Mint Rasam recipe

 Mint rasam is a South Indian recipe, had with rice and any vegetable curry/ appalam for lunch. It can be had as a soup too.

Ingredients:

Toor dal -1/4 cup

Tamarind - Berry size

Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Rasam power - 1 tsp

Mint leaves - 1 handful

Coriander leaves - 1 handful

Tomato - 2 medium size

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - 1 tbsp. or as required

Water - 2 1/2 cups

For seasoning

Ghee -1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Jeera - 1/4 tsp

Red chili - 1

Hinge - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook toor dal and keep aside.
2. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the juice
3. In a vessel add tamarind water, hinge, salt, turmeric powder, half of the coriander leaves and mint leaves. Add 1 chopped tomato and allow it to boil.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add rasam powder and boil for two seconds. Do not boil too long.
   
   
   
5. Grind half of the tomato, mint and few coriander  leaves.
   
   
   
   
6. In a pan add ghee and add the ground tomato and sauté. Add the tamarind mix  and slightly smashed the toor dal to the pan.  Allow it boil for a few seconds.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Season the above mentioned  ingredients and add the rest of the coriander leaves on the top. Delicious mint rasam is ready. Enjoy with hot rice, ghee and appalam/chips/any vegetable curry. 
   
   
   

Mint rice - Vegan style

 Mint rice in vegan style is very simple and easy to make. One of the best mixed rice.

Servings - 2

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup

Mint leaves - Handful

Coriander leaves - little

Green chili - 2

Green peas fresh/frozen - 1/4 cup

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

chana dal 1 tbsp.

Daniya - 1tbsp.

Ground nut - 1 tbsp.

Cashews - few

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp. 

Method:

1. Pressure cook the raw rice and allow it to cool by spreading it on a plate and sprinkle some oil on it.
2. Clean the mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chili. 
3. Chop half of the mint leaves and keep aside.
4. Heat the pan and fry the ground nut and cashews in a little oil and keep aside.
5. Roast chana dal, daniya and green chili in the pan. Roast chana dal till it turns dark brown with a good aroma. Add the whole mint leaves and coriander leaves and sauté for few seconds.
   
   
   
6. Dry grind the grated coconut, green chili, roasted daniya, chana dal, mint leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Heat the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters add green peas and the chopped mint leaves and sauté for few seconds.
   
   
   
8. Add the ground powder over the rice.
   
   
   
9. Add salt and add roasted ground nut and cashew to the rice.
10. Add this entire mix into the pan and mix thoroughly. Mint rice is ready.
11. Have it with chips/ appalam / vadam.
    
    
    

Pulliyodarai podi and Pulliyodarai.

 Pulliyodarai podi is a substitute for pullikaichal.

This has a shelf life of more than a year. You can add oil as per your requirement. It is simple and easy to make and nothing much to clean after it is made unlike pullikaichal which splatters everywhere. Also it can be used in Aval upma, sepangizhangu fry. 

Below is the picture of poha upma made using Pulliyodarai podi.

Ingredients:

Tamarind (cleaned) - 1 orange size

Daniya - 2 table spoon

Chili - 30

Methi seeds - 1tsp

Sesame seeds - 1tbs

Method :

1. Dry roast sesame seed first after cleaning and removing the stones/ sand if any. Keep aside.
2. Now dry roast daniya and methi seeds. Keep aside.
3. Dry roast red chili.
4. Dry roast cleaned tamarind keeping the stove in sim or very very low flame. Keep stirring, Tamarind will get charred easily. Do not use iron pan for roasting. While cleaning remove the seeds, shell of the tamarind fruit if any and also the coir (nar in Tamil).
   
   
   
5. Dry grind sesame seeds first into fine powder then add roasted red chili to it and grind it into fine powder.
6. Now add roasted daniya and methi seeds and grind.
   
   
   
7. Finally add roasted tamarind and grind it into a fine powder. Add tamarind in two parts. Sometime it may stuck. I added the entire quantity in one go.
   
   
   
8. Dry grind into a fine powder.
9. Store it in a dry glass/plastic container.
10.  Care should be taken while using every time that you use dry spoon with dry hands.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

 Making Pulliyodarai using the Pulliyodarai podi:

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1cup

Gingely oil - 2tbs

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Urid dal - 1 tbs

Chana dal - 1tbs

Red chili - 4

Hinge - 1tsp

Cashews - 1tsp

Ground nut - 1tbs

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - 1tbs

Pulliyodarai podi - 2tbs

Method:

1. Pressure cook raw rice. Transfer the rice into a plate immediately (without using a ladle) after the cooker sets down.
   
   
   Pour 1 tbsp. of gingely oil over the rice as we do for dosa. Add turmeric powder on it.
   
   
   
2.  Leave it under the fan to get cooled. Rice should be cooled completely. Do not use ladle till it cools.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. 
   
   
   
4. Add broken red chili, urid dal, chana dal after the mustard seeds splutter.
5. Roast till the dal turns golden brown.
6. Add ground nut when the dal is slightly brown and after that add cashew also.
7. Roast till the ground nut gets roasted. Mean while the dal also turns golden brown.
8. Now add hinge and then curry leaves.
   
   
   
9. Add this entire items to the cooled  rice.
10. Add salt and Pulliyodarai podi.
    
    
    
11. Mix thoroughly. Pulliyodarai is ready.
    
    
    You can use it for more than 30 hrs.
12. Serve with vadam/ appalam/chips/curd.
13. You can add turmeric lastly while you are seasoning. Similarly you can add Pulliyodarai podi on the spread rice kept for cooling.