Sutta Kathirikkai Thayir Pachadi ~ Roasted Eggplant Raita

Yesterday I saw this small brinjals at Indian store, first came in my mind is this Thayir Pachadi. The eggplant is usually roasted on an open flame,  if you don’t have  gas stove , you can baste the eggplant with oil and bake in the oven till the skin gets roasted.

  Ingredients:

Medium size brinjals                       - 2 no

Oil to baste                                 – ¼ tsp.

Chopped green chillies                  – 4 no

Grated ginger                              – 1tsp

Yogurt                                      -  1 cup

Salt to taste

For seasonings:

 Oil                                         – 1 tsp.

 Mustard seeds                       – 1/2 tsp.

Cumin seeds                          – 1/2 tsp.

Asafetida                               – a pinch

Curry leaves                             – 4 or 5

 Chopped Cilantro                        – 2 tbsp. – for garnish

 Method:

•  Wash the brinjals thoroughly and wipe them dry.
• Pierce a fork or a knife into the vegetable and roast it in the flame.

• Once cool, discard the skin and mash the eggplant.  Whip the yogurt well.
• Add the yogurt, ginger, green chilies and salt to mashed eggplant and mix well.  
• Heat the oil for tempering; add the mustard seeds to it, when it begins to splutter, add the cumin seeds to it. Add curry leaves and Asafetida as well.
•  Pour this into the eggplant-yogurt mix.
• SuttaKaithrikkai Pachadi is ready
• Garnish with cilantro and serve as a side with rice, especially kathambha satham.

For  Oven Use::

• Preheat the oven to 400F.  Place the brinjals  on a baking sheet and brush the skin with the oil. Let it bake till the skin becomes all wrinkly and roasted, for about 10-15 mins. Take it out of the oven and let it cool.

Podimas Powder

You can use this powder to make any kind of Podimas, and stuffed vegetable fries.

Ingredients

• Coriander seeds                                – 1/4 cup

• Bengal gram / Channa dal                   – 6tbsp

• Urad dal                                           – 4 tsp

Black Pepper                                        -1 tsp

• Cumin Seeds                                   – 1 tsp

• Dry Coconut                                    –1/2 cup

• Red Chillies-                                     20 no (according to spice level)

• Salt                                              – to taste

• Oil                                                1 tbsp

• Curry leaves                                  – a few

• Asafetida                                      – ¼ tsp

Preparation:

• Roast all above ingredients in oil. Grind them coarsely in a mixer. Store it in an air tight container.
• Use this powder to make Stuffed Kathirikai, Green banana Podimas.

Vada Pav/ Batata Vada

Vada pav – Indian version of burger, must be one of the most loved street foods. Vada Pav is an Evergreen fast food in Mumbai. You will get Vada Pav in each and every street corner in Mumbai. It used to be "poor man's food", but these days even the rich and famous can be spotted eating it at Bombay's (Mumbai) numerous roadside foods stalls. This dish was initially started as the cheapest form of a meal for low income group, but due to its taste, this dish became so popular, and many people have it at breakfast, lunch or even dinner as well.  It consists of a batata vada (called bonda in South India) sandwiched between 2 slices of a pav.

Ingredients

 Big Potatoes boiled, peeled, mashed       -   4 no

Chopped green chilies                               – 2 nos

Grated ginger                                          1 tsp.

Green coriander chopped n                          3 tbsp.

Lime juice                                               – 1tsp

Chopped Curry leaves                             – 1 tsp.

Green chilies (Slit Lengthwise)                 – 2 nos

Salt                                                      to taste

Vegetables oil                                  for deep frying

For the outer covering

Bengal gram (Besan)                       – 1 cup

Turmeric Powder                             – ¾ tsp.

  Baking soda                                    A pinch

Salt                                                    to taste

Vegetable oil                                     for deep frying

 Other ingredients

 Vegetable oil                                      for deep-frying

Green Chutney                         (Grind  together -mint, coriander leaves, roasted jeera powder, green chilies, 1 tsp. lemon juice)

Turmeric Chutney                     (Grind together - Dates, Tamarind paste, jiggery, black salt, red chili powder, chaat powder)

Bread (Pao)                                     – 4 no

Butter                                          – 2 tbsp.

Fried Green chilies                          – 4 no

Method:

• Mash potatoes very well. Add chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, salt and coriander leaves. Mix lemon juice in it and mix very well. Divide the mixture equally into small dumplings.

•  Mix the gram flour with salt and turmeric powder and baking soda. Add enough water to make a batter of medium thick consistency.
• Heat the oil in a wok deep fry the dumpling (potato Vada), now coat the dumplings with the batter and deep fry till golden brown and keep it on a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.

• Take the pav (bun breads), make a slit in between. Spread butter, Tamarind chutney, and green chutney on one side of the bread.
•  Stuff the vada in between and serve the Vada Pav with fried green chilies and Tomato ketchup.

Bitter gourd Fry (Pavarkkai Varuval)

Some people love pavarkkai and most do not.  In my childhood days, my mom used to cook this varuval. This is my mom’s specialty recipe. When this is cooked at my home, I don’t even leave any trace in my plate. Ghee along with bitter gourd mixed with white rice really tastes good. Typically 40+ people enjoy this. Kids keep a mile distance.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd                                  2 cups

Chili powder                                 2 tsp

Besan( Kadalla Mavu)                    1 tbsp

Rice powder                                 1 tsp

Lemon juice                                 1 tsp (removes bitterness)

Salt                                            to taste

Hing                                           2 pinch

Method

• Discard the seeds and slice the pavarkkai into thin round pieces.
• Put in the microwave and cook for 4 mins (Or  you can  do steam cook )
• Now mix the pavarkkai with chili powder, hing, salt ,lemon juice and besan. Keep aside for 30 mins
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the pavarkkai till it turns crispy
• Remove and stain the oil.
• Serve with rice, Sathumamuthu.

Parruppu Thogayal (Lentils Paste)

This is very easy and simple to make. This is very good  item for Pathiya Thaligai. Unlike a podi, a paruppu thogayal cannot be stored for long. This thogayal goes well excellently with Milaghu Kuzhambhu.

Ingredients: 

Thuvar Dhal (Red gram Dhal)  -   ¼ cup

Chenna dhal                             1 tsp

Black Pepper                             ¼ tsp.

Coconut                                   2 tbsp.

Salt                                         to taste

Method: 

• .Heat  a pan  ,when it gets warm pour the Dal and black pepper
• Roast till golden brown and cool it.
• Grind the ingredients adding coconut and a little bit of water and salt to it.
•  The consistency should be thick.
• Don’t forget to add a teaspoon of sesame oil while mixing this thogayal with rice.
• This thogayal is good combination with Milaghu kuzhambhu, sutta Pappad, fried Manathathakali.

Kovaikkai Pirattal (Tindora Fry)

Coccinia grandis, the ivy gourd, also known as baby watermelon, little gourd or gentleman's toes is a tropical vine. Coccinia grandis' native range extends from Africa to Asia including India. This medicine fruits have been used to treat leprosy, fever, asthma, bronchitis and jaundice. Some countries in Asia like Thailand prepare traditional tonic like drinks for medicinal purposes.

Tindora can be cooked as a subzi all by itself or mixed with other vegetables like potato.

This Pirrattal recipe  is very famous from Chettinad Cuisine. You can serve with rice or chapatti

Inngredients :

Tindora -                                           500 gms / 1 pound

Potato -                                            2no

Red, green, Orange Bell peppers -        1 no each

Tomato                                             1 no

Jeera –                                             ½ tsp

 Salt                                                 to taste

Oil                                                   for frying

Grinding ingredients:

 Fresh Grated Coconuts –                   6 tbsp.

 Red Chilies -                                   10 no

 Poppy Seeds                         -         2 tsp

 Aniseed (Fennel)                             1 tbsp.

Turmeric Powder                              ½ tsp.

Chutney dhal (Pottukadalai)             1 tsp.

Curry leaves -                                  few  

Method:

• Grind  all grinding ingredients to make a coarse paste without adding water. Keep aside
•  Peel the potatoes, and slice thinly.
• Cut all bell peppers, Tindora  into thin lengthy pieces. Cut tomatoes into pieces.
• Microwave the potatoes and tindora for 4 to 5 minutes.
•  Heat the oil and add green curry leaves and jeera.
• Add potatoes, Tindora, bell peppers into it.   Shallow Fry the vegetables at the medium flame. Cover it and cook it for few minutes.
• Remove the lid , add tomato and salt.  Mix it well.
• Now add grinded paste. Turn over the mixture well. Fry for few minutes in very low flame.
• Fry till the good smell come out.
• Tindora Pirattal can be served as accompaniment to rice, Chappati.

Kovaikkai Pirrattal

Nellikkai Pachadi- Indian Gooseberry Raitha

Nellikkai is very rich in Protein. It is widely used in In Indian Ayurveda Medicines.  These are mostly available in winter season.

My mother makes powder of this and stores it in normal temp / refrigerator. The method of making the powder is to remove the seed. Cut it into small pieces and dry it in the sun. When it is dried thoroughly it can be grinded to make it into powder OR the dried pieces can be stored too. Here I used store bought frozen gooseberry. I used to make this Pachadi in Dhuvadesi days.

Ingredients:

Frozen or Fresh Gooseberry               -   5 no

 Grated Fresh Coconut                    – 2 tbsp.

Green chilies                                  – 2 no

Chopped coriander                           – 1 tsp.

Curd                                           -  1 cup

Salt                                            to taste

Seasoning:

Oil                                            - 1 tsp.

Mustard Seeds                           – ½ tsp.

Curry leaves                             – 1 tsp.

Hing                                         – 1/8 tsp.

Method

• Cook the Nellikkai in boiling water. Cool and remove the seeds.
• Grind the boiled Nellikkai, and other ingredients except curd. Make like chutney.
• Churn the curd with little water.
• Mix the Nellikkai chutney into the curd. Mix well.
• Heat oil in a small pan, add all seasonings, till they splutter and pour it into the Pachadi.
• Serve with hot plain rice.