VIRUNDHOMBAL

Karuppu Kavuni Rice Dosa is a unique and healthy South Indian tiffin recipe made using traditional black rice. This dosa stands out with its naturally beautiful purple color and rich flavor. When I first tried this recipe, I was amazed by how vibrant and appealing the dosa looked on the tawa. This recipe works well whether you grind the batter using a mixer or a wet grinder. For best taste and texture, thin dosas turn out better than thick (kal dosa) with this batter. Karuppu kavuni rice, also known as black rice, is highly nutritious. It is rich in antioxidants, especially anthocyanins, which give the rice its deep purple color. It is also a good source of fiber, iron, and protein, making it beneficial for digestion, heart health, and overall wellness. Compared to regular dosa rice, traditional varieties like karuppu kavuni and mappillai samba require longer soaking time, so make sure to soak for at least 7–8 hours. Since the rice and dal are soaked for a longer duration, fermentation...

Looking for a wholesome and filling tiffin option made with millets? This Jowar Flour Kozhukattai is a simple, nutritious, and delicious choice that works perfectly for both breakfast and dinner. Made with the goodness of jowar and rice rava, this recipe is light on the stomach yet keeps you satisfied for longer—making it an ideal dinner option if you prefer something light and healthy. One of the best parts about this recipe is its convenience. You can prepare the batter the previous night and refrigerate it, making your morning cooking quick and hassle-free. The batter is ground with red chillies and asafoetida, which adds a wonderful aroma and enhances the overall flavour of the kozhukattai. Unlike regular rava, this recipe uses idli rava (rice rava), which gives a soft texture and makes the dish more wholesome. The soaked rice rava is ground with chana dal, spices, and jowar flour to form a thick batter. It is then tempered with mustard seeds, urad dal, onions, green ch...

There are endless varieties of masalas and gravies in our everyday cooking. These days, I consciously try to prepare most dishes using minimal oil and without adding rich ingredients like fresh cream or cashew paste. Personally, I feel that light gravies and simple masalas are easier to digest and also give a lot of satisfaction after a meal. Rich, cream-based gravies can always be enjoyed occasionally, maybe once a month — that’s my personal choice. Today, I got fresh cauliflower and tender green peas, and I decided to make a simple homestyle masala using very little oil and no cream. By lightly roasting the vegetables and cooking them in a well-balanced onion-tomato masala, the flavour turned out so comforting and delicious. This kind of curry feels light on the stomach, yet full of taste, making it perfect for everyday meals. This Cauliflower Peas Potato Masala pairs beautifully with chapati, roti or rice and is a great example of how simple ingredients, when cooked with care, can c...

This Mushroom Kurma is a simple, flavourful one-pot recipe that can be prepared within 20 minutes. It has a light, well-balanced gravy without heavy cream or cashew paste, making it perfect for everyday cooking. During our recent Christmas long weekend trip to Ilanji, we tasted this delicious mushroom kurma in a small hotel near Virudhunagar. Because of heavy traffic in Madurai, our lunch got delayed and it was already around 4 PM. Most hotels had no meals available, so we stopped at a small roadside restaurant. There was no crowd, but the food turned out to be surprisingly good. We ordered parotta and mushroom kurma, and the gravy was incredibly tasty. I enjoyed it so much that I asked the cook about the recipe. He kindly shared the base gravy ingredients, which inspired me to recreate this kurma at home. This mushroom kurma has the perfect consistency—not too thick and not too watery—making it ideal for parotta, dosa, chapathi, and idiyappam. If you prefer light, flavourful gravies o...

Today, let’s prepare a soft, healthy, and delicious Little Millet (Samai) Idli, a perfect millet-based tiffin for breakfast or dinner. This recipe is completely rice-free, making it a great option for those looking to include more millets in their daily diet. I regularly prepare millet tiffins for dinner and have tried many millet recipes like millet khichadi, millet dosa, and millet kozhukattai. After experimenting with different methods, I understood one important rule while cooking with millets – proper soaking is the key. For easy digestion and soft texture, millets should be soaked for at least 3 hours. But for recipes like millet idli and dosa, soaking for a minimum of 5 hours gives the best results. Another important tip is to use a slightly higher quantity of urad dal compared to regular rice idli batter. This helps in achieving soft and fluffy idlis. By following these simple steps, you can easily prepare nutritious, light, and tasty millet idlis at home. This recipe has alrea...

Looking for a delicious and guilt-free curry that doesn’t compromise on taste? Try this Oil-Free Vegetable Kurma – a wholesome, light and flavorful South Indian-style kurma made without a single drop of oil or dairy. This kurma is a perfect blend of fresh vegetables, onions, tomatoes, whole spices and a fragrant coconut paste. Everything is pressure cooked together to lock in the flavor and nutrition, resulting in a creamy, aromatic kurma that pairs beautifully with chapati, dosa, idiyappam, aapam and even plain rice.  Why You’ll Love This Oil-Free Kurma: No Oil Used – Completely free from refined oil or ghee, yet rich in taste Dairy-Free – No curd, cream, butter or milk – making it light and vegan-friendly Easy to Digest – Steamed vegetables and natural spices support better digestion Wholesome & Nutritious – Packed with vitamins, fiber and healthy fats from coconut Perfect for Healthy Eating – Ideal for weight-watchers, post-illness recovery, or clean eating diets Simple Ingr...

Tomato Puli Milagai is a unique and flavorful side dish recipe that holds a special memory for me. A few years ago, I prepared this dish for idli during my Grandpa’s visit, and he loved it so much that he gave it its name – Tomato Puli Milagai. Though it’s a simple one-pot recipe, I had postponed sharing it until now. Finally, I’ve recorded a step-by-step video to guide you through this delicious dish! This mildly spiced Tomato Puli Milagai is made with small onions, green chillies, juicy red tomatoes, mustard seeds, fenugreek, jaggery, asafoetida, and curry leaves. It's packed with authentic South Indian flavor and comes together in just 20 minutes, making it the perfect side dish for idli, dosa, or even curd rice. Is Tomato Puli Milagai Spicy? Not really! It's a mild to medium-spicy dish. The green chillies blend beautifully with the tomatoes, mellowing the overall heat. You can adjust the number of green chillies to suit your taste. What Makes This Dish So Delicious? Small o...

Today we are going to see a delicious South Indian style paneer kurma made with a combination of all the spices. A perfect kurma that you can pair with dosa, chapathi, rice, poori and other tiffin items.  My search for gravy, especially kurma varieties, has been my long-time interest. More than dry curry, I prefer kurma varieties and explore different options. Also, I like to prepare kurma to pair it with different tiffin or rice dishes. This paneer kurma is also one such recipe. The coconut oil, coconut, fennel, cumin, red chillies, coriander seeds and whole garam masala make this kurma lip-smackingly yummy and a perfect rich kurma. You can very well make this kurma with mushroom, cauliflower, soya chunks or mixed vegetables.  Similar Recipes Green Peas and Paneer Gravy  Paneer Butter Masala   Paneer Methi Masala Shahi Gobi Masala Broccoli Masala Rajma Masala   Mushroom Butter Masala Easy Chana Masala  Easy Moth Dal Sabji   Green Peas Masala...

Drumstick Leaves Adai - packed with everything you need to start your day with healthy ingredients. This healthy tiffin will give you the energy for the full day. This adai is a balanced meal with a good portion of carbohydrate and protein. I would recommend trying this healthy adai for your weekend breakfast to enjoy it leisurely.  Drumstick Leaves Adai Recipe Details  Prep time : 15 minutes Soaking time : 2 hours Cooking time : 20 minutes Yields : 10 medium adai Category : tiffin Ingredients 1 cup idli rice 1/2 cup chana dal 1/4 cup urid dal 2 green chilly 10 red chilly 1 cup drumstick leaves 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder few curry leaves 1 onion, finely chopped coconut oil salt to taste Cooking Directions  Take a wide bowl or vessel and add the rice, chana dal and urid dal. Wash them well and pour 2 cups of water. Soak them well for 2 hours. After 2 hours drain the water completely. Add the soaked dals, dried red chillies, green chillies to a big mixer jar.  Grind the...

Rajma masala - simple and filling home style gravy with rajma. Most gravy recipes would include cashew or fresh cream, but I always like side dishes with simple ingredients which are easy to digest without any burning sensation in the stomach.  Compared with many gravies, this rajma masala does seem like the healthy option with minimal fat and masalas. By preparing favourite curries at home, you can easily reduce calories, fat and artificial flavours. The base gravy made with onion and tomato paste won't be as creamy as the restaurant style gravies, but it will have more delicate flavour and it is much healthier. To make the base masala paste, just grind the onions and tomatoes separately in a mixer jar. As I mentioned earlier in my previous gravy posts, try to use fresh ginger garlic paste. This fresh paste made with onions, tomatoes make a fantastic base to gravies with a bit of sweetness. I have used chana masala powder in this recipe instead of garamasala powder in this recipe ...