Thondekai | Tondli | Tindora | Kovakkai Chutney

Kovakkai | Tindora | Ivy Gourd |Baby watermelon| Thondekai | Dondakaya | Tondli -  Well , what's in a name ..Call what you want. 

Few months before, my Mom-in-law was here for summer vacation and she taught me so many chutney varieties and other super yummy dishes. I have noted down all that wonderful recipes from her. I have learned many recipes in kovakkai, today I am sharing one simple recipe from that collection.  Kovakkai chutney | Tindora Chutney taste different than the regular one. That is what we want for our taste bud isn’t?   I am sure you would love them! 

Ingredients:

Kovakkai/Tindora/ Ivy Gourd  -  15 to 20 nos

Green Chili – 1 no.

Red Chili – 1 no.

Tamarind / Imli – ½ inch

Curry Leaves – Few

Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp

Salt  to taste

Seasoning:

Mustuard Seeds – ½ tsp

Urad Dal – ½ tsp

Hing/Asafoetida – ¼ tsp

Red Chili – 1 split

Method:

Step 01) Wash and cut the edges in both the sides and chop them in to pieces

Step 02) Heat a pan with 2 tbsp of oil, add all the ingredients except coconut and fry them nicely for about 5 to 7 minutes. Once the vegetable is shrikes, add grated coconut mix everything well and saute it for 2 more minutes. 

Step 03) Allow them to cool and grind them semi coarse in a mixer. If you want smooth consistency then, add 2 tbsp of water and grind. Garnish with seasoning.

That’s it yummy Kovakkai chutney is ready to serve. 

Tindora | Thondekai chutney is excellent side dish for Chapatti, Idli and dosa and rotti. So easily you can tweak them as Kovakkai Thogayal and it will be awesome for steam rice and great with anything and everything. I will share next time!

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Split Black Lentil Dosa

Split Black Lentil Dosa - Healthy and delicious dosa/adai prepared from Split Black Lentil. Black lentil has many health benefits. Lentil has special benefits like energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar, rich in dietary fiber; provide excellent important minerals like B- Vitamins and protein all with no fat.  What else, we require in breakfast! Follow the step-by- step photo recipe on how to make healthy split black lentil dosa.

 Ingredients:

Soaking Ingredients:

Sada Rice – 1 cup

Idly Rice – 1 cup

Tuvar Dal/Thuvaram Paruppu / Yellow Lentil – ¼ cup

Karuppu Ulantham Paruppu/ Split Black Lentil – 1/2 cup

Masala items for grinding:

Red chilies – 5 to 6nos

Curry Leaves – Few

Ginger – ½ inch piece

Jeera /Cumin Seeds – 1 tbsp

Pepper corn – 6 to 7nos

Hing/Asafoetida – ½ tsp

Salt – 2 tbsp

Oil 

Split Black Lentils

Method:

Step 01) Wash and soak both the rice’s together for 4 to 5 hrs.  And soak the tuvar dal for 1 hr and black lentil for 2 hrs.  Don’t over wash the black lentils and don’t discard the lentil skin.

Step 02) In wet grinder, grind the masala items first without adding water. Once it is nicely pulse down, add the soaked rice and use the soaked rice water to grind.

Step 03) Then add tuvar dal followed by black lentils. Grind it little bit coarse texture (i.e. not so rough or too smooth)

Step 04) Transfer the batter to a container/vessel and add salt and mix and beat nicely with your hand.  Allow the batter to rest for at least 2 to 3 hrs for fermentation. In summer season there is no need of fermentation.

Step 05) Heat tawa over medium flame, sprinkle few drops of water on tawa, if they sizzle, it is ready for Dosa. Take ladle full of batter pour it on center of tawa and then just rotate the batter to take shape of round. Pour 1 tsp of oil around edges of dosa and flip and cook on both side of dosa till surface turns to light golden brown.

Tips for fermentation of batter in cold season

In summer season, you can make immediate dosa after grinding.  But, in cold season it is bit difficult to ferment. Temperature is very important factor for fermentation.  Here are some tips, you can follow:

     01) Reserving the soaked water of rice and dal and using the water while grinding helps to fermentation. Reason, the starch of the rice is quickly consumed by the bacteria.

     02) Nicely rotate and beat the batter with your hand, speed helps the batter to aeration. Hand has the microbes that are the starter for fermentation. (Find out in your home, who has better bacteria in hand and tell them to mix the batter for u. Luckily my hand has!  :))

     03) Place the batter container under some wooden mat. Wood also releases some sort of light heat. 

     04) Or in the oven, just turn light on, light energy converted in to heat energy.

     05) Take big vessel filled with 1/4 level of Luke warm water and then place the batter container/vessel in it.

        

     06) ¼ tsp of yeast dissolved in ¼ of warm water and pour that mixture into batter and mix nicely.

     07) If nothing above works... baking soda does the magic. 

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Kollu Rasam | Horse Gram Rasam

Kollu Rasam /Hore gram Rasam –  Rasam  is a category of hot spicy soup in southern Indian style.  There are various recipes of Rasam can be prepared in so many different process of method using different seasonings, base ingredients and special rasam Masala powder and fresh grounded spices.

 However, among many varieties of rasam,  Kollu Rasam stands tall to its simple preparation and heavenly incomparable taste. This recipe does not require any special/specific rasam powder. We are using fresh grounded spices which are always available in our pantry like Garlic, black pepper, cumin seeds, curry leaves and tomatoes. The taste of horse gram/kollu simply makes it stand out from other Rasam recipes.

Many people make rasam with only cooked kollu/horse gram drained water but, here pounded handful of cooked kollu and mixed it in rasam. This tastes good and filling. Rasam mandi is tastes divine with curd rice.

Ingredients:

Black Pepper corn – 2 tsp

Jeera/Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

Garlic flakes – 4 to 5

Tomato – 1 medium

Broth Ingredients:

Kollu/ Horse gram – 2 tbsp

Imli/Tamarind Juice – ½ cup

Water – 2 cups

Masala Powder:

Turmeric Powder – 1/ 4 tsp

Salt

Hing

Jaggary Powder – 1tsp

For Tempering:

Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp

Urad Dal/White Lentils – ¼ tsp

Cumin Seeds – ¼ tsp

Red chili  – 1 no.

Curry leaves – 2 to 3 no.

Oil – 1 tbsp

For Garnishing:

Fresh Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Method:

1   Step 01) Wash and soak the kollu/horesgram for 1 to 2 hrs and then cook them in a pressure cooker up to 3 whistles. Drain the water in a separate bowl. (Don’t discard the drained water from cooked kollu; this recipe specially calls the broth to use). Grind the cooked kollu into fine paste

       Step 02) In a mortar and pastel crush the cumin seeds, pepper corns and garlic flakes

     Step 03) Heat thick medium size bottom pan add oil for seasoning, add mustard allow them to crackle then add cumin seeds, urad dal, red chili and curry leaves and saute for 2 mins. and then add crushed cuminseeds-pepper-garlic mixture fry for 2 more minutes and then add tomato pieces and fry till tomatoes turns to mushy

     Step 04) Add the tamarind juice, 2 cups of water, turmeric powder, hing, jaggary and salt cook them till it starts to bubble form at edge. Add drained kollu water and grounded kollu paste and cook them nicely and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serving: Serve with steam rice, or as hot soup or even with curd rice. It taste so good however you want to take them.

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Paruppu Poli | Puran Poli for Navratri

One can prepare this sweet dish in chana dal (kadalai Paruppu), or tuvar dal (tuvaram paruppu). Or even equal proportions of both the dals. This time I prepared with Tuvaram Paruppu. This recipe doesn’t require any exotic ingredients and very easy to prepare.

Last weekend when we are watching Tamil movie, there was a scene in that everyone was enjoying the delicious poli and my husband immediately looked at me with a big smile on his face asked “ Can we have?” it’s been a long time, I have not prepared this wonderful dish and Navratri is also approaching and I have not shared poli recipe on my space, so I just thought to do it immediately.  He helped me in the kitchen to flip the poli and we enjoyed the hot poli very much smearing ghee on top. I must tell you, it tastes too good when you add extra ghee on top :)

In Kannada they call it as Holige or Obbattu,  in Maharashtra as Puran Poli, and In Tamil as Parrupu Poli. To make it more healthier sweet dish, you can use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.

Ingredients to make Poornam:

Tuvar Dal/Tuvaram Paruppu/ Yellow Lentil  – ½ cup

Powdered Jaggary - ½ cup

Elaichi / Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp

Water – 1cup

Ingredients To make outer shell:

All Purpose Flour / Maida – 1 cup

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

Salt – ½ cup

Clarified Butter – 2 tbsp

Water – ½ cup

Method:

Step 01) Wash tuvar dal and soak it in water for 1 hr. And then cook the dal nicely in pressure cooker or stove top pan.

Step 02) Drain the water completely and allow the dal to cool down and then blend it in mixer with cardamom powder and jaggary and transfer this paste into bowl. Refrigerate the pooram for 1/2 hr, when it is nicely cool down you can size them into balls or scoop it with spoon as pooram stuffing

Step 03) In a bowl add maida, turmeric powder and salt mix well. Add water little by little and knead the dough.  Smear 2 to 3 tsp of oil knead as smooth as possible like elastic dough and covered it with lid. Let the dough rest for ½ to 1 hr this helps the dough more smooth and pliable

Step 04) In any flat surface (I inverted a steel plate) Grease the plastic sheet with generous amount of oil and then place the ball of dough and pat on greased surface and place the pooram in center

Step 05) Pull and fold the pooram evenly with the patted dough cover and seal as per below picture and start patting  the stuffed dough into poli shape

Step 06) Heat tawa add teaspoon of ghee and gently place the flattened poli on it, and cook them on low flame and flip when raw appearance of dough disappear and cook till you get the golden color patches appear on both sides.

Note: 

1. Good option is banana leaf; this leaf helps poli to flip it on tawa more easily and not burning your finger
2. If you are using plastic sheet then, it is better to transfer to your hand and then place it on tawa, that way you can avoid the burning of plastic sheet and your hand.
3. If you are pro, keep it in very low flame and pat stuffed poornam dough directly on tawa.
4. You can also use grated coconut to the pooram stuffing but, shelf time will be lesser.

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Sabudana Kheer / Javvarisi Payasam / Tapioca Pudding

Javvarisi Payasam / Sabudana Kheer is another winner in desert! This is so easy to prepare and one of our favorite! This is light and creamy kheer and delicious. Instead of fat milk you also use half and half it tastes good too. This kheer requires very few ingredients and little bit of stirring.  Treat for any festival.

 Javvarisi payasam is ultimate comfort food. Whenever I'm sick, or fasting day, or its cold outside, or anytime feeling to have some sweet dish, I go to make this. This time, as Navratri festival is coming and so cold outside thought to share in my space one easy sweet recipe.

  

Sabudana Kheer recipe - Ingredients:

Sabudana/Sago/Javvarisi/ Tapioca – 1/2 cup

Milk – 3 cup

Sugar  - ¾ cup

Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp

Cashews - few

Raisins - few

Clarified Butter / Ghee – 1tbsp

Water  - 1 cup (appox)

Method:

  

Wash the sabudana twice and add water,

the water level should be just the half inch above the sabudana pearls to get soak. More water ruins the pearls and it becomes sticky in texture. Pearls will appear swelled up after 1 to 2 hrs of soaking. From your fingers loosen up nicely as separate pearls.

In medium pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee and roast the cashews and raisins and transfer into a plate

In the same pan add milk and soaked sabudana pearls and cook them until milk bubbles form at edges. 

Add sugar mix well and cook till sugar completely dissolves. Keep it low flame and then add cardamom powder.

Cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon, switch off the flame.

Serve it hot, warm or cold as per your family preference. While serving add some more milk on top and garnish with roasted cashews and raisins.

Note: If you are using nylon sabudan, then instead of soaking roast them nicely and then cook them in boiling water till the pearls are nice and tender and discard the water.

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Thuvaram Paruppu Thogayal / Toor Dal Chutney

It has been quite a long time I am back to my blogging space. To start with, I have come up with very easy, quick, simple yet healthy recipe of Thuvaram Paruppu Thogayal i.e. Toor Dal Chutney. Unlike other regular chutney, which usually goes for breakfast dishes; this chutney has the goodness of toor dal ready source of proteins for a balanced diet and it is so flavorful and delicious perfect combo with hot rice and ghee, rasam rice and even it goes well with chapatti. This thogayal is one of the best bachelor’s recipe. I have survived many days with this in my hostel days. 

Whenever you feel lazy to cook for the day, try this simple thogayal recipe then.  It could ease your busy morning routine or it serve as brunch in the lazy weekends. 

Ingredients:

Split Yellow Gram / Toor Dal/ Thuvaram Paruppu – 3 tbsp

Garlic flakes – 2 to 3 nos.

Tamarind/Imli –1/4 inch piece

Red Chilies  – 2 nos.

Pepper Corn – 2 to 3 nos.

Hing/Asafoetida – a pinch

Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Salt to Taste

Method:

       In a pan heat oil, add toor dal/ thuvaram parruppu and fry them till golden brown and transfer dal/paruppu into a plate

In the same pan, add  tamarind piece, garlic flakes, red chilies, hing, pepper corn and  grated coconut saute them till coconut turns slightly golden color

Once it is cool enough grind it in blender adding little water to a semi coarse paste. Add little more water if you want it in chutney consistency

     That’s it easy healthy simple and quick thogayal is ready to enjoy with Rasam rice, steam rice and even with chapatti too.

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