Parippu vada

Ingredients 

1. Gram dal - 1 cups
2. Green chilli - 3
3. Shallot - 15
4. Ginger - 2 tsp
5. Curry leaves - 3-4 stems
6. Kayam (asafoetida) - 1/4 tsp
7. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
8. Salt
9. Oil

Procedure

1. Cut green chilli coarsely.
2. Cut ginger coarsely.
3. Peel shallots.
4. Pulse shallots, ginger, green chilli coarsely using a mixie.
5. Soak the dal in water for two hours.
6. Keep 2 tsp of dal aside.
7. Grind the dal in mixie very coarsely. It should not be ground smoothly.
8. Mix the ground dal, the pulsed mixture, red chilli powder, asafoetida, curry leaves and salt.
9. Also, mix the dal kept aside to this mixture.
10. Make small balls of gooseberry size out of this combined mixture.
11. Heat oil in a deep pan.
12. Take each ball in your left hand and gently flatten it by pressing it. 
13. When the oil is very hot, gently drop the ball into the oil.
14. Flip the vada to the other side, so that both sides are browned.
15. Drain excess oil by placing the vada in a kitchen tissue.
16. Yummy hot parippu vada is ready to be served with hot tea.

Note:

1. Drop the vada batter into oil only when the oil is very hot. Else, it will break.
2. Instead of gram dal, half glass of chana and tur dal each can be used.

Ari payasam

Ingredients 

1. Raw rice / Sona Masoori rice - 0.5 cup
2. Jaggery - 1 cup
3. Water - 1.5 cup
4. Coconut scrapings - 1/4 cup
5. Ghee - 3 tbsp

Procedure

1. Cook the rice well in a pressure cooker. Water quantity should be three times the quantity of rice. Switch off after four whistles. Rice should not be too mushy. Wait for the steam to be released completely.
2. Heat Jaggery and half cup of water in a pan. Filter the jaggery water and remove all impurities from it. Heat the water again till it starts to thicken.
3. Open the cooker. Add the jaggery water and ghee and mix well.
4. Heat the mixture till all water evaporates.
5. Add coconut scrapings and mix well.
6. Yummy ari payasam is ready to be served. This payasam is typically served as a naivedyam to God.

Note:

1. This is my 100th post in this blog! I made this payasam today and submitted as a Naivedyam to Devi!
2. We can also add cashew nut and raisins roasted in ghee into this for crunchiness. 

Pasta (red sauce)

Ingredients 

1. Penne Pasta - 1 cup
2. Tomato - 4
3. Onion - 1 small
4. Garlic - 3 cloves
5. Italian seasoning - 1 tbsp
6. Chilli flakes - 1 tbsp
7. Salt
8. Oil
9. Butter - 1 tbsp
10. Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
11. Parmesan Cheese - 2 tbsp (optional)
12. Water - 3 cups
13. Vegetables
1. Brocolli - 5 florets
2. Capsicum - 1/4 of a medium sized one
3. Baby corn - 3

Procedure

1. Blanch the tomatoes
1. Cut X mark on the tomato 
2. Boil it in water for 5 minutes or till the skin peels out. Water should cover the entire tomatoes.
3. When it has cooled, remove the skin 
2. Blend the tomatoes into a smooth puree in a mixie
3. In a deep pan, add the pasta. Add 3 cups of water to this along with salt.
4. Boil the pasta for 15 minutes in medium flame.
5. Remove from the stove and add cold water to it.
6. Drain the pasta and keep aside.
7. Cut onion and garlic into small pieces.
8. Also, cut the vegetables into small pieces.
9. In a pan, heat oil.
10. Add garlic and fry for few seconds.
11. Add onion into this and fry for few minutes till it turns transparent.
12. Add tomato puree to this and cook till the puree thickens.
13. Add the cut vegetables into this, cover and cook for few minutes.
14. Add the italian seasoning and chilli flakes into this and cook for few minutes.
15. Add butter and tomato ketchup and cook for few seconds.
16. Check for salt and add if required.
17. Add the pasta into this. Mix the sauce with the pasta. Sauce has to cover all the pasta.
18. Add grated cheese into this.
19. Yummy pasta is ready to be served.

Pic courtesy: My daughter Divya and her husband Ravisekhar who made the dish as per the instructions given here. 

Cheru payar vevichathu

Ingredients

1. Green gram - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 1/4 cup
3. Coconut - 3 tbsp
4. Water - 2 cups approximately

Procedure

1. Add water into a pressure cooker and add the green gram into it. Water should cover the green gram completely.
2. Cook it in high flame for 10 whistles.
3. When the steam is completely released, open the cooker. Check if the gram is cooked well. If not, close the cooker and cook for few more whistles. Add more water if required.
4. When the gram is cooked well, add the jaggery and coconut to it.
5. Mix well.
6. Yummy and healthy evening snack is ready to be served.

Pakkavada / Ribbon pakoda

Ingredients

1. Kadala mavu (Besan flour) - 1 cup
2. Rice flour - 1/2 cup
3. Asafoetida - 1 tsp
4. Red chilli powder - 3/4 tbsp
5. Curry leaves - 1 springs
6. Salt
7. Oil
8. Water - 0.5 cup

Procedure

1. Mix besan flour, rice flour, asafoetida, red chilli powder  and salt into a soft dough by adding water little by little. The consistency should be like idiyappam dough. 
2. Divide the dough into two parts.
3. Push the dough into an idiyappam maker. Use the pakkavada mould so that when idiyappam maker is squeezed or rotated (depending on the type of the maker), the dough comes out in ribbon shape.
4. Heat oil in a deep pan.
5. When the oil is hot, drop a small piece of dough. If the dough rises up the oil quickly then the oil is of the right temperature.
6. Push the dough into the oil in circular motion. Be very carefully in this step when the dough is dropped into the hot oil. 
7. Wait for few minutes for one side to fry. Then flip over the dough to the other side.
8. Once both sides are cooked i.e. when both sides have turned brown, transfer the pakkavada into plate lined with kitchen tissue to remove excess oil.
9. Fry curry leaves in the same oil after removing the pakkavada. When the curry leaves are dropped in the oil, hot oil may splutter. So, be very careful.
10. Break the pakkavada and mix the fried curry leaves with it.
11. Store it in an air tight container. 
12. Yummy Pakkavada is ready to be served with hot tea / coffee.

Onion chutney

Ingredients

1. Onion - 3 medium
2. Oil - 1 tbsp
3. Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Procedure

1. Cut onion into big pieces
2. Pulse it 2-3 times using a mixie. It should be ground very coarsely.
3. Heat oil in a pan
4. Add red chilli powder to this and fry for few minutes 
5. Add half cup water to this and boil for few minutes till the oil separates
6. Add onion to this and cook till onion is completely cooked.
7. Add water to this as per the consistency required and boil for few more minutes
8. Yummy onion chutney can be served as a side dish for idli or dosa.

Unniyappam with rice flour

Ingredients

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
3. Jaggery - 1 cup
4. Rava (un-roasted) - 1 tbsp
5. Banana - 2 palayamkodan (preferred) or Rasa kadali 
6. Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
7. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt
9. Oil / Ghee for frying
10. Seseme seed - 1 tsp (optional)
11. Coconut bits - 1 tsp (optional)
12. Water - 1.5 cup approximately

Procedure

1. Add one cup of water into jaggery and heat till jaggery has dissolved completely.
2. Filter the jaggery water and remove all impurities
3. Grind banana with 2 tbsp of jaggery water. The mixture should be ground well.
4. Fry coconut bits in ghee till it becomes golden colour. Add sesame to this and fry for few seconds. This is an optional step.
5. Mix together rice, wheat, banana mixture, jaggery, cardamom powder and rava. 
6. If using coconut and sesame, add it to this mixture and mix well.
7. Add water till the mixture has the idli batter consistency.
8. Add baking soda to this and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
9. Heat the Unniappam chatti in medium heat.
10. Add oil or ghee or oil and ghee mixture till the middle of the depression.
11. Pour the batter into each depression. Check the consistency of the batter before pouring. Add some more water if the batter has become thick after resting.
12. After few seconds, flip the appam using a fork to cook the other side.
13. Turn the appam and make sure both sides are cooked well (till both sides become brown in colour).
14. Remove the appam and place it in a kitchen tissue paper to remove excess oil.
15. Repeat till the batter is over.
16. Yummy Uniyappam is ready to be served hot.

Poori

Ingredients 

1. Wheat flour - 1 cup + 1/4 cup for dusting
2. Water - 1/2 cup (approximately)
3. Oil - 1 tbsp
4. Salt

Procedure

1. In a pan, mix one cup of wheat flour and salt.
2. Add water little by little and knead well till the dough becomes smooth. It should not be sticky. Knead well for at least 5 minutes using the palm of your hand. 
3. Keep it well covered for 15 minutes
4. Knead it again for few seconds
5. Break it into gooseberry sized balls. With the above mentioned proportion, at least 8 pooris can be made.
6. Dust each dough ball with wheat flour 
7. Roll the ball into nice small circle shaped dough using a rolling pin on a board.
8. Place Kitchen tissue paper over a plate to drain all excess oil from the pooris
9. Heat oil in a pan at high flame.
10. When the oil is very hot, place the dough gently into the oil.
11. Press the dough gently. Then, the dough will pop up.
12. Flip to the other side and gently press so that both sides will be cooked well.
13. Take out the poori and place it in plate to remove oil
14. Store it in a thermal container after few minutes once the oil is completely drained.
15. Serve this with potato masala, egg curry or egg roast

Note: Make sure that the oil is very hot before dropping the poori dough in it.

Kerala mutta / egg curry

Ingredients

1. Egg - 4
2. Onion - 2 medium
3. Tomato - 2 medium
4. Garlic - 3 cloves
5. Ginger - 1 inch
6. Green chilli - 2
7. Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp 
9. Garam masala - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Cashew nut - 5
12. Poppy seeds / Khus khus - 1/2 tsp
13. Coconut - 5 tbsp
14. Oil - 1 tbsp
15. Curry leaves - 1 twig
16. Mustard - 1/2 tsp
17. Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
18. Water - 1 cup
19. Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Ingredients for frying egg

1. Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
2. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
3. Salt
4. Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Procedure

1. Make egg fry
1. Make hard boiled eggs: Place the egg in a vessel and fill it with cool water. Add a pinch of salt to this to prevent egg from breaking. Boil the water in high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and leave it for 10 minutes. Once it has cooled peel the eggs.
2. Heat oil in a pan
3. Add chilli, turmeric powder and salt to this
4. Gently place the egg into this and roll it over the masala so that the egg is completely covered with masala.
5. Remove the coated eggs and keep it aside.
2. Prepare egg curry
1. Cut the green chilli into few pieces
2. Cut ginger and garlic 
3. Cut onion lengthwise thinly
4. Cut tomato into small pieces
5. Grind coconut, poppy and cashew nut into a smooth paste
6. Heat oil in a pan
7. Splutter mustard
8. Add fennel seeds and fry till it starts to brown
9. Add onion and fry till it starts to turn transparent
10. Add ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves to this and fry for some more time till the raw smell is removed.
11. Add red chilli, coriander, garam masala and turmeric powders to this and fry for another minute.
12. Add tomato to this. Cover and cook till the tomato becomes mushy. The whole mixture should be well cooked and reduced in volume.
13. Add the coconut paste to this and again stir for few more minutes
14. Add water and salt. 
15. Add the eggs
16. Cook till the curry attains the required consistency.
17. Garnish with coriander leaves.
3. Yummy egg curry is ready to be served with idiappam or appam