Easy Pulisseri - Majiga Pulusu - More Kolumbu - Yogurt Curry

I made this easy yogurt curry, "Pulisseri" in Malayalam (Kerala), "Majiga Pulusu" in Telugu (Andhra Pradesh) and "More Kolumbu" in Tamil (Tamil Nadu), because Shoj likes to eat this a lot. In Kerala they make this adding a ground paste of coconut, but I don't like it that way much. So thought of making it my way and it turned out to be good and Shoj also liked it. In Andhra Pradesh, my mom usually makes it by adding Basen (Chana dal flour), i don't like it that way either.

Actually I am not trying to criticize anyone or any state of India, but wanted to add a little twist to the original recipe and make it simple and taste the same.

Ingredients:

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1 cup Yogurt

I big pinch of Fenugreek powder

½ tsp Turmeric powder

¼ tsp Chili Powder

¼ tsp Coriander powder

½ tsp Cumin powder

Salt to taste

1 medium Onion chopped

1 Big pod of Garlic hopped

¼ inch Ginger finely chopped

2-3 Green Chilies

1 Dry Red Chili

Water as needed

1 sprig Curry Leaves

¼ tsp Mustard seeds

1tsp Oil (optional - coconut oil)

Method:

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In a sauce pan add oil and when it’s hot add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dry red chili.

Now add the ginger and garlic and sauté it for a min.

Add the Onions and sauté it until they turn to transparent

In the meantime whisk the yogurt well adding a bit water (1/4 cup) to make it bit thin, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, cumin powder and fenugreek powder and mix it well with a whisk.

Now reduce the flame or temporarily remove the pan from heat and add couple tbsp of water and mix well.

Now add the Yogurt mixture and mix well again and place again on the stove in low heat and keep stirring it and add salt to it.

This curry should not boil or heat too much because it will cuddle the yogurt.

Note: to make the perfect curry – bend to see the top of the pan and check for a slight steam coming, and keep stirring. This will not cuddle the yogurt.

Now remove this sauce and transfer it to a bowl and stir occasionally so that you can avoid the yogurt from cuddling.

How to Avoid Fraudulent Home Improvement Contractors

Protect Yourself and Your Home from Contractor Rip-offs, Scams and Shoddy Work!

As winter comes to a welcome end and we enter the spring season, homeowners inevitably will be besieged by offers, promotions and come-ons from all kinds of home improvement contractors and installers – plumbing, air conditioning, doors, windows, remodelers, landscapers -- you name it. Most will be legit...but some won't be.

Unfortunately, fraudulent contractors are extremely common in the home improvement industry…and they really seem to come out of the woodwork around this time of year. Because this area is so specialized and intimidating to many homeowners, it is easy to get taken advantage of by a disreputable “professional.”

Whether you are looking for a home improvement contractor to perform routine repairs, install equipment or perform major reconstruction and remodeling, here are a few simple tips to ensure that your home improvement contractor or installer is on the up and up.


Get It In Writing
Make sure to thoroughly read and understand the written contract for your home improvement project before you sign. Discuss your questions and get clarification. If you are not given an estimate and a contract in writing, or if your contractor is unwilling to explain things to you clearly, hire someone else. If you don’t understand a contract, don’t sign it; you could obligate yourself to repairs that you are not prepared to pay for. And don’t give any oral commitments to any work; as Yogi Berra once said, “An oral contract ain’t worth the paper it’s written on!”


Cheaper is Not Always Better
When it comes to home improvements, you almost always get what you pay for. Be wary of contractors that promise things that sound too good to be true. If your instincts tell you something strange is is up, you are probably right. Cheap contractors usually use cheap materials, sell cheap equipment and employ cheap, inexperienced, low-quality labor. And that can cost you a lot more in the long run -- both in operation costs and in future repairs.

Fraudulent contractors often try to scare homeowners with news of urgent or emergency repairs…or fantastic deals that you must act upon immediately. Do not let anyone pressure you into costly repairs on the spot; seek a second or third opinion to be sure. Always shop around and get multiple estimates. Focus on getting the best value; not the best price.


Check Credentials
Is your contractor properly licensed? Can he get all the permits to legally perform your home improvement or repair? Does he have a favorable rating from the Better Business Bureau? Does he belong to professional and industry trade organizations? Does he follow the industry’s best practices? Reputable contractors can answer yes to all these questions.


Get a Referral
Word of mouth is crucial in hiring a good contractor, but you have to be sure your referral is coming from a reputable source. Never base your decision on the word of a solicitor or stranger. Instead, ask friends, family members and neighbors, or consult a referral service that provides the names and contact information for qualified, pre-screened professionals in your area. Do not just go for the cheapest price estimate—take the time to get a solid referral; you could save thousands, especially if that amazing deal offered by the door-to-door salesman turns out to be a fraud. The best home improvement contractors have been in the business for some years and have a track record of customer satisfaction.


Read Home Improvement Contractor Reviews
There are plenty of websites that offer unbiased customer reviews of local businesses and contractors – among them Yelp, Insider Pages, Angie’s List, Local.com – as well as business directory sites (Yellowpages.com etc.) and search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Take the time to go to these sites and check out reviews. Click Here to View a List of Customer Review Sites!


Beware of “Travelers”
“Travelers” are door-to-door solicitors that come knocking in hopes of gaining your trust and your business; this is one of the most common contractor frauds. These scam artists will talk fast, promising steep discounts on everything from roofing to bathroom remodeling. They will often cite their exclusive access to overstock building supplies as the reason for their great deals. The best way to protect yourself is to politely decline the sales pitch from the start, but you can also check the yellow pages for the name and number of the contractor at your door. If you cannot find a listing, tell him to hit the bricks.


Never Pay Up Front
No reputable contractor or installer will ever ask for payment until after the work is completed to your satisfaction, and will never require cash payment. If your contractor asks for payment up front or insists on doing a cash-only business, find a new contractor.


Do Not Get Your Own Building Permits
Another common tactic employed by fraudulent contractors is to request that you secure any necessary building permits yourself. A good contractor will do this for you — that is why you are paying him to do the work.


If You Are a Victim of a Fraudulent Contractor...
If you think you have been a victim of a fraudulent contractor, take immediate action to fix the situation. Consult a lawyer to find out if you have any legal recourse and report the incident to your local Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. You may also need to involve local law enforcement if you believe a crime such as larceny or identity theft has been committed.


Check Out Our Contractor Checklist!
Horizon Services offers a 21-Point Contractor Checklist covering all the primary questions you need to ask BEFORE you select any home improvement contractor. It’s MUST-READING for all homeowners thinking of making any home improvement. Click Here!



Related Contractor Information from Horizon Services…

• Horizon HVAC Installation and Replacement
• Horizon Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Services
• The Horizon Difference
• How To Choose The Right Contractor
• Watch Out for Bogus Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Contractors This Spring and Summer!
• 5 BIG Mistakes Homeowners Make When Replacing Their Heating and A/C Systems...

Banana Blossom/Vazhai Poo - How to clean and a recipe -Vazhai Poo Pitla

All the parts of banana tree is useful in one way or the other- Bananas - raw or ripe, stem, flower, leaves,  strings taken out from the bark like for garland making. Banana blossom/flower has high nutritional value and is considered as an effective medicine for menstrual disorders. It relieves  painful menstruation and also helps in increasing the progesterone hormone there by reducing excess bleeding.

Though,many knows about the benefits of the flower, there is some reluctance when it comes to cooking them because of the cleaning work involved.  I don't mind the extra work and the resulting stain on my fingers and nails. While I was at Palakkad, I always made it to a point to cook banana stem or flower at least once in 10 days if not every week. But after moving to Pune, I did not find them initially. Later we discovered a Tamilian vegetable vendor, who is quite far the place we stay. Luckily, the shop is near to my husband's office. So I get them now not very frequently as I would have liked it to be.

Now on to the cleaning process. First oil your palm so that it doesn't stain your fingers.  Also keep a bowl of water with few teaspoons of buttermilk mixed in. The cleaned flowers will be added to this water to avoid discolouring. Also it helps to remove the stains in the flower. You can turmeric if you don't have buttermilk.

 

Remove the brown cover. You can find yellowish white florets inside. Pull the bunch out.

 

 

Take a flower and  slightly rub it between your fingers. You can see the stamens inside. There will be one which is very thick and has a black head. We call it 'Kallan' in Tamil. Pull that out. It has to be discarded. These hard ones will make the dish taste bitter.

 

 

 

 If you feel the outer covering very thick and plastic like, it can be discarded for first few layers. As you move to the inner layers, the outer covering of the flower will be soft.  Towards the innermost layers, the outer covering will be white and not very fibrous. At that stage, you can chop the remaining flower as it is. Take all the cleaned florets and chop it finely.

 

 

Vazhai poo vadai, paruppu usli are some of the recipes which can be made with this. I am sharing a pitlai using the flower. These flowers have a slight bitter taste to it. And cooking in tamarind, removes that bitterness.

  

Now on to the recipe

You need

• Finely chopped Banana flower - 1 cup, packed
• Tuvar dal - 1/2 cup
• Tamarind - lemon sized
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
• Curry leaves for garnish

 

To roast and grind

• Urad dal - 2 tspn
• Chana dal - 2 tspn
• Red chilly - 4 nos
• Hing - a tiny piece
• Oil - 1 tspn

 

To temper

• Oil - 1 tspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
• Red chilly - 1, broken into two

 

Method

 

Pressure cook tuvar dal till soft. Mash and keep it aside.  Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes. Extract the pulp and add another cup of water. Take the tamarind water in a pot and add turmeric and salt to it. When the tamarind water starts boiling, add the chopped banana florets. Let it cook till the florets turn soft. Heat oil in a kadai. Add hing piece. When it is fried ,remove and add urad dal, chana dal. When it starts

browning, add the red chillies. When chillies change color, remove from fire. Cool and grind it along with the grated coconut to a smooth paste. Add water while grinding. If you are using hing powder, add it towards the end  else it will get burnt on roasting.

 

Add the cooked and mashed dal, ground coconut paste to the cooked tamarind mix. Adjust the salt and let it simmer for few minutes. Season with mustard seeds and red chillies and garnish with curry leaves.