VIRUNDHOMBAL

 A simple sambar for your lunch made with drumstick leaves. Today my husband asked me to make sambar with just one vegetable or any one keerai.  Sometimes it's boring to add more vegetables in sambar when we pack them for their lunch boxes. There are no specific rules in adding different vegetables, but one vegetable is more than enough for sambar. This drumstick sambar is similar to our Tirunelveli sambar, but with a few variations in the cooking methods. For Tirunelveli Sambar, we add sambar powder while cooking the vegetables in the tamarind extract. But for this drumstick leaves sambar, we add sambar powder in the final stage. Generally for sambar prepared with greens, the sambar turns thick so I have decided to add it in the end. In this method, the drumstick leaves stay separate in the sambar and the consistency is also perfect to serve with rice. Make sure to separate the leaves from the stem without any thin sticks. I made a video of the Drumstick leaves sambar. Do check it

Green tomato pachadi is a tasty side dish prepared with green tomatoes, onions and green chillies as the main ingredients. It goes well with idli, dosa, curd rice and even chapathi. The green tomatoes are usually tangy when compared to red tomatoes and there is no need to add tamarind for the pachadi.  To make this green tomato pachadi you will need Onions - it adds a delicious sweetness to the dish. Make sure to slice the onions thinly, so that it will be blended well with the tomatoes.  Green chillies - as we are preparing pachadi with green tomatoes I don't want to lose the beautiful colour. So I have added green chillies in more quantities. You can increase or decrease the amount of green chillies, according to your spice level.  Green tomatoes - slice the tomatoes thinly because it takes more time to cook when compared to red tomatoes. In the final stage, I have mashed the tomatoes with a wooden masher, so you can get a smooth texture. If you prefer a chunky texture, cook t

Rasam powder recipe with step by step pictures and video. Once you prepare your own homemade rasam powder you won't buy store bought readymade powders. Today we are going to prepare rasam powder in small batches that stay good for longer. Also, it is easy to prepare within 20 minutes. In South India  every home has a different recipe to prepare rasam powder depending on their taste. This rasam powder is super flavourful and you can prepare any varieties like tomato rasam, paruppu rasam, garlic rasam etc.  Now let's see some important tips to prepare homemade rasam powder. Measure each ingredient in the right amount and roast the spices one by one in the correct heat till aromatic. Use fresh spices, not old ones. This is especially important for coriander seeds.  Use a heavy bottomed kadai or a flat pan for roasting the spices because the spices get roasted uniformly. Remember to stir often when roasting and do not burn them. Before you begin roasting the spices, take all the sp

Karamani Pulikuzhambu is another variety of pulikuzhambu with black eyed peas and brinjal. Black eyed peas are called karamani or thattapayaru in Tamil. We use thattapayaru in sundal or sometimes add in poriyal along with other veggies.  This karamani pulikuzhambu is similar to our Tirunelveli pulikuzhambu with a few variations. Drumstick pulikuzhambu and brinjal pulikuzhambu are quite popular in Tirunelveli. But it doesn't mean that you can make pulikuzhambu only with these two vegetables. You can make pulikuzhambu similarly with vathals, black chickpeas, bitter gourd, karunai kizhangu, etc. and you can use any one of these vegetables for this kuzhambu. But the taste varies a little depending upon the vegetables or vathals we add. Normally we reduce onions and garlic for pulikuzhambu made with vegetables because the garlic flavour will reduce the vegetables taste. For pulikuzhambu we don't make any separate powder and every time we prepare fresh masalas by roasting the spices

Sprouted green moong salad is very quick and easy to make within 10 minutes. This salad is also very light and you can have this for your breakfast.  It's also a filling dish and you feel energetic throughout the day. The best thing about salads is that you can add whatever you like with your favourite seasonings. I always like to include crunchy cucumbers, onions, green chillies, carrots and tomatoes. You can also include finely chopped cabbage, lettuce, capsicum or apple. To add flavour you can add pepper powder, chat masala powder or crushed black pepper or oregano. Just go with whatever you want. Finally, I want to add one more point, squeeze lemon juice just before serving the salad. Taste and add it little by little because lemon juice will change the taste if it exceeds. Now let's see how to prepare this salad.  Check out my other low calorie recipes Zero Oil Sprouted Green gram Dal Sprouts and Mushroom Dal Low calorie Rajma Masala Carrot Capsicum Stir Fry Sweet Potato S

Nenthram Pazham Pori is an instant evening snack and it just needs 4 ingredients and 20 minutes to prepare it. A traditional snack of Kerala and also in Nanjil cuisine.  I have tasted this very long time ago in a tea shop at Malamupuzha dam. Later, after discussing this recipe with my Rema athai, she shared the recipe with me. She used to prepare these pazham pori regularly, at least twice or thrice a month as evening snacks. The main ingredients used to make this pazham pori are nenthram pazham, maida, rice flour, sugar and cardamom powder. This pazham pori can also be made with wheat flour but you won't get the exact taste of it. Now a days nenthram pazhams are available throughout the year  and you can try this anytime for your kids. Few years ago, I tried this pazham pori for Aval Vikatan Nanjil recipes, but forgot to take the videos. I actually wanted to post it along with the video and yesterday tried it with just 2 nenthram pazham and it turned out very well and we all liked