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…
Tag: #SouthIndian
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…
Vella Dosai (Sweet Crepe)
This is a sweet crepe that is made with jaggery. But this version has no refined ingredients. This dish is normally made on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadashi – a festival that falls towards end-December/early-January. People who observe a fast on this day and finally break the fast with no-salt food are believed to go…
Vazhaipoo Thogayal (Banana Blossom Chutney/Dip)
Thogayals are basically thick chutneys or dips. It is a concept unique to South India. These thogayals are served with rice and an accompanying wet dish. If the wet dish is bland (say Mulakootal), then a thogayal is a must. Of course, you can serve a thogayal with several breakfast dishes like dosa and idli…
Ven Pongal (Rice Based Breakfast)
Pongal has several associations amongst the families of Thamizhnadu and Palakkad. Firstly, it is the celebration of the Pongal festival that falls on January 14/15 every year. It is a 4 day long festival that offers thanks to the Sun God for agricultural abundance. This festival corresponds to similar festivals all across the different states…
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