Chettinad Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

Chettinad cuisine is very famous for their spicy cooking and the spices used in their daily cooking. Any dish cooked with spices makes the dish very flavourful and delicious.I love chettinad cuisine very much.I always want to make their paruppu urundai kuzhambu aka toordal dumplings cooked in spiced tamarind gravy. Recently i prepared this kuzhambu for our lunch since i had a couple of friends came home for lunch. I prepared few vegetarian dishes for them and served rice with this flavourful paruppu urundai kuzhambu along with papads and brinjal fry.

I crossed this kuzhambu in a TV show, where the anchor of the show goes directly to local people's place and the food will be cooked in front of them by the home maker. This kuzhambu was shared by an aachi of Chettinad cuisine and immediately i tried at home. The special masala paste used in this gravy makes the difference and this kuzhambu served with rice makes a fantastic pair. We enjoyed thoroughly this Chettinad style of urundai kuzhambu especially i got a bunch of appreciation from my guests of the day.Usually i'll for steam cooking the dal balls before adding them in gravy, but this time i tried cooking dal balls directly in the gravy. Dal balls absorbs the spiciness and aroma of the gravy while cooking and they tastes just simply out of the world.Try this gravy, am sure you will definitely do them often.This post goes also for the CC Challenge of the month. Sending to my event CWS-Toordal guest hosted by Madhavi of Madhu's Indian Recipes.

Maida Cake

An another Diwali sweet which gets ready in less time is maida cake, actually i dont like this maida cake when i was kid, coz of my mom makes these cake often for Diwali. Later she stopped making this cake and changed her Diwali savouries and sweets. Finally this maida cake disappeared from her Diwali menu.Last week, i was craving for some maida cake suddenly and prepared this quick sweet. This Indian sweet go for simple ingredients like all purpose flour or maida, sugar,ghee. If you want to make them with flavours like chocolate,pista or almond,just add few teaspoons of chocolate powder or crushed nuts.

With less than 15minutes this sweet will get ready, if you are still searching for an easy breezy sweet, make these maida cake to share and enjoy with your nears and dears for the Festivals of Lights.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.This beauties are going Diwali Delicacies Event, hosted by me and Sangee Vijay of spicy treats and to Gayathri's Diwali Special.

Alu Bhujia/Aloo Bhujia/Potato Sev

Aloo bhujia or alu bhujia are one of my favourite snacks i can munch anytime of the day.Most of us would have already tasted atleast once a while the famous Haldiram's aloo bhujias. These potato sev are seriously very easy to make with simple ingredients. These crunchy snack are almost like our omapodi but made with cooked and mashed potatoes, besan flour and with a simple spice powder.Bhujias have a distinct taste and texture since potatoes are used in this sev.

As i told earlier, this week's theme of blogging marathon is festive dishes with stepwise pictures. After a quick and easy breezy halwa, today's post is this crunchy munchy sev with potatoes. If you want something tasty and a different sev, give a try to make these addictive aloo bhujias.

Custard Powder Halwa

Diwali is nearing very fast, its time for many of us to plan the Diwali special sweets or savouries. Even am planning to make a variety of sweets and savouries since this time Diwali is falling on saturday, kids will be at home eventhough H will be working. However once again this time my H will miss the celebration and poojas. If you dont have any idea about any sweets, am sure this custard powder halwa will definitely helps you for last minute preparation. Just a simple custard powder,sugar, ghee with few nuts,your halwa is ready to serve and enjoy with your family.

From today onwards am running an another week of blogging marathon and the theme of this week is festive dishes with stepwise pictures. Obviously i chosed Diwali sweets and savouries, next two days are going to be two different dishes with stepwise pictures. Stepwise pictures helps a lot to learn easily and quickly any dish. Coming to this halwa, this sweet tastes fabulous and takes hardly less than half an hour to get ready, an easy breezy sweet to make when you have sudden guests at home.This halwa tastes as much as like corn flour halwa, seriously we loved it.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33.Sending to Gayathri's Diwali Special and sending these beauties are going Diwali Delicacies Event, hosted by me and Sangee Vijay of spicy treats.

Kandathippili Kuzhambu

South Indian especially Tamilians can survive for many days with a simple tamarind gravy and rice, thats why every Tamilian household makes different types of gravies with tamarind as the main ingredient. Today's post is also one among those kuzhambu aka tamarind based gravies, this dish is prepared with a very rarely used herbal sticks in our cooking along with other usual spices. Kandathippili, an incredible herbal sticks are available in Tamil herbals stores and this fingerlicking herbal gravy is prepared with them.

These sticks are from India, am sure you cant find them in our Indian stores if you are not living in India. This kuzhambu have many medicinal value and this dish is completely spiced with black peppercorns,cuminseeds,dry red chillies and coriander seeds. My mom call this kuzhambu as pathiya kuzhambu which suits prefectly when you suffering with fever and this gravy will definitely tickle your tastebuds. This kuzhambu stay for a long and they tastes incredible after a day, if you dont like this kuzhambu,you can still make this rasam which acts a medicine if you are suffering from cold or with body aches.This dish goes directly to Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday..

Village Style Thakkali Sambhar/Tomato Sambhar

We love tomato sambhar very much, i often make them for our lunch and serve them even for our dinner with idlies or dosas. But recently i crossed this village style thakkali sambhar aka tomato sambhar in an another Snegithi supplement called 30varieties sambhar.While going through it, i found that this sambhar goes for easy breezy preparation just with a couple of ingredients like onions, juicy tomatoes, sambhar powder, green chillies,tamarind juice and the famous seasoning spice called vadagam. South Indians use vadagam for tempering their gravies, this seasoning spice mixture is prepared yearly once with onions and many more spices during summer season and they conserved properly in air tightened box for further use.

Whatever flavoured with this vadagam will take you to an another world, they will change the taste of any dishes they are added and we often use this seasoning mixture in our kaara kuzhambus aka tamarind based gravies. Seriously if you want to make a different,flavourful,simple and quick sambhar,make this village style sambhar with juicy tomatoes.This mildly tangy sambhar goes as a side dish with idlies,dosas or rotis. Make them and enjoy thoroughly for anytime of the day from breakfast to lunch.Sending to Srivalli's Side dish mela and to my event CWS-Toordal guest hosted by Madhavi of Madhu's Indian Recipes.This post goes also for the CC Challenge of the month.

Peppered Lotus Root Dal/Thamarai Thandu Milagu Paruppu

Lotus root or lotus stem, i got hooked to them once i tried my hands in preparing a simple dish with it. They will be tasteless but if they are cooked well with spices they tastes fabulous. I have tried already many dishes with them,one of my recent trial with this healthy lotus root is this easy breezy peppered dal. While checking my freezer, i saw some leftover frozen sliced lotus root and immediately i cooked this dal with them for our yesterday's lunch.

This dal is seriously very quick and easy to prepare as i went for pressure cooking.Pressure cooker makes our life easier. Since lotus root take more time to get cook, pressure cooking method helps a lot for easy cooking. I cooked both the chopped lotus root/lotus stem with dals along with a spice paste and simple tempering. Your dal is ready to relish with hot steaming rice topped with ghee and a spicy side dish.

Chettinad Therakkal / Chettinad Eggplant and Potato Curry

Chettinad foods are my favourite and am crazy about their way of cooking with loads of spices. Therakkal is one among their curries they served especially with dosas or idlies. Its been ages i had this therakkal, an eggplant and potato curry which is one of my favourite dish from Chettinad cuisine. While going through a couple of supplement books i got during my last trip to India, i crossed this dish in a Snegithi supplement book named VIP's favourite recipes and i want to make them as soon as possible. Since i had an eggplant and potatoes, i prepared this fantastic therakkal which goes for easy breezy preparation few days back and enjoyed thoroughly with rotis for our dinner.

Serve this curry with dosas or idlies, am sure everyone will definitely have two more idlies or dosas with this flavourful curry. Also am sending this Chettinad dish to Viji's SYS - W series,an interesting event where you can chose ur ingredients, yep viji will give a couple of hidden ingredients, just chose your number and you will know about it the day she will reveal the ingredients. I chosed 2 & 3, and my hidden ingredients are eggplants and potatoes. Do check her space and join this interesting event.This post goes also for the CC Challenge of the month.Sending to Srivalli's Side Dish Mela.

Pacha Thakkali Kootu/Thakkali Kaai Kootu/Green Tomato Kootu

Pacha Thakkali is raw tomatoes or green tomatoes, we Tamilians makes a wonderful kootu with this vegetable. Whenever the green tomatoes shows their heads in our home garden, my mom make this delicious and fingerlicking kootu. Kootu is a South Indian semi gravy like accompaniment served usually with rice.This dish is usually made with vegetable,lentils and spices-coconut paste. I rarely get this pacha thakkali here and this time when i went to Indian groceries,i got few super fresh raw tomatoes, back home i prepared this delicious kootu . The mild tartness of this tomatoes make this kootu seriously very delicious.

This kootu will have sourness and spiciness together and goes awesome with rice.I used black peppercorns for a mild spiciness to this kootu, if you want it more spicy you can also add dry red chillies and deduce the amount of black peppercorns.Personally i love to have this kootu with idlies and dosas, especially this kootu goes awesome with crispy dosas, my favourite combination. If you are making this kootu with pacha thakkali, serve this dish with a spicy side dish like potato roast or egg roast, am sure you will definitely  have a satisfy meal.

Sweet Corn Soup

I hardly check and cook from cookbooks eventhough i have a small collection at home. Honestly i never bought till now a cookbook, every cookbook am having at home are from either a gift from family or from many giveaways i won through these virtual world, thanks to this immense world and my fellow blogger buddies whoever always kind enough toward me. When you have a chance to cook from a cookbook and blog about it,who will say no to this wonderful opportunity,obviously i was really excited and went through the cookbooks for Srivalli's Cooking From Cookbook Challenge.

I chosed this easy breezy corn soup from the famous Indian chef Tarladalal's cookbook and the name of the cook book is Cooking under 10minutes. So this sweet corn soup goes for an easy breezy preparation, just a cup grated sweet corn with usual ingredients make this delicious soup. No onion or garlic or any other veggies is needed to make this quick corn soup. A delicious and nutritious soup to enjoy thoroughly when the weather is down outside, i enjoyed this quick corn soup thoroughly for my yesterday dinner.

Eggless Pistachio Brownies

Brownies goes always for eggs,butter but in this eggless pistachio brownies, i replaced both the eggs and butter with applesauce and oil. Trust me they came out extremely spongy,super moist and my kids are fan of this eggless version of nutty brownies. I used pistachios and pistachios gives the nuttiness to this super moist brownies, you can replace them with your choice of nuts.This fabulous chocolaty brownies with plenty of pistachios is my third day post for this week's blogging marathon,as my theme of this week is the humble Chocolates.

Healthy Chocolate Dumplings/Chocolate Paniyaram

Chocolate in anything makes me happy.Yes am a chocoholic and proud to be, if am happy i'll go towards some chocolate bars, if am sad or down i'll definitely go towards chocolates too, munching dark chocolates will definitely makes me happy and its one of my weakness. Trust me, you can create many delicious dishes with healthy stuffs in it.

Am very proud to say that this chocolate paniyaram is one of my recent creation. This healthy, addictive and chocolate paniyaram goes for ragi flour,wheat flour,ripen banana, eno salt, chocolate chips and palm jaggery syrup. Palm jaggery is a natural sweetener and they have numerous nutritional and health values, no need to say the health benefits of ragi and wheat flour, since this paniyaram is loaded with healthy stuffs, instead of searching for a prefect title i named these dumplings immediately healthy chocolate paniyarams. My kids loved these paniyaram when they were still warm, personally i felt the same too.None noticed the addition of ragi and palm jaggery here as this paniyarams have chocolate in it.Sending to Srivalli's Kid's Delight - Potluck Party..As am running under chocolate as theme,this post goes to this week's blogging marathon.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#33..Sending to my event Healthy Diet- Heart Healthy Recipes guest hosted by Sandhya..

Rocky Road Bars

None will complain having this fantastic,super chocolatey nutty bars either in their lunchbox or in their snack box. They are seriously very easy,handy and definitely an addictive snacks. Eventhough this rocky road bars goes for marshmallows,nuts,crushed biscuits, the dark chocolate chips used in this bars gives them mild sweetness when compared to the store bought ones. For this recipe, i used whole almonds, and marshmallows, since i dont get mini marshmallows i opted for the medium sized ones which i cut as two small pieces. If you dont like almonds, you can replace it very well walnuts, peanuts and gelatin in place of sweetened condensed milk. You can make the variations as you wish but however i like this recipe very much.

Today am starting blogging marathon and am running for three days, i chosed chocolates as theme for this week and obviously the next two days are going to be desserts or snack foods with chocolates. Do enjoy my virtual chocolate treats and dont forget to make these rocky road bars if you crave for some.An easy breezy chocolatey bars, a kid's friendly choco bars.