Urad Dhal Rice/Ulunthu Sooru

Another traditional food of the south Indians especially for the ones in south tamilnadu is this Urad dhal rice.I love to make traditional food and I want my kids to taste all the traditional food .One my aunt whose daughter is in U.S. was carrying a scrapbook when she visited us for a week.I just asked her the detail.She told it is the grandparents diary which they need to fill all the details asked(their birth,parents,school life,college life,marriage life ...).She was sincerely writing it as an homework in the age of 60+.She needs to pass it on to her grand daughter..I loved this concept and want even my kid to know the traditions,customs and culture..So as a first step I started making all the traditional food at home..I keep recording some of the rare information they give out ....In my next posts I will post some of the snapshots of the antique utensils and crockery they used in our grandma's period...

     I think I had bored u with a long grandma talk...!!!coming to the Urad dhal rice...As usual easy to make and very healthy rice...No chilli and so kids will love to eat it..

For the recipe pls press READ MORE (seen below)

Simple Chocolate Cake

This post is to celebrate the opening of a page in facebook.I thank all my friends who had supported and encouraged me.

This is a simple chocolate cake which all beginners can start trying with.It is very easy to make and will definitely turn well if the measurement is followed strictly.Glazing is Optional.

This cake has become a part of my kids snacks.This one that I had given is of mild sweetness.

Pls press read more below to get into the recipe....

Ulundhu Kali/Uluntham kali/Urad dhal Halwa

I had been constantly hearing this name from the time I came to Tuticorin.This is an authentic ,very nutritious sweet of Tamilians.Every mother should know this art of making this kali,especially the ones who have girl kids.Usually when a girl attains puberty they keep giving a dish a day made of urad dhal.This strengthens the uterus of the kid and also gives the required nutrition to the kid.

Instead of practising the kids to eat Pizzas and noodles one can nuture them eating all these healthy snacks like pottukadali laddu,kali,groundnut chikki etc..Urad dhal along with the sesame oil serves as a very good healthy snack for the kids.

In addition to teaching kids about our cultures we can also teach them about our traditional foods.

I thank my friend Sharadha's mother who was kind enough to give me a demo of all the traditional food .She had been in this field for more than 60 years.Thank you so much aunty for the enthusiasm that you show at teaching others the recipe(Usually I had come across people who don't want to share their method !!) and also scheduling your time for me.words alone cannot express my thanks and happiness.

For the recipe please press Read More(seen below).....

Tomato Thokku

When the tomatoes become dearer in terms of money......you can find this dish in our fridge.It becomes handy when I am  lazy enough to make sidedishes for rice or roti.This dish can lie in fridge for days together.. may be for 10 days...It is very tasty. You can mix it up with hot steamed rice,roll it in a roti ,or swipe it along with the thick curd rice...If i am tickling your taste buds do try it up...

Please press READ MORE(seen below) to get into the recipe 

Sweet Sukhiyam/Seeyam

Sukhiyam or Seeyam........Call it by any name.....The taste is just unexplainable....Here at Tuticorin we find this Sukhiyam at all small stalls where they make bajji and pakodas....I had been longing to taste it but the quality with which they are made(on the road side) made me to avoid getting it......Me..as a native of vellore had tasted this Sukhiyam with the outer batter of maida...But after scanning through the culinary expert Mrs.Mallika Badrinath's book I learnt the art of making Sukhiyams with the rice and urad dhal as the batter..It tasted many times tastier than the maida batter...From then on, when I make the idli batter I make this batter too ready and refridgerate it...The inner pooram too I make it ready and refridgerate it for 2 days..So I make these hot hot Sukhiyams when the kids want it..

When  I run out of this Sukhiyam batter, I make a mixture of maida with  1 Cup of Idli Batter as  the outer covering for the sukhiyams.I keep substituting the inner pooranam with green gram ,paneer,Khova, etc and give a variety of Sukhiyams to the kids....

For the recipe please press "READ MORE" below....

Orange Cake

Oranges...are always colourful to look and also makes us colourful!!!While I was browsing through various sites I came across this recipe which was very easy to make and also very tasteful.Orange in any form my kids loved to eat....they are the real ones who encourage me to make more cooking esp the baking...I got bugged of giving orange juices daily to my kids..So mixed it with the cake batter and gave the cake a ting of Orange taste...Just finished glazing and my younger one Yazhini was restless....He didn't give me enough time to do the clicking part..So I was in hurry to click the cake..By the moment I packed my canon donna where the cake was..I was left with an empty plate..

So try this recipe and pass on the comments and ways of improvement.

Pls press Read More to get into the recipe

VazhaiPoo(Banana Flower) Vadai

I love eating banana flower.They are very good for health,but kids don't like the version of poriyal or Usli.All kids love vadai with the tomato sauce as the side dish.It is very easy to make and tastes very good.Usually when I purchase the banana flower I make poriyal with half of it and reserve the remaining for the vadai.This goes very well with rasam sadham .It also serves as  a very good snack item for the kids when they return from their schools.

Press read More below to go into the recipe.....

Keerai Masiyal

Keerai/Green leaves are very great sources of Iron.There are varieties of keerai like Siru Keerai(slanged as siri keerai),Mulai Keerai(thandu Keerai),Arai Keerai etc.When we were at Salem we used to get fresh keerais daily at home.They were home delivered by the villagers who lived near by.They tasted so good,fresh and tasty that all in our family got addicted to these green leaves.We came across many types of varieties too.But after getting transferred to Tuticorin one thing I miss is the fresh vegetables and green leaves.We get these items here at tuty but they never tasted like  the one that we had at Salem. 

My mother makes keerai once a week...and when we use the kal chatti and the talippu vadagam the taste is unexplainable....Keerai masiyal with hot steamed rice with Appalam is the best combination.

For the recipe please press read

Sesame Rice/Ellu Sadam

One cannot explain the flavour of sesame seeds .More than the taste the aroma of the rice will tempt you to eat more.I had tasted once the rice at one of my friend's house.It tasted so good that I had bookmarked the same and had been searching for the recipe.when I was browsing through the net I came across the recipe in rakskitchen and thought I could give a try.I made it in a day and it tasted the same as that of the one they give you in the temple.I had altered a little bit in the quantities of the ingredients.Appalam goes very well with this rice.

For the recipe please press Read More at the bottom....

Paneer Butter Masala-Restaurant style

Earlier during my college days(when I never knew what is cooking) I was delighted when I had the dish and used to wonder how people can make such wonderful delicious recipes.But the procedure is very very simple.Children will for sure enjoy eating this dish.The recipe that I had given is the one which I had been following it for a couple of years.When I was

Rasam

I was hesitant to post this simple recipe.But for the benefit of the bachelors and the first time cooks I am posting it.There are various methods in which people make rasam.What I make is my mom's version and i love drinking the rasam she makes.Rasam alone with an appalam tastes heaven .It is very easy and also very quick to make.Rasam is a dish which is a part of most of the south Indians meal.This is had to digest the other dishes one take.My recipe calls for adding garlic with the skin as it overcomes the digestion and gastric problems.This was the first dish I learnt from my mom and also the first thing I cooked.It came out delicious and was a super hit which increased my cooking passion.Till now everyone loves the rasam which is made at our home.The best part lies at mixing up the correct amount of tamarind,tomato and the dhal.

Enjoy making this easy rasam and pass on the comments....

Press read more to get into recipe....

Mushroom Kurma/Gravy

Again Mushrooms...Mushrooms are my favourite as they are 0% fat and 100% protein rich.After getting married to Hari I was made to sacrifice the non vegetarian items.I do have it at restaurants but don't make it at home.So having mushrooms(Luckily they don't get branded as non veg in Hari's family) at home made me to forget the tasty chicken and mutton.This recipe tastes similiar to that of the mutton gravy.The method of preparation is also same as that of Mutton Kulambu.Non-Vegetarians can substitute the mushroom with mutton.The recipe that I had explained below has been referred by one of my neighbour and a good friend named Priya.This recipe is of Coimbatore Style of grinding the shallots.It tastes too good with hot steamed rice.And the aroma...Hmmmmh..Need to cook it and experience it......

Potato Semigravy for Roti



Potato is the most favourite dish for most of the people and so me.Potato cooked in any form tastes very delicious.I usually get confused when i make sidedishes for Roti and Dosa...My kids don't want the side dishes to get repeated.The hotness in my recipe will be less to accord my kids taste.So please adjust the chilli powder amount accordingly.This side dish tastes very good with the Rotis and Pulkas. The potatoes should be cut in a smaller size to make the dish attractive.Normal potatoes can be substituted with the baby potatoes.

Tomato Briyani

This rice comes handy when there are no vegetables available at home except the onions and the tomatoes.It is very quick to make and a nice lunch to pack up.The normal potato wafers/chips goes very well with this.My kids are very much  hesitant to the tomatoes.But when made to pulav/Briyani they very well take it.It is easy to pack and have it for lunch at the office.The recipe I had given below serves 3 persons and the best partner is potato wafers.This is one of the methods of making the briyani.There are various methods of making the tomato rice and I will add the remaining methods one by one as I make it at home.Green peas can also be added.

Potato masal for Poori/Dosa

This is a simple dish that goes very well with Poori and Dosa.Even for a change it can be sandwiched between the breads.I usually love the masals that are made at hotels..The difference is brought by the addition of the pottukadalai powder and the ratio of onions are higher when compared to that of potatoes.Try out these changes and it will taste like the ones at the hotels..The same masal can be stuffed in between the dosa and we can call it as Masal Dosa ;-)

Vazhai Poo(banana blossom) Paruppu Usili

This is an authentic dish at Brahmin houses.When i got married to Hari and went to one of my hubby's relative house they served this dish.That was the first time i tasted usili and just loved it.Later I collected the recipe from lakshmi maami and also got few hints from my Sister in law.This is my favourite dish and everyone in my family loves eating this including my 2 year old kid.The cleaning of the flower is time consuming.So I clean the flower the last night,pack it in an air tight container and refrigerate it.It will last for 2 days too.This dish tastes like puttu.Eating banana flower will overcome the constipation problems.Usual Usli consumes more of oil.But considering the health factor I had reduced the amount of oil and also steam cooked the dal and hadn't deep fried.The original recipe calls for deep frying the grinded dhal.But steam cooking the dhal doesn't alter the taste!!!The detailed procedure of cleaning the flower and the cooking method is being given.