Sundal is a simple south indian snack often made with Lentils like chick peas, peanuts, kidney beans and even sweet peas ..peanut sundal / verkadalai sundal strength lies in its simplicity and is very subtley spiced and in being ordinary it becomes extraordinary….peanut sundal also is made during festival occasions and also is made  for “prasad” in temples ..

Ingredients

1 Cup of Boiled Peanuts
2 Tbsp of Grated Coconut / Dry desiccated Coconut
Salt to taste

    To Temper

2 Tsp of Oil
1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
1 Tsp of Urad dal
2 Red Chilies
Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
6 Curry Leaves

    Method

• Soak and pressure cook the peanuts. For more details click on the link How to boil peanuts in pressure cooker.
• Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies(Break it), asafoetida and curry leaves, after mustard seeds splutters, add the boiled peanuts and salt, give a quick stir, about a min.
• Add grated coconut, mix well with peanuts. Check the salt and turn off the stove.
• Hot, flavorful peanut sundal is ready..

   Tips

• You can add chopped onion after you do the tempering with mustard seeds.
• Be careful in adding salt, because we already added salt while boiling peanuts in cooker.
• You can also add chopped green chilies in addition to red chilies for more spicy taste.

   Health Benefits of Peanuts           

• Rich in energy.
• Good source of monounsaturated fat, niacin, folate, vitamin E and anti-oxidants.
• Prevent gall stones  and good for heart.
• Good source of resveratrol which reduces the risk of stroke.

 

         Puli means sour and pachadi means sauce.  Vendakkai puli pachadi / Okra in a sweet sour sauce is a typical south Indian dish. I really love this dish because it has a perfect balance of all tastes like sweet, sour, spicy and salt. This is very easy to make dish for lunch. Always use tender lady’s finger(okra) to make this pachadi. It goes well with white rice and kootu.

    Ingredients

            10 Lady’s Finger(Okra), Small size, Chopped
            1 Large Onion, Finely Chopped
            1 Tomato, Finely Chopped
            1 Green Chilly, Slit
            1 Tsp of Sambhar Powder
            1/2 Tsp of Jaggery
            1 Tsp of Rice Flour
            Gooseberry Size of Tamarind
            Salt to Taste
          
     To Temper

             1 Tbsp of Gingelly Oil (Indian sesame oil / Nallennai)
             1 Red Chilly
             1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
             1 Tsp of Urad Dal
             1 Sprig of Curry Leaves
             Pinch of Asafoetida
          

     Method

• Wash lady’s finger, dry them in a paper towel and chop them pieces. Discard the tails and head part of lady’s finger.
• Soak the tamarind in 3/4 cup of hot water and squeeze the juice. Discard the pulp.   
• Heat a pan with little oil, add chopped lady’s finger, fry for 2-3 mins in a medium flame until it turns soft. Once it done. Keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, add red chilly (Break it), mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves, after mustard seeds splutters and dal turns light brown. Add chopped onion, salt and green chilly, fry this for few mins until onion turns golden brown. Add tomato, fry this for 2 mins until it turns soft and mushy.
• Add lady’s finger, fry this for few mins. Add sambhar powder, fry well for few mins.
• Add tamarind water, mix well, let it boil for 5 mins in a medium flame until raw flavor of tamarind vanishes.
• Dissolve rice flour in water and add it to the gravy and finally add powdered jaggery, boil it for 2 mins. Turn off the flame.
• Serve hot with rice and kootu and Also it tastes great with curd (yogurt) rice.   
• My gravy is little thick, you can make it thin by adding little more water and cook it for few mins. 

   Tips

• You can use small onion instead of large red onions.
• Instead of sambhar powder, you can add 2 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of red chilly powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.
• If you don’t have jaggery, add sugar at the end.
• Always use tender okra to make this dish, you can check that by bending the tail part,  if it is broken easily, then it is tender in nature.

• Rich source of vitamin A and Antioxidants.
• Fiber in okra helps to maintain the health of GI tract.
• Ideal vegetable for weight loss and lot of health benefits provided it is cooked in a medium flame to retain its properties.
• Okra has laxative treats irritable bowels and treats ulcers.
• Excellent for feeding the good bacteria(probiotics)
• Protects you from pimples and helps in maintaining beautiful skin. 
• Normalizes blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

       Dosa is a savory crepe and it’s getting popular throughout the world because of its taste and crispy texture. This is my own recipe. After seeing some leftover bread in my pantry, I tried it by mixing some flours with bread powder and the outcome of dosa tastes really awesome. This instant uthappam does not needs any fermentation and very quick to make dish. All you need is leftover bread to make this dosa and some flours and spices. Here I have used rava, maida and rice flour which gives crispy texture to the dosa. Addition of curd not only gives a mild tangy taste but also gives softness. For topping, I added some veggies to make the dosa more colorful, tasty and healthier. Try this instant leftover bread dosa with tomato ketchup and stay healthy.

        Ingredients

          2 Whole Wheat Bread, makes 1 Cup of Bread Powder
          1/4 Cup of Rava(Semolina)
          3 Tbsp of Rice Flour
          2 Tbsp of Maida(All Purpose Flour)
          2 Tbsp of Thick Curd(Yogurt)
          1 Carrot, Grated
          2 Green Chillies, Chopped
          1 Spring Onion, Chopped
          1 Big Red Onion, Finely Chopped
          1 Tsp of Whole Cumin
          1 Tsp of Whole Black Pepper
          1 Inch Ginger, Grated
          Few Curry Leaves, Chopped
          3/4 Cup of Water
          Salt to taste

    Servings : 3 Uthappam

    Method

• Heat a pan, dry roast the rava for 2 mins, transfer it to a bowl.
• In a spice grinder/mixie, grind the bread slices to a powder. Transfer it to the same bowl to that add rice flour, maida, curd, salt, grated ginger, cumin, black pepper, curry leaves and 3/4 cup of water, mix well with a fork/spoon, you should get a dosa batter consistency.  Let the batter sit for 15 mins.
• Now heat a non stick pan / cast iron pan, grease the tawa with oil, when it is hot, pour a ladle full of batter and spread it like thick uthappam. Sprinkle some chopped onion, green chillies, chopped spring onion and grated carrot, apply oil over the edges, cover it with a lid and cook it on a medium flame. Turn dosa to other side and cook until it turns crisp.
• Serve it hot with idly podi or garlic pickle or tomato ketchup or coconut chutney.

    Tips

• You can use whole wheat bread or white bread.
• Add green chilly paste or red chilly paste instead of adding chopped green chillies.
• You can add grated beetroot, cabbage or capsicum for topping.
• Adding curd gives a nice taste to dosa
• If your uthappam sticks to the pan, try to add 2 tbsp of rice flour to the batter.
• You can also make thin crispy dosa without topping.
• Adding ghee to dosa for a great taste.
• Always mix the dosa batter, before you pour dosa batter to the pan, otherwise rava will settle at the bottom.
• Always cook dosa in a medium flame.

     
    Health Benefits of Whole Wheat

• Rich in fiber, helps in proper functioning of digestive tract and lowers the cholesterol and metabolic syndromes.
• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Reversing the weight gain process.
• Lowers the risk of diabetes.
• Excellent laxative properties.
• It has powerful antioxidant, which is vitamin E, good for skins.