VJ's Kitchen....

Ingredients:

Ripe Tomatoes - 6
Medium Sized Onions - 2
Chilli Powder - 4 tbsps (add more if you want it HOT)
Asafoetida - A pinch
Turmeric Powder - A pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1/4 cup
Salt - To taste.

Method:

1.   Cut and grind the tomatoes and onions together in the mixie.(No need to add water)

2.   Heat the oil in a kadaai and add the mustard seeds.
3.   After it stops spluttering, add the asafoetida and turmeric.
4.   Mix it for a second and then add the tomato onion paste. (Careful when adding, it will splutter)
5.   Add salt and the chilli powder and mix it.

6.   Keep stirring it on and off.
7.   As time progresses, the color of the chutney will change to a nice orange.

8.   Check for salt and spiciness.
9.   Let it simmer on the stove for a while until you get a paste like texture.

10. Serve with hot idly/dosai.

Note: This can be stored for atleast two weeks in the fridge. (Transfer the chutney to a clean dry container after it has cooled down and refrigerate).

Ingredients

Rice  - 1 cup
Toor Daal - 1/4 cup
Pepper - 2 to 2 1/2 spoons
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves - One/Two Stalk(s)
Mustard - 1 tbsp
Channa Daal - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - One pinch
Oil - 1/2 cup
Coconut oil - 2 or 3 tbps (for flavour, optional, but gives a nice aroma)
Freshly Grated Coconut - 2or 3 tbsp (for garnishing)
Water - As required.
Salt - As required.


Method

1.  Transfer rice into the mixie and coarse grind it.
2.  Next coarse grind the toor daal, pepper and cumin seeds together.
3.  Either fine chop chillies and ginger or grind them into a paste.
4.  Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan that has a lid.
5.  Add the mustard seed.
6.  Once it starts spluttering, add asafoetida, curry leaves and then the channa daal.
7.  Once the channa daal is properly fried, add the chilli/ginger.
8.  Add around 3 cups of water and salt and let it boil. 
9.  Check the taste and add more salt if required.  ensure that the water tastes a bit salty.
10.  Add the rice and the toor daal mix and stir it until the everything is mixed thoroughly.
11.  Add in the coconut oil, mix and cover it.
12.  Keep stirring it on and off until the rice and the toor daal is cooked.
13.  Garnish with coconut, mix and serve hot.

Ingredients

Lemon - 25 nos
Turmeric Powder - 6 to 8 tbsps
Salt - Handful
Chilli Powder - 4 to 5 tbsps (add more if you like it hot)
Fenugreek - 6 to 8 tbsps
Asafoetida - 1 tbsp
Gingelly Oil - 3/4 cup
Mustard seeds - 2 tbsps

Method:

1. Wash the container in which you want to store the pickle.  Dry it thorougly.

2.  Wash and wipe dry the lemons.

3.  Wash and dry the chopping board as well as the knife.

4.  Cut the lemon into cubes of required size.

5.  Arrange a layer of the cubed lemon inside the container.

6.  Sprinkle some salt and turmeric powder.

7.  Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all the lemon cubes have been arranged inside the container. Ensure that the top layer of lemon is topped up with lemon and turmeric powder.

8.  Let it soak for atleast a day.  You can mix it/stir it after 6 hours or so, but ensure you use a clean dry spoon.

9. Now saute the fenugreek seeds without oil till a nice aroma comes out. (Don't let it get black).  Reserve and let it cool. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind it nicely.

10.  Add in the chilli powder and the fenugreek powder into the contained (do not mix it.  Let it stand as a heap on the cubed and soaked lemons.)

11.  Heat the gingelly oil and when it is hot add the mustard seeds.

12.  Once it stops spluttering, add the asafoetida and pour it on the heaped chilli and fenugreek powder slowly.

13.  Using a clean dry spoon, mix the lemon with the chilli/fenugreek powder and oil and close it.

14.  Let this soak for couple of days.  (You can stir the lemon once/twice a day, but ensure that the spoon you use is always clean and dry.)

Note:  Avoid transferring the pickle to a different container after step 14.  Always store it in the same container until you have finished all of the pickle.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Cooked Rice
1/2 kg of Mushrooms
2 Onions
2 Green Chillies
A piece of Ginger
1 tbsp of Black Pepper.
4 tbsp of Oil.
Salt to taste.

Method:

1.  Clean the Mushrooms and slice them into thin strips. (You can include the stalk as well).

2.  Cut the Onions into thin strips and reserve.

3.  Grind the chillies and ginger ( I prefer to grind them so that it blends with the food and kids don't need to pick on them).
4. Heat the oil in a kadaai and add the chilly/ginger paste.

5.  Saute it and then add the onion strips.

6.  Saute the onion strips until they are well cooked and then add the sliced mushrooms.

7.  Sprinkle salt over it and mix it thoroughly.
8.  Keep stirring it on and off.  (The mushroom releases lot of water and you need to be patient until all the water almost dries up.)


9.  In the mean time, spread the cooked rice in a wide vessel and let it cool.
10.  Break the pepper into tiny bits and add this to the mushroom and mix well.

11.  Simmer for couple of more minutes and switch of the gas.

12.  Scoop out a ladleful of the the cooked mushroom and spread it on the cooled rice.

13.  Add as much as u need for the cooked rice and mix the rice slowly so that the rice doesn't break.

14.  Check for salt and add more, if required.
15.  Warm it up in microwave when ready to eat and serve.  (Best part with this rice is that it doesn't need any accompanients.)

Ingredients:

Rice (அரிசி) - 1 Cup
Channa Daal (கடலை பருப்பு) - 1 Cup
Jaggery (வெல்லம்) - 1 Cup
Milk (பால்) - 1 litre.
Cooking Camphor (பச்சை கற்பூறம்) - A bit more than a pinch.
Cardamom Powder (ஏலக்காய்) - 1 pinch.
Broken Cashews (முந்திரி பருப்பு) - 1/4 cup
Raisins (உலர்ந்த திராட்சை) - 1/4 cup
Tiny bits of coconut (நறுக்கிய தேங்காய்) - 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Wash rice and channa daal.
2. In a container add one cup of milk and the washed rice and channa daal, cover it with a lid and pressure cook. (Two whistles is enough)
3. Once the pressure is down, open the pressure cooker, and using a ladle, lightly mash the cooked rice and channa daal.
4. Take a heavy bottomed pan / non stick container, pour the remaining milk, add the jaggery (can be added as much as u like, depending on how sweet you want the payasam to be).
5. Reduce the flame a bit and keep stirring the milk.
6. Slowly add the cooked and mashed rice and channa daal combo.
7. Check for the consistency of the payasam.  If it is too watery, let it simmer for a while more. (Please note that this payasam can be consumed a bit watery or a bit thick.  Depends on how u like it.)
8. Check for the sweetness.  Add more jaggery if need to.
9. While this combo is boiling, fry the cashews, coconut pieces and raisins until the cashews and coconut are golden brown and the raisins puffed up.
10. Add this to the boiling payasam, turn off the stove and then add a pinch of cardamom.
11. Add a pinch of powdered cooking camphor and mix it.
12. Can be served hot/warm or refrigerate, cool and serve.