kothamali vera (daniya) podi

dry fry 100gms dhaniya seeds till golden brown - pls use low flame, fried daniya seeds will give out a strong fragrance. When done with dhaniya, put it aside and dry fry  two table spook urad ki dal and two table spoon channa dal, 8-9 dry red chillies and fry till golden brown.
when almost done add a small strip of tamrin, small bit of asefotida and powder salt (2 tsp).
add about 20 curry leaves and fry till they are dry.
pepper is optional and can be added to the dal when frying.
Grind fine or coarse as desired.

copra tenga (Coconut) podi

Grate 1 medium size copra.
dry fry 3-4 table spoon urad ki dal, 7-8 dry red chillies, add LG powder.
fry till urad ki dal is slightly brownish, add grated copra so it warms up.
grid in mixer , keep it coarse or fine to suit your preference.

Puli Ingi pachadi

take tamrin(puli) - size of medium lemon, soak and make a thick paste - filter to remove the fiber.
grate lightly the skin off of fresh tender ginger. cut into small cubes.
for khara - cut 4-5 green chillies, (2 tsp of chilli powder is a substitute)
in a iron skillet, take 2 tbs oil (gingerly oil is ideal) , when hot burst mustard, add green chillies and then add the cut ginger. Add turmeric, rock salt to taste (1 tsp) saute till ginger is half cooked, if ginger is tender - pour the tamrin paste. The tamrin paste should cover cut ginger - cook till raw smell of tamrin goes. add jaggery to taste.
If it runs and you want to make it a thicker paste, take 50ml water add a tsp of rice flour, mix and add to paste and let it cook, the mixture will thicken.

peppy orange juice appetiser

The recipes with orange fruit continue! Squeeze the juice of 3 to 4 medium size oranges [once again the kamala orange type]. In the US, I would use tropicana or any natural orange juice of the cartons. Keep aside.

In a saucepan, melt a heaped tablespoon of ghee. Coarsely powder pepper, jeera [cumin seeds] and add to the heated ghee. Add a generous pinch of hing, and karuvapilai leaves. Measure the orange juice. Add an equal measure of water in the saucepan. Add an amount of salt and sugar that you think will help accentuate the tangy taste. Let it boil [note that adding the juice from the beginning and letting boil may make it bitter].
Reduce the heat, and slowly add the orange juice. Squeeze the juice of half or full of a golf sized lemon.
[the amount of pepper used makes it peppy, and is important to use it coarse]

I tried a variation - I grated a juicy beetroot, extracted the juice and used it as the base, instead of water. The iron in it needs the vitamin C to digest anyways. The taste was excellent, not to miss the nutritive iron gain from it!
{History - My mom learnt it from a fond friend during our growing years in Bombay. The lady in turn had just returned from a stay in Rome and would serve it as a Mediterranean appetizer. Now I guess we have patented it as amma's winter special}

Molagu [Pepper] Koyambu

Add a teaspoon of oil to a flat saucepan. First fry & remove a small piece of hing. Next fry peppercorns (1 teaspoon)  & remove aside. Fry & remove dry red chillies 1to 2. Add 1 tsp coriander seeds, 2 tsps tur dal, 2 sundakai, 1/2 tsp urad dal and roast until red releasing a good flavor. Remove keep aside. Add a generous amount of karuvapilai leaves (must not be tender) and saute in the same pan. Remove and mix with other roasted ingredients and grind to a paste.
Extract juice from a small lemon sized tamarind. Make a paste of 4 medium sized tomatoes and add to the tamarind juice. In a pan use a tablespoon of gingely oil, add mustard seeds, & let it sputter. Add the juice and bring to boil. Add salt, a good pinch of turmeric powder. Allow the raw flavor of tamarind to go, then add the paste and let it simmer. Add water based on your preferred consistency. A small piece of jaggery can be dropped into the koyambu for a sweet finish!

{such recipes are best prepared and had after a day as the flavors soak}

white pumpkin halva

It is one of the easiest to make and the can be substituted with the other equally high prana vegetable - Ghia, ie Lauki
Choose white pumpkin [vellai pushnikai/peta] that is firm. Grate and use 2 cups measure for the halwa. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, place a heaped tablespoon of ghee. Add the the grated pumpkin and allow to cook over low heat. The veggie cooks in the water it releases.
Once tender, add to it 1 cup measure of jaggery [you may coarsely break and measure a cup]. Allow to melt and let the mixture get to a halwa form. Pound 2 pods of elaichi, add the powder.
Melt ghee in a skillet. When hot fry sliced cashews & raisins. Add to the pumpkin halwa with the ghee.
Carrot & Beetroot halwa can be cooked in a similar fashion - a cup of milk is to be added to cook the grated vegetable. Substitute the jaggery for 1 cup of sugar. Crumbled kova or cottage cheese may be added at the very end to give it the north india style finish.

Bisi Bele Huli Anna - amma's quick method

Amma has learnt this method from her mother, in the days when the pressure cooker did not exist and what they had was the Rukmini cooker. Yet it is the most efficient & quick way of making the rice dish that can be made in laborious ways for the richness & delicacy of it.

Veggies: the traditional ones - cubed potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, flat beans, carrots, bringal, pumpkin, onion, tomatoes, raw bananas
rice - 2 cups; tur dal - 1 cup, tamarind - a medium lemon sized ball + a little more
for the masala: 2 tbs coriander seeds, 1 1/2 tbs chana dal, few cloves, cinnamon,  4 to 5 red chillies [bedige type], hing, few curry leaves, 2 tbs grated copra
for garnishing: 4 tbs groundnuts, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, hing, curry leaves [in plenty]
salt, turmeric powder, a good piece of jaggery

Cut the veggies to a fair size. The size is decided by how easily the veggie cooks, so smaller cubes of potatoes, carrots, whereas larger peieces of pumpkin, bringals etc..
Wash the rice & keep aside. so also the dal
In a skillet take a little oil, roast the coriander seeds to until slightly red & fragrant, keep aside. Roast the chana dal next & keep aside. Roast the cloves, cinnamon, red chillies, piece of hing & curry leaves. Add grated copra, saute & take off the gas. Once cooled, grind the masala  in a dry grinder.
Soak the tamarind in warm water.

In a pressure cooker, put the washed rice in the bottom layer. Add layers of vegetables - where the harder to cook ones go the bottom with the softer, mushier veggies as subsequent layers. Squeeze the tamarind pulp, add its juice completely. Keep a count of water [including tamarind juice] added. It must provide for cooking the rice, dal & 1 measure for the veggies. Add 1 tbs of sambar powder, turmeric, salt & jaggery.
Cook tur dal in another cooker.
Once both the cookers can be released, mix dal in the bisi bele misture. Add to it the ground masala & bring to cook. The rice is is a semi solid, which thickens as it cools. Take a generous amount of ghee [3 tbs], fry the garnish elements. Add it to the cooked rice.

It is best had when hot but equally so, Bisi Bele is very tasty when it has sat thru' the day soaking in each of the spices & veggie tastes. Have it with fried appalam & boondi raita. Yummy. A great family sit down Sunday lunch. That's when amma makes it, so that one can soon after settle into the sweet Sunday siesta :-)

Orange Skin pachadi

orange skin pachadi

The freshly removed skin peels of the Nagpur orange [also referred to as kamala orange] is chopped finely. In a kadai [she uses a kachathi - vessel carved out of garnite black stone], add 2 tablespoons of gingely oil, heat, and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add chopped green chillies, ginger and saute. Add the chopped orange peels, a dash of turmeric powder and saute.
Once it is semi cooked, add tamarind juice [soak a lemon sized tamarind, remove its juice], salt, and allow to boil.
lightly roast methi seeds [1 teaspoon], red chillies [2 or 3] & white til[seasame seeds about a tablespoon]. Powder it and add to the pachadi and romove from gas once it has thickened. To give a sweet tang, a small amount of jaggery can be added.
{The orange peels are a good source of vitamin C; good for neutralising pitta}