Drumstick and Brinjal Puli Kulambu(Spicy Vegetable curry)

Last saturday I was little bored so I went to the redbox and took the Julie and Julia movie,guess what I just loved that movie.Its an Inspirational and true story.Its all about the girl and her passion about the cooking.Julie who used to live in top of the pizzeria store in Queens,NY.She also had a full time job in Goverment Agency.Being tired of her daily routine,she wants to do something different,other than cooking she doesnt have anything to do,She wants to write a book,but she thought its not that easy,so her husband gave an Idea why dont you start a blog,so she started a blog about Julia child(an american cook famous for her French cooking)recepies,she started cooking all her recepies and started blogging about it.In the beginning she didnt even got a single comments,when the time runs her blog became very famous.She too became very famous after an editorial interview.She is no longer living in the top of pizzeria,she is a famous writer now.I even saw her blog its wonderful. There is also another true story about Julia Child(an american cook famous for her French cooking),running behind the movie.Totally it was an awesome movie,I wish everyone of my blogging friends should watch this movie atleast once,I bet you will love it.I enjoyed each and every scene of the movie.If you have already seen this movie please do comment about it.This is the url of Julie blog,http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/.

Puli Kulambu,is nothing but a kind of stew made with vegetables and Tamrind juice.Its one of the very tasty dish in Tamil nadu,India.It is little spicy dish,but you can adjust spiceness according to your level.Actual recepie dont need any milk,but adding the milk will definetly enhances the taste.

You need
Onion-1 (medium Finely chopped)
tomato-2(small finely chopped)
brinjal-2(small slited lengthwise into four)
drumstick-4-5 pieces
shallots-4-5(crushed into pieces)
garlic-4-5(crushed into pieces)
dry chillies-2(crush it into 2-3 pieces)
sambar powder/kulambu milagai thool-2-3 tsp
tamrind-a lemon size(squeeze the juice out of it with 1 cup of water)
boiled milk-1/2 cup

For Tempering

sesame oil-2 tbsp
mustard seeds-1 tsp
zeera seeds-1 tsp
methi seeds-1/2 tsp
hing- a pinch
curry leaves



Method

In a kadai add the oil and all the items for tempering,when it starts splutter add the dry chillies,garlic and shallots.fry it for few mnts

Now add the onion and fry it until it is translucent.Add the tomatoes fry it until it becomes like a complete paste.Add the sambhar powder and salt.Also add the drumstick and brinjal,fry until the oil seperates from it.

Add the tamrind and some water to it and allow it to boil for 5-7 mnts/until the vegetables cooked completely.

Now add the milk and allow it to boil for 2-3 mnts.

Alu Mutter

Wish you a very happy pongal by dear friends!Especially during these festival times I usually felt like that I am missing India.In my hubby hometown they usually celebrate it in a grand manner.My father in law will be the chief chef of that day.He will make very delicious pongal ,Whenever My hubby describes me about this pongal it makes me drool a lot.I also made the pongal this time in my own recepie,it was good.My hubby said it was excellent,but I dont want to ask him to compare with my father in law pongal.I definetly know that his pongal will be the best.Between there is no relationship between the pongal and this alu mutter.
This alu mutter is made with very simple ingridients and its very easy to make too.Chappathi and this simple alu mutter your dinner is rescued.


You Need

potato-1 lb(boiled and cut into cubes)
onion-1 big(finely chopped)
tomato-2 medium(finely chopped)
chili powder-1-1+1/2 teaspoon
coriander powder-1+1/2 teaspoon
turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
garam masala powder-1/2 teaspoon
oil-1+1/2 tbsp
cashews-5
cooked peas-1 cup
salt
kasthoori methi-1 teaspoon(optional)
coriander leaves


Recepie

In a kadai add the oil and add onion fry until it is translucent,then add the tomatoes and cook it until it is completely mashed out.

Add all the spice powders,salt and fry it until the oil seperated from it.Grind this along with the cashews.

Bring boil to this mixture add the potatoes and peas,simmer it for few seconds.

Finally dress it up with some kasthoori methi and coriander leaves.


viola Enjoy!!

Okra(Vendaikai) Mandhi

Its a Chettinad speciality dish.Most of us think the chettinad dishes are famous for non vegetarian dishes,but there are whole lot of awesome veggie dishes in chettinad cuisine.This is one among them.Being a big fan of spice and sour foods.when I first tasted this dish at one of my friends place I became a fan of it.you can use any veggies to it even some dhals.I love this dish made with fresh okra.My mom used to say If you eat okra then you will be good at your math.I hate to eat okra when I was a kid,because of some kind of slaminess in that veggie.But now I started loving it lets hope I will be a math geneius in one day ha..ha..

This goes well with the simple dhal and plain rice with appalam on the side.

You need

okra-1 lb(cut it into medium round pieces)
small onion/shallots-3-5(cut into medium pieces)
green chillies-5(slitted lengthwise)
tamrind-big lemon size(take juice of it)
turmeric-1/2 tsp
rice flour-1 tsp
sesame oil-1+1/2 tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
zeera-1/2 tsp
curry leaves
salt

Method

In a kadai add the oil and add Mustard,zeera and curry leaves.when it starts spluttering add the onions and green chillies.

When the onion turned brown add the okra and fry it for 5-7 mnts.

Now add the tamrind juice,salt and turmeric.Add some water Let it boil for 4-5 mnts

Mix the rice flour with water and add it to the gravy.Simmer it for 2-3 mnts.

Now its ready to serve!

Spinach Kootu

Happy New Year to you all!I am starting this year with a very simple recepie.
Kootu is one of the fundamentals of Tamil cooking...Whenever if you go to any parties/Marriages you will see this kootu..Everyone will have thier own recepie of making kootu..Mine is little time consuming but the end result will make no one resist to eating it..I love Spinach,I think I said it in many post..But thats true not only Spinach all the green Leafy vegetables..You can have this with either rice/chappathi.

Thing you Need

1.spinach- 1 bag
2.toor dhal/Moong dhal-3/4 cup
3.turmeric-1/2 tsp
4.salt
5.oil-1/2 tbsp
6.mustard seeds-1 tsp
7.zeera-1tsp
8.dry chillies-2-4(split it into half)
9.shredded coconut-1 tbsp(optional)
10.shallots/small onion-3(finely chopped)
11.garlic-1 pod(finely chopped)

Recepie

Cook and Mash the dhal along with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.

Cook the Spinach in a microwave high for 8-10 min with very little water.(by cooking the spinach in the microwave it will retains its color and freshness).

In a kadai add some oil and add the mustard,zeera,drychillies,garlic,shallots fry it for few mnts.

Add the Mashed dhal and spinach with the water then close the lid and cook it in a medium flame for just 2 mnts.

If you want you can finally top it of with the shredded coconut.

Spicy egg curry

Hello gals...I am back with lot of enthu..I really missed you gals a lot,I am telling this from bottom of my heart..Now I decided I dont want to loose you all...I hope you gals will understand how hard its to blog daily with a kid with a full time job and house full of chores...So I planned to manage my timmings..I decided to allote some specific timming for the blogging..So I have alloted one hour per day..
Letz talk about the hot topic in town "FLU"...The flu started with my son then to me and then to my hubby..Eventhough we all had very mild symptoms we stayed home for the whole week..It was wonderful..We had lot of fun by watching lot of movies..What else we can do when everyone in the home is doing fine with no work..We dont want go out of the house...because the flu may get severe...so we stayed home until it is completly cured..
Did you guys watched the next Iron chef?..I am obsessed with it...I am glad that chef Mehta was in the final two...I really enjoyed the episode of five course Indian meals..I was little disappointed when chef Garces won that episode instead of chef Mehta..
Letz talk about this spicy egg curry/thokku..This goes well with everything chappathi,rice,parotta,curd rice,even with rasam rice..This can be prepared in no time..If I dont have any vegetable my option will only be this curry only..When it comes to egg I like half boiled very much..It taste so good when you have it with parotta chalna and half boil egg on the side..

From your Pantry:

1.Onion-2(finely chopped)
2.Tomato-3(finely chopped)
3.Ginger and Garlic paste-1 tbsp
4.green chillies-3
5.Sambar powder-2 tsp
6.oil-2 tbsp
7.sombu/fennel seeds-1 tsp
8.Boiled egg-6(cut it into halves)

Method:

Add the oil in the kadai add the sombu and onion fry it until it is translucent.

Add the G&G paste to it..Fry it until the raw smell goes off..

Add the tomatoes and fry it until its completely mashed up..Add the sambar powder and salt to it. add 1/2 cup of water and close the lid for few mnts..

open the lid and add all the eggs and close the lid and put it in a low fmae until the masala mixes well with the egg..

Viola you are all set with quick fix meal..

Long break followed by a short break

Everyday I started something is missing in my life and finally I came to know I didnt blogged for such a long time.:)..I feel little guilty for the uninformed break from the blogging..This time I am going to take a short break.Probably 1-2 weeks.There are so many reason to say why I didnt blogged..Tight shedule at work,camera got repaired,furnishing our home.. so trying to get lot ideas from browsing hgtv.com,Shopping a lot ..:)Guest at home etc..etc..But the actual reason is my laziness and poor time management..Last but not least working mom Bloggers please throw some tips in my blog for time management..

Glad I have seen selected in the food blog roll for Finest foodie Friday(FFF).I am so happy they mention a lot about my blog.Its a really a honor for me to get this.Please check the link to read about my blog.

http://www.foodieblogroll.com/finestfoodiesfriday/finest-foodies-friday-picks-for-august-14-2009



Catch you gals sooner!!

Panner Butter Masala and an Award

Panner butter masala is an exoctic dish for me when I was in my hometown..We rarely go to the near by restaurant in our home town where we get this dish..After coming here to USA this is the common dish in most Indian restaurant..we usually have this ofen..Not only this panner butter masala..After coming to USA which I used to thought exoctic and unaffordable in India became much more common here in USA..

You Need

1.Panner-300 gms(cubed and fried)
2.Onion-2 (medium minced)
3.Tomato-2(medium Pureed)
4.Cashews-2 tbsp
5.chilli powder-1 +1/2 tsp
6.coriander powder-2 tsp
7.red color- a pinch
8.Garam masala powder- a pinch
9.Kasthoori methi-for garnishing
10.cumin powder-1/2 tsp
11.Salt
12.coriander leaves-for garnishing
13.oil-1 tbsp
14.Butter-1+1/2 tbsp

Method

Heat the oil and butter in the Kadai add the minced onion fry until the raw smell goes off.

Add the tomato puree and fry it for few min..

Add all the powders and salt and add water and panner and close the lid and cook it 5-7 mnts.

Grind the cashews with 1/4 cup of water to get milk like consistency add it to the masala and let it simmer for few mnts until you get desired consistency..

Garnish it with kasthoori methi and coriander leaves..

Enjoy!!

Three beautiful friends of mine passed this wonderful award to me Ann,Hema,ShamaThanks a lot..I love this award and it also gave me such a good chance to tell seven things about me..



Rules are :
1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.About Me
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers. (Which is not fair, I want to give to all my friends!)
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

I love to pass this award to

Sangeetha
Malar
Usha
Sangi
Ramya
Prathiba
Nithya Praveen
For a change, I asked my hubby Senthil to tell something about me he said

1.I am Positive thinker.Yes its true I always think positive..Even some thing is happening negative and I used find the positive things in it..

2.I am go getter..Means If I want one thing I will go any extreme to get it..

3.I am a tech Savi..I love tech talking..Even we both talk hours and hours of technical things..

4.I Just turned into environment saver..Go green..

5.I am an excellent cook..Yes thats true..I am ready to try new recepies..Try to make the recepies more tasty everytime..

6.I am an energetic person...

7.I love helping people..Yes thats true.If somebody needs any help I will be the first one to help them..

According to me...

1.I am an 100% dual mind..Absolute gemini character..I will be Happy and suddendly with an hour or so I feel depressed for no reason..

2.I love Perfumes,dresses,sun glass..I love Indian dresses almost 75% of the closet in our bedroom is mine and the 25% is for my hubby..

3.I love spicy food..Hot Pickles are my favorite..I love to mix it with plain rice have it with chips ..My favorite comfort food..

4.I am an economical person,but that doesnt mean I am stingy..I will think twice/thrice before buying anything..I didnt like to stuff everything inside my home which I barely use..I always have a calculator running inside my mind..

5.I love contemporary style in interior designing..Simple and sleek straight lines..earthy colors..I didnt like much traditional/country style designing..

6.I love uniqueness in everything..Food,Dress,anything you name it...if its different from the regular stuff..I just love it..

7.I am an very emotional person..Even the movies can make me cry..Recent movie which Made me cry was 'Marley and me' climax..You gals wont beleive it..One day my hubby causally started singing an old emotional song..(he is neither an bad singer nor an good singer..)I started crying..He was shocked and asked why are you crying because of my song..I said yes...He burst into laughs..

See you Gals!!