VADA CURRY

                             Vada Curry is a very famous South Indian gravy /curry which is served as a side dish for idli, dosa and parotas.you can imagine this makes a great dish to be taken for afternoon lunch.Vada curry – The name itself tempts us a lot right? But I have tried this only once before. The reason is fennel.I have not tasted vada curry before, so was very clueless about the taste and outcome. But the garlic, fennel in the curry with the vada along with the flaovur of coriander leaves and curry leaves is simply superb. You can make use of the left over masala vadai too. The next day it can make you a side dish for your breakfast.

                              This is low fat as I steamed the Vadas instead deep frying. Follow the recipe for Masala Vada as I normally make. Instead of deep frying, I patted the vada as small discs and steamed them for 10 - 15 mins. Then in a non stick pan, roasted them using 1 tsp oil.

Making the steamed Masala Vadas

Ingredients needed
For the vada

Bengal gram /Kadalai paruppu /channa dal -1/2 cup
Chilli powder -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Ground masala -1/2 tsp
Salt as needed
Onion finely chopped - 2   

                                                  

 

Oil for frying the vadas                                       

For the curry/ gravy

Onion - 2 (thinly sliced)
Tomato - 2 (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
Thick coconut milk - 1/4 cup (not too thick)

For the masala

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Green chilli -1-2
Fennel seeds/Sombu -1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves -2
Cardamom -1

Grind the above together to a paste. This is the masala.

For the seasoning

Oil - 2 tbsp
Bay leaf -1

For garnishing

Coriander leaves - few
Mint leaves - 2-3 leaves

Preparation and Method

STEP : 1

Soak channa dal for 2 hours. Drain the water, add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder,1/2 tsp of the ground masala. (this is just to give more flavor to the vada) and grind coarsely without adding water. Then mix finely chopped onions with it.

 

                       

STEP : 2

Make it round or flat as shown and Steam it in idlee maker for 10 minutes.

STEP : 3

Then fry it lightly so that it will add more taste and easy foe chewing. ( optional )

                                          
STEP : 4

                Heat oil in a kadai, make uneven balls from the mixture and drop it into the oil. Fry till golden brown, remove it and keep in a paper towel to absorb excess oil if any. The vada need not be crisp as we are going to add it to the gravy. Alternatively you can make small balls and steam the vadas as we do for paruppu usili. Now the vada is ready.

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STEP : 5

 

              Heat oil in a kadai or pan, add bay leaf, saute for second, then add thinly sliced onions and saute until golden brown. Add a little salt to the onions to speed up the process.Then add the ground masala and saute for a few more minutes.

STEP : 6
              
             Now we will add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Cook till tomatoes turn mushy and oil oozes out. Do all this in medium flame.

STEP : 7
                Then add thin coconut milk, needed salt and bring it to boil.

STEP : 8
                Once it starts boiling, add the vadas by breaking it into 2 pieces. Keep it in simmer for a few minutes. Let the vada absorb the gravy.

STEP : 9
                 Garnish with mint and coriander leaves.

Delicious Vada curry can be served with dosa, idli and parotas.

Note - Vada curry thickens as it cools. In that case you can add a little hot water to dilute it and heat it lightly.


TIPS FOR THE BEGINNERS  :

Adding half the salt in the vada and half in the gravy is must. Otherwise the taste wont be homogenous.

The key is to get the vadas soaked well in the gravy and get soft. The vasa should not be hard.

Simmer and cook to get the soft texture.

Left over vadas works great for this recipe. You can also steam the vadas instead of deep frying. The result wont be changed

VEGETABLE PULAO ( PULAV )

                   
                       This is the most comforting one pot meal for  my whole family.We all love it very much.If you do not have much time but want to prepare a quick and comforting meal, then this is a perfect choice. It is perfect for office lunch box and kids lunch box also. We can prepare a South Indian style brinjal gravy/kulambu as a side dish for this. Believe me, the combo taste awesome Today let us learn how to prepare vegetable pulao using this easy mixed vegetable pulao recipe.

Ingredients needed ( for 4 adults )

1. Basmati rice or ordinary raw rice -2.5 cup
2. Onion - 1
3. Green chilli -3
4. Ginger garlic paste - 4 tsp
5. Mint leaves - handful
6. Mixed Vegetables - (beans-12 - 14 , potato -2-3, cauliflower -8-10 florets , 2 carrot)
7. Peas - handful
8. Turmeric powder - a pinch
9. Salt as required.


To grind

 1. Cardamom - 2
 2. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
 3. cinnamon - 2 pinch
 4. Star anise - 1 or 2 floret
 5. cloves - 5

To Temper

 1. Bay leaves - 1
 2. Geera - tspn
 3. Oil -5 tsp
 4. Ghee - 30 - 40 ml ( more ghee gives good flovour and taste )

Preparation

 1. Soak rice for 30 minutes. Drain the water well and keep it aside.

 2. Cut the vegetables lengthwise or cubes.

 3. Wash cauliflower well and put them in salted hot water for 5 minutes.

 4. Grind ginger,garlic paste

 5. Also grind the spices


Method

 STEP: 1
              Take a pressure cooker, heat ghee+ oil, add the ingredients mentioned under To Grind (whole spices). After it splutters, add onions and saute till they turn transparent

                                                        
 STEP : 2
                   Add ginger garlic paste and green chilli and saute for a few more minutes.

 

.

 STEP : 3
                 Add the veggies except cauliflower.Fry for 2 minutes and add the drained,soaked rice. Give it a stir.

 

                                               


      STEP : 4                        
                       Add 1 and 1/2 cups water,salt and mix well. Check for salt and bring to boil.                Add the cauliflower at this stage and mix well and cover with the lid.

   STEP : 5
                     Keep the flame in lowest possible. Cook for 10-12 minutes because rice is soaked already ,give a gentle stir in between. If you want to pressure cook with whistle,then give 2 whistles in medium flame.

                                         

STEP : 6
                   Top with ghee and coriander leaves and serve hot with onion raita!

    Variations you can make :

    

The water quantity varies with the quality of the basmati rice.

Soaking the rice for more time gives moist rice and gets cooked easily. So soak as much as possible.

 

You can add vegetables of your choice.

I added cauliflower in the end because,the cauliflower we get here gets mushy soon. If you are using organic cauliflower you can use it along with other veggies.

You can cook in thin coconut milk instead of water.

You can also grind 1/4 cup of coconut along with the ingredients to grind.

Add oil or ghee generously to get rich taste.

 Perfect Side dish for Pulao

• Potato chips
• Cucumber raita
• mixed vegetable raita
• Onion raita
• Gobi 65

Note


             All the recipes in JepsCreations has been tried and tested in our kitchen several times, so even a novice can try with confidence.

Tips for beginners :

  1. If you take 1 cup of rice, salt needed will be approximately 2 tsp. You can taste the water to check salt. If the water is slightly salty, then it will be perfect once the rice is done.

 2. Instead of cooking directly in the cooker, transfer the contents to another vessel and pressure cook for 3 whistles.Do let us know if you have any doubts.

Stay tuned for the brinjal gravy side dish for this pulao , till then it is bye from JepsCreations.....









 

BREAD ALWA

                   Alwa is favourite sweet of many of us.While making the halwa,the expert well explained that breads needs to be more browner to get the actual taste of halwa..She deep fried all the breads in one go...I was guilty to do the same..I took time and toasted the bread to dark brown with oil...So,you can try either way.

Ingredients

Milk Bread-one loaf (10-12 nos)

Sugar-one cup

Milk-half litre

Sweetened khoya-1/2 cup ( if needed )

Cardamom powder -2 tbsps

Cashewnuts-a few

Ghee/oil-100ml

 

 

1.Deep Fry/Toast the bread with ghee/oil till it turns dark brown

 

 

 

2.Boil the milk,add the bread one by one,let it turn soggy and break it with laddle

 

3.Once the 3/4 th of the milk is absorbed,add the sugar

4.Heat the ghee/oil in another pan,fry the seeds and cashews

 

 

 

 

5.Add it to the halwa,Stir it often,Sprinkle the khoya at the end and Stir for two minutes

Halwa should be well incorporated with all the ingredients

 

 

 

 

 

BOMBAY CHUTNEY

BOMBAY CHUTNEY

 

My mom used to make this often as a side dish for Idli and dosa when I was a kid. It comes handy when we do not have time to make sambar for breakfast. I would love to have this with Idli and Kothamalli thokku or red chilly chutney

 

                                            

 

Ingredients
Besan flour: 1/4 cup
Water: 1.5 cups
Onion chopped: 1 medium sized
Green chillies: 2 or 3
Ginger chopped: 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeera): 1 tsp
Curry leaves: a sprig
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves chopped: 1 tablespoon
Oil: 2 tsp


Procedure:

Step1:

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once it starts spluttering add chopped onions,green chillies and ginger and saute until translucent.Add turmeric powder as well

 

Step2:

Meanwhile mix besan with 1.5 cup of water and whisk without lumps

 

 

Step3:

Once the onion is cooked, add the besan and salt and bring it to a boil.Simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Step4:

The mixture will start thickening. Add more water if required.Switch off the stove once the mixture comes to a boil

 

 

 

Step5:

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

STOCKING FLOWER- MAKING

Stocking flowers, the most beautiful and creative one. Its a very interesting craft that you can try out. The main thing you will need for making stocking flower is lot of aluminium wire as everything you need to make is with the wire itself

Materials:




required materials

                              1. Stocking Cloth (different colours)
2. Aluminium wire  - Wires used for flower making (golden and silver)
3. Flower thread
4. Pips ( pollens - stamens )
5. Green tape

Method:
1. Firstly think of the petal of any flower that you would like to make, take a piece aluminium wire and make the shape of the petal with the wire.

    Make small rings of the golden wires and twist it in the ends to form a ring with a handle to it. 

2. Tie both the ends of wire tightly and now take stocking cloth and cover the wire completely.

    Now tie it up with a thread and cut out the remaining part of stockings. Repeat for all the petals and also leafs. Make different sizes of rings for big, small and medium petals. 

3. Make sure the stocking cloth is stretched completely so that it looks like shaded cloth and tie the end tightly. In this way make as many petals you want for flower.

4. Take some 4-5 pips ( pollens ) and tie it using a piece of aluminium wire, then arrange petals one by one to the wire.

    Fold the pollen into half and attach it to a thick metal wire with thread. Now place the petals one by one and use thread to attach it. Shape the petals as desired. Use green tape to cover the wire. Similarly attach leaves and more flowers to make a big stem. 

In this way you can come out with this beautiful creation.

Make in different colours and keep it in a vase.

  

                                                  

                                                                             

TRY THIS TO DECORATE YOUR SHOW - CASE....

VAALAIPOO VADAI-CUTLET

Vazhaipoo Vadai / Banana flower Lentil Vada

                                   

Ingredients



1. chana dal          1 cup
2. valaippu/banana flower    1 med size flower(cleaned n chopped finely)
3. fennel seeds      1 tbsp and 1 tsp
4. greenchillies      4 no.s
5. onion        1 med. size onion finely chopped
6. curry leaves      1 twig (chopped )
7. ginger          1/2 tsp
8. coriander leaves  1 tbsp   
9. oil  for deep frying

Method

• soak chana dal for 1-2 hrs.
• clean and finely chop plaintain flower n soak it in buttermilk.
• gind chanadal ,green chillies and 1 tbsp fennel seeds coarsely(keep some whole chanadal 10-20nos)
• to the grounded chanadal add valaipoo,enough salt , onion, ginger, fennel seeds,soaked whole chanadal,curry leaves and coriander leaves mix it well.
• heat oil and deep fry it as desired size n shape.



VAALAIPOO VADAI

VAALAIPOO ADAI-DOSA

Valaipoo Adai/Paruppu Dosa with Valaipoo

 



VAALAIPOO ADAI

  This is my first try..valaipoo adai.Its special like keerai adai instead of keerai i used Vazhaipoo.It tastes so gud and really a very different n yummy way to eat valaipoo.My Mom also liked it very much and appreciated for my new try.Heres the recipe:

Ingredients

1. Rice(sona masoori or long grain)  1 cup
2. Toor dal(thuvaram paruppu)      1/2 cup
3. Chana dal     1/2 cup
4. Urad dal      2 tbsp
5. Moongdal     1 tbsp
6. Fenugreek seeds    1/2 tsp
7. Dry red chillies      5-7 no.s(add or less to ur spice level)
8. Hing    1/2 tsp
9. Cumin seeds/Jeera     1 tbsp
10. Fennel seeds      1/2 tbsp
11. Garlic   1 clove

To temper

1. Oil    2 tsp
2. Mustard seeds    1/2 tsp
3. Chana dal   2tsp
4. Curry leaves   few
5. Coriander leaves     few
6. Valaipoo   1/2 cup(too finely chopped)
7. Onion       1/2 (finely chopped)

ADAI MIXTURE
 

Method

 
• Soak rice ,toor,channa,urad,moongdal and fenugreek seeds together for atleast 3-4 hrs.
• Soak dry red chillies separately in warm water for 30minutes.
• first in a blender or grinder put dry red chillies,cumin seeds,fennel seeds ,garlic and hing.
• Run for few minutes and add soaked rice and dal ,grind it to a coarse paste with little water.
• This batter should be little thicker than the idly batter consistency.
• no need to ferment the batter ,grind it by evening for dinner.
• Transfer the batter to a vessel ,add salt and mix well.
• Now heat oil in a pan,add mustard seeds allow to pop,then add chana dal and fry till golden brown
• Add curry leaves ,coriander leaves onions and fry for few seconds then add finely chopped valaipoo.
• Fry for 2-3 minutes,valaipoo get light change in color.
• then add the tempered items to the batter and mix well.
• Heat a tawa,pour a ladleful of batter to the tawa and spread lightly in circular motion.
• This will be a thicker dosa.Drizzle some oil around the dosa and cook in medium flame.
• After 2-3 minutes turn other side and cook till it become little crispy and well cooked.
• It will take time to cook completely.
• Then remove from the tawa and serve hot with chutney or sambar or it can be taken as such.

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