Lunch Menu

Lunch menu

Lunch Menu

☘️sambar Sadham
☘️cucumber Pachadi
☘️clusterbeans Paruppu Usili.
☘️sweet mango 🥭 pachadi
☘️curry leaf Thogayal
☘️mango ginger with raw mango pieces

Lunch menu

Sambar Sadham

Sambar sadham

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup rice
½ cup moong dal or toor dal

2 cups of chopped assorted veggies of your choice ( I like to make my sambar with lots of vegetables so that every one gets them till the very end and a great way to incorporate more vegetables in the diet.In this recipe I chose, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, green bell pepper , tomatoes., Some chopped carrots.
1 goose berry size tamrind, soaked in warm water for easy extraction and complete extraction of tamrind.
1 tsp mustard seeds.
2 red dry chillissprigs of curry leaves
Chopped coriander leaves.
Generous pinch of asafoetida powder.
Salt to taste1 tbsp of any good sambar powder ( doesnt matter if you dont have any in the house. )
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil

To Roast and grind:

3 tsp dhaniya seeds/coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
A small piece of cinnamom
3 tsp gram dal ( puttani/ pottukadalai )
2 tsp chana dal
3 red dry chillis ( more if you want a spicy sambar )
Pinch of asafoetida powder.
3 tbsp fresh/ desiccated coconut/ to be added while grinding the items given under roast and grind.

Method:

1. First keep the vegetables ready , chopped to slightly bigger pieces.
2.. Take the pressure cooker, add little oil. , let it get hot, add the mustard seeds, let it crackle add the 2 red chillis , some curry leaves, then if adding onions, add onions first, sautee well till pinkish and transparent, then add the remaining chopped vegetables,sautee a bit, add the turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt, asafoetida powder, and the tamarind extract , around 3 cups of it .
Let this water with masalas, veggies keep boiling for 3 minutes, Meanwhile Wash 1/2 cup cup of moong dal/ toor dal with water and add it to 1 cup of rice and keep aside.
Now take a small pan, add some oil ,heat it, add the ingredients given under roast and grind and fry till golden, don't add the coconut at this stage.
4. When the ingredients have been roasted till a fine aroma emanates, let it cool down then grind to a little coarse paste, with 3 tbsp fresh /desiccated coconut and add very little water. Keep this ground paste aside.
5. While you are grinding , add the moong dal, rice and 1 cup of water and do not close the pressure cooker yet, as the ground paste needs to be added also. Keep the gas on a low flame while you finish grinding.

Add the ground paste now to the pressure cooker which has all the ingredients, add the salt some curry leaves and now close the pressure cooker.

Depending on what model you have 2 whistles re enough. Then keep the gas on a low flame for a minute and switch off.

Let the cooker remain like that till it is completely cool, then open the lid, you will see the sambar rice is ready, with all the vegetables, dal, rice and masala paste well blended and a fine aroma emanating.
Serve hot after mixing well, add some ghee if you wish and usually It is had with some fried chips or papad.
This recipe is good for a one pot meal where dal, rice, vegetables are all coked together and saves you the hassle of making a separate sambar.
Students, first time to cooking, bachelors will find this very useful. A complete nutritious meal. Add as many vegetables you want.

Cluster beans paruppu usili

Cluster beans paruppu usili

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of finely chopped cluster beans

• 1 tsp mustard seeds

• 1 red dry chilli for tempering

• 1 tsp split black gram

• 1/2 tsp asafoetida/hing powder

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• salt to taste

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1/2 cup of bengal gram or a mix of both bengal gram and red gram ( chana dal and tuvar dal)

• 2 small dry red chillis to be ground with the soaked dal.

Keep the dals washed and soaked in water for an hour.Then drain the dals from water completely and grind coarsely with red chillis,salt,asafoetida powder, and little turmeric powder. The coarse paste should appear grainy.See the pic.

Keep this aside.

While the dals are soaking you can cook the cluster beans.Take a broad pan, put some oil and add the mustard seed,split black gram,red chilli and then add the chopped cluster beans.

Add little salt and sprinkle some water to cook the cluster beans. When the beans are cooked well and almost dry add the steamed cooked, crumbled dal mixture to the beans and stir well for 2 minutes.The paruppu usili is done. Serve with rice and Mor kootan/mor kuzhambu.

Cucumber Pachadi

Cucumber Pachadi

Cucumber Pachadi

Cucumber Pachadi / Vallarika Pachadi as it is also called, is the South Indian version, more precisely the Kerala way of making a very delicious dip/Raita of the North Indian states.Pachadi is an unfailing dish that has to be made preferably four kinds or more for the Sadya during Onam, Vishu. Having a Palakkad mom meant that we were treated to such exotic , but simple delicacies from Kerala frequently, it is no wonder that we celebrate both Vishu and Tamil New Year which both fall on the same day with equal gusto and fervor.

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped cucumbers

2 green chillis

sprigs of curry leaves.

1 cup whisked yogurt.

salt to taste.

To grind:

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds/menthiyam/methi

1 /2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp finely minced ginger

green chillis.

1/4 cup yogurt

For tempering:

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 red chilli

2 tsp coconut oil.

Method:

First cook the chopped cucumbers with little salt and just enough water to cook them a vessel.

Meanwhile grind ingredients given under the heading . Keep it aside.

When the cucumbers are cooked till just soft and not over cooked, add the ground paste to the cucumbers and add fresh yogurt as given in the list of ingredients.

In a small pan , add the coconut opil, splutter the mustard seeds, let the red chilli become crisp, add m ore curry leaves and pour this seasoning over ht epachadi.

Delicious Cucumber pachadi is ready to be served.Keep chilled till serving time.

Mango pachadi

Delicious mango sweet sour pachadi is a must prepare dish among many other dishes for Tamil New year and tempered with fresh neem flowers . This delcious pachadi is also prepared on any day for a lunch menu to go with other dishes , it adds a variety to your daily lunch menu . we prepare this delectable sweet mango pachadi most of the time all through the year , when ever we get hold of nice big raw mango .

This pachadi brings all the flavors of sweetness and bitterness that is a part of our life and so lets begin the year on this note .

Ingredients

1 raw mango sliced and roughly chopped

3/4 cup jaggery melted and filtered .

a pinch of turmeric powder

tiny pinch of salt

a pinch of chili powder .

For tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp split udad dal

1/4 tsp methi seeds .

1-2 red broken chilies

1 tsp ghee for tempering .

Method

Cook the peeled raw mango slices chopped roughly in a pressure cooker or in a vessel with very little water, turmeric powder , pinch of salt .

when the mango pieces have become soft , add a small piece of jaggery after makinga thin syrup or add jaggery pieces into the cooking mango , mix well , allow the jaggery to melt, mix well till blended , add t bsp rice flour mixture if the pachadi is too runny, lastlt temper the pachadi with 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, split udad dal , 1/4 tsp methi seeds , 1 red chili , pinch of asafoetida powder .

During Tamil new Year we add a handful of ghee tempered neem flowers to the tempering and add to the prepared sweet mango pachadi .

Stir the mango pachadi well .

Enjoy !

Curry leaf thogayal

Curry Leaf Thogayal

INGREDIENTS

2 cups washed dried curry leaves

2 tsp split udad dal

5-6 nos dry red chillies

pinch of asafoetida powder

small piece of ginger

1 no green chilli

2 tsp white sesame seeds

salt as needed

1 gooseberry size tamrind

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp powdered jaggery

INSTRUCTIONS

in a pan , add oil and first roast the split udad dal,add red cilliies, roast till they become crisp, add green chilly and ginger,

add tamrind, add sesame seeds , roast till seeds pop add aasafoetida powder ,

while roasting . remove and keep aside to cool separately roast in the same pan , the two cups of curry leaves and roast till they somewhat look wilted but not black

now grind all the ingredients along with jaggery and salt in a mixie jar till roughly ground,with drops of water .

Usually thogayal is ground in ammi ,( a stone slab with pestle ) in Tamil and it is usually ground a little coarse.

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