AVAL PUTTU, how to make aval puttu, poha puttu

 AVAL puttu/POHA puttu!!!

So easy to make, jaggery based and just a tsp of ghee!

Here are my other puttu varieties:

Vella puttu, made out of rice

Vella puttu with store bought puttu flour

Ingredients

Poha - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 1/4 cup

Water - 1-4 cup

A very small pinch of turmeric powder

A very small pinch of salt

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsps

Broken cashews - a few

Fresh grated coconut - 3-4 tsps

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: Neivedhyam/sweet

Prep time: 15 mts; Cooking time: 10-15 mts

Serves 2

Poha taken in a pan and dry roasted

Let to cool and pulsed coarsely in the blender

Pulsed poha taken in a bowl, salt and turmeric powder added

Luke warm water sprinkled little by little and mixed gently.

When you should stop?? you must be able to form a ball.

At the same time, if you let it, it must fall into grainy pieces

Add cardamom powder

Jaggery let to boil with water. This is organic jaggery with no impurities. If your jaggery has impurities, then take care to filter

You must drop 1/2 tsp in water. It must not dissimilate

also you must be able to form a soft ball

Add this to the poha

Mix well

In 1 to 2 tsps ghee, roast the cashews and add

In that same pan, roast the coconut to light golden colour and add. Mix everything together and offer to God!!!

This post was first published in www.malpatskitchen.com

MALPAT' s thaalis - 50- North-south combo lunch

Menu:

Aloo-paneer rotis

Punjabi subzi

Curd rice

Fresh turmeric-ginger preserve/pickle

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

DOUBLE BEANS SUNDAL, how to make an aromatic, spicy sundal with double beans

My other Sundal Varieties can be checked here
This is a very interesting version of Sundal...but it cannot be used for neivedhyam, since it has onion.
But this Sundal takes me down my memory lane!!!
How many days I have packed this for my son and daughter during their school and College days!!! They used to love this!
Since Double beans is quite a bland legume, with no particular flavor of its onw, adding Onions and tomatoes certainly impart a unique taste.
Can be used as a snack too. Full of protein!!

Ingredients

Double beans - 3/4 cup, soaked over night

Onion - 1, chopped fine

Tomatoes - 2, chopped fine

Sambar powder - 3/4 tsp

Chopped Coriander/Cilantro leaves - handful

Salt to taste

To season

Cooking oil - 2 tsps

Hing powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2-3, slit

Curry leaves - a few

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: Sundal variety/snack

Soaking: Overnight; Prep time: 10 mts; Cooking time: 10 mts

Serves 2-3

Soaked double beans, pressure cooked, and when it is hot, salt to taste added. You can put the whistle , and after one whistle, lower the flames and cook for 20 minutes.

Salt mixed thoroughly

Pan heated with oil, turmeric and hing powders added, then mustard and jeera

Then onions, curry leaves and slit green chillies added

After the onions turn translucent, tomatoes and sambar powder added

Let it cook on slow flames, sprinkle some water, to soften the tomatoes, and everything will become one

After the tomatoes become sort of mushy, add the coriander leaves

and now, the double beans

Mix well, cook on slow flames, allowing the double beans to take in all flavors

This is a very good accompaniment to any South Indian meal. Can be a semi dry curry for rotis too, along with a dhal.

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

HOME MADE KOOTTU POWDER/PODI, how to make a spice-powder for lentil-vegetable based gravies

 This recipe is being documented mainly for the next gen.

I have , several times made this for my son, during his bachelor and student days, and daughter, during her post-partum period ...after leaving her and coming off to India ..but I still have not documented this in my blog...now, the next generation has started going to colleges, some at the verge of getting married...so, I thought this is the apt time to upload in my blog.

Koottu is an important dish in Tambrahm cuisine, and I have illustrated a very easy way to make this. This saves students and bachelors the job of grinding for koottu.....why them?? even for us, it's so useful for a quick koottu!

Vegetable is your choice, any vegetable like chayote squash, carrot-potato-peas, broad beans, cabbage, ash gourd, yellow squash can be used.

Can be refrigerated and used for 3-4 months.

Ingredients

Cooking oil - 1/2 tsp

Split urad dhal - 1/2 cup

Red chillies - 4-5

Jeera/cumin - 3 tsps

Pepper - 11/2 tsps

Hing powder - 1/2 tsp

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: podi/powder

Prep time: nil; Roasting time: 5 mts

Yields a small bowl of powder

Heat a pan with 1/2 tsp oil, add all the above mentioned ingredients, flames on the lowest

Saute it till everything becomes hot, and the urad is pale in color.

Like this. No need to make them golden, urad has to just lose the moisture in it. That's all.

After it cools down, load in the blender jar

Pulse it to a slightly coarse powder. Needn't be very fine powder

Then how do you make koottu using this???  Load 1/2 cup moong dhal, which is soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, and the chopped snake gourd, (this quantity will yield koottu for 2)in a pressure pan, with some turmeric powder and cook for 3 whistles. You can cook this in a Instapot too. Then salt to taste added, and mixed

You can see the Koottu powder (2-3 tsps), grated coconut - 2 tsps (optional)and some curry leaves topped. Then seasoning of mustard seeds and urad dhal done in coconut oil and added.  You can use any cooking oil or ghee, whichever suits you.Simmer for 5 minutes on low flames, and your koottu is ready!!!! Eat with rice or rotis!!

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

SWEET POTATO - YELLOW PUMPKIN SOUP, how to make a very healthy soup with Yellow pumpkin & Sweet potato

 Sweet Potatoes.....Lowers the risk of Cancer, Controls Blood sugar, Lowers bad cholesterol which is the main reason for heart problems, prevents Vitamin A deficiency, checks diabetes, helps manage stress, guards against ulcers, good for digestion and regulates blood pressure.

Yellow pumpkin.........also known as Squash.....reduces Cancer risk, combats diabetes, improves immunity, boosts muscle function, beneficial in the battle against Cataracts, highly nutricious and particularly rich in Vitamin A.

Zucchini-carrot-ginger combination also can be made in the same manner.

Please check my other Soup-Sandwich-salad varieties

Ingredients

Sweet potato - 2 cups, chopped

Yellow pumpkin/Squash - 2 cups, chopped

Onion - 1,big, chopped

Tomato - 1-2, chopped

Garlic - 2-3 pods, chopped

Ginger - a small piece , chopped

Milk - 1 1/2 cups

Red chilli flakes - as required

Italian seasonings - 2-3 tsps /as required

Salt to taste

Olive oil - 2-3 tsps

Recipe cuisine: International/Continental; Category: Lunch/dinner

Prep time: 10 mts; Cooking time: 10 mts

Serves 3-4

In a pressure pan, heat Olive oil, add garlic, ginger and onions

Saute till translucent, add tomatoes

NBow add the chopped Sweet potatoes and Yellow pumpkin pieces

Add red chilli flakes and Italian seasonings

Mix well

Pour water well enough to immerse the veggies

Cook for 3 whistles, this is how it looks when you open after the pressure releases naturally

Allow it to cool down nicely, then remove just the veggies and load them into the blender jar

Let the water be in the pressure pan itself

Blend to a smooth paste

Add this paste to the cooked water in the pressure pan

Add salt to taste

Mix well

Add milk and simmer for 5 minutes

Look how creamy it looks!!! No fresh cream, so healthy!!

Serve this Super-healthy soup with Vegetable puffs or toasts

Notes

*Pepper may be added at the time of serving