Rice casserole with vegetables topped with egg

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice - 1 cup
• Boiled Vegetables - 1 cup
• Semolina sauce - 1 cup
• Chopped onion - 1/2 cup
• Minced garlic - 1 tbsp
• Corn - 1/4 cup
• Egg - 3
• Milk - 1 cup
• Cheese - 1/2 - 1 cup
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Semolina sauce

• Semolina - 3 tbsp
• Milk - 3 cups
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Baking powder -1 tsp
• Salt and pepper.

Method

To make the sauce:
Heat milk in a pan while it boils sprinkle rava and stir, when it thickens add a table spoon butter and turn off the heat. Once it cools down add salt pepper and baking soda.

To cook Rice:
I used basmathi rice. for 1 cup rice add 1 3/4 cup water, sat and pepper and 2 tablespoon oil. Pressure cook for 15 minutes on low flame without weight. The rice must just be cooked (say 3/4th done). I also added a dash of soy sauce for flavour.

For the Egg topping:
Beat the eggs and milk with salt and pepper. add in the shredded cheese.

For the Casserole:
Heat butter in a pan. saute the onions, garlic followed by corn and the cooked vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Stir this into the semolina sauce.

Stir in half the rice with the semolina sauce and vegetable mix.
Butter a baking dish and dust with rusk powder. Pour in the mix and level it. Add the layer of rice over it. pour the beaten egg mix over the layer of rice and bake at 220 degree for 30 minutes or untill the top layer of cheese turns brown.

koli rasam

Ingredients:

• Chicken stock - 4 cups
• Small onions - 1 cup
• Garlic - 1/4 cup
• Tomato - 1
• oil - 1 tbsp
• Pepper - 2 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 5 to 8
• Salt to taste
• Oil -1 tbsp
• Jeera -1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Method:

Mince garlic, ginger and tomato. Grind pepper, red chilli and cumin seeds coarsely.

In a heavy bottomed pan heat oil. Season with mustard seeds, pepper, cumin seed, red chilli and curry leaves.

Saute the minced onion garlic and tomato. And the coarsely powdered spices. Once the onion is half cooked pour the chicken stock add turmeric powder. Adjust salt and pepper. Let it boil till the onion softens.
serve it piping hot with vathals and fried chicken.

Mutton Uppukary

Ingredients:

• Boneless meat - 250gm
• Small onions - 1/2cup
• Garlic - 1/4 cup
• Red chillies - 15 to 20
• Tamarind juice - 2 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2 laddle
• Curry leaves
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Anni seed - 1 tsp

Method:













Clean and cut the meat into small pieces.
Cut the onions and garlic to small pieces.
Heat oil in a thick bottom pan season with mustard, anniseed, curry leaves and halved dry red chillies.
Saute the onion an dgarlic well. Add the meat and cook well.
Close and cook stirring often.
When almost cooked add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and tamarind juice.
cook on low flame till dry.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

• Mushroom - 1 pack
• Onion - 1+1
• Tomato - 1
• Green Chillies - 2
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Roasted cashew - 5
• Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Ghee/Butter - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

Cut 1 onion and saute in little oil. In a blender paste the sauteed onion, green chilli, tomato, red chilli powder,
coriander powder, turmeric powder, tomato ketchup, roasted cashew toa fine paste.
Chop the other onion. Clean and halve the mushroom.
In a kadai heat oil and ghee together season with bay leaf and saute the chopped onion till golden brown, add the masala paste and little water.
Allow it to boil and check for salt and spice.
Add the mushrooms and garam masala. Just bring to boil and turn off the stove.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chapathi/piping hot basmathi rice/pulao.

Vazhai poo Murungai keerai kootu

Ingredients:

• Vazhaipoo (Plantain flower) - 6 to 8 petals
• Murungai keerai (drumstick leaves) - 2 handfull
• Thoor dhal - 1/4 cup
• Small onions - 10 to 12
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Urudh dhal - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Shredded coconut - 3 tbsp

Method:

Clean, pick and chop the plantain flower. Toss in a tbspoon of oil.
Pressure cook the thoor dhal.
Heat oil in a pan add mustard, urudh dhal, red chillies, when seasonings are done add the sliced onions followed by drumstick leaves and saute well.
Wash the plantain flower and add it to the pan.
Add the water in which the dhal was cooked, close the pan and cook till the leaves and flower turns soft.
Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt. Let it boil. Add the chilli powder and turmeric powder.
When the raw smell of the spice powder turns off andd the cooked dhal shredded coconut and ghee.
Turn off the stove and mix well.
Serve with rice or chapathi.

Plakkai Kootu

Ingredients:

• Plakkai - 250gm (1/2)
• Small onions - 10 to 12
• Thoor dhal - 1/4 cup
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 2 strings
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Jeera - 2 tsp

Method:

Deskin and chop the plakkai into small pieces.
Peel and slice the onions.
In a pressure pan put together the chopped plakkai pieces, onions, thoor dhal, chilli powder, turmeric powder and 2 to 3 cups of water. Close the pan and cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
Open the cooker and check if it is well cooked and let it boil. Add salt and allow it to cook for some time.
Add the shredded coconut, curry leaves and ghee. Rub the jeera between palm and add to it.
Serve with hot rice.

Note: To add more taste 1/2 cup of milk could be added.

Plakkai urulai chops

Ingredients:

• Plakkai (unripe Jackfruit) - 250 gm
• Potato - 2
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Garlic - 4 to 6 clove
• Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Urudh dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tspr
• Red chilli - 2
• Curry leaves - 1 string

To grind

• Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Aniseed - 2 tsp
• Kasa kasa - 2 tsp

Method:

Deskin the plakkai. Cut them into an inch thick triangles. Cut the pitato into 1" thick pieces.

Cook the plakkai pieces in little water and salt.

Chop the onions and tomato. Crush the garlic and remove the peel.

In a pan heat oil season with mustard, urudh dhal red chillies, bay leaf, asafoetida and curry leaves.  

Add the garlic, onion saute well. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook well. Now add chilli powder, turmeric powder.

Drain and add the plakkai pieces and potato pieces add 1/2 glass of water and salt. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles.

Open the pan and let it boil/cook till all water is absorbed and oil starts to separate.

Add the ground coconut paste. Cook well.

Can be served with rice.

Note: Health conscious people can reduce the quantity of oil. plakkai takes a little longer time to cook and hence have asked to boil for 10 min and then pressure cook. Also the stickiness will go woth that boiled water hence i have asked ti drain and discard the water. Apply oil in fingers and palms and the knife balde while cutting the plakkai to avoid stickiness.

Nendrangai Chips

Ingredients:

• Nendram Bananas(unriped) - 1 kg
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - to fry

Method:

Slice the nendram bananas to thin slices. Dissolve salt and turmeric powder in a tablespoon water.
Heat oil in a kadai. Fry the banana slices. when they are 3/4th done add few drops to 1/2 tsp of the salt and turmeric mix to the kadai.
Repeat this for the next batch and as you do reduce the amount of the salt mix as the oil will retain saltiness of the previous batch.
Store in an airtight container.