Vallarai keerai thovayal

1 bunch vallarai keerai 

1/2 onion chopped

4 red chillies (or to spice level)

tamarind - size of a very small ball of lime

salt as needed

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urud dhal

1 tsp jeera

1 tsp asafetida

Take a pan, put 2 tsp of oil, and splutter mustard seeds, urud dhal, jeera and asafetida. Add chopped onions, red chilies and vallarai keerai to it. Sauté it well until vallarai keerai shrinks. Then add tamarind and salt to it. Now switch off the stove and let it cool for a while. Then blend it in the mixe, until smooth paste. It goes well with Dosa and Idly. We also mix it with rice and ghee on top of it.

It is really good for brain development, at least that's what we were told when I was a kid.

Kesari - Sooji Halwa

Amma's recipe of Kesari! - An easy Indian sweet

1 cup ravai (Sooji)

3/4 cup - (1/2 cup cooking oil+ 1/4 cup ghee)

1 cup sugar (or a little more according to your taste)

3 cups water

2 pinches of kesari powder (red/orange color powder)

1 tsp. of halved cashews

1 tsp. of raisins

Dry roast sooji (don’t wait until it changes color). Pour the oil and ghee in a pan and let it heat a little bit then add sooji to it. The sooji should be soggy in the oil+ghee mixture. In the side, heat the 3 cups of water in a pan with 2 pinches of kesari powder (red/orange color powder). Bring it to a boil. Then add the boiled water to the sooji pan (the sooji pan should be simmered while adding the water), mix it thoroughly without any lumps. Let the sooji cook. Stir it for another 5 mins with the stove turned to the lowest possible. After the sooji is cooked, add the sugar to it and mix it thoroughly again. In a separate pan, put 2 tsp. of ghee and add the raisins and halved cashews and fry it a little bit until cashes turns its color a little and raisins blow up in the ghee. Then add this to the prepared sooji on top for decoration.

katharikka urulaikilangu (brinjal/potato) podi poota kulambu

mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad dhal - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 5 or 6
onions - 1/2 chopped
tomato - 1 chopped
potato - 4 diced
brinjal (indian brinjals) - 6 to 8 diced
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
sambar powder - 3 tsp, or according to the spice level

In a cooker, put some oil (2 tsp), add mustard, urad dhal, curry leaves. Allow it to splatter. Then add onions, followed by potatoes and brinjals. Then add tomatoes. Add some salt and turmeric. Then add sambar powder to it. Add 3 to 4 cups of water, according to the consistency you want the final dish to be. Now close the cooker lid and leave it for 1 whistle. Then once the pressure is released, the podi potta kulambu is ready. This goes well with idly and dosai.

Purpose of Life

This was a FWD message from one of my friends... I really liked it and want it to save somewhere, where i can see often and read it to myself :)

Here it goes.....

To find out the purpose of life, we always try to live a “Life of Purpose”. Some of us prosper in the field of education and research; some becomes one of the wealthiest men, some other tries to become a celebrity. But as soon as we die, our identity will become a body. People use phrases like: “Bring the Body”, “Lower the Body”, “Take the body” etc. People won’t even call us by our name whom we tried to impress whole life.
So, live a life to make that person happy whom you see in the mirror; spend money on the things you love, laugh till your stomach hurts, dance even if you are too bad at it, pose stupidly for the photos, be child-like.
Death is not the greatest loss in life – Loss is when life dies within you when you are still alive. Whenever you don’t understand what’s happening in your life, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and say: “I know this is your plan. Just help me through it”.
Life has no other purpose. Life is a fairy tale to go through – a journey to complete – an event to celebrate – and A CHANCE TO THANK GOD FOR THIS WONDERFUL GIFT.

Thanks Sukhanya (Suki) for forwarding such messages... :)

Kosamalli

brinjal/eggplant - 2 big ones

Tomato - 1 chopped

Onions - 1/2 chopped

Tamarind lemon size soaked and pulp taken out of it.

Green chilies - 5 or according to spice level

Put a little oil in the pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves and after the mustard seeds splutter, add onions, then tomatoes and green chilies. Sauté well. In the meantime, cut brinjals in half or 1/4 if it’s too big, then pressure cook it with a little water. After 1 whistle, remove it from the fire and peel of the skin of the brinjals. Then mash it. Now add the mashed brinjals to the sautéed onions and tomatoes along with the tamarind pulp. Let it boil and the kosamalli is ready.

It goes well with idly and dosai.

Coriander Thovayal (kothamalli Thovayal)

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp Channa Dhal
2 tbsp Urud Dhal
2 tbsp grated coconut
3/4 onion chopped
4 curry leaves
2 green chilies (or more according to the spice level)
1 inch tamarind (little according to the sour taste)
Salt as needed

Pour a little oil in a pan and add one by one all the ingredients in the above list except coriander leaves, once the onions are nicely sautéed, finally switch off the stove and add grated coconut and then grind everything in a mixer with fresh coriander leaves. This goes well with Rice/Idly and Dosa.
On rice, put some ghee and add this, mix it well. It will be so good.
Similarly we can do Pudhina Thovayal (Mint Thovayal). A small modification is we have to sauté the mint along with the rest of the ingredients. Don't grind it raw like coriander leaves.
These can also be used as spreads for the bread, for breakfast.

Capsicum Sabji

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup peanuts
1 big onion
2 big tomatoes
2 capsicums - different colors if possible
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder (or to spice level)
1/2 tbsp dhania powder
1 tsp methi powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
1 small lemon size tamarind soaked in water - to take the juice out
Salt to taste

Masala preparation:
1. Dry roast sesame seeds and peanuts separately. Keep them aside.
2. Slightly sauté onions.
3. Grind roasted sesame seeds and peanuts (step 1) with sautéed onions (step 2) and some chopped tomatoes together in a mixer, to get a smooth paste.

Curry preparation:
1. Slice capsicums into big chunks. Pour some oil in a heated pan and sauté capsicum pieces that pan and keep them aside.
2. In the same pan, heat more oil and put in mustard seeds, cumin seeds (Jeera) and curry leaves. After tempering them, add the masala paste (from above). After frying a little, add turmeric, ginger garlic paste, chili powder, dhaniya powder, methi powder, garam masala and some salt.
3. Once the oil starts to separate from the above paste, add some tamarind paste and after boiling for a bit, add the sautéed capsicum pieces to this paste and cook with lid covered for about 10 min.
4. You can add cilantro for garnish.

It goes well with Idly/Dosa, Roti, and/or Rice. I got this recipe from my friend Raji again.

Meal Maker (Soy chunks) Kurma

1/2 packet meal maker (Boil the water and then add the meal maker. After 10 mins, remove the meal maker pieces and squeeze the water out, cut into small pieces if needed)

1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp aniseed powder (sonbu - big jeera)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp urud dhal
5 curry leaves
Coriander leaves, chopped

To Grind:
4 or 5 red chili (or according to your spice level)
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp aniseed
Little bit tamarind
2 tbsp roasted Bengal gram
2 tsp coconut
2 tbsp almond powder

Prepare the soy chunks as mentioned. In a pan, add mustard seeds and urud dhal with little curry leaves. Allow it to splutter and then add cinnamon powder and aniseed powder. Add the onions and garlic together and sauté well. Then add tomatoes and add a little salt and close the lid for it to mash completely. Add turmeric powder and the soy chunks. let it mix thoroughly. After 5 mins, add the ground mixture to this. Add a cup of water and close the lid. Allow it to boil and become thick gravy. Add needed salt and sprinkle some coriander leaves.

This dish goes well with rice/roti. This is one of the best hit in my kitchen. Enjoy!

Bottle Gourd Kootu (Sorakkai kootu)

1 lb sorakkai cut into small pieces

Less than 1/4 onion finely chopped
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urud dhal
4 curry leaves
Little coriander leaves
1/2 cup moong dhal
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sambar powder

Take a pan, boil moong dhal in water, by closing the lid, with a little turmeric powder in it. When the dhal is mostly cooked (it shouldn’t be mashed), add sorakkai, onion and add sambar powder, then close the lid back again. Once Sorakkai is cooked, add salt to taste. Then in a separate pan, tamper mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves and put it in the mixture. Sprinkle coriander leaves on top.

This is amma's kootu recipe, which is mild and tastes good.

Optional: you can add grated coconut in the end to this, which will add more taste to the dish.

Spicy Kovakkaai(Tindora) Masal

1 lb Kovakkaai - cut in your style

1 onion chopped
1 and 1/2 tomato chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urud dhal
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp sambar powder
Salt to taste
3 or 4 curry leaves
Coriander leaves chopped

Spice Powder - grind the following
1 tsp whole pepper
2 tsp gram dhal
2 tsp thoor dhal
1 red chili
1 tsp jeera

Take a pan, pour 2 tbsp oil, tamper with mustard seeds, urud dhal,jeera and curry leaves. Once they start spluttering, add onions and kovakkaai and let it cook. Don’t close the lid. The pan should be left open and toss it once a while so that it doesn’t get stuck to it. Once its 3/4 cooked, and then add chopped tomatoes. Add salt, sambar powder, turmeric powder to it and then close the lid of the pan and simmer the gas, until the tomatoes are mashed and the raw smell of the powders are gone. Finally add the spice powder grounded and mix it thoroughly. Sprinkle the coriander leaves and switch off the stove.

My kids loved it by mixing rice with Ghee and kovakkaai masal together. It also goes well with Roti.

Amma's Sambar Powder

Red Chili (kaanja milagaai) - 1 kg

Coriander seeds(malli) - 1 kg

Thoor Dhal (thuravaram paruppu) - 200 gms (1 ulakku)

Channa Dhal (kadalai paruppu) - 200 gms (1 ulakku)

Raw Rice (Pachai arisi) - 200 gms (1 ulakku)

Jeera (seeragam) - 150 gms

Pepper (melagu) - 100 gms

Fennel Seeds (sonbu - perunjeeragam) - little

Methi seeds (vendhayam) - little

Turmeric (virali manjal)

Curry leaves (karuveppilai)

Salt

Dry the red chili in sun. Except red chilies, dry roast the rest and grind it along with red chili.

Amma's sambar powder is ready!!!

Mushroom Milagu Pirattal/ Pepper Mushroom

1 small pack of mushroom cut into small pieces

1/4 onion chopped

2 tbsp of pepper and jeera powder

Salt as needed

2 pinch of cinnamon powder

2 pinch of Aniseed powder (sombu powder/ big jeera)

5 curry leaves

5 garlic cloves chopped

Chopped coriander leaves

Put 2 tbsp of oil in a pan; add chopped onions and garlic with curry leaves. Sauté them well. Then add chopped mushrooms to it. Sauté until the water content in the mushroom is all gone. Then add cinnamon powder and Aniseed powder with a little salt and pepper and jeera powder. Mix it thoroughly. Garnish with coriander leaves. Simmer the gas and leave it for a while by closing the lid. Switch it off in 5 minutes. Yummy pepper mushroom is ready.

Maangai Oorugaai/ Mango Pickle

2 green mango (sour ones)

3 tbsp Red chili powder

3 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp asafetida

2 tsp methi seeds (dry roast and powdered)

Salt as needed

5 cloves garlic cut into small pieces

3 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp jeera

5 curry leaves

Cut the mangos into small pieces (or your convenient size cubes). Add Chili powder, coriander powder and asafetida, with salt and methi powder. Take a pan, pour 4 tbsp oil, and add mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves and garlic pieces. After the tampering is done, let it cool and then add it to the mango masala mixture. Mix thoroughly and let it aside. Save it in an air tight jar. Mix the pickle once every day so that the oil coats everywhere evenly.

Best ever.... got lots of appreciations from friends and family... :)

Brinjal Curry Andhra Style

I learnt this dish from one of my Andhra friend, Raji. She is a nice cook and a good friend. Thanks for this recipe Raji. We loved it.

1 and 1/2 finely chopped onions

2 big tomatoes finely chopped

4 or 5 garlic cloves finely chopped/grated

1 inch ginger grated

Few brinjals, each slit or cut into 4 pieces length wise

2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp sambar powder or to taste

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 cup of dry roasted peanut powder

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

In a pan tamper urud dhal, mustard, curry leaves, jeera. Then add onions, garlic and ginger to it. Sauté well until the onions turn color. Then add tomatoes and add a little salt so that the tomatoes cook really well and soon. Make sure everything added in the pan until now should be mashed together, with no chunks left out. Then add turmeric powder, sambar powder, garam masala and the rest of the salt and add a little water. Wait until the raw smell of the masalas are gone. Then add the brinjal to it and close the pan with a lid. Wait for 5 mins or so until it is cooked on one side and then flip it over and do the same until the brinjal is cooked well. Then add dry roasted peanut powder to it at the end, and mix it thoroughly. Add chopped coriander leaves at the end. This yummy dish is ready in minutes. This goes well with Rice/Roti.

 

Law of Garbage Truck

I usually get FWD'd emails from one of my friend every morning. One such email made a real sense.. which I wish I followed. I will try to ... hope this helps you as well.

One day, I hopped into a taxi and took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly, a black car, jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed the brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'
He explained, "Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. NEVER take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on with the routine life." Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...... 'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.'
A very rightly said quote: Life is 10% what you make and 90% how you take!!!!

Paakarkkaai Mandi

4 or 5 bitter gourd cut into small pieces

One small lemon size of tamarind soaked in water

1/4 onion finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chili powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urud dhal

Little curry leaves

Pinch of asafetida

1 tbsp oil

Pour the oil in a pan and tamper mustard seeds, urud dhal and curry leaves. Then add onions and bitter gourd together and sauté it for a while until the bitter gourd are almost (70%) crisp. Then add turmeric, chili powder and asafetida and sauté it for a minute. Then pour the tamarind sauce into this mixture, simmer the stove and make it boil and wait until the oil separates out from the mixture. Add salt as needed and eat it with rice.

How to Raise a Reader?

10 Tips for Parents - from "I can Read" team

1. Find a character your child loves. Then keep going with that character!

2. Use picture clues! Show your child how to look at the pictures to see what the story is about.

3. Guess what happens next! When you r young reader guesses what happens next in the story, it becomes a game -- and it is a great way to reinforce reading comprehension!

4. Talk all the way through the book. Why do you think the character did that? Did that surprise you? The skill of learning to understand the story while reading will help your child switch from a word-by-word reader to a fluent reader.

5. Share the reading with your child! Just starting out? Show your young reader how to recognize a word like "Woof!" Then have him or her spot that word and read it aloud whenever it occurs!

6. When you read books aloud, have fun with the voices. Try using a different voice for each character.

7. Have your child read to the dog! No kidding! Dogs are good, nonjudgmental listeners.

8. Be a role model. Let your child catch you reading. Encourage daily reading moments -- like following directions in a cookies recipe, or reading a billboard.

9. Stay positive. Your job is to be reassuring and supportive, never critical. You want your child to look forward to reading and enjoy it. Reading is hard work and your encouragement goes far.

10. Celebrate success! A progress chart, stickers, or getting to pick the next story is a great motivator for kids!

Visit www.icanread.com for reading tips, downloadable activities, and fun games to help your young reader grow.

P.S. I got this at the back of the "I Can Read!" set of books. I just wanted to post it so that I will next loose this as well as it will help most parents like me.