Tirunelveli (Or Nellai) Sambar

Concluding my recipes from Tirunelveli, I will post a sambar recipe that tastes different from both the ‘podi pota’ and ‘arachuvitta’ sambars. For the edification of my readers who are not familiar with these terms, let me explain. Sambar is a wet dish that is mixed with rice. Or it can be had as an…

Vazhakkai Kootu (Raw Banana Curry)

Another recipe from the Tirunelveli region of Thamizhnadu. This time, a curry using raw bananas. Raw banana is never used in North Indian cuisine. But I do buy it every week as it is one of my favourite vegetables. Since North India is bereft of it, there are no recipes from this region. So, I…

Tirunelveli Adai

Tirunelveli is a small town in the South Indian state of Thamizhnadu. While the town is small, it’s cuisine is not. It is a distinctive cuisine that is well known across the state and in many other parts of the country. I have been keen to try this cuisine since many people that I know…

Pulikachal (A Tamarind Dip)

For years, this was one of my favourite dishes. It’s a sour dip that is fantastic with steamed rice. It is also made into a puliyodharai (tamarind rice) and as an accompaniment with rice when the wet dish does not contain tamarind (like mor kootan, mulakootal…) I have always been fond of sour food ever…

Beans Usili (Stir Fried French Beans And Lentils)

Usili basically refers to a method of preparing vegetables. It’s Bengal gram and pigeon peas crumbled into a vegetable of choice. I have previously posted cabbage usili in this blog. The usili recipes are from the South Indian state of Thamizhnadu. These dishes are mildly spiced and pair well with steamed rice and a wet…

Kothu Parotta (Minced Indian Flatbread)

This is a typically Thamizhnadu dish that is really tasty and healthy. Unlike the paranthas of North India which are hearty, South Indian parottas are crunchy and flaky. I love both types, but the South Indian ones do use a fair amount of all purpose flour (maida). I am therefore not able to touch these…

Kal Dosai (Another Crepe)

Kal dosai is s soft, spongy dosa. It is thicker compared to the ‘normal’ dosa. Kal dosai is one of the staple breakfast dishes in the south Indian state of Thamizhnadu. I am fond of all kinds of dosai, but had never tried kal dosai. I was a little apprehensive since the traditional method of…

Chembu Mor Kootan (Taro Root Curry)

Kerala and Tamizhnadu have a large number of yogurt based dishes that can loosely be called ‘kadhi’ in North Indian terms. Each one is tastier than the other. When I first turned vegan, I rued the fact that I could no more enjoy these wonderful dishes. Thanks to Dr. Rupa Shah, I learnt how to…

Ammini Kozhakattai (Rice Dumplings)

Ammini kozhakattai is a very tasty snack that is easy to prepare and quite filling. My mother used to make this ever so often – and I used to crib as I never really liked this as a kid. I did not appreciate that to make this for 8 hungry mouths was a laborious job….

Paruppu Kanji (Mung Bean Sweet Congee)

As promised, here is the recipe for the paruppu kanji that accompanies the sweet dosa. As this is normally fasting food, no rich ingredients such as cashews or cardamoms are added. As this dish (as well as the sweet dosa) contain no salt, they are ideal to break the fast on Vaikunta Ekadashi. This congee…