Kitchen and Home Making

Ingredients: Fish – ½ kg (cut into cubes) Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp Red Chilly Powder – 2 tbsp Tamarind – lemon size (soak it in water and extract the juice) Small / Baby Onion – 50 gms Tomato – 2 (finely chopped) Coconut – 1 piece Aniseed – 1tbsp Pepper – 1 tbsp Garlic – 5 pods Cumin Seeds – 2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds – 2 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and sauté it with baby onion, aniseed, pepper and garlic pods. Now transfer this to a mixie jar along with tomatoes and coconut piece and grind it to a fine paste. Heat oil in a deep pan and sauté it with cumin and fenugreek seeds. Add the grinded paste to this and fry it for a while. Now add tamarind juice, chilly powder, coriander power and required salt and water to it and bring it to boil. When the gravy starts to thicken, add fish pieces to it and bring it to boil. Switch off the stove when the fish is well cooked. Fish will be cooked withi...

Ingredients: Fish – ¼ kg (clean it and cut into small pieces) Tomato – 3 (finely chopped) Onion – 1 (finely chopped) Green Chilly – 6 (cut it lengthwise) Tamarind – 50 gms (soak it in water and extract the juice from it) Garlic – 10 pieces Coriander Powder – 5 tbsp Red chilly Powder – 3 tbsp (if u need more, you can add it) Cumin Powder – 1 tsp Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds – 1 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 15 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds and when it starts to splutter, add onions to it and fry it till it turns golden brown. Now add tomatoes to and green chilly to it and fry it till it is well mashed. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilly powder to it and mix it well. Add tamarind water to it and bring it to boil. Now add salt and required water and let it to cook well. When the kolambu is cooked well and when it attains to a li...

Ingredients: Basmati Rice - 1/4 kg Onion – 1 should be big in size (finely chopped) Beans – 100 gms (finely chopped) Carrot – 100 gms (finely chopped) Cabbage – 100 gms (finely chopped) Spring Onion – ½ bunch (finely chopped) Egg – 4 (beat the eggs well in a cup) Pepper Powder – 1 to 2 tbsp (according to your taste) Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Measure the rice in a cup. For 1 cup of rice, take 1 ¾ cups of water. Wash the rice well and drain the excess water. Soak the rice in measured cup of water for 15 minutes. If the rice is soaked like this, it will look little lengthier when cooked which gives a good look for basmati rice. After 15 minutes of soaking, add the rice along with soaked water in a pressure cooker and bring them to boil. When it starts to boil, add required salt and close the lid of the cooker and wait for about 9 minutes. Open the cooker after pressure is released. Let the rice to cool for about 5 minu...

Ingredients: Grated Coconut – 2 cups Jaggery – 2 cups Water – 1 cup Cooking Instructions: Add water and powdered jaggery in a deep pan and let it cook until it starts to boil. Now add grated coconut slowly to the dish and keep stirring continuously until the syrup is thickened well and the water content is completely reduced.

Ingredients: Gram Flour / Kadalai Maavu – 1 cup Sugar – 2 cups Ghee – 3 cups Water – 1 cup Cooking Instructions: Fry the gram flour in a tablespoon of ghee until it smells well. Add sugar and water in a deep pan and keep stirring it continuously and let it cook until a string consistency is formed. Now add the gram flour slowly in regular intervals and keep stirring it until the flour is cooked well. Meanwhile, add ghee in regular intervals and keep stirring continuously. When the ghee starts to form bubbles and come on the top of the dish in the pan, switch off the stove and immediately transfer it to the plate greased by ghee. Cut it into equal number of rectangle shape and let it cool down for a while.

Ingredients: Peeled Broken Green Gram – 1 cup Bengal Gram – 1 cup Red Rice – ½ cup Grated Coconut – 1 cup Jaggery – 300 gms Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp Cashews – few ( fry it in ghee) Cooking Instructions: Do not wash the rice. Coarsely grind the rice and grated coconut together with a little water. Add both the gram in a cooker with required amount of water and wait for 3 whistles in high flame. Add the grinded powder to this and keep stirring continuously. Now add powdered jaggery, cardamom powder and cashews and keep stirring it. When the dish attains thick consistency, switch off the stove and serve it.

Ingredients: Red Rice / Pacharisi – ½ kg Sesame / Ellu – 100 gms Mustard Seeds – 1 tbsp Broken Black Gram – 1 tbsp Bengal Gram / Kadalai Paruppu – 2 tbsp Dry Red Chilly – 8 Curry Leaves – few Asafoetodia – 1 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Measure the rice in a cup. For 1 cup of rice, take 2 cups of water. Clean the ice with water. Add the rice in a pressure cooker with measured amount of water and required salt. Close the lid of the cooker and let it to cook for 10 minutes in a simmer flame. When the pressure is completely reduced, open the cooker and let the rice to cool for 5 minutes in a large size plate. Soak the sesame seeds in water for 5 minutes and drain the water. Fry this soaked sesame seeds in a pan and let it splutter and switch off the flame. Grind this to a fine powder. Heat oil in a pan and sauté it with mustard seeds, broken black gram, Bengal gram, curry leaves, red chilly, and asafoetodia. Add the p...

Ingredients: Red Rice / Pacharisi – ½ kg Coconut – 1 ( grate the full coconut ) Cashews – 10 Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Broken Black Gram – 3 tsp Dry Red Chilly – 8 ( broke it into two pieces ) Curry Leaves – few Asafoetodia – 2 tsp Cooking Oil – 200 ml Salt – to taste Service For: 3 People Cooking time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Measure the rice in a cup. For 1 cup of rice, take 2 cups of water. Clean the ice with water. Add the rice in a pressure cooker with measured amount of water and required salt. Close the lid of the cooker and let it to cook for 10 minutes in a simmer flame. When the pressure is completely reduced, open the cooker and let the rice to cool for 5 minutes in a large size plate. Heat oil in a pan and sauté it with mustard seeds, broken gram, curry leaves, red chilly, and asafoetodia. Add the grated coconut to it and fry for a while and let this to cool for 5 minutes and now transfer this to the cooked rice and mix it well.

Ingredients: Red Rice / Pacharisi – ¼ kg Kalkandu – ¾ kg (grind it coarsely) Peeled Broken Green Gram / Paasi Paruppu – 50 gms Ghee – 300 gms Milk – 600 ml Cashews – few (fry it in ghee) Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp Service For: 4 People Cooking Time: 25 minutes Cooking Instructions: Fry the peeled broken gram in a pan for 3 minutes in a high flame and was it off well with water. Wash the rice with water and drain the water. Add kalkandu with a little amount of water and bring it boil and let it to cook until the syrup gets a string consistency. Heat milk in a thick bottomed vessel with required amount of water. When the milk starts to boil, add rice and green gram to it. When the rice and green gram is cooked well, add kalkandu syrup and fried cashews and cardamom powder to it and keep stirring it. Add ghee in regular intervals , so that the dish would not stick to the vessel. When the rice is well cooked and when the water and milk content is reduced, switch off the stove and transfer the...

Ingredients: Milk – 2 litres Curd – 1 tbsp Sugar – ¼ kg Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp Cooking Instructions: Add milk in a thick bottomed vessel and bring the milk to boil in a high flame. Add curd to it and the milk starts to curdle slowly. Keep stirring the milk continuously and now add sugar and cardamom powder to it and keep stirring until the milk is thickened well and all its water content is reduced well. Now the thirattipal will be well solidified and looks like coarse sand consistency. It is now ready to eat.

Ingredients: Red Rice / Pacharisi – ½ kg Jaggery / Vellam – ½ kg Cardamom Powder – 2 tsp Cooking Oil Cooking Instructions: Soak the rice in water for about 2 hours and wash the rice well and drain the excess water. Spread the washed rice over a cloth and let it to dry well in the sunlight. Rice should not have any moisture content. After rice is dried well, grind it to fine powder and store it in an airtight container. You can use it whenever you require. Grind the jaggery to a fine powder. Add ½ litre of water in a deep pan and powdered jaggery and place it in the stove. Keep stirring it until it forms a string consistency. To find out whether the jaggery syrup ( Vellam Paagu) has attain the correct consistency, take a spoon of jaggery syrup and leave it in a glass of water. Instead of getting diluted, the jaggery syrup will form as a small ball and if you touch that ball, it should be soft as well. This is the right consistency of jaggery syrup to make adirasam. When the jaggery s...

Ingredients: Spinach / MilaguThakkali keerai – 1 bunch (you can use any type of spinach) Onion – 1 (finely chopped) Tomato – 1 (finely chopped) Red Gram Dal / Thuvaram Paruppu – 10 to 15 tbsp Peeled Broken Green Gram / Paasi Paruppu - 10 to 15 tbsp Cumin Powder – ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds – 2 tsp Salt – to taste Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Add red gram dal and peeled broken gram in a pressure cooker with required amount of water and let it to cook for 5 whistles. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and fry a while. Now add onions and tomatoes to it and fry a while until tomato is mashed well. Add cumin powder, spinach, cooked dhals and required salt and a little amount of water and close the pan with a plate for a while until the spinach is cooked well.

Ingredients: Red Rice / Pacharisi – 100 gms Jaggery / Mandai Vellam – 200 gms (grind it to fine powder) Cardamom – 5 Cashews – 10 Raisins / ular thiratchai – few Ghee – 6 tbsp Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 15 minutes Cooking Instructions : Measure the rice in a cup. For 1 cup of rice, take 3 cups of water. Wash and clean the rice well. Heat a tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry cashews, cardamom and raisins. Add measured water, rice, fried cashews, raisins, cardamom and jaggery and remainon ghee in a pressure cooker and close the lid of the cooker. Let it to cook for 15 minutes in a simmer flame. Open the cooker after pressure is completely reduced and transfer the dish to a serving bowl.

Ingredients: Semolina / Ravai – 50 gms Sugar – 100 gms or to taste Ghee – 100 gms Cardamom – 5 Cashews – 15 Orange Color – 1 pinch Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Fry the semolina in a pan until it turns to golden brown color. Measure the semolina in a cup. For 1 cup of semolina, take 2 1/2 cups of water or as you require. In a deep pan, add measured water, cardamom and semolina and keep on stirring constantly. Add ghee in regular interval to it and keep stirring. When ghee starts to come on the top of the dish, add sugar and a pinch of orange food color and keep stirring for a while and switch of the stove when semolina is cooked well and become soft. Fry the cashews in a tablespoon of ghee and transfer it to the cooked dish. Kesari is now ready to serve.

Ingredients: Milk – 300 ml Red Rice / Pacharisi – 5 tbsp Cardamom – 5 pieces Cashews – 25 gms Sugar – 5 tbsp or to taste Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 30 minutes Cooking Instructions: Fry the rice in an empty pan in a simmer flame until it starts to change color. Grind the fried rice, cashews and cardamom to a fine powder. Bring the milk to boil in a pan. When it starts boiling, add the grounded powder and required amount of sugar and keep stirring it constantly for about 15 minutes or until it gets to a thick consistency.

Ingredients: Nookal – 2 (slice it into thin round pieces) Kolambu Podi – 4 tbsp Tamarind – small ball size (soak it in water and take juice of about 10 tbsp or as u need) Tomato – 2 (finely chop it) Onion – 1 (chop it lengthwise) Curry leaves – few Salt - to taste Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 15 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add onions to it and fry it till it turns golden brown. Add tomatoes and curry leaves to it and fry until tomato is cooked well. Now add tamarind water, required salt and Kolambu podi to it and stir it well without forming any lumps. Add nookal pieces to it and close the lid of the cooker. Let it cook until nookal boils well or wait for 6 whistles in a high flame. Open the cooker after pressure is completely released and serve it with hot rice.

Ingredients: Potato - 300 gms Onion - 1 (finely chopped) Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp Tamarind Juice – 10 tbsp Coriander Powder – 3 tbsp Red Chilly Powder – 2 tbsp Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp Curry Leaves – few Aniseed – 2 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil – 5 tbsp Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 15 minutes Cooking Instructions: Cut the potatoes into two halves and put it in the pressure cooker with required water and cook it for 4 or 5 whistles in high flame. Peel off the skin of potatoes and cut it into cubes. Heat oil in a pan and add aniseeds, onion and curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and fry for a while until it raw smell leaves off. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and tamarind juice for a while. Do not add water. Just sprinkle a little water if you need. Add the cooked potatoes now to this and stir fry it without adding water until the masala coats well on the dish.

Ingredients: Spinach / ManaThakkali keerai – 1 bunch Red Gram Dhal (thuvaram Paruppu)– 50 gms or half hand full Onion -1 (finely chopped) Turmeric Powder – a pinch Salt – 1 tsp or as per your requirement Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Cooking Oil – 1 tbsp Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: I have used manathakkali keerai here but we can use any type of spinach / keerai to try out this recipe. Clean the keerai and chop it to small piesces. Add red gram dhal to the cooker with required amount of water and pressure cook it for 4 whistles. Open the cooker and mash the dhal well. Now add chopped keerai, onions, turmeric powder and salt along with the cooked dhal and close the lid of cooker. Let it whistle for 2 times. Transfer this dish to a serving bowl. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it and let it to splutter. Add this seasoning to the cooked keerai kootu.

Ingredients: Fresh Green Peas / Pachai Pattani – ¼ kg Kolambu Powder – 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp Asafoetodia – 1 tsp Small Tomatoes – 2 (finely chopped) Onion – 1 (finely chopped) Green chilly – 2 (finely chopped) Curry Leaves – few Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 2 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds to it and let it to splutter. Add onions to it and let it to turn golden brown and now add tomatoes, green chilly and curry leaves to it and let it cook well. Now add Kolambu powder, turmeric powder and asafoetodia and stir it well. Add green peas and required salt to it and close the lid of the cooker. Let it cook until the peas is cooked or wait for 2 whistles in a high flame in the stove. Serve this curry with chapatis and hot rice.

Ingredients: Radish – 2 (slice it into thin round pieces) Kolambu Podi – 4 tbsp Tamarind – small ball size (soak it in water and take juice of about 10 tbsp or as u need) Tomato – 2 (finely chop it) Onion – 1 (chop it lengthwise) Curry leaves – few Salt - to taste Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add onions to it and fry it till it turns golden brown. Add tomatoes and curry leaves to it and fry until tomato is cooked well. Now add tamarind water, required salt and Kolambu podi to it and stir it well without forming any lumps. Add radish pieces to it and close the lid of the cooker. Let it cook until radish boils well or wait for 3 whistles in a high flame. Open the cooker after pressure is completely released and serve it with hot rice.

Ingredients: Black Gram / Karuppu Ulundhu – 50 gms Theyngai – ¼ (5 to 6 pieces) Kolambu Powder – 4 tbsp Tomato - 2 (finely chopped) Onion – 1 (cut it lengthwise) Tamarind – a small ball size (soak it in water and take juice from it) Curry Leaves – few Salt – to taste Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 15 minutes Cooking Instructions: Soak black gram in water for about 5 hours and drain the water. Cut the coconut pieces into small thin slices. Slice the coconut as thin as possible in order to cook it soon. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and sauté it with mustard seeds. Add onions and curry leaves to it and wait until the onion turns to golden brown. Add tomatoes to it and wait until it is mashed well. Add about 10 tbsp of tamarind water (or as u require). Now add Kolambu powder and salt and stir it well without forming lumps. Now add soaked black gram and sliced coconut pieces and close the lid of the cooker. Wait until the black gram cooks well or else...

Ingredients: For Gravy: Onion – 1 (chop it lengthwise) Tomato – 2 (finely chopped) Red Chilly Powder – 2 tsp Coriander Powder – 1 ½ tsp Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp Tamarind – a small ball size (soak in water and extract juice from it) Garlic – 15 pods Curry Leaves – few Salt – to taste Aniseed / Sombu – 1 tsp Cooking Oil For Paruppu Urundai: Bengal gram / Kadalai Paruppu – 100 gms Red Gram Dal / Thuvaram Paruppu – 1 tbsp Dry Red Chilly – 3 Aniseed / Sombu – ½ tsp Onion (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp Service For: 2 people Cooking Time: 20 minutes Cooking Instructions: Soak the Bengal Gram, red gram dal in a cup of water for about one hour and drain the excess water. Add soaked Bengal gram, red gram dal, red chilly, aniseed, onions in a mixie jar and grind it little coarsely. Take this grinded mixture in a bowl and roll them into small balls. Steam these balls in an idly cooker and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add aniseeds and sauté it. Add chopped onions and fry them till it turns golden...

Ingredients: Broad Beans / Avarakai – 150 gms (cut into small pieces) Onion – 1 (chop it lengthwise) Tomato – 2 (finely chopped) Kolambu Podi – 4 tsp Tamarind Water – 10 tsp or as u need Curry Leaves – few Asafoetodia – 1 tsp Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat Oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Add chopped onions in it and stir fry it till it turns golden brown. Now add chopped tomatoes and curry leaves to it and stir fry it for a while until the tomato is crushed well. Now add Kolambu podi and asafoetodia with required amount of water and stir it well without forming any lumps. Add tamarind water and chopped broad beans and salt to it and close the lid of the cooker. Let it cook for a while until the broad beans boil or else wait for 3 whistles. Open the cooker after pressure is completely reduced and serve it with hot rice.

Check out the glossary for all ingredients in English,and Tamil. Drag the mouse down! ENGLISH TAMIL ALMONDS BADAM PARUPU ARROW ROOT KOOVAK KILANGU ANISEEDS SOMBU ASAFOETIDA PERUNGAYAM ASH GOURD KALYANA POOSANIKKAI BAY LEAF PUNNAI/BRIYANI ILAI BLACK PEPPER MILAGU BRINJAL KATHIRIKKAI BROAD BEANS AVARAKKAI BASIL THULASI BROKEN BLACK GRAM ULUTHAMPARUPPU BENGAL GRAM KADALAI PARUPPU BITTER GOURD PAVAKKAI CARDAMOM YELAKAI CAPSICUM KOODA MILAGAI CABBAGE MUTTAIKOS CASHEWS MUNDHIRI PARUPU CELERY OMAM ILAI CINNAMON PATTAI CLOVES LAVANGAM CORIANDER SEEDS VARA KOTHAMALLI CLUSTER BEANS KOTHAVARANGAI COCLOCASIA SEPPAKILANGU CORIANDER LEAVES KOTHAMALLI ILAI COCONUT THENGAI CORN MAKKACHOLAM CORN FLOUT MAKKA CHOLA MAAVU COWGRAM KARAMANI / THATTAIPAYARU CHOW CHOW SEEMAI KATHIRIKAI CUCUMBER VELLARIKAI CUMIN SEEDS JEERAGAM CURRY LEAVES KARUVEPILAI DRUMSTICK MURUNGAIKAI DRY GINGER SUKKU DRY RED BEANS SIGAPPU RED BEANS / RAJMA EGGPLANT KATHIRIKAI ELEPHANT YAM SENAI KILANGU FENUGREEK LEAVES VENDHAYA...

Ingredients: Coriander Seeds – 100 gms Fenugreek Seeds – 20 gms Dry Red Chilly – 100 gms Bengal Gram – 100 gms Cumin Seeds – 25 gms Solid Asafoetodia / Katti Perungayam – 50 gms Cooking Instructions: Fry coriander seeds in a deep pan in a simmer flame until it smells well and keep it aside. Fry the fenugreek seeds in a pan in a simmer flame until it turns a little brown and keep it aside. Fry dry red chilly for a while in a simmer flame until it turns a little brown and keep it aside. Fry Bengal gram in simmer flame in a pan until it turns brown and smells well. Similarly fry asafoetodia and cumin seeds in pan in simmer flame until it smells well and keep it aside. Now let all the fried ingredients to cool for a while. Add all the fried ingredients in a mixie and grind it to fine powder. Let it cool for a while and store it in an airtight container and use whenever it require. Like this article? Subscribe to the RSS feed!

Ingredients: Red Gram Dal / Thuar Dal – 10 tbsp Rasam Powder – 2 tbsp Tomato – 1 (finely chop it and crush it with hands) Lemon (medium size) – 1 (extract juice from lemon) Garlic Pods / Poondu – 5 Coriander Leaves – few Curry Leaves – a few Asafoetodia – 2 tsp Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil – 1 tbsp Service For: 3 People Cooking Time: 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Put the dhal in the pressure cooker with required amount of water and let it cook well so that the dhal should be well mashed. Heat oil in a deep pan and sauté it with cumin seeds and add cooked dhal, rasam powder, crushed tomato, garlic pods, curry leaves, coriander leaves, asafoetodia, salt, and a cup of water in it and bring it to boil. Now switch off the cooker and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Now add lemon juice to it. Note that you should not add lemon juice while rasam is boiling or while rasam is hot or as soon as you switch off the stove.