Rajma Masala Recipe / Red Kidney Bean Masala

     I greedily buy Rajma :P as though I cook regularly. Stacking Rajma and other pulses in the kitchen for a while, one fine day comes with someone nudging me to use them up, I put a handful of them for soaking overnight. Then if everything goes good (with my laziness talking a lazy nap and forgetting to bother me) the soaked lentil will be cooked and used up on the next day itself. If not, it visits the fridge for a day and then makes its appearance for a dish aaram se !!!
     This time, the soaked Rajma made its appearance without the sitting-in-the-fridge episode :) and we had a yummy Rajma masala to pair up with the chappathi.

Prep Time: overnight rajma soaking & steaming + 10 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins || Serves: 3 || Category: Side-dish for roti/chappathi

Ingredients:
1. Rajma (Red kidney beans) - 100 gm (soaked overnight & pressure cooked for 6-7 whistles)
2. Onion - 1
3. Oil - 2 tbsp
4. Bay leaves - 2
5. Cinnamon - 2 pieces
6. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
7. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
9. Tomato - 1 large
10. Green chilli - 1 or 2 slit
11. Hing - 2 tsp
12. Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tsp
13. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
14. Garam masala - 2 tsp
15. Salt - as required
16. Kasoori Methi (dry fenugreek leaves) - 2 tbsp
17. Fresh cream - 3 tbsp

Method:
1. Heat a pan with 2 tbsp of oil. Throw in the bay leaves, cinnamon and cumin seeds and fry them until a nice aroma comes. Then add finely chopped onion and saute for a min. Add ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder and cook until the onion starts becoming translucent.

2.  Add the slit green chilli, chopped tomatoes and give a stir. Saute until the tomatoes start to become mushy. Then add all the powders (Kashmiri chilli, Garam masala, Coriander powder, hing) and stir thoroughly. Cook for about 3-4 mins covered with the lid.

3. Add required amount of salt and then some water for the gravy to get cooked. Cook covered for 2 mins. Then add the pressure cooked rajma and mash a few of them in the gravy.

4. Allow the gravy to boil for 2 mins and let the gravy thicken. Now add fresh cream and kasoori methi crushed in between the palms. Give a quick stir and switch off the flame after a min.

Suggestions:

• It is optional to use fresh cream & kasoori methi.
• Rajma can be replaced with any other kind of soaked lentil.

Kothamalli Podi Recipe (Corriander Thokku Semi-dry Recipe)

     Kothamalli podi is liked by everyone at home. It is a tasty side-dish/pickle for idly, dosa etc. With a drop of gingelly oil on it, it tastes so heavenly that I cant keep track of the number of idlies or dosas I had. Paati usually makes this when there is surplus corriander available. she makes this podi and shapes them into small rounds and stores them in an air tight container in fridge. Though this recipe is referred as podi, it is more semi-dry in consistency than the powdery form as implied by the name.
     Have made this couple of times, after coming to USA. When we buy 3 big bunches of coriander for a dollar from Lotte :P

Prep Time: 60 mins (including drying) || Grinding Time: 5 mins || Yields: 150 gm || Category: Pickle/Podi/Thokku

Ingredients:
1. Coriander leaves - 1 big bunch
2. Black Urad dal - handful
3. Dry red chilli - 1 (Based on the hotness)
4. Tamarind - 1 small piece
5. Hing - 1 small piece
6. Salt - as required
7. Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
1. Wash the coriander leaves well and spread them on a clean dry cloth to dry for about an hour. Once they are dry, chop them roughly. In a kadai, add oil and roast urad dal till a nice aroma comes. Then add the dry red chilli and roast it. 

2. Remove from heat and transfer the ingredients to a plate for cooling. In the same kadai, add the tamarind and hing pieces and roast them for a min. Transfer it to the plate and let all the ingredients cool down to room temperature. 

3. Add all the roasted ingredients, salt, coriander leaves to a mixie jar and give a quick pulse. Open the lid and stir the contents well. Slowly grind the ingredients with intermittent stirring, into a coarse powder (semi- dry consistency without adding water).

Suggestions:

• White urad dal can be used instead of black urad dal.
• Keeps good for 4-6 days under refrigeration.

Tastes great with curd rice or idly dosa etc along w a drop of gingelly oil.

Spicy Maida Biscuits Recipe

     The memory of these maida biscuits dates back to my school days when my paati used to make these in the evening before I get back from school. Usually she makes both the salt and the sweet version parallely. Whenever I am at home during the process of making these biscuits, my job will be to separate the diamonds from the chappathi kal and place them on a paper for drying. And then to turn the pieces the other side and ensure that they dry evenly. When it is the time to fry them in oil, I become so busy carrying the diamonds from the paper on to a plate in batches and back and forth to the kitchen and the place where the diamonds are laid for drying :P 

     I had felt it so magical to see the making of sweet version of this biscuit, as I will be always eager to see 2 instances of the process. One when the biscuits are just mixed with the warm sugar syrup which makes them look glossy and the other is a few mins after its resting period, when the sugar syrup gets solidified and show up in the biscuits as a white coating here and there :)

     Okay stories apart, now jumping in to the recipe....

Prep Time: 20 mins || Cook Time: 15 mins || Serves: 3 || Category: Fried snack/ Tea-time snack

Ingredients:

1. Maida - 1 cup

2. Omam (Ajwain seeds) -  1 tsp

3. Hing - 2 tsp

4. Pepper powder - 2 tsp

5. Chilli powder - 1 tsp

6. Salt - as required

7. Baking soda - 1 tsp (optional)

8. Oil - for frying

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a wide bowl. Add water slowly and knead into a soft dough.

 2. Divide the dough into desired number of portions and make balls with it. Spread them on a flat surface evenly with a rolling pin. Cut the rolled dough into diamonds or any shape of desired size. Separate the pieces and air dry them over a paper for 10-15 mins.

 3. Heat oil and test for the optimum temperature by dropping a small portion of the dough. If the dough rises immediately and gets fried, the temperature is just right. Drop the cut biscuit pieces in batches and fry them until golden brown. Drain in paper towel and store in air tight containers after cooling.

Suggestions:

• Baking soda is optional. 
• Instead of adding chilli powder and salt in the dough, the fried biscuits can also be tossed with sprinkled chilli powder and salt.
• Cumin seeds can also be added instead of ajwain seeds.
• If desired, a tsp of ghee or oil can be used while kneading the dough.

Had a nostalgic evening with the biscuits and a glass of coffeeeeee....

Avaraikkai Paruppu Usili Recipe / Broad Beans Paruppu Usili

     Paruppu usili is one of the tastiest variations that can be tried with broad beans/ normal string beans etc. This traditional recipe from Tamil Nadu, finds its place on a banana leaf in almost every TamBrahm wedding or function.
I have made this only a couple of times, as it involves a little extra work with respect to the dal part, when compared with the preparation of a usual side-dish. Though it pairs up well with any sambar or rasam, it tastes so perfect with morkootan/morekuzhambu.

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins + cooking time for dal || Serves: 2 || Category: Side-dish / paruppu usili

Ingredients:
1. Avaraikkai (Broad beans) - 150gms
2. Toor dal - 50 gms
3. Red Chilli - 1 (As the red chillies are too hot here)
4. Hing - 3 tsp
5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
6. Salt - as required
7. Oil - 2 tbsp
8. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:
1. Wash and cut broad beans retaining its seeds too. Wash the toor dal and chilli.

2. Grind the toor dal and chilli coarsely in a blender sprinkling very little water.

3. Spread the crumbled dal in a container and pressure cook for 5-6 whistles. Once cooked, separate the dal or crumble them again using a laddle or spoon or with hand.

4. In a kadai, heat a tbsp of oil and add the cooked toor dal , hing curry leaves and saute them for 2 mins and transfer to a plate. To the same kadai, add a tbsp of oil and let the mustard seeds splutter. Add the cut broad beans and give a stir.

5. Cook covered for 8-10 mins or until the broad beans gets cooked well and changes from fresh green to a dull green colour. Now add the cooked & sauteed dal and mix well with enough salt. Saute for 2-3 mins and switch off the flame.

Suggestions:

• Toor dal can also be pressure cooked first and then coarsely ground in the blender.
• Channa dal can also be used in the place of toor dal. Or a mix of toor dal and channa dal can be used too.
• Coconut oil can be used instead of normal cooking oil, to give a nice aroma.

A splendid combination for morkootan/morkuzhambu !!!