THE CHEF and HER KITCHEN

Friday, October 11, 2013

Tomato Chutney Recipe | Easy Chutney Varieties for Idli/Dosa

Tomato chutney is one of the easiest options for Idli and Dosa varieties and also is a nice change from regular Coconut Chutney. I have posted earlier a version of Tomato-Onion chutney and I am posting a simple and easy version of Tomato chutney today. It is very tangy and tastes delicious with Idli and Dosa or other Breakfast varieties.

Check out other chutney varieties for Breakfast items:

Tomato Chutney for Idli/Dosa Varieties:

Serves 2-3

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 10 mins | Total time: 20 mins

Cuisine: South Indian | Category: Chutney for Breakfast - Accompaniments

Ingredients:

3-4 Tomatoes, roughly chopped
2-3 Garlic pods

4-5 Green chillies

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Tamarind Pulp
1 tsp Sugar/Jaggery

Salt to taste

1 tbsp. Oil

to temper:

1 tbsp. Oil/Ghee

1/2 tsp Mustard seed
1 tsp Urad dal

a sprig of Curry leaves
a pinch of Asafoetida

Method:

Heat 1/2 tsp oil and add cumin seeds, green chillies and garlic pods and fry the chillies wilt. Remove it and keep aside.
Heat remaining oil in the same pan and add chopped tomatoes and fry them until they turn pulpy. This might take some 4-5 mins. Add soft tamarind at the end and mix well, if you are using tamarind pulp add it while grinding. Cool it a bit.
Grind roasted garlic, green chillies and cumin seeds with salt to a coarse paste.
Add cooked mushy tomatoes, sugar(jaggery) and tamarind pulp and grind it to a smooth or chunky chutney according to your preference. Add little water if required while grinding. Remove the chutney to a bowl.
In the same pan heat 1 tbsp. ghee/oil and crackle mustard seeds and add urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida and fry for some time and add this tempering to the chutney and mix well.

Serve it with Idli and Dosa varieties.

Notes:

You can add 1 roughly chopped onion and fry along with tomatoes and grind together to make tomato-onion chutney.
You can grind this chutney smooth or slightly chunky according to your preference.
You can even add 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup of coriander leaves when you are frying tomatoes, it adds a nice flavour to the chutney.
In case if you do not like smooth chutney you can also roast 2 tsp urad dal along with cumin seeds and grind it first before adding tomatoes, this adds some body to the chutney and also makes the texture different.
As the tomatoes add sourness it is important to add some sugar or jaggery to balance the taste. If you like it sour you can avoid adding sugar.
Green chillies can be replaced with red chillies in the recipe.

Technorati Tags: tomato chutney, how to make tomato chutney for idli and dosa, side dish for idli and dosa, chutney varieties, south indian chutney recipes, breakfast chutney varieties, quick chutney recipes, no coconut chutney recipes for idli and dosa, andhra recipes

Pulihora Recipes | Pulihora Varieties | Puliyogre - Chitranna Recipes

Pulihora is the most popular rice variety in South India. Pulihora is prepared using either lemon or tamarind where the lemon based one is known as 'Chitranna' in Karnataka and 'Chitrannam' or 'Nimmakaya Pulihora' in Andhra and the tamarind based one is called 'Pulihora' or 'Puliyogre' or 'Puliyodharai' in various south Indian states. The most popular pulihora varieties are Nimmakaya Pulihora(Lemon Rice) and Chintapandu Pulihora(Tamarind Rice). There are several versions of Tamarind Rice like Andhra style Chintapandu Pulihora, Karnataka style Puliyogre and Tamilnadu style Puliyodharai which are prepared differently with few variations. Apart from the regular Lemon rice and Tamarind rice, there are other variations to the pulihora like Maamidikaya Pulihora(Raw Mango Rice), Usirikaya Pulihora(Amla Rice), Dabbakaya Pulihora(Indian Grape fruit rice) etc which tastes good in its own way. There are new variations to the regular pulihora which are bit innovative like Cranberry Puliyogre, Gongura Pulihora etc. Apart from rice, one can use various ingredients like Poha(atukulu), Sooji, Semiya, Rice Noodles, Sago, Puffed Rice to prepare Pulihora which is suitable for breakfast. I have tried to compile all the pulihora recipes and would update the list when I post new recipes. As most of the pulihora recipes do not have onion(except for few breakfast recipes), they are suitable to prepare on festival days. Try few of the pulihora recipes for naivedyam during Navaratri.For complete collection of Navaratri recipes,check out here.

Aava Pulihora Nimmakaya Pulihora Chintapandu Pulihora

           Mango Gojju Pulihora     Usirikaya Pulihora             Cranberry Puliyogre

Puliyogre Mango Pulihora Dabbakaya Pulihora

Semiya Pulihora Rava Pulihora Lemon Shavige

Tamarind Shavige Maramarala Pulihora Gojju Avalakki | Tamarind Poha

Atukula Pulihora Sabsige Soppu(Dill leaves) Chitranna

Technorati Tags: pulihora recipes, puliyogre recipe, puliyodharai recipe, chintapandu pulihora, nimmakaya pulihora, chitranna, lemon rice,t amarind rice, rava pulihora, semiya pulihora, aava pettina pulihora, maramarala pulihora, rice varieties, south indian rice recipes, festival rice recipes, naivedyam recipes

Moong Dal Kheer | Hesaru Bele Payasa | Easy Kheer Recipes

Moong dal kheer is one of the easiest kheer varieties to prepare and is also my most favorite one. I have posted a version earlier-Moong dal Payasam which is a thicker version much like payasam, check out the recipe here. Today I am posting another version of kheer which my mom prepares.My mom prepares this quite often, saying that it will give a cooling effect to the body.She always prepare this kheer which would be of the consistency like badam kheer and hence she always used to serve this in a glass instead of a cup.

Though the ingredients used in this kheer and the regular Moong dal Payasam are similar the taste and consistency is entirely different. The former version is prepared using sugar and the consistency is thin where as the latter one can be prepared using either sugar or jaggery and is prepared thick like the other payasam varieties. I like both the versions but I prefer this lighter moong dal kheer as it is mildly sweet and love the idea of drinking the kheer biting into the fried cashew pieces and few moong dal bits here and there.This kheer is a treat when served cold on those hot summer days or as a warm kheer in the winters, it tastes nice either cold or hot.

For a vast collection of Payasam recipes, check out my post here.

Moong dal Kheer | Hesarubele Kheer | Pesarapappu Payasam Recipe:

Serves 2

Prep time:5 mins | Cooking time: 30-40 mins | Total time: 45 mins
Cuisine: Indian | Category: Sweets

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Moong dal(yellow variety)
1/3 cup Sugar
2.5 cups whole cream Milk
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
10-12 Cashew nuts, broken
2 tbsp. Raisins
2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

Heat ghee in a small pan and add cashew nuts and raisins and fry them separately until they turn light golden brown in color and keep them aside.
Boil the milk over the low flame until it becomes thick and reduces to 3/4th of volume.
In a small pressure cooker add the remaining ghee and add moong dal and fry until it turns slightly red in color.
Meanwhile boil water in another vessel and add the boiling water to the roasted moong dal.
Pressure cook moong dal for 2-3 whistles until the moong dal splits and is cooked. It should be properly cooked,you can cook the dal with a bite or little mushy however you like.
Add sugar to it and boil for 5-7 mins until the sugar is melted and the kheer starts thickening.
Add boiled milk to it and simmer for another 5 mins.The kheer would not be very sweet, it should be mildly sweet.If you like it more sweet add a couple of tbsp. of sugar more.
Add cardamom powder and fried cashew nuts and raisins mix well and switch off the flame.

Serve it hot/cold/warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

You can also add fried badam along with cashew nuts to the kheer.
You can make the kheer really rich by even pressure cooking the moong dal in complete milk,in that case you would need approximately 3 cups of milk.
The kheer would be slightly runny in consistency so it is better to serve it in a glass instead of a cup.

Technorati Tags: moong dal kheer, hesaru bele payasa, pesarapappu payasam, moong dal payasam, kheer recipes, payasam recipes, payasam varieties, festival recipes, navratri recipes, naivedyam recipes

Semiya Pulihora | Vermicelli Pulihora | Navratri Recipes

I am sure many of us prepare various kind of Upma Varieties on daily basis as it is the most easiest breakfast options.DH is not fond of the regular Sooji Upma and he likes to eat it in the form of Kharabath but he is really fond of Vermicelli Upma.Hence I prepare Vermicelli upma quite often and recently when my mom prepared this Semiya Pulihora he just loved it and started asking me to prepare this Semiya Pulihora than the regular Semiya Upma.

Semiya Pulihora is prepared in the similar way like how we prepare Lemon Sevai and my mom uses generous quantity of cashew nuts and green peas in the recipe instead of ground nuts which makes it even more delicious.It is a very simple recipe for breakfast,try it for a change instead of the regular Semiya Upma. You can even prepare this as a naivedyam for Navratri, for complete collection of Navaratri recipes,check out here.
In case if you are interested check out other Upma Varieties in my blog - Semiya Upma, Sooji Upma, Masala Upma, Lapsi Rava Upma, Semiya Upma, Murmur(Puffed Rice) Upma, Avarekalu Uppittu, Oats Kharabath, Rice Coconut Upma, Saggubiyyam(Sago) Upma , Kharabath and Atukula(Flattened Rice) Upma.

Semiya Pulihora Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time:5 mins | Cooking time:20 mins | Total time:25 mins + to prepare shavige

Cuisine: Andhra/Karnataka-South Indian | Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:

1 cup Semiya/Vermicelli or 1/2 small pack(200 gms pack)

1/2 cup fresh/frozen Green Peas

12-15 Cashew nuts,slit

8-10 Green chillies,slit

juice of 1 big Lemon

3-4 tbsp chopped fresh Coriander leaves

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

a sprig of Curry leaves

1 tbsp Chana dal

2 tsp Urad dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

3 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat a tsp of oil and add vermicelli and roast it slightly until they turn slight brown in color.Do not fry for long just fry until light brown and you get nice aroma.Cool the vermicelli.
Bring a pot of ware to boil and add a tsp of salt and oil and add vermicelli and boil it until it is done,it takes around 7-8 mins.Strain and give a cold water bath immediately to stop the further process of cooking.Cool it completely.
Blanch the green peas in hot water for few mins and drain them.
Heat oil in a big kadai and crackle mustard seeds.
Add chana dal,urad dal,cashew nuts and fry until they turn slight golden in color.
Add green peas and green chillies and fry for 3-4 minutes until the green chillies wilt and green peas gets fried nicely.
Add curry leaves and fry and then add turmeric powder and enough salt and switch off the flame.Leave it for 5 mins.
Add prepared cooked vermicelli to the tempering mixture and add lemon juice and chopped coriander and mix it nicely until everything is incorporated well.Taste it and adjust the seasoning according to your wish.

Serve it warm with coconut chutney,potato chips or sliced cucumber.

Notes:

I like to prepare this spicy and tangy and hence I add more green chillies and lemon to it,you adjust it according to your taste buds.
Cashew nuts add better taste to it,so do not skip it.Alternatively you can use ground nuts instead of cashews in the recipe and avoid green peas too.
You can follow the same recipe to prepare rice vermicelli by following the same procedure.

Technorati Tags: semiya pulihora, semiya recipes, breakfast recipes, pulihora varieties, festival recipes, how to make pulihora, andhra recipes

Payasam Recipes | Kheer Varieties | Festival Payasam Recipes

As the festive season is in full swing, its time when various kinds of Paysam/Kheer varieties are prepared as an offering to the God. No festival is complete without a Payasam. Payasam can be prepared with various ingredients such as Samiya, Sago, Suji, Rice, whole grains, various dals like Moong Dal,Chana Dal and vegetables like Carrot, Pumpkin, Bottle gourd and fruits like mangoes, tadgola, orange etc. I have compiled a list of Payasam recipes which we usually prepare at home. Plan to keep updating this list as and when I prepare more varieties. In case you have any specific requests for any Payasam variety , do leave a comment - will try posting that in the future. You can try preparing a few of the below during the 9 day Navratri festival. For accessing the complete list of Navratri recipes check out the post here.