Vegetable Kuruma (Kuruma kuzhambhu)

Vegetable Kuruma (Kuruma kuzhambhu)  - Preparation time 25 to 30 mins
You can take this kuruma along with plain rice. When mom used to make this kuruma as a side dish for vegetable rice i will take this kuruma with plain rice, because for me this will be very yummy when compared to vegetable pulav :-).

Ingredients:-
Chopped vegetables - 2 cup (carrot, beans, potato, onion - cut to 1 inch pieces)
Garlic pods - 10 (without skin)
Ginger 1 inch piece & 5 garlic - Crushed 
Saunf - ½ tsp
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Clove - 4
Coconut - 4 tbsp
Khuskhus - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Green chili - 2
Cashew - 3
Sambhar powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation method:-
In a tawa heat oil and add spices (Saunf, cinnamon & clove) roast till brown. Add crushed ginger, garlic paste and fry till raw smell goes off.
Add the slit greenchili, chopped carrot, beans and fry for few mins and add the onion and fry. Finally add the potato and sortae
Add salt, turmeric, sambhar powder slightly fry and add water. Boil the vegetable till it is cooked.
In a mixer grind coconut, cashew, little saunf, khuskus to fine paste. Add this gravy to cooked vegetable and boil. Nice aroma will come and the kuruma will be very colourful. If you want you can increase the spice buy adding more spice.
When mixed with plain rice it will taste very good. Don't forget to deep fry some papad's to take along with this kuruma kuzhambhu for plain rice.

Coconut burfi (Thenkkai cake)

Coconut burfi (Thenkkai cake) - Preparation time 25 to 30 mins
Mom won't make this sweet during our childhood. Now she made and brought to home it was tasty and i thought of trying it out. One evening. i tried making coconut burfi after getting inputs from mom and friends. The coconut cake came out well and sharing the recipe with you all.

I made this sweet in one of my deepawali. It came out well, smelled very good and also tasted yummy. This is easy to make and the ingredients required to make this sweet will also be available in most of the places so everyone can try this sweet during diwali

Ingredients:
Grated and coarsely ground coconut - 1 cup (Use same measuring cup to measure sugar)
Sugar - 1 cup 
Cashew - 10 (broke to small pieces)
Cardamom - 3 (crushed or powdered)
Water - little
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Preparation method:-
Grate and grind the grated coconut coarsely so the cake will look good.
In a vessel add sugar and little water. Make a one string syrup by boiling the sugar and water.

To check the string consistency take the syrup (careful because it is boiling and hot) on thumb and press with the next finger when you try to stretch one string will appear.
In a plate grease 1tbsp of ghee and keep.
Switch on the stove and keep a thick kadai add sugar syrup, grind coconut and keep stirring using a ladle.
Keep on stirring till the whitish bubble start coming. Add the powdered cardamon, broken cashew.

Pour the thick coconut sugar mixture in the greased plate spread by shaking the plate and leave to slightly cool.

When it is mildly hot grease a knife with little ghee and make pieces.

You can remove the pieces only when the burfi is completely cool or it will break.

Note: My Mom suggested to add little milk to in initial stage with grind coconut and sugar syrup so the cake will be thick white instead of glossy transparent colour. Next time when i make i thought of trying that.

Mint pulavo (Pudina pulavo)

Mint pulao - preparation time 20 mins
One day i got up late and only less time to prepare lunch for my husband. I thought of making simple pulavo with mint. It took very less time as the ingredients used for making this recipe is less and readily available in our home.

Ingredients:-
Fresh Mint - 1 cup
Fresh coriander - 1/2 cup
Cashew - 8 (finely chopped  and roasted in ghee)
Ghee - 2 tbsp or according to your taste
Sesame oil - 4 tsp
Green chili - 1 or 2 (slit and keep)
Onion - 1 (chopped to thin strips)
Garlic pods - 10
Salt - to taste
Rice - 1 cup (i used ponni raw rice so 1:2.5 ration rice:water)
Water - 2.5 cup
Bay leaf -2
Clove - 1

Preparation method:-
In a tawa add ghee & oil to heat. Add the spices (bay leaf, clove) and roast till flavor comes (do it in medium or slow flame).
Now add garlic pods, onion, green chili and fry till onion is cooked.Half cup of mint leaves and coriander is added and fried till nice aroma comes.
Add washed rice and fry for few mins, to this add water, salt and mix well. When this boils, transfer to a vessel and pressure cook for 5 whistle and leave it to cool.
Mix the remaining fresh mint leaves with cooked pulavo and transfer to serving bowl. Garnish with roasted cashew.
Simple, easy to make and tasty mint pulavo. When i tried my husband liked this dish very much. You can serve with onion raitha & fried pappads.

Boiled peanut

Making of boiled peanut (Vegavaitha veerkadalai) .

Buy fresh groundnut (we will get the groundnut with outer shell i will use that groundnut) from vegetable shop. Wash well in running water 2 or 3 times to remove the mud.

In a pressure cooker add washed groundnut, water (till the groundnut's are immersed) and salt 1/2 tbsp for 1/2 kg of groundnut . Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistle (when groundnut's are very tender 2 whistle is enough else go for 3).

Bring down the flame and cook for few mins and switch of the stove.

Remove the water and serve this will be tasty and healthy snack.

Curry leaves powder (Karuvepillai podi )

Curry leaves powder (Karuvepillai podi ) - Preparation time 15 mins
Mom used to make this podi when she get fresh curry leaves from market. After when she moved to native we have lots and lots of curry plants in backyard so she used to make this podi frequently and brings when she visits me and my brother. I once tried differently from her method it came out well. I suggested her she told this method is much more delicious and she stared following it. Hmm i am also able to satisfy elder people :-)

Ingredients:-
Curry leaves - one bunch or two handful
Urad dhal - 2 tbsp
Red chili - 10
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Preparation method:-
Clean the curry leaves using water and remove the water content buy spreading over dry cloth. Curry leaves should not be wet.
In a kadai (use iron kadai for all the roasting purpose which is health way of cooking) add few drops of oil and add 1/4 portion of curry leaves. Roast the leaves till they become bright green and crisp. Always use low or medium heat for cooking.
Remove the roasted leaves and keep separately. Using this method roast all the curry leaves.
To the same kadai add urad dhal and roast till golden brown(you can smell the nice aroma when the dhal is roasted). Remove the dhal and roast the red chili till it is crisp and dark red in colour.Leave the ingredients to cool down.
In a mixer grind the roasted red chili and remove a table spoon the red chili powder (because if the podi becomes very spicy it will be difficult to consume). Add the roasted urad dhal, curry leave and salt to mixer and ground to coarse powder (before to fine powder stage)
If you want the spice level little bit more now you add the removed red chili and use whipper button to mix the curry leaves podi well.