Cumin Rice

Cumin Rice

Ingredients

8-10 shallots or 1 medium sized onion finely chopped

7-8 green chillies

Few mint leaves

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp cumin powder

½ cup of  coconut milk

3 ½ cup water

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp ghee

2 cups of rice

Salt to taste

Preparation

Heat pressure cooker on medium fire, then add oil and ghee.

When oil is hot, add onion sauté till it turns golden brown, then add green chillies.

Now add mint leaves

Followed by cumin seeds

Add cumin powder and salt

Now add ½ cup  of coconut milk and mix it well.

Add rice.

Now add 3 ½ cup of water to the rice.( To cook normal rice in correct consistency for pulao or rice varieties, always use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Here ½ cup of coconut milk + 3 ½ cups of water )

Allow it to boil and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Once cooked, open the cooker and mix the cooked rice with wooden laddle.

Serve it hot with kurma or chalna

Manathakali Vathal Kulambu

Ingredients:

1 medium sized onion

2 tomatoes

8-10 garlic flakes

2 tbsp of manathakali vathal

Lemon sized tamarind

3-4 tbsp of oil

For seasoning:

1 strand of curry leaves

½ tsp fenugreek

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 red chillies

2 tbsp chilly powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tbsp cumin powder

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Cut onions and tomatoes

Heat pan on medium and add oil to it

Season with fenugreek, fennel seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and then add manathakali vathal.

Add onions, garlic and sauté till cooked and then add tomatoes. Then add salt and cook till tomatoes are cooked and mashed.

Add chilly powder, coriander powder and cumin powder mix it well. Now add 2 cups of water.

Allow the kulambu content to boil till it  reduces to 1 cup.

Switch off the fire, and now the kulambu is ready to be served with plain rice.

Soft Chapatis

Soft Chapatis

Ingredients:

3 cups of wheat flour/ atta

1 cup of fresh milk or boiled milk

1 cup of water

1 tbsp of salt

2 tbsp of cooking oil/ghee

Preparation:

Add water and milk together and bring it to boil.

Once boiled, switch off the fire, and add 1 tbsp of oil and keep it aside.

To the flour, add 1 tbsp of salt and mix well

Now add the boiled milk and water to the flour and mix it with a ladle.

When the flour is warm, mix and knead well with your hand and make it into a dough.

Leave the dough covered for atleast 20 minutes

After 20 minutes, you could see small bubbles formed on the flour.

Now again add 1 tbsp of cooking oil and knead once again.

Make the dough into small dumplings.

Take a dumpling and dust it with atta flour and flatten it using  a roll pin.

Flaten the dough neither too thin nor too thick.

Heat the tawa on medium and place the rolled chapatti on it.

Cook for 5 seconds and flip it to the other side and cook for another 5 seconds.

Now using small cloth or tissue, press the edges of the chapatti to puff up.

Turn the chapatti to the other side.

When the other side also puff up, remove it from tawa.

Now it is ready to be served with a side dish.

Quick Ladies Finger / Vendaikai Sambar

Sambar – Ladies Finger/Vendaikaai Sambar

Ingredients

250 gms Ladies Finger

1 medium sized Onion

1 medium sized Tomato

1 green chilly

4 garlic flakes crushed

1 ½ tbsp sambar powder

Small lemon sized tamarind/ 1 tbsp tamarind paste

Salt to taste

½ tsp turmeric powder

For seasoning:

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp Sombu

1 red chilli

½ tsp asafetida

2 strands of curry leaves

Small bunch of coriander for garnishing

Method:

Step 1 : Wash and cut ladies finger, onion, tomato, slit green chilly.

Step 2: Prepare dal. For this take dal in a bowl, wash it once and add 1 cup of water. To this add turmeric powder, cumin seeds, crushed garlic, and half a portion of onion, tomatoes, green chilly, ¼ tsp asafetida and 1 strand of curry leaves. Pressure cook for 5 whistles.

                                                                        

Step 3: First heat pan and add 1tbsp of oil. Sauté ladies finger and onion for few minutes by adding little salt, till the onions become transparent and ladies finger tends to shrink. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it aside.

Step 4: Now heat the pan again and add the cooked dal (Step 2) and boil it, till the dal becomes thick consistency. Keep stiring the dal and try to smash it with ladle.

Step 5: Now add ladies finger and onion fried to the gravy followed by sambar powder, salt and 1 ½ cup of water. Stir it well and allow it to boil for 4 to 5 minutes with lid closed.

Step 6: It is time to add tamarind paste/ water to the boiling sambar. Let it boil for another 2 minutes and put off the fire.

Step 7: Heat oil in another pan and add mustard, sombu (Fennel Seeds), fenugreek, asafoetidaa,red chilly and curry leaves. Add this content to the boiled sambar and cover the sambar with a lid for a while, so that the aroma gets incorporated with sambar.

Step 8: Serve with plain rice, idli or dosa.