Authentic Tirunelveli Sodhi

Sodhi or Sodhi Kuzhambu is an authentic dish in Tirunelveli District in TamilNadu.  This dish is a combination of veggies cooked in coconut milk. Sodhi Sappadu is given as a special lunch to bridegroom in the next day of marriage. It is called as "Sodhi Virundhu". It is a combination of Sodhi, steam rice, ginger chutney, potato curry and papad. This Sodhi is a great combo with idiyappam, appam and dosai also. My mom and sister both are experts in making this recipe. I just learnt it from my sister.

Ingredients:

Shallots /Small onion - 1 cup
Garlic cloves - 5 to 7 nos
Boiled potatoes - 4 medium size (Cubed)
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhall - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaf - few nos
Veggies - 1 1/4 cup (Beans, Drumstick, Carrot)
Green chilli - 2 nos (Slit)
Coconut milk - 4 cup (thick milk)
Moong dhall - 1 cup (Boiled and mashed)
Salt - to taste
Water - 3 cup
Lemon - 1

For Grinding:

Ginger - 2 nos (1 inch)
Green chilli - 2 nos
Coconut - 1 cup(grated)
Jeera - 1 teaspoon

Method:

1.  Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add mustard. Once mustard splutter, add urad dhall, curry leaf, shallots, garlic cloves, split green chilli and veggies one by one.
2. Mix well until veggies are slightly sauted. Add 1:2 ratio of thick coconut milk and water to the pan and allow veggies to boil.
3. In a mixer, blend grated coconut, green chilli, ginger and jeera by adding little water to make a thick paste.
4. Once Veggies are par boiled, add moong dhall, potatoes, grounded coconut paste and mix well.
5. Add 2:1 cup of coconut milk and water to the pan.
6. Allow the mixture to boil until raw smell of grounded paste vanish off.
7. Finally add 1 cup thick coconut milk and salt and allow it to boil for 5 mins.
8. Allow Sodhi to cool off, then finally add lemon juice around 2 tablespoon before serving.

Yummy and Authentic Sodhi kuzhambu is ready to be served. Best combination to serve sodhi is with Inji pachidi. 

(Click above link for Inji Pachadi).

Palkova in microwave ( 20 mins recipe)

Palkova is a wonderful sweet made out of milk and sugar and its a best ever loving dessert in Indian cusine. Srivilliputhur in south Tamilnadu is famous place for Palkova. My husband is fond of more sweets that too he loves milk sweets mainly Palkova. One secret I learnt from my grandmother is to make Palkova from fresh buffalo milk which yields more quantity.

I have learnt this recipe to make in most easiest form in microwave from my sister. Ingredients will be little different from stove made palkova. I frequently do this recipe as it takes only 20 mins maximum to do this recipe. Lot of usage in making sweets using microwave. With less ghee and less manual effort we can make this recipe.

Preparation time:  5 mins
Cooking time : 20 mins
Serves: 4 nos

Ingredients:

Milk powder - 2 1/2 cups
Thicken fresh cream - 1 cup
Milk - 3/4 to 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Elachi powder -1 teaspoon
Chopped Nuts (Optional)

Method:

1. Mix milk powder, fresh cream, milk, sugar, elachi powder in a hollow microwave bowl.



2. Microwave it in high for 10 mins. ( I used 750 wt high microwave)
3. Mix it well and again microwave it for 5 mins.



4. Stir well and microwave it for another 5 mins. Stop it once palkova consistency is reached.
5. Allow it to cool off and add chopped nuts while serving.

Yummy, yummy, tasty palkova is ready to be served.

Vegetable Steamed Rice with Gutti Vankaya Kura

 I learn this recipe from my Andhra friend when I was in London. There was all about 3 Indian family in our flat. Weekly once all 3 of us used to eat together by cooking at one home. When my friend invited us for lunch, I found a very different recipe steam rice and Gutti Vankaya Kura or Curry. Gutti means small, Vankaya means brinjal. This vankaya curry goes well with jeera rice, plain steam rice, dosa, pulka. Instead of making plain rice I used to mix few veggies and coriander powder and steam bastami rice. This rice taste so good individually. When ever I am running out of time, I used to make this combination cooking. Much simple and rich to taste.

Ingredients for Vegetable Steam Rice:


Basmathi rice - 1 cup
Jeera - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Clarified butter/Oil - 2 tablespoon
Veggies - 3/4 cup (carrot, fresh beans)
Coriander powder -1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Water- 2 1/4 cup

Ingredients for Grinding:

Red chilli - 4 nos
Groundnut - 2 to 3 tablespoon (raw)
Coconut - 2 tablespoon
Coriander seeds - 2 tablespoon
Sesame seeds - 1 1/2 tablespoon
Jeera - 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon (Optional)
Garam masala powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 3/4 teaspoon

Ingredients for Gravy:

Brinjal - 6
Onion - 1 (large, thinly sliced)
Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Water - 1 cup (approximately)
Oil - 3 tablespoon

Method to make Vegetable Steam Rice:

1. Wash and soak basmathi rice for 20 mins.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add jeera to it. Once jeera is sauteed add beans, carrot to it. Saute it for 2 mins. Add basmathi rice into the pan and add salt, coriander powder. Mix well to make sure rice is coated with a layer of oil.
3. Add water to it and pressure cook it for 3 whistle.

Method to make Masala:

1. In a kadai, dry roast groundnut and red chilli. Once they are completely roasted, add coriander seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, jeera one by one  and saute well until all ingredients are roasted.
2.  Allow them to cool off and blend all the roasted ingredients in mixer by adding chilli powder, garam masala, salt.
3. Once all ingredients are powdered add little water and blend again to make fine paste.

Method to make Gutti Vankaya Kura:

1. Wash brinjal and cut them into x shape from reverse.
2. Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in nonstick kadai/ pan. Add brinjal to it and saute it well until it soften. Remove brinjal from pan and keep it in a plate.
3. To the left out oil, add onions and saute well until it turns slight brown color. Add Ginger garlic paste to it and saute it until its raw smell vanish off.
4. Add grounded masala, tamarind juice and 1/4 water to it and mix well. Once oil started oozing at corner, add semi cooked brinjal to it and simmer the flame.
5. Mix well by adding enough salt and close the pan with its lid. Make sure the entire gravy is cooked only in slow flame as this gravy get easily burnt.
6. Allow the gravy to cook for 10 mins. Once gravy is completely cooked, oil oozes out completely, which is the right indication that gravy is in right consistency.

Exotic Vegetable Steam rice with Gutti Vankaya Kura is ready to be served.

Tips:

1. If needed we can add bay leaf, cardamom and garam masala while cooking rice. But gravy contains garam masala flavor. So it is better to steam rice without garam masala.

Karuveppilai Poondu Kuzhambu

Combining 2 major ingredients and making dishes out of it such as AlooGopi, Butter Paneer, karruveppilai poondu kuzhambu gives miraculous taste. In SouthIndian traditional dishes these garlic and curry leaves plays a vital role in almost all dishes. Both curry leaves and garlic have more medical value. When they are combined it gives exotic aroma and fantastic taste. It is an authentic chettinad recipe where garlic and curry leaves are fried and blended. This kuzhambu is served along with Steam rice, Curd rice, dosa and idli.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4 nos

Ingredients:

Curry leaves - 1 cup
Garlic - 100 gms
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Tomato -1 (large, finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Dry Red chilli - 4 nos
Jaggery (grated) - 2 tablespoon
Tamarind juice - 3/4 cup (thick)
Sesame oil - 3 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 2 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Oil to deep fry
Water - 1 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Deep fry fresh curry leaves in oil and allow them to cool off. Blend it in a mixer by adding little water.



2. Soak lemon size tamarind in lukewarm water and extract around 3/4th cup of thick tamarind juice.
3. Deep fry garlic cloves in oil and blend 3/4th of it in a mixer by adding little water and make it a thick paste. Remaining deep fried garlic cloves will be added to kuzhambu at last.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add red chillies. Saute it for few seconds and then add mustard seeds to it. Once mustard splutter, add onion to it. Saute onion until it turns brown color (ie) caramelization stage, this add sweetness to this recipe.



5. Add ginger garlic paste to it and mix well.
6.Add chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to it. Saute it and cook it well by adding 1/2 cup water. Cook well until raw smell vanish off.



7. Now add tamarind extract, jaggery and mix well. Cook this mixture around 10 mins. Finally add grounded garlic paste and curry leaf paste to it and salt. Mix well and allow it to cook well until oil separates from it sides.



8. Switch off the flame and add remaining deep fried garlic cloves to it.

Yummy and healthy Karuveppilai Poondu kuzhambu is ready to be served. Serve it with hot steam rice by adding little gingelly oil.

Tips:

1. Jaggery could be reduced little, if you need this recipe little spicy.

Coconut milk rice - (Rich & heavy)

Coconut has more medical value when it is been used at right proportion on daily cooking. Even cholesterol wont increase if we use the grated coconut raw without cooking. So in most of my curries I used to add grated coconut at last and immediately switch off flame.  My mom used to do this coconut milk rice recipe more frequently as my dad loves it. This rice is very easy to make once all ingredients are kept ready. It's my favorite one pot cooking recipe. Simple to make, also more delicious and rich. One will feel heavy after eating this recipe :). This rice is served along with any fry or gravies such as kurma, bindhi gravy, egg gravy...

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves -4 

Ingredients:

Soaked & boiled channa - 1 cup (White/black)
Basmathi rice - 1 cup
Water- 1 1/2 cup
Coconut milk (1st milk /thick milk) -3/4 cup
Onion - 1 large (Finely chopped)
Green chilli - 1 (slit into 4)
Curry leaves - few nos
Cashewnut - few nos
Cardamom - 2 no
Bay leaf - 1 no
Cinnamon stick - 1 no
Cloves - 2
Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Raisin, nuts - 1 tablespoon (optional)
Ghee - 2 tablespoon
Oil- 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste 
 
Method:

1. Soak white/black channa overnight and pressure cook it for 4 whistles. Make sure it is par-boiled to 70%, as it is cooked along with rice again.

 

2. Wash and soak basmathi rice for 20 mins.

3. Heat oil and ghee together in pressure pan. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, jeera, cardamom, geeen chilli, curry leaves and cashewnut one after other and saute well in oil.
4. Add sliced onion and saute well until it turns slight brown color. Now add basmathi rice and par-boiled channa to it and saute well.



5. Finally add water, coconut milk and salt to it. Pressure cook it for 4 whistles.
6. Serve it by adding raisin, and nuts finally.



Now yummy and tasty Coconut milk rice is ready to be served.

Serving Tips:

1. It is optional to use raisin, cashew and nuts. It is added to increase richness of the dish. This rice almost taste like navarathna pulao.
2. While serving we can even add pomegranate, dry fruits and chopped pineapple to it.

Stuffed Brinjal Curry (Dry)

Brinjal is my hubby's favorite vegetable. He loves it so much when I make brinjal curry stuffed. Different versions of Brinjal curry is available. This Brinjal stuffed dry curry goes well with Curd rice, Rasam, Sambar rice. I too love this brinjal curry that too when I have it with curd rice.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves : 4

Ingredients for dry roast:

Channa dhall - 1 teaspoon

Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon

Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoon

Dry coconut - 2 teaspoon

Groundnut (raw) - 1 teaspoon

Dry Red chilli - 4 nos

Ingredients for making Curry:

Shallots (Small onion) - 10 nos

Garlic cloves - 4 nos

Sesame oil - 3 tablespoon

Purple brinjal - 5 nos (small if available)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - few

Coriander - few (chopped)

Salt - for taste

Water -1/2 cup

Method:

1. Dry roast the ingredients (channa dhall, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, groundnut and chilli) in low flame and allow it to cool off.  Blend it in a mixer to fine powder.

2. Saute shallots and garlic clove in a kadai by adding a teaspoon of oil. Add these sauted shallots, garlic and little salt to the fine powder and blend it again to make a fine paste. If needed add little water to make a thick paste.

3. Wash and dry brinjal. Cut them into X shape from reverse side just half through. Stuff the grounded paste into brinjal using finger or spoon and press them tightly.

4. In a pan, add 2 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and saute the stuffed brinjal for 10 mins until it is semi cooked.

5. Now add rest of the masala, turmeric powder, curry leaves, salt and 1/4 cup of water to the pan and saute well. Simmer the flame and close the pan with its lid. Allow it to cook for 10 mins. Make sure to saute the gravy in between to avoid the gravy getting burnt.

6. Garnish Brinjal curry with coriander leaves and now the exotic dry stuffed brinjal curry is ready to be served.

Tips:

1. Groundnut and sesame gives good aroma and taste to this dry curry. Also these ingredients get burnt easily. So make sure to cook the curry in low flame.

Sambar Rice (One pot cooking)

Simple, authentic homemade but yummy and common recipe is Sambar rice. I love to make one pot cooking most of the times that too when rushing to office. But always outcome of one pot cooking is awesome. Sambar rice with pappad/ chips/ vadagam is a fantastic combination. My mother-in-law is a  fan of my Sambar rice that too when i serve it hot by adding little ghee to it :).

Its a whole meal as it contains veggies, rice, dhall all combined together. This authentic South Indian sambar rice slightly differs from bisibelabath just by dry roast masala ingredients.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4 

Ingredients:

Boiled Rice - 1 cup
Toor dhall - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 (big size, thinly sliced)
Shallots - 10 nos (optional)
Tomato - 1 (ripen, chopped)
Veggies (cubed/diced) - 1 cup (carrot, beans, potato, brinjal, broadbeans[avarraikai])
Peanut (raw) - 1/4 cup
Sprouted Peas or chickpeas- 1/4 cup
Tamarind extract - 1/2 cup
Sambar powder - 2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee - 2 tablespoon (Optional)
Salt to taste
Water - 6 cup

For seasoning:

Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhall (split) - 1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 2 tablespoon

For making dry roast powder:

Fenugreek seeds (venthayam) - 3 tablespoon

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice, dhall together for 20 mins.
2. Dry roast fenugreek seeds in a kadai. Allow it to cool off and grind it into fine powder.
3. Heat oil directly in pressure pan and add mustard, when it splutter add seasoning ingredients (urad dhall, curry leaves, red chilli) one by one and saute it.
4. Add thinly sliced onion or shallots to it and saute until onion turns into translucent color, then add chopped tomatoes to the pan. Saute it for few mins and add all the veggies, sprouts and peanuts. Once again mix well all the ingredients in the pan to make sure veggies are slighted cooked.
5. Now add asafoetida, turmeric, sambar powder into it and saute well.
6. Add rice and dhall mixture into the pan and mix well with veggies. pour 6 cups of water and 1/2 cup of tamarind extract into the pan. Once again mix well by adding salt to it.
7. Check for the salt and finally add 1 1/2 teaspoon of fenugreek powder into the pan and close the pan with its lid.
8. Put whistle once steam comes out through vent. Wait for 6 whistle and switch off the flame.
9. Once pressure reduces, remove whistle from cooker and open the lid. In the top there will be more water above the rice level. Don't remove the water. Just mix the rice well by adding 2 tablespoon of ghee.

Yummy Yummy hot Sambar rice is ready to be served.

Tips:

1. All Veggies are not compulsory. Its to our choice. Similarly peanut and sprouts are added to enrich the flavor and crunchiness of dish only.
2. Fenugreek powder is added only a little. To make it fine powder minimum 3 tablespoon seed is required in small mixer to blend. Otherwise when quantity to grind is very less we won't get fine powder. You can store this powder for months together.
3. If there is no sambar powder at home, then put 1 teaspoon of chilli powder and 2 teaspoon of coriander powder instead of sambar powder.
4. When sambar rice is mixed at last, it will be in little liquid condition. Once it cool down, it will come into right consistency. This is the same case for sakarrai pongal. It should be little liquid when it is hot, so that after cooling it will the right consistency to eat.
5. Don't change ratio of water for this recipe. If not you wont get soft sambar rice after it cools down.
6. Fenugreek powder are added to increase the aroma of sambar rice.

Coconut Burfi (20 mins recipe)

After long time, I am making a post on sweets. I love to eat as well to make sweets. Coconut burfi is the most easiest dish one could make with simple ingredients. We have coconut tree at home, whenever we yield more coconut my mom used to make burfi for me. After marriage its been hard time I could have eat it. But still when ever she come to my home,  she do this and bring it for me. I feel the love of her through burfi, as sweet as burfi :).

My husband too love this coconut burfi much. Since my mom get me whenever she comes, I never made it though I know it is easy to make. Today its a pleasant day, almost its been year after I met my friend. I made this special sweet for her and took it.

Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time : 20mins
Yields - 15 burfi

Ingredients: 

Coconut grated - 1 cup (fresh coconut)
Sugar -1 cup
Cardamom powder -1 teaspoon
Ghee - 2 teaspoon

Method:

1. In a pan (preferably nonstick kadai) add sugar, enough water(1/2 cup) to cover sugar level and boil it. Once sugar dissolves, you could see frothy consistency. At this stage add cardamom powder and grated coconut.



2. In medium flame, stir it frequently until you see coconut mixture foaming up.  Add ghee at this stage. Make sure when you take small portion of mixture outside you can make balls out of it. It is a indication to switch off flame.



3. Pour it on a greased tray or plate. Press the mixture tightly on the place with the spoon. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes. With the greased knife cut into square shaped burfi's



4. Once it is completely cooled off, you can take the burfi into pieces.

Tips:

1. Try to grate coconut until white content. Once you reach end of grating coconut. Avoid the last portion. This helps in maintaining the white colour of burfi.
2. Frothy consistency is almost a level before one sting consistency.
3. Sugar can even be reduced to 3/4 + 1 tablespoon.