Onion Soup - OPOS method

A soup that requires easily and readily available ingredients. Can be made easily for unexpected guests. And that too when it is done in OPOS, it is made easily and the taste is definitely immense. 

Ingredients:

Onions - 4 nos

Butter - 1 tbsp

White sauce - 2 Cups

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the onions into thin rings. (Better grate it using potato grater or slicer)

In a pressure pan heat butter and add the onion rings. Add white sauce, salt and 1 cup of water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. 

Let it cool remove from flame and add required water. 

Serve hot with soup sticks. This also makes a soup for a rainy day. 

Ennai Kathirikkai Kara Kuzhambu by Shripriya

Brinjal contest entry by Shripriya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients:

1. Brinjal: Two cups chopped.
2. Sambhar Onion: About 25
3. Garlic - 10 cloves
4. Tomato - 1 big chopped fine
5. Dhania seeds - 1 teaspoon
6. Kadalai paruppu (bengal gram)- 1 teaspoon
7. Milagu(black pepper) - 2 teaspoons
8. Jeeragam(cumin) - 1 teaspoon
9. Red Chillies - 5
10. Coconut shredded: 3-4 tablespoons
11. Turmeric - lemon sized
12. For seasoning: Gingelly oil, turmeric, asafoetida, methi seeds, mustard, toor dhal, curry leaves
13. Salt : as needed. 

Method:
1. Fry the items mentioned in no. 5 through 9 in a teaspoon of oil.
2. In a teaspoon of oil, fry about 10-12 sambar onions, Garlic cloves, and tomatoes until they are cooked well.
3. Grind all the fried items in step 1 and 2 into a coarse paste with coconut and some salt.
4. Soak the tamarind and get the tamarind juice of may be 3-4 cups.
5. In a kadai, pour oil and add the items mentioned for seasoning. Once it splutters, add the rest of the sambhar onions and fry until they are cooked. 
6. Add the cut brinjal pieces. Cook them well.
7. Now add the tamarind juice. Let it boil for some time. Then add the ground paste. Add some salt according to taste.
8. Let it boil until it thickens.
9. Serve it with hot rice. Roasted papad is the best combination.
Variations:
1. If you get small brinjals, slit them with stem intact, coat them in little bit of oil and microwave until it is 3/4th cooked. Then stuff the ground paste in the brinjals, and then add this after frying the sambhar onions and fry for sometime, and then add the tamarind juice and let it boil. Everything else is the same as mentioned in the above recipe.

2. If you want to give it a little chettinad touch, fry about 1 teaspoon of sombu(fennel) along with other items mentioned above for the kuzhambu masala and grind it together. And add about half teaspoon of sombu(fennel) in seasoning also.

3. Those who don't like to add onion and/or poondu, fry and powder the following and use it as the stuffing and karakuzhambu podi: One teaspoon vendhayam, asafoetida, one tblspn each of toor dhal, urad dhal, and chana dhal, red chillies according to taste, and two teaspoons of dhania.

4. You can just make this as poondu-milagu kuzhambu without the brinjals.

Note: I have given some variations at the end and have mentioned how to make ennai kathrikkai kuzhambu there. Since I did not have the small brinjals that is required for the same, I cut the brinjals and made kathrikkai kara kuzhambu.

Cauliflower Manchurian Dry - A starter dish (IndoChinese Style)

After Paneer, Cauliflower is another ingredient that is made as Manchurian an Indo Chinese dish. This also can be made both as dry starter and also as a gravy. When my brother visited us, I wanted to surprise him and his family with something different and unique and for the starter I had made this Cauliflower Manchurian which every one liked and relished.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower Big - 1 no.
Onion - 4 nos

Tomato - 1 no.
Spring Onions - 3 stems
Green Chilly - 2 nos
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp
Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tbsp (optional)
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 3/4th tbsp
Cumin Powder - 3/4th tbsp
Water - 1 cup
Oil- 4 tbsp and 1/4 tbsp for shallow frying

Salt to Taste

Method :

Clean and cut cauliflower into florets. Put them in boiling water added with turmeric powder and a bit of salt. Cover with a lid and remove from flame. Drain the water and separate the florets. 

Mix cornflour, red chilly powder, salt, cumin powder and coriander powder and add little water to make a fine paste. Add the drained florets to the paste and mix thoroughly so that all the florets are coated evenly. Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

Chop onions finely. Grind tomato to a puree. Chop spring onion leaves into bits.

In a frying pan add the 1/4 cup of oil and fry the cauliflower florets slowly. Remove them when they turn golden brown in colour. Remove and drain well.

In a flat bottom pan, add 4 tbsp oil, saute the spring onion leaves, add finely chopped onions and saute them too. Add the green chillies and pureed tomato. Mix well. Add the Soya Sauce and Tomato Ketchup followed by fried Cauliflower florets, Mix everything thoroughly till all the ingredients blend together. Add the ginger garlic paste and give it a toss. Transfer it to a serving bowl and top it with chopped spring onions and caramalized onions

If you want to make it as a gravy for side dish, then add a cup of water and add the left over marinated paste and bring it to boil. Keep stirring so that it does not settle at the bottom.When it turns glassy, remove from flame, transfer to a serving bowl, decorate it with finely chopped  spring onions and serve with any Roti or Chappati of your choice or even Veg Pulav and Fried Rice.

Poondu Rice- Garlic Rice

Garlic Rice is a speciality of Chettinadu Cuisine. Good for health and relieves gastric trouble too.

Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups
Garlic Pods - 15 nos
Red chilly - 2 nos
Coriander seeds - 2 spoons
Bengal Gram Dal - 1 tspn
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Ghee -2 tsp
Gingely Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Cashew nuts - 8 to 12
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash soak and pressure cook rice with 4 cups of water. The rice should not be sticky but separate.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when it splutters add the bengal gram dal, urad dal, coriander seeds and red chillies. Fry them well and when they turn golden in colour add 5 to 6 pods of garlic and saute together. Remove from flame, when cold grind it to a fine powder.

Heat 1/2 tbsp of ghee in a pan add the remaining garlic pods and fry them till they become golden brown in colour. Break the cashew nuts into pieces and fry them too till they become golden brown. Remove the pods and let them cool. Add the remaining ghee and oil to the pan, and add the mustard seeds when it splutters add curry leaves and saute it a while.
Add the cooked rice, ground powder and required salt and mix well. Add the fried garlic pods on top. Decorate it with coriander leaves and fried cashewnuts.

Upma Kozhukattai- Pidi Kozhukattai by Uma Sridharan

This is also known as Pidi Kozhukattai.

Ingredients:

Raw rice 1 1/2 cup

Toor dhal  1/4 cup

Salt to taste 

Oil  2 tbs

Ghee  2 tbs

Mustard  1 tsp 

Urid dhal  1 tsp

Pepper corn 1/2 tsp

Jeera  1/2 tsp

Red chillies 3

Asafetida powder- a pinch

Preparation

Grind rice, toor dhall, pepper, jeera, red chillies to a rava consistency. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, pour oil. Add mustard seeds, urid dhall and curry leaves. Pour 4 cups of water and bring to boil. Add salt and ghee. Now slowly put in the ground rice mixture.

Mix well without any lumps till the rice mixture absorbs the water and becomes soft .

Remove from heat and keep aside.

When it is cool shape them into small cylinders.

steam for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with coconut chutney

Makes a different kind of Party Starter dish

Stuffed Brinjal Fry by Sowpernica

Ingredients:

Kathirikkai [small sized] – ¼ kg

Besan – 5 teaspoons

Special masala powder – 5 teaspoons

Salt – 1 ½ teaspoon

Hing – ¼ teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Oil – 5 teaspoons

Method:

1. Wash brinjals & let them dry completely.
2. Slit them without cutting fully
3. Mix besan, special masala powder, salt, hing & turmeric powder.
4. Add a tablespoon of water & make a paste of the powder mixture.
5. Stuff the masala into the slits
6. Heat oil in a shallow non-stick pan.
7. Arrange the stuffed pieces.
8. Keep closed till golden brown.
9. Turn sides & fry till golden brown.

Potato Capsicum Curry by Uma Sridharan

Ingredients:

Potatoes  1 kg

Onion  1/2 kg chopped

Capsicum  1 chopped,

Coriander  1 Tbsp, finely chopped

Sambhar Powder 2 tbsp

Dhania Powder 1 tbsp

Lime/lemon juice 2 tsp (Optional)

Mustard seeds, 

urid dhall, 

curry leaves  for seasoning

Salt to taste

Preparation 

Cook the potatoes. Cut Potatoes in chunks. 

Mix the potato chunks with all the powders, salt and lemon juice. 

Keep aside. Heat a heavy bottomed pan. Pour 3 tbsp of cooking oil.

Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and urid dhall

Now add chopped onion and capsicum. Sauté till onion turns transparent.

Add potato chunks. Mix well. Sauté till all the ingredients get mixed well.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle coriander leaves.

Veg Paratha by Uma Sridharan

Party menu recipe by Uma Sridharan

Ingredients:

Grated Carrot                                   1 Tbsp

Grated Cabbage                               1 Tbsp

Wheat flour                                      1 1/2 cup

Chopped Coriander leaves               Handful

Onion                                              1

Garam Masala Powder                     1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder                            1/2 tsp

Salt

Method

Cut the Onions and grind it in a mixer grinder and prepare a smooth Onion paste.

In a mixing bowl, add grated Carrot, grated Cabbage, Coriander leaves, Red Chilli powder, Salt, Onion paste and Wheat flour.

Knead well all the ingredients and prepare smooth dough like the Chapathi/Paratha dough. If needed, add a little water while kneading.

Keep the dough aside for half an hour. Cover it by a wet cloth.

Divide the Paratha dough into small balls of suitable size and roll it out and cook on a tava on medium flame.

Spread ghee on the top of the Paratha.

Serve hot.

Lemon Ginger Soup by Shripriya

Soup recipe posted by Shripriya Ramakrishnan for Party menu - 1

Pressure cook about one cup of toor dhal with little bit if turmeric. Fry 1 table spoon of jeera and 1 table spoon of pepper in a teaspoon of oil, then powder it. Then grind the cooked toor dhal also and add about 2 cups of water. Take 3-4 inch size ginger piece, grate it and put it in this toor dhal gravy. If you want, add 2 green chillies also. Add salt. Add the pepper-jeera powder. Let it boil. The consistency should be watery....like we should be able to drink it like a rasam. Once the boiling is done, switch off the stove. Add lemon juice according to taste. This is such a yummy soup, even kids will love.

Veg Clear Soup by Uma Sridharan

Party Menu recipe posted by Uma Sridharan

Coarsely chopped cabbage, onion, carrot, spring onion and capsicum – ½ cup each

Very easy to make.

Boil 2 Ltrs of water.

Add enough salt.

Now add the vegetables. Simmer it for 5 mts. Serve hot.

Tomato Pulav by Shripriya

Party menu recipe posted by Shripriya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Tomato - 2 chopped fine.

Red onion - 1 big chopped fine.

Tomato puree - half cup

Coconut milk (thick) - half cup

Cloves 2

Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 5 cloves

Red chillies - 4

Oil, Curry leaves - few springs, Cumin seeds and bay leaf for seasoning.

Salt - as needed.

Method:

Soak cloves and poppy seeds in warm water for 30-40 minutes.

Grind the soaked items and ginger, garlic, and red chillies into a paste.

Fry the basmati rice in a tbspn of oil and keep it aside.

In a kadai, pour about 2-3 tbspn of oil, then add the items mentioned for seasoning. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped onion. Then add the ground paste. Fry until raw smell goes.

Then add the tomatoes and salt. Once all the water evaporates and it is a fine tomato-onion curry, add the fried basmati rice, mix it and turn off the stove.

Transfer into a pressure-cooking vessel or in the rice cooker, add the tomato puree and coconut milk and one cup of water. 2 Whistles enough in the pressure cooker.

This is the tomato pulav....or we can even call it as red pulav.

Kaju-Badam-Peanut-Paneer Masala

Party Menu recipe posted by Shripriya Ramakrishnan

Ingredients:

Paneer - 2 cups of cut cubes.

Ginger-Garlic-Greenchillies paste - 2 tbspn

Tomato puree - 1 cup

Garam masala powder - 1 tbspn

For seasoning: cumin, cloves 2, cardomom 2, turmeric powder

Fresh cream - 2 tbspn

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Salt: as needed.

Grind into a paste: Roasted peanuts about half cup, Cashews 20 soaked in warm water for about 40 minutes, Almonds about 20 soaked in water and skin removed, poppy seeds about 2 tbspn, 1 big red onion chopped fine.

Method:

Heat one tbspn of oil in a kadai. Add the items mentioned for seasoning. When the cumin seeds splutter add the ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and fry for about a minute and then add the ground paste and garam masala powder. Fry until the raw smell goes. Add tomato puree. Let it blend with the masala and boil for about a minute. Now add cut paneer pieces, water enough for the gravy, and salt. Paneer gets cooked in about 2-3 minutes. If you want to thicken the gravy, you can mix besan and water and add to the gravy and boil for couple more minutes. Add the cream towards the end. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Your Kaju-Badam-Peanut Paneer masala is ready. Don't worry about the fat content....just enjoy. It is a big paaaaaaaaaaartayyyyyyyyy!!!!! :)

Paneer Tikka by Uma Sridharan

Party menu recipe posted by Uma Sridharan

Ingredients:

Large block of Paneer                         1

Onion                                                 1

Capsicum                                           1

Ripe hard Tomato                               1

finely chopped Coriander leaves        handful

 

To Marinate:

Curd                                                    1 cup

Ginger - Garlic paste                          1 tbsp

jeera powder                                       1 tsp

Salt to taste

Red chili Powder                                 1 tsp

 

Method

Cut Paneer into 1/2" thick cubes. Cut all vegetables into cubes. Mix all ingredients for marinade and keep aside. Marinate  vegetables and paneer separately. Keep the marinated paneer in fridge for atleast 2 hrs.

Heat oil in a kadai and fry marinated paneer till done. Fry vegetables also. Arrange fried vegetables and paneer in a serving plate.

Garnish with coriander.

Party Menu - 1 by Shripriya

Welcome Drink : Orange punch for adults

                         Fresh fruit juice for kids

Soups: Mixed vegetable soup and lemon-ginger soup. 

Starters: Bread and mixed vegetable bonda, Katta and Khaman dhokla mixed. Side dishes for starters: Green chutney, Tomato sauce.

Main course:

Naan

Kaju-badam-peanut paneer masala

Bagara Baingan

Tomato pulav

Capsicum-mushroom vangibath.

Carrot-Cucumber Raita

Bagalabath garnished with small grapes and pomegrantes.

Chips and pickles on the side. 

Kids special: Twisted pasta and tomato sauce topped with cheese.

                  Our very own mini idlis and sambhar - All the kids including non-Indian kids love this.

Desert: Khova jamoon, Creamy-yummy pineapple desert.

Party menu idea - 1 by Uma Sridharan

Welcome Drink

For Children Orange Juice

For adults Fruit punch

Soups

For Children Creamy Tomato Soup

For adults Veg.clear soup

Starters

Veg.rolls, paneer tikka, veg.kababs, dholka and samosas

Main Menu

 Veg.Parantha, Malai Koftha, masal dosai, chutney, sambhar, Bisibele Huli Anna, Baby potato Fry, Onion Raitha, Russian Salad, Brinji, Gobi Manchurian dry, Semiya Bahalabath, chips, pappad, ginger pickle and avakkai

for children

Veg.noodles, fingerchips, bhelpuri, poori, potato masala, curd rice and chips.

Dessert

Fried ice cream, Fruit salad, gulab jamoon, carrot halwa.

2 types of ice creams - vanilla and butter scotch - separate or with Fruit salad, gulab jamoon, carrot halwa.

Sweet paan for children

Regular paan for adults

Pineapple Creamy Yummy Dessert by Shripriya

Dessert Recipe by Shripriya Ramakrishnan for Party Menu -1

Pineapple is the favorite fruit for many. We get crushed pineapples in cans here. Take a large bowl, put one can (one can will be about one and a half cups) of crushed pineapple, mix one small tin of condensed milk, and 2-3 cups of cool whip or whipped cream. Mix them well, taste it, if it is too sweet for you then add some more crushed pineapple and cream. Decorate this with cut strawberries and blueberries. Refrigirate and cool it well before serving. This is a easy-to-make, awesome, creamy and yummy desert. We get condensed milk and cool whip in fat-free here so I always use that.

Orange Punch - Welcome Drink by Shripriya

Party Menu Contest Entry 1 Welcome drink recipe by Shripriya Ramakrishnan

I chose Punch because I have seen people loving and having second and third cups of this punch in big parties. When I came to US, the very first New Year Party I attended, this punch was served. I loved it. Immediately got the recipe from the host. :)

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate. (we get it here in the US. I dont know if it is available in other countries. If not, please buy the orange juice concentrate, I am sure it will be available in the grocery stores like Nilgiris, food

world, etc.,

Fruit Punch by Uma Sridharan

Party menu recipe by Uma Sridharan

Ingredients:

Pineapple Juice 1 ltr

Orange Juice 1 ltr

Grape Juice 1 Ltr

Ginger 250 gms

Lime juice 250 ml

Sugar 1 kg

 

Method

Scrap ginger and grind it in mixie. Extract the juice.

Mix all other ingredients. Keep it refrigerated. While serving mix it with soda and serve. Instead of lime juice limca can be used.

Healthy drinks for exam goers - Nuts Thandai

Early in the morning, the brain is fresh after a good amount of sleep, to make it more energetic, a glass of milk that is added with nuts helps.

Ingredients:
Cashewnut, Baadam - 50 gm each
Walnut - 20 gm
Khus Khus - 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 2 pieces
Kesar Strands - 5 gms
Sugar - 100 gms

Method:

Dry roast all the nuts and powder them. Grind the kesar strands separately. Grind the sugar separately. Mix all the three ingredients together and store it in a cool dry container.

As sugar is added to it already, it is better to avoid sugar while preparing this drink.

Thandai - cooling appetizer recipe

Inspired by the drink that we had in Olives, I got this recipe from one of my friends. This is a very popular Rajasthani drink and is prepared whenever there is a festival or Puja in the house.

Though this is a Rajasthani dish, this is famous all over North India it seems. Ingredients:

Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1/2 cup (powder it well)
Pepper corns - 10 to 12
Saffron Strands - A few
Almonds - 1/4 cup or 12 to 15 nos.
Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus) - 2 tbsp
Cardomom Powder - 1/4 tspn
White pepper corns - 20 (optional)

Method:
Boil the milk and make it to 3/4th. Grind Almonds, Poppy Seeds, Cardomom Powder and White Pepper Corn and add it to the boiled milk and refrigerate it for 3 to 4 hours. Then drain it through a seive and add sugar, pepper corns and saffron stands. Chill again. Just before serving add a few pieces of soaked and peeled almonds and cashewnuts.