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.

Kandharappam

Ingredients

• Raw rice - 2 cup
• Boiled rice (Idly rice) - 1 cup
• Urudh Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Coconut - 3/4 cup
• Jaggery - 3 cups
• Fenugreek seeds - 3 tsp
• Cardamom - 2
• Oil

Method

Soak rice and dhal together along with fenugreek seeds for 2 hours minimum.
Grind them by adding little water. After few minutes of grinding add the cardamom seeds and coconut. The batter should be the consistance of thick dosa batter or like that for Adai
When it is almost done add jaggery.
Leave it to ferment for 4 to 5 hours.
Heat oil in a kadai, beat the batter with a ladle and pour a ladle full into the hot oil.
when the ends start to brown slightly turn the paniyaram and cook for few seconds and drain out of the oil.

Note: Shred the jaggery and measure. Check for sweetness after making the first paniyaram, if you feel the sweetness is not enough add little honey (it gives good golden color) or few spoons of sugar. If the batter is too thick add a tablespoon of water. If the jaggery is high in quantity the paniyaram will brown fast and will not be cooked in the middle or it may just spread.
If the oil is too hot the paniyaram may go shapeless.
It must have the ends like that of a shore line called karai.
The paniyaram may spread in the kadai or it may go into crumbles if the ratio of urudh dhal is not proper or if too much jaggery is added or if its fermented for a longer time.

Shark Podimas

Ingredients:

• Shark - 200gm
• Small onions - 1/2 cop
• Garlic - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 2
• Mustartd - 1 tsp
• Urud dhal - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 strings
• Lemon - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

Deskin the shark. Boil water with lemon juice, salt and turmeric powder drop the fish pieces.
The fish will be cooked in 3 minutes, drain and keep aside.
Slice the small onions and garlic.
Crumble the fish pieces with hands.
Heat oil in a kadai. Season with mustard, urud dhal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Saute the onions, garlic and green chillies. Add the turmeric powder and salt as per need. When the onion is cooked add the crumbled fish pieces.
Serve hot.

Prawn Thick Gravy

Ingredients:

• Prawn - 250gm
• Onion - 1+1
• Tomato - 1
• Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Tamarind juice - 1 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon stick - 1"
• Fresh cream - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 2 string
• Coriander to garnish

Method:

Clean and wash the prawns.
Grind 1 onion. Chop the other onion and tomato.
Heat oil in a kadai, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and curry leaves.
Fry the chopped onions followed by the onion paste and ginger garlic paste, when the raw smell evaporates add the chopped tomato and all spice powder and tamarind juice. Cook till oil separates.
Add the prawns and cook with a little water.
Simmer for few minutes transfer it to a bowl garnish with chopped coriander and top it with fresh cream.
Serve with naan, roti or rice.