Virundhombal

Masala Vadai - delicious evening snack prepared with chana dal or yellow split peas as the main ingredient. This masala vadai is not only an evening snack, but it is also a favourite side dish for our lunch too. Really, I enjoy this masala vadai with lemon rice and curd rice. Most of our traditional snacks are easily  prepared with healthy ingredients using simple methods. Masala vadai requires simple preparation works like soaking and grinding the dals. These two methods require some attention so be careful while preparing the dough.


The most important thing in this masala vadai is we have to soak the dal for 3 to 4 hours. Soaking the dal for 4 hours, helps to grind the dal without any water. After 4 hours, drain the water completely using a strainer and then grind it. If the soaking time is less, you will not get a crispy vadai. For this masala vadai, we have to add both red chillies and green chillies, ginger, garlic, fennel, cinnamon and asafoetdia are added for flavours. The ot…

Nellikai Sadham - a healthy rice for your lunch box with simple cooking methods. Once again thanks to my Karthi Uncle who taught me the Aloo Gobi recipe prepared this healthy rice. The way we prepare for lemon rice and mango rice applies to this Amla(Nellikai) rice also. In addition, we want to grind the amlas in a mixer jar without any water and then we have to saute it with our classic tempering ingredients. Ponni raw rice is much preferred when preparing these type of rice varieties, but if you are looking for a healthier choice you may replace it with cooked millets.


Now a days we can see there is an increase in consumption of amlas in our regular diet because of its medicinal values. We can include it in a variety of ways in our diet as juice, powder and pickles. We  steam  the amlas in an Idli pot and add it to any kuzhambu or simply as a side dish for curd rice.
This 20 minute easy rice dish can be prepared in advance and you can enjoy it warm or  at room temperature. Green ch…

Udupi Sambar - colourful and flavourful sambar for idly, dosa and vada. Udupi Sambar is prepared with the same spices and vegetables we add for tiffin sambar but we use bydagi chillies which give a deep red colour for the sambar. Bydagi chillies are roasted along with our regular spices like coriander, cumin, chana dal and fenugreek and then ground it to a smooth paste. The bydagi chillies are also known as Kashmiri chilli and are available in all supermarkets. This bydagi chilly is a less hot than a regular long chilly. So if you want a less spicy sambar for tiffin, choose this Udupi Sambar. The secret to getting the sambar to a smooth consistency with a deep red colour is we have to add the ground paste as soon as the vegetables are done and boil them slow and long so they cook perfectly. The slow cooking method helps to blend well with the vegetables. Then we have to add the cooked toor dal and jaggery. For Udupi Sambar I prefer drumsticks, brinjal, small onions and tomatoes. You …

Sweet Pidi Kozhukkatai - a classic prasadam recipe for pooja made with raw rice, jaggery, coconut, moong dal and black sesame seeds. This Pidi Kozhukkatai is a popular kozhukattai dish with different variations, although the most common method is prepared with the freshly prepared homemade rice flour as we do for maa vilakku. As I said in my previous posts, the coconut adds a great flavour to the jaggery based desserts.

Let’s see some important tips for perfect kozhukattai.
For this kozhukattai, I don’t recommend skipping any of the ingredients, the roasted moong dals may be omitted if you do not like it. But please do not omit the roasted black sesame seeds and fresh grated coconuts as it brings the overall flavour for the kozhukattai.You can use Pagu vellam (brown jaggery) or achu vellam, but personally I prefer Pagu vellam for this kozhukattai.Now we will see how to prepare the rice flour for this kozhukattai. Preparing rice flour is quite simple if you spend 20 minutes. If it is …

Vazhaikkai (Plantain) Poriyal can be prepared in many different methods. It is a vegetable that can be used for most of us during fasting. It is included in our diet after the fasting is over. It is helpful in boosting the immune system and regulate digestion. We prepare plantain puttu or plantain poriyal or aviyal during fasting and other important days like Pournami, Shasti and Ammavasa.


Unlike my other poriyal dishes, vazhaikkai poriyal also prepared using the same technique. What I liked about the poriyal dishes with plantain or potato was the added cumin, garlic and coconut mixture flavour the plantain. The flavours from garlic and cumin give a nice taste to the soft plantain cubes. During fasting, leave the garlic cloves and onions. This poriyal is a good side dish for any kuzhambu or rice varieties.

Similar Poriyal Recipes
Kathirikkai Poriyal Senaikizhangu Poriyal Urulaikizhangu PoriyalSeenikizhangu Poriyal

This Pineapple Kesari dessert uses only four ingredients and comes together in less than 30 minutes. This Kesari is made with fresh pineapple chunks so they have a bold pineapple flavour. You can also use canned pineapple chunks, but I have not tested this recipe with the canned pineapples. Have you noticed that all kesari dishes always require double the measure of sugar? That's the only thing I won't prefer to do these type of dishes frequently. Once in a while for special occasions or festivals, I prepare this kesari with a good amount of sugar and ghee. If we reduce the sugar and ghee it won't taste and look like kesari.



If you are preparing for a family function or get together you can easily double or triple the recipe and everyone can enjoy this tasty dessert. Usually kesari tastes good if it is served immediately. In order to add extra pineapple flavour in this kesari, you will need to add 1/2 teaspoon of pineapple essence in the final stage. If you do not like, y…

Butter murukku - an easy snack that is crisp with soft texture. It's a favourite evening snack for kids and also as a side dish for their lunch. In my blog, I have already posted traditional thenkuzhal and mullu thenkuzhalrecipes which will be prepared with the grounded rice batter. But for this butter murukku we have to use rice flour, besan flour and fried gram flour and there is no soaking or grinding works. This butter murukku is super simple to make compared with mullu thenkuzhal. In just 40 minutes, you will have a crispy butter murukku to impress your kids.


You can use your own homemade rice flour or idiyappam flour. Try to use fresh flours for this murukku. I have included fried grams in this murukku to bring the soft texture, if you don't have leave it. My Grandma suggests me to add moong dal flour for this murukku because it produces a nice flavour. If you have some leftover moong dal flour, you can add it instead of fried gram flour. As for the butter, you can add …