But now I eat anything which can make me feel light. My son and hub always have a tough time having this koozh. So I don’t want to make a laborious preparation for making this koozh. Moreover, I don’t like the fermented flavour of koozh. So  I came out with this recipe  which gets finished in a flick of the finger! You can always add cooked rice following my simple recipe here while cooking ragi as elder people in the house won’t allow you to prepare koozh with ragi alone.

Ingredients:

Ragi flour – ½ cup

Water – 4 cups

Shallots – 8 to 10 Nos.

Green chilli – 1 No

Curd – ½ cup

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix ragi flour with a cup of water without forming lumps and keep it aside.
2. In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the balance 3 cups of water and bring it to boil.
3. Now add the ragi dough little by little stirring continuously so that  lumps will not be formed.
4. Stir continuously for about 8 to 10 minutes until ragi gets cooked well. To check, dip your hand in water and touch the ragi dough. If it is not sticky, it means it’s done.
5. Switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
6. While preparing the porridge, take the required quantity of ragi koozh, add salt, finely chopped onion, green chilli and curd. Make it to required consistency by adding water if needed.

Your healthy ragi porridge is ready to serve!

Note:

• If you are very particular in adding rice, you can add rice rava while boiling the water. Allow it to cook completely before adding ragi.
• The quantity of onion, chilli and curd can be varied based on your preference.

Tags: Ragi Koozh recipe, Summer special recipes, Finger Millet Recipes, Ragi Recipes, Diabetic Recipes, Instant Ragi Koozh recipe, Instant Finger millet Porridge, Keepai Koozh recipe, Millet Recipes

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Dindigul Thalappakatti Chicken Biryani | Seeraga Chamba Chicken Biryani

Dindigul Thalappakatti Chicken Biryani | Seeraga Chamba Chicken Biryani ….needless to say it’s every biryani lover’s  favourite. Regular visitors of my blog would definitely know that my Seeraga Chamba MuttonBiryani is always on top  of popular posts. After  realizing that many of the entries to my page are through seeraga chamba chicken birayani (search key word) in addition to mutton biryani, I decided to make chicken biryani using  jeera samba today. I have posted mutton biryani in Chettinad style and this yummy chicken biryani in world famous Dindigul Thalappakatti Biryani style. When I prepared this, the entire house was filled with an aroma which made us feel hungry instantly. I made it in a very simple way using pressure cooker and it turned out so well. I would humbly say that my biryani is almost near to thalappakatti biryani and I should also admit that ‘home made’ biryani lies right above the top! If you give a try, you’ll realize what I’m saying is true J

Here we go for the recipe!

Ingredients:

For Pressure cooking chicken:

• Chicken – ¾  Kg
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Curd – 2 tbsp
• Salt

For Biryani:

• Seeraga samba rice – 3 cups
• Onion (Big) – 3 Nos (finely chopped)
• Tomato (Medium)– 1 No. (finely chopped)
• Green chilli – 3 Nos.
• Curd – 3  tbs
• Ginger-garlic  paste – 2 tbs
• Chilli powder – 1 tbs
• Biryani powder – 1 tbsp
• Pepper powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

To grind:

• Shallots | Pearl Onions– 10 Nos
• Green chillies – 2 Nos
• Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
• Mint leaves – ½ cup

For seasoning:

• Bay leaf – 1 No.
• Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
• Kal paasi – 2 Nos
• Cloves – 2 Nos
• Cardamom  - 2 Nos.
• Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp
• Oil -4 tbsp
• Ghee – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Clean chicken well in running water , cut it to required size and keep it ready.
2. In a pressure  cooker, add all the ingredients given for pressure cooking and cook for 3 whistles. Let the steam gets subsided on its own.
3. In the mean time, add the ingredients given for grinding and grind to a fine paste using a mixer grinder.
4. Also, wash the seeraga samba rice and leave it as such after draining the water.
5. Take a pressure pan, pour the oil and wait till the oil gets heated. Add the items given under “seasoning” one by one and wait until all these splutter to get the aroma from the seasoning.
6. Add onion and green chilli (just break into 2 or 3) and sauté well until the onion turns brown. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté well till the raw smell goes off.
7. Then add the ground paste mentioned above under “To grind” and sauté till the raw smell of the masala goes off.
8. Add finely chopped tomato and add some salt so that the tomato will get cooked easily and sauté till the tomato gets smashed well.
9. Then add all the masala powders and sauté till the oil oozes  out from the masala. Next, add curd and sauté well until the mixture gets glossy appearance.
10. Then  add the cooked, drained chicken pieces & rice and sauté well.  
11. Measure the chicken stock left out while pressure cooking the chicken and add water for balance so that it will make 6 cups totally.
12. Add  required salt. Check for salt & spice at this stage and you can add more if needed. 
13. Stir well and close the lid. Wait for 1 whistle, then simmer the flame for 3 minutes. Open the cooker after releasing the pressure slowly. Then follow the same procedure as we have done for all other Biryani recipes.

Your delicious, hot, spicy  Dindigul Thalappakatti Biryani is ready to serve! I have served this chicken biryani with onion raita, chicken drumstick fry and chicken gravy!!

Note:

• The taste & colour of the biryani purely depends on how you sauté the masala. So take care to do this in simmer without burning the masala.
• This would be a spicy biryani since we add green chillies, red chilli powder and pepper corns. So, adjust spice according to your family’s preference.
• You can also add a cup of coconut milk and reduce water accordingly.
• You can prepare this biryani with basmati rice also.

Tags: Chicken biryani recipe, Dindigul Biriyani recipe, how to make chicken biriyani at home, Chicken biryani with seeraga samba rice, chicken biryani with jeera samba, jeera samba chicken biryani recipe, seeraga chamba rice chicken biriyani, jeera chamba chicken biryani, chicken biryani with seeraga samba rice, chicken biryani, chicken biryani with basmati rice, chicken biryani with raita, hotel style chicken biriyani recipe, pressure cooker chicken biryani recipe, Dindigul Thalappakatti Chicken Biryani Recipe, Easy Chicken Biryani Recipes, Seeraga Samaba Biryani recipes

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Liver soup | Goat Liver Soup | Mutton Liver Soup | Earal Soup

Liver soup | Goat Liver Soup | Mutton Liver Soup | Earal Soup is a healthy  soup, very good for kids, pregnant ladies & lactating mothers. It also helps people to recover from anaemia since liver is supposed to be very high in iron content. As I said in my earlier post for Nenju Elumbu Soup, it has been a practice to have mutton based soups after oil bath during weekends. My grandma used to make anyone of these soups and we used to enjoy a lot.

Unlike other soups, it doesn’t need sautéing, grinding, adding thickening agents, etc. Very simple recipe but the health benefits are many. Even if your kid doesn’t like to eat the liver pieces, it is enough if he/she is made to drink the soup to get the total benefits of liver. This is the way I get my son to enjoy the health benefits of liver.

Ingredients:

• Mutton Liver | Goat Liver - 100 gms
• Shallots – 20 Nos or Big onion (finely  chopped)– 1 No.
• Tomato            (finely chopped)         - 1 No
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) – 1 tsp
• Pepper –Jeera powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt as required

Method:

1. Wash the goat liver in running water and cut into small pieces.
2. Add all ingredients listed above and 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for about 10 minutes in simmer.           
3. Let the pressure subside on its own.
4. Then open the pressure cooker, check for spice & salt and adjust accordingly.

Hot, peppery  mutton liver soup is ready to serve! It can be served with any starters like Mutton Kola Urundai!! Always, I serve the soup atleast 1 hour before having lunch.

Note:

• Try to use shallots since it will add up special flavour, taste to the soup.

Tags: Mutton liver soup, mutton soup recipes, Aatu earal soup recipe, Mutton liver charu,  Goat liver recipes,  Liver soup,  Goat Liver charu, Goat liver soup,  Mutton liver pepper soup, Earal soup, ஆட்டு ஈரல் சூப் 

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Gongura Rice | Gongura Pulihora | Red Sorrel Leaves Rice | Pulicha Keerai Sadam

Gongura Rice | Gongura Pulihora | Red Sorrel Leaves Rice | Pulicha Keerai Sadam is a specialty from Andhra Cuisine. Pulicha keerai in Tamil is  known as Red sorrel leaves in English & Gongura in Telugu. Yesterday when I went to Pazhamudircholai, the greens were not fresh except this gongura. I heard that these leaves are rich in iron. It is not commonly available in Southern Tamil Nadu, but in Chennai, these greens are available in plenty and fresh. We can make gongura thokku, gongura pickle, etc. Today I made gongura  rice using these leaves.

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice – 2 cups
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Salt to taste

To roast & Grind:

• Gingelly oil -1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
• Red chillies – 6  Nos.
• Shallots – 5 Nos.
• Gongura | Red sorrel leaves – 2 cups

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Bengal gram | Kadalai Paruppu – 1 tbsp
• Red chillies – 2 Nos.
• Curry leaves – few
• Asafoetida | Hing – ¼ tsp
• Roasted ground nut – 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Cook rice until soft and spread in a wide bowl  and allow to cool with little oil sprinkled over.
2. Pluck the gongura leaves alone, wash them thoroughly  in water, drain  and keep aside.
3. In a kadai, add a tbsp of oil and roast fenugreek seeds & red chillies. Drain from oil and transfer into a plate.
4. In the same kadai,, add shallots and fry till they become brownish in colour. To this add gongura leaves and sauté till the leaves get wilted and the raw smell leaves out. The leaves colour gets changed from green  to brown. Allow it to cool.
5. Grind  roasted fenugreek seeds and red chillies along with salt to a coarse powder. To this add the shallots and gongura and grind to a fine paste by adding little water, if needed.
6. In a non stick pan, heat oil and season with the items given for seasoning. Then add turmeric powder and gogura paste. Sauté  till oil oozes out from the paste & switch off.  It will take hardly 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add  the required quantity of gongura paste to the cooked, cooled rice and gently mix the rice using a  spatula without breaking/mashing the rice.  Check for the salt, if required, add straight to the rice and mix well.

Yummy Gongura Pulihora is ready to serve. This rice can be prepared with leftover rice also. This can be enjoyed with any thogayal, pappad/vadam or raita or fry.

Note:

• The tanginess  of these leaves would be mild, so if you want more tangy, you can add either lemon juice or tamarind.
• The paste can be refrigerated and used for 15 days.

Tags: Gongura rice recipe, Gongura recipes, Andhra Special rice recipe, Gongura Pulihora recipe, How to make gongura pulihore, Left over recipes, Left over rice recipes, variety rice, Easy lunch box recipes, Recipes with gongura, Keerai recipes, Greens  recipes, South Indian Rice Variety, Andhra Recipes, Red Sorrel leaves rice recipe, Pulichakeerai Sadam, Pulicha keerai Saadham

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Viral Meen Kuzhambu | Madurai Meen Kuzhambu | Manga Meen Kuzhambu | Raw Mango Fish Curry

Viral Meen Kuzhambu | Madurai Meen Kuzhambu | Manga Meen Kuzhambu | Raw Mango Fish Curry is a tangy, spicy gravy and a specialty of South Indian cuisine. It’s my childhood favourite which brings back so many memorable events. We all would stand around my grandma to see the live fish. It was fun seeing the fish jumping here and there in the backyard. My Grandma was an expert in making this curry as it was my grandpa’s favorite. She used to take extra care while preparing this fish curry.

The specialty of this fish curry lies with the “viral meen” which is known as Butter Fish |  Murrel in English. This fish is a fresh water fish and will impart special aroma and flavour to this curry. Making of viral meen kuzhambu happens to be a long project due to the cleaning process of this fish. This fish is available live in the fish markets and the fish vendors will simply cut the fish into pieces, as he does for other fishes. But there’s still more work to do! This fish has to be rubbed on a hard stone so that the coating on the fish’s skin can be removed. Otherwise it becomes gel-like. Nowadays online fish stores are  delivering cleaned murrel which makes our cooking very easy.

Basically I like fish fry rather than fish pieces in gravy but this viral meen is an exception. Try this and you’ll realize what I’m saying is 100% true.

I’ve already posted the recipe for meen kuzhambu in Chettinad Style – Manchatti Meen Kuzhambu. So, today, I’ve prepared this gravy in Madurai style.

Here we go with the recipe!

Ingredients:

• Murrel (Viral Meen) - 1/2 kg
• Shallots (small onion) - 10 Nos
• Garlic – 5 pods
• Green chillies - 2 Nos
• Tomato - 1 No.
• Raw mango – 2 pieces
• Tamarind - lemon size
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp.
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbs
• Salt to taste

To grind:

• Shallots – 5 Nos
• Garlic – 5 pods
• Grated coconut - 2 tbs
• Fennel – ½ tsp
• Peppercorns – ½ tsp

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil - 2 tbs
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek - ½ teaspoon
• Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Wash and thoroughly clean the fish, using salt and turmeric powder.
2. Soak the tamarind in a cup of water.
3. Chop onion and tomato finely.
4. Heat oil in a manchatti (clay pot) on the stove, add mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds  one by one. After it splutters, add the shallots, garlic, slit green chillies.
5. Add a tomato and sauté well till the tomato gets mashed.
6. Add the tamarind pulp and continue adding chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and crystalline salt.
7. Stir well and cover  with a lid. Let it boil for about 5 minutes till the raw smell of masala is gone.
8. In the mean time, fry shallots and garlic in little oil and grind with other ingredients given "for grinding" by adding little water into a fine paste.
9. When the gravy thickens, add mango pieces and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes.
10. Then add the fish pieces and cover the manchatti again till the fish pieces get cooked.
11. After the fish pieces get cooked, add the ground paste and chopped coriander. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Simmer for 2 minutes.
12. Take the manchatti off the stove and leave the kuzhambu in manchatti atleast for half an hour before serving, as it will add a unique flavor to the meen kuzhambu.

Your tasty, tangy, flavourful Viral Meen Kuzhambu in Madurai Meen Kuzhambu style is ready to enjoy with hot, steamed rice. I have served this fish curry with Viral meen fry and it tasted yummm..

Note:

• You can increase or decrease the quantity of tamarind depending on the sourness of raw mango.
• The above fish curry can be made with other fish varieties too.

Tags: Viral meen kuzhambu, Madurai Viral meen Kuzhambu recipe, Fish Curry recipe, Manga meen kuzhambu recipe, Raw mango fish curry recipe, Mammidikaya chepadu pulusu, Murrel fish curry recipe, Butter fish curry, Manga meen kuzhambu in Madurai style, Seafood recipes, Fish curry varieties, South Indian Fish Curry recipe, Tangy viran meen kuzhambu recipe.

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