Vazhakkai podi

Ingredients:
Big raw plantains                       2
Tur dal                                       2 Tablespoons
Urad dal                                    1 Tablespoon
Red chillies                                5
Oil                                              1 Tsp
Asafoetida                                  /4 tsp
Salt                                            To taste

Method:
Mature, firm, raw plantains work best for this recipe.
Roast the raw plantains on direct flame ( Gas, coal) till their skin is completely black. Let it cool, remove skin and in a vessel crumble the flesh inside.
Fry tur dal, urad dal and red chillies in oil, Add hing and salt and grind into a coarse powder in a mixer.
Add crumbled plantains and pulse for a few more seconds till they mix well with the spice powder.
Vazakkai Podi is ready.
Serve with hot rice and ghee or gingelly(Sesame) oil. Vathal kuzambu or Milagu kuzambu is a great accompaniment along with fried appalam/pappadam.

Vella Dosai

Ingredients:
Wheat flour                  2 Cups
Rice flour                     1/4 Cup
Powdered Jaggery      1 Cup
Cardamom                   4 pods powdered
Shredded coconut       1/4 Cup
Oil                                1 tsp per dosa

Method:
Add 1/4 cup warm water to the Jaggery powder and mix well till it dissolves.
Add the other ingredients and add enough water to bring it to a dosa batter consistency.
Pour batter on a hot tawa and make dosas adding a little oil.
 

Kootu with sambar podi

This can be made with Chowchow, snake gourd, ash gourd, cucumber.

Ingredients:
Tur dal                          : 1/4 cup pressure cooked

Vegetable                      : 500 gms
Channa dal                   : 2 tblsp
Turmeric powder           : 1 Tsp
Sambar podi                  : 1 tsp
For seasoning:
Oil

Urad dal                        : 2 tsp
Red chillies                   : 2 or 3
Jeera                            : 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut            : 2 tblsp
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves


Preparation Method:

Cut vegetable into small squares. Add turmeric powder, 2 tblsp channa dal and enough water.
When the vegetables are almost cooked , add sambar podi and salt and boil till they are fully done.
Now add the mashed dal and mix well. Boil together for 2 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Then add Jeera, urad dal and red chillies. Switch off and add grated coconut and aasafoetida and curry leaves.
Pour over the vegetable- dal mix. Let the mix cook together for a minute and take off the stove.

Ottuk kootu

Ingredients:

Vazhaikai (Raw plantain)  1

Chenai (Elephant yam)     ¼ kg

Pepper   corns                 1 tsp

Grated coconut                2 tblsp

Mustard                          ½  tsp

Urad dal                          2 tsp

Hing                                a pinch (or  a small piece fried and powdered)

Oil                                   for frying the urad dal and pepper and for tempering

Coconut oil                      a tblsp (optional)

Curry leaves                    a few

Salt                                 to taste

Rice flour                        1 spoon

 

Method:

Cut the vegetables into bite- size  bits and boil in enough water. Add salt.

Fry urad dal and pepper in a little oil, add fresh grated coconut and grind together to  a paste.

Add to the boiled vegetables. Add required quantity of water to make a kootu-like gravy and let the mix boil.

After the mix boils well, mix rice flour in a little water and add in case you need to thicken the gravy.

Heat oil. Add mustard and  curry leaves and pour over the kootu.
Add a spoon of coconut oil and mix well.
Serve with hot rice and papadam.

Pitlai

Ingredients:
Two or three different vegetables like Drumstick, snake gourd(pudalangkai) , potatoes and avaraikai (Hyacinth Beans) - a large cupful of cut mixed vegetables
Tamarind                  : small lemon-size
Salt                           : to taste
Tur dal                      : 1/2 cup
Curry leaves             : a few

To be ground to a paste:
Urad dal                    : 1 Tsp
Red chillies               : 4 (if spicy) or more if less spicy
Peppercorns             : 10
Shredded Coconut    : 2 tbsp
Asafoetida                 : a pinch
Oil                             : 1 tsp

For seasoning:
Oil                             : 1 tsp
Mustard seeds          : 1/2 tsp
Urad dal                    : 1/2 Tsp

Preparation Method:

Pressure cook the tur dal and keep aside.
In a little oil, fry urad dal and red chillies, pepper corns and asafoetida. Grind them together with shredded coconut into a smooth taste.
Add enough water to the mixed vegetables cut to bite sized bits. Add turmeric powder and salt and boil the vegetables.
Once the vegetables are half cooked, add tamarind water and boil till the vegetables are well-cooked.
Add the ground paste and boil  for two minutes.
Mash the pressure cooked dal and add it and stir the mix together well.
Switch off after boiling for another minute.
This is how it used to be made in my house. So i call it kalathur method.
Method 2:
You can also add a spoon of fried channa dal to the ingredients to be ground to a paste. You can fry two spoons of coconut and add it to the pitlai in the end.
This is Travancore method.

Method 3:

Pitlai with brinjals and bittergourd are usually prepared using the following masala ingredients:
Dhaniya seeds                   : 2 spoons
Channa dal                        : 1 spoon
Red chillies                        : 2 or 3
Methi seeds                       : 1/2 spoon
Coconut                             : 4 tblsp


Fry the above one after the other and grind to a paste.
Rest of the preparation method is the same as Method 1. This tastes like araichu vitta sambar with a lot of vegetables.

This is how it is made in Thanjavur families.

Vellai chutney

This is a great accompaniment for Kal dosai and Chappathis and very simple to make.

Ingredients:

Fresh Grated coconut            : 1/2 Cup
Green Chillies                        : 2
Salt

Preparation Method:
Grind all ingredients together to a thogayal consistency ( not runny like chutney.)

Araichu vita Sambar

Ingredients:

A cup of cut vegetable of choice or a mix of vegetables. Sambar onion and drumstick are usually the favorites.
Tur dal                              1/2 cup pressure cooked and mashed
Tamarind                          large marble size
Dhaniya seeds                 3 tsp
Channa dal                       2 tsp
Methi seeds                     1/2 tsp
Red chillies                       4 or 5
Grated Coconut                4 tblsp
asafoetida                         a pinch
Curry leaves
Oil
Salt

Preparation Method:
In a little oil fry dhaniya seeds, channa dal and red chillies. Add coconut and asafoetida and grind to a smooth paste.
Extract pulp of tamarind. Add vegetables, curry leaves and salt.
If using Onion, heat oil, saute the onions and then add tamarind water, salt and curry leaves. let it boil till raw smell evaporates.
Add the paste and bring it to a boil.
Add the mashed dal and if needed some water to bring it up to desired consistency.
Let the mix boil for a minute or two and take off heat.

Murungaikkai Morkootu (Koora)

Ingredients:

Murungaikkai (Drumstick)               : 5
Fresh Coconut (grated)                  : half cup
Green Chillies                                 : 3
Salt                                                 : To taste
Turmeric powder                            : 1 tsp
Thick buttermilk                              : 1 cup
Oil                                                   : 1 tsp
Mustard seeds                                : 1 tsp
Curry leaves                                   :  a few

Method:

Select drumsticks that are not too tender or too hard; They should be plump with a lot of pulp.
Cut each drumstick into 4 or 5 pieces. Boil water, add the pieces, turmeric powder and salt. Cook until the pieces are cooked..Drain and retain the water. Let the pieces cool.
Remove the pulp..
To this add the water in which the drumsticks were cooked.
Grind chillies and coconut into a smooth paste and add it to the drumstick pulp.
Boil the mix for 5 minutes.
Add thick butter milk and mix well. Bring the mix to a boil and switch off.
Heat oil ( coconut oil preferably)  and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter pour it over the mixture.
Add curry leaves.

soak one cup urad dal for an hour, then grind it with green chillies and salt like vada batter. Fry small balls of the dough and add it to the kootu for better taste.