Monday, November 24, 2014

Garlic Podi | Poondu Podi | Podi Varieties for Rice

garlic podi
A typical south Indian meal is incomplete without a Podi(spicy powder).We prepare various podi varieties,while few are paired with breakfast others with rice.Mom makes various podi varieties and she always packs a few varieties for me when I visit her.Her Kakarakaya(Bittergourd) podi is quite tasty and is the most favorite one at our home.

garlic podi


I use more amount of garlic in my cooking as we both love it very much and this Garlic podi is no exception.It is fiery and loaded with lots of flavor and taste.As I usually stock these podi varieties sometimes it is really helpful on those lazy days. I just prepare steamed rice and mix various podi varieties with hot rice and ghee along with fryums and papads- a satisfying meal for me.


Check out other Podi recipes for rice in my blog:
                  

Garlic Podi | Velluli Karam Podi Recipe:
shelf life:2-3 months
Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time:40 mins | Total time:50 mins
Cuisine: South Indian | Category: Accompaniments - Podis

Ingredients:
1 cup finely sliced Dry Coconut
1/4 cup peeled Garlic cloves or 2 whole Garlic Pods
8 Red Chillies(Spicy Guntur variety)
4-5 Byadige Red Chillies
1 amla sized ball of Tamarind
2 tbsp grated Jaggery(optional)
1 tsp Mustard seeds
3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

  • Peel the garlic pods slightly and churn it in the mixer in whipper mode to a consistency of big granules.
  • Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the churned garlic granules on a low-medium flame until they turn slightly crispy.
  • Grind dry coconut,red chillies(both the varieties),salt,jaggery and tamarind to a coarse powder.You taste the mixture at this point and adjust the taste by adding more of tamarind or red chillies or salt.
  • Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds and add the ground powder and fried garlic granules and mix properly.Switch off the flame.
  • Let the mixture cool and store it in an airtight container and you can use it for 2-3 months.

Serve it with hot steamed rice,ghee and raw onion.You can even serve it with Idli/Dosa.
poondu podi

Notes:
  1. The addition of jaggery is optional but it balances the taste properly.
  2. I do not peel the garlic pods completely and I prefer to keep a layer on garlic.

garlic karam podi

Monday, November 17, 2014

Sorakaya Telagapindi Kura | Easy Lauki Sabzi | South Indian Curries

bottlegourd curry
A simple dry curry or a vegetable fry, along with dal or sambar and rasam makes a perfect south Indian meal for me any day. As DH is not very fond of few vegetables like bottlegourd, ridge gourd and few other varieties, I usually end up making them for lunch.During my Postnatal period, my mom used to prepare this bottlegourd curry with telagapindi a lot as it aids in good production of milk for new mothers.Telagapindi is basically the residual powder after the process of extraction of oil from sesame seeds and it is a good source for the increase of milk production for the new moms in their postnatal period.In case if you do not have it you can even use sesame seed powder or totally avoid both, still this curry tastes nice.

Check out other Andhra style Curry recipes here:
sorakaya kura

Sorakaya Telagapindi Kura Recipe:
Serves 2-3
Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 30 mins
Cuisine: Andhra - Indian | Category: Side dish

Ingredients:
3 cups peeled and diced tender Bottlegourd
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 tsp Garlic Chili powder
2 tbsp Telagapindi or 1 tbsp Sesame seed powder(optional)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 red chilli, broken
a sprig of Curry leaves
1 1/2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
  • Heat oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds.Add chana dal and urad dal and fry until the dals turn red in color.
  • Now add red chili,curry leaves and fry until the leaves wilt.
  • Add finely chopped onion and fry until they become translucent.
  • Add the chopped bottle gourd and haldi and fry for 2 mins.Sprinkle little water and cover it and cook and until it is properly cooked.
  • Add garlic chili powder, salt and telagapindi(or sesame seed powder) and mix it nicely and cover it and cook for 2-3 mins.
Serve it hot with rice/roti/chapati.

Notes:
  1. The addition of telagapindi or sesame seed powder is optional,but it adds to the taste.
  2. If you do not have garlic chili powder, just add red chili powder.
  3. You can replace bottle gourd with ridge gourd or raw papaya and follow the same process.
lauki sabzi


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Chettinad Kuzhi Paniyaram | South Indian Breakfast Recipes

chettinad kuzhi paniyaram
'Paniyaram' which is also called as 'Paddu' or 'Gunta Ponganalu' is a very common breakfast variety at my place. I have posted various paniyaram recipes before like Avalakki Paddu(Atukula Guntaponganalu)Instant Oats Paniyaram and Paniyaram using Dosa batter.
Paniyarams can be prepared as sweet or spicy and today I am posting a spicy version of Chettinad Paniyaram.When the dosa batter turns sour, it is ideal to use it to make paniyaram and I usually make the paniyarams at least once when I prepare dosa batter. If I have to prepare for more number of people I prefer following this method to prepare Paniyaram, though there is not much of difference in taste when you compare with the regular Paniyaram made out of dosa batter,these Chettinad Paniyarams turns out slightly crispier because of the addition of the par boiled rice.The addition of coconut and shallots makes it taste slightly different when compared to the regular paniyaram.We can either add the ingredients raw or saute them in oil slightly and then add to the batter,both versions have their own taste and both ways it tastes nice.But I personally prefer the addition of raw onions to the batter rather than frying them as the raw onions add nice crunch to the paniyarams.We even add soaked chana dal to paniyaram but if you do not like you can skip using it.
kara kuzhi paniyaram
Check out other versions of paniyaram here.
chettinad kuzhi paniyaram

Chettinad Kuzhi Paniyaram Recipe:
Serves 5-6 ppl | Author: Prathibha
Prep time:45 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 1 hr 15 mins + Fermentation time
Cuisine:Chettinad | Category:Breakfast/Snack

Ingredients:
for batter:
1 cup Raw Rice
1 cup Par Boiled Rice or Idli Rice
1/2 cup Whole white Urad dal
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
Salt to taste

to mix into batter:
2 tbsp Bengal gram/Chana dal,soaked(optional)
4-5 Green Chillies,finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped Curry leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped Coconut pieces or grated Coconut
15-20 Shallots/Small Onions,finely chopped
1/4 cup Sour Curd,beaten
1/4 tsp Cooking Soda
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Urad dal
1 1/2 tbsp Oil

Oil,to fry

Method:
to make batter:
  • Wash and soak rice varieties together and urad dal with fenugreek seeds separately for 3-4 hrs.Grind Urad dal in the wet grinder till smooth and frothy.
  • Grind rice separately into fine rawa consistency.
  • Mix rice and dal mixture nicely and add salt and ferment it for 10-12 hrs.
to make Paniyaram:
  • Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds and add urad dal and fry.
  • Add chopped curry leaves, green chillies and shallots and fry until they become translucent.
  • Add grated/chopped coconut and saute for a minute and let the mixture cool.
  • Add sour curd to the batter and mix nicely.
  • Add the fried mixture and soaked chana dal to the batter and mix well.
  • In a ladle add cooking soda and 1 tbsp water and mix well and add to the batter and mix nicely.
  • Heat the paniyaram/gunta ponganalu pan/Aebliskever Pan and add 1/2 tsp of oil in each impression.When it is piping hot keep the flame on LOW and pour the batter using a table spoon until it covers 3/4th and pour some more oil over it and cover it with lid. Let it roast on low-medium flame until golden brown in color.
  • When you see the edges turning golden in color use a sharp knife and run it around the edges of  each paniyaram and turn them to the other side and roast until golden brown on both the sides.
chettinad kuzhi paniyaram

Notes:
  1. You can avoid adding curd and ferment the batter for 15-16 hrs until its sour.
  2. I like to add soaked chana dal as it adds nice bite to the paniyaram.
  3. The addition of cooking soda makes the paniyaram light and fluffy, so do not miss it.
  4. Shallots add nice taste,if you do not have them you can even add normal onions.
  5. If you are short of time you can skip tadka part and add everything raw to the batter and make paniyarams.Skip mustard and urad dal in this case.
kuzhi paniyaram