Tomato Masala Kurma/Kongunadu Thakkali Kurma

If you are searching for a fingerlicking goodness gravy for rice or a lipsmacking side dish for idlies or dosas, then you should give a try to this flavourful kurma. Simple to make, this kurma is highly flavourful as this kurma calls for poppy seeds, fennel seeds, roasted gram and grated coconut which is grinded as fine paste to give the aroma to this fingerlicking kurma. Usually chopped tomatoes are sauteed until they turn mushy to prepare kurmas, but my today's recipe calls for tomato puree which is simply prepared by deskinning and deseeding the tomatoes.  The best part of this kurma is this gravy can be served with anything. You can prepare this kurma for your breakfast and you can serve again for lunch with rice or else for your dinner with rotis.

Kollu Paruppu Masiyal/Kongunadu Kollu Masiyal/Mashed Horsegram

Kollu or horsegram, this lentils is very much known in Southern part of India for its nutritional value,if anyone want to loss their weight its adviced to take horsegram in their diet. Horsegram have their important place in Kongunadu cuisine of Tamilnadu. Kongunadu comprises the modern day districts of Coimbatore District, Nilgiri District, Tirupur District,Karur District, Erode District, Salem District, Namakkal District, Dharmapuri District,krishnagiri District and parts of Dindigul District.Their cuisine is quite famous for the simplicity of their dish, most of the dishes goes for an easy breezy preparation.As per wiki,Kongu Nadu cuisine is basically a collection of exotic recipes being created by the people residing in the Kongu region. The cuisine is quite extensive for a simple reason that the region is vast. Unlike other cuisines, Kongu Nadu cuisine does not involve marination of any raw material. As a result the food has a different taste and unique texture.Turmeric is always added into curries which gives the product a deep yellow color and an aromatic substance including Arisemparupu, famously known only in Kongu region.

Thakkali Kuzhambu/Tomato Kuzhambu

Special days are need to be treated in a special way, if its a birthday and we dont live near or next to the birthday gal its definitely a better and best way to shower the love we have for them is by wishing them on their birthday virtually. Actually today one of my blogger buddy is celebrating her birthday. My days will be long if i dont speak to her, i feel sad if i dont see her in online, you can guess how important she is. We are best buddies since years eventhough we never had a chance to meet personally, but it doesnt matter friendship dont have boundary and doesnt need to meet face to face, just a fone call or a online chat is enough to grow up this beautiful bond between two persons who shares the same passions. Am talking about Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treats, she is celebrating her birthday today and few of us are going to celebrate her birthday virtually by cooking dishes from Kongunadu, where she comes from.I chosed few dishes from her space but i ended up with this fingerlicking gravy with tomatoes.

Dear Sangee
You are such a special friend,
Who deserves a special day,
For being who you are and
Bringing joy in every way.
You make me smile and laugh,
with everything you do,
So today I get to send
A special Birthday wish to you!

அன்பு சங்கீதாக்கு..
எங்கள் இனிய பிறந்தநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள் 

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Sangeetha Priya of Nitha Kitchen

My readers and followers will definitely know that every 7th and 20th of the month i'll be inviting two newbie bloggers from this bloggy world to write a guest post in my space.  If anyone want to be my guest and if your blog is less than two years please do contact me through Facebook or by a mail with your facebook name to add you in this new adventure. Hope many of you will join ur hands with me. Obviously the motto of this event is to introduce the upcoming new bloggers to this immense virtual world.

Blogging,this immense virtual world is definitely very close to my heart, i gained a bunch of good friends, well wishers and many blogger sisters. My today's guest is also one among them and she was a wonderful person who blogs at Nitha's Kitchen. Actually i crossed her before a year and we became closer to each one through FB. She is one of my best friend, a sweet sister and a young mom of two kids who blogs frequently with healthy stuffs. She shares many traditional dishes from her native which are seriously very close to my heart and the list of my favourite dishes from her space is very long.She shares stepwise pictures of her recipes, also she will give definitely DIY ideas and one among those is her pumpkin cookies, check her idea here really tremendous and brilliant na,she have many interesting recipes like this and sure her space is definitely a treasure, if you are searching Kongunadu style dishes.

Do you want to know more about Sangeetha Priya of Nitha's Kitchen,just go through her small interview...

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

I am Sangeetha Priya, started my career as Computer faculty in School and simultaneously finished my master degree. I worked in MNC as Software Engineer for few years n now full time home maker lives in U.S with my hubby and 2 kids. I blog for Nitha Kitchen which is almost 1 n 1/2 years old. Nitha is my daughter name, she just started her preschool n younger son is staying at home. 

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

 My cooking remains the same but improved a lot in baking also do experiments especially with it. Now I have started cooking for a varied audience from different places of the world. I get recipe requests from my Readers, friends and family members living in home town, so blogging molded me and happy to share the recipes. Also I learnt few terms like Vegan and because of it my photography skills is improving.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

Before marriage like everyone says I never involved in cooking. After getting married I quit my job and was alone at home that made me to develop my cooking skills. Later I was so crazy to click step by step pictures, it’s my hobby and love to share the final outcome with my parents. It went like that for almost 2yrs with loads of recipes, one special day we invited our close friend for lunch and she suggested me of starting a blog. My Husband then helped in creating it. He helped a lot in domain change, template designing so and so.

4)There are a tons of blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

It’s a mix of traditional Indian n trendy unique recipes. I have loads of healthy and reduced fat recipes. Most of them are prepared with easy homey ingredients and simplest process; also I explain it with step by step pictures.

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?     

My Mom, Maternal Grandma and Aunt (Paternal Sister) are my great inspiration.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?

Initially I designed my site by referring Raks and Sharmis space. I hard coded by searching various sources in Google. When getting stabilized by mistake I moved the blog to my daughters own domain without thinking about the future. We realized later and moved to my new and existing domain. My husband helped a lot in domain change. Also I appreciate my Co bloggers with their activities in Facebook groups n other social medias, I learnt several new aspects. Particularly I thank Sangee and Preeti for my tuned pictures.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

All my recipes are favorite, here are few of my best n favorite foods: Ancient Thinai Urundai/Foxtail Millet Honey Balls, Arisiyum Paruppu Sadham, Almond Pista Rolls/Apple Shaped Almond Katli, Keerai Bajji/Gram Flour Spinach Fritters, Bitter Gourd Pulav/Pavakkaai Pulao, Thinai Murukku/Millet Chakli, Eggless Pomegranate Cupcakes with POM Cream Cheese Frosting.

8)Few tips about food photography?

I am not a great photographer but to my knowledge I suggest taking pictures in natural light and also in different angles.

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

I don't have any budget, depends on the shop and H mood , it varies from 1 to 20 USD. I usually manage with my household stuffs but in future I may hunt for it.

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

By regular I post weekly 3 recipes at least, If I get time I increase the count, anyways it depends on the kids at home.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

Yes, I always flair for gardening and online window shopping. But these days with my lil one it’s hard to spend much time in lappy though I am maintaining a very small garden in my patio 

Today’s recipe is simple and delicious savory snack and my mom makes this especially for dinner. 3-4 soiyans aka South Indian kachoris is more than enough for a person. This kachoris' are made of rice batter and no needs fermentation, you can use mixie/blender to grind the batter. When added in hot oil it gives “soi” sound so we call it as Soiyan in our surroundings. I am not a frequent deep fry maker but once in a while I make it for dinner as Mom's recipe are something special right .The best side for this fritters is spicy coconut chutney.

Soiyan/Rice Batter South Indian Kachori:

Ingredients

Idli Rice - 1 Cup

Whole Urad Dhal/Gotta  - 2 Tbsp

Fenugreek - 1/2tsp

Cumin Seeds - 2tsp

Salt - As needed

Oil - To deep fry

Method

Soak Rice, Urad dal and fenugreek for at least 5 hours (Stepwise Pic 1, below).

Grind to fine paste, make the batter bit watery when compared to usual idli batter (Pic 3). 

Add cumin and salt to the batter, keep it aside for 15 minutes (Pic 2).

Meanwhile heat oil in a small pan/kadai, drop a ladder full of batter in the center of the pan, It pops up very well (Pic 4).

You can another spoonful of batter after the first one raise up (Pic 4).

The fritters once starts changing light brown, flip it and cook both sides well ie till nice golden color.

Remove and drain the excess oil using paper towel, also you can wipe well with paper towel, if needed.

Coconut chutney is the best accomplishment for this kachori, also paired with dal/paruppu sambar.

The outer layer is crisp and inner is soft...

Note:

1.     It depends on the rice, you can take it out when it is light brown and make sure it is well cooked inside.

2.     If the batter consistency is thin then you get crisp outer coat, if its thick, then it attains soft kachoris.

Hope you enjoyed this fantastic Kongu dish and stay tuned for an another guest post by an another foodie blogger..

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Sharanya Palanisshami of Sara's Tasty Buds

Most of my followers knows very well about my new event where am introducing upcoming new budding bloggers twice a month.As i told earlier, the main motto of this event is to showcase the new food bloggers,their passions and their respective blogs.Obviously every 7th and 20th of the month, a newbie blogger will post their guest post in my space and am very happy to introduce them eventhough some of them may be very much familiar to you. However am proud and happy to invite them to my space to post their guest post and i got immense responses from each and every newbies when i send a message through a social network.Thanks guys, am really honoured and blessed to get you all around me.

Today am introducing an another incredible,young blogger who blog's at Sara's Tasty Buds,its none other than Sharanya Palanisshami,a young chef who was quite busy with her studies but still she blogs almost everyday with many different dishes. She bakes,cooks,blogs,participates in many food events and leave comments to her co-bloggers, omg dunno how she manage to do all these things.I know Sharanya since a year, but honestly she is one among the budding bloggers i love to visit often and seriously love her cooking and baking skills. Hope a day we will meet personally and get know more about her.

Shall we go to meet my today's guest Sharanya Palanisshami of Sara's Tasty Buds....

    Hi friends, I am happy to write a guest post for priya akka of priya’s versatile recipes. I was a follower of her blog for a long time before I know her. We became friends from May 2012. I will be eagerly waiting to see her delicious post daily. She was excellent blogger who blogs daily with new innovative recipes. We didn’t met in person , will happen in future. When priya akka announced about the Rendez Vous With a Foodie , I immediately asked her to give a date for me and it was today…….

 These are the questionnaire from priya akka to me………

Before and after blogging, tell us wat blogging changed your life?
 Blogging had made many changes , I  came to know about many friends , different cuisines , different cooking methods and so on..

When and what motivated you to blog about food?
Cooking was my passion from childhood. I used to collect lot of recipes. I came to know about the blogging  by October of 2009 . I thought why can’t I have a digitalized version of my recipe collection  and my blog baby was born.

There are tons of blogs/pages on food these days what according to you is the speciality of your blog and the food that you cook?
Yes , there are tons of blog , each will be unique. I usually blog about the day- to - day recipes which we cook in our home. I mostly post a recipe which requires the ingredients which are easily available. I also blog about traditional , Indian , International and eggless baking recipes.

Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when it comes to blogging,tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it? Please specify with facts and details.
The biggest problem for me is to gain more visitors . I didn’t realize this problem for a long time. To bring more visitors to my blog I participated in events and challenges.

What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?
I think my best recipe was my Red Velvet Cake.My favorite recipes I had posted still are Sandhavai,Pain Ulundhi Vadai and Kongu Special,Cold Pasta Salad,Dates Roll and Jangiri.

Few tips about food photography?
I was not an expert in the photography. I will be sharing few tips ……..
Always take photographs in natural light .
Use the props contrast to the food.

What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?
I mostly use the household utensils as props. I bought few which are below 100 rupees not more than that.

How do you plan your blogposts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?
I post regularly for the past year. I want to post daily if time permits.

Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?
I love to do hand embroidering and other handworks . I have a blog for that but I didn’t post regularly. The blog name is Saranya's Handworks.

 Being from kongu region , I want to post recipes from our kongu region. Hope some know about the region and their cuisine. For those who don’t know about the cuisine , I am giving a short introduction.

 Kongunadu cuisine is the cuisine of the kongu region of the Tamil nadu. Kongu region covers salem , nammakal , erode , Coimbatore , Tiruppur, pollachi and 30 more places of Tamilnadu.

In olden days , most of the people of the region are farmers . Nowadays , they are into starting many industries , textile mills , poultry , automobile industries , educational institutiona and so on.

 Regarding the cuisine of the region , it is different from other regions and uses their farming products usually.

 The kongu nadu cuisine is a collection of exotic recipes of the people . there are so many traditional recipes we are still following. There are many legumes and pulses are used in our daily cooking. The few recipes which I name can be arisiumparuppu sadham , opputu ( poli ) , sandhavai ( Idhiyappam ) , chola paniyaram and so on.

I am going to share three of our kongu recipes today………
Kachayam / sweet Fritters
Pachai payarru sadham / Green lentil rice
Ragi vadai / pakoda

We will start with a sweet recipe……….

 Today I am sharing the recipe of the favorite sweet / snack . I won’t  count how many I had eaten . everyone will like this simple sweet delicious snack.

Kachayam/Sweet Fritters:
 Kachayam as we call is sweet fritters made using maida , sugar , banana and cardamom. It was a usual sweet dish made immediately when the guest arrives. As this kachayam can be made easily, in our home we makes this often when we are having more  fully ripen bananas.

 This is a traditional recipe of the kongunadu cuisine. Many of the people of this region makes this delicious sweet fritters.

Ingredients:
Maida / All purpose flour – 2 cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Banana – 2
Baking soda – ¼ tsp ( optional )
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Water
Salt – a pinch
Oil for frying

Mix the flour , salt , sugar , cardamom powder and baking soda together.

Mash the banana well and add to the flour.

Add in half cup of water and make into smooth batter.

Heat oil in a kadai , pour spoonful of batter into the hot oil and deep fry till golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot crispy kachayams.

Kachayam are ready to serve.

It  tastes better next day but will be chewy  .

Passipayarru Sadhdam/Green Lentils Rice:

  Passipayarru sadham as we call is the rice cooked with freshly grounded masala and whole green gram lentil . This rice is unique to kongu region . Some people call this as Arisumparuppu , but we won’t call so . For us Arisumparuppu is the lentil rice – rice cooked with tuvar dhal  ( Red gram dhal ). Well , this is also dhal cooked with rice.

 This tastes different from the arisumparuppu , as the freshly grounded masala is added to this rice , which gives a unique flavor to it.

This was a easy to make one pot meal which can be taken in lunchbox too.

Ingredients:
Rice – 2 cup
Green gram dhal – 1 cup
Sesame oil – 1 tbs
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Shallots – 10
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Red chilli – 2
Asafoetida / Hing – a pinch
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt as required

To grind:
Cumin – 1 tsp
Pepper corns – 10
Ginger –  2 ” piece
Khuskhus / Poppy seeds – ½ tsp
Shallots – 4
Curry leaves - few
Garlic – 10 cloves
Red chilli – 4
Cinnamon – I small stick
Cloves – 2
Aniseeds / Fennel – 1 tsp

I used whole moong dhal to make this rice , split green gram can be used but make sure it has its skin intact.

Wash and soak the rice and dhal together for 20 minutes.

Grind the list of to grind ingredients to a fine paste.

Chop the shallots into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker , add the hing and mustard seeds , let it crackle.

Add in the chopped shallots , split red chillies and sauté till onion becomes transparent.

Now , Add the grounded paste and fry it for two minutes.

Add the curry leaves , turmeric powder  and soaked rice and dhal , stir well.

Add about 4 ½ cup of water and required salt, mix well.

Cover the lid and cook for two whistles.

Let the pressure subsides. Open the lid and stir gently.

Pasipayarru sadham is ready to serve.

Serve  along with ghee / sesame oil  or curd.

Ragi Pakoda/Finger Millet Fritters:

  Ragi pakoda is one of the common snack of the kongu region. The speciality of this pakoda is we add murungaikeerai / drumstick leaves to this pakoda in our region.i like this snack a lot , It was healthy as both ragi and drumstick leaves are rich in Iron.

Ingredients:
Ragi flour – 2 cup
Onion – 1
Green chilli – 4
Drumstick leaves – a handful
Salt as required
Curry leaves
Water
Oil for frying

Chop the onion and green chillies to fine pieces.

In a bowl , add the flour , onion , green chillies , curry leaves , drumstick leaves , salt and mix well.

Sprinkle little water and mix well to make a smooth tight batter.

Heat oil in a kadai , add the small pieces of the dough and deep fry till crisp.

As the color of the ragi is brown , we can’t able to check from its color.  Cook in medium flame for 10 minutes is enough.

Ragi pakodas are ready to serve.

Tastes best when warm.

 Hope everyone like my simple easy to make kongu recipes...

Thank you priya akka for giving me opportunity to write on your space.

Tender Coconut Kheer/Elaneer Payasam

Tender coconut is a wholesome and nutritious drink, prefect drink while its too hot and a thirsty quencher.The water of a tender coconut is liquid endosperm. It is a mild sweet with aerated feel when cut fresh. Depending on the size a tender coconut could contain the liquid in the range of 300 to 1,000 ml.The meat in a young coconut is softer and more gelatinous than a mature coconut, that it is sometimes known as coconut jelly. When the coconut has ripened and the outer husk has turned brown, a few months later, it will fall from the palm of its own accord. At that time the endosperm has thickened and hardened, while the coconut water has become somewhat bitter..This tender coconut kheer is such a delicious, easy and kheer tastes marvellous i prepared to celebrate today's Saraswathi Pooja, wat all u need is just heat the coconut milk and coconut water with sweetened condensed milk with tender coconut pieces with cardamom powder, thats all...i prepared this kheer just by heating coconut water, coconut milk and condensed milk in microwave oven of 5minutes...

1cup Coconut milk( i used tinned)
1cup Coconut water (i used frozen)
1/2cup Sweetened condensed milk
1/2cup Tender coconut flesh(i used frozen)
1tsp Cardamom powder
Nuts if u desire

Take a microwave safe bowl, add the coconut milk, coconut water, sweetened condensed milk and heat in microwave oven for 5 minutes medium, give a stir, add immediately chopped tender coconut flesh and cardamom powder..add nuts if u desire, i didnt add any nuts and we just loved it..

Serve warm or chilled..

Arisi Paruppu Sadham(Dal rice)-Authentic Kongu Dish

Arisi Paruppu Sadham or Arisim Paruppu Saatham, a traditional and an authentic kongunadu rice dish, if u have visited kongu people's home, the first and the main rice dish they used to serve to their guest will goes directly to this arisi paruppu sadham, its such a famous kongu dish everyone at kongu nadu prepare this rice according to their taste with many variations, some will go for simple dish with veggies and dal cooked with rice, while others prepare a simple masala with spices, tomates and grated coconut and cook everything with rice and dal in pressure cooker, after a long and few search to try out this famous dal rice through net i finally finished this rice dish in pressure cooker without veggies but with a simple spice masala and cooked everything together in pressure cooker, for my taste this arisi paruppu sadham tastes like dal briyani since the spice masala i used to make this delicious rice was quite as same i used sometimes to prepare for making some briyani or pulao dishes...Arisi paruppu sadham tastes simply delicious with papads, chips or fryums and its a quick, nutritious and a complete lunch also a real comfort food, suits incredibly for lunch box menu..We just loved this healthy dal rice with spicy potato roast and onion raita..

1+1/2cups Basmati rice or any other rice
1/2cup Toor dhal or moong dal
1no Onion (chopped)
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
5nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil

To Grind:
3nos Dry red chillies
1no Tomato chopped (big)
1nos CInnamon stick
2nos Cloves
1/4cup Grated coconut
5nos Curry leaves
1tsp Coriander seeds

Grind everything as bit coarse paste from the list 'To Grind'..Take a pressure cooker, add enough oil and let splutters the mustard seeds, add the chopped onions and minced garlic cloves and saute everything until the onions turns transculent..Meanwhile wash thoroughly the dal and rice together and keep aside...Add the grounded paste,turmeric powder to the cooking onions and sauté until the raw smells goes away, now add the dal and rice, stir for few seconds,finally add 4cups of water(if u want the rice mushy, u can add one more cup of water) and salt..Close the cooker and cook upto two whistles...

Serve hot with papads, fryums or potato chips..

Kamban Koozh(Pearl Millet Porridge)

Pearl millet known as Bajra, Kambu is largely grown as grains under hot, dry conditions on infertile soils where other crops generally fail...Pearl millet is a food crop in developing countries like Asia, and particularly in Africa.It is estimated that over 95% of pearl millet production is used as food, the remaining being divided between animal and poultry feed, other uses as seed, bakery products, snacks, etc.With a texture much like brown rice, pearl millet can be cooked like rice. After it has been soaked for a couple of hours, pearl millet in it’s whole grain form cooks like rice in about 20 minutes.Increasing in volume more than any other grain, a cup of dry millet expands to three cups of cooked millet which takes on the form of a fluffy, delicate flavored hot cereal you will definitely appreciate.Pearl millet is used in flat breads or mixed up to 25% with wheat flour for use in yeast breads.Dry flour when mixed with biscuit, bread and roll dough adds a crunchy texture and brings variety to the baked goods...Pearl millet grain is comparatively high in protein and has a good amino acid balance....Pearl Millet is a principal source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals for millions of the poorest people in the regions where it is cultivated.This porridge is one the traditional kongu dish where people prepare either for their breakfast as porridge and for lunch as main dish with pickles or any gravies..Its a real complete food for a long day, as pearl millets are really high in calorie as they do wonders to growing kids and pregnant ladies.Pearl millet is a gluten free grain and is the only grain that retains it’s alkaline properties after being cooked which is ideal for people with wheat allergies.This simple porridge goes to RCI-Kongunadu Cuisine guest hosted by me, event started by Lakshmi..

1cup Kambu flour/Bajra flour
3cups Water
Salt
1cup Buttermilk

Mix a cup of bajra with a cup of water as smooth paste, allow to ferment overnight..Next day, bring boil two cups of water with enough salt and once it starts boiling, add the bajra paste and keep stirring continously on medium heat for 15 minutes, wet you finger and dip ur finger in the porridge, if the porridge sticks to your finger, its not yet cooked..

Let cool the cooked bajra porridge..mix in a cup of buttermilk and serve with onions, pickles or thick coconut chutney..