Lemon Rice - Elumichai Sadham

Elumichai Sadham is a simple traditional South Indian Recipe to make which is full of flavor and it is also healthy.

Ingredients needed to make Elumichia Sadham (Lemon Rice)

• Rice – 1 ½ cup
• Peanuts – ½ cup
• Lemon Juice – 3 to 4 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  Urad Dal – 1 tsp
• Bengal Gram – 1 tbsp
• Ginger – 1 tbsp (chopped)
• Green chilies – 2 slit
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves – 10
• Salt to taste
• Oil

How to make lemon rice? (elumichai sadham cooking method)

Soak 1 ½ cup of rice in water for half an hour. Cook the rice with enough salt (each grain should be separate and not sticky).

In a pan add little oil and roast the peanuts and keep them aside.

Then heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Then add Urad Dal, Bengal Gram, chopped ginger, and green chilies fry till the added dal turns brown (it may take 2 minutes) on medium heat. Then add turmeric powder and curry leaves and cook for 15 seconds.

Then add lemon juice to the mixture allow it to boil. Once it starts boiling remove from flame and add cooked rice to the lemon mixture. Also add the roasted peanuts to the mixture and combine well.

Adjust salt and lemon juice as per your need.

This is one of the simplest as well as light dishes in South India. This recipe is suitable for long journey as well as picnics as they make the work of the house wife easier. This is also a healthy lunch box recipe because of the nutritive value of ginger and turmeric.

How To Make Kothamalli Chutney – Raw Coriander Chutney?

Ingredients Needed for Coriander Chutney (Kothamalli Thovayal )

• Fresh Coriander Leaves – 2 big bunches (washed and chopped)
• Green Chilies – 4 to 5 (chopped length wise)
• Tamarind Paste – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to make Kothamalli Thogayal – green chutney – spicy coriander chutney?

Just grind well all the above ingredients.

Serving Tips

Dishes that can be served with kothamalli thogayal are idli, dosa, vadai, rice and sandwich too.

This recipe is easy to make and just take few minutes to prepare. In case of any unexpected guest for dinner or breakfast you can prepare this healthy and easy recipe and serve with idli and dosa.

South Indian Coriander Chutney - Kothamalli Chutney - Kothamalli Thogayal

Ingredients Needed for Coriander Chutney (Kothamalli Thovayal )

• Fresh Coriander Leaves – 2 big bunches (washed and chopped)
• Green Chilies – 2 (chopped length wise)
• Red Chilies – 2
• Chana dal – 1 tbsp
• Urad dal – 1 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds – ¼ tsp
• Tamarind Paste – 1 ½ tbsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
• Few Curry Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Oil

How to make Kothamalli Thogayal – green chutney – spicy coriander chutney?

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, let them splutter. Add dry red chilies, urad dal, channa dal and fry till brown color (approx. 3 minutes on medium heat).

Remove the mixture from pan and keep it aside.

Then to the same oil add the coriander leaves and green chills and fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from heat and allow it cool.

Add the fried dals mixture, coriander leaves, green chilies, tamarind and salt in a grinder and grind well to till they become a coarse paste.

Serving Tips

Dishes that can be served with kothamalli thogayal are idli, dosa, vadai, rice and sandwich too.

I love this chutney as my mom prepares this one with my favorite vegetable biryani. Eating spicy veg. biryani with healthy kothamalli thovayal is yummy.

Spicy Coriander chutney or kothamalli thogayal is also very healthy as it is prepared with all Indian natural herbs which all are good for health.

Try this yummy recipe and share your experience!

Famous Indian Cookbooks

A good cookbook will surely act as a cultural guideline that helps us to celebrate our daily activities like making, sharing and eating. Till the modern century the Indian cookery were not recorded manually. The daughters directly learned from their mothers the art of cooking. This was the culture that was followed from the ancient times and still it prevails in all the parts of the world.

But now as the technologies flourish there is a change in the cooking also. Records of all the cooking are done in all the sorts. Now we are able to see the cooking methods and their ingredients in the form of books, magazines and it's available in through websites also.

Hundreds of cookbooks are available in the market. It is necessary to choose the correct one to making your useful. Here we have listed the famous Indian cookbooks that are coming up for years.

• Vegetarian Cuisine From South India - Dakshin
• Art of south Indian cooking - Alamelu Vairavan
• Quick and easy Indian cooking - Madhur Jaffrey
• Madhur Jaffrey Indian cooking - Madhur Jaffrey
• Classic Indian vegetarian and grain cooking - Julie Sahni
• Sanjeev Kapoor's Non-Vegetarian Cooking - Sanjeev kapoor
• 100 veg soups and soft drinks - Mallika Badrinath
• 500 Easy Recipes - Narayani V. Nayak
•  Moti Mahal-Tandoori Trails - Monish Gujral

Tips On Fruits & Vegetables Storage

How to store chilies for long days?

Place the green chilies into airtight container and kept it in fridge.

How to stop tears while cutting/Peeling onion:

Peel the onions under the water.
Put one candle in front of u and cut.
Keep the onions in the refrigerator for sometimes before cutting.

How to store Mushrooms

Cover the mushrooms with a soggy cloth or use paper bag with holes in the cloth/bag for ventilation. This will keep them dry and refrigerate for long life.

Fruits life extension

To extend the life of the fruits it is necessary to select the fruit depending on their various level of ripeness. Then use them as they ripen

Weekly shopping

If you have the habit of weekly shopping then choose the vegetables and fruits that will last long. For example potatoes, carrots, root vegetables, onion etc.

Avoiding discoloration of vegetables:

Some green leafy vegetables start to discolor after they are chopped. To prevent this you can add a pinch of common salt and sugar to the vegetable while cooking.

Storing Green Leafy Vegetables:

To keep the green leafy vegetables fresh for a long time you need to wrap them in a newspaper before placing them in the vegetable tray.

South Indian Cooking Tips by my grandma

Curry turned out a bit oily and pungent:

No problem take 2 bread slices and make it like a powder. Now add to curry and mix well. Bread absorbs the excess oil and spice.

Want to make a fluffy omelet:

Heat the pan add some oil or butter, then beat the egg and pour into the pan and stir with a fork. The air goes inside omelet, making light and fluffy. Serve hot.

How to make idly soft:

While you make urad dal paste, in a hot water add half cup of rava (semolina) and rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Now compress it and add into urad dal paste. Next day you get soft idly recipe.

How to preserve ginger-garlic paste:

Before grinding ginger garlic fry them in oil and store in the same oil.

To avoid sticky rice:

1. Soak the rice in water 10 mins before cooking.
2. Add a teaspoon of oil to the cooked rice.

To avoid foaming hot oil:

During any deep fry some times oil foam and rise up in the pan, For that add small piece of tamarind to the oil.

Reducing fat in chicken:

Before marinating the skin of the chicken has to be reduced this will decrease the fat in the chicken by 10 grams per serving.

Forgot to soak chana:

If you forgot to soak chana overnight, no problem soak the chana in a flask filled with boiling water for an hour. The chana will be ready for cooking.

To fry onions faster:

While frying the onions if you add ½ tsp of salt it will become brown faster.

To remove garlic skin easily:

The skin of garlic can be easily removed if the garlic's are warmed little before you start peeling.

Oil safety cooking:

When cooking with oil you need be very careful sometime the boiling oil stars foaming rising out of the pan. You can avoid this by adding a small size of tamarind ball to the oil.

How to make soft chapati:

To make chapati soft there are two steps do be done.

1. While making dough use milk or yoghurt instead of water.

2. The more pressing the dough by your hand gives more smother.

Finally cover with a soggy cloth and set sideways for half an hour before using.

Easy Mash Potatoes:

Mash potatoes while it is hot, because mashing is easy and fine mash will done.

Cooking vegetables in microwave:

While cooking in the microwave to maintain the fresh green colour add pinch of soda bicarb to green vegetables

Peel Tomato Skin:

To easy peel skin of tomato place tomatoes in hot water for 5-7 minutes before use for peeling.

Indian Plantain Fry Recipe (valakai varuval)

Ingredients:

• Plantain (valakai) - 2 
• Oil
• Sombu (Fennel seeds)- 1 tsp
• Garlic pieces -3
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp
• Red chili powder -1tsp
• Salt -as needed

How to make south Indian Valakai Varuval?

Remove the skin of raw banana and cut them in to small thin pieces.

Grind sombu, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and add little water.

Then boil the raw banana lightly and magnate with the paste for 15 min.

Now heat the pan with oil and add the marinated plantain mixture and fry. (Or)

Instead of deep fry try below method.

Heat the pan with 2 tbsp of oil and add curry leaves.

Now add the paste stir well for some time until the light color change comes.

Then add the boiled plantain and mix well.

Allow to roast in low flame.

Plantain fry Indian valakai varuval is ready to taste.

It goes well with curd rice. 

Valakai Varuval

Khara Pongal Recipe-Ven Pongal

South Indian Ven Pongal Recipe (Khara Pongal Recipe, Ghee Pongal Recipe)

Ingredients needed to make Ven Pongal 

• Raw Rice - 1 Cup
• Yellow Moong Dal - 1/2 Cup
• Ghee - 2 Tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
• Black Pepper - 1/2 Tsp
• Salt as per requirement
• Ginger - 1/2 Tblsp (Grated)
• Curry Leaves Few
• Cashew Nuts - 10 No.

How to make South Indian Spcial Ghee Khara Ven Pongal Recipe?

Wash the rice, dal, salt and add 4-5 cups of water.

Pressure cook till 4-5 whistles.

When it is done, mash this nicely with the back of the ladle.

In a kadai, add the ghee and throw in the black pepper and when it crackles add the cashew nuts and saute in a low flame till it becomes golden brown colour.

Lastly add the cumin seeds and switch off the flame in few seconds. Add curry leaves and ginger to this and saute for a few seconds.

Switch off the flame.

Mix the spices to the cooked rice and dal.

Mix well.

If you want just add a spoon of ghee to this and mix well.

Serving Tips

Enjoy ven pongal with Sambar and Cocnut Chutney.

Gravy Dosa

Ingredients:

• Thick & Spongy Dosa – 2
• Onion – 2
• Tomato – 2
• Green Capsicum – 1
• Oil – 3 tsp
• Red Chili Powder – ½ tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp
• Salt as per requirement

How to prepare Gravy Dosa:

Cut the dosa into small pieces. Heat oil, fry the onions till it turn golden brown.

Then add 2 tomatoes, chili powder, garam masala powder, and salt to taste.

Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy.

Add capsicum and fry for few seconds. Do not cook the capsicum fully.

Then add dosa and mix well till the dosa pieces get coated with the masala well.

Note: Instead of dosa you can also add idli to the masala to make masala idli.

Indian Spices

Spices and aromatics are the very heart of Indian cooking. They have been used since ancient times.

Here is a list of commonly used Indian Spices

Asafoetida (Hing)

Bay leaves

Cardamom (Elaichi)

Chilies (Mirchi)

Chili powder

Cilantro (Hara Dhaniya)

Cinnamon (Dalchni)

Cloves (Luong)

Cokum

Coriander seeds (Dhaniya)

Cumin (Jeera)

Curry leaves (Kari putha or Neem)

Curry Powder

Fennel (Soonf)

Fenugreek (Kasuri Methi)

Garam Masala

Garlic (Lassan)

Ginger (Adrak)

Mint (Pudina)

Mustard seeds (Rai)

Peppercorns (Kali Mirchi)

Tamarind (Amli)

Turmeric (Haldi)

Simple and Easy Cooking Tips

Sharpen the blender blades

Grind some salt in blender or mixer well to make the blades sharp.

Add more flavor to kheer

Wash the rice, drain excess water and then fry the rice in butter for 1-2 mins on medium flame. Then add the milk. Frying the rice in butter adds flavor to the kheer

To get golden color for dosa

To get golden color for dosa just add some rice (cooked) while you are grinding.

To make your Biryani very Tasty

Separately fry the onions in the oil until crispy golden brown. Add these onions to your prepared biryani, tightly cover the lid and keep it on the stove on a lowest minimum flame for about 5-10 mins. Then for sure you will taste the tasty and different biryani....

Making curd faster

If you want curd to settle fast after adding little curd to the milk you just put a green chilly which is coated with salt

How to Make Ragi Pakoda Recipe

Ingredients:

• Ragi Flour – 1 cup
• Onion – 1 cup (Chopped)
• Green Chilies – 5 (chopped)
• Few Curry leaves
• Salt as per requirement
• Oil to fry

Ragi Pakoda Saiyum Murai:

Mix ragi flour, chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, salt & water in a bowl together to obtain a solid state mixture. This mixture should not be too much solid but it should be little less drier than the chapathi or poori batter.

Heat oil in a pan

Drop the small portions of ragi mixture to oil and deep fry it (till it become crispy). Repeat the procedure for the remaining mixture

Now serve the hot Ragi Pakoda

Chukku Kappi - Karupatti Kappi - Dry Ginger Coffee

Ingredients:

For Chukku Powder:

• Dry Ginger Powder / Chukku Podi- 1/2 cup
  
• Coriander Seeds / Malli - 2 tblspn
• Cumin Seeds / Jeerakam - 1 tsp
• Peppercorns - 1 tsp
• Panakarkandu / Rock Candy - 3 tblspn (Optional)

For One Serving Coffee:

• Water - 1 cup
• Chukku powder - 1 tsp
• Karupatti / Palm Jaggery - 1 tblspn or to taste

How to prepare Chukku Coffee? (Chukku Kappi saiyum murai)

Take all the ingredients given in the list of chukku podi in a blender. Make this into a fine powder. Store this in a air tight container.

Now make the kapi, take water in a sauce pan. Add chukku podi and karuppati in it. Mix well.

Simmer this for 2 to 3 mins.

Now strain this and discard the solids.

Pour into a glass. Serve hot.