Kadala/Chickpea Curry

This is a easy chickpea/kadala curry which goes very well with rice/chapathi/aapam. It has very few ingredients and easy to make as well

Okra Masala

Okra or Ladies finger is very nutritious vegetable. I remember that when I was young Amma used to say that if we eat it, it will make you intelligent. I like the poriyal amma makes. I can eat it anytime with rice or chapati. But this is a different recipe from what amma makes because I am not able to repeat the same hehe.

Ingredients:
Okra - 300 gms
Onion - 1 chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds
Sambar powder - 1.5 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - a spring
Salt - to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds splutter, saute the onions.
Then add the okra and fry on a high flame for 2 mins till the sticky texture goes off.
Add the chopped tomatoes and close it with lid. Let the mixture get cooked for 5 mins.
Then add all the masala powders and cook till the raw smell goes off.
Cook till it becomes dry. Serve with rice and curd or roti.

Coconut Chutney

This is a very basic recipe which most of us will know. This is just my cookbook so just making a quick note of how to make it is added here. This is like instant chutney which doesnt need any work over stove except tempering.

Ingredients:
Cocunut - 1 cup
Roasted gram - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt to taste

To temper:
Oil
Red chilly dried - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - a spring

Method:
Grind everything in a blender to smooth or coarse paste as how you want. Then take everything in a bowl. Heat oil in a pan and add items under to temper, then add it to the ground mixture. Serve with dosa, chutney or aapam.

all ingredients

take in a blender

To temper

add tempered,mix well and serve

Simple Vegetable Kuruma

One more recipe to my quick samayal list. This comes handy when you want to make a tasty and quick side dish for roti or paratha. Simple but nutritious too. No more blah blah. Here comes the recipe.

Ingredients:
Mixed vegetables - 2 cups (I used beans, carrot, potato and capsicum)
Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Tomato - 1 roughly chopped
Garlic - 5 gloves
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green chilly - 1 or 2
Sambar / red chilli powder - 2 1 tbsp
Whole spices - bayleaf, saunf, aniseed, cardamom and cloves
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Salt and oil as needed

To grind to a paste:
Cocunut - 2 tbsp
Cashewnuts - 6

Method:

1. Heat oil in a vessel and add the whole spices.
2. Crush the ginger, garlic and green chilli into a paste
3. Once the oil gets heated, add the paste and let it cook till the raw smell goes off.
4. After that add all the vegetables along with onion and tomato and saute for few mins.
5. Close and cook the vegetables for 10 mins or till its done.
6. Then add the sambar or chilli powder along with salt and let it cook again for another 10 mins.
7. Then add the smooth cocunut cashew paste to the vegetables along with water and let it boil for another 5 mins.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Yellow Pumpkin Gravy

Yellow Pumpkin in tangy tamarind sauce. A dish that has sweetness as well tanginess.. Sounds lovely. I am sharing the recipe here

Ingredients:

Onion	1 chopped
Yellow pumpkin	½ peel skin and chop it
Tamarind	Lemon size soaked in water
Green chillies	2 sliced lengthwise
Mustard Seeds	1 tbsp
Jeera	1 tbsp
Curry leaves	A spring
Salt to taste
Rice flour	2 tbsp mixed in water

Method:

1.       Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard leaves. Then add the curry leaves, jeera and onion and sauté it.

2.       Then add the cubed pumpkin and fry for 2 mins. Then add the green chillies too.

3.       Then extract the tamarind juice and add to it. Allow the pumpkin to get cooked in this tangy water.

4.       Add salt to taste. Add the rice flour water finally to thicken the gravy a bit. You can garnish with coriander leaves if you want.

Note please:

You can add chopped ginger and garlic to it which adds some flavour to the dish

Simple Broccoli Poriyal

I am not a great fan of broccoli. I was familiar with only one dish using dal. And my hubby used to say me to change the recipe. So I was wondering what to do with it other way. So decided to make poriyal just like any other poriyals. And did few alteration to remove the smell that broccoli gives off. So no more blah blah. Here comes the recipe.

Ingredients:
To temper:
Mustard seeds and curry leaves

Onion	1 chopped
Broccoli	1 finely chopped
Coconut	2 tbsp
Jeera	1 tbsp
Garlic	Diced or chopped
Red chillies	2 or 3
Salt	To taste
Turmeric powder	A pinch

Method:

1.       Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onion until it turns transparent. Add the chopped garlic and fry till the raw smell goes off.

2.       Then add the chopped broccoli and fry for a while. Broccoli gets cooked faster.

3.       At the same time, grind coconut, jeera and red chillies to a coarse mixture.

4.       Then add the mixture along with turmeric powder to broccoli that is getting cooked. If the broccoli is not cooked you can sprinkle some water and keep it frying till its done.Enjoy with rice or chapathi.

Brinjal Potato Masala

This particular recipe tasted awesome than what I expected. I don’t know if there is any recipe like this. But did it in a guess. And to my surprise it came very well. It goes well with both chapathi and rice.

Ingredients:

Onion	1 thinly sliced
Tomato	1 thinly sliced
Brinjal	2 small variety thinly sliced
Onion	1 or 2 sliced
Garlic	3 or 4 sliced
Ginger	½ inch thinly sliced
Chilli powder	2 tbsp
Coriander powder	1 tbsp
Garam masala	¼ tbsp
Jeera	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	A pinch
Salt	To taste
Mustard seeds and curry leaves

Method:

1.       Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add jeera and curry leaves and fry for a sec.Add the chopped garlic and ginger and fry for a min

2.       Then add the sliced onions and sauté till it becomes transparent. Then add the sliced tomatoes and fry till it turns mushy. Allow it to cook very well. The onion and tomatoes should blend well.

3.       Add in all the masala powders and fry till the raw smell goes off. Then add the cut brinjal and potato and fry well till the masala coats them.

4.       Then add about half a cup water and cook it closed till everything gets cooked. You can also pressure cook for a single whistle. Check for salt.

5.       Enjoy with rice or chapathi.