Adai Avial

"Adai" (Pan fried Lentil cakes)  is a healthy snack that is nutritious and filling. It is made with different kinds of lentils and not fried, making it a great choice for a wholesome breakfast or a light dinner.
"Avial" (Vegetable stew in coconut-cumin gravy) is the most voted accompaniment for Adai and complements the high-protein main dish with vitamins from vegetables.

Adai:

 Ingredients:

Boiled rice/Idli rice  - 1 cup

Toor dal (pigeon peas) -  ½  cup

Channa dal (Bengal gram) – ¼  cup

Urad  dal – ¼  cup

Moong dal  - ¼  cup

Salt - 2 tsp

Red chillies - 6 to 8

Onion (cut into pieces) – 1 ½  cups

Asafoetida  - 1 tsp

Curry leaves/coriander leaves – for garnishing

Oil  - as per requirement

Method of preparation:

 1) Soak boiled rice and pulses together in water for 1 hour.

2) Grind rice, dal, and red chillies and salt to a coarse batter.

3) Add onion pieces, curry leaves, coriander leaves and asafoetida powder.

4) Take a shallow pan or dosa tawa and heat it.

5) Take one ladle of batter and spread it on the pan in a nice, round shape (just like a dosa). Since the batter is thick, do not try to spread it out thin, the Adais will be smaller and thicker than dosas (around 6-7 cm in diameter).

6) Sprinkle oil on and around the batter to allow it to roast and get a golden brown color. 

Tip: If you have a big pan/tawa, 3 Adais can be  made simultaneously at the same time. 

The Adais are now ready, but save them up until the “Avial” is done.

Avial:

Ingredients:

Cut vegetables  - each 1 cup

[Carrot, beans, drumstick, flat beans – cut into 1 inch long pieces; Yellow pumpkin, white pumpkin, Bangalore kathirikai (coyote squash), potato, raw banana – cut into medium cubes]

Salt - 1 1/2 spoons

Coconut -  1 (If using grated coconut, use 2 cups)

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp

Green chilies – 6 to 8

Coconut oil -  4 tsp

Curd - 4 to 6 tsp

Curry leaves and coriander leaves – for garnishing

Method of preparation:

1) Wash the vegetables 

2) Steam yellow pumpkin separately and keep aside.

3) Steam all the other vegetables in a pressure cooker (allow only 2 whistles so that it is not overcooked) with salt . Use a little water as needed in the cooker.

4) Grind coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies to a fine paste 

5) After the steam is released from the cooked vegetables, add cooked yellow pumpkin, add the finely ground paste from step (4). Mix well. Add the curd to the cooker too and stir well.

6) Heat the mixture in the for 5 minutes without lid

7) Switch off the heat, add curry leaves, coriander leaves and 2 spoons of coconut oil  and mix in.

8) If the avial is watery, mix 2 tsp of besan (gram flour) in water, and add this. This will help thicken the gravy.

Avial is now ready to go with the Adai. It can also be served with steaming white rice.

Puliodharai from scratch

Ingredients

Tamarind - 20 grams

Sesame oil - 12 to 15 spoons

Red chilli - 12 or 15 numbers ( as per taste)

Salt - 2 spoons

Jaggery powder - 2 spoon

Methi seeds - 2 spoons

Turmeric pieces – 2 spoons

Til/sesame seeds - 1spoon

Coriander seeds - 1 spoon

Curry leaves - 30 numbers

Mustard seeds - 2 spoons

Urad dal - 3 spoons

Channa dal - 2 spoons

Fried peanuts - 1 cup (50 grams)

Asafoetida powder - 1 spoon

Method of preparation

1. Soak tamarind in hot water and make a thick juice.
2. Take a tawa and fry methi seeds and turmeric pieces (without oil). Keep it aside.
3. Fry til seeds. After they splutter, add coriander seeds and fry for 2 minutes and keep it separately.
4. Take oil in a tawa, add pieces of red chilli, fry till it becomes brown in colour at low flame (it will take atleast 5 to 8 minutes). This has to be done patiently.
5. Add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add urad dal.
6. After it becomes brown, add channa dal.
7. Once this is roasted to a nice brown, add curry leaves, fried peanuts and fry it for 2 minutes.
8. Add thick tamarind juice, salt and jaggery powder.
9. Heat the mixture in normal flame till it gets thickened.
10.  Grind fried methi seeds and turmeric pieces in a mixer. Keep aside.
11.  Grind fried til seeds  and coriander seeds in the mixer.
12.  Add both the ground mixtures to the tamarind juice mixture, add asafoetida powder and mix it well. Stir it for 2 minutes.

The yummy and authentic “pulikaachal” is ready. Mix required amount of this paste with cooked rice along with few spoons of sesame oil (this will add to the taste) and serve fresh, homemade puliodharai.

Puliodharai is usually served as prasadam in Vishnu Temples.

Maangai paal

Ingredients

Raw mango (peeled and cut into pieces) - 1 cup

Jack fruit (cut into pieces) – 1 cup

Raw banana piece - 1 cup

Jaggery powder - 2 cups

Coconut pieces (small) - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 2 teaspoon

Black pepper corns (whole) - 2 teaspoon

Tamarind - small lemon size

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Milk - 1 cup  

Cooking Instructions

1. Take a kadai and fry the whole pepper corns in ghee, grind half of the pepper and keep aside the rest.
2. Take  a broad vessel. Pour 2 cups of water, add raw banana pieces. When it is half-cooked, add tamarind juice.
3. Add raw mango pieces, jackfruit pieces, coconut pieces and then cook for 5-8 minutes.
4. After everything is cooked, add salt, jaggery powder and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Then add one cup of milk, one teaspoon ghee  and the ground pepper as well as the fried whole pepper. Mix it well and switch off the stove.

Authentic “Maangai paal" is ready to serve.  This can be served either hot or cold and will last for 3 to 4 days if refrigerated. This dish is perfect to be called the “dish of the season” as mango and jack fruit are available in plenty in summer season.

Interesting tidbit: This "mangai paal" is distributed as prasadam on Vaikasi Visagam Day in the Vaduvur Kothandaramar Temple and I grew up having this. This dish is intended to bring together different tastes - salt, sweet, sour and spicy.

Roasted brinjal

Ingredients

Brinjal (2) or Raw Banana (1) or Potato (2)

Besan (Kadala maavu) -2 spoons

Rice flour - 2 spoons 

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida -  little

Oil - 4 spoons

Method of preparation

1) Cut the vegetables into thin slices horizontally (as done for bajjis).

2) In a vessel, mix together besan flour, rice flour, salt, chilli powder and asafoetida.

3) Add 1/2 cup water and make a thin batter and keep it aside.

4) Take a tawa (dosa tawa) and heat for 2 minutes.

5) Dip the vegetable slices in the thin batter and put the slices (about 10) on the tawa and add 1/2 spoon of oil.

6) Keep the stove on low flame (sim) for 3 to 4 minutes to get the slices cooked till they get a brownish golden colour. Turn the slices and let this happen on the other side for 2 minutes.

7) Continue the process for the rest of the cut vegetables.

"Roasted Baingan" is ready to eat with your favorite sambar rice or rasam rice. 

"5 minute" Sambar

Ingredients

Toor dal - 4 spoons

Tamarind - small lemon size (5gms)

Salt - 1 spoon

Sambar powder – 1 1/2 spoons

Vegetables - 4 brinjals or 15 cut pieces of pumpkin or 15 cut pieces of carrot

Asafoetida – a little

Sugar – a pinch

Curry leaves - 10 numbers

Coriander leaves – a little

For tempering

Oil - little

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Red chillies - 1 or 2

Method of preparation

1) Soak tamarind in  water and prepare the juice (1 1/2 cups)

2) Take a small pressure cooker (3 litre would do)

3) Empty the tamarind juice in to the cooker

4) Add cut vegetables, toor dal, salt, sambar powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves, asafoetida and sugar. Close the lid and put the weight on.

5) Wait for two whistles and then reduce the heat to low. Let it stand for 3 minutes and remove the cooker from the stove.

6) Let it stand until the steam is released and open the lid of the cooker.

7) Heat the oil in a tempering pan and prepare the tempering. Add it to the sambar.

The "5 minute" sambar is now ready for guests.   

Crispy Kunuku

Ingredients

Boiled Idli rice - 1 cup

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Moong dal - 3 spoons

Chana dal - 3 spoons

Urad dal - 3 spoons

Red Chilli - 6 or 7

Salt - 1 spoon. 

Coconut (cut into small pieces) - one small cup OR Onion (cut into small pieces) - 1 cup

Coriander leaves & curry leaves - little

Method of Preparation

1)      Soak rice and all dals in water for 3 to 4 hours

2)      Grind rice, dal, red chilies and salt together into a coarse paste

3)      Add cut coriander and curry  leaves to the ground mixture

4)      Add coconut pieces OR cut onion pieces

5)      Mix well

6)      Take oil in a kadai and heat.

7)      Make small round balls of batter and fry to get golden brownish color.

Nice crispy kunuku is ready to serve with green chutney or tomato sauce. This is an ideal snack for all age groups.

Appalam Vathakuzhambu

Ingredients

Appalam/Papad - 2 or 3 (cut into pieces)

Tamarind - "small lemon" size

Salt – 1 spoon

Sesame oil - 4 or 5 spoons

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek/methi seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Toor dal/pigeon peas - 1 spoon

Sambar powder - 2 spoons

Curry leaves - 10 leaves

Dry red chilli - 2 or 3

Jaggery - little

Asofoetida/Hing - small piece

Method of preparation

1. Soak tamarind in hot water and make around 1 and 1/2 cups of tamarind juice out of it.
2. Take a kadai, pour 4 spoons of sesame oil, fry the appalam pieces and keep it aside.
3. Take oil in the kadai, add mustard seeds. After the seeds splutter, add fenugreek seeds, toor dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Allow the mixture to turn golden brown and then add sambar powder. Fry for a minute.
4. Add the tamarind juice, salt, jaggery and cook for 10 minutes. 
5. Add the fried appalam pieces and cook for 2 minutes.

Delicious appalam vathakuzhambu is now ready. Serve with hot rice. This recipe makes enough to serve 4 people.