VIRUNDHOMBAL

These crispy onion pakodas are prepared with onions, besan flour, green chillies and for flavours we add ginger, fennel and curry leaves.


As we all have onions all the time in our kitchen, so with minimal effort you can prepare this quick evening snack for your family. In the current situation as we are lockdown, you can prepare this snack quickly and easily for your family. This pakodas pair well with curd rice too. The most important part of the dish is mixing the onions with correct amount of water. The flour should stick to the onions tightly so that it would be easy to fry. If you add more water, then it becomes like bajji batter and you will get soft pakodas. To make the pakodas soft, we have to add 2 tbsp of hot oil and then we have to mix it evenly. The pakodas must be fried on medium heat and after a few minutes, turn them frequently with a spoon as the onions will turn black quickly.


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Peerkangai chutney is prepared with ridge gourd, coconut, red chillies and tempered with mustard & small onions. This chutney is an easy dish for idli and dosa. Just saute the chopped ridge gourd, red chillies and asafoetida and then grind it with fresh coconut and tamarind. If you are using fresh tender ridge gourd, it gets roasted easily and easy to grind it. To make this chutney creamy you can add roasted chana dal, but it tastes good without it. Now let's see how to prepare this chutney with step by step instructions.


Checkout my other chutney recipes
Coconut Garlic Green Chilly ChutneyTomato chutneyTomato chutney with green chillies Small onion chutney with black urid dalCoconut chutney with red chilliesCoconut chutney with green chilliesBrinjal chutney with red chillies Onion garlic coconut chutneySmall onion chutney

Mochai Kara Kuzhambu - tasty kara kuzhambu with fresh mochai, which is a seasonal ingredient during the month January to March in Tamil Nadu. Kara kuzhambus are an all time favourite dish for my husband. It doesn't matter what ingredients are used because if he see any seasonal vegetables in the market quickly he will ask me prepare kara kuzhambu with those veggies.


After tasting many kara kuzhambu dishes in the restaurant I found the flavours. Because in Tirunelveli we won't prepare kara kuzhambu much instead we prepare vellai curry which is similar to kara kuzhambu.  Mochais are a staple ingredient all throughout South India. The fresh mochai is very common in the streets and markets during these months. They are packed with protein, fiber and are also easy to cook when compared to dried mochais. The kuzhambu starts with preparing the masala paste for the kuzhambu. The taste of the kara kuzhambu hides in this wonderful coconut onion masala. For masala we have to use onions,…

Baby Corn Fry - baby corns are mixed with a seasoned flour and deep fried till golden. Baby corns have a hard texture that takes more time to cook when compared to paneer and mushrooms.


So I have precooked the baby corn pieces in a separate vessel for 5 minutes. Do not cook more than 5 minutes because it will absorb more oil. Then the cooked baby corn pieces are mixed with the flours. Here also I have used the besan flour, rice flour, corn flour and maida. The flours are seasoned enough with all the flavours to bring a restaurant taste for your kids. It starts with garlic paste, red chilly powder, garam masala powder, chat masala powder, pepper powder and lemon juice. Just mix all the ingredients to the baby corn along with the flours and required salt. Sprinkle a handful of water and mix them gently.

Here I will tell you some important tips for Crispy baby corn fry.

1. Adding corn flour and rice flour gives you a crispy texture without being oily. Do not add more quantity because it…

Nenthram Pazham Payasam - delicious dessert with nenthram (banana) pazham, jaggery and coconut milk. An easy make ahead payasam dish for special occasions and festivals.


This payasam is a popular dessert in Kerala. In Kerala and Nagercoil nenthram pazham is often used in desserts. I have already shared a quick halwa with nenthram pazham which can be easily cooked within 15 minutes. For best taste make sure to use extremely ripe bananas. Here also I used pagu vellam(brown jaggery) and fresh coconut milk for this payasam. If you are using canned coconut milk dilute the coconut milk with water as 1:1 ratio. When I first tasted this payasam in a restaurant I  thought it had chunks of bananas but it was just full of banana pulp with their tiny seeds in it. The bananas are cooked until soft and then grounded smoothly. Then the banana pulp is cooked in the jaggery syrup for 15 minutes on medium heat. After 15 minutes, we have to add the thin coconut milk. For additional flavours dry ginger …

Neeragara Sadham is prepared with rice, neeragaram (neethani - fermented rice water) curry leaves and salt. Then the sadham is mixed with gingely oil, coconut curry leaves thuvaiyalalong with citron pickle. This is also a great dish for short picnics.



For this sadham you can use ponni rice, kurunai rice and also millets. Generally, this neeragara sadham is prepared in a pot. To save time, I use a small pressure cooker to cook the rice . You can a feel nice aroma in the kitchen when the curry leaves are cooked in the fermented rice water. I will tell you briefly how to prepare the fermented rice water. Take 1 cup of rice in a vessel and rinse it well for 2 to 3 times and drain the water. For 1 cup of rice boil 6 cups of water in a wide vessel. When the water boils well add the rice, reduce the heat and cook the rice for 20 to 25 minutes, while keeping the vessel uncovered. When the rice has cooked well drain the water in another vessel using a slotted plate or a colander. We call this…

Tomato Jam - prepared with tomato, sugar, ghee and cashew nuts. Just four ingredients are required to prepare this jam. This tomato  jam is a popular sweet in Nagercoil marriages. This sweet and tangy jam can be prepared easily within 20 minutes.


Before preparing this jam I am not sure that how tomato would be suitable for dessert, because its texture is not smooth like other vegetables. But after preparing the jam I came to know that tomatoes absorb the sugar beautifully and tastes so good. To prepare this jam you have to cook the tomatoes until soft. Once the tomatoes have cooked, simply remove the skins and grind it to a smooth paste. To get a smoother jam I have drained the tomato puree after grinding it, but you can leave this step. Then the tomato puree is mixed along with the required sugar and cooked on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. As I told you before in the beetroot jam, using a heavy bottomed kadai  will keep the jam from burning in the bottom.

Avarakkai poriyal is a quick side dish for your lunch. This poriyal recipe is also prepared with the coconut cumin masala and cooked toor dal as we do for beans carrot poriyal and keerai poriyal dishes.


The chopped avarakkais are cooked in a separate vessel and then mixed with the toor dal and coconut mixture. Finally, they are tossed in a pan for a few minutes. This goes well with sambar, rasam, lemon rice and puli illa kuzhambu. Cooking the vegetables in a separate vessel is the secret to get a colourful look in the dish. If you do not prefer you can add it after tempering and sprinkle a handful of water and cook for a few minutes. For these poriyal dishes, a handful of cooked toor dal enhances the taste, so do not skip it. The coconut cumin masala also gives the poriyal a delicious flavour.

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