Prarthana's Vegetarian Delight

Sambar is a very important dish in south Indian cuisine. My dad is a great fan of this arachivitta (freshly grounded masala) onion sambar. He always asks me to prepare this sambar with arbi(sepakezhangu) fry curry. I make this sambar mostly every weekend and enjoy with fried curries like potatoes, arbi or ladies finger. INGREDIENTS: 1. Shallots/small onions- 5-6 pcs. 2. Drumsticks- 3-4 pcs. 3. Toor dal/ Thuvaram paruppu- 3 tbls. 4. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp. 5. Fenugreek seeds- 1tsp. 6. Cumin seeds- 1tsp. 7. Oil- 2 tsp. 8. Tamarind- gooseberry sized piece. 9. Salt- As needed. 10. Coriander leaves- for garnishing. 11. Dried red chilly- 1 12. Curry leaves- few. 13. Turmeric powder- 1tsp. FOR GROUND MASALA: 1. Coconut scrapped- 3 tbls. 2. Urad dal/ ulutham paruppu- 1 tsp. 3. Channa dal/ Kadalai paruppu- 2tsp. 4. Coriander seeds- 3tsp. 5. Red chilly dried- 3-4. 6. Sesame seeds- 1/2 tsp. METHOD: 1. Peel shallots and keep it aside. Pressure cook toor dal with 2 cu...

It was a lazy Sunday morning and as usual we got up late. I wanted to prepare a quick breakfast and not a boring one too. I opened my fridge and there was some left over adai batter. I quickly added veggies and made this kara appam with a spicy pudhina(mint) dip. My husband is a crazy fan of this mint chutney. The recipe of adai batter is in my previous adai avial post. http://prarthanavegdelight.blogspot.sg/2015/09/adai-avial.html INGREDIENTS: FOR APPAM: 1. Adai batter- 1 cup (Without any added veggies) 2. Grated carrot- 1/2cup. 3. Onion- 1 finely chopped. 4. Salt- To taste. 5. Finely chopped coriander- few. 6. Oil- As needed. FOR MINT CHUTNEY: 1. Mint leaves- 1/2 cup. 2. Coriander leaves- 1/4 cup. 3. Urad dal- 1tsp. 4. Green chilly- 2. 5. Ginger- 1 inch piece. 6. Garlic- 2-3 pods. 7. Salt- To taste. 8. Curd- 1 tbls. 9. Oil- 1tsp. METHOD: 1. Mix the grated carrot, chopped onions, chopped coriander and salt to the adai batter. Add water if needed and...

Adai Avial is a famous south Indian combination dish. Adai is a type of dosa made of lentils. Avial is actually derived from Kerala. Kerala is well known for the usage of coconut oil in all their dishes. Avial is also one such dish with the wonderful aroma of coconut oil. Avial is made up of mixed veggies of your choice. INGREDIENTS: FOR ADAI: 1. Channa dal/Kadalai paruppu- 1 cup. 2. Thoor dal/Thuvaram paruppu- 1cup. 3. Raw rice- 1 cup 4. Parboiled/Idly rice- 1 cup. 5. Moong dal/ Pasi paruppu- 1 handful. 6. Urad dal/ Ulundhu- 1 handful. 7. Dried red chilly- 5-6 (Even more if you want spicy). 8. Curry leaves- 1 handful. 9. Salt- To taste. 10. Asafoetida- 1 tsp. 11. Onion- 1 finely chopped. 12. Cabbage- 1 cup finely chopped. 13. Grated carrot- 1 cup. 14. Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup finely chopped. FOR AVIAL: 1. Mixed vegetables- 1 cup.(I used potato, raw banana, Pumpkin, drumstick, green peas, carrot, beans). You can also add egg plant, yam, arbi. 2. Coconut-...

Spinach is a healthy leafy vegetable. But many don't like to eat spinach and any leafy vegetable. So i try to make it in a tasty way. I make this keerai kootu weekly once or even twice. My husband loves this. I use all kind of spinach like palak, mola keerai or even Chinese spinach for making this recipe. Ingredients: 1. Spinach- 1 bunch. 2. Green chilly- 3. 3. Coconut- 1/2 cup. 4. Cumin seeds- 1tsp. 5. Asafoetida- 1tsp. 6. Salt- To taste. 7. Sugar- 1 tsp. 8. Coconut oil- 1tsp. 9. Mustard seeds- 1tsp. 10. Urad dal- 1tsp. 11. Mor milagai or dried red chilly- 1 (optional). 12. Moong dal- 1/2 cup cooked(Optional) Method: 1. Remove the spinach leaves from its stem. Wash and clean the leaves. In a pan, add the spinach leaves, cumin seeds and sugar. Cumin seeds and sugar helps to retain the greenish color. Sprinkle some water and bring it to boil. Little water is enough since spinach already has water content. 2. Switch off the flame once the spinach gets cooked...

Snake gourd is called as podalangai in tamil. We make this poricha kozhambu almost every weekend for lunch. This poricha kozhambu with coconut thogayal ia a wonderful combo. I used moong dal/pasi parrupu. It can be made with thoor dal/thuvaram paruppu also. A very simple dish for a quick lunch.   INGREDIENTS: Snake gourd-2 small Turmeric powder- 1 tsp. Salt- As needed. Coconut- 1 cup scrapped. Pepper- 2 tsp. Cumin seeds- 2 tsp. Moong dal/Pasi paruppu- 3 tblspoon. Coconut oil- 2 tsp. Mustard- 1 tsp. Urad dal- 1 tsp. Curry leaves- Few. METHOD: 1. Wash the snake gourd and cut the sides. Cut it vertically and remove the center soft white part. Then cut it into thin pieces. Boil the chopped snake gourd with 1 cup water. Add salt and turmeric powder to this. Boil this until the snake gourd becomes soft. Pressure cook moong dal separately with little water. 2. Ground the coconut, pepper and cumin seeds with little water into a fine paste. Add this ground paste to th...