Pachai payaru & Carrot vadai (Green mung dhal and carrot vada)

Green mung dhal (Pachai payaru vadai) - preparation time 30 to 35 mins
Soak the pachai payaru for 3 hrs to make this vada. Pachai payaru vadai will be very soft. You try it out it will be crispy, tasty, different and healthy.

Ingredients:-
Green mung dhal (pachai payaru )with skin - 1 cup (cleaned and soaked for 3 hrs)
Small onion - 10 (chopped into small squares)
Carrot - chopped finely or grated 1
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped)
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves & coriander leaves - chopped finely 2 tspn

Preparation Method:-
Drain soaked water from green mung dhal, wash the pachai payharu and grind to coarse dough along with crushed ginger and salt.
Put the batter,red chili powder, chopped onion, finely chopped leaves in a bowl and mix well.
Make small ball from the batter and flatten (you can use plastic sheet or make in hand).
Heat the oil and drop the vada very slowly (if you drop fast the oil will split out so be very careful).
Take care while frying because it will be cooked very soon as the pachai payaru dough will be soft. Cook in slow flame.
After few mins turn the vada repeat this till the vada is golden brown in color.
Remove and place this in tissue to remove excess oil. Tasty vada is ready for you.

Making of rice flour

Making of rice flour
I used to make rice flour in home. This we can use while making mixed dosa, baji, to draw kolam, etc...

Buy 1 kg of mavu aarisi (I dont know whether it will be called as flour rice in english!)

Soak rice for 1 hour and remove the water. In a mixer grind the rice to powder. Use the flour filter to get fine rice flour powder.

Note: If your are going to grind rice flour in flour mill just wash the rice, dry it and grind in the flour mill.

Sundakkai kootu (turkey berry/prickly nightshade/devils fig gravy)

Sundakkai kootu (Turkey berry gravy) - Prepartion time 15 mins
Select tender sundakkai for making this kootu. Sundakkai is very good for digestion. We like sundakkai kootu very much the taste of this kootu will be unique. Even if we cook the kootu in same method like other vegetable the taste of sundakkai kootu will be different. Try out yourself it will be tasty if the turkey berry is tender.

Ingredients:- Sundakkai - 1 cup (chopped into half and mix with curd or it will become brown)
Toor dal - 1/2 cup (pressure cooked)
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - required amount
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Water - required amount
Thallikum vadagam (or) -1
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp, Urad dal- 1 tsp

Preparation method:- In a vessel heat water with sambar powder, salt, turmeric. When it is boiling add the chopped sundakkai and cook till it is tender.
Mash cooked toor dal and add to sundakkai. Cook for few mins and switch of the flame.
Add grated coconut and mix well.
Heat oil, add mustard to splutter, urad dal to brown (or) fry the thalikkum vadagam and garnish the sundakkai kootu.
This goes well with rice and ghee along with roasted or fried papad. It will be unique in taste.

Pudalangai arachuvitta kootu (Snake gourd and spice paste gravy)

Pudalangai arachuvitta kootu (Snake gourd and spice paste gravy) - preparation time 15 mins
I used to make pudalangai poriyal. I tried this one, it came out well. I tasted a similar kootu in my aunt's house it tasted delicious (might be because of her 60 yrs of cooking experience). This kootu will be heavy and filling try it out.

Ingredients:-
Snake gourd - chopped to thin semi circle (remove the inner portion of snake gourd) 1 cup
Toor dhal - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Red chili - 2
Coriander seed - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - to cook snake gourd
Curry leaves - 5
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Preparation method:-
In a vessel add water, turmeric, salt and boil the snake gourd. When it is cooked softly switch of and keep aside.
In a tawa roast coriander seed, cumin, pepper, red chili & cumin. After cooling grind to coarse paste along with coconut and little water.
Add this paste to cooked snake gourd (pudalangai) and boil. This will become thick. Transfer to serving bowl.
For garnishing - Heat a tawa. Add sesame oil, mustard to splutter, urad dal to golden brown, curry leaves and add to the pudalangai arachuvitta kootu.
This will go well with rasam rice.