Ajwain Leaves ( Doddapatre ) Tambli (Tambuli), Karpuravalli Thayir Pachadi

          Until sometime back, I didn't know that we can make something other than a ' kashayam ' ( medicinal concoction ) with ajwain leaves/ karpuravalli/ doddapatre ( Coleus Aromaticus ). In our apartment, some members of the association grow fresh greens in small quantities, when I had gone to buy some, I found these ajwain leaves too. As a kid, I remember, that we were always asked to chew on a couple of these leaves ( most of the houses had this plant ) or drink the ' kashayam ' for its medicinal value. These leaves have a slightly peppery and spicy taste, so not many kids are happy eating this. So, when I saw them selling this also, I thought it was for that purpose only, but then, one of the ladies told me about this dish with it, named ' Tambli ' or ' Tambuli ' ( Udipi Cuisine ) and I also got the recipe for it. It's basically a raitha or thayir pachadi ( yogurt-coconut based dish ), very easy to prepare and tastes good when mixed with some rice. The best part is, you don't get the sharp spicy taste that you get when you chew the raw leaves..

Need To Have

• Ajwain Leaves/ Karpuravalli - 20
• Black Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Curd/ Yogurt - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5
• Dried Red Chilly - 1
• Salt to taste

Method

          Saute the cumin seeds and black pepper in a little oil and remove. To the same pan add the ajwain leaves ( washed and roughly torn ) and saute for 2 minutes, till it becomes soft, for about 2 minutes.

          Cool all the above and grind it along with the coconut and salt into a coarse paste ( add some water to grind ).

          Mix the ground mixture with the yogurt. Heat a little oil ( about a teaspoon ), add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the red chilly, asafoetida followed by the curry leaves, mix for a few seconds and add it to the yogurt mixture. Mix and serve with some hot rice.

Note
Fresh leaves are the best, at the most you can refrigerate these leaves only for 2 days.
You can have this as a raitha along with any mixed rice or pilafs too.

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Pusinikkai Thayir Pachadi, Ash Gourd, White Pumpkin Raitha

          Pusinikkai/ Ash Gourd/ White Pumpkin, most of the times I have made only kootu ( cooked with dal ) with this vegetable, or sometimes I have used it in sambar. Though I have heard of this thayir pachadi, I have never made it till now. It's a very easy recipe, very tasty and flavorful, we can have it as a side to some mixed rice or even mix it with rice ( like mor kuzhambu ) and have, a refreshing and healthy dish for the hot summer..

Need To Have

• Pusinikkai/ Ash Gourd - Peeled And Diced, 2 cups
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 8

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Roasted Gram Dal/ Dalia - 1 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Cook the pusinikkai pieces with some water and salt and cool it down to room temperature. Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '.

          Add the ground paste to the cooked ash gourd, also add the yogurt ( beat it well ) and mix everything.

       
         Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the urad dal, saute till it turns golden, then add the asafoetida and curry leaves and remove. Add this to the ash gourd, mix and enjoy.

Note
I have diced the ash gourd, you can also grate and use it the same way.
Adding more coconut is your choice, and you can leave out the roasted gram dal. 

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Mango Salad, Mampazha Salad

          Last week I had bought some mangoes, as much as I enjoy eating them as such, I wanted to try out something different with it. I had tasted chopped ripe mangoes with chat masala and I had liked it, so thought of trying out something like that, a salad with it. This is a very simple salad, needs no special salad dressing, just regular ingredients in the kitchen, I tried it with only half a mango but it turned out really good, so I made it with the other half too. A perfect side to any meal, rice or rotis or you can even have it with some tortilla ( corn ) chips..

Need To Have

• Chopped Mango Pieces - 1 cup
• Tomato - 1 small, chopped
• Chopped Onions - 1 teaspoon
• Lemon Juice - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
• Sugar - 1/4 teaspoon
• Black Pepper Powder - a pinch
• Chopped Coriander - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Take the mangoes, tomatoes and onions in a bowl, add the salt, sugar, pepper powder, lemon juice and coriander.Mix it gently and enjoy.

Note
If the mangoes are very sweet, then you can skip the sugar.

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Spinach Raitha, Keerai Thayir Pachadi

          Coming back after a ten days trip and settling down back is a real pain, especially in India, the whole house is covered with dust, with loads of laundry to do and to top all that, the hot weather makes things even worse. You don't feel like cooking and eating heavy stuff, tend to lean more towards to lighter foods especially something cold and healthy at the same time, like this Spinach Raitha. It's so simple to make, you can use either fresh or frozen spinach and it can be served cold or at room temperature, a perfect accompaniment to any meal..

Need To Have

• Chopped Spinach - 2 cups
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Grated Ginger - 1/2 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2, broken into half
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1 cup
• Salt to taste

Method

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, followed by the red chillies, mix once and then add the chopped onion. Saute the onions till translucent, then add the chopped spinach and grated ginger and mix for a minute or two. Add some salt, cover and cook on low heat, till the spinach is done.

          Add the grated coconut, mix for one more minute, remove and let it cool down a little. Then mix in the yogurt, check the salt and serve it along with your favorite rice or pilaf.

Note
You can also add a chopped tomato at the end along with the curd.

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Carrot Raitha

          Raitha is a must in my home, whenever I make parathas or briyanis, even otherwise my daughter  loves to have cucumber raitha just like that. We can make it with almost all vegetables and it's a healthy accompaniment to any meal. For today's raitha, I have used grated carrots and chopped tomatoes, very simple to make and the extra flavor comes from the seasoning..

Need To Have

• Carrot - 1 cup grated
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Grated Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Coriander - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• Curd/ Yogurt - 1 cup
• Green chilli - 1, deseeded  and chopped finely
• Nigella seeds/ Onion seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Take the grated carrots, ginger, tomatoes and coriander in a bowl. Add the curd and salt and mix well.

          Heat some oil, add the nigella seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the chopped green chilli, stir for a few seconds and mix it with the carrot and curd mixture.

Note
Can add 2 teaspoons of grated coconut, if you don't like or don't have nigella or onion seeds, you can do the seasoning with black mustard seeds, but onion seeds definitely gives a different flavor to this raitha. 

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Tomato Raitha/ Tomato With Yogurt And Spices

          Enjoying our stay here in the US, especially my daughter, she's having a nice time, visiting her friends and cousins. Now then, when we go back to India after a month, it's going to be again, ''oh I miss this and that and that " for sometime. Coming to today's post, since I am not cooking here, it's also from draft, a very simple and delicious raitha with tomatoes, just, the way I made it is slightly different. This goes very well with parathas, pilafs, or I can have it just like that, try it, am sure you'll like it..

Need To Have

• Tomatoes - 2, medium
• Yogurt/ curd - 6 tablespoons
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1, chopped
• Curry Leaves - 5

Method

          Boil water and add the tomatoes to the boiling water, keep cooking till you see the skin splitting on the tomatoes. Remove, cool, peel the skin, mash it well and keep.

          Mix in the grated ginger and yogurt with the mashed tomatoes. Heat some oil, add the urad dal, mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, followed by the green chilly and curry leaves. Saute for a minute and add it to tomato-curd mixture and serve.

Note
Use nice ripe tomatoes for this, otherwise it'll take a very long time for the skin to split when boiling in hot water.
If you want to use crushed or peeled can tomatoes, cook it a little and then proceed, otherwise it'll have a raw smell. 

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Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin/ Cucumber Salad

          After doing a long post on Tiramisu, I thought I'll keep this one simple and short, well the recipe ( if you can call this as one) is also very simple, Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin. This is a perfect accompaniment to any meal, or also, a healthy snack for hot summers, very mildly spiced and refreshing with a slight hint of lemon..

Need To Have

• Cucumbers - sliced
• Black Pepper Powder
• Roasted Cumin Powder
• Red Chilly Powder/ Paprika
• Lemon Juice
• Salt

Method
          Well, as you can see, I have not given any measurements for the ingredients, because I think it's individual preference, adding more or less of any ingredient. Take the cucumber slices, sprinkle some black pepper powder, chilly powder and roasted cumin powder and salt. Add a dash of lemon juice and you are ready to go.

Note
I prefer the seedless cucumbers for this, but it's up to you.
Add the spices and salt just before serving.
For roasted cumin powder, roast the cumin seeds slightly, then powder it.

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Cucumber Raitha/ Cucumber With Curds

          Cucumber Raitha, this is the most common raitha that's served with Briyanis and Pilafs. Very simple to put together with grated cucumber and curds, so refreshing especially in this hot Indian summer. My daughter just loves this, another reason, I make this very often..

Need To Have

• Grated Cucumber - 1/4 cup
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Curd/ Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          There's no big procedure, just mix everything together and serve it with your favorite rice or just have it as such, like my daughter.

Note
The ginger gives a nice flavor to the raitha, leave it only if you don't like it, you can also add some chopped green chillies and tomatoes to this.

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Grilled Corn Salad

          Everybody at home likes fresh corn, so when I see them in the market, can't resist myself from picking some. I usually boil it or grill it directly on stove top, both ways they taste very good. But the problem with corn on the cob, is the fiber that gets stuck in the tooth and if you are wearing braces, then it's a big 'No'. So I thought of using the grilled corn in a salad along with other vegetables and made a mint-ginger dressing to go with it. It turned out really good, you can also add some cooked pasta to it and make it a complete meal..

Need To Have
Fresh Corn - 1
Capsicum - 1/4 cup, chopped
Cucumber - 1/2 cup, peeled and chopped
Tomato - 1/4 cup, chopped

For The Dressing

• Olive Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
• Honey - 1/2 teaspoon
• Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
• Finely Chopped Mint - 1 tablespoon
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Grill the corn on stove top, as shown or on a outdoor or indoor grill. Slice the grilled corn kernels off the cob using a knife or a corn peeler, it came to about 1 cup. Mix the corn with all the other chopped vegetables. Mix together all the ingredients given for the salad dressing. Add it to the vegetables and serve.

Note
This salad tastes equally good when had at room temperature or chilled.
Add the salad dressing just before serving, the cucumber and the tomatoes will ooze out water.

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Vazhaithandu Thayir Pachadi/ Banana Stem With Yogurt

          Vazhaithandu/ Banana Stem, this is one of the vegetables that I missed back in the US. Though we got raw bananas and banana flower, we never got this, so while visiting India, this used to be a delicacy for us. The vegetable, as such is very rich in fiber and is supposed to be good for kidney stones. I make a couple of dishes with it, one of them is this Thayir Pachadi, a very easy and healthy preparation. The cooking part is very simple, but preparing the vazhaithandu is what is more important. I have given the step by step pictures for preparing this vegetable for cooking. Try this out as part of a healthy meal when you get a chance to find this vegetable..

Need to Have

• Vazhaithandu - 11/2 cups, chopped
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 6 or 7

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Chopped Ginger - 1/2 tablespoon
• Green Chillies - 2

Method

          The banana stem looks like a white log, with layers of rind surrounding the smooth interior, we can just make slits and remove the rinds easily, till you get a smooth log.

          Now slice it, after each slice, wipe and remove with your finger, the fiber that comes after each slice. Keep the slices immersed in water.

           Boil some water and cook the vazhaithandu pieces for just 5 minutes, drain and cool it.

          Grind all the ingredients given under 'to grind', adding some yogurt, don't add water.

          Add the ground paste to the vazhaithandu pieces, beat the yogurt and add, mix everything well along with some salt.

          Heat a little oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering add the asafoetida followed by the curry leaves, mix for a few seconds and switch off. Add it to the yogurt and vegetable mixture, mix and serve.

Note
You can prepare the vegetable the previous day, soak it to some thin buttermilk and refrigerate, adding buttermilk prevents the vegetable from changing its color.
Do not cook the vegetable for more than 5 minutes, it should have a light crunch to it.

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Taboule ( Couscous Salad )

          I am on a two weeks trip to the US, we haven't yet completely moved back to India. I was checking in the pantry for something that'll make up for a light lunch and found this box of whole wheat couscous. While checking the packet, I found the recipe for this salad ( Taboule) on it, and since I had all the ingredients in hand, went ahead and made it. Try it, it's so easy, ready in minutes and very healthy too..

Need To Have

• Couscous - 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - 3 tablespoons chopped
• Tomato - 1/2 chopped
• Onion - 1/2 small chopped
• Cooked Corn - 2 tablespoons
• Chopped Walnuts - 2 tablespoon
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons
• Lemon Juice - 3 tablespoons
• Olive Oil - 1 + 1/2 tablespoon
• Salt - to taste
• Ground Black Pepper - to taste

Method

          Take the couscous in a bowl, add 1/2 cup boiling water, the lemon juice and oil, mix, cover and leave for 10 to 15 minutes.

          Then fluff it with a fork, add the capsicum, tomatoes, onions, coriander, corn, walnuts, salt and pepper. Toss it all together and serve chilled ( keep in the refrigerator for 15 mins, I skipped this step, the salad was already cold).

Note
The original recipe called for 3 tablespoon of oil, which I felt was a little too much, so I reduced to one and a half tablespoon.
Also, there was no corn or walnuts in the original one, I added for the extra crunch.
And also the amount of boiling water added was only 1/4 cup, I added 1/2 cup, since I didn't want to eat undercooked couscous, and also I replaced parsley with coriander since I had that only in hand.

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Chickpeas (Chana) Raitha

          I have been a little busy the last few days, couldn't spend much time with my blog, and today's dish is also a very simple one. A simple raitha that would go well with any briyani or mixed rice, or if you are on a diet, this could be a complete meal by itself..

Need To Have

• Cooked Chickpeas - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Capsicum - 1/4 cup
• Chopped Tomatoes - 1/4 cup
• Curd Or Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste

Method
          Beat the curd well, mix in the chickpeas, capsicum, tomatoes and salt, that's it. I have not added any other flavoring ingredients, this raitha gets all its flavor from the crunchy chopped capsicum (green pepper).

Note
You can also add some chopped green chillies if you want it a little spicy.
If you want some other flavor, then add some roasted cumin powder, personally I liked the flavor from the capsicum.

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Vendikkai Thayir Pachadi ( Okra With Yogurt )

          Well, today I am feeling a little lazy, might be it's the end of the week or the beginning of the weekend, whatever the reason, I have chosen a very easy dish today. A simple thayir pachadi or raitha and I love this particular one with vendikkai or okra or lady's finger, I like the ones that we get here in Chennai, they definitely justify the name lady's finger, so slim and long. It's so easy to prepare, serve it as side dish with rice or rotis or parathas..

Need to Have

• Diced Okra - 1 cup
• Curd Or Yogurt - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Or Black Gram Dal - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/8 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Heat oil, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal, once it starts spluttering add the fenugreek seeds and the asafoetida followed by the chopped okra. Saute on reduced heat for about 5 mins, till the stickiness from the okra is gone.

         Then add the salt, turmeric and chilly powders, mix and cook till crisp and done. Cool, then mix in the curd and serve.

Note
Use a flat bottom pan, the okra will come out very crispy and crunchy, and let it turn black here and there, the raitha is more tasty that way.
Use chilly powder according to your taste, or you can add chopped green chillies along with the okra and fry till crispy, also you can add some fresh grated coconut to the raitha.
Do not let the fenugreek seeds turn black, it'll taste bitter.

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