SuvaiArusuvai - Veg Recipes of India

This is one paste, which is very useful, while making Pulavs, fried rice, Khurmas etc. Most of the time, we grind it when we do these items or use the ready made pastes that is available in the market. While preparing such dishes only a little of the paste required. For bachelors, office goers and students, this paste is of great help, not only while making the above said items, but this can be used also in Lemon Rasam, or to make Poondu Rasam. Ingredients Garlic - 100 gms Ginger - 100 gms Salt - 1 tbsp Oil - 1 tsp Method Peel garlic, peel and wash ginger. Grind both of them together to a fine paste along with salt. In a pan add oil and add this paste, when the oil separates, remove from flame, let it cool and store in a dry jar and refrigerate. You can also fry ginger and garlic in oil before grinding. Do not add water while grinding. You can use the same method to make ginger paste or garlic paste separately.

Ingredients Green chillies (prefferrably the thin long ones) - 250 gms Gingely Oil - 1 tbsp Asafdeita - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Method: Wash the chillies. Grind them together along with asafodeita and salt. In a pan add oil and when hot add the paste and keep stirring for a few mins. (Till the oil separates). This can be stored in a clean jar and refrigerated and can be used whenever and wherever required. Instead of frying it in oil, this paste can be stored just after grinding and one spoon of it can be used while grinding chutneys. This uncooked paste can also be used while making vathals and vadams.

Bachelors, those who are learning to cook can try out this Rasam. Rasam is a dish that is prepared almost every day in all the south Indian house hold. Ingredients: Pepper - 2 tsp Jeera - 2 tsp (Cumin) Dhaniya - 2 tsp (Coriander Seeds) Red Chilly - 6 to 8 (depends upon its spiciness) Tamrind - 1 big lemon size Salt - to taste To season: Mustard Red Chilly -2 Asafodeita - 1 pinch Method: In a pan fry pepper, cumin corander seeds, red chillies in little oil. Add the tamrind to it (make it into small pieces). Grind these with little water (make it a thick paste). This paste can be stored in freezer and can be used for almost a month. When you are preparing the rasam, add one tbsp of the paste to 1 1/2 cup of water. Cut one tomato into fine pieces. Add salt, asafodeita and curry leaves and bring it to boil. Season it with mustard, red chillies in ghee.

This is an instant sweet, that can be done within an hour. Ingredients: Badam - 200 gms Sugar - 1cup Cashew nuts - 100 gms Ghee - 2 tbsp Method: Soak Baadam and half of the cashewnuts for about 15 mins and deskin it and grind it into fine paste. In a hard bottom pan add the badam paste, sugar and ghee and cook it till everything mixes well together. Keep stirring so that the entire mixture should not stick to the pan. Remove from fire and make it into small balls. This can be spread in a ghee spread plate and cut into square or diamond pieces too. Grind the remaining cashew into fine pieces and sprinkle on the balls or the diamond pieces.

Ingredients: Basmati Rice - 1 cup Big Corn Cob - 1 (remove the cobs from the corn) Water - 2 cups Sambar Onion (the small vareity) - 1/2 cup (diced into small pieces) Ginger garlic paste - 1/4 tbsp Curd - 1 tbsp Salt - to taste Pepper - 1/4 tsp Green Chilly - 2 Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp or 1 each of bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, 2 cardomom Method: Wash and soak the rice for 1/2 an hour. Clean the corn and soak for 2 hours till it becomes soft and tender. In a hard bottom pan add 1 tbsp ghee (oil for diet conscious), and add onion, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardomo, ginger garlic paste and green chillies. Saute it well. Drain the rice and corn and add it to the pan without any water. Add curd, salt and water and pressure cook it. Allow for two whistles. If doing it in the pan itself, add 2 1/2 cups of water and close the lid (mix it well inbetween every few mins so that the rice doesnot settle down). To give more flavour and colour, one can add carrot, beans and peas also along with corn. Decorate

Every summer, we make sure that we have this Ice cream bonanza. Every one in the family loves it. Even kids like to take this as it have lots of ice creams. This quantity is just to make for 2 people. For more number of people, the quantities can be increased. Ingredients: Fruits - 2 cups finely chopped(either mixed or single fruit) Fruits that can be added are Bananas, Mangoes, Pineapple, apple, watermelon, musk melon. Sugar - 2 tbsp (though it is better to avoid) Vannila Ice cream - 1 Scoop Choclate Ice cream - 1 Scoop Butter Scotch - 1 Scoop Cashew Nuts - cut into small pieces - 10 to 12 Honey - 2 Tbsp Chocolate Sauce - 2 Tbsp (Optional) In a flat bottomed bowl spead the fruits and add one tbsp of honey and sugar to it. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate it for half an hour. Add the ice creams and decorate it with honey, chocolate sauce and nuts. For those kids who dont like to eat fruits, it is better to blend the fruits in a blender and follow the same method.

Its Mango Season and soon ripe mangoes will start coming in and this is one recipe I tasted last year in one of my friends house, I have made a few changes according to my taste. Ingredients: Ripe Mango - 1 Turmeric powder- ½ tsp Grated coconut- 1/2 cup Cumin seeds- 1 tsp Green chillies- 4 to 6 Coconut oil- 2 tbsp (which gives more of Kerala taste) Mustard seeds- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp Curry leaves a bunch Curd Unsour - 1 Cup Curd Sour - 1 Cup Water- 4 cups Salt to taste Dhaniya - 1/4 cup Gram Dhall - 4 tbsp Asafodeita Powder - 2 pinches Method: Cut the mango pieces and cook in water along with turmeric powder, green chilly (slit in the middle vertically) and salt. Soak Dhaniya, GramDhall, Cumin Seeds in water for 30 mins. Grind it (dont drain the water, that water can be used while grinding) along with coconut and remaining chillies. The paste should be very fine one. Add the paste to the cooked mango and when it boils, simmer and add the curds and let i

I have started having this buttermilk as the summer have started. It is a great drink for this time. I have started avoiding tea and coffee in the day. It is very refreshing too. Ingredients: To powder: Cumin - 1/4 cup Methi Seeds - 2 tbspns Method: Fry Methi seeds and Cumin in a dry pan and this can be stored in a dry container. Cut curry leaves, coriander leaves, one inch of ginger piece and mix with salt and keep it for 15 mins. In a glass, add 2 ladels of thick curd and add 3 cups of water and churn well (this will give 2 glasses of buttermilk). To this add one spoon of the powder, and one spoon of the cut leaves and ginger. If you like you can add half of small green chilly. Let everything set for around 30 mins. If needed it can be refrigerated for 15 mins before drinking. But I prefer not to refrigerate it.

Ingredients: Sugar - 3 Cups Boiling Water - 1 Cup Lemon Juice - 3 Cups Method: Dissolve sugar in boiling water. Cool. Add lemon juice, mixing well to combine. Cover and store in refrigerator up to 1 week. To prepare lemonade for 1 serving, combine 1/4 to 1/3 cup syrup and 3/4 cups cold water in a glass, stirring well.

A great refreshing drink that helps in feeling fresh after coming back from hot sun. This can be made readily and kept in fridge. Ingredients: 2 cups fresh lemon juice 2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups water Method: Mix together juice and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the water, cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator. To serve, put 1/2 cup syrup in a large glass with ice, then fill with water. This syrup can be kept in fridge only for a few days so keep making it fresh.

When ever some one falls ill and runs high temperature, the first diet elders advice to give them is Puzhungalarisi Noi Kanji. This is also a good first food for infants. Ingredients: Boiled rice - 4 cups Pottu Kadalai or processed bengal gram - 1 cup Moong Dal - 1 cup Jeera - 1/4 cup Method: Soak Boiled rice in water after washing it for about 2 hours. Drain the water thoroughly and dry it inside the house (better not do it outside). Let all the wetness go off. Fry all the ingredients including the dried boiled rice in a dry pan till they become brown (should be done carefully and not over do it). This can be ground in flour mill and grind coarsely. (Or it could be ground in mixer also one by one and then mix well) If the powder is prepared for infants, make little at a time, take 1 cup of boiled rice and the remaining as per the ratio and grind it in mixie and sieve it thoroughly until a fine powder. Mix one tbspn of this powder to warm water and mix it thoroughly witho

Tomato Soup is all time favourite for all of us in our family. Whenever kids want to have this soup, I just make this and they simply love it. As we have tomato always at home, it is easy to make this in no time. This can be done both on stove top and also in Microwave Ingredients: Tomatoes - 2 large Onion - 1 large Jeera - 2 tbsp Pepper Powder - 1 Spn Curry Leaves - from 1 strand Coriander leaves - 2 strands Ginger - 1 inch piece (if you dont like ginger, you can avoid this) Garlic - 4 flakes Green chilly - 1 small Salt - To taste Water - 4 cups Method: Wash the tomatoes and cut into 4 pieces. Cut onion into small pieces. In a pan add 2 cups of water and add the tomato and onion and ginger pieces. Bring them to boil. Remove from fire and when cool, grind, tomato, onion, ginger, green chilly, curry leaves, coriander leaves together. Boil the remaining two cups of water and add the paste and salt and let the mixture boil again. Serve hot.

This is one milkshake that can be had either cold or hot. I dont make it with the coco powder that we get in the supermarkets, they give a bitter taste, instead I use a combination of choclate drink and Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Ingredients: Milk - 2 glasses Sugar - 3 tbsp Boost - 4 tbsp Dairy Milk Bar - (the Rs. 5 bar is enough for 2 glass) Water - 1/4 cup Ice cubes - 2 Method: Warm the water add boost to it and mix well. Scrap the Dairy Milk into pieces and add that to the warm water. Take a hard bottom vessel and add the milk, sugar and the choclate mixture and keep stirring till everything blends together. Remove from flame, let it cool. Take half of it and blend in a blender till it frosts. Mix it with the remaining. If you want it hot, heat the remaining mixture before adding the forsted mixture to it. If you are serving it cold, blend both together, add ice cubes and serve chilled. Alternatively, you can add choclate ice cream while blending. But avoid Dairy Milk.

A healthy and tasty drink. Make it plain or make it as a milkshake, kids will love for sure. Drink that people of all ages can have. Ingredients: Carrot - 2 cups grated Milk - 4 cups Water - 1 cup Sugar - 3/4 cups Cardomom - 1/2 tsp Cashew nuts - 24 nos. Method: Pressure cook carrots in one cup milk and one cup water. (Just one whistle is enough). Let it cool. Grind half of the cashew nuts with the cooked carrot to a fine paste. Bring the remaining 3 cups of milk to a boil. Add the ground paste to it and cook till the entire mixture forms a thick paste. Add sugar after reducing the flame. When the sugar dissolves remove from flame, add cardomom powder and cashew nuts roasted in ghee. Serve chilled. (If you want it as a drink, add half cup of this kheer to half cup of milk before serving).

One of my most favourite sweet is Carrot Halwa. When we got our new microwave, I tried this and it really turned out well.  Ingredients: Carrot - 2 cups grated Milk - 1 1/2 cup Sugar - 1 cup Cashew nuts - 10 to 12 Cardomom Powder - From 4 to 6 pieces Ghee - 2 Tbsp Method: In a deep Microwave bowl, add milk and carrot. The mixture should reach only half of the vessel. The vessel should be that deep. Keep it in micro high for 10 mins. Give a standing time of 5 to 6 mins and then remove from oven and add sugar to it. Mix well and micro high for another 8 mins. Remove from oven after a standing time of 3 mins. In a small microwave glass bowl, add a spoon of ghee and broken cashewnut pieces. Keep for 2 mins and bring it to golden brown. Remove from oven and add it to the Carrot Halwa. Add cardomom powder. Serve hot or cold. A great dessert. To get this recipe in Tamil

When we were young and whenever we visit Chennai, our uncles made it a point that any of them take us to Marina Beach atleast once during our stay. And whenever we go there, we used to get Thengai Mangaai Pattani Sundal, fried corn cobs, sugar cane juice etc. But we make this Thengai Mangai Pattani Sundal even at home. It can be made either with dry white or green peas. Ingridents: Dry peas - 1 cup Cocunut pieces or grated coconut - 1/4 cup Sour Mangoes - 1/4 cup finely chopped Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Green chillies - 3, 4, Chopped Curry leaves - few Hing - ½ tsp Method: Wash & soak the peas in water for about 8 hrs. Again wash, add with little salt & just enough water in a pressure pan. Cook for just 2 whistles. (If you are cooking it in microwave, then keep it for almost 20 mins. In a kadai, add oil and add mustard to it when it splatters add urad dal, green chillies, chooped curry leaves, hing and saute well. Add the cooked peas

Ingredients: Milk - 1 ltr Vermicili - 1/2 cup (Roasted) Sugar - 1/2 cup (If you want it a bit more sweet add 2 to 4 tspns more) Cardomom Powder - made from 4 to 6 cardomoms Cashewnuts - broken into small pieces 8 pieces Raisins - 10 to 12 (optional) Ghee - 3 tbsp Method: In a micro bowl put 1 tbsp ghee and add raisins and cashew nuts and microwave it for 1 min. If they are not roasted golden brown, keep it for another 30 seconds. In a flat bowl, add a tbspn of ghee and semiya(vermicili) and micro high for 1 min stirring in between. Boil milk in a microwave container. Add vermicili to it and mix well. Micro high for 15 mins stirring every few mins inbetween. Remove from microwave and add sugar. Again microwave it for 5 mins. Remove from the oven and add the fried nuts and raisins, cardomom powder and another tbsp of ghee to it. It is good to eat this either hot or cold.

Ashoka Halwa is regarded as the king of sweets. Ingredients: Moond Dal - 2 cups Maida - 1/2 cup Sugar - 3 cups Ghee- 3 cups Cashew Nuts - 100 gms Cardomom powder - made of 10 to 12 cardomoms Red food colour - a pinch Water - 1 1/4 cup Method: Clean the moong dal and pressure cook it till it becomes soft. In a pan fry the maida till it smells cooked. In a pan pour water and add sugar to it and mix well. Once the sugar gets dissolved add the cooked moong dal to it and add little sugar to it and keep stirring. This mixture will be in the form of dosa batter. When it starts coming out of the edges, add maida to it and mix again. This will come to a ball like consistency. Add the remaining ghee, cardomom powder and broken cashew nuts. Remove from flame, and spread it in a ghee greased plate. Serve hot.

While we had been to Olives in Deccan Plaza, we were served this Moong Dal Halwa, it was dry and coarse, not the regular halwas that we had always. Ingredients: Moong Dal - 100 1 cup Ghee - 2 cups Sugar - 1 cup Water - 1/2 cup Badam - 10 to 12 pieces Pista - 6 pieces(unsalted) Raisins - 6 Method: Soak moong dal in water for 2 hours, drain and grind it coarsely. In a pan add sugar and 2 spoons of water and make sugar syrup. In another pan heat ghee and add moong dal to it. Keep mixing till it turns golden brown and leaves the sides. Put moong dal in sugar syrup and cook on low flame till all the ingredients mix well and blend together. Remove from fire and decorate it with badam, pista and raisins.

Whenever I read Ramani Chandran's novels, I have come across one particular dish named Munthiri Kothu. I had an impression that it is made of cashewnuts. But later I found out that the entire preparation is totally different and it is very tasty too. Here is the method to do it. Ingredients: Moong Dal - 1 Cup Jaggery - 1 Cup Maida - 3 Tspn Rice Flour - 1 Tspn Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tspn Cardomom Powder - 1 Pinch (or powder made of 4 to 6 cardomoms) Oil - To Fry Method: Fry moong dal till it becomes red in colour. Pressure cook it. Make jaggery syrup and when it comes to a ball like consistency, then add the cooked and mashed moong dal to it. Make them into a reasonable sized balls. Mix maida and rice flour along with turmeric and cardomom powder in water and let the batter be in the consistency of dosa batter. Dip the moong dal balls in this batter and fry them in oil. Tasty Munthiri Kothu is ready.