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My mom makes this spicy,tangy ‘Milagu kuzhambu’ whenever we come back home from a trip or vacation. The reason behind this is that we used to be tired from travel & from all those restaurant foods, this ‘kuzhambu’ is considered as a cleansing food. There are no vegetables involved, no onion/garlic , no extra spices. A very simple south indian style ‘pachadi’ (similar to yogurt based Raita with a Tadka) & a pappad (preferrably sutta appalam) are served as side dishes. This kuzhambu is a very common recipe in Tamil Brahmin community. Especially for nursing mothers we serve this kuzhambu…

‘Pitlai’ (பிட்ளை) is a traditional tamil brahmin dish which is prepared using either bittergourd or brinjal along with chickpeas. Unlike sambar, consistency of pitlai is very thick and can be served as a side dish to Idli/Dosa too. The recipe given below is exactly how my maternal grandmother and my mother makes it. However you could try few variations as mentioned below : – Kabuli channa or brown chickpeas is ideally used while making pitlai – You could substitue it with white chickpeas or green peas – Generally coconut paste is only used to spice the ‘pitlai’.However we do add…

Pulikuzhambu, Kara Kuzhambu, Poondu Kuzhambu these are all various varieties of thick tamarind based curries that are most popular in Tamilnadu apart from the usual Sambar & Rasam. The consistency is the key to make a perfect poondu kuzhambu. Recently I brought around 1/4 kg of fresh garlic from farmer’s market nearby and was waiting for weekend to make the gravy. After painstakingly peeling 2 whole bulbs of garlic I looked around the pantry and realized there was no Tamarind. Tamarind pulp is an essential ingredient to this curry because it gives the right tanginess to the gravy. I blindly…

Dal is an Indian dish prepared using various Legumes or Pulses. This protein rich, vegan dish can be served as an accompaniment to Rice or any type of Flat Breads. I have used Brown Lentils (whole masoor dal). However you could substitute it with canned Chick Peas, Kidney Beans or any other legumes. While serving the dal, you could also add a tbsp. of Butter to enhance the flavor. If you would like a more soupy consistency then add extra water accordingly. Since I was serving it with Rice I added less water to get creamy consistency. 

I always have Dosai batter in stock and it comes handy while trying to make quick breakfast or dinner. But at times I do forget the bowl of batter lying in fridge and it does become a bit sour after two days. Instead of wasting the sour batter you can try making this ragi rava roast[Finger Millet flour + Semolina crepes] and am sure your family will enjoy this breakfast.I served coconut chutney and tomato chutney as side dishes. However you could serve it sambar or molagapodi [GunPowder] too The following measurement approximately yields 12 medium sized dosas. Unlike dosa batter, this ragi rava batter has to be watery like our regular rava roast. Also you need to pour batter on a hot Dosa Tawa. If the temperature is not correct then it will difficult for you to remove dosa from the pan

Rama Navami is a traditional Hindu Festival to celebrate the birth of Lord Shri Rama. Lord Rama is the sixth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu himself and in Tamil Nadu temples we celebrate “Shri Rama Navami Utsavam” for nine days. It is firmly believed that mere chanting of His name ‘Rama’ burns ignorance, passion and sin. With or without knowledge, correctly or incorrectly, when the word “Rama” is pronounced it showers a rain of good upon the devotees. My mom usually reads Samkshepa Ramayan and she performs a simple pooja by reciting Shri Rama Ashtothram and then finish the pooja with…

I always love to experiment when it comes to food. Who doesn’t love challenges 😉 Last Saturday I was planning to prepare Appam as breakfast. The classic combination for that would have been Stew, Kadala Curry, Coconut milk etc. But unfortunately few of the essential ingredients were not unavailable in the pantry. When I thought of preparing coconut chutney as sidedish, I saw this Heinz Bean Tin which we had bought a while ago. We usually have baked beans on our toast. Then immediately an idea sparked to convert the sweet readymade baked beans to a spicy curry. Balancing the…

I have already shared a version of Thattai recipe here. I used homemade rice flour in that recipe. The one which I have below is prepared with store bought Rice Flour, Urad dal flour and roasted gram flour. The following measurement yields a

‘Karaboondhi’ (காராபூந்தி) is one of my favorite snacks. When I was young Appa (my father) used to work in Villupuram. Its a very small town near Chennai. There was one famous restaurant called _Archana Hotels. _He used to get this snack from that place. That was the best ‘Karaboondhi’ I have ever t

Curd Rice (தயிர் சாதம்) is one the most popular items of Tamil Nadu. This rice is considered as the ultimate comfort food by most of the people. Adding tadka (தாளிச்சு கொட்டிய தயிர்சாதம்) to the rice enhances the flavor. Few people add a tbsp of butter to the rice and it is believed that adding butt