Besan puttu / scrambled chick peas flour


This is a  perfect rainy day snack without frying (ready in 5 mins). If you crave for bajji/pakora on a rainy evening, but double thinking it because of its deep frying, try this, same flavor, same taste sans the frying.
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Mix 5 tbsp. of besan (chick peas flour) + 2 tbsp. of rice flour + 1 tsp turmeric powder + 2 tsp chlli powder + salt to taste.
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Add water and make batter with the consistency of bajji/pakora batter.

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In a non-stick pan add a tbsp. of oil and fry mustard seeds, urad dhal, curry leaves and chopped green chillies.
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Sauté chopped red onions and coriander leaves. (You can add thinly sliced bell peppers also).
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Pour in the prepared batter and stir.Image
Keep stirring as the batter thickens.
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Try breaking the big chunks while stirring…
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This is just like scrambling an egg. If you don’t use a non-stick pan, you might have to use more oil.
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And its done… This is traditionally a side for rice, but I like it as a snack.
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Halwa


This decadent sweet that melts in your mouth ,filling your body and soul with sweetness is made slightly different in different parts of India. This recipe is a version of the famous southern “Tirunelveli Halwa”.

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All purpose flour – 1 cup
sugar – 1.5 cups
cashew nuts
ghee – I/2 cup
cardamom powder and food color

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Knead the flour to a dough by adding water.

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Soak the dough in 1/2 cup of water and set aside for 30 minutes.

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After 30 minutes squeeze the dough in water and a milk like liquid comes out. If you are wondering why we shouldn’t just mix the flour and water to the consistency of milk….there is a reason.

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When you filter the liquid from the previous step, you will be left with the solid shown in the purple bowl. Throw it away.  If we had just mixed the flour with water it wouldn’t be possible to separate this solid and it will make the halwa very gummy.
You can skip all the above steps by soaking the whole wheat in water,  grinding it and filtering to take the wheat milk out.

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Set the wheat milk aside for 7-8 hours. I usually leave it overnight. After 8 hours, there will be some water separation.

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The water that has separated can be used to make the sugar syrup.
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Mix the sugar in the water and heat. (preferably use a non-stick pan).

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Add the cardamom powder and food color (orange or yellow).

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We are looking for the 1 string consistency . But when you see the sugar syrup boiling and bubbling….its time. Pour in the flour milk.

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Keep stirring, things will progress very fast from here, so do not leave the scene .

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You will notice the liquid thickening into transparent lumps..

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When it starts sticking to the bottom add ghee..little at a time.

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Fry the cashews in 1 tsp ghee. Fold in the cashews.

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When the halwa rolls like a ball easily without sticking to the bottom or sides ..you know its done.

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Transfer it to a greased dish. (Notice the ghee in the bottle. I started with the full bottle and have used about 1/3 rd of it. )

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The halwa should be easily transferrable. If it sticks too much then its not done yet. If it happens, all you have to do is, heat it for another 3-4 minutes as needed. It seems like a lot of steps, but its quite easy. Hope you try this.

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Sodhi – Vegetable stew


This is a popular stew in the Nellai region(very south of Tamilnadu, India), infact in some communities the grandeur of a wedding is determined by the presence of this stew in the lunch menu. It comes very close in taste to Thai coconut milk soup….I just like the fresh flavors….very tropical, very refreshing..
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A couple of options here. The best option is to go fresh all the way. Grate one coconut, roughly about 3 cups of coconut gratings.

  • If you are using the frozen grated coconut, use about half the pack.
  • If you use coconut milk cans, you will need about 2 – 8 oz cans.
  • Do not use coconut milk powder or desiccated coconut for this.

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Grind the coconut with 1.5 cups of water and take the milk out. This is the first coconut milk. This should be thick and creamy. (the consistency of heavy cream). If you are using cans, reserve about 1 cup of the milk without adding any water.

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Return the coconut to the blender and grind with 1.5 cups of water, squeeze the milk out. This will be the second milk (with the consistency of 2% milk). If you are using cans, mix 3/4 cups of coconut milk with 3/4 cups of water.

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Repeat the same process. This is the third milk. This time the milk should will be much thinner (the consistency of fat free milk).  If you are using cans, mix 1/2 cup of milk with 1 cup of water.

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Grind green chillies + ginger to a paste. This will be the only source of heat for the stew, so take accordingly.

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Cook 1/4 cup of moong dhal (split green grams)  thoroughly and mash it.  (This is an optional ingredient, the purpose is to thicken the stew. )

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These are the veggies : pearl onions, garlic cloves, cabbage, carrots, green beans and potatoes. All the prep is done…and the rest is quite easy.

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Add 2 tsp of oil to the pan and sauté the onions and garlic.

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Add the veggies and sauté for a couple of minutes.

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Add the “third” coconut milk (the thinnest milk).

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Add a pinch of salt,, it is very easy to oversalt this stew, so add only a pinch at a time. Cover and cook. When the potatoes and carrots are 3/4 ths done, add the chillie ginger paste.

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Stir in the cooked dhal..

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Add the “second” coconut milk and also a pinch of salt. cook until the vegetables are cooked well and the stew will thicken because of the dhal.

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Reduce the heat to “low” and add the “first” coconut milk (the thick and creamy one). after you’ve added the thick coconut milk, do not bring the stew to boil. Just simmer it for five minutes.

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Fry the mustard seeds and curry leaves in a spoon of oil and add it to the stew. Turn off the heat.  After 10 minutes, add the juice of 1/4 lime and mix well and its done.

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This stew goes well with everything : idli, dosa, appam, idiappam, poori, roti, rice or you can just drink it like a soup… simple ingredients, fresh flavors and a great tasting stew.

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Peppered mushrooms


A quick and healthy side for the busy weekday..
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white / button mushrooms
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red onions, coriander leaves (cilantro), ginger, green chillies and garlic..all minced. You can add ginger garlic paste too, but I think the flavors work better when minced.
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Sauté the chillies, garlic and ginger in a tsp of oil.
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Sauté the onions and cilantro.
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Add the mushrooms. Sprinkle salt and cover and cook for 1 minute.
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Mushrooms will sweat and they give out a lot of water.Add 2 tsp of turmeric powder (optional).
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Add loads of freshly ground black pepper.
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Cook until all the water evaporates.
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If needed add a tsp of oil to crisp the mushrooms slightly.
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And its done. While it makes a great side for rice, I have also used it as filling for wraps, quesadillas and sandwiches. The whole thing will be done in 10 mins, unless you really take your time to chop  🙂
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Vegetable Kothu (minced) parotta (with egg).


Here is the recipe for vegetable kothu parotta. Chicken/Mutton parottas are done the same way except that we use the chicken/mutton curry instead of the vegetable curry.
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Ideally, the leftover kurma/salna is used to make kotthu parotta. Because I don’t have any leftovers, I am going to make a simple yogurt based vegetable korma.To start, heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry a couple of cloves, cinnamon sticks and fennel seeds.
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Sauté some onions, couple of green chillies and ginger garlic paste.
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Sauté the mixed vegetables, I am using carrots, green beans and green peas here. Add the chopped tomatoes.
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Sprinkle some salt and cover and cook. when the veggies soften, add turmeric powder, chilli powder , coriander powder and a pinch of garam masala or instead of all these you can just add your favorite curry masalas or meat masalas.Image
Add 3 tbsp. of yogurt.
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Add little water, sprinkle some coriander leaves and cook until the curry is done.That’s the vegetable curry. You can make chicken/mutton curry the same way or you can use the coconut based korma/salna.
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Now to make kothu parotta, chop some onions, green chillies, other green peppers (like bell peppers that is rich in flavor but not in heat), curry leaves and coriander leaves.
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Parottas (at room temperature), 2 eggs and your curry. (eggs are optional)Rest of the steps should be done right before serving and it takes only 10 minutes, so have everything ready and cook right before serving.
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Shred the parottas.
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I am cooking in a wok. You can also use flat skillets, but avoid the heavy non-stick pots or pans. The wok helps the parotta to crispen a little and also I like to use metal spatulas to cook this particular dish and the spatula minces the parotta as we mix everything .
In the wok, I have heated up  oil to sauté  fennel seeds, onions chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
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Add the parottas and the curry.
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Add some coriander leaves.. as you are mixing keep mincing the parottas with your spatula. Cook in high heat, the parottas will crisp and mince easily.
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Move the parotta to the side of the wok and scramble two eggs in the wok.
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Mix the egg with the parotta…and its done.
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