VIRUNDHOMBAL

Pasalaikeerai Kootu - prepared with pasalaikeerai, moong dal, coconut paste, onions and tomatoes. Today I am going to share the kootu recipe with homegrown pasalaikeerai leaves. This keerai has broad leaves with a tiny pink colour flower in it. These greens can be planted all the time and they will grow quickly. After plucking the leaves try to use them immediately because you will lose the taste when refrigerated.  Making this kootu is quite easy. The first step is to chop the greens. This greens have no tough work for cleaning and chopping when compared to other greens. For this greens, no need to include the stems because it is hard and takes more time to cook. After chopping works you can start preparing the kootu. Just like any kootu recipes, you can add whatever dals you want to make this kootu healthy. It's also a great dish to mix with a bowl of warm rice so that you don't need to prepare any kuzhambu. Now we will see how to prepare Pasalaikeerai kootu with a shor...

Palak Paneer - delicious gravy made with paneer, palak leaves, onions, tomatoes and fresh cream. This gravy does not take a lot of effort to prepare, it simply requires two steps like sauteing and grinding the greens. During my college days I saw this recipe in a cookbook by Chef. Mallika Badrinath madam, which was so easy to make with simple steps. Usually I follow this method for this gravy. Palak leaves tend to cook easily, so we have to keep an eye on it when sauteing the leaves. For this gravy no need to blanch the leaves  because it takes more time and I also noticed a raw smell of the leaves in the gravy. In this recipe, the leaves are sauted in a drop of oil along with green chillies for 3 minutes. After that grind it along with the sauted onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger. To flavour the gravy I have added garamasala powder in minimal amount, but if you want you can add as you like. In the final stage 1/4 cup of grated panner is added to enhance the taste. Fresh cr...

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 ...

In our motherland there are so many varieties of greens. Different varieties of greens such as murungai keerai, ponnangani keerai, manathakkali keerai, agathi keerai are nature's gift for us because there are so many health benefits in each and every greens. Cooking greens properly is very important for digestion. Particularly, for agathi keerai poriyal, we have to cook the leaves well because the leaves are thick and  it takes more time to cook when compared to other greens.

Methi (Fenugreek) leaves Poriyal - simple and healthy side dish for your lunch with 5 basic ingredients. For methi leaves poriyal, there is no need to chop the greens. Just remove the leaves from the stem and wash it well for 3 to 5 times because it has more mud and sand when compared to other greens. The aroma in the kitchen was very nice when we saute the methi leaves. Methi leaves poriyal tastes good when made with fresh leaves. I recommend making it the same day, but if you have busy mornings just pluck the leaves and keep it in a ziploc bag.

Today we are going to see a beautiful green colour dosa, which is prepared with a healthy mudakathan keerai (balloon vine leaves). This mudakathan keerai (balloon vine leaves) has so much of health benefits. The health benefits of mudakathan keerai (balloon vine leaves) include it relieves joint pains, treats cold and cough, helps in treating diarrhoea etc. Try to include this medicinal herb monthly twice or thrice in your regular diet. The best way to include this keerai is to prepare this dosa. There is no bitterness in the dosa and it tastes so good.

Manathakkali keerai has thin leaves which are best suitable for poriyal. In fact, removing the manathakkali leaves from the stem is very easy too. This manathakkali keerai is same as my other keerai poriyal recipes. For most of my keerai dishes you will see I have included lots of onions, cooked dals and ground coconut paste. These ingredients would help to add more taste. Additionally, these ingredients (cooked dal & coconut paste) tend to remove the bitterness in the manathakkali keerai and also in the vendhayakeerai dishes. These two keerai has a mild bitterness in the leaves. Grinding the coconut paste is just a few minutes work, so don't avoid it. In all our poriyal recipes we add all healthy ingredients like small onions, garlic cloves, cumin and coconut. These all are super foods that are good for your health and you can add to your daily diet.

Red Ponnangani keerai thuvaram is prepared with onions, coconut small onions paste and with cooked moong dal or toor dal. This red ponnangani keerai has so many medicinal  benefits. After removing these leaves from this greens, you can plant these stems in a small pot or in your backyard. This greens require regular watering. It grows well within a  few weeks and you can pick the fresh leaves from the stem for cooking. For any greens poriyal/thuvaram I add some cooked toor dal or moong dal along with the coconut masala. Because it gives you a nice taste and flavour to the dish. In this dish I have added cooked moong dal and the coconut paste. Make sure to cook the greens well. This ponnangani keerai requires some time to cook. For any dishes  prepared with greens regular sauteing is very important. Now we will see how to prepare this poriyal. Checkout my other keerai recipes Siru keerai thuvaram Murungai keerai thuvaram Paruppu keerai kootu Manathakkali keer...

Ponnangani keerai rice - a healthy and easy lunch recipe for your busy weekdays. For this dish I have used the greens which have dark green leaves with pink shade. It has many health benefits for the eye, hair and skin. These leaves are used as an important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicines for wounds, cough and diabetes. We prepare kootu and poriyal with this keerai. One day my husband told me to prepare rice with this keerai. We always include plentiful of greens in our regular cooking. To add some protein I have added sprouts in this rice. If you do not have this greens you can replace it with drumstick leaves or methi leaves. Include more greens in your diet for 3 days in a week. This rice can make you energised throughout the day. For more recipes with greens(keerai) click here for  Greens(Keerai) recipes.  Manathakkali keerai kootu Paruppu keerai kootu Siru keerai thuvaram Murungai keerai thuvaram Keerai Sambar

This manathakkali keerai/black night shade greens has so many health benefits and try to take this keerai frequently into your regulars. This keerai is used to treat mouth ulcer problems, relief from colds and liver ailments. You can find this greens in most markets. When buying fresh greens, look for greens with small white flowers and tiny green or black berries. Avoid purchasing the greens with big leaves and without any berries. In this recipe,  I have added both the coconut paste and coconut milk. If you are not a big fan of this keerai, I will assure you will like this keerai after eating this kootu. Even kids  love them too with a bowl of warm rice with a swril of ghee over the rice. If you like this method do try this recipe. Video Link

Keerai Sambar/ Sambar with greens Greens sambar is a wonderful combination of dal, greens and onions. It goes well with rice and even chapatis or poori. This sambar is easy and simple to make and won't take much of your time.  You can use any type of keerai(greens) for this sambar. In this recipe I have used paruppu keerai.  If you want, you can add 1/4 cup of ground coconut paste when adding toor dal. Instead of toor dal you can add moong dal or masoor dal. Raw mango enhances the flavour and taste of the sambar. If you don't like raw mangoes, substitute with little tamarind juice or 1 more tomato.

Paruppu Keerai (Common purslane greens ) Kootu/ Greens with dal I always like to work any greens into our diet because they are just good for you and I happen to know these types of kootu are really delicious with any South Indian meals and also for rotis & parathas. I like paruppu keerai greens very much because it's flavorful and quite healthy. I added some chopped tomatoes for taste and soaked moong dal for thickness and as usual, small onions coconut paste for the flavours. You can eat them as a side dish or you can mix it in a bowl of plain rice and eat it as a meal. I kept the ingredients pretty simple, but if you want to make it rich you could add some chopped garlics, green chillies or even some chopped big onions. The amount of kootu that this recipe makes will vary a quite bit depending on the size of the keerai(greens) bunch. My kootu yielded about 2 cups, but you could even add another bunch if you want more. Similar Keerai Recipes Mudakathan Keerai Dos...

Puli illa kuzhambu is another popular kuzhambu from Tirunelveli. It is prepared with drumstick leaves, pepper, jeera and toor dal or moong dal. It tastes best when served hot with a tsp of ghee spread over the hot rice. Make this kuzhambu for your weekend lunch so that the whole family can enjoy the dish. Yam fry, ladies finger fry and koozh vathal are the best accompaniment for this kuzhambu. The drumstick leaves are the main ingredient in this kuzhambu and if you do not have in your hand simply prepare with brinjals and drumsticks. Now let's see how to prepare this spicy kuzhambu. Best side dishes for Puli illa kuzhambu are Senaikizhangu Poriyal ,   Ladies finger(Okra) Poriyal  Carrot Poriyal  Snake gourd poriyal Check out my other Kuzhambu recipes here Vellai curry (Sambar without dal) Pepper Pulikuzhambu Mint leaves (Pudhina) Pulikuzhambu  Brinjal Kothsu(Brinjal puree in tamarind sauce) Curry Leaves Karakuzhambu Kara Kuzhambu with Sunda...

This drumstick leaves thuvaram is a unique side dish in South Indian cuisine. They're made with little cooked toor dal and ground coconut, jeera paste. Finally 1 tbsp of coconut oil is added to enhance the taste and it prevents the leaves to stick each other. This drumstick leaves thuvaram/stir fry is a best side dish for pulikuzhambu , sambar and any South Indian kuzhambu varieties. Let's see how to prepare this Drumstick leaves thuvaram with step by step photos.

Siru keerai/ Tropical Amarnath greens is such a super nutritious green, you want it to eat it as often as you can. It has calcium and iron in abundant quantity. We can prepare sambar, kootu, vada, oothapam and many dishes with this keerai. This siru keerai thuvaram is a very popular, healthy and of course tasty side dish too. In Tirunelveli, people used to say as kothikeerai for this dish.In this recipe the ground paste adds a lot of flavour to the thuvaram and cooked toor dal enhances the taste. Try this yummy thuvaram with any type of keerai. Let's see how to prepare Siru keerai thuvaram with step by step photos.