Vazhakkai Fry

Vazhakkai Fry / Raw Plantain Fry

Vazhakkai Fry is an easy and simple recipe, which you can make in minutes with simple ingredients. Usually kids like potato finger chips and this will be an ideal alternate for this potato finger chips. Kids will love the taste and enjoy the crispness.

Vazhakkai Fry goes well with any rice recipe and the two most delicious combinations are the Sambhar Rice and Curd Rice. You can try this simple recipe and surprise your family today.

Come let us see how to make Vazhakkai Fry. Here is the quick video of Vazhakkai Fry

Preparation Time                            - 10 minutes

Cooking time                                     -  20 minutes

Serves                                                  - 4

Ingredients:

Vazhakkai                                           - 2

Chilli powder                                    - 2 tsp

Salt                                                        - to taste

Oil                                                          - 2 tablsp

Method:

Peel vazhakkai and chop into lengthwise. Add chilli powder, salt and little water. Mix well.

 Heat oil in a pan and add marinated vazhakkai and sauté. Close the pan and cook. Stir often till done.

Serve with curd rice or sambar rice.

Note:

If you like, you can add 1/4 tsp garam masala also.

Adding 1/4 tsp rice flour will give more crispness .

Pepper Rasam

Pepper Rasam / Milagu Rasam
Pepper rasam is a good home remedy for cough  and cold . It cures sore throat also. It is easy and good home Remedy. Pepper controls the cold and cumin improves digestion. Both combined together give good relief. The ingredients are also easily available in the kitchen.
Here is the quick video for  pepper rasam

Check other rasam recipes

Paruppu Rasam
Veppampoo Rasam
Pineapple Rasam

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients: 
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - marble size
Curry leaves - few
Coriander - few
Garlic - 3
Red chilli - 2
Turmeric powde - ¼ tsp
Asafoetida - 2 pinch
Pepper - ½ tsp
Cumin - ½ tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard - ¼ tsp
Urad dal - ¼ tsp
Method:
 Soak tamarind in water.  Squeeze  and extract the water.

Pound pepper and cumin in the mortar and pestle. Add salt, turmeric powder and pepper cumin powder in the tamarind water. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and urad dal.

When it crackle add red chilli, curry leaf, crushed garlic and chopped tomato and sauté. Then add tamarind mixture and allow it to boil. Add coriander leaf and switch off the stove.

Note:
Don’t boil the rasam for long time. Few minutes is enough.
Adjust spices according to your taste.

Orange Jelly

Orange Jelly / Orange Jelly With Agar Agar
Orange Jelly is a unique nice recipe which I recently saw in a tv cookery show. As soon as I saw it I decided to make it, as it is simple, natural and looks awesome. It includes natural sea weed china grass  so it is very good for health.

 Kids taking artificial jelly can take this and be benefitted.You can also try this easy awesome recipe your self and share your comments with me.
Video of how to make orange jelly is down below

Preparation time         - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 5 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients:
Orange juice - 300 ml
Water - 200 ml
Agar agar        - 5 grams
Sugar - ¼ cup (60 grams)
Orange essence - ¼ tsp
Orange food colour - pinch
Method:
Cut the orange into half and scoop the fleshy portion inside without demaging the skin and blend well in a mixer(discard the seeds).

Strain the juice. Add water in a  pan and boil.

Add agar agar and allow it to dissolve completely. 

Then add sugar, orange juice and colour(if necessary).

Then allow it to let it slightly cool. When it becomes luke warm fill in the orange skin cups and refrigerate for about 10 to 20 minutes.

 When it is set cut into half and serve.

Note:
Remove the seeds and blend the orange.
Cut agar agar into small bits and add to the water.
If you want you can add colour or else leave it.

Arisi Koozh Vadam / Rice flour vadam

Arisi Koozh Vadam / Rice Koozh Vathal / Murukku Vathal
  As I was talking in the earlier post now I am posting arisi koozh vadam. It is very easy to make, even the beginners can try little quantity and try how it comes. It will dry early and this can be tried even on cloudy days. Try this and share your feed back with me.

Here is the quick video

Preparation time - 20 minutes
Drying time - 3 days
Yield - 150 gms
Ingredients:
Raw rice flour - 1 cup
Javvarisi flour - ¼ cup
Water - 2 cup
Greenchilli paste - 1 tsp
Salt - ½ tsp
Cumin powder - ¾ tsp
Asafoetida - ¼ tsp
Method:
Mix rice flour and javvarisi(sago) flour  in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add water and make a smooth batter without lumps.

Add green chilli paste, cumin powder, asafetida and salt in the batter and stir well.

Cook slowly with continuous stirring. When rice koozh becomes shiny and does not stick on the finger, switch off the stove.

 Keep aside to cool. Make equal size balls. Fill it in the murukku press.

 Squeeze it in the cloth or plastic sheet. Dry in the hot sun. After a day sprinkle water on the reverse side of the cloth and peel.

Cut into required size and put it in the plate and dry for another two days. Then store in the air tight container for about a year or two. Heat little oil in a pan and fry vadams. Serve with rice or any variety rice.

Note:
Adding Javvarisi flour gives extra crispness to the vadam.
You can grind the rice and make the vadam also.
If you want you can add red chilli powder instead of green chilli paste.
You can use  cumin powder  or else it will block the flow.

Chettinad Sambar Powder

Chettinad Sambar Powder / Chettinad Kulambu Powder

Sambar Powder is an essential recipe for South Indians. In chettinad we make sambar or kulambu every day. so sambar powder is very essential for our day to day cooking. We use this powder in masalai, sambar, kulambu, nonvegetarian kulambu and fries. Once we make in a bulk quantity and store it in an air tight container. It can be used for six months to one year. For better results You can store it in the fridge also.

Chettinad Sambar Powder Ingredients:
Red chilli         - 500 grams

Coriander seed - 500 grams
Cumin seed - 50 grams
Pepper - 20 grams
Fenugreek - 20 grams
Raw rice         - 100 grams
Bengal gram - 50 grams
Tuvar dal         - 50 grams
Curry leaves - 1 cup
Turmeric        - 2 to 3 (optional)

Chettinad Sambar Powder Method:
Cut the stem of the red chilli and dry in the direct sun light till crisp. Dry roast coriander till nice aroma comes.

Dry roast bengal gram and tuvar dal till nice aroma comes.

Dry roast raw rice till it turns into milk white. Dry roast cumin seed, pepper and fenugreek separately.

 Dry roast curry leaves till crisp.

Mix all together and keep aside to cool. Then grind it in the mill. Sieve the powder and store it in the air tight container for about six months to one year.

Note:
Dry roast all ingredients one by one separately.
You can store it in the air tight container for about one year.
If you dry roast red chilli the color of the powder will change into dark so dry red chilli in the direct sun.
If you want you can add fennel seed 50 grams. ( dry roast and add )
This powder will apt for all sambar.
If the chillies are new, you  can add coriander seeds 750 gms.

                                                                   

Corn Biryani

Sweet Corn Biryani / Easy Corn Biryani Recipe
Sweet corn biryani is a simple one pot meal. It is a good lunch box menu also. It will go well with any type of veg gravy or non veg gravy. If you have sweet corn then you can make this biryani immediately with easily available ingredients. You can  try and share your comments with me.

Let us see how to make sweet corn biryani
Preparation time - 30 minutes
Cooking time - 20
Serves - 3
Ingredients:
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Sweet corn - ½  cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 3
Mint         - 20 leaf
Coriander         - few
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - ½ tsp
Curd - 2 tsp
Water - 2 cup
Salt         - to taste
To temper:
Oil + Ghee - 2 tblsp
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 2
Bayleaf - 1
Method:
Chop onion lengthwise. Chop tomato, mint, green chilli and coriander finely. Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker and add all ingredients under “to temper”. When it crackle add onion and saute.

 Add ginger garlic paste sauté till the raw smell goes. Add chopped tomato, green chilli, mint and coriander and sauté. Add chilli powder, coriander powder and  curd  and sauté.

Wash and soak basmati rice for about 30 minutes. Then add sweet corn and soaked rice and sauté gently for a few seconds.

Add water and salt and allow it to boil. Close the cooker and cook for two whistle. Open the cooker when the steam subsides and fluff it with fork.

 Serve with any gravy or raita of your choice. I served with onion raita and veg salad.

Note:
You can add cashews also.
You can add carrot and beans also.

                                                                            

Chettinad Sakkarai Pongal

How to make Chettinad Sakkarai Pongal / Easy Sakkarai Pongal Recipe

In chettinad we make two types of pongal, one is rice pongal and the other is sakkarai pongal on Thai pongal day. Two days back i posted how to make chettinad rice pongal.In olden days we made it in the earthern stoves. Now we make it in the gas stove.  Then we make pongal festival veggies and offer to the lord sun and eat. The next day we make mattu pongal and give the pongal to cow. Nowadays no cow is there so we only eat that pongal also.

Preparation time             - 20 minutes
Cooking time                 - 30 minutes
Serves                           - 6
Ingredients:
Paccharisi new     - 1 cup
Jaggery                - 1cup
Grated coconut   - ¼ cup
Ghee                   - 4 tsp
Cashew               - 10
Dry grapes          - 10
Cardamom         - 2
Method:
Draw makkolam and manjal podi kolam (inbetween the white lines)on pongal panai.  Rince the rice with plenty of water.

Extract the water without rice (through the filter) and add this water to the pongal panai. Boil this water in the gas stove till the water over flows.Add rice to it and take excess water out with a ladle.

Powder the jaggery  and add to the three fourth cooked rice. Mash with ladle till the jaggery dissolves.

Heat ghee in a small pan and fry cashew,dry grapes and cardamom and add to the pongal. Add grated coconut and mix it well.

Offer the pongal to god with pongal special veggies.

Note:
Stir often the rice with a ladle, or else it will stick on the bottom of the panai.
Add jaggery when the rice is ¾ th cooked or else the rice will not cook.
Take the excess water out. If you want water for pongal you can use this water while cooking.
I used achuvellam for sakkarai pongal,so the colour is very light.
If you want pongal veggies you can click Thai Pongal Festival Menu.