VEGETARIAN | Saute Fry N Bake

Chenakilazngu varithathu

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 -20 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Chena kilazngu varuthathu.A simple yet yum vegetarian authentic dish very own to the ravuthar community people of palghat , Coimbatore region.This dish is present on our table every alternative day for lunch. At times when there is a 2 days break continuously , all of us together ask why there is no Chenakilazngu varuthathu on the table . The mighty yam cubes are boiled with some masala first and then roasted in coconut oil in medium heat resulting in a crisp coating with a smooth inside. I can never stop eating this until its all over. My hubby and kids don’t fancy this dish so i get to have it only when i am at moms place. Every house in Palghat has a vegetable garden were they have yam, kappa (maravalli kilazngu)coconut trees, mango trees, plantains,jack fruits and many other vegetables and fruits grown in their backyard known as thodi.It used to be fun climbing on those trees and doing all the naughty stuff back in the thodi of my grandmas place in Palghat.In remembrance to that i have a thodi at home with drumsticks, chickoo , custard apples , gooseberries and other easily grown plants in Tamilnadu.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Yam	2 cups peeled and cut into small cubes
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Pepper powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coconut oil	3tablespoons to shallow fry + 1 teaspoon to cook along

Method

Pressure cook all the ingredients together except for 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for one whistle with a little water .
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a non stick pan and fry the cooked yam cubes in two batches in medium heat slowly making sure they retain their cube shape with out getting mushed up .
It should have a crisp cover with a soft inside .
Remove and serve hot as a side dish for boiled white rice or kanji .

Mangalore green peas masala

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Mangalore green peas masala which is a vegetarian delight. a gravy i tried recently as I was fed up making gravies using ground tomota and onion paste. Wanted to break the monotonous in that. Came across a Mangalorian dish which was made with chicken. I liked the recipe a lot, so i made it with green peas and worked pitch perfect. I wish you all could smell the fragrant green peas simmering away on my stove top.Was surprised about the unexpected marriage of asafoetida, coconut and jaggery That resulted in a distinct flavour. Green peas in Tamil is called Pattani and Urdu speaking muslim people are also addressed the same way in Tamil.Don’t know why ? I guess , the word pattan changed into pattani. As tamilians are nick named pandees , malayalis are nick named kanji or mallu, Telugu people nick named koltti. So are Urdu speaking muslims nick named green peas. No offense to anyone please. This is how people around us have nick named all of us.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Green peas	1 cup shelled
Coconut grated	5 tablespoon
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	2 flakes
Coriander power	1 tablespoon
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Oil	3 tablespoon
Mustard seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves	few
Asafoetida	a pinch
Onion	1 big chopped +2 sliced
Tamarind pulp	1 tablespoon
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Jaggery	1 teaspoon
Salt	to taste

Method

Roast coconut , ginger , garlic , coriander powder , chilli powder and 2 sliced onions separately in little oil to brown and grind altogether to a smooth paste . Set aside .
Boil green peas with enough water and salt to taste . Set aside . Heat oil in a non stick kadai . Season with mustard seeds , curry leaves , asafoetida and 1 chopped onion. Fry to brown .
Top with the ground masala and sauté for a minute . Add cumin powder , turmeric powder and garam masala powder .
Mix well adding tamarind pulp , salt to taste and boiled green peas with the water . Mix well and bring to boil for 5 minutes . Add more water if need to get a gravy consistency .
Finally add jaggery and simmer for 3 minutes for all the flavours to infuse together and oil floats on top . Serve hot with any roti or puri of your choice .

Iddiappam tokku sevai

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 minutes

Description

Iddiappam tokku sevai. A delight to the vegetarians which is a one box meal. This dish will surely be easy to pull of at home. All the ingredients in this dish compliment each other well that it helps to add more taste to the dish. A dish which my elder mother – in – law(my father-in -laws elder brothers wife)Mrs. Mahmudha sent over to my place once. She’s become a vegetarian by choice recently.A very knowledgeable lady as she has travelled a lot. she keeps experimenting in her kitchen as i do but with a lot of vegetarian dishes now a days. The word Iddiappam was new to me when i first heard it while on a excursion trip from school to mysore.We were taken to a Restaurant for Dinner and served South Indian Meals.Most of the North Indian senior girls wanted a tiffin item instead so they asked for iddiappam.After that once i was married to Nellai the word iddiappam was mentioned again.Curious to know what it was, to my surprise it was the nool puttu that we make at home so often.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Iddiappam	20
Onion	4 sliced
Tomato	3 chopped
Oil	3 tablespoons
Cinnamon	1 inch piece
Cloves
Green chillies	2 slit
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon ,
Thick coconut milk	1/2 cup
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Cow gram( also known as cow peas , karamani in Tamil )	1/4 cup boiled
Carrot	1 big grated
Salt	to taste

Method

Heat oil add cinnamon and cloves . Once they crackle top with onions and fry to brown in colour .
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Top with tomatoes and green chillies and sauté till the tomatoes lets out all its juices and gets to a thick cooked gravy .
Add turmeric powder , chilli powder and salt to taste . Mix well . Sauté for a minute . Top with thick coconut milk , mix well and bring to boil .
Simmer for 3 minutes or until oil floats on top . Cool the tokku gravy completely . Shred the iddiappam and mix it with the gravy to get a lightly moistened iddiappam which is coated well with the tokku gravy .
Be careful as the Iddiappam should not be mixed with a lot of gravy and get soggy . Garnish with boiled cow gram , grated carrot and chopped coriander leaves .
Toss well . Serve hot .

Palak raitha

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 5- 8 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Palak raitha. Normal raitha with a twist which tasted yum and is very healthy to. Last week had to send a vegetarian meal over to my friends place. Vegetarian ???? Didn’t know what to do. Broke my head over the menu for a long time and finally came up with some things and this raitha also was one among the dishes. My friend priyas mother in law loved this raitha that she called up to get the recipe from me. This raitha is an awesome combination with rotis and pulao’s. The word raitha always brings back memories of my class mate Rathi Unnikrishnan as she was the one who used this word first with me.Back then not knowing what a raitha was thought it was some exotic North Indian Dish.She did clear my doubt by taking me to our school library and showed me a book which had a picture of raitha (i think it was cucumber raitha)I was like hay , we always make this at home with onions for biriyani but we call it thayir chutney.

Ingredients	Quantity
Spinach	2 cups blanched
Curd	2 1/2 cups
Green chillies	1 crushed
Salt	to taste
Onion	1 big finely chopped
Coconut grated	2 tablespoons
Sugar	1/2 teaspoon

Method

Mix curd with crushed green chillies , salt and sugar .
Add all the other ingredients and mix well . Taste and adjust .
Keep in the refrigerator and serve chill with rotis , pulaos or biriyanis as an accomplishment .

Mutter paneer

Preparation time : 15 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves : 6 members

Description

Mutter paneer . A pure vegetarian dish i have been waiting to post for a very long time , my cousin brother Shabu’s (Ahamed shah) wife Zarina (baby as well we call her) called me one day asking for a recipe with paneer.Mentioned this recipe and she made it with out the green peas. My cousin liked it so much that he had the left over in the morning along with dosa the next day . She did send me pictures as well. The original recipe demanded cashew nut paste but as she was out of stock of the ingredient. I asked her to substitute it with coconut paste.She asked another doubt about her paneer pieces being hard always. I asked her what she does to the paneer . Her reply was i soak it in water, cut into cubes and then fry it . I told her you have to first fry it and then soak it in salted water till required to use in the dish. This helps the paneer to stay moist and don’t waste the soaked water. Use it for the matter paneer dish which adds a lot more flavour than adding just water. These small things make a great difference to the dish.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Paneer	1 cup cut into cubes , fried in 1 teaspoon oil or ghee and soaked in salted water
Green peas	shelled and boiled 1 cup
Onions	2 sliced fried in 1 teaspoon oil to translucent and ground to a smooth paste
Tomato	3 big ground
Salt	to taste
Onion -	1 chopped
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1 tablespoon
Cashew nuts	1 tablespoon
Poppy seeds	1 tablespoons ,( kasa kasa )
Fennel seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Sugar	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Fresh cream	1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Oil	4 tablespoons

Method

Grind cashew nut , poppy seeds , fennel seeds together to a smooth paste . Heat a kadai with oil .
Add cumin seeds . Once they crackle top with chopped onions and fry to brown . Add ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp .
Pour the ground tomato purée . Saute till oil floats and raw smell has gone . Top with ground onion paste and fry for 3 to 4 minutes .
Top with chilli powder , turmeric powder , coriander powder , garam masala powder and salt to taste .
Fry for a minute and pour enough water to get a thick consistency gravy and boil till all the flavours infuse together and raw smell vanishes .
Add the boiled green peas and the cashew nut , poppy seed paste and mix well . Bring to boil . Add sugar , fried paneer and mix well . taste and adjust seasoning and add more water If Required .
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and fresh cream . Serve hot with chapatis , pulkas , paratha s , rotis etc.

Fried Idly

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Fried Idli . A fusion dish (indo – chinese)that i learnt initially when i started to cook from my hubby’s aunt Bismi amma. She had invited us over for Breakfast when i was newly married. The first tought that came to my mind when i saw the dish was, it must be some chinese style chicken dish (I was like , how can you eat fried chicken for breakfast)even after they served and i tasted it also , i could not figure out what it was . Finally Bismi amma told me it was idlis. I was so surprised, that idlis could taste so good . I took note of the recipe then and there . From then on its a regular dish at home. Any left over idlis or hard idlis are surely changed into fried idlis.Who ever i have served this dish to have loved it and have never guessed that its made out of idlis.

Ingredients for Batter

Idlis – 10 , cut into 4 cubes

Ingredients	Quantity
Maida	1 cup
cornflour	1 cup
salt	to taste
water	little

Ingredients for Sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
tomatoes	5 big ground to a smooth paste
onions	4 big fried in 1 teaspoon oil to brown in colour and ground to a smooth paste
ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
oil	to deep fry + 2 tablespoons
onion	1 chopped
cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
chilli powder	1 1-4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
ajinomoto	a pinch ( optional )
tomato sauce	1 cup
red food color	a pinch ( optional , I didn't use in this dish on the picture )

Ingredients to Garnish

Ingredients	Quantity
green chillies	2 cut into thin long strips
coriander leaves	few chopped

Method for Batter

Mix all the ingredients together for the batter to get a semi loose consistency batter .
Heat oil to deep fry in a wok . Dip the cubed idli pieces one at a time into the batter and drop into the hot oil .
Fry to a light golden brown color and crisp . Drain and set aside .

Method for Sauce

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan . Add cumin seeds and chopped onion and fry to brown .
Top with ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Add the ground tomato purée and fry till raw smell vanishes . Oil should float on top .
Add the fried onion paste . Mix well and sauté for 2 minutes . Top with chilli powder , sugar , salt to taste , ajinomoto ( optional ) , red food colour ( optional ) and tomato sauce .
Mix well adding 1/4 cup or more water to get a thick flowing consistency sauce .
Boil the sauce for 2 to 4 minutes allowing all the flavours to infuse together in medium heat as the sauce tends to sputter all around . Taste and adjust .
Mix the fried idlis just before serving with the re heated sauce . Garnish with green chillies and coriander leaves .
Serve hot immediately .

kuli paniyaram

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 1/2 minute for each batch of kuli paniyaram

Serving : 4 members

Description

kuli paniyaram. A very easy dish made with always available ingredients at home. It’s so instant that this dish is the best option when you have unexpected guests at home any time of the day. I Learnt this dish from my mother – in – law. My kids and son-in-law Riyaz love this dish but my hubby does not fancy this dish at all . So I make this dish only when kids are at home. My gal makes this dish at her home very regularly (atleast 30 to 40 for a meal) This dish is best served with any chutney that is really hot and spicy.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
idli batter	2 cups
small onions	1/2 hand chopped
green chillies	1 chopped finely
ginger	1/4 inch piece grated
curry leaves	few chopped
coriander leaves	few chopped
soda - bi - carbonate	a pinch
cumin seeds	1/4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
water	little
oil	4 tablespoons

Method

Mix all the above ingredients together except for oil , to get a semi loose consistency batter . Set aside for 10 minutes .
Heat a non – stick kuli pariyaram griddle with 1/4 teaspoon oil in each dent on the griddle .
When oil is hot , pour 1 1/2 tablespoons full of batter mixture into each dent and cook for 30 seconds .
You will find bubbles on top of the batter in each dent , then turn the kuli pariyarams over with a help of a spoon or a kuli pariyaram stick .
Cook again for a minute on medium heat till cooked through .
Remove and serve hot with any spicy chuntny of your choice . Best served for breakfast , dinner or a snak for tea in the evening .

Aloo dum

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

My love for potatoes is a lot . My favourite vegetable is potato . Remember as a kid in boarding school we were served all kinds of vegetables including a lot of potatoes too . We did have a vegetable garden in the back yard of our school . There were cabbages,carrots ,cauliflowers,potatoes , strawberries , plum trees , apple trees …. Can remember only this much .The vegetable garden was fenced but any chance we get myself and my friends Sindhu Krishna and gazeena sulu kunahmed would sneak in and rob what ever we could . When we get potatoes . We used to run to the boiler room where they had fire wood burning always . Trow the potatoes into the fire wait for a few minutes and remove and peel and eat the hot potatoes . It was great fun .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
potatoes	500 gm
green chillies	8
onions	1 1/2 cup chopped
ginger	2 cm
coriander powder	1 teaspoon
cumin powder	3/4 teaspoon
turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
oil	5 tablespoon
bay leaf	1
Cloves and cardamom	4 (each)
cinnamon	3 pieces
curd	1 cup beaten to smooth
salt	to taste

Method

Cook potatoes with salt . Peel and cut into big cubes .
Grind green chillies , onion and ginger together without adding water .
Heat oil in a kadai , add all the whole spices and fry thill they crackle . Top with ground paste and sauté till the raw smell vanishes .
Add all the spice powders one after the and mix well stirring for 2 minutes .
Add curd , salt to taste and stir well so that the masala gets mixed and blended with the curd . Bring to boil .
Add the boiled cubed potato pieces and simmer for 5 minutes till all the flavours infuse into the potatoes and the gravy coats the potato pieces
Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves along with poories , chapathis or boiled rice .

Oats Kolakattai

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

A very healthy break fast main course with oats and vegetables . Usually every one at home are so fussy about oats . Every time it’s on the break fast table , there is a problem . They will want cornflakes , sandwhich or some thing else instead . I got this recipe from a regional tv channel . It was so easy and quick to make . I remember I didn’t even take note of the recipe , I just stored it in my mind . Tried it out and no one even knew that oats was there in the dish until I let them know . Now it’s a regular dish on my break fast table .

Ingredients for kolakattai

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice flour	1 cup
oats	1 cup
salt	to taste
water	3 cups
onion	1 chopped
carrot	1 chopped
beans	4 chopped
cabbage	1/4 cup chopped
green peas	1/4 cup
oil	1 tea spoon
mustard seeds	1/4 tea spoon
urad dal	1/4 tea spoon
curry leaves	few
coconut	1 table spoon

Method for Kolakattai

Mix oats , rice flour and salt to taste together . Mix in the water and soak the mixture for 5 minutes .
Heat a non stick kadai with oil , add the mustard seeds , urad dal and curry leaves .
Once they splutter top with chopped vegetables and onion . Sauté with salt to taste till half cooked .
Add the coconut and mix well . Pour the soaked oats mixture and keep stirring till it gets to thick dough consistency .
Take out and roll into lime size balls and steam in a greased base for 8 to 10 minutes , like for idle or ediappam .
Serve hot with chuntny .

Ingredients for chutny

Ingredients	Quantity
coconut	1 cup
red dry chillies	6
salt	to taste
tamarind	a large pinch
small onions	4

Method for chutny

Grind coconut , red chillies , tamarind and salt to taste with out water to a coarse paste .
Then add little water and grind to a thick coarse paste .
Finally add the small onions and grind just to crush the onions . Mix well .
Taste and adjust and serve with the oats kolakattai .

Marathi Besan Flour Cakes

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

Recipe courtesy femina magazine . I knew to make very few dishes useing besan flour like bajji and pakoda . I wanted to Prepar this dish as soon as I read it . It’s an awesome tasteing snack . I serve it usually for break fast or in the evening along with tea . I bet, you won’t be able to stop with one piece .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Gram flour	200 gm
cashew nuts	30 chopped
green chillies	1 chopped
coriander leaves	4 table spoons chopped
water	300 ml
turmeric powder	1/2 tea spoon
chilli powder	1 tea spoon
tamarind pulp	1 tea spoon
salt	to taste
sugar	1/2 tea spoon
oil	5 table spoons plus 1 tea spoon plus 200 ml to deep fry

Method

Mix gram flour , cashew nuts , powdered spices , green chillies , tamarind pulp , coriander leaves , salt , sugar and water together . Heat 5 table spoons of oil in a non – stick pan .
Add the gram flour mixture and sauté for twenty minutes on medium heat till dry . Remove and set aside .
Grease a square or rectangular shaped plate 1 inch deep with 1 tea spoon oil .
Press the gram flour mixture evenly into it , about 1/2 inch thickness .
Allow to cool for thirty minutes . Cut into 2 inch squares .
Heat oil and deep fry to golden brown in colour . Serve hot with green chuntny and tomato sauce . In Marathi it’s called kaju kothimbir vadi .