வெந்தய குழம்பு | Vendhaya (Fenugreek) Kuzhambu

Vendhaya kulambu is easy to make, delicious kuzhambu / gravy, which I learnt from my mom. It is very flavorful, tangy and spicy gravy suits best with rice, idli and dosa.

Try it out and give your feedback.

Ingredients: 

Small onions - 15 to 20 

Tomato – 1 small 

Tamarind - 1 big gooseberry size 

Turmeric powder - ½ tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Coriander powder- 2 tsp (heaped) 

Salt – to taste 

Dry Roast and Grind: 

Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp (taste the gravy and add more to suit you). 

To Grind: 

Coconut - ¼ to ½ cup 

For Seasoning: 

Fenugreek seeds - ½ tsp 

Fennel seeds - ½ tsp 

Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp (Preferably sesame oil) 

Directions:

Heat a pan add fenugreek seeds and dry roast it in low flame; till  it changes colour. Allow to cool and grind it into fine powder.

Add coconut in mixer and  grind it into paste by adding water. 

Soak the tamarind in water.  After sometime squeeze and extract the juice; keep it aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and season with fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.

Once it splutters, add small onions and fry  till the colour changes slightly.  Next add chopped tomatoes and salt, fry till tomato becomes become soft.

Then add tamarind extract, all spice powders and allow to boil.

Once it is started to boil, add coconut paste. Give it a mix. Once it started to boiling again.

Close the pan with a lid; let it simmer for 10 minutes or till the oil comes out. 

Last, add fenugreek powder and give it a mix.

Remove from fire and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note:

You may adjust the salt and spice levels to suit your taste.

The colour of the kulambu depends upon the colour of the spice powders you are using.

you can also add sambar powder instead of red chilli powder and coriander powder for this

Tomato Rice | தக்காளி சாதம் | Tomato Rice in Pressure Cooker | Thakkali Sadam | Lunch Box Recipes

Hi, Looking to make quick and easy rice variety for your lunch / picnic / children school box needs or how to make better Tomato Rice.  

Here's an interesting and simple recipe for you to prepare Tomato Rice using Pressure Cooker.

Serves - (2 to 3 approximately)

Ingredients: 

Rice - 1 cup (ponni raw rice or basmati)
Water - 2 cups (to cook the rice)
Tomato - 2
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Garlic - 6 to 8 cloves
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

For seasoning:

Oil - 1 or 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 1
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Directions:

Wash and soak the rice in water for nearly for 15 minutes.

In a pressure cooker, add oil and ghee. Once it becomes hot, season it with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds.

Once it crackles; add chopped garlic, onions and green chillies.  Stir well till it becomes translucent.

Add tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and corriander pwder.  Sauté well till the tomatoes become soft.

Add 2 cups of water to the tomato mixture and allow to boil. Once it starts boiling add drained rice.

When the water starts boiling, mix well and check for salt.

Close the cooker with the lid.  After the first whistle simmer for five minutes and switch off the gas.

Serve hot with any coconut thogayal / raita.

Note:

Amount of water will vary according to variety or quality of rice.

Poondu Kuzhambu / Garlic Kulambu / Garlic Pepper Kuzhambu / பூண்டு மிளகு குழம்பு

Poondu Kuzhambu / Garlic Kuzhambu is a tamarind based south Indian gravy goes well with steamed rice and any simple stir fry / poriyal or kootu!

The recipe which i am sharing here is my mom's special which is one of my favourite.

The key ingredients such as Garlic, Pepper, Turmeric, Cumin Seeds are know as immunity boosters that make this gravy a much preferred during this time.

Do try and give your feedback!

Ingredients:

Garlic - 15 to 20 / one handful
Tamarind - 1 big gooseberry size
Red chillipowder - 1 tsp
Corriander powder- 1 tsp (heaped) 
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Salt - to taste

To roast and grind:
Pepper - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp
Coconut - ¼ to ½ cup

For Seasoning:

Fenugreek seeds - ½ tsp
Fennel seeds - ½ tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp (Preferably sesame oil)

Directions:

Heat 1 tsp of oil, fry pepper and jeera ; till it pops up.  Allow to cool and grind it into paste along with coconut by adding water. 

Soak the tamarind in water.  After sometime squeeze and extract the juice; keep it aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and season with fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.

Once it splutters, fry the garlic till the colour changes slightly.

Then add tamarind extract, all spice powders and allow to boil.


Once it is started to boil, add coconut paste. Give it a mix. Once it started to boiling again.

Close the pan with a lid; let it simmer for 10 minutes or till the oil comes out.

Remove from fire and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note:

Adjust the water quantity and spice level according to your taste.

The colour of the kulambu depends upon the colour of the spice powders you are using.

you can also add sambar powder instead of red chilli powder and coriander powder for this gravy.

Green Chilli Sambar (without sambar powder) / Lady's finger Sambar / Vendakkai Sambar

Green chilli sambar is one of my favorite and also a popular recipe in  our house hold.  This sambar is easy to prepare, without having to depend on the availability of sambar powder.  

Here I have used Lady's finger; you can also use other vegetables such as raw mango, drumstick, carrot to prepare this sambar.

Let's check the recipe;

Click for the video link:

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

15  mins

TOTAL TIME 

30 mins

                                                                                                                                        

Recipe for Green Chilli Sambar

Recipe type: Accompaniment for rice

Cuisine: South Indian

Serves - 3 to 4(approximately)

Ingredients:

Toor Dahl / Tuvar Dhal / Thuvaram paruppu - ½ cup
Lady's finger - 12 to 15 (chopped)
Big Onion - 1 / Small onion - 10 (Chopped)
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Tamarind - a small gooseberry size
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a generous pinch
Salt - to taste

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dhal - ½ tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Green chillies - 5 to 6

To Grind:

Coconut - 2 tbsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Directions:

Pre - Preparation:

Wash the lady's finger and pat dry completely. Trim the edges and chop into long pieces

Soak the tamarind in a cup of water. After sometime squeeze and extract the juice; keep it aside.

Wash toor dhal and pressure cook adding water along with turmeric powder and till it becomes soft.

Once the pressure releases; open the lid and mash with the laddle and keep aside.

Preparation for sambar:

Heat oil in a kadai and season with mustard seeds; once it splutters add the remaining ingredients 'For Seasoning', one by one.

Once it crackles; add chopped onions and Lady's finger with little salt. Saute till stickiness reduced.  

After that add tomato fry for a while , add tamarind juice and a cup of water .

Close the pan with the lid and allow to cook till it is half done.

Now add the cooked dhal, extra salt (if needed), coconut paste along with a cup of water. 

Mix and allow to boil  for five more minutes and switch off the gas.

Serve hot with rice.

Note:

You can also use Raw mango, drumstick, carrot to prepare this sambar.

You may adjust the water quantity and spice level to suit your taste.

Sambar will tend to thick, so adjust the water level accordingly.

Addition of ghee (clarified butter) while serving will enhance the taste and flavour of sambhar.

Coconut Rice / Thengai Sadam

Coconut Rice / Thengai Sadam (in Tamil) is easy to make, mildly spiced rice variety from Tamilnadu Cuisine. The freshly grated coconut added to the rice give a nice aroma to the dish.  It taste good with Paruppu thogayal / pickle / Pappad.  You can use leftover rice to prepare the dish.  

Let's check the recipe now,

PREP TIME

20 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

30 mins

                                                                                                                                                         

Recipe for Coconut Rice / Thengai Sadam

Recipe type: Veg Rice
Cuisine: Tamilnadu
Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 1 ½ to 2 cups

Grated Coconut -  ¾ to 1 cup
Salt -  as required

For Seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - ¾ tsp

Bengal gram/channa dal - 2 tsp

Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp(broken)

Red Chilli - 2 to 3

Asafoetida / Perungayam - a pinch

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Oil - 2 tsp

Directions:

Cook the rice and spread it on plate; allow to cool.  The rice should not be mushy. 

Heat oil in a pan, season with all the ingredients one by one. Once it crackles and the dhals & nuts turned into golden brown; add grated coconut.

Sauté for a minute and reduce the flame. Add the cooked rice and mix well; switch off the gas.

Instead of red chillies you can also add green chillies.

You can add roasted peanuts for extra crunchiness.

Serve it with Thogayal and Appalam / Pappad. 

Raw Banana Fry / Plantain Fry / Vazhakkai Varuval

Try this spicy Raw banana fry / Vazhakkai Varuval (in Tamil) which I learnt from mom.  We can also deep fry the raw banana slices and add it to the masala for variation. 

It is usually served as a accompaniment for rice with sambar, rasam or curd.  

Let's check the recipe now,

                    

PREP TIME

10  min

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME 

25 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Plantain Fry / Vazhakkai Varuval

Recipe type: Veg accompaniment

Cuisine:  South Indian

Serves: 3 to 4 approximately

Ingredients:

Raw banana - 3 to 4
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

To Grind:

Coconut (grated) - 3 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 4 to 5
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - ¾  to 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Beetroot Thogayal / Chutney - South Indian Style

This colourful  beetroot thogayal is a very tasty accompaniment for rice.   I used to prepare stir fry, kurma, raita or halwa using beetroot often, but chutney is new to me,  till I tasted that in my friend Shanthi Vijay's house.  Thank you shanthi for the recipe too. 

A simple and healthy way to include beetroot in your diet in a different but tasty way!

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

5  mins

TOTAL TIME 

15 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Beetroot Thogayal / Beetroot Chutney

Recipe type: Accompaniment

Cuisine:  South Indian

Serves: 2 to 4 (approximately)

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1 medium
Red chillies - 2
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Urad dhal - 1 tbsp
Grated coconut - ¼ to ½ cup

Tamaring  - a small piece

Salt - to taste

Nellikai Rasam / Gooseberry Rasam - (No Tomato, No Tamarind)

This Vitamin C rich Rasam is easy to prepare and a healthy variation to the usual rasam. In this rasam recipe, there is no tomato and tamarind, the sour taste is only from gooseberries. 

Though we know the health properties of gooseberry, it is difficult to make my kids eat.  So I always try to find a way to sneak amla / gooseberry into their diet and this is one of it.

Try and give your feedback.

Check my other recipes using Gooseberry;

Amla Ginger Juice / Gooseberry Ginger Juice / Nellikai Juice

Gooseberry Rice / Nellikai Sadam / நெல்லிக்காய் சாதம்

Gooseberry / Amla Raita using Curd / நெல்லிக்காய் தயிர் பச்சடி

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

20 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Nellikai Rasam / Gooseberry Rasam

Recipe type: Veg

Cuisine:  Tamilnadu

Serves: 2 to 4 (approximately)

Ingredients:

Gooseberry - 2 big

Toor dhal - one tablespoon(cooked)

Ginger  - 1 " piece

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Jeera / Cumin seeds -1 tsp

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp ( chopped)

Water - 1- 1½ cups 

For seasoning:

Oil / ghee - 1 to 2 tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 

Asafoetida - a pinch

Bottle Gourd Stir Fry/ Suraikai Poriyal - Tamilnadu Style

Bottle gourd poriyal / stir fry is an easy to make veg accompaniment, usually served with rice.

Bottle gourd / Surraikai (Tamil), Lauki (Hindi) is a healthy and low calorie vegetable which is highly recommended for people in weight loss programme and also recommended to cure many digestive disorders.  It is rich in fibre, vitamin B and vitamin C.

I have prepared this stir fry in Tamil nadu style; hope you will like this tasty and simple preparation.

Try to add this vegetable in your diet on regular basis and feel the difference in your health!

                                    

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

20 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Bottle gourd stir fry/ Suraikai Poriyal

Recipe type: Veg accompaniment

Cuisine:  South Indian

Serves: 3 to 4 (approximately)

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd - 1 ( cut into cubes)

Onion - 1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder -¼ tsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tsp (optional)
Grated coconut - 1 to 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste 

For Seasoning:
Oil - 2 to 3 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - ½ tsp
Red chillies -2 to 3
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Pudina Thogayal (thuvaiyal) / Mint Thogayal (without coconut)

This is a very simple but tasty & flavorful thogayal recipe using mint as a main ingredient. Though I used to prepare mint chutney often, thogayal is new to me.  I learnt this recipe from my friend Latha Balaji.  It goes well as an accompaniment for rice and with idli, dosa as well!

Let's check the recipe now,

PREP TIME

10 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

20 mins

                                                                                                                                                   

Recipe for Pudina Thogayal / Mint Thogayal
Recipe type: Side dish

Cuisine: South India

Serves: 2 to 3 (approximately)

Ingredients:

Mint Leaves - 1 bunch / 1 cup tightly packed
Urad dhal - 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 3 to 4
Tamarind - a small piece
Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp(preferably sesame oil)

Raw Mango Pachadi / Manga Pachadi / மாங்காய் பச்சடி- Tamil New Year Special

Mango Pachadi is a traditional and popular veg accompaniment from South Indian cuisine especially of Tamilnadu.   It's an all time favourite of mine and associated with lot of my childhood memories! 

Mango Pachadi takes a compulsory part amongst the dishes prepared to celebrate the auspicious day of Tamil New Year (தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு; also known as Varusha pirappu observed on first day of Tamil month Chithirai; April 14th).

This dish is prepared using raw mangoes (sour), jaggery (sweet), neem flowers (bitter), red chillies (spicy) and salt (salty).  Different flavours in this dish symbolizes the mixed emotions & feelings in life with an ultimate goal of sweetness & happiness!

                   தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்  

                                
                        Wishing you all a very happy Tamil New Year!

              

PREP TIME

15 min

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME 

30 mins

                                                                                                                                                         

Recipe for Raw Mango Pachadi / Manga Pachadi
Recipe type: veg accompaniment

Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Serves: 3 to 4(approximately)

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 1(big)
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Red chilli powder - ¼ tsp(optional)
Jaggery - ½ tsp cup(powdered)
Salt - to taste

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Red chillies - 1 or 2
Curry leaves - few leaves
Ghee or oil - 2 tsp
Fresh neem flowers - 2 tsp (special ingredient for Tamil new year festival)