Venn Pongal

Venn Pongal

This pongal is very easy to make. Some people call this pongal kaara pongal or venn pongal usually in India they eat this as a breakfast. This is the same pongal that they also make it on Pongal festival.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup

Moong dal – ½ cup

Salt – to taste

For seasoning:

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Cashews – 2 tsps

Green chilies – 2

Oil – 2 tbsps

Butter – 2 tbsps

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method:

1. Soak both rice and moong dal together for 30 mins.

2. Pressure cook them together with salt. Until 3 to4 whistles.

3. Coarsely grind the pepper.

4. In a pan add oil and butter; once the butter melted add the entire seasoning ingredient one by one.

5. Wait until the pressure slows down from the cooker and add the seasoning to it.

6. Now mix well and serve hot with Saambar and chutney.

ADAI

ADAI

Adai is the easiest recipes of all. It’s not like idli or dosai where you need to wait for the batter to ferment. You can grind the batter and within 10mins you are ready to make adai.

Ingredients:

Toor dal – ½ cup
Chana dal – ½ cup
Long grain rice – ½ cup
Par boiled rice – ½ cup
Urad dal – 2 tbps
Green chilies – 4
Onion – 2 (Finely chopped)
Coconut – ½ cup (Finely chopped)
Curry leaves – few
Cilantro – few
Salt – to taste

Method:
1. Soak the dal and the rice together for 3-4 hrs.

2. Coarsely grind the soaked dal and rice with salt and green chilies.

3. Now add the chopped ingredients and mix well.

4. The batter needs to be thick (Not like dosai batter)

5. In a tawa pour one laddle(Karandi) of the batter and spread like as if you do for a dosai.

6. Pour a little oil and cook until both sides are golden brown.

7. Serve with Chutney or Aviyal.

MINT CHUTNEY

Mint chutney(Thovayal)

Ingredients:

Mint - 1 cup

Coriander – ½ cup

Coconut – 2 tbsps

Salt – to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Asafoedita(hing) – a pinch

Red chilies – 4

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a pan, add oil and add all the other seasoning ingredients.

2. Let that splatter.

3. Now add mint, coriander and coconut.

4. Sauté for 5 mins and let it cool.

5. Grind well, and add salt mix well.

6. Serve with idli,dosai,vadai,bonda,pakoda etc.,

TAMARIND CHUTNEY

Tamarind chutney

Ingredients:

Tamarind – 1 lemon size (Soaked)

Coconut – 1 cup (Shredded)

Red chilies – 6

Mustard seeds – 2 tsps

Urad dal – 2 tsps

Salt – to taste

Oil – ½ tbp

Method:

1. Heat a little pan add oil, mustard seeds, and urad dal. Let it splatter.

2. Leave it to cool.

3. In a blender add the soaked tamarind, shredded coconut, salt and add the seasoning mixture and grind well.

4. Serve with idli and dosai

TIP OF THE WEEK

To make fluffy idli:

Raw Rice:4 cups Urad dal :1 cups Cooked Boiled Rice(leftover rice):1 cup Soak the above two ingredients for atleast 4 hours and grind the urad dal until fluffy and smooth .
Then add the raw rice and coarsely grind it .In the end add the cooked boiled rice and mix the salt.Keep it for fermentation .

If winter keep it inside the preheated oven for 1 hour and make idli . Smooth and fluffy hotel idli is ready. Enjoy with sambhar or chutney or milakapodi.

MASAL VADAI

Ingredients:

Gram dal - 2 cups
(channa dal)
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cups
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - little
Ginger - 1 cm
Onion - 2

Fennel seeds - 2 tbps

Method :

1. Soak gram dal in water for 2 hours.

2. Wash with water and drain off water.

3. Chop onion, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

4. Grind the dal coarsely with green chilies,ginger and fennel seeds.

5. Add all the other cut ingredients add salt and mix well.

6. Take a lemon size of the dough and make it into vadai.

7. Deep fry in oil till golden in color.

8. Serve hot with coconut or mint chutney.

CHUTNEYS

Chutneys are easy to make any one can do it.

Coconut chutney:

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1/2 cup
Fried gram dal - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 5
Salt - to taste

Seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2tsps

Method:

1. Add all the above ingredients on a blender and grind well.
2.Heat a pan. add the oil.
3.Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves until it splatter.
4. Add the seasoning to chutney and mix well.
5.Serve with idli's or dosas.

Tips:

If you like mint leaves u can add 1 or 2 when you grind the chutney. It will give you nice flavor.