SuvaiArusuvai - Veg Recipes of India

Ingredients: Instant Coffee Powder - 2 tbsp               or Coffee Decoction - 1/4 cup Chilled Milk - 1 cup Chilled Water - 1/2 cup Ice cubes - 4 Method: Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it till smooth and frosts. Serve chilled in tall glass.

India is a land of festivals and functions. One can find festival in every other month of the Gregorian Calender. I am listing out some of the famous festival recipes which is made during those special functions. Karadayan Nonbu - Karadai and Uppadai Ugadi Recipes Diwali Recipes

A special Kanji which is to be taken once in a month to solve gastric troubles. This is a dish from Tirunelveli District. Ingredients: Boiled Rice - 1 cup Garlic - 3 to 4 depending upon the size Methi seeds - 1 tsp Saarana root powder - 2 tsps (This you can get it from siddha or naatu marunthu stores. Blend it in a mixer and store in freezer. If you dont get this powder, you can leave it too) Raw milk - 1/2 cup Water - 3 cups Murungai leaves - handful (optional) Method: In a pressure cooker, take rice, garlic and methi seeds. In a muslin cloth take the Saranaa powder, make it a bag and add it to the rice in cooker. Add 3 cups of water and cook it for 2 whistles. In a separate vessel, pressure cook the murungai leaves too. When cool remove the bag and mash the rice well. Add the cooked murungai leaves (dont throw away the water, but add it too to the rice). Add milk and cook for 5 mins in low flame. This can be served with Coconut Thuvaiyal.   Note: The whole day after

This is another powder, that can be had both as a side dish and can also be mixed in rice. Ingredients: Garlic - 1 whole Coconut Grated - 1/4 cup Red Chillies - 10 to 12 nos Salt to taste Method: Fry garlic, red chilly in 1/2 tsp of oil. When cold grind all the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container in fridge. Note: This powder can be added to hot rice along with ghee.

It will be a difficult task to think of a different dish for every other day, especially when the women of the home gets sick. Here is one of the powders that can be kept ready. Ingredients: Curry Leaves - 8 cups (it should not be tender) Red Chilly  - 20 Urad dal - 1/4 cup Hing - 1 small piece Tamrind - 1 lemon size Salt to taste Gingely Oil - 6 tbsp Method: In a shallow pan, add the curry leaves and fry it dry till it becomes crisp. Remove and spread in a plate to cool down. Fry tamrind in the same dry pan Add the oil, fry the hing in it. Add Urad dal and red chilly and fry it well till golden brown. Grind it in mixie along with salt and tamrind. When the dal and other items becomes coarse in consistency, add the curry leaves and grind it to become a fine powder. Note: Add this to hot rice along with ghee. This makes a great dish for parties and functions too.

An instant side dish, that is readily available in almost all the south Indian homes, is this Idly Dosa powder. Ingredients: Urad Dal - 1 cup Gram Dal - 1 cup Red Chilly - 2 1/2 cups Hing - 1 spoon Salt - To taste Method: Fry all the ingredients in 1 tbsp of oil till golden brown. Spread it in a plate. Let it cool and grind it coarsely. This can be had with gingely oil.

Kootu is a mixture of either one single vegetable and a dal or a mixture of two or more vegetables along with dal. It can be either had as a main course along with rice or as a side dish for rice and Chappati. One can make Kootus in a jiffy, if the Kootu powder is handy. This can be made in a quite a good quantity and kept in freezer and can be used to make Kootu. Ingredients Urad Dal - 1 Cup Gram Dhal - 1/2 Cup Red Chillies - 20 nos Hing Piece - 1 inch Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup (dried) Jeera - 1/4 cup Oil - 3 tbsp Method: In a shallow pan add 1 tbsp of oil and fry Urad Dal. When the dal is golden brown in colour remove and add one more tbsp of oil fry the gram dal in it. Remove from fire and add another tbsp of oil and fry hing piece and Red Chillies. Spread it on a plate and let it cool. When cool add all the other ingredients to it and grind it to a fine powder. Store it in a cool dry container.

Ingredients: Oats – 3 cups heaved Rice – ½ cup Curd or buttermilk – just enough to cover the oats Onions – 12 finely chopped (smaller ones) Green chillies – 2 Coriander leaves – a small bunch Cooking oil Salt to taste Method: Soak Oats and Rice in the buttermilk for about half an hour and grind it along with green chillies, coriander leaves. It shoudl reach dosa batter consistency. Add salt and chopped onions to the mixture. In a tawa, pour the batter and spread it a bit thick as Oothappam. Pour oil along side the dosa  and cover it with a lid. After a min or two (this dosa will take more time to get cooked) flip it over (do not cover now). Remove from fire and serve it with coconut or mint chutney