Breakfast/Lunch or Dinner- Idly and Sambar

Pani Vizhum Malarvanam...Pudu Vellai Mazhai. Yeah its song time and especially ,it has started snowing in Chicago :( Very nice place yet bad weather. After waiting for a long time, Yesterday i went and got Idly Rice.(Apada...) Yeah,its a relief to make dinner/breakfast or lunch short.Hehehe..Very bad huh? Really, very easy to grind and keep in idly cooker...Ta-da.Idly is ready.

Idly Rice: 4 cups
Urad Dal : 1 cup
with little bit of Methi seeds



Soaked in water for 5 hours and grind it one by one and mix it together with salt.
Pre-heat the oven 400 degrees and switch i off after 3 minutes. Place the idly mavuor Batter inside the oven and forget it.Dont forget to switch off the oven !

Next day morning,once the batter comes up a little bit , just stir it once. In a Idly thatu or plate ,just put a drop of thengai ennai and spread it whole and put the batter in it.Within 10 mts ,Idly is ready..

So, What idlies goes with? Sambar or Chutney or Milagai Podi or just curd. Here is the simple recipe of Kutti Vengayam Sambar( Pearl onion/Small Onion Sambar).

Kutti Vengaya Sambar:

Ingredients:

Tamarind: Size of Lemon
Kutti Vengayam/Pearl Onion - 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup
Sambar powder - 1spn
Channa Dal/Kalla parupu - 1 spn
Daniya - 1 spn
Long Red Chillies - 4
Coconut- 3 spns
Cooked Toor Dal - 3/4 cup

Method:

1) Place Toor dal in cooker with Turmeric for 4 whistles or till it gets cooked.
2) Make tamarind pulp out of tamarind soaked in hot water.
3)In a kadai with oil, add Mustard seeds,1 long red chillies and small/pearl onion and fry till the raw smell goes off.Immediately add Tamarind pulp ,Sambar powder and salt to it.
4) Let it boil and by that time, in a small kadai, fry 3 small onions,Daniya/coriander seeds,Coconut, Chana dal/Kalla parupu,Long red chillies(3) and make a paste or powder out of it.
5) Once boiling is done in kadai with Tamarind( PRobably takes 5-10 mts) , mix the grinded paste and cooked toor dal to it.Add asafoetida also.Boil for 5 minutes.

Garnish with Coriander Leaves and curry Leaves.



Idly Sambar ready :) If you have mini-idly plates, make idly out of it and put it in bowl of sambar, which makes 14 idly sambar like Saravana Bavan.

Traditional Meal - Part 1

MIXED VEGETABLE PORICHAKZHAMB, SENAIKIZHANGU KARI ,VADAMS AND RICE

Iniku athula enna samayal?is the tamil version of "what dishes you have prepared at home?" .As soon as this pops up from my mother who lives in India ,everyday will be different answer to it. Whether its a simple line to talk or just take an interest towards cooking.

Today I did ,Mixed Vegetable Porichakuzhambu which included Chow chow(Chayote),Carrots and peas as vegetables in Porichakuzhambu and Side dish as Senaikizhangu. ALways, Porichakuzhambu goes well with fried vegetable. I already had Frozen Yam ( Senaikizhangu) and made fried vegetable out of it.

So why not have on a daily-cold weather like Chicago...



Mixed Vegetable Porichakzhambu:

Vegetables: 1 Chow Chow (Chop in to big pieces), 1 Carrot and 1/2 cup of peas
Moong dal/Paitham Parupu - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/4 spn
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Long red chillies- 2-3
Pepper/Milagu- 1/2 spn
Urad dal-1 spn
Coriander seeds/Daniya - 1 spn
Ginger- A small piece
oil and salt

Temper:

Mustard - 1 spn
Urad dal- 1/ spn
Long red Chillies - 1
And curry leaves ,Coriander Leaves to garnish


Method:

1) In a vessel ,mix vegetables and Moong dal and turmeric powder and place it in the cooker for 3 whistles.
2) In a separate Kadai,fry Coconut,Ural dal,Daniya/Coriander seeds,Ginger,Long red Chillies and Pepper and grind it in a paste form.
3) Take out Vegetable+ Moong dal from cooker and place it in the kadai and let it boil for minutes and by that time, pour the grinded one.
4) In a small kadai , temper Mustard and wait till it splutters.Immediately add Urad dal and long red chillies and garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Senaikizhangu Curry( Frozen Yam):


Ingredients:

Frozen yam- 1 packet ( Thaw it before you cook)
Mustard seeds - 1 spn
Urad dal - 1 spn
Long red chillies - 1-2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 spn
Red Chilli powder- 1/2 spn
Curry powder - 1 spn
Curry powder consists of Daniya/coriander seeds,Channa dal/Kalla parupu/Long red Chillies/Milagavathal fried in oil and powdered.Ofcourse , with little bit of Asafoetida/Perungayam.
oil and salt

Method:

1) In a kadai with oil , temper mustard and wait till splutters. Add urad dal,long red chillies ,turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
2) Add the Frozen yam(Senaikizhangu) and salt.Let it fry for few minutes(15-20 mts) in minimum flame,Ofcourse in Non-stick kadai so that it doesn't sticks.
3) Atlast add curry powder :)

Enjoy with Vadams and ofcourse hot rice :) Yum yummyy...