Mushroom Palak Gravy

Ingredients:

Mushroom: 7
Tomato  - 2
Palak - 2 cups
Green chillies - 1
Crushed ginger garlic - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Bay leaf  - 1
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - small piece
Ani seeds - 1

Salt
Oil

Method:

Chop mushroom and tomatoes and roughly chop palak. Soak chopped palak in hot water for 5 to 7 minutes. Grind this along with green chillies to a paste. Take a tawa. Add oil, once hot add the ingredients from bay leaf to ani seeds. Saute for a second before adding crushed ginger garlic paste.
Then add mushrooms and tomatoes. Saute well adding little oil. Then goes the spice powders, palak paste and required amount of salt. Let it cook for sometime in simmering heat.Switch off.

Smoked Aubergine tomato thokku

This is something i have to share from my experience.I know someone who for some mundane reason hates brinjal or anything that remotely resembles it. It was indeed a challenge to make this person eat it. Oh my God!! Happened to make this Smoked Aubergine tomato thokku, and yeah it left the person craving for more..this is one simply amazingly yummy thokku that can be even refrigerated for future use.



Ingredients:

Aubergine or egg plant - 1 (should not feel hard)
Tomato - 2
Sambar powder - 11/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Gingelly oil (preferably) or cooking oil.

For seasoning

Red chillies
Mustard


Method

The first step is to cook the eggplant on a low flame. Take the egg plant, turn on the flame an gently turn it every now and then until the flesh inside gets cooked and becomes soft. Now peel the burnt exterior of the eggplant and mash the cooked flesh of the eggplant. Chop tomatoes.

Take a tawa. Add oil. Once hot toss in the mustard seeds and wait till it splutters. Then add the tomatoes. Saute it for a minute or two. In goes the mashed egg plant. Mix well. Then add the spice powders one by one followed by required amount of salt. Add oil and mix well. Let it cook in low flame. You can wait until you see oil oozing out from the sides. Switch off.

This goes well with idli, dosa, green gram dosa, Or you can simply lap it up with hot steaming rice!

Gooseberry dal

Where raw gooseberries per se is considered a 'challenge' one will welcome this dish to their palate as it is not only tasty but retains the benefits of goose berries that blends well with this dal. So in a way you are not denying your system the nutritious goose berries that you may not otherwise have it in its raw form.

Ingredients:

Goose berries - 5 to 6
Masoor dal - 1/2 cup
Shallots or small onions - 4
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 1
Green chillies - 1
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Oil
Salt

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp



Method:

Chop the goose berries and discard the seeds. Pressure cook it along with masoor dal and green chillies. Take a tawa. Add oil, once hot, add mustard seeds after it splutters (you can do this process towards the end also) add small onions.Saute it for a while then add tomato and garlic. Saute it followed by steamed dal, salt and turmeric powder. Let it boil for sometime till all the ingredients blend well. Switch off.

Okra Jeera Coconut Kozhambu

Ingredients:

Okra - 4
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Tamarind pulp - 1 cup
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 1
Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

For grinding:

Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup


Method:

Take a pan. Add oil. Toss in cut vegetables starting with onion. Add green chilli and curry leaves. Pour the tamarind pulp. Once it boils add sambar powder and turmeric powder. Keep the flame in medium throughout. Grind Jeera and coconut to a smooth paste. Add this to the boiling kozhambu and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Switch off.

Ivy Gourd Chutney

If there are well known and tried varieties of chutneys like tomato chutney, coconut chutney, mint chutney etc....Ivy gourd or kovakka or Tindora chutney is soon to become one. Because the taste of this chutney is such that it will not only become a good accompaniment for your main dishes like idli, dosa but its occurrence will be frequent on your dining table...if you think am exaggerating try for yourself and see..:-)


Ingredients:


Ivy gourd - 10
Onion - 1
Garlic - 2
Red chillies - 2
Green chillies - 1
Tamarind - 1 small piece
Coriander leaves - a handful
Gingelly oil or cooking oil
Salt


Method:

Take a pan. Add oil. Add onion. Saute for a few seconds and add the remaining ingredients one by one. After adding required amount of salt,switch it off. Let it cool before grinding to a smooth paste.
Seasoning with mustard is optional.

Gingelly oil can added slightly to the chutney and mixed before serving. This is entirely optional.

Kodo Millet Vegetable idli

There is an adage that goes, 'Old is Gold', and that is pretty much applicable to  Millets. Millets undoubtedly are very nutritious and they are something that is part of our heritage only for the right reasons. There are various types like Fox tail, barnyard, pearl, little, white and Kodo millet is one among them.The fact that they are tagged by English names only shows how ubiquitous they are and that it is only wise to make utmost use of them in the creative ways possible. One such is this Kodo Millet Vegetable Idli.


Ingredients: (yields 20 idlis)


Kodo millet /Varagu- 11/2 cups

Cabbage - 1/4 cup 

Carrot - 1/4 cup

Peas - 1/4 cup

Thick Curd - 2 to 3 cups

Green chillies - 2 (finely chopped)

Ginger - 2 tsp (finely chopped)

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Salt

Eno Fruit salt - a pinch

Gingelly oil - for greasing the moulds


Method:

For this dish i used Mannas Kodo millet that comes in a neat package. Take the said quantity and grind it near to coarse consistency. Keep the chopped ingredients ready. Take a pan. Dry roast the millet for about 2-3 minutes.Set it aside on a plate.In the same pan add little oil. Once warm saute the vegetables along with ginger and green chillies for about 2 minutes again. Take a big bowl. Add the grinded millet, followed by curd, vegetables, coriander leaves and salt. Close it for good 20 minutes. You can add a pinch of Eno fruit salt just before steaming them 

Take idli plates. Grease the moulds with gingelly oil and pour the batter until you fill the required number of moulds. Steam them for 7 to 10 minutes.

Kodo millet vegetable idli can be had with sambar or any chutney of your choice.