Aadi Kummayam

Ingredients:

To make the flour

• Urudh Dhal - 1 kg
• Paasi Paruppu (moong dhal) - 1 cup

For the dish

• Aadikummayam flour - 1 cup
• Karupatti - 1 cup
• Water - 3 cup
• Oil - 5 tb sp
• Ghee - 2 tb sp

Method:

To make the flour

Dry roast both the dhal separately. Grind in machine to a very nice powder. When cooled sieve and store in an air tight container.

To make Aadi kummayam

Heat the karupatti with 1/4 cup of water just till it dissolves and start to boil.
Take 1 cup of the flour. In a hard bottomed vessel (Cooker pan suits better) heat the oil and add the flour and keep stirring with a wooden spatula well. Do not let lumps to be formed.
Mean while heat the 3 cups of water.
When bubbles start coming in the flour add the karupatti filtering it for sand and dust. Keep stirring continuously and add the hot water all at once. Stir well. Small lumps may form but when u stir they break and dissolve. Add the ghee at last. serve it hot or you can spread it in a plate and cut it into pieces.

Note: Karupatti is not same as Jaggery. Karupatti will be dark in color and little harder. You can get it in Nilgiris or in Nattu Marundhu Kadai. There is another way of preparing this, you will have to dissolve the flour in water and also the karupatti liquid and then heat and boil it but it will be a bit painstaking job and will be full of lumps if u miss a stir. The method i have given will be much easy and more softer as the flour is first cooked in the oil. For even better taste you can replace the oil with ghee itself.
This is a very healthy dish for kids as it contains urudh dhal as its main ingredient. Especially for young girls as it helps in strengthening the bones

Thengulal

Ingredients:

Raw Rice - 8 cups
Urudh Dhal - 3 cup
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

                                      
Method:

Dry roast urudh dhal. (Do not roast much just till the dhal is heated). Powder the dhal and the rice together to a very fine flour in flour machine. (Cannot do it in a mixie) This is the flour for Thengulal which can be stored for long in air tight containers.

Flour

Dough

Thengulal kattai. Available in wood also in Metal

Filled with dough

Squeeze applying pressure on the handle moving in circular motion.

Once the oil bubbles cease drain and take out from oil

                                      

To make the thengulal, take a glass of the flour in a wide bowl or basin. Dissolve salt in water. Sprinkle that water and make dough. Heat oil in a kadai. Fill the Thengulal kattai with the dough. When the oil is hot enough squeeze out the dough through the holes giving pressure on the handle slightly moving in circular motion. turn the thengulal once or twice and drain out of oil when cooked. Once cooled store in an air tight container.

Note: The flour should be ground only in the shop and before grinding for thengulal run a Kg of rice through the machine twice or thrice so that atta, chilli etc that were ground earlier in the machine comes off with this rice, other wise those flavor might be imparted on the thengulal flour.  A wide kadai  is always better so that you can make four to five at a time. For extra tase you can add a knob of butter.

Sarkarai pongal

Ingrediends:

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1/2 to 1 cup
• Ghee - 1/2
• Cashew nuts - 10 to 12
• Elachi - 1 

Method:

Boil water in thick bottomed vessel probably a cooker. when the water boils and the picked and washed rice. Let it cook in the water absorbent method. Need not close it. when the rice draws in all the water and is cooked well add the milk and cook in low flame till it is very well cooked. Now add the jaggery either broken into small pieces or shredding it with a knife. Adding jaggery will make the rice little liquid form cooking it in low flame will thicken. Add the ghee and elachi powder and keep it low for five minutes stirring it. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve hot.

Note: When you make sarkarai pongal you can also add grated coconut at the end. Another variation is that you can add a handfull of pasi paruppu (green gram dhal) while cooking the rice. 

Mushroom Biriyani

Ingredients:

• Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
• Mushrooms - 10 to 12
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Garlic - 3 to 4 pods
• Bay leaf 
• Clove - 2 to 3
• Chilli powder - 1 sp
• Green Chilli - 2
• Curd - 2 tb sp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Ghee - 1 tb sp
• Pudhina leaves - few string
• Coriander leaves - few strings
• Salt to taste

                                      

Method:

Soak the Basmathi rice in water. (1 cup rice in 1 3/4 cup of water).

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and the ghee add all the spices. Crush the garlic pods and add. Sauté for a minute then add the sliced onions. Sauté till golden brown. 

Wash and cut the mushrooms into four. In a flat pan add a knob of butter and sauté the mushrooms in it till golden brown and add it to the onion in the cooker. 

Add the tomatoes and sauté well till it is cooked. Now add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. 

When the oil comes out on the sides of the cooker, beat the curd well and pour it. 

Add the basmathi rice along with the water add the pudhina and the coriander leaves. Mix well and close the cooker. 

Keep the flame very low and leave it for 15 minutes without weight. Then turn off the stove and put the cooker weight. Open after 10 to 15 minutes and serve with onion raitha.

Note: While you cook the mushrooms they should be browned slightly that shows the right texture. Mushrooms do not brown when they are crowded. so do it in batch if it is more. if you will like the flavor slightly sprinkle sugar.

Its not necessary to wash the basmathi rice. so soak it with the right amount of water. Normally the ratio of water for one cup of basmathi rice is 1 and 1/2 cup of water. For the rice to be soaked add 1/4 cup of water extra.

Vegetable Cutlet

Ingredients:

• Potato - 150 gm
• Carrot - 75 gm
• Beans - 75 gm
• Onion - 50 gm
• Beetroot - 75 gm
• Coriander leaves - 2 tb sp
• Chilli powder - 1 t sp
• Salt - to taste
• Bread crumbs - 1 bowl
• Maida - 4 tb sp
• Oil - to fry

Method:

Pressure cook all the vegetablesexcept onion. Peel the potato and mash all the vegetables. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onion add salt chilli powder and the mashed vegetables and chopped coriander leaves.

Make a paste of maida wit a pinch of salt and little water. divide the vegetable stuffing into equal small balls and press keeping it in the palm like a patty. Dip it in the maida paste and roll over bread crumbs. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the cutlet till golden brown. 

Rich Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• Tomato - 4
• Bay leaf - 1
• Clove - 3
• Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Butter - 1 knob
• Corn flour - 1 sp
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Blanch tomatoes. (Boil in water cool it and peel the skin). Bled the tomatoes well in a mixie when cooled.

Boil the tomato paste with the water in which it was cooked. Tie all the spice in a soft thin cloth and drop it in the soup. Add salt and pepper. Also add the corn flour paste and boil. 

Note: To make the soup more rich use a spoon of fresh cream. You can also make it more creative with the cream. Or if you are diet conscious you can also use milk instead.

If the soup is more spicy add a little milk to it which will reduce the heat of pepper. It also take the excess salt.

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• Carrot - 2 tbsp
• Beans - 2 tbsp
• onion - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1 knob
• Sweet corn - 4 tbsp
• Spring onion - few string
• Corn flour - 2 sp
• Milk - 2 tbsp
• Aginomotto - a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Pepper powder

Method:

In a pan heat a knob of butter sauté the onion. Add the vegetables and sweet corn and four cups of water. Close the pan with the lid and cook the vegetables. Add the salt, pepper and aginomotto. Mix the corn flour in milk and pour it into the soup and bring it to boil. serve it in the bowl and garnish with spring onion.

Note: You can also add few drops of soy sauce but that will change the color of the soup darker and some may not like the flavor also. So it is better to serve the sauce separately. And also if you want you can omit the onion part of it and directly boil the vegetables. the onion adds a flavor to the soup.