Thiruvadharai Kali, Kootu and Thalaga Kuzhambu

Thiruvathira occurs during late December or early January during the Tamil month of Markazhi (which is the "spring" month, considered very sacred and during which we sing the praise of Gods (hence the kutcheris in Mylapore)).

In Kerala and Tamilnadu, women eat a special food preparation called "Kali" on this day and pray for a good husband. Married women fast for the longevity of their husbands. Thiruvadharai Kali is paired up with  either Kootu or Thalaga Kuzhambu, according to one's family tradition. Being a "neivedhyam" food and made specifically for fasting, this kali and kootu, kuzhambu have barely any spices. Nonetheless, it is very delicious and absolutely healthy! You can make it even on a normal day when you want to try something different!

Thiruvadharai Kali

Yield : For 2 adults for 2 meals (lunch and dinner)

Recipe for Thiruvathira Kali -

Rice - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - ~1/4 tsp
Cashewnuts and Raisins - about 12 numbers each
Ghee - 1+ 1 tsp

Method -

• Wash rice and drain the water.
• Heat a pan and fry the wet rice until it runs slightly reddish.
• Let cool and then coarsely powder (like rava) the rice.
• Measure the powder and add 2 measures of water for every measure of this powdered rice. Pressure-cook for 10 minutes.

Rice, washed and about to get roasted

Roasted and ready to be powdered

Coarsely powdered rice

Cooked!

• Heat jaggery in a pan with some water sprinkled on it. When jaggery has melted, add grated coconut and cardamom powder.
• Mix in the rice powder, that's pressure-cooked.
• Ghee-roast cashews and raisins and add them too.
• Flavour the kali with another teaspoon of ghee!

Jaggery boiled. Remove the scum, if any.

Coconut, cardamom added to jaggery

Garnishing kali with cashews and raisins. I just dug a well in the middle of the kadai, heated some ghee and roasted them!

Flavorful Kali is ready for neivedhyam!

Recipe for Kootu -

Kootu / Thalaga kuzhambu for Thiruvadharai Kali

• You need 5 or 7 different vegetables. Choose from brinjal/eggplant, carrot, raw banana (vazhakkai), green peas, sweet potato, colocasia (cheppan kizhangu/arbi), potato, beans, etc.

Dry-roast the following in a pan and grind into a paste with a little water

• Dhania (coriander seeds) - 1 tbsp
• Dry red chillies - 4 or 5
• Channa dal (kadala paruppu) - 1 tbsp
• Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Dry-roasted

Added some water and blended into a paste

Method -

• Cook the vegetables with salt and turmeric.
• Add the paste (above) to the cooked vegetables. Add a little water if the mixture is too thick. Boil for a minute or two.
• Add curry leaves finally. That's it.

Potatoes, Sweet potatoes and Colocasia getting cooked

Cooked and chopped!

Carrots and peas cooked in microwave!

Boiled together with the paste

Variation for  Thalaga kuzhambu -

Like for any kuzhambu, you need tamarind water for this one too. So, boil together cooked veggies in tamarind extract. The procedure is pretty much the same as for kootu, but you add white sesame to the paste. Add the prepared paste and finally add curry leaves, like for kootu. Voila!

A rather thick thalaga kuzhambu with lots of veggies!

Enjoy your Kali with either Kootu or Thalaga kuzhambu. I personally prefer Kuzhambu as Kali is a bit dry and Thalaga kuzhambu is a richer gravy to go with it.The tartness from tamarind is also a nice combination with the rather sweet Kali.

I know it's quite late to post this recipe, but better late than never! Hope it's useful for folks for the next year's Thiruvathira! :-)

Kathrikai Konda Kadalai Pitlai (Eggplant + Chickpeas Pitlai) - TamBrahm Recipe

Brinjal and Chickpea Pitlai

 Although Pavakkai Pitlai (made with Bittergourd) is the classic recipe, amma used to make Chickpea/Channa pitlai  for me and my sis, since we detest Bittergourd completely! Well, I added eggplant too, for that's my hubby's first love! 

What's Pitlai? It's a thick gravy with tamarind juice and freshly ground spices as the base. It's different from the commonly known Sambar - there is no Sambar powder used, no Fenugreek in Pitlai and the quantity of Tuvar dal used is very less, comparatively.

Different vegetables(one at a time) can be used in Pitlai. Avarakkai (Broad beans), Kothavarangai (Cluster beans), potaoes, yam (Chenai kizhangu) are commonly used in Pitlai. Cooked Mocha kottai (Field beans/ Hyacinth beans) or Channa Dal (kadala paruppu) can also be added to the tamarind extract.

On to the recipe -

Ingredients -

Set A - To be roasted in 1 tsp of oil and ground coarsely

Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Channa Dal (Bengal gram dal/ கடலை பருப்பு) - 1 tsp

Urad dal (உளுத்தம் பருப்பு) - 3/4 tsp

Dried red chiilies (மிளகாய் வற்றல்) - 6 nos.

Grated Coconut - a handful (add finally if you're using dessicated coconut)

Freshly ground spice powder for Pitlai

Tamarind - a small lemon sized ball

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Oil - 2 tsp 

Black mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 3/4 tsp

Red chillies (dry) - 2 nos.

Hing / Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Cilantro / Coriander leaves - a few (optional) - to garnish

Brinjal - 1/2 of a big one or 6-8 small ones

Chickpeas / Chole - 2 handfuls (soaked overnight and pressure cooked till soft)

Toor dal ( துவரம் பருப்பு) - a handful (pressure cook or alternatively soak for 2 hours and cook in a pan with sufficient water)

Method -

• Temper mustard, urad and red chillies in a teaspoon of oil.

• Cube brinjal and fry them in oil for 3 minutes.

Add caption

• Then, add tamarind extract (seeds and strands removed) and cook the vegetable with some salt.
• Add the cooked tuvar dal and let everything cook together for 5 minutes.
• Add the freshly roasted and ground spices now. Let boil together.

•  Add the cooked Channa/ Chick peas / கொண்ட கடலை to the gravy that's getting cooked.

• Add hing (பெரும் காயம் ) and curry leaves as well.

• Check for salt levels.

Pitlai should generally be thicker than Sambar. Add some rice flour (not too much, as it would spoil the taste) and that helps to thicken the gravy, if required.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped.

Pitlai is ready!

Ammamma (mom's mom) adds roasted coconut shavings to the pitlai finally. I love that taste :) 

Being a South-Indian specialty, Pitlai is enjoyed with steaming hot white rice! Some Mor Kuzhambu aka Pulisseri for the rice would make this a complete meal and this is such a classic combination !!!

Aloo(+Methi) Paratha - Easy method for Beginners

Hello friends! Today's post is gonna be about a recipe which really boosted up my confidence that I can cook well too, back in the days I began experimenting in the kitchen.  I thought it's definitely a nice idea to share it with everybody and I hope this will motivate novice cooks to succeed. 

A picture speaks a thousand words! This is going to be a pictorial with lesser noise from me! :)

Potato-stuffed Parathas

Yield - 8 Stuffed Parathas

What I Used -

For the filling -

Oil/ Ghee/ Butter (or a combination)- 1 and 1/2 tsp
Omam / Ajwain/ Carom seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1  (chopped)
Ginger+Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4
Potatoes - 2
Coriander-cumin powder (Dhania-Jeera) - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp (or slightly less)
Kitchen king masala - 3/4 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Fresh Fenugreek leaves (Methi) -  1 cup (loosely packed)

For the paratha dough -

Wheat flour - 4 cups
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Yogurt /Curd - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

How To-

Paratha Dough - soft and pliable

• I start with the dough so that it rests for a while and the filling gets made in the mean time.
• Take a big mixing bowl, measure and add wheat flour (actually one gets a sense of the quantity by practice and if it happens to be in excess, you can always wrap the remaining dough in cling film and refrigerate to be used the next day).
• Add salt and slowly pour warm water and start mixing the dough. When they have slightly come together, add yogurt and knead well. Yogurt helps to give softness to the parata. Knead well for about 3-5 minutes  and finally add oil and get a smooth dough. 
• Cover the bowl with a lid and let rest for about 30 minutes. 

Let's make the filling now.  As usual, I have listed the ingredients in the order they go into the recipe.

Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add carom seeds then fry onions

Add ginger-garlic paste, fry for 2 mins, then green chillies (Oops! I used Red Chilli Padi that I had on hand)

Cook 2 potatoes in a pan with sufficient water and salt

Peel cooked potatoes and mash them

Add mashed potatoes to the pan, add the spice powders + salt

Mix well till everything comes together...

Stuffing for Alu Parathas

Finally, I added Fenugreek / Methi leaves because I had them in the fridge and wanted to use them while they were still fresh. For traditional Aloo Parathas, it's really nice to add some fresh coriander leaves/ cilantro.

Now to the most important part of stuffing the parathas and rolling them beautifully ...

The secret to getting stuffed parathas right, is now out!

1. Take a small lemon-sized dough, roll it into a rather thin paratha (using a rolling pin).
2. Take some filling and spread it evenly (without bumps) on the rolled out paratha with a spoon. 
3. Roll out another plain paratha and place it on top of the first one that already has the filling spread on its surface.
4. Once the two are super-imposed almost perfectly, seal the edges by tucking them and pressing them with your fingers. The dough being soft with stick to each other, just like that (Attraction of like molecules)!

Notes:

1. The two parathas that make up a stuffed paratha should be ~ of the same shape. It is likely that you'll get (more or less) the same shape if you start with the same quantity of dough for both.

2. This method applies for any stuffing - Paneer parathas, Cabbage parathas, Broccoli parathas and virtually anything you can imagine.

3. You need to let the prepared stuffing to cool sufficiently, before rolling parathas. When hot, they stick too much and could get messy! 

Secret #2

Any Stuffed paratha remains softer longer (and tastes a lottt better) than a plain paratha, even when prepared by someone inexperienced with the tricks of kneading a soft dough!

Although this method yields delicious parathas, some folks like their Alu Parathas better if they get to see some stuffing visible on the paratha itself. Now, this is a challenge (atleast to begin with) as you should show some filling but still cover it all up with a thin layer of dough. Here comes the

Traditional method -

This pic / step is the key. You can see that the filling is placed right at the beginning of the rolling process, when the paratha is still relatively thicker. Also, you make folds on the dough while trying to cover up the filling. This ensures there is sufficient dough to sorta protect the filling from spilling out of the covering when you roll it out.

Cook the parathas on a hot tawa, as we do with any other paratha (please refer to Sweet potato paratha, Methi paratha for the detailed procedure and some tips).  Finish off with a drop of ghee!

When you compare the 2 methods(see pictures of both above), the first one (beginners' method) allows you to insert more filling per paratha. This is useful if you have a fussy child (or spouse;) who promises to go by the numbers and eat exactly 1 or 2 parathas only ! You can be assured they had a filling meal as you have stuffed a 'generous' portion of potatoes, which is full of carbs! You can also roll out a bigger circle to increase the quantity of intake but that's a very obvious change :)

Super-imposed parathas (Beginner method) - torn to reveal the filling inside!

Since the filling has all the required spice and salt content, this can be had as such and is ideal to be taken to your workplace (like a wrap) too. I try to buy a single-serve pack of flavored yogurt (preferably mixed berries) and give a finishing touch to my meal. When at home, I eat with raita (beaten yogurt with chopped onions and tomatoes spiced with salt and asafoetida)!

Bisi Bela Bath (Bisi Bele Huli Annam) - Karnataka Special - Aromatic Hot Lentil Rice

Bisi Bele Bath is a wonderful mixture of cooked tuvar dal, mashed rice and vegetables in ghee-roasted n ground spices. And Onions! Mini-Onions. Ghee-Roasted :) Coconut - also ghee-roasted! Yes, I beg to differ when I hear someone mention Bisi Bele Bath as an equivalent of Sambar Rice. I agree, it does look like sambar rice, but take a spoonful of BBB and you can't stop! It's just heavenly! :)  Sambar rice is just another everyday food, that's all.  <Sorry, Sambar, I know I come to you more often...bcoz u r easier! >

I have beautiful memories of Bisi Bela Bath. Amma prepares it extremely well and even my ammamma asks her to make it when she comes. Its her kai vaakku :) Her recipe is often sought-after in the family but now, I'm letting the cat out of the bag!  I do not know if I was successful in reproducing that exact taste, but it was somewhere close.

Mini-Onions - The queen of this recipe!

Bisi bela bath has a long list of spices, each of which plays a role in enhancing the taste of this dish. The addition of roasted coconut, ghee-roasted mini-onions, a collection of veggies like potatoes, carrots, beans...

Vegetables, chopped ready

Now, on to this Hot lentil Rice recipe...Some quick pointers -

1. Mini onions are undoubtedly the *Star* of the recipe. If there aren't enough of them, I don't think it qualifies to be called "Bisi Bela Bath".
2. Ghee :)  Drool ...
3. Enormous amounts of cooked and mashed toor dal (lentil)
4. Lots of veggies - potatoes & carrots are a *must*, but less in numbers, individually, compared to mini-onions.  You can also add some red onions (quartered), especially if there aren't enough of mini-onions.
5. Mash both rice and cooked dal and add some ghee and mash well together using a potato masher, before mixing with the prepared Bisi Bela Sambar.

What I Used -

Mini Onions - about 25
Potatoes - 2
Carrot -1
Beans - 12
Chayote (Chow-Chow ) - 1 

Rice (Ponni or any normal variety that can get mashed well) - 1and 1/2 cups
Tuvar Dal / Toor Dal - 3 + 1 handfuls  => To be pressure-cooked
Grated Coconut  - 2 handfuls
Ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp + 2 tbsp
Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball (or equivalent paste)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder (Home-made or any good brand) - 2 tsp (I use Ambika's)
Salt - to taste
Vanaspati /Dalda - 2 tbsp

Spices - To Roast and Grind

Dhania (Coriander seeds)  - 1 tbsp
Channa Dal (Kadala paruppu) - 1 tbsp
Red chillies (Dry) - 5 nos.
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek (Methi / Mendayam) - 3/4 tsp
Fennel / Saunf (Sombu) -  1 tsp
Clove (Grambu) -3 nos.
Bay leaf -  1
Cinnamon - 1 stick (or 3/4 tsp powder)
Poppy seeds (KasaKasa) - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper corns - 8 nos.
Curry leaves - 2 sticks

How To -

Take a deep pan, heat 1 tsp of ghee and fry all the whole spices listed. Add grated coconut finally and roast until it turns a bit reddish. Take care not to blacken any of the spices or the coconut. Set aside on a bowl/plate and let cool.  Later, grind to a coarse powder.

In the same kadai, pour another teaspoon of ghee and roast mini-onions until they turn a little more pinkish and glossy.

Fry the chopped veggies next.

Add salt, turmeric, sambar powder and tamarind extract. (Soak tamarind in 1 cup warm water and extract the juice, discarding the strands and seeds).  Cook for 6-8 minutes until the raw smell vanishes.

Add the ground powder (of roasted coconut and spices). Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.

Roasted n ground spices

Mash the cooked dal and 3/4 th of it to the boiling sambar. We shall use the remaining 1/4 th of dal with the rice and mix the sambar with it in the final stage (like paruppu sadam and sambar over it, just like in childhood days!)

Cook until you see a frothy layer on top. That's about 7 minutes. Now, the Bisi Bela Sambar is ready. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves(cilantro) if you wish.

Final steps, but very important though - Mash rice well  while adding ghee and some dalda to it. Mix the mashed dal with this rice. Then, add ladlefuls of prepared samber to rice-dal mixture and mix well. Take care not to mash cooked veggies. They should be seen and we should enjoy the crunch they give, while relishing the dish. That's it :)

Bisi Bela Bath

Bisi Bela Huli Annam

I served these with deep-fried tapioca papads (Maracheeni appalam)

Tapioca papads

Some Cucumber Raitha would also be good to pair with this Aromatic Hot Lentil Rice.
Bisi Bela Bath definitely makes a satisfying Sunday brunch :) You may even want to take the afternoon nap after this wonderful meal!