1. Podi recipies

 1. Paruppu podi

It is good to be stored when we don't have any gravy at home or could not cook etc...

Ingredients:

Toor dal - 1 cup

Red chilli - 10

Black pepper- 1tbs

Dry ginger - 1 piece (thumb size)

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves -few

Salt - 1tbs

Method:

1. Dry roast red chili. You can use a little coconut oil to avoid irritation to the nose. Or you can dry roast.
2. Dry roast Toor dal and black pepper till Toor dal turns golden brown with a good aroma.
3. Add dry ginger, hinge and salt to the Toor dal a few seconds before too dal turns brown and roast for few seconds.
4. You can either dry roast the curry leaves after washing or add a little coconut oil and fry the leaves,
5. Leave the curry leaves in the pan for a while.
6. Grind all the ingredients together to a fine powder.
7. Add the curry leaves and just press the whip button for a  second so that the leaves are neither whole not crushed completely. Or you can crush them by hand and mix.
8. Store it in a dry container.
   
   
   

Serve with hot rice and ghee. 

Chips, pappad, vadam or raitha can be used as a side dish.

 2. Milagu podi or Milagu jeeraga podi

This can be kept in store and can be used for dishes like pongal, rasam, rawa dosa or any instant dosas and kootu varieties which are done without tamarind.

Ingredients:

Milagu or black pepper - 1/2 a cup

Jeera - 1/2 cup

Salt - 1tsp (optional)

Method:

Grind all the ingredients into a coarse powder.

You can use it for other purposes if you have not added the salt.

You can have it with hot ghee rice and the side dish can be verum kuzhambu or vatha kuzhambu.

3. Karivepalai podi

This can be kept in store like parupu podi.

Ingredients 

A bunch of curry leaves 

Toor dal - 1 cup

Pepper - 2 tbs

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli - 3

Salt -1tbs

Method

1. Wash the bunch of curry leaves with the stem and dry it under fan or inside the house leaving it for a day till it gets completely dry.
2. Dry roast Toor dal, red chili, pepper and hinge.
3. Add the curry leaves to the roasted ingredients and stir for a few seconds so that water content if present may get evaporated.
4. Dry grind into a fine powder adding salt.
5. Store in a dry container and serve with hot rice and ghee.

4. Thengai podi 

This can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1 

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Red chili - 15 

Tamarind - lemon size

Hinge - 1/4 tsp.

Coconut oil - 1tsp

Salt - as required

Method:

1. Roast urid dal in coconut oil and add red chili after a while and roast till the urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add hinge and roast for a second and keep aside.
3. Grate the coconut and dry roast till it turns light brown.
4. Add salt and keep for a second to remove any moisture.
5. Dry grind all the ingredients into a coarse powder.

Serve with hot rice and ghee. Any raitha/chips/ vatha kuzhambu can be used as side dish.

5. Kothamalli podi

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Coriander/ kothamalli leaves - a bunch

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - a lemon size

Red chilli - 10

Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Hinge -1/4 tsp

Salt - 1tbs or as required

Method:

Preparation: 

Remove the root and yellow leaves from the bunch of coriander. Wash thoroughly and drain the water. Spread well on a cloth and dry under the fan or inside the house till the leaves are crunchy. It might take 24 hours during the sunny day. There should be no water content in the leaves because it will not give longer shelf life.

1.  Roast red chili, urid dal and hinge till urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add them to the grinder/mixie jar and keep the coriander leaves on the pan to remove the water if any (no need to roast the leaves).
3. Add salt and the coriander leaves to roasted urid dal and red chili.
4. Dry grind to a coarse powder.
5. Store in a dry container.

Serve as you will serve other podis with rice and ghee.

6. Pudina podi.

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Mint/ pudina leaves - a bunch

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - a small lemon size

Red chilli - 10

Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Hinge -1/4 tsp

Salt - 1tbs or as required

Method:

Preparation: 

Remove the  leaves from the bunch of pudina/mint. Wash thoroughly and drain the water. Spread well on a cloth and dry under the fan or inside the house till the leaves are crunchy. It might take 24 hours during the sunny day. There should be no water content in the leaves because it will not give longer shelf life.

1.  Roast red chili, urid dal and hinge till urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add them to the grinder/mixie jar and keep the coriander leaves on the pan to remove the water if any (no need to roast the leaves).
3. Add salt and the coriander leaves to roasted urid dal and red chili.
4. Dry grind to a coarse powder.
5. Store in a dry container.

Serve as you will serve other podis with rice and ghee.

You can make this podi with both mint and coriander.

7. Angaya podi

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice. This is very nutritious and good for stomach disorders.

Ingredeint:

Sundaikai vathal - 1/4 cup

Manathakkali vathal - 1/4cup

Dry Neem flowers - 1/4 cup

Daniya/corriander seeds - 1tsp

Black pepper-1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Hinge - a pinch

Dry ginger powder - 1/2tsp

Salt -1tsp

Gingely oil - 1tbs

Method:

1. Add the oil to the pan and roast sundaikai vathal till it turns dark brown, filter out from the oil andkeep aside.
2. Add manathakkali vathal and roast till it turns dark brown and fluffy. Filter out from the oil and keep aside with sundaikai vathal.
3. Add neem flower and roast till it turns dark brown. It gets roasted quickly. So care must be taken not to char it. Keep aside with sundaikai vathal.
4. Roast the rest of the ingredients adding dry ginger powder and hinge lastly.
5. Dry grind in the mixie jar.
6. Check the taste before adding the salt because the sundaikai and manathakkali bought from the store may contain lot of salt.
7. Sore in a dry container after cooling.
8. Serve with hot rice and ghee/gingely oil.

8. Ellu podi

Ellupodi can be used to make ellorai. This also can be had with hot rice. This can not be stored for long. However, you can refrigerate and have for 15days. You get a good aroma only when prepared freshly.

Ingredients:

Ellu/ sesame seeds - 2tbs

Red chilli - 4

Methi seeds - 1/2tsp

Daniya - 1/2tsp

Hinge 1/4tsp

Seasoning

sesame oil- 2tbs

mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

urid dal -1/2tsp

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves- few

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds.
2. Add 1/4tsp sesame oil and roast red chili and Methi seeds,
3. Dry grind the sesame seeds first and then add red chili and Methi seeds and grind it a fine powder.
4. Season the mentioned ingredients in the 1tsp of sesame oil and mix with cooked rice adding the rest of the sesame oil.
5. Mix thoroughly.

Alternative Method 

1. Just dry roast 1tbs of black sesame seeds. 
2. Grind to fine powder.
3. Heat 1tbs of sesame oil, add Hing and few curry leaves.
4. Add to pre pressure cooked, cooled raw rice and mix thoroughly.

9.Vepambu podi

Vepmbu podi is very healthy and kills the germs and worms in the stomach. It is very good for children and can be given daily a ball of vepambu rice. Vepambu or neem leaves can be collected during the season (March/April) , sun dried, cleaned and stored. It has good shelf life of more than a year. But it is better to have it done once a year. We can use neem flower while seasoning keerai masiyal and making vepambu rasam.

Method: 

• Roast neem flowers in 1 tbsp. of cooking oil or ground nut oil. 
• Smash with your fingers and make it into powder.
• Add ghee to the hot rice and add roasted neem flower powder and salt as required.
• Mix well and serve hot.
• No side dish is necessary. Anyway you can have with raitha or curd or papad.

10. Manathakali vathal podi.

Manathakali raw or vathal heals sores in stomach and mouth. It is easily digestible and can be given to newly delivered moms. Manathakali vathal also can be made at home. Buy raw manakali from market and clean and soak in butter milk adding salt. Soak it for a day and sun dry. Add slat a little extra to have long shelf life.

Method:

1. Roast handful of manathakali vathal in cooking oil/coconut oil.
2. Powder it with your fingers or you can whip in mixie.
3. Add ghee to the rice and mix thoroughly. Do not add salt as it will be already there in the vathal.
4. Serve hot. No side dish needed. You can have with curd or papad.

Vella Cheedai

Vella cheedai is the challenging one for even most experienced cooks.
Ingredients:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Jaggery- 1/2 cup
Dry ginger(Chukku) powder
cardomam powderred - 2
butter - 1 tbp
Fried urid dal powder- 1tsp
Coconut grated - 1 tsp
Method:
Preparing rice flour, urid dal flour and jaggery syrup

1. Wash raw rice, soak for 1 hour and dry it in shade. Grind it in to a fine powder. Sieve it and dry roast. Do not fry too much, just heat till the aroma comes. ( When we try to make a string or line it will fall with out gap. Kolam podum padam). Sieve again for lumps 
2. Dry roast urid dal till it turns brown and make it a fine powder. Sieve it.
   
   
   
3. Add very 1/4  water to wet the jaggery. Heat and stir continuously so that the jaggery dissolves completely. Filter and keep aside.

•  Add roasted rice flour, urid dal powder, butter, grated coconut, cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Mix well. Add the jaggery syrup and mix again. 
• Make it into small balls. Keep it for10 minutes. No need to make it perfect sphere.
• Heat the oil in a pan and drop a ball to check if it gets dissolved, Do not turn or stir. Keep it in low flame.
• If it is stable turn it around slowly. Wait till all the bubbles settles. Turn all the sides to get it cooked well. When it turns brown drain out the oil.
• Now Add 6 to 10 balls and repeat as before.
  
  
  

Tips:

For some cheedai that gets dissolved in oil:

The jaggery quantity may be too much or the water added to jaggery is less. 

The dough should be wet enough so that it does not dissolve when put in the oil. but it should not be sticky. The other reason is the balls need not be left to dry for long time.

For some cheedai which wont be crispy:

Either the urid dal powder will be more or the balls were not cooked enough. Butter should be added liberally to keep it crisp.

Odisa milagai

 Odisa milagai is like a pickle or thokku. It can be the best side dish for curd rice. We can also have with idli and dosa. It's very simple recipe to make.

Ingredients 

Green chilli -15 to 20

Tamarind -1 big lemon size

Methi seeds 1tbs

Hing- 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Gingelly oil- 2tbs

Salt as required 

Method:

1. Extract tamarind juice.

2. Cut the chillies in length wise.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds.

4. After the mustard seeds splutter add methi seeds and roast till it turns brown.

5.Add hing and green chillies. Saute for 30 second.

6. Add turmeric powder and tamarind juice.

7 Add salt and keep it on the flame for one minute. Then lower the flame. Saute till it gets thick paste. You can add a blueberry size jaggery (optional) after switching off the flame.

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.