Ellu Urulai

Sesame seeds and potatotes make a great combination.

Preparation Time : 10 mins.
Cooking Time : 15 mins.
Serves 4.

Ingredients

Baby potatoes 16
Cumin seeds 1/8 tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Ginger-green chilli paste 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds , roasted 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Oil
Salt to taste
Cilantro chopped
Green chilli 1 chopped

Get Cooking!

1.Parboil the potatoes in salted water. Peel and keep aside.
2.Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds crackle, add the ginger-green chilli paste and stir for some time.
3.Add the potatoes, turmeric powder and salt and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
4.Add 1/2 cup of water and cook on a slow flame till all the moisture has evaporated and the potatoes are cooked.
5.Remove from the fire, add the sesame seeds and lemon juice and mix well.
6.Garnish with the cilantro and green chilli and serve hot.

Noori Petti Payasam

Arachuvitta payasam in tamil 🙂

Ingredients
Rice 1 tsp
Moong dal
Coconut ½ grated finely
Sugar/ Jaggery
Milk
Cardamom powder
Cashew nuts

Get Cooking!
1. Dry roast the moong dal and soak it with the rice.
2. Grind this with the grated coconut to a fine paste.
3. Put this paste into a heavy bottomed vessel, stir on a low heat continuously.
4. Put in the sugar/ jaggery.
5. When it becomes a homogenous mixture, add in the boiled milk.
6. Stir well, allow to boil.
7. Garnish with cardamom powder and ghee-roasted cashew nuts.

Tabilabilla

Also called upma-adai or upmadry. South Indian cutlets 🙂

Ingredients

Rice 1 cup
Tuvar dal 1 tbsp
Chenna dal 1 tbsp
Urad dal ½ tbsp
Jeera about 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Red chillies 2 or 3
Green chillies 2 or 3
Ginger grated or finely chopped 1 – 2 tsp
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida
Oil

Get Cooking!

1. Soak the tuvar dal, chenna dal and urad dal for a while. Grind to a coarse paste with the jeera and keep aside.
2. Grind the rice to a coarse powder (rava consistency)
3. Sauté some mustard seeds, asafoetida, the chillies in some oil. Add the ginger.
4. Pour in 2 cups of water. Let it boil.
5. When it boils, add the dals paste while stirring. Add salt. Bring to a boil.
6. Then add the rava slowly taking care that no lumps are formed.
7. Keep stirring, till the rice is cooked.
8. Let this cool down a bit.
9. Make small cutlet like things with the rice mix that has been cooked.
10. Heat a tawa, place the tabalabilla on the tawa, cook them on both sides, pouring a little oil around them, flipping them now and then. Cover and cook.
12. Once both sides are golden brown, take them off the tawa. Repeat this with the rest of the rice mix.
11. Serve with chutney, sambhar.

Tips

Alternatively instead of using rice,  you can substitute it with readymade rice rava. Instead of soaking the dals, you may just add all that to the rice and grind it to a coarse powder too (though I personally like the traditional way of soaking/grinding etc.) . You may add more water while cooking the rava. Take care to add in little by little. If by chance, it becomes too watery do add some rice flour or roasted oats to thicken the mix.

Chilli Paratha

This makes a wholesome meal in itself!  

Ingredients

Frozen parathas -6
Chickpeas -1 can
Capsicum (red &green) – Julienne
Tomato -2 chunky pieces
Onion -1 thinly sliced
Ginger-garlic paste- 1tbsp
Chilli powder-2 tsp
Dhania powder- 2tsp
Garam Masala -1 tsp
Cinnamon
Cloves
Bay leaf
Lemon juice
Butter
Cilantro
Cashew nuts

Get Cooking!

1. Heat butter in a kadai, add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf & sauté
2. Add onions, sauté for 2 mins. Then add the ginger -garlic paste, sauté again for a while
3. Add the capsicum and tomatoes, sauté well.
4. Now add chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala and salt.
5. When the raw powder smell goes, add the can of chick peas
6. Meanwhile cook the frozen parathas as per instructions and cut into bite size pieces
7. Add this to the masala. Cook until the paratha and masala get mixed well
8. Switch off the heat and mix some lemon juice.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and cashew nuts.

Tips

I added small, boiled cubes of potatoes. Added other colours of capsicum.