Corriander Chutney | Kothamalli Chutney - Vegan

 Corriander Chutney is a common recipe made in every home. Even though it is a very common recipe , the beauty is that each house will have a different way of preparation.  In that also,each lady of the house will have a slight modification made to the recipe which she may have learnt from someone. 

In the bargain we all end up having delicious corriander Chutney variations for daily breakfast with our favorite idlis ,dosas, Upma,  paniyarams etc etc .

Unlike the regular corriander Chutney where corriander and coconut are blended with chillies and salt ,here some ingredients are roasted along with chillies and the corriander is also roasted until it gives a nice aroma . The taste from roasted/fried chillies gives a very nice flavor to the chutney. 

As the ingredients are roasted and ground,we can store the chutney for 2 or 3 days under refrigeration in case you have any balance left 😀. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 5 mins
Complexity - easy 
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

1/4 cup chopped fresh corriander/kothmir/kothamali
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut 
3 green chillies
Small piece tamarind 
Few curry leaves 
1tsp mustard seeds
3 tsp channa dal  /split dal

2 tsp chutney dal/ pottukadalai 
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp jaggery 
Salt as needed 

Pinch of asafoetida ( skip for gluten free )

Method

• In a frying pan,heat the oil and crackle the mustard seeds followed by green chillies and curry leaves.
• Add the channa dal and roast until it turns crisp and golden brown . Keep these roasted ingredients to cool.
• In the same pan, roast the coŕriander until you get a nice aroma . Lightly roast the tamarind also in the same pan .
• Once the ingredients have cooled down,transfer it to a blender along with the chutney dal, coconut, salt,asafoetida, jaggery and give a quick pulse to blend the ingredients. 
• Slowly add water and grind it until you reach a chutney consistency.  This corriander Chutney tastes good when it's a little coarsely ground .
• You may adjust salt while grinding. 

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Jeera Rice / Jeera Pulao - North Indian Saatvik Lunch

 Jeera Rice is prepared very often in my place and it is one of our family favorites when we want to enjoy some light meal but packed with flavors . Jeera Rice is an inseparable part of any festive North Indian fare . If the spread is heavy then jeera Rice or Matar (Peas) pulao are perfect choice to balance the meal .

Jeera Rice pairs well with Dal Tadka, Rajma ,Chole and even Matar Paneer and can be enjoyed as a solo meal by itself. 

So common that it is in my home,I hardly realised that it has not been blogged yet . I was surprised myself and then decided to go ahead and blog it  today itself without any further delay. 

Jeera Rice or jeera pulao ,whatever you may call, is very easy and simple to make.Absolutely doesn't require any fancy ingredients nor is the process complicated.  Jira Rice is one of the earliest recipes  I learnt while experimenting in the kitchen .

Jeera Rice is a perfect recipe for beginners ,bachelors or hostel staying kids where they can enjoy some healthy meal at their own comfort. If you have no time to make a gravy ,one can enjoy it with salted chilled dahi/yogurt or even a simple raita .

Basmati rice works best for any pulao and so is the case with Jeera pulao too,but incase you don't have it or dislike the aroma of Basmati we can easily use sona masuri or kolam variety of rice too . Ensure that you use the rice:water ratio properly to get the perfectly fluffed up and grainy Jeera Rice.

This morning, I decided I should make some special meal as we were all bored eating the usual South Indian fare.  Quickly decided to prepare a simple ,Saatvik (no Onion No garlic) North Indian Thali . Deciding the menu didn't need much brainstorming as I had some boiled chole in my fridge which got made as Chole Masala and some soaked up Sabudana/ Jawwarsi from Breakfast helped me make the delicious Sabudana Kheer /Jawwarsi Payasam which took care of the dessert .

Click the individual menu names below for the detailed recipe .

Sabudana Kheer 

Chole /Channa Masala 

Jeera Aloo 

Wheat Puris 

Jeera Rice  (recipe in the post below)

Salted Dahi  - Chilled yogurt flavored with salt,chilli powder  and cumin powder

Masala Chaas 

Fryums /Papads

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 15 mins

Complexity - simple

Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

1.5 cups basmati rice 
3 cups water 
2 green chillies chopped finely 
2 tsp jeera /cumin
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 cloves 
3 tbsp ghee (use oil for Vegan) 
Salt as needed

Method

• Wash the rice well and drain it in a colander for 10 mins
• Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker ,splutter jeera when the ghee is hot,followed by the cloves ,green chillies, cardamom and bay leaf .
• Add the rice and quickly roast it on low flame until you get a nice aroma.
• Add the water , required amount of salt and pressure cook on medium flame for 2 whistles. 
• Let the pressure release naturally, slowly open the lid and fluff the rice lightly without breaking it.
• Garnish it with fresh corriander and serve hot. 

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Karuppu Ulundhu Adai | Black lentil crepes (vegan)

 Karuppu ulundhu Adai is a very traditional breakfast made in Tamil Nadu . This is very filling and takes care of the carbs to protein ratio required  for a day.

Karuppu ulundhu is nothing but udad dhall (black lentil) with skin . The skin is actually the powerhouse of lot of nutrition.  Udad dhall /ulutham paruppu as we all know is very rich in proteins and also very good for bones. We must try and include these in our diet as much as possible . 

Unlike,regular dosa ,Karuppu Ulundhu Adai doesn't need fermentation and can be made immediately after grinding the batter . Since,  black lentils with husk are little tough we must soak them for a minimum of 6hrs before we can grind them . Pepper ,red chillies , asafoetida and  curry leaves are added for extra flavor and also for easy digestion. Tiny slivers of fresh coconut are added to the batter just before making the Adai..these tiny bits of coconut give a very nice crunch and a nice mouth feel as we bite into the Adai.

Karuppu Ulundhu Adai is also made during the Karthigai Deepam Festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu during the English Month of November/ December.  Karthigai Deepam is a festival of lights celebrated with lot of fervor and enthusiasm all over Tamil Nadu..the ladies decorate the house with earthen lamps in the evening and pray for the well being of their Brothers . 

We celebrated Protein Rich Vegetarian Breakfast theme in our Food bloggers group this month . Host for this event was the versatile blogger Renu who suggested this theme and I was paired with Anu Kollon . Anu gave me curry leaves and coconut as the secret ingredients and I shared the secret ingredients lemon juice and pepper powder using which she has made a creamy Avocado Sandwich.  If you are an avid food blogger and would like to join us then do visit our Facebook page Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge

Soaking Time - 6 to 8 hrs 

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 2 to 3 mins per Adai

Complexity - Simple

Ingredients

1 cup regular rice . (No Basmati or any flavored rice) 
1/4 cup black lentil/chilke Wali udad/ karuppu ulundhu
3 to 4 red chillies
1 tsp pepper 

1/4 tsp jeera/cumin
Handful of curry leaves 
3 tbsp thinly sliced coconut slivers
Pinch of asafoetida 
Oil to roast the Adai
Salt as needed 

Method

• Wash the rice and udad dhall multiple times till the water appears clear . Soak the rice and lentil along with red chillies ,jeera and pepper for 6 to 8 hrs or overnight..I prefer to soak it overnight so that it's easy to grind and make it for breakfast as soon as we get up in the morning. 
• The batter should be slightly thicker than the usual dosa batter . 
• Add finely chopped curry leaves, coconut slivers ,salt ,asafoetida to the batter and mix it well.
• Heat a griddle/ tawa , pour a ladle full of batter and spread like dosa from inside out .let it be slightly thicker than dosa . Drizzle oil around the dosa and let it cook on medium flame ,slowly flip it over and let the underside roast well .
• Take it off the tawa and serve hot with some fresh butter and jaggery powder.  You may also serve it with coconut chutney or Molagapudi but jaggery and butter are the classic combination. 

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