Pongal

Pongal is one of the easiest tiffin item prepared in Tamilnadu. Almost all the restaurants in Tamilnadu will have this listed (Ofcourse next to Idli and Dosa).

Pongal-vada is the most common combo.

Pongal in tamil means 'Boiling and rising'. Venn Pongal refers to Kara pongal and so called Venn pongal due to its color (Venn - White).

I always have the habit of keeping the pepper aside from pongal. So my mom used to grind it and mix with it. But then adding whole pepper renders a different taste compared to pepper powder.

It is best done using pressure cooker (easy and less time consuming), but be careful while using pressure cooker. I had a bad experience with it...I have a very small cooker which I use only for cooking dhal. I cook dhal directly without using any vessel. Once I added more dhal and water (forgot to add oil), the dhal got stuck in the steam nozzle and the boiled dhal started pouring out through the valve (just like a fountain). I turned off the stove and just ran out of the kitchen.

It was pouring out for 5 mins (spoiled my cooker hood) and then stopped. Luckily nothing serious. Cleaning the kitchen took whole of my time and we opted for 'Take away' that day.

And I happened to read safety tips about using pressure cooker in Asha's Foodies Hope on the same day. What a coincidence !

Do read the Safety tips posted by Jyothsna's Curry bazaar when you get time.

Thanks Asha and Jyothsna.

Always use a vessel with a lid while using Pressure cooker.

I was not comfortable to touch my cooker for next two days, that is the reason for not having used cooker while preparing Pongal (in this post).

I used Basmati rice instead of the usual raw rice just to check how it tastes. It did taste well.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dhal - 1 cup
Water 6 - Cups
Ginger - 1 Inch
Black pepper - 2 Tsps
Cashew nuts 10 - 15
Curry leaves - Few
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
Ghee - 4 Tsps
Salt - As required

Method:

1. Wash rice and moong dhal.Drain the water.
2. Heat 2 Tsps of Ghee in a pan.Fry the rice and moong dhal .
3. Add water and salt. Allow it to cook. You can check the consistency inbetween. (You could alternatively use cooker to cook - leave 4 whistles)
4. Chop ginger into small pieces.
5. Once the rice and dhal gets cooked, heat 2 Tsps of Ghee, fry peppers, chopped ginger, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
6. Add this to the cooked rice and dhal and mix well.
7. Pongal is ready. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

This is my entry for RCI-Tamil hosted by Viji

I am sending this a week after the deadline...hope she accepts it..

Varattu Upma (Dry Upma)

Varattu Upma which literally means 'Dry Upma' is our all time favourite. It's been quite a long time since I prepared it. My mom prepares it in just few minutes with excellent taste. When I read about Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking Event, this is the one which striked my mind. And since it is made of Rice flour...this qualifies for Jihvā for Rice too ;), hosted by Sharmi and started (Jihvā for ingredients) by Indira of Mahanandi.

With just 4 basic Ingredients, this Upma tastes very good.

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 1 Cup
Tamarind - 4"
Red chilli whole - 1 No
Red chilli powder - 1/4 Tsp
Curd Chilli - 4
Salt - As required
Sesame Oil - 3 Tsp
Curry leaves - Few
Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp

Method:

• Start: 5.30
• Soak tamarind in water and extract the juice - 5 mins
• Gradually add the tamarind juice to the rice flour. Add salt and check the consistency. It should be like pakoda / pakora consistency (as shown in the picture) - 3 mins
• Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. - 2 mins
• Add Curry leaves, Red chilli whole and Curd chilli and fry. - 1 min
• Add the rice flour and red chilli powder. Fry for sometime by adding oil (if needed) - 3 mins
• Upma is ready to eat. Serve hot.
• Total Time: 14 mins

If you don't have Curd Chilli, you can replace it with Red chilli whole.

It was really exciting to have the timer nearby while cooking. I have mentioned only the time taken for the process. I have suppressed the time for my inbetween photography session.

Thanks to Mallugirl for organizing Summer Express Cooking Event and Thanks to Sharmi for hosting Jihvā for Rice. Here is my entry.

Carrot Dosa

We (atleast many) always look for a change in everything. Taking diversion from the usual track is exciting and feels different too. If not we wouldn't be exploring so many things. The same thing holds good with food too.

Carrot dosa is slightly different from the normal dosa. Healthy and tasty.

Once I had very less quantity of dosa batter but had to serve four people. My mother used to add Wheat flour or rice flour in such situations. I was thinking of alternatives to modify the batter. Why not add grated carrot? I tried it and worked out well. Here it is for you...

Ingredients:
Carrot - 1 Small
Green Chilli - 2
Rava - 1 Tsp
Dosa batter - 1 Cup

Method:

Dosa Batter Preparation:

1. Soak Rice and Urad dhal with proportion 3:1 and 1 Tsp of fenugreek in water for 3 hours. Do not add more than 1 Tsp fenugreek as it will bring bitter taste. It is to soften the batter.
2. Grind the mixture (rice, dhal & Fenugreek) and keep it aside for 3-4 hours before using it for dosa.

Carrot Dosa:

1. Grate Carrot and chop green chilli.
2. Slightly fry the rava
3. Take 1 Cup of dosa batter.Add the grated carrot, chopped chilli and rava to it.
4. Spread it in Tawa as we make normal dosa. You should be slightly careful with this as the carrot might get struck.
5. Crispy and healthy dosa is ready.

Nutritional Fact:

• Carrot - Contains Carotene, which the body converts to Vitamin A. Good source of potassium, Vitamin B6.
• Fenugreek - Used as digestive aid.

Vermicelli Uppuma

'Vermicelli' is an Italian word called 'little worms' (sounds gross…doesn’t matter anyway). In Tamil it is called as 'Semiya'. There are various dishes prepared using Semiya/Vermicelli. Here is a simple recipe for Vermicelli Uppuma.

Ingredients:
Semiya - 2 Cups
Onion - 1 Medium
Green Peas - 2/3 Cup (Frozen)
Red Chilli - 3 (or more based on your taste)
Bengal Gram/ Channa Dhal - 2 Tsp
Urad Dhal - 2 Tsp
Mustard - 1 Tsp
Cumin - 1 Tsp
Salt - As Required
Oil - 3 Tsp
Ghee - 1 Tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry semiya until golden brown and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil and splutter mustard.
3. Add Cumin seeds, Channa Dhal and Urad Dhal and fry until golden brown.
4. Add Onion , red chilli and curry leaves and fry.
5. Add Green peas and add 3 cups of water (Semiya:Water - 1:1.5) and allow it to boil.
6. Now add some salt (as per taste) and add semiya.
7. Leave in stove for 10 mins (until it absorbs the water).
8. Pour one teaspoon of ghee.

Note:

• Beans, Carrot can also be added.
• Cashew can be added along with other dhal.