VIRUNDHOMBAL

ஆச்சி, தாத்தாவின் கைகளைப் பற்றிக்கொண்டே நடைபோட்ட சிறு வயது நினைவுகள் என் மனத்தில் குட்டி குட்டி இன்ஸ்டா ரீல்ஸ் போல நிழலாடிக்கொண்டே இருக்கின்றன. ஆண்டுதோறும் இரண்டு மாத கோடை விடுமுறையில் எண்ணற்ற மகிழ்ச்சியான சம்பவங்கள் நடப்பது வழக்கம். கூடவே சிலபல த்ரில் சம்பவங்களும் உண்டு. ஒரு வகையில் அவ்விரண்டுமே நம்மை ரசிக்க வைக்கும். ஆச்சி, தாத்தா,  மாமா, சித்தி  என்று உறவுகளின் மூலம் ஏராளமான அனுபவப் பாடங்களை  80'ஸ் & 90'ஸ் கிட்ஸ் நிறைய நிறைய கற்றுக் கொண்டோம். அவர்கள் சொல்வதை எந்த எதிர்ப்புமின்றி கேட்டுக்கொண்டோம்.‌ அப்படித்தான் வாழ்க்கையின் எல்லா சுவைகளையும் ரசிக்கப் பழகினோம்.‌ ஃப்ளாஷ்பேக்! ஒருமுறை கோடை விடுமுறைக்கு ஆச்சி என்னையும் தங்கையும் திருச்சியிலிருந்து அழைத்துச் சென்றார். அப்படியே மதுரைக்குச் சென்று தம்பியையும் அழைத்துக்கொண்டு தூத்துக்குடிக்குச் சென்றோம். பேரன் பேத்திகள் மட்டும் தனியாக ஒரு மாதம் ஆச்சி தாத்தாவோடு கழித்தோம். எங்கள் ஆச்சி தாத்தா இருவருமே ஜாலியாக இருப்பார்கள்... அதே நேரத்தில் அவசியமான கண்டிப்பும் உண்டு. அப்படி அவர்கள் கண்டிப்போடு‌ நடந்துகொள்ளும்போது கொஞ்சம் கோபம...

This is a simple home style kichadi or kothsu made with onions, tomatoes, potatoes and other basic ingredients. The recipe of this potato kichadi is an easy one pot dish and yet tastes so good. Nowadays, kichadis are excellent comfort food for the busy weekdays with different types of vegetables.  There are some most important tips to make the delicious kichadi to your taste. First of all, the kichadi needs to have the perfect texture. Usually for kichadi dishes we mash the cooked vegetables halfway leaving half of the vegetables in small chunks. This will give a perfect texture which is suitable for idli and dosa. But if you prefer a smooth consistency, you can blend it in a mixer jar or adding dals is an easy way to thicken the kichadi. In this recipe, we are using potato as it gives a creamy texture there is no need to add dals. For this kichadi a tablespoon of idli batter is added to make it thicker. Please do not add more than one tablespoon and also do not boil the kichadi lo...

Pearl millet is a perfect tiffin for relaxed weekends at home. It is a better way to introduce millet-based dishes for your kids for weekend breakfast.  I like the mild flavour in the pearl millet especially in the dosas. You can smell the mild flavour while cooking the dosas. Pearl millet is called kambu in Tamil and bajra in Hindi is a gluten free whole grain. Due to its numerous health benefits, we have to include in our diet monthly twice or thrice. Kambu flour is mostly used for making instant dosas, and roti. This is a fermented dosa batter recipe and I have used whole pearl millets, rice, black urid dal and fenugreek. I soak the pearl millets along with the rice for 4 hours. Soaking the pearl millets for a longer time helps to blend them better and have perfect soft fluffy texture. You can replace black urid dal with white urid dal. This pearl millet dosa is similar to our mulu ulundhu dosa. This dosa tastes good with small onions chutney, onion garlic onion chutney and ellu...

Idli upma are quite popular in Tirunelveli and I like them very much, especially with a cup of filter coffee. As much as I like to experiment with new dishes, I also like to create a new dish with the leftovers. But this is our grandma's idli upma recipe with leftover idlies. This idli upma is straight forward. We first crumble the leftover idlies with little gingely  oil. During any occasions, if you have a lot of store bought leftover idlies or if your idlies are hard my grandma recommends dipping the idlies in water for a second and then we have to crumble the idlies to get the soft texture. We always Iike to add chopped small onions for idli upma and it's super delicious to taste the crispy curry leaf and the chunky onions in the upma. But if you can't get small onions, use regular onions. To spice up the upma we use both red chilli and green chilli.  Check out my other tiffin recipes here Idli Black urid dal Dosa Aapam - Aapam without yeast  Ragi flour Upma Arisi Upm...

Yellow split peas adai (Pattani paruppu adai) - easy to make adai recipe with step-by-step pictures and full video. Yellow split peas look similar to chana dal, but it tastes different. This is a simple tiffin recipe made with yellow split peas, rice, urid dal, chillies, onions and curry leaves. The addition of the yellow split peas makes this adai so unique and gives the crispness. You might all now think, what is the difference between chana dal and yellow split peas dal? Both the dals are popular in Tirunelveli cuisine. Yellow split peas dal has a soft texture with mild flavour. Yellow split peas dal is widely used in masala vadai, kara vadai, adai and also the ground split peas flour is added in omapodi, karasev and bajji flour.  For this adai we have to add equal amounts of dal and rice. Soak them for three hours and then grind the batter with red chillies and green chilles. And add some onions, curry leaves and coriander leaves. When it comes to adai, everyone has their own u...

This is the popular street food recipe from Tirunelveli called mochai. A healthy semi dry gravy with mochai prepared in streetside pushcarts across many places in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.  Until recently I never had a chance to taste this mochai but my husband tasted it many times during their school days. During last month's trip to Tirunelveli, we tasted this mochai masala near Murappanaadu river. It was delicious and my son asked me to prepare this mochai for his snack box. This roadside mochai masala is made with boiled mochai beans (Lima beans), lots of onions, ginger and  green chillies. As mochai beans have a slightly bitter taste, hence you have to use plenty of onions for this masala . You have to use dried mochai for this masala.  To spice up this masala you have to add a good amount of green chillies and ginger which gives a nice flavour and tastes yummy. This mochai masala makes a filling and comforting dish for breakfast or evening snack. I prepared this mo...

Planning a quick and special lunch is always a good idea when we are busy or on any special occasion. This idi sambar and potato puttu combo is one of the best combos which my Grandma makes during our childhood days within 30 to 40 minutes. After when I started cooking, I used to prepare this idi sambar along with potato puttu or vazhaikkai puttu and it is always a super hit at home. Click on the video link to see the recipe in detail.  Here is the video link for Idi Sambar and Potato Puttu Here is my article in Vikatan about my Idi Sambar recipe nellai idisambar recipe - Vikatan Check out other Sambar recipes here Tirunelveli Sambar Idi Sambar Keerai Sambar Radish Sambar White Pumpkin Sambar Killi Potta Sambar Green Chilly Sambar Check out other Kuzhmabu Recipes here Vellai curry (Sambar without dal) Pepper Pulikuzhambu Keerai Chaaru  Mint leaves (Pudhina) Pulikuzhambu  Brinjal Kothsu(Brinjal puree in tamarind sauce) Curry Leaves Karakuzhambu Puli illa kuzhambu (Drumst...

Ginger green chilli pachadi recipe with full video and step by step pictures. This pachadi has a sweet, sour and spicy taste which makes a perfect accompaniment for curd rice, idli and dosa. It can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. This pachadi can be served immediately but it will taste better on the next day. These are the ingredients you need to prepare this pachadi Ginger and green chillies - start with fresh ginger. Do not replace it with store bought ground ginger paste.  In this recipe I chopped the ginger and it gives a chunky texture in the pachadi. If you don't like the chunky texture, grate the ginger by hand using a small cheese grater and then add it to the pachadi. Dark green chillies are very spicy, so add according to your taste.  Tamarind - use freshly extracted tamarind juice for best results. Soak the tamarind in hot water for 1 hour and then extract a thick juice.  Jaggery - usually added in the final stage which will balance the taste and make a th...

Ridge Gourd Brinjal Kichadi  recipe with full video and step by step pictures. Today we are going to see another kichadi recipe for idli, dosa and ven pongal. We make kichadi using ridge gourd or brinjal. Here we have to include both the vegetables along with onions, tomatoes, green chillies and moong dal. My Grandmother often makes kichadi whenever she have sudden guests at home and everytime it tastes so good with her soft idlies. I followed her method which my Grandmother used to make. To reduce the cooking time by half  I have simplified it by pressure cooking the brinjals and ridge gourds along with a tbsp of moong dal. Traditionally kichadi dishes are prepared in the kal chatti and mathu is used for mashing the brinjals. Generally for  kichadi dishes, we use only green chillies and red chillies for the heat. I have added just a teaspoon of sambar powder and it doesn't alter the taste. When compared to sambar, this kichadi can be made in very less time which it makes...