Tangy Tomato Gravy Recipe

     Nooooooo more excuses for not posting !!!!
Thanks for everyone who had been checking my blog for new posts and definitely a very big Sorry for disappointing you without any post since a month :(
Recently, one of my relatives asked me " Aren't there any new posts?  I had been seeing your blog often to only find the age old butternut squash kootu recipe" Thats when I thought "Ohh yeah... I had a blog and was almost active with it.. How did I forget all about it !!" At that very moment, I promised myself - hereafter atleast 2 posts a week no matter how busy I become. Dot.

     My little bunny Abhinav is back home after his flu shot at the pediatrician's and is so tired after a big round of cry and now, is fast asleep.. ZZZZzzzz... :P giving his mommy some time to catch up with the blogging..

My MIL often makes this simple tangy side-dish with tomatoes for phulka.. we are all hooked to it. So, here it comes for the blog !!


Prep Time: 5 mins || Cook Time: 25 mins || Serves: 3 || Category: Side-dish for phulka/chappathi 

Ingredients:
1. Gingelly Oil - 3 tbsp
2. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
3. Tomato - 3 or 4
4. Turmeric powder - a pinch
5. Salt - as required
6. Hing - 1 tsp
7. Green chili - 2
8. Sambar powder - 1 tbsp
9. Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Method:
1. In a pan heat gingelly oil and splutter the cumin seeds. Add finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt and mix well.

 2. Keep covered and cook for about 10 mins. Need not add any extra water. Let the tomatoes get cooked in the tomato juice itself. Add sambar powder and mix well. Cook covered for 10 -15 mins with intermediate stirring. Add hing and green chili (if required for additional flavour).

 3. Once the gravy thickens and the oil slightly floats on top, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame. 

Those cute tiny little tomatoes and the red chili in the pic are made out of clay. I made them using the clay we got from Siva Vishnu Temple during Ganesh Chathurthi.. It was a proud display in the Golu :P  And now they are the props in food photography !!!

Enjoy this simply tangy side-dish for your phulkas... Yummyyy !!!

Vaazhaithandu Molakootal (Banana Stem Molakootal)

     This is yet another traditional dish from Kerala, one of the many variations that can be tried in Molakootal, by altering the vegetables. The key ingredient in this dish is Banana Stem (Vaazhaithandu). This makes a different meal from the routine chain of sambar, rasam and is very filling too. The inviting part of making molakootals is that there is no need to make a specific side-dish for this, as any pickle or thogayal will go well along with this :P
Obviously this combo makes cooking simplified for the day !!! 

Prep Time: 15 mins || Cook Time:  30 mins || Serves: 4 ||  Category: Rice Accompaniment

Ingredients:
1. Banana Stem - 1 medium sized
2. Grated coconut - 3tbsp
3. Cumin Seeds (jeera) - 3tsp
4. Dry red chillies - 2
5. Urad Dal - 1tsp
6. Salt - as required
7. Turmeric Powder
8. Toor Dal - 75 gms (cooked and mashed)
9. Asafoetida - 1tsp
10. Oil - 1tbsp
11. Mustard seeds - 2tsp
12. Curry Leaves - a sprig
13. Buttermilk - 1 cup (diluted)

Method:
1. Cut the banana stem into thin slices, make them into strips and finely chop them. Keep the chopped banana stem immersed in diluted buttermilk, until all the slices are done with chopping. Wash the chops and pressure cook in a pan for about 3 - 4 whistles, adding turmeric powder.

2. Grind coconut, jeera, urad dal & red chillies into a paste. Open the pressure pan once the steam resides and add the ground paste and mix well.

3. Let the ground paste and cooked banana stem boil for about 5 mins. Then add the mashed toor dal, hing, salt and mix well. Let it boil for 3-5 mins until everything blends to form a thick mass.

4. Switch off the flame and temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Suggestions:

• Soaking the banana stem in buttermilk, helps to avoid browning.
• Urad dal has been added while grinding, in order to give a thick consistency & better binding. Adding urad dal is optional.
• Can have this as a side-dish for rasam too.

    A wholesome meal is ready. Serve with any tangy thogayal or pickle :) 

Keerai Molakootal

     Molakootal is an authentic healthy recipe from Kerala. There can be many variants tried with the base idea of this recipe. This extremely easy to make gravy finds its way into our kitchen atleast once in every week.  Any tangy thogayal or pickle serves as a best accompaniment for this dish. 
     Whenever this dish is made, we also make a rasam for the next course :P (after having this molakootal with rice). As molakootal is a bit thicker in consistency, our taste buds long for an immediate course with something little spicy & in more of a liquid form. For rasam, we have molakootal as the side-dish. With this two course meal itself, one would feel tummy full.. 

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 35 mins || Serves: 4 ||  Category: Sambar/Gravy   

Ingredients:
1. Spinach - 250 gms
2. Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
3. Cumin Seeds - 3tsp
4. Dry red chillies - 3 or 4
5. Grated coconut - 3 tbsp 
6. Boiled toor dal - 1 cup
7. Salt - as required
8. Oil - 1 tbsp
9. Mustard seeds - 2tsp
10. Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:
1. Wash and dry the spinach leaves & chop them finely. In a pan, heat about 2 cups of water and add turmeric powder to it.

2. When the water boils, add the chopped spinach.

3. Grind red chillies, cumin seeds & grated coconut with little water, to a paste.

4. Mash the boiled toor dal. cook spinach for about 5 mins until it reduces in volume.

5. At this point, add the ground paste, mix well and cook in medium flame for about 3-4 mins.

6. Lastly add the mashed toor dal, hing & salt and mix well. Switch off the flame after 2 mins. Temper with mustard.

Suggestions:

• Number of red chillies can be adjusted as required.
• Tastes too good with arikeerai/mulaikeerai or any suitable green in the place of spinach. (I tried with spinach as other variety of greens are not available here).
• This can also be done with either Banana Stem (Vaazhaithandu) or with a mix of country vegetables (yam, broad bean - avaraikkai, raw banana, brinjal, chayote-chow chow) or english vegetables (carrot/beans/potato).
• 2 tsp of urad dal can be included when grinding coconut, cumin seeds, red chillies. This would give a thicker consistency and better binding to the gravy.

This mild lentil + green gravy will go well with rice/rotis.
Serve keerai molakootal for rice with any tangy thogayal or with any spicy pickle.