Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin Sambar | Inji/Ginger Pachadi | Traditional South Indian Thali!

Sara's Corner is featured on the Foodie Blogroll  Featured Blogs for April 27, 2012. See this link here Featured Blogs Page. I am very happy and excited.

Let it be festivals or any occasions, at home we will have thali prepared and served on Banana Leaf. I have served in this steel thali plate, it was given by my grandmother with other utensils for my wedding.

Click on the names for Recipes
Paal Payasam
Beans Curry(French)
Paruppu Vadai
Ingi Pachadi (for recipe see below)
Steamed Rice
Paruppu
Ghee
Parangikai Sambar (for recipe see below)
Paruppu Rasam
Appalam/Papad
Curds/Yogurt
Pickle
Salt
Banana


Recipe for Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin Arachuvitta Sambar. On all special festivals and occasions Arachuvitta Sambar should be prepared - This is my family's favourite sambar.


Parangikai/Mathan/Sweet Pumpkin -  1/2 kg
Tuvram Paruppu | Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn


For Grinding
Dhaniya /Coriander -  2 tablespoon
Channa Dal - 2 tspns
Dry red chilli - 4 nos(As per your taste)
Katti Peringayam - a small piece
Venthayam/Fenugreek seeds -  2 pinches
Fresh grated coconut - 1 /2 cup


Preparation Method
Wash, remove skin and seeds. Cut the mathan into medium cubes.
Cook Toor dal in pressure cooker with water for 4 to 5 whisltes and keep aside.
Heat a Kadai, add 1/2 tspn oil and fry all the ingredients under "for grinding" till the dal is brown. Allow it to cool and grind with little water to smooth paste.
Boil tamarind water and mathan with little salt and tumeric.
Once the mathan is boiled slightly soft add the grinded mixture and dal.
Boil well. It should be semi liquid consistency as later it will become thick.
Season it with ghee, mustard, curry leaves.

Recipe for Inji Thayir Pachadi | Ginger Yogurt Raitha.


This simple pachadi is mostly prepared on auspicious occasions at my home.


Ingredients
Ginger - 2" piece
Green Chilli - 2 nos(As per taste)
Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
Curds/Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt
Chopped Coriander for garnish.


Preparation Method
Grind ginger, coconut, green chilli with little water and curds in blender to smooth paste. If you like ginger you can grind to coarse paste too. Mix in the curds. Garnish with coriander.

Inji Pachadi is ready to serve.

Notes - On all festivals dishes are prepared without onion and garlic.

This recipe is going to Indian Thali Mela Event hosted by Srivalli.

BBB | Spinach Soya Bisibelebath and Oats Onion Pakoda - Ver 2!

Bisibelebath(Hot Dal Rice) is a healthy dish, its also very filling. My previous post on this recipe Ver 1 click here. I mostly prepare on every weekend or fornightly and for get togethers. This is a most popular recipe and food liked in my house. 

Ingredients

Rice - 2 cups

Tuvar Dal – 1 cup
Tomato - 1 no
Potato - 1 no

Soya Beans - 1/2 cup

Capsicum - 1 no
Carrot -  few pieces

Brinjal - 4 nos

Beans - 10 nos
Brocolli - few florets
Spinach/Palak - 1 cup chopped

Broad Beans/Avarekkai - 5 nos

Tamarind Water - 2 cups(from a LEMON SIZE)

Spices Cinamon/Pattai – 2 small pieces/ Cardamom/Elakka - 2nos/ Clove/Lavang - 2 nos

Bisibelebath powder - 4 tablespoons (Adjust accordingly)
Curry leaves few

Jaggery a small piece

Salt

Preparation Method
Wash and cut all vegetables.
Soak soya beans overnite in water.
Cook rice, soya bean and dal separately in a pressure cooker.
Steam the veggies for about 15 to 20 mins with little salt and turmeric or 1 whistle.

Heat a deep vessel or a pressure cooker, add 2 tablespoons oil, add a pinch of mustard, add hing, curry leaves, spices, dry red chillies, and saute for 2mins.
Add chopped tomatoes, spinach and saute for few mins.
Add tamarind water and allow it to boil for sometime.
Then add steamed vegetables, bisibelebath powder and allow it to boil.
When pressure is up, mash or whisk the dal, and add this.
Let it boil, slowly keep stirring without mashing the veggies.
Then mash the rice, and slowly add required rice and keep mixing.
Check on salt and add jaggery. Let it boil, keep stirring.
It should be little watery so by the time you eat, it will be just right and soft.
Off the stove.

Garnish with cashews - optional

Serve Hot Bisibelebath with any vegetable curry/Potato chips/Karaboondi or enjoy as it is.

I served it with Crispy Onion Oats Pakoda. Recipe below 

Notes - I usually make it without onion and if you wish please add.

Oats Onion Pakoda

Ingredients
Onion - 4 nos(Sliced lenghtwise)
Rolled Oats - 1/2 cup 
Kadalai Maav/Chickpea flour/Besan -  3 to 4 tablesppons
Rava/Semolina - 2 tablespoons
Red chlli powder -  1/4 tspn (As per your taste)
Curry leaves - few
Salt
Water to sprinkle
Oil for deep frying

Preparation Method
In a wide bowl, put onion, oats, salt and slight mix.
Add all other ingredients and sprinkle little water and mix well. It should be thick. Leave it for few mins.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok, when its hot. slowly spread and drop the batter in oil. Deep fry till brown both sides and take out on tissue to remove excess oil. Allow it to cool and store it in air tight container.

Enjoy it with Bisibelebath/Coffee/Tea time too.

Notes - Do not store, when its warm or hot it will become soggy.

I had previously posted Cabbage Oats Pakoda check here for recipe. This recipe is going to Fast Food not Fat Food by Priya and Uma.

Write to me if you have queries at simplysara07@gmail.com

Tomato Chutney | No Onion No Garlic!

This Tomato Chutney is prepared without onion and garlic. I have been thinking of recipes prepared without coconut nowadays which are for lowering cholestrol and for diabetic. This is quick and tastes delicious for Dosas and Idlis.

Ingredients
Tomatoes - 2nos(Red n Ripe)
Urad Dal - 2 tspns
Green Gram/Pacha Payaru - 2 tspns
Dry red chilli - 2nos (As per your taste)
Gingely Oil/Olive Oil - 1 tspn
Salt
Curry leaves - few

Preparation Method
Heat a wok or kadai, add oil, urad dal, green gram, red chilli, curry leaves and saute till the dal is brown. Transfer it to a plate. In the same kadai, add chopped tomatoes, a pinch of salt and cook till its soft. Allow it to cool.
Add salt and grind to coarse paste when cool.
Season with oil, mustard and Hing/Asafotida.

Tomato Chutney is ready to serve. I served it with Ragi Idlis, the recipe will be my next post.

Notes - You can also have it without seasoning, I wanted the hint of hing. If you wish you can add hing while grinding.

Nellikai Sadam | Amla | Gooseberry Rice Recipe!!!

Nellikai Sadam | Amla Rice Recipe is a Kalandha/mixed variety rice. This is a very tasty rice and is prepared without onion and garlic. I usually cook many other vegetable rice like Vangibath, Capsicum rice, Capsicum Bath using curry powder etc adding of Nellikai/Amla/Gooseberry was told by my friend in SG. It is also healthy to eat Nellikai/Amla as it is rich in Vitamin C.

Serves : 2 persons


Ingredients
Rice - 1 cup
Nellikai/Amla(Big) - 3nos (Deseeded and grated)
Curry powder - 3 tspns (as per your taste)
Oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Bengal gram - 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves few
Hing - 2 pinches
Turmeric - 1/4 tspn or less( I like it more)
Dry red chilli - 1no(optional)
Salt


Preparation Method
Cook rice and keep separately.
In a thick bottom kadai, add oil, mustard wait till it splutters. Put bengal gram, curry leaves, red chilli and wait till it turns brown.
Now add the grated nellikai and saute. Keep it in low flame. Do not over cook. Add salt and turmeric.
Add curry powder and fry till raw smell goes.
Add salt and mix well.
Allow it to cool and then mix with rice and serve.


Nellikai Sadam is ready to enjoy. You can serve with any vegetable curry or raitha.

I love as it is :-)


Notes - The Nellikai will be tangy, so add the curry powder accordingly.

This recipe alongwith Strawberry Milkshake is going to Healing Food Berries Event by Smitha started by Siri.

Upma | Uppittu Restuarant Style!!!

From yesterday Mahalaya Paksham is starting for the next 15days and cooking is done without Onion and Garlic. For Dinner it will be only tiffin. So I prepared this for my in laws and it was yummmmy... I know many of you dont like. But I like it anytime of the day and love it cold or leftover.

Ingredients
Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 2 cups
Water - 4 cups + 1/2 cup if required
Cashewnuts -  5 nos slit or broken
Ginger - 2 tspns chopped
Any cooking Oil - 5 tspns or 1/4 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Jeera - 1/4 tspn
Channa Dal - 2 tspns
Hing/Asafotida - 1/4 tspn
Curry leaves - few
Coriander - 2 tspns chopped
Green chilli - 1 no slit 
Salt

Preparation Method
Dry roast the Rava in a kadai until slightly brown and smells good. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool.
In a same kadai, add oil, mustard, wait till it pops, then add jeera, channa dal, wait till its brown, add curry leaves, green chilli, cashews and ginger. Saute till cashews are slightly brown. Add water, chopped coriander and salt. Allow it to boil. Check for salt. you can add a drop of oil here also.
Once its boiled, reduce the flame and add rava, stir continuously and not forming lumps. Mix well evenly.
Close the lid and wait for 5 to 10mins for rava to cook.

Upma | Uppittu is ready to serve. You can serve this with Coconut chutney /Sugar/Sambar.

Notes/Tip -
If salt is slightly more, add 1 tspn of ghee and mix well and garnish fresh grated coconut.

This recipe is going to Vrat Ka Khana Event by Kalyani.

Happy Pongal and Paruppu Vadai/Dal Vada Recipe!!!

Wish you and your family a very Happy and Prosperous Pongal and Sankranthiya Subhashayagalu. Pongaloo Pongal!!!

For Sakkarai Pongal recipe click here

To know more about this festival click here

To know about dishes prepared on this day click here

Today I prepared Pasi Paruppu Payasam and Paruppu/Dal Vadai for the Bhogi Festival which is the first day of Pongal. This recipe is pending is very long time in my drafts.

Paruppu Vadai/Dal Vada is prepared on all auspicious ocassions without onion and garlic.

Here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Kadalai Paruppu/Channa Dal  3 cups

Dry Red Chilli 2 nos(as per your taste)

Inji/Ginger a small piece

Asafotida/Hing 1/4 tspn

Curry leaves/Coriander leaves  few chopped

Salt

Little water

Oil for deep frying

Optional

Paasi Paruppu/Moong dal  2 tspns(soaked separately)

Grated coconut  2 tspns

Preparation Method

Soak kadalai paruppu for 4 to 5 hours in water.

Then add coarsely with salt, red chilli, ginger in mixie or blender without adding much water to paste.

Transfer it to wide bowl, add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Heat a kadai with oil take small balls, flatten in on hand and drop in oil slowly.

Deep fry them till brown.

Paruppu Vadai is ready to serve. You can serve hot or cold. I like it cold it tastes great.

This recipe alongwith my Pongal recipe is going to Pongal Feast Event by Kurinji and Deep Fried Snacks by Radhika.

Notes : Adding Paasi paruppu/Moong dal makes crispier and coconut gives nice flavour.

Veggie Aval Upma and the Winner!!!

Aval/Rice Flakes is a main ingredient for Gokulashtami/Krishna Jayanthi. Here is a simple and colourful vegetable upma. This is ideal for breakfast or tiffin.

Ingredients
Aval/Rice Flakes - 2 cups
Mixed Vegetable (Carrot/Peas/Cabbage/Cauliflower)- 1 cup
Fresh Grated Coconut - 2 tspns
Oil - 1 tspn
Mustard - a pinch
Asafotida - a pinch
Jeera - 1/4 tspn
Curry leaves - few chopped
Channal Dal - 1/2 tspn
Green chilli - 2 nos
Salt

Preparation Method
Wash, Rinse the aval. Remove water and keep aside.
In a kadai/wok, add oil mustard. Wait till it splutters. Now add asafotida, jeera and channa dal. saute till its brown.
Add curry leaves, green chilli and saute for a minute.(You can slit the g.chilli or chop into small pieces)
Add the vegetables, little salt and cook it.
When its cooked add aval and salt and mix well.

Garnish with Fresh Grated coconut.

Veggie Aval Upma is ready to serve.

Now the winner of my Giveaway for Anniversary.

Any guesses??

That is Sanyukta Gour. Congratulations!!! I will get in touch with you.

Thanks to everyone for participating.