DEVAKOTTAI SAMAYAL ARAI

Along the south coast of India, coconut trees grow in abundance. Inspired by this, I’m naming this dish South Coast Chicken Curry , as it is made with rich, thick coconut milk. You can prepare this curry using coconut oil for an authentic coastal flavor, or ghee (clarified butter) if you prefer a deeper, more aromatic taste. Ingredients needed : Chicken - 1 lb, cut into pieces Onion - 2 medium sized or half a pound, finely chopped Ginger - 1 inch piece, peel the skin and finely chopped (roughly 1 1/2 tsp minced) Garlic -  2 medium sized cloves, finely chopped (roughly 1 1/2 tsp minced) Green chillies - 4, slit and deseeded Coconut milk - 1 cup thick milk and and 1/2 cup 2nd milk Potatoes - 1 small, peeled and diced Curry leaves - 1 sprig Ghee - 2 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp ( homemade masala powder ) Salt - as per taste Cumin Seeds - 1 1/2 tbsp Preparation Method: In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the ghee. Add the onions and fry until they turn light ...

I am going to share the recipe of my homestyle mutton kuzhambu.  Ingredients Goat meat - 250 gms, cut, washed and marinated with little salt and turmeric powder Shallots (chinna vengayam) - about 10 pieces Ginger - 1 inch piece, peel the skin and chopped into small pieces Garlic - 5 cloves, peeled  Tomato - 1 medium size, cut into large pieces Coriander powder - 4 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I used Canola oil) Water - 1 1/2 cups Curry leaves - few Whole spices -  Cinnamon - 1 and 1/2 inch piece, cloves - 2, Bay leaf - 1,  black peppercorns - 1/2 tsp, fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp, whole red chillies - 3 medium  In a pressure pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Then add the whole spices and fry until they crackle. Then add the shallots, garlic and ginger and saute well. Then add the tomatoes, salt, and turmeric powder and saute for 1 mintue and switch off the stove, Let this cool down and then grind it into a fine paste, by adding about 1/4 cup...

In this day and age, everyone is looking for protein rich food and less carbs. I am presenting a quick and easy recipe of protein rich pan-seared shrimp. Webmd states that 100 grams of cooked shrimp contains 24 grams of protein. Click on the link to learn more nutrition facts about shrimps. You will need the following ingredients (this is one serving) Shrimp - 9 , shelled, deveined Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per your taste Lemon - 1 small Garlic - 1 pod, crushed Cooking oil - 1 tsp Fennel seeds - few Rice flour - 1 tsp In a bowl, add the cleaned shrimp, then add the salt, turmeric, chilli powder and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. I am not using the lemon juice for marination. Usually, if it is a non-acidic marinade, you can marinate from 15-20 minutes to 1 hour. But with acidic marinades like lemon juice or vinegar, you can marinate no longer than 30 minutes. Acidic marinades can start to cook the shrimp, leading to tough and mu...

  After a long time I am back with a bang with yet another chicken delicacy.  Ginger Chicken Dry recipe  ( makes 1 Serving / Cooking time 20 minutes) Chicken 100 gms/ 1/4 lb Fresh Ginger root - 1 inch piece peeled and grated  Onion - 1/2 cup chopped Green peppers - 1 tbsp finely chopped Curry leaves - a few leaves, torn Coriander powder - 1 tbsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp Biryani masala powder - 1 tsp (check my recipe here ) Salt to taste Plain Yogurt - 2 tbsp Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I use canola oil) Wash the chicken pieces and marinate with the yogurt, salt and turmeric powder. Leave it aside until you chop the onions and grate the ginger.  Heat a skillet and pour 2 tbsp of cooking oil. Add the curry leaves, chopped onion and sauté in medium flame. Now add the chicken and the ginger together. Sauté in medium fine until the chicken turns white.  Now add the coriander powder, chilli powder and the biryani masala powder, mix well and co...

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 ...

Rosemary is an aromatic shrub, which can be grown in your garden. Rosemary  leaves and oil have a lot of medicinal values. To learn more about the health benefits of Rosemary, please follow the link .  I have used fresh rosemary from my garden for this recipe. Rosemary chicken curry is definitely an incredibly flavorsome dish. This recipe will serve two people. Let us quickly grab all the ingredients needed to prepare this dish. Rosemary leaves - 1/4 cup washed Chicken (boneless and skinless) - 3/4 lb, washed and cut into medium sized pieces Onion - 2 large chopped into small pieces Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped into small pieces Tomato - 1 medium chopped into small pieces Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp for seasoning Cooking oil - 2 to 3  tbsp Masala powders    Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt  - 1 tsp Heat a 1 tsp oil in a pan and saute 1/2 of the  chopped onion, chopped ginger and the rosemary leaves. Cool the...

Moringa Leaves Chutney Powder In my childhood, we used to live in a big single family home with lots of trees and flowering plants. There was almost every tree in our backyard. You name it, we will have it! For example, Coconut trees, Mango tree, Guava Tree, Pomegranate tree, Banana Tree, Moringa Tree, and the list goes on...... Hmm, we come across a lot about the Moringa Trees, and the goodness of their leaves nowadays. The vegetable from this tree is called Drumsticks. We can cook delicious dishes with these drumsticks, with a combination of lentils or just a curry which will be yummy with cooked rice varieties, idli or dosa.  The leaves from this tree are also very healthy. It can be cooked with lentils as well.  The kids may not like the taste of these leaves.  In this case, we can make chutney powders and they can mix this with hot cooked rice and clarified butter (ghee). When I have a lot of moringa leaves, if I do not want to cook all of them into a curry, I clean ...

Hello friends, Today I am going to share yet another exotic dish "Peas Potato Curry". It is a simple recipe but with some secret tips, the result will be a tasty curry for Roti or Naan. You will need the following ingredients Potato - 2 nos ,washed, peeled and cubed pieces  Peas - 1/2 cup, frozen or fresh Secret Ingredient (Green Pepper / Capsicum - few pieces cut lenthgwise) Onion - 2 large and finely chopped Tomato - 2 large and finely chopped Ginger - 1/2  inch piece, crushed Garlic - 5 medium sized cloves, crushed Green Chillies - 2 small, slit lengthwise and deseeded Secret Ingredient (Whole Milk - 1/4 cup) Oil - 2 tbsp Butter - 2 tbsp Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 2 tsp or as per your taste Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp finely chopped Whole Spices for Seasoning -  Cinnamon bark - 1 inch piece Cloves  - 2 pieces Green Cardamom - 2, whole Black Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp Phew😅!! the list of ingredients is over😃 In a...

Hey everyone! The reason behind this appetizing recipe..... On an auspicious day of April 13, which is the Tamil New Year,  I was looking for mangoes to make the Mango Pachadi with jaggery on this auspicious day, but could not buy one. So I was trying to find a replacement for mangoes and  voilà  !  I found these cranberries in my freezer. Sans plus tarder, let's get to the recipe! All you need is 1 cup - fresh or frozen (You can buy fresh cranberries during the season and wash and pat dry them and freeze for later use) 1/2 cup - diced red onions (you can also use white onions) 2 to 3 tbsp - crushed jaggery (you can substitute it with brown sugar) 1 tsp - red chilli powder 1/2 tsp - turmeric powder 2 tbsp  - cooking oil ( I used canola oil) salt to taste For Seasoning- 1/2 tsp - mustard seeds 1/4 tsp - asafoetida  1- whole red chilli broken into 2 pieces a few curry leaves In a skillet, pour 2 tbsp oil and when the oil i...

This is a yummy and healthy chutney which will be a good combination with Idli, Dosa, Chapathi / Paratha , Upma  and many more............. Most of the kids will not eat Red Capsicum if it is given as a Poriyal, or added to Biryani or Fried Rice, because of it's thick skin. If it is given like a chutney/ dip , the kids will love it. You will need : Red Capsicum - 1 large , deseeded and chopped Tomato - 1 large , chopped Oil - to sautee Salt as per your taste To temper: Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp Urad Dal (Whole Black Gram) - 1 tbsp Asafoetida powder - 1 pinch Dry Red Chillies -  2 medium (you can increase the quantity according to your taste) First, heat a pan and pour 1 tbsp any cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add the ingredients for tempering. Let everything splatter. Now, add the capsicum pieces and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, salt  and sautee until they are well sauteed. Transfer the contents onto a plate and let it cool down...

On this auspicious day of Tamil New Year , Sweet Mango Pachadi  must be prepared. It is a sweet and sour dish. You will need Mango - 1 Jaggery - 1/4 cup Onion - 2 tbsp chopped Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Dry Red Chilli - 1 no. Curry Leaves - few Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch 1. Peel the mango, and cut into pieces, leaving out the seed and cook it in water on stovetop     until it is just cooked and not mashed. 2. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil, put mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing, let them crackle. 3. Add the chopped onions and a dash of salt and sautee them. 4. Now, add the cooked mango pieces along with the water. 5. Now, add the grated jaggery and let it come to a boil, switch off the stove. Mango Pachadi is ready !

On the Tamil New Year's Day, we have to cook dishes with all the 6 different tastes, i.e. அறுசுவை உணவு . Neem Flowers- dried - 1 tsp crushed Tomato - 1 medium Garlic - 2 pods crushed Tamarind - 1 lime size , soaked in water and pulp taken Salt as per taste Cumin  Pepper Powder - 1tsp Water - 1 1/2 cups to temper - Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp Pepper Corns - 5 Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chilli - 2, broken into pieces Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp Curry Leaves - few 1. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add all the ingredients for tempering and let them crackle. 2. Then add the garlic , tomato and turmeric powder and sautee well. 3. Now add the tamarind pulp and 1 1/2 cups of water. 4. Once it starts to form bubbles around the pot, add the salt, cumin pepper powder and also sprinkle     the crushed neem flowers and switch off the stove . Note : If you are using fresh Neem Flowers, you can saute it in ghee and add to the recipe. Veppam Poo rasam is read...

எல்லோருக்கும் எங்கள் தமிழ் "மன்மத" புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் !  My grandma says Black eyed beans brings good luck ! But we need not restrict cooking this only on auspicious days. We can make it as a side dish. It is not only lucky... but also... it is high in dietary fibre, potassium, magnesium, Vitmain A...  I will be updating some health benefits of Karamani (black eyed pea) in my other blog. I will post the link here for your convinience. Black Eyed Beans Curry Black eyed beans - 1 cup (soak this in water for 1 to 2 hours) Onion - 1 large Tomato - 1 medium Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Coriander Powder - 2 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - as per taste Tamarind - small gooseberry size (soak it and take the pulp) Temper with Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad Dal - 1 tsp Curry Leaves - few Asafoetida 1. Pressure cook the beans with 1/2 tsp salt and water. 2.In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil, add all the ingredients for tempering and allow them to crackle. 3. Add...

Hello readers, This recipe is yet another of my creations. I used cooked white chick peas to make a side dish for Idli and Dosa. If you have any left over sundal , you can also use that. It is also healthy , because chick peas is highly rich in protein and fiber content. It is a quick side dish recipe, if you are using left over sundal ! Ingredients needed : White Chick Peas / Kabuli Channa - 1/4 cup (soaked , pressure cooked with salt) Onion - 1 large, chopped Tomato - 1 large, chopped Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Canola Oil for cooking - 1 tbsp Coriander leaves - 2 tsp chopped For tempering : Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp Asafoetida - 1 pinch Curry leaves - few Let's prepare this dish * In a skillet, heat the oil and put all the ingredients under "tempering ". * Now add the chopped onions and sautee until they turn pink. Then add the tomatoes and sautee. * Add the turmeric powder, salt and chil...

This dish is a Chettinaad speciality. I just picked some garden fresh violet brinjals(eggplants). Back home, some countryside eggplants will taste yummy for this dish. You will need : Eggplants (fresh) - 1 lb Shallots - 10 small (can also be replaced with onion) Garlic - 10 small pods Tomato - 1 medium , cut into large pieces Tamarind - 1 lemon size, soaked in water and pulp taken Coriander Powder - 3 tbsp Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - as per your taste Cooking Oil (any oil of your choice, I used Canola oil) - 2 tbsp for Tempering - Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - few , washed *Wash the brinjal well and cut each one into 2 pieces or 4 pieces , depending upon the size. *Now, put the cut pieces in a bowl of cold water. *Heat a thick bottomed pan and heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and saute     ...

  On a very chilly night, my son wanted to eat something really delicious chicken dish. Instead of going to  a restaurant, why not make something at home ? Oh yes! He asked for Chilli Chicken. It is the junkiest of all, but I chose to make it a little healthier version. I used lemon juice instead of vinegar and I did not deep fry the chicken pieces as it is done in restaurants. So, here comes the recipe I created , hoping that you to will read, prepare at home , enjoy and post the photos here ! To Marinate the Chicken : Boneless Chicken - 1 lb cut into 1 inch pieces Chilli Sauce - 1 tbsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Corn Flour - 2 tbsp For the Sauce : Lemon juice - take juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 tbsp (substitute for vinegar) Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsp Soy Sauce - 1/2 tsp For the Gravy : Onion - 1 large cut into thick slices Green Capsicum - thick slices Green Chillies - as per your taste cut in to long halves and deseeded (I have used 4 ) Ginger - 1 inch piece, peeled an...