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. 
   
   
   

21. Pitlai

Pitlai  is a kuzhambu vaiety. Any fried vegetable is a good combination. We can make pitlai with pakarkai/bitter gourd, brinjal or jack fruit seed.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 3/4 cup
Channa dal - 1/4 cup.
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
vegetable - 1cup
Black channa or ground nut - 1tbs

For grinding:
Coriander seeds - 1tbs
Channa dal - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 5
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1tbs  for frying the above

Seasoning:
Oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook Toor dal and channa dal together.
2. Extract tamarind paste.
3. Cook chopped vegetables and channa in tamarind water with salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
4. Roast the items given under grinding till the dal turns brown. Grind along with coconut.
5. Mix cooked and smashed dal with the ground paste and add to the tamarind paste.
6. Allow it boil for a few seconds.
7. Season and serve hot.

Note: Chop pakarkai in round shape. If you use brinjal chop into small cubes. If you use jack fruit seed, cook it in pressure cooker in a separate vessel along with dal and remove the white skin. cut them into small cubes.

19. Vendhaya kuzhambu

Vendhaya kuzhambu is a simple gravy and a good combination with keerai masiyal and brinjal or other fried vegetables,

Ingredients: 
Chopped brinjal and okra/lady's finger - 1/2cup
Tamarind - a lemon size
Salt - 1tbs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Fresh curry leaves - few
Hinge - a pinch
Rice flour - 1 tbs

For seasoning:
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Toor dal - 1tsp
Channa dal -1tsp
Methi/ vendhayam - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Gingely oil - 1tbs
Red chilli - 8

Method:

1. Extract 3cups of tamarind syrup and leave aside.
2. Heat the oil in a kadai add mustard. After it splutters add broken pieces of red chilli, toor dal, channa dal, methi and hinge.
3. Fry till the dal turns dark brown and add half of the curry leaves and the chopped vegetables.
4. Saute fora while and add turmeric powder followed by tamarind paste , salt, hinge and rest of the curry leaves.
5. Allow it to boil till the vegetables get cooked.
6. Add rice flour paste to get a thick consistency.

18. Avial kuzhambu

Avial kuzhambu is the simplest and delicious gravy.

Ingredients:
Curd / Butter milk (sour) - 1 cup
Salt - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Rice flour - 1tbs

Ash gourd - 1 cup(Chopped)
Potato - 1/2 cup (Chopped)
Carrot - 4 pieces
Broad beans (avaraikai) - 1/2 cup
Brinjal - 2 chopped
colocasia -4 (pressure cooked)

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 1cup
Green chilli - 7
Jeera - 1 tsp

Seasoning:
Coconut oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Vendhayam - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves

Method:

1. Boil all the vegetables adding salt, turmeric powder and hinge 3 cups of water.
2. Grind all the items mentioned into a thin paste and add to the boiling vegetables.
3. Stir well and allow it to boil.
4. Churn the curd well and add. Then add rice flour paste. 
5. Heat till the gravy just rise up. Add boiling water if the consistency is very thick.
6. Season and serve hot along with rice and fried applam/vathal/vadam.

15. Morkuzhambu

Morkuzhambu is the best gravy that goes with the side dish parupu usili. Other fried vegetables like potato, brinjal, bitter gourd(midhi pavakai) okra, coccinia/ ivy gourd/ kovaikai and kothavangai/ cluster beans.
This is the important south Indian gravy in weddings and other functions. Iyangars and tamil brahmins main dish.

Ash gourd is the best vegetable used for this gravy. Okra, brinjal, and capsicum.

Sundaikai vathal, ash gourd/ poosani kai vathal, vendaikai vathal can also be fried and added lastly instead of the  vegetable.

We can also use parupu urundai instead of the vegetable.

Ingredients:
Chopped vegetable - 1 cup
Curd/ butter milk (sour) - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Salt - 1 tbs

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 2 tbs
Toor dal - 1 1/2 tbs
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
cumin seed/ jeeragam - 1/2 tsp
Green chili - 7
coriander leaves- little
optional
corriandar seed ( roasted with little oil) - 1 tsp
Urid dal (roasted with little oil) - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 1
Methi seeds- few
Hinge - a pinch
curry leaves - few
coconut oil/cooking oil - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Soak the items given under grinding for half an hour except coconut, coriander and green chili. Boiling water if used may reduce the soaking time for 15 minutes.
2. Grind the soaked items along with coriander, coconut and green chili into a fine paste.
3. Cook the chopped vegetables with salt, turmeric powder and hinge in 1 cup of water.
4. Mix the ground paste, Add enough water so that the consistency is not very thick. 
5. Boil the mixture.
6. Churn the curd. Add to the boiling mixture.Do not boil too much. Just when the mixture rises up switch of the stove.
7. Season and serve.

Note: For parupu urundai, Soak 1 cup of toor dal separately with 6 red chilli for half an hour. Grind into coarse paste along with salt. curry leaves and hinge. Make the paste into small balls and steam cook for 15 minutes, Add the ball to the boiling mixture. Then add curd and stir well.

 Constant stirring is very important for this gravy.

You can also add roasted coriander seeds and roasted urid dal each half tsp for grinding.