Mutton Curry with Small Onions ~ Step by Step | Weekend Cooking

When I was discussing about making mutton curry with my colleagues, one of them happen to mention that they always make mutton curry both gravy and fried with Pearl Onions or Sambar Onions as we call them. She is from down south and said at her place, they mostly use sambar onions for all non veg dishes. I wanted to try that right away.

I chose to make Mutton Semi gravy dish and used sambar onions for sauteing. It surely gave a very different taste to the entire dish.

 

Mutton Curry with Pearl Onions

 

Ingredients Needed:

Mutton - 1/2 kg
Small Onions - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Curry leaves few
Tumeric powder a pinch
Chili powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Coconut, Poppy Seeds paste - 2 tbsp
Clove, Cinnamon, Cardamon powder -1 tsp
Mint leaves handful
Coriander leaves handful


How to make the gravy

Wash and cut into small pieces. Drain on a colander

Soak and peel the pearl onions.

Heat a pressure cooker with oil. Add curry leaves, pearl onions. Saute well till they turn brown.

Add the mutton pieces, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, salt. Cook on high till the mutton is well coated.

Simmer and cover with lid. Let all the moisture all evaporate.

Add the coconut paste and continue sauting. Now add the mint and coriander leaves. And once it is combined well, add tomatoes.

Add a cup of water. Cover with lid and pressure cook for four whistles.

Once the pressure falls down, cook for couple of mins and serve with Masala Annam.
 

Other Mutton Recipes

Other Rice Recipes 

Coconut Poli ~ How to make Coconut Poli

For Ganesh Chaturthi this year, the new sweet that I decided to make was Coconut Poli. I anyway have to make Dal poli and Kozhukattai, so decided that making Coconut Poli was the best dish to make in the given situation. It turned out so well and I hope Ganeshji was happy with this sweet. 

Exams got over for the kids and they have vacation for the next ten days. I wonder what we are going to plan for their entertainment and keep them occupied, so that they don't get bored and yet learn something new. 

Coconut Poli

Ingredients Needed:

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
Coconut, grated -1 cup
Jaggary - 1 cup
Cardamon powder a pinch
Oil for the dough - 3 tbsp
Oil for cooking 1 tsp for each

How to make the Coconut Poli

For the dough:

In a wide bowl, take the flour, a small pinch of salt, slowly add water to knead to a soft pliable dough. Then add the oil and incorporate well into the dough. Knead till you get the dough soft and non sticky. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and rest for at least 30 mins. For best results you can rest it for atleast an hour or so.

For the stuffing:

Grate the coconut and keep it aside. Melt the jaggary in a pan with just water to cover it. Once it melts, remove the scum and add the grated coconut in and continue cooking with the mix becomes thick to handle and not runny.

Add cardamon powder and switch.

For making the poli.

For step by step pictures refer dal polis

Divide the coconut stuffing into small balls, pinch out small balls of the dough, place the stuffing in the middle and cover on all sides with dough. Flatten using your greased fingers.

Heat a tawa with oil and cook the rolled out polis on both sides.

Serve oil

Ganesh Chaturthi Greetings ~ 2012 | Vinayaka Chavithi Subhakanshalu | Festival Dishes for Ganesh Chaturthi

"Vinayaka Chaturthi Subhakanshalu to all my readers!"

We just finished our pooja and kids are running around. While I thought I would quickly wish and share our this year's pictures.

This year our twins joined us for getting the Ganesh Idol home. They were so amazed by the crowd and the many Ganesh Idols on display. They had learnt Ganesh prayer and knew couple of rituals done for Ganesh's birthday. When they saw the umbrella for the idol, they also wanted one for each.

Finally after the shopping we came back and started the pooja preparation, which I went on with my neivedhyam preparation.

We need to make the regular dishes for this pooja, so only new one I got around making was the Coconut Poli.

Last year was an elaborate three day affair, while this year we decided to do the pooja for a day.

Our Neivedhyam for Ganesh were

Sweet Poli
Coconut Poli
Sundal
Kudumulu
Nugul untallu ~Sesame Laddoo
Ellu Purana Kozhukattai 
Lemon Rice
Vankai Uurulagadda Kura 

Will be back tomorrow with Coconut Poli recipe

Other Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

Please check out our previous years celebrations:
Vinayaka Chaturthi Pooja 2007
Vinayaka Chaturthi Pooja 2008
Vinayaka Chaturthi Pooja 2009
Vinayaka Chaturthi Pooja 2010 
Vinayaka Chaturthi Pooja 2011  


Enjoy your festival day!

Rajma Chawal Recipe ~ Step by Step

There are certainly some recipes that kindle your memories. Rajma has always been that for me. Be it my Gujju friend, whose Mom used to make delicious Rajma or my neighbour who used to make either Rajma or Channa with Chawal. Memories of that taste will forever remain fresh. Maybe I have tried it or not, yet the taste remains fresh and the quest till on.

Infact so much so that I have got in touch with both those friends of mine and verified the recipe. Yet the memory is always strong. Maybe it's got to do with what I call the first time experience. Anyway that happens for the first remains so fresh and unsurpassed in my minds right, same way the taste of Rajma chawal will always be fresh.

Not to say this didn't turn out great. It was so delicious. Maybe I should have remembered to make the rice in rice cooker than the pressure cooker. But then I was running for the Mela and couldn't take a chance.

Rajma Chawal 

Ingredients Needed

Rajma - 1 cup
Bay leaf - 2 small
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil few drops

For the paste:
Onion - 1 big
Garlic - 2 big cloves
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Green chillies - 2 long
Coriander - few leaves

For the gravy

Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Tomato, puree - 1 big
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

How to make Rajma

Soak a cup of beans over night. Change water couple of times. In a pressure cook, transfer the beans, add twice the amount of water along with salt, bay leaf and a few drops of oil. Pressure cook for 4 -5 whistles or till the beans are soft. Allow for the pressure to subside.

Meanwhile for the gravy, grind to a coarse paste all the ingredients for the paste, except tomato.

Wash and puree the tomato.

Heat a non stick pan, add butter and oil, then add cumin powder, saute for a min, then add the ground paste. Saute till the oil leaves the masala

Next add the tomato puree, salt and turmeric. Simmer and let cook it cook for few mins.

Now add Coriander powder, red chilli powder. After few mins, add the cooked beans and combine everything well. Add water and bring to boil. When the gravy thickens, finally add the garam masala and remove.

It may take about 10 mins or so for the gravy to thicken

 

For the Rice:

Rice - 1 cup

Jeera - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Salt to taste

Ghee - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Wash and soak the rice for 10 mins. 

In a pressure cooker take all the ingredients and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Sending this to my 30 Minutes Meal Mela

Vendaya Keerai Sadam | Methi Rice

With the thought of 30 mins meal mela in mind, it's invetiable that we come up with yet another simple and easy to make Methi Rice. This is Athamma's creation and needless to say it always turns out so good. Though she was hesitant that the rice might turn out a wee bit bitter, we couldn't find it at all after making it. 

Vendaya Keerai is a healthy option for Diabetes. Athamma tends to include this in as many forms as she can in her regular diet. Though rice is normally not advised for diabetic, there is no harm in including a cup of rice in your meal, especially if it's packed with so much beneficial things.

The rice was so good on it's own, that I didn't have to make any side dish to be served with it. However you can serve with curds.

Sending this to my 30 Mins Meal Mela

Vendaya Keerai Sadam

Vendiya Sadam

Ingredients Needed:

Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Methi Leaves. trimmed - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 medium

For the paste

Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1/2 medium
Clove - 2
Cinnamon 1"
Cardomon - 2
Coconut - 2 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger 1"
Green Chilies - 2 long
Coriander leaves few

For Tempering

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Groundnuts - 1 tbsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts few

How to make the Methi Rice Mixed rice

Wash and soak rice, cook in your regular method. Keep it aside.

Wash and drain the methi leaves.

In a mixer take all the ingredients for the ground masala along with the methi leaves. Grind to a smooth paste using little water.

Heat a non stick pan with oil and ghee. Temper with tempering ingredients. Saute for couple of minutes.

Now add the ground masala and saute well till the raw smell leaves. This may take about 5 - 7 mins.

When the oil starts coming out from the masala, add the cooked rice and mix well. Finally mix in the lemon juice and remove.

Serve hot.

Methi rice

Notes:
Saute the ground masala till the raw smells leaves.
Make sure you don't add lemon juice still on stove.

Since this has masala in the rice itself you don't really have to serve anything special for this.

Karivepaku Pulihora | Curry Leaves Tamarind Mixed Rice ~ Step by Step Recipe

Couple of weeks back when we went out for a buffet, one of the dishes was karupevelli sadam. I was thinking it was similar to the way I make. On tasting it, I realized it was differently made. So I had to investigated further and saw that the rice had tamarind in it. The rice had the spice, sour and was tangy.

I had been planning to make this for a while. One pot meal fits in well for the 30 mins meal. We enjoyed our meal. Though my kids are yet to start on these mixed rice, I am glad I have a list ready when they are ready to eat these mixed rice varieties.

Sending this to my 30 Mins Meal Mela
 

 Step by Step Picture Recipe

Ingredients Needed:

Cooked rice - 1 cup
Tamarind extract - 2 tbsp thick syrup
Curry leaves - 1 cup loosely packed
Whole pepper corn - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

For the Seasoning

Curry leaves few
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Roasted ground nuts - 1 tbsp
Dry Red chilis - 4 long
Turmeric powder a pinch
Mustard seeds, Urad dal - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

How to make the karuvepillai sadam

Wash and soak the rice. Keep it aside.

Wash and dry the leaves. Shade dry under fan.

Soak tamarind and extract the pulp.

In a kadai, add ghee and roast the curry leaves and pepper corns. Continue till the leaves becomes crispy. allow it to cool down. Then grind to a powder.

In another kadai, add oil. When oil becomes hot add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilis, channa dal, groundnuts and saute for couple of mins.

Then add tamarind pulp and bring to boil. When the sauce becomes thick, add the curry leaf powder and mix well.

Spread the rice on a bowl and mix in the curry leaf, tamarind mix. 

Serve with papad.