DEVAKOTTAI SAMAYAL ARAI

A steaming bowl of soup provides immediate warmth and a deep sense of nourishment that perfectly complements a cold night. I am here today with the perfect soup recipe! Recipe Card (serves 3 people) Fennel Bulb- 1 medium sized bulb ( washed and roughly cut into cubes) ( save the delicate dill-like fronds(grassy part) for garnishing ) Small red potatoes - 4 nos (peeled and cubed) Garlic pods - 3 large cloves (peeled ) Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp Salt 1 tsp Crushed peppercorns- 1 1/2 tsp Now we will make this soup in 4 easy steps 😊 Step 1: Heat a saucepan, and add in the butter. After the butter melts, add the garlic and the fennel bulb cubes and sauté for 2 minutes.  Step 2: Add the potatoes, salt and pepper along with 2 cups of water and cook until the anise cubes are tender.  Step 3: With the help of an immersion blender , blend to get as creamy texture. Please note that I have not added any broth.  Step 4: Garnish with the saved fronds and serve hot with a slice of sourd...

On the occasion of Vinayaga Chathurthi, I wanted to share the recipe for making Poorana Kozhukkattai with three different fillings, 2 sweet and 1 savory. Let's get started. For the outer layer: Rice flour - 1 cup Boiling water - 1 and 1/2 cups to 2 cups Salt - 1/2 tsp Ghee - 1 tsp Ingredients for Filling # 1 - Chana dal Sweet filling  Chana Dal - 1/2 cup (soaked for 2 hours in 1 cup of water and pressure cook until soft) Jaggery powder - 1/4 cup (You can add little more jaggery if you wish) Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1 tsp Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp broken pieces Ghee - 1 tbsp Ingredients for  Filling #2- Moong Dal Savoury filling Yellow moong dal - 1/4 cup, soaked for 10 minutes and pressure cooked  Grated coconut - 2 tbsp Green chillies - 2 medium finely chopped Cumin seeds Mustard seeds curry leaves a few Oil - 1 tsp Asafoetida - 1 pinch salt as per taste Ingredients for  Filling #3 - Moong Dal Sweet filling  Yellow Moong Dal - 1/4 cup, soaked for 10 minutes...

Bonjour mes amis, I am going to share a healthier version of vada curry. I have only steamed the vada , instead of deep frying in oil, like in the original recipe. There is a special ingredient , which is 'tender banana blossoms'. Please make sure you don't use the first few layers of the blossom. They will be thick and won't taste good.  For the curry: Onion - 1 large, finely chopped Garlic - 5 cloves, chopped Tomato - 1 medium, chopped Tamarind - 1 gooseberry size, soaked and pulp extracted Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 3 tbsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp (or according to your spice tolerance level) Asafoetida(hing) - 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Salt as per taste Curry leaves - a few Coriander leaves - few  For the dumplings: Banana blossom - tender pieces from the inner layers; deveined and chopped roughly Channa Dal - 2 tbsp Toor Dal - 4 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Dry red chillies - 2  Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder ...

Hello readers Today I am here with yet another delicacy from my kitchen. I was bored to have the same old raw banana fry / vazhakkai chips / vaazhakkai varuval. So I tried this dish and here I am sharing the recipe with you all.  Recipe card   Raw Banana - 2 nos. Garlic - a few pods Asafoetida / hing / Perungayam - 1/8 tsp Chilli powder - 2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Tamarind paste - 2 tsp Salt - as per taste Cooking oil 1 tsp + 2 tbsp For the dry masala powder Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp  Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp Dry coconut / Kopparai / fried grated coconut - 1 tbsp Dry fry all the above ingredients and grind to a coarse powder.  In a pot, heat 2 cups of water. Once it starts to boil, add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, tamarind paste, hing and 1 tsp oil and let it boil for a minute.  Now cut the raw banana into 1/2 inch thick long slices like in the picture below.  Now, add these slices into the boiling mixture and cook for ...

As the name implies, these orange muffins are not so bad after all😄 Absolutely no butter, no eggs and no milk and mildly sweetened with light brown sugar and the sweetness from the orange juice. Ooohh, doesn't it sound so good.... I know! These days everyone is conscious of what they are eating.. This doesn't mean we don't get to eat all the yummy dessertz. Of course we can👍 Now let's jump into the recipe..... Gather the following ingredients and let's get started! Makes 16 muffins 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour  3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour  1 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1/2 tsp Salt 1/3 cup Canola oil 3/4 cup light brown sugar 3/4 cup yogurt 1 cup orange juice 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp orange zest First, mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Please note that I did not not sift the flour in this recipe.  Then in a separate bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar and yogurt until all of them are perfectly blended into a creamy mixture.  Now add the orange ...

Hello readers,  Wish you all a very Happy Diwali 💥✨ Let's celebrate this year's Diwali with this simple and easy to make Laddoo without deep frying boondis! You will need ( yields approximately 25 laddoos) Channa Dal - 1 cup Sugar - 2 cups Water - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Edible Camphor - 1/4 tsp Ghee - 3 tbsp Canola Oil - 3 tbsp Cashew Nuts split into half - 1/4 cup Golden Raisins - 1/4 cup Diamond cut rock sugar - 1/8 cup Cloves - few First wash and soak the Channa Dal in water for atleast 4 hours. Then drain the water completely and grind well without adding water.  In a thick bottomed pan heat the oil and ghee and roast the ground dal in low medium flame, until it is cooked and becomes grainy. Switch off the stove.  In a sauce pan, add the sugar and water and first let the sugar dissolve. Now keep stirring until you get a one-string consistency.  Pour this into the cooked dal and switch on the stove and mix well until all the sugar syrup is completely a...

  Hello readers, I am going to share the recipe for a healthier version of the traditional Pongal dish. It is a savory prepared for breakfast in South India. The original recipe is prepared with sona masoori rice and yellow moong dal. But now-a-days many people have started eating less carbs. So, I have used Quinoa and Oats with little rice in this recipe. You will need (serves 2 people) Ingredients List- 1 Sona Mosoori Rice - 1/4 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats - 1/2 cup Quinoa - 1/4 cup Yellow Moong Dal - 1/4 cup Ingredients List - 2 Add the following with the Pongal before cooking Water - 5 cups Whole Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp Green chillies - 2 medium size Ginger - 1 inch piece (peel the skin, because it is toxic, chop and crush the pieces using a mortar and pestal)   Turemeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1 tsp or as per your taste Ingredients List - 3 Ingredients you will need for tempering: Fresh pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (or 1 tsp if you want the pongal t...

This Pan Pulao is a vegan recipe. I have not used ghee, butter, milk or yogurt and have used coconut oil and coconut milk instead. It is a lightly spiced and easy to cook recipe, which will become your family's favorite meal. Now, quickly gather the below mentioned ingredients and begin... Long Grain Basmati Rice - 1 cup (washed, and soaked in 2 cups of water) Any variety of veggies - 1/2 cup in total ( I have used carrots, broccoli florets and beans) Onion - 1 medium(thinly sliced)  Tomato - 1 medium (sliced) Organic Coconut Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Cocnonut milk - 1/4 cup Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp , for seasoning Salt - 2 tsp or as per your taste (this is for the veegies and the ricew together) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Biryani masala powder - 1 tbsp (click the link for the recipe) White Paste -  1/2 of a small onion cut into large pieces, 1 inch ginger, 4 to 5 peeled garlic pods, 4 green chillies Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste. You can add 1 or 2 tbsp of water to g...

I am going to share the recipe to make soft, yummy and healthy red rice idlis and dosas. You can also make puttu, kozhukkattai, idiyappam using red rice flour.  To make idli/dosa batter with red rice, you need to soak the red rice atleast for about 6 to 8 hours.  You will need : Red Rice - 1 cup Idli rice - 1/2 cup Urad Dal - 1/2 cup Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp Salt - 2 tsp Add all the grains and methi seeds in a container and rinse thoroughly for 2 to 3 times. Add enough water and soak them well.  Then grind all the ingredients together into a thick batter using a wet grinder or a mixer grinder into a idli batter consistency, add 2 tsp salt and let it ferment overnight.  Grease the idli plates and pour the batter upto 3/4 full and steam for 12 minutes. when you insert a tooth pick into the idli, if it comes out clean, the idlis are cooked.  Idlis are ready to eat with any  chutney  or sambhar.  Look how the idlis are soft and fluffy inside, in the ab...

Now-a-days many people have started eating healthy millets and different varieties of rice. This recipe is made from a very healthy rice variety. It is a deep purple-black colored rice called Black Rice or Forbidden Rice. In tamil, it is called kavani arisi. It is a good source of protein, fibre, iron and several antioxidants. This rice looks like in the picture below. Please remember that it has to be soaked overnight, before cooking. For this desert recipe, you need the following ingredients Black rice - 1 cup Water - 2 1/2 cups used to soak the rice overnight Sugar - 1 1/2 cups Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Ghee / Clarified butter - 2 tbsp To begin with, first wash the rice 2 to 3 times and drain the water. Soak the rice with 2 1/2 cups of water overnight or atleast 10 to 12 hours. In a large bowl, add the soaked rice and measure 2 1/2 cups of water and add to the rice. You can use the same water that you used to soak the rice. It will be red in color, but it is o...

Hello all, I am going to share a baked spicy peanut snack today. Be it a rainy day or a snowy day, the aroma of the hot n spicy peanuts is divine with a cup of hot tea. Let's quickly grab the ingredients mentioned below and get started.. 2 cups - raw peanuts with skin 1/2 cup - besan / kadalai maavu 4 tbsp - rice flour  1/4 tsp - turmeric 1 tsp - salt or as per your taste  1 tsp chilli powder a pinch of baking soda  2 tsp - cooking oil  2 tbsp - water Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Remember to sprinkle water little by little and mix. The masala should just barely stick to the peanuts. It should not look like a paste consistency.  Lastly add another tsp of rice flour and mix, so that, the sticky peanuts get separated.  In a baking tray, line the parchment paper and coat with cooking spray or grease it with 2 tsp of oil.  Now spread the peanut mixture on the tray and bake for 30 minutes. The baking...

Hello readers, I am going share a kids favorite snack recipe, which is NOT loaded with sugar, but definitely LOADED with nutrition and fun!! There was a lonely banana, in my fruit bowl, ripened and blackened... which noone wants to eat 😔 So I thought of making an interesting and healthy snack or breakfast out of it.  Banana Cake Pops Recipe Card (makes about 21) Fully Ripe Banana - 1 large, peeled and mashed Light Brown Sugar - 2 tbsp  Cinnamom powder or Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt -1/2 tsp Baking soda - 1 pinch Whole Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup (You can use the aatta you use for making chapathi) Rice Flour - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup, as needed In a large bowl, add the mashed banana, brown sugar, cardamom / cinnamon powder, salt and baking soda and mix well with a hand mixer, until the sugar is fully dissolved. Now add the flours and water little by little and mix well without lumps. The batter should be a 'pour batter consistency' and not a running consistency. Let the batter sit ...