Peanut Chutney

Ingredients

Half tea cup roasted peanuts (roast them in a kadai in sim, until the outside becomes little black, and the skin comes off easy, eat and see) Can make in microwave - keep the peanuts in the plate. Avoid keeping in the center. Spread around the plate. Keep for 3 minutes without lid. Open, and mix it a bit. then keep for another 3 minutes. It should become brownish outside. Keep for another 1 minutes. Sign of it being roasted is if the skin comes off easily.

1 medium sized onion - cut length wise
Tamarind - one small piece
Red chilli - 1

Recipe

In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil, add onion, chilli, tamarind and salt, and fry until onion becomes brownish. Let it cool.

First put peanuts in  mixer and make it to a powder - not very smooth. Then add the onion and rest, add little water and mix to a paste.


 

Beetroot poriyal

Ingredients

1 fat beetroot (about 250 gms)
Mustard
Jeera
Channa dal (soaked 10-15 minutes)
Udad dal
Red chilli or chilli powder - 1 (make into 2 pieces)
Salt

Recipe

Prep: grate beetroot and keep aside

In a kadai, add little oil, mustard, jeera, red chilli. Then Channa dal, udad dal. Fry for few minutes. Then add beetroot. And salt. Mix and keep in sim. Close with lid. Occasionally mix, and check to see if soft. (Approx 10-15minutes).

Same recipe can be applied to carrot.

Raw Banana Fry

Ingredients

1 raw banana
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Dhania powder - 1 and a half tspn
Turmeric - quarter tspn
Salt to taste

Recipe

Prep: Cut banana in thin slices with skin. Put in water. Then peel skin.

In a kadai, take 3 tspns oil. Take bananas out of oil, try to drain out the water, and put in kadai little by little. Mix for 2-3 minutes. Then add dhania, chilli and turmeric. And salt. Mix it so that all the masalas spread evenly. Sprinkle water 2-3 times. Mix, and cover and keep in sim. Keep mixing once a while. Press and see. If soft, keep it open and cook until all water goes. If getting stuck, turn it around. 1 spn oil at the end for it to roast little more. (Approx cooking time about 10-15 minutes).
 

Bottle Gourd (Soraka Poriyal)

Ingredients

Tender bottle gourd - 1 small size
Mustard
Jeera
Channa dal 3,4 tbsps. soaked for 10-15 minutes
Red chilli - 3 broken in half
Curry leaves

Recipe

Prep: Peel the bottle gourd, and cut into small pieces. If tender, can eat with seeds. If not, remove seeds.

Heat 3 tsps. oil in cooker. Add mustard, jeera and red chilli. Then add soaked channa dal without water (squeeze out the water). All in sim. After they crackle, add bottle gourd. Then add turmeric and salt. Mix everything together for 2-3 minutes. Add quarter glass water.

Close the cooker and keep for three whistles in high.

Turn it off and wait for pressure to go. Open and see, if there is too much water, cook without lid until water goes. If gourd is not soft, keep for one more whistle.

Same recipe can be used for ridge gourd (2 whistles).
Pumpkin - same in kadai not cooker. Do not add any water
250 gms Beans - (2 whistles)

Meen Kozhambu

Ingredients

Sambar onions: 10
Tomatoes: 2 medium sized (Make into paste)
Tamarind: Big lime sized
Chilli powder: 1 and a half small tsp
Dhania powder: 2 tsps.
Pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste
Garlic pods: 7-8
Curry leaves: 1 branch
Mustard, Jeera, methi seeds
Fish: cut pieces 5-6

Recipe

Prep: Soak tamarind in hot water for ten minutes. Squeeze out all the juice and keep aside.

Heat oil in kadai, add mustard, jeera, methi. Add onions and garlic together. Fry until brown. Add tomato puree, and curry leaves. Cook until raw smell goes. Add chilli powder, dhania, haldi. Immediately add tamarind juice and about a glass of water (200 ml). Add salt. When it boils on high, make it to sim, close with lid. Let it cook until it thickens sufficiently, and the raw smell goes. (Approx, 15-20 minutes). It should not be very watery.

Add fish. boil for 5 minutes. Then turn the fish, and let it cook for another 5 minutes. If its too watery, let it boil for some more time.