KOOZH VADAGAM l KOOZH VADAM l KOOZH KARUVADAM

Koozh vadagam l Koozh Vadam l Koozh Karuvadam is prepared with Rice.  During summer season, the Vadam and appalams are made and stored it in airtight container which remains for years together.  

The Rice is ground to a smooth paste along with Green chilli or Red chilli.  You can opt out the chili if you wish.  Some people add lime juice, we don't.  You need the Chakli press for making this.  You can use the Thenkuzhal, Pakoda or the Star mould for making this.  Also the Omapodi mould.

RAVA PAPAD l RAVA VADAM l VADAMS

Summer season is for making Pickles, Vadams, Fryums, Kurudais etc.  Normally, I do prepare only Elai Vadams but this time I tried the Rava Papad.  First I made with little quantity only and after frying it, everyone liked it so the recipe is here now.

Video:

SABUDANA PAPAD l SAGO PAPAD l VADAMS

Summer season is for making Pickles, Vadams, Fryums, Kurudais etc.  Normally, I do not prepare Sago Papad as nobody likes it at home because it sticks to the tooth, they say.  They also do not like the Sago Kichadi and any recipes of sago.

However, I made this because I have not posted the same in the blog as well as on youtube.   Since the summer has started, do try this.

MELON SEEDS - BENEFITS AND CULINARY USES

Melon Seeds are viewed as being a powerhouse of various nutrients, featuring essential fatty acids that are believed to be important for maintaining a healthy heart. 

· These seeds are said to help in supporting both the immune and cardiovascular systems. They are believed to help in regulating healthy blood- fat levels and provide vital nutrients that are thought to be essential for promoting wound healing. 

· The properties featured in melon seeds are believed to help sustain healthy skin, nails and nerves. 

· Melon Seeds contain high amounts of antioxidants and are viewed as an excellent source of Folic acid, calcium, magnesium, zinc and protein. 

· They also reportedly feature Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Iron, Calcium, Omega- 3 fatty acids and unsaturated oils. The calcium featured is believed to be necessary for maintaining strong healthy bones and teeth, and is considered to help in combating osteoporosis.

Culinary uses

· The seeds are used for preparing delicious sweets and snacks. 

· They can be added to traditional halwas and fruit fudges for enhancing the flavors. 

· The melon seeds can also be used as mouth fresheners when it is mixed with nuts and spices. 

· A paste of melon seeds are added to spicy meat dishes to thicken its consistency. 

· The hard flesh of the melon fruit is not wasted either and is used to season flour for making exotic breads. White melon seeds are fried and then used in making various types of cakes.

· Another innovative usage for melon seeds is in cereals and fruit puddings.

- This can also be used for making korma and  add in cashew based gravy dishes instead of cashews and badams.

TEA MASALA

Normally, we add crushed ginger while making tea.  I love the tea masala also in it. 

A simple and easy tea masala made at home by my neighbour Mrs. Anjali Takalkar and shared for posting on my blog.   Thanks to Anjali for sharing this simple and lovely recipe and thanks for the lovely tea too.

Once we were sitting and chatting on a Sunday, she said she will make tea for us.  As it was around 5.30 pm and we wanted to have the tea very badly.  The tea was very nice and  I asked her which tea masala she is using.  She said it is home made one.  

I asked her for the recipe and she shared the same with me for posting.

Here is the simple, easy and lovely tea masala for you.

BREAD FRUIT VARUVAL

Breadfruit is one of the highest-yielding food plants, with a single tree producing up to 200 or more grapefruit-sized fruits per season. It requires very limited care.

Breadfruit can be eaten once cooked, or can be further processed into a variety of other foods. A common product is a mixture of cooked or fermented breadfruit mash mixed with coconut milk and baked in banana leaves. Whole fruits can be cooked in an open fire, then cored and filled with other foods, such as coconut milk, sugar and butter, cooked meats, or other fruits. The filled fruit can be cooked further so the flavor of the filling permeates the flesh of the breadfruit.

In South, it is used to make sambar, molagootal, thoran, and bhajia / fritters etc.  Recent visit to Kerala made to to try the varuval which was suggested by my friend's wife.  She never used to eat this vegetable but fried one she likes hence I tried to make this varuval.  She and her children liked it very much and it was finished as soon as we fried the same.  

Let us look at the recipe now:

BANANA CHIPS, KAYA VARUTHATHU

Banana chips is famous in Kerala.  This is made with the Nendrankaya a different variety of banana which can be used for making chips as well as ripe fruit.  Pazham pori is made with this ripe banana and pazham nurukku which is must for ONAM sadya. sarkara varatti upperi is also made with this banana.

My mother in law never used to eat this chips store bought one  as she had tooth problems and finds it difficult to eat.  But when I started making it at home, she really used to enjoy it as I make very thin chips which can be broken with your hands and eat it.  She used to keep it in her mouth for some time and then swallow.  

Whenever I get chance to buy the banana, I used to make the chips specially for her.  I have posted the same in the simleindianrecipes.com with the video the link is here:  Plantain chips.

As I was trying to post the Bread fruit varuval, I realised that I have not posted the Banana chips in the blog hence before I posted the above, I thought I will post the Banana chips first.  The real taste of the banana is if you make it in coconut oil.  If you are not comfortable with it, you can use any kind of refined oil.

Let us look at the recipe now:

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UueSwEmteuI

SAMAI ARISI VADAM

In summer season, we make lots of vadams.  Elai vadam is very easy to make as it can be dried under the fan also during the hot season and a day you sun dry the same.  I am trying various kind of vadams now a days and today I prepared the samai arisi vadam.

It is like the elai vadam we make with the normal rice.  Since there is a restriction in my house to consume the oily food, I am trying with limited quantity.  You can increase the same according to your requirement.  This can be eaten fried along with a cup of tea as a snack and served with sambar rice, rasam rice etc.

Let us look at the recipe now:

ADA MANGAI, DRIED SPICY MANGOES

ADA MANGAI is a spicy dried mango pieces stored for years together i.e. a year or two.  My grand mother is from Palakkad and we had a house there the village called Pallanchathanur.

During Mango season, my grand mother makes this ada mangai and we used to go to the back yard to put them for drying.  We used to make ada mangai kootan or curry which is served with hot rice and roasted papad.

You can either cut the mangoes in pieces or  cut both the sides of the mangoes and apply salt and chilli powder  and dry them.  This year shall try to make with the whole mango and upload photo.

You  must select the mangoes  which are sour in taste.  Wash and cut the same into pieces.
Add salt and little turmeric powder, red chilli powder.  keep for a day.   Next day you can see that little water has oozed out in it.   Take out the  mango pieces and dry it in the hot sun.
Evening bring back from the terrace and put it back in  the salt water. Again remove it in the morning and keep for drying.  Repeat the process till the salt water gets over.
Once it is dried fully, store it in the airtight container and whenever you want you can use it.   remember, the more it becomes old, the more tastier the curry.

Hope you will enjoy this forgotten recipe.

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CHENA VARUVAL, YAM CHIPS

Potato chips, banana chips or Yam chips, we like to have it with rice and sambar, rasam or with curd rice.  This can be served with coffee/tea or just have it as it is.  I remember during feasts, kaippakka-kondattam-bitter-gourd-vathal and chena varuval are  the important items in the banana leaf.

Chena means Yam, Suran.  Like we make the banana chips, Yam also can be fried very crispy.  If you do not want to deep fry, you can put them in the kadai and keep stirring occasionally for sometime, you will get crispy chips but it is bit time consuming.  However, both ways, it is quite tasty.

BHEL KURMURA VAZHATHANDU SABUDANA FRYUMS

Bhel, the street food of Mumbai who does not know about it and are very rare that one has not tasted this when they come to Mumbai.  I used to make sweet kurmura with it for my children whenever they wish to eat as they love them.

Recently I posted the Aralu Sandige i.e Puffed rice fryums.  The curiosity to try with bhel  kurmura was there ever since I tried the Aralu Sandige.  Since I am making this for the first time, I thought  I will try it with one cup of kurmura.  Vazhathandu (banana stem) we always chop finely and put in the killu karuvadam when we make it during summer.  So I thought of adding the chopped banana stem in this.  While making it, it was not binding properly so I added 2 tbsp of sabudana which was kept for making sabudana kichadi.

Since the first attempt was successful, I thought of posting the same here as I wanted to share with you all because you all will love them to have with a cup of coffee/tea or with rice, sambar, rasam or with tomato rice etc.

AMLA WAFER, NELLIKKA VARUTHATHU

We all are familiar with the Amla chutneys, pickles and jams or murabbas, juice, amla supari etc.  This Indian Gooseberry may not be liked by everyone due to its taste, but this wonderful fruit has got many health benefits.

You can have eat this raw, put in salt water and keep.  whenever you want, remove and make arachukalaki with coconut and green chilli with little curd.  this one is my favaourite.

This is also known as Amlakka or Amlakai or Amla, Avla etc..  Other names are Usiri Kaya in Telugu, Nellikkai in Tamil and Nelli in Malayalam.   It is rich in Calcium. The health benefits are linked here:

Recently, one of my friend told me that they used to slice the amla very thinly and sun dry the same and make raita out of it.  I just want to try this hence I had purchased 250 gms of this amla and kept for drying.

I was bored and could not get sleep in the afternoon, I thought I will try making wafer of this. You will not believe it was quite tasty.  Those who love to eat amla will definitely like this for a change.  You may feel strange, but it is worth trying.

ARALU SANDIGE, PUFFED RICE FRYUMS, NEL PORI VADAM

Aralu Sandige is made with Nel Pori  (puffed rice) and white pumpkin and with some spices in it.    In Kannada  Aralu, and Nel pori in Malayalam or Tamil.  It is very easy to make, sun dry  and  store it.

Recently I visited one of my neighbour who has shifted from our building to far away place.  It was during the Sankranti time and as she was giving me the Haldi kumkum and  the til gul laddu, my eyes were looking at the aralu sandige which she had kept for sun drying.

At first I could not figure out as to what it was so i asked her out of curiosity.  She explained me the recipe and gave some sandige.  I came home and fried the same and really liked it. You can serve it with  Sambhar rice, rasam rice, bisibela bhath etc or with a cup of tea.

Aralu sandige, Puffed rice fryums, nel pori vadam

 video here

LAUKI PEEL VATHAL

Monsoon is fast approaching before that you can try this vathal.  We used to make the vathal with Ash gourd peel also.  Very easy and tasty with sambar, rasam, dal rice.  Normally, we throw away the peel of lauki.  As it is edible, while preparing subzi also we can make use of it, but most of the people prefer to peel off the same.

Since I had peeled of one full lauki, I tried this vathal and liked by everyone at home.

WHEAT GUGRI

Gugri means sundal, usali.  Recently, one of my neighbour, a Marwadi Jain gave me a plate of Wheat and Black chana prepared and said that it is called Gugri.  When I looked at the dish, I felt the same like our sundal.  Then I searched on the net and came to know that it is one and the same.  Only thing that she had prepared  bit mushy.

Then I thought of making the same only with the wheat as we always prepare the sundal with black chana, kabuli chana, horse gram, chana dal etc.

KAIPPAKKA KONDATTAM, BITTER GOURD VATHAL

Bitter gourd is very good for health especially those who are suffering from diabetes.  This juice is very useful in controlling the sugar.

Bitter gourd vathal is made and stored in airtight container during summer.  This is used to make varuval or vathal kuzhambu during rainy season when  vegetables are scarce.  Most of the vathals, vadams, pickles are made during summer and stored by Indians during  summer. 

Let us look at the recipe now how to make this vathal.  In malayalam, it is called kondattam.

CLUSTER BEANS VATHAL, KOTHAVARAKKA VATHAL

Cluster beans or kothavarakka or kothavarankai or ghavar subzi is made normally as dry subzi.  South Indians make it poriyal, or usli, thoran etc. whereas in the north side, it is made along with onion, tomato etc with some masalas.

It is quite tasty but for some people, it gives gas trouble.  Hence we need to put garlic and hing powder in it to reduce that effect.

This can be sun dried and kept for frying or making subzi during rainy season.

ELAI VADAM, ILAI VADAM

Summer season has started and it is time to make pickle, vadams, masalas, aam ka panha etc.  I have already posted Killu karuvadam, kambu karuvadam, palak papad  & thattai karuvadam.  Here is my post of simple and easy elai vadam.

This elai vadam is eaten by us raw as we love to apply little chutta ennai i.e. after frying any item, the remaining oil is called chutta ennai. my son love this and on normal days also i make it and give him.

The best part of this vadam, is you need not worry about drying it under sun as it can be dried under fan also and for one or two hour, you can keep it under the sun.  elai vadam video

THATTAI VADAM

Vadam is made out of rice basically.  You can also make it  with combination of vazhathandu, kappa, sago  etc.  Normally, it is made during summer as it gets dried up very fast.  Vadam is served with rice, samabar or chitrannam viz. lime rice, puliodarai etc. or can be had it with cup of tea also.

Karuvadam is one of the delicious, ready to fry items from Tamil Nadu. Women  prepare these during the hot summer months of April and May. They are used as accompaniments at lunch or dinner through out the  year but particularly intended to be used during monsoon when fresh veggies are hardly available.

Elai vadam, karuvadam, maracheeni appalam, killu vadam etc is made and stored in airtight containers which is fried and served whenever it is required.  It remains years together if handled properly.

I made this thattai vadam with little kappa, maracheeni and rice flour.  I made an attempt to make the maracheeni appalam which turned out very thin like elai vadam and  had to fry it very carefully. I have posted palak papad.   If you make it plain, it becomes Elai vadam.  This post is with www.simpleindianrecipes.com as I used to share my recipes with Ms. Dahlia before I started my blog.

 coming back to thattai vadam, the batter is placed in the plastic sheet with spoon and spread it lightly like thattai.   hence i called it thattai vadam.  We can also make killu karuvadam by placing the batter with hand and dry it. 

KILLU KARUVADAM

Killu means pinch out hence it is known as killu karuvadam.  What we need is rice, red or green chilli, sesame seeds, hing powder (optional).

This is another way of making karuvadam during summer.