Thakkali Kara Chutney/Spicy Red Chutney

South Indians loves varieties of chutneys or side dishes to enjoy with their breakfast dishes. Even my husband needs more than two chutneys to enjoy his hot steaming idlies or crispy dosas. Obviously i have an obligation to prepare different chutneys to please my husband's tastebuds. Though i have prepared numerous time, am yet to post this easy breezy kara chutney prepared with pulpy tomatoes and loads of shallots.Kara chutney is a popular chutney of Chettinad cuisine, and this chutney calls for garlic cloves,red chillies and tamarind.

Chettinad Shallot Masala Kuzhambu/Chettinad Vengaya Masala Kuzhambu

Usually prepared with country side vegetables, Chettinad masala kuzhambu can be prepared very well simply with Shallots aka small pearl onions. This fingerlicking no tamarind kuzhambu goes for an easy and quick cooking process. The basic ingredient for this gravy is a coconut based grounded masala. Most of the chettinad gravies calls for grounded spiced coconut paste and that is the best part of their cuisine. My today's post is also prepared with masala paste which calls for freshly grated coconut, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and dry red chillies with sauteed onions and tomatoes. This paste brings wonderful taste, spiciness and definitely the thickness to this simple gravy.

Chettinad Kozhi Rasam/Chettinad Chicken Rasam

Rasam is a comforting food for most of us. These spiced Indian soup goes for different spices which have numerous medicinal values. Peppercorns and cumin seeds are the most important spices we use for making rasam. Some may go for freshly grounded rasam powder,while some make monthly once their rasam powder and conserve them air tight containers for further use. Rasam,this spiced soup is my family's favourite, so if its rice for lunch i'll make rasam definitely to serve with rice, yes we love rasam that much.

Coming to this chicken rasam, this dish is very popular in chettinad cuisine, and they are often made when someone in the family suffers with cold. Even a tasteless tongue during fever or cold will enjoy thoroughly this spicy rasam.This chicken rasam is made by the chicken with bones,which can be eaten while enjoying this rasam or else you can just fry them separately with spices by removing them once the rasam is cooked. However we love our chicken pieces with rasam, this dish is going to be a part of Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday,happening twice a month.

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.

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.

Karupatti Thengai Paal Kozhukattai/Palm Jaggery, Coconut Milk Dumplings

Paal Kozhukattai is well known in Chettinad cuisine,its one of a traditional dish of Tamilnadu. This dish is prepared during festival as festive foods or else you can serve them for evening snacks. Some use jaggery for making this delightful dish while others use sugar, but my version is completely different from it. I used palm jaggery a natural sweetner in coconut milk which gives a mild gorgeous brown colour to this cute dumplings

Since this dish is prepared completely in coconut milk, i named this dish as karupatti thengapaal kozhukattais, which means Palm jaggery,coconut milk dumplings.Enjoy this dumplings bit warm and am sure you will love it thoroughly.I used freshly grounded rice batter for making my dumplings, you use very well the store bought ones too.