Sun dried cut mango pickle or Ennai mangai.

 This is the simplest form of pickle and can be made at any time. 

Making the sun dried mango.:

• When there is mango season, get dozens of mangoes and cut them in to small pieces.
•  Mix it with salt. You may have to use more salt than usual and can be removed while making the pickle.( For 6 mangoes 1/2 cup of rock salt ) The mangoes which have more fiber or not suitable to eat raw/ripe/ mango pickle/ very sour can be used for this pickle.
• Leave it for three days. But mix thoroughly everyday.
• Dry it in the sun till it becomes very hard. No moisture should be there. You can keep it for extra time.
• Store it in a glass container.

Making the pickle:

Ingredients:

• Sun dried mango pieces - 1 cup
• Water - 1 cup
• Methi seeds -1tsp.
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Hinge - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Chili powder - 2 tsps.
• Gingelly or sesame oil - 2 tsps.

Method:

 

1. Take water in a vessel equal to the quantity of the mango pieces you are going to make. Say for 1 cup of mango, 1 cup of water.
2. Boil the water well and add the mango pieces.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Soak the mangoes for 7 to 8 hours. You can soak overnight.
4. Check the mangoes after half an hour. If there is some water with the mangoes then it is fine to make the pickle. If the water is very less add some more boiled water.
5. Heat the oil add mustard seeds.
6. After mustard seeds splutter, add Methi seeds and roast it till it turns brown.
7. Add hinge, chili powder and turmeric powder.
8. Take the soaked mangoes alone leaving the water behind and add to the oil.
9. Now slowly add the water and leave a small portion of the water if you think the salt in the mangoes are more. Otherwise you can add the entire pieces with the water and stir well.
10. Switch off the stove once it starts boiling.
11. If the water is excess, leave it for few more seconds to boil.
12. Store it in a glass or plastic container.

Mysore Rasam

 Mysore rasam is South Indian dish. A very tasty dish that goes well with rice. Any vegetable (fried/cooked) can be the side dish.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

Tamarind - small lemon size

Toor dal - 1 tbsp.

Asafetida - a pinch

Tomato - 2

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp. (chopped)

Salt as required

Turmeric powder - two pinches

For grinding:

Grated coconut - 1tbap

Chana dal - 2 tbsp.

Dania - 2 tbsp.

Black pepper - 1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Red chili - 2

Asafetida - a pinch

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp.

For seasoning:

Ghee - tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp 

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Asafetida - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in boiling water for 5 mins. Extract the juice. Keep aside. (1 cup)
2. Pressure cook Toor dal with asafetida and a pinch of turmeric powder. Keep aside.
3. Chop the tomatoes. 
4. Boil the tamarind water, half of the chopped coriander, asafetida leaves and tomatoes with salt and turmeric powder.
5. Heat the pan and add the cooking oil and heat it.
6. To the oil add all the ingredients mentioned for grinding except coconut.
7. Add raw grated coconut and the roasted ingredients and grind it to a coarse paste. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Add the paste to the tamarind water and mix well. 
9. Smash the cooked dal well and add a cup of water. Add this to the tamarind water, mix it and bring it boil.
10. Heat the ghee and add mustard seeds, jeera, asafetida. Once the mustard seeds start splutter switch off the stove and add curry leaves then add to the rasam. Add the rest of the chopped coriander leaves.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Thiru Karthigai pori urundai

 Karthigai pori urundai is a healthy snack which has no oil. It can be made for the festival or any other time. There are three types of pori: Arisi pori, Nel pori and Aval pori. All can be used to make the urundai, But for Thiru Karthigai, we use Nel pori and Aval pori.

Ingredients: (10 to 15 numbers)

Aval pori - 4cups

Jaggery (pagu vellam is preferable) - 1cup

Cardamom powder - 1tsp. 

Dry ginger powder - 1tsp.

Coconut ( cut into small bits like the teeth of the comb) - 1/4 cup

coconut oil - 2tbsp.

water -1/4 cup

Method:

1. Heat the pan and dry roast the coconut bits thoroughly till it turns brown. Keep aside. Grease a big plate with coconut oil and keep aside.
2. Heat the water and add the jaggery. Stir well till it dissolves. Filter for the small stones and impurities.
3. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and roasted coconut bits to the jaggery syrup and heat it in the pan till we get the pagu. Check the Note below to make pagu.
4. Switch off the stove. Add the pori to the pagu and mix well. Allow it to cool a bit. Do not cool too much. With out some optimum heat you can not roll them into balls.
5. Grease your hand with coconut oil and start make the balls. Do not press too much in the beginning. Slowly throw in the air and make them into balls by catching it in different positions. 
6. Make the balls completely and spread them on a big greased plate. Slowly rotate the plate so that the balls keep moving and get harder.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Now take each ball and press tightly so that no air is trapped in between. If air is trapped the balls will slowly loose the shape when left aside.
   
   
   

Note : Making jaggery pagu:

To get the pagu, keep checking by dripping down the jaggery syrup from the ladle we use for stirring. First the thread will be discontinuous when we stop pouring. When it comes a like continuous thread, heat for one more minute and add to a cup containing very little water. when you take the jaggery from the water and try to roll it, it will come easily into a small ball. When you throw it on plate or vessel you will hear the noise as if we have thrown a stone. This is the correct texture for the pagu.

Tiffin/Breakfast variety: Upma/pidi kozhukattai

 Upma kozhakattai is a delicious south Indian break fast variety. Simple and easy to make. Healthy as steam cooked. 

Ingredients: (12 kozhakattai)

Raw rice - 1cup

Grated coconut - 2tbs

Salt - as required

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Chana dal- 1tsp

Urid dal - 1 tsp

Red chili - 2 

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Coconut oil - 1tbs

Method:

Preparation of rice rava:

1. Soak raw rice after rinsing for 1 hr.
2.  Filter the water and dry it under fan by spreading over a towel or cloth. 
3. When the rice is dried ( when you hold a handful of rice it will stick for a while and when you leav,e it will spread out).
4.  Dry grind it in the mixer into coarse powder. It should be the size of  wheat rava. (Dalia). If the rice is not dried properly you can't get it grinded properly.

Method

1. Heat coconut oil in a big pan and add mustard seeds.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Add urid dal, Chana dal, broken red chili and Hing after mustard seeds splutters.
3. Add curry leaves.
4. Measure the rice rava and add equal proportion of water to the pan.
5. Add salt and allow the water to boil well. Add grated coconut.
6. Add the rice rava slowly simultaneously stirring continuously.
7. When it thickens switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
8. Roll them in oval balls and steam cook in idly cooker for 20minutes,
9. Serve hot with Curry leaves chutney/coconut chutney.

Making curry leaves chutney:

Grind half a cup of grated coconut with half a cup of fresh curry leaves with two green chilis and Hing. Add salt as required and season with mustard seeds, urid dal, red chili and Hing.

Pirandai thogayal

 Pirandai is a climber and can be easily grown in kitchen garden which has lots of medicinal benefits.It is good for digestion, cough, cold and lot more. Those who suffer from piles can use pirandia once in three days to get relief.

Ingredients:

Black Sesame seeds (Ellu) - 1tbs

Urid dal - 2 tbsp.

Red chili - 3

Grated coconut - 1tbs

Grated ginger - 1tbs

Tamarind - size of a goose berry (Amla)

Fresh Curry leaves -handful

Hing - a pinch

Jaggary - size of a badam seed

sesame oil/cooking oil- 1tbs

Salt as required.

Pirandai ( tender ones will be better) - two pieces with a length of 6 to 9 inches (approx. a pencil length)

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds till it splutters. Remove and keep aside.
2. Add 1/2 tsp of oil and roast urid dal, hing and red chili. Remove and keep aside.
3. Wash pirandai and take the stem alone. Cut it into small pieces, Saute pirandai in the remaining oil.Remove and keep aside.
4. Saute Ginger.
5. Add Sesame seeds, urid dal, red chili, Hing, pirandai, ginger, coconut, tamarind, cleaned curry leaves, salt and grind it into a coarse paste. Add jaggery and whip once.

Pirandai thogayal is ready and can be serrved with hot rice, sesame oil and cucumber raita. 

Breakfast recipe: Sevai/ idiyappam

 Sevai is a South Indian breakfast. Easily digestible and can be given to kids or sick people instead of  Idli.

Ingredients:

For 2 persons

Parboiled rice : 1cup (heaped)

Raw rice ; 1/4 cup

Salt : as required

For seasoning:

Red chili - 2

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hinge : a pinch

Curry leaves : few

Coconut oil - 1tbs

Method:

1. Soak par boiled rice and raw rice together for 3 hours and grind it to a very fine paste.
2.  Add salt and mix well.
3. No need to ferment.
4. Pour the batter on the idli plate and cook for 8 minutes.
   
   
   
5. Place the idli in sevai nazhi and squeeze by turning the handle.
   
   
   
6. Keep a plate at the bottom and collect the squeezed sevai.
   
   
   
7. Spread it in a plate to get it cooled.
8. When cooled the threads won't stick to each other.
9. Heat the coconut oil and add mustard seeds and broken red chili and hinge.
10. Remove after the mustard seeds splutter and add curry leaves and add to the sevai.
    
    
    
    
11. Grease your hand with little coconut oil and mix the sevai with mustard seeds well.
    
    
    
12. Serve with morkuzhambu or sweetened coconut milk.

Morkuzhambu recipe:( Easy method)

Ingredients:

Coconut (grated) -1/2 cup

Curd - 1/2 cup

Jeera - 1tbs

Green chili - 2

Rice flour - 1 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - 1/2 tsp or as required

For seasoning:

Coconut oil - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Red chili - 1

Curry leaves - few

Method:

Grind coconut, Jeera, green chili with rice flour into a fine paste.

Churn the curd.

Mix the ground paste with curd.

Add salt, turmeric powder and hing and mix well.

Boil for 3 sec.

Do the seasoning with the ingredients mentioned.

Morkuzhambu is ready.

Tips:

You can have it with morkuzhambu or you can make lemon sevai or coconut sevai as we do the lemon rice or coconut rice.

Sweet puttu (Navratri special)

 Sweet puttu is usually done on Navratri Friday. It is yum and soft.

Ingredients

Raw rice flour - 1cup

Jaggery - 1 or 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Grated coconut - 2tbs

Ghee - 1tbsp

Cashew - 8 (broken)

Method:

Making rice flour:

Soak 1cup of raw rice for 20min and dry it under the fan for half an hour. It should come in hand to hold and should fall when left. You can grind it to powder in the mixe. It is better to grind slightly coarse. It should not be too coarse or fine powder.

You can buy puttu mavu from the store.

1. Dry roast the rice flour till it turns brown. Sprinkle warm water with a pinch of turmeric powder and need well keep doing till you get a dough which you can make a first of dough and can spread when left.

2. Soak jaggery in 1/4 cup of water and filter the dirt or sand particles.

3. You can keep the rice flour in a muslin cloth and tie it tightly and steam cook for 20mins. Or you can grease the idly plates with coconut oil and steam cook. Leave the bottom plate empty. Fill the other plates with rice flour to avoid water entering the rice flour.

3. Heat the jaggery syrup add cardamom powder, grated coconut and make the pagu. It should come in hand to roll like a ball .

4. Keep the steamed rice flower in a bowl and add the pagu(jaggery syrup) . Mix thoroughly.

5. Put this mixer in the mixe jar and whip for 2or 3 times. It will become so soft. 

6. Heat the ghee and roast the cashews and add.

Mix well. Puttu is ready.

Note: you can add soaked toor dal after steam cooking along with the rice flour.