Vendakkai Thair Pachadi (Ladies finger Raita)

Who doesn't LOVE this dish! I would wait for special occasions like weddings and loved the pachadis they made.So absolutely delicious.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.
Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp chana daal
1/2 tsp urad daal
few curry leaves
1 red chilli
2 pinches hing


Add 6-8 ladies finger chopped.


Fry well till the ladies finger is cooked .


Transfer it to a bowl.Add a pinch of salt.
Add 1 cup of yogurt.Chill in fridge for a while and enjoy with sambar rice.

Pineapple Rasam

I love eating fresh sliced pineapples coated with chilli powder. It tastes so yummy and I can never have enough.This time, I decided to make Pineapple Rasam and this is my first time making it.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup toor daal pressure cooked
2 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp salt
3 slices pineapple cut
juice of pineapple

Spice powder
2 tsp oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp hing
2-3 dry red chillies
1 tsp chana daal (bengal gram)

Tempering:
2 tsp ghee
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 dry red chilli
1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil for spice powder in a pan.
Add the ingredients for the powder and fry till the spices are fragrant and the daal turns golden brown.
Remove from heat and grind into a fine powder.

Add tamarind paste in 3 cups of water in a pan.
Add salt, spice powder and simmer till the tamarind smell disappears about 10 mins.

Mix in the cooked daal.
Add more water if rasam is too thick and give it a good boil.

Stir in the pineapple and its juice.

Remove from heat.

Heat ghee for tempering in a small pan.
Add the remaining ingredients.
When the mustard starts spluttering, add the contents into the rasam.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Cabbage kootu

Love this Cabbage kootu. It in itself is an entire dish. So flavorful and so easy to make.I make this dish very often and for me it comes inside one of my comfort food categories.My mom makes this very often too and I can eat it with rotis, rice or just a big bowl of it by itself especially on cold days.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage chopped
1/4 cup split moong daal

Grind:
3 green chillies
1/4 cup coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
water

Seasoning:
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp bengal gram daal (chana daal)
2 pinches Asafoetida/ hing
5-6 curry leaves
1 red chilli cut into 2


Method:

Pressure cook the cabbage and the daal for 3 whistles.
In the meantime , grind the chillies ,coconut, cumin seeds adding water to a paste.

Combine the ground mixture and the cabbage and daal in a pan.
Add salt
Bring to a boil and switch off the gas.

Heat oil in a small pan for the seasoning.
Add ingredients for seasoning and saute till the daal turns golden.

Add to the kootu.

Enjoy hot with rice and pappad.

Stuffed Paratha

I love to eat parathas dipped in yogurt and pickle but lately have been lazy and making do with store bought frozen ones. Everytime I feel the need to snack, I pick out a couple of parathas and accompany them with either yogurt or plain old tomato ketchup. So when I saw the Hara Bhara paratha in the Chef In You blog, I decided to try it out .This is my version.

Ingredients:
For the paratha:
3 cups chappati flour
water
salt
1 bunch spinach
1 cup yogurt

For the stuffing:
1/2 head of cauliflower steamed
1 potato steamed, peeled and mashed
2 cups paneer grated
1/4 bunch coriander leaves chopped
2 green chillies chopped
Grind the coriander and green chillies.(That way you won't get pieces of spicy chillies on your tongue)
salt
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder

Method:
For the Paratha:
Grind the spinach with the yogurt in a blender.


Knead in a dough adding salt and water if required.
Cover with a wet cloth or tissue for 15 minutes.



In the meanwhile, make the stuffing:
In a mixing bowl, add the steamed cauliflower, mashed boiled potatoes and grated paneer.
To that add the coriander and green chilli mixture.
Add salt and blend together by hand.


Heat a pan.
Roll out the paratha .
Place a ball of stuffing in the middle.


Close the stuffing with the paratha and pinch it.


Flatten the stuffed ball with your hand.
Sprinkle flour as you need and flatten it into a round shape.
I find it easier to use my hand than a rolling pin just because it is easier to judge the stuffing inside and spread it evenly.



Place the paratha on the hot pan and cook it for a few minutes on either side.
Brush with ghee and flip it over.


Enjoy hot with yogurt and pickle of your choice.