Peerkangai Thuvayal/ Ridge Gourd Chutney

This is one of the many recipes given to me by my mother(IL)when she came to visit us here, that is quick and easy to prepare. Before, I would rarely buy the Ridge gourd - never sure what to do with it..:)
So here is her recipe to make Peerkangai Thuvayal that for our sake does not include coconut and is made with very few ingredients.




Ingredients:

Ridge Gourd / Peerkangai - 1 medium size
Urad Dal - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 1 clove
Dried Long Red Chili - 3
1/4 tsp tamarind paste
Sesame Seed Oil / Gingelly Oil / Nalla Ennai - 3 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Nalla Ennai - 1/2 tsp

Scrape off just the ridges of the Ridge Gourd. Wash and pat dry before cutting it up into small pieces that can be easily ground and keep aside.
Heat oil and fry the red chili for 2 to 3 minutes, remove and keep aside. Now fry the urad dal until golden brown for few minutes along with the garlic and set it aside along with the chili, now saute the cut ridge gourd for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat until the pieces are soft you may also want to cover it after 5- 6 minutes to speed up the process. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Grind all the ingredients to finely coarse consistency and move to serving dish. In the same saute pan heat 1/2 tsp of oil and splutter the mustard seeds and then add the urad dal. Remove from heat and pour over the Thuvayal.

This recipe can also be made with just the skin of the ridge gourd.
Serve with hot rice and Ghee or use it as a spread for pitas, sandwiches or paninis.

Peanut Chutney

One of my recent favorites is the Peanut chutney ...one of the make ahead recipes... minimum ingredients and it stays well in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, which is a definite plus for me!


Ingredients:

Peanuts - 1 1/2 cups
Dried Red Chili - 3 to 4 according to taste
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves crushed
Tamarind paste /pulp - 3/4 tsp but can be adjusted to taste
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

In a saute pan heat oil and then gently fry the dried red chili and keep aside. Now add the peanuts and roast until golden brown and crackling, Then add the garlic and roast further for a few minutes, until you no longer get the raw taste of the peanuts. Remove from heat and cool. grind the cooled peanut, chili, tamarind paste, salt and 2/4 cup of water. You can also add water little by little until the chutney grinds to a thick paste. I like it a bit tighter...but if you like the chutney to have a little loose consistency, add more water (1/4 cup at a time), increase, salt and tamarind paste accordingly.

For mixing with rice go with less water. For dosa, idli or any thing else you would like to dunk in chutney use more water. If you are using more water you would like to add tadka - splutter in 1/2 tsp of oil about 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp of urad dal/channa dal, 1 dried chili, few curry leaves and pour over the peanut chutney.

HorseGram curry - Muthira Kootan / Muthira Eriserri

Horse Gram, is one of the healthier legumes normally recommended as part of a iron rich diet. Today's gravy can be made in three ways - without coconut in the sauce base, using roasted coconut as the sauce base or without roasting the coconut. Each method has it own deliciously distinctive taste.

Below I will list all the ingredients specifying modifications to the recipe on the way.

(Muthira Kootan -Without Coconut)

Ingredients:
Muthira / horsegram - 1 cup
Pearl Onion - 4 sliced
Green Chilli - 2 Sliced
ginger - 1 " piece
Red chilli - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 2 pinchCurry leaves - a few
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Jeerakam / Cumin Seeds -1 /2 tsp
Peal onion - 1 chopped
salt to taste
coconut oil - 1/2 tsp

In a pressure cooker dry roast muthira for 6 to 8 minutes on medium heat. Add about 2 cups of water or enough water to cover the dal and pressure cook it upto 4 whistles.Turn off the heat and let the steam release. Once you can safely open the pressure cooker, turn on the heat add salt, green chilli, turmeric powder,red chili powder, once the water starts reaches a rolling boil and you can no longer smell raw chili powder,take down the heat to a very low.At this point you can decide how you would like the gravy to be. If you want to exclude the coconut then don't add the coconut and the cumin seeds and let the gravy boil for another 5 minutes until the water reduces to a thicker consistency. If you decide you want to add coconut then you can either

1. Blend grated coconut, cumin seeds and 1 chopped pearl onion into a thick paste with very little and pour over the gravy. Take off heat as soon as the gravy starts to boil again.
OR

2. Dry roast the coconut, chopped pearl onion and cumin seeds, until coconut is a golden to dark brown (make sure not to burn the coconut!)and then grind in the blender with minimum water. Add the mixture to the gravy. Remove from heat as soon as the gravy begins to boil again.

Once the gravy has turned to a boil the second time according to the method your chose from above, take it off the heat and move the gravy to a serving dish. Then, in a saute pan heat the coconut oil. Once the Oil is hot add the sliced onions and let it tenderize in the heat. Then add the curry leaves. Remove from heat and pour this mixture over your gravy.

(Muthira Eriserri - With unroasted coconut)

Jeera Rice

This is a very simple jeera rice without too many ingredients. Jeera rice is one of the most simplest and versatile flavored rice that goes with almost any kind of gravy.


Ingredients:
Basmati rice- 1 Cup
Jeera /cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves - 3 to 4
Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp
Salt To Taste

Soak the rice for 1/2 hr. When the 1/2 hr is almost over, heat the ghee in a heavy saucepan, and add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves,and fry for a few seconds.Drain the rice and add the rice to the oil and fry it for a few minutes.Add 2 cups of water to the pan, salt and stir, the water should have the salty taste... make sure it is not too salty. Cover with a lid and cook on medium flame. Cook for 10 minutes until you see most of the water absorbed and there are bubbly holes forming on top of the rice. Reduce the flame to low and cook for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Leave the rice to cook for some time with the lid on. Use a fork to separate and make  the rice fluffy.

Serve jeera rice hot with any spicy curry or raita.

Additional ingredients you can add are cashews, fried Onions, Pepper etc.

Potato Stuffed Sandwich

This is one easy dish no kid or adult is ever going to refuse...

Ingredients:
Potato - 2 medium or 4 small
Onion - 1 cup chopped small
Ginger - 1" piece
Green Chili - 2 sliced
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Jeera /Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - a small bunch
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Bread - 4 to 6 Slices

In a saute pan heat oil and add the jeera, onion, ginger, green chili and fry till the onions sweat and become pink in color. Add salt, turmeric powder, potatoes and cover and cook till the potatoes are done on low heat.You can also microwave the potatoes with salt to speed up the process. Make sure that the potatoes are cooked just right that they are still soft yet firm enough that they don't crumble on touch but can be mashed on pressing down with a spoon. Lightly mash some of the potatoes. Remove the chili slices before continuing.
Take two slices of bread and spread about 3 tsp of the mixture on one of the slices. Place the other slice on top of the mixture. I used a sandwich maker at this point. I used a drop of oil on either side of the sandwich when placing it on the sandwich maker. Just need to wipe the sandwich holder for that. You can also use a regular tava with a drop of oil on either side of the sandwich, turn the sandwich from one side to another until it is golden brown. Remove from heat once the other side is golden brown too.

The sandwich is now ready to be served.

This Sandwich goes to Deepa of "Simple Home cooking" blog's event Cooking for kids-Potato and this event was started by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

Colors Of Taste : Rice Flour - RoundUp

And so here are is the Roundup of the event Rice Flour; this time we only have three entries... so I am missing all the good recipes that could be churned out using this versatile ingredient, I am just going to assume that it is because I was not able to publish the blog event this time at different forums and aggregators we see such a low response .. I too have been very busy with the baby and have not been able to give my 100% to the blog so I really can't complain!
... but not to worry I am sure this will be the only time we will see such low numbers :).. So without further delay the entries for this month's event

Colors of Taste - Powders: Rice Powder - RoundUp

Satya's cooking experiments : Gatti Pakodi\Crunchy pakodi

Simple vegetarian Recipes : Crispy thattai

Kerala Recipes : Kerala Idli

I am back from my break!!!

After a pretty long roller coaster hiatus.... I have been so busy with my new baby that I have no clue how the last three months flew .... no wonder it is said you lose touch with the world once you look at the beautiful face of your precious baby :)...
I am slowly now involving myself with other things unrelated to baby land.... and that takes me to my other baby ...this blog ...which I oft neglect yet miss at the same time ... :) ...
So now I have decided it is time to get back in mode... with a baby you sure learn fast that you better get organized... and that no amount of organizing is going to prepare you for the workings of your little one's mind ...
All the ladies and gents that have gone through this crazy but wonderful stage do drop in your 2 cents...any words of wisdom is much appreciated.....do too drop in a line if you have recipes that are especially good for nursing mommies like me ...healthy yet quick :) ...I would love to try out your suggestions...

I will resume the Colors of Taste Event from the month of August to given me enough time to get things settled down... I would look forwarded to your entries to the future events....Thanks a lot for all your support and kind words all this time...

Kreativ Blogger

Jisha has awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award.... Thank You very much!!!


The Kreative Blogger Award comes with some rules :-

You must thank the person who has given you the award.
Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
Nominate 7 other Kreativ bloggers.
Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.
Here are 7 things about me :

Maya is the name of the little imp who already has me twisted around her tiny little finger- And she is barely 6 months old!!

Moved this December from Chicago - Already missing Chicago but loving California!!

I love to travel. Currently the only travel I do is through books and on the net!!

I enjoy cooking but more so eating and trying out new cuisines!!

It's the small things make me happy!

I love the orange Flavor.

I Enjoy Puzzles.

I would like to pass on this award to the following 7 Bloggers :-

Asha of Foodies Hope
Bee of Rasa Malaysia
Padma Rekha of PlantainLeaf
Shaheen of Malabar Spices
Sue of My Korean Kitchen
Pam of For the Love of Cooking

Priya of Akshayapaatram

I know most of you might have already got this award as these do tend to go around a lot... so if you have already got one...just know I think you are all fabulously gifted!!

Colors of Taste : Rice Flour

So this time something that is used very commonly in South Indian kitchen - The versatile Rice Flour. Called Ari Podi, Arisi Mavu, Rice flour, that can be used in so many forms, is the basis for many truly delicious dishes.....both savory and sweet. This powder is an essential in my kitchen...for a quick and easy kai pathiri, neer dosai ... or lacy nool puttu, ...or for sweet or savory Kozhukattai.. or the famous Avalos podi. Rice Flour is also extensively used in other cuisines especially Asian... so it has a more universal appeal in every kitchen.

Rice flour can be made from either white or brown rice. Generally the rice is wash and dried and then powdered. How finely the rice is powdered varies from region and recipe. Then depending of the recipe either it is used as is or is roasted.

The theme for this month is ....

Rice Flour / Ari Podi /Arisi Mavu

Any recipe that calls for Rice Flour as one of the major ingredient qualifies for this event.

This theme for the event runs from May 19th to June 19th.

The rules are simple :
This is a once a month event. So you get almost a month to submit your entry from the date of announcement of the theme of the month, which would be in last week ofthe month. Please feel free to use the Event Logo in your post for the event.
1. Post about it on your blog with picture during the relevant deadline. Past entries are gladly accepted, please make sure you edit the entry to mention the event and link back to the event.
2.You must provide a link to this post and the COT-Powders page in your entry post.
3. Your creation must be prepared for the Colors Of Taste - Powders event and cannot be submitted to any other blog event.
4. All entries must be vegetarian...sorry about that.
5. Please do not Repost.
6. No need to add picture, I will pull it out from your post.

Once you have posted your dish, send an email with "Colors Of Taste - Powders: Rice Flour" in the subject line and send to kadumangacolors(at) gmail (dot) com within the deadline.

Include the following details in your mail:
Name of the dish:
Name of the Blog:
Link to the dish entered in the event:
Your Name:


If you do not have a blog, just email the recipe and a picture.

LAST DATE FOR ENTRIES: June 19th

Colors of Taste - Powders: Flavored Rice - Roundup

And so after a extremely hectic month ...here is the roundup for the 2 part event - Flavored Rice - Indian and International varieties. Looks like this time everyone were very busy to try new dishes, so while I received multiple entries for the Indian section... the numbers for the International varieties have gone down... but this month I am also not complaining as I too have been very busy. I will be taking a break from blogging ...other than hosting the COT event for at least 2 months. I have a new addition to my family now. Maya is my first little one and she is taking most of my time; and as you can see the roundup got delayed by a couple of days. So without further delay here are the entries for the month of April.

Colors of Taste - Powders: Flavored Rice - RoundUp

Indian Flavors


KonkanWorld : Tomato Rice

Foodie's Hope : Hulianna

Dil Se : Egg Biryani

Savi-Ruchi : Hyderabadi Biryani

Savi-Ruchi : Raw Mango Rice

Kayal's Kitchen : Quick Fried Rice

Kayal's Kitchen : Tomato Rice

Kayal's Kitchen : Vegetable Biryani

Kayal's Kitchen : Pudhina Rice

My Kitchen's Aroma : Onion Rice

Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes : Lemon Rice

Priya's Vegetarian Recipes : Vangi Bhath(Brinjal Rice)

Simple Indian food : Tawa Pulav

Nanna Adige : Mavinkayi Chitranna / Raw Mango Rice

International Flavors


Indian Vegetarian Cooking : Indo-Chinese fried rice

Foodie's Hope : Iranian bhagali Polou

Annapurna : Lubia Polo

Saturday Special: Recipe Video Of the Week : Barvan Dum Aloo - Sanjay Thumma

I realized that lot of the times when I search for recipes in blogs to try out,I invariable end up checking recipe videos. There are so many talented cook/chefs who offer their recipe secrets via videos out there that you just want to try each and every recipe they offer. There are times when sometimes it is just a pleasure watching them, even though you might never cook the recipes, sometimes I feel that when I watch the Food network chefs...I am not sure what they are cooking or how it will taste, but boy, they sure look good, and make you feel good...Sometimes these videos/shows mesmerize you with their presentation skills, spread of dishes, table scape, the gadgets, or just their passion for cooking....So I have decided that every week I will post one inspiring video recipe that not only looks and feels good but actually tastes good too....one that I have tried, tested and would love to share. And when you go through one recipe I am sure you will stumble upon many more delicious recipes of that person..because if you are like me you just can't watch one video and not click next! Many a times I would have landed on a video to make one recipe but end up making another recipe just because I was curious what else that person made....

So one such chef, who I look up often to check out various recipes is the ever popular, thoroughly humorous and extremely talented Vahrehvah Chef Sanjay Thumma. There isn't one favorite recipe I have of his. His explanations are simple and the recipes look all too simple to make, but they end up tasting great.. So here is one of his recipe video that you might want to try if you have not already -

Colors of Taste - Powders: Flavored Rice

So now that we are in a groove I thought we can jazz up the event a little bit ... so here's how it goes for the month of April - we will be spitting the event into two 15 days fast track events with a gap of one week in between.

The first 15 days we will keep with the theme but limit your options to only recipes from India and the next 15 days we will still stick to our theme but with with an International twist. Only recipes that are not from India will be accepted for this part.

The theme for this month's event is .....

Flavored Rice 

So you guys get to submit a flavored rice recipe for the first fifteen days with emphasis on the spices and masala that went into making it a wonderfully delicious, aromatic dish - can be a simple tamarind rice or an exotic Biryani ... then you get to take a break and whip up a recipe you have been thinking of making but have always held back , or maybe you make regularly that everyone at home just loves.... which as long as it comes from shores far away and emphasizes that special blend of spices other than just salt and pepper, you are good to go... maybe Thai, or Moroccan or Lebanese...well you have the world to choose from... :)

So ladies and gents ... get started ... I am so looking forward to all the recipes that I hope flood in :), and I hope you won't limit yourself to just one kind of recipe but would explore and submit for both parts of the event; which I think is the spirit with which we all participate in these events!!

This theme for the event runs from Mar 28th - May 7th. 

The First part of the Theme (Flavored Rice From India): March 28th - April 15th 

The Second part of the Theme (Flavored Rice From the rest of the world): April 23rd - May 7th

Only recipes that are sent within the time frame of the sub theme will be accepted for that part of the event. Roundups will be at the month end for the theme "Flavored Rice".

The rules are simple :
1. Post about it on your blog with picture during the relevant deadline. Past entries are gladly accepted, please make sure you edit the entry to mention the event and link back to the event.
2.You must provide a link to this post and the COT-Powders page in your entry post.
3. Your creation must be prepared for the Colors Of Taste - Powders event and cannot be submitted to any other blog event.
4. All entries must be vegetarian...sorry about that.
5. Please do not Repost.
6. No need to add picture, I will pull it out from your post.

Please feel free to use the Event Logo in your post for the event.

Once you have posted your dish, send an email with "Colors Of Taste - Powders: Flavored Rice [Indian / World]" in the subject line and send to kadumangacolors(at) gmail (dot) com within the deadline.

Include the following details in your mail:
Name of the dish:
Name of the Blog:
Link to the dish entered in the event:
Your Name:


If you do not have a blog, just email the recipe and a picture.

LAST DATE FOR ENTRIES: 

For Indian Flavored Rice : April 15th 

For International Flavored Rice : May  7th 

Colors of Taste - Powders: Podi's as an Accompaniment - RoundUp

Drum roll Please!!! here are the entries for the march. This month's theme bought out a flurry of responses as much loved spices and blends made their way over to the event. What bought the most smiles was that almost all were nostalgic representations of what tasted best when mom made them...recipes that were handed down from mother to daughter that have now become an integral part of the next generation...
It is with pleasure I present the roundup for the month of march.

Colors of Taste - Powders: Podi's as an Accompaniment - RoundUp


Curry In Kadai : Dhaniyala Chenaga pappu Karam podi -- Aromatic Coriander seeds and split chick peas spice powder

Just Urs : Garlic Idli Podi

Just Urs : Parippu Podi

Plantainleaf : Putnala Podi (Veyinchina Senagapappu Podi Spicy Chick Pea Powder)

KonkanWorld : Flax Seeds Chutney Pudi

Veg Inspirations : Parappu Podi (Lentil powder)

Foodie's Hope : Mom's Chutney Pudi

Archy's Recipe Book : Flax meal chutney powder/pudi

Essence of Andhra : Spiced Almond Powder

Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipe : Coconut Peanut Podi

Kitchen Chronicles : Idli Milagai Podi

Simple Home Cooking : Pappulu podi, paruppu podi (lentils powder)

Priya's Sourashtrian Kitchen : Idli/Dosa powder

Appetizing Recipes : Curry Leaf Powder

Masala Vade : Chutney Pudi

Sanghi's food Delights : Spicy Podi's adding spice to our health and life..!

Madhu's Food Journal : Idli Milagai Podi,Coconut Podi ,Karivepillai Podi,Parrupu podi,Onion Vadagam Podi,Coriander Podi

Ratatouille - Any one can cook : Home made podis -Instant fried gram powder, Toor dal powder, Coriander seeds powder, Idly milagai podi

Simple Indian Food : Chutney Podi, Coconut Podi, Curry leaves Podi, Groundnut Podi 

Appetizing Recipes : Multipurpose Powder