Punjabi Lobia Masala | Black Eyed Beans Masala | Karamani Masala | Cow peas Masala

Which is your favourite lentil or legume? For me it's this cute looking black eyed peas or cow peas. It's known by many names like lobia or karamani in tamil or vanpayar in malayalam. And with this black eyed peas I made Punjabi lobia masala to bring to you folks! It's a very easy recipe, a fail proof recipe and that which brings fond memories of my London weekends. This was a regular most of the weekends for me. Coz I love this dish and it's very easy to make and it doesn't consume much time and I can go back to binge watching series with a happy tummy and less dishes to wash. That's good right.. So let's see how to make this easy recipe..

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Soaking Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Lobia/Karamani	-	1 cup
Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Onion	-	1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Tomato	-	2 medium sized (finely chopped)
Red chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Garam masala	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As needed
Coriander leaves	-	To Garnish

The Way:

1. Soak the cow peas/lobia in water for 30 minutes - 1 hour as time permits for you

2. Pressure cook the soaked peas with salt for 3-4 whistles. I keep for 2 whistles in high and 2 in sim. If you do not have time to soak the peas then pressure cook for more whistles say 7-8

3. In a pan heat oil. Splutter mustard 

4. Then add the onions and a little salt (little for the onions as the lobia is already boiled with salt) and saute. The onions should turn transclucent

5. Then add the powders - turmeric, chilly, coriander powders and garam masala. Saute well and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes off

6. Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute. The tomatoes should turn mushy

7. Then add the boiled cow peas along with the water and give a nice stir. Add more water if required to suit your needs of gravy

8. Allow it to cook on low flame (preferably with a lib to the pan) for 4-5 minutes to allow the masala to coat the peas well

9. Before switching off the flame add garam masala and give a quick stir and off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves

Serve hot with rice or phulkas !

Notes:

• I generally do not add ginger or garlic or ginger-garlic paste to this. If needed you can add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste or 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and 1 tsp finely chopped garlic

Cheers,
Chitz

Jeera Rice | How to make Jeera Rice | Cumin Rice Recipe

Rice flavoured with Cumin tempered in Ghee

This is one of the simple flavoured rice that you can ever think of making. It's very simple but the taste is so awesome and it can be paired with almost anything and everything from vegetarian side dishes to non vegetarian or at times a simple raita too ! The flavour of the tempered cumin seeds in ghee, ahh writing about it makes me wanna make some for the day but I do have other plans so I am holding on to the thought till I get to make some.. 

Some days I like to have it with a good 'Dal Tadka' some other days a spicy yummy chicken gravy would feel great and some times a paneer butter masala or a mushroom masala also helps :) The great thing about making this rice is you can concentrate on the gravy that you are making after just 5 mins of work on this rice and by the time you finish making the gravy the rice would also be ready. You can make this rice in two ways. Cook (pressure cook or steam) the rice separately and then add the tadka or prepare the tadka and add the rice to the tadka and cook (pressure or steam). I always do it the second way and that's what I have described here. So let's see how to make this yummy easy rice !

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Soaking Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Basmati Rice	-	1 cup
Ghee/Oil	-	1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds/Jeera	-	1 tsp
Bay Leaf	-	1 no
Cinnamon	-	1 inch stick
Cardamom	-	1 no
Water	-	2 cups
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the rice in water and soak for about 10-15 minutes 

2. Heat ghee/oil in a wide vessel or pressure cooker depending upon how you plan to cook the rice. Add bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon stick

3. When it splutters add the jeera and allow it to crackle. Take care not to burn, hence keep the flame in medium or low

4. Now the rice and salt. Stir smoothly so that the ghee is coated evenly in the rice throughout. Take care not to break the rice 

5. Add water and give a stir. Check salt. Then cook on low flame till done. The water should get absorbed completely

6. I always use 1:2 ratio to cook basmati rice. If you are cooking by pressure cooker then a tip would be to boil 2 cups of water separately and add to the rice. Cook for just 1 whistle and remove the cooker from the stove and allow the steam to get released naturally before opening the cooker

Cheers,

Chitz

Pineapple Pachadi | Onam Sadhya Recipes | Kaithachakka Pachadi | Kerala Pineapple Pachadi

Pineapple in coconut and curd sauce with mustard tempering

Pineapple pachadi is another easy pachadi to make when you feel like eating something sweet and tangy along with your steamed rice and hot gravy. It's quite easy to make and can be fixed in a jiffy. This is yet another quintessential dish of the Onam Sadhya menu. When mango is not available, you can readily resort to pineapple and make this pachadi. So why don't we quickly see how this pachadi is made?

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Beetroot Thoran

Beetroot Pachadi

Cabbage Thoran

Mathanga Erissery

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Vellarikka Pachadi

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Pineapple	-	1 cup - diced
Turmeric powder	-	1 or 2 no (depending on hotness)
Salt	-	As Needed
Water Jaggery	- -	½ cup 1 tbsp

To Grind:

Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Curd	-	½ cup

To Temper:

Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard seeds	-	¼ tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 nos - broken
Curry leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Remove the skin of the pineapple. Then cut them into small cubes. Cut them as small as you want. Some like the pineapple to be visible and of bite sized pieces while some like them really small and mushy. So cut according to your preference

2. In a pan/kadai, take the pineapple cubes. Add turmeric powder & salt along with ½ cup water and cook them over medium flame until the pineapple is cooked well

3. Grind together grated coconut, mustard and green chilly along with a little water. When they are ground to a smooth paste add them to the cooked pineapple

4. Let them cook for a minute or two

5. Meanwhile in the same mixie add curd & give a quick pulse or two so that the curd is whisked well without lumps

6. Now add the whisked curd to the pineapple and give a quick stir. Make sure the flame is very low & it does not boil. Leave it for about a minute. Once mixed well, remove from flame. At this stage you can taste and add jaggery if needed. If the pineapple is too sour and you feel that a little sweetness can balance the taste, then add jaggery as required 

7. Heat the coconut oil in a tadka pan. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add red chilly & curry leaves & saute. Take care that they are not burnt. Add this tempering to the pachadi & give a stir & serve

Cheers,

Chitz

Vazhai Thandu Kootu | Banana Stem Kootu | Easy Vazhathandu Kootu

Banana Stem cooked in Mung dal and tempered with coconut and Indian tadka

A simple kootu can blow away my worries and make me feel light and of course make me chirpy again. Will you believe that? If you are saying no, believe me I'm not lying. I'm sure a comfort food is not a solution to your worries but most of the comfort food reminds us of our mom right? And when you have your mom by your side, comforting you and mostly she expresses that with food right? Then your worry seems to take a backseat and you start working on the solution right? Now you see the connection :) 

For me any kootu is like that.. I usually pair it up with rasam and a pickle.. The combo is bliss and light on the tummy. But nowadays I don't make much of rasam coz my lo is not a fan of it. So I resort to some dal based gravies for him :) But still, a good kootu makes me feel happy and at home. Do you have any food or dish like that? Let me know ! This kootu with banana stem is yet another simple recipe from my mom. Not much work except cleaning and cutting of the vazhathandu. Addition of coconut is purely optional. If you do not want it, skip it. Coconut adds an extra zing to the dish, that's all. So off to the easy recipe. If you want to try some other kootu recipes, here they are..

Peerkangai Kootu | Ridge Gourd Kootu
Yellow Pumpkin Kootu | Poosanikkai Kootu

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Vazhathandu/Banana Stem	-	1.5 cups (cleaned and diced)
Moong Dal	-	¼ cup
Coconut	-	¼ cup
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - ½ tsp Urad Dal - 2 tsp Red Chilly - 2 nos - broken Asafoetida - ¼ tsp Curry leaves - A sprig

The Way:

1. Clean the banana stem (vazhathandu) and cut them into small cubes. Keep them immersed in water till use, so that it retains it's colour and doesn't turn dark

2. Rinse the moong dal and soak in water for 15-20 minutes

3. Then cook the moong dal along with salt till almost done. You can pressure cook as well. Cooking in a normal pot would take some time compared to the pressure cooker

4. Now once the dal is cooked, add the cubed vazhathandu along with turmeric powder and salt (if required) and cook them covered till done. This would take 15-20 minutes depending on how good the banana stem is. If it's a fresh one, it would get cooked fast. If you do not want to take the risk or are low on time, pressure cook them for 3-4 whistles

5. Now finally add the grated coconut, give a nice stir and leave for about a minute and then switch off the flame

6. Finally for the tadka, heat oil. Splutter mustard and then add the urad dal

7. When it starts to turn golden, add the broken red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this tadka to the kootu and serve

Cheers,

Chitz

Vellarikka Pachadi | Kerala Style Cucumber Pachadi | Onam Sadhya Recipes

Cucumber in coconut and curd sauce with mustard tempering

I am posting simple or everyday recipes for a while, right? That is all that I can manage at the moment with a bubbly toddler running around the house and tagging along with me all the time. He doesn't like me eyeing my phone or reading anything (be it book or newspaper or anything of that sort) nor watching TV either. I can be either in the kitchen or playing with him. That's all that I'm allowed to do. If I am doing something else, he would want to be a big part of it and I prefer that I sit idle rather than that. I don't want him scribbling on the walls or tearing off the newspaper in the name of reading it, you get me right? ;) 

If at all I happen to take the pics when he's awake, he would climb onto the table to have a peek and showcase as a model by touching the food or simply make me furious by taking off the bowls and plates and run off with it. And playing with the camera, ohh myyy, that nearly gives me an attack every time :D So mostly taking of the pics and blogging happens when he takes a nap (and that seems to reduce by the day ;)) So that's how my day goes on for now :) Interesting na :) I should admit that I'm enjoying it. So for today, the easy recipe is Vellarikka Pachadi. It's a pachadi that you make with kani vellarikka or cucumber. I had some cucumber left after making some pulissery, so I thought would make some pachadi with it and so, it has come up here as well. This is a no hassle, minimum time taking pachadi. Apt if you are conjuring up a quick meal !

Other Sadhya recipes:

Beans Thoran

Beetroot Thoran
Beetroot Pachadi
Cabbage Thoran

Mathanga Erissery

Mathan Erissery | Mathan Vanpayar Erissery

Mampazha Pachadi | Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Mambazha Pulissery | Mambazha Kaalan

Chembu Kumbalanga Moru Kootan | Taro-Ash Gourd Pulissery

Pineapple Pachadi

Pulissery | Kachiya Moru | Mor Kuzhambu
Sambar | Kerala Style Varutharacha Sambar with no Coconut

Homemade Ada for Adapradhaman

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Cucumber/Vellarikka (Kani type)	-	1 cup - diced
Green Chilly	-	1 or 2 no (depending on hotness)
Salt	-	As Needed
Water	-	½ cup

To Grind:

Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Green Chilly	-	2 nos
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Curd	-	½ cup

To Temper:

Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard seeds	-	¼ tsp
Red Chilly	-	2 nos - broken
Curry leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Clean and rinse the cucumber well. Remove the middle portion with the seeds and cut them into small cubes. Thinner the cubes, the better

2. In a pressure cooker, take the cucumber cubes. Add slited green chillies, salt and water and cook the cucumber till done. I kept it on 2 whistles on high and 3 on low. I like the pieces to be soft and not very firm for the pachadi. Alternately if you want to cook in a normal pan, you can do the same but it will take time 

3. In the meantime, grind together grated coconut, green chilly and mustard with little water to a smooth paste. Then add curd to this and give a quick pulse. Do not grind much

4. Once the cucumber is cooked, switch off the flame. If there is excess water in the cooked cucumber, then remove them. Add the ground paste to the cucumber and stir well. No need to cook after adding the coconut-curd paste. Just need to mix well

5. In a tadka pan, heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard

6. Add the broken red chillies and curry leaves. Add this tempering to the cucumber - coconut paste mixture and serve 

This is more like a condiment, so serve with some steamed rice, a tangy gravy and some stir fries !

Cheers,

Chitz

Egg Rice | Mutta Rice | Muttai Sadam | Easy Lunch box recipes

This is one of the most nostalgic lunch box dish from my school days for me ! In fact for my sister as well. This was her most favorite lunch that she liked to take to school :) Now Dhruv also likes this rice ;) Cute right :D This is very easy to make and will be ready in a jiffy and also fancy, heavy and protein packed for a lunch box.. You can have it as such or can also pair it up with raita or pappad. You can make it dry or little juicy based on your taste. If you do not like it dry, don't saute the eggs much and also make sure that when you cook the rice it's not very dry and for that adjust the water accordingly. If you have not made this rice before, try it out soon coz it's not gonna disappoint you for sure :)

Other Egg Recipes:
Boiled Egg Fry | Masala Egg Fry
Udaitha Muttai Curry | Egg Drop Gravy

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Basmati Rice (uncooked)	-	1 cup
Egg	-	1 no
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized - finely chopped)
Tomato	-	1 no (medium sized - finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic paste	-	2 tsp
Pepper powder	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the rice in water and cook them as you normally do. I used basmati rice here and have taken water and rice in the ratio of 2:1 and have pressure cooked for 1 whistle. You can steam cook the rice or pressure cook it, as per your convenience

2. Chop finely the onions and tomatoes and keep aside. In a wide pan, heat oil

3. Add the chopped onions and salt and saute. The onions should turn translucent. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and saute. Leave it about for 2 minutes, sauteeing in between, for the raw smell to go

4. Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute again. The tomatoes should turn mushy

5. Add the pepper powder and give a quick stir. Adjust pepper powder according to your taste

6. Now break and add the egg and saute like you do for the scrambled eggs

7. Once the egg is cooked and mixed well, switch off the flame. Add the cooked rice to it and mix well and evenly

Serve with raita or pappad or can be had as such as well :)

Cheers,

Chitz