Sago Pudding / Javvarasi Payasam

It is an easy to prepare dessert, also called Sago Pudding or Sabudana Kheer.

Pearl sago is called Javvarisi in Tamil.

Ingredients:

·        Javvarasi - ½ cup

·        Sugar - 1 cup

·        Milk - 1 cup

·        Cardamom - 3 pods

·        Cashew - 3

·        Raisins - 6

·        Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method of preparation:

·        Fry the javvarasi in ghee until golden brown.

·        Add ½ of cup water and stir continuously.

·        When javvarasi is cooked, add sugar and stir till it melts.

·        Remove from fire.

·        Add boiled milk and powdered cardamom.

·        Mix well.

·        Fry cashews in the remaining ghee and add to the payasam.

Serve hot or cold.

Hotel Style Sambar

Sambar, sambhar, Sambaaru, or Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Arhar dal / Toor dal (Thuvaram paruppu) - ½ cup
• Green chili - 3
• Sambar Onion or Small onion - 10 (or a big onion)
• Vegetables like drumstick, potato, eggplant, carrot, radish, beans- 2 cups.
• Tomato - 1
• Tamarind - a betel nut size
• Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
• Asafetida / perungayam /Hing - 2 pinches
• Jaggery  - ½ tsp
• Red chilies - 4
• Black gram / uluntham paruppu /Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds / Jeerakam - 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds / malli / dhania - 1½ tsp
• Fenugreek seeds (vendhayam) - ½ tsp
• Curry leaves - 3 sprigs
• Grated coconut - 4 tsp
• Edible oil: for frying and tampering
• Salt - to taste

For tampering:

• Mixture of mustard seeds and husked black gram (Urad dal) - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a sprig

Method of preparation:

• Take a pressure cooker. Add the dal with 1½ cups of water. Cook for about 3 whistles. Wait for some time. Release the pressure and slightly smash the cooked dal.

• Soak tamarind in a little water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze and obtain its extract.

• Cut onion, tomato and vegetables. Slit the green chilies length-wise.

• Heat a little oil in a pan. Add red chilies, dal, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, grated coconut and fry till it turns light brown. Make a fine smooth paste of the fried ingredients with little water.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add green chilies and onion, fry till onion turns brown.
• Add all the cut vegetables and fry for about 2 minutes. Add tomato, asafetida and turmeric powder. Fry for a minute. Pour enough water so as to fully immerse the vegetables. Cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked.
• When the vegetables are cooked, add tamarind extract, jaggery, salt and the ground paste. Cover with a lid and bring to boil.

• Add the cooked dal and required water. Remove from heat when samabar starts boiling.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and husked black gram. While spluttering, add curry leaves, remove from heat and add this with sambar.

Tastes good with idli, dosai, ooththappam / oothappam / uthappam, vadai, pattanam pakoda, bonda, pongal and cooked rice.

Naattu Kozhi Soup

A delicious medicinal soup from a native breed of chicken, prepared in Venthanpatti, Thekkur, Nerkuppai, Muraiyur, Surakkudi, Kozhikudippatti, Maruthippatti, Muthuchamypatti, Kalappur, Navinippatti areas, that cures common cold, cough, and fever. It is also called ‘Nattu koli rasam’.

It is a type of South Indian Desi Chicken soup. Hen or cock also becomes chicken after the preparation.

Ingredients:

·        Chicken pieces with bone: 1 lb

·        Ginger and garlic mashed:  3 tsp

·        Onion:  ½ finely chopped

·        Tomato: ½ finely chopped

·        Grated coconut:  5 tsp

·        Coriander powder: 1 tsp

·        Cumin powder: 1 tsp

·        Edible oil

·        Fennel & mustard seeds for seasoning

·        Black Pepper powder to taste

·        Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

·        Clean and wash chicken pieces and cut them into cubes. Cut the bones into halves.

·        Heat 4 tsp of oil in a pan.

·        Add onions along with fennel, mustard seeds, salt and Sautee for few minutes until golden brown.

·        Add the rest of the ingredients listed above and sauté for about 3 minutes in medium heat, until the chicken and all the curry powders are mixed and blended well.

·        Add 3 cups of hot water and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes in low heat.

Serve hot with rice or simply drink hot.

Pattanam Pakoda

It is also called Patnam Pakora. It is a very tasty, crispy outside and soft inside snack.

Ingredients:

·        Rice flour: 1Cup

·        Bengal gram flour: 1 Cup

·        Ghee: 6 tsp

·        Cooking soda: a pinch

·        Finely cut Onions: ¼ cup

·        Finely cut curry leaves: little

·        Finely cut cashew nuts: 1 Tbsp

·        Green chilies: 2 (cut finely)

·        Finely cut ginger: 1 tsp (optional)

·        Red Chili Powder: ½ tsp.

·        Edible oil: To deep fry

·        Salt: to taste

Method of preparation:

·        Rub ghee with a pinch of soda on a flat plate until frothy.

·        Mix both the flours with that evenly.

·        Add salt, chili powder and mix well.

·        Mix finely cut onions, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashew nuts with that.

·        Sprinkle very little water until it holds. (Like bondas batter)

·        Prepare balls and deep fry in hot oil until crisp.

Serve hot with chutney.

Kavuni Arisi

It is a special dessert prepared in chettinad area.

Glutinous rice is popularly called kao hnyin in Myanmar (Burma).This kao hnyin has become kavuni in chettinad area of Tamilnadu. Arisi means rice. Glutinous rice is also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice. It is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked.

Ingredients:

·        Kavuni Arisi (Glutinous rice): 1 cup

·        Sugar: ½ cup

·        Ghee-1 table spoon

·        Grated coconut: 2 tablespoon

·        Cardamom:  5

Method of preparation:

·        Soak the rice in water for about 4 hours.

·        Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook in medium flame for about 12 to 15 minutes. The idea for prolonged pressure cooking is to obtain soft cooked rice.

·        Smash the hot, softly cooked rice with a ladle and drain out the excess water if any.

·        Add sugar.

·        Prepare cardamom Powder (using mixer- grinder) by adding some amount of sugar.

·        Add this powder and ghee with the rice and mix well.

The sweet item ‘kavuni arisi’ is ready for serving.

Corn Dosa

It is also called Manjal sola Dosai, Chola maavu thosai, Makki dosai, Makka Chola Dosai, etc.

Ingredients:

·       Raw Rice: 1 cup

·       Corn Kernels: 2 cups

·       Green Chilies: 3 to 5

·       Ginger piece: 1 inch

·       Salt and Edible oil

Method:

·       Wash the rice.

·       Soak it for about five hours.

·       Grind it to batter.

·       Grind also the corn kernels with green chilies and ginger into a smooth paste.

·       Mix the rice batter and corn paste.

·       Add required salt and water and prepare dosa batter.

·       Heat a pan.

·       Apply oil (greasing).

·       Pour a ladle of batter on the hot pan and spread evenly with the same ladle.

·       Pour a little oil around if needed.

·       Cook both the sides under medium flame.

Serve hot with any chutney.

Fried Idli

It is also called Idli fry, Idly fry, or Fried idly. It is simply a yummy, crispy, delicious, crunchy and very tempting snack, which can be prepared easily and eaten at any time.

Ingredients:

• Idli (fresh or leftover): 5
• Chili powder: 1/2 tsp
• Edible oil for deep frying

Method :

·       Cut Idlies into required shapes (rectangle, diamond, square, etc.).

·       Heat oil for deep frying.

·       Deep fry the pieces.

·       Remove from oil.

·       Sprinkle Chili powder on them.

Serve hot with chutney, Sambar, Idli podi (Dosai podi), Ketchup, or anything you like.