CURRY LEAVES POWDER ( Karuveppilai Podi )

 

Curry leaves is a quintessential ingredient in Indian cooking. It infuses a nice aroma and enhances the flavour profile of any dish. We tend to discard it,overlooking its immense health benefits. But there are certain dishes,wherein the benefits of these leaves can be fully utilized. This flavoursome powder is one such dish. I would term this as a multi purpose powder : Toss the idli over this podi in preparing podi idli; mix it plain rice and simple seasoning to whip up a tasty rice dish ; slather this podi generously on dosa for making podi dosa.This podi serves as a  best accompaniment for idli,upma, dosa and pongal too.    

INGREDIENTS :

CURRY LEAVES-  2 CUPS

GRAM DAL -  4 TSP

URAD DAL- 4 TSP

PEPPERCORNS-  3/4 TSP

CUMIN SEEDS- 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLIES- 6 NOS

ASAFOETIDA-  1 TSP

OIL- FOR ROASTING 

SALT AS REQUIRED

PROCEDURE :

1.  Wash,rinse curry leaves and drain water. Spread washed curry leaves on clean cotton cloth to take out the moisture content from the leaves.

2. In a pan add 2 tsp of oil and roast the lentils along with other ingredients cited above. Allow the ingredients to cool.

3. In the same pan fry curry leaves till it turns crisp. If you are able to crush the leaves, it denotes that the leaves are fried and crisp.

4. In a mixer jar, take the roasted lentils and other ingredients along with salt. Grind in pulse mode for a few seconds till it is coarsely ground.

 

5. Now add in the fried curry leaves to the ground mixture and grind again till the leaves are powdered.

 

6. Store the powdered contents in a clean air-tight container and stock it inside a refrigerator for prolonged shelf life.

MANGO KESARI

Summer heralds arrival of mangoes; I love to gorge on yummy delicacies prepared with both raw and succulent ripe mangoes. Kesari is a ubiquitous semolina pudding prepared across Tamilnadu. This pudding goes by different names in other Indian states as well. The authentic version of this pudding is enriched with ghee,cardamom and roasted nuts,raisins and hint of orange food colour. Of late, you can come across innovative versions of this pudding involving varied fruits : Mango,pineapple,strawberry,kiwi and banana. I haven't used food colour in this kesari as I love the natural subtle hue of  ripe mangoes.

 

 INGREDIENTS :

 

RAVA /  SEMOLINA-  1 CUP

SUGAR- 1 1/2  CUPS

MANGO PULP-  1 CUP

WATER- 2 1/2  CUPS

GHEE- 1/4   CUP

CARDAMOM POWDERED- 1 TSP

CASHEWS/ RAISINS 

PROCEDURE :

1. Scoop out the pulp from the ripe mango and keep it aside. 

2. Add 2 tsp of ghee in a pan and when it melts, roast the semolina till nice aroma emanates. Keep the roasted semolina aside. In the same pan add a tsp of ghee and roast cashew nuts and raisins.

3.Heat 2 1/2 cups of water. Pour the hot boiling water over the roasted semolina and stir in mild heat till the semolina is cooked.

4. Now transfer the sugar over the boiled semolina and cook in mild heat till the sugar dissolves completely. Don't panic,if the mixture becomes lumpy after adding sugar as it will eventually get dissolved while heating. Add half the quantity of ghee and mix well.

5. Pour the mango pulp and simmer in mild heat till the puree blends well with semolina.  Add the remaining ghee and cardamom powder and cook in sim and switch off.

6. Decorate with roasted nuts and raisins and serve.

Additional  Information :

• Adjust the quantity of sugar in accordance with the sweetness of fruit
• Always choose only coarse semolina,while preparing kesari,as the finer variant will result in gooey consistency. 
  

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MAMIDIKAYA PAPPU

 

 

I have tasted bangnapalli,rumani,neelam and totapuri mango varieties. Among  these variants,I love the raw totapuri variant very much. This mango goes by varied names in different South Indian languages : Gini moothi in Kannada,killi mooku in Tamil,bangalora  and Totapuri in Telugu,because of its striking semblance to face and beak of a parrot. I often refer to this mango as beach mango or manga as it is known in Tamil; it is very popular across the beaches in Chennai.

 As soon as you enter the beach,you are greeted by heaped slices of this (totapuri) raw mango slathered with salt and chilli powder,sold on carts by the vendors.The taste of this variant is really irresistible and I chomp down half the mango in one go. I always incorporate this variant in many dishes. Today.I prepared pappu with this ( Totapuri)

Mamidikaya pappu is an authentic dish in Andhra pradesh. Pappu is a lentil-based preparation and an indispensable part of Andhra cuisine.You can  come across varied pappu variants involving tomato,spinach,ridge gourd,raw mango and any kind of greens. I love raw mango pappu a lot,as it has a nice sweet and sour taste. This dal preparation pairs well with plain rice with a dollop of ghee.

 

 

 

  

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INGREDIENTS :

STEAMED TOOR DAL-  1 CUP

GRATED RAW MANGO-  3/4 CUP

ONION CHOPPED- 1

GARLIC CHOPPED- 1 TSP

GREEN CHILLIES- 2 NOS

TURMERIC POWDER- 1/4 TSP

CHILLI POWDER- 3/4 TSP

SALT TO TASTE

FOR TEMPERING :

 

OIL- 3 TSP

GHEE- 2 TSP

MUSTARD- 3/4 TSP

FENUGREEK SEEDS- 1/2 TSP

CUMIN SEEDS- 3/4 TSP

ASAFOETIDA- 1/2 TSP

CURRY LEAVES- 2 SPRIGS

PROCEDURE :

1. Steam cook toor dal and keep it aside.

2. Prepare the seasoning with the ingredients cited in the column.

3. Add chopped onion.chopped garlic cloves,salt and saute till the onions turn translucent.

4. Now add in turmeric powder,chilli powder and saute for a couple of second. Now throw the mango gratings over this and saute for a few seconds.

5. Transfer the steamed lentil over the gratings and simmer in mild heat for a couple of seconds. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

 

   

PUMPKIN SEEDS HALWA

 

Whenever I buy pumpkin,I discard the seeds and only utilize the veggie in cooking. But yesterday, I prepared a scrumptious halwa with pumpkin seeds.Initially,I was bit skeptical about the taste but,the final outcome,proved me wrong. Henceforth,I decided to stock pumpkin seeds to try out many such amazing recipes.This halwa can be readily prepared with easily accessible ingredients. Next time,when you buy pumpkin,don't throw away the seeds,as you can whip up a  delicious sweet dish and impress everyone.

 

 

 

 INGREDIENTS :

PUMPKIN SEEDS- 1 CUP

SUGAR- 3/4 CUP

MILK- 1 1/2 CUPS

CARDAMOM POWDER- 1 TSP

GHEE- 1 TBSP

ALMONDS,CASHEWNUTS  FOR GARNISHING

PROCEDURE : 

1. Soak pumpkin seeds in water for 3-4 hours. 

2. Discard the water used for soaking and use fresh water for grinding the seeds. Keep the paste aside. Use only little water for grinding,else the mixture will turn watery.

3. In a non-stick  pan add 3 tsp of ghee and heat it. Transfer the ground paste over the hot ghee and keep stirring in mild heat.

4. Now pour the milk over the mixture and continue stirring in mild heat. At one point you will notice that the colour of halwa changes and it thickens after the mixture takes in the milk completely.

5. Now add in the sugar and continue with the stirring process. Now add the remaining ghee and cardamom powder. You can notice the ghee leaves the sides and it reaches halwa consistency. At this stage,switch off the heat and garnish with roasted nuts and relish.