kalakkalsamayal

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Venthaya Pachadi

#VenthayaPachadi [ fenugreekPachadi ] : This is a thick gravy type dish prepared using #fenugreeksprouts, dates and dried grapes ( kismis ). It is very very difficult to define the taste of the dish. It has all four tastes namely sweet, sour, bitter and spicy. Fenugreek seeds as well as leaves are extensively used in Indian cooking. Most of the people avoid fenugreek due to its bitterness. If the seeds are soaked and then cooked the bitterness comes down little bit and palatable. The seeds are very good for health and beneficial for most common health problems. The sprouts are very good source of protein.
One tablespoon of fenugreek seeds contains
35.5 calories
6.4 grams carbohydrates
2.5 grams protein
0.7 grams fat
2.7 grams fiber
3.7 mg of iron
0.1 mg of copper and manganese
21 mg of magnesium
32.6 mg of phosphorus
The water soluble fiber present in the seeds are good for digestion, helps reduce constipation and decreases cholesterol.

This is a Rajasthani delicacy and came across the recipe from a cookery show. I have included the things that were available in my kitchen and modified according to my taste.

Ingredients :
1/4 cup	Fenugreek sprouts
2 Tbsp	Dried grapes [ kishmish ]
1/2 Tsp	Red chilly powder [ adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Cumin powder
2 Tsp	Coriander powder
1 Tsp	Amchur powder ( Mango powder ) [ adjust ]
1 Tsp	Jaggery
2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seed
1/2 Tsp	Cumin seed
8 - 10	Curry leaves
3 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ sesame / till oil ]

Method :
Soak dried grapes ( kishmish ) in lukewarm water.
Keep aside.

Pressure cook fenugreek sprouts [ Venthayam sprouts ] adding a cup of water for two whistles.

Open the cooker after it ran out of steam.
Set aside.

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seed and cumin seed once oil becomes hot.

Then add cooked fenugreek sprouts with water in which it had been cooked earlier.

Now add red chilly powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.

Stir well until its raw smell goes off.

Then add soaked kishmish and salt.

Allow to simmer for a minute.

Then add Amchur powder [ mango powder ], jaggery and adjust salt.

Simmer until the oil starts floating over the surface.

Add torn curry leaves and turn off the stove.

Sweet, sour, bitter and spicy venthaya pachadi is ready.
This dish goes well with paruppu sadham [ lentil mixed rice ], sambar rice and also curd rice.

Note : Dried dates can also be soaked and added along with kishmish.
To make fenugreek sprouts
Soak fenugreek seeds previous day morning after washing two times in a vessel.
After eight hours drain the water completely and close the vessel with a lid.
Keep overnight at a warm place in your kitchen.
Next day morning the fenugreek sprouts can be seen.

Some more interesting recipes you might like to try

varagu venthaya kanji

fenugreek leaf besan dosai

vengaya vadavam

appam batter

venthaya kuzhambu

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Chowchow Adai

#ChowchowAdai : #Chowchow is known by various names in Thamizh like #SeemaKathirikkai, #BangaloreKatharikkai and is called #Chayote in English.
Last week I went to market to buy a small bottle gourd as I had planned to prepare #adai for dinner. But the bottle gourd available in the shop was too big. I didn't need that much big vegetable as it would go waste. I scanned through other vegetables of the shop and picked up chowchow. I chopped chowchow nicely and prepared adai. The taste of adai was very good and everybody thought it was bottle gourd adai. Here comes the preparation and the ingredients.

Can make approximately 5 - 6 pancakes [ adai ]

Ingredients:
To soak:
1/3 Cup	Boiled Rice [ Idli rice ]
1/3 Cup	Raw Rice
1/3 Cup	Thuvaram paruppu [ Toor dhal ]
1/3 Cup	kadalai paruppu [ bengal gram ]
To grind:
1/2 Tsp	Asafoetida powder
1 Tsp	Fennel seed
1 Tsp	Cumin seed
1/2 inch long	Ginger piece
2 - 3	Dry Red chilly [ adjust ]
1 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
To add:
1	Chowchow, peel and chop nicely
1 medium size	onino, chop nicely
4 Tsp	Coriander leaves chopped
10 - 12	Curry leaves chopped

Gingelly oil [ till/sesame oil ]
Ghee to apply over the adai

Method :
Take boiled rice and raw rice in a vessel.
Wash and soak for 2 hours.
Take thuvaram paruppu and kadalai paruppu in another vessel and soak for 2 hours.

After two hours put asafoetida, ginger piece, red chilly, salt, cumin and fennel seed in a mixie jar.
Grind coarsely and then add soaked rice.
Add little water and grind coarsely.
Transfer into a wide mouthed vessel.

Now take soaked thuvaram paruppu and kadalai paruupu and run for a few seconds without adding water.
Transfer into the same vessel containing rice batter.
Mix well and adjust salt.

Add chopped onion, chowchow, coriander leaves and curry leaves.
Mix well the batter and adjust salt.
The batter should be slightly thick and able to spread on tawa easily.
If it is too thick add little water and mix well.

Heat a tawa [ dosai kal ] on a stove over medium flame.
Apply a teaspoon of oil over hot tawa.
Keep two ladle full of adai batter at the center of the tawa and spread evenly using the bottom side of the ladle.
Apply oil on and along the rim of the adai.
Flip the adai once the rim becomes golden color and cook the other side also.
Transfer on to a plate once both sides become golden color.

Apply 1/2 Tsp of ghee over adai
Serve hot with Aviyal

or coconut chutny

or murungaikai sambar.

Adai tastes too good with jaggery.

You may also like to try :

Paruppu Adai

Vazhaipoo spinach Adai

Pesarattu

Arisi Roti

Kezhvaragu Adai

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Gulab Jamoon

#GulabJamoon : #Jamoon is one of the most preferred sweets of all age group in India and definitely gets a special place in all festivities of India. My mom used to make jamoons from #paalkova - unsweetened #koya. There used to be a separate kadai to make paalkova in my home from fresh cow milk. She used to simmer excess milk of the day over a burner while preparing food. Then transfer into a dry tiffin boxes and allow them to stand for two to three days. She used to make fresh jamoons for evening snacks from koya adding little maida. The taste of those jamoons still lingering in my tongue.
I have tried jamoons a few times from store bought kova. The jamoons made from koya never failed compared to instant jamoon mixes. The taste and texture is always very good. The method of preparing instant gulab jamun from the mix available in the market is very simple and easy to make. But most of the time it may not come out well. Jamoons would either become too soft or too hard inside.
Here comes the method of preparing mouth watering gulab jamoons.

Ingredients :
200 gms	Koya [ unsweetened koya ( kova ) ]
2 Tbsp	Wheat flour
2 Cups	Sugar
1/2 Tsp	Cardamom powder
3 Tbsp	Honey
4 drops	Rose essence
2 Cups	Oil to fry

Method :
Take sugar in a wide mouthed vessel and add 2 cups of water.
Heat on a stove over medium flame.
Keep stirring with a ladle until sugar dissolves and let it boil for 5 minutes.
Turn off the stove.
Now add cardamom powder, honey and rose essence.
Mix well and keep aside.

Take koya and wheat flour in a plate and knead well.
Knead into a smooth and tight dough.
Roll into uniform sized jamoons either long cylindrical or spherical in shape.

Heat oil in a kadai on a stove over low flame.
The oil should be moderately hot and when the jamoons are dropped into the oil, it shouldn't come to the surface of the oil immediately.
Carefully agitate or create a swirl using a dry ladle and then slowly drop 5 to 6 rolled dough.
The swirl prevents the dough from settling at the bottom of the kadai.

While frying the dough, it should stay inside the oil for one or two minutes before coming to the surface. By this way the dough gets cooked uniformly.

Keep stirring or turning the frying jamoons with the ladle till it turns deep golden color.

Transfer on to a plate lined with tissue paper.