South Western Three Bean Soup / 3 Bean Soup / Cheesy Three Bean Soup

World around us was turning white, could see the formation of icicles around the corners, trees everywhere and the weather was below freezing. Irrespective of whatever changes happen in the world, our stomach follows only one routine with no change. Yes, it was dinner time again, and the bell started ringing inside. Obviously, our mind would run towards any hot soup, rasam or spicy stuff. Oh no, we cannot spend more time in the kitchen but still want a one pot meal. It was Oscar time..!! Made a yummy, healthy South Western style three bean soup with loads of veggies ( as usual!!). Enjoyed the dinner with a side of guacamole, baked tortilla chips and a Spicy Soup. Try making this soup in your kitchen and let me know your feedback.

Ingredients

Green Beans - 1/2 cup ( cut into small finger size )

Celery - 1 cup  ( cut into small size )

Sweet Potato cubes - 1/2 cup

Green Bell Pepper / Green Capsicum - 1/2 cup ( cut into small size )

Carrot squares - 1/2 cup

White Onion - 1 cup ( finely shredded )

Garlic Pods - 2 tbsp ( finely shredded )
Cooked Rajma Beans / Pink Beans - 1 cup
Cooked White Navy Beans - 1 Cup
Cooked Black Beans - 1 Cup
Tomato Puree - 4 tbsp ( Or take the puree from 2 big tomatoes and add )
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Vegetable Stock - 4 Cups
Water - As Desired
All Purpose Flour - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Finely cut Jalapeno Peppers - 2 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/4 tsp
Black Pepper Powder - To Taste ( I added more than 1 tbsp definitely)
Crushed Red Chili Flakes - 3 to 4 tsp ( Not Red Chili Powder. You can also use the packets which we get along with Pizza, in case if you don't make the red chili flakes powder ).
Salt - To Taste
Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp ( For Flavour )
Cheddar Cheese ( shredded ) - 1 Cup

Garnish the Soup on its top with a layer of Shredded cheese, a round slice of jalapeno pepper and little greek yogurt. ( 1/4 tsp )

I generally substitute Sour Cream with greek yogurt in all my mexican recipes. So if you prefer, crown your soup with Sour Cream instead of Greek Yogurt.

Method

• Soak the three beans overnight and cook them in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles and keep it ready.
• Cut all the veggies into any desired shapes you prefer and keep them separately in a big plate.
• In the Soup making pot, add oil first. When its heated enough, add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add white onion, capsicum ( bell peppers ) and saute them again with a pinch of salt for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add all the other vegetables into the soup pot and saute them for a minute. Then, add 4 cups of the vegetable stock along with 2 cups of water into the Soup Pot.
• Allow the veggies to get cooked completely. When they are cooked well, add all the powders, tomato puree and required amount of salt into the Soup Pot. 
• Mix them and allow them to cook with the lid on for another 3-4 minutes.
• Finally add the cooked beans, grated cheddar cheese, coriander leaves into the Soup Pot. 
• Let them cook on a low flame for 4-5 minutes. Switch off the flame.
• Serve the hot soup with a side of toasted Garlic Bread or with some baked corn chips. 
• Decorate the soup with few grated cheddar cheese on its top while serving.

Variations / Tips

• Its ideal to make this soup in a Slow cooker.
• Combination of the three beans is at your discretion totally. You can select kind of beans of three types and make the soup.
• Likewise, amount of the spices totally depend on your taste buds.
• Use as many vegetables as you like in this soup and enjoy the freshness.
• As this soup should be in thicker version, avoid adding more water. It might spoil the consistency of the soup.

Palak Tofu / Palak Tofu Masala / Fried Tofu in Green Spinach Gravy -- Healthy and Lowfat

Tofu, also called as Bean curd is one the best non-animal protein best suited for vegetarians. Tofu has larger amount of Protein, less fat and low calorie count. I use both Paneer and Tofu in my kitchen equally and try to include Tofu as much as possible. Palak Tofu is one the healthiest side dish i made for my Parathas like Palak Paneer. It has the goodness of both Spinach and Tofu in it. The main reason for making this as a separate post was due to the different preparation I adopted for making the gravy. 

Ingredients

Spinach / Palak - 1 Big Bunch
Extra Firm Tofu - 1 Medium Size Box ( 12 Oz )
Onion - 1/2 Cup ( finely shredded )
Green Chillies - 1 Medium
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Tomato cubes- 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 Pinch
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 1.5 tbsp

I did not add any cream, milk or butter in this version and its purely a low calorie side dish. If you are specifically making it for kids or for special occasions, generously add 1 tbsp of Butter, little cream on the top of the side dish just before serving. Or if you wish to have a creamy gravy, you can even add 1/2 cup of  full fat milk while making the gravy.

Method

• Wash the spinach leaves and chop them nicely. Keep the other ingredients that are required ready.
• Open the Tofu box and drain the liquid completely. Cut the Tofu into small cubes as shown in the picture and  fry them on a frying pan. Spray the oil on both sides and fry till golden brown on medium heat. Keep it ready.

• In the cooking pan, add oil first. When heated, add cumin seeds, onion, ginger garlic paste next and saute them till the raw smell completely goes off. 
• Next add the tomato and spinach leaves and saute them. You would notice the spinach leaves getting reduced in quantity after they are cooked.
• Add all the powders and mix them well. Saute them again for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Then add 2 cups of water into the cooking vessel. Add required amount of salt at this stage.
• Using a hand masher or hand blender, directly blend the green gravy in the cooking vessel. While doing this, you could switch off the flame temporarily. Once the blending process is done, you would notice the thick green gravy nicely setting up. 
• Add the fried tofu pieces into the gravy and allow them to cook with the lid on for 2-3 minutes.
• Switch off the flame. Enjoy this healthy side dish with your hot rotis, Parathas. 

Tips / Variations 

• As mentioned above, you can add richness to the gravy by injecting butter,cream or milk. 
• If you don't have the hand blender, use the transfer the contents from the cooking vessel into the regular blender and make the gravy too. 
• In this version, I make the gravy after adding all the spices, spinach, tomato and onion. Also i adopted the direct blending method using the Hand blender which in turn fastens the preparation.

Gobi Paratha / Cauliflower Paratha

Cauliflower / Gobi  parathas stole my heart couple of years back and my love towards these yummy parathas grew so much and made me to even munch them anytime of the day. Well, I wonder how a crispy delicious flavourful paratha could be made out of a stinky white cauliflower.  I often used to debate mentally what to make out of a single cauliflower which I buy from the market, either a Gobi Manchurian or Gobi pakodas, Aloo Gobi, or Gobi Paratha, etc., but ended up making either Gobi Paratha or Gobi fry most of the times. These Cauliflower / Gobi parathas are the famous breakfast items in North India and especially if you enter a Punjabi household, a nice aroma from the kitchen would drag you there directly. Its a tradition in their household to have stuffed parathas for breakfast, as they are very much filling and best suited during the start of the day.They mostly enjoy with a side of fresh dahi / curd / Yogurt and a tangy pickle.With few drops of melted ghee on its top, the taste is amazing. ( In my next janma, may be I should born thin and enjoy these fantasies to the core.!!!). 

Ingredients

For the Gobi Paratha Stuffing 
Cauliflower / Gobi -  1 Big
Potato - 1 Small ( Optional )
Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2 Small or 1 Medium ( finely shredded )
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp ( just for flavour )
Masala Powder - 1 tbsp


Make a powder of coriander seeds ( 2 tsp ) , fennel seeds ( 1 tsp ), crush them coarsely and add them while making the paratha stuffing, this tip was given by my friend deepa..whenever i make stuffed parathas, i never fail to include this..thanks deepa for sharing this tip.

For the Roti / Paratha 
Whole Wheat Flour - 4-5 cups depending on the number of Parathas you are going to make.
Salt - To Taste
Oil - Enough
Water - As Required.


Method 

• Make the roti /chapati dough first like how you make it for regular roti /chapati and keep it ready.
• Clean the Cauliflower florets and wash them in boiled water. Peel the potato skin and cut them into tiny squares. 
• In a frying pan, add the cauliflower florets,potato squares along with some water  to cook the cauliflower florets and potato. Close the lid and let the veggies get cooked with the water inside thoroughly.
• When the water is completely dried out, mash the cauliflower using the dal masher or any suitable masher. Add all the powders, salt, green chillies,coriander leaves and oil into the pan and mix them well. Fry the gobi stuffing for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.Allow the cauliflower stuffing to cool down. 
• Mean time, take a small round of the chapati / roti dough and spread the dough ball uniformly in all directions and make a big round. Keep a lemon size cauliflower stuffing at the centre of the roti. Size of the paratha stuffing purely depends on the size of the Roti you have made. 
• Close the paratha on all sides carefully and press the paratha gently on all sides. Dip the paratha with the wheat flour and spread the paratha carefully using the roti roller on all sides.
• While spreading, care to see that the Gobi stuffing does not come out of the paratha.
• In the frying pan, on medium heat, fry the Gobi / Cauliflower paratha to Golden brown on both sides. Apply oil at the edges of the paratha and make sure that its fried uniformly in all directions.
• Similarly continue the process for the rest of the dough and Gobi Stuffing. Serve the hot Gobi Parathas with a side of fresh curd, pickle and a suitable side dish.

Tips / Variations 

• Cauliflower / Gobi stuffing texture should be correct otherwise rolling the parathas would be difficult. Texture should be thick and firm enough to roll.
• You can also cook the cauliflower in the microwave fully while making the stuffing instead of cooking it in the kadai directly.
• Apply a drop of ghee on the top layer while serving for kids. Number of parathas would disappear faster for sure.
• Inclusion of a small potato in this preparation is mainly to make the stuffing texture perfect due to its starch contents. But its purely optional and you could use only the Gobi too.

Dates Nuts Cake / Nutty Dates Cake - Eggless and Butterless

Dry Dates also called as "Perichampazham" in Tamil and "Kajoora Pandu" in Telugu are beneficial for overall well being due to the abundance of vitamins, minerals and  rich in dietary fiber. Using these dates as my main sweetener, I wanted to try out the Dates cake by following a very traditional recipe which I found in an Indian Food Magazine. Of course, I did few customization into the main recipe in order to suit my taste and inject few more nutrition into it. Neither eggs nor butter are included in this process but I generously added Nuts and made it so...delicious.Absolutely a very healthy treat to the kids and a guilt free dessert to all ages too...

Ingredients

Seedless Dates - Between 30 to 35.

Dry Grapes Seedless - 1/2 cup

Chopped Nuts - 1 Cup. ( Used Walnuts, Almonds,Cashew nuts, Pistachios )

Refined Oil - 1/2 Cup

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup

All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1/2 cup

Baking Soda - 1 tsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/4 Cup

( If you want the cake sweetish, you could add 1/2 cup, we just want to enjoy the sweetness of the dates and dry grapes more..)

Method 

• Soak the dry dates in warm water for 3-4 hours. Grind the soaked dates along with the dry seedless grapes in a blender and make a paste. 

• In a big mixing bowl, add the sugar, milk, oil and baking soda. Stir them thoroughly and then add the flours and the grounded paste into the bowl.

• Add the chopped nuts too into the bowl and stir them till the contents mix well and get into smooth paste without any lumps. 
• Preheat the over to 375 F initially. Meantime, grease the baking pan with little oil and all purpose flour. 
• Transfer the cake mix into the Baking pan now. Shapes of the baking pan could be selected based on the occasion and your taste.
• Bake the cake in the over for 30-35 minutes at 200 F. After 25 minutes, definitely check whether the cake is nearing completion. Insert a fork or small stick into the cake and check to see whether it comes out cleanly or not. 
• If it comes out clean, then the dates cake is done. Carefully take out the pan and allow the cake to get completely cooled.
• After its cooled and come to the room temperature, turn it upside down and cut into desired shapes.

Dates cake is so rich, moist and nutty with an excellent tint of the dates flavour. You can also decorate the cake on its top and enjoy during special occasions.

Tips / Variations 

• Mix the baking soda with the flour and also with the contents uniformly.
• If you are calorie conscious, reduce the amount of oil to 1/4th and use 2% milk instead of full fat milk.
• If the dates are too dry, soaking them for overnight would be really helpful. 

Vaazhaikai Podimas / Raw Banana Podimas / Vazhaikai Podimas / Aratikaya Curry

Raw Banana / Vaazhaikai / Arattikaya could be used in numerous ways in South Indian Cuisine. Though I make different versions at home, I completely wanted to give a twist to the regular podimas curry and upgrade its taste. This version of my raw banana curry was initially a simple try but ended up making it often at home as its liked by my family ( mainly due to its simplicity). Method is very simple and takes less preparation time.!! And above all, its not a high caloric curry as its made with less oil and steam cooked veggie. Try this out in your kitchen and enjoy the exotic flavour of this curry with a cup of hot rice and rasam. 

Ingredients

Raw Banana / Vaazhaikkai / Arattikaya - 4 Big
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - To Taste
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 5 or 6
Coriander Leaves - To Garnish
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp ( Optional ) or Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp ( Optional )

Its optional and it purely depends on your taste buds. If the green chillies spiciness is just enough for your taste, you can leave this powder. If you want your curry to be more spicy, then you could choose either red chili powder or black pepper powder and add accordingly.

To Grind
Green Chillies - 3 Medium
Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 6 or 7 Big Pods

Method

• Peel the skin and steam cook them in microwave or outside on a stove. Meantime, grind a paste of green chillies, fresh coconut flakes and garlic pods and keep it aside.
• Grate the cooked raw banana and keep them ready.
• In a frying pan / kadai, add oil first. When its heated, add Hing, mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal and curry leaves in order and fry them on a medium flame. 
• Then add the grounded paste into the kadai and fry them gently on a low flame. When its fried for 3-4 minutes, add the turmeric powder and the grated raw banana and mix them well. 
• Add required amount of salt and allow them to cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes with the lid on.
• Allow them to fry openly for another 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Tips / Variations 

Fry the grounded paste till the raw smell of the garlic goes off. Make sure that it does not turn black at the bottom.
To make it more special, add a handful of peanuts / groundnuts just after tempering. Fry the groundnuts thoroughly before adding the grated raw banana into the kadai. 

Jangiri - Homemade

Jangiri, one of the tastiest and a very attractive sweet is generally liked by all. It may be due to its beautiful shape, wonderful colour or its yummy taste. It had been a dream for me to make it at home. My Mom regularly makes this sweet in our home during diwali or any other small occasions. She never hesitated to start the preparation and all the time she would make it with a big smile and kindness. In fact, she thoroughly enjoyed the preparation part. I finally tried this sweet during diwali 2012 but not alone. My husband who equally enjoys everything he does, helped me during the preparation. If you are a fan of Jangiri, please do try making it at home on your hand and treat the kids. Don't fail to see the sparkling eyes and happy smiles on their faces. We loved.....our Jangiris and distributed to many of our beloved friends.

Ingredients

Whole Urad Dal - 2 Cups
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp

Sugar - 4 Cups

Kesar Yellow Colour - 1 pinch 

Rose Essence - 1/4 tsp or 3 drops

Saffron Strands - 2 pinch

Oil - Enough for frying the Jangiris.

Flat round Plate - For Frying the Jangiris.
Lemon juice -  4 or 5 drops into the syrup ( This is mainly to prevent crystallization of the sugar ).

Method 

• Soak the urad dal in water for an hour. After an hour, grind the urad dal by adding very less water like how we grind for Vadai. Just dissolve the kesar food colour in water and add the coloured water while grinding. That way, we will get a light orangish Jangiri after frying. To that batter, add the rice flour and mix it thoroughly. Keep the batter ready.
• For making Jangiri, take a thick Ziplog Bag and put a big round hole into one of the corners of the Ziplog. The needle can be heated little bit before making a hole. Keep this bag ready. For safety, make 2 or 3 Ziplog bags ready just in case if it gets spoiled in the middle of the process.
• Meantime, in a big round thick bottomed vessel, make sugar syrup by adding Sugar, enough water to dissolve the sugar. Keep stirring the Sugar syrup till it thickens and sticks to our hand.
• Add a pinch of Rose Essence, a pinch of Saffron Strands and few drops of lemon juice into the syrup. Keep it on a low flame.
• Add oil into a flat round plate with 2-3 inches deep as shown in the picture for frying the Jangiris. Heat the oil on a medium flame. Oil should not be heated too much.
• Fill the Ziplog bag with the Jangiri batter and hold the Ziplog at its top.
• Carefully squeeze the Ziplog from its top and make small circles into the pan as shown in the picture. Adjust the Batter in the ziplog and bring it to the bottom and squeeze and make more Jangiri designs into the pan.
• When its fried enough, you would notice them emerging at the top of the oil with no bubbles around the Jangiri.
• Carefully take out the fried jangiri using a fork or any thin suitable spatula and soak it into the sugar syrup.
• Likewise, continue the same process for the rest of the jangiri batter. Keep looking at the Sugar syrup and take out the perfectly soaked  jangiris from the syrup. Arrange the jangiris on a plate in order.

 

Tips / Variations

Keep everything that are required during the preparation ready before starting.
Do not fry the jangiris too much in the oil. Fry them on a low flame till golden brown and immediately soak them into the sugar syrup.
 

Methi Matar Paneer Masala / Methi Mutter Paneer Gravy

Fresh Methi Bunch has got a permanent place in my refrigerator and I love to explore many dishes using these methi / fenugreek leaves. For dinner, I decided to use the fresh bunch of methi along with Paneer to make a very tasty side dish for the Pulkas/ Plain rotis.  Of course, with a side of spicy Jalapeno Peppers, bit of sliced cucumbers and carrots and a small cup of fresh Dahi ( Curd ), the meal is complete.  Who would resist such a tempting plate full of goodies? These days, as I have been observing a strict low fat diet, my mind is so cautious while deciding on the menu, preparing the food. For making this "Methi Matar Paneer Masala / Gravy", I have not used any Malai or fresh cream. But still it tastes much better and goes very well with the plain phulkas.  Freshness of the fenugreek leaves / methi leaves definitely upgrades the taste.  Try this out in your kitchen and enjoy your meal with lots of smiles.

Ingredients
Fresh Fenugreek Leaves / Methi Leaves - 1 Bunch
Roma Tomato - 1
Red Onion - 1/2 cup shredded
Green Chili - 1 Medium finely shredded
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 Pinch
Peas - 1 Cup
Small Paneer Cubes - Between 15 to 20.
Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
2% Milk - 1 Glass

Method

• Take out the fenugreek leaves carefully from its stem and clean them thoroughly. Keep the vegetables ready before starting the process. Shallow fry the Paneer cubes and keep them ready.
• In the cooking pan, add oil first. When its heated, add the cumin seeds followed by Ginger Garlic Paste. Fry them for 2 minutes till the rawness goes off. Add the shredded onion and green chili and fry them with a pinch of salt.
• Then, add tomato pieces, peas and the fresh fenugreek leaves into the pan. Saute them for 2-3 minutes and allow them to cook inside with the lid on. The contents would cook for couple of minutes with the steam inside.
• When you notice the soggy fenugreek leaves, add all the powders into the pan and stir them well.
• After frying them for 2-3 minutes, pour a glass of milk into the cooking pan. Mix them well and allow them to cook again with all the spices for another 3-4 minutes.
• Add the required amount of salt and fry the contents for another 1-2 minute. Finally add the Paneer cubes into the pan and close the lid.
• Allow the dish to remain on a medium flame with the lid on for another 3 to 4 minutes.
• Once you are satisfied with the consistency, switch off the flame. Serve this healthy side dish with your hot Phulkas/rotis.

Tips / Variations

You can add water or milk little more if you don't want your gravy too thick.
Shallow frying the Paneer cubes is purely optional. You can add fresh Paneer cubes directly instead.

Pomegranate Rasam / Maadhulampazha Rasam / Danimmapandu Chaaru

Pomegranate, a healthy and an antioxidant rich fruit is a symbol of healthy and eternal life. The tiny little red seeds inside the fruit are highly beneficial to the human heart and they melt away heart blockages. They lower Cholesterol and blood pressure and helps in preventing both heart attacks and strokes. Being a powerful and an extra dense fruit, its not wise to exclude this fruit from our menu. We could make a rich smoothie out of it, could add the seeds in our curd rice, raitas and in salads. Recently I read about this Pomegranate rasam in a magazine and decided to try it out in my kitchen. 

Neither tamarind juice nor tomatoes are needed to prepare this healthy rasam. I made this rasam only with the nutrient pomegranate juice. I assure you that it will be liked by your kids who refuse to eat pomegranate seeds. This rasam could be given as a good appetizer too.

Ingredients

Big Ripe Pomegranates - 3 or 4
Boiled Toor Dal - 2 tbsp

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Cumin Black Pepper Powder - 3 tsp
Green chillies - 2 ( slit into halves )
Salt - To Taste
Water - As required.


For Tempering :
Oil - 3 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp ( Optional but yummy if added!!)
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 4 or 5
Dry Red Chillies - 2 medium
Pinch of cumin pepper powder.


Method

• Take out the Pomegranate seeds and make a puree out of it using a blender. Strain the Pomegranate juice to filter only the juice without any seeds or precipitates. Keep the clean pomegranate juice ready.
• Meantime cook the toordal in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles. Add half a glass of water to the mashed toordal paste and keep the toordal water ready.
• In the rasam making pan or small vessel, add the Pomegranate juice along with the powders, hing, green chili slits,required amount of salt and a glass of water. Allow them to boil on medium flame for 3-4 minutes till the raw smell goes off. 
• Add the Toor dal water into the rasam and allow them to sit on low flame. Once you see the froth on the top of the rasam surface, switch off the flame.
• Do the tempering separately and pour the sizzling tempered contents over the rasam.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it as an appetizer. Or it can be served with hot white rice and a spicy veg curry.

Tempering :

Heat the tadka pan on a medium flame. Add oil / ghee into the pan. Once its heated, add Hing, Mustard seeds and Cumin Seeds. Once they sputter, add a pinch of cumin pepper powder, curry leaves, dry red chillies into it. When they get fried, pour them over the hot rasam. 

Tips 

• Make the cumin black pepper powder freshly and add to the rasam as it gives a nice aroma and spiciness to the rasam.
• Always add atleast a pinch of this powder in your tadka/tempering as it enhances the taste of the rasam.
• You can add a tsp of ghee during tempering along with oil. But addition of ghee is purely optional.
• You can adjust the Sambar Powder level according to the spiciness of the powder. Our homemade sambar powder will not be that spicy, so I add between 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp.
• Avoid choosing a big broad vessel for making rasams, instead go for a medium sized vessel with a narrow opening on its top.
• Try to switch off the flame as soon as you notice the froth on the top of rasam surface. This gives rasam a unique taste.

Kothu Parotta / Kothu Paratha / Kothu Parata / Kothu Parota

Kothu Parotta, a yummy and tasty dish always reminds me of our town bus stands in India and the shops around the Bus Station. Many times, I used to slow down myself mainly to observe how they make the parottas at the road side shops. The sight would definitely trigger your hunger and drive you to one of the road side hotels irrespective of how busy you would be then. I never thought that i would be able to make my favourite Kothu Parotta in my life by myself!!!! Though I tasted this dish in many households and during special occasions at different places, I realized only one thing. To get the real taste of my dindigul Kothu Parotta, I decided to venture out different methods on my own. Finally I arrived at one version which was more closer to my dindigul road side hotels. So, presenting you all my favourite Kothu Parotta recipe which I like. Enjoy this tasty Kothu Parotta and your suggestions are welcome.

Ingredients
Kerala Parotta - 8 ( I used a frozen packet of  Maharani brand Parotta ).
Tomato - 1 Big
Red Onion - 1 Big
Green Chillies - 2 Medium
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 2 tsp
Salt - As required.
Coriander Leaves - To Garnish
Curry Leaves - 1 Stem
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

• If using the frozen Parotta packet, thaw them initially and fry the parottas in a pan. Break the parottas into tiny pieces and keep them ready.
• Meantime, cut the tomato and slice the green chillies and red onion and keep them ready too.
• In the cooking pan, add oil first. When its heated, add the ginger garlic paste and fry them for 2 minutes and then add the sliced onions.
• Add a pinch of salt and fry them till the onion slices become translucent.
• Once done, then add the tomato pieces, all powders and curry leaves and fry them for couple of minutes. Add required amount of salt initially for this mixture.
• Then add the tiny pieces of parottas into the pan / kadai and mix them very well so that they get coated with the gravy mix uniformly in all directions.
• On medium heat, allow the Kothu parotta to get cooked and fried with all the powders for 3-4 minutes. Switch off the flame once you are satisfied with the texture of the Kothu Parotta.
• Garnish the Kothu Parotta with the fresh coriander leaves and serve with a side of simple, plain onion raita.

Tips

I personally feel that timing is very important in this preparation. Its important to add the ingredients at right amount and at right time to get the perfect road side taste.

Egg Kothu Parotta / Muttai Kothu Parotta

Follow the same procedure as mentioned against the "Kothu Parotta" preparation. Just before adding the tiny broken pieces of parottas, add 4 to 5 eggs into the pan and fry them on medium flame till they all get fried and mixed with the contents in the kadai/pan thoroughly.  Once they get completely dried and fried properly, then add the parotta pieces and finish the process as above. Egg Kothu Parotta can also be served with a side of onion raita.

Chettinad Kara Kuzhambu / Chettinad Kaara Kuzhambu

Ever since I tasted the Chettinad Kara Kuzhambu at one of my friend's home, I started liking it very much. She made it with brinjals and small onions and served with spicy side curries in the main course. I learnt the complete recipe from her and tried it at home with brinjals, drumsticks and small onions today and it turned out very well. Thanks Preetha for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.

Ingredients

Small Brinjals / Egg Plant - 5 or 6

Drumsticks - 6 or 7 pieces ( Each cut in finger size )

Small Onions - 10 to 12
Ripe Tomatoes - 2 Big

Oil - 3 tbsp ( I used Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp and normal oil - 1 tbsp )

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Methi Seeds / Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Tamarind Extract - 2 cup ( If its very thick, then add between 1 to 1.5 cup )

Salt - To Taste

Curry Leaves - 1 stem

To Grind

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 cup

Garlic Pods - 8 or 9

Small Onions - 8

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sambar Powder - 3 tbsp

Red Chili Powder - 3 tsp ( Put 1 tsp if you want it medium spicy, put 4 tsp if you want it more spicy )

Method

In the mixer grinder, add all the ingredients and grind them into the fine paste using little water. Keep the grounded paste ready before starting the cooking process.

Heat half the oil in the cooking pan first. When its heated, add Hing / Asafoetida, mustard seeds and methi seeds into the oil. When they sputter, add the small onions, brinjals and drumsticks into the pan and fry them till they get translucent. Add little salt just for the vegetables to absorb and then add the curry leaves and tomatoes and fry them for a minute till they get mushy.

Add the tamarind extract into the pan along with the grounded paste. Add a glass of water into it and allow them to cook thoroughly. When the raw smell completely goes off, you would notice the change in colour and gets into the darker side. 

Add required amount of salt for the Kuzhambu now and the remaining amount of Sesame Oil into the Kuzhambu and let the Kuzhambu boils in the pan under medium flame. Once you notice oil oozing out of the Kuzhambu on its surface, you could switch off the flame. 

Serve this with hot white rice with your favourite side vegetable curries and enjoy the meal.

Tips 

If the tomatoes are not soar, you can add thick tamarind extract. You can vary the amount of tomatoes and tamarind extract based on its sourness and your taste. But i would prefer equal amount of both for its best taste.

Use only Sesame oil for making this Kuzhambu to retain its authentic taste and aroma. An excellent choice to be included in your menu during any special occasions.