Mint Pulao / Pudhina Pulao

I have 'N' number of variety rice recipes in my hands and the courtesy is to my lunch box. It is not because we liked it much, but it is for its simplicity. They are easy to carry and stomach filling for the luch time too.

Mint Pulao is prepared based on the recipe of vegetable pulao where vegetables are substituted by only mint. When I prepared this recipe for first time, I felt something was missing and added tomatoes when I prepared for next time. It was really tasted good with the flavour of mint, very little tangy taste from tomato and rich taste derived from coconut milk. From then, I started to prepare this pulao very often.

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: <10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes + 20 minutes to cook rice

Serves: 2

Ingredients:



Rice - 1 cup

Mint leaves - 1 cup, very finely chopped

Coconut Milk - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 small one, chopped

Tomato - 1 medium one, finely chopped

Ginger and Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Green chillies - 2

Salt - to taste

Oil - 3 teaspoon

Cardamom - 2 no,crushed

Cloves - 2 no, crushed

Bay leaves - 1/2

Fennel seeds - 1/4 teaspoon



Method:



1) Wash rice thoroughly and cook it using pressure cooker or microwave. Once cooked allow the rice to cool. Keep it aside.

2) Wash mint leaves thoroughly and chop them very finely. Keep it aside.

3) In a pan, heat oil and add crushed cardamon, fennel seeds, cloves and bay leaves. Allow them to brown. You can sense the nice aroma spreads out the kitchen.

4) Add onion and saute them till they are translucent.

5) Add ginger, garlic paste and minced green chilli. Saute for few minutes.

6) Add tomato and saute till they are completely mashed.

7) Add mint leaves and continue sauteing.

8) When mint leaves starts to cook, add coconut milk.

9) Cook till the water content in the pan is completely evaporates.

10) Now, Add rice and mix gently without breaking the rice. Make sure you turn the flame to low.

11) Serve hot with any raita.

What To Cook For Varamahalakshmi Pooja -Urulaikizhangu Vadai - Potato Vadas

 URULAIKIZHANGU VADAI

Indian festivals are not complete without the preparation and distribution of a number of prasaadams. Delicious dishes which are prepared with great care and devotion are first offered to the deity and then savoured as prasaadams. When it is not possible to prepare all the customary dishes , a paayasam and vadai are enough to  add grandeur and cheer to the festival.

Ulutham Vadai, Milagu Vadai, Aama vadai, Ravai vadai,Thair vadai are some of the vadai varieties which can be prepared for Varamahalakshmi pooja.

 One of my favourite vadais is Urulaikizhangu vadai . I learnt to make this vadai from the famous cookery book titled 'Samaithu Paar' ( Cook And See ) written by the culinary legend Meenakshi Ammal. This book was one of the  precious gifts I carried with me as a young bride to my new home.

                                                   

INGREDIENTS

Split black gram dal - 1 cup
Rice - 1 heaped tbsp
Grated patatoes - 1 cup

Ginger - 1'' piece

Green chillies - 2

Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chopped curry leaves - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Oil - For frying

METHOD

1. Wash and soak blackgram dal and rice together for half an hour.
2. Grind the soaked dal and rice with salt, ginger and green chillies into a thick and slightly coarse or smooth paste.

3. Mix in crushed pepper , cumin seeds and chopped curry leaves.

4. Peel and grate raw potato and mix the gratings with the vadai dough.

                                                   

5. Heat oil in a frying pan.

6. Drop a pinch of  the vadai dough into the hot oil. If the batter rises immediately the temperature is perfect for frying the vadais.

7. Wet your hands in cold water and flatten a ball  of batter on your palm.

8. Make a hole in the center using your forefinger and gently drop the vadai into the hot oil.

9. Make four or five vadais after dipping your hands in cold water each time and drop them into the hot oil .

10. Decrease flame and let the vadais cook undisturbed.

11. When the vadais become firm and start to change colour , flip them and cook on the other side.

12. Increase heat and fry the urulaikizhangu vadais till they become crisp and golden in colour.

13. When done remove from oil using a perforated ladle and drain them on a paper towel.

                                                   

Offer the delicious crispy golden urulaikizhangu vadais to Varamahalakshmi and savour the prasaadam.

Sambar Vada

There was a potluck party at office last Thursday and we were assigned
to prepare some appetizer. Many ideas came to mind, but I was very keen
on recipes of every one's like/choice and also simple enough to prepare
for 20+ people. I know if I would have assigned for any dessert, things
would be very easy. Ideas started with spring rolls and ended up with
very simple, easy to make sambar vadas. 

I love to say more about this south Indian delicacy. hmm. But how? OK, let me go this way. It is an savory doughnuts made using urid dal, soaked in hot sambar (a kind of gravy). The crispy doughnuts instantly absorb sambar and become very soft and spongy. Sambar prepared without any vegetables does suit this recipe well, but you can add them if you wish. Also, getting a perfect shape Vada is little tricky and it is entirely depends on adding correct quantity of water while preparing the batter. If you are not getting proper vada shape, drop them just like balls. The taste remains the same. :-)



If the sambar is watery, soak vadas for 2-5 minutes before serving or else presoak the vadas in warm water for 5-10 minutes and then add to sambar. Its absolutely depends on how you prefer to eat.



Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 1 hour for soaking + 30 minutes for grinding
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes
Makes: 30-35 vadas

Ingredients:



For Vada:



Urid Dal - 3 cups

Salt - to taste

Ginger - 1 inch, chopped

Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped

Green chillies - 2 no

Black pepper corns - 3 teaspoon

Oil - for deep frying



For Sambar:

Toor dal - 3/4 cup

Tamarind - 1 lemon size

Vegetables (carrot, beans and potato) - 1 cup (optional)

Shallots / Red Onions - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1 no, chopped

Sambar masala - 2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Curry leaves - 1 string

Mustard and urid dal - 1/2 teaspoon

Oil - 3 teaspoon



For Serving:



Onion - 1/2 cup, very finely chopped

Tomato - 1/2 cup, very finely chopped

Coriander leaves - 10 strings, chopped

Sev - 1/2 tablespoon (optional)

Method:



For Vada:



1) Wash and soak urid dal for an hour and grind it to a fine paste. Add only < 2 handful of water to make a perfect batter.

2) Towards the end of the grinding, add salt, onion, coriander leaves, green chilli, ginger and pepper to the batter and make fine paste.

3) Make sure the batter is only light thick to get soft vada.

4) Heat oil in a Kadai/Frying pan.

5) Take another bowl with water near to your batter pan.

6) Dip your right hand first into water and take a lemon size batter and gently make a hole in center (As in dough nuts) using your right hand thumb. Please see here for detailed vada making.

7) Put this vada into oil slowly.

8) Repeat this vada making step for the remaining batter. Each time dip your hand into the water to make perfect shape of vada.

9) At a time you can put 3 to 5 vadas depending upon your pan and vada size.

10) Turn to other side to fry the upper part of the vada.

11) Fry till it becomes golden brown in colour.

12) When vada is fried well, remove it from oil and transfer it to a plate/bowl with the paper towel which absorbs the excess oil and allow it to cool.

13) Take warm water in wide bowl and put vada on it and keep it aside for 10 minutes.(Optional)

14) Vadas are ready.



For Sambar:



1) Pressure cook the toor dal. Once cooked, mash using potato masher as much as possible. Keep aside.

2) Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and extract juice from it. Keep aside.

3) Take a pan and heat oil. When it is hot add mustard and urid dal. Allow mustard seeds to splutter.

4) Add curry leaves followed by chopped onions and saute till onions are translucent.

5) Add tomato and cook till they completely mashes.

6) If you are using veggies, add now and sprinkle little water to cook them. Continue cooking till vegetables become soft.

7) Add salt, sambar masala and turmeric powder. Cook for 2 more minutes.

8) Add tamarind juice, mashed toor dal and two cups of water.

9) Boil it till it reaches the sambar consistency.

10) Sprinkle a big pinch of asafoetida and mix well.

11) Remove from stove and allow it to cool for a while.

12) Transfer to a wide bowl.



For Serving:



1) From warm water bowl, take vadas and squeeze out the water absorbed by very gently pressing them in between your palms.

2) Put the vadas into sambar bowl for 2 minutes.

3) While serving garnish with onion, tomato, coriander leaves and sev.

I am happy to send this recipe to Vatsala's Potluck Dinner and and Srav's culinary concepts.