Adai

My mom prepares adai in a different way but I learnt this version of adai recipe from my mother-in-law. Adai is one of the best dishes that has lot of protein content. You can have this for breakfast or dinner. Aviyal is one of the best side dish for Adai. Alternatively, you can also have any chutneys as a side dish.

Ingredients:

1. Boiled rice - 1/2 cup

2. Raw rice - 1/2 cup

3. Toor dhal - 1/4 cup

4. Bengal gram dhal - 1/4 cup

5. Moong dhal - a handful

6. Urad dhal - 1 tablespoon

7. Red chillies - 6 to 8

8. Garlic - 10 pods

9. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

10. Salt - to taste

11. Hing - a pinch

12. Chopped onions

13. Chopped curry leaves

14. Chopped ginger

15. Coarsely ground pepper and cumin seeds

16. Oil - to fry

Preparation:

1. Soak rice and dhals together for around 2 hours

2. Coarse grind with garlic and fennel seeds

3. You can let it ferment for couple of hours or make adai instantly

4. When you are ready to make adai, prepare finely chopped onions, curry leave, chopped ginger and add it to the adai batter

5. Make a coarse powder of pepper and cumin seeds and fry it in less than a teaspoon of oil and add it to the batter

6. Add finely chopped coriander leaves to the batter and you are ready to made the adai 

7. Heat a dosa tava and make the adai like you prepare dosa

Tips:

1. You can use finely chopped drumstick leaves in the batter

2. You can avoid garlic if you don't like it 

3. You can use the same batter in the kuzhi paniyaram pan to make Kara Paniyaram

4. This batter can be refrigerated and can be used up to a week

Paneer Kurma

A simple and quick recipe with Paneer that will go well with both rice and chapathis/rotis.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer - 1 pack chopped into cubes

2. Onions - 1/2 cup (chopped thin slices)

3. Tomato - 1/2 cup (chopped finely)

4. Bay leaves - 2 to 3

5. Cinnamon - a small stick

6. Cloves - 3 to 4

7. Cardamom - 1

8. Coconut - 1/4 cup

9. Peppercorns - 5 to 6

10. Red chilly powder - 1 tablespoon

11. Salt - to taste

12. Oil - 2 tablespoon

13. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

14. Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tablespoon

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and shallow fry the paneer cubes for 4 to 5 minutes in medium flame. 

2. Prepare hot water of 2 cups and once the paneer turns golden brown, drop it in the hot water. This process will keep the paneer soft

3. Add the remaining oil in the same pan and season with bay leaves and onions

4. Once the onions turn translucent, add ginger/garlic paste and fry well

5. When the raw smell leaves, add tomatoes and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes

6. Add all spices - turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt and mix well

7. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes and add the fried paneer and mix it with the masala

8. Add the hot water that the paneer was soaked in and bring it to boil for 5 minutes

9. Meanwhile prepare the paste with coconut, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns and cardamon

10. Add this paste to the mixture and cook in low flame for 5 to 6 minutes 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it hot. 

Tips:

1. You can use poppy seeds/cashews to grind the paste thick

2. Add mint leaves while grinding or seasoning for additional flavor

3. Skip the frying process of Paneer if you like to avoid more oil

4. I used green peas as my son loves them, this is optional

Chicken Curry

I stopped eating Non-vegetarian over 5 years ago and so I had not cooked much of non-veg as well since then. However, I decided to resume cooking of Non-veg again for my husband recently. One of my friends was coming craving for chicken, so I wanted to try something new and flavorful and this chicken curry is the outcome of that experiment :).

Preparation Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 2 pounds

2. Red chilly powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon

3. Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon

4. Yogurt (Curd)- 2 tablespoon

5. Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon

6. Mint leaves - 6 to 8

7. Coriander leaves - 15 to 20 strands

8. Green chilies - 2

9. Salt - to taste

10. Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon

11. Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 teaspoon

12. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

13. Oil - 6 to 7 tablespoon

14. Curry leaves - 8 to 10

15. Onion - finely chopped 1 cup

Preparation:
1. Make a wet paste with Mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chilies
2. Clean chicken and add all the ingredients (except oil, curry leaves and onion) and the ground paste and mix it well
3. Refrigerate the marinated chicken for atleast an hour. (This time when I made this dish, I left the marination for 6 hours)
4. Bring the chicken to room temperature before you start cooking
5. Heat oil in pan and add curry leaves and onions and saute well
6. Once onion becomes translucent, add the marinated chicken mixture and mix well
7. Close the pan with lid and start cooking in medium flame for 20 to 25 minutes. You can add small quantity of water (if required as the chicken mixture will start leaving water as we have added yogurt during marination)
8. You will start seeing the masala getting nicely coated on the chicken and also the oil leaving out. At this stage check the chicken must also have got cooked nicely (if not continue cooking for another 5 to 6 minutes in a low flame)

Chicken curry is ready to be served. I made this more as a thokku/masala style that can be had with Roti/chapathi or rice. However, if you want this to be like a semi gravy you can add some water to adjust the consistency of the curry. 

Tips:
1. Alter the quantity of green chilies and chilly powder according to your spice level
2. Use Kashmiri red chilly powder for extra flavor 
3. The same recipe can be made with potato or paneer for vegetarians like me :)

Radish Greens Poriyal

I try my best to include greens in our menu atleast twice a week. Also, I have the anxiety to try out different greens and this is one such experiment made out of radish greens. I visited whole foods for my grocery shopping and the small radish bunches with fresh greens on it caught my eyes and I grabbed them. I have cooked radish greens before and made curry with peanuts ( I will try to share this recipe later), but this is a attempt with a different flavor. Hope you like it.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Radish greens - finely chopped - 1 1/2 cups

2. Onions - finely chopped - 1/4 cup

3. Oil - 1/2 tablespoon

4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

5. Curry leaves - 5 to 6

6. Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

7. Salt - to taste

To Grind:

1.  Coconut - 3 to 4 tablespoon

2. Turmeric powder - a pinch

3. Garlic pods - 2 

4. Red chilies - 1 to 2 (depending on your spice level)

Preparation: 
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters add cumin seeds and onions and saute until onion becomes translucent
2. Now add the radish greens ( i used only leaves and discarded the stems) and stir well and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes
3. Meanwhile dry grind all ingredients given under 'to grind'. Do not add water
4. Add the ground mixture and required salt to the pan and mix well
5. Sprinkle few drops of water and close the pan and cook in slow flame for 7 to 8 minutes until the raw smell goes away

Radish greens is ready to be served and it goes well with Sambhar or Rasam rice.

Tips:
1. You can avoid garlic if you don't like the flavor
2. Instead of seasoning cumin seeds, you can grind it along with the other ingredients
3. Use small onions (shallots) for additional flavor

Lemon Ginger Rasam

Here I share the recipe of Lemon rasam, one of my favorites. The specialty of this rasam is that it does not require any rasam powder. Green chillies and ginger gives it the required flavor.

Preparation Time: 5 mins Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
1. Toor dhal - 3 Tablespoon
2. Green chilies - 2
3. Ginger - 1/2 inch
4. Tomato - 2 
5. Lemon juice - 2 tablespoon
6. Salt - to taste
7. Oil - 1 tablespoon
8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
9. Curry leaves - 5 to 6
10. Coriander leaves
11. Red chilies - 2 
12.Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
13. Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:
1. Pressure cook toor dhal , smash nicely, add water and prepare 2 cups of dhal water
2. In a pan, add chopped tomatoes, slit green chilies, grated ginger, turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves and 5 to 7 strands of the coriander leaves (finely chopped)  and 1 cup of water and bring it to boil
3. Once the tomatoes cook  (takes approximately 4 to 5 minutes), add the dhal water and continue to boil for another 3 to 4 minutes
4. In another pan, heat oil and season with mustard seeds, red chilies, asafoetida and add it to the rasam pan
5. Add finely chopped coriander leaves (5 to 7 strands) to the rasam and remove it from the stove
6. Add lemon juice to the rasam and it is ready to be served


Tips:
1. You can use Ghee instead of oil for seasoning