Coriander/ Kothamalli thokku

 Coriander thokku is very simple and can be used as a side dish for dosa, idly, upma and curd rice. Also you can mix in hot rice with a spoon of gingely oil.

Ingredients:

Coriander - 1 bunch

Tamarind - a lemon size

Green chili - 15 to 20

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Methi seeds - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Salt -1tbs or as required

Gingely oil - 2tbs

Method:

1. Dry roast methi seeds and keep aside.
2. Wash coriander leaves thoroughly and  wet grind with green chili, salt and tamarind into a fine past along with methi seeds.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Add hinge and the coriander paste after the mustard seeds splutter.
4. Mix thoroughly and keep in simmer flame. close it with a lid as it splashes while boiling.
5. Keep stirring often. When it thickens and comes without touching the sides switch off the stove and store it in a dry plastic/ glass container.
   
   
   
6. It has a shelf life of around 15 days to 1 month when kept in fridge.

Thengai kuzhambu

Thengai kuzhambu is a simple side easy to do and very tasty with any vegetable curry. Vegetables like lady's finger, brinjal, capsicum, drum stick and ash guard can be used.

Ingredients:
Vegetable pieces - 1 cup.
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Rice flour - 1tbs
Salt - 1tbs

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1/2tsp
Daniya seeds (coriander seeds) - 1/2tsp
Red chilli - 7
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Hinge - a pinch

For seasoning:
Oil - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Curry leaves

Method:

1. Cook the vegetable in one cup of water adding salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
2. Soak tamarind in hot water. Remove the seeds and seed coats if any.
3. Grind coconut, cleaned tamarind, jeera, red chilli, daniya and hinge into a thick paste.
4. Add the paste to the cooked vegetable and mix well. Add 2 cups of water.
5. Boil it for 3 minutes. Add rice flour paste and mix well. Boil again for a minute.
6. Season with the given ingredients.

Note: If the consistency is thin add some more rice flour paste.

5. Pasiparupu thakali easy sambar as a side dish to idli

   
   Pasiparupu(moongdal) thakali(tomato) easy sambar as a side dish to idli/ dosai

Ingredients:

Pasiparupu (Moong dal) – 1 cup

Tamarind – a small amla size

Sambar powder – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Hinge – a pinch

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Salt -1tbs

Oil – to fry onion

Onion – 1 big

Tomoto – 3 medium size

Green chilli – 4

Curry leaves

Coriandar leaves

For garnishing:

Oil – 1tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Red chilli – 1

Hinge – a pinch

Curry leaves

Method:

1. Pressure cook the moong dal. Smash it well.
2. Fry onion well till it turns little brown. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add sambar powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder.
3. Soak tamrind in hot water and take the extract. It should be one cup. Add to the fried onion. Add salt and allow it boil.
4. Add the dal. The consistency should be little watery than the usual sambar. Allow it to boil for a minute. Add a spoon of rice flour paste if it is too watery.
5. Garnish with the ingredients mentioned.

2. Sambar

2.       Sambar (Freshly roasted araithuvitta sambar)

Vegetables that can be used
Drumstick, raddish, capsicum, carrot, ashguard, brinjal and lady's finger.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1cup
any vegetable -200gm
Tamarind -1 lemon size ball
Salt - 2tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Oil - 1tbs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
For grinding:
Grated coconut - 3tbs
Daniya/coriander seeds - 2tbs
Channa dal - 2tbs
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Redchilli - 8
Curry leaves few
For tempering:
Gingely oil/ ghee - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Red chilli - 2
Methi seeds - few
Hinge - a pinch
Curry leaves
Preparation: 1. Soak toor dal for 20 minutes in hot water and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
2. Roast all the ingredients (till the dal turns brown) given under grinding except coconut  and grind with grated coconut into a coarse paste.
3. Chop the vegetables (1 inch size).
4. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract 2cups of syrup.
Method:
1. Cook the vegetable in tamarind extract along with salt, hinge and turmeric powder.
2. Add the the ground past, cooked and smashed toor dal to the tamrind extract.
3. Mix well and boil it for 2 seconds.
4. Temper with the ingredients given under tempering.

7. Paal kootu

7.       Paal kootu

Snake guard, pala keerai, seemai ponnaganni keerai can be used to make this dish. Ashguard can also be used.
Ingredients:
Snake guard - 1/4kg
Milk - 1cup
Green chilli -2
cumin seeds - 1/2tsp
Rice flour - 2tbs
Salt -1tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch
For tempering:
Mustard seeds -1tsp
Urid dal - 1tsp
curry leaves
Method:

1.       Chop into very small pieces and cook in little water, salt and turmeric powder.

2.       Add chopped (lengthwise) chillies and milk. Boil it for 5 minutes. Add rice flour paste.

3.       Temper all the items given under seasoning in oil.

3. Puli vitta kootu

3.       Puli vita kootu
Vegetables like senai, brinjal, keerai thandu and poosanikai can be used for this gravy cum side dish.
Ingredients
Any one of the above vegetable -250gm
Toor dal/Channa dal or Both in 3:1 proprtion - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - small lemon size
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt -1 1/2tsp

     Ground nut (raw) -2tbs  
To roast
Channa dal - 1 1/2 tbs
daniya - 1tbs
Red chili - 4
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida -a pinch
Oil - 1tsp
Seasoning
Oil - 1tsp
Mustard - 1tsp
Redchili-1
Asafoetida - apinch
Curry leaves
Method:

1.       Pressure cook dal adding a pinch of turmeric powder and asafoetida.Cook groundnut also in seperate container along with dal.

2.       Wash and cut the vegetables into small pieces.

3.       Cook the vegetable in 1 1/2 cup of extracted tamarind water, salt and asafoetida.

4.       Roast all the ingredients given under roast till they turn brown and a nice aroma comes out.

5.       Grind coconut and the roasted items into caorse paste.

6.       Mix the paste with cooked peanut,  cooked and smashed dal and cooked vegetable. Boil it for 2 seconds.

7.       If the consistency is very thin add rice flour paste and mix thoroughly and allow it to just boil.

8.       Season with all the ingredients mentioned under seasoning.

Tips: Adding a handful of cooked groundnut or channa  will increase the quantity and crunchy groundnut will increase the taste.
This can be used as side dish with morkuzhambu. This can be used as gravy with roasted/deep oil fried papad/appalam.vathal.
Instead of roasting we can add 1tsp of fried sambar powder to the grated coconut and grind. This may minimize the time but of course freshly roasted ingredients will give added taste and aroma.

Kosmari or carrot salad

Ingredients:

Fresh carrot - ¼ Kg
Green chili - 1
Ginger - a small piece

curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt - ½ tsp
Lemon - ½

Sugar - a pinch (optional)

Grated coconut - 1tsp (optional)

For seasoning 

Urid dal - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Oil - 1 tsp 

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp 

Method:

• Wash and remove black spots from carrot as it may have mud particles and bacteria and grate it using carrot grater.
• Add salt, sugar, grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. 
• Squeeze lemon.
• Heat oil on the pan and add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add the rest of the ingredients we have for seasoning. Finally add the curry leaves. Add to the grated carrot mix. Stir well.