Arisi Koozh Vadam

          Arisi Koozh Vadam                                                                                    Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cup
• Green chilli – 4 to 6 no
• Lemon juice – ½ cup approximately
• Asafetida powder – ½ tsp
• Water – 6 cups
• Salt – as per taste                                                                    
• • Method

    1. Previous day evening, put the rice flour in a big vessel and add sufficient water to make it like a thick dosa batter. Keep it over night for fermentation. Next day, early morning add more water and make it a thin batter.
    2. Grind green chillies to a fine paste and add to the rice batter. Add salt and asafetida powder and mix well.
    3. Keep a thick bottomed broad vessel on the stove. Add 6 cups water and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and slowly add the rice batter continuously stirring. (You can take a help of another for pouring or stirring). Cook on low flame stirring continuously till it thickens. Taste for the salt and if you require more add it and mix it well. Remove and cool it.
    4. Spread a clean thick plastic sheet in a place where you get sunlight (mostly terrace or backyard). Using Murukku Press with “one star hole” plate, put the koozh dough into the press and make long straight lines. Finish all the dough.
    5. Allow to dry in the hot sun for the whole day. In the evening, you can easily gather the dried vadams. You can break it into desired length. If it is not fully dried, then next day also dry it in the sun. Store it in a container. 

Ven Pongal

INGREDIENTS

• Raw rice – 1 cup
• Green gram dhal – 1/4 cup
• Fresh ginger – a small piece
• Asafotida powder – a pinch
• Jeera (Cumin) – 1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper – 1 teaspoon
• Cashewnuts – few
• Ghee – 1 tablespoon
• Curry leaves – few
• Green Chilli – 1 (optional)
• Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash the rice and dal and add 4 cups water. Add grated ginger and salt.
2. Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Once steam has subsided, open the lid of cooker and mash it well using back of a big spoon.
3. In a kadai, put the ghee. When it is hot add cashew nuts, pepper and jeera crushed slightly, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilli slit into two and fry for a while. Add this to the cooked rice and mix well.
4. Serve with Brinjal Gosthu or with Coconut Chutney/sambar.                                                Note: 1.  Instead of adding ginger to the rice, you can add it while seasoning also.  But if you add it while cooking, it will blend well with the rice and no one will pick it and keep it away while eating.      2.  You can add more ghee if you like it.  However, for one cup rice 1 tablespoon solid ghee is just perfect.                                                                                                                                               3.  Water ratio for Pongal – 1:3 ( rice + dal : water) – For 1 cup rice + 1/4 cop dal, 3 and 3/4 cup water required.  I used 4 cups to get more soft Pongal.

Mutton curry

Mutton curry
ingredients:

1. Mutton-500 gms
2. Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
3. Bay leaf- 1 no
4. Cardamom pods- 2 nos
5. Cloves- 2 nos
6. Cinnamon-2" piece
7. Ginger ( chopped finely)- 1" piece
8. Garlic (chopped finely)-  5 to 6 cloves
9. Onion ( sliced )- 2 medium 
10. Shallots ( sliced)- 1 cup
11. Green Chilies - 2 to 3  
12. Curry leaves- 1 sprig
13. Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
14. Red chili powder-1/2 to 1 tsp Garam Masala powder-1/2 tsp
15. Fennel powder-1/2 tsp
16. Tomato ( sliced)- 1 small
17. Oil
18. Water
19. Salt to taste

To dry roast and grind

1. Grated coconut-1/2 cup
2. Black pepper corns-1 tsp 

For tempering

1. Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
2. Coconut ( sliced)-3 tbsp
3. Curryleaves- 1 sprig

   .Place the mutton pieces in a pressure cooker along with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder,salt to taste and 1/4 cup water.Cook until mutton is just done.Separate the mutton pieces from the stock and keep aside

• Meanwhile  add grated coconut in a pan and dry roast it until it turns brown..Switch off the stove and add black peppercorns .Grind this to a smooth paste without adding water.Keep aside.
• Heat oil  in a pan add bay leaves,cardamom,cloves and cinnamon.Saute for a few seconds.Now add ginger,garlic, onion,shallots , green chilies and salt to taste.Saute for about 10 to 15 minutes on a medium flame, until it turns golden brown.
• Reduce the flame to low  and add coriander powder,red chili powder,garam masala and fennel powder along with 2 tbsp water.Saute for about 5 minutes or until oil separates.
• Now add the cooked mutton pieces and mix well until combined.Add the coconut paste ,tomato and sufficient quantity of stock.Adjust the salt level at this point.Cover and cook over a medium flame for about 10 to 12 minutes or until gravy is thick enough.
• Now for tempering,heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter.Add shallots ,coconut slices and curry leaves .Saute until it turns golden brown.Pour this over the curry.

Cheppankizhangu varuval(Arbi fry)

Cheppankizhangu varuval(Arbi fry)
         Ingredients:                                                                                                                           
Seppan Kizhangu – 4 nos.

Red chili powder – 1 tsp

Jeera powder – 1 – 2tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for pan fry

Method:

• First boil the taro & remove the skin.
• Mix all the spices & salt into the small bowl.
• Add finely sliced taro to the mixture by sprinkle some water.
• Marinate for 10 – 15 minutes in refrigerator (take out from the fridge before frying).
• Add oil to the pan, add jeera & marinated taro by tossing for 5 – 10 minutes on low flame or until the masala gets brown.
• Garnish with fried curry leaves on top.
• Serve it hot & enjoy !
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Dates kozhukattai

  
Ingredients
Rice flour 1 cup
Dates - 10
Jaggery ( powdered ) - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Salt - as needed
Ghee - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Method

1. Boil 3/4 cup of water with salt, oil in a pan. 
2. When water starts boiling, add rice flour, stir.
3. When flour is cooked, cover with a lid, switch off stove.
4. grind the dates.
5. Boil jaggery with 1/4 cup of water in a pan to a syrup.
6. Add dates, ghee, stir well and when contents thicken, swicth off stove.
7. Stuff dates set aside.
8. Take a small ball of dough, and shape into a cup.
9. Place stuffed dates, cover and set aside.
10. Repeat the process.
11. Steam kozhukattais for 10  minutes.

Oats kozhukattai.

INGREDIENTS

• Oats – 1 cup
• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Coconut gratings – 1/2 cup
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or as per taste
• For seasoning:
• Oil – 2 teaspoons
• Mustand – 1/2 teaspoon
• Bengal gram dhal – 1 teaspoon
• Onion chopped – one to two tablespoons
• Curry Leaves – few
• Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Idli Milagai Podi – 1 teaspoon

DIRECTIONS

1. Grind the oats to a fine powder and mix with rice flour. Add salt and coconut gratings. Bring two cups of water to boil and add little by little to the flour and make a soft dough (like chapati dough). Make lemon size balls and keep it aside.
2. In a thick bottomed vessel pour enough water (say about 5 to 6 cups) and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, gently drop 3 to 4 balls. Reduce to heat to medium. Allow to cook for two minutes. Then add another 4 balls. Repeat this till you finish all the balls. Gently stir using a flat spoon. Allow to cook in low heat for five to ten minutes. You can also check one ball with a spoon whether it is cooked well in the middle also. Remove from stove and take out all the balls from the water.
3. Put a kadai on the stove and add oil. When it is hot, add mustard seeds. When it pops up add bengal gram dhal and fry till it turns light brown. Then add chopped onion and curry leaves and fry for a while. Then add the cooked balls and sprinkle the pepper powder and Idli Milagai Podi and mix well.
4. Remove from stove and serve as evening snack.

Sweet kulizhi paniyaram

Sweet kulizhi paniyaram

Paniyaram is a popular South Indian snack item and it is served as evening tiffin or Breakfast

Ingredients:

1 and half cup Idly Batter 
1/4 cup Jaggery Powdered (or)panai vellam
A pinch Cardamom Powder 
2 tbsp Grated Coconut

Method: 

   Take Idly batter in a large mixing bowl.Add the powdered jaggery,cardamom powder,grated coconut and mix well.Heat the paniyaram pan and grease the pan with little oil.

Pour little batter into the each whole in the pan.Then cover and cook for a while.

Open the lid and you can see the small holes on top. The paniyaram also cooked well,now you can turn the other side and again start cooking.

Slowly take out the cooked Paniyaram from the pan and you can see both the side are golden brown.Our Sweet Paniyaram is now ready serve with coconut chutney.