Amma's Tomato Masala

It's been years since I've had Amma's tomato masala. It is so awesome with chapathi and used to be one of my favorite dishes. 

Rasam Podi

Ingredients

Red chillies - 2 cups
Dhania - 1 1/2 cups
Channa dal - 1/2 cup
Tur dal - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 3/4 cup
Peppercorn - 1/4 cup

Dry roast everything.
Cool and grind.

Soya beans usili

Ingredients

Soya - 1 cup

Tur dal - 1/2 cup

Red chilies - 2

Green beans - 1/4 kg

For tadka - salt, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, hing, oil

Soak tur dal for an hour. 

Cut beans finely.

Grind the dal with red chilies, salt and hing coarsely.

Steam this. 

Boil the beans and soy.

Heat oil in a pan and burst mustard seeds and then add urad dal.

Add curry leaves, hing and salt and the steamed dal and beans and soy.

Stir well. 

Vinku's Podi

Ingredients

1/2 cup channa dal
1/2 cup dhania whole
1/8th cup cumin seeds
1/4 cup whole red chillies
1/2 cup coconut

Roast spices without coconut in one tsp oil. When they are roasted add coconut and roast well. Cool. Grind and keep it in the freezer. Can use this in veg curries, sambars, etc. 

Cauliflower and chickpea curry

Recipe from Good Housekeeping

Made this when ma and pa were here. Came out well. 

1 cauliflower
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt to taste
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed or soak about a cup of chickpeas overnight and pressure cook the next day
2 handfuls spinach, chopped
2 tbsp mango chutney (I didn't use this)
large handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
almonds, toasted and sliced

Bring a large pan of water to a boil and cook the cauliflower florets for 5 mts or until tender. Drain well and keep aside.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onion for 10 mts. until softened. Turn up the heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden brown. Stir in the garlic, garam masala and cumin. Cook for a further 2 mts, then stir in the coconut milk, 200 ml water, salt, the chickpeas and cauliflower.
Heat until piping hot, then stir through the spinach, mango chutney and most of the coriander. Check the seasoning.
Garnish with remaining coriander and almonds.
Serve with rice, naan or crusty bread.

Corn chowder

1 onion chopped
1 pod garlic chopped
1 or 2 fresh corn on the cob - use a knife to cut corn from the cob
fresh fennel bulbs
1 tsp flour
2 potatoes, cubed
heavy cream, salt, pepper, tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper

heat oil and saute onions. Add fennel and garlic. Toss. Add flour. Toss. Add water slowly while stirring. Add potatoes and cook until just tender. Add corn and heavy cream. Bring to simmer. Add remaining ingredients, mix and turn off heat.

Theeyal

Grate 1/2 coconut
Fry 1 tbsp bengal gram dal, 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds and 1 red chili.
Fry coconut separately till light brown.
Grind coconut and fried dals.
Add oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add 2 medium sized onions(chopped finely) and fry till soft. Add tamarind water and cook till raw smell goes. Add ground mixture and salt and let it boil for 5 minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Bissi bella bath

Rice 1 cup
toovar dal 1 cup
potato, 1 or 2
few beans
carrot, 1 or 2
cauliflower, a few flowerlets
peas, handful
turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp
tamarind paste, 2 tsp
salt
ghee or butter, 2 tbsp

Roast and powder (using little oil) - coriander seeds, 2tbsp
channa dal, 1 tbsp
red chillies, 2-3
cinnamon, 1 stick
cloves, 2
dry coconut, 4 tbsp

Cook the rice and dal in the cooker. After it is cooked, add vegetables, 4  cups of water, salt and haldi and cover and cook till vegetables are done. Then add the masala powder, tamarind paste and stir well. Cover and cook for few more minutes. Add ghee and mix well. Serve hot.

Capsicum usili

3-4 capsicums, chopped finely
1/3 cup bengal gram dal or tuvar dal
1 red chili
hing
salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

First grind the dal coarsely with red chili and hing. Make a dough with little water. Steam it on a greased plate. Then powder it with hand.
Heat oil. Add mustard seeds and turmeric powder. Add capsicum. Once cooked, add the dal mixture, and stir.
Can be made with beans or cluster beans also.

Carrot and peanut raita

2 carrots
1/4 cup, roasted salted peanuts
1 small flake garlic, coarsely chopped
1 green chili, coarsely chopped
salt to taste
1 cup thick curd
1 tsp sugar
coriander leaves, to garnish

Peel and grate carrots. Crush peanuts coarsely with a rolling pin. Mix garlic, green chili and salt and crush to a pulp. Beat the curd until smooth and stir in the garlic mixture. Add carrots, peanuts, coriander leaves and mix well. 

Simple vegetable soup

Simple Vegetable Soup
(Adapted from Donna Hay's recipe)

4 tomatoes, steamed and pureed
1 cup store bought tomato puree
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 medium white radish, peeled and grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely choped
2 cups vegetable stock (I used 1 maggi cube)
salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry onions and garlic. Add tomato puree and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add vegetable stock and 1 cup water. Give it a stir and then add the grated vegetables. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, till the vegetables are done. Add salt to season. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and some grated parmesn cheese.

Healthy chutney

Cabbage 1 cup
Onion 1
Tomato 1
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Coconut 1tsp
Green chillies 2

Roast all the ingredients in a little oil and grind. Good with idly, dosa, rice etc.

Spinach and corn balls

Maida 1 tsp
Corn 1 small cup
Spinach 1 small bunch
Boiled rice 1 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder (optional)

Chop spinach fine. Add butter to a kadai. Mix all the ingredients together, roll into balls and fry in oil.