Chayote Molagootal

Chayote Molagootal or Chow Chow Molagootal, is a kootu variety with a variation, that can be served as a side-dish for sambar/rasam/kozhambu. This recipe is similar to the normal chayote kootu, however the grinding ingredients are little different here.  Chayote is a very healthy vegetable. Relishing chayote in the form of molagootal is a very appetizing experience.

Health benefits of Chayote (Chow-Chow):

1. Low in calories (16kcal/100gms) hence can be consumed in large quantities.
2. High source of dietary fiber hence prevents constipation.
3. This is relatively good source of folates, which is important for pregnant ladies consumption, to prevent neural defects in the newborn.
4. Provides moderate levels of potassium.
5. Very good source of Vitamin C, which potentially prevents cancer.
6. Helps iodine in keeping thyroid healthy, by providing copper, a mineral which is required in thyroid metabolism.
7. Helps prevents acne, as it has good source of zinc, a mineral which controls the hormones that produce oil in the skin.
8. It lowers blood pressure levels.
9. Good for the brain as it contains Vitamin B6, which is important for the brain functioning.

English Name : Chayote Molagootal / Tamil Name : Chow Chow Molagootal

Ingredients:

1. Chayote (Chow chow)  - 1 , chopped to cubes.
2. Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
3. Seasoning ingredients: mustard seeds - 1 tsp, urud dhal - 1 tsp, channa dhal - 1 tsp, curry leaves - 10, hing - 0.5 tsp

To fry in oil:

Oil -1 tsp, Urud dhal -  1 tsp, black pepper - 1/2 tsp, red chillies - 2, curry leaves - 2, coconut - 1/4 cup.

Fry all the above until the dhal turns golden brown. Cool and grind to a paste.

Pre-requisite:

Pressure cook chayote and moong dhal adding required water for 2 whistles.

Method:

 1. In a teaspoon of oil, season as given.

 2. Add the cooked chayote and moong dhal mixture and cook for a minute or two.

 3. Add the ground paste and mix well. Add required salt. Boil for a minute and remove.

 

Tasty Chayote (chow-chow) Molagootal is ready !!

 

Onion Raita

Onion Raita is a very common raita you can see being served for pulav , biryani and even chapathi's in our Indian restaurants.  Different kind of raita's can be prepared by mixing yoghurt/buttermilk with variety of vegetables and used as a sause or dip. Raita is very cooling to the body, because of yoghurt. Relish this simple onion raita for any of your main dish.

Traditional raita in tamil nadu is called Pachadi.

English Name : Onion Raita/ Tamil Name : Vengaya Pachadi

Ingredients:

1. Onion - 2 tsp, chopped to fine pieces
2. Coriander leaves - 1 tsp
3. Salt - 1 tsp
4. Yoghurt - 1 glass (churned into thick buttermilk consistency)

Method:


1.  Add the chopped onion and coriander leaves into a bowl. Add required salt and mix well.

2.  Add the yoghurt and mix well and serve for any rice/pulav/biryani or roti dishes of your choice.

 

Gobi Masala

Cauliflower is a healthy flower-vegetable, which can be savored in various forms in our Indian cooking right from dry curry, salads, soups, gravies to Manchurians. This is a very healthy vegetable & consuming it regularly will give us good health benefits.

Gobi Masala (Cauliflower Masala) is a gravy dish cooked with cauliflower in onion-tomato gravy mixed with spice powders. This is a very easy to prepare & good to taste dish. For cauliflower lovers, this is a good choice of a gravy for paratha or chapathi and this also goes well with rice dish like pulav or biryani etc.  This dish is prepared with less oil and doesn't contain very rich ingredients like cream/butter, hence feels light after consumption and it's healthy too.

English Name : Cauliflower Masala / Hindi Name : Gobi Masala

Health Benefits of Cauliflower:

1. It is low on calories. 100gms of cauliflower provides approximately 26 calories. It is a good vegetable choice for weight-losers.
2. Each florets of cauliflower contains about 2gms of dietary fiber per 100gms, providing about 5% of the recommended value.
3. Fresh cauliflower is a rich source of Vitamin-C and manganese, both powerful antioxidants.
4. It contains many anti-cancer chemicals.
5. It contains certain enzymes which help in detoxification process for the liver thus increasing its ability to neutralize some toxic substances in our body.
6. It contains many B-Complex vitamins, it is rich in B1, B2 (riboflavin), B3, B5 and B9 (folic acid).

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower florets, 1 cup
2. Big onion - 1 , chopped to small pieces
3. Tomato -1, chopped to small pieces
4. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
6. Garam masala powder  - 1/2 tsp
7. Coriander leaves  - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
8. Salt - 2 tsp
9. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
10. Oil - 2 tsp
11. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
12. Turmeric powder -1 tsp


Know-how: How to cut and clean cauliflower

Method:

1. In a non-stick pan, add oil and when it becomes hot, add cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till aromatic.

2. Add chopped onion and fry well.

3. Add chopped tomato and fry well until it becomes mushy.

4. Add all the spice powder like red chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt, turmeric powder  and mix well. Add little water and allow all the spices to mix well with the tomato mixture.

 

5. When everything gets cooked well, add the cauliflower florets and mix well. Add half tumbler of water and let the cauliflower cook covered for 5 to 7 minutes until it turns soft.

6. Open lid and mix well, add coriander leaves for garnishing. 

Mini Idly Sambar

Mini-Idly Sambar is a South-Indian, especially, a specialty of Tamil Nadu cuisine. In most hotels/restaurants  you will see miniature idlies soaked in lots of sambar, being served for breakfast/dinner.

Generally it is a feeling that making hotel type mini idly sambar at home is not easily possible, because we think hotel sambar's has some different preparation method than the sambar's made at home. Actually making this sambar taste like hotel sambar is in our hands and not that tedious a task. If we just get the ingredients right, we too can make a hotel mini idly sambar at home and relish it endlessly.

Children generally like this mini idly sambar, as the small size of idlies are of attraction to them. So enjoy making this delicious mini idly sambar at home and relish with entire family.

General Name : Hotel Idly Sambar / Hotel Mini Idly Sambar / Sambar Idly

Ingredients:

Small onion (peeled) - 1/2 Cup
Big onion - 1, Chopped
Tomato (big) - 2, Chopped
Toor Dhal - 1 1/2 Cups
Tamarind extracted water - 1 Cup
Sambar Powder - 3 tsp
Fresh Ground powder - 4 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 2 to 3 tsp
Seasoning Ingredients: Oil  & ghee - each 2 tsp, mustard - 2 tsp, broken urud dhal - 2 tsp, channa dhal - 1 tsp, curry leaves - 15, hing - 1 tsp, red chillies (broken) - 3, fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp, Coriander leaves (chopped)- 2 tsp

Optional vegetables to add in sambar - drumstick - 1 (or) Carrot - 1/2 (or) yellow pumpkin - 1/2 - all or any  , chopped to medium size boiled & cooked until soft.

Pre-requisite:

1. Pressure cook the toor dhal adding pinch of salt, turmeric powder & hing for 4-5 whistles and cool & open and mash very well and keep ready.
2. Dry roast the ingredients below and ground to powder and keep the Fresh Ground Powder ready.
- Coriander seeds - 3 tsp, Red chilly - 6. Fresh coriander-chilly powder is ready now.

Method:

Preparation of Sambar:

1. In a non-stick pan/kadai, add 3 teaspoon of oil and when it becomes hot, add the small onion and big onion and fry well until onion turns light brown and aromatic.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook until the tomatoes turn pulpy. At this stage, take a ladle of the mashed onion-tomato into a plate, and the remaining continue cooking.

3. Cool the onion-tomato mixture taken aside into a plate and grind it into a paste adding very little water and keep this tomato paste ready.

4. When the ingredients in step 2 are well cooked , add the cooked toor dhal into it and mix well and boil for 3-4 minutes. Optionally, add the cooked vegetables now, if you want.

5. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute or two.

6. Now add the red chilly powder, sambar powder, turmeric powder and required salt into the boiling dhal and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Add the tamarind extracted water now and mix well and continue boiling for another 2-3 minutes until the tamarind raw smell goes.

8. Now add the fresh coriander-chilly powder into the sambar and mix well. Boil for another 2 minutes.

9. Now season as given and pour the seasoning ingredients into the sambar and mix well and remove.
 

Preparation of Mini Idly:

1. Grease the mini idly plates with oil and  using a teaspoon scoop the idly batter and fill it into each idly mini hole-plate.

2. Cook in a idly cooker or pressure cooker until the idly is cooked (approximately 7 to 10 minutes cooking time).

 

Preparation of Mini Idly Sambar:

1. Arrange the idlies in a suitable container of your choice.

2. Pour the sambar on the idlies lavishly and add a teaspoon of ghee on top. Let the idlies get soaked into the sambar for 2-3 minutes & then serve as it is.

               
Tips:
1. Better to prepare the coriander-chilly powder fresh, before making the sambar,  for best aroma and flavour, rather than storing it and using it.
2. Adding the coriander-chilly powder at the end, adds up the flavour to the sambar. This is required ingredient if you want your sambar to be extra tasty.

(Raw) Banana Chips

Chips are generally all-time favorite of children and even elders. Having chips as an accompaniment to any main dishes, ensures additional mouthful of food. Chips can also be made at home and served and they make your lunch more appetizing. Raw Banana chips (Vazhakai chips) are easy to make and a sure hit at home.

Ingredients: 

1. Raw banana - 4
2. Red chilly powder - 0.5 tsp
3. Salt - 0.5 tsp 

Method:

1. Peel the skin of raw banana and scrape the banana into thin slices.

2. Deep fry them in oil.

3. Spread them in a plate and sprinkle salt and red chilly powder and mix well and serve.

Tips:

To avoid discoloration of the banana, after peeling it, drop them in a bowl of water. Just before scrapping them, pat them dry with a dry cloth and slice. If water is in banana while frying the oil will splutter.

Aloo Mattar

Aloo Mattar (Potato & Peas gravy) is one of the most famous North-Indian dish, originating from Punjab, which has a firm place in our Indian cuisine. This gravy dish is most commonly  seen in most of the Indian restaurants, served as a side-dish for biryani/pulav/roti/parathas. This gravy dish is made with potatoes and peas cooked with onion-tomato gravy mixed with some spice powders.

Potatoes are generally considered as high carb vegetable and generally not recommended frequently for good health, but if potatoes are baked/cooked  and not deep fried , surprisingly they do provide a good source of fibre, which very much your body needs.

This dish is very easy to make and very inviting to look. This is sure to be an hit with the children, as they would love the flavour of the masala's soaked in the potato.

English Name : Potato & Peas Gravy / Hindi Name : Aloo Mattar (or) Mattar Aloo

Health Benefits of Potato:

1. Potatoes are also a rich source of Vitamin B, folate and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and iron.
2. The B vitamins in potatoes also protect arteries.
3.  A single baked potato will provide nearly 12 per cent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, giving similar levels to whole grain breads, pastas and cereals.
4.  Potatoes are exceedingly rich in Vitamin B6, a substance needed for cellular renewal, a healthy nervous system and a balanced mood. Just  100g of baked potato contains 21 per cent of the daily value of the vitamin.

Health Benefits of Green Peas:

1. Nutrients in peas have anti-inflammatory properties.
2. Peas are even good to eat regularly due to all the fiber in them that can help push toxins and waste out of the digestive tract.
3. Eating fresh peas regularly can also prevent eye diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts.
4. Peas do contain high amounts of vitamin C and Phytonutrients that can help nourish and protect the immune system.

Ingredients:

1. Potato (Medium) - 3
2. Peas - 1/2 Cup
3. Onion - 1 (Big)
4. Tomato - 1 (Big) for grinding
5.Tomato -  1 (small) for cooking
6. Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
7. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
9. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
10. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
11. Green chillies - 2, slit into two (Optional)
12. Salt - 2 to 3 tsp
13. Oil - 4 to 5 tsp
14. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
15. Kasoori Methi - 1 tsp (Optional)

Pre-requisite:

1. Raw grind the onion separately and keep the onion paste ready.
2. Raw grind the tomato separately and keep the tomato paste ready.
3. Slit the tomato (for cooking) into big slices and keep ready.
4. Boil the potato in pressure cook for 2 whistles. Cool and peel the skin and cut into med size cubes and keep ready.
5. In frozen peas is used, thaw it in warm water and keep ready, if fresh peas is used, cook it in pressure cooker until soft and keep ready.
6. Mix all the masala powders in little water and keep the masala paste ready.
  a). Take half of the masala paste and mix it on the cooked and cut potatoes - this way potato is marinated with the masala.
  b). Retain other half of the masala paste for cooking purpose.

Method:

1. In a kadai/non-stick pan, add oil and add cumin seeds and sauté until it splutters.

2. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till a nice aroma emanates.

3. Add onion paste and fry for few minutes until it starts turning light brown.

4. Add tomato paste and fry for few minutes until oil starts leaving the corners. Optionally, you can add slit green chillies now.

5. Add the powder paste and salt and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the masala's are well mixed with the mixture. If needed add some more oil now.

6.  Add the peas and cook for a minute or two.

7. Add the marinated potato and mix well , mash one or two potatoes to get a thick consistency and allow everything to cook for 5 minutes on a low flame.

8. Add kasoori methi and mix and cook for another 2 minutes.

9. Spread the slit tomatoes on top of the cooking mixture and close the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes turn soft.

10. Open and mix the contents well and garnish with coriander leaves and remove.

 Tips:

1. Optionally, prick and make holes on the cooked potatoes using a fork without mashing them , before using it for cooking, so that the potatoes are marinated with the masala's and it absorbs the masala flavour inside.

How to Remove Bitter Gourd Bitterness

Bitter gourd is a very bitter but healthy vegetable. Due to its bitterness, generally many don't like it. There are numerous ways one can avoid its bitterness and use it in your regular cooking to benefit from its in-numerous health benefits. 

Here are some ways below:

1. Soak the bitter gourd in tamarind water for 30 mins & strain the water and wash the vegetable thoroughly in running water and then use it for cooking.

2. Boil the bitter gourd in tamarind water for 15 minutes and strain the water completely and wash it under running water and then use for cooking.

3. Soak the bitter gourd in rice-washed water (Whey water) for 30 minutes and strain the water and wash the vegetable thoroughly in running water and then use it for cooking.

4. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp of salt on the cut bitter gourd and mix with hand well and allow it to rest for 30 minutes and then squeeze the water out of the vegetable and then use it for cooking.

5. Don’t use the bitter gourd with bright red seeds, it could be bitterer. Use the ones that have white seeds inside for less bitterness.

Vegetable Pulav

Vegetable Pulav is an easy to make and healthy vegetable rice dish, that can be enjoyed from children to elders. This is a rich dish, as it is rich with nutrition owing to its variety of vegetable content, which are very good for health. This pulav can be made with any vegetable of your choice, but generally made with mixture of vegetables like potato, beans, carrot, cauliflower, peas and corn etc.

An ideal side dish for this dish would be a simple raita of your choice or any vegetable gravy.

In pulav preperation, the rice is cooked seperately and the vegetable is cooked seperately and both are finally mixed together to get the end result. This dish need not be cooked in a pressure cooker, a non-stick pan/kadai is a good option for this preperation. Cooking throughout on a medium/low flame, ensures the vegetables don't get sticky to the bottom. If vegetable pulav is cooked with Basmati rice, the natural flavour of basmati enhances the dish flavour. You can use other kinds of white rice too (like ponni rice) for this dish.

Ingredients:

1. Mixed veggies - 2 cups (aloo, carrot, peas, beans, paneer, corn, cauliflower etc)
2. Onion - 2, chopped to big thin slices
3. Coriander leaves and mint leaves - 1 cup together, finely chopped
4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
5. Green chillies - 8, slit lengthwise
6. Oil - 6 to 8 tbsp
7. Salt - 2 to 3 tsp
8. Cooked rice - 3 cups (cooked rice grains should stand separate)
9. Seasoning Ingredients - cardamom - 2, cinnamon stick - 2 sticks, clove - 2, cashews - 10, almonds and pista - 5 each

Method:

1. Add oil, when hot, pour the seasoning ingredients and fry till the spices turn aromatic and the nuts turn brown.

2. Add ginger garlic paste and fry well.

3. Add onion and fry well until it becomes aromatic and light brown.

4. Add the slit green chillies and fry well.

5. Add the mixed vegetables and required salt and cook on medium flame COVERED, stir regularly once in 3-4 minutes, if the vegetables start to stick at the bottom add little more oil and continue cooking until the vegetables become soft and cooked.

6. Add the coriander and mint leaves and fry well.

 

 

7. Add cooked rice and toss gently until it mixes well with the vegetables mixture.

8. Optionally, you can add a handful of chopped coriander leaves again and mix well for added flavour.

 Tips:

1. To cook rice seperately, the proportion of 1 Cup Rice : 1 1/2 Cup water (Basmati rice recommended) and allow just 2 whistles or cook on low flame for 12-15 minutes.
2. Cooking the vegetables covered, helps in faster cooking.
3. Mint leaves is an optional ingredient added for extra flavour, you can avoid if you want.
4. Adding little extra oil than usual, helps to prevent the vegetables stick to the bottom and also cooks the ingredients well.