Ponnaganni Keerai Poriyal / Stir Fry

When I was a child, I hated the taste of greens. So, my mom used to mix it with few other ingredients like potato, dal and paneer and serve us. Days passed and I slowly adapted myself to eat different types of greens. Now, we are preparing greens once in a week owing to its nutritional benefits.

You can prepare this stir fry using any type of greens. For additional taste, use 2-3 tablespoons of cooked toor dal/moong dal with the greens. When I was plucking the leaves from the stem, I found the stems were soft and tender. So I used them to make another stir fry. I 'll be posting that recipe soon. Now off to ponnaganni keerai stir fry.

Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

Ponnaganni Keerai / Dwarf copperleaf - 1 bunch
Sambar onion / Shallots / Small onions - 4 nos, finely chopped
Green chillies / Dry red chilles - 4 to 5 nos or as per taste
Curry leaves - 1 string
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Mustard seeds and Urid dal - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh coconut - 3 tablespoons, grated
Salt - to taste

Method:

1) Remove the leaves from the stem and keep the leaves aside. Wash the leaves and drain the water completely. Now roughly chop it. Keep it aside.
2) Heat oil in the pan and add mustard seeds and urid dal when the oil is hot.
3) When the crackling sound of mustard seeds reduces, add the curry leaves, sliced green chillies and chopped onion. Fry till the onion becomes soft.

4) Add the keerai to the pan now. Stir well and cover using the lid. Cook it in low flame for 4-5 minutes. You can see the keerai is reduced in its quantity. Add salt now as per the reduced quantity. Stir well.

5) Cover again and cook for few more minutes. When the water content from the keerai is drained and it is well cooked, add grated coconut. Switch off the flame.
6) Mix the coconut with keerai using the ladle. The heat in the pan is sufficient for mixing the coconut.

7) Serve with hot steamed rice with your favourite gravy. We enjoyed it with Ennai Kathirikkai kulambu.

Note:
1) Make sure to add the salt only when the keerai reduced half of its quantity. Start from lower quantity of salt. If it is not sufficient, we can add it later. Keep this as a best practise.
2) If you are going to serve keerai for only one time meal, then switch off the flame and add grated coconut. Otherwise, keep the flame ON for few seconds after adding coconut.
3) If you are using green chillies, slice them and use for seasoning. Or, if it is dry red chillies, break it and add to the seasoning.

Peanut Butter ~ 3 ways - Guest Post by Priya of Bon Appetit

The Guest Post series in my blog was on a break last month since I was on a blog break. I am still trying to get back to blogging by posting atleast once in a week but still working on the possibilities. Meanwhile for this month on the guest post series I have Priya Sreeram of Bon Appetit. She has a lovely space with a colorful array of dishes. Her 'A La Carte' menu card is sure to draw your

Udupi Rasam - Indian Soup From Udupi

UDUPI RASAM

 Most of the foodies in South India are Rasam fanatics. My family is no exception. We enjoy tall glasses of piping hot rasam as starters at multi cuisine restaurants before we indulge in a North Indian or even a Chinese meal ! A bowl of hot  rasam rice is ambrosia when one is laid up with fever or cold. Just one spoon of  rasam rice is enough to make the dead taste buds spring  back to life.The noisy slurps of a delicious rasam rice is real bliss. 

One of the most delicious rasams adored by my family comes from the temple town of Udupi.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE RASAM POWDER 

Coriander seeds - 1 cup 

Red chillies - 1 cup 

Split black gram dal - 2 tbsps 

Cumin seeds - 2 tbsps 

Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsps 

Mustard seeds - 2 tsps 

Sesame oil - 1/4 tsp 

 TO MAKE THE RASAM POWDER 

1. Dry roast mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds on low flame. 

2. When the mustard seeds start spluttering and the fenugreek seeds turn reddish in colour remove them on to a dry plate. 

3. Roast cumin seeds similarly till you get a pleasant aroma and remove it into the same plate. 

4. Heat oil in the same pan and add coriander seeds, black gram dal and red chillies. 

5. Roast them together till the ingredients emanate a pleasant aroma and the chillies become crisp. 

6. Remove the roasted ingredients on to a plate and allow to cool. 

7. When all the ingredients are cooled grind them together into a slightly coarse powder. 

 The Udupi Rasam Powder is now ready. Store in a clean air tight jar and use it up within a week.

 INGREDIENTS TO MAKE UDUPI RASAM 

Split yellow pigeon peas/Toor dal - 1 cup 

Tomato - 1 big (chopped ) 

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp 

Green chillies - 2 ( chopped) 

Tamarind - The size of a plum 

Salt - 1 tsp 

Jaggery ( powdered ) - 1/4 tsp 

Asafoetida powder - 1 pinch 

Udupi Rasam Powder - 2 tbsps 

Fresh coconut gratings - 2 tbsps ( ground into a coarse paste ) 

Curry leaves - a few 

Fresh coriander leaves - for garnishing 

TO PREPARE UDUPI RASAM 

1. Soak tamarind in warm water and extract a thick juice and keep aside. 

2. Pressure cook toor dal with chopped tomato and chopped green chillies adding turmeric powder and 2 cups of water. 

3. Add salt, jaggery, asafoetida powder, fresh coconut paste and curry leaves to the  tamarind juice and boil for five minutes till the raw smell of the tamarind is gone. 

4. Remove the pressure cooked ingredients, mash well using the back of a ladle and pour it into the boiling tamarind mixture, and continue to cook till the ingredients blend well. 

5. Stir in the rasam powder avoiding the  formation of lumps and simmer for two minutes. 

6. Add 2 glasses of water in a slow and steady stream till the rasam becomes foamy. 

7. Reduce the flame and top the rasam with fresh coriander leaves. 

8. Cover with a lid but keep checking till the rasam starts to simmer again. 

9. Switch off flame as soon as the rasam reaches boiling point and starts rising. 

 Enjoy the hot and flavoursome Udupi Rasam in a tall glass or stir well and savour it with steaming hot rice.In both cases do not forget to top it with a spoon of fresh ghee.