Kathrikai (Brinjal) Karakozhambu

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Ingredients

• Brinjals - 7 small size (slit each brinjal into 4 without cutting all the way)
• Tomatoes - 3 medium sized finely chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Hing - a pinch
• Curry Leaves - 3-5
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1.5 tsp
• Sambhar Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind Concentrate - 1/4 tsp (or gooseberry sized tamarind soaked in water )
• Salt to taste
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Sesame Oil - 5 tsp

For Masala

• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper Kernels - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Preparation

Make the dry masala- Roast the ingredients and grind them into a coarse powder.

• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp pepper kernels

Procedure

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and hing. When the mustard starts to crackle, proceed to the next step.

• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• pinch of hing

Add curry leaves, brinjal, tomatoes and saute for a few seconds. Now add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, samabhar powder and salt. Saute for a few more seconds.

• 3-5 curry leaves
• 7 small brinjals
• 3 medium sized tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp sambhar powder
• salt as per taste

Add the water and tamarind concentrate. Place the lid on the pan and let the ingredients cook for 5 minutes on a medium flame.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate or tamarind water

Now open the lid and let boil for 10-15 minutes until the raw smell of the sambhar powder evaporates. See the consistency the kozhambu needs to reach in the picture below.

Finally add the dry masala to the kozhambu and stir it well.

• ground masala*dry masala

The kathrikai karakozhambu is ready! Garnish with a tsp of ghee and/or sesame oil. Serve with hot rice. Enjoy :)

Cabbage Poriyal

Ingredients

• Cabbage - 1/4 kg finely chopped
• Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped
• Green Chillies - 2-3
• Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Thick Curd - 1 small cup(optional)
• Coriander Powder - 1-1.5 tsp (same quantity as red chilli powder)
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 3-5

For Seasoning

• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Urad Dal (Split) - 1/2 tsp
• Hing - 1/4 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Whole Red Chilli - 1

Procedure

Heat the oil in a kadhai and add the seasoning ingredients one after another. Once they start to crackle, add the green chillies and ginger. Saute for a minute.

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp hing
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp whole red chilli
• 1 inch chopped ginger
• 2-3 green chilly

Add the chopped cabbage and salt as per your taste. Sprinkle a little water. Now cover the kadhai and leave to cook for 2 minutes.

• 1/4 kg chopped cabbage
• salt as per taste

Take the kadhai off the stove and add the grated coconut.

• 3 tbsp grated coconut

The cabbage poriyal is ready to be served! Eat this delicious side dish with rice & sambhar or chapati :)

Tamarind Water

Ingredients

• Tamarind - Lemon Sized peeled
• Water - 100 ml (1/2 cup)

Procedure

Take lemon sized tamarind and press it into a pulp in water.Soak for about a 1/2 hour. Note: Instead of water I take the third water that I clean rice with before cooking the rice. (I rinse the rice 3 times to clean it before cooking it. This is the water I have rinsed the rice the third time with. This avoids dirt and reduces harmful effects of tamarind)

• Tamarind - lemon sized
• Water - 100 ml (1/2 cup)

Filter the above mixture.

Voila! We have our tamarind water:)

Thenkuzhal Murukku

Ingredients

• Raw Rice (I use IR20..This is called mavu arisi and is available at the grocery store) - 1.6 kg (8 cups)
• Urad Dal - 600 g (3 cups)
• Ghee - 12 tsp
• Oil - 12 tsp for the dough
• Cumin Seeds - 4 tsp
• Salt- as required
• Hing - 3 tsp
• Water - as required
• Oil - for frying

Preparation

To make the flour: Dry roast urad dal until it just get heated. Switch off the stove when you can smell the dal and before it changes colour. Now combine the rice and dal and grind to a fine textured flour (I get this ground at the flour mill).Spread out the flour on some paper to release the heat.

• 8 cups raw rice
• 3 cups moong dal

Now sieve the flour to remove the unwanted particles. It is important to sieve the flour to also remove any coarse particles in the flour. (These coarse particles will later cause the oil to splutter and spoil the murukku). Divide the sieved flour into 6 parts (If you mix all the flour together the last batch of murukku become dark and do not taste too good.)

Procedure

The flour has been divided into 6 equal parts. Now on we will work with one part. The same steps must be repeated for each part. The ingredients listed hereon will also be just for one part. Add cumin seeds, hing, ghee, hot oil and salt to one part. After mixing the contents add water to knead into a dough. (You can add red chilli powder in the dough as per your taste if you want the murukku to be spicy)

• 1 part flour
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ghee
• 2 tsp hot oil
• 1/2 tsp hing
• salt as per taste
• chilli powder as per taste (optional)

Use the plate with three small smooth holes in the pressing utensil. Grease the utensil and stuff it with the dough.

Grease a laddle with oil. Use the utensil to press out the shapes shown in the picture on the laddle. Press out 3-4 of these shapes on laddles one after the other and keep it so as to be able to cook them simultaneously and not waste gas.

Heat oil in a kadhai on a medium flame.(Make sure the flame is not high else the murkku will turn hard and brown) To check if the oil is hot enough, drop in a small piece of the dough. If it rises immediately, the oil is in the correct stage to be used. Drop the murkku into the oil one after the other. After a minute turn each piece around. When the sizzling siezes, take the murukku out of the kadhai. Continue to do this until all the dough has been used. After this is done, proceed to follow the same steps for the second part of dough.

• 12 tsp oil

The murukku is ready! I made about 120 medium sized murukku with these proportions.. Save these in an airtight container for over a month and they can add crunchiness to whatever you eat :)

Mullu Murukku

Ingredients

• Raw Rice (I use IR20..This is called mavu arisi and is available at the grocery store) - 800 grams
• Pasi Parappu (Moong Dal) - 150 grams
• Urad Dal - 150 grams
• Ghee - 8 tsp
• Oil - for frying
• Cumin Seeds - 4 tsp
• Salt- 2 tsp
• Hing - 2 tsp
• Water - as required

Preparation

To make the flour: Dry roast urad dal and moong dal until they just get heated. Switch off the stove when you can smell the dals and before they change colour. Now combine the rice and dals and grind to a fine textured flour (I get this ground at the flour mill).Spread out the flour on some paper to release the heat.

• 800g raw rice
• 150g moong dal
• 150g urad dal

Now sieve the flour to remove the unwanted particles. It is important to sieve the flour to also remove any coarse particles in the flour. (These coarse particles will later cause the oil to splutter and spoil the murukku). Divide the sieved flour into 4 parts (If you mix all the flour together the last batch of murukku become dark and do not taste too good.)

Procedure

The flour has been divided into 4 equal parts. Now on we will work with one part. The same steps must be repeated for each part. The ingredients listed hereon will also be just for one part. Add cumin seeds, hing, ghee and salt to one part. After mixing the contents add water to knead into a dough. (You can add red chilli powder in the dough as per your taste if you want the murukku to be spicy)

• 1 part flour
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp hing
• 1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
• chilli powder as per taste (optional)

Use the star shaped plate in the pressing utensil. Grease the utensil and stuff it with the dough.

Grease a laddle with oil. Use the utensil to press out the shapes shown in the picture on the laddle. Press out 3-4 of these shapes on laddles one after the other and keep it so as to be able to cook them simultaneously and not waste gas.

Heat oil in a kadhai on a medium flame.(Make sure the flame is not high else the murkku will turn hard and brown) To check if the oil is hot enough, drop in a small piece of the dough. If it rises immediately, the oil is in the correct stage to be used. Drop the murkku into the oil one after the other. After a minute turn each piece around. When the sizzling siezes, take the murukku out of the kadhai. Continue to do this until all the dough has been used. After this is done, proceed to follow the same steps for the second part of dough.

• oil

The murukku is ready! I made about 30 medium sized murukku with these proportions.. Save these in an airtight container for over a month and they can add crunchiness to whatever you eat :)

Ennai Kathrikai

Ingredients

• Brinjals - 6
• Sesame Oil - 4-6 tbsp
• Mustard - 1/2 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Urad Dal - 1/2 tbsp
• Curry Leaves - 3-5
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Tamarind Extract- Fresh tamarind of gooseberry size or 1/2 tsp Tamarind concentrate
• Salt - to taste

For Gravy

• Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
• Red Chilli - 7
• Curry Leaves - few (5-7)
• Groundnut - 1 tbsp
• Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Coconut - 4 tbsp

Preparation

Make the gravy for the ennai kathrikai. Roast all the ingredients other than the coconut until they turn brown. Now add coconut and grind to a fine paste with tamarind extract.

• Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
• Red Chilli - 7
• Curry Leaves - few (5-7)
• Groundnut - 1 tbsp
• Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Coconut - 4 tbsp
• Tamarind Extract - Gooseberry Size or 1/2 tsp Tamarind Concentrate

Procedure

Heat a widemouth kadai, add oil, mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves and urad dal. Wait for them to splutter before proceeding to the next step.

• 1/2 tbsp mustard
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 3-5 curry leaves
• 1/2 tbsp urad dal

Add the chopped brinjal. Saute for a few minutes with a pinch of turmeric.

• 6 brinjals chopped
• Pinch of turmeric

Now add the gravy and stir on a low flame for 20-25 minutes until the oil oozes out.

• gravy

The ennai kathrikai is ready :) Serve with rasam/sambhar/morkolumbu and rice!!

Channa Masala

Ingredients

• Channa - 1 cup soaked overnight and boiled
• Onion - 2 finely chopped
• Garlic - 6 pods finely chopped/crushed
• Green Chilly - 1
• Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped/crushed
• Tomatoes - 4 (make 1 cup tomato puree)
• Green Bell Pepper - 1 small cut into cubes(optional)
• Oil - 3 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1-1.5 tsp (depending on the level of spice you like)
• Coriander Powder - 1-1.5 tsp (same quantity as red chilli powder)
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cloves - 2-3 buds
• Bay Leaves - 3
• Curry Leaves - 3-5
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch

For Masala

• Green Chillies - 4
• Garlic - 6 pods
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Fennel Seeds - 1 spoon

For Garnishing

• Butter - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1 finely chopped
• Coriander - 1 handful finely chopped

Preparation

Make the *Channa Masala- Grind the ingredients into a fine powder.

• 4 Green chillies
• 6 Garlic pods
• 1/2 inch Ginger
• 1 spoon Fennel seeds

Procedure

Soak the channa overnight and then boil it in the pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles. Prepare the *channa masala as shown in the preparation. Note: If you forget to soak the channa overnight, dry roast the channa and pressure cook for 6-7 whistles.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves, cinnamon, bay leaves, green chilly and cloves. Wait till these crackle to proceed to the next step.

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 3-5 curry leaves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 green chilly

Add the chopped onions and crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until the onion starts turning brown.

• 2 onions finely chopped
• 6 pods of garlic crushed
• 1 inch of ginger crushed

Add turmeric, tomato puree, ground *channa masala, salt and saute. Now add red chilli powder and coriander powder and let it cook for 2 minutes.

• 4 tomato puree (1 cup)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• ground *channa masala
• Salt to taste
• 1-1.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 1-1.5 tsp coriander powder

Finally add the boiled channa to the gravy and mix on a medium flame. Now on a slow flame let the ingredients boil for about 12-15 mins. While boiling, mash part of the channa to make the gravy thick. If adding bell pepper, proceed to next step or your channa is done! You can now transfer to a serving bowl and garnish.

• 1 cup boiled channa

In a separate vessel saute the green bell pepper in 1 tsp oil for 2 mins. Now add this to the cooked channa masala for crunchiness (optional).

• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• Cooked channa masala

Garnish with butter, onions and coriander leaves (optional).Our Channa Masala is ready to be served!