VEGETARIAN | Saute Fry N Bake

Gatta curry

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 20-25 minutes

Serving : 4-6 members

Description

We were on an European holiday for 24 days in a package where we had a caravan behind us cooking and serving an Indian , vegetarian menu for lunch and dinner . ( I know , sounds quirky but we Indians can never ever compromise when it comes to our daily food :-)) The best part being the chef was a South Indian from Bangalore who spoke fluent Tamil . I made maximum use from getting the menu changed to our liking to the spiciness and at times I myself would end up in the caravan making a cup of tea or just observing what the chef is up to today . Like wise we were served Gatta curry one day for lunch with rice and it was the first time I got to know about this deliciously warming Rajasthani dish . I made sure to get the recipe from the chef and it was a forgotten story there after . The recipe was there with me for ages and was lost while I was shifting in to a new home .last month was going through a foodie magazine and found this recipe that brought a shot of sunshine in to me . Immediately made it for lunch , making up for all the lost years of not giving a try . I felt the curry was too thin and runny . So I added a teaspoon of chick pea flour to get a smooth saucy textured curry . It was a medley of simple every day ingredients that was packed with both heft and flavours coming together as an incredibly satisfying light Indian curry . The gutta curry sure did take me to the lovely natural landscaping of Austria where we had it for lunch . How wired Austria and Gatta curry too far apart but in my memories it comes together itched as one .

Ingredients for the Gatta

Ingredients	Quantity
Gran flour ( basan )	250 grams + 1 teaspoon diluted in 3 tablespoons of water
Oil	1/4 cup
Kasoori methi	1 teaspoon
Salt	1 teaspoon or to taste
Red chilli flakes	1 teaspoon
Whole coriander seeds	1 teaspoon crushed
Curd	1/4 cup beaten

Ingredients for the curry

Ingredients	Quantity
Ghee	4 tablespoons ( I used vegetable oil)
Asafoetida ( hing )	1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chillies	4
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Curd	1 cup beaten
Red chilli powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	2 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Kasoori methi	1 tablespoon

Method for the gattas

In a mixing bowl , add all the ingredients mentioned for gattas along with 2-3 tablespoons of water to get a stiff dough . Shape the dough into 4 long cylinders of approximately 3 cm in diameter .
Boil water in a large sauce pan , immerse the cylindrical dough in the boiling water and let them cook for ten minutes .
Check if the dough is cooked by inserting a wooden skewer in to it , if cooked it will come out clean or else cook further for another five minutes .
Once cooked remove from boiling water . cut each cylinder into small pieces to one cm thick and set aside .

Method for curry

Mix beaten curd with red chilli powder , turmeric powder and salt to taste .
Heat a pan with ghee/ oil . Add asafoetida , whole dry red chillies and cumin seeds . Sauté for a minute .
Top with beaten curd mixture and keep stirring until the gravy thickens in medium low heat as the curd should not curdle .
Finally add kasoori methi and diluted gram flour and keep stirring for about ten minutes until the curry thickens to a semi thick flowing consistency .
serve hot , warm or at room temperature with rotis , pulkas or rice.

Vegetable hummus wrap

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 35 – 40 minutes

Serving: 4-5 members

Description

It’s raining chapathi’s in the recent for lunch and dinner at home under the request of hubby dear for month’s together now . I desperately needed a change but with the chapathi itself as it’s counter in another form . The easiest I could think of was a katti roll as old – school favourites make us glow with child like delight and the next problem being , it has to be healthy comfort food too . Had the veggie filling and chapathi’s in hand ready . To add more taste in a healthy way , decided to give the chapathis an egg white wash on one side . Went ahead and filled the veggies and rolled one katti roll . Tasted but the katti roll was a bit dry and hubby dear likes food that has a lot of moister in it rather than dry dishes . Now wanting a spread to be added to the katti roll … Healthy spread as well ??? Umm the only option in mind was hummus but it was already 12 .30 noon and making hummus in one hours time for lunch .. Not possible as soaking the chick peas and going ahead umm … is actually possible but my laziness just didn’t let me do so . Quickly added all the ingredients in a blender I do for hummus except for boiled chick peas and substituted with a cup of sautéed vegetables that I had for the filling with hung curd for the creamy texture and went ahead . Tasted and adjusted the ingredients and seasoning to taste . Bingo I did get an awesome tasting humus that was profound in it’s simplicity but not the authentic way instead a quick fix one and got to realise that with a few tweaks and innovations these sort of casual classics can be even more memorable . No time to taste once I assembled the katti roll together as it was lunch time already . Took pictures when hubby dear was shouting out for lunch and waited for the results on taste .He was like who send this over ? It’s send over from ” Mahu house ” was my reply . That’s our home name :-)) . He knocked my head with a grin having a bite , mouth full of the katti roll and widened his eyes indicating it’s delicious . He’s being asking me to do the same often but it’s just not worked out yet not sure why ? So peeps at least all of you give a try and let me know the results as I have solved the mystery of what to make today at your homes for lunch box , breakfast , lunch or dinner as well :-))) .

Ingredients for the vegetable filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Carrot	2 big chopped to tiny bits
Beans	10 chopped
Cabbage	sliced thinly 1 cup
Green peas	1/2 cup
Capsicum	1 chopped
Onion	1 1/2 big chopped
Olive oil	2 teaspoon
Garlic	2 flakes crushed
Salt	to taste
Red chilli flakes	to taste

Method for vegetable filling

Heat olive oil in a non – stick pan . Top with crushed garlic .
Sauté to a light golden brown . Add all the chopped vegetables , green peas and onions .
Sauté until 3/4 cooked with a slight crunch on them . Sprinkle red chilli flakes to taste .
Mix well , set aside and cool completely .

Ingredients for vegetable hummus

Ingredients	Quantity
The above vegetable filling	3/4 cup
Olive oil	1 teaspoon
Garlic flakes	3
Salt	to taste ( be careful as the above sautéed vegetable filling has salt already )
Chilli flakes	optional
Tahini paste	2 teaspoons or use 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds instead
Hung curd	1/2 cup

Method for vegetable hummus

Blend all the above mentioned ingredients together to get a smooth semi thick flowering consistently paste .
Taste and adjust seasoning by adding more chilli flakes and salt if needed . Set aside .

Ingredients for assembling

Ingredients	Quantity
Soft Chapathis	4 to 6 ( click the link below in notes for the recipe )
Egg whites	2
Salt + pepper	to taste
Oil	2 teaspoons

Method for assembling

Beat egg whites with salt and pepper powder .
Heat a non – stick griddle .apply little oil all over . Brush one side of a chapathi with the beaten egg white . Place over the hot griddle and cook . Remove . Do the same to all the chapathis . Place the egg white applied and cooked side facing you over the kitchen counter .
Apply the vegetable hummus all over .
Place 3 heaped table spoons of vegetable filling in the middle of the hummus applied chapathi and roll tightly . Do the same with all the chapathis , filling and vegetable humus .
Cut each chapathi into equal two halves and serve warm as it is . There is no need of a dip or a salad as it taste good by itself .

Notes

To get soft chapathis , click the link below and follow the recipe

Banana flower vada / vaala poo Vadai

Preparation Time : 1 hour 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes to cook the banana flower + 3-4 minutes to deep fry each batch of vadas .

Serving : 6 -8 members

Description

The banana plant is one thing that we in South India use from the leaf , stem , flower , ripe fruit, raw fruit to every bit of it in one way or the other . Like wise the banana flower is cleaned doing a pains taking job with every segment and used in many forms . One form is this recipe of Vadai that I learnt from my mother – in – law . At moms place we just make a thoran ( poriyal / sabji ) with it . I felt really wired to see vadais on the lunch table as a newly wedded bride as I am used to eating this deep fried snack for breakfast or on the go any time of the day . I was served two and tasted it and didn’t know there was banana flower used in it until my mother – in – law asked me to guess the ingredients in it . When she told me the banana flower is used in it too , I was dum struck as what a genius way to use a banana flower . The best part being this is an authentic Tamil vegetarian recipe that I didn’t know at all . I personally prefer these local produce to the sourced in produce and this helps to retain our traditional authentic house speciality recipes at home that are rarely featured in restaurant menus . The infinite range of flavours , aromas , textures and colours that’s the magic of Indian home cooking with varied state cuisines of our country is ultimate . The best way is to always remain faithful to our home style classics as it’s always made by our grand moms , moms , aunts or sisters with love in it and not to deny the quality of food that comes out of Indian home kitchens as it’s nothing short of astounding .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
peas dal ( Pattani paruppu or vadai paruppu as known in Tamil )	2 cups
dry red chillies	4 to 5
small onions	1 hand chopped finely
green chillies	2 chopped
curry leaves	few chopped
snauf	1 teaspoon
salt	to taste
ginger	1/4 inch pieces grated
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Banana flower	1 whole cleaned
oil	to deep fry

Method

Soak peas dal in water for one hour . Chop the cleaned banana flower to tiny bits . Cook with salt to taste , turmeric powder and little water until cooked . Make sure the cooked banana flower is dry with no moister left in it .
Set aside and cool . Drain and reserve 2 tablespoons of whole soaked peas dal aside .Add red dry chillies and snauf to the remaining soaked peas dal and grind to a coarse paste adding very little water .
Add all the other ingredients except for the oil to deep fry . Mix well . Heat oil to deep fry in a kadai .Make lime size balls with the peas dal and banana flower mixture . flatten them to get small round 1/4 inch thick Pattice .
Drop one by one , 4 to 5 in one batch into hot oil and fry for 2 minutes on each side to get a deep golden brown crisp vaala poo vadais .
Drain and serve hot with your after noon meals as a side dish .
There is no need of any chutney or dips to go along . It’s had as it is . At home ,Even before going to the dining table 3/4 of the vaala poo vadais are over in the kitchen , as every one has a taste before on the table .

Spinach and sweet corn macroni and cheese bake

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Being bored with the usual creamy and cheesy mac n cheese , I wanted to come up with a good vegetarian version that’s a treat to the eyes and tasty at the same time . Following my version of Mac n cheese recipe , decided to add puréed spinach for a change in colour and the delightful twist for the veggie version . Tasted after mixing in the spinach purée was good but some thing missing and felt was a bit bland . Added boiled sweet corn kernels and it’s sweetness and crunch helped to break the blandness of the popular treat and added a surprising contrast in colour that I didn’t except at all . Baked and was happy with the total out come of the stylish stunning dish but can’t taste it until on the table as all this pains taking experimenting was done for the vegetarian table spread of sauté , fry n bakes first anniversary celebration . There were more than ten dishes on display that day so was confident will end up with some left overs but I managed to get just a tiny bit ( nearly 1/4 teaspoon ) to just nibble around it . These sort of do ahead dishes help you enjoy a lot of me time leaving way for more fun and bonding with others that makes entertaining much more easy . I made sure to repeat this recipe on a relaxed week end so that we at home could enrich our taste buds with my memories of the 1/4 teaspoon of nibble as it brought with it a melange of flavours .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
macaroni	400 grams
butter	50 grams + to grease + to dot
plain flour ( maida )	2 tablespoons
milk	500 ml ( 2 cups )
grated cheese	2 cups ( I use Amul cheese cubes 1 cup grated and 6 Amul cheese slice )
Onion	1 big chopped
Mixed dried herbs rosemary , thyme , dill , oregano and basi	a pinch each
Chilli flakes	to taste
Green chillies	2 slit
Garlic	2 flakes crushed
Curry masala powder	1 tablespoon ( coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon + red chilli powder 1/4 teaspoon + cumin powder - a huge pinch +
fennel powder	a huge pinch . Mix altogether to get curry masala powder )
Spinach	2 cups
Sweet corn and capsicum chopped	1/4 cup each ( optional )
Salt	to taste
Bread crumbs	1 1/2 teaspoons

Method

Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling water according to packet instructions (different brands may vary in size & cooking times)
Cook washed spinach with salt to taste and little water . Cool completely and blend to a smooth purée and set aside .
melt the butter in a medium non stick sauce pan and add chopped onion , slit green chillies , crushed garlic and fry to translucent . add the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute over medium-low heat.
Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth. Add spinach purée and Stir gently until the mixture comes just to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat, add the 1/2 the grated cheese and 4 cheese slices , stir until melted and smooth.top with a pinch of all the dried mixed herbs , chilli flakes , salt ( be care full with salt as cheese is already salty ) sweet corn and capsicum .
Add the curry masala powder making sure the sauce colour remains green in colour . Taste and adjust the sauce . The sauce should be in a semi thick gooey flowing consistency .
Drain the cooked pasta . Pour cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until well coated.remove the slit green chillies . Grease a ceramic baking tray . pour the cheese sauce coated macaroni .
top with remaining grated cheese . Sprinkle bread crumbs over . Cut the remaining cheese slice ‘s into thin strips . Place it in a criss cross pattern over the grated cheese .
Dot the top with little butter all around . Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes . serve hot .
I like my mac n cheese creamy so I always make sure it’s still gooey with a cheese melted crust .
Just add more milk to get a gooey saucy mac n cheese

Momo’s

Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 10-12 minutes

Serving : 4-6 members

Description

Momo’s . A steamed nibble very own to Tibet . I got to know about this delicacy only a few years back . My first try with this dish was a big disaster . After that I just didn’t want to try it at home , instead preferred eating out . The best momo’s I have had are at ooty in a small stall just out side modern department stores . My friends Sindhu , her four girls and sulu along with her school friends sai vidya naveen and Thelma just gobbled up the entire stock in the tiny stall . The following month I happened to go with my cousins to the same place but it didn’t taste as good as when with friends . Guess the girl power worked then . These momo’s were done under the watch full eyes of a Tibetian girl anandhitha who helped me out with her mothers recipe . It worked perfect except that I was very slow in folding the petals . ( Practice … practice .. practice and only practice can perfect any task ) Anandhitha was so fast looked as if she had magic in her hands . So the perfect looking momo’s were done by anandhitha and the not so perfect ones were of course done by me the great :-)) Another not deep fried nibble apt to be had while breaking your fast . All the best folks in advance for the petal folding part .

Ingredients for dough

Ingredients	Quantity
Flour / maida	4 cups
Oil	1 tablespoon
Water	enough to knead to get a dough
Salt	a pinch

Method for dough

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients together to get a smooth dough .
Set aside covered for half an hour .

Filling ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Ground raw boneless chicken	1/4 kg ( grind with out water )
Carrot	1 shredded
Beans	4 chopped thinly
Cabbage	1/4 cup shredded
Spring onion	1 stalk chopped
Ginger	1 teaspoon grated
Garlic	4 flakes minced
Green chillies	to taste minced
Pepper powder	to taste
Salt	to taste

Method for filling

Mix all the ingredients mentioned above for the filling together .
Add seasoning to taste and combine well .
Set aside covered in the refrigerator for one hour letting all the flavours infuse together .

Method to assemble

Knead the prepared dough once again . Roll one inch balls out of the dough .Take one ball and roll between your palms to a spherical shape . Dust work counter/board with flour .
Flatten a ball on the dusted flour place to a 2 inch circle with the help of your palms . Do the same with all the dough balls and set aside covered with a bowl so that they don’t dry out .
Use a rolling pin and roll out each of the flattened circles to get wrappers of three inch diameter in circular shape .
Make sure the middle of the wrappers are slightly thicker than the edges so that you get well executed wrappers that seal the filling well .
Do the same with all the flattened dough and keep covered making sure they do not dry out .
Hold rolled wrapper on one palm , place one tablespoon filling mixture in the middle and with the other hand bring all the edges together to the Center , making petals . Pinch and twist the petals to ensure the filling is packed inside perfectly .
Heat a greased bamboo steamer ( or use your iddli steamer that is greased properly . ) with water and 3 ripe tomatoes in the bottom vessel . Arrange the momo’s in the greased bamboo / iddli steamer .
Close with a lid and steam for about 10 minutes or until cooked through . Serve hot immediately with hot momo sauce .

Ingredients Hot Momo sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
RipeTomatoes	3 big
Garlic flakes	2
Dry red chillies	8
Salt	to taste

Method for momo sauce

Blend the tomatoes that are at the bottom of the bamboo steamer vessel along with dry red chillies ,
Garlic flakes and salt to taste to get a red coloured hot momo sauce .

Notes

vegetarian’s can do the same by adding more quantity of vegetables avoiding the chicken .
Ground Prawn also can be added instead of ground chicken
You can add lesser red dry chillies to get a blander red momo sauce .
You can store the steamed momo’s in foil paper rolled around each momo individually and then packed in a zip lock cover and kept in the refrigerator . Steam the momo’s just before you want to serve .
You can also boil the momo’s in boiling salted water dropping the momo’s one at a time ( 5 momos only ) and cook for about 10 minutes until they float on top . Drain and serve immediately .
You can also sauté the cooked momo’s in little butter and serve .

Mushroom stuffed fig – kum kum

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 1/2 minute if cooking in over stove top , if baking 5-7 minutes

Serving : 3-4 minutes

Description

Mushrooms stuffed fig Kum – Kum .a perfect bite size indulgent dish that I came up with left over ingredients in my refrigerator . This dish makes for great party nibbles . Hubby has the habit of buying things in large quantity what so ever . Finally I am put to test to use and experiment with the left over ingredients . Dried figs are always had as it is or I make a sweet dish with it . My recent liking towards sweet , hot , spicy and sour elements together made me try my hands on this dish . It was a melange of textures and flavours . The pucker – inducing sweetness of the dried figs takes center stage in this dish . Wanted to serve this for lunch as a starter ( this dish is an ideal starter ) but as I had my hubby’s niece and nephew ( rahima zenofer and mohamed ) drop in by 11 o clock , so served it earlier as a brunch . ( thought of baking it in the oven as I had to serve it suddenly had to pan roast it ) . The dish did hit the right spot but turned out a way bit spicy . So I have made corrections in the recipe . Now … Why the word Kum – Kum in the dishes name ???? On my visit to Agra came across a dish named raseela Kum – Kum .( the dish was tomatoes stuffed with mushrooms in a gravy form ) The name sounded so catchy . Stored it in my mind and having the liberty to name this dish just added the Kum – Kum .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Dried figs	1 1/2 cups
Mushrooms	30 numbers
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic grated	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger grated	1/4 teaspoon
Green chillies	1 teaspoon chopped finely ( I crushed them coarsely )
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Milk	2 teaspoon to dissolve saffron
Onions grated	2 teaspoons
Oil	2 teaspoons
Saffron	2 grams ( a pinch )
Salt	to taste
White pepper powder	1 /2 teaspoon or to taste

Method

Soak the dried figs in luck warm water for 20 minutes .
Drain , wipe and chop to make a paste .( I blitzed the soaked figs in a food processor to a corse paste ) .
Add all the other ingredients except for the mushrooms , oil , milk and saffron . Season to taste .
( Season well as the mushroom caps do not have any seasoning added to it .if not seasoned well , the dish might result being a bland dish ) Remove the stems alone from the whole cleaned mushrooms .
( I chopped the stems and sautéed it in a little butter and added it to the fig mixture not wanting to waste the stems ) .
Stuff each mushroom with a tablespoon full of fig mixture and set aside for 20 minutes .soak saffron in milk and set aside . In a pan ,heat the oil till moderately hot .
Arrange the figs filled mushrooms in the pan and let them cook on low heat for 1 1/2 minutes .Turn the mushrooms over and cook for another minute .
Remove the mushrooms from the pan , brush with saffron dissolved in milk and serve immediately with tooth picks poked into each fried mushroom.

Notes

The mushroom can also be placed on a greased baking dish and baked in a moderately hot oven (180 degree Celsius ) for 5-8 minutes .
You can substitute any non- veg or veg filling instead of dried figs .
I marinated the mushroom caps also with some ginger garlic and green chilli paste but it turned out too spicy so just leave the mushroom as it is .

Grilled semolina cakes with mushroom ragout

Preparation Time : 25 -30 minutes

Cooking Time : 35 minutes

Serving : 5-6 members

Description

Grilled semolina cakes with mushroom ragout . A recipe I came across in a magazine where they had used polenta . Thinking I had polenta in hand started of with the recipe but then what I thought was polenta was couscous . My mind was set to prepare this dish so just didn’t want to stop . Not knowing what to do , I remembered a contestant in master chef India season 2 making sushi with semolina . With a spark of excitement ,substituted polenta with semolina and went ahead . Finally not having half the ingredients in hand that was demanded in the recipe . I had no other option other than to steel the idea and cook to my comfort level . Double checked making sure the semolina cake as well as the mushroom ragout tasted good . Assembled and while clicking picture’s , the entire family was in the dinning table . Rushed to the table and served . It was a hit with every one . This dish is a perfect vegetarian canopy that lends a rustic appeal to the succulent texture’s . The boring semolina was created with a cracker of an idea into an exotic gourmet transformation that brought a lot of smiles at home :-)))

Ingredients for semolina cake

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	20 grams
Onion	1 big chopped
Garlic	4 flakes chopped
Dried herbs ( oregano , rosemary , thyme , basil )	1/4 teaspoon each
Semolina	1 cup
Water or chicken/ vegetable stock	2 1/2 cups ( I used 2 maggi chicken stock cubes with water )
Salt + pepper	to taste , ( if using stock cubes avoid salt as the stock cubes contain a lot of salt )
Parmesan cheese	50 grams grated ( I didn't use to omit a little bit of calories )
Oil	50 ml + extra

Ingredients for mushroom ragout

Ingredients	Quantity
Mushrooms	1 packet sliced ( I used button mushrooms )
Butter	20 grams
Onion	1 chopped
Garlic	3 flakes crushed
Fresh cream	1/4 cup
Flour ( maida )	1 tablespoon full
Milk	1 cup
Dried herbs	( oregano , rosemary , thyme , basil ) a big pinch each
Chilli flakes + salt + pepper	to taste
Coriander leaves	to garnish

Method for semolina cake

Heat butter in a pan . Sauté onion and garlic to translucent . Add dried herbs , chilli flakes and pepper powder .
Pour stock or water along with stock cubes . Bring to boil .
Add semolina little at a time , stirring constantly , making sure no lumps are formed and semolina is cooked through to form a thick paste consistency like uppma .
Takes about 6-8 minutes to cook . add grated cheese and mix well .
Grease a flat cake tin or tray with oil and pour the semolina cooked mixture in .
Spread the mixture equally all over , levelling the top .cool completely .
Then cut into equal shaped squares with the help of a wet knife .
Heat a griddle with little oil ( I used my dosa tawa ) and grill the semolina cakes to a light golden brown colour and a crisp outer layer .

Method form mushroom ragout

Heat butter in a pan .
Sauté onion , garlic and sliced mushrooms for 5 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through and water content evaporates .
Add flour and sauté for a minute .
Pour milk and cream , keep stirring until it gets to a thick creamy sauce .
Season with salt , pepper , chilli flakes and dried herds . Taste and adjust .

How to proceed

Place a teaspoon full of mushroom ragout above each grilled semolina cake .
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot .

Left over mixed mini idli

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 10-12 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Method

Week end breakfast special with left over that transpired into a colourful visual treat. Left over beet root poriyal ground and mixed with idli batter for the deep pink colour mini idli , left over spinach ground and mixed with idli batter for the light green mini idli and left over bottle gourd kootu ( bottle gourd cooked with dal ) ground with turmeric powder and iddli batter for the yellow coloured mini idli . No artificial colours added and a sure hit with kids at home . Skewered in tooth picks and served with tomato chutney .

Paruppu urundai kuzhambhu

Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 4-5 members

Description

Paruppu urundai kulambhu . A typical Tamil dish . Those who don’t follow the Tamil language here goes the translation of this dishes name . Paruppu means dall , urundai means round that they refer to the round dall koftas here and kulambhu means gravy . So this dish is a tamarind based gravy flavoured with sambhar powder and enhanced with dall koftas . Its had for lunch with boiled white rice along with a poriyal or a kootu and an appalam . This dish is a mainstay in all the tamil households and every mom has her own take on it . My daughter ANISHA being a vegetarian , I was forced into learning all these dishes and every one at home relishes it to . So no complaints . At home we make a similar curry called kola urundai kulambhu . The only difference being we add minced meat koftas instead of the dal koftas . These sort of home style food items are unaffected by changing trends and some thing you turn to all year round . Once in a while there is no harm in stepping back in time , going back to the roots and cooking the old school way as our ancestors did !!!! Gives us a chance to be loyal to old traditional recipes :-)))

Ingredients For urundai

Ingredients	Quantity
Toor dal /thuvaram paruppu	3/4cup
small onion	3 chopped
coconut grated	2 tablespoons
Dry Red chillies	4
fennel seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
chopped coriander leaves	4 tablespoons
Salt	To taste

Ingredients For Gravy

Ingredients	Quantity
Tamarind/puli	1 big gooseberry size
small onions	1/2 cup
Garlic	10 flakes
Tomato	1 chopped
Sambar powder	4 to 5 teaspoons
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Jaggery	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	To taste

Ingredients To grind

Ingredients	Quantity
Coconut grated	1/2 cup
onion	1 medium

Ingredients To temper

Ingredients	Quantity
Sesame oil	3 tablespoons
fenugreek seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Mustard seeds	1 teaspoon
cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
curry leaves	2 sprigs

Method for paruppu urundai

Soak toor dal for 2 hours . In a food processor ,first grind jeera,fennel seeds , red chillies,coconut to a coarse powder.
Then add the toor dal (soaked,water drained )and grind coarsely.(little bit finer than we grind for masala vada)(don’t add water)Add chopped onions,salt,coriander leaves and mix well.
Make small balls out of the ground batter and steam it by placing in a greased idly plates and steam it for 10 to 12 minutes.Cool down a bit(but let it be still warm),and again shape tightly,to make it perfect shaped koftas.

Method For Gravy

Extract tamarind juice,keep a side,grind the coconut and onion to a fine paste,keep a side.Heat a kadai,with oil and add the tempering items and temper. Add garlic,onion and fry till golden brown.Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for a minute.
Add the tamarind extract,sambar powder,turmeric powder and fry for a minute .add the ground coconut masala and fry until oil separates .
Add water and bring to boil and simmer until raw smell has gone .Lower the flame and add the urundais ( dall koftas ) one by one carefully.
Boil in medium flame until all the balls float on the top(6 mins approx),by this time it would have got cooked.
Do not stir till this stage. simmer for 4 mins add the jaggery . taste and adjust seasoning and the kuzhambu is ready .

Notes

If you are beginner to cooking you can follow the steaming the urundai method confidently.
The direct adding method is time saving,if you are confident on yourself you can just go ahead and try.
You can use channa dal also for making the urundais. Or mixture of both dals, I have tried all the ways, makes no difference.
Serve with any veggie kootu and appam (south Indian paped ) as side dish to this curry with hot boiled white rice .

Chick peas kebab

Preparation Time : over night soaking + 30 -40 minutes to boil the chick peas

Cooking Time : 1-1/2 minute for each batch cooked

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Chick peas Kabaab . A dish I came up with when wanting to make a salad with millet grains, chick peas and pomegranate . Washed and pressure cooked the millet grains but then came to know that the husks were not removed from the millet grains . It had a grainy , muddy taste and could not use it and went strait into the bin . The remaining boiled chick peas and pomegranate kernels had to be used in some way and I came up with a Kabaab . Used all the ingredients I would for shammi kabaabs but spiked it up with pomegranate kernels For an extra dash of flavour . Fried and served it with a simple cooling sour cream dip and it was delicate , warm and lightly spiced . The sweetness of the pomegranate and light spice of the chillies elevate this humble kabaab to a delicious side dish . Started with one dish in mind and ended with inventing and turning basic ingredients to a fun , power packed side dish , starter , snack or a packed lunch item instead , with an experience of an extraordinary culinary contrast .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
White dried chickpeas	2 cups
Cumin powder	1/2 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Onion	1 chopped
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Green chilli	1 chopped
Oil	to shallow fry
Mint leaves	few chopped
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Lime juice	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Pomegranate kernels	3 tablespoons

Method

Soak chickpeas overnight.
Pressure cook until soft. Will require at least 4-5 whistles on medium flame.
Drain out excess water. Heat oil. Add slit green chilly, chopped onion and ginger garlic paste.
Once onions appear soft add chick peas, chilli powder , garam masala powder , cumin powder and salt. Mix well.
Turn off the heat. Add coriander leave and mint leaves . cool the mixture completely .
Grind this mixture in a mixie jar without adding water.
Now mix lime juice and pomegranate kernels and Knead for a minute to form a smooth dough.
Now take the chickpea dough and make round small tikki’s. heat oil to shallow fry in a non stick pan and fry to golden colour on both sides .
Serve hot with sour cream dip .

Ingredients Sour cream

Ingredients	Quantity
Sour cream	1 cup ,( can use hung curd also )
Salt	to taste
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves chopped	few
Chilli powder	3 pinches

Note

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients together except for chilli powder .
Garnish with chilli powder . Chill in the refrigerator and serve .