Potato Podimas Recipe

Ingredients

Potato - 1 lb
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida(Kayam) - A small pinch
Green chillies - 6 nos
Ginger - A small piece (minced/grated)
Black gram(Urud Dhal) - 1/2 tsp
Red gram(Thuvaraparippu) - 1/2 tsp
Bengal gram(Kadalaparippu) - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chillies- 2 - 3 nos
Curry leaves - A few
Coriander leaves - A small bunch (washed and finely chopped)
Lemon - 1 no
Cooking oil - 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp or as reqd


Preparation:

Boil potatoes with turmeric and salt.
Peel skin and mash them and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan or a kadai.
Splutter mustard seeds.
Fry black gram, red gram, Bengal gram, asafoetida, turmeric powder, curry leaves, red chillies, finely chopped ginger, lemon juice and salt.
Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
Let this cook for a few mins.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Chettinad Chicken or Mutton Rasam (soup)

Chicken Rasam is one of Chettinad specials. This recipe can be used for both mutton or chicken. This rasam or soup would be one of the best remedies for cold. I personally prefer chicken for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg chicken or mutton ( with bones)
5 shallots (small onions)
1 tbsp fenugreek
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp cumin(jeera),sombu(large jeera) powder
1 tsp redchilli powder
1 tsp dhaniya powder
2 tomatoes
5 flakes garlic
1' ginger
2 cloves
1' cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 stack curry leaves
oil for seasoning
salt to taste


Preparation:

Use small pieces of chicken or mutton with bones. Boneless meat doesn't give much flavour to this rasam. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste.

Heat oil, add fenugreek,cloves and cinnamon sticks,curry leaves. Add shallots(small onion) and fry for few minutes.Add tomatoes and fry for 1o mts. Add chicken or mutton. Add turmeric powder,jeera sombu powder,chilli powder,dhania powder.Mix well and add 2 cups of water( alter according to ur taste, u can have it slightly thicker consistency for rice, whereas for the soup it has to be watery). Leave it for minimum of 30 minutes( cooking time depends on quality of the chicken mutton).At the end of boiling add (pepper,ginger,garlic)powder to give good odour.


Note: U can filter the rasam, and have it as a soup.

Rava (Sooji) Halwa

Suji halwa can be made very quickly withgout any preparation in advance.

Preparation time: 20 minute
Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji (semolina)
1 cup Sugar
2.5 cup water
2 teaspoon Ghee
1 tablespoon lowfat butter (heart foundation recommended) or canola oil
Almonds (grated)/Raisins
2-3 Cardamom, coarsely powdered


Preparation :

Add sugar to water and mix well. Keep aside.
In a skillet (kadai) take ghee and sooji and cook for 3 minutes. Add oil/butter and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat, till the sooji turns light brown. With the skillet on the stove, add cardamom powder and raisins, grated almonds, then add water-sugar solution slowly, stirring with a spoon and allow the water to evaporate (it would take about 5-7 minute).

Garnish with a few grated almond pieces.

Serve sooji halwa warm.

Note: This sooji halwa recipe uses only 2 tsp ghee and use butter or oil. This saves a lot of calories from saturated fat in ghee. Don't be surprised for the use of oil. No body can notice any difference in the taste. Just try it. We have used it several times and all have relished our sooji halwa made according to this recipe.

Idiyappam Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice flour
1 cup water
½ cup grated coconut
1 tsp ghee
salt to taste


Method

1. Mix rice flour with hot water, ghee and salt
2. Knead it into a smooth dough.
3. Fill it in an idiyappam presser/sieve and press it onto banana leaves on which a little grated coconut has been sprinkled, or press it directly onto an idli pan without banana leaves.
4. Steam for 5-10 minutes. Some people add a little grated coconut on top before steaming.

Idiyappams may be served with egg curry or brown chickpea (kadala) curry. In some places it is eaten dipped in fresh coconut milk mixed with sugar.

Prawn briyani

Ingredients:

Shrimp - 1/2 lb, cleaned and de-veined (tail on or off)
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Green Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 2
Bay Leaf - 1
Cinnamon Stick - 1″pc.
Ginger, Garlic & Green Chillies - 2 tbsp
Fried Onions - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - 2 med, chopped
Salt - to taste
Red Chilli Powder - to taste
Mint Leaves - handful, chopped
Coconut Milk - 2 cups
Basmati Rice - 1 cup, washed and drained, but NOT soaked
Clarified Butter/Ghee - 1 Tbsp, for garnishing


Method:

1. Heat Oil in a pressure cooker.
2. Add Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaf, Green Cardamom and Cloves and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add Ginger/Garlic/Green Chili paste and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Add Fried Onions and mix.
4. Add Tomatoes and Shrimp — mix.
5. Add Red Chili Powder, Salt and Mint Leaves — mix.
6. Add Coconut Milk and washed Rice — mix well.
7. Cover, pressure cook for 1 whistle and switch off stove. (Electric stove users — remove from the stove)
8. Allow pressure to go down by itself.
9. Open pressure cooker and fluff biryani with a fork.
10. Drizzle Clarified Butter (ghee) over the top, cover and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.