Lemon Rasam

No South Indian meal is complete with out rasam and there are so many varieties of rasam's which are prepared at our home.This is one of the most simple rasam's which can be prepared in a matter of 5 mins provided you have cooked dal in your hand already.Cooked dal is tempered with ginger and green chillies and lemon juice is added to give the tangy ness to the rasam instead of adding tamarind pulp.This can be even savored as a soup when you are ill.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Toor dal/Masoor dal/Moong dal
4-5 green chillies,slitted
1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi
1/4 tsp finely chopped ginger(optional)
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped coriander
salt to taste

for Tadka:
1 tsp Cumin seeds/jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves
6-8 black peppercorns,slightly crushed
a pinch of hing/asafoetida
1 tsp ghee



Method:

• Pressure cook dal with little turmeric for 3 whistles until soft.Mash it with a back of laddle slightly.
• Add in enough water ,salt and let it come to a boil.
• In the Mean while heat ghee in the tadka pan and crackle mustard seeds and jeera.Add finely chopped ginger,crushed black pepper and green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add curry leaves and hing and mix well.Pour this into the boiling rasam and add coriander leaves and let it boil.
• Now mix it properly and switch off the stove.
• Add lemon juice and give a stir.
  

Serve hot with rice,any vegetable fry and papad.

Note:

• If you use masoor dal,you can directly cook it on the stove for 10-12 minutes and then proceed with the same procedure.
• Though moong dal and Toor dal can be cooked on the stove top,it takes bit longer to get cooked.So better cook them in the pressure cooker.
• Add lemon at the end after you switch off the stove,otherwise it will turn bitter.

Potlakaya Kobbari kura/Snakegourd-Coconut curry

This is a simple stir fry made up of snake gourd and goes well with rice.In our house mom rarely cooked anything with this vegetable so even I was not fancy about this vegetable and even after my marriage I never thought of buying this vegetable.But a blogger in me is tempting me these days to buy all sorts of vegetables and experiment with them.So whenever my MIL visits us I make sure that I get to learn some Andhra recipes from her and this one is one among them which I learnt when she visited us recently.

Ingredients:

1 long snake gourd(potlakaaya)
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
3-4 green chillies
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
a sprig of curry leaves
1/4 tsp haldi
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil


Method:

• Cut snake gourd length wise and scoop out the flesh inside and cut into thin slices.
• Heat oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds,add chana dal and urad dal fry for a minute.Add curry leaves and fry for half a minute.
• Add snake gourd slices and cook for a minute.Now add salt and turmeric to it and mix properly.Cover with a deep plate filled with water and let it cook on steam on low heat for 12-15 until snake gourd pieces are soft and done by stirring it occasionally.
• Grind grated coconut and green chillies to a coarse paste.
• Add this coconut mixture to the cooked vegetable and mix with it properly and let it cook on open for two mins.Remove it from heat.

Serve it with hot rice,rasam and papad.

Gobi Kasoori

Gobi is one of my favorite vegetable and I always like experimenting different curries with it and this is one among those experiments which I tried recently from my collection of Sanjeev Kapoor's recipes.Normally I do add kasuri methi to the curries and gravies but in a smaller quantity.But this recipe calls for more quantity of kasuri methi which caught my attention to try it immediately.The original recipe mentioned 1/2 cup of kasuri methi,as I did not have that much quantity at that time I used only 1/4 cup and I was also not sure whether more quantity of kasuri methi can make the curry little bitter or not.But the outcome was so tasty and actually it enhanced the taste of the curry with its unique flavor.

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower
1/4 cup dried kasuri methi(2-3 tbsp)
2 medium onions,chopped
4 green chillies,chopped
2 medium tomatoes,chopped
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup yogurt/curd
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
salt to taste
1+1/2 " ginger
10 garlic cloves
1 tbsp oil
oil to deep fry


Method:

• Separate gobi into florets.
• Grind ginger garlic into a fine paste.
• Heat oil (enough for deep fry) in a kadai and once it is hot drop the gobi florets and fry them until golden brown.Drain on absorbent paper to remove excess oil.(Here I avoided deep frying and roasted gobi florets in 1 tsp of oil on low flame until crisp)
• Dry roast kasuri methi slightly on a tawa/pan on medium heat.cool it and powder it.
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan add mustard seeds and allow to crackle.Add onions and cook until golden brown in color.
• Add green chillies and saute along with onions.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and stir for a moment.Add tomatoes and stir.Add half cup of water,cover and cook.
• Add coriander powder,turmeric powder and mix.Add beaten curds to it and stir well.cook on high heat for 5mins.
• Add fried cauliflower and mix well.Add salt and kasuri methi powder and mix.
• Cook for 5-7 mins and serve hot.

Serve it with Roti/Chapathy/Paratha.

Aratikaaya pachi pulusu/Raw Banana in tangy tamarind stew

Pachi pulusu is something that can be made in jiffy as it does not require any cooking process.It is made up of diluted tamarind pulp with finely chopped onions and green chillies and adjusted the sourness of tamarind by adding equal quantity of jaggery and some salt to taste.When I run out of time or I really need some zing to my taste buds I generally prepare pachi pulusu.Where as this is a new version of it by adding mashed raw banana and sesame powder which makes it still more yummier and also some cooking process is involved.This is a completed balanced flavorful stew which tickles your tongue with its unique taste.Try it to enjoy the flavors of it.

Ingredients:

2 Raw banana's
1 big lemon sized Tamarind
2-3 tbsp grated jaggery
1 medium onion,finely chopped
3-4 green chillies,slit
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp chopped coriander
salt to taste

for tadka:
1 tsp ghee/Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 red chillies,broken

Method:

• Pressure cook raw banana for 2-3 whistles until it is completely cooked.Cool it,remove the peel and mash it completely.
• Slightly toast sesame seeds in a pan and cool it.Grind it to a fine powder.
• Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water fr 15 mins and remove the pulp.Add grated jaggery and salt to it and mix properly.
• Add slit green chillies to it and mash it with hand completely.If you are allergic to green chillies like me,slight crush the green chillies in a mortar and pestle,this process also works fine.
• Now add some water,mashed raw banana and sesame seed powder to it and mix and adjust the salt,spice and sweetness according to your taste by adding the respective ingredients.
• Heat ghee in a small tadka pan,crackle mustard seeds and fry red chillies for a minute and add this tadka to the mixture and add chopped coriander and mix well and serve.

Note:

1. This is generally not heated on stove,it is served cold with hot steaming rice.
2. Use oil in seasoning for a Vegan version.

Dahi vada / Mosaru vade / Perugu vadalu

Dahi/perugu vada is one of the famous South Indian snack which is served along with lunch in any function,marriage and festival.I love the combination of this cool dahi vada which complements well with a full fledged spicy meal and it can be even served as a evening snack.When I generally make vada's for breakfast I prepare one extra batch to make dahi vada's which are generally savored later in the day.This will be a wonderful food in summer's as we do not like eating hot and spicy food in that hot weather.Even though it is deep fried,as it is soaked in dahi it will be a perfect soothing snack on those hot days.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup grated carrot
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder

To make Vada's:

1 Cup whole Urad dal(white)
1 tbsp finely chopped coconut pieces
1/2 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp slightly crushed pepper(optional)
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves
salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

For making Curd/dahi mixture:

3-4 cups curd/yogurt(preferably one day old)
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
salt to taste

For Tadka:

1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
3 red chillies,broken
5-6 curry leaves
a pinch of hing


Method:

• Soak urad dal overnight or atleast for 1 hr.Use the round white variety urad dal for this.
  
• Strain the soaked urad dal and grind it to a fluffy mixture in the grinder(even a mixie also does the same job,but in grinder you get more fluffy batter which is apt for making vada's).Add water only if needed,do not add much water while grinding this.Try to beat this mixture with hands for two mins continuously which helps in yielding fluffier vada's.
• Now add chopped coconut pieces,green chillies,ginger,coriander leaves,curry leaves,jeera,crushed pepper,salt to it and mix well.
• Whisk yogurt with salt properly.Add grate ginger and green chilli paste to it and mix well.
• Heat a tsp of oil in a small tadka pan and crackle mustard seeds and add urad dal,broken red chillies,curry leaves and fry for a minute and add hing and remove it from the stove.Add the tadka to the beaten curd mixture and reserve some for the garnish.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai on medium heat and mean while grease your left palm(or wet your hands) and place little vada mixture and flatten it and make a hole in it and slowly transfer to the right hand and slip it to the hot oil carefully.(You can do this with right hand if you are expertized in it or you can even try patting it on a greased banana leaf or greased milk cover)
• Repeat the same process for the remaining mixture.Drop 4-5 at a time,do not drop in more or else they will stick to each other.
• Let them fry on medium flame until crisp and deep golden brown in color on both sides and drop them into the curd mixture and let it soak in it for 30-45 mins .Check for detailed pics for Vade here.
• Now remove the soaked vada's and arrange them on a plate and pour over the left over curd mixture and sprinkle red chilli powder and roasted jeera powder all over the vada's.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and grated carrot.
• Chill them and serve.Note:
  

• You can make vada's just out of urad dal mixture (mixed with salt) by avoiding adding all the ingredients under the "To make vada's" section.I generally make vada's for breakfast and I use the same vada's for the perugu vada also.There is no difference except that it will be slightly spicy when u bite into green chillies.So try to adjust the green chillies according to your taste.
• It can be refrigerated upto next day but will slightly turn soar.

Check my earlier version for Medu Vada/Uddine Vade here.

Mint Rasam/Pudina Rasam

This rasam is quite different from the regular tomato or dal rasam as it is loaded with full of flavors infused by mint in it and is a perfect combination with rice and some papad.You can even savor this as a soup if you dilute it with water bit more and is perfect for rainy season.

Ingredients:

1 small bunch of mint(approx 1 cup)
2 tbsp grated dry coconut
4-5 dry red chillies
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp grated Jaggery(optional)
a pinch of turmeric
4-5 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp ghee

Method:

• Grind grated dry coconut,red chillies and salt to a fine powder.Add mint leaves and grind again with little water to form a coarse paste.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add the ground paste and fry until the raw smell goes away.
• Add tamarind pulp,jaggery,turmeric and 1 and 1/2 cups of water and let it boil.Now check the taste of it and adjust accordingly adding salt,water if required.
• Heat ghee in a small tadka pan and crackle mustard seeds,add curry leaves and hing and fry and add this tadka to the boiling rasam and remove it from heat.

Serve it hot with rice,some fry and papad.

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