Paruppu Keerai - Spinach & Lentils

Paruppu Keerai goes very well with white rice and fried brinjals. 

Ingredients:

• Toor dhal - 250g
• Spinach - 300g leaves
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 finely chopped
• Green chilly - 1 finely chopped
• Red chilly - 1 broken in 2
• Garlic - 2 pods chopped
• Mustard seeds - 1tsp
• Curry leaves - 2-4
• Salt - 1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
• Water - 500ml
• Ghee/Vegetable oil - 2tbsp

Method:

1. Boil the dhal in 500ml water with a little bit of salt and turmeric powder for about 30minutes checking in-between and removing the foam. 
2. Once the dhal is soft cooked turn off the heat, mash it slightly and keep it aside.
3. In a frying pan heat the ghee/oil and let the mustard seeds split.
4. Add the curry leaves and the chillies.
5. Add the onion and the garlic and fry until the onion turns light brown.
6. Add the tomatoes and fry until they become soft.
7. Now mix in the dhal and the spinach.
8. Add salt and a little bit of water and bring it to boil.
9. Reduce the flame and adjust the salt if required.
10. Now its your choice to blend it slightly or serve it just as it is with white rice.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a good option for picnics. The tangent taste of it is just great.
In southern India its very common for people to pack Lemon or Tamerind rice while they are traveling in a train or at a nice picnic spot.

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice - 250g cooked
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Lemon - Juice of 1
• Green chilly - 1 chopped (medium size)
• Dried red chilly - 1 (broken in 2)
• Bengal gram dhal - 1 teaspoon
• Curry leaves - 5-8
• Coriander leaves - 1 handful
• Salt - 1/2tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1tsp
• Vegetable oil - 3tbsp
• Optional : Roasted Cashewnuts/Peanuts

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok or a kadai.
2. Once the oil is heat add the mustard seeds and wait for them to split.
3. Add the dhal and fry until they turn light brown.
4. Add the curry leaves, green and red chillies and let them sizzle
5. Add the roasted peanuts/cashewnuts if you are planning to include it in the recipe.
6. Now add the onions and fry until they turn golden brown.
7. Mix the lemon juice to the pan and let it sizzle.
8. Add salt and rice and mix well.
9. Garnish with the fresh coriander leaves.
10. Serve them with pickle or yogurt.

Chicken Manchurian

If you are a vegetarian you can use Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) instead of the chicken cubes.
This can be prepared also with Cauliflower and Mushrooms.

Ingredients: 

• Chicken - 500g cubed 
• Maidha flour or all purpose flour – 3tbsp
• Salt – a pinch
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
• Garlic - 2 pods finely chopped
• Tomato ketchup - 2tbsp
• Soy sauce - 1tbsp
• Lettuce - a handful
• Vegetable Oil - To deep fry
• Vegetable oil - 2tbsp
• Water - little bit to make the thin batter

Method:

1. Mix the flour and salt with a little bit of water to make a thin/light  batter.
2. Dip every chicken cube in the batter and deep fry in hot oil until they turn light brown.
3. Place them on a paper towel.
4. Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan.
5. Simmer the fire and add the chopped ginger and garlic.
6. Add the onion and fry for 2 minutes.
7. Reserve some of the lettuce for garnishing and add the rest to the pan and fry for a minute.
8. Add in the soy sauce and the tomato ketchup. Mix well.
9. Add the chicken cubes and fry for 3minutes.
10. Serve the Chicken manchurian on a layer of lettuce.

Onion Bhajji

Every region has its own way of making it.
It can be made with different vegetables too. It is yummy and can be prepared in minutes!!

Ingredients:

• Gram flour (Roasted chickpeas flour) - 150g
• Rice flour - 2tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Sodium bicarb - 1/4tsp
• Onion - 2 sliced
• Curry leaves - 8-10 leaves
• Water - enough to make batter
• Vegetable oil - to deep fry
• Lettuce and Sweet chilly sauce - Optional

Method:

1. Mix the gram flour, rice flour, chillipowder, salt together
2. Add water to the mixture and make a thick batter.
3. Add the bicarb 10minutes before frying the bhajjis and mix well.
4. Mix in the curry leaves and the Onions
5. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan
6. Take a tablespoonful of the mixture and drop gently in the hot oil.
7. Try frying 5-6 bhajji's at a time.
8. Deep fry both the sides until the bhajji's become brown in color. 
9. Place the fried bhajji's on a paper towel to get rid of extra oil.
10. Serve them hot with lettuce and sweet chilly sauce.

Bhajji

Simple to make yummy bhajji's

Ingredients :

• Gram flour (Dry roasted chickpeas flour) - 150g
• Onion - 2 medium sliced in rings 
• Chilli powder - 1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Sodium bicarb - 1/4tsp
• Water - enough to make a thin batter
• Vegetable oil - enough to deep fry the bhajji's

Method :

1. Mix the gram flour, chillipowder, turmeric powder and salt together.
2. Add water to the mixture and make a thin smooth batter.
3. Add the bicarb to the batter and mix well.
4. Heat enough oil to deep fry the bhajji's in a deep frying pan.
5. Once the oil is very hot, dip the onion rings in the batter (cover completely with batter) and deep fry on both the sides until it turns light brown in color. 
6. Place it in the kitchen paper to get rid of the extra oil.
7. Serve hot with coconut/munt chutney.

Mutton/Lamb Curry

Chicken, Mutton and Fish are the most popular Non-Vegetarian food in India. 

Sundays are best for a breakfast that includes Mutton gravy/curry with hot idly’s. 

It won't feel like a sunday otherwise (if you are a non-vegetarian of course). 

It combines surprisingly very well with bread too.

Ingredients :

• Mutton/Lamb - 500g 
• Onion - 2 (chopped) 
• Tomato - 2 (chopped) 
• Coconut/Coconut milk - 1 cup 
• Ginger - 1tsp 
• Garlic - 1tsp 
• Peppercorns - 1/2tbsp 
• Cumin seeds - 1/2tbsp 
• Cinnamon stick - 2inches 
• Fennel seeds - 1tsp 
• Cloves - 5 
• Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp 
• Coriander powder - 1tbsp 
• Fresh Coriander leaves - 20g 
• Sunflower/Veg oil - 6tbsp 
• Water/bouillon - 600ml 
• Mustard seeds - 1tsp 
• Curry leaves - 5-6leaves 

Method :

1. Fry the lamb a few pieces at a time in 3tbsp hot oil in a heavy cooking pan until the outside turns a bit brown. Take it off the pan and keep it aside. Fry the rest of the lamb in the same way. Add more oil if needed.
2. In the same pan fry the onions in 2tbsp oil until it turns light brown and keep aside 
3. Fry the peppercorns and cuminseeds in the same pan and keep aside. 
4. In a blender/mixer grind together the fried onions, tomato,cuminseeds,peppercorns, coconut,ginger garlic paste,cinnamon,fennel and the cloves. 
5. Boil the lamb in water/bouillon together with the turmeric powder,coriander powder,grind mixture and let it cook until the gravy is thickened to your taste of consistancy. 
6. Fry mustard and curry leaves in oil in a small pan and add it to the lamb once its cooked. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. 
7. Serve it with Chapati’s or Rice.

Curry Powder

You might be tempted to use an instant curry powder from the toko, 
but it is so easy and quick to make the fresh curry powder.

Ingredients :

• Cumin Seeds - 2 tbsp
• Coriander Seeds - 4 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Dry Red chilly - 1
• Black pepper corns (optional) - 3-5
• Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
• Ginger powder - 2 tsp
• Dry Curry leaves - 3-5 leaves

Procedure :

1. Dry roast the seeds, Chilly and the curry leaves until they turn light brown in color and start to leave a fragrance.
2. Take off the fire and let it cool.
3. Grind them into a fine powder with a spice/coffee grinder.
4. Mix the chilly,turmeric and ginger powder with the grinded mixture.
5. Store in an airtight container for 3 months.

Chicken Curry

This is a basic recipe for a delicious chicken curry. 

Incase you have a chicken/meat masala powder you can use a teaspoon of it instead of the cinnamon,cloves,cardamom and the curry powder and add a 1/4th tsp of chill powder.

Ingredients :

• Chicken legs/breasts - 500g
• Onion - 2 big sliced
• Tomato - 3 medium sliced
• Fresh Ginger - 1tsp
• Fresh Garlic - 1tsp
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom (Optional) - 2 seeds grounded
• Curry powder - ½ tsp
• Curry leaves - 3-5 leaves
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Vegetable Oil - 3 tbsp
• Water - 300ml
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Grind the ginger,garlic,cinnamon,cloves,cardamom and tomato to a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a wide deep heavy frying pan.
3. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and let it split.
4. Add the curry leaves and leave it to sizzle for few seconds
5. Don’t let it brown.
6. Add the sliced onions and fry them until they turn light brown in color.
7. Now mix in the grinded paste along with the curry powder and leave it to fry until the oil splits from the paste.
8. Stir in the chicken and fry for a minute.
9. Cover the chicken with water and bring it to boil.
10. Add salt and let the sauce thicken.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Chapathis/Rice.

Paruppu Vadai

This one is my favourite Indian Snack.

Its very easy to make and consumes less oil. 

No guilts of gaining weight. Not much ;)

Ingredients:

• Chana dhal/Bengal grams : 1 cup 
• Onion - 1 chopped 
• Curry leaves - 10-12 leaves chopped 
• Coriander leaves - 20g chopped 
• Red or Green chilly - 1 
• Salt - 1tsp (Adjust to your taste) 
• Vegetable/Sunflower oil - enough to deep fry

Method:

1. Soak the dhal in water for 3 hours and grind it coarsely.
2. In a bowl mix together the dhal along with the other ingredients.
3. Mix water if required.
4. It should be like a paste and you should be able to see a couple of whole dhal’s.
5. Make discs like in the picture above and deep fry in hot oil 4 at a time until it turns brown on both the sides.
6. Take them out and leave them on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
7. Serve them with coconut or munt chutney on a rainy day :)