SuvaiArusuvai - Veg Recipes of India

 When we say Vathakuzhambu we in our family end up voting for either shallots vathakuzhambu or Poondu Vathakuzhambu . But my personal favourite is the manathakkali vathakuzhambu made using dried manathakkali vathal. Mom used to make it with fresh green manathakkali too. But this one gets thicker by the day and tastes too good in the night or the next day. Though the best combination with this is Keerai koottu or Keerai masiya l, I also prefer it with potato kara curry . Here's the recipe for delicious Manathakkali Vathakuzhambu: Ingredients: 2 tablespoons Manathakkali Vathal (unsalted) 8 tablespoons Tamarind Paste 4 tablespoons Vathakuzhambu Podi Few Curry Leaves (optional) 6 tablespoons Gingelly Oil Salt, to taste 200 ml Water For tempering: 1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds 1 teaspoon Channa Dal 1/2 teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida) Method: Heat gingelly oil in a hard-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add channa dal and hing to the pan. Mix well until the dal turns golden

A buttermilk or curd based curry of South India which  is a dish that is served with rice and a few people relish it for dishes like Chappati or Adai too. It is infact a comfort food. The dish is tangy and spicy and is also a bit sour in taste based on the buttermilk used. The taste of the morkozhambu differs with the different veggies or ingredients added to it.  It is always better to add the buttermilk or curd at the end and just boil it for a min or two and switch the stove lest the dish could curdle. The entire dish needs to be cooked in slow flame so that it doesnot settle at the bottom of the pan.  Vendaikkai (Lady's finger) morkozhambu Poosanikkai morkozhambu Cheppankizhangu mor kozhambu Chow Chow morkozhambu Brinjal morkozhambu Potato morkozhambu Parupurundai morkozhambu Sundaikai vathal morkozhambu Tomato morkozhambu Vedikka vitta morkozhambu

Chettinadu Kuzhambu is always very very tasty especially their masala kuzhambu or kara kuzhambu. This can be had with hot rice and gingely oil and ghee. Ingredients: Small Onions- 18 nos or 1/4 kg Raddish or chowchow or drumstick or brinjal (numbers depending upon the quantity of veggies one need for a family of four) Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp Red Chillies - 4 nos Vathakozhambu powder - 2 tbsp Gingely Oil - 1/4 cup Salt to taste Coconut grated - 1/4 cup Fennel Seeds (sombu) - 1 tsp Onion big - 1 Tomato - 1 Garlic pods - 6 nos Curry leaves - a handful Bay leaf - 1 no Cinnamon sticks - 2 nos Method : Heat 1/4 of the oil and fry big onion first in it then a hand ful of small onions. Add the tomatoes and 4 of the garlic pods and saute them. Remove from flame and add coconut, 1/2 of the fennel seeds, curry leaves and grind them to a fine paste. Heat half of the remaining oil in a hard bottom pan and add bayleaf, fennel seeds and cinnamon. Cut the small onions into 1/4

Brinjal Contest entry by  Sowpernica's Kitchen Ingredients: Brinjal – ½ kg (finely cut) Jaggery – a small bit Oil – 1 ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon Salt – 1 ½ teaspoon Tamarind – a small piece Hing - ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder - ½ teaspoon Roast & Grind: Coriander seeds – 3 teaspoons Channa dal – 3 teaspoons Red chillies – 2 Curry leaves – 6 Coconut – ½ cup (grated) Method: Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds & allow spluttering. Add cut brinjal pieces, salt, turmeric powder, hing & jaggery. Soak tamarind in little water & prepare tamarind water. (approx ½ tumbler) Sprinkle this water & keep closed. Repeat step 5 until till the pieces look cooked. Roast ingredients mentioned with ½ teaspoon of oil & grind to smooth paste. Add the ground paste & mix well. Allow boiling for 5 more minutes. Garnish with curry leaves & serve hot with rice.

Wanted a change from the regular Dal fry or the other dal dishes. Had a few of green gram dal, moong dal etc. Suddenly remembered seeing Dal Lucknowi dish prepared in one of the cookery show. Ingredients:                                         Thuvar Dal - 1/2 cup Moong Dal - 1/2 cup Green gram Dal - 1/2 cup Milk - 1/2 cup Green chillies - 2 nos Garlic cloves - 4 nos Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Red Chillies - 4 nos Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Curry leaves - 1/4 cup Salt to taste Asafodeita - 1 pinch Ghee - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Method: Wash and pressure cook the dals along with turmeric powder for about 5 whistles. Let it cool, remove and mash well. Transfer it to a hard bottom vessel add salt and mix thoroughly and bring it to a boil. Heat seasoning laddle and add ghee to it. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter add cumin seeds, slit green chillies, red chillies,  chopped garlic and saute well. Chop the curry leaves add it to the da

Baby potatoes are always every one's favourites but making same recipes every time is quite boring. While searching the net, I came across a recipe which is prepared in Chettinad style. Ingredients: Baby Potatoes - 1/2 kg Shallots - 250 gms or 24 nos (medium sized) Curry leaves - 1/2 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Urad Dal - 1 tbsp Red Chillies - 6 nos Black pepper corn - 12 nos Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Oil - 1 tsp Salt to taste Method: Boil the potatoes and peel them. Prick them with a tooth pick to make small holes in each one of them. Dry roast urad dal, red chillies, black pepper, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Grind them to a fine powder (Alternatively Chettinad Masala powder can also be used). Peel the shallots (sambar onion) and if they are large cut them into halves. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and when they splutter add the shallots and fry till they turn glassy. Add the potatoes, salt, ground masala powder and mix well. Cook o

Ingredients: Thoor Dal - 1 cup Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad Dal whole - 1 tbsp Red chillies - 2 nos Ghee - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Garlic - 3 cloves Asafodeita - 1 pinch Lemon - 1 no Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup Salt to taste Method: Pressure cook thoor dal with turmeric powder. When cooked, let it cool, mash thoroughly. Peel and chop the garlic pods. Heat ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters add urad dal, red chillies, garlic cloves and cumin seeds. Add the thoor dal, salt and 2 cups of water. Cook till the dal boils. Add finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves. Remove from flame and add lemon juice. Serve it with chappati or hot white rice.

  Any Vegetable like White pumpkin, Drum stick, Raddish, Lady's finger, carrot, Small Onions (avoid this if it is made for festivls) can be used to make this Araichu vitta Sambar.  Vengaya Sambar Mullangi Sambar Ingredients: Thuvar Dal - 1/2 cup Tamarind Paste  - 1 1/2 tbsp Salt to taste Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch For Grinding: Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup Thuvar Dal - 2 tbsp Bengal Gram Dal - 2 tbsp Red Chilly - 6 to 8 nos Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp Black Pepper - 6 nos Curry Leaves - a few Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup Rice - 2 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp For seasoning: Ghee - 1 tbsp Oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafodeita Powder - 1 pinch Curry Leaves - a few Method: Cut the vegetables into bigger pieces. Fry coriander seeds, Thuvar dal, Bengal gram dal, cumin seeds, black pepper, rice and red chilly till they become brown in colour. Reduce the flame and add the grated coconut and fry it till becomes brown. Grind everything along with curry leaves to a fine paste. Pressure cook the thuvar dal wi

Ingredients: Thuvar Dal - 1/2 cup Moong Dal - 1/4 cup Turmeric powder - 2 pinches Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp Green Chillies - 2 nos Red Chillies - 2 nos Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Shallots - 4 nos Curry Leaves - few Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup Salt to taste Method: Grind coconut along with 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1 green chilly. Wash and pressure cook both the dals with 1 pinch of turmeric powder and 1 green chilly. When cold mash well. Transfer the cooked dal to a hard bottom pan and keep it on a low flame. Add the ground coconut paste to it and mix well. Add another 1/2 cup of water to avoid the dal from settling at the bottom. In a seasoning pan add ghee and mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, red chillies and chopped shallots. Chop curry leaves finely and sprinkle on top of the cooked dal. Pour the seasoning on top of the curry leaves.  Chop coriander lea

A vegetarian dish from Assam. Ingredients : Papaya - 1/2 kg Ash Gourd - 1/2 kg Garlic - 6 cloves Ginger paste - 2 tbsp Green Chilly - 2 nos Salt to taste Sugar - a pinch Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp Red Lentils (Masoor Dal) - 1/2 cup Method : Peel, wash and dice the vegetables. Heat oil in a pan, and when hot add one green chilly, ginger paste and chopped garlic when it starts turning brown, add lentils and vegetables and stir well. Add salt and cover it and cook till the vegetables become pulpy. Remove from flame and garnish it with green chilly sauted in oil. Serve hot with cooked rice. Note : Instead of Mustard oil, any other vegetable oil can be used. To alternate taste, moong dal can be added instead of Masoor dal

Ingredients: Radish white - 1 no Green chilly - 1 no Ginger - 1/2 inch Lemon - 1 no. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Salt to taste Method: Grate radish. Cut ginger to thin stripes. Mince green chilly finely. Take juice from the lemon. Mix all the ingredients together and toss it. Serve it as side dish for any kind of rice dish.

Ingredients: Tomato - 6 nos Onion  - 2 small nos Garlic pods - 8 nos Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Cardamom - 2 nos Cloves - 2 nos Cinnamon sticks - 1 no Saunf - 1/2 tsp Khus Khus - 1/2 tsp Red Chilly powder - 1 tbsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp Salt to taste Oil - 1/4 cup Method: In a pan fry cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, saunf, cinnamon sticks, garlic one by one till they emit an aroma. Cut onions and tomatoes into fine pieces. Grind the spices along with red chilly powder and coriander powder. Grind onion, tomato, garlic and coconut to a fine paste. In a pan heat oil and add the tomato paste and fry till it becomes golden in colour. Add the masala powder to it and bring it to a boil. Serve hot with hot rice and ghee or idly or dosa. Goes well with aloo parotta or green poori too.

Ingredients: Chow Chow - 2 nos (big sized) Moong Dal - 1/2 cup Green Chillies - 3 nos Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Curry Leaves -  1/2 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp Processed Channa Dal - 2 tbsp Salt to taste Oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tbsp Asafodeita - 1 pinch Method: Cut the chow chow into square cubes. Pressure cook them along with moong dal. Grind green chillies, grated coconut, curry leaves, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, processed channa dal to a fine paste. Transfer the pressure cooked vegetable to a hard bottom vessel. Add desired salt and the ground paste and add 1/2 cup of water. Bring it to boil till the raw smell of the paste goes off. Heat oil in a seasoning laddle. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add urad dal and asafodeita and add it to the kootu. Mix well. Goes well with rice and also with chappati.

Ingredients: Horse gram - 1 cup Curry leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Mint - a little Garlic pods - 4 nos Red Chillies - 2 to 4 Oil - 1 tsp Salt to taste Coriander seeds - 1 tsp Method: Pressure cook horse gram for about 4 to 5 whistles with very little water and let it cool. Heat oil in a pan and fry coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and garlic. When cold grind the fried items along with horsegram, salt and coriander seeds. This goes well with Pepper Jeera Rasam or Garlic Rasam. Can also be served with hot rice and ghee. Horse gram helps in reducing weight.

Ingredients: Lady's finger - 1/4 kg Onion - 1 no Green Chilly - 2 nos Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 2 tbsp Method: Wash and dry the lady's finger. Cut into long pieces, just the way it is cut for sambar. And make a slight slit in the middle without cutting it into two. Chop the onions into small pieces. Chop the green chilly also into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and fry for a minute; add chopped onion and green chillies and saute for a few more mins. Add the lady's finger pieces, chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and mix well. So that all the turmeric pieces are coated well. Cover and cook on a medium flame. Stir occassionally. Add salt and Amchur powder. Cook well till the lady's finger becomes soft and the raw smell goes. Serve hot with rice. Goes well with rasam. Note: Instead of using cori

Ingredients: Tomato - 1/4 kg Garlic - 4 flakes Green chilly - 2 nos Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves chopped - 1/4 cup Ghee - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Cumin - 1 tsp Asafodeita - 1`pinch Method: Grind the tomatoes in a juicer grinder. Add cumin powder, pepper powder, garlic flakes and green chillies and salt and boil all of them together. When it bubbles up on top remove from flame. Chop the curry leaves into two halves and sprinkle it on the rasam. In a seasoning laddle add ghee and when hot add the mustard seeds and when it splutters add the jeera seeds and asafodeita. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Erissery can be made using yam, plantain, red pumpkin and raw jackfruit. This is a special Kerala dish. Many in Tamilnadu dont like raw jack fruit errisery and you can see it be done using the other vegetables. Recipe using Yam Ingredients: Yam - 1/2 kg Turmeric powder - 1 tsp Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Jeera - 1/2 tsp Bengal gram dal - 1 tbsp Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Red chilly - 2 nos Coconut oil - 2 tbsp (if the smell is not prefferred normal cooking oil can be used) Mustard - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1/4 cup Method: In 1 tbsp of oil fry jeera, bengal gram, black pepper and red chillies till it turns golden brown in colour. Pressure cook yam for 2 whistles with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Transfer it to a hard bottom pan. Mix the ground paste and bring it to a boil adding the required quantity of water. If the errisery is to be used as a side dish it can be less watery. If it is to be used as a rice mix then it could be watery in the consisten

This is a typical Karnataka style recipe, which is served with rice. Made as a special kind of rasam in Tamilnadu during festivals or during functions at home. Ingredients: Tamrind Paste - 2 tbsp Tomato - 1 medium sized Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp Bengal gram - 1 tbsp Pepper corns - 8 to 10 no. Red Chillies - 3 to 5 nos. Turmeric powder - pinch Grated coconut - 2 tbsp Asafodeita - 2 pinches Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup Curry leaves - 1/2 cup Salt to taste Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Thuvar Dal - 1/2 cup Method:    Pressure cook Thuvar Dal and mash well. Make tamrind water out of tamrind paste (which should be equal to 1 cup).    In a pan add 1 tbsp of ghee and fry coriander seeds, pepper corns, red chillies, Bengal gram till they turn golden colour. Add the grated coconut and fry it till it turns golden brown. Cool and grind it to a fine powder.    In a shallow vessel add tamrind juice and a cup of water, salt, turmeric powder and asaf

Ingredients: Green okra - 20 to 25 nos. Onion - 1 big Garlic flakes - 10 nos Green Chillies - 6 nos Tamrind paste - 3 to 4 tbsp Raw rice water - 1/2 cup Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander Leaves - finely chopped 1/4 cup Salt to taste Turmeric powder - 1 pinch Asafodeita - 1/2 tsp Gingely Oil - 6 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp Bengal gram - 2 tbsp How to make Raw Rice Water: Wash and soak 1/2 cup of raw rice in 3/4 cup of water for about 1 hour. This water can be used to make Mandi. Method: Add 1 cup of water to tamrind paste. Add turmeric powder, salt and hing to the tamrind water. Wash the lady's fingers and cut them to 3/4th inch pieces. Chop the onions and garlic into fine pieces. Slit the green chillies into half without cutting them into two. In a shallow vessel, heat 4 tbsp of oil and fry the lady's fingers and keep them aside. Heat oil again and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add the bengal gram and curry leaves. Add the garlic, onion, green chi

I am so fond of eggplants and so are my kids. We love to have eggplants in any form. I got this recipe from one of my neighbour and when I tried it out, it turned out to be too good. It became a good rice accompaniment and also for chappati. Ingredients Eggplants - 1/2 kg (small sized) Small Onions - 100 gms Tomato - 2 nos Big Onions - 1 no Green Chilly - 2 nos Red Chilly - 6 nos Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup Tamrind Paste - 2 tbsp Salt - To taste Method: Slit the eggplants into 4 (without cutting it fully). In an pan add 1/2 spoon oil and fry the small onions till they turn glassy. Add the curry leaves and red chilly to it and saute it for a few more minutes. Grind these along with coriander leaves to a very fine paste. Cut the big onions into thin strips. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the ground paste to it and saute for a min. Add the slit brinjals to it and mix it well with the paste so that the paste gets smeared all over. Add 2 cups of water to