Chilli Parota

Myself and my hubby is fond of chilli parota. In hotel now a days it is difficult to get chilli parota with its unique taste. Most of the hotel mix piece parota, veg parota, kaima parota with chilli parota where its original texture changes. Its a very simple dish to make when all ingredients are kept ready. It is not good to consume parota often as it is made of maida. But rarely we can make this dish using frozen parota. It is mostly available in super markets and stores like nilgiris. Even we can use frozen wheat parota. But taste will vary accordingly.

I love this dish more when it is served crisp and hot. Its quite spicy but still interesting to consume along with Onion raita.

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins
Serves -2

Ingredients:

Frozen parota - 3 nos
Green Capsicum - 2 nos
Onion - 2 nos (medium size)
Green chilli - 2 nos
Oil - for deep fry
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli sauce - 1 tablespoon
Soya sauce - 1 tablespoon
Tomato sauce - 2 tablespoon
Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Cut onion, capsicum into small cubes as shown below. Cut green chilli in diagonal as shown.



2. Heat tawa and toast parota by adding little oil until it turns slight crisp on both the sides.



3. Allow parota to cool off and cut them into small cubes using scissor.



4. Deep fry the parota in oil. Make sure 80% quantity of parota are semi roasted in oil and 20% of parota are well roasted.



5.Heat little oil in kadai and add onion, green chilli. Once onion turns translucent colour, add capsicum and saute well for 1 min and then add ginger garlic paste. Cook well until its raw smell vanish off.



6. Add chilli sauce, soya sauce, tomato sauce, chilli powder, turmeric powder, little salt one by one to it. Mix well and cook in medium flame for 5 mins.

 
 
7. Finally add fried parota and mix well such that each parota is coated with masala. Mix well and cook it for 2 mins. Sprinkle little sugar and saute well.



Serve hot with Onion Raita. Crispy, yummy and spicy chilli parota are ready to be served.

(click above link for Onion Raita recipe)

Tips:

1. Cut onion, capsicum, parota in cubes so that it looks uniform when we present it on plate.
2. Frying 80:20 parota crisp will add additional taste while eating. When few parota are soft to chew, few will be crisp in between to eat.
3. If less spicy chilli parota is preferred, reduce chilli powder quantity to 1/2 teaspoon.

Onion Raita/ Vengaya Thayir Pachadi

Onion Raita is most easy sidedish one could make. It goes well with biryani, pulao, chapathi, and with Paratha's. It is much simple to prepare in 5 mins.

 
Ingredients:

Curd - 100 gms
Onion - 1 no (medium size)
Salt - to taste
Green chilli - 1 no (optional)
Coriander leaves - few (optional)

Method:

1. Peel off skin from onion and cut them into thin slices.
2. Finely chop green chillies and coriander leaves.
3. In a bowl mix onion, green chilli, coriander leaves and salt.
4. Add thick curd/yogurt to it and serve.

Tips:

1. Onion should be thinly sliced otherwise it wont add better taste.
2. Curd should be thick and slight sour taste.

Inji pachadi for Sodhi

Ginger pachadi/ Inji pachadi is  a best combination for Sodhi. Sodhi will not be spicy to consume, so it goes well with this pachidi. Ginger will increase digestion.

Ingredients:

Ginger -1/4 cup (chopped into fine pieces)
Ghee - 2 teaspoon
Oil -2 teaspoon
Jaggery - 3 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder -3/4 teaspoon
Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup (thick)

For Seasoning:

Dry Red chilli - 2 nos
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few nos
Asafoetida/ hing -1/2 teaspoon

Method:

1. Wash and peel of ginger and chop into fine small pieces.
2. Heat ghee in a kadai and saute chopped ginger. Saute well until ginger turns golden brown colour. Allow it to cool off.
3. In a mixer add sauted ginger, jaggery, little water, chilli powder and blend it.
4. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds, once it splutter add urad dhal, curry leaves, asafoetida and red chilli. Saute it for a min.
5. Add grounded paste and thick tamarind paste. Cook well until raw smell vanish off. It will take 7-8 mins hardly.

Serve it with Sodhi Saapadu. It's a wonderful combination to have Sodhi saapdu with Inji Pachadi and potato curry.

Kasa Kasa Pasayam / Poppy seed payasam

Kasa kasa/ poppy seeds is the most important ingredient in South Indian cooking. Usually kasa kasa is used in making korma or to make thick rich gravies, as it enhances taste of food and gives nice flavour and aroma. Kasa kasa has more medicinal value. It cures stomach ulcer and mouth ulcer. When my sister or me is suffering with fever my mom used to make kasa kasa payasam and will give us. It is most  heaviest dish as well more tastier to consume. In siddha this kasa kasa is advised for people who suffer with sleep disorder.

 If we take kasa kasa in good quantity, we will have good and deep sleep. It is good to consume in summer, it reduces body heat and make us cool. This payasam is more easy to make and could be served both hot and chill. This poppy seed is a opium seed and is banned in few countries like Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and in UAE. This poppy seeds are mostly used in Indian, Jewish and European cuisine.
 

Ingredients:

Kasa kasa - 100 gm
Coconut - (grated, cut piece) 1 cup
Jagerry - 1 cup
Cashew nuts - 10 nos
Elachi powder - 1 teaspoon
Water - 1 cup
Ghee -2 teaspoon
Kismis/dry grapes -6 nos
Badam - 10 nos( finely chopped)

Method:

1.Dry roast kasa kasa in medium flame until it turns slight brown colour. Allow it to cool off.



2. In a mixer, blend kasa kasa until it turns 3/4 of powder consistency. Now add coconut pieces into it and blend again.



3. Add water and grind well to make thin paste.
4. Dissolve jaggery in a kadai by adding little water. Filter it to remove dust/mud from jaggery.



5. To jaggery, add elachi powder and grounded paste. Mix well and cook until its raw smell vanish off. It may take maximum of 5 mins. Make sure to mix it throughout the process since it will get burnt easily.



6. Heat ghee, in a separate pan and fry cashew nuts till it turns golden brown colour. Make sure cashew should get fried only in medium flame. Add dry grapes and saute it for few second. Add this mixture to payasam and mix well.


Yummy, hot and rich kasa kasa payasam is ready to be served. Serve by adding few grated badam.

Adai with Coconut chutney

Adai is one of my favorite tiffin, used to have it for breakfast/ dinner. Adai is a combination of lentils and rice. It is a quite heavy dish and could be consumed along with avial, butter, jaggery, chutney and idli podi. My mom used to prepare adai when I am free, such that she feels I will consume more :).
I used to soak required quantity of lentils and rice and grind it in blender, so that fresh adai could be made. Generally drumstick leaves will be added to adai to make it more tastier and healthy tiffin.

Ingredients for Adai:

Thoor dhal - 3/4 cup
Channa dhal - 3/4 cup
Par boiled rice (Puhungal arisi) -1/2 cup
Raw rice - 3/4 cup
Moong dhall - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida - 1 teaspoon
Water - 1/3 cup
Curry leaves - few
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Coconut - 3(1 inch piece, chopped)
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Dry red chilli - 12 nos
Salt - to taste
Grated Carrot or Drumstick leaves- 1/4 cup (optional)

Method to prepare batter: 

1. Wash and soak all dhal (parupu) and rice together for 2 hours.
2. Grind it coarsely in blender by adding red chillies, salt and asafoetida. Batter shouldn't be thick nor watery.



3. To the batter, add finely chopped onion, coconut and curry leaves and mix well.



Method to make Adai:

1. Heat tawa and pour a ladle of batter to it and spread in circular motion.
2. Drizzle oil around adai and make 3 to 4 small holes at centre of adai and pour a teaspoon of oil.
3. Allow it to cook and flip adai to other side. Again drizzle oil around it. Once both side are cooked,  remove it from tawa and serve.

Tasty and crispy Adai is ready to be served. Serve it with coconut chutney/ jaggery.

Tips:
1. Before adding to batter, drumstick leaves should be washed and cooked slightly in a kadai by adding a teaspoon of oil. It adds additional taste and enrich the dish with iron.
2. Grated carrot can be used directly to batter, but this reduces the crispy consistency of adai. Even grind the grated coconut along with lentils and rice to make dish healthy.
3. Holes made at adai will increase the crispy consistency and also helps to cook faster.

Serve crispy adai with coconut chutney, butter and jaggery.

Coconut Chutney

The most easiest chutney that goes well with almost all South-Indian breakfast and tiffin items in coconut chutney. To have chutney tastier, always use fresh coconut for making chutney.

Ingredients for grinding:

Coconut pieces/ grated - 1 cup
Green Chilli- 3 nos
Fried gram dhal (Pottukadalai) - 2 tablespoon
Shallots/ small onion - 4 - 6 nos
Salt - to taste
Water - 1/4 cup

Ingredients for Seasoning:

Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhall - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few
Red Chilli -1 no
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method to make Chutney:

1. In a mixer add grated coconut, green chilli, fried gram dhal and shallots, salt and blend it well.
2. Add water and mix well. Grind it again until chutney consistency is attained.



3. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds splutter, add urad dhal, curry leaves and red chilli. Just saute it for few seconds and add this tempering to coconut chutney.

Paneer, Mushroom Briyani

My mother-in-law is a briyani lover. I used to make briyani with different main ingredients. I love this paneer and mushroom combination briyani. Either we can make it normally by pressure cook or using dum. I have shown the process of making this briyani in dum method. This briyani taste too good when it is cooked with fresh paneer and mushroom.

Ingredients:

Basmathi rice - 1 cup (200 gms)
Water - 3 cup
Thick Curd - 100 gm
Button mushroom - 200 gm
Paneer - 200 gms
Onion - 2 (medium sized onion, thinly sliced length wise)
Tomato - 2 (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoon
Green chilli - 1(slit into 2)
Mint leaves(pudhina) - ¼ cup tightly packed chopped mint leaves
Coriander leaves - ¼ cup tightly packed chopped coriander leaves
Salt - to taste
Oil & ghee mixed - 2 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Briyani masala - 1teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon

Whole Spices:

Fennel seeds (sombhu) - 3/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon stick/ pattai - 1
Cloves / lavangam - 3
Elachi - 2
Bay leaf/ brinji ilai - 1
Star anise/ anachipoo - 1

Method:

1. Soak rice in enough water for 20 mins. After 20 mins drain the water and keep rice aside.
2. Cut each mushroom into 2 pieces and paneer into cubes.
3. In a bowl, add thick curd, mushroom, paneer, half of the chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, briyani masala, ginger garlic paste and little salt. Mix well and allow it to marinate for 20 mins.



4. Heat a teaspoon of ghee, add cloves, cinnamon, rice and saute well for few seconds. Add 3 cups of water, little salt and cook rice upto 70%. Drain excess water and allow the par boiled rice to cool off.

 

5. Heat oil and ghee mixture in a kadai and add the ingredients mentioned in whole spices and saute well.
6. Add onion, green chilli and saute well. Once onion turned translucent colour add tomato, remaining spice powder with little salt and cook until tomato turns mushy consistency.
7. Add marinated mushroom and paneer to kadai and saute well. Finally add coriander leaves and mint leaves and cook until 70% of gravy is ready.



8. In a heavy bottom pan layer  half of the gravy and followed by rice. Then again spread rest of the gravy and rice. Add a teaspoon of ghee on the top and close the lid.



9. Heat tawa well and place this heavy bottom pan over tawa and cook it on a slow flame for 15 mins.

Spicy and yummy Paneer Mushroom paneer briyani is ready to be served. Serve it with Onion raita.

Tips:

1. Curd should be thick for marination. In case if it is little watery, then drain water using muslin cloth.
2. Rice and gravy should be cooked only 70% since, it will be cooked again when kept in dum.
3.Always layering is done by adding gravy as the first layer, such that briyani won't get burnt at the bottom layer.
4. Have a separate tawa for putting dum, since tawa is over heated, we cannot use the same for making dosa.
5. For making briyani in one pot cooking, directly prepare the gravy in the above said method in a pressure pan and add the soaked rice. But water measure vary. Instead of 3 cup add only 2 cup and mix well. Check for salt and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

Curd Rice (Temple prasadham method)

Curd rice is the most comfortable food for me to prepare :) and to consume. Throughout my schooling and college I had taken only curd rice for my lunch. Even whenever I go for parties I used to finish up with curd rice :). Usually friends used to say curd rice become so thick when it is consumed after long hours. Temple method curd rice remains loosy in texture even after long hours.
  

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Water - 4 cup
Salt - to taste
Lukewarm Milk - 250 ml
Curd - 300 ml
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few
Red chilli - 2 nos
Hing/ Asafoetida (perungayam) - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 2 teaspoon

Method:

1. Wash and soak rice for 10 mins. Pressure cook rice for 5 to 6 whistle. Once pressure releases, Mash rice slightly by adding luke warm milk and salt.

2. Allow rice to cool off. Add curd to it and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard to it. Once mustard splutter add urad dhall, red chilli, curry leaves and finally hing. Saute well and add this seasoning to curd rice.

Yummy and simple curd rice is ready to serve. Serve it with brinjal/ potato curry.

Tips:
1. Never add curd to the hot rice, it make rice more thick and will become tough to consume.
2.When rice is cooked for making curd rice, pressure cook it for 2 more whistle.
3. One table spoon unsalted butter can be added to curd rice which adds additional taste to it.
4. To increase richness, pomegranate/pineapple cubes/ fried cashew nuts can be added which serving.
5. Grated carrot and coriander can be added while serving.

Coconut Rice/ Thengai Sadam

Coconut rice is one of the easiest dish one can make in variety rice. Till my PG degree, I used to eat coconut rice once it is freshly made but I feel it is hard to consume late noon since it will get dried. My close friend Subbu brought coconut rice for lunch one fine day, which was awesome and I found the secret to maintain the freshness of coconut rice though it is consumed later. This coconut rice almost take like Rice upma and one can eat without any side dish. Still I love to eat with potato fry as its my favorite combination.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking time : 7 mins
Serves : 2

Ingredients:

Fresh coconut grated - 1 cup
Cooked Raw rice - 2 cup
Onion - 1 (large, finely chopped)
Green chilli - 2 (finely chopped)
Red Chilli - 1 no
Mustard seeds - 2 teaspoon
Urad dhal -1 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Cashew nuts - 10 nos (Optional)
Curry leaves- few
Salt - for taste



Method:

1.  Boil raw rice in pressure cooker. Rice and water would be in the ratio 1:3. Add little oil and salt, so that rice will not get stick together.
2. Spread steamed rice in a plate or large vessel to cool off.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds to it. Once mustard seeds splutter, add urad dhal, red chilli, green chilli, cashew nut, curry leaves and onion one by one and saute well until onion become translucent colour.



4. Add Coconut to the above mixture and saute it for a minute. The freshness of coconut should remain and it shouldn't get dried.
5. Finally add cooked rice and salt to the above mixture and saute it for a min in a low flame until all ingredients gets mixed up with rice. Switch off the flame and transfer it to the serving bowl.

Coconut rice is ready to be served. You can serve it with any fried curries such as yam fry, potato fry...

Tips:

1. Fresh coconut is always preferable as it increases the taste of this rice.
2. Onion will help to sustain moisture in coconut, so that this rice never get dried up.