Amaranth Kootu / Keerai Kootu

Amaranth leaves, which are called as "Mulai Keerai" in Tamil seem to be rarely available here. I really miss all the green leafy vegetables like Siru Keerai, Manathakkali Keerai, Ponnanganni Keerai, etc., So, whenever I see these nutritious greens in the Indian stores, I grab atleast two bunches. Eating greens at least twice a week keeps us healthy and young and they fight against various diseases. In my childhood, my mom used to make two vegetables in a meal in the middle of her hectic schedule too. Out of that, Mulai Keerai Masiyal or Murungai Keerai curry or any other green varieties would definitely be there. I was fortunate to taste all these healthy greens frequently when  I was young whereas I could not get those right now except few varieties..

Amaranth / Mulai Keerai gives a wonderful flavour while cooking and its highly nutritious. We can do Masiyal, simple dal, curry or any other variety out of these tasty, healthy leaves. This time, I tried Keerai Kootu for a change and i added few cooked dal in my process. You can avoid the cooked dal while making this kootu and its optional. Generally while making this kootu, they don't add cooked dal but i added some to make it more healthy for my kids. Without dal too, it tastes excellent with the grounded paste.

Ingredients

Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai / Thandu Keerai - 1 Big Bunch

Cooked Toor Dal Paste - 2 tbsp

Hing - 1 Dash

Salt - As Required

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 pinch

For the Grounded Paste :

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2 Medium or 1 Big

Ginger - 1 tiny square

For Tempering / Tadka :

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp

Kadalai Paruppu / Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1 big

Procedure :

• Wash the Amaranth Leaves / Mulai Keerai and chop them. Meantime, grind the ingredients for the grounded paste and keep it ready.
• In a vessel, add all the chopped green leaves, turmeric powder, hing, pinch of sugar and some water and allow them to cook thoroughly on medium heat.
• Cook the toor dal / kandhi pappu / Thuvaram paruppu in a separate cooker and keep it ready too...
• When the amaranth leaves / toor dal is completely cooked, add the toor dal into the Keerai. Add some salt and the grounded paste into the vessel and allow them to cook for another 4-5 minutes/
• Finally add tadka into the keerai kootu and serve this healthy side dish in your thali or meals.

Semiya Payasam / Vermicelli Payasam

Semiya Payasam / Vermicelli Payasam in one of the favourites in my family. Though we all mostly make this sweet during festivals and special occasions, the preparation itself makes a normal day so special.!! Semiya Payasam is made by roasting the vermicelli with ghee, slowly cooked and simmered in milk and sugar, flavoured with crushed cardamom powder and little saffron and garnished with ghee roasted cashew nuts. It tastes heavenly if made using whole milk. As the process is simpler, its easy to make a normal day into a very special day....Its all in our hands!!! Have a beautiful day with a cup of sweet semiya payasam.

Ingredients

Semiya / Vermicelli - 1 cups

Milk - 4-5 cups ( Used 2% Milk )

Sugar - 3/4 th of a cup

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Saffron - 1 pinch ( Optional )

Ghee - 2 tsp

Cashew nuts - 8-10 ghee roasted

Method

• In a kadai / cooking vessel, add a tsp of ghee and roast the cashew nuts first and keep them aside. Then add another tsp of ghee and roast the vermicelli till it turns golden colour.
• When you get a nice aroma, add enough water to cook the vermicelli.
• When its well cooked, add milk,saffron and sugar and allow them to cook for another 5-6 minutes.
• Don't forget to stir the payasam once a while.
• Add cardamom powder and roasted cashew nuts to the Payasam.
• You can have this Payasam either warm or chilled.
• Finally add the roasted cashew nuts to the Payasam and enjoy.

Tips / Note

Vermicelli payasam thickens after a while as the vermicelli absorbs most of the milk. Also, it gets thickened when its refrigerated. So, just before serving add warm milk to the Payasam and mix them well and serve.

You can add roasted raisins to the Payasam along with cashew nuts.

Sorakkai Paratha / Dhoodhi Paratha / Lauki Paratha



Garam Dhoodhi parathas with a side of Methi Kadi and some onion

Bottle gourd which is called as "Dhoodhi" or "Lauki" in Hindi and "Sorakkai" in Tamil and "Sorakaya " in Telugu, has more water content, fills the stomach and easy for digestion. As it has very less calories, its ideal for weight reduction too. We can make Dal, Payasam / Kheer, Kootu, etc using this vegetable. But when i first tasted this Dhoodhi Paratha few years before, I liked it very much. This paratha was first introduced by a Gujarati aunty who helped us in our kitchen after my delivery. Till today, I have been following many of her recipes in my kitchen and the dishes always remind me of her cooking, taste and kindness..

Ingredients

Bottle gourd / Sorakkai - 1 Medium

Wheat Flour - 5 cups

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Green Chillies - 2 Medium

Omum / Ajwain Seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1.5 tsp

Coriander Powder - 3-4 tsp

Fennel Seeds/Sombhu - 2 tsp ( crushed into powder ).

Method

• Peel the skin of the Bottle Gourd and grate them carefully.
• Knead the dough by mixing all the ingredients as mentioned above without adding water. Make sure that the paratha dough is bit tight and its always better to prepare the paratha dough few minutes before making the Parathas.
• Make lemon size ball and spread it into a big round using a chapati roller. While making the paratha, if required just flip the sides with wheat flour or maida flour which in turn makes the process easier.
• Cook the parathas on a heated kadai/pan on both sides. Apply little ghee or oil over the parathas after its done and serve hot with any of your favourite side dish.
• Generally we love to have a side of Kadi and some tangy tomato pickle on its side at our home. Trust me, parathas taste very good with a side of Kadi or raita.

Tips/Variations 

• If the peeled skin of the Bottle Gourd is thin and fresh, preserve those for making a very tasty pachidi/thogayal.
• Instead of using coriander powder, crush the coriander seeds and fennel seeds / somfu coarsely and add that freshly grounded powder while making the dough. This fresh powder gives an unique taste to the Parathas for sure. ( As told by my friend ).