Poondu-Milagu kulambu is a traditional Tamil recipe, but this one is different from Tamil and a Sourashtrian one. All the Sourashtrian people love this recipe and they prepare it in special occasions.

Ingredients:

Garlic pods - 10 - 13
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Black Pepper - 3/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2 or 3
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tsp
Salt
Asafoetida - a pinch
Oil - 3 tbsp
Tamarind puree - 1 1/2 cups

For seasoning:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5



Direction:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add black pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies. When they start to pop up, add garlic pods and chopped ginger and fry for for a few seconds.



2. When garlic pods turn into slight brown, add grated coconut, salt and asafoetida powder and fry for a few seconds and remove from flame.

3. Cool it down and grind it into a smooth paste using a processor with enough water.

My dear friend Mangala of Recipes 24X7 was kind enough to pass me on these awards. Mangala, I am really touched and encouraged by these awards.







Thank you very much dear! I promise to be a jewel of a friend and try to be a good chef. :)

I would like to pass these awards on to my best friend Deepa of Simple Home Cooking who inspired me to start my own blog and introduced me to a whole new blogging world. She is also an important part of my life and deserves these awards most.

I would also like to pass these awards to another best friend Sangeetha of Chila kurippugal. She has started her blog just now. And being the one who actually tasted all her delicious dishes, I'm sure she is going to be totally successful. Sangeetha and Deepu, you deserve these more than me! :)

I would also like to pass these on to Lavanya of Vividha Ruchulu who is an amazing cook herself. Keep it up girl! :)

I named it "Simple" because it is so simple to prepare with no grinding involved. Whenever we don't feel like cooking something elaborately, we can always have this option for chapathi. My mom used to make it all the time and now I prepare it once in a while. :)

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 or 3
Onion (medium) - 1/2
Tomato - 1
Green chilli - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Besan flour - 2 tbsp
Curry masala powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil


Direction:

1. Pressure cook the potatoes, mash them and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add chopped onion and green chilli and fry till onion turns golden brown.

3. Add chopped tomato and turmeric powder and fry till tomatoes are soft. Add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil.



5. Add besan flour, curry masala powder and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the mashed potatoes, salt and enough water to bring it to consistency.

6. Boil the masala for 5 minutes. This potato masala can be served with roti or naan.




Simple Potato Masala is my entry to CFK-Potato hosted by Deepa, initiated by Sharmi.

Keerai (spinach) Kootu is a very common yet healthy side dish for rice varieties. It can be prepared with variety of spinaches (available in South India). But in US, such varieties are not available. So I ended up with this spinach. It can be used as side dish for adults or directly mixed with cooked rice and given to kids.

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 bunch
Onion - 1/2
Red (or) green chilli - 1 or 2
Cooked Thor daal (or) Uncooked yellow Moong daal - 1/2 cup
Salt
For seasoning:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
For garnishing:
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp




Direction:

1. Clean and pick the spinach leaves.

2. In a pressure cooker, cook spinach, chopped onion, cooked thor daal (or) yellow moong daal, salt, red chilli along with 1 cup of water (3 whistles should do).

3. Season mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil in a separate pan.

4. After the pressure has gone, open the pressure cooker and add the tadka and garnish with grated coconut.

Manga Saadham is an option when I feel too lazy to cook. If the sourness in taste is not desirable, then the same recipe can be used for coconut rice except that the coconut shouldn't be fried, it should be added to rice directly.

Ingredients:

Mango (grated) - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
For seasoning:
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Channa daal, urad daal - 1/2 tsp each
Green chillies - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Cilantro (chopped) - 2 tsp

Direction:

1. Soak both beans together in water for 7 hours. Then pressure cook it with 1.5 cups water and keep aside.

2. Chop tomatoes and onion finely. Heat oil and ghee in a large pan, and add cinnamon, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.

3. After a few seconds, add chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw flavour has left.

4. Add chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and stir till tomatoes are cooked.

5. Then add the cooked beans with the liquid in it. Also add cumin powder and garam masala powder and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Moong daal and rajma masala can be served with rice, roti or naan.

Paal (Milk) Kolukkattai is a very simple sweet snack prepared in Tamil Nadu. Very suitable for children of any age, adults love it too. Its prepared with rice blended and cooked in milk along with coconut and sugar.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup
Coconut (grated) - 2 cups (I add so much because I love the taste of coconut, it can be reduced to 1 cup also)
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 or 2 tsp (increase if you want it sweeter)
Milk - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Salt - a pinch

Direction:

1. Soak rice in water for 2 hours. Then blend it coarsely with a very little water and 1/4 tsp of salt.


2. Add grated coconut and rice flour to the batter. If desired, you can add 1/4 cup of finely chopped coconut.