Peanut Chutney / Groundnut Chutney

Groundnut is just another term for peanut. This protein rich peanut chutney is made quite often at our home for breakfast. Coconut and Peanuts make and awesome combination for Chutneys. Peanuts elevate a simple Coconut Chutney to the next level.

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut – 1 cup (fresh or frozen)

Dry Roasted Peanuts – a small handful

Red Chillies – 1 or 2 (Alter according to your spice tolerance)

Peeled Ginger – a small piece

Salt – to taste

Water – 1/4 cup

For Tempering:

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp

Sliced Shallots – 2

Curry Leaves – a small sprig

Method:

Grind coconut, peanuts, red chillies and ginger along with water to form a medium-thick paste.

If the paste is too thick, you can add a little more water. Season with salt( At our home we like it little thick)

You could also add tempering to it. I have not did it as I prefer it as it is.

Steps for tempering:

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Throw in the shallots and curry leaves and quickly sauté for a few seconds. Pour the coconut-peanut paste into the pan. Stir everything and remove from heat.

Carrot & Green Beans Thoran / Carrot & Green Beans Poriyal / Carrot & Green Beans Stir Fry

Carrots are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and Iron. The anti-oxidant beta carotene present in carrots gives carrot the bright orange color. This powerful natural anti-oxidant that helps protect human body from harmful oxygen-free radical injury.

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin K. They are a very good source of manganese, vitamin C, dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin B12. Some of the health benefits of green beans include the reduced risk of heart disease and colon cancer, as well as an improved regulation of diabetes. Green beans provide a big boost to your immune system and contributes to the elimination of harmful free radicals.

Our today’s recipe is a very simple low fat, stir fry recipe which is very healthy, simple and also colorful. The beans are spiced with mustard seeds, dried red chillies and garnished with freshly gradated coconut & curry leaves. Let’s learn how to make south Indian style beans & carrot stir fry following this easy recipe.

Ingredients:

Carrots & French Beans – 2 cups (cleaned and chopped)

Onions – ¾ cup chopped

Coconut – ½ cup grated

Green chilli – 2 long ones slit into half

Salt to taste

Turmeric - ½ tsp

Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves

Oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves 7 to 8 leaves

Method:

Clean and cut carrots & beans into small cubes and set aside.

Chop onions into small cubes, slice garlic and slit the green chillies. 

Now in a pan add oil, then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds; when it crackles add curry leaves, green chillies, chopped carrot & beans, garlic onions, turmeric and salt.

Cover and cook in low- medium flame. Stir 2-3 times in between for even cooking. You can sprinkle water 2-3 times in between, if required while stirring.

Once it is cooked and all the water evaporated add grated coconut stir well and turn off the flame.  

This stir fry/ thoran goes well with boiled rice and curry.

Puliyogare / Puliyodharai/ Tamarind Rice Recipe

Tamarind Rice is a tangy-spicy South Indian Rice preparation, which is known for its long shelf life and great travel food. Tamarind rice is also known as "Puliyogare" in Karnataka, "puliyodharai" in Tamil Nadu and "puḷihora" in Andhra Pradesh.It is traditionally made using steamed or boiled rice mixed with tamarind paste, Nuts and few Indian spices.

The tanginess of the tamarind, crunchiness of the groundnuts and, above all the flavor and aroma of Indian spices makes tamarind rice an absolute delight to eat.

Ingredients:

Rice(Basmati )  - 2 cups(cooked with salt)

Sesame oil -  50 ml

Urad Dal – 1 tsp

Split Bengal gram (chana dal) – 2 tsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Dried red chilli  - 6 to 7 nos

Peanuts(roasted)  - 2 tbsp

Tamarind paste  - 1 ½ tbsp

Curry leaves 8-10

Turmeric powder – ½  tspn

Asafoetida – ¼ tspn

Salt to taste

Ingredients – to grind

Coriander seeds – 1 ½  tsp

Fenugreek seeds – ¼  tsp

White sesame seeds 1 ½ tsp

Dried red chillies  - 2 broken

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan or Kadai dry roast the ingredients mentioned under “to grind”. (Don’t burn it or brown it). Cool and grind the above roasted mixture without adding water. Keep it aside.

In the same pan heat up sesame oil, crackle the mustard seeds, then add chana dal and urad dhal. When its slightly browned add dried red chillies and curry leaves; then add roasted peanuts and fry well in a medium flame. After 2 minutes add turmeric powder and asafoetida and keep stirring.

Dilute the tamarind paste in 3/4 cup water and add it to the pan(if using extract, ensure the extract liquid is about ¾ cup in quantity) and allow it to boil in low to medium sized flame. Keep it covered. When its reduced to a semi thick liquid add salt and the ground mixture. Mix well and cook for a minute. Check for seasoning. Turn off the flame and add the cooked rice, Mix till the rice is well coated with the mixture.

Serve hot with pappadams/appalams and pickle. 

Kerala Style Padavalanga Thoran / Snakegourd Stir Fry

Snake gourd may not be a type of vegetable that is well-known around the world, but certain cultures have been utilizing this unique food variety for hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of years. They are native to Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other neighboring countries, as well as some parts of Australia and Africa. It is a vine plant that climbs up a tree and then unfurls its flowers and fruits to hang down to the ground.

Snake Gourd contains a rich variety of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for human health, including significant levels of dietary fiber, a small number of calories, and high levels of protein. In terms of vitamins, snake gourd possess vitamin A, B, C, as well as manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, and iodine. 

Our today’s recipe is Snakegourd stir fry with coconut / Padavalanga Thoran, a Kerala based recipe commonly used in most of the houses of South India. Snakegourd/ Padavalanga help our body to maintain its normal function and create a cooking effect in human body. It is very much useful in treating Type II diabetics to reduce weight and helps in constipation as this vegetable is rich in Fiber.

Ingredients:

 Snake gourd – 2 cups (cleaned and chopped)

Onions – ¾ cup chopped

Coconut – ½ cup grated

Green chilli – 2 long ones slited into half

Salt to taste

Turmeric - ½ tsp

Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves

Oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves 7 to 8 leaves

Method:

Clean and cut snake gourd in small cubes and set aside.

Chop onions into small cubes, slice garlic and slit the green chillies. 

Now in a pan add oil, then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds; when it crackles add curry leaves, green chillies, snake gourd, garlic onions, turmeric and salt.

Cover and cook in low- medium flame (no need to add any water since snake gourd has enough water in it).

Once it is cooked and all the water evaporated add grated coconut stir well and turn off the flame.  

This stir fry/ thoran goes well with boiled rice and curry.

Beetroot Thoran / Stir Fry

        Beetroots (Beets) have long been used for medicinal purposes, primarily for disorders of the liver as they help to stimulate the liver's detoxification processes. It is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants. Beetroot fibre has been shown to increase the level of antioxidant enzymes in the body, as well as increase the number of white blood cells, which are responsible for detecting and eliminating abnormal cells. Beets are also one of the richest sources of glutamine, an amino acid, essential to the health and maintenance of the intestinal tract.

Beets are not a favourite vegetable for many, has been linked to provide better stamina, improved blood flood and lower blood pressure. I am working on finding out different recipes that can be made out of this amazing vegetable. Our today’s recipe is a thoran or stir fry made out of this nutrition packed vegetable (beetroot). This is a very basic and simple South Indian (Kerala recipe), which is a great side dish for steamed rice.

Ingredients

Beetroots (finely chopped or grated) - 3 medium sized or 2 large

Coconut, grated freshly grated - 4 to 5 tsbp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds - ½ tsp

Onion, chopped – 1 medium sized

Curry leaves - 10-12leaves

Dry red chillies, whole – 2 nos

Green chilli, finely chopped – 2 nos

Ginger, finely chopped - ¾ tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - ¼ tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - ¼ tsp

Sunflower oil / Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

1.     Heat Oil in a kadai/ pan, splutter the mustard seeds and add the cumin           seeds. When they start to sizzle add the chopped onions.

2.  Fry it on a medium flame for 2 minutes. Now add the whole red chilli, chopped green chilli and ginger. Fry for a minute and add the curry leaves.

3.   Reduce the heat and add all the dry masala powders including the whole garam masala. (make sure not to burn the masala.

4.     Fry for a half a minute and then add the beetroot, add salt and mix well.

5.    Cook the beetroot without a lid with occasional stirrings. If the beetroot is grated, they will cook faster. (This takes approx. 10-12 minutes for grated beetroot)

6.     When the beetroot is cooked, add the grated coconut and cook for a minute or two just for the flavours to blend in. Turn off the heat and transfer it to a serving bowl.

7.     Beetroot thoran can be served as along with steamed rice.

Note: (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

Spicy Kuzhi Paniyaram - Spicy Rice Dumpling

The Kuzhi paniyaram is a south Indian dish made by steaming batter — traditionally made from pulses (specifically black lentils) and rice using a mould. The batter used is the same as that used for making idli’s and dosas. Kuzhi paniyarams can be made sweet or spicy; they are crisp from out and soft from within. They used to be made for eating on long distance trips without the use of a refrigerator. 

I have already posted the recipe of Sweet Paniyaram. Today I am gonna share with you the spicy variation. Please do try and share your feedback.

Ingredients:

Idli / Dosa batter - 2 cups

Onion, finely chopped - 1 medium size

Coconut, grated - ½ cup

Oil – for shallow frying and tempering

Salt to taste

Tempering:

Green chillies, finely chopped - 1 or 2

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Ginger, finely chopped or grated - ½ inch

Asafoetida/hing (optional) - a pinch

Curry leaves, chopped - 2 tbsp

Method:

1.     Add onion, coconut, salt to the idli / dosa batter and mix well

2.   Using a tbsp. of oil doing a tempering with the ingredients mention under tempering.

3.     Now add the tempering to the batter mix and combine well.

4.    Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan a tsp. of oil in all the holes. When I oil is warm enough, pour spoonful of the batter ¾ of the paniyaram mould.

5.    Allow the batter to cook for 2-3 minutes on a low or medium flame.

6.   Now turn each paniyaram with the help of a wooden skewer or spoon. Allow the other side to get cooked and crisp.

7.  Once its uniformly cooked, remove and serve. These could be served with coconut chutney or sambar.

Instant Tomato Rasam Recipe - South Indian Style Tomato Rasam

Rasam is an integral part of South Indian meals. It is a kind of South Indian soup, traditionally prepared with tomato, pepper, cumin and other spices as seasonings. In some cases lentils are added as a base to this soup. Sourness is brought into this soup with the help of either tamarind or lemon.

Monsoons are still here for some time and it’s comforting and warm to have a bowl of rasam during a raining day. There many kinds of rasam, like pepper rasam, lemon rasam, parupu rasam etc, one of my favourite is tomato rasam.

Being a South Indian, rasam has become a staple diet at our house. This version of tomato rasam is a very simple rasam recipe prepared with tomatoes, black pepper and cumin seeds. It does not require tamarind.  Serve it with hot rice

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes, whole - 2 to 3 Nos

Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder / Jeera powder- 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Water – 2 cups

Lemon extract – 1 to 1 ½ tbsp.

Ginger, cubes – 1 tsp

Garlic, cubes – 1 tsp

Green chillies, chopped – 1 big

For the seasoning 
Ghee / Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Curry leaves – a few

For Garnishing:

Coriander leaves – a few

Preparation: 

In a mixer, grind tomatoes with garlic, ginger, green chillies to a fine paste. Heat a shallow pan and pour the ground tomato paste and add 1/2 cups of water. Add salt and allow it to boil for about 5 minutes in low heat. By now the colour of the tomato will be changed from pinkish to reddish.

Now reduce the heat and add turmeric powder, cumin powder and pepper powder, let it boil for a minute. Now add the remaining 1 ½ cups of water and allow it to boil in high heat. Turn off the heat once froth starts forming.

Heat ghee in a small pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add curry leaves and pour it over the rasam. Finally add lemon extract and mix well; check for seasoning and add salt if required.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Ragi or Nachni Idiyappam / Red Millet String Hoppers

Our today’s recipe is a healthy breakfast made with Red Millet. Finger millets/Red millets are more commonly known as Nachni or Ragi in India. The speciality of these tiny deep red pearls is the abundance of nutrients present in them. In the hills of India they are part of regular diet regime no wonder people living in these hills are so fit and rarely fall ill.

Red millet / Ragi has a very low glycemic index thus making its digestion process slow and helping in keeping the blood sugar levels at a constant ratio. It is a highly respected food amongst diabetes patients.

Red millet/ Ragi are healthier and safer to eat as there are no harmful chemical fertilizers or pesticides used in growing them hence they can be eaten with a free mind.

Idiyappam / String Hoppers is a common breakfast dish in Kerala, southern India. I have a made a variation to idiyappam by adding red millet / ragi to it. This red millet/ ragi idiyappam is a healthy dish cuisine made with minimal ingredients. You could serve this with vegetable kurma, chicken stew, egg or chicken curry.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 1 cup

Ragi / Red Millet – 1 cup

Boiling water - 2 cups 

Salt to taste

Coconut oil or oil - 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup (approx)

Coconut oil for greasing

Method:

Boil 2  cups water with salt and oil. Then slowly pour the hot water little by little into the rice flour & Ragi/Red millet mixer. Mix it immediately with an wooden spoon and then use clean hands to shape it to a ball. Place the lid and leave it aside for 15 mins.

While the dough is resting, grease the idiyappam maker and the idli plates. Sprinkle little grated coconut into each depression of the idli plate and keep aside.

The dough will be easier to handle once the heat reduces. Knead the mixture into a smooth yet firm dough. Stuff the dough into the idiyappam maker, close the lid and hand press the dough into swirls onto the idli plates.

Steam for 12-15 mins and allow to cool a bit. Serve warm with  Chicken curry / Egg curry.

Green Peas & Drumstick curry with Roasted Indian spices / Patani & Muringka Varutharacha Curry

Roasted spices curry along with coconut is a famous curry in Kerala. This preparation is generally made with chicken / mutton / meat. But recently I was reading through a blog and I noticed the roasted spices curry made with vegetables. I was quite interested and wanted to try it out.

The curry came out well and it tasted delicious. This curry has the goodness from the vegetables & dal and a rich flavor of roasted spices. I am sure you will want to try this out. Here’s the recipe for this tasty curry.

Ingredients:

Green peas (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup

Drum stick, cut into 4" long pieces – 1 big

Toor dal / pigeon peas - 1/2 cup

Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup

Urad dal - 3 tsp

Black peppercorns – 5 to7 nos

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies, medium size – 3 to 4 nos

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida / Hing  -  ¼ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves  - 5 to 8 nos

Preparation:

 Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric powder and salt until soft and mushy.

 In another vessel, boil and cook the peas and drumsticks with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, this might take about 5-6 mins.

 Mash the cooked dal a bit and add it to the peas and drumsticks mixture and simmer till it boils.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan and roast the urad dal, red chillies, peppercorn, and cumin seeds until the dal turns golden brown. Cool slightly and grind along with the coconut into a smooth mixture.

Add the ground masala to the peas-dal-drumsticks mixture and bring to boil. Add salt and curry leaves. Continue to simmer until the desired consistency is reached. If too thick, add some water while boiling.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the mustard seeds, when its crackles add asafoetida and remove from heat. Pour this over the boiling gravy.

Serve hot with rice.

[Recipe Courtesy – Edible Garden]