VIRUNDHOMBAL

Today we are going to see another lip-smacking South Indian thokku recipe — Red Chilli Fruit Thokku. This vibrant and flavorful thokku is made using fresh red chilli fruits, giving it a gorgeous orange-red hue and a perfect mix of spice, tang, and sweetness. My husband, Madhav, loves vegetable shopping and always brings home colourful vegetables and fresh chillies. Every Sunday, our kitchen turns into a splash of colours with ginger, green chillies, and keerai. Whenever he finds these beautiful red chilli fruits, our dishes turn into different shades of orange — from coconut chutney to mor kuzhambu and aviyal! This time, I decided to try a Red Chilli Fruit Thokku, and it turned out so delicious. The colour, flavour, and aroma were simply irresistible!The secret to making a perfect thokku lies in using a good amount of oil, salt, and spice, and balancing it with a touch of jaggery. Also, always cook thokku in a heavy-bottomed kadai for the best texture and flavour. Similar recipes Amla ...

Paruppu podi is a healthy, protein rich dish with very simple ingredients. I personally enjoy this paruppu podi with (suda suda sadham) hot rice, appalam and ghee. I wanted to post this paruppu podi for a long time, and recently got the recipe from my mom with exact measurements. As it is the fasting season now, this paruppu podi will be perfect to mix with the pacharisi sadham. Also, this is a perfect podi to send to your children who study abroad.  There are many different ways to prepare paruppu podi. We usually follow this method, and it stays good for 2 months if stored in an airtight container. To make this paruppu podi, measure all the ingredients and keep them ready to roast. I would like to share some important tips to make perfect paruppu podi.  To get the best result, ensure the dals and spices are fresh and clean. For uniform roasting, I recommend roasting all the ingredients on a medium heat.  Red chillies and peppercorns are added for the spiciness. You can ...

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 textu...

Garlic Thokku (pickle) is the perfect condiment for many dishes like rava upma, dal kichidi, roti and curd rice. A thokku is  a condiment, which is basically a pickle consisting of methods like preparing the fenugreek powder, sauteing the ingredients using gingely oil. It also follows the addition of good amount of red chilly powder, asafoetida powder and a small piece of jaggery.  Today we are going to see thokku using garlic cloves. It's very simple and healthy. The only hard part of  this dish, is peeling the garlic cloves. To keep your work simple, peel the garlic cloves or you can finish it when you watch a movie on the TV. After peeling the garlic cloves, it's just a 15 minutes work and you can enjoy a healthy homemade pickle for 2 to 3 months without any added preservatives. It's always better to prepare homemade pickle with your seasonal ingredients like mangoes, garlics, tomatoes, etc.. Small softneck garlics are best suited for pickles. Gingely oil, red...

Coriander leaves/Kothamalli thuvaiyal is a simple condiment for curd rice with a unique taste. Flavourful and healthy thuvaiyal. Kothamalli thuvaiyal and curd rice is a favourite lunch for my father. It was such a great accompaniment for the curd rice. There are a few basics for this thuvaiyal that you must follow to achieve a tasty thuvaiyal. I prefer to use only the leaves for this thuvaiyal. So separate each leaf from the stem and then grind it. Just make sure to use fresh coriander leaves for this dish. The red chillies must be roasted for a second and then grind along with the fresh coriander leaves. Don't forget to add the tamarind because it helps to keep the thuvaiyal best for 2 to 3 days. After grinding the coriander paste do not saute them in the oil for too long because it will lose the wonderful flavours from the coriander leaves. You have to saute them in the oil just for a few minutes. Now let's see how to prepare this coriander leaves thuvaiyal. Checkout ...

Pirandai is a creeper which has so many health benefits. Pirandai thuvaiyal is good for all digestion problems like indigestion, lack of appetite and gastritis. I learnt this recipe from my grandma which has a nice flavour of black urid dal. We have to add more tamarind to prevent the itching in the tongue after eating this. Wear gloves or grease your hands with sesame oil before chopping it. You can serve this thuvaiyal as an accompaniment for curd rice, idly and dosa or you can mix it with the hot rice and a tsp of ghee. 

Amla/ Nellikai/Gooseberry Pickle Amla Pickle - perfect a ccompaniment for curd rice, parathas and rotis. My mother makes this easy and delicious Amla pickle whenever she finds good amlas. For pickles she always prefers fresh amlas without any black spots or dull skin. The amlas are thinly sliced and then deep fried in oil. The deep fried amla slices or further seasoned with chilly powder, asafoetida powder, tamarind extract, jaggery and fenugreek powder. I frequently prepare this amla pickle because the entire recipe takes less than 30 minutes with minimal processing. You can feel the flavour of amlas in every bite. This pickle packs a lot of flavour using the simplest ingredients. 

In most of our houses we prepare either coconut chutney with red chillies or green chillies as an accompaniment for idlies and dosas. Sometimes these two chutneys are really boring on regular rotations. One day my Chithi(aunt) taught me this different tomato chutney with green chillies. Normally for tomato chutney we add dried red chillies or red chilly powder, but in this dish the tomatoes are cooked along with green chillies and then made into a paste. The paste is further sauted with onions and flavoured with little sambar powder. The combination of the green chillies and tomatoes pair each other perfectly and perfect side dish for idly, dosa, pongal and upma.    Checkout my other recipes with tomatoes.  Tomato Onion Thokku Tomato  Rasam Tomato Sabji Tomato Pasta Tomato Thokku Tomato Millet rice Tomato Jam  Spicy Tomato Rice  Tomato Dosa  Tomato Coconut Chutney   Tomato Kurma  Tomato Rice   Tomato chutney  ...

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. .

Black sesame seeds / Ellu Podi for idly and dosa A best accompaniment for idly and dosa is black sesame idly podi. You will eat more dosa after preparing this. Definitely it will be your family favourite side dish for idly and dosa.

Puli Milagai is a spicy and tangy side dish served with idly, dosa and curd rice. This is an interesting and tasty side dish or condiment from Tirunelveli. For this recipe use medium hot chillies so that after cooking in tamarind extract the heat reduces a bit. My mother recommends to prepare by sauteing the green chillies with little oil and grind it without any water and then add this green paste to the tamarind mixture. This method is also nice, and you will get the consistency like thokku.   The tangy flavour of the tamarind is blended well with the spicy green chillies and a little sweetness from the jaggery. Enjoy this tangy and spicy puli milagi with your everyday meal. Now let's see how to prepare this Puli milagai with step by step photos.

This easy thokku is the most delicious way to use up your raw mangoes.Raw mango thokku is a popular condiment that accompanies many South Indian foods and also for the rotis. This thokku is slightly sweet and mildly hot. I particularly like them with a bowl of curd rice. I like to use fenugreek powder in my thokku as it has more authentic flavour. Please don't forget to add it because you will enjoy the flavour when you taste the thokku. The totapuri mangoes (kili mooku mangoes) taste best for this thokku. This thokku is the perfect way to use the seasonal produce you found at the market or in your garden. Make this thokku a large batch to give your friends and relatives so that they also can enjoy it. Let's see how to prepare this raw mango thokku with step by step photos.

This recipe is an easy way to use up amlas(gooseberries). The simplest and best side dish for our curd rice is our pickles and thokku.Making and storing your own thokku at home is healthy and interesting. Now let's see how to prepare this crunchy amla thokku.