How to make puri

How to make poori

Most of my friends used to say the puri doesn't look like puri as in hotels. It is not puffed or cooked properly or becoming brown,etc...
Two main things while preparing puri is making of puri dough in correct consistency and frying in correctly heated oil.

How to prepare dough for poori
Take required amount of wheat flour, salt, water and mix well. Add water little by little so that flour will be mixed well and tight.
The flour has to be little tight when compared to chapathi dough. When you roll into small ball it should not crack.
Make small balls from the dough. Using rolling pin into small circles.It should be thin circles.
Puri should come in round shape then only it will look nice when you fry.
Heat the oil to correct temperature. You can check it out by dropping a small piece of puri dough. When you drop it should come up immediately.
While frying keep the flame at medium temperature so that puri won't became dark brown.
Leave few seconds time before deep frying the next puri.
After frying the puri (it will become fluffy) filter the oil in the kadai itself using the ladle.

Then transfer to tissue paper to remove excess oil. Puri won't consume more oil if the puri dough is tight and oil is heated well (it should not be smoky).
People might add soaked sooji rava to make the puri stiff, but I don't add. My puri's will be fluffy but not stiff so consume hot. My husband loves hot or even when it is soft and flat.
Take this with the potato side dish which we specially make for puri.

Chowchow & carrot kootu ( Bangalore brinjal and carrot gravy)

Chow chow and carrot kootu - Preparation time 15 mins
Kootu we are going to prepare will be colourful and healthy. Chowchow is cool in nature so we have to consume is any form like adding to sambhar or kuruma or kootu. Try this recipe and provide your inputs.

Ingredients:-
Chow chow and carrot - 2 cup (chopped to small cubes).
Turmeric - ¼ tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - 1 or 1 ½ cup water (till the greens get immersed)
Thalikkum vadagam - 1
(or )
Mustard seed - ¼ tsp;Cumin seed - 1 tsp;Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Toor dhal (Thuvaram paruppu) - one cup (pressure cooked)
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Roasted cummin powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 6 (finely chopped)

Preparation method:-
Boil water with turmeric, salt & smbar powder. When water starts boiling add chopped chow chow and carrot. Boil till vegetables become soft and cooked.
Now mash the cooked dhal slightly (don't make it like paste) and add. Let this boil.
In a tawa add mustard seed (till splutters), urad dhal (turns to golden brown), cumin seed (jeera will splutter) or if you have thalikkum vadagam (which is made of jeera, urad dhal, onion, mustard, etc) it can be used.
Add this and curry leaves to boiling kootu and serve with hot with rice.

Milk and coconut idiyappam (Thenkai and pal idiyappam)

Milk and coconut idiyappam (Thenkai and pal idiyappam) - Preparation time 10 mins
Make idiyappam using idiyappam flour and idiyappam mould (refer to making of idiyappam dough). Steam it in idli cooker for few mins. Colour will change slightly when idiyappam is done. Transfer to a plate, leave it to cool. It will be like noodles make it to pieces.

Ingredients:
Milk - 1 cup
Cardamon - 3 crushed finely or powdered
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cashew nut - 5 (chopped)
White idiyappam - 2 cup (make as specified above)
Preparation method:-
Boil milk and add sugar, cardamom powder, grated coconut and switch the flame off.
When milk and idiyappam are at room temperature mix both well.
In a kadai add ghee and cashew to roast. When cashew becomes golden brown add to Milk idiyappam.

This is healthy, tasty and filling break fast. This is made using milk but people will think that this idiyappam is made using coconut milk. You surely love this simple, healthy and tasty recipe.

Neer maavadu (Small marinated mango soaked in spicy water)

Making of neer maavadu :- Preparation time 10 mins and soaking time minimum a week

When we were kids mom used to make in kgs and give to relatives also. She used to consult a mami for the preparation method. The measurement must be followed according to her so after several years of hesitation i decided to try preparing the neer vadu. If i try i want that output to come out well else i feel very bad and i don't want to spoil the taste of mom's neer vadu which still linger's in my mouth. Mom told she made the neer vadu and forgot to send me. I asked my husband to but few vadu's for me to try but he bought 1/2 kg.

My first experience of making mavadu so prayed god to make the project successful :-). Called mom and asked for measurement she told for 1 kgs i noted down and converted the measurement for 1/2 kg. I got input from my in-law also. I took both inputs and implemented which i want. Actually i am publishing this after i made and left the mavadu in water for 10 days. If felt it that salt content is little more but mom told it will act as a preservative and will be good. If you want you can less the salt a little bit.

Mom asked me to use small round dry red chili because it will be spicy when compared to long red dry chili but i tried with long dry red chili as we don't want vaadu to be very spicy. Little bit of sesame oil is used as a coolant (actually they will use castor oil it seems but now a days we don't get that much clean oil so it is replaced by sesame oil).

Ingredients:- Maavadu - 1/2 kg
Red chili - 6
Rock Salt (crystal salt i.e. kallu uppu) - measurement specified below
Water - 1.5 cup
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seed - 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Preparation method:-Wash the maavadu in water 2 or three time. remove the stem (if any) and rub the stick content coming. Wipe all the mavadu with clean cloth.
The mavadu should be without damage and hard when pressed. Only if you use good quality the mavadu will be good for more days.

Take one measuring cup or any vessel which is comfortable for you. I took a small measuring cup called azhakku. Use same vessel for the measurement of mango, salt and water.
The half kg of mavadu measured to medium sized 4 cup. For 4 cup i took 1/2 cup of salt and 1and1/2 cup.
In a mixer make a coarse powder of red dry chili, mustard(kadugu) and fenugreek seed (vendayam).

In a clean, dry glass bottle keep the dry mavadu carefully. Add the sesame oil (nalla ennai) and mix well.

After that add salt, coarsely powdered ingredients to mavadu. Add measured water to this and close the bottle well. Shake carefully so that all the dry ingredients get mixed well with the water.

Daily you have to shake and toss well so that the mavadu's get soaked well.
If possible you keep the bottle under sunlight for few hours. For that remove the lid of the bottle, tie a thin white cloth over the mouth of the bottle.
It will take minimum 1 week to 10 days for the mavadu to observe the essence of water.
First try it out in less quantity. I came out well for me. Surely you will also love this recipe. This can be take with sambhar rice or curd rice.

Lemon idiyappam (Elumichai idiyappam)

Lemon idiyappam (Elumichai idiyappam) - Preparation time 15 mins
Make idiyappam using idiyappam flour and idyappa mould (refer to making of idiyappam dough). Steam it in idli cooker for few mins. Color will change slightly when idiyappam is done. Transfer to a plate, leave it to cool. It will be like noodles make it to pieces.

Ingredients:
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp (or extracted from 1 lemon)
Green chili - 2 chopped to small pieces
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 6
Salt - as required
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Split Urad dhal - 1 tbsp

Preparation method:-
In a kadai add sesame oil, mustard to splutter, urad dhal to golden brown. Now add chili, few curry leaves. Slightly sortae. 
Add lemon juice and turmeric. Switch of the flame.
Add the cooked idiyappam (2 cup), salt,little more fresh curry leaves. 
Mix well till all the ingredients blend with idiyappam.
This is healthy, tasty, simple to cook and filling break fast.

Cabbage and fresh peas dry curry (pattani, muttaikose poriyal)

Cabbage and fresh peas dry curry (pattani, muttaikose poriyal) - preparation time 15 to 20 mins
Health tips: Cabbage is good to bring down ulcer problem. While you boil cabbage for this you can extract the juice and drink (don't add salt)

Ingredients:-
Cabbage - 2 cup/200gms (chopped to small strips)
Fresh peas - handful
Mustard seed - ¼ tsp
Sesame oil - ½ tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tbspn.
Grated coconut - 2 tbspn
Salt to taste
Water - ¾ or 1/2 cup (make sure the cabbage is immersed. Don’t add too much water and end up draining the water)
Green/ Red chili - 2 (finely chopped/split the chili to 2 pieces)
Curry leaves - 10 (finely chopped)
Small onion - 5 (peeled and finely chopped)

Preparation method:-
Boil the water. Once it boils add the cabbage and boil till it becomes tender. If excess water, drain and use for sambar/rasam/kootu. Keep little water along with cabbage
In a tawa/kadai add oil and mustard. Once mustard splutters add the urad dhal, chili and roast it.
Add chopped small onion along with fresh peas and cook till onion is transparent and peas almost cooked.
Add little chopped curry leaves, boiled cabbage along with the water. This will cook the peas to soft.
Add grated  coconut. Serve with hot tomato rasam or garlic rasam and white rice.