Rice along with vegetable and mung dal (Soji)

(Soji is name of the recipe (like idli,dosa, etc) not an ingredient) Rice along with mung dhal & vegetable - preparation time 30 min
I didn't had this tiffen before marriage. I tasted this recipe after marriage.Actually in my in-laws house they won't pressure cook sooji they will keep adding boil water as and when required i altered to below method. It might slightly resemble pongal and upma. If you don't add correct proportion of water you will end up in vegetable pongal :-). Try it out it will be healthy and tasty tiffen. No need of side dish.

Ingredients:-
Onion - 1 (chopped to cubes)
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped finely)
Carrot - 1 (chopped to small cubes)
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 string
Green chili - 2 (chopped)
Groundnut - 1 tbsp
Split urad dhal - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Rice - 1 cup (measure 2 cup and 3/4 cup in same cup for cooking)
Split mung dhal - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Salt - required amount
　
Preparation method:-
In a tawa roast the rice till it turns to white color and slightly puffed. Add the mung dhal, roast for few seconds. Transfer this to a vessel and keep.

In same tawa add sesame oil, mustard to splutter, urad dhal, groundnut, roast to slight brown.

Add carrot, onion, curry leave, chili, ginger and sortae for few mins.

Add the hing (asafoetida) along with the roasted rice, mung dhal, salt & measured water.
Tranfer to cooking vessel and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistle & simmer the flame for 5 to 10 mins.
Serve it hot.This dish will be very filling and easy to digest. When you want to give to kids reduce the chili & ginger.

Making of rice upma flour

Making of rice upma flour
Wash 1 cup of rice and dry in shade (if you dry in cloth the cloth will absorb the water and rice will dry within 1 to 2 hrs).

When rice is fully dry add to mixy jar along with 1 tsp of toor dhal, 1 tsp of black pepper and 1/2 tsp of cummin seed.

Grind till the rice becomes coarse (don't make to powder as the upma will become sticky) it can be bigger than the sugar.

Vegetable uthappam (Kaikari uthappam)

Vegetable uthappam (Vegetable thick pan cake) - Preparation time 15 mins
This i tried in my home. Added some vegetables on dosai & idli flour and also when the idli flour is sour. It will be bit spicy so can be taken without any side dish. You can try it out in fermented idli dough only thing is the batter has to be thick as we use for idli.

Ingredients:-
Small onion - 5 (peeled and cut into small semi circles)
Carrot - 1 (finely grated)
Tomato - 1 (Remove the seed and chop finely)
Coriander leaves - finely chopped 1 tbsp
Green chili - 2 (finely chopped)
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp
Sesame oil - 4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 string (finely chopped)
Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped
Idli flour - 2 cup

Preparation method:-
Heat a kadai. Add 1 tbsp oil, mustard seed to splutter, urad dal to golden color, add the chili, onion, carrot,ginger, little salt to cook.
Add the garnish, coriander leaves and curry leaves to idli flour and mix well.
Heat the kadai and pour one small ladle of uthappam flour. Don't spread too much because, it will become dosai instead of uthappam. Top the uthappam with chopped tomato.
Cook in low flame and cover with a lid. After few mins remove the lid and see whether the bottom side has become brown.
Now turn the uthappam carefully and leave the other side to cook and become brown (don't cover now). The side will be crisp and center portion will be soft.
This will be a colorful and tasty dish. I am sure you all will love it. Only if you cook in slow flame it will be cooked well.

Herbal (Healthy) Vegetables in our daily life - Part II

Herbal (Healthy) Vegetables in our daily life - Part II



Okra/Lady's finger (Vendakai)
Easily available in market and also most of the year. Rich source of dietary fibre so good to get rid of constipation problem. Contains good amount of vitamin A, potassium, folate, vitamin C. Improves the immune system and digestible Very rich in anti-oxidant. Can also be consumed in raw. Good for laxative, ulcer problem and bowel movement. To retain the nutrient values vegetable should be cooked in low heat. To gain all the health benefits can be consumed raw. My mom used to tell lady's finger is good for doing math's but i hate lady's finger curry due to stickiness. To wonder i completed my maths degree :-). Can make vendakkai poriyal or raitha and consume

Onion (Vengayam)
We usually add this in our daily cooking. Vegetable which cannot be avoided. Onion has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant properties. Rich in Vitamin C, minerals, blood thinning agent. Body coolant when small onion is consumed raw, removes constipation problem, lowers the blood sugar and keep us away from infections. Add few small onions in your daily sambar. During summer small onion can be chopped and added to white rice and water (Thanni sadam). If you want to take raw try kara chutney in this blog.

Radish/Daikon (Mullangi) Radish is rich in folate, calcium, potassium. Good when consumed raw as salad. It is an anti-oxidant which is water soluble, has dietary fibre and good for ulcer patient when consumed as soup. Brings down the body temperature and have cleansing properties. When consumed you might lose weight and good for skin because of vitamin b complex. Very good to get rid of liver and stomach problems. Some people don't like the smell of radish so, when you want to add this to sambar fry the radish pieces along with small onion & sesame oil. Add water to cook only after raw smell of radish goes off. Try mulli paratha.

Garlic (Poondu) Garlic is very good for heart. It has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, ant-oxidant properties. It has blood thinning property so improves the blood circulation so, maintains the blood pressure. Brings down the cholesterol, improves the digestion when included regularly include in diet. When garlic pods boiled along with milk and consumed it will improve the laxation and good for asthma problem. When taken raw it improve the overall health. Rich in calcium, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus along with other vitamin and minerals in less quantity. I used to add raw garlic (1 or 2 pods) to coconut chutney or onion kara chutney or poondu rasam. Consuming raw it helps reduce cholesterol

Potato (Urulai kizhangu)
Rich in starch, dietary fibre, Magnesium, Calcium, etc. Easily digestible, controls blood sugar contains more energy so consumed you will feel filling. When potato is used along with skin fibre content is high. When you use potato for cooking boil the potato along with skin then peel off to use in your curry or gravies. It also contains some amount of potassium, folate, iron. Very rich source of carbohydrate i.e. starch so, can be used in less or moderate amount. Research shows it contains more amount of water content. Deep frying will be tasty but it will lose the nutrition value. Occasionally you can eat chips but try out potato poriyal or potato side dish or stuffed chappathi after boiling it.



Drumstick (Murungakai)
Drumstick is available in most part of India. All parts of the tree hold some medicinal value. We already saw the benefits of drumstick leaves now it is about drumstick. It is rich in fibre, anti-bacterial, calcium, vitamin C, minerals (Phosphorus, potassium, copper,sulphur,etc) and very rich in iron content and helps to overcome anaemia. Good for expecting and feeding mothers because of its lactative properties, to improve the skin tone and give a glow. It is blood purifier , good for throat, cough, for asthma related problem and cools the body. We used to make drumstick kootu or sambar. I heard that soup can me made with drumstick pulp. Haven't tried out.

Vazhaipoo vadai (Plantain flower vada)

Vazhaipoo vadai (Plantain flower vada) - Preparation time 30 mins (for soaked dhal) Vazhaipoo is very good for health. So try to consume whenever possible. Instead of making vadai you can make dry curry to gain full nutrition value. The cleaning and chopping the fingerlets of vazhaipoo will be a time consuming work. You rub the palms with sesame oil (nalla ennai) before staring the process else your hand will become slightly brownish and sticky :-). Nothing can be compromised before health. Add this vegetable every 15 days or else monthly once.

Ingredients:- Channa split dhal (Kadalai paruppu) - 1 cup
Fennel seed (Saunf) - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 3 (split into 2 pieces each) or Chili powder - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch (small piece)
Small Onion(optional) - 4 (finely chopped - )
Curry leaves - 6 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - 5 (finely chopped)
Water - very little to grind the dhal
Vazhai poo - chopped finely (In each fingerlets of vazhai poo their will be white string with a pod (round shape) in top. You have to strictly remove it before chopping to pieces. It wont be able to digest and will also be hard to chop)
Oil - To deep fry
Salt to taste 

Preparation method:- Soak the channa spilt dhal for 3 hrs. Crush fennel, ginger, red chili.
Add the dhal and use wiper to grind it coarsely(if you want you can sprinkle water).
To the flour add onion,chopped vazhai poo, curry leaf, coriander leaf & salt.

Initially make small balls using the dough for easy preparation.
Using plastic sheet or banana leaf flatten the balls to circle (don’t make too thin it will be difficult to take).
You can make in your hand also (i.e. with plastic sheet) if you can make quickly.
Heat the oil in deep frying pan and drop the vadai very slowly (usual practice is to drop on the edge of oil kadai).
Fry the vadai till it is golden brown. You can put in tissue paper to remove excess oil and serve hot.


Note :- How to peel and use vazhai poo?

Spread a waste sheet to keep the place clean while peeling the plantain flower.
While doing this process put sesame oil (nalla ennai) fully on your palm to avoid the stickiness. The watery substance in vazhaipoo might stain your clothes so take care
Hope you all saw the big red vazhai poo (plantain flower) from which we used to get cute little bananas or big plantain.
In each plantain flower when you remove the red covering carefully you will see tiny fingers. Which is full of nutrition. We can use this for our cooking.

In each fingerlets of vazhai poo their will be white string with a pod (round shape or head of the string) in top. You have to strictly remove it before chopping to pieces. It wont be able to digest and will also be hard to chop. Might create digestion problem.

After removing this string in each and every plantain flower fingers. You can chop and keep in a vessel with little water and curd else it will become brown in color.