VIRUNDHOMBAL

Vazhaipoo vadai is a  popular evening snack in Tamil Nadu. They are made with ground chana dal, chopped vazhaipoo, onions, curry leaves and asafoetida. These vadas are packed with fiber from vazhaipoo and protein from chana dal. You won't feel hungry for a few hours after eating these vadas. This vazhaipoo vadai is very easy to make but you have to follow the steps carefully to get the authentic taste. The first step is to soak the chana dal in a plenty of water for 3 to 4 hours. After 3 hours, drain the water completely using a colander.   Take a big mixer jar and grind the fennel seeds, green chillies and red chillies and then add the drained chana dal to it.  Grind the chana dal mixture coarsely without any water and transfer it to the mixing bowl. If it is difficult to grind it without water, just sprinkle a few drops of water and grind it. Do not add more water because it will not hold up and will separate in the oil while frying. For best results gr...

Spicy Tomato Rice - rice prepared with onions, tomatoes, whole garam masala and coconut milk. Easy one pot rice dish within 30 minutes.   During my school days I saw this dish in a TV cookery show prepared by the  Chef. Shanthi Balram madam. We prepare this rice frequently and it is one of our favourite rice for lunch box. It is such a flavourful rice with a few basic ingredients in your kitchen. In this recipe I used jeera samba rice, but you can use basmati rice or ponni raw rice. The first thing we need to do is to extract fresh coconut milk because we are going to cook the rice in coconut milk. Then proceed with the chopping works and the grinding works. Cooking the rice is not more than 20 minutes. For flavours I have added cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, mint leaves and sprinkled a half teaspoon of garamasala powder. I have added green chillies with ginger garlic paste and also while sauteing the onions. You can add as you prefer. I have not added any other addit...

Badam burfi - these melt in your mouth burfis are prepared with just three ingredients - badam, sugar and ghee. The perfect dessert for gifting to your friends, potluck and also for festivals. For badam katlis we add powdered sugar to the ground badam paste. But for burfis no need to powder the sugar. The ground badam paste is cooked along with the sugar for 20 to 25 minutes. No need to worry about the one string or soft ball consistency for this burfi. I have not added any other flavours for this sweet, but if you want you can add it. First, we have to do is to soak the badam. You can soak the badam filled with cold water and cover it with a lid and let it soak overnight. In the morning, gently squeeze the badam to remove the skin. Another method is to add the badam to a rapidly boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, drain the water and peel the skin completely. Next, add the badam to a mixer jar and grind it to a smooth paste. The most important thing, you...

This coconut garlic green chilly thuvaiyal/chutney is an easy accompaniment for dosa, wheat dosa, ragi dosa or any other tiffin varieties made with rice. There is no need for sauteing or any tempering. For this thuvaiyal we grind the  raw garlic cloves, fresh green chillies, fresh coconuts with little tamarind. Garlic is a primary ingredient in our food items and in this dish we use raw garlics. Consuming raw garlics in our diet help to lower cholesterol levels and regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels. We frequently prepare this healthy thuvaiyal for dinner and it is easy too. Similar Chutney Recipes Tomato chutney Tomato chutney with green chillies Small onion chutney with black urid dal Coconut chutney with red chillies Coconut chutney with green chillies Brinjal chutney with red chillies Onion garlic coconut chutney Small onion chutney

Chickpeas and potato kurma - prepared with chickpeas(kondaikadalai), potato and flavoured with onions, tomato and whole garam masala. A perfect side to chapathi, poori, dosa and aapam. Kurmas are especially a special dish in Tamil Nadu with different varieties. In most of the South Indian restaurants this chickpeas potato kurma is served as a side dish for chola poori. My son Siva like this chickpeas kurma for poori very much. Most of the time I prepare potato masala or chana masala for poori but now a days Siva is asking me to prepare this kurma for poori. The best kind of kurmas are the ones with a correct balance of flavours without much oil. I learned these tips with lots of experiments with kurma. For this kurma there is no need to add cashew nuts, poppy seeds or any other fresh creams for a thick consistency. The onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and whole garam masala is ground to a thick paste along with fresh coconut. The fennel seeds add a mild sweetness to th...

Aval Varatiyathu - prepared with aval, jaggery, coconut, cashew nuts, fried grams and black sesame.  This dish is a popular sweet in Nanjil that's easy to make and tastes like karthigai vella pori. In most of the Nanjil dishes they add a good amount of coconut and jaggery. For this dish use samba thin aval or white thin aval. Here we are going to saute the aval in a thick jaggery syrup, so no need to soak the aval. So do not use the thick variety aval because it will take more time to cook and it will also be harder. For 2 cups of aval add 1 cup of jaggery which will be perfect to coat the aval evenly. The coconut gratings can be added at the final stage without frying or you can add it while frying the cashew nuts. The roasted black sesame seeds add a nice flavour to any of the jaggery based desserts so do not skip it. With a wonderful balance of flavours the dish tastes so good. When tasting the sweet, you can feel how each mouthful is loaded with wonderful flavours. Ch...

Vazhaikkai thuvattal - classic dish from Nagercoil, which is simple yet tasty. Vazhaikkais are one of the vegetables that are widely used in South Indian foods. There are so many side dishes made with vazhaikkai which goes well with all kuzhambu or rice varieties. No one can say no to the side dishes prepared with vazhaikkai. The coconut masala grounded along with small onions and cumin add more flavor to this dish. Generally for vazhaikkai or any other roasts the vegetables must be roasted in a hard kadai on medium until crisp. Then only it tastes good. In this dish, the vazhaikkai cubes are precooked and then roasted in a kadai along with the ground masala. In most of Nagercoil dishes, the turmeric powder is added along with the vegetables while cooking. This helps to get uniform colour to the dish. You can also add turmeric powder while grinding the coconut also. This is similar to our Tirunelveli vazhaikkai poriyal dish with a few variations. I like this vazhaikkai thuvattal...

Green peas coconut milk curry - an easy curry for idiyappam, aapam, chapathi or poori with green peas, coconut milk, garlic, green chillies coriander seeds powder and onions. It takes only 20 to 30 minutes to cook the curry. I personally like to use dried green peas for this dish as they are soft with a creamy texture. Yellow peas or fresh green peas also taste good. Adjust the pressure cooking time depending on the soaking time of your peas. The coconut milk is the base of this curry, so do not make it too thin or thick. If you are using store bought coconut milk, then dilute the coconut milk with required water. To avoid the curry from curdling, cook the curry on low heat only for 2 to 3 minutes after adding the coconut milk. For this curry no need to add any other additional flavours like garamasala powder. Just the ground paste prepared with garlic, green chillies and coriander powder. This paste adds a nice colour and flavours to the curry. The green chillies must be sa...

Puli Keerai - This kuzhambu is actually called as puli milagatha keerai in Tirunelveli which is prepared with puli (tamarind), milagaivattral (red chilly) and arai keerai (spinach). This is a quick kuzhambu which can be done within 20 minutes.   There is no chopping works or pressure cooking works for this kuzhambu. If you clean the greens in ahead of time, then it is so easy to prepare. We normally use arai keerai for this kuzhambu. You can also use mulai keerai. The greens along with soft stems are cooked with tamarind and roasted chillies & asafoetida and then made into a puree. The greens puree is further cooked for a few minutes and finished with the basic tempering. This kuzhambu is best with a bowl of warm rice along with vazhaikkai varuval or potato poriyal . Making puli keerai kuzhambu is simple when compared with keerai kootu or poriyal. As we add tamarind in this dish, a add good amount of red chillies because if you reduce it won't taste good. Now let's ...

Ginger pachadi - prepared with ginger, tamarind, red chillies, coriander seeds and jaggery. Ginger pachadi can be prepared in different ways. For our Sodhi kuzhambu , this ginger pachadi or ginger thuvaiyal is a must dish to include in our diet as it helps in proper digestion. Plus, it reduces the bad cholesterol in our body. One day my husband mixed this ginger pachadi with a bowl of warm rice and he named it as Ginger puliyodarai. Like pulikachal we add coriander seeds, red chillies, tamarind extract asafoetida & jaggery in this pachadi also. For these types of pachadi recipes gingely oil, asafoetida and jaggery are the three ingredients which enhances the taste. Now let's see how to prepare Ginger pachadi with step by step instructions. Here is a short video for Ginger Pachadi   Similar  recipes Narthangai Pachadi  Puli milagai  Amla thokku Raw mango thokku Tomato thokku Garlic thokku