VIRUNDHOMBAL

Tomato urid dal chutney - prepared with onions, garlic, red chillies, tomatoes, urid dal, asafoetida and curry leaves. Recently I learned this chutney recipe from my Chithi. I have posted three varieties of tomato chutney in Virundhombal. We make tomato chutneys once in a week with different combinations. With lots of fresh red tomatoes during this season, I wanted to share this chutney with a short video and step by step pictures. The chutney tasted so good with plain dosa. The addition of urid dal adds a strong flavour to any chutney. Depending on the type of tiffin you are making, adjust the consistency of the chutney. Generally, this type of chutney gets thick with the addition of dals. If you want a thick,creamy chutney, no need to add additional water to it. But if you prefer a thin chutney, add water and mix well. When using any dals for chutney, avoid roasting the dals until it turns black, which will reduce the taste and you will miss a light nutty flavour. Now let's see t...

Black sesame seeds mittais are so easy and more delicious snack. This ellu mittai is a best snack for kids and adults. One of the best things I really like this sweet is it's made with just three ingredients which are easily available in our kitchen. Making this ellu mittai is quick and easy. For this ellu mittai you can use either palm jaggery or jaggery.  The black sesame seeds are dry roasted in a pan and then coarsely powdered in a mixture jar. Here I have used black sesame seeds, but you can also use white sesame seeds or a combination of both black and white. In most mittai recipes, you have to prepare the jaggery syrup in correct consistency which is the most important step you have to be very careful. To achieve the mittais crunchy texture, the jaggery must boil until it reaches soft ball stage and then ground sesame seeds are added to the jaggery syrup. Immediately they are stirred continuously for a few minutes and then transferred to a greased plate. Then the mixture is ...

Salna - this flavorful gravy is a super side dish for parotta that everyone will like it. Last year tasted this salna with parotta in a hotel in Tirunelveli. The gravy in this salna has a blend of flavours from the spices. The onions and tomatoes are sauted with ginger garlic paste and slowly simmered in the coconut masala paste for 20 minutes, allowing time to blend everything together.  How to make Tirunelveli Salna To prepare this salna, these are the ingredients you will need 1. Ginger garlic paste - these two are the key for adding flavour. For salna, we have to add a good amount of ginger garlic paste when compared to other gravies. Try to use homemade fresh ginger garlic paste for this salna. 2. Onions, tomatoes and green chillies - these three are the main ingredients for any gravies. I have used both sliced tomato and ground tomato for this salna, as it gives a beautiful colour and taste for the gravy.  3. Chilly powder, coriander powder and garamasala powder - thes...

This stir fry is prepared with shredded semi ripe papaya. This stir fry is easy to make within 10 minutes. This stir fry is similar to carrot puttu and beetroot puttu.    Semi ripe papaya is light orange in colour with a crisp texture and it has a very mild flavour. The shredded papaya is flavoured with green chillies, onions and finally garnished with fresh coconut. The semi raw papayas are peeled and the innermost white layers are removed along with their tiny seeds. Then they are cut into halves or quarters and  grate it using a slightly thick grater. After grating, we have to saute with mustard, chillies, onions and curry leaves. For this puttu dishes, like carrot puttu and beetroot puttu, the grated vegetables will need to be sauted first for an extra few minutes and then close and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. No water is required for this stir fry. Simply close and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. A handful of freshly grated coconut adds a beautiful colour and taste to t...

Instant tiffin sambar - quick and easy tiffin sambar with besan flour. It's one of those special sambar recipes when we want to prepare sambar within 15 minutes. Usually during weekends I prefer this instant sambar for rava dosa and ven pongal. Both rava dosa and ven pongal requires 30 to 35 minutes, so this instant sambar is ideal to cook within 15 minutes plus it is light too. The ingredients are simple for this sambar.  Onions and tomatoes - the best combination for these types of instant sambar which makes the sambar colourful.  Sambar powder or red chilly powder - you can use any of these powders for the spiciness. Make sure to use any one powder in minimal quantity.  Besan flour - the best choice for this instant sambar. You can also use fried grams flour, but I haven't tried it yet. When adding besan flour to the sambar, make sure to dilute it in water without any lumps and then add it to the sambar.  Coconut + Coriander seeds - these two ingredients, bring...