Thursday, November 29, 2012

KADAPPA – A new friend of Dosa and Idli


In our food culture, chutney and sambhar become the common dip of dosa and idli. Apart, if a new accompaniment comes in unique taste that has to welcome by us. Thus Kadappa is a best example.

Kadappa is a dish from Kumabakonam and this place is most famous for delicious variety food corners and hospitality. Moong dal (Passi Paruppu) is prominently used in food here; reason moong dal is abundantly growing in Cauvery river belt. Kadappa is made out of moong dal and it’s like ordinary sambhar version but special masala flavour and taste made huge fans for Kadappa.

Kadappa can prepare by anyone at home those who have flair of cooking. Let’s start now….

First boil the moong dal till it mash well. In hot oil, fry the sliced onion and carrot roundels along green peas for few minutes. Stir by adding turmeric powder and pour enough water to boil the vegetables. Make a slight paste out of grated coconut, cloves, saunf, cinnamon, Khus khus, garlic, green chillies, fried gram and ground nut and add in boiled vegetable mixture. Reduce the flame then add tomato cuts and salt. Once the mixture starts roll boil, add boiled moong dal and wait till roll boil well. Take it away from heat; throw some curry leaves and coriander leaves on top. 

Now the most delicious and flavourable Kadappa is ready.  Best alter dip for sambhar and chutney in count of high taste.

Endeavor the new try…..

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Feast of Kurma – KEDAH VIRUNDHU


Kurma is a hot favourite dip for south Indian people…….. Why it got that much important in our diet? I shall list my preferred answer as FLAVOUR, TASTE, CONSISTENCY and all time best GO for any food stuff. Kurma is such a very few dishes you have feel slight identical on above said points in any part of India.

Kedah Kurma is a special Mutton Kurma preparation in Southern Tamilnadu during local festivals. This preparation has special taste because lots of considerations on selecting male goat (Kedah). Among the selection of goat, the growth of flesh in neck is important before slaughter.

Flavour & Taste – Ginger and garlic paste is an instrumental in spur the flavour of any type of Kurma when it mixes with spices. Some add ginger and garlic paste in two stages to increase the spice and Kurma flavour thus frying onion is one stage and while making coconut paste is another. Revamp the coconut masala flavour in separately fried spices is a new perfect option.

As a new try in taste twist, Khus Khus (Poppy Seeds) would be fried with spices at that time of seasoning spices in oil rather than usual grinding with coconut. Finishing touch with few drops of lemon juice which stops cloud formation over top and preserve the shelf life.
Consistency – Mashable ingredients potato, greenpeas in vegetable Kurma ascertain the regularity. Potato is an important characteristic to soften the meat much better and defend the meat from breakage while cooking. Onion and tomato have to fry separately, paste it and use for better yield. 

Let’s get in to the kitchen to prepare yummy village style Kedah (Mutton) Kurma

Onion – 2 Kg                                                       Cinnamon stick – 5g
Tomato – 1 Kg                            
Cloves – 3g
Ginger – 210g                                   
Garlic – 170g                           
Saunf – 6 g
Chilli powder – 25g                        
Mace – 2g
Dhania Powder – 25g                     
Mint leaves – 150g
Coconut – 2                    
Coriander leaves – 100g                        
Poppy Seeds – 10g                      
Turmeric powder – 6g
Cashewnuts – 30g                         
Garam masala – 5g
Mutton – 3Kg                                                
Salt and water ad required
Vanaspati, Ghee and Refined Oil – 1 ½ liters (combined)            
Cumin Seeds – 2g
Green chillies – 08g
Cardamom – 1g                

Method
Separately fry the sliced onion, tomato and fine paste it keep aside.  
    
Make ginger and garlic paste. Now dry fry the spices one by one alone. 

Make a Kurma paste very finely (without any spice granules) with grated coconut, Poppy seeds, cashewnuts and all fried spices then keep it away. Boil the mutton along masala powder, coriander and mint leaves in pressure cooker up to mutton tenderize.

Heat the fat in heavy bottomed hundi, add the onion paste and slitted green chillies fry it for 5 minutes. Then add tomato paste fry both get mix well. Add ginger and garlic paste and cook till raw flavour goes out. Now add the masala powder one by one except garam masala and coriander powder. Moderate the fire and Stir continuously, cook for another 7 minutes.

Now see the red colour appears over the gravy. In this time add mint and coriander leaves, boiled mutton pieces and mix all together.

Then pour 6 litres of water, once it starts boil then add coriander powder and salt. Let it to boil well for another 10 minutes. Now you can realize the gravy flavour, at this time add coconut paste mix well. Reduce the flame and cover the lid for another 15 minutes.

Finish with fine chopped coriander leaves, garam masala and ghee. Mix all well, now turns off the flame and covers the lid for another 10 minutes. 

Serve it hot with your mind like dishes

Note  

Add some chilli powder in oil first fry it for few seconds to improve the gravy’s red colour then add remaining masala power. Also you can add the spices in seasoning time rather than grinding with coconut.

12g of poppy seeds (Khus Khus), 2g of Saunf, 30g of ginger and 15g garlic are enough for a coconut to prepare 2 litres of Kurma.

Hope above recipe shall make some refresh in your Mutton recipes.

Fill your plate with steamy white rice and Mutton Kurma. Let’s enjoy the taste.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Deepavali Soru - A Special Biriyani Recipe


Colourful diwali season adorned your kitchen and dining table with variety of delicacies, but in this diwali I wanted to give you unusual touch up by giving a new recipe “Deepavali soru”

Enga erunthu pa entha mathiri recipe kondu varinga nu? (Where have you been taken such recipes?) Hahhah, sir / madam this is really prevailing one in southern part of Tamilnadu (Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli region). But in this place it is known as Sundaa Biriyani. I am delivering this recipe on the time of diwali, hence I named it as Deepavali Soru

It is a Biriyani version but slight change in preparation and taste too while reading recipe you would understand the difference from common. In sometimes after Sundaa Biriyani preparation, the rice shall be mixed gently with thick curd after that tossed in mild fire for a while. This makes the biriyani to be preserve for long time and identifies the difference from other biriyani style.

Deepavali Soru recipe

Seeraga Samba Rice – 500g
Small Onions – 100g
Tomato- 03 nrs
Boiled Mutton – 350g
Mint and Coriander leaves – 50g and 30g
Ginger – 1 piece
Garlic – 6 cloves
Green chillies – 4nrs
Redchilli powder – 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Coconut Milk (thin) – ½ litre
Water - 1/2 litre
Salt – to taste
Coconut oil, dalda and refined oil– 25ml, 50ml and 50 ml
Ghee – 60 ml

Method

Make  Masala Powder  out of Cumin – 2g, Saunf – 1g, Cinnamom – 1g, Cloves – 2 nrs, cardamom – 3 nrs, Staranise - 1, Kalpasi – 1g and Mace- 1g, dry fry all and fine powder it in mixie.

Then make a fine paste – ginger and garlic paste, green chilli paste and small onion, tomato paste.

Pour oil, dalda and half of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Now add cashewnuts and golden fry it.

Add ginger, garlic paste, fry it in mild fire. Then add finely pasted small onion and tomato paste. Fry it continuously till the raw flavour goes off and upto added onion and tomoto mashed well.

Now add turmeric powder, greenchilli paste and redchilli powder sauté all well. Let see now the rogan floats on top. It is a right time to add chopped mint and coriander leaves, mix well.

Then add boiled mutton pieces, mix it. Add little water and allow the mutton to cook in gravy for another two minutes.

After mutton boiled well in gravy, pour water now and add salt. Once the water roll boil add the thin coconut milk. Add rinsed seeraga sambha rice after the water starts boil. Allow the rice to cook.

Then the rice absorbs water, put it in dum for 20 minutes.

Once the dum opened pour the ghee slowly over rice and also drizzle the masala powder. Mix the rice gently and be careful the masala powder mix well. Now the delicious deepavali soru is ready to eat.

If you like you would add thick curd in biriyani and do as how i have said on top. 
Please don’t miss deepavali soru, hope you really enjoy the taste and mark your lovable comments.

Have a Happy Sundaa Biriyani Deepavali.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Kudos to Sambhar


If anyone asks a question such which South Indian dish hypes the entire South Indian food? Without thinking on much my credit answer is SAMBHAR

Sambhar goes along with any South Indian delicacies especially give address to Idly and Dosa. The taste of South Indian sambhar is unbeatable and lining up a master of all South Indian foods. Plenty of sambhar varieties are revolve around Tamilnadu, commonly known Araithu Vitta Sambhar, tiffin sambhar and lunch sambhar, also it may named by the type of lentil used for the preparation. Other than South India, sambhar is the responsible diet of the Marathis and punjabis life and day.



Literally Sambhar derived from the sanskrit word Sambharanam means collection. The name emerged from the royal kitchen of maratha rulers who ruled Tanjore those days.  

Sambhar is a visiting card to South Indian food, even sometimes to Indians who travel abroad. Generally the taste be increased in sambhar by addition of freshly grounded masala or powder (with or without coconut). Consistency determined by the masala powder or grounded masala used in the sambhar and it being responsible for colour, flavour and taste.

Multiple ingredients are added with sambhar but usually the sambhar name is concluded by vegetables and leafy vegetables (spinach) added in it. If spinach varieties added in the sambhar that would be little watery and the vegetable base must be stable.  When we pressure cook the dal add few yellow pumpkin chops would provide richness to the dal and results good yield to the end product. Be specific on cooked lentil must be mashed properly before it added with vegetables and seasonings. If you want the toor dal has to mash well as soon - a trick is there, add little castor oil while pressure cook results fine mash of dal reduce your beating option. 

Turmeric powder is an important agent in sambhar making to spur the colour and the end silky texture. So always fry the turmeric powder in the oil that mean add turmeric powder once after the onion done in oil but before adding tomatoes, vegetables and other ingredients. Then you know, a typical Tamil style country sambhar is finished with slightly grounded cumin seeds and grated coconut mixture would blend and increase the earthy aroma and taste.  

Put your hand on my Homemade sambhar powder recipe

Dry Redchillies –  1 kg
Turmeric Powder – 25g
Coriander seeds – 800g
Peppercorns – 15g
Channa Dal – 1 1/2 kg
Toor dal – 1 ¼ kg
Urad dal – 75g
Jeera Seeds – 150g
Curryleaves – 150g
Asafoetida – 50g
Methi Seeds – 30g

Dry fry each ingredient separately in the kadai. Make it into fine powder in the mixie and then sieve it.
Keep the powder in the air tight container and use whenever it needs.

Note

If needs you can add little ghee while frying the masala powder ingredients. Add the homemade sambhar powder in the final stage of sambhar making. Do not allow the sambhar to boil more than 2 minutes. Use 80 gms of Sambhar Powder for 1/2 kg of Toor dal for better result.

All time whole hearted kudos is there for sambhar

Let’s enjoy the superstar of South Indian Cuisine