Black gram rice and Sesame Chutney ( உளுந்தஞ்சாதம் & எள்ளு துவையல் )

Black gram rice and Sesame Chutney 

உளுந்தஞ்சாதம் & எள்ளு துவையல் 

                              

Ingredients:


Black gram  -  1/3 cup ( split or whole)
Parboiled rice or Brown rice  -  1 cup
Garlic  -  5 cloves







Steps:
In a pan, dry roast the black gram until hot to touch / until you get the  flavour.
Wash and soak rice and black gram together for 10 to 15min.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pressure cooker, fry the garlic cloves until light brown.
Remove and in the same pot, add 3 cups of water and allow it to boil.
Add salt and the rice mixture.
Pressure cook for 4 whistles and further on a low flame for 5 min.
When steam is released, open the cooker add the fried garlic and fluff the rice well. Adjust for salt if needed. Close again and give a standing time of 5 to 10 min before serving.


















Sesame Chutney (எள்ளு துவையல் )
Ingredients:


Black or white sesame ( எள்ளு)-  3 tbsp
Dry red chilli  - 1
Tamarind ( புளி )  - a small piece
Asafoetida ( பெருங்காயம்) - a pinch
Salt  -  to taste

Wash and clean the sesame seeds as it tends to have impurities. You can drain using a tea filter and dry in a white cloth before frying.
In a pan, add a teaspoon of oil. Fry the dry red chilli and remove. In the same pan fry the sesame seeds.  Sesame will be easily burnt, so take note to fry in a medium flame and with constant stirring, As it splatters, remove from fire. Add asafoetida.
Grind the above ingredients into a fine paste. 
Serve the Black gram rice with the above sesame chutney. 

Do try this authentic lunch menu for your family.Everybody will love it .

I made cauliflower non-spicy curry (kootu) to fulfill the veggie part in the  meal.
Click the link for cauliflower kootu.

My Notes:

Black gram / black lentil, or Urad dal as it is commonly called, has an earthy flavour and an unusual texture when compared with the other dals like toor dal or moong dal. 
The split bean is called the dal and in this recipe we can use either the whole ( lentil) or split bean but with the skin.
Same Urad dal is white when the skin is removed and it is used as main ingredient for Idli batter and to make papads.
Par boiled rice is normally used in this recipe. Brown rice can also be used. Both enhance the  texture and flavor of the lentil.
Garlic can also be cooked with the rice  for the flavour to be completely infused.
I preferred to have garlic as a whole and not soft cooked, so didn't pressure cook it and added after cooking rice. It is a personal choice.
Cumin seeds and curry leaves are optional. But I preferred to keep this dish simple to have the original authentic taste of black gram.
Same way, sambar or any other curry is not preferred. (Again its a personal choice)
Just the rice and sesame chutney duo will be excellent.

Mushroom Egg Omelette ( காளான் முட்டை ஆம்லெட் )

Mushroom Egg Omelette ( காளான் முட்டை ஆம்லெட் )

Ingredients: 

Egg  - 1

Egg whites  - from 2 eggs

Button mushroom  -  5

Baby corn  - 2

Carrot  -  1 (medium size)

White onion  -  1

Green chilli  -  1

Ginger  -  1/2 inch piece

Salt & pepper  - to taste

Steps:

Thin slice the mushrooms, carrots, baby corn, onions, chilli & ginger
Saute the vegetables in a pan for a min 

Transfer 2 egg whites & a whole egg into a bowl

Whisk the eggs to a fluffy high peaks

Add in the sauted vegetables, pepper &salt to the beaten eggs.

Grease a pan with olive oil or butter. Pour half of the above mixture and cook on a medium flame.
Turn to the other side, cook till light brown. Make another omelette with the remaining mixture.
Enjoy the healthy, nutritious yummy omelette while it is hot.

Cucumber Yogurt Salad.

Grate cucumber and mix with a cup of plain yogurt.Add salt and mix well.
 For a spicy touch you can add a pinch of Chat Masala.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

Omelette with a slice of herb toast and yogurt salad.

My Notes:

For a healthier version, I have used 2 egg whites and a whole egg instead of 3 eggs.

The whipped egg shouldn't be left to stand for long.

I have deseeded the green chilli before fine chopping. It is a personal preference. 

The thin sliced vegetables is slightly cooked so that it is uniformly cooked with the fast cooking eggs.

This can be done by  sauteing in a pan with a few drops of olive oil added to it, or microwave for a min.

This portion of ingredients can make a good omelette for two. 

To spice up the regular egg omelette, the addition of mushrooms and carrots is a delight. It becomes a complete meal. A healthy breakfast for all ages.

 I had it with a cup of fresh yogurt salad. It is a refreshing finish on a hot summer morning.

Vegetarian Dalcha ( காய்கறி தால்சா)

Vegetarian Dalcha 

( காய்கறி தால்சா)

Ingredients:

Carrot  - 1

Drumstick  -  1

Indian broad beans  - 4

Brinjal  - 3

Potato  - 1

Cauliflower  - a few florets

French beans  - 4

Pumpkin  - 6 to 8 small pieces

Small onions  - 8

Tomatoes  -  3
Green chilli  - 2
Ginger  - 1"
Garlic  - 5 cloves
Tamarind  - one small lemon size
Boiled Tor dal  - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder  -  1 tsp
Garam Masala powder  - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Seasoning:

Shazeera  - 1 tsp

Cloves  - 2

Bay leaves  - 2

Cardamom  - 2

Cinnamon  - 2 sticks

To grind:

Soak Almonds & Cashew nuts  - 4 each    

Steps:

Wash and cut the vegetables into small pieces.

Slit the chillies, slice the tomatoes. Fine chop the garlic and ginger
Extract juice from the soaked tamarind.

Peel the almonds and grind to a smooth paste with cashew nuts

Heat oil in a pot

Add all the seasoning, followed by ginger and garlic

Add drumstick pieces first, saute for a minute, then add onions

Add rest of the vegetables one by one and cook in medium flame

                                                     

Once the vegetables are half cooked, add the tamarind juice

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 to 3 min

Once the vegetables are cooked and the raw smell of the chilli powder and garam masala has gone, add the boiled tor dal and the ground almond paste. Adjust the consistency by adding water.

Bring it to boil. 

Remove the aromatic, salivating Dalcha from flame. Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
My Notes:
This quantity serves 6 to 8 people. It best suits with plain basmati rice also go well with briyani / pulav.
The choice of vegetables can be altered based on the availability and liking.
I learnt this recipe after coming to Singapore. The non-vegetarian version is a very famous Hyderabadi dish. Being a vegetarian, I haven't tried that. Here in Singapore, the vegetarian dalcha is served with basmati rice in weddings. Some local restaurants also do serve.

Raw Mango Chutney ( மாங்காய் பச்சடி )

Raw Mango Chutney ( மாங்காய் பச்சடி )

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 1 cup ( thin sliced)
Jaggery  - 1/4 cup ( powdered)
Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder  - 1 tsp
Dry chilli  - 1
Mustard seeds  - 1 tsp
Asafoetida  - 1/4
Curry leaves  - 1 spring
Salt to taste
Sesame oil  - 1 tsp
Neem flowers  - 4 or 5 (optional)

Steps:

Wash and peel the Mango.
Slice it into thin strips. Need not be of uniform thickness or size.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, as it splatters, add asafoetida followed by curry leaves and dry chilli.
Saute for a few seconds. Add the mango slices.
Add turmeric and chilli powder. Add fresh neem flowers or the dried ones.Mix well. Allow it to cook.
If needed add a few tsp of water.
In a separate pan boil the powdered jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. Once all jaggery has melted, strain to remove impurities. This may take 1 or 2 min.
Add the jaggery mixture to the mango and continue cooking for 3 to 4 min. The mango slices will be soft cooked with jaggery
Add salt to taste.
This sweet and sour Mango Chutney is awesome with hot rice or can be eaten with dosai or chapathi as well.

My Notes:

Sour Mango is chosen for this dish. It will be balanced with jaggery and chilli powder.
I have used 1/4 of jaggery, if preferred, can increase the quantity slightly.

For Tamil New Year feast, this delight is a must. During which neem flowers are added in the recipe. Fresh flowers are easy to get during this season. When preparing for a gathering or other times, neem may not be added.

I have used dried flowers, as I couldn't get fresh this time in Singapore.

Sweet Pongal ( சக்கரை பொங்கல்)

                                         

Sweet Pongal ( சக்கரை பொங்கல்)

Ingredients:

Raw ponni rice ( பச்சரிசி ) - 1 cup
Moong dal  - 1/4 cup
Jaggery ( வெல்லம்)  -  2 cups  ( powdered)
Clarified butter / Ghee ( நெய் )  - 4 tbsp
Cashew nuts  - 6 (broken to halves)
Raisins  -  6
Powdered Cardamom  -   1/4 tsp
Edible camphor (  பச்சை கற்பூரம் )  - a pinch
Milk  -  1 cup


Steps:

Dry roast moong dal on medium fire until fragrant.
Wash & soak rice and moong dal in water together for 30 min.
For every 1 and 1/4 cups of this mixture add 4 cups of water and 1 cup of milk. Pressure cook for 3 whistles and cook in medium flame for 2 to 3 min.

In a pan, add 1 cup of water and add the powdered jaggery and bring it to boil. Strain to remove impurities and bring back to boil for 3 more min.
Mash the cooked rice with a flat ladle into a smooth paste. This has to be done when the cooked rice is hot.
In a heavy bottom pan add the jaggery syrup and cooked rice. Mix well and cook in medium flame. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of ghee so that the pongal doesn't stick to the bottom.
Cook for 5 min.
In a small pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Fry the cashew nuts and raisins and add to the cooked Pongal.
Switch off the flame. Add cardamom powder and edible camphor.

The sweet delight is ready to serve.

My Notes:

A while ago, the topic of making sweet pongal with the right consistency (neither very smooth like thick porridge nor like sweet rice with individual rice grains) came up and so, here are a few tips that might prove to be helpful.

For sweet pongal the ratio of rice and water should be 1:5 so that the dish doesn't become hard and dry  after a few hours or when it has turned cold. I have used 4 cups of water and 1 cup milk. You can vary the proportions of milk and water according to your taste.
While pressure cooking, always cover the vessel with a lid. Also choose a bigger  vessel to cook rice. The uncooked rice should occupy less than 1/3 of the vessel' capacity. If it exceeds that, the milk may spill over and come out while pressure cooking.
Another option is to cook rice with 3 cups of water and later add 2 cups of boiled warm milk to the mashed cooked rice and mix well.
If rice is not mashed well before adding jaggery, one don't get an uniform consistency of pongal. It may end up like cooked sweet rice.
A little extra edible camphor tends to give a strong pungent taste. So be cautious to add the right amount. Camphor gives sweet pongal a distinct flavour. Cardamom is the common flavoring for all desserts.
After garnishing and mixed well, transfer the content to another vessel. If kept in the same vessel that was used for cooking, pongal tends to become thick as the heat in the vessel will absorb the moisture.
While cooking in a open pot  either stainless steel or bronze ( வெங்கல பானை ) the rice:water ratio has to be 1:6. Here care should be taken to cook in a medium flame and stir regularly. The stainless steel pot has to be heavy bottomed. More milk can be added.
வெங்கல பானை, as the bronze pot is called in tamil, is the best to cook pongal.
Earthen pot ( மண் பானை) is used during Pongal festival and other special occasions by some people.

For the Tamil New year, I made this delicacy for the prayers at home. I also made vadai, idli and sambar to go along with it.
On Tamil New Year, the practice of viewing prosperous things like rice, dal, jaggery, lit lamp, flowers, vegetables, money, jewelries, etc.., the first thing in the morning after one wakes up is considered auspicious.
After finishing prayer comes the tradition of the first food taken, which is a simple mixture of  raw mango pieces mixed with neem flowers and jaggery to symbolize that life is a combination of sweetness and bitterness and one is expected to accept all emotions and take it in the right stride.
The special lunch  will have the six tastes ( அறுசுவை ) in the menu. I shall posts the six different tastes and their benefits/actions in our body on a  separate post.
Shall post one of the special dish, raw mango chutney ( மாங்காய் பச்சடி), prepared on that day in my next post.

Here is my altar on  tamil new year day.

               

Bell pepper & Pineapple Salad with Walnut toppings

Bell pepper & Pineapple Salad with Walnut toppings

Ingredients:

Butter lettuce leaves  -  4

Pineapple  - 1/4

Red Bell Pepper - 1/4

Green Pepper  -  1/4

Carrot  -  1/2

Cucumber  -  1/2

Sugar  -  1/2 tsp

Salt and pepper  -  to taste

Steps:

Wash all the vegetables.

Deseed the bell peppers and 1/4 each of red and green is used.

Cut all the vegetables into bite sized small cubes.

Peel the pineapple and remove the eyes.

Cut 1/4 of it into small cubes. 

Mix all the ingredients well using a fork.

Allow the crunchy bell peppers and carrots to soak in juicy pineapple chunks.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop out spoonful and place it on the butter lettuce. Top it with walnuts.

Crunchy juicy  salad is ready to savor.

My Notes:

Some people may not like the raw bell papers. You may want to dry roast on a pan and then slice later. But I like the crunchy robust bell peppers. It is wonderful when mixed with the sour and sweet pineapple chunks.

My son preferred to add white onion pieces to the salad. It is all in the individual' preference to include the choice of vegetables.

For the protein component, throw in a handful of boiled beans of your choice.

or

Boil an egg, separate the white, slice into small cubes and add to the mixed vegetables. Donot add the yolk as it changes the flavour of the salad.

Sessile joy-weed curry with Snake gourd fry (பொன்னாங்கண்ணி கீரை மசியல் & புடலங்காய் உசிலி )

Sessile joyweed curry with Snakeguard fry

 (பொன்னாங்கண்ணி கீரை மசியல் & புடலங்காய் உசிலி )

Sessile Joyweed, Ponnanganni keerai as it is called in Tamil, has many health benefits. Like any other Spinach, this type is also very good for the eyes and skin. In addition it has anti ulcerative properties and can even be given as a treatment for hepatitis.

Sessile joyweed curry (கீரை மசியல்) Recipe 

Ingredient :

Sessile Joyweed  -  1 bunch

Small Onions  -  5

Garlic  -  3 Cloves

Tomato  - 1 Big

Green Chillies  -  2

Boiled Toor dal  - 2 tbsp.

Seasoning 

Mustard, Urad dal & Cumin seeds  - 1/2 tsp each.

Dry red chilli  -  1

Asafoetida  -  a pinch

Salt - to taste

Steps:

Remove the Keerai leaves from the stem and wash thoroughly.

Peel and slice the onions and garlic.

Boil the above with green chillies.

Boil for 3 to 4 min.

Allow it to cool and make a coarse paste.

Add the boiled toor dal and mix well.

Heat oil in a pan and add the seasoning and transfer to the curry.

The curry is ready to be relished with hot white rice. For enhanced taste, add a tsp of ghee.

Snake gourd fry

 (புடலங்காய் உசிலி)

Snake gourd improves our digestive system and aids with weight loss.

It is easily digested and hence if one is recovering from illnesses this vegetable is preferred.

Ingredients:

Snake gourd  -  2

Channa dal  -  1/4 cup

Turmeric powder  -  1/4 tsp

Red Chilli powder  -  1 tsp

Fennel seeds  -  1 tsp

Asafoetida  - 1/8 tsp or a pinch

Oil  - 3tbsp

Salt to taste

Steps:

Soak the channa dal for 30min.

Wash and slit the snake gourd lengthwise, deseed it. Cut into small pieces and mix with half a spoon of salt to it and keep aside.

Drain the water in the channa dal. Coarse grind this with fennel seed, turmeric powder and chilli powder.

Heat a kadai and add oil.

When the oil is hot, add asafoetida followed by the snake gourd. Stir for a min.

Add the coarse ground masala and mix well.

Sprinkle some water and close the kadai with a lid.

After 2 min, stir fry without the lid,  turning now and then.

The masala and the vegetable is cooked uniformly into a golden brown roasted form.

This dish is an excellent side dish for any type of rice.

My notes:

Keerai masiyal and pudalangai usili is a great combination.

Snake gourd can be cooked as gravy form also - in sambar or as kootu.

The simple dish of steamed snake gourd with just seasoning of mustard, urad dal and grated coconut added to it is a good dish for elderly and children as it is neither spicy nor oily.