POTATO STEW

Potato stew is a simple side dish recipe which can be served with puttu, idiyappam etc.  But my daughter loves to have it with Bhakri (any kind of bhakri) hence I make this for her.

It is a mild dish prepared in coconut milk.  If not coconut milk, I use fresh cream also, but the taste differs.  I never use the ready made coconut milk as I prefer to take the pain of making the coconut milk at home.

It is a kerala special dish with puttu, idiyappam which they serve steaming hot  in banana leaf which I love to eat.  If you prefer, you can use the ready made coconut milk.

Let us look at the recipe now:

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:

TAVALA ADAI

Tavala adai is the speciality of Tanjavur.    The same is made with rice and lentils.   Either you can use  2 -3 types of lentils or can manage with one.  Normally, it is prepared with tuvar dal but I used the moongdal. 

When I checked with my friend how to make it, I felt that it is going to a tedious job but when I heard the recipe from her, I remembered preparing the  upma kozhukkattai Link here.  I prepare the upma kozhukkattai with tuvar dal and is quite tasty with morukootan, I prefer.   It is somewhat like that only.  Instead of making the balls and steaming it, we have to spread and cook the same like the dosa, adai we make on the tava.

I also presume that it is named Tavala because it is cooked in Tava means the dosa kallu we call in malayalam or tamil.  Tavala panninathu means cooked in tava.  Anyway, it is very easy to prepare and tasty too with hot sambar, rasam  and chutney.

You can also make the powder  made and store it and whenever want, can use it.

Let us look at the recipe now:

  

JACKFRUIT SEED MASALA SANDWICH

Sandwich is any time snack at our house.  My husband is very fond of bread so also the children.  Even if I give them bread varieties  three times in a day they are happy.   Evening my daughter was hungry and wanted to eat something.  

I had already  planned to make the sandwich hence I boiled and kept the jackfruit seed in the morning while cooking lapsi.  Later on I received call from office that I have to attend office today even though it was a holiday due to exigency of work. AsI had to go to office, I had to drop the plan of making the sandwich during the day.  After coming from office, I made the same as my daughter wanted to eat something in the evening.

Jackfruit is available now plenty as the season is on and the seeds are preserved to make cutlet,  subzi, kheer,  chips, pulinkari,  pickle, etc.  Since I have posted the subji, pickle etc. in the blog, I thought of making sandwich with it.  Initially, my plan was to make nice balls out of it but due to heat  I dropped the idea and made the sandwich.

Now let us look at the recipe now:

DILL LEAVES IDLI

Dill Leaves Idli  is made out of dill leaves and idli batter.  It is quite easy to prepare and good for health.  The steaming hot idli with sambar or chutney is a good breakfast for all provided you develop the taste of this leafy vegetable.

Dill leaves are good for health.  I have posted the benefits of dill leaves and various items prepared with this wonderful leaf.    Related posts are here:
dill leaves puri,  dill leaves dhokla,  dill leaves dosa,  dill leaves paratha,
dill leaves vada ,  suva bhajia kadhi,  suva bhajia,  
dill rice,  
health benefit of dill

Let us look at the recipe now:

JACKFRUIT SEED PICKLE

Jackfruit is abundantly available in the month of March, April, May.  The juicy fruit is eaten as it is or made jam out of this. We also make elai appam, kozhukkattai, etc. With jackfruit.

The seeds are also used to make various curries, cutlet, kheer etc.  Today, I tried the pickle and came out well.  Jackfruit seeds are also  commonly used to make chips, mezhukkupurati with raw banana, it is also used to make pulissery with drumstick, white pumpkin etc.  We can dry the jackfruit and store it and later can be used by boiling it.

In the backyard of every Kerala Houses, we can see atleast one jackfruit tree and mango tree.

I had ¼ cup jack fruit seed and thought of trying this pickle.  Infact since so many days, I wanted to make this dish but somehow could not do it.  

I am a fan of pickle, and I try the pickles with various kinds of vegetables, fruits and seeds.  Now the season of jackfruit has started and plenty available though bit costly as compared to our native place, we really enjoy this fruit during the season.  My son and daughter are very fond of it and I always make it a point that I purchase them during the season.

Like any other pickle, the jackfruit seed pickle is also very tasty and liked by everyone.  Let us look at the recipe now so that you can also enjoy this during this season.

RAW BANANA SUBZI

Banana raw or ripe can be used for making varieties of food apart from eating the same as a fruit.  We can make chips,subzi etc. out of the raw bananas and the ripe one can be used for making milk shakes,  pan cakes, curries, jams etc.  They can be baked or steamed or wrapped in banana leaves and cooked.

related posts:

banana stem bhajia
 banana flower thoran, 
nentran pazham pulissery,  
banana skin thoran,   
banana stem sambhar ,
 banana flower sambar, 
 banana stem kofta sambar,
 banana stem soup, 
raw banana paratha, 
 banana flower raita,  
banana stem kofta kadhi,   
ripe banana halva,  
 raw banan cutlet,  
 chikoo, banana, apple milk shake, 
pazham pori, banana fritters,   
banana puliyitta kootu
panchamrutham

Banana are high in anti oxidants.  They are known to reduce swelling, protect against developing type 2 diabetes, aid in weight loss, strengthen the nervous system and in production of white blood cells due to the high level of Vitamin B6 that it contains.

All the parts of the plant is useful to us right from the flower to the stem (thandu), leaves etc.  Bananas are sliced and sun dried to make powder out of it which is cooked with milk and fed to the babies.  This is quite healthy comparing to the baby foods available now a days. In Kerala, Pazham pori, chips and Nurukku is famous.  Pachadi is also made out of the banana.

Bananas are good for  heart. They are packed with potassium.  Bananas' high potassium and low sodium content may also help protect your cardiovascular system against high  blood pressure.  When you are very tired and exhausted, hava a banana which will keep you energised.  It is high in fiber,  and Vitamin B6 help protect against type 2 diabetes and in weight loss.

Coming back to the recipe normally in our house, we make chips or mezhukupuratti or dry subzi out of this along with dal for chapati.  Since I was lazy to make dal, I thought of making this subzi with tomato and onion for the chapati.

Let us look at the recipe now:

IDICHAKKA PUZHUKU, TENDER JACKFRUIT SUBZI

Summer started and we get lot of mangoes, jackfruits during this season.  We make pickles out of tender mangoes called vadu mangai and with the matured mangoes also pickles are  made.  Similarly, we make Idichaka thoran with tender jackfruit and puzhuku.  With the jackfruit bulbs also we make puzhku, pulinkari etc.  

Jam is prepared with the ripe jackfruit bulb and chips are made with raw jackfruit.  We had several trees in our house and varieties which I cannot express now as they all were very sweet and tasty.  

During our childhood, we really enjoyed this fruit.   My servant had gone to native place and yesterday she gave me  the tender jackfruit, tamarind etc.   I wanted to make the puzhuku as I realised that I have not posted the puzhuku.  Hence I decided to make the puzhuku with the tender jackfruit which I served along with Phulka.  It tastes very good with rice actually.

It is made with karamani and a simple preparation which goes well withe Chapati, Phulka and rice also.

Let us look at the recipe now:

IDICHAKA PUZHUKU

OLIYA, SWEET YOGHURT RICE

OLIYA is a pudding with rice and yoghurt with lots of dry fruits in it and is a festive dish.    If you wish, you can also put fresh fruits in it.  This dish  I tasted from my neighbour who is a Jain Marwadi.  She always share with us whatever she made and this dish was new to me. Today, they are supposed to have only cold food for which they make the same on the previous day and keep in fridge. The festival is called Shitla Satam.

We used to have Pal chadam ie. Rice with milk and sugar or sugar candy added in  curd rice.  But this I never thought would taste so good. Though we make sweet lassi, I did not even think of making this rice.

It is really tasty and you would also love this.  Once in a while, you can switch over to this dish rather than having the regular curd rice.

Let us look at the recipe now:

OLIYA, SWEET YOGHURT RICE

SINDHI KADHI

Sindhi Kadhi or Kadhi Chawaran  is a traditional dish made by Sindhis.  This is basically made with besan and vegetables and no dal, coconut etc. is used in this.  

Drumstick, lady's fingers, cluster beans, potato etc. is used in making this kadhi which is served hot with plain rice. 

I happened to taste this dish from my neighbour.  Since so many days I wanted to make this dish on my own and could not succeed as  the gram flour is under cooked or over cooked as such the taste of the dish was very vague and could not understand where I went wrong.  When I told her about this, she came to  my house to demonstrate the recipe and we enjoyed the lunch together with the kadhi, some rice papad, kurudai etc. and the vazhathandu pickle.

Since the consistency and the colour of the kadhi comes from the besan and the taste lies in the method of frying the besan in oil.  

This kadhi is best served during winter and rainy season but normal days also you can enjoy it.

SINDHI KADHI

Let us look at the recipe now:

KICHADI WITH MANATHAKALI LEAVES

Manathakali leaves are having medicinal values so also the manathakali.  My stomach was upset and I do not want to have any heavy food.  I thought of making kichadi for dinner.  When I went to water the plants, saw the manathakali plant which was in my balcony garden.  So I decided to make kichadi with the leaves along with moongdal and rice.  You can also use samai arisi for this.

Since I want to have light food in the night, I prepared this and had it with the Wet Narthangai which I had brought from Nagercoil when we visited one of my husband's colleague there.

Coming back to the recipe, I prepared this for the dinner and served hot with narthangai and roasted papad to my husband.  I just had the kichadi with narthangai and was very tasty.

Let us look at the recipe now:

kichadi with manathakali leaves

SAMAI ARISI IDLI AND DOSA

Idli, sambar and chutney is prepared for breakfast in every  South Indian household.  Now a days, it is the best breakfast in everybody’s house.  Normally, it is made with white rice or brown rice.  I tried  the idli and dosa today with samai arisi  and was happy with the outcome.  Hence sharing the recipe with you.

Bhagar is also known as samai arisi, chama ari, vari tandul etc.  The idli and dosa made out of this was very tasty.  I would say, we can replace the normal rice with the millets.

                                                            SAMAI ARISI IDLI AND DOSA

   Let us look at the recipe now:

BRINJAL CHUTNEY WITHOUT COCONUT

BRINJAL CHUTNEY WITHOUT COCONUT is very easy to prepare and tastes good with dosa, idli.  If you grind them thick, you can use as Thogayal for dal rice, curd rice etc.

If your coconut consumption is limited due to any illness, we can try various chutneys with vegetables.  Since I made dosa today and do not want to use coconut, I tried this chutney and liked by every one.

This is the way to make may family members the brinjal otherwise, they do not like to have the subzis made out of this.

Let us look at the recipe now:

BRINJAL CHUTNEY WITHOUT COCONUT.

OLE KAJU USAL

Ole kaju means fresh kaju.  During summer, I have seen the village ladies in the market selling it in Watas means they keep a certain quantity on leaf and price them for Rs.10/- Rs.20/- etc.  If you take three watas, if the cost is Rs.60/- they might give you for Rs.50/- but in this case she was reluctant to give as  the cashews are costly plus getting wet kaju is difficult.

This is a konkan belt dish.  konkan curries are basically prepared in coconut gravy.  Fresh nuts melt in mouth and are very flavourful.  This can be served with bhakari/rice etc.

So far I have not prepared this and wants to try the subzi out of this.  Hence I just bought only one watta i.e. may be around 1/4 cup another 1/4cup I will be adding the dry kaju soaked in  warm water for 8-10 hours as told my neighbour as she is from Konkan.area.

Let us look at the recipe now: 

IDLI RAVA, BHAGAR, DAL KOZHUKKATTAI

I had some  idli rava and bhagar very little quantity in fridge.  I thought of making use of it with some dal.  Actually I had some Adai batter in the fridge and thought of mixing in it but the quantity will be huge and I am the only person to eat adai at home. 

Hence thought of making kozhukkattai with it.   It really tasted good with chutney and sambar.

Actually, my neighbour always share her pooran poli with me during the festival of holi,  in return I always make some South Indian Breakfast for her.  So today, I made this kozhukkattai for her  and the recipe is here for you too.

Let us look at the recipe now:

IDLI RAVA, BHAGAR, DAL KOZHUKKATTAI

millet kozhukkatai, tinai, kappa kozhukkattai, lapsi pidi kozhukkattai,  upma kozhukkatai,

SWEET AND SOUR MANGO PICKLE WITHOUT OIL

Mango season is on and mouth is watering when I see mangoes in the market.  Recently I bought a kg of mangoes for making vadu mangai.  Since they  do not allow us to select, there were uneven size small, medium and bigger ones.  Normally, we get the mangoes almost in same size but now a days, it is very difficult to get them.  We had to really hunt for it.  I checked with Thane and Mulund market and finally got it from Mani shop that too only one kg.

During this season, every one is busy making various kinds of pickles.

Coming back to the recipe, there were bigger ones in the lot so I decided to make sweet and sour mango pickle with it.  The idea was given to me by one of my colleagues when I shared the instant mango pickle with them.  She told me to add jaggery in it but I added some other ingredients too in it and it was awesome.

Let us look at the recipe now:

MANGO MASTANI

Mango mastani is a drink with a dollop of ice cream and chopped nuts which is quite filling.  During mango season, do not miss this drink as you would love to make it again and again.  

Infact, this post is lying in my draft for the past one year and some how I could not publish it.  Now the mango season is on,  and the heat also, a drink like this is awesome to satisfy/quench your thirst and hunger.

As I was going through the draft, I saw this today and decided to publish it.

Let us look at the recipe now:

MURINGAELAI UTTAPPAM

Muringa elai or drumstick leaves are very good for health.  Muringa elai (drumstick leaves) is a good source of vitamins and iron.  I always include this  in our menu whenever I get a chance to pluck the leaves from the garden or from my friends place or from the office.  In our office, we have a big tree and the gardener always used to give me the leaves.

I have posted  muringa elai adai.  This is the favourite dish my father and me too love this  made out of  plain boiled rice.   Here I am posting the Uttappam made out of this leaves.

Let us look at the recipe now:

MURINGA ELAI UTTAPPAM

DAL PALAK

Palak - vitamins and minerals available abundantly in this.  Green leafy vegetables are always  required to be included in the menu once in a week.

Dal made out of this can be served with rice and chapti, phulka etc.  I like this dal along withe curd rice very much.  I used to make this along with Moongdal, however, my friend makes it with chana dal.  Ofcourse, you can select the dals according to your choice.

Let us look at the recipe now:

DAL PALAK

HORSEGRAM SHARBAT

Today I had cooked the kulith sprouts for making pani poori.  Instead of the normal ragda or moong sprouts or white watana, I tried the kulith sprouts and it tasted good.

After cooking the sprouts, I had 1/4 cup of stock of the same which I did not want to throw away.  So I made sharbat out of it and it tasted good.

Since the summer is on and it is very hot, this drinks is quite good for health.

Horsegram is or kulith or muthira it is called, is  rich in B-complex vitamins,  proteine and  highly nutritious. 
It is  commonly prescribed in ayurvedic medicine for conditions like difficult breathing, cough, gastric problems, ulcers, worm infections and excessive perspiration. Some alternative medicine experts even consider horse gram as a good remedy to control joints pain. It can be also used as a natural health tonic.    It tones up the digestive system and prevents acidity and flatulence. 
People suffering from spleen enlargement, colic and weak liver can also benefit from this plants medicinal properties. People with kidney stones, hypertension, gall stones also benefit from its intake.   


  Let us have a look at the recipe now

 

HORSEGRAM SHARBAT

TAVA PULAO

My daughter wants to eat rice but not with sambhar or dal.  I had some cooked rice with me and thought of making Tava Pulao.  

Tava pulao is very easy to make, tasty and can be served hot with papad, raita.  I prefer, onion raita along with this.  Mostly the vegetables for this are available at home hence it will not be difficult for you to make it. Even if  you have two or three vegetables, it is sufficient enough to make this pulao.  A Mumbai  street food which you must  enjoy when you visit Mumbai.

It is quite filling  and can be served for two persons.

Let us look at the recipe now:

ALOE VERA ALOO SUBZI

Aloe vera has got many medicinal values.  I had already shared a recipe with methi sprouts and tender coconut with www.simpleindianrecipes.com.   I have shared around 100 recipes with her which you can see in User's recipe in Raji Ramakrishnan's recipe.  

 Today I prepared the  aloe vera with aloo and capsicum and was  good with phulka.

Now a days aloe vera is grown in balcony.  So it will not be difficult for you to get the same.  Aloo is always available at home and the onions.  Hence making this subzi is very easy.

Let us look at the recipe now:

PUDINA SHIKANJI

Few minutes back I posted Nimbu Pani  or Nimbu Sharbat which we make very often especially after coming home from hot sun. I added few mint leaves, ginger and subja in it to get more cooling effect as it was very hot today.  

Mint leaves I always have fresh one at home which I grow in my balcony garden.  So whenever I want I pluck it from the pot freshly.  Dried pudina also used for culinary purpose.  We can make paratha, chutney etc with pudina.

Since summer is set now and it is very hot, all are advised to hydrate themselves with lots of water, coconut water, nimbu pani etc.  Ofcourse, do remember to keep a pot of water in the balcony for the birds.

Let us look at the recipe now

NIMBU SHARBAT, SHIKANJI

The health benefits of lime include weight loss, skin care, improved digestion, relief from constipation, eye care, and treatment of scurvy, piles, peptic ulcer, respiratory disorders, gout, gums, urinary disorders, etc.  It is a wonderful source of antioxidants & detoxifiers (vitamin-C & Flavonoids) which reduce the number of free radicals as well as detoxifying the body.

When you come home during the day in  summer or if you are tired or your BP is low, a glass of nimbu sharbat keeps you hydrated as well as energetic.  My children always prefer to drink this during the summer.  This is also known as Shikanji in North India.

I always add a bit of black salt,  cumin powder, black pepper powder  in addition to the sugar   but some people prefer to drink this with sugar and salt only.

It is a very simple preparation and can be served at room temperature or chilled as you wish or can add ice and serve.

MIX VEG IN WHITE GRAVY

Mix veg in white gravy goes well with paratha, naan, roti, phulka etc.  can be served with rice too.  Since I had very little different vegetables in the fridge, I decided to put the same together and decided to make this subzi.  

When you blanch and saute the veggies in oil before adding the gravy, it tastes better.  This was shared with me by one of the Sindhi lady, I forgot her name now when I was hospitalised for some operation.  Our discussion was the fussy made by children to eat the food and their choices.

When you talk, you share,when you share, you acquire knowledge.  This was happened exactly after our discussion.  Since then I started by making the subzis the way she explained to me.  Thanks to her for sharing.

Now coming back to the recipe when children are fussy about eating vegetables, best way to make pav bhaji or mix veg subzi with all the vegetables you want to put in and feed them.

Now let us look at the recipe:

MIX VEG IN WHITE GRAVY

MOONGDAL KHANDVI

Khandvi is a Gujarati Snack dish basically made with Besan or gram flour.  I tried the same with moongdal and that too came out well.  Preparation method is the same as like the gram flour and easy to prepare.

MOONGDAL KHANDVI

Let us look at the recipe now:

MANATHAKALI THEEYAL

Theeyal is a Kerala dish.  It is somewhat similar to Sambar, another popular dish of South India.  Theeyal can be prepared with mix  vegetables or a particular vegetable like pavakka, bitter gourd or Ulli (known as kunjulli or shallots, potato, egg plant, bhindi, raw mango etc.

This dish is made with the mixture of spices  like roasted coconut, coriander seeds, dried red chillies, fenugreek etc. and tamarind pulp is also used.

Theeyal means "burnt dish" here the coconut is roasted till golden brown in colour  as good as burnt the same.  This dish goes well with rice and included in a traditional sadya menu too.

But I am using the fresh Manathakali which I plucked from my balcony garden.  Let us look at the recipe now:

MANATHAKALI THEEYAL

IDLI RAVA NOMBU ADAI

Karadayan nombu adai is made for the Nombu by South Indians.  Normally, it is made with roasted rice flour  both  sweet and savory.  I tried the same with ragi  both savory and sweet and was quite good. 

Recently, one of my friend gave me the savory version  made with coarse ground rice.  It was quite tasty and hence I thought of trying with the idli rava.  I had a packet of rava lying in my fridge so I took the opportunity to try the same.  Since I did not have the stock of Karamani, I made it without that and was quite tasty.

Shall post the photographs after making the same with karamani (black eyed pea, lobia) shortly but presently posting the photo without that.  The preparation is very simple.

Let us look at the recipe now:

idli rava nombu adai

DRUMSTICK SOUP

The market is flooded with lots of drumstick and I happened to buy this for trying various dishes.  Today I tried the soup and liked it hence I am sharing with you all since it has got lots of health benefits.

The drumstick plant is also known by its scientific name moringa oleifera or by its name the horseradish tree, or, has been known to have many health benefits. The Health benefits of drumstick flowers and leaves and other parts of the tree are use in traditional medicine, various culinary applications, use for cleaning dirty water and its extraordinary nutritional value. There are many benefits that come from this tree and these are obtained from its flowers, leaves, juice and seeds.

 The main health benefits of drumstick flowers and leaves are in the nutritional quality of these parts of the plant as well as the seeds. These parts of the plant are rich in Vitamin B1, B2, B3, Vitamin A, and vitamin C. There are also the minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium to be found in these parts of the tree as well. The juice is highly nutritious and an ounce of it is said to contain the same quantity of calcium as 4 glasses of milk, the vitamin C of 7 oranges and the potassium of seven bananas, and a reasonable level of iron. Added to a glass of milk it may help promote energy, strengthen children's bones, aid in purifying the blood and adds to the nutrition of pregnant women.