White Radish - Mullangi in Lemon Juice - Side dish

1 White Radish - Mullangi
1 Carrot
5 – 6 Green Chilies
Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vammu

Peel and chop mullangi and carrot into small pieces. Chop green chilies into small pieces, suit your taste.

In a glass bowl squeeze lemon juice and add chopped green chilies, vammu, salt and turmeric. Add the mullangi and carrot pieces. Mix well and let sit for 1 -2 hrs before serving, by doing this, vegetables will absorb the lemon juice and the seasoning.

This can be used as side dish for rotis and as a side with dals and curries with rice.

Gullasenaga pappu (Putnala pappu) Kobbari Chutney- White Chutney1

1 cup Gulla Senaga pappu: Putnala pappu
1 cup coconut
5 – 6 Green Chilies
4 – 5 Garlic Pods
1 tsp Tamarind paste
¼ cup Milk - Cold

Take 2 tsp of oil in a skillet and make tadka with ½ tsp jeera, 1 tsp mustard seeds, hing and few curry leaves. Keep aside.

Chop coconut into small pieces or grate coconut.

Dry grind gulla senaga pappu, garlic and green chilies to a dry powder. Then add coconut pieces, tamarind and salt and grind again. Then mix well and add ¼ cup milk and water as required while grinding.

This pachadi can have a good flowing consistency. Add more water as required.

Empty the pachadi into the tadka skillet, mix well and transfer into a serving jar.

This is a good side dish with idli, dosa and uttapam.

Spicy Corn

4 cups of Corn Kernels or Frozen Corn
2 cups chopped Capsicum – Bell Peppers any colors
1 Carrot
1 Jalapeno preferably or Red Chili Powder where not available.
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Butter
Lemon juice

Take 2 tsp of ghee in a skillet add chopped jalapenos (Optional or reduce if want the dish milder) fry till nicely done then add ginger garlic paste. Do not use green chilies instead of jalapenos.

Cut carrot and capsicum into small cubes. Add them to the skillet and fry for a few minutes. Now add corn, salt and turmeric.

Add 1 inch of butter, 1 tsp of garam masala or chat masala. Cook with a lid on for 5 – 7 minutes. Do not over cook, steam cooking is enough and a let a pinch of rawness remain in the vegetable.

Add lemon juice, mix and serve hot.

This is a very easy and addictive snack for cold afternoons.

A very hot - fast food item in Chennai Malls.

Pineapple

Pineapple is a favorite tropical fruit next to Banana. Pineapples are actually not just one fruit but a composite of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core. Each fruitlet can be identified by an "eye," the rough spiny marking on the pineapple's surface.

Pineapples have a wide cylindrical shape, a scaly green, brown or yellow skin and a regal crown of spiny, blue-green leaves. The fibrous flesh of pineapple is yellow in color and has a vibrant tropical flavor that balances the tastes of sweet and tart. The area closer to the base of the fruit has more sugar content and therefore a sweeter taste and more tender texture.

Look for pineapples that are heavy for their size. While larger pineapples will have a greater proportion of edible flesh, there is usually no difference in quality in terms of size. Pineapple stops ripening as soon as it is picked, so choose fruit with a fragrant sweet smell at the stem end.

Pineapple can be left at room temperature for one or two days before serving, will not make the fruit any sweeter, it will help it to become softer and juicier.
Pineapple can be cut and peeled in a variety of ways. Regardless of how you proceed, the first step is always to remove the crown and the base of the fruit with a knife.

Place its base side down and carefully slice off the skin, carving out any remaining "eyes" with the tip of your knife. Then cut the pineapple into quarters, remove the core if desired, make slices into the quarters cutting from the flesh towards the rind, cut the pineapple into the desired shape and size.

Pineapple that has been cut should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Cut fruit, if chilled, retains many of its nutrients for at least 6 days.

Pineapple is a wonderful addition to fruit salads, especially those containing other tropical fruits such as papaya, kiwi and mango.

Mix diced pineapple and chili peppers for an easy to prepare salsa.

Drizzle maple syrup on pineapple slices and broil until brown.

Boil diced pineapple chunks in sugar syrup (water + sugar boiled) if the pineapple has a tart taste.

Pineapple juice is a favorite among tropical beverages.

Nutritional Profile

Pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. It is also a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, copper and dietary fiber.

Idli - TamilNadu

Idli stand and Pressure cooker are required for making Idli.

1 cup Urad dal
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 cups Boiled rice
1 cup Raw rice

Add fenugreek to the urad dal and mix the raw rice and boiled rice. Soak them separately over night.

Grind urad dal and the rice mix to a smooth batter. This should be done separately, once rice and urad dal mixes, texture of the batter will change.

Then they can be mixed together, add salt and mix well and set aside to ferment for 6 - 8 hrs. Yeast or cooking soda can be added for fermentation. Keep in a warm place or in the oven.

Spray Pam or smear oil in the holes of the idle stand and pour the batter. A small trick I have learnt over the years, is to alternatively align the holes in the stand, by doing this, idli will not stick to the top tray.

Steam cook in high heat for 15 min and in low flame for 5 - 6 mins.

This is steamed food and very good for kids. Rub some ghee on the idli and serve with coconut chutney or podi. Idli can be soaked in sambar and eaten.

To make it appealing for kids, button idli stand can be used, same taste, smaller size - bite size. These idli's and soaked in sambar and eaten.

Uttapam

1 cup Urad dal
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 cups Boiled rice
1 cup Raw rice

Add fenugreek to the urad dal and mix the raw rice and boiled rice. Soak them separately over night.

Grind urad dal and the rice mix to a smooth batter. This should be done separately, once rice and urad dal mixes, texture of the batter will change.

Then they can be mixed together, add salt and mix well and set aside to ferment for 6 - 8 hrs. Yeast or cooking soda can be added for fermentation. Keep in a warm place or in the oven.

Water can be added to the batter as required to make uttapam.

Grease a dosa pan with oil and pour the batter a little thick on the skillet spreading evenly with the ladel. Sprinkle chopped onion, green chili, ginger and chopped coriander.

Add a tsp of oil so that uttapam can be removed easily. Turn the other side and let roast.

Serve it with chutney.

Tomato Besan Pachadi

2 Tomatoes
1 Onion: Optional
½ tsp Jeera
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
A pinch of Fenugreek Seeds
1-2 Red Chilies
½ tsp Red Chili Powder
Hing
1-2 Green chilies
Few Curry Leaves
½ tsp Tamarind paste
Coriander
4 -5 tsp Besan - Senagpindi

Cut tomatoes into small pieces.

Take 4 tsp of oil in a small skillet and when oil is heated add jeera, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing, red chilies, and chopped green chilies and curry leaves. Then add chopped onion and fry till it is translucent. Add tomato pieces, salt, turmeric, red chili powder and 1 cup water, cook till tomatoes are done.

Then add tamarind paste and besan stirring slowing so that lumps are not formed. As you are adding the base thickens and starts to cook. Add coriander and cook for a few minutes till the base separates.

Check for salt, adjust seasonings according to taste and more water can be added according to the required consistency.

Transfer contents into a serving bowl.

Tomato chutney can be served with hot rice with a tsp of oil or with upma, dosa or any tiffin items.