VIRUNDHOMBAL

Idlies are an excellent and healthy breakfast in our South Indian cuisine. From babies to elderly people idlies are considered as one of the best food which are easily digested.  As you all know idlies are the comfort food in all the aspects such as healthy, easy, simple and quick. Now we will see how to grind the idli batter for soft and fluffy idlies. Like most people, I learnt how to prepare soft and perfect idlies after so many practices.

Raw mango rice is a tangy, spicy rice made with grated mangoes and flavoured with classic spices. Perfect for lunch boxes and also for your travel foods. Just a handful of grated mangoes and other tempering ingredients are required to make this yummy rice.  Raw mango rice is same as the lemon rice except the mangoes are sauted in the oil before adding the rice. This rice also includes peanuts, curry leaves, red chillies and other tempering ingredients as we add in for the lemon rice. Sauteing the grated mangoes in the gingely oil is one of the main step in this dish and it can give you the lingering taste. As I said before in my previous posts, raw rice adds an additional flavour for these rice varieties. With so many rice dishes in our cuisine such as lemon rice or coconut rice or tamarind rice the essential method to bring the taste to these dishes is cooking the rice perfectly. Before cooking the rice, try to soak them for 10 to 15 minutes. Soaking the rice helps to ...

SOUTH INDIAN LUNCH MENU IDEAS LUNCH MENU COMBO 1 (IDI SAMBAR, AVIYAL, POTATO PUTTU, LADIES FINGER PACHADI, AND MOONG DAL PAYASAM) We usually prepare this combo for festivals, special occasions and also for a family get together. And also appalam and coriander leaves thuvaiyal or mango thokku for curd rice. Check out these recipes with step by step instructions. Click on the images to view the recipes in detail. Coming up soon with exciting lunch menu ideas. IDI SAMBAR Sambar is the most common kuzhambu (curry) in all of South Indian cuisine and staple in any restaurant and on important occasions. Idi Sambar is prepared with freshly ground sambar powder and combination of vegetables. AVIYAL Aviyal is one of the best side dish for Idi Sambar. In Tirunelveli we use white brinjals for aviyal which gives you a nice taste. Raw banana and brinjals are the important vegetables in this dish. POTATO PUTTU Potato puttu is one of the best side dish for Idi ...

Pear millet porridge/ Kambu koozh is prepared with just three ingredients. The best drink for us to include the pearl millet in our regular diet. During the summer season, drinking a  cup of Kambu koozh with buttermilk and small onions is a great way to stay hydrated and cool. Pearl millet is high in iron, calcium and folic acid. The millets are coarsely powdered and then cooked in pressure cooker. The cooked millets then mixed with fresh buttermilk. Top the porridge with finely chopped small onions. All you need are a few good ingredients like pearl millets, buttermilk and small onions for this healthy porridge. You can cook the pearl millets  ahead of time to prepare the porridge within 5 minutes.

Arisi paruppu payasam prepared with moong dal, raw rice, jaggery, coconut and cashew nuts. This payasam is easy to make with simple and healthy ingredients. You won't go wrong with this payasam and it is perfect for family get together or for any festivals. Raw rice works good for this payasam as it produces a nice aroma. Roasting the moong dals and raw rice produces an aromatic payasam. Make sure to use rice in lesser quantity because it expands after cooking and it will absorb the sweetness. Just a handful of rice has been enough for 1 cup moong dal. For payasam, pongal and other traditional desserts I always prefer pagu jaggery but if you can't find it, regular jaggery will work fine. The best way to prepare payasam is to cook slowly on low heat until smooth. We must stir it frequently to avoid sticking at the bottom. If the payasam cooked too quickly in the jaggery syrup it turns out very thick and your payasam will look like halwa. This payasam should have a smooth c...

A classic potato poriyal served for lemon rice or tamarind rice or rasam makes a delicious and unforgettable lunch experience for many of us. This potato poriyal is so easy to make but it is not quick. The potatoes must be cooked in pressure cooker and then roasted for a minimum of 20 minutes. The general rule for a perfect potato poriyal is that the potatoes should not be overcooked. If the potatoes are overcooked, then the poriyal turns mushy. Using a hard iron pan or indolium aluminium kadai is the best way to cook perfect potato poriyal. Depending on the thickness of the potatoes, roasting them at medium heat should require a cooking time between 15 to 20 minutes. I always prefer to cook these types  of dishes on medium heat, which helps to cook crisper on the outside of the potatoes. For this poriyal also I recommend our classic small onions, garlic and cumin paste  I have included below, but if you want to make it simple just red chilly powder is enough for this dis...

This is an easy and delicious halwa with nenthram pazham. You will be wondering how easy to make this halwa within 15 minutes. You will start with sauteing the riped banana pieces in ghee and then you have to add required sugar or jaggery. For toppings I prefer to use chopped badams instead of cashew nuts because it is good to have crunchy badams in the halwa. There is no need for any additonal flours like corn flour or wheat flour for this halwa. Ripe bananas are really great for this halwa because it gives you a nice texture and taste. While the halwa cools down you will get the perfect consistency to scoop. Now let's see how to prepare this quick and delicious halwa. Halwa recipes Potato Halwa Carrot Halwa Milk Halwa

Soups are prepared in many different ways but, most soups are made with finely chopped vegetables such as carrots, cabbages, capsicums, mushrooms, beans and spring onions. This soup is prepared with finely chopped carrots and capsicum. These vegetables require moderate time to cook and prefer to cook in sauce pan or vessel. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. Garlics are one of the best ingredients for flavouring the soups so please do not forget to add it. I have added a handful of noodles for this soup, to attract our kids. I have added little corn flour for this soup to thicken the soup but you can also prepare without any thickening agents. Now we will see how to prepare this easy and tasty carrot capsicum noodle soup. Soup recipes Mixed vegetable soup Vegetable clear soup

Small onion chutney prepared with small onions, red chillies, tamarind, asafoetida and black urid dal. Easy and flavourful chutney for idly and dosa. The best part in this chutney is the roasted black urid dals are added in the final stage of grinding. You can enjoy the crunchy urid dals in the chutney. The urid dals must be roasted well to get the perfect taste. If you are a fan of black urid dal and small onions, you will enjoy this chutney with idly or dosa. With a few everyday ingredients you can prepare this chutney easily within 10 minutes. The hard part in this chutney is peeling the small onions and it takes just 5 to 7 minutes. Now let us see how to prepare this easy chutney with step by step instructions. Recipe Video Chutneys for Idly and Dosa Tomato chutney Coconut chutney with red chillies Coconut chutney with green chillies Tomato chutney with green chillies

Coconut milk is rice prepared with basmati rice or jeera samba rice, fresh coconut milk, onions and few classic spices. You can prepare this light and flavorful rice within 15 minutes. There is no need for any spice powders or any other special ingredients. It's so simple to make and the lingering taste comes from the fresh coconut milk. Please spend an extra 10 minutes to prepare fresh coconut milk. There is no need to add any extra vegetables. I have fresh green peas in my refrigerator so decided to use it. In this dish I have used jeera samba rice, you can also substitute with millets too. You have to cook the rice on low heat. This helps to cook the rice evenly without turning mushy. Usually, coconut milk rice is served with any gravies or dry sabjis. This coconut milk rice tastes amazing with our traditional vegetable kurma. Now we will see how to prepare this Coconut milk rice with step by step instructions. Quick and easy Rice varieties for lunch box ...

Suraikai (bottle gourd) adais are healthy and filling dish for breakfast. These Suraikai (bottle gourd) adais are made with chana dal, toor dal, urid dal, rice and grated bottle gourd. This adai is very easy to make, nutritious and perfect way to include bottle gourd for all of us. Simply soak the dals, grind them and add the grated bottle gourd, chopped onions and curry leaves. These are the three simple methods needed to make these healthy adais. You can also add grated coconuts, chopped coriander leaves for this adai. You can serve this adai without any chutney and sambar. Check out my other similar tiffin recipes Millets and toor dal dosa Pepper dosa Tomato dosa

Sweet potato is a wonderful vegetable which can be cooked within 3 to 5 minutes. The natural sweetness in the potato is a nature's gift. You can simply eat this cooked sweet potatoes without any tempering or flavouring. This is such a great vegetable which can be enjoyed without much work. This poriyal is a best side dish for any kuzhambu and rice varieties. We like this dish very much and we finish the poriyal before lunch.  Cook the potatoes with little water for 3 to 5 minutes and then temper with the basic ingredients. For this poriyal also our classic coconut, small onion mixture is added for flavours. Check out my other vegetable side dishes recipes Carrot poriyal Snake gourd poriyal Beetroot poriyal Potato puttu

Beetroot kurma - thick creamy pink colour gravy for chapathi, poori and dosa. This kurma would surely impress your kids with its beautiful colour. I like to prepare kurma with different combinations. Based on the coconut paste, this kurma is also prepared, with easy cooking methods. Usually we add cashew nuts or fried grams in the coconut paste and then the masala paste is prepared. But for this kurma, I add the cashew nut paste at the end. The grated coconuts are ground along with tomatoes, ginger and a few spices and sauted in the oil. Then the cooked beetroots are added and then our basic ingredients like chilly powder, garam masala powder are added to the kurma. Finally the cashew paste and milk are added for thickening the kurma. Checkout my other Kurma recipes Paneer Kurma Hotel Vegetable Kurma Cauliflower Kurma Mushroom Kurma Carrot and Green peas Kurma