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There are different types of Broken Wheat available in grocery stores. The word ‘Fine’ will be mentioned in the pack. This variety takes less time to cook and it is…

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…

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…

‘Panagam’ is a sweet drink that is prepare mainly during Shri Rama Navami festival. However it is believed that preparing ‘Panagam’ during Navarathri and distributing it to the women,children is good too. My mom makes it a point to make this drink everyday at home and she will distribute it to the l

Millets_ is becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Though it used to be a staple food in South India before, we have forgotten the traditional and healthy millets in recent years. I am so glad people are understanding the value of these and are using it regularly in day to day cooking. Today am sha

This is my grandma’s recipe. She refers to this sweet as ‘Aval Kesari’ while few calls it as Aval Puttu 🙂 Whats in a name no? If it tastes good then let’s not bother about the names 😉 This is an instant recipe and if you have any uexpected guests you can make this real quick. I have used white fl

Navarathri starts tomorrow. It is always good to give different prasadhams/nevedhyams rather than the usual Sundal (ofcourse sundal is the best. But for a change). I have used around 250 gms of semolina. In case if you wish to serve more people adjust measurements accordingly.

This is one of the most important offerings to Lord Ganesha. It is also referred to as _மோதகம் _ in Tamil. There are two ways to prepare the basic Rice dough. We generally prepare a batter from rice and then use it to prepare the white rice dough. However I have seen many people preparing the