Peanut Kulambu

Peanuts are rich in nutrients; same time heard it’s allergic too. My grandfather use to cultivate peanut in his farm, its harvested close to our vacation me and my cousins will help to remove the peanut from plants, dry then remove the shell its fun time. As soon as we remove the fresh peanut from plants we use to cook them with shell it use to be very tasty missing those fresh one now. But when thinking those childhood memories really feeling so happy and felt like tasted those delicious peanuts. Last week when we went to Indian store found those fresh raw peanuts bought some, like me my husband and kids are also love this peanuts. Even though it didn’t taste like back home peanuts “Some thing is better than nothing” right.

Coming to today’s recipe Peanut Kulambu, first time I tasted this in my periya amma’s places during my India visit, got the recipe and tried first time for a get together and it was a big hit and vanished very quick.

 

 

Ingredients:

Peanut cooked	½ cup
Onion chopped	½ cup
Tomato chopped	1 small size
Bringal	2 small size
Tamarind	Large gooseberry size
Sambar powder	2 tsp
Curry leaves	few
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Salt	as per taste
Oil	2 Tbsp
To Grind:
Cinnamon	½ inch
Clove	2
Garlic	3 big pods
Dry red chili	1-2
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Pepper pods	½ tsp
Split chana dal	1 Tbsp
Poppy seeds	½ tsp
Coriander powder	2 tsp
Coconut	2 Tbsp

 

Directions:

1. In a teaspoon of oil roast all the ingredients (except coconut and coriander powder) in the same order until light brown, finally add coconut and coriander roast for another 2 minutes and turn off and allow to cool.
2. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds when it pops, add onion and curry leaves.
3. Saute until it turns soft, add chopped tomatoes and cook until mushy, cut the bringal length wise and add.
4. Cook until it turns soft, then add tamarind pulp when it starts to boil add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt.
5. Allow it to cook for another 4-5 minutes, meantime grind the roasted mixture to smooth paste.
6. Once the raw smell of tamarind leaves add the ground mixture and cooked peanut mix well with enough water and cook until the oil starts to ooze out.
7. Serve this with rice.

 

Note:

• I used fresh raw peanuts, pressure cook with salt for 5-6 whistles then remove the shell and use the peanuts.
• If using dry raw peanuts, soak it in water for about 1-2 days and pressure cook with salt for 4-5 whistles.

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Murrungai kerai Sarru / Nugge Yele Uppu Neeru

Happy Ugadi a new year for Andhra, Karnataka and Maharashtra people, few of other people also celebrate this with a different name, but this festival will not fall on the same day as Tamil New Year each year it varies. We use to serve a special food for god on this day since I don’t get the main ingredient here I was unable to do. Its nothing but neem flower, this is the only day I use to taste neem flower neem flower abishekam, reason behind this is, there will be happiness, sadness, anger, surprise in our life we need to accept everything in the following year.

Most of my readers know yesterday I posted Ragi Mudde, and here is the side side for that. Its called Nugge yele uppu Neeru in kanada, which means” Nugge yele”  as drumstick leaves uppu means salt and neeru means water these are the main ingredients for this dish too. It doesn’t need any particular measurement, everything is your choice. A very simple dish but a taste one, even you can have this for rice.

In my childhood I hesitate to eat drumstick leaves need to say even to try, after I tasted this uppu neeru with ragi mudde it was my favorite, when I was pregnant I started to crave for this food, during that time I didn’t get drumstick leaves here. Recently I found this in a Thai store and started to cook this often.

Ingredients:

Drumstick leaves	2 cups
Milk	¼ cup
Garlic pods	2
Salt	as per taste
For spice powder:
Peanut	½ cup
Dry red chili	2

 

Directions:

1. Clean the drumstick leaves and keep ready.
2. Heat little water and once it start to boil add this leaves and enough salt cover and cook until tender.
3. Finally add crushed garlic and allow cooking for a minute, add milk and turn off the stove.
4. Heat a drop of oil and roast red chili on low flame for few minutes. Allow it to cool and grind to course powder with peanut.
5. When you start serving sprinkle the spice powder on top of the uppu neeru. Take a bit of ragi mudde dip it in uppu neeru and enjoy.

 

Tips:

• No need to worry if you don’t get drumstick leaves you can try this with, spinach, or kale, Chinese long beans(Thatakkai), Indian long beans (avaraikkai), fresh avaraikkai seeds and fresh tatakkai seds for this you need to pressure cook the seeds first.
• Depending on your taste increase the dry red chili, you can store this powder and use it for most of the nattu kai poriyal at the end like adding coconut it will taste good.
• If you are non-vegetarian chicken and mutton kulambu will also go with this ragi mudde.
• Peanut chutney will also go with this.

 

 

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Arrachuvitta Sambar

Yesterday I posted Idli, without a sambar this dish will not be a complete meal, so today going to share a sambar recipe. I have already posted couple sambar recipe in my blog. So planned to share a famous arrachu vitta sambar, sambar should be one of the important side dish for any type of breakfast menu, it goes with pongal, idli, dosa, vada, uppma and uthappam.

Arrachu vitta sambar will be rich when compared to regular one, you can use any different vegetables each veg give a unique taste and the best one will be drumstick.

Ingredients:

Toor dal	½ cup
Onion (1 inch cubed)	1 small size
Tomatoes	1 medium size
Tamarind	Big gooseberry size
Sambar powder	1 tsp
Chili powder	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Drumstick	2
Curry leaves	few
Cilantro	few
Salt
Oil
To Grind
Cinnamon	1 inch
Clove	2
Split channa dal (kadalai parrupu)	2 tsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Fennel seeds	½ tsp
Garlic pods	3-4
Coconut grated	¼ cup
Coriander powder	1 Tbsp
Poppy seeds	½ tsp
Dry red chili	1-2

 

Directions:

1. Pressure cook toor dal with 2 cups of water for 2-3 whistles.  
2. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai, fry cinnamon, clove, pepper, channa dal, cumin seeds, garlic and dry red chili (follow this oder), for 2 minutes finally add coconut and coriander powder and fry for a minute.
3. Turn off the stove and add fennel seeds and poppy seeds and mix well allow it to cool and grind to smooth paste.
4. In same kadai, heat a tablespoon of oil and splutter mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds, add chopped onion curry leaves and coriander leaves saute until they turn golden brown.
5. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until it turns soft, add drumstick and saute them until raw smell leaves.
6. Soak tamarind in ½ cup water for 10 – 15 minutes. Extract the pulp and add to the above mixture.
7. Add sambar powder, chili powder and turmeric powder when tamarind water starts to boil, cook until raw smell of tamarind leaves (if needed ¼ add water).
8. Add the ground paste to tamarind mixture and cook until for 5 minutes.
9. Mean while drain the water from cooked toor dal and mash the dal to fine paste. And add dal and water to cooking sambar with enough salt and cook until drumstick cooked soft.
10. Finally add few curry leaves and cilantro before turning off the stove.

Tips:

• If you’re planning to prepare rasam save the dal water for rasam and add enough water to the dal.
• After adding dal to sambar check the taste if you feel anything is missing this is the right time to add.
• Instead of drumsticks you can use radish, carrot, potatoes, white pumpkin, or even mixed vegetables.

 

 

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Katharikai Curry / Eggplant Gravy

For the second day of wedding occasion theme I choose Sri Lankan food, I have a Sri Lankan neighbor when ever she arrange a party there will be Eggplant gravy in here food list. When I was asking her about this dish I came to know this is one of their important dish in wedding, I tried first but it didn’t taste like one I tasted in here place. For the second time I got the recipe from here and tried it came out well even she approved it, thanks Sri Theevi for sharing your recipe.

 

Poricha Katharikai Curry (Deep Fried Eggplant Gravy) as the name says this gravy is made out of tamarind water, coconut milk and some spice powder and finally need to add deep fried eggplant. It can be served with rice, puttu and idiappam.

Ingredients:

Eggplant (Chinese)	2 big
Onion chopped	½ cup
Garlic	4 pods
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds	¼ tsp
Chili powder	2 tsp
Coriander powder	1 Tbsp
Tamarind paste	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Coconut milk	3 – 4 Tbsp
Curry leaves	few
Oil	2 Tbsp + Deep fry
Salt	as per taste
For Spice Powder:
Fennel seeds	1 tsp
Cinnamon	1 inch
Clove	4
Cardamom	1 small

 

Directions:

1. Cut the eggplant length wise (2 inches) and ¼ - ½ inch thickness; soak in water with a pinch of salt until needed (this avoids turning brown).
2. Heat oil in a frying pan, squeeze the eggplant and dry using paper towel or kitchen towel and deep fry until brown. Remove the excess oil using paper towel. Deep fry the garlic also in same oil (until you see brown spots).
3. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in pan, splutter mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds then add chopped onion few curry leaves sauté until golden brown.
4. Add tamarind paste with 2 cups of water and allow it to cook, when it starts to boil add chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt.
5. Cook until the raw smell of tamarind goes and the gravy should be thick, in this stage add coconut milk and allow it to boil once add fried eggplant and garlic, give a gentle stir to mix everything together.
6. Dry roast the ingredients of spice powder and ground that to fine powder using mortar add ½ tsp of this powder to the gravy and turn it off.

Note:

• Instead of deep frying you can bake them, but the traditional method is deep frying it adds taste too.
• To remove excess oil from fried eggplant, cover the eggplant with paper towel and place some weight on top change the paper couple times. This helps to remove most of the oil. If you don't remove the oil properly then the gravy will be oily.
• You can add another teaspoon of coconut milk if you feel tangier. Instead of coconut milk you can add regular milk again coconut milk enhances the taste.
• Curry will turn thick after cooling so cook accordingly, if you feel it’s very thick add boiling water and a pinch of salt for adjusting the desired consistency.
• If you have Sri Lankan chili powder add that instead of chili powder and coriander powder.
• For best taste use home made chili powder and coriander powder.
• When deep frying open windows it use to smell strong.

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Thattapayaru Thani Kulambu

Thani kulambu I heard this first time in one of my friends place. It tasted great for idli, dosa, puttu etc. I have noticed all the side dishes she used to prepare will be little bit watery and even she asks me to prepare like that for potlucks. I haven’t asked the reason but when Lakshmi Venkatesh announced Tried and Tasted Chettinad Cuisine, I came across couple of blogs about most of the foods I tasted in my friends place.

One of them is this Thattapayaru Thani Kulambu, source of this recipe is Chettinad Fiesta by Minu she got lot of authentic vegetarian chettinad foods, thanks for sharing those in your blog.

Ingredients:

Cow peas (Thattapayaru)	½ cup
Onion	1 small
Tomato	1 small
Sambar powder	1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Tamarind paste	1 tsp
Chili powder	1 tsp
Garlic pod	1 crushed
Salt	as per taste
To Temper:
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Urad dal	¼ tsp
Fennel seeds	½ tsp
Asafetida	a pinch
Fenugreek	4-5 grains
Curry leaves	few
Oil	2 tsp

 

Directions:

1. In pressure cooker dry roast cowpeas until nice aroma comes.
2. Wash the dal and add 2-3 cups of water and allow it to soak for ½ hour.
3. Chop onion and tomatoes to small cubes add this to dal with turmeric powder and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
4. Once the pressure is released add tamarind paste, chili powder, sambar powder and salt, cook for another 5 minutes.
5. In this stage check consistence and salt if you need more water you can add hot water.
6. Meanwhile heat oil and splutter the ingredients in the list for tempering and add this to kulambu with crushed garlic.
7. Again cook for another couple of minutes and turn of the stove and serve with rice, idli dosa etc.

Note:

You can do this with Pasipayaru also. If you need more spice add one green chili while pressure cooking the dal.

 

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