Ani’s Kids Recipe,South Indian samayal & Tips!

Just to share with you…..

I know some of us don’t like poodu because of its smell but I am a very great fan of garlic. My favourite picke is garlic pickle. I intake poondu in terms of pickle,chutney,gravy,poondu sadam etc.  Since my hubby don’t like poondu I stopped cooking it often. Rarely I used to cook for my self. I can say I have forgotten few recipes since I have not cooking all those. But Recently I have made this curry two times . He liked it a lot. Though he didn’t eat garlic in the curry but he is now a great fan of that curry. Hope people who don’t like garlic also loves this curry. I have heard people saying garlic as poodu,poondu, velanga poodu etc . There might be lot more names also.

Poondu kolumbu

Ingredients:

1. Garlic pods (peeled) – 1 cup
2. Gingily oil – 2 tsp
3. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
4. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
5. Asafoetida powder/Perunkayam – a pinch
6. Curry leaves – a strand
7. Tamarind  – small lemon size
8. Salt – as required

Dry roast and grind the following into fine paste

1. Black peppercorns – 1 tsp
2. Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
4. channa dal – 1tsp>
5. Toor dal – 1 tsp>
6. Urad dal - 1/2  tsp
7. Red chillies – 3

Preparation

1. Mean time ,extract tamarind juice by adding 2 cups of water to the tamarind.

2. When the garlic turns light brown, add the tamarind juice and bring it to  boil.

3. While it’s boiling, add the asafoetida powder, turmeric powder and salt. This should be in stove for atleast 5 mins.

4. After a couple of minutes add the grinded paste and mix well.

5. Allow the content to boil for atleast 10 minutes at low heat. The content will start thickening.

6. Finally turn of the heat and add the remaining half tablespoon of gingily oil for an extra flavor.

7. Garnish with corriander leaves if you want. Got well with hot rice.

Tips

If you have added more water and the gravy is not thickening then in that case you can add a tablespoon of besan flour /kadala mava and whisk it in half cup water and pour it in the gravy and stir well. This will thicken the gravy in no time. For any type of gravy you can use this as a thickening agent.

Just to share with you…….

This is one of famous recipes in Tamil cuisine, which  I learnt after coming to US.  Chennai people will say about vadakari a lot .  I my place or my hubby’s place we have never heard about this recipe.  Though I heard this name in chennai I have never tried it there.  Two years back only I learnt this recipe from one of my friends Virshali . This goes well with Idli’s and Dosa’s . People used to say ,In hotels vadakari’s are made with left over vada , bajji like varieties what ever it is let us cook fresh vadakari. It comes little bit closer to parupu usali.

Vadakari

Ingredients

1. Channa dhal                   – 1 cup
2. sombu                            - 1/2 tsp
3. Onion                              - 1  big
4. Tomato                           -  1 (big size)
5. Green chillies                   -  2
6. Turmeric powder            - 1/2tsp
7. Chilli powder                   – 2tsp (  depends on your spicy level)
8. Garam masala                  - 1tsp
9. Curry leaves                    -  little
10. Ginger/ Garlic paste        - 1tsp
11. Cloves                               – 4
12. Cinnamon                        -1 small piece
13. Bay leaves                       – 1 big
14. Cumin seed                     – 1/2 tsp
15. Salt                                  - As per Taste

1. soak the channa dal for 1 hr and then  grind soaked channa dhal with sombu and  little salt  coarsely. Care should be taken so that it should not be fine paste.
2. Make vadas (shapes is not a problem) and fry this misture in oil . Don’t fry till it is crisp. If vada is cooked take out from oil.
3. Cool the vadas and when it is cool, scramble the vada into small pieces and keep aside.
4. Now in a pan, pour little oil. Splutter Cumin seeds,  , cinnamon, cloves, bayleavesand curry leaves.
5. Fry  chopped onions . Fry well then add the ginger-garlic paste and fry that well till raw smell goes away.
6. Add finely chopped tomato, and slited chillies along with above ingredients.
7. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt to the mixture.
8. Add 1/2 cup of water, and cook for some time until a thokku consistency is got. (don’t add too much water it will spoil the taste)
9. Finely add the  scrambled vadas in the gravy.
10. Mix gently, keep on low flame forfew mins.
11. Garnish with corriander leaves .

Tips

For those who want to cut down the oil just pour the grinded channa dal mixure in the idli mould . Steam cook and the scramble it and keep aside so that you can add this to the gravy at the end.

Just to share with you…..

Till I met my friend Kameeshwari I am not aware of Egg Puli kulambu.  I used to make egg kulambu in the same way as my  mutton curry without adding tamarind. In my place we won’t use Puli/tamarind  for Nonveg recipes (except fish).  Once we went to our friends palce for potluck (lunch) and we were there till dinner so she made egg curry that time. She told she will make egg kulumbu like kara kolumbu by adding tamarind extract and she prepared that recipe. It was really nice. You can try that too. You try it You will like it. She prepared with coconut milk . I have given another version also without not which is without coconut milk.

Method 1 (with coconut)

Ingredients

1. Egg-6
2. onion-1
3. Tomato-2
4. Ginger/garlicpaste – 1tsp  
5. Tamarind -lemonsize
6. Chilli powder-1tsp
7. Corriander powder- 2tsp
8. Turmeric powder – 1/4tsp
9. Sombu-1/2tsp
10. Curry leaves and corriander leaves
11. Coconut milk – 1/2 cup ( as needed)

Preparation

1. Heat  2tsp of oil in pan. Splutter Ani seeds (sombu) and curry leaves.
2. Add finely chopped onion and ginger/garlic paste and fry well.
3. Now add the chopped tomato and  fry well.
4. Add chilli powder,corriander powder and turmericpowder.
5. Add puli water and salt boil till raw smell goes away.
6. Add little coconut milk readily available in shops (if you don’t have grind 2 -3 tsp of grated coconut and add)
7. When the gravy is boiling break egg and pour when it comes up,break another and pour.close and cook in slow heatfor 5mins. Don’t put spoons inside before the poured egg gets cooked.

Method 2 (with out coconut)

Ingredients

1. Egg-6
2. small shallot onion -10  (or)  big onion  -1
3. Tomato-3
4. Tamarind -lemonsize

For grinding

1. peppercorns- 1tsp 
2. chillipowder-1tsp
3. garlic-10  
4. sombu-1/2tsp
5. jeera-1tsp

Preparation

1. Heat oil in pan. Fry well the finely chopped onion and tomato.
2. Grind the ingredients given under grinding and add the grinded masala and turmeric powder
3. Add puli water and salt boil till raw smell goes away.
4. When the gravy is boiling break egg and pour when it comes up,break another and pour.
5. close and cook in slow heatfor 5mins
6. Garish with corriander leaves

Just to share with you…..

This  coconut-mutton varuval is a hybrid my other two Mutton Recipes(Kara kari varuval and kari varuval). This  recipe is made cooking coconut pieces and mutton together so when you eat that mutton piece you feel a diferent taste. This is my daughter’s favourite recipe. This is so simple and yummy .  Special about this varuval is hotness  from Green chilli and sweetness from coconut are blended well in mutton pieces since wepressure cook  all these together.

  Coconut Mutton Varuval Main ingredients

Coconut goat Varuval

Ingredients

1. Mutton (goatmeat)        - 1/2kg
2. Fresh  coconut pieces – one handfull (make1/4 of one side of coconut into pieces)
3. Chilli powder                   – 1/4 tsp
4. Corriander powder       – 2tsp
5. Turmeric Powder         -  1/4  tsp
6. salt                                      - as needed
7. Medium size onion       -  1 (chopped)
8. smallsize Tomato          -  2 (chopped)
9. Green chilli                      -  5 ( deponding on how much spicy u want)

For Tempering

1. Pattai (cinnamon) -1
2. Kirambu(cloves)   - 3
3. oil
4. Curry and corriander leaves

Preparation

1. Clean the mutton pieces. Put the cleaned goat (mutton/ Kari) pieces in pressure cooker. Add coconut pieces, chopped green chilli, turmericpowder a pinch,  1/2 glass water   and  pressure cook for 6 or more whistles.
2. Heat the pan.  Add 2tsp ofoil. Heat it and then add pattai and cloves. Add curry leaves.
3. Now add the onion and tomato and fry well.
4. Add chillipowder,coriander powder,turmericpowder and fry well until everything is mixed and blended well.
5. Now add content from pressure cooker and let it cook until all the water is evaporated and the curry  becomes thick.
6. Garnish with corriander leaves.

TIPS

Don’t add too much of water while  cooking mutton because while frying in  tava it will take too much time.

Just to share with you…..

I am from Madathukulam (coimbatore) in Tamilnadu. As for as I know Thanjavur is famous for its filter coffee as Mayiladuthurai is famous for its masal vadai,Kumbakonam is known for its ‘kothsu’, chetti Nadu [Which consists of Karaikudi,pudhukkottai,sivakangai] is famous for its paniyarams,appams,chicken specials etc, Thirunelveli is famous for its ‘sothi kuzambu’ and Madurai is famous for its briyanis. I really wish to bring out the specials of tamilnadu in this site so that each and every visitor could be benefitied from it.

Viruthombal is TamilNadu’s speciality.Treating people with White rice, Mutton curry and payasam at home is a tradition. Most of our current food habits are not very healthy. But if you follow our traditional food, it contains excellent medical qualities to keep our body really fit. The ginger, garlic and numerous ingredients of our food continuously helps to maintain good health.

Fish is one of the most favourite food of costal districts where all forms of fish are prepared with special flavour to treat the tongue. But people which are not in coastal are like me can get only Dam fishes. They way ot taste aother varieties of fish is in its dried form only that is what we call as “Karuvadu” (dreied fish).Karuvattu (Dry fish) kulambu is the most special item which I am posting here.

When I was in my school days we have one neighbour (our family friend). . Her name is Agnes Mary and her huby is Adaikkalam. Their native is Trichy. Whenever she goes there she used to buy lots of Karuvadu (Dried fish stuffs like neimeen, nethili meen). Also she used to cook each karuvadu in a different way. They are one who brought karuvadu recipe into my family.

My husband used to like nethli karuvattu kolumbu only. Since in US  we are not getting Nethli I am using Anchovy and saddrines.

Ingredients

1. Small dry fish(karuvadu) - (5-10 ), cleaned and washed
2. Tamarind – big lemon size, soaked
3. sesame oil or any oil – 3 tsp
4. CurryleavesCorriander powder -3 tsp
5. Chilli powder – 1 tsp (or more)
6. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
7. Salt

Vegetable

1.  Bringal /indian egg plant -2 (chop lengthwise)
2. Mochaikottai/mochakottai – 1 cup pressure cooked
3. Drumstick – 4 or 5 small pieces

(All the three used will give you more taste and flavour  is you don’t have something then you leave that and add the others)

For Grinding

1. Medium size Onion(chopped ) – 1  (3/4 th for grinding and 1/4 th for tempering)
2. Garlic cloves – 2
3. Medium size Tomatoes - 1( chopped )
4. Sombu/ big zeera – 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan . Fry all the items listed in for Grinding. Then grind it well into smooth paste.
2. Heat 2tsp of oil in pan . Add mustard seeds and splutter. Then add  curry leaves,1/4th onion,and all the vegetables and also the dried fish. Fry them all well.
3.  Add chilli powder,corriander powder  and turmeric powder. Add little water and salt. Let it cook.
4. Extract thick juice from the tamarind  and add that .
5. Cook in medium heat atleast for 15 -20 mins. Slow cook for more time add the taste.

Tips: 

If you are going to use dried mochakottai then soak it fo 8 hrs and then pressure cook.  If you using fresh mochai no need for pressure cooking

If you are using the karuvadu brought in US then you have to add in the begining because it is taking more time to get cooked. If you are going to use Karuvadu form India then those you can add that just 10 mins before switching off.