Yam Masiyal ( Pidi Karunai Kizangu Masiyal)

What can we do with yam? 

When I say yam, Iam talking about the small yam  and not the elephant yam. This type of yam sometimes  turns itchy for your skin and tongue , even after cooking . Fresh from the soil , yam creates an itchy sensation.To avoid this irritating effect of yam, it can be cooked after 4 or 5 days from the date of purchase.
Now let us see how to make this yam masiyal  , a typical south indian dish.

We need :

1. Yam -- 2 or 3 pieces.
2. green chillies -2 or 3 ( as per your taste)
3. lemon--1
4. salt to taste.
5. sugar 1 or 2 spoon fulls.
6. coconut grates (optional)
7. mustard seeds to garnish.
8. oil 2 tea spoons.
9. curry leaves a little.

Preparing Instructions :

Cut the green chillies into fine pieces. 

Keep the yam in a cooker  and cook for two or three whistles. After the cooker is cooled down, remove the yam. Peel and  smash . Take care to see that cooked yam is not smashed too much.

Heat the pan on the stove. Add oil. After it is hot, add the mustard . When it splashes, add the cut green chillies, curry leaves and the cooked yam. Add the required salt   and stir it for a few seconds. Then add the sugar and mix it well . Now remove from fire and then  squeeze half a lemon in this. Taste it. If need be you can add more juice/salt/sugar. 
You can also add coconut grates if you wish to.

Your masiyal is ready.  Serve it hot.Your near and dear  ones are sure to say ' Wow ' after tasting this.

PODI

Let me collect all podi recipes here.

Onion Podi
Garlic Podi
Dosa Podi

Dosa podi with Flax Seeds.

There is wide spread talk that Flax seeds are good for health. It contains Omega3 fatty acids and  fibre .
We can use  this Flax seeds in our cooking to take advantage of its nutrient contents.

Let us see how to make this Dosa podi using this seeds.

We need :

1. Red Chillies  --- a handful/ as per your taste.
2. Urad dhal ----1 small Tumbler.
3. Flax Seeds --1/4 tumbler.
4. Salt --To Taste.
5. Asafoetida ---- a little.
6. oil ---2 teaspoons.

Cooking instructions:

Heat the frying pan and add the flax seeds. It will pop. Fry it to pop for a while. Then remove from fire .
Now add oil to the pan,heat it. Fry the urad dhal, red chillies , and asafoetida . When the dhal turns red, remove from fire and allow it to cool.

Add all the fried items into a mixi jar along with salt. Powder the contents. Let it be a little coarse.
Texture does make a difference even in taste.

Serve it with hot idlis or dosas . Enjoy the taste.
Let me have a feed back so that i would know if I have to improve my cooking, as well as writing.

Dhal Chutney(Paruppu Thuvaiyal)

This is a common South Indian dish, to be more precise, it is a Tamilandu dish . This dish is very easy to prepare but very nutritious.

You need :

1. Thuvar Dhal( Sambar Dhal)---1 tumbler.
2. Red chillies--- 2 or 3.
3. Black pepper ----3 or 4.
4. coconut grates ---1 spoon (optional)
5. garlic -one clove.
6. Asafoetida---a little.
7. salt ---to taste

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the pan. Leaving coconut grates  and salt add everything in the heated pan. No need to put oil. Fry them.
When the dhal turns red remove from fire. After it gets cooled down put them in a mixi . Add salt and coconut grates . Grind them into nice powder. Then add water little by little and keep grinding. You can see the mixture turning into a fine paste. Remove from the mixi jar into your serving dish.

Serve with hot rice.This goes well with ' Vatha Kuzambhu ' again a familiar South Indian dish. If you like to add oil, you can add when mixing with rice and eat. Add gingelly oil to taste great.

PS :

Sometimes while grinding , when we add water, there are chances that the paste turning watery. Need not panic. Forget about it for sometime( may be half an hour) and carry on with other chores. After sometime the thuvaiyal is sure to  become a paste. 
This tip is from my own experience.