Kitchen and Home Making

Most of you may think what is “Tiffin Sambar”? Is it different from usual sambar? yeah, of course, tiffin sambar is different from usual one, we prepare for rice. It will be little thicker in consistency, less spicy and has a hint of sweetness in it. It goes well with all our South Indian breakfast items like Idly , Dosa, Pongal, Upma, Vada and surprisingly even with Lemon Rice , Jeera Rice and so on.

Sometimes, simple and less amount of ingredients, with less work, makes magic tastewise and even we too stick to its taste and use frequently and repeatedly ( Hope everyone agrees with me).  Such one recipe is Idly Milagai Podi. “Idly Podi” or “Dosa / Dosai Podi” or “Ennai Podi” or “Idly Milagai Podi”, called out with varied names and with varied recipes, from home to home, state to state, is a spicy dry powder, made with a main combination of Black Gram and Dry Red Chilly,  which is mixed with sesame oil, and used as a side dish (sometimes Ennai Podi becomes main dish for me and my son, we both love that much, mmmm….mouthwatering for me now itself!) , for Idli’s and Dosa’s (Hhhmmmm….. whooo…. completed the very long sentence anyhow!(LOL!) ).

Join with us in the EFM - VARIETY RICE SERIES and for more details about the event, click HERE ! Ingredients: Tomato - 4 (medium size) (roughly chopped) Onion - 1 (roughly chopped) + Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped) Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup (Grate 1/4 shell of a full coconut) Coriander Powder - 3 tsp Chilly Powder - 1 to 2 tsp Cumin Powder -  1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp Aniseed - 1 tsp Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2 Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Salt - to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Instructions: Heat  oil in a pan and saute it with aniseed, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Now add roughly chopped onion, tomato and ginger garlic paste and fry it until onion and tomato become soft. Switch off the flame at this stage and let it cool for a while. Grind this to a smooth paste along with grated coconut by adding a little of water. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and saute it with aniseed and add the grind paste and fry for a while. Now add corian...

Ingredients: Chicken – ½ kg Onion – 1(finely chopped) Medium size Tomatoes – 2 (finely chopped) Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp Chilly Powder – ½ tbsp Pepper Powder – 2 tbsp Cloves – 4 Cardamom – 4 Aniseeds – 1 or 2 tbsp Bay Leaf – 2 Cinnamon - 2 Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Instructions: Wash and clean the chicken and cut it into cubes and keep it aside. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add onions and tomatoes and sauté it well. Let this mixture cool a while and then grind it to a smooth paste. Heat 5 tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and sauté it with cloves, cinnamon, aniseeds, bay leaves and cardamom. Add grinded paste and ginger garlic paste to it and stir fry until the raw smell leaves off. Now add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and pepper powder and stir fry it well. Now add the chicken pieces to it with required amount of water and salt and close the lid of the cooker. Let it cook until the chicken is well cooked. Open the lid of th...

Ingredients : Coriander Leaves - 50 gms (wash and finely chopped) Onion - 1 (finely chopped) Tomato (medium size) - 2 (finely chopped) Dry Red Chilly - 5 Broken Black Gram (urad Dal) - 1 ½ tbsp Asafoetodia - ½ tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions : Heat oil in a shallow pan and add urad dal, and fry for few seconds. Now add onion, tomato, dry chilly, asafoetodia and salt to it and fry until tomato loses its shape. Finally add coriander leaves and fry for 2 minutes. Grind it to a fine paste with required water and transfer it to a serving bowl. heat a tsp of oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds and switch of the flame. Coriander chutney can be served with idli and dosa and chapatis. Like this article? Subscribe to the RSS feed!

Ingredients : Tomato – 6 (finely chopped) Onion – 1 medium size(lenghtwise chopped) Tamarind – Small gooseberry Size (optional) Garlic – 6 pieces Dry Red Chilly – 6 Asafoetdia – 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp Salt – to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions : Heat oil in a pan and stir fry the onion till it turns golden brown. Add tomatoes, garlic, tamarind, chilly,asafoetodia and salt and stir fry for 5 minutes in a simmer flame. Now finely grind it with required water. Heat oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds and add the chutney to it. Let it to cook until it starts to boil. Side Dish: Idli, Dosa

Ingredients: Dosa Batter – Required Amount Onion – 3 (finely chopped) Carrot – 4 (finely grated) Coriander Leaves – ½ bunch (finely chopped) Cooking Oil Cooking Instructions: Heat dosa tawa / pan or a flat tawa and take a ladleful of batter. Spread the batter in a circular motion from the center of the tawa to the sides of the tawa. Spread the batter little thicker and small enough. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of onion, 1 tbsp of carrot and ½ tbsp of coriander leaves on the dosa and press it with the ladle. Pour 1 tsp of oil on the edges of the dosa. When one side is cooked well (turns little brown), Flip the dosa to the other side and let it cook well. Once it is cooked remove the dosa from the pan and transfer to the plate. Vegetable Oothappam served with Onion Chutney Side Dish: Onion Chutney and Sambar Onion Chutney Ingredients : Big Size Onion – 4 (chopped lengthwise) Tomatoes – 3 (finely chopped) Dry Red Chilly – 6 Asafoetodia – 1 tsp Curry Leaves – 1 tbsp Mint Leaves – 1 tbsp Salt – to ta...

Ingredients : Ginger - 50 gms (finely chopped) Dry Red Chilly - 7 Mint Leaves - 50 gms Curry Leaves - few Coriander Leaves - few Tamarind - a small size of about 10 gm Bengal Gram (Channa Dal) - 1 tbsp Asafoetodia - 2 tsp Salt - to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions: Heat oil in a pan and sauté it with Bengal gram. Once the gram turns to golden brown, simmer the flame and add all the other items and stir fry it for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and grind this to a fine paste without adding water. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds. Now add the paste and add half a cup of water to get chutney consistency. Let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes in a simmer flame. This chutney will be delicious when it served with idli and dosa.

Ingredients : Brinjal /Egg Plant - 5 (medium size) Tomatoes - 5 Onion - 1 Dry Red Chilly - 7 Curry Leaves - few Asafoetodia - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp Broken Black Gram (urad dal) - 1 tsp Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions : Cut the brinjal, tomatoes and onions lengthwise. Add brinjal, tomatoes, onion, dry chilly, asafoetodia and salt in a pressure cooker with little amount of water. Let it to cook for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and grind it coarsely.(just beat the mixie twice or thrice) Add a tbsp of oil in a shallow pan and season it with mustard seeds and urad dal. Add this seasoning to the chutney. Brinjal chutney will taste more when it is serve with venpongal, idli and dosa.

Ingredients : Bengal Gram (channa dal) – 6 tbsp Tomatoes – 2 Dry Red Chilly – 6 Curry Leaves – 1 tbsp Asafoetodia – 1 tsp Salt – to taste Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions : Heat oil in a pan and sauté with Bengal gram and wait till it turns golden brown. Add tomatoes, dry chilly, asafoetodia, curry leaves and salt. Stir fry it in a simmer flame for 5 minutes. Now grind it to a fine paste with required water. Heat oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds and add the chutney. Simmer the flame and let it cook till it comes to boiling state. This chutney can be served with idli and dosa.

Ingredients : Sesame Seeds - 50 gms Grated Coconut - 3 tsp Dry Red Chilly - 6 Tamarind - small size Curry Leaves - few Salt - to taste Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 10 minutes Cooking Instructions : Stir fry sesame seeds in a pan till it smells good without oil. Heat oil in a pan and fry red chilly, tamarind, curry leaves and grated coconut in a simmer flame for about 5 minutes. Grind it with sesame seeds with required water. This chutney taste good with idli.

Ingredients: Tomato - 6 (chop it) Onion - 1 (finely chop it) Green Chilly - 4 (lengthwise chopped) Kolambu Podi(check out Ready Mix Powder/ Podi recipes) - 4 tbsp Salt - to taste Cooking Oil Ghee - 1 tbsp Cooking Time : 15 minutes Cooking Instructions : Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a shallow pan. Stir fry onions till it turns golden brown. Add green chilly, tomatoes and salt to it. Let it to cook until oil separates from it. Add 1/2 litre water and kolambu podi to it and mix it well so that no lumps found. Let it to boil in a simmer flame for 10 minutes. This tomato kolambu will taste delicious with idli and dosa.

Ingredients : Roasted Gram - 50 grams Tomato - 2 Dry Red Chilly - 4 Curry Leaves - few Salt - to taste Asafoetodia - 1/4 tsp Cooking Oil Cooking Time : 5 minutes Cooking Instructions : Grind roasted gram, red chilly, and curry leaves to a fine powder. Now add tomato, asafoetodia and salt to it and grind well with required water. Heat oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds and add the chutney and bring it to boil. This chutney can be served with idli and dosa.