VIRUNDHOMBAL

Vellai curry(Sambar without dal) Vellai curry is another popular kuzhambu from Tirunelveli. Very few ingredients, fast and really tasty.  This Vellai curry is served along with kadaintha keerai ( keerai masiyal) or paruppu(dal) with plain rice. This kuzhambu is similar to karakuzhambu. You can add any seasonal vegetables or cooked lentils such as chickpeas and mochai. This kuzhambu takes about 20 minutes, uses ingredients that I always have on hand and tastes so good. You can adjust the heat by adjusting the amount of chilly powder and sambar powder. I always use homemade chilly powder which is not spicy. If you are using store bought chilly powder then,  reduce the quantity. I used the same technique of adding asafoetdia in the final stage, which really brightens up the flavours.  If you try this kuzhambu I promise it will become one of your regulars. Let's see how to prepare this Vellai curry with step by step photos. Check out my other kuzhambu varities also. ...

We prepare different types of kootu dishes for our lunch and most of the  kootu varieties can be easily identified with its taste and texture. But this raw papaya kootu is completely different. You won't believe this dish is made with raw papayas. There is no smell of papayas and the taste was so amazing with sambars, rasam and even for chapathis. The addition of cooked moong dal and the coconut paste makes this kootu more tasty. As I said earlier in my posts, please do not cook the vegetables in pressure cooker for kootu because it can destroy the beautiful colour and the nutritive value of the vegetables. For any kootu do the tempering in the final stage. Check out my other kootu recipes here.   Bottle Gourd Kootu - Suraikkai Kootu   Snake Gourd Kootu  - Pudalangai Kootu  Cabbage Potato Kootu White Pumpkin (Ash gourd) Kootu Raw Papaya Kootu Yellow Pumpkin Kootu Chayote - Chow Chow Kootu Paruppu Keerai Kootu Manathakkali Keerai Kootu Ridge Gourd Kootu - Peerka...

Ponnangani keerai rice - a healthy and easy lunch recipe for your busy weekdays. For this dish I have used the greens which have dark green leaves with pink shade. It has many health benefits for the eye, hair and skin. These leaves are used as an important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicines for wounds, cough and diabetes. We prepare kootu and poriyal with this keerai. One day my husband told me to prepare rice with this keerai. We always include plentiful of greens in our regular cooking. To add some protein I have added sprouts in this rice. If you do not have this greens you can replace it with drumstick leaves or methi leaves. Include more greens in your diet for 3 days in a week. This rice can make you energised throughout the day. For more recipes with greens(keerai) click here for  Greens(Keerai) recipes.  Manathakkali keerai kootu Paruppu keerai kootu Siru keerai thuvaram Murungai keerai thuvaram Keerai Sambar

Pepper pulikuzhambu - easy, tasty and healthy kuzhambu that is loaded with excellent flavours. This kuzhambu is perfect during winter season. If you want to spend less time in your kitchen you can cook this kuzhambu with minimal work and time. I learnt this recipe from a TV cookery show by Chef Jacob.  You may have also read a couple of pulikuzhambu recipes in my blog that requires lots of small onions, garlic cloves, other spices and tamarind. In this recipe also it includes the same classic ingredients and in addition we have to add whole black peppercorns and black pepper powder. I always suggest to soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. If you noticed, when you soak the tamarind in warm water before extracting the juice, it is easier to extract thick pulp with less water. The most important ingredient in this recipe is the asafoetdia, so please don't forget to add it. This kuzhambu is perfect for beginners, bachelors without any complic...

  Here is a collection of sweets and savouries for this Diwali. Checkout these recipes with step by step instructions with photos. Click on the RECIPE HERE link to view the recipes. Wish you all a Happy Diwali.  . 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. RECIPE HERE. Thattai - popular and favourite snack for all of us. For this Diwali you can prepare your own homemade thattai. It's not hard, once you tried it with simple techniques and the result is perfect and you won't prefer store bought thattais. RECIPE HERE  Omapodi is one of the easiest snack which can be prepared quickly without much effort. Making your own homemade savouries, with available ingredients is one of the best ways to give your family a healthy snack.  RECIPE HERE. T...

Ulundha vadai - Medhu vadai Most of the food items from Tamil Nadu contains the urid dal which has many health benefits. All the food items based on urid dal does not need much preparation work and we can enjoy a healthy and tasty dish easily.  This ulundha vadai is one among those easy and healthy dish. Follow these instructions and prepare a tasty ulundha vada for your family.  Important points to follow for a perfect vada I always like to grind the batter in a wet grinder, because it grinds well with very little water and gives you a puffy vadas. If you do not have wet grinder, then grind it in a mixie by sprinkling water with regular intervals. Soaking the dals also is very important for this vada. Try to soak at least 3 hours and then grind it.  In addition to finely chopped onions and green chillies I have added finely chopped carrots and cabbages. This is my grandma's idea to add these vegetables in the vada which makes some extra toppings in it. ...

Thattai - popular and favourite snack for all of us. For this Diwali you can prepare your own homemade thattai. It's not hard, once you tried it with simple techniques and the result is perfect and you won't prefer store bought thattais. One of my favourite ways to make the flour for thattai and thenkuzal is to grind the idly rice and then mixed with urid dal flour. The grounded rice batter is easy to prepare and the thattais are wonderfully crispy. The following are the instructions for the perfect thattais 1. Soak the idly rice for 3 to 4 hours and then grind it. 2. For a flavourful thattai add a good amount of red chillies, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.  3. Fry the thattais on medium heat for uniform cooking. Do not change the heat while frying. 4. Do not forget to add the unsalted butter. Do not add more butter because thattais will break down. In the video I have used 1/2 cup fried gram flour and 1/2 cup urid dal flour. Both the pictures are taken on d...

Tirunelveli special - Thirattupal  Thirattupal is an all time favourite sweet in our family. This sweet is Tirunelveli's famous traditional dish prepared with coconuts, moong dals, jaggery, milk and ghee. This is a healthy and tasty sweet with very less ghee. The secret to making perfect Thirattupal lies in the quality of the fresh coconuts and good quality jaggery. The tricky part in this sweet is cooking it to the right consistency. Cooking the coconut, moong dal paste in jaggery mixture with very less time will make this sweet sticky. We have to stir it continuously for perfect results. Making this thirattupal always takes me back to the school days in my life because my mom frequently make this delicious sweet for us.

Omapodi/Plain sev with ajwain flavour Omapodi is one of the easiest snack which can be prepared quickly without much effort. Making your own homemade savouries, with available ingredients is one of the best ways to give your family a healthy snack.  For omapodi I suggest to prepare the freshly ground besan flour. Place the chana dal in the sunlight for 3 to 5 hours and then grind the chana dal in a rice mill. If you do not have rice mill use a good quality besan flour. Preparing savouries, with freshly ground flour is different than store bought flour. The next most important ingredient in this dish is the ajwain. Use fresh ajwain for a nice flavour. Follow the simple instructions and prepare this easy omapodi for this Diwali.

Magizhampoo Thenkuzhal/ Mullu Murukku Magizhampoo thenkuzal also called as mullu murukku. For this thenkuzal we use three different dals -  moongdal, chana dal and urid dal . These dals are roasted to bring out the aromas and then powdered. The freshly ground flour is mixed with the ground rice batter. The magizhampoo thenkuzal cooked in your house will delight you. Grinding the rice is a superb way to prepare thenkuzal or thattai. It gives the perfect shape, taste and texture of the dish. The thenkuzal stays fresh and flavorful without adding fried gram flour. Deep frying the thenkuzal can be coconut oil, groundnut oil or vegetable oil, depending upon the flavour you want. I recommend coconut oil for thenkuzhal because the flavour in the coconut oil, add extra taste for the thenkuzhal.  The main steps in thenkuzal are  1. Preparation of ingredients Roast the dals separately. Do not brown them. Sieve the flours 2 or 3 times and add it to the ground rice ba...

Vegetable rava upma This Vegetable rava upma or kichdi is a very common breakfast in India. Among food items of India, the sooji has numerous food varieties like rice. Upma is the evergreen food, which can be prepared in a matter of minutes. This upma is a special and healthy breakfast dish with the addition of colourful vegetables. You don't need to pre cook the vegetables for this upma. Just saute them well in the oil along with the onions and cook the rava by the general method. Roasting the rava well will give you the perfect results. This is a simple recipe that is easy for your weekdays breakfast or dinner. No grinding, not even pressure cooking the vegetables. Let's see how to prepare this quick and yummy upma with step by step photos.

A simple dessert recipe for you to cook a great dessert for your family and friends. Potato Gulkand is a traditional dessert in Tirunelveli. It is often prepared for special occasions and also for festivals. I learnt this recipe from my mom. She often prepares this halwa for diwali and for family get togethers. This halwa consists of potatoes, coconut gratings and sugar, flavoured with cardamom powder. Grated coconuts mixed in the halwa give each scoop a crunch. This potato Gulkand requires some little preparation work. First the peeled and cut potatoes are pressure cooked. While they are cooking we can grate the coconut for the halwa. Then the boiled potatoes are drained and grated. It's all finished. Now we are getting closer to prepare the halwa. Let's see how to prepare this halwa with step by step photos. Prep time : 20 minutes Cook time : 30 minutes Yields : 500 grams Category : Dessert Author : Muthulakshmi Madhavakrishnan Ingredien...