How to make Pulikaichal to make Tamrind Rice

Preparing and storing Pulikaichal will help in making Puliyodharai easily whenever needed.

Ingredients:
Tamrind - 1 tennis ball sized
Salt - (Better Rock salt) 1/4th handful or to taste
Vendhayam(Fenu greek) - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 10 to 12 nos
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafodeita - 1/2 inch piece
Mustard seeds - 2 tspn
Gingely oil - 1/4th cup
Bengal Gram - 1/2 cup
Groundnut (Raw) - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup

Method: 
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract tamarind juice. The juice should be thick. This size of tamarind will give 2 to 3 cups of thick extact. (Alternatively around 12 to 14 tbspns of Tamarind Paste can also be used)

Dry roast methi seeds. Fry 1/4 cup of Bengal gram in 1 tsp of gingely oil along with 6 Red chillies. Grind bengal gram and red chillies together with methi seeds and asafodeita to a fine powder.

Heat pan and add gingely oil to it. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the groundnuts to it and fry it till it turns crispy. Add bengal gram and fry till it turns golden brown. Add the remaining red  chillies and curry leaves and saute it for a few mins.

Add turmeric powder and salt to Tamarind extract (add 2 cups of water to the Tamarind paste) and add it slowly to the pan. Simmer the stove and let the extract boil. When it becomes a saucy consistency add the methi seeds powder and boil it again. When the oil comes out remove from flame. Let it cool and store it in a dry container. If stored outside, it had to be used within 3 or 4 days. It can be used for almost a week to 10 days if stored in fridge.

Lemon Rice - An all time favourite mixed rice recipe

Another mixed rice variety, which can be made in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Bengal Gram Dal - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 sp
Green Chillies - 2
Red Chillies - 2
Cashew Nuts - 6 to 8 (optional)
Turmeric Powder - 2 pinches
Asafodeita - 1 pinch
Lemon - Big 1 no.
Curry Leaves -  a few
Salt to taste

Method:
Spread the cooked rice in a flat bowl and add 1 tbsp of ghee to it and let it cool. (Dont let it cool too much, it have to be warm enough). In a pan add 1 tbsp of ghee and 1 tbsp of oil and when hot add mustard seeds. When it splutters add Bengal gram dal and cashew nut(cut into small pieces). Add the red and green chillies. Add turmeric powder and asafodeita and when the cashew nuts turn golden remove from flame.

Cut the curry leaves and add it on top of the rice. Pour the oil on top of the rice and mix thoroughly. Add required salt and mix again without breaking the rice. Better mix it with a fork or the back of laddle. Squeeze the lemon all over the rice and mix again so that the lemon's taste gets mixed all over.

Thengai Saadam (Coconut Rice)

Coconut Rice is always a favourite in our family. It also happens to be one of the dishes for Aadi Perukku.

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2
Red Chilly - 2 nos
Green Chilly - 1 small
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Broken Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Bengal Gram Dal - 1 tbsp
Cashew Nuts - 12 nos
Curry Leaves - A few
Salt to taste
Ghee or Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

   In a pan add ghee or oil and add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add urad dal, bengal gram dal and cashew nuts and fry it till it becomes golden in colour.  Add the green and red chillies and fry it for a few minutes. Add the grated coconut and fry till it become red in colour. Add curry leaves and salt and mix thoroughly. Remove from flame and add the cooked rice to it. (Check for slat after mixing the rice and add if needed).

Recipe for simple Peas Pulav

Though today is Sunday, as my husband went for official meeting, kids wanted to have Pulav (husband dont take masala items normally). So made some easy pulav.

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Green Chilly - 1 no
Peas - 1 cups
Onion Big - 2 nos
Cardamom - 2 nons
Bayleaf - 1 no
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Coriander Leaves - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak Basmathi rice for 15 mins. Drain water and keep it aside. In a flat bottom deep pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the drained rice. Remove and let it cool. Slit the Green Chilly. Chop the onions into thin slices.

Add the remaining ghee to the pan and add cardamom, Bayleaf, Cinnamon leaves and fry them for a min. Add the onions, green chilly and ginger garlic paste. When all the ingredients are mixed together, add green peas. Add 2 and a half cup of water and salt. When it starts boiling add the rice and mix thoroughly. Cover it and keep it in medium flame.

The Pulav will get cooked in a few mins. Remove from flame and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves

Bisibela Bath Recipe

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup (wash and soak in warm water for 15 mins)
Toor Dal 1 1/2 cups
Potato - 2 peel and cut into big pieces (can also pressure cook, peeled and cut into pieces)
Small Onions (Sambar Onions) - 1/4 kg
Carrot - 2 medium size cut into big pieces
Beans - 12 nos cut into big pieces
Pumpkin - 1/4 kg cut into big pieces
Chow-Chow - 1 cut into big pieces
Peas - Fresh or Dried peas (soaked the previous night) - 1/2 cup
Salt - To taste
Water - 3 cups

Tamrind - 1 lemon sized or 3 tbsp of Tamrind paste

To Grind:
Coconut - 3/4th cup or copra - 1 medium sized
Coriander Seeds - 2 tbsp
Gram Dal - 2 tbsp
Thuvar Dal - 2 tbsp
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 12 to 16
Pepper corns - 6 nos
Clove - 1 no
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Asafodeita - 1 inch piece
Tomato - 1 big
Onion - 1 big
Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup

To Season
Ghee - 1/4cups
Gingely Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup

Method
In a pan add 1 tbsp of Gingely oil and 1 tbsp of ghee and roast coriander seeds, gram dal, thuvar dal, red chillies, pepper, clove, cinnamon. When cold grind it along with tomato, onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves and coconut. (If copra is used, cut it into small pieces and fry that too). The paste should be very smooth and thick.

Pressure cook the thuvar dal for one whistle with 1 cup of water. In a pressure pan or a kadai, add oil and let the mustard splutter. Add the peeled sambar onions and fry it till it turns glassy. Add the curry leaves to it. Add the tamrind water slowly and add all the cut vegetables to it. When it starts boiling, add the salt and the ground paste to it and mix it well. Add the cooked dal too to it.

Drain the water from the rice and add it to the remaining and mix well. Add the remaining water and pressure cook the entire mixture for about 4 or even 5 whistle.

When cool, add ghee to it. Serve hot with papad or chips.

Recipe for Bisibelabath - Mysore method

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup (soak for 15 mins before cooking)
Thuvar dal - 3/4 cups (soak for 1/2 hour)
Raw groundnuts - 3/4 cups (15 mins)
Roasted gram - 1/4 cup
Dhaniya - 1/4 cup
Red Chillies - 10 to 12
Copra - 1 medium sized (grated). (If you dont have or get copra, grate fresh coconut and fry it in a kadai or microwave it for 5 to 7 mins on medium or 2 mins in high till it gets dry)
Asafodeita - 1/2 inch piece or 1 tsp powdered asafodeita
Cardomom - 5
Cinnamon - 2 inch
Cloves - 5
Khus Khus - optional 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts - broken 1 handful
Tamarind - 1 lemon size (soak and take thick paste)

Method:
Cook rice, dal and groundnuts separately in a pressure cooker.
For bisibela powder - fry redchillies, roasted gram dal, dhaniya, asafodeita and copra.
For masala powder - grind cardomom, cinnamon, cloves and khus khus.

In a pressure cooker or pan take cooked rice, dal, groundnuts along with powders, salt, turmeric powder, bisibela powder, masala powder along with tamrind paste and 2 cups of water. Blend every thing well and cook again for 2 whistles.

When cool, temper it with mustard seeds, 2 broken chillies and cashew nuts in ghee. Heat gingely oil and pour it over the rice and decorate it with coriander leaves.

Recipe for Mango Rice (மாங்காய் சாதம்) in Tamil

நல்ல புளிப்பான மாங்காய் (கிளி மூக்கு மாங்காய் சிறந்தது) - ஒன்று துருவியது

நன்கு உதிரியை வடித்த சாதம் (பாஸ்மதி அரிசியை இருந்தால் சுவை கூடுதலாய் இருக்கும்.

தாளிக்க - கடுகு, பெருங்காயம், பச்சை மிளகாய் (பொடியாய் நறுக்கியது), ஒரு ஸ்பூன் நல்லெண்ணெய், எட்டு ஸ்பூன் நெய்.

மாங்காயை தூள் சீவி துருவி கொள்ளவும். வானெலியில் நெய்யையும், நல்லெண்ணையும், சேர்த்து, கடுகு, பெருங்காயத்தை தாளித்து, பச்சை மிளகாய் சேர்த்து, மாங்காய் துருவலையும் போட்டு, நீர் சண்ட வதக்கி கொள்ளவும். மங்கை அளவிற்கேற்ப உப்பு சேர்க்கவும். நன்றாக சூடு ஆறியதும் சாதத்துடன் சேர்த்து கலக்கவும். சுவைக்கு ஏற்ப உப்பு சேர்த்து கொள்ளவும்