Chettinad Eral Gravy / Prawn Curry Recipe

                  For any non vegetarian, there will be a special crush for prawn recipes. Recipes with prawns are effortless, but the outcome will always be appetizing. This prawn gravy is a fata-fat gravy, yes it consumes your time very less.

Chettinad Eral Sukka/ Prawn Sukka/ Shrimp Dry Recipe

                It has been long time since I am blogging. Yet my long pause has been resumed by a damn delicious recipe, (after trying you ll too accept with me) Prawn Sukka.  Rather than saying me as Non- vegetarian, I would exclaim myself as a lover of Sea Foods. Prawn is a perfect one of the sea food group.

Mochakottai Kuzhambu / Fried Beans Kuzhambu

                       Mochakottai Kuzhambu according to me made by my aachi(grandma) is the perfect one. For cooking the mochakottai (fried beans) she only uses mud pots instead of cooker. The cooking time using mud pots will be a little more but still the taste will be heavenly. As always cooking in mud utensils will give a added up taste from usual taste.

                     I have also read in a article that the black mochai ( black fried beans ) is good for health. Lets look into the preparation.

Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 30 mins


Ingredients

1/2 cup Mochakottai ( Fried Beans)
Small lemon sized Tamarind
2-3 nos Small Onion Chopped
1 Tomato 
3 nos Brinjal (small)
2 nos Ladys finger
1/2 Drumstick
3 small pieces Raw Mango
1 tbsp Chilly Powder
1/2 tbsp Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
As per Taste Salt


To grind
1/4 cup coconut grated
2-3 nos Small Onion
1 tsp Cumin Seeds


To Temper
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Vendhayam)
1/4 cup Small onion Chopped
1 spring Curry Leaves



Procedure

1. Soak the mochakottai(fried beans) for nearly four hours. Cube all the vegetables. Cut drumstick lengthwise (into equal sized pieces)
Soak the tamarind in hot water. In a mixer jar put all the items under to grind and make paste.

2. Extract the juice of tamarind. In a vessel put all the vegetables (except lady finger and raw mango), grind-ed paste and the extracted tamarind juice.

Saute the ladyfinger in frying pan separately and keep aside.
Cook the soaked mochaikottai for nearly 5 whistles in pressure cooker and keep aside. 

3. In a small plate take the chilly powder and coriander powder. We have to saute the both the powders in 1/2 tsp oil.

4. Add the saute-ed powder along with the above mixture(coconut paste, tamarind juice n veges).

5. In a heated kadai add the sesame oil, after it gets heated add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. After the mustard splutters, add the curry leaves and chopped small onion. Wait till the small onion turns brown colour. Add it along with the above mixture. Add the cooked Mochaikottai also.

6. Heat the above mixture and allow it to boil for 5 minutes in high flame, now add the mango and ladysfinger. Again allow it to boil for another 5-7 minutes in medium flame. Then switch off the stove. 

                  Your Mochaikottai kuzhambu is ready to be served.


                Note:

• You can make this kuzhambu by roasting the mochaikottai also(instead of cooking).
• This kuzhambu can be made without adding brinjal, drumstick, ladys finger, mango also. i.e; just by adding onion and tomato and mochai kottai (fried beans).
• Sauteing of chilly and coriander powder gives a good flavor. If you feel no need to saute you can just add the powders.

Murungakkai Poriyal / Drumstick Curry / Drumstick Stir Fry

                         Drumstick is a magic vegetable that gives a special taste when added with sambhar, vatha kuzhambhu, adai, etc. The sambhar made with drumstick and raw mango will give a divine taste. Without adding the drumstick leaves no kootan chooru or adai dosai or ragai adai will not be made in my native village.

                        And i have to tell one thing that, my mother in law will not tell the name murungai kaai (name of drumstick in Tamil) because my father-in-law name sounds so (a little), instead she will tell the vegetable on the tree.

                        Drumstick and its leaves have a good source of iron and calcium. In villages they will make poriyal or soup using the leaves and flowers of drumstick for lactating mothers.

Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 20 mins                 
                       

Ingredients

2 nos Drumstick (Cut)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
2 tbsp coconut grated
As per Taste Salt


To Grind
2-3 nos Small Onion 
5-6 nos Garlic 
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1-2 nos Dried Red Chilies


To Temper
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard
2 nos Small Onion Chopped 
1 Spring Curry Leaves


Procedure

1. First cut the drumstick into small equal sizes and make a slit lengthwise on the drumstick.

2. In a pressure cooker put the cut drumstick and add water a 1/4 cup water and turmeric and hing and a 1/2 tsp salt. Put in high flame for two whistles.

In a mixer grinder just grind the things under to grind.

3.Add the grind-ed paste with the boiled drumstick. 

In a kadai, put some oil followed by mustard seeds and wait it to splutter, then followed by curry leaves and chopped onion. Add the drumstick along with the grind paste.

4. Finally garnish with the grated coconut.

             Note:

• Instead of pressure cooking we can also boil the drumstick in a kadai and continue the same process. This will be more tasty than pressure cooking method.

This poriyal goes good along with sambhar.

Spicy and Tempting Tomato Thokku / Tomato Pickle/ Thakkali Thokku

                    Pickle making according to me is a very difficult task, because any small mistake made will spoil the whole pickle itself. So I ll always be back of my grandma for making perfect pickles for me. But tomato pickle is one which we make easily and surely will not go wrong as the end product.

                  Now a days the tomatoes are very  cheap, so i thought of making a pickle/ thokku out of it. I have read in many articles that we have to take plenty of fruits/ veges that are available in those seasons.
 
                 This tomato thokku is like an all rounder thokku as it goes well with idli, dosa, chapattis, parathas and especially with curd rice ,etc.

Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 20 mins                
                       

Ingredients
6-7 nos Tomatoes (Ripe)
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Hing
2 inch sized Jaggery
As per Taste Salt

To Roast and Grind
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
12-14 nos Dried Red Chilies

To Temper
7 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Mustard
1 Spring Curry Leaves


Procedure

1. First dry roast the fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds. Powder it and keep aside.

2. Dry roast the red chilies and powder it coarsely. (I roasted more chilies for some other dishes).

3. Wash the tomatoes and make puree out of it. You can also cube the tomatoes very finely. Add the turmeric powder and hing along with the puree.

4. In a heavy bottomed vessel (i used mud pot), add the sesame oil and temper with mustard and curry leaves.

5. Followed by powdered chilly and fry without burning.

6. Add the tomato puree and salt.

7. In low flame let it cook for 10 minutes, now add the powdered fenugreek and mustard and the jaggery.

8. Let it cook for five minutes. At this stage you can see the oil oozing out. Now we can turn off the stove and let it to cool down.

                  Note:

• For this thokku country variety tomatoes will taste better than the hybrid ones.
• Instead of adding powdered dry chilies you can also add the chilly powder itself.
• When you refrigerate and use it will have shelf life of months.

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu / Vadai Kuzhambu

                   Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu will be in the favorite list of many. And so me and my husband just loves this kuzhambu. 

                   On my initial stages of cooking, it was a big challenge for me to make this kuzhambu without breaking the paruppu urundai's in it. Then my neighbor said me a technique to just shallow fry the balls so that they will not break while cooking.

                This Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu is the typical Tirunelveli style of cooking. We don't add fennel seeds but instead jeera is added. This taste will also be great.

Prep time  2 hours ( For soaking the bengal gram)

Cooking time 20-30 mins

Ingredients

For Urundai's

3/4 cup Bengal Gram
7-8 Small Onion chopped
1 Chilly chopped
1 inch sized Ginger chopped
2 tbsp Curry leaves chopped
A pinch Hing
As per taste Salt

 
   For Grinding

   1/2 cup Coconut grated

   1 tsp Cumin seeds

   5-6 Small onion peeled
   1 tbsp Chilly powder
   1 tbsp Coriander powder


   For Gravy

  1 gooseberry sized tamarind ( juice extracted)
  Along with above grind-ed paste


  To Temper

  3 tbsp Sesame oil
  1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
  1 tsp Mustard seeds
  3-4 Small onion chopped
  1 Drumstick (optional)
  2 tsp Curry leaves



Procedure

1. Soak the bengal gram for two hours. Then drain the water and grind it into a course paste. With the paste add chopped onion, green chilly, ginger, curry leaves, little hing and salt.

2. Mix all the ingredients in the step 1 and make balls out of it. Then in a Kadai put little oil and and shallow fry the balls.

3. Fry all the balls and keep them aside.

4. This is the step for making gravy. First soak the tamarind and extract the juice out of it.

Then make very fine paste using coconut, small onion and jeera. Finally add the chilly powder and coriander powder to the paste and just inch the mixer grinder. 

Add this paste along with the extracted tamarind juice.

This is the image of extracted juice and chopped veges for tempering.

5. In a kadai (I use mud pot) put the sesame oil , then fenugreek seeds followed by mustard seeds. After it splutters add onion and curry leaves. Then add drumstick, garlic is optional. Saute it for some time.

6. After the  drumstick is half cooked add the tamarind gravy mixer and allow it to boil. Once it starts to boil add the fried balls.

             Don't mix it with the laddle because the balls may break.Let it cook for five minutes, now your most awaited Paruppu Urundai kuzhambu is ready. 

Best with steamed rice. They usually make kadalai thovaiyal as side for this in my native.

In my plate I served it along with greens and poriyal.   

         Note: 

• We in Tirunelveli Style of cooking don't add fennel seeds to it, if you wish you can also add the fennels seeds add it to the balls/urundai's we make.
• If you feel no need to shallow fry the balls/urundai's , you can also them cook in idly cooker.
• When I make this kuzhambu I usually take more measure of the items for make urundai's, because I will store it and make Aama Vadai/ Bengal gram ada out of them. Served with hot tea.(See my next post)