Kothamalli Thuvaiyal

This is a different kind of thuvaiyal with kothamalli and onion.
 Let us see how to make this thuvaiyal.

All we need is 

• kothamalli (Dhaniya leaves) -- a handful.
• onion ----two ( according to your taste)
• tamarind - a small ball .
• green chillies- two or according to your taste. 
• salt  to taste.

Preparing instructions:

Wash  the kothamalli leaves and keep it aside. Cut the onions into two or three pieces.
Add the kothamalli leaves, cut onions, tamarind , and salt  in a mixi and grind to a fine paste. Add water a little if needed. Take care while adding water as the onions will give out water while grinding.  

You can serve this with hot rice. This gives a good company for idly and dosa too.

P.S 

For those of you who say that it is unusual to add onions to thuvaiyal , just try this. It will be really tasty. 

I shall let out a secret now.. 
If you want to butter your mother-in-law or your daughter-in-law( as the case may be)  you can always use this thuvaiyal.
You are sure to win their heart.
Trust me.I tell this from my own experience.

Now go ahead, prepare this thuvaiyal. 

But please don't forget to share your experience with me. 

Puttu

Puttu -  A south Indian delicacy. To be more precise puttu is one of the traditional food that  can be found in any  Tamil  kitchen. let us see how to prepare this.

All we need is

1. Fried rice flour/ Idiyappam flour  --2 cups.
2. Jaggery -----1/2 kilo ( increase or decrease according to your taste)
3. Grated coconut --- 1 cup.
4. Powdered cardamom - a little.
5. Cashews -a little. 
6. Ghee -- one or two spoons 

 .

Preparing Instructions  :

First let us prepare  a thick string of jaggery. To prepare this, powder the jaggery. Put it in a bowl. Add water. Bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and pass  this jaggery water  through a strainer to get rid of dirt. 

Now start heating the strained jaggery water again. Add the grated coconuts and keep stirring. This will take some time to turn into a thick string. If you drop a little of this jaggerystring  in a cup of water , this string will not dissolve. At that time you can add powdered cardamom and remove from heat. Keep it aside. Let itcool.

Then, add a teaspoon of salt to a cup of water and heat it. When it becomes a little more hot, than warm remove from heat . Sprinkle this warm water over the rice flour just to make the flour wet and mix it. Let it not turn into a dough.The rice flour should still  look like powdered flour except for it is wet. Keep it aside for half an hour. 

 After half an hour keep this flour in an idli cooker and cook till the flour gets cooked. (Do not put on the weight of the cooker) It wil take 15 to 20 minutes for the flour to get cooked.

Then remove from heat. Spread this flour in a wide mouthed bowl. Smash the lumps. Then add the jaggery string slowly .to the flour and mix. Little by little add the jaggery string to the cooked flour .You can add the jaggery string to your taste. Garnish with  cashews ( fried in ghee).

If there is jaggery string still left out don't worry. You can keep aside. It has a good shelf life. You can use it afterwards for anyother delicacy .

Your Puttu is ready to serve. If need be you can add ghee while serving. 

Enjoy the delicacy  and ofcourse don't forget to give me a feed back.

Drum Stick Leaves Powder ( Murungai keerai Podi)

We are all aware of Drum Stick leaves' health benefits. It carries the botanical name of Moringa oleifera. 
Studies reveal that it acts as a natural medicine to control diabetes and high blood pressure.But it is not readily available  in the market as other leaves and vegetables are available. Normally it is cooked with green gram dhal to be consumed the same day. But if it is made as a dry powder we can consume it  on a daily basis / or as and when we feel like.
Let us learn how to prepare this powder.

All we need is

1.  Dhaniya  ---- one/ two cups.
2. Red Chillies -- 1 or 2 ( change according to your taste )
3. Asafoetida--- a little.
4. Drum Stick Leaves -- two handfulls.
5. Salt to taste.
6. oil one teaspoon to fry.

Remove the drumstick leaves from its sticks and wash well with water. Spread these leaves on a piece of cloth and dry them well in shade. It will take atleast 3 or 4 days to dry well.Keep the dried leaves aside.

Preparing Instructions :

Heat the oil in a frying pan.
Fry the asafoetida, dhaniya and red chillies and keep it aside. Now in the pan ( no need to add oil) add the drumstick leaves and just fry for a few seconds. 

Now add the fried items to a mixie . Add salt. Grind them to a nice powder . Take care not to grind it very fine. Let it be a little coarse. Texture makes a lot of difference in taste.

Add  one or two spoons of this powder to cooked  rice   and  enjoy its taste with its medicinal values.

P.S : You can replace dhaniya with toor dhal.That will have a different taste. But, I enjoyed dhaniya drumstick powder taste. 

I would be happy if you give me a feed back.