Vellai Poosanikkai is otherwise called as Ash Gourd.This is one of the common Kottu varieties of the Saiva Vellala community both at home and even in marriage feasts.
 |
| Vellai Poosanikkai Kootu |
Ingredients :
Vellai Poosanikai 1 piece ( nearly 250 gms.)
Channa Dhal 1/4 cup
Grated coconut 1/4 cup
Zeera 1/2 tsp.
Green chilly 1
Small onions ( optional ) 3
Salt
Method :
1. Soak the channa dhal in water for 30 minutes.
2. Pressure cook the finely cubed vegetable and the soaked channa dhal with little water
in a small cooker for 2 or 3 whistles.
3. Grind the coconut, green chilly, zeera and the small onions in a mixi.
4. Mix the coconut paste with the cooked vegetable. Add salt and if the water is not
enough add some water.Let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes with constant stirring.
5. Season with mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves.
Notes :
1. Soaking the channa dhal saves the time and fuel.
2.Those who are very conscious of using less coconut, can add the thickening agents of a
paste of rice flour or corn flour or dosa flour.
This is a very special rice variety of the Tirunelveli region.Kootan means mixture and Choru means rice.So it is a mixed rice with dhal and vegetables.Raw Mangoes, drumsticks, drumstick leaves, small onions, garlic and zeera are the real taste makers of this variety rice. Seasoning this with the onion vadagam along with the mustard gives an aromatic taste.
This Kootan Choru has a unique taste and often it is preferred to be taken during picnics because the taste gets enriched after 3 or 4 hours.
 |
| Kootan Choru |
Ingredients :
Rice 1 cup
Toor Dhal 1/4 cup
Drumstick 1
Raw Mango 1( small size )
Brinjal , Raw Banana, carrot, Potato
Kothavarangai ( cluster beans ) / Beans / Avarakkai
Drumstick Leaves, Arakeerai
Peas / Butter beans ( if available )
Tamarind Lemon size
Small onions 15
Grated coconut 1/2 cup
Salt , Turmeric Powder, Hing
To Temper :
Gingelly Oil ( preferably ) 1 tbsp.
Mustard , Urad dhal, Curry Leaves.
To grind in the mixi :
Small onions 12
Jeera 2 tsp.
Red chilly 4
Garlic Pods 8
Method :
1. Pressure cook the dhal and grind the given ingredients in a mixi.Soak the tamarind in water.
2. Boil 3 cups of water in a pressure pan and add the chopped greens ( Keerai ) and stir well.
3. Then add the vegetables chopped lengthwise ,add little salt for the vegetables.Mix well.
4. Add turmeric powder and after 5 minutes, add rice and the cooked dhal. Mix well.
5.After 5 minutes, add 1 cup of tamarind water, salt, hing and the masala ground in the mixi.
6. Stir well to avoid burning or sticking the the bottom. The flame can be reduced.
7. When the water is absorbed almost, add the grated coconut and stir well.
8.Season with mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves. Mix well, close the cooker and place the weight.
9.Once the cooker is closed, keep it on sim. for 5 minutes and switch off.
10. Open the lid after 15 minutes and there may be a thin layer of water on the top.No need to panic.
11. Stir well from top to bottom and the water disappears. The delicious Kootn Choru is ready.
Notes :
1. If 1or 2 vegetables like brinjal and raw banana is not available, it is O.K.Parboiled rice is good.
2. Drumstick, drumstick leaves, Potato, carrot, one green coloured vegetable, that is Kotthavarankkai or Beans or Avarakkai and, raw mago are absolutely essential.For 1 cup of rice, 1 or 2 of each kind of vegetable is enough.
3. Some people pressure cook all things together. Then the vegetables become mashy and the drumsticks split.So I close the cooker in the end and keep it on sim.
4. Nowdays, at times, when they feel like eating kootan Choru, some people use tomatoes for mango and big onions for small onions, if raw mango and small onions are not available.The taste is O.K.
5.Onion vadagams, made of small onions, urad dhal batter etc, is special of Tirunelveli.
This rice uppuma prepared with the common ingredients at home goes well with coconut chutney and sambar.
 |
| Rice Uppuma |
To serve 2
Time taken 30 minutes.
Ingredients :
Raw Rice 1 cup
Toor Dhal 1 tbsp.
Finely sliced carrot / Beans / Peas ( optional ) 1/4 cup
Onion 1 ( finely chopped
Ginger 1 small piece
Grated coconut 1/4 cup ( optional )
Tomato 1
Oil 2 tbsp.
Salt
To Temper :
Mustard , Split Urad Dhal
Green / Red chilly 1
Channa Dhal 1 tsp.
Curry Leaves
Method :
1. Wash rice and dhal well and dry it in a plate in shade or sun for 2 hours and powder
in a mixi like white sooji.No need to seive.
2. Heat oil in a tawa and add the ingredients to temper.
3. After the mustards cracke, add onion, ginger and saute well. When the onions become
brown,add the finely chopped tomatoes and salt.
4. Add the finely chopped vegetables and saute.Add little water if less oil is used.
5. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add 3 cups of water and salt.
6. When the water boils well, add the powdered rice and dhal, stirring continuously
without reducing the flame.
7.Once half of the water is absorbed, the flame can be reduced. When the water is
almost absorbed, add the grated coconut.Once the water is fully absorbed, add
coriander leaves and switch off.
Notes :
1. The adding of vegetables,tomatoes and coconut are purely optional.
2. If the rice rava is to be prepared in advance and stored, dry the washed rice and dhal
well in the sun before powdering.This comes handy when we are short of dosa batter.
3.Tamarind water or lemon juice can be used instead of tomatoes.
This different type of Murukku is made in my in law's house for many decades.Pasiparuppu flour is also added along with Uzhandha Mavoo and it has a rich taste.Though the shape resembles the Mullu Murukku, it is slightly different from that. In the Mullu Murukku mould, the holes in the round plate is in the shape of a star, while we use a round plate with holes in the shape of a plus symbol.
The round plate with the holes in the shape of a star can also be used for this.
Rice flour and urad dhal flour can be prepared at home or can be got from the stores.But pasiparuppu flour, if prepared in large quantity, like 1 kg. can be dried in the sun and ground in the commercial machine, ie. grinding mill.Small quantity like 1/2 can be powdered at home in the mixi and sieved.This can be prepared in advance and stored.
The pasiparuppu flour, powdered in large like 1 Kg. can be stored even for a year
outside the fridge in our country.
 |
| Magizhambu Thenguzhal |
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
No. of Murukkus : 50
Ingredients :
Rice Flour 2 cups
Urad dhal Flour 1/2 cup
Pasiparuppu / Payathamparuppu Flour 1/4 cup
Salt 1 levelled tsp.
Butter 2 levelled tsp.
Oil
Method :
1. Sieve all the flours with salt and mix well.Sieving the flours is very important.
2. Add the butter.
3. Add the water little by little and make a dough.
4. The dough must be of the right consistency. If the tough is very loose, the shape of this
murukku pressed through the star or the plus shaped holes may be lost.
5.Heat the oil in a flat shaped tawa.
6.Fill 3/4 of the murukku mould with the dough and press in the oil.
7. When one side is cooked, turn to the other side.
8. Once the bubbles disappear, remove from the oil.Repeat till all the dough is finished.
Notes :
1. I always use a flat tawa made of cast iron which was available only in a few shops earlier. I bought it in a shop in Madurai Pudumandapam, 30 years back. Now it can be got in many of the stores. As it is heavy, it can retain the heat. As it is flat, the oil spreads well.
2. The flat tawa of cast iron, 10 inches in diameter, used by me can cook 4 murukkus at a time.
3. If the mould is filled with the dough once, it can be used twice, each time for 4 murukkus.
4. Before filling the mould with the dough each time, insert the fingers well and free the holes well.
5. For the above measurements, 400 ml. oil is enough and half of the oil is left over.That oil can be reused once for cooking.
6. Hot oil can also be used instead of butter. But butter is the real taste maker and gives a rich taste.
Vazhaikai Puttu, also called as Vazhaikkai Podimas, made out of raw bananas, is a delicious poriyal variety to be taken with rice.It can be prepared quickly.
Ingredients :
Raw Banana 2
Big Onion 1
Grated coconut 1/2 cup
Salt
To temper :
Oil
Mustard
Split Urad Dhal
Red / Green Chilly 2
Curry Leaves
Method :
1. Slice the onion finely and split the chillies.
2. Cut each raw banana into 2 pieces and cook them in water till they become soft that the outer skin can be removed.
3. Once the bananas cool, remove the outer skin and grate it as we grate the carrots.
4. Heat oil in a tawa and add the ingredients to temper.
5.When the mustards splutter, add the sliced onion and sate well.
6. When the onions turn brown. add the grated bananas, coconut and salt.
7. Mix well and keep it on sim. for 3 mins. Mix well in between and switch off.
Notes:
- The bananas can be also pressure cooked in a small cooker but take care that it is not over cooked.
- The salt, chillies and coconut can be altered to our taste.
- Onions can be avoided on particular days.
- Onions and the coconuts are the real taste makers of this dish along with the bananas.
Sambar is a very common gravy for rice in Tamil Nadu ; yet an indispensable part of the meals.This sambar is little different from the idli sambar,which we prepare, to be exclusively taken with Idli, Dosas, Pongal, Uppuma etc.In the sambar meant for rice, we use more tamarind and that may be the main difference.
 |
| Sambar |
To Serve : 4
Time taken: 20 to 25 minutes
Ingredients :
Toor Dhal 1/2 cup
Tamarind 1 lemon size
Sambar powder 3 tsp.
Small onions 12
Drumsticks 2
Tomato 1
Green chilly 2
Fenugreek 1/2 tsp.
Grated coconut 2 tbsp ( optional )
Zeera 1/2 tsp.
Hing 1/4 tsp.
Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp.
Salt, oil
To temper :
Mustard
Split Urad Dhal
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves.
Method :
1. Pressure cook the toor dhal.
2. Soak a lemon size of tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and take 3 cups of
tamarind water extracted from it.
3. Heat 1 tsp. of oil in a tawa, add the fenugreek.When it becomes a little red, add the split green chillies and the onions.Add little salt. Saute well.
4.Once the onion turn golden brown, add the sliced tomato and saute well.
5.When the tomato shrinks in size, add the tamarind water, sambar powder, salt,
hing and sliced drumsticks. Mix well.
6. Let it boil well.Stir in between and see that the sambar does not flow out of the
tawa.
7. Once the drumsticks are well cooked and the sambar reaches a thick consistency, add a
paste of the coconut ground in the mixi with zeera and 3 small onions. Add the cooked
dhal.
8. After 5 minutes, season with mutard, urad dhal and curry leaves.
9. Switch off the flame.The drumstick sambar with a good aroma and taste is ready.
Notes :
- Any other vegetable or a mixture of 1 or 2 vegetables can also be used.It is a must to saute lady's finger along with the onions.Other vegetables can also be sauteed for a good aroma.
- If the sambar is prepared in a small quantity just for two persons, we can add some water to the sauteed onions and vegetables and see the vegetables are cooked, before adding the tamarind water.
- I add a taste maker consisting of dry roasted and powdered coriander seeds, fenugreek and channa dhal in the end for an enhanced taste.
- Adding coconuts is purely optional. Grated coconuts can also be added instead of the coconut paste.
This teatime snack is one among the palagarams (snacks) made freshly on the day of Deepavali to be kept for pooja along with the clothes and crackers in most of the families in Tirunelveli region.Other items like Laddu, Mixture, MysorepaK are prepared one or two days earlier and tasted of course.
So on the day of Deepavali we get up at 4 A.M. and prepare Ulundu Vadai, Paruppu Vadai, Bajji, Bonda and Susiyam.Now with lots of awareness about health, even if we skip one or two items made on the day of Deepavali, my mother in her eighties is not ready for a compromise
Our children with their mouths watering would have to wait patiently at least till 7 A.M. for tasting them after the pooja.There hardly seemed to be any change in their attitude when they were here for Deepavali last year after a long time.Coconut chutney is the best combination for the Bondas.
 |
| Potato Bondas |
Ingredients :
Medium sized potatoes 3
Besan flour 1 cup
Rice Flour 1 tbsp.
Big onion 1
Chilly powder 1 tsp
Oil
Salt, turmeric powder, cooking soda
To temper :
Mustard, Urad Dhal, curry leaves.
Method :
1.Pressure cook the potatoes, peal them and mash them.
2.Heat little oil in a tawa, add mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves.
3.Once the mustard cracks, add the finely sliced onion ,salt and saute well.
4.Transfer the onion ,1/2 tsp. chilly powder, turmeric powder to the mashed potatoes.Mix well like a dough.
5.Make the mashed potato, onion mixture into small balls.From 3 medium sized potatoes,10 to 12 Bondas of medium size can be made.
6.Mix besan flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, salt, 1/2 tsp. of chilly powder, little cooking soda with water and prepare a batter of iddli consistency.
7.Dip the potato balls in the besan flour and deep fry in hot oil.
Notes :
- It it is very important that the besan batter must be of the correct consistency.If the batter is watery,it does not stick well to the potato balls. A very thick batter makes the outer coating thick and subsequently little hard Bondas.
- Two green chillies can be added instead of chilly powder for the potato filling.
- If rice flour is out of stock, 2 tbsp. of iddli or dosa batter can be added to the besan to get crisp Bondas.
- Adding two tsp. of hot oil to the batter can make the Bondas very crisp.
