Vegetable Kurma

I always love this vegetable Kurma. The best thing about this vegetable curry is we can add any combination of recommended vegetables. My mom prepares this Indian vegetable Kurma in two ways. I have explained below, one of the methods of preparing Healthy Spicy Indian Vegetable Kurma.

Broccoli was lying in my fridge for past 3 days. I was not in a mood to make broccoli stir fry. My hubby gave me the idea of trying broccoli with Pasta. Got the recipe from marinmamacooks and modified it to meet my family taste buds.

Sambar is a South Indian gravy prepared using toor dal . It is served as a side dish to Rice, Idli, Dosa, Paniyaram and Utapam. Sambar is one of the comforting and healthy food. There are two ways of making sambar. One involves grinding the spices and time consuming. The second method with no grinding and less time consuming is explained below. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Sambar -Easy Version.

Potato is known as Aloo in hindi, urulai kizhamgu in tamil. Urulai Kizhangu Podimas is my all time favourite. My mom usually prepares this potato podimas along with Sambar. This potato curry is usually taken as a side dish to Rice. Especially curd rice and potato podimas makes a great combination. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Urulai Kizhangu Podimas - Potato Podimas.

Carrots are rich in Vitamin A, minerals and fibers . Lack of Vitamin A causes poor vision and night vision. Julinned Carrots can be served as a finger food to toddlers and preschoolers. Carrot chutney is a easy, quick and healthy chutney that can be served as a side dish to Idli, Dosa and Chapati. It an also be used as a Sandwich spread. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Carrot Chutney.

Cracked wheat is rich in fibre and nutrients. It is very good for heart. Cracked wheat Briyani is a very healthy, tasty and nutritious Indian recipe cooked with Indian spices.Check below for the instructions.

Whenever my family plans for a trip, my first job is to prepare this tomato pickle. This tomato thokku / tomato pickle can be used for 15 days if properly sealed. It can be taken as a side dish to dosa, chappathi. Instant Tomato Rice can be prepared by just mixing this thokku with rice.

Usually whenever I get beetroot, I will discard the beetroot leaves. This time I thought of preparing curry or poriyal with this beetroot leaves. Followed the same steps as spinach poriyal except I skipped adding coconut. Check below for beetroot leaves poriyal instructions

Beetroots are rich in viamins, minerals and fibres. Always choose bright coloured and firm beetroots. Beetroots can be eaten raw in salads. The beetroot leaves can also be cooked as a side dish to Rice. The other recipe that can be cooked with beetroot is beetroot chutney - side dish to idli / dosa Beetroot Poriyal is a simple, easy and healthy side dish to Rice. Some people prefer to eat this Beetroot stir fry as a side dish to chappathi or Roti. Kids will enjoy this curry. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian beetroot poriyal.

My Balanced Diet

Disclaimer: The balanced diet mentioned below is purely my knowledge gathered from my mom.

My mom being a science teacher always make sure my family eats a proper balanced diet. She prepares recipes which accommodates at least a fruit, a vegetable, a pulse variety and a cereal variety daily.
According to me, south Indian meals are a very good example for a balanced diet. Below is the balanced diet I am trying to follow for my family.

Adults Intake per day:

Nutrients	Quantity	Example	Rich in
Cereals	450 - 500 gms	Rice, wheat	Carbohydrates
Pulses	40 -50 gms	Channa, Toor	Proteins
Green leafy vegetables	40 gms	Spinach	Iron, calcium and Vit A, B12,C
Other vegetables	60-80 gms	Brinjal, Tomato	Minerals and Vitamins
Roots and tubers	50-80 gms	Potato	Carbohydrates
Milk and milk products	150-250 ml	Yogurt	Proteins, calcium and Minerals
Oil and vegetable fat	50 gms	Olive Oil	Fat soluble Vitamins
Sugar and Jaggery	40 gms		Vitamin A
Asafoetida, ginger, garlic, chillies, tamarind and turmeric	Little		Helps in Digestion. Excessive intake causes Ulcer

Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu

Brinjal is called as Kathirikkai in tamil, Vanakaya in telugu and Baigan in hindi. It is one of the common vegetable in Indian Kitchen. There are two ways of preparing this Brinjal Curry. One method is stuffing the masala in cross-cut brinjal and frying it. The second method is frying the lengthwise cut brinjal in gingelly Oil and adding spices to it. The second method is more easier. Please check below for step by step instructions and picture for preparing easy and tasty Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu.

Masala Pori is an easy ,quick and delicious evening snack. It can be stored in air tight container for about a week. It is a healthy snack and doesn't need any deep fry

Mung bean is also known as green gram , green moong dal, pesarulu in telugu and pachai payaru in tamil. Green Moong dal is rich in proteins. The below kongu special pachai payaru kuzhambu is served as a side dish to Rice. It can also be taken as a side dish to dosa and Chappathi. Enjoy the protein rich pachai payaru kuzhambu with hot rice and ghee. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Pachai Payaru Kuzhambu

My hubby was a big fan of non-veg Kaima. whenever he goes to non-veg chain of hotels, his first choice is to order any dish with kaima. Since then he become a vegetarian, I was searching for an vegetarian substitute Last week when we went to saravana bhavan hotel, he ordered Kaima Idli. His face got brightened. I know he loved it a lot.So I thought of replicating the saravana bhavan kaima Idli in my kitchen. Below is the recipe.

Shortbread cookies are traditional Scottish confectionery. It requires only 5 ingredients. These cookies are easy to bake and tastes great. We can store the short bread cookies in a covered container for up to a week.

Bonding between cauliflower and me started long time back. In my childhood, I use to call it as a small banyan tree. Whenever I use to go to hotel with my family, I used to ask my father for tree dosa. To my surprise, even my son calls cauliflower as tree. Cauliflower dosa is prepared by placing cauliflower masala in center while making dosa. Give a break to regular dosa and try this masala dosa. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Cauliflower dosa.

Spinach is known as Pasalai Keerai in Tamil, Palak in Hindi. Poriyal means dry vegetable curry in Tamil. It is usually made as a side dish to Rice. In my home, my mom prepares at least one dish with leafy vegetable. Adults should consume an average of 40 gms of green leafy vegetables daily. These green leaves are rich in iron. My mom uses fresh leafy vegetables from our garden. Here I buy it in farmer's market. This Pasalai Keerai Poriyal alias Spinach Curry is an easy, quick and healthy dish. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Spinach dry curry.

Tomato are rich in vitamins. It reduces the risk of lung and stomach cancer, prevents DNA damage, reduces the risk of heart disease, protects against blood clots and controls blood pressure. Always buy fresh, firm, bright red colour tomatoes. Avoid tomatoes with wrinkled surface and discoloured spots. Select ripe tomatoes for this gravy. Thakkali Kuzhambu is a south indian gravy prepared by grinding fresh ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes and other masala items. The main ingredient is Tomato. It is a saviour when we run out of vegetables in fridge. It can be served with rice, idly, dosa and chappathi. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Tomato Kuzhambu - Thakkali Kuzhambu.

Onion Pakoda is tasty and easy Indian snack. Especially kids love this Onion fritters. A quick and easy appetizer. It can be prepared within 20 minutes.

Sponge cake is the basic vanilla cake baked using minimum ingredients. This cake will be very soft and literally melts in our mouth. The vanilla essence gives a nice flavour to the cake. The very first sponge cake I baked was 10 years ago in Idli vessel. Nostalgic memories return back everytime when I bake this cake.

Lady's Finger is called Bhindi/Bhendi in hindi, Bendakaya in telugu and Vendakkai in tamil and okra in many places. Vendakkai is rich in Vitamin C, folate and high fibre content. Vendakkai Mor kuzhambu is prepared by cooking Lady's Finger in butter milk . This traditional Mor Kuzhambu is served as a side dish to Rice in South India. There are two methods of preparing this mor kuzhambu. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Lady's Finger Butter milk gravy - Vendakkai More Kuzhambu.

My mom prepares this dhal chutney aka paruppu chutney as a side dish to Rice. She prepares dhal chutney along with tomato rasam and shallots poriyal for Lunch. This chutney also goes well with Idly and Dosa. Lets see the steps to make easy, tasty and healthy paruppu chutney

Vegetable Rava upma makes a healthy breakfast or tiffin. This upma is prepared by cooking vegetables and Sooji with indian spices. We can enjoy Rava upma with coconut chutney and Sambar. Even with Pickle, Rava Kichadi makes a great combination. This will be usually one of the Breakfast Main dish in Marriages. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Rava Kichadi.

Kara Pori is a snacks prepared with puffed rice within 5 minutes.Onion Masala Pori is an easy ,quick and delicious evening snack. No need to cook or bake. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Kara Pori | Masala Pori

Idli is a healthy, oil-free, traditional South Indian breakfast. Rice is staple grain of South India. Idli is prepared with Rice and Urad dal. Idli is also called as Rice Cake. The secret behind soft Idli lies in making of Idli batter. Idli batter prepared with right ingredients, grinded to soft texture with enough water and proper fermentation plays a key role in making soft Idli. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian traditional breakfast Idli.

This recipe is quite easy and goes well with Rice. Although peeling shallots is a tiresome job, when you taste this chinna vengayam poriyal you will feel its worth doing it.

Palak Paneer is a North Indian dish prepared by cooking spinach leaves and paneer (Indian Cottage cheese) with Indian spices. Spinach being a green leafy vegetable is rich in iron, vitamins and magnesium. Relish this Paneer spinach curry with Chappathi, naan or Rotis. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing North Indian Palak Paneer Gravy.

Purchased turnips for making vegetable Briyani. But I was not in a mood to cook vegetable Briyani. Called my mom and asked her what to do with these turnips. She immediately gave this Nool Kol Pasi Paruppu Kootu Recipe. It is very easy to make and healthier too..

Varuthu aracha sambar is an excellent side dish for Rice. It is a perfect side dish for Idly and Dosa. This mixed vegetable aracha hotel Sambar is a recipe of Tamil Nadu. You can get this sambar in big chains of hotels in coimbatore. We can use any combination of recommended vegetables. The fried and ground coriander seeds gives a good aroma and makes tasty Sambar.

Chocolate Brownies recipe will be favourite of many chocolate lovers. Home-made brownies are always special. The freshness in flavour and taste is unbeatable. This soft, spongy and moist brownies is prepared using cocoa powder, semi sweet chocolates and chocolate chips. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Chocolate Brownies.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cook Time : 25 mins

Ready in : 35 mins

Yields: 25 Brownies

Being a Coimbatorian, I love this tasty and quick arisium paruppu sadham. This arisi paruppu sadham recipe comes to hand, whenever there is no vegetable in home. Arisi Paruppu Sadham is quite common in Kongu Nadu. It is a famous dish from Coimbatore. This Dhal Rice / Rice Kichadi along with Appalam and Mango Pickle makes a great lunch or dinner. My toddler and elder one loves this paruppu sadham anytime. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Arisi paruppu sadham.

Pizza's have fans all over the world. The best way to have pizza's is to cook in home. We can do a lot of customization. We can choose our own toppings, pizza shapes and also quantity.

Lady's Finger is rich in fibre content. It also provides essential vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium. This Okra dry curry should be cooked in low flame. Vendakkai poriyal is served as a side dish to Rice. Tips are given below to overcome the stickiness in Lady's finger while cooking. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Vendakkai Poriyal - Lady's finger dry curry.

This dish Thotakura pappu is made with amarnath leaves and toor dhal grinded with indian spices. Mullai keerai is rich in vitamins, iron and calcium. It can be served as a side dish to Rice.

Kollu paruppu also known as horse gram in English, Ulavalu in Telugu is a lentil with medicinal qualities. In some parts of India, this is recommended for water retention. There is a proverb in tamil " Kolluthavanukku Kollu" .It means horse gram is known for people who wants to reduce weight.This kollu paruppu or Ulavalu maintains body temperature and has more iron content. Kollu paruppu chutney is a famous recipe from Kongunad. It is usually served as a side dish to Rice. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Kongunad special Kollu recipe - Kollu paruppu chutney.

Paneer Tikka Pizza is my favourite one. Paneer is marinated with spices and added as one of the toppings in this pizza. The best thing I love in home-made pizza is our choice of toppings. We can add the toppings we like and we can also choose the quantity of toppings also. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Paneer Tikka Pizza.

Pizza made with Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and shallots toppings. Flavoured with Italian herbs Basil and Oregano

Good tea time snack for egg lovers. Also tastes good with curd rice.

Always use fresh ingredients. Check the expiry date of the ingredients before using it.
Don't over mix the batter. Follow the directions given in the recipe.
Once the batter is prepared, immediately put in the Oven.
For even cooking, always use center rack of the oven.
Always use accurate measurements in baking. If the measurements are not accurate then recipes won't work. Invest in a set of plastic or metal measuring cups. Fill the measuring cups with ingredient and level the top.
Use parchment paper or grease properly the bake ware with nonstick spray or butter. If you are using wax paper, brush it lightly with cooking oil. No need to brush parchment paper as it is already specially treated.
To Check whether cake is baked, insert a tooth pick in the center of the cake Th e tooth pick should come out clean and dry.
Although all ovens are supposed to run at a certain temperature, some might run slightly colder or hotter.

Below are some of the problems freshers might encounter during baking. Analyse the reason or solution to solve the problem.

Problem	Reason / Solution
Cookies spread	Oven not preheated properly
	Too much sugar added
Cookies run into each other	Dough is placed too close together in baking sheet
Cookies bottom is burnt	Over baked.
Cookies are dry	Too much flour used.
Cookies got stuck to baking sheet	Use good quality pan
	Use parchment paper.

Problem	Reason / Solution
Cake is too dry	The Liquid and flour measurement are wrong
Cake got big holes	Cake is Over baked
Cake bottom is burnt	Always use middle rack in Oven
Cake sinks in middle	Cake is under baked or too much of baking powder
Cake got stuck to pan	Use good quality pan, use parchment paper
Cake is too tough	Apply generous coating of butter to bottom and sides of pan

Happy Baking !

Sweet corn chaat

An easy healthy snack prepared within 15 mins. Inippu Shollam in tamil or Tipi Mokkajonna in telugu is always kid's favourite. Sweet corn when flavoured with peanuts give a unique taste.

How many of you enjoy the morning breeze with a cup of hot coffee in garden ? I Love to do it. Back in India, we can select the coffee beans and grind it. After coming to US, I started buying the coffee powder available in Indian groceries. Coffee filter is used for preparing decoction. Stainless coffee filters are easily available in many Indian groceries.Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing Madras Filter Coffee

My mom used to prepare senai kizhangu / Elephant Yam as either masala poriyal or fry. Senai Kizhangu masala poriyal and Curd Rice makes a great combination. Check below for the spicy senai Kizhangu masala poriyal.

This recipe is an easy and quick version. Instead of waiting for oven to pre-heat especially during lazy sunday mornings, I prefer making the garlic bread toast in dosa pan.

Healthy simple and easy breakfast. Bread omlette are a good option during busy mornings. It can be prepared within 10 mins.

Drumstick leaves Toor Dhal curry is highly nutritious. Drumstick leaves provides essential iron and calcium for woman especially during pregnancy and breast feeding. These leaves are also rich in vitamins, proteins and potassium. Please check below for Murungai keerai thuvaram paruppu kootu.

Potato is known as Aloo in hindi, urulai kizhamgu in tamil. Potato is rich source of carbohydrates. Potato Kuzhambu is a south indian gravy prepared by grinding fresh ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes and other masala items. It can be served with rice, idly, dosa and chappathi. Please check below for step by step instructions and pictures for preparing South Indian Urulai Kizhangu Kuzhambu - Potato Kuzhambu.

Idli Dosa Batter

Multipurpose batter preparation for Idli, dosa and paniyaram.

Recipe Category: Breakfast
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Author: Nithya

Ingredients:
Table 1:
Idli Rice : 5.5 Cups
Urad dal | Ulutham paruppu : 1 Cup
Fenugreek seeds | Vendhayam : 2 tsp
Salt : 2 tsp
Water : As needed

Table 2: For Mysore masala dosa and open butter masala dosa

Sona masoori rice : 1.5 cups
Idli Rice : 1.5 Cups
Urad dal | Ulutham paruppu : 0.5 Cup
Chana dal : 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds | Vendhayam : 2 tsp
Salt : 2 tsp
Water : As needed

Instructions:

Wash and soak Idli rice in water for 1.5 hour in a big bowl. Wash urad dal 4 to 5 times. soak fenugreek seeds and Urad dal for 1.5 hour. Urad dal will swell to almost double the size and rice will look pleasantly white.

How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

2 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

Drain Urad dal and rice. First grind urad dal and Fenugreek seeds .Start with 1 cup of water, then frequently check and add water whenever necessary. The time taken for grinding 2 cups of Urad dal in my grinder is 20 minutes and it consumed 2.5 cups of water. water consumption varies depending on quality of urad dal. Stop grinding, when the batter is soft and fluffy. Transfer it to a big container.

3 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

4 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

5 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

6 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

No need to clean the grinder before grinding rice. Add 5.5 cups of rice and half cup of water to the grinder.Check frequently and add water if necessary. Rice wont consume water like urad dal. It took 25 minutes to grind 5.5 cups of rice and it consumed 1 cup of water. when the rice is fully ground ( the batter should be soft) transfer it to the same urad dal batter container. Add 2 tsp of Salt and mix well. Mixing well is an important step. Use a big ladle or hand to mix it.

7 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

8 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

Allow the batter to ferment. It took 12 hours for the batter to ferment. In hot places it will take 8-10 hours to ferment. The batter is ready when it has expanded and some bubbles and cracks appear on the surface. The batter should be thick but light and airy as mousse. It will have a fermented slightly sour smell. Once fermented, stir the raised batter for 2 to 3 mins in one direction and refrigerate.

9 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

10 How to make Idli | Dosa Batter from scratch ?

Tips:

Don't use basmati rice for making the batter.
The colour of batter won't be white, if more fenugreek seeds are added.
Do not add more water than suggested. The pureeing capabilities of the grinder or mixie are much reduced when there is too much water.
Use a big container for fermenting as rice and dal expands while fermenting
Do not stir the batter while it is fermenting. When the batter is ready, the texture will be light, almost like a mousse.
First day after batter is fermented, use it for making soft Idly / Idlies.
From second day, prepare dosas by adding little water to batter.
If the batter is more than 4 days old, then make Kuzhi Paniyaram - Kara Paniyaram or Thalicha Dosai - Seasoned Crepe .
During winter seasons in cold region, keep the batter inside oven leaving oven light on for quick fermentation.
My mom uses big wet grinder. She used to grind rice first then urad dal . when I got my table top grinder, I checked the manual. It is mentioned to grind urad dal first in table top grinder. I prefer to grind urad dal first as cleaning grinder will be easy.
The amount of batter we get depends on the quality of urad dal.
The quantity of batter if we grind in mixie will be comparatively less and also we won't get soft Idli compared to batter ground in grinder.
Before getting table top grinder in US, I used to grind only urad dal in blender and mix it with Store bought Rice Flour. The disadvantage is the batter quantity will be less and also the idli will be very hard. I usually use it for making dosa and paniyaram.

Recipes with Idli-Dosa batter:

Soft Idli
Kaima Idli - Recipe with Leftover Idli
Idli Upma - Recipe with Leftover Idli
Cauliflower Dosa
Crispy Dosa
Masala Dosa
Mixed Vegetable Uthappam
Mysore Masala Dosa
Open Butter Masala Dosa
Thalicha Dosai - Seasoned Crepe
Vegetable Dosa
Kuzhi Paniyaram - Kara Paniyaram

Egg Paniyaram

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Idli Dosa Batter