Drumstick (Murungaikaai) Soup

Recipe Source

Dietician Ambika Sekar


Ingredients

Drumstick - 1 (cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces)

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Tomato - 1 (cut into 4 pieces)

Onion - 1 (cut into 4 pieces)

Garlic - 2

Roasted Barley - 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Scraped Coconut - 1 tbsp

Water - 1 to 2 cups

Procedure

In a large bowl, add all the above ingredients and cook in pressure cooker for 5 minutes or 1 whistle.

When the pressure from the cooker is completely released, remove the bowl from the cooker and strain the contents in a colander.

Allow to cool.

Remove the drumsticks to a separate plate and scrape the pulp and discard the peel.

In a mixer jar or blender, grind together the scraped drumstick pulp and other strained ingredients to a smooth paste adding enough vegetable stock drained out of the strainer.

Add more water if necessary.

Strain the soup through the colander once again and bring it to a boil.

Serve hot.

Notes:

Instead of scraped coconut and water, you can substitute with 1/2 cup milk.

This soup helps avoiding anemia and calcium deficiency.

Pirandai Thuvayal (Chutney)

Recipe Credits

Mrs. Santha Ramanujam (Kumudham Snegidhi Kara Saaramaana Thuvayal) 


Ingredients:

Pirandai (cleaned and chopped) - 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 1 handful
Scraped Coconut - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 5
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Gingelly Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - 1-1/2 tsp
Tamarind Extract - 1-1/2 tbsp
 Asafoetida - 1 small piece

Method:

Heat gingelly oil in a kadai.

Add asafoetida, dry red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, and urad dhal and fry for a minute.

Then, add curry leaves, pirandai pieces, and coconut scrapings one after one and fry well together.  Remove from fire and allow to cool.

Grind them all together coarsely in the mixer jar along with tamarind extract and salt.  Add enough water while grinding.

Splutter mustard seeds in little gingelly oil and mix to the ground pirandai chutney and serve.

This chutney can be mixed with hot plain cooked rice or had along with curd rice.

This chutney/thuvayal (thogayal) helps in good digestion.


Notes:

Choose tender pirandai for cooking as the thick, matured ones will cause itching in the throat.  String the pirandai and scrape or peel the sharp angular edges on all sides.  Discard the nodes and leaves (instead the leaves can be used to make soup along with other green leaves or in this chutney itself).  It is advisable to grease your hands with gingelly oil to prevent itching.  Wash and cut into small pieces and use.

Schezwan Aloo Soya

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes - 10
Mini Soya Chunks - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Capsicum (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 2 pods (finely chopped)
Tomato Sauce - 2 tbsp
Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 12
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Corn Flour - 1 tsp
Salt - To taste
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp (optional)


Procedure

Wash and cook baby potatoes.  Peel skin once cooled.  Keep aside.  If baby potatoes are not available, use the regular potatoes and cut into pieces after boiling.

Wash the soya chunks and soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes.  Then, squeeze out the water from the soya chunks and keep aside.

Soak red chillies in hot water for 10-15 minutes and then grind to smooth paste adding enough water.

Heat oil in a pan and add grated ginger, finely chopped garlic, and chopped onions and saute till golden.

Add the ground chilli paste, tomato sauce, soya sauce, salt, and sugar.  Mix well.

Add the boiled and peeled baby potatoes and squeezed soya chunks.  Mix together well.

Add about 1/4 cup of water to infuse the sauce into the potatoes.  Allow to boil.

Mix corn flour and 2 tbsp of water and add to the gravy.  Allow to thicken to desired consistency.  I allowed to thicken it up well that it appeared as a dry fry.

Add chopped capsicum and saute for 2 minutes.  Allow the capsicum to retain its crunchiness.  Do not cook until soft.

Squeeze lemon and mix.  This step is optional.

Serve hot with fried rice or as a starter.

Notes:

The original recipe used just baby potatoes.  You can use baby potatoes, regular potatoes boiled and cut into cubes, combination of both, and/or soya chunks.  It
all depends on the availability of vegetables with you.

Adjust spiciness according to your taste.

Vendhaya Vendai Kuzhambu

Ingredients

Ladies Finger - 6 to 8
Onion - 1 (big)
Tomato - 1
Thick Tamarind Extract - 2 tbsp
Thuar Dhal - 2 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - 1 small piece

To Temper

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Curry Leaves - Few

Grind Together

Red Chillies - 7 to 8
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Bengal Gram Dhal - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 flakes
Small Onions - 4 (peeled)
Grated Fresh Coconut - 1 tbsp


Procedure

Peel and slice onion lengthwise.

Cut ladies fingers into 1-inch pieces.  Chop the tomato finely.

Wash and cook thuar dhal with just enough water.  You can keep it along with rice in the pressure cooker.

Fry all the ingredients given to grind together (except coconut) in little oil and then grind along with grated coconut to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a kadai and add the ingredients given for tempering.

Add sliced onions and chopped ladies fingers and fry together for few minutes.

Add tomatoes and stir for 2 minutes.

Dilute the tamarind extract with little water and add.  Cook till the vegetable is soft.

Add cooked thuar dhal, salt, ground paste with enough water and allow to cook till raw flavor goes and the gravy thickens.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with hot rice, dosa, or pongal.


Notes:

When using fenugreek (vendhayam) in any recipe, do not over fry since it become bitter.  Add at the end, after frying other spices.

Raw Banana (Vazhakkai) Spicy Podimas

Adapted From

South Indian Vegetarian Classic Lunch Recipes by Mallika Badrinath


Ingredients

Raw Banana/Vazhakkai - 1 
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Oil - To fry
Salt - To taste
Garlic - 2 flakes
Green Chillies - 2
Grated Fresh Coconut - 1 tbsp


Procedure

Steam banana with skin in the pressure cooker for about 10 minutes in medium flame.

Peel the outer skin and allow to cool completely.

Once completely cool, grate it.

Meanwhile, pound together garlic, green chillies, and grated fresh coconut coarsely.

In a kadai, heat about 2 tsp of oil and fry chopped onions till crisp.

Add the grated banana and the pound ingredients and fry till the raw smell is lost and the mixture turns golden brown.

Sprinkle salt and mix thoroughly well.

Remove from fire and serve with hot steamed rice.

Notes:

Save the peeled outer skin of the banana to make chutneys and curries.  They are highly rich in anti-cancerous properties.  You can use it to make the Raw Banana Peel Stir Fry.

Chola (Sorghum/Jowar) Kuzhi Paniyaaram

Recipe Source

Doctor Vikatan


Ingredients

Jowar/Sorghum/Vellai Cholam - 200 gm
Urad Dhal (Uzhundhu Paruppu) - 50 gm
Small Onions - 50 gm
Fenugreek (Vendhayam) - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 4
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Finely Chopped Coconut - 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves - Few
Oil - To fry
Salt - As needed


Method

Wash and soak jowar, urad dal, and fenugreek in just enough water for 5 hours.

Grind them together adding water to a dosa batter consistency.

Add finely chopped small onions, broken red chillies, salt, asafoetida, finely chopped coconut pieces, and finely chopped curry leaves to the batter and mix well.

Heat paniyaram pan on medium flame and drizzle little oil in each cavity.  Pour the batter in each cavity and allow to cook.

Turn over the paniyarams and roast both sides to golden brown drizzling enough oil over.

Serve hot with desired chutney.


Notes

Vellai cholam is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients.  Urad dal and fenugreek are iron and protein rich.  Vitamins and minerals enrich this combination of ingredients.  Good for development of healthy bones.  Skin disease prone persons should avoid the vellai cholam. 

Vetrilai/Betel Leaf Health Drink

Recipe Source

Doctor Vikatan


Ingredients

Betel Leaves - 7
Milk - 2 cups (boiled and cooled)
Sabja Seeds (Sweet Basil seeds) - 1/2 tsp (soak in water)
Rose Syrup - 1 tbsp 
Gulkand (candied rose petals) - 4 tsp 
Almonds, Cashews, Pista - 2 each (chopped)
Dried Fig - 1 (chopped)


Method

Wash the betel leaves well and grind to a fine paste adding just enough water.

Mix this with milk, gulkand, soaked sabja seeds, rose syrup, chopped nuts and figs.

Chill and serve.


Notes

Adjust the quantity of rose syrup according to taste.

Benefits

Betel leaves helps avoid bad breath; moistens the gums.  The sabja seeds have high iron content which helps in resolving anemia.  Mouth ulcers/infections can also be reduced.  Vitamins and minerals are found in abundance in the dry fruits and nuts.  Gulkand is a best body coolant; also improves digestion.