Homemade Instant Rasam Mix

My regular version rasam recipe is well appreciated in our family / friends circle and so, I was sceptical to go ahead with this instant mix that I tried recently. My husband however said that he actually enjoyed it more than the regular version since it was sinus - clearing spicy. :) And so this is going to be my "Homemade Instant Food Mixes" themed final post of blogging marathon # 10,  for the group 1.

(I have reduced the spice level in the below recipe.)
Ingredients:
5 - 6 Tbsp toordal
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 - 1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 - 2 red, dried chillies
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
Tamarind to taste (I forgot to note down the quantity I used. Will update it next time.)
Jaggery to taste (optional)
Salt to taste
For tadka: 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida powder and few curry leaves

Method:
1. Toast toordal in a pan until it starts to change the color. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, chillies to the same pan and toast until the coriander seeds start to change color. Add tamarind to it and turn off the stove. Let cool.
2. Grind the toasted ingredients along with turmeric powder, salt and jaggery (if using) into a fine powder.
3. Heat the oil in a small pan and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to pop, turn off the stove. Cool and add it to the ground mixture. Store in an airtight jar.

Note:
When rasam needs to be made, add water to mix and boil. For a cup of water use about a Tbsp of mix or accordingly.
Cooked tomato cubes and minced cilantro can be added to further enhance the flavor of rasam.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking, here.

Comments

Homemade Instant Sambhar Mix

My husband keeps buying the commercial brand instant sambhar mix frequently, to serve as a quick side dish along with idlis / dosas. I have been therefore contemplating to prepare it at home from a long time now. This blogging Marathon # 10 seemed like a perfect occasion to try it since I am cooking based on "homemade instant mixes" theme. And so here comes homemade instant sambhar mix on the third day of blogging marathon. It goes well with south Indian breakfast dishes like idlis / dosas / upma and pongal or even rice. And BTW, my husband was praising this home made version and said it tasted a lot better than the store bought one. :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup toor dal
2 Tbs chana dal
3-4 Tbsp coriander seeds
Red chillies / chilli powder as per taste (Use byadagi chillies if you prefer a red colored sambhar mix.)
A pinch of fenugreek seeds / methi seeds
1/4 cup grated dried coconut
2 Tbsp rice
Tamarind to taste (or about 3 - 4 Tbsp)
Jaggery to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
Salt to taste
For tadka: 2 Tbsp oil, 1.5 tsp mustard seeds, 1.5 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves, few pinches of asafoetida powder 

How to prepare the instant sambhar mix:
1. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the asafoetida powder and curry leaves. Turn off the stove and let the tadka cool.
2. Toast toordal and chanadal in another pan until slightly golden brown. Add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and red chillies if using. Saute until coriander seeds start changing color. Turn off the stove and to the pan, add the remaining ingredients that were not toasted in steps 1 or 2. Let cool.
3. Add toordal, chanadal, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, rice, coconut, tamarind, jaggery, salt, chili powder / red chillies and turmeric powder to a mixer / blender and grind to a fine powder.
4. Add the tadka to the ground powder and mix well.
5. Store it in an airtight container.

Making sambhar:
Add about 2 - 3 Tbsp sambhar mix to each cup of water added and bring to a rolling boil. Garnish with cilantro if preferred.
Frozen veggies / tomatoes / onions can be cooked and added to this to make a more flavorful sambhar.

Note:
The above mix can be added to about 9 - 10 cups of water. (American standard size cup)

Check what other marathoners are cooking, here.

Comments

Sambhar Powder

Sambhar powder is a mandatory pantry item of any south Indian kitchen. It is a blend of ground roasted spices that lend a unique flavor to sambhar - the split pigeon peas stew that appears on daily menus of majority homes. There is no standard recipe for sambhar powder and each family follows its own "favorite recipe", probably handed down from generations gone by. A sambhar powder / masala can use many ingredients or can be as simple as this one, from my mother's kitchen.

I like trying various versions of sambhar powder and make it a point to copy down any recipe that catches my attention. However the two recipes mostly I follow happens to be the one I posted earlier and this one which is perfectly apt for my "cooking with five ingredients or less" themed BM#8 post for today.

Check what my fellow marathoners have posted for today.  

Ingredients: (for 1 cup)

1/4 cup chanadal

3 Tbsp coriander seeds

2 Tbsp skinned black gram / urad dal

1/2 cup grated, dried coconut

8 red, dried chillies

Method:

* Toast chanadal and urad dal individually on medium flame until they turn reddish. Remove them onto a plate and add the coriander seeds and red chillies to the same pan and toast until they start changing color and you start to smell the aroma of the coriander. Let cool all the toasted ingredients.

* Finely grind the toasted ingredients and coconut together. Store in an airtight container.

Comments

Kobbari Pappu / Coconut Dal for "Delicious Dals from India"

Recipe Source: Late Smt. Nandyala Gnyanamba (M's maternal grandmother)

When it comes to cooking part, our kitchen is a melting pot, a global kadai. :) We cook and enjoy vegetarian meals from around the globe. However, I happen to blog mainly about South Indian style, home cooked meals. Why? There is a reason.
As many of my readers might have already noticed, I am a Southie settled in pardes with her husband & two kids (AND as my husband pointed out recently I seem to do nothing else other than cook and blog.) :) When we moved here, Google was not born yet and blogs were not popular. I was a pampered beti / bahu who knew only basics of cooking and not much. I had to cook and in leisure time, I would search the web for some traditional Andhra recipes. There were some Indian cooking websites that would cater the needs of novice cooks like me but there was a problem. I could rarely find recipes which reminded me the food prepared back at our homes. For instance every koora/curry recipe I look into, there would be addition of coriander/cumin powder and garam masala that in no way would count as authentic Andhra cuisine.
Most of us grow up eating and loving home cooked meals, which are obviously hard to find away from our homes. We get accustomed to the flavors/tastes of food, loving prepared by our mothers / other elders so much that we use it as a standard to compare others' cooking. That's what happened in my case and the recipes I would find on the web would never be up to my standard and I had to keep calling back my mother / mother-in-law for recipes. In the process, I learnt that some recipes are forgotten over the period of time in families.

After certain time when I did gain some expertise in cooking, it struck me why not have my own cooking website where I can maintain recipe log to record my and other family members' recipes. I kept asking M for years to help me in this regard since he has the technical expertise. He kept on procrastinating for about a decade until I happened to notice food blogs 3 years ago. Then my blogging journey started and now here I am.

Usually Indian mothers don't maintain their own food catalogs and when I noticed that M's aunt did that for her daughter, I was surprised and had to go through it. She has painstakingly handwritten all the recipes she knows - North & South Indian style, neatly arranged them in categories ranging from chutneys/raitas to laborious desserts. After going through that, I felt it would be a neat gift to newly weds and told her that. While one of my SILs copied the whole catalog for her daughter, I copied some traditional recipes.
Luckily, I could get some old recipes belonging to / used by M's maternal grandmother and this kobbari pappu is one of them. I  had never heard or seen anyone preparing it, including my MIL and it is somehow a forgotten recipe in our family. When I found some recipes which M frquently mentions and me never seeing his mother making them, that catalog appeared as a 'lost and found' treasure.



This kobbari pappu was one among them. First of all, this recipe doesn't not require any vegetable, which is a staple ingredient in any pappu recipe. Go ahead and prepare it when you run out of vegetables or has to use up that extra coconut you have. Taste wise, it is not your ordinary pappu. Though the ingredients used are slightly different from the regular pappu, this one is on a different note. It takes the flavors of the coconut and coriander and somewhat goes in the majjiga pulusu (stew prepared with sour butter milk) track, flavor wise.

Ingredients to serve 3- 4:
½ cup toordal
¼ cup coconut
3 small green chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1.5 tsp salt
4 tbsp tamarind puree
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
For tadka: 2 tsp oil,1 tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida powder, curry leaves, 2 red chilies broken into small bits

The cooking part:
Cook the dal with turmeric powder in a pressure cooker adding a cup of water. After the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal container out. Mash the dal lightly with the back of a ladle.
Alternatively, dal can be cooked in a pan on stovetop, adding water as needed.  The dal should turn mushy. Take care that it is not runny and is thicker as in the picture. If it is runny, cook a little longer.
Grind the coconut, green chilies and coriander seeds into a paste adding a little water if needed.
Add this paste, salt, tamarind juice to the dal and cook on slow flame for about 10 minutes so that the raw smell of the paste disappears and the flavors mingle.
Mean while, heat oil in a small sauté pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add the red chili pieces, curry leaves and asafetida and turn off the stove after about 10 seconds. Add this tadka to the cooked coconut dal and mix well.
Serve with hot rice and ghee.

Variation: Coconut chili paste can be cooked along with toordal.

This goes to my "Delicious Dals from India".

Post a comment

Pantry Essentials - Charu Podi / Rasam Powder & An Award

I always get good compliments from family / friends for my charu / rasam recipe. Some of those who have tasted it have become loyal fans and even shifted to this charu / rasam powder recipe. :)  Though I feel greatly appreciated for the response I get, I know whom I should be thankful for.
A good charu needs a good charu podi and that's the secret behind my successful charu. And the credit for this charu podi goes to my mother maternal grand mother. Today I thought of sharing this decades old recipe of hers, here. This was supposed to be my first post when I started blogging but some how it got erased. Better late than never and so here it is after three years. 

Ingredients to prepare 1 cup of charupodi:
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 cup
Peppercorns - 3/4 th of 1/4 cup
Red chilies - 6 (I used byadagi)

Dry roast the toordal in a sauté pan on medium flame till it turns reddish. Then toast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds separately till they turn a few shades darker. Then toast the peppercorns and red chilies. Except the toordal, the remaining ingredients take about a few seconds each to toast. Take care not to burn them. Cool them.
Alternatively, you can place the ingredients in the sun for a day or two if you have a good sunshine (like in India or 80 - 90 deg F).
Grind the ingredients together to a fine powder in a mixer/spice grinder. Store it in an airtight container and use it when making charu.

This is going to Cooking with seeds - Coriander Seeds, guest hosted by Radhika and the event creator is Priya.

Fellow blogger pals Kiran, Priya Mitharwal, Rupali, Priya Srinivasan  have shared 'The Sunshine award' with me. Thank you gals and I greatly appreciate it.

It is mentioned that these Award Winners have to do the following:

1) Use the logo within your post.
2) Pass on to at least 12 other bloggers.
3) Add a link to the nominees in your post.
4) Let the nominees know of their award.
5) Share the love and link to the friend, who has passed this award to you.

I did 1 & 5. Choosing only 12 among the wonderful bloggers seems hard. I am so going to share it with everyone who generously share their recipes. :))

Post a comment

Koora Podi & Vankaya Koora

Koora Podi – Spicy lentil powder used to prepare the subzis in Andhra and not to be confused with the 'world famous' curry powder sold in the western world.

When cooking for special occasions (including weddings), preparation of the koora podi is a must in our homes. Though this powder can be used for many other vegetables, it goes well especially with the eggplants.
The flavorful eggplants and the aromatic spicy powder are just a perfect match, when combined.

The following ingredients yield about 3/4 cup of koora podi:
3 Tbsp chanadal
1.5 Tbsp uraddal
1.5 Tbsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp shredded dry coconut (copra)
10 red chillies

Toast chanadal and uraddal individually in a microwave / saute pan till they turn reddish brown. Saute the coriander seeds till they turn slightly brownish and add the red chillies at the end. Cool and grind all the ingredients into a fine powder. Store it in a air tight container.


Ingredients:
7 eggplants - 3 cups chopped (I have used the smaller, purple variety. The green colored ones or even the slender ones can be substituted.) 
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp koora podi
4 tsp oil
1/4 tsp turmeric powder, few curry leaves, 1 tsp each mustard seeds & chanadal

Method:
Cut the green stalks before chopping eggplants. Cut each eggplant lengthwise into two halves. Then go again lengthwise into thin slices.
Heat oil in a saute pan and add the chanadal and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop and the dal start to turn reddish, add the curry leaves and turmeric powder. Stir the contents once and add the eggplants. Keep the pan covered on low flame till the eggplants are done. Then add the salt, koora podi and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt and powder quantities if needed. Let the eggplant cook for a minute and then turn off the stove.

Post a comment

Aloo Methi Matar - Microwave Version

I came up with this recipe one night when I almost had run out of vegetables, which I must say is a rare occurrence at my home. I go shopping when my refrigerator is half full. :) I was left with some potatoes and sprouted peas in the refrigerator and did not have even onions or tomatoes. I was making subzi for rotis and cooked potatoes & peas together. The curry looked simple and so I checked my pantry and added some kasuri methi & coriander powder to it. To make the gravy a little richer, I added some milk. Surprisingly, I had a good side dish that day which my family enjoyed and hence have made that later several times.
Today for the Microwave Easy Cooking event, I made this dish in the MW and also used tomato, onion and fresh methi.

Ingredients needed to serve 2:
2 Potatoes (aloo) - peeled & cubed
1 cup fenugreek leaves (methi), washed & roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh/frozen peas (matar)
Onion & tomato - one each, chopped
Milk - 1/4 to 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
For tadka: 2 tsp oil canola/peanut oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Method:Add oil and cumin seeds to the microwave safe bowl and heat it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. When the cumin seeds start to sizzle, remove the bowl & add the onion and turmeric to it. Stir once and heat for about 4 minutes or until onion turns translucent. Then add the tomato and cook for about 2 minutes.
Then add the potato, fenugreek leaves, peas & a little water to the bowl and cook till potatoes are done. Stir in between.
Then add the salt, chili powder, coriander powder and sugar if using to the bowl and mix well. Then finally add the milk and put it back in the microwave for a couple minutes more.
Remove and serve with rotis.



Recipe for home made coriander powder:
I feel a simple combo of coriander & chili powders is enough sometimes instead of the over powering 'concoction of spices'.
If you have run out of store bought coriander powder or want to prepare it at home, it is very simple and the recipe follows.
Dry roast the coriander seeds in a microwave or on low flame if using stove top. Remove from the heat when the seeds start to change a few shades darker and release aroma. Cool and grind it into a fine powder. Store it in an airtight container.

This is going to be a part of the Microwave Easy Cooking - Fresh Produce, guest hosted by me and the event creator is Srivalli.Also sending this to Think Spice - Think Coriander Seeds, guest hosted by priya & the event creator is Sunitha.
Comments

Masoor Dal Sambhar

I opt for masoor dal when I need to cook a quick meal. This orange hued dal which turns yellow on cooking is one of the fastest cooking bean. It neither needs prior soaking nor a pressure cooker (to speed up the cooking process) as in the case of other beans. Besides those quick fix meals which are done in about 20 minutes, I reserve this dal even to those ocassions when I am feeling lethargic but still need a substantial meal. I usually prepare a sambhar or simple yet delicious dal tadka using masoor dal.



Though toordal is the commonly used bean to prepare sambhar, some other beans such as masoordal works well too. Sambhar - the signature South Indian vegetable - lentil stew gets its flavor and oomph from sambhar powder - the spice mixture used in the dish.
Coming to sambhar powder, there is no standard recipe as such. Probably, there are as many variations as the number of households in the region. Even in our families, everyone doesn't follow the same recipe for the sambhar powder. Each have their own cherished recipe which they follow and enjoy. The recipe which I am giving is from M's SILs which I personally like.
Sambhar Powder Recipe:
Ingredients for sambhar powder:
Chanadal - 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 1 cup (Quantity can be decreased / increased by 1/2 cup depending upon the spiciness preferred.)
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Shredded copra - 1/2 cup
Red Chillies - 10- 15

Method:
Dry fry the chana dal in a saute pan on low-medium flame till it turns reddish. Remove the chanadal and add the coriander seeds to the same pan and fry them. Pay attention as they burn easily. When they start to turn brownish and release aroma, add the fenugreek seeds & the red chillies. Saute them for a few seconds and turn off the stove. Cool the mixture and grind it into fine powder using a spice grinder. Store it in an airtight container.
Note: Decrease / increase the quantity of ingredients proportionately depending upon how much sambhar powder needs to be prepared.



Sambhar Recipe:
Ingredients required:
1/2 cup masoor dal
2 cups chopped veggies (I used carrots, green beans, radish, tomato & fresh soy beans)
3.5 cups water
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sambhar powder
1&1/2 tsp chili powder
Lime sized tamarind ( Soak the tamarind in a cup of water or nuke it in a microwave along with little water for about a couple of minutes. Squeeze the tamarind well with your fingers or put through a sieve and collect the thick pulp. Throw away the husks & residue.)
For tadka / popu: 1 tsp canola/peanut oil, 1 tsp each of mustard & cumin seeds, a little asafoetida and curry leaves

The cooking part:
Wash the masoordal in two changes of water. Then add it to an Indian style wok/deeper sauce pan. Add the vegetables, water and turmeric powder to it and cook it on medium - high heat till the dal is cooked.
After the dal is cooked, add the salt, chili powder, sambhar powder, 3 Tbsp tamarind puree and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt/tamarind if needed and add a little water if the sambhar is thicker. Bring it to a rolling boil, turn down the heat and let the sambhar simmer for about a couple of minutes more.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds & cumin seeds to it. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the asafoetida & curry leaves and turn off the stove.
Add this to the sambhar and mix well.
Serve this with hot, steamed rice and a tsp of ghee.



This goes to Think Spice - Think Coriander Seeds, guest hosted by Priya and the event creator is Sunitha.

Comments

Gongura Pachchadi

I have reiterated the importance of pickles in Andhra cuisine on Veggieplatter, when ever I posted a pickle/chutney recipe. Undeniably, The pickles are part and parcel of Andhra cuisine. If we don't find pickle on our plates, including breakfast, we feel as if some bland, baby food has been served to us. We are the ultimate, spicy food lovers. When Latha of Masala magic has announced Andhrapradesh cuisine for the RCI event, I am not going to let go the opportunity without posting a pachchadi (pickle/chutney) recipe. Here comes Andhra special, gongura pachchadi.

Obviously as the name suggests, gongura pachchadi is prepared using the gongura leaves.Gongura comes in two varieties, the green stemmed ones (thella gongura) and the red stemmed ones (erra gongura). The red stemmed one is more sour than the green stemmed ones and hence preferred to make the gongura pachchadi. The iron rich leaves have a distinctive sourness.
In our households, gongura leaves are fried and salt is added as a preservative and stored in ceramic jars. This can be used yearlong and we are able to enjoy the pachchadi, even though we could not find fresh leaves where we live.

Storing gongura (the base for the pachchadi) :
You would need more bunches of gongura, if you wish to store. Pluck the leaves from the gongura stalks. Wash the leaves and allow them to air dry on a towel. Dry fry the leaves in a pan. In the process, water is released and so fry till all the water is evaporated. The fried leaves would have a very dark green - black shade. Remove and add sufficient amount of salt to the fried leaves. If sufficient amount of salt is not added, you would notice a layer of mold forming on the top, within a few days. Remove it and add more salt. (That's how it is done. The entire thing is not thrown away). Store it for further use.


Gongura pachchadi:
Ingredients:
Fried gongura - 1 Cup
Peanuts - 1 /4 cup
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp
Red chillies - 20
Asafoetida - less than 1/4 tsp
Onion, finely chopped - 1
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds individually till they turn golden brown.
Toast the red chillies slightly to facilitate easy grinding.
Grind gongura, peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies into (a coarser) chutney consistency.
Heat oil in a small pan and add asafoetida and onion. Fry the onion on low to medium flame till it turns transparent. Turn off the heat. Add this to the gongura mixture and stir.
Serve with hot rice and a spoon of ghee.

This is my entry for Latha's Andhra Cuisine - RCI

Post a comment