Venthaya Keerai Kuzhambu

Ingredients

1.Fenugreek Spinach – 1 bunch

2.Shallots – 10-12

3.Tamarind – 1 gooseberry size

4.Sambar powder – 2 teaspoons

5.Salt as per taste

6.Toor dhal – 1.5 handfull

To Temper

1.Mustard – 1 teaspoons

2.Curry leaves

3.Red chillies – 2 big pieces

4.Oil for frying – 3 to 4 teaspoons

Procedure

1.Soak tamarind in water and prepare tamarind solution.

2.Cook toor dhal(aleast 4 whistles). Smash it and keep it ready.

3.Clean spinach/keerai and chop them.

4.Heat kadai and temper above given items in oil. Fry shallots in the oil.

5.Add sambar powder and salt to the tamarind solution. Pour the tamarind solution to the Kadai. Add keerai to it when it starts to boil. Let it boil till the raw smell goes.

6.Once it boils for some time, add smashed toor dhal and let it boil for some more time, till

sambar becomes thick.

7.Serve the sambar hot with plain rice and vegetables. Any spinach can be used for this sambar.

You can call this Fenugreek Spinach curry(non tamil name) as well.This is a very healthy and delicious curry for the meal.

Rava Kesari

Ingredients

1.Rava – 1 cup

2.Sugar – 1 ½ cup

3.Kesari color powder – a pinch (Optional)

4.Ghee – 3 to 4 tablespoon

5.Cashew – 5 pieces

6.Kismiss – 5 to 6 pieces

7.Elaichi powder – a pinch

8.Water – 2 ½ cup

Procedure

1.Heat the kadai. Pour 1 tablespoon of ghee. Fry the cashew when is it just start frying, add kismiss fry till golden brown.Keep the cashews and kismiss in separate vessel to add it later.

2. Roast rava in ghee. Roast till nice aroma rises and the colour of rava changes to slight brown.

3.Remove the roasted rava in separate plate and leave it to cool.

4. Add water (1 rava: 2 ½ water) usually. Sometimes I add 3 cups of water also. This depends purely on the rava. Let the water start to boil.Add the food color to it just a pinch should do.

5.Slowly keep on adding roasted rava to the boiling water , simultaneously keep on stirring the rava added to the water so that no lumps are formed. Once adding rava is completed, do not stop stirring.

6.Continue stirring, till the rava is cooked.Slowly and gently start adding the sugar to the cooked rava.

7.Start rigorous stirring, as stirring at this stage is very important as well to prevent formation of lumps.Stir till sugar is absorbed.Consistency should be intermediate neither too flowing nor thick.

8. At this stage start adding ghee to the kesari. Transfer the vessel and season with dry fruits and elaichi.

Since rava has the tendancy to solidify after sometime.Switch off the stove at the correct moment.This is one sweet which you can prepare in jiffy.Wow, a sweet commonly liked by everyone. It tastes best when served hot.

Jeera rice

Ingredients

1.Shahi Jeera – 1 tablespoon

2.Ghee – 2 tablespoon

3.Basmati rice – 1 ½ cup

4.Salt as per taste

Procedure

1.Soak the basmati rice for 40 mins. Wash and drain the water from it.

2.Heat the kadai and pour in some ghee. Wait till it gets heated.

3.Now add the jeera to hot ghee. Let it fry. Becareful that it doesn’t get darker.

4.Add the basmati rice (which is soaked on water and drained) to the ghee and fry it well.

5.Fry it gently so that the rice doesn’t get fragmented/broken.

6.Now add required amount of water. I generally add 1:1 ¼ rice:water may be a half cup

    more.Adding water is purely based on the rice and cooker.

7.Add salt to it.Cook well in the cooker. I prefer cooking up to 3 whistles.

8.Once the cooker cools down, gently mix the rice so that jeera is uniform throughout. It is better

    to use fork while mixing.

Serve this dish with any spicy north Indian gravy. Alternatively, you can add rice without frying in ghee by simply adding water after frying jeera in ghee.

  

Sakkarai Pongal/Sweet pongal

Ingredients
1.Moong dhal – ¼ cup
2.Raw rice – 1 cup
3.Jaggery – 1 ½ cup to 1 ¾ cup (Crushed)
4.Cashew – 4 to 5 pieces
5.Raisins/Kismis – 5 to 6 pieces
6.Elaichi – 2 to 3 pieces (powdered)
7.Ghee – 2 tablespoons

Procedure
1.Dry roast moong dhal in a kadai till the colour changes to slightly to golden brown. Switch off the stove and add rice to the roasted moong dhal, Dry roast the rice slightly to white.
2.Now cook moong dhal and rice together in a pressure cooker upto 5 to 6 whistles.Cook them in ratio 1:3 rice : water.Smash it well after it cools.
3.Now prepare jaggery syrup after filtering jaggery. Use heavy bottomed vessel to prepare the syrup and slowly add the smashed rice to it.
4.Keep on stirring the ingredients so that no lumps are formed.
5.Once the syrup is absorbed. Switch off.
6.Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee till mild brown.
7.Add elaichi and ghee with cashews and raisins over it which enhances flavour of pongal.

Adding additional amount of ghee enhances the taste of the recipe. In temples they add pachha karpooram/edible camphor. I generally don't prefer adding pachha karpooram/edible camphor. Instead i like the flavour of saffron.This is staple food of tamils and made for any important occasion/pooja.