Iru Puli Kuzhambu / Eruvilli Kuzhambu

A very new dish to me and I got introduced to it after I got married. It happens to be one of the favorite kuzhambu of my DH. This kuzhambu is a typical Tirunelveli dish. It is called "Iru Puli" since it has two tangy ingredients added into it. The term "Iru Puli" gradually evolved to be called eruvilli kuzhambu..One is the tamarind pulp and the other is the buttermilk. It serves as a great accompaniment to Idli, Dosa and can be best enjoyed with rice. There are different veggies that can be added to this. Some veggies commonly used are white pumpkin, okra, carrots, chayote, drumsticks or taro root.

Here is how you make it.

Ingredients:

For the Ground Paste:


Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek/ Methi Seeds - 1- 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies - 4-5
Curry leaves - A few
Grated fresh coconut - 1 cup
Butter milk - 1 cup

For the Sambar:

Tamarind Pulp - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Veggies of your choice - 1 1/2 cups
Salt - To Taste

For Tempering:


Ghee / Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal - 1/2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a Few (optional)
Cilantro - For Garnishing

Method:

• Cut the veggies of your choice into 1 inch sticks. I used carrots as we all love that in this kuzhambu.

• In a pan, dry roast the chana dal and the fenugreek seeds until a beautiful aroma comes out of it.

• Also dry roast the red chilies and the freshly grated coconut until golden brown. You can also dry roast the curry leaves.

• In a Mixie Jar add all the above ingredients and then add buttermilk and grind it to a slightly coarse paste.

• In another vessel, dissolve the tamarind pulp in 1 1/2 cups of water.

• Add the veggies and bring it to a boil until the raw smell of tamarind disappears and the veggies get tender.

• Add a pinch of asafoetida and add salt to taste.

• Once the water has come to a boil and the veggies have become tender, add the ground paste and simmer it for a while for about 5-7 minutes.

• Garnish it with generous amounts of cilantro.

• For the seasoning, add ghee / oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and jeera. Once the Mustard seeds start spluttering, and both the dals turn light brown, add them to the kuzhambu / sambar to temper it. You can add curry leaves and asafoetida too at this stage though it is optional.

• Iru puli kuzhambu / Eruvili kuzhambu is ready to be enjoyed hot with rice.

• Try out this unique kuzhambu and let me know what you guys think!!

Notes:

• You can use one kind of veggie or you can use different kinds of veggies at the same time.
• Feel free to be creative with the use of veggies.
• Use of curry leaves while grinding and for tempering it is optional. You can use it in both stages or use it in one or eliminate it completely.
• Be careful while adding salt. Since there is a lot of tanginess  from the tamarind and the buttermilk,you may want to reduce the amount of salt.
• You can use freshly grated coconut or frozen shredded coconut depending upon the availability.
• Make sure that the paste to be ground is neither too coarse nor too smooth.

Mixed Dal Tadka

I have been so crazy busy from the past few days. All I am thinking and dreaming is about classes and assignments. Spending the entire day at school and getting back home hungry and starving....aaaaahhhhh... I craved for good home food prepared by Mom. But life as a wife in America is all about food cravings and missing dear ones. Left with no choice I had to prepare some yummy but simple food for myself and DH. What better dish could be comforting than making Dal and Rice. I made this yummy dinner for the both of us and trust me..It was so very relaxing!!

Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Masoor Dal - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Medium Tomato - 1 - Chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 3-4
Curry leaves - A few
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Cilantro - To garnish
Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

• In a vessel combine the three dals and add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

• In a wok, heat oil/ghee. add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.

• Once they crackle and splutter, add the chopped tomato and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are cooked well.

• Add asafoetida, red chilli powder and turmeric powder to the tomato mixture.

• Mash the cooked dal and add the dal to the tomato mixture. 

• Mix it all well.Garnish it with cilantro.

• Serve hot with Rice and Roti.. Enjoy the simple and comfort food that gets ready in no time.

Tomato Gojju / Thakkali Gothsu

Tomato Gojju is a very popular side dish for Chapathi's, Dosas and some Rice varieties. Tomato Gojju is called so in Karnataka and Thakkali Gothsu is the name for the dish in Tamil. The same Gojju can be mixed with white rice to make Tomato Rice / Baath. This forms the base for Tomato Rice/Tomato Baath. It tastes delicious when served as a side dish with Venn Pongal/ Khara Pongal. This is one of the exclusive recipes from my Mother's kitchen and an all time favorite at my Mom's place.This is how you make it.

Ingredients:

3 medium sized tomatoes (Finely chopped)

2 medium sized onions (Finely chopped)

3-4 green chillies (Finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (Minced or chopped)

1 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of red chili powder (optional)

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, Urad Dal and Chana Dal

Salt to taste

Oil for seasoning (About a table spoon)

Method:

For the Gojju Powder:

• In a small fry pan, roast the Cumin seeds and the Fenugreek seeds together until the aroma from both the spices are released. 
• Grind it into a slightly coarse powder and keep it aside.

For the Gojju :

• Take a deep pan and add about a tablespoon of oil.
• Once the oil is hot add Mustard seeds, Urad Dal, Chana Dal and curry leaves.
• After the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped onions and green chillies.

• Then add the garlic and mix well. Garlic is added after onions and green chillies to prevent it from burning.

• Sauté them until translucent.Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix well.

• Now add the turmeric powder, salt and red chili powder. Along with all these add the ground Fenugreek and Cumin powder. 

• Mix all the ingredients well. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

• Mix the contents in between and cook for an additional 5-10minutes.

• Garnish with cilantro.Tomato Gojju is ready to serve.

Enjoy eating and I will be back with a new recipe soon!!

Notes:

• Red Chilli powder is for the extra red color. It can be adjusted to taste and is optional since we already added green chillies.

Chole / Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans in a spicy gravy

It has been raining crazily here for the past few days and craving to eat hot and spicy good food in this weather.I just got bored of eating rice everyday. So I decided to make some Chole and Chapathi for dinner one day. The Chole was hot and spicy with the right amount of spices and was very flavorful. It is a great accompaniment to any flat Indian bread. We also used a little bit of Chole sandwiched in between two toasted bread slices and had it for breakfast. It is just yummm...

Ingredients:
Garbanzo beans - 11/2 cup (Raw)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Tomatoes - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Garlic - 1 clove- finely minced
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - A few sprigs
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

• Soak the raw garbanzo beans overnight and pressure cook them for upto 3 whistles and set it aside.
• In a pan heat the butter. 
• After the butter has melted add the cumin seeds and the fennel seeds. 
• Once they start sizzling add the onions and garlic. 
• When the onions get translucent, add the tomatoes and saute them well.
• Now add all the dry spices- cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt.
• Once the melted butter starts to leave from the sides, add the cooked garbanzo beans and cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between to ensure that it does not burn at the bottom.
• When the Chole is cooked, remove from heat and after about 5-10 minutes add the lemon juice and mix well.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Roti or Rice.Enjoy!!

Notes:

1. If you are using canned garbanzo beans, strain all the can liquid and wash it under cold running water and then use it. Else the preservative taste will affect the taste of the Chole.
2. Do not add the lemon juice when the Chole is still over flame. Add it after removing from flame.

P.S: Since I had some problems with my camera, I could not click good step-by step pictures of the Chole. Will post it as soon as possible.Thanks for your understanding.

Palak Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese in Spinach Gravy

Palak Paneer is a big favorite in my home. It is very rich in antioxidants and has a creamy texture to it. Addition of Indian Cottage Cheese / Paneer makes this dish very exotic. This dish goes very well with any  Indian flat bread like Roti, Naan, Kulcha or even with any simple rice dish. This recipe includes authentic  but simple spices in its preparation and is very colorful with red, white, green colors with a little bit of yellow hue to it. It is a very easy recipe to make and requires very few ingredients in its preparation.

Ingredients:

Spinach - 2 Cups
Tomatoes - Diced - 1 Cup
Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese - 1 Cup (Cubed)
Butter - 2 Tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 Tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Cumin powder - 1 Tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 Tsp
Salt - To Taste

Method:

• Take the spinach leaves and wash it well to remove any mud from the leaves. Baby spinach comes prewashed and tastes the best when used for this dish.

• Take a pan and add some water  and heat it. Now add the spinach leaves to it.

• Let the Spinach wilt for sometime and turn off heat.

• Drain the spinach well and blend it into a fine puree.

• In a pan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter.

• Now add the cumin seeds.

• Add the Paneer cubes and saute it well until it gets a light golden crust.

• Now add the diced tomatoes to this and mix it well and cook for about 3-4 minutes. 

• To this add turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

• Then some add cumin powder and coriander powder.

• Now add the Spinach puree to this and mix well.

• Mix all the ingredients well and cover and cook for about 7-8 minutes.
• Keep stirring in between once or twice so that it does not burn at the bottom.

• Serve hot with any Indian bread of your choice and enjoy.