VAZHAI POO VADAI

All the parts of banana plant is used for cooking. Its fruit, flower, and trunk all has good medicinal values too. And its flower can be made as Poriyal and also as crispy Vadai. And this week let's see how to make Vadai
INGREDIENTS 
Vazhai poo-1 no 
Pottukadali-1-big cup 
Sombu -1spn. 
Onion -2 nos.
Grated Coconut -1 cup 
Ginger garlic paste-1 tspn 
Chillie powder -1tspn 
Turmeric powder -1/2 tspn
 Refined oil-1/2 lr
Salt to taste. 
Curry, Corriander leaves - little 
METHOD 
1)Clean the vazhaipoo as usual and make it boil with turmeric powder in lot of water well.
2)Don't cut the cleaned vazhai poo.
3)After boiling  drain the poo in a filter completly and let it cool. 
4)Grind pottukadali with sombu nicely in mixie. 
5)Grind coconut with out water. 
6)Coarsely grind the Vazhai poo.
7)Take a bowl and add all the grinded items with chillie powder, ginger garlic paste and salt. 
8)Finally add the well chopped onions, curry and corriander leaves . 
9)Now bring the oil to boil and keep in a medium flame. 
10)Take a small lemon size of the mix and pat  it in a vadai shape and put it in oil. 
11)After it is cooked gently turn the othersideand cook well. 
12)The yummy crispy vazhai vadai is ready to eat.

VEN PONGAL

Ven pongal is the sunday special recipe in our home as it is easy to make. It is given as a prasatham in margazhi month in most of the temples.  
INGREDIENTS 
Raw rice-1 big cup 
Green gram dal/pasi parrupu-1/4 cup 
Ginger-small piece 
Green chillie-2 nos
 Pepper-1tspn 
Jeeragham -1/2tspn 
Toor dal -1/2 tspn
Cashewnut-8no
Ghee -4 spn
Refined oil-2 spn
Curry leaves -little. 
Salt to taste. 
METHOD 
1)Boil rice and pasiparupu with salt in cooker softly. 
2) Divide pepper and jeeragham one part to grind and the other to temper.
3)Grind ginger,chillie,pepper,jeeragham and toordal coarsely in mixie.
4)In a kadai add 1 spn ghee and fry cashewnut keep aside. 
5)Add all the ghee,refined oil, and  temper with the grinded mix and balance pepper and jeeragham and curry leaves.
6)Take the boiled rice,pasiparrupu and smash well. 
7)Add cashew and tempered mixer and stir well. 
8) The special ghee venpongal is ready.

VADAGAM THUVAIYAL:
Vadagam thuvaiyal is made speacialy for venpongal.It suits with idli,dosai and sambar rice also.

INGREDIENTS

Vadagam-1/2 ball

Chillie-5

Coconut grated-1/4 cup

Tamrind-small piece

Salt to taste.

METHOD

1)Fry the vadagam with oil in a kadai.

2)Fry chillie,coconut,tamrind well.

3Grind coarsely all in a mixie with salt.

Vadagham thuvaiyal aroma temp you to eat.

BEANS CARROT PORIYAL

Beans contains high fibres. Carrot is the best substitute for Vitamin A . It gives a glowing skin. Both beans and carrot plays a healthy role in our food. This is a  colourful poriyal and its my son's favoruite. And its also the children favourite. 
INGREDIENTS 
Beans & Carrot-1/4kg 
Grated Coconut -1 cup.  
Curry leaves -little. 
Chillie powder -1/2 spn.  
Salt to taste.
To temper 
Oil-1tspn. 
Mustard-1/2 tspn 
Urad dal-1/2 tspn 
METHOD 
1)Chop the beans and carrot into small pieces. 
2)Put the kadai pour oil temper with mustard,urad dal. 
3)Add the beans,carrot with chillie powder and salt. 
4)Pour 1/2 cup water and cook well. 
5)Finally add the coconut with curryleaves. 
6) This Beans carrot poriyal goes well with all kinds of  kuzhambu.

PAGARKAI KUZHAMBU

Pagarkai acts as a medcine for diabetics. It can be taken in any form like powder,poriyal,fry and kuzhambu. We use to do weekly once pagarkai in our cooking.
INGREDIENTS 
Small Pagarkai-8 nos 
Onion-1 no
Tomato-1 no 
Garlic-5 no
Tamrand-1 lemon size 
Coconut grated-1/4cup
Sombu-1/2 tspn 
Turemric pow-1/2 tspn 
Chillie pow-1/2spn 
Salt to taste 
Curry leaves -little 
TO TEMPER 
Refined oil-5 tspn 
Vadagam-1tspn 
METHOD
1)Grind the coconut with sombu well. 
2)Cut pagarkai and garlic as half,finely chop the onion and tomato into cubes.
3)Pour oil in a kadai and temper  with vadagam,add onion,pagarkai,garlic.tomato and fry. 
4)Add the turmeric,chillie powder and fry. 
5)Put the coconut gravy.
6) Pour the extracted tamarind juice and add water salt. 
7) Cook well for 15 min. The spicy aroma and the colour will indicate that the pagarkai kuzhambu is ready  to serve with hot rice,any porriyal and pappad.

TOMATO RICE

Tomato rice is a spicy dish. It is very easy to make and it is made often in our homes as my children luv it. Potato chips, Veg salad and raitha any of these suits as a good sidedish for this spicy rice.

INGREDINTS
 Boiled rice-2 cup
 Tomato-4 nos
 Onion-1 nos
 Chillie powder -1/2 spn
 Karam masala powder -1/2tspn
 Ginger garlic paste-1/2 tspn
 Mint leaves -little
 Cashew-10 nosGhee-5 tspn
 Refined oil-1 tbspn
 Salt to taste
 METHOD
 1)Cut the tomato into 4 pieces and make it to boil in water well. 
2)Pour sufficient water and boil the tomato. 
3) Leave the boiled tomato to cool and extract the juice filtering the tomato.
4)Chop the onion nicely.
5) Fry the cashew in ghee gently. 
6) Add the rest of the ghee with ref oil and  add karam masla,onion, ginger garlic paste and then fry.
7)Add the tomato juice with chillie powder and salt.
8) Let it boil until it becomes a gravy. 
9)Put boiled rice in a bowl and add the tomato gravy and stir slowly. 
9)Garnish with cashew and mint leaves.  
(If you use soya sauce in your cooking we can use that for a different flavour )

KEERAI KOOTU

Keerai kootu is made in all keerai mula keerai,pazali keerai, palak keerai, vendai keerai.ara keerai etc.All keerais are very good for all age .It must be made atleast twice in a  week.

INGREDIENTS

Pazali keerai-1 bunch

Toor dal-1/2 cup

Chillie pow-1/4 spn

Asofoetida-1 pinch

Grated coconut-1/4 cup

Jeeragam-1/4 spn

To temper

Oil-2 tspn

Mustard-1/2 tspn

Urad dal-1/2 tspn

METHOD

1)Cook the toor dal in cooker with asof.

2)Grind coconut with jeeragam.

3)Wash the keerai well and cut into small  pieces. It needs little patience and keep it aside.

4)Put the kadai,pour oil,temper with mustard  and uraddal.

5) With a cup  water add keerai with toor dal, chillie pow,and salt. 

6)Let it boil well finally add the coconut gravy and cook for little.

BEETROOT PORIYAL

Beetroot is an antioxidants and reduces blood pressure.It is good for health,Childrens like very much.Beetroot poriyal is easy to make for the learners.It is a good combation for all kolamp and sambar.

INGREDIENTS

Beetroot-1/4 kg

Grated coconut-1 cup

Curry lea-little.

Chillie pow-1/2 spn

Salt to taste.

To Temper

Oil-1 spn

Mustard-1/2 tsp

Urad dal-1/2tsp

METHOD

1)Take the beetroot wash well, peel the skin and cut into smallpieces.

2)Put the kadai pour oil temper with mustard,urad dal.

3)Put the beetroot add the chillie pow and salt.

4)Pour water and let it boil well.

5)Add the coconut and curry leaves.

6)Color full beetroot poriyal is ready.

RAW BANANA PEPPER FRY

Usually raw banana fry is made with Chilli powder and tamarind juice, but this one is totally different and very simple. Easy to make and very tasty.
INGREDIENTS
Raw banana-3 nos 
Turmeric pow-1/2tspn 
Home made pepperpow-1tspn 
Salt to taste 
METHOD 
1)Cut the raw banana as semi circles. 
2)Boil lightly with more water and turemric powder and filter the water.
3)Put a kadai and pour some refined oil.
4) Fry the boiled raw banana with pepper and salt.
5)Fry it in a low flame for 15min. 
6)It goes well with sambar and rasam also.

SWEET PONGAL(SAKKARAI PONGAL)

Pongal is the festival of farmers and its a thanksgiving to THE SUN.On that day we use to make sweet pongal,kara pongal, vasakari kulambu. On happy occasions and thai velli, adi velli ,for poojas we use to do sakkari pongal.

INGREDIENTS
Raw rice-1 big cup
Water -  2.5 cup { size of rice cup}
Jaggery-1 small cup
Cardamom-2nos
Cashew nut-10 nos
Dry grapes-10 nos
Ghee- 5 table spn
Orange colour -1 pinch
METHOD
1)Boil rice in cooker well,usually we pour 1 : 2 water, for raw rice we pour 1:2.5 water.
2)Powder jaggery and cardamom and keep it aside.
3)Pour 2 spn ghee in a kadai. and fry cashew, grapes gently and keep it aside.
4)Put jaggery and cardamom,orange color in  that kadai and add little water and cook till the jaggery dissolves and get thick.
5)Smash the boiled rice well and now add the thickened jaggery  and add ghee and stir well
6)Now add the cashew and grapes.
7)Keep the cooker for 5 min in low flame without weight. This will give the pongal a softness.
8) And it will be a treat for you tongue and eyes too as the colour will tempt yo to eat.