Rice rava upma pidi kozhukattais /Dumplings

Ingredients:

Raw rice rawa - 1 big cup

Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsps

Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsps

Dry red chillies - 3-4

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt as required

Oil

Method:

Take a kadai pour oil in it and add mustard seeds,urad dal,dry red chillies, hing and curry leaves.

Now after the mustard seeds splutter add the rice rava and stir fry for 2-3 minutes

Add salt and mix nicely.

Add 3 measures of hot water to the rice rava and close it with a lid.

After 5 minutes open and stir the rava by turning it nicely.

You can even add some more oil to the mixture and mix nicely.

Now the raw rice upma is ready.

How to prepare upma kozhukattai:

After the upma gets lukewarm take some little by little in your hand and make balls by pressing with your fingers.

Now take the idli stand and place the balls one by one on the mould.

Now pour some water in the pressure cooker and place the idli stand inside with the balls

Let it steam for 20 minutes and then it will become solid.

Now you can put off the gas and remove the stand and keep aside.

The upma dumplings are ready to be eaten either with some chutney, sambar, or kathrikai puli gothsu which I shall post some time later.

Mangai Sadam /Raw Mango Rice

Ingredients:

Raw Mango - 6-7 medium size

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3

Green chillies - 4-5 (slit and cut into long pieces)

Salt as requred

Oil for cooking.

Rice - 1 cup

Method:

Wash the Raw mangoes well and grate them in a grater.

Take a kadai pour oil in it add mustard seeds,urad dal,chana dal,hing,red chillies and green chillies and season them.

Now add the grated raw mango pieces, salt, turmeric powder and mix nicely and cook till the raw smell of the mango goes.

In the meanwhile cook Basmati rice separately and keep aside.

Now take a vessel and put rice and put the cooked raw mango preparation and keep mixing little by little with rice and the mango mixture.

Now mix the rice nicely.

Take a kadai season with ghee and add few cashew nuts and roast and add to the mango rice and mix.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

The mangai sadam /mango rice is ready to be eaten with fried applam,vadam or chips.

Parangikai thogaiyal /Yellow pumpkin chutney

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin - 1 Big piece

Urad dal - 1 Tblsp

Dry red chillies - 10-12

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry size

Curry leaves - few

Salt as required

Method:

Remove the skin of the Yellow pumpkin and cut it into cubes.

Take a kadai and put some oil in it and roast the washed pumpkin cubes as shown in the picture.

Now keep the roasted pumpkin cubes aside.

Now put the urad dal and dry red chillies into the kadai with 1 tsp oil and roast.

Now put all the roasted items and wet grind into a chutney with salt,hing and tamarind and curry leaves (optional).

Now the yellow pumpkin chutney is ready.

You can have the chutney with hot rice and ghee or with sesame oil on rice.

If you want you can also have it with idli or dosa as a side dish.

Sambar sadam/ Bisi Bele Bhath/ Sambar Rice

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Tuar dal (red gram dal) -1/2 cup

Tamarind -1 big lime size

Potato - 2

Fresh peas -1/4 cup

Radish - 2

Violet brinjals - 4-5 nos

Lady's finger (Bhindi) -5-6 nos

Capsicum - 1 big

Carrots - 2

Onion - 2 medium sized or option small onions 1/2 cup (peeled)

Salt as required

Curry leaves - few

Ghee - 3 Tblsps

Cashewnuts - 10 nos

Fry in little oil and powder into masala:

Red chillies -7-8

Coriander seeds (daniya) -1 1/2 tsps

Methi (fenugreek) seeds -1/4 tsp

Urad dal (black gram dal) -1 tsp

Chana dal (bengla gram dal) -1 1/4 tsps

Grated dry coconut -1 1/2 Tblsp.

Method:

Cut all the vegetables and pressure cook till it is 3/4th cooked.

Cook tuar dal (red gram dal) with Rice by adding sufficient water in the vessel and cook in the pressure cooker till soft.

Soak tamarind in water and extract thick juice from it.

After the rice and dal are cooked nicely and the vegetables are also cooked,put all this in a vessel and pour the thick tamarind juice in it.

Now mix salt, hing (asafoetida), curry leaves, turmeric powder and mix nicely.

Heat oil and fry the peeled onions and also add this to the rice mixture.

Now place the whole rice mixture with every thing on the fire and stir for 5 minutes.

Now remove from fire and heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts and garnish on top.

You can also if you want garnish with coriander leaves.

Now the Sambar rice or Bisi Bele Bhath is ready for consumption.

Serve hot with crisp potato chips and any raita of your choice.

Nellikai Sadam (Gooseberry/ Amla) Rice

Ingredients:

Rice -1 cup

Small gooseberries- 15

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - as required

Green chillies -7-8

Oil -2 Tblsps

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal (black gram dal) -1 tsp

Chana dal (bengal gram dal) 1 tsp

Broken cashewnuts -1 Tblsp

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Cook rice and allow it to cool.

2.Remove seeds from gooseberry and cut as finely as possible.

3.Cut few green chillies into two.

4.Grind rest of the chillies with a dash of salt.

5.Take a kadai pour oil and add the seasonings and fry till golden brown.

6. Add green chillies and the gooseberries.

7. Cook till the goose berries become soft

8.Add the turmeric powder and salt and mix .

9.Now add the ground chiilies paste and mix thoroughly.

10.Now remove from fire.

11.When it cools down mix the cooked gooseberry with rice.

12. Garnish with coriander leaves, fry cashew nuts in a little ghee and top it on the rice.

Now the nellikai sadam (amla / gooseberry rice ) is ready to be eaten.

Vegetable Masala Rice

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

3 tblsps oil

1 small lump of tamarind

1 brinjal (egg plant)

1 potato

1 capsicum (green pepper)

1 carrot

a few beans

1/2 cup shelled peas

salt to taste

few curry leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

Fry in 2 tsps of oil and powder:

1 Tblsp Bengal gram (chana dhal)

1/2 Tblsp Black gram (Urad dhal)

1 1/2 Tblsps coriander seeds

3 dried whole red chillies

1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)

1 small cinnamon stick

3 cloves

For Seasoning:

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsps chana dhal

2 tsps urad dhal

Method:

1.Cook the rice, and cool on a plate.

2.Cut the vegetables into 1 1/2 inch pieces.

3.Prepare the masala as indicated above powdering it.

4.Heat the oil,add the mustard seeds, dhals and curry leaves.

5.When the seeds have popped add the potato, carrot , beans. Fry for a minute or two,and then add the capsicum and brinjals and fry for a few minutes.Cook until the vegetables turn soft.

6.Add the turmeric (haldi)and half a cup of water cover and cook.

7.In the meantime cook the rice separately.

8.Now remove the lid from the vegetables,add the peas and cook.

9.Now add the masala powder mix well and remove from fire.

10.Pour this cooked mixture on to the rice and mix well.

Add chopped coriander leaves for garnishing and also fried cashewnuts.

Now the masala rice is ready to be served with the raita of your choice.

I have chosen the cucumber raitha.

Cucumber pachadi(raita)

Cucumbers -2 nos

Green chillies -2 small ones

Curd - 1 whole cup

coriander leaves for garnishing

mustard seeds -for seaoning

Salt -as required

Method:

Peel the cucumber skin and cut into small pieces

put it in a vessel,put salt and add curd and mix well

now season mustard seeds and put in the raita

Now garnish it with coriandr leaves.

the cucumber raita is simple and ready to be eaten with the rice.