VIRUNDHOMBAL

This manathakkali keerai/black night shade greens has so many health benefits and try to take this keerai frequently into your regulars. This keerai is used to treat mouth ulcer problems, relief from colds and liver ailments. You can find this greens in most markets. When buying fresh greens, look for greens with small white flowers and tiny green or black berries. Avoid purchasing the greens with big leaves and without any berries. In this recipe,  I have added both the coconut paste and coconut milk. If you are not a big fan of this keerai, I will assure you will like this keerai after eating this kootu. Even kids  love them too with a bowl of warm rice with a swril of ghee over the rice. If you like this method do try this recipe. Video Link

From the name itself, you can identify these sandwiches are made with fresh vegetables. To add extra taste I have added some grated cheese and a little oregano. This sandwich feels so filling and it is perfect for breakfast. Along with this sandwich you can have a bowl of sliced cucumbers or a cup of apples. Each mouthful of this sandwich feels so complete. This is a very easy recipe that never fails. 

This Nullikai urundai/Urid dal balls is Tirunelveli's famous snack dish. I learnt this recipe from my uncle(periyappa). He prepares these soft and crispy Nullikai urundais frequently and he enjoys serving this hot snack for us with a cup of coffee. This is a healthy and easy snack item which can be prepared easily without much effort. These balls have a crispy outer layer with soft texture. The key to this recipe, for preparing crispy balls is the soaking and grinding.First thing is you need to soak the dal and rice for 3 to 4 hours. The second thing is the batter should be fluffy and thick. If the batter is watery the ball shape may vary while frying. When deep frying the balls, always keep the flame on low medium. This will help to achieve perfect results. With just 4 ingredients, try this easy and healthy Nullikai urundai/Urid dal balls for your family. Perfect for evening snacks, small family get togethers and potlucks.

Chana dal/Poomparuppu/Kadalai paruppu sundal Wish you all a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. For this Ganesh Chaturthi prepare this easy Poomparuppu/ kadalaiparuppu/chana dal sundal. The chana dal is soaked for about 1 hour and then cooked to retain a little bit crunch, and for perfect texture. For perfect sundal do not overcook the dals and do not add more water while pressure cooking. This sundal is made with the basic ingredients such as coconuts, ginger, asafoetdia powder and chillies. You can adjust the seasonings according to your taste preference. For any type of sundals always try to temper with less oil. 

Ragi flour kozhukkatai(Dumplings) This ragi flour kozhukattai is easy to prepare and makes a healthy snack for kids and also for their snacks box. And it's a great way to use up ragi flour and palm jaggery. Millets are highly nutritious, non-glutinous and not acid forming food. Hence they’re soothing and easy to digest. Make this different kozhukattai and serve to your family and stay healthy.

The combination of diced beans, diced carrots, cooked toor dal and coconut small onion paste makes a colourful side dish for Sambar, rasam and for all South Indian meals.This is an easy recipe that could work best for a busy weekday mornings for your lunch boxes because there is no much preparation after chopping the veggies. You don't need to cook seperate toor dal for this recipe, just add a tbsp of cooked dal from your already cooked dal for sambar. You can also leave it and just finish it with the coconut paste. As usual, I prefer to cook the vegetables with little water and then sauted with the other ingredients. We follow this method for poriyal, thuvaram and other varieties for many years and the taste is also unique. So if you trust me, do try this method, then you can feel the difference in the resulting dish.

Tomato Onion sabji for roti I absolutely like this tomato onion sabji for rotis. It's basically a tomato onion thokku. The main difference between this sabji and thokku is that it is made with fresh onions and tomatoes and it is chunkier than thokku. This is the sabji I have been making for years. I love the combination of onions and tomatoes with red chilly powder, coriander powder, curry leaves and green chillies. With this tomato sabji as a base you can prepare a quick tomato upma, tomato idiyappam and a homemade spread for bread slices. .

Plantain/Raw banana/Vazhaikai varuval/fry Plantain is ideal for fries and roasts because of its texture and it requires very little preparation work to make them delicious. This raw banana fry is easy to prepare and has bright bold flavours. I have applied the same small onions, garlic and jeera paste to countless dishes and for plantain also its pairing was perfect. This plantain fry has so much flavour and taste, plus it's filled with fiber and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Just follow the instructions below and prepare this plantain fry for your kids then you can see a smile on their faces. You can also pack them for  their lunch boxes for lemon rice, tamarind rice and curd rice. They won't say no for this plantain fry and of course it is healthy too.

This onion garlic coconut thuvaiyal is the perfect accompaniment for any type of dosas. The small onions and garlics add a great flavour and colour. I like this thuvaiyal very much because it is easy, fast and always delicious! See how to make this yummy thuvaiyal.

I wanted this recipe to be healthy and easy, so I have added cane sugar. If you do not have cane sugar you can add powdered sugar. This ladoo take only 15 minutes to put together and you don't need to check for sugar syrup consistency or any difficult works.

Thenkuzhal/Murukku/Chakli Thenkuzhal/Murukku/Chakli -  prepared using grinding idly rice. This method gives the thenkuzhal a nice flavour,colour, taste and perfect shape. Follow the instructions carefully and enjoy the tasty thenkuzhal with your family.  Make urid dal flour at home for an authentic taste. I have given the method at the end.

Milk Kova /Pal kova Milk /Pal kova has been a favourite sweet for all of us.This milk halwa is prepared with cow's milk, milk powder and sugar. The cow's milk is slowly cooked in a large wide kadai and milk powder is added to speed up the process. You can find the goodness and richness of milk in this homemade milk kova. The natural fat in the milk itself preserves the halwa longer and I have added a little ghee to prevent from burns in the bottom.  Pal kova with step by step pictures Prep time : 5 minutes Cook time : 1 hour 30 minutes Yield : 400 grams Ingredients 1.5 ltr cow's milk 1 cup amulya milk powder 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cardamom powder 1 tbsp ghee Cooking Directions  1. Take a large heavy bottomed non stick kadai and add the 1.5 litres milk. Keep on medium flame and place a wooden spatula on the top of the kadai. 2. You can notice the froth will starts appearing on the top. Slowly scrape the solids from the sides

Keerai Sambar/ Sambar with greens Greens sambar is a wonderful combination of dal, greens and onions. It goes well with rice and even chapatis or poori. This sambar is easy and simple to make and won't take much of your time.  You can use any type of keerai(greens) for this sambar. In this recipe I have used paruppu keerai.  If you want, you can add 1/4 cup of ground coconut paste when adding toor dal. Instead of toor dal you can add moong dal or masoor dal. Raw mango enhances the flavour and taste of the sambar. If you don't like raw mangoes, substitute with little tamarind juice or 1 more tomato.

Rava ladoo using condensed milk Rava ladoo is a quick and easy sweet made with condensed milk, fresh coconuts, fine rava and ghee.  I learnt this recipe from my Chithi(aunt).  In this recipe I have added both sugar and condensed milk for sweetness. To get the best texture and taste, you have to roast the rava very well. Try to use fresh coconuts for this ladoo which gives you a nice flavour. You can whip the coconut gratings in a jar before frying Here is a short video for Rava Ladoo 

Schezwan Veg Noodles This spicy Schezwan veg noodles are made with red chilly paste and tossed with fresh vegetables. The red chilly paste adds colour to the noodles and finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlics and finely chopped celeries add flavor to the noodles. The other ingredients are regular sauces, pepper powder and finally garnished with beautiful spring onion leaves. Without spring onions and celery you can't get the authentic  flavor. The preparation work is little bit tough, but the cooking time is very quick. For this noodles I have used the Kashmiri red chilly for the red paste. I have added some chopped garlics while grinding the red paste. The best thing is after tossing the noodles serve it immediately so that you can enjoy the hot and spicy noodles.

Moong dal payasam/ Pasiparuppu payasam/ Moong dal kheer Moong dal payasam is a delicious, creamy dessert sweetened with traditional jaggery and enhanced the taste with coconut milk. For best results you need to use best quality jaggery which is dark brown in colour. The coconut milk gives the creaminess to the payasam which pairs well with the moongdal. If you don't have time to prepare coconut milk, no problem, just grind the fresh grated coconut nicely and add it to the payasam. I personally prefer the addition of sagos(javarisi) in this payasam because they are required to thicken it.