As I was editing the pics to create this post on Lemon Pickle, I was wondering what is new in this age old recipe. I made it for the first time all by myself !!!
I am in India for a short vacation of one month. Two weeks flew sooo very fast. Had a good time attending my husband's cousins marriage - needless to say that I ate a lot of delicacies, the lovely Vaazhai Ilai Saapadu (Food served on Banana Leaf) 4 times a day :P a lot of variety !!! Dressing up... Taking photos.. Eating.. Shopping.. And finally the wedding is over. and the 2 days of gala time came to an end and I turned up to my blog.
Last ditch efforts to make a post, so that November 2016 is not left without any posts... Uffff... So crazy... Sitting and editing the post at 10.45pm in India.. when all are asleep...ZZZzzzz..
Prep Time: 15 mins (plus a week resting time) || Cook Time: 10 mins || Yields: 150 gm || Category: Pickles
Ingredients:
1. Lemon - 2 or 3 (here we get only big ones so I used 2)
2. Gingelly oil - 3 tbsp
3. Fenugreek powder - 2 tsp
4. Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
5. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
6. Salt - as required
8. Turmeric powder - a pinch
7. Hing - a generous amount
Method:
1. Cut lemon into small pieces. Sprinkle some salt and let it rest for a week. Make sure to give it a shake couple of times daily. Keet an iron kadai (preferably) with gingelly oil. Add mustard and allow them to splutter. Then add a little bit of fenugreek powder and then simmer the flame.
2. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and then the cut lemon pieces. Stir well to get a uniform coating of all the ingredients. Switch off the flame.
3. Now add required amount of red chili powder and salt and mix well. Switch on the flame and then give a final mixing of chili powder and salt. and then switch off the flame.
Suggestions:
- Use gingelly oil for a flavourful pickle.
- Always use a clean dry spoon for serving the pickle.
- Keep it air-tight and never use your hands to take the pickle.
- Stir well every time when taking the pickle.
- Use optimum quantity of salt and red chili powder. Otherwise there are chances that pickle will decay sooner.
- It is better to refrigerate the pickle after keeping it outside for 2 days.
- A very important lesson I learnt by experience - Never keep pickles in stainless steel container, as the citric acid in it will corrode steel container and create a hole in it :P I experienced this with Narthangai pickle. My mother-in-law enlightened me with this fact !!
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.
Was aiming to replicate the Gongura Thokku of "Grand Sweets & Snacks" which I used to buy when I was at Chennai. The attempt turned out a success, tasting close to it. When I was staying alone in Chennai, I would come back from work and mostly tend to have these ready to eat rice mixes from Grand Sweets. I love them a lottttt......... I miss the taste of those thokku varieties here in USA as they are not available. I couldn't order these through some providers & wait for even 3 -4 days for this to be shipped from Chennai as my craving for this increased multifold on a day. So, researched and made one variety to start with. Have to keep it going with other varieties too.. Pulikachal, tomato thokku etc !! coming up sooooooooooooon.....
Prep Time: 20 mins || Cook Time: 15 mins || Yields: 150 gms || Category: Thokku / Rice Mix
Ingredients:
1. Gongura leaves - a bunch
2. Tamarind - lemon sized ball
3. Gingelly oil - 4 tbsp
4. Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
5. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
6. Dry red chilies - 2 (long)
7. Salt - as required
8. Hing - as required
9. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
10. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Method:
1. Sort the gongura leaves; Wash them and drain the water. Chop the leaves roughly. Soak tamarind in hot water and set aside. In a pan, add little oil & saute the gongura leaves until it turns slightly pale brown and reduces in volume.
2. Transfer the sauted gongura leaves to a container and let it cool. In the same pan, add gingelly oil and fry urad dal, fenugreek seeds, red chillies until golden brown.
3. Allow the roasted ingredients to cool & then add them to a mixie jar along with sauted gongura leaves, salt, hing. Grind it to a smooth paste without adding water.
4. Extract juice from the tamarind soaked in hot water. In the same pan, add some gingelly oil and add mustard seeds (I didn't use mustard seeds). After they splutter, add urad dal & curry leaves and fry for a min.
5. One the urad dal has turned brown, add the tamarind juice and cook for about 2-3 mins. Then add the gongura paste and salt and mix well. Cook for another 2 mins, adding some gingelly oil, if desired & switch off the flame.
Suggestions:
- As gongura by itself has a slight sour/tangy taste, be cautious in the amount of tamarind paste added, otherwise it will turn out to be too tangy for a side-dish.
- Any oil can be used in the place of gingelly oil.
- Mustard seeds can be added while tempering (I skipped it as I didn't want the mustard flavour).
- Stays good for 4-5 days when refrigerated (Not sure after that, becoz the thokku got over around 4 days :P )
Enjoy the gongura thokku as a side-dish for idly/dosa/chappathi etc. or mix it with hot rice & gingelly oil and enjoy it as gongura rice !!!
Raw Mango pickle is the most easiest pickle to make. Hooked to its tangy taste, most quantity of the mango will be consumed by me even as it is being cut :D Every summer, the pickle season kick starts with this basic mango pickle, followed by lime, gooseberry etc. There are two variants we try at home with this raw mango. One is the usual finely cut basic pickle here, and the other one being a roughly chopped version, which is sauteed with gingelly oil in a pan. Though the basic ingredient for the pickles are same, they have a distinct taste :)
Both are heavenly to be had with curd rice :) :)
Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 5 mins || Yields: 150gm || Category: Pickle
Ingredients:
1. Raw Mango - 1 Medium sized
2. Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp
3. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
4. Red Chilly Powder - 2tbsp
5. Turmeric Powder - 2tsp
6. Hing(Asafoetida) - 2tsp
7. Mustard seeds powder - 1 tsp
8. Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp
9. Salt - 4tsp
Method:
1. Wash and pat the mango dry in a clean kitchen towel. Finely chop the mango and transfer it to a mixing bowl.
2. In a pan, heat gingelly oil and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add it to the chopped mango. In hot oil, add chilly powder, turmeric powder, hing and switch off the flame. Add fenugreek powder. Add this spice mixture to the finely cut mango, followed by salt, mustard seeds powder and some more hing. Mix well and keep covered.
Suggestions:
- Adding mustard seeds powder is optional.
- Adding hing in two stages - in oil as well as in raw form gives more flavour to the pickle.
- Though any oil can be used, gingelly oil gives a good aroma and taste.
- Can be consumed soon after it is made.
- Tastes more yummy from the next day, with all the flavours absorbed.
- Keeps well for 8-10 days when refrigerated.
