Thattai

Thattai is spicy rice dough pressed thin and deep fried in oil. It turns out crispy and tasty that you can never end up having just one. I never thought of making it at home until one day my friend brought some home-made thattai for me when I was carrying my little one. She made them so delicious that they were all gone even before she would have reached her home. I tried them and it turned out very good too. Thanks to my friend for the idea and recipe as well.

This is what u'll need....

Rice flour - 1 cup
Roasted urad dal powder - 1 tbspn

Melted butter / Oil - 2 tbspn

Red  Chilli powder 1/2 tspn

Curry leaves - as needed

Chana dal - 2 tbspn
Sesame seeds - 1 tbspn
Asafoetida - 1/8 tspn
Oil - for frying

Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Soak chana dal for 15-20 mins in warm water

• Mix together rice flour, roasted urad dal flour, red chilli powder, roughly chopped curry leaves, asafoetida and salt to taste

• Add in 2 tablespoons of melted butter or oil

• Add soaked chana dal. Toss in a tablespoon of sesame seeds

• Pour required amount of water and form a soft and stiff dough

• Take a small piece of dough and make a small ball. Place  them between 2 sheets of palstic

• Press the ball with your palm/back of a flat vessel to form a small poori. I use bottom of a bowl and it works out perfect

• Make pooris with the remaining dough

• Heat oil in a kadai. Slide in 2-3 thattai into the oil

• Deep fry the thattai till they are golden brown and crisp. Keep heat on medium when frying. You will know its done once it completely stops sizzling/bubbling

• Remove and drain them on paper towels to remove excess oil

• Once cool transfer it to an airtight container

• Serve as needed and enjoy with a cup of hot tea

Note:

• Keep the flame on medium when frying to maintain colour and to get a crispy thattai
• You can just roughly tear up the curry leaves. No need to shop them neat
• Soak chana dal before adding to the dough

Karakuzhambu

Another of my m-i-l's special. It stands out special because of the way she makes it. And that is why my hubby loves it. Any day I ask him for ideas to make lunch his first suggestion wud be this no matter even if I made it just the day before. Its easy to make and tastes different than the regular everyday menu item.

This is what u'll need....

Oil - 3-4 tbspn
Mustard - 1 tspn
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tspn
Onion - 1 large

Tomato - 1 large
Garlic - 4 big cloves
Chopped vegetables - 2 cups
Tamarind - size of a lemon
Sambar powder - 2 tbspn
Coconut shredded - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning - mustard and fenugreek
• Once mustard starts spluttering toss in chopped/sliced garlic and fry till you can smell the aroma but be careful not to burn it
• Slice onions thinly and add to the pan. Saute nions till they turn soft
• Dice tomatoes and add it to the pan. Cook for a few minutes till the tomatoes turns little soft
• Chop all veggies. You can try different combis like - brinjal, drumstick,potato -or- black eyed beans(soaked and boiled) 
• Spoon in sambar powder and salt. Stir everything together till the masala coats the veggies well. Keep frying till the veggies are a little soft

• Add a little water and for a couple of minutes

• Grind the coconut with little water to a fine paste and add to the veggies. Stir well till the gravy is well combined

• Cook the mixture on medium for around 15 mins

• Soak tamarind in warm water and squeeze out the juice into pan
• Cook for another 5 mins or until gravy starts to separate along the sides of the pan
• Serve with hot rice and a little ghee and enjoy the taste

Notes :

Fry the veggies well before adding the coconut

Cook the mixture on medium flame for better taste

Add tamarind towards end of cooking

Cauliflower Manchurian

Who doesnt like manchurian??? and gobi manchurian .. hmmmm... ???? The taste is so enticing that you can barely ask your eyes to wander away from this item on the menu. I remember I made this for the first time when we had invited  few friends for lunch. I was on the phone with my mom asking for the recipe and then in no time I was on my way making it. I was nervous but I had already started the preparations so now there was no turning back. When served, everyone was asking for the recipe so you now know how wud it have tasted :)

This is what u'll need....

Cauliflower medium size ½  (Makes around 15 balls)

Salt to taste

Cornflour 2 tbspn

Maida 2 tbspn

Gg paste 1 tbspn

Green chilli paste ½ tbspn

Oil for frying

For garnish ->

Onion 1 small

Tomato 1 small

Capsicum 1 small

Soya sauce 1 tbspn

Ketchup 2 tbspn

Coriander leaves and green onion

Here is the stir....

• Chop cauliflower into small pieces and add to a pan with water and salt
• Bring this to a boil and stop immediately. Don’t cook it else it will lose taste
• Drain this and transfer to a bowl 
• Toss in corn flour, maida, gg paste, green chili paste, salt and mix everything together to make a dough
• Make small balls and deep fry them until crispy on the outside and appear golden brown
• In a wider pan add 2 tbspn oil.
• Once hot add diced onions, tomatoes, capsicum and toss for 2-3 mins
• Pour soya sauce and ketchup followed by the fried balls. Stir for one min and remove from heat
• Garnish with green onions and coriander leaves 

Vegetable Kurma.... my moms style

Kurma is a healthy addition to the gravy as it has all the veggie stuff loaded in it. A nice way to get veggies into our diet. This can be had with rice, chapathis or dosa so can be a part of lunch, breakfast or dinner. Cutting vegetables is the only tough part. Rest is all done in a jiffy. So now you like it.. isnt it... 

I make kurma 2 ways. One my mil style and other my moms style. I love both of them. This recipe which my mom taught me is quicker and easier one .... should say it can be done using just a pressure cooker. There is no compromise in taste though. 

Chicken Gravy (Pepper flavored).. my mil style

A pepper flavored gravy that is a regular sunday menu at my mils house. The kick of pepper is very delicious and I found it to be very different from what my mother makes. I am very used to red chilli and green chill flavours in chicken. So this peppery flavor was new and certainly different. Try this and you are sure to like it.

This is what u'll need....

Chicken  2 lbs – cut into small pieces

Onion     2 big

Tomato   1 big

Water 1 cup

Salt to taste

Turmeric ¼ tspn

Sambar powder 1.5 tpsn

Coconut 2 pieces (app 1/8 of a coconut)

Whole black pepper 2 tbspn

Cumin 1 tbspn

Here is the stir....

• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions (No Need to fry)
• Stir the onions followed by chicken, turmeric, salt and sambar powder
• Boil the mixture for around 15 minutes 
• Grind coconut, pepper, cumin to a very fine paste
• Add the above paste to chicken mixture and boil for another 15-20 minutes

Adai

This is a kind of dosa but has a predominant flavor of chana dal. It has a little spice in it which makes it more interesting to the taste buds. I find it a good alternative to regular dosas. Dont have to ferment the batter and thats the part I like most.

This is what u'll need....

Rice 1-1/2 cup

Chana dal 1/2 cup

Tuvar dal  1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Green chilli 4

Ginger chopped/grated 2 tbspn

Hing a pinch

Onion 1 big

Coconut chopped 3 tbspn

Coroiander leaves

Oil

Here is the stir....

• Soak rice and dal in separate bowls for around 1-2 hours
• Grind them to a coarse paste along with salt, green chilli and hing
• Transfer it to a bowl and add chopped onions, coriander, ginger and coconut
• Make thin dosas out of it with a little extra dash of oil

Panner Butter Masala

Paneer butter masala is a favorite in my family. Its rich and creamy that gives it the name makhani by some. Got to know this easy shortcut from my sis which helps me save a lot of time. Takes around 30 mins so it makes a good addition to last minute menu with unexpected guests. Kids too will love this slightly sweet gravy. Can substitute paneer with tofu if wanted.

Serves... 4 ppl 
Serve option... With hot pooris or naan

This is what u'll need....

Onion 1 med
Tomato 1 large
Green chillies 2
Chilli powder 1/2 tbspn
Coriander powder 1 tspn
Cumin powder 1 tspn
Gg paste 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Sugar 1 tsp
Ketchup 1 tbspn
Heavy cream 1/2 cup
Cashews 1/4 cup
Raisins 5 tbspn
Paneer cubes 1 cup
Butter 1 tbspn
Garam masala 1/2 tspn 
Oil 1 tbspn

Here is the stir....

• Heat oil in a pan and chopped onions to it (can substitute this with fried onions to make things faster). Fry till turn translucent and add gg paste
• Once cooked add a cup of water 
• Add chopped tomatoes, green chillies, 5-6 cashews, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and cook it covered fr 15-20 mins or till the raw flavors are gone
• Cool the mixture and grind it to a very smooth paste. Add water if needed
• Meanwhile fry cashews, raisins and paneer and keep aside
• Heat butter in a pan and add the above paste to it
• Mix sugar, salt and ketchup to the pan. Pour heavy cream when the mixture is very hot and stir immediately
• Toss in fried stuff into this and cook for 4-5 mins
• Sprinkle garam masala just before removing from heat