Avarakkai kootu is a popular side dish from the Tambrahm cuisine made from just moong dhall (yellow split gram) , fresh coconut paste and a Sizzling tempering of mustard seeds ,curry leaves in coconut oil.

Avarakkai(tamil),Avrekkai(Kannada), chikkidkaay (Telugu) is a native Indian vegetable and used extensively across cuisines in India . In the Maharashtra and Gujarat it is called as Vaal papdi or papdi and Sem in Hindi .

Avrakkai is a diabetic friendly vegetable and also rich in protein, dietary fibre,vitamin A ,potassium and folates. Consuming avarekkai is a good source of plant protein and apt for vegetarians to meet their dietary requirements of protein intake. The fibre present in the Indian flat broad beans helps to manage cholesterol in the body.

Since, Avarekkai is a native vegetable, it is used during the Mahalaya Paksha , Amavasya cooking and also for cooking during Shraadh or Devasam. During Shraadh , Amavasai or Mahalaya paksha avrekkai is mostly used in the form of kootu but some families also make a simple stir fry known as Thenga pota curry . 

I shall share the recipe of the simple yet flavorful curry very soon. You may refer to Mildly Indian Seema's Kothavarangai Poriyal and in the same way you can make avarekkai poriyal .

Amavasya Lunch Menu

Avrekkai kootu can be mixed with rice or can also be served as an accompaniment to sambar ,vethakuzhambu, milagu kuzhambu along with some toasted papads and a simple paruppu Thogayal or pudina Thogayal. 

If making kootu to mix with rice, make it a little runny else we can have a thicker consistency. 

Avrakkai kootu is purely Saatvik and Vegan making it No Onion No garlic and Jain friendly .

You may also want to try some lip smacking healthy and delicious kootu recipes from my blog

Chou chou (Chayote) kadalai paruppu Kootu 

Cabbage Kootu 

Thiruvadhirai Kootu 

Poosanikkai (Ashgourd) Pulippu Kootu 

Vellarikaai(Cucumber) Kootu 

Keerai (Spinach) Kootu

Pin it up

https://pin.it/627Wo5jJs

Ingredients 

 Millet Dal Khichdi is a healthy one pot meal made from foxtail millet and a combination of various pulses . Khichdi is a very healthy Indian meal similar to a porridge or a gruel and is a staple meal for patients recovering from illness especially fever and stomach related issues.

Foxtail millet also known as Thinai (Tamil) ,  Kangni (Hindi) is low in glycemic index and rich in fibre and beta carotene.Consuming foxtail millets helps in keeping the sugar spikes under control and the presence of beta carotene makes it good for the eyes too. Beta carotene is what is found in carrots too .

Unlike,rice dal khichdi the quantity of millets used is less because it gives a good yield on cooking.  It is preferred to soak the millets for min of 6 to 8 hrs before cooking because that helps in maximum absorption of the nutrients. 

So,if you plan on making dal khichdi for dinner ,then soak the foxtail millet during your lunch time ,so by the time you make dinner around 7pm the millets have soaked sufficiently giving you the best benefits. 

Before cooking the millets, discard the water in which they were soaked and cook it using fresh water . 

To make dal khichdi, I use a combination of thoor dal (pigeon peas) , moong dhall(yellow split peas) , handful of whole moong (green beans) and black udad dhall (unhusked black lentil) along with mild whole spices. I make khichdi as a one pot meal ,where I cook the millets and pulses in the pressure cooker and temper mustard seeds,  curry leaves in ghee and pour it over the khichdi before serving .

Khichdi is very mildly spiced and it pairs well with Kadhi or raita . A side of pickle and some ghee on top is how the khichdi is generally served. In my home, we relish it with khatta meetha Gujarati Kadhi and some roasted papads . At times I also make some potato curry,to be served if I make dal khichdi for lunch . I like my khichdi to be gooey and  slightly runny ,but if you like your khichdi to be thick ,then adjust water accordingly. 

Ingredients 

Method

• Drain the water from soaked millet and wash the lentils multiple times .
• In a deep bottom pressure cooker,add the millet,lentils ,chopped tomatoes, green chillies,  ginger,turmeric, salt with 4 cups of water .
• Pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles and let pressure release naturally. 
• Open the lid and using a ladle mash the cooked khichdi nicely till it turns mushy. Add a cup of hot water if you feel it is too dry and thick .Adjust salt if needed.
• Prepare a tempering of mustard ,cumin,dry red chillies,asafoetida and curry leaves in ghee and pour it over the khichdi .
• Garnish with a lot of fresh coriander and serve hot .

 📍 Pin me up 

 Raw mangoes mark the beginning of summer and the pickling season.  Apart from making pickles ,raw mangoes can be used in a variety of recipes in our day to day cooking.

The  sourness, tartness and a mild hint of sweetness adds up a lot of flavor profile to the recipe.  Earlier we had to wait for summer to get good Raw mangoes, but now with so much improvement in cold storage facilities, we do get good Raw mangoes all through the year .

The current situation in Indian markets,is the cost of tomatoes which are sky high and we have to use them sparingly . In these times,Raw mango sambar has come to my rescue. Raw mangoes are a perfect work around for tomatoes. 

Depending on the tartness/sourness in the raw mango we can adjust the usage of tamarind pulp.  Most of the times we don't need to use tamarind as the sourness from the mango balances the flavors well . 

I use some vegetables like pumpkin and capsicums in my sambar recipe because we like to have lots of veggies in the sambar . You can also use carrots ,drumsticks ,Brinjals as well in this same recipe.

Piping hot sambar mixed in rice with a dollop of ghee is just out of the world . Pair this sambar with a coconut based vegetable stir fry and serve along with some papads to enjoy a wonderful lunch experience. 

In our Facebook gourmet food group Shh Cooking Secretly!!! , we are sharing Mango based recipes for the month of June .

Anu Kollon who hosted the theme, suggested we use mango in any form, either raw or ripe in our recipe.   I have used raw mango as the star ingredient while my partner Narmadha has made Mango Popsicles using ripe mango . 

If you are looking to exploring some lipsmacking recipes using raw mango ,you must definitely check out my list below .

Maanga Pachidi (Mango relish)

Maanga Thokku ( spicy mango relish) 

Maavinkaai Chitranna ( Mango Rice)

Maanga  Thogayal (Chutney)

Maangai Pisaral (Instant mango pickle)

Aam Panna (refreshing Summer drink)

Pin me up

 Thakali Saadham / Tomato Rice is a simple and delicious recipe from South India . It makes for a Quick fix lunch or dinner option and also apt to pack for lunch boxes . 

It is not a traditional recipe, hence each household may have different recipes to dish out this yummy Thakali saadham .

The main ingredient for this recipe are juicy and slightly tangy tomatoes for the extra punch. I use just basic spices and not much whole masalas/ garam masala . I like the rice to soak in the taste and flavor of tomatoes and chillies . 

If you like you may add some fried cashews or boiled peas while preparing the tomato rice . I add them depending on my family's request . 

My hubby loves to have his tomato rice with either Pattani (Peas) Masala or Potato Curry and some chilled raita/pachadi . Papads or fryums are an excellent addition as well . 

If packing for lunch , make sure you cool the rice completely and then pack it . If you pack it very hot ,there is a chance the rice may go bad especially in summer.  

I often make thakali saadham for dinner as it is a quick fix and I wont see fussy faces at home . As always, I realised that this delicious tomato rice wasn't on my blog and as a matter of coincidence our gourmet food group theme for this month was "cook what you like " .. Viola !! I got an opportunity to publish this recipe.  My partner Rafeeda has dished out a baked Pasta recipe and if you are a pasta lover, you must try it for sure .

Ingredients 

Method 

• Wash the rice well and soak it for 10mins and then drain the water through a colander. 
• Chop the tomatoes into medium sized chunks and finely chop the green chillies .
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or pressure pan and crackle the mustard seeds followed by channa dal and udad dal until they turn crisp and golden brown . Saute onions if using until pick and translucent. 
• Fry the green chillies,  curry leaves . Keep the flame on low and add the chopped tomatoes and  spice powders (haldi, red chilli powder, jeera powder and corriander powder ).
• Saute the tomatoes well and sprinkle some water ..cook covered until the tomatoes turn mushy and soft . Continue cooking until the oil begins to separate.Add salt at this  stage along with some chopped corriander. 
• Add water and bring to a boil . If using basmati rice use 1.5 cups water for 1 cup rice and if using sona masuri rice use 2 cups water for 1 cup rice.
• Once the water begins to boil,add the drained rice,  Pinch of sugar and adjust salt if needed .
• Close the pressure cooker and cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.  Let the pressure release naturally. 
• Fluff it with a fork and add some ghee if not vegan and serve hot with raita ,papads and some gravy or curry . 

Pumpkin is a versatile vegetable and is widely used in the Indian cuisine .Various names of pumpkin in different languages, Parangikkai /Thadiyangai (Tamil) , Mathan (Malayalam) , Kaddhu (Hindi) , Laal Bhopla (Marathi) , Sihi Kumbalkkai (kannada) ,Kumdo /Kumro (Bengali) and so on.

In India, pumpkins are available through the year unlike the western world wherein it is a Fall produce and available only during Autumn .

Having said that, in India we use pumpkin a lot across the length and breadth of various cuisines from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Assam . 

Parangikkai Vethakuzhambu is a classic recipe from Tambrahm kitchen and makes for a yummy main course . Vathakuzhambu is a tamarind based gravy without the lentils and is paired with rice and a simple vegetable stir fry or keerai  masiyal.

"Vathakuzhambum Sutta appalam um" is an eternal favorite combination in most households and our home is not an exception either .Certain terminologies lose the charm when translated, but for the ease of my readers let me translate it .. the term means Vathakuzhambu and roasted papad is the best combination when  served hot .

Vethakuzhambu has a good shelf life and can stay well upto 4 or 5 days when refrigerated provided your family doesn't polish off this yumm gravy.  Vathakuzhambu certainly tickles and rejuvenates our taste buds and appetite especially after heavy festive indulgence or even post traveling. 

I have quite a few variants of Vethakuzhambu and tamarind based gravy which I am linking below for your easy reference 

Appalam Vethakuzhambu 

Kondakadalai (chick peas) Vethakuzhambu 

Karvepillai (curry leaves) kuzhambu 

Milagu (pepper) Kuzhambu 

Vendhiya (fenugreek) kuzhambu 

Verkadalai (peanuts) Vethakuzhambu 

Ingredients 

Method 

• Extract the puree from the soaked tamarind, strain it.Add 1 cup water to it and set aside.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai and splutter the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves, corriander, thoor dhall and asafoetida. 
• Saute the chopped pumpkin cubes with sambar powder and add 1/2 cup water .let the pumpkin cook well .It should be well cooked, but firm at the same time 
• Add the tamarind extract, required salt and let it boil well and the raw flavor of tamarind is lost .Continue to simmer the vathakuzhambu until it reduces and becomes slightly thick in consistency like tomato puree. The kuzhambu shouldn't be very runny. 
• Turn off the stove and drizzle the sesame oil all over and a delicious Vethakuzhambu is ready to be enjoyed .

Pin it up for future