1. Mango thokku

 Mango thokku is very simple to make but delicious. It has lesser shelf life compared to mavadu and avakkai. But we can eat by mixing it with rice and a tsp of gingely oil.

Ingredients:

Mango  (Benglura mango or kili muku mango or any other mango variety) - 1

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Salt - as required (1tbs)

Hinge -1/4 tsp

Methi seeds 1tbs

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Chili powder - 1tbs 

Oil (gingely) - 3tbs

Method :

1. Grate mango in a grater or cut into pieces and whip in mixie. Do not grind too soft.
   

   

   
   
   
   
2. Add salt and turmeric powder  and mix well. Leave it for 10mins.
   
   
   
3. Dry roast meth seeds and dry grind it.
4. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds.
   
   
   
5. Add the mango, turmeric powder and salt mixer into the pan after the mustard seeds splutters.
6. Add methi powder and chili powder.
   
   
   
7. Stir well. Keep stirring till the ingredients get mixed well and come out without touching the sides of the pan.
   

   

   
   
   
   
8. Your mango thokku is ready. Cool it. Store it in a clean dry glass bottle with air tight lid.

Tips:

You can add a 1/2 tsp of jaggery at the last if you like the slight sweet taste.

If the mango is very sour you may have to add extra chili powder and salt.

Bengalura mango is sweeter when raw so it requires no jaggery and less chili powder.

Poosanikai vathal/ Kuzhambu vathal/Ash gourd vathal

Poosanikai vathal is the easiest and very tasty vathal. Also we can use the entire ash gourd unlike the other ash gourd dishes. It is a South Indian dish.

Ingredients: 

Ash gourd / white poosanikai - 1/2 kg

Urid dal - 1 cup

Red chili - 10 to 15

Hinge- 1/4tsp

Fresh curry leaves - few

Salt - as required (1tbs)

Method:

1. Wash the ash gourd and remove the skin and keep aside. you can cut off the skin along with some flesh which will be easier.
2. Take the urid dal and red chili in a broad vessel.
3.  Cut the flesh part along with the seed into small pieces and add over the urid dal. Mix well. Leave it aside for at least 2hrs. Urid dal gets soaked by the water in ash gourd pieces.
   
   
   
4. Grind the skin first well and then grind the urid dal, red chili, salt, hinge, curry leaves and ash gourd pieces into a coarse paste.
   
   
   

 5. Using a table spoon, drop on a plastic sheet and dry under the sun for two days and store in an air           tight container.

Tips:

• You can cut the ash gourd and soak the urid dal the previous day evening, grind and refrigerate. 
• Next day morning you can put the vathal before 8am.
•  Do not soak urid dal separately which will increase the water and it might affect the consistency.
• This can be fried in very little oil and used for verum kuzhambu , more kuzhambu instead of the vegetable as a than.
• This can be used in seasoning keerai masiyal by breaking it into bits along with vepambu and other ingredients.
  
  
  
  

Javvarisi/Sabudana vadam

 Javvarisi vadam

It is the simplest vathal. Also very tasty. It can be used as a evening crispy snack. It can be used as a substitute  for potato chips and as a side dish for any mixed rice, sambar sadam etc.,

Ingredients:

Javvarisi - 1kg 

Green chilli - 20

Salt - as needed (add lesser than usual because when dried in sun it will be more salty.

Lemon - 5

Any thick plastic sheet for drying the vadam

Water - 25 cups

Hinge - 1tsp

Method 

1. Soak javarisi in a big vessel with a thick base, the previous day. Pour water from the measured quantity of water till it comes well above the javarisi. Check after 2 hours it will be fluffy and add some more water if the water is absorbed completely  
2. It should be soaked for 7 to 8 hours. If you soak it at 12 noon, you can prepare the koozh at 7 or 8pm. If the koozh is prepared the previous day night, we can add the lemon juice the next day morning as it will be cooled. The vadam can also be put in the plastic sheet befor 8am to avoid the scorching heat of the sun later during the day.

3. Take half of the rest of the water and start boiling it.

4.Grind the green chilli and salt, hinge into a fine paste. Add it to the boiling water and allow it boil for some time. 

5.Add the soaked javarisi and stir well with a ladle. Once it starts boiling add the rest of the water if any, slowly and keep stirring.  

6. Once again when it starts boiling, keep the stove in sim. It is better to use pressure cooker. Keep stirring till the javarisi gets cooked. 

7. Most of the javarisi turns transparent once cooked. But some may not turn transparent. But it will be cooked. You can check it by smashing it. 

8. Cover it air tight and leave it. 

9. Next day morning add the squeezed lemon juice to the koozh and mix thoroughly. 

10.Spread the plastic sheet, take a tbs of the koozh and drop it on the sheet. The koozh should not be too thick nor too thin. Some javarisi may require more or less than the specified quantity of water. 

11. Dry it in hot sun for 3 days. The vadam will come out automatically.  Store in air tight container. It has shelf life more than a year.

12.Heat cooking oil in a pan and deep fry the vadam. If the vadams have some hard beads while biting, then dry for it one more day.

 

 

 

 

 

         

Tips: 

• During the month of panguni (March 15th to April15), the temperature will be apt. 
• There will be no air movement which will avoid the dust particles sticking to the vadam. Dry the vadam and finish it before 8am to avoid the heat of the day. 

• If you want you can add colors to the koozh.  Adding fine paste of mint leaves/ coriander leaves/tomatoes can add flavors and colors to the vadam. Plain vadam will also be delicious.

Urgai maavadu

Mavadu is the easiest and tastiest urugai. Thayir sadam with vadu mangai is the tastiest. Even the charu without vadu mangai will be tasty for curd rice. It is healthy too because no oil is used as in other pickles.

 It has long shelf life.

Ingredients

Baby mangoes with stem -1kg

Crystal Salt - 1cup

 Castor oil/ gingely oil - 1tbp

Mustard seeds - 50 GM's / 1/4 cup

Round red chilli - 20

Hinge - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Wash the mangoes thoroughly and wipe well with a cloth. 
2. Spread on a white (veshti) cloth and dry it under fan for 2hrs.

3. Add castor or gingely oil and shake well so that it forms coating over the mangoes.

 4. Take the mustard oil and sundry if possible or you can straight away grind it to a fine powder.

5. To that add crystal Salt, red chilli and hinge and dry grind. Let it be a fine powder.

6. Add it to mangoes and mix thoroughly.

 Leave it closing it air tight. Use a broad vessel. It can be plastic container or even steel vessel. Later you can store it in glass bottle or ceramic jadi.

7. Daily morning mix thoroughly with a dry hand and dry ladle. It should be done for 3days.  You can see the water comes and fills the whole mangoes. You can see the wrinkles over the mangoes.

Now it is ready to use.  But it is advisable to leave for a week for the raw smell to go.

Tips: 

• No need to add any water.
• No prior soaking in brine solution or in salt is necessary.
• Buy round vadus with reddish stem.
• While cutting the stem leave a bit which will give you longer shelf life. 
• Also wash the mangoes after cutting the stem because the milk from the stem may come out.
• I used to add two three stems which will preserve the mangoes.
• Adding slightly dry roasted crystal Salt will also increase shelf life. Because the salt might have absorbed water from the air.
• Store it in air tight container. 
• Occasionally you can stir. If you are storing in ceramic jadi, cover the mouth with a white cloth and tie the neck tightly. Then place the lid.
• If all the above are followed it will last for an year.