Majjiga Pulusu - Buttermilk Pulusu

There are 2 ways that I make magiga pulusu. One with Indian vegetables and the other with common vegetables. The procedure for either is the same. Once you choose your vegetables, then they are 2 ways to make it; one is a traditional mix and the second is obviously instant mix.
In short: choose the mix, choose the vegetables, make the magiga base and finally mix and cook/boil.

Traditional mix
Soak chenna dal for 1- 2 hrs and drain the water. Grind chenna dal with 1 tsp fresh coconut, 1” ginger, ¼ tsp jeera to a smmoth paste.

Instant mix
In a bowl take 3 tsp of besan, mix 1 tsp of fresh coconut and 1” grated ginger and mix them all using water.

For magiga base
4 cups Sour Curd
2- 3 Green Chilies
Few Curry Leaves
1 tsp Sambar Powder

Traditional Vegetables
2 cups Anapakaye pieces – Bottle Gourd
5 -6 Bendakaye – Okra
2 Brinjal – Eggplant
5 -6 Drumstick pieces
1 Tomato

Common Vegetables
1 Potato
1 Carrot
10 – 12 Beans
½ Green Pepper
Few Cauliflower flowerets
1 Tomato

Cut vegetables into desired shape and size.

Thin the curd using a “Kavam” or by simply using a ladle into buttermilk adding enough water. Mix the butter milk with either of the above base and mix well. Then place it on a medium flame and keep stirring till the buttermilk boils. Remove from flame and keep aside.

When buttermilk is taken care of, in a non stick low bottom vessel take 2 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of ghee and make tadka with ¼ tsp jeera, ¼ tsp mustard seeds, ¼ tsp vammu, few fenugreek seeds, hing and red chili. Then add chopped green chilies and few curry leaves and all the chopped vegetables and salt. Fry for a few minutes and add enough water and cook till the vegetables are soft. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables or they will lose their shape.

Once the vegetables are soft add the cooked buttermilk, a tsp of Sambar powder and turmeric and bring to boil. Taste for salt and seasonings and adjust accordingly.

Magiga pulusu is a good side dish with rice. One of good combinations is mudda pappu (toor dal) rice and magiga pulusu. I remember making a hole in pappu annam and filling the hole with magiga pulusu.

Mashed Potato and Steamed Vegetables

I would volunteer to help my Mother in the kitchen, when it came to peeling the potato skins. Somehow the curry planned for the whole family would end up on ration at dinner time. My father would say, "You should have made some more." But the truth was, I used to help myself to boiled potatoes while on work!

Every time I peel potatoes, I remember this and wonder how my mother never figured it out. Even now I have fetish for boiled potatoes.
I cooked this mashed potato for my kids.

4 Large Idaho Potatoes
2" Butter
4 tsp Cheese
2 cups Half-Half or Milk
1/2 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Pepper Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chili Flakes

For Steamed Vegetables
15 - 20 Beans
3 Carrots
1 cup Peas
1 cup Sweet Corn


Boil potatoes with enough salt till they are very soft in a pressure cooker of micro oven.

Do not let the potatoes become too cold or, heat the mash after doing it as warm potatoe mash absorbs all the items evenly.

Peel the skin and mash them using a ..... to a soft paste. Add butter, cheese, basil, chili flakes, pepper and half-half and mix thoroughly, add luke warm water as required till a nice (not too thick) consistency is formed. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning to suit you.

For Steamed vegetables, cut the vegetables to a desired shape, bite size or long.

In a skillet, bring 2 cups of water to boil, add salt, 1" butter or 2 tsp oil, turmeric and then add the vegetables. Cover the lid and cook on medium flame till the vegetables are soft. Drain the water.

Serve the vegetables with mashed potato when warm.

Mint - Pudina Chutney

Yesterday I was checking out a new Farmer’s Market and came to the greens isle. I can very sincerely say I eat all/any vegetables and fruit, except Mint, Pudina. I really cannot recollect any good reasons why not to, but I guess the strong smell associated with the leaves may be a reason.

I felt the need to address my little trouble and picked a bunch, well, the real reason is it was a very fresh and is a big bunch compared to what I see in the regular grocery stores.

My sister suggested that I make pudina rice with it,will be doing that shortly,a friend suggested chutney.

To supress my problem of the smell, I decided to use kothimera (coriander) as well. So, here’s what I did with it.

1 bunch Mint - Pudina
Handful Coriander
1 Lemon
4 -5 Green Chilies
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
½ tsp Jaggery

Pluck leaves from the stems, wash well and drain.

Take 2 tsp of oil in a skillet and make tadka with ½ tsp urad dal, ½ tsp chenna dal, ½ tsp jeera, ½ tsp mustard, hing and 2 red chilies. Add and fry green chilies and then remove the tadka with a spoon leaving oil in the skillet.

To the skillet add mint and sauté for a few minutes. Leaves gives out water and let them cook in that water. Add salt, turmeric, jaggery and tamarind paste and cook for a few minutes. Remove from flame and let cool.

Dry grind the tadka to a smooth powder and then add raw chopped coriander, grind once and then add the sautéd mint leaves and rough grind it adding lemon juice and water as needed. Adding lemon juice to greens will help retain the color intact.

This came out well, so give it a try. Good with rice and maybe as a spread on bread.

Cabbage Cauliflower Potato Allamkaram

1 Medium Cabbage
1 Small Cauliflower
1 Potato - Optional
Chili-Ginger-Coriander Paste
Few Curry Leaves

Grind green chilies, ginger and coriander into a smooth paste.

Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Cut cauliflower into small flowerets. Chop Cabbage very finely.

Take 3 tsp of oil in a skillet and make tadka with ½ tsp urad dal, ½ tsp chenna dal, mustard seeds, jeera, hing and curry leaves.

Then add potato cubes and stir fry for a few minutes, then add chili-ginger-coriander paste and fry for a few minutes. Then add chopped cabbage and cauliflower, salt and turmeric and let cook in medium flame.

Cabbage gives out its water first and shrinks, then, immediately turn the flame to high and stir fry for a few seconds and remove from flame.

Potatoes can also be boiled in micro oven with salt and water and can be added after cabbage is half cooked. This is just a matter of convenience and time.

Taste for salt and seasonings, can be adjusted to suite your taste.

This is a good side dish with rice and rotis.

Pineapple Kesari

1 cup Sooji – Bombay Rava
3 cups Pineapple cubes – Fresh/ Canned
1 ¼ cup Sugar
¼ tsp Elachi Powder
¼ cup Ghee
Cashew nuts, Almonds and Raisins
Pinch of Kesar Color

Take 2 tsp of ghee in a non stick pan and when it is hot, add almonds and cashew nuts and fry them, then add raisins. Remove the nuts and raisins, leaving ghee in the pan. Add sooji and fry till it turns golden yellow stirring frequently without burning. Empty the sooji into a plate or onto a paper.

Take 1 tsp of ghee in the skillet and when hot add the cubed pineapple and fry for a few minutes, then take 1: 2 ½ ratio of water to the sooji. (For plain kesari 2 rations of water and ½ ratio of milk can be used.)

Pour water into the pan and bring to boil, add a pinch of kesar color, then simmer the stove and add sooji in small quantity, gently stirring in the water. Be careful not drop the whole thing at once or lumps of sooji will form and it will not be cooked evenly.

Once bubbles appear on the pan top, add sugar, gently stirring in. Add ¼ cup ghee, elachi powder and mix thoroughly. Keep stirring frequently till ghee bubbles appear on the top of the pan. This is a sign that sooji has been cooked well.

Grease a plate or tray with ghee and empty the contents into the tray and even it with a ladle. Garnish with nuts and raisins. Let it settle down for a few minutes and using a butter knife cut into desired shape, squares or diamonds and remove into a storage box. Save in the refrigerator for 4 - 5 days.

Mango is another fruit that can be used to make Mango Kesari.

Vathakozhambu - Karam Pulusu

12 – 15 Ladies Finger – Bendakaye
2 – 3 Brinjal – Vankaye
3 - 4 Drumstick pieces
2 Onions
2 Tomatoes
3 Green Chilies
Few Curry Leaves
Tamarind Juice
½ tsp Jaggery
3 tsp Vathakozhumbu Powder
¼ tsp Red Chili Powder
Coriander

Soak tamarind in hot water and make juice adding less water.

Chop onions and tomato into small pieces. Cut Ladies finger into 1” pieces and brinjal into small pieces.

Take 5 tsp of oil in a sauce pan and make tadka (poppu) with jeera, mustard seeds, and 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, hing and a red chili. Add chopped green chilies, curry leaves and fry till nice aroma of fenugreek seeds fill the room.

Add onions and fry till they are translucent. Then add cut ladies finger, brinjal, drumstick and fry for a few minutes. Then add tomatoes, cook for a few minutes.

In a bowl take tamarind juice and add 2 tsp rice flour, jaggery, vathakozhumbu powder, red chili powder, turmeric and mix well. Add to the vegetables in the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add water as till a nice consistency is reached.

Cook for a few minutes, the liquid will start to thicken and oil will separate then remove from flame.

Garnish with coriander. Check for salt and adjust seasonings.

Serve it with hot white rice or as a side dish with any podi rice like kandi podi etc.

A Tamil friend introduced me to this dish. It is also called Kara kozhambu ( pulusu) . This dish specially tastes very well on the next day of preparation, as all the vegetables soak and absorb all the spices.

Vathakozhambu powder is available in Indian stores, where not available regular sambar powder can be substituted for it.

Dosa Avakaye

Donot peel skin, scoop the seeds and cut into small pieces.

2 Medium Dosakayalu - Indian Cucumber
1/2 cup Ava - Mustard Powder
1/2 cup Red Chili Powder
a little less than 1/2 cup Salt
1/2 Cup Oil
1 Medium Lemon

Cut dosakaye into small pieces (Do not peel the skin).

Dry grind raw mustard seeds to a soft powder, this is ava(mustard powder).

Add ava, red chili powder and salt in a bowl. Mix them evenly and then add lemon juice and oil.

Add the chopped Dosakaye pieces and mix well.

This is a good side dish with rice and as a side dish with any dal and rice. It stays fresh for week to 10 days.

Chole

2 cups White Chickpeas/Kabuli Channa
2 Onions
3 large Tomatoes / 1 can Diced Tomatoes
2 - 3 Green Chilies
1 tsp Ginger - Garlic Paste
1 cup Half-Half or Fresh Curd
1 tsp Kasuri Methi
2 tsp Chole Masala
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
1 tsp Jeera
4 tsp Mixed nuts powder (from a previous blog in Podis/Powders)

Chole masala:

½ inch Cinnamon stick
2 Green Cardamoms
2 Cloves
½ inch Ginger, peeled
3 cloves of Garlic

Dry fry the masala items in a hot skillet and dry grind them to a smooth powder.

Soak chick peas over night with a pinch of turmeric. Cook in a pressure cooker with salt till the chick peas are soft. Drain and keep aside.

Take 3 tsp of oil in a low bottom non-stick pan and add jeera. When it starts to sizzle, add chopped onions and chilies. Keep stirring at medium heat till the onions are translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a few minutes.

Mix in chopped tomatoes/can of store bought tomato puree/diced or cut tomatoes (any thing is fine), amchur powder, chole masala, kasuri methi and salt. Cook the gravy in medium heat, for about 5-7 mins, stirring in between. Now add 4 tsp of mixed nuts powder. This will make the base very thick, rich and creamy.

Mix in cooked chickpeas and about a cup of water. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring in between. Mix in half-half or beaten sour curd. Add more water if needed, taste for salt and adjust the seasonings.

Garnish with coriander, finely chopped onion and lemon juice.

Poori or batura will compliment chole. Can be eaten with chapati, parata or Nans.

Mango Pappu

1 cup Toor dal – Kandi pappu
1 Raw Mango
2 - 3 Green Chilies
5 - 8 Garlic Pods : Optional
Few Curry Leaves
Sambar Powder
Small Marble sized Tamarind

Soak tamarind in hot water and make juice adding less water.

Peel and cut mango into small pieces. Do not discard the nut,it can be used.

Dry fry toor dal in a skillet till the dal is nicely roasted and emits aroma.
Wash and add water (for the dal 1: 2 for each cup of dal) in a vessel. Cook both dal and mango pieces in different vessels in a Pressure cooker till the dal is nicely done. Remove, add salt to the dal and mix well keep aside.

Take 2 tsp of oil in a sauce pan and make tadka (poppu) with jeera, mustard seeds, few fenugreek seeds, hing and a red chili. Add chopped garlic, green chilies, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.

Then add cooked mangoes, cooked dal, turmeric, 1 tsp sambar powder, tamarind juice and salt. Bring to a boil, cook for a few minutes more and remove from flame. It can be done liquidy or semi solid according to the taste. Taste for salt and adjust seasonings.

Mango pappu with hot rice and vadiyam, magiga mirapakaye or appadam is excellent.